Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 070

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM SAHANAVATU SAHANAVUBHUNAKTU SAHAVIRYAM KARAVAVAHE TEJASVINAVADHITAMASTUMAVIDVISHAVAHE OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI HARIHI OM OM YUGENA CHITTASYA PADENA VACHAM MALAM SHARIRASYA JAVAIDYA KENA YOPAKAROTAM PRAVARAM MUNINAM PATANJALIM PRAMJALI RANATHOSME I bow to the eminent sage Patanjali who removed the impurities of the mind through yoga, of speech through grammar and of the body through medicine. We have been discussing the results of practicing Yama and Niyama. We have completed the results of Yama and of the Niyama we have been discussing about the result of Tapasya, Austerity. So what is Austerity? We already mentioned that it is not standing in cold water or not being in very hot places. Real Austerity is that which purifies our mind and takes it towards God. That alone is Austerity. But in practical life what it really means is in our day to day life we have to go through so many types of problems, conflicts. I have rarely come across anybody who had not to go through problems. However high their position, however low their position. To be able to bear these day to day events with equanimity that is real Tapasya. I was listening to one of our Swami's speech. He mentioned during one of his speeches that he had come across an old woman and this woman had to go through a lot of problems. So many people died in her family, so many people deserted her, relatives deserted her. And then the Swami was talking. He asked, Mother, how do you cope with all these problems? He said, Baba, I have strong faith in the law of Karma. I know I must have done a lot of sin in my previous life. That is why I have to pay for those things. I know I will be exhausting this result of my karmas and soon by God's grace I will be okay. Having narrated this experience, the Swami was remarking that we go on talking about the law of Karma and yet even the slightest problem upsets us very much. Whereas this practically illiterate woman, probably she knew how to read books etc. She was not a scholar, she was not in high position, an ordinary householder woman. She had this tremendous faith and she was able to cope with these problems. Am I talking about something about impractical things? Just let us extend our imagination to what is happening in Nepal today. Only few days back such a terrible disaster had taken place. Those who have died, probably they are free. But what about these people who are alive, who have to cope? Homes have been destroyed, probably jobs have been lost. So many relatives have died and they may not have anything. They were living under the tents. I was trying to imagine what would I do if I had been thrown into that situation and if I had to live under a tent without the conveniences of attached bathroom and refrigerator and all those things. See, we can talk philosophy through our head for eternity, but to be able to bear these things with complete resignation, acceptance and even a kind of penance for what we have done and to lead our life so that we can go towards God, that is real austerity. So what happens when a person becomes very good at practicing these austerities? According to Patanjali, siddhis will come. Siddhi means supernatural power. Eight such siddhis have been enumerated in Hindu scriptures. We have talked about it last time and I also mentioned, every saint would have these kind of powers. Some exhibit a little bit, some do not exhibit. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, a real saint, a real devotee will not care for this kind of miraculous powers. And yet when we study the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda, direct disciples, even the disciples of the direct disciples, we see so many miraculous powers just in a most casual way exhibited, not with the idea of showing their power or with the idea of attracting people's attention, but out of compassion they would show it. One special point to be noted here, whenever these great people had shown their grace in the form of some supernatural powers, always it did good to the people. And what is good? That which draws their attention towards God. One example our devotees are familiar with, Upendranath Mukhopadhyay, who became, from a poor man who became a millionaire, and yet he devoted the rest of his life only in the service of God and fellow devotees. So I also promised that I am going to talk a little, some of these incidents, not really to make us credulous, but just to remind ourselves. Just a few before we take up further things. Sri Ramakrishna had the power of Doora Gamana. He could go to any place he likes in a subtle body in the twinkling of an eye. There have been many such incidents recorded, and many of you who read Thakur's biography know it, but I am just mentioning a few. So he used to say that when he was practicing spiritual disciplines, whenever Sri Ramakrishna had a desire to be in the company of devotees who were singing, what is what we call Nama Sankirtana, congregational singing, he had a tremendous desire, and that desire used to be fulfilled. He used to say that a path of light opened up from Dakshineshwar to that particular place in Calcutta or somewhere, and his subtle body used to travel there. Nobody was able to see him, and he would enjoy the devotional singing, and he will come back. Devotees also can recollect Sri Ramakrishna promised Hriday that he would attend the Durga Pooja performed by him at Shihur, Hriday's birthplace. But where was Sri Ramakrishna? He was at Calcutta, Dakshineshwar. So at the time of the Vesper service, Hriday used to see Sri Ramakrishna standing in a luminous body, fanning the Divine Mother. Another incident that was recorded in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, one day Vijayakrishna Goswami came, and casually he said, Sir, how can ordinary people like us really understand your greatness? The other day I was at Dhaka, and I saw Ramakrishna smiled and said, maybe it is your delusion. He said, no, I touched you as I have been able to touch you, how can I say it is a delusion? We know the famous incident on 1st January 1886. What is the real miraculous power? It is not exhibiting the supernatural powers, but to be able to transmit spirituality to others by a touch, by a wish, and this was a very common phenomena in the life of Sri Ramakrishna. Everyday he used to do it. But specifically we remember 1st January 1886, by just touching the devotees' hearts, Sri Ramakrishna was able to elevate the minds of the devotees to a higher realm, because so many people had the vision of their chosen deity. What more can we ask? We also know how Sri Ramakrishna used to cure people. Once there was a leper, and Sri Ramakrishna touched him, and as a result he had to suffer a great lot. There are other two incidents, just I will mention very briefly, some of the devotees may not know about it. Once Sri Ramakrishna was travelling to Kamarpukur, on the way he had to pass through a village, and there were some Muslims, and one Muslim came running and fell at his feet. On enquiring, Sri Ramakrishna found out that this man's poor hut used to catch fire every year, and get burnt completely. And he was so poor, he could not even construct one small hut. It was a terrible task for him. So somebody told him, here is a great saint, he is passing through Sri Ramakrishna. He said, alright, take me to your place. And there were other people who were also travelling along with Sri Ramakrishna, and Sri Ramakrishna told them, you don't need to come, I will go to this man's home, and I will return soon. He went there, and this man's hut was just now burnt to ash. Sri Ramakrishna took some ashes into his hands, went round the hut, muttering something, nobody knows what he was muttering, and then he told that gentleman, from today onwards, no fire is ever going to catch hold of you, so you construct your new hut, and that is it, he came back. And that Muslim man's son, narrated this incident later on, however afterwards, there was no fire incident at all. Another incident, which was very interesting, there was a man, he wasn't even a devotee, but somebody had given him a calendar of Sri Ramakrishna. You know, in India, we all publish these calendars and distribute them freely. So this man hung this calendar in his room, but he was suffering for so many years from insomnia, he could not sleep. One morning, when he was in a particularly special distress, his eyes fell on the picture of Sri Ramakrishna on the calendar. He ran like one mad, started beating his head against the feet of Sri Ramakrishna, that picture. He said, Thakur, how long do you want me to bear this unbearable distress? Will you not bestow your grace? He was in a semi-conscious state. Suddenly, he heard Sri Ramakrishna's feet moving, and then he said, My child, I am not getting sleep. And as though Sri Ramakrishna was touching this person's feet. You go back to sleep, you will not suffer from this again. And the man just staggered back to his bed, fell like a, into a dead slumber. And that day he was late for his office. So his wife and children were wondering, what happened to this man? He's not going. So they came and saw he was deeply asleep. He got up late, and then he ran to the office, came back in the evening, and they told him what happened. So this man, he said, It is Thakur's grace. I am never ever going to suffer from this disease. At that family, that weekend, they went and met Swami Vishuddhanandaji, who was our president at that time. And then they narrated this incident to Swami Vishuddhanandaji. Vishuddhanandaji told them, and blessed them, and told them to buy the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in Bengali, read it daily. They became regular devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. Like this, miracles in the life of Sri Ramakrishna were everyday, normal day-to-day affairs. A few we will narrate again, from the life of Holy Mother. When I was at Cherrapunji, between 68 and 73, I heard this incident. There was a devotee, Sri Ram, he was a very single man, and very handsome, highly devoted to Holy Mother. He was a devotee of Holy Mother. And by that time, Holy Mother passed away. And one day, he was walking in the streets. Suddenly he saw a house, which was, which caught fire. You know, in Shillong and Cherrapunji, in those days, most of the houses were constructed of wood. So one wooden house caught fire. And this man was very compassionate. So immediately he jumped inside, rescued some people, some objects, and he found somebody in the upstairs. He went upstairs. He rescued some babies. But by the time the fire had spread, there was no way for him to get out. So he thought that his life is coming to an end. And he started praying to Holy Mother. And then suddenly he saw, it was a brilliant day, full sunshine. And all of a sudden, the Holy Mother appeared in a white sari, and with both hands, outstretched hands, she was doing like this. And then she disappeared. Within seconds, from somewhere, black clouds had come and poured rain on that particular house. The whole fire was put out, and the man was saved. The story continues. So the man came out. By that time, he was badly burnt. There were spots all over his face and other parts of the body. And he was very handsome. So he became very ugly. And his friend started, you foolish fellow, without thinking anything, you jumped into this fire. Who asked you to do that? Look what happened to you. And he was a naive type of person. He fell into a depression. Maybe I should not have gone there. Few days passed. He was still depressed. He was praying to Holy Mother. One night, Holy Mother appeared to him in a dream and said, on such and such a day, you go and take bath in a nearby spring. And he was naive. So he got up in a great glee and went on telling to his friends, see, Holy Mother appeared. I'm going to be all right. They all laughed, you stupid fellow. You are imagining that you will be all right. After getting so badly burnt, is any miracle going to happen? And again he fell into a depression. Maybe I was imagining things like that. And he forgot about the incident totally. Then he went. He was going away. One day, it was unusually hot. And he was passing by that spring. But he totally forgot. Holy Mother instructed him to take bath on that particular day, in that particular spring. So he felt very hot. He felt like taking bath. Then he took off his cloths, plunged into the spring, had a good bath, came out, and again started walking. His friends were astonished. Few minutes before, he was ugly with all spots. Spotlessly like he was in the old times. It is not a slow cure. Over one year, two years, he became normal like that. Instantaneously, he became his old self. And they could not say anything. Of course, he could boast. Did I not tell you? Holy Mother appeared like that. There is only one incident. Holy Mother also could travel. This incident happened when Holy Mother was still alive. And it concerns one great Swami, Swami Sharadesh Anandaji. His name was Gopesh, Gopesh Maharaj. Now he was a young man. He took initiation from Holy Mother. He and one of his friends, they were doing some service in a village nearby Jairambhati, not Jairambhati. One evening, this man had some peculiar disease. He became unconscious and his friend thought he was losing his life. So he had no option. He started praying to who? The friend of Gopesh Maharaj. Started praying to Holy Mother, Mother, Mother, Mother, please come and see. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. They were living in a small hut and he opened the door. And what did he see? Holy Mother with a grave face. Why are you calling me? He said, Ma, Gopesh is about to die. Please bestow your blessings. Otherwise, he will die. He said, what can I do? It is time for him to die. I cannot help. No, Mother, you will have to bless him. After a little thinking, Holy Mother said, All right. On one condition, I can save him. He must renounce the world and become a monk. And his friend told him, I will make him, I will request him to become a monk. Mother blessed him and went away. And immediately, this Gopesh Maharaj started to recover consciousness. Then he came back to consciousness. His friend narrated what had happened. And this young man had renounced the world. And in the course of time, he became one of the greatest, most revered Swami, Swami Sharadesha Namaji. Like this, so many incidents are there. Holy Mother could hear what people are talking at a long distance. This is there in the Mayarkotha. There is a beautiful book. One day, a devotee was going. He approached almost Jairambati, two, three miles away. He said, Ma, I want to eat peda. Peda is a kind of Bengali sweetmeat. So he was expressing his desire to eat a little bit of peda. There is no chance that Mother could hear what he was talking two, three miles away. And the Mother was sitting there in the porch of her small hut. And she was dressing the vegetables with other women devotees. And she was telling, my son wants to eat peda. Let us prepare it. And by the time they reached that place, the sweetmeat was ready, hot. And Mother said, Baba, quickly wash your hands and feet. Come and eat your peda. How did she know? She could hear. These are just very common things. The Holy Mother is known to have initiated devotees over a long distance. One incident that I know, that there was one Swami, he was a disciple of Holy Mother. He was going on a pilgrimage somewhere in North India, in the Himalayas. And he had to spend one night in a poor woman's house. And then she inquired. Then she said, Baba, I had a dream. A woman like this has initiated me. I don't know who is that woman. Then Swami suspected, maybe it is Holy Mother. Why is she telling me? So he had a photograph of the Holy Mother. She showed that photograph. Immediately the woman jumped. Yes, this is the lady who initiated me in my dream. Then the Swami said, All right, you wait here. I will finish my pilgrimage. On my way back, I will come. I will take you to Kolkata. Mother is there and you can get initiated. So he brought that lady along with him and Holy Mother, she initiated. And the mantra which this lady received in her dream and which Mother gave to her at the time of initiation were exactly the same mantras. So these kind of incidents were there. So many incidents. I do not want to take up so much of time. Let us come back to Swami Vivekananda. Once when Swami Vivekananda was in Narayana Nath, he was adept in meditation. Once he was meditating and he got special power. That power was, he could hear what people were talking from long distances, miles and miles distances. He came and reported to Sri Ramakrishna, I am able to hear what these people are talking. What shall I do? Sri Ramakrishna advised him, you stop your meditation for a few days. Let this power disappear and then you continue your meditation. There was a particularly interesting incident with regard to Swami Vivekananda. There were three sisters called maid sisters in a place called Pasadena near Hollywood. So Swamiji liked these three. All the three were unmarried and they were highly devoted to Swami Vivekananda. So one of them unfortunately had a terribly weak mind. She used to suffer from unknown fear. Swamiji knew everything. So he stayed there, I think for about two weeks or so, I do not remember. After that while he was going, Swamiji had left his smoking pipe on the fireplace and said, whenever you feel you need some strength, you take this pipe in your hand and rub it like Aladdin rubbing an old lamp. So he left what he smoked on that fireplace and then left. Many years after Swami Vivekananda's passing away, this lady was in terrible distress. She was feeling like committing suicide in a very low mood. One day she was sitting and brooding over it. Suddenly her eyes fell on that pipe. So she remembered and then she took the pipe in her hand, slowly started rubbing. Swamiji promised me that wherever you are, you will come and strengthen me. Immediately she saw as though a tremendous spirit has filled that room. She did not see, she felt that Swami Vivekananda was standing there. Madam, what fear? I am here. And she gained back her normal condition of the mind and she was helped. How many times he helped her, we do not know. This was the only incident that was recorded there. There was a very touching incident. Swamiji was moving in Rajasthan. He had not even gone to America. By that time, Swamiji was studying the condition of India. We have to remember, he had already attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi by that time. He was not thinking of any powers. He happened to come into touch with a gentleman who was a follower of Arya Samaj. And Arya Samaj is a Hindu religious sect. They do not believe in the forms of God. So that man raised the topic with Swami Vivekananda that if you can convince me through scriptural evidence that God has forms, then I will accept it. And Swamiji, of course, he was such a great scholar. He could easily convince, quoting from several different scriptures. And then that gentleman, Swamiji asked him, are you convinced? He said, Swamiji, intellectually you have defeated me, but my heart does not accept the form of God. Swamiji said, all right, stick with your belief. So after one or two days, one afternoon, they were going for a stroll and suddenly there was the festival of Sri Krishna, an image of Sri Krishna was being carried in a chariot. And Swamiji saw. This gentleman also was with him. Swamiji touched his shoulders and said, look there. What happened? Instantaneously that gentleman had seen the living, moving Sri Krishna in that chariot. He fell at the feet of Swamiji and said, Swamiji, now I am convinced. Because it's a direct experience. Incidentally, devotees also can recollect what happened to the Gopala's mother. One day she went to witness the Panihati chariot festival. That day she had a universal vision, like Arjuna had. The chariot, the priest in the chariot, the images in the chariot, the people who are pulling the chariot, the people who are witnessing the chariot, in every one of them, Gopala's mother had beheld her beloved Gopala. From that day onwards, she used to address everyone as Gopala. Earlier it was only Sri Ramakrishna and some few direct disciples. From that day onwards, she started seeing her Krishna. And that's why such an orthodox woman that she was, she could live so happily with sister Nivedita. She passed away through the hands of sister Nivedita. What about the direct disciples? Swami Brahmanandaji, once somebody asked Maharaj, he was called Maharaj, Maharaj, do you know what your disciples are doing in America? He said, yes. I know exactly what my disciple is doing right now. I can see with them. And this is not a boast. They had that power to really see and transform. I'll narrate one beautiful incident. There was one disciple of Swami, Holy Mother, Swami Jivananda, Pashupati Maharaj. He was later on, he went to South America and established the Ramakrishna Vedanta societies in Argentina, later on in Brazil also. At the time this incident happened, he was a Brahmachari. And Swami Brahmanandaji used to ask his disciples to come and meditate in front of him so that they can gain the benefit of his presence there. So this Pashupati Brahmachari was also meditating there. He was a little bit sometimes in a peculiar mood, sceptical mood. I want to test the powers of the spiritual son of the Ramakrishna. Today I will think all nasty worldly things. So with closed eyes, he wanted to think worldly things. He tried his level best. He could not think one bad negative thought. His mind was lifted up every time he was trying to think. Meditation over, he came as usual to bow down to Swami Brahmanandaji and after bowing down, he lifted his face. Swami Brahmanandaji's eyes were piercing. Looked into the eyes of Pashupati, no more testing. He had the power to look into and lift the people's hearts. Swami Turiyananda, one incident I will mention. Swami Turiyanandaji gave up his life practically speaking, while he was living in America, in a place called Shanti Ashrama. Unfortunately that ashrama has become practically abandoned now because there is no water, there are no facilities, etc. We could not start even a branch centre there. But Swami Turiyanandaji lived so many years at this Shanti Ashrama. He felt like coming back to India. He wrote to Swami Jayakaranda. He got the permission. The idea was he will come back and see Swamiji and go back. But then that never happened. Swami Turiyananda was living last today. There was one Swami from Dutch, Swami Atulananda, Gurudas Maharaj. So at that time Brahmachari Gurudas. So he called Gurudas. Shanti Ashrama is a big land, probably I think 80 acres or something like that. So there were a few cottages were there where the devotees used to come and he used to hold spiritual retreats, etc. On the last day, Swami Turiyananda took this Gurudas Brahmachari and he went round the ashrama and throughout he took up some sand in his hand, went on muttering, nobody knows what he was muttering, round this ashrama and he told, Gurudas, nothing will happen to this ashrama for 50 years. And he came away. Exactly on the day 50 years ended next today, the whole ashrama caught fire. Everything was totally turned into ashes excepting one meditation hall which is even now there. Our center from San Francisco is in charge of that ashrama. So once in, I think in the month of May, they go, they take everything including movable toilets because there is nothing there, water, food and they spend the whole day in retreat, hundreds of devotees go there. So every disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, not to speak of Holy Mother and Sri Ramakrishna, they had this tremendous power and incidentally, we can also, Sri Ramakrishna's guru, Totapuri Maharaj, he had this power of transmuting metals into gold. So many people are trying to get that secret, how to convert metals into gold, but he had that power but unfortunately he didn't find somebody worthy of receiving it because there is a condition, if somebody uses that power for selfish purposes, not only he would lose the power, he would be greatly harmed spiritually. So he did not pass that. So through tapasya, the result of mortification is bringing powers to the organs and the body by destroying all the impurities. The results of mortification are seen immediately sometimes by heightened powers of vision and so on, hearing things at a distance, etc. Now we will come to the aphorism 44. Patanjali is continuing the results of this practice in Niyamas. So this is the fourth of the Niyama. Swadhyaya means study of the scriptures, one meaning. But Patanjali gives a different meaning also to it. It means the repetition of one's guru-given mantra, japa. So the guru gives mantra, he calls it swadhyaya. Swadhyaya means study of the scriptures and repeating the name of God. So through that what happens? By repetition of the mantram comes the realization of the intended deity. As the result of study, as the result of repeating the name of God, one obtains the vision of that particular aspect of God which one has chosen to worship. If a person has tremendous faith in guru and in the given mantra and repeats it with real feeling and thinking of the meaning tad jataha tad arthabhavanam. Let me dwell a moment on this. What is this arthabhavana? Dwelling on the meaning of the mantra. Supposing you have said Ramakrishna mantra or Holy Mother's mantra. What is the meaning of dwelling on the meaning? What is the meaning? The meaning is, O Lord, I have nobody in this world. No one can help me in this world. You alone can save me from the travels of this transmigratory existence. I depend upon you totally. This is the only thinking we have to do. Usually what happens, people are dependent so much upon money, upon power, upon gadgets, upon food materials, upon entertainment, so many things to distract a person. These are all dependencies. That's why so much of loneliness is experienced in every part of the world. People get married sometimes in old age because people suffer terribly from loneliness. How many of us here right now can lift our hands and say, I am free from loneliness? Very few of us. Some of us are living alone. What about that? Yes, we have got our jobs. We have got our books. We have got our devotional music. We have got our mobile phones to talk with. We have got our films to watch. We have got so many things to depend upon. If nothing comes to our aid, we have our neighbors to go on blaming them. That is also a kind of dependency only. So how to be free from all these dependencies, that is the real tapasya. So swadhyaya, Patanjali is telling, just depend totally upon God because common sense rationality tells us only God can help us. Nobody in this world can really help us. Wholeheartedly pray to the Lord, O Lord, may I realize that you are the only one upon whom I can reliably depend. Everything else is undependable raft, as the Mundaka Upanishad puts it. Rituals, even japa dhyana. So what will you do when you are incapable of doing japa? I remember an incident, not incident, a real event that happened. One of our vice presidents, who used to do so much of japa, I am referring to Swami Geethanandaji. He became what is called dementia. He was totally, he did not know what he was doing. Nobody knew what happened to him. How many, many, many years he was in that condition. And yet I have rarely seen a Swami who was so devoted to doing japa. He was really a japa siddha. Now we do not know what was going on in his mind when he seems to be totally unresponsive to any outward stimuli. His eyes are open, when fed he eats food, but he absolutely doesn't recognize anybody, doesn't talk to anybody, absolutely keeping quiet. You lift him, he will walk, and you take him to the bathroom, he will do what he needs to do. But we don't know anything else what his mind was going on. I believe firmly, inside his consciousness is full of this doing japa only. But what will you do when you are in deep sleep? What happens to japa? Will you go on doing japa? There is a state where even through this deep sleep a kind of unconscious consciousness is there where the japa, the feeling, the presence of Ishta Devata will go on. But for that we have to practice a lot. What is the result? Result, one has the vision of one's chosen deity. Examples, I will give you two, three examples. The first example is, just now I was mentioning, Gopala's mother. What was her main swadhyaya? Japa. 33 years. How much japa she used to do? Incidentally, what was holy mother saying? Japa siddhi, perfection comes through japa. And she was not talking just through her head. She herself said, I used to do 100,000 japa. I used to do means what? Now I am not doing. What does it mean? It means constantly she was seeing the Lord inside and outside. Inside within herself, outside within the whole world. Her devotees in everything. She was the mother of everything. Holy mother embodies that saying of Chandi. That divine being who manifests in the form of motherliness in every creature. Holy mother became that kind of universal mother. Not like an ordinary mother. She used to see only divinity within everybody. When a person is directly perceiving divinity, where is the need for doing japa and other things? But she used to do it formally with other devotees, just to encourage them. Constantly she used to behold Ramakrishna within everybody. Gopala's mother is a supreme example how she obtained that beautiful vision of her child Krishna and how she played for two months continuously. She was having uninterrupted vision. Then what happened? Suddenly it came to an abrupt end. She became tearful. She went to Sri Ramakrishna and said, Gopala, what is this? I don't behold my Gopala. He said, in this age, if anybody has this kind of uninterrupted vision beyond certain time limit, then the body will not stay. I want your body to be here as an example for all the devotees. And thereafter, she had the vision of her Gopala in everybody. She used to see her Gopala within everybody. Uninterrupted vision. Gopala is only one. The direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, how much japa they used to do. The second incident I want to mention, there was a South Indian musician saint called Thyagaraja. He was a great devotee of Sri Rama. And he was longing for getting the darshan of the vision of Sri Rama, his chosen ideal. So he had a guru. He went to his guru and said, how can I obtain the vision of Sri Rama? His guru instructed him, if you can repeat Ram Naam 92 crores of times, I don't know exactly how many millions, maybe 92 millions, I don't know, 92 crores of times, at the end of it, you will obtain the vision of Sri Rama. You just imagine how many times, how much japa he has to go through every single day. And he was counting. How do I know? Because he was careful. Rama, be careful. My japa is coming to an end. 92 crores is coming to an end. He reminds Rama. He was a great composer. So Rama, don't forget the promise of my guru that I will obtain your darshana and this 92nd crore is coming to an end. And then he had that beautific vision, blessed vision of Sri Rama. And then he says at the end, he sings another, Oh Rama, today I have become really blessed. I have become free from the trammels of this samsara. I have obtained your glorious vision. By that time, he was very old and very soon he passes away. How many examples do you want? Through the japa, how many people had the vision of God? What about our devotees? I know so many devotees who had obtained the vision of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother by doing japa. Personally, I know. But no devotee wants to be mentioned with the name given, etc. So what is the benefit of studying scriptures with full faith as well as doing repetition of God's name with meaning, with faith, with intense yearning, he will obtain the vision of God. And let me also clarify here, what is the meaning of obtaining the vision of God? Do you experience God? Yes. Do you see God? Yes. Do you hear God? Yes. Do you feel God? Yes. But that is only part of the spiritual sadhana. Many times we can have visions, but that doesn't mean we have reached the goal. What is the meaning of vision? To feel that I am one with the divine. I am divine. A devotee doesn't wish to express this, but whatever path we follow, whatever japa we do or meditation we do or whatever else we do, to feel our oneness with God, that is the ultimate thing. After that, the person goes beyond all dualities, all fears, there will be no doubt, he will be absolutely what we call a living free person. The last of these nimas, Samadhi Siddhi Ishvara Pranidhanat. By surrendering once all to Ishvara, comes the state of Samadhi. The whole purpose of Patanjali Yoga Sutra is how to make us obtain that Nirvikalpa Samadhi through which we realize our true nature, which is pure consciousness. And there are so many other methods, but one of the best methods, according to Patanjali, is to completely surrender once everything at the feet of Ishvara. Even though, according to Patanjali, Ishvara is not the God that we normally understand by God. He was only one of the greatest of these Purushas, pure consciousnesses. And from him, all knowledge has come. But it doesn't really matter for us. What he says is, he agrees with the devotees that through devotion, through self-surrender, one can obtain the vision of God. But what is the meaning of self-surrender? We have to understand what is simply saying through the mouth that I surrender myself to you. That doesn't solve the problem. We must really feel it. There must be a total transformation in our character. Any spiritual progress has to be measured not by how long a person sits in meditation, how long a person is doing japam, or how long a person is practicing spiritual disciplines. The test, the measurement is what is the change that happens in our day-to-day life. How do we react towards the day-to-day affairs? Is our attachment to the world becoming less? Is our joy in contemplating God increasing? This is a sure test. When you are sitting for the repetition of God's name, do you feel joy? Yes, you do feel joy. Many of you do really feel joy. But is your attachment to the world becoming less? It must become simultaneously. As you move towards the East, as Ramakrishna used to say, the West recedes. So as we get more joy in God, then our attachment to the world also must become correspondingly less and less. That is the real test. So there is one great Acharya called Ramanujacharya. He tells us there are six characteristics of real self-surrender. ānukūlaśya saṅkalpaḥ pratikūlaśya varjanaṁ rakṣiṣya-sīti viśvāsaha gop-trittva-varanaṁ ātma-nikṣepaḥ kārpaññe iti śaraṁ vidhā śaraṇaṁ gatiḥ Six characteristics. The first characteristic is a devotee will always do only what pleases the Lord. What does that mean? It means whenever he wants to do something, the first thing he asks himself, is this going to please my Lord? Only if his heart sincerely says, yes, you are doing it not for pleasing somebody, but for pleasing the Divine Lord, then go ahead and do it. ānukūlaśya saṅkalpaḥ Is this going to displease the Lord? Ask that question. And if the answer comes, not from our rational mind, but from the heart of our purity. If the answer is no, this is against God's pleasure, it is not going to please the Lord, immediately give it up like poison. pratikūlaśya varjanaṁ Then the third characteristic. Every devotee who wants to surrender oneself, he says, O Lord, I know only You can save me. There is nothing in this world which can save me. You alone can save me. I know it and I am going to take refuge in You only. rakṣiṣyaśīti viśvāsahā Tremendous faith, only God alone can save one. Fourth characteristic is, goktaritva varṇaṁ Yes, I have faith in God, but my mind is still dependent upon so many things. Now, I choose to follow only the Divine Lord actively, one particular form of God. That is why in India, this ishta devata siddhānta is one of the cardinal doctrines of Hinduism. Ishta devata siddhānta That means every devotee, every spiritual aspirant, has a freedom to choose how he is going to think the Lord. That is why there are 33 crores of gods out there. Not that there are 33 crores of gods. For 33 crores of people, 33 different aspects of God. God reveals Himself in that particular aspect. We have the freedom to choose. This is dead against some of these narrow ideologies of so many religions which say, accepting Krishna, you cannot have salvation, you cannot realize God, you will go to the other place, etc. This is totally irrational, completely wrong, and they are committing sin by preaching this kind of doctrines. God is only one. But you have got a freedom to choose what aspect of God you like, how you would like to really love Him. It cannot be forced. Goktaritva varṇaṁ is the fourth characteristic. Ātmanikṣepa Thereafter, you totally transfer all your responsibilities to God. Completely. Whatever happens, it happens by the will of God. You have nothing to say. Suppose God, somebody is coming and then cutting your throat. You say, O Lord, it is You, by whose will this is happening. Now, I know we can talk in lectures like this. This disaster that took place in Nepal. By whose will? If a devotee were asked, why did it happen? What is the cause of it? If you ask a scientist, he will tell these are tetranomic plates. They collided together and there was this earthquake that had happened. If you ask a devotee, what should be his reply? It happened by the will of God. And here is another question. If something happens by the will of God, does it turn out to be good or evil? Now, scientists are discovering at one point what were lush forests, they have turned into desert land now. And these which are deserts now, they are going to become lush forests after some few thousands of years or millions of years. The topography of the earth is constantly changing. Even those who know a bit of geography, they know how this whole Europe was teeming with dinosaurs and other animals. But now, you don't find at all all those things. It is full of cities and all that. Once there was an ice age and the tigers were roaming in London street. But we have forgotten all that. And it can again become a desert land. They say every few thousand years, there is an ice age is going to come and most of us are not going to survive. So this kalpa, the cycles, they go on and on and on. What is the point we are making here? Point is whatever happens, happens by the will of God. That is why according to devotees, what is history? History is His story, His will, God's will. This is what every devotee wholeheartedly believes. Example, Ramakrishna was suffering from cancer and he was asked, why did this happen? Such a good person you are. What did he say? It happened by the will of the Divine Mother. What is the use of my praying to her? It is her will which brought this here. You remember one vision Ramakrishna had? He had the vision of Mother Kali with a bent neck and he was surprised. Mother, why is your neck bent? What was her reply? On account of this disease in you. Meaning me and you are absolutely one and the same. Atmaniksheva, transfer all the responsibilities. Thereafter, whatever happens, that is the will of God, accept it. So Ramakrishna had accepted it. What about Jesus Christ? You know there is a story, he felt frightened. He knew he was going to be crucified. He felt terribly frightened and then he went and prayed. Remember? Father, if possible, let this cup be removed from me. But God, no, this is my will. Then Jesus Christ bows down and says, let thy will be done. Now, in the annals of the Ramakrishna history, we know one person who exemplified this total self-surrender to Ramakrishna. His name was Girish Chandra Ghosh. Even though it took him time to understand this. Atmaniksheva, that is the fifth characteristic of self-surrender. The last characteristic is Karpanya. Karpanya means in great humility. Why? Faith that God alone is going to save. My ability to do what pleases the Lord. My ability to keep myself away from what displeases the Lord. My faith that God alone can save me and my capacity to transfer, even to choose God. My capacity to transfer my responsibilities to God. All these are made possible, how? Only by the will of God, by the grace of God. That is why the great Shankaracharya says, a human birth, the desire for spiritual progress, and the company of the holy, all these three are possible only by the infinite grace of God. Without God's will, it is not possible. So these are the six characteristics which comprise complete self-surrender to the Divine Lord. And if anybody is of the devotional mode, if he can totally surrender himself, what do you think God will give him? Samadhi. What does it mean? Samadhi means what? God gives him the knowledge, my child, there is no difference between you and me. Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example. There was a rich man and he had a very nice gardener, very faithful, hard-working gardener. One day the gardener comes to his master with some ripe fruit and then he asked, what have you brought for me? Oh, I have kept this nice ripe fruit. Then he says, come and sit by my side. How can an ordinary servant sit by the side of the master? The master says, no, no, I know you love me. There is no difference between you and me. I am telling you, please come and sit. Then the old man dares to go and sit by the side of the master. What was Sri Ramakrishna indicating by this? That only by God's will, we can become devotees. Only by God's grace, we can progress in spiritual life. Only by God's grace, we can obtain his vision. Only through God's grace, we can have that knowledge that we are one with God. In other words, only through God's will, one can realize, Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahma. So Patanjali had indicated this method for most of us. We will discuss further aphorisms in our future classes. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti