Patanjali Yoga Sutras Lecture 014

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

In our last class, we had seen something very important. If we want to be yogis, it will take a long time. And what is yoga? To have perfect control over our mind. And what happens when we have perfect control? Then self-knowledge will dawn. We come to know who we really are. The whole life or lives is meant only for one purpose. How we can know our true nature. Now, in order to become a yogi, and it is impossible to become a yogi without having mastery over our thoughts, over our mind. Mind consists of thoughts, ideas, imaginations, etc. It is not that we have to destroy the mind. That is not our problem. Our problem is that we are slaves to the mind. Mind is our master. If we can become masters of our mind, then our problems will be completely solved. And how to attain to that state? That is called yoga. And how long will it take? What do we need to pay? What do we need to do? In the 14th aphorism it says, practice becomes firmly grounded when it has been cultivated for a long time. Long time means several lives. How many lives? 100 lives? 200 lives? What is the answer? There is an answer given. Very intelligent answer. When do I reach the goal? Depends upon how fast you walk. As simple as that. When do I reach the power and railway station? It is a silly question because depends upon are you walking, are you going by car, are you flying by helicopter, etc. Is there sufficient petrol in the car or helicopter? So many conditions have to be fulfilled. But if a person, according to Sri Ramakrishna, has intense yearning, doesn't want anything else excepting to know who he is, or in his words, to realize God, then how long will it take? Instantaneously. Instantaneously. What is the problem? We do not desire enough. The problem is not external. In fact, any problem outside is of tremendous help to us. This is the hardest fact that we do not accept. But this is the fact. Imagine, say in a family, and it is also a curious thing, if there are people whom I do not like outside my family, I don't mind them so much. But if they are within my family, very near, our husbands, our wives, our children, relatives, then it is the hardest fact for us. That gives the greatest suffering. Why? Because we expect something from our family members. You do not expect your neighbor that he will sacrifice everything of his or hers for you. But we do expect our family members. Now imagine, there is someone in the family and who hates you. What is our normal reaction? What a horrible obstacle God has placed in front of me. I want to reach him. And I want to realize him. And I have been praying to him. I have been leading a good life. So why is God placing this terrible obstacle? If only all the members are very cooperative, loving, helpful, they spread the asana before I sit for meditation. And if it is too hot and sweaty, they fan me. Then I can sit nicely and meditate upon God. But do you know why God places such things? Because where there is our strongest attachment, that's what God places. There is a saying in English, writing on the wall. This is the writing on the wall. My friend, your problem is not somewhere else. Your problem is right here. How are you going to deal with this problem? And until you deal with this problem, there is no way you can go one step forward. This should be the attitude of every spiritual aspirant. Any obstacle that comes, we have to take it in the most positive light and say, God has given me a wonderful opportunity for my spiritual growth. And thanks to these obstacles. Husband, wife, whatever it is. I mentioned a small story several times. But it is worth remembering very briefly. There was a Christian monastery. Several monks were there. And one of the monks was very, very troublesome. He gives trouble to everyone and most trouble to this superior, father superior. So it so happened all the monks were only thinking of him. Every time they sit for prayer, they are only thinking of that monk. Obviously, you know, praying to God, Oh Lord, please remove this fellow. Because of this fellow, we are unable to meditate. I am unable to meditate, each one. One evening, suddenly that troublesome monk, he had a big quarrel with the father superior. And in a huff, he left. I don't want to see your face ever again. You can imagine, for the first time in their life, they had a most peaceful sleep. Early morning, very refreshed, they rushed to the church to do their daily prayers. And to their horror, what did they find? That very monk was sitting right in the front and meditating unconcernedly. You can understand now, they are back to their normal meditation. So as soon as that meditation period was over, they rushed to the father superior. They understood, something happened. And somehow vaguely understood that father superior was somehow connected with this fellow coming back. So they went and charged him. Did you ask him to come back? He was hesitating to reply. They pressed him, ultimately said yes. And I thought deeply about it. Then I went, found out where he was. And I told him, I begged him, I bribed him and brought him back. They all were aghast. Why? Why did you do that? He said, to be frank, all the spiritual progress I made is only because of him. This is a wisdom story. This is the truth. It is very unpleasant truth, but that is the truth. So if there is any obstacle, then that is a great opportunity for us to practice. Because we do not wish to accept the obstacles God presents right in front of us. That is why we take such a long, long time. Let me mention also one very curious fact. Many times again I mentioned it. These are things which we have to keep in mind. In Hindu mythology, there are wonderful stories. There is a story about Vishwamitra. And he did tremendous austerity, superhuman austerity. They say 1000 years. So he did. And he attained to certain state of spiritual progress. And then what does he find? As you know, Hindus know very well, whenever anybody practices austerity, there is a chaap called Indra. Instantaneously he will send. You can guess. Whom do you think he will send? If it is a man, beautiful woman. If it is a woman, beautiful man. Because whichever is the most tempting obstruction, that God will send. So Indra sent beautiful woman. And the moment they came, this fellow had fallen. And he got married to one of them, as you know. In fact, the whole history of India is related to this story. So he begot one daughter called Shakuntala. And that Shakuntala's son, again she also did what her mother did. And she begot a son called Bharata. And so the whole India, in what we call Bharata Varsha, is because of him. What is the story? This sage realized he had given into the temptation. And again he went back. He left actually. He abandoned. Both parents abandoned this girl. So he went back. Did another thousand years, ten years of tapasya. He again went back to that previous spiritual condition. And this time again Indra, second time, sent the beautiful girls. But this time he did not give in to that temptation. He said, how dare this fellow tempt me again. He flew into an uncontrollable rage, anger. And by that anger, all those obstacles of this woman were reduced to ashes. And all the power of his spiritual practice has gone down, so-called down the drain. Again he did ten years more austerity. And again Indra sent the same fellows. These are immortals. Then this time he smiled and said, okay, come on. You sing, you dance, you do whatever you like. I am neither going to give in nor get angry. I will enjoy. Then God was compelled to come and say, you had become a substantial spiritual person, Rajyoshi. This is the story. External gross story. What is the internal story? What is the symbolism? Why does God want to put obstacles in this man, good man? He was trying to meditate. He was not wanting anything. And why did God unnecessarily try to pull him again and again and again? Was God trying to pull him? No. He was showing the writing on the wall. My friend, how can you progress? You have been bound by hundreds of strings. You have been tied hand and foot. What was the first string? Lust. It was hiding. Temporarily anyone can hide lust. You know, under certain circumstances when you are angry or when you are otherwise preoccupied. All our base nature can be completely hidden. But we may be thinking that we are free from these. Unconsciously we are not at all free. As Freud had shown that the unconscious is what governs our rule. Our conscious life is like the tip of an iceberg. Our unconscious life. I do not want to give examples. Each one of us is a victim of these things. We want to be spiritual aspirants. Just turn the torchlight, searchlight and then find out how many things we are hiding. We do not even wish to confront them. Because if we confront, we feel guilty. I am supposed to give up my attachment to money, to sex, to lust, to name, fame, these, that. So many things. It may take several lives. Now in this connection, I also want to mention something very, very interesting and also helpful. When I was in Bangalore, there was one psychologist, very famous psychologist. He was a devotee of our ashrama and he used to come. I used to have some talks with him because I was interested in psychology. And he told me something which remained in my mind even today. He said that the success of curing a patient depends one upon one particular fact. And that fact is until the patient understands that he is a patient and understands that I, the psychologist, is his friend. I am not trying, I am not his enemy. I am not trying to do some harm to him. But I am here to help him. What he said, a rapport, a complete mental, what is called identity. This is my friend. Like a child naturally accepts its mother. This is my greatest saviour. Until the patient accepts and that acceptance may take several years. It may take six days. It may take six months. It may take six years. Until that period comes, cure doesn't start. And once that rapport takes place, the patient accepts his condition and that I am his helper, then the cure will be almost instantaneous. What am I talking about? This is what Sri Ramakrishna says. If a person has intense yearning for God, how long will it take for him to realize God? Instantaneously. Because that is what makes all our spiritual practice is not to gain anything else but to increase our intensity of yearning for God. And until we purify ourselves, that yearning doesn't come. And that purification comes after several lives. Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna used to say of her, She is Goddess, the Goddess of Wisdom, born to give knowledge. And in her simple words, she says, Baba, in this life, you progress a little bit. In the next life, you progress a little more. A time will come when you have made quite a good progress. But at the same time, suppose you are sleeping in a room on a cot. And when you are sleeping, somebody quietly lifts the cot and takes you to the other place. What is she talking about? The first one she is talking about self-effort. The second one she is talking about the grace of God. So if there is grace of God, how much time will it take for one to practice? From our point of view, we have to be ready and say, even if I have to be reborn as many times as there are tamarind leaves, the moment we accept that fact, God's grace is already with us. In fact, we cannot accept that unless God's grace is with us. So, Satu Dhirgha Kaala Nairantarya Kaara Aasevito Dhridha Bhoomehe Abhyagat. Repeat it. Practice becomes perfect. Or it may take several lives. Second, Nairantarya means there should be no break. There is no spiritual holiday. Morning 5 to 6, I am a spiritual person. And evening 6 to 7, I am a spiritual person. In between, I am a worldly person. That is not good. If we are spiritual, we are spiritual. Otherwise, we are worldly people. And then he says, Sat Kaara Aasevitaha. With great reverence, we have to practice. That is why a guru is said to be an essential factor. According to Hinduism, also according to orthodox Christian spirituality, those of you who have read The Way of a Pilgrim, you remember what tremendous reverence the pilgrim had for his guide. They call it Starret. What a wonderful thing. For him, he is not talking about you are Brahma, you are Vishnu, as we say. But in the mind, he was like that. Now, what is the psychology of this? The psychology, what does a guru represent? Guru represents two things. Guru represents God. And guru represents scripture. On one side, God. On the other side, scripture. Guru's state as our goal. And guru's teaching as our guideline. That is, it is not a reverence for a human body. People mistake it. Why should I bow down to him? He also eats Idli and Sambar. In fact, what right has he got? I am a worldly person. He is a spiritual person. And he gets Idli and Sambar and I don't get. What right has he got to enjoy it? This is not the idea. The idea is, I develop faith in him. I develop respect. How much respect? Hinduism is a wonderful religion. Do you know how much respect? Shri Ram Krishna mentions a beautiful analogy. There was one Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's disciple in Vrindavan. Vrindavan is a holy place. And that Vrindavan, we believe, Hindus believe, every sacred place is ruled by a presiding deity. For example, Varanasi is ruled by Lord Vishwanath. Who is the ruler of Vrindavan? Radharani, not Krishna. Radharani. Now tell me, why not Krishna? Why Radharani? Because anything in this world is under the control of the Divine Mother. In fact, Varanasi, it is not Vishwanatha. Do you know it is? Annapurna. Annapurna. So Radha represents the grace of, the concrete grace of God in this world of duality. Krishna represents the Brahman and Brahman has neither eyes nor ears nor anything. He can't see you. He can't hear you. And even if he wants to speak, poor fellow has no mouth. How is he going to help you? But Radharani can come. Anyway, this, I forget his name. Sanatana Goswami or Rupa Goswami. Anyway, he had some disciples and he was very, very harsh taskmaster. And the disciples were weeping because of his discipline. One day, Radharani, the Goddess whom they all worship, she appeared to this and said, My son, don't discipline your disciples, my children, so much. Be a little bit sweet. Sri Ramakrishna mentions this. Then this man turned on Radharani whom he worships and says, You are the daughter of a cow grazing person. How do you understand how to discipline a disciple? Only I know. Out. What is the symbolism? Symbolism is God's grace is there. What is he rejecting? Is he simply saying to the God, Goddess, get out? What is he telling? Oh mother, you may be ready out of your motherly love to bestow your grace upon me and my disciples. But have they got the power to keep it? This discipline is meant for what purpose? My Guru took it upon myself, like you know, Indian daughter-in-law. My mother-in-law took it upon me. Now I am going to take it upon my daughter-in-law. Is that kind of attitude? No. My Guru made me fit through the harsh discipline. I will also help my disciples. I want them to enjoy what I myself have enjoyed. There is a curious incident again, not really related to these aphorisms but in a way related to. It is like this. Swami Pramanandaji had a disciple called Swami Vijayananda. Swami Vijayananda was the founder of the South American, no Argentina, ashram. Now when he was a brahmachari, a novice, one day he challenged Swami Brahmananda. He said Maharaj, you are a miser. Brahmananda was a little bit taken aback. What is my disciple talking about me? He says, when you were a novice like us, how much grace Ramakrishna had bestowed upon you? You simply received it day and night. He was very bestowing. Not only grace, he was giving rasagullas, he was feeding, he was doing so many things. But when it comes to our case, you don't want to let even a small drop also out. Hearing this, Swami Brahmananda's face became very grave. He said, my son, can't you see how my hands have become so bruised? I am trying to hold you up. But you don't want to stay there. Again and again and again you want to slip down. How long can I go on holding? Holding up means what? I am trying to keep your mind in a higher state. And in this connection also there is a story that Swami Brahmananda used to insist that his disciples should always meditate not in the shrine but in front of him. And this Swami Vijayananda Pushpati was one of them. One day he decided, he was a daredevil type of person. I would test my guru. What is his spiritual power? And he sat like anybody else in meditation and deliberately tried to think all the worst type of things, you know, about woman and gold and this and that, all those things. For one hour he said, tried. Later on he reminisced about this. And at the end of the meditation, it was the custom, all the people there, they would go bow down to him and leave the place. So he went, bowed down and he looked up. And Maharaj was looking down and said, never again try that. Because he could not do it. That means he understood, Swami Brahmanandaji, for him our minds are crystal clear. You know, Sri Ramakrishna used to say that I can see a man's mind just as a person can see things in a glass case. For them it is crystal clear. Anyway, coming back to our point. Why do we revere the guru, the teacher? He is even greater than God. As I just mentioned, this Vrindavan goes Swami. So if somebody comes and says, God comes and tells you do this. The guru comes and says, you don't do this, you do something else. Whom will you obey? And the answer was, I will obey my guru. Because my guru is a very practical man. God is only an ideal man. But guru is a practical man. He knows practical things. I will obey. My guru is greater than God. That is why Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru is Brahma, Guru is there. It is not mere, what is called untrammeled superstition. There is a deep meaning in it. So when we can have that much of reverence for the teaching, do you know what happens? Automatically the teaching makes us do. There is a deep psychology behind. Let us take the word Shraddha. What is Shraddha? It is difficult to describe. It is a faith which controls us, in brief. There are two types of faiths. One type of faith, we control. We control means, you read some nice books, you feel inspired. You be in the company of people, you feel inspired. And you read something else, then you change your attitude. Even cloudy weather can reduce that kind of faith. Suppose you want to think of God. You go out. It is all cloudy. And your faith is cloudy. Then suddenly the sun comes out. Then your faith also becomes bright. This is our belief. In other words, it is belief. But faith means, like a ghost, it sits on our heads. It does not allow us to do anything that we would like to do. We only have to obey what it makes us do. Like a madcap. What is the difference between mad people and ourselves? Do you know what is the difference? We are also mad. A mad person is also mad. What is the difference? The difference is that we can somehow control our mad impulses. With reason, etc. Whereas a mad person becomes totally under the control of his whatever thought, good, bad, whatever it is. That is why mad people and God people are much closer. I am not joking. Because both are possessed by something. Only difference is mad people are possessed by wrong ideas. Whereas God people are possessed by the best, the noblest of ideas. What is the point we are discussing here? A practice becomes only a practice when it is done for a long time without break and with the greatest reverence. So, this is only one part. When we practice for a long time with these three conditions, then it becomes firm. This is only one part how to become a Yogi. There are two parts. What is this? How to control the thoughts? Two parts. One is repeated practice and second is dispassion. Complete control over the modifications of the mind is made possible only by repeated practice for a long time accompanied by intense dispassion. This is what Bhagavad Gita also says. Sri Krishna gives advice to Arjuna. This is what Sri Ram Krishna tells in the Gospel of Sri Ram Krishna. We have to some extent practice. But what is it we lack? Vairagya. That is what we are going to discuss now. The 15th aphorism. First, let me read in Sanskrit. Drishta, Anushreveka, Vishaya, Vitrishnasya, Koshikara, Sagna, Vairagyam. Swami Vivekananda translates this. That effect which comes to these who have given up their thirst after objects, either seen or heard, and which wills to control the objects is non-attachment. Now, first let me read how Swami Vivekananda comments upon this. When through discriminative knowledge one comes to realize the power of worldly things in breeding the threefold misery, then one realizes that enjoyment of worldly objects is similar to being scorched by fire. Wisdom through discriminative knowledge is like the difference in experience between hearing that fire burns and actually getting burnt. When through this knowledge the demerit of everything is realized and a complete state of detachment prevails in the mind, that state is technically called a state of Vashikara, which is Vairagyam. Swami Vivekananda says here, the two motive powers of our actions are one, what we see ourselves, two, the experience of others. It is very important to understand what he is trying to tell us. Let there be any type of desire in our minds. How does the desire arise in our minds? How does it come? How does a desire arise in your mind? Either we have seen it or experienced it ourselves or we have heard it from others. According to Hindu scriptures, it is something wonderful. He says Drishta means that which can be proved in this world either by ourselves or by someone else. For example, I want to see a nice movie. Let us say, it is an example and I don't know. I can ask some of my friends, have you been seeing movies? Which one do you think is best? Then that person who has seen, who has more experience than me can tell, okay, this is according to me a better movie. Now until I hear about it, I do not know anything about it. If I see, I know, yes, this is a good movie or if I don't see, then I have to read reviews. There are sometimes honest opinions are also there. Those who are experts, they do give. So either we have seen it or, you know, the desire for enjoyment comes through our memory. That's why memories are our worst friends. Memories are also our best friends. Our life is controlled only by memories. We go on repeating these memories. It's what we call in Sanskrit, samskara. We go on repeating. How does a desire arise? Because you have experienced it quite a number of times and it was very pleasant. Let me have it once more. It becomes a habit. Why do I avoid certain things? I experienced it. It is unpleasant. I don't want to have it. But what about new things? With regard to new things, then we have to hear it from others. Whatever we experience, whatever others experience in this life, in this world, all fall under the category of seen. What is the other one? Heard about. What do you mean by heard about? I am not talking about experiences in this world. I am talking about the scriptures talk. There is a heaven. And if you do such and such a ritual or prayer or some good action, then after death you will go there. So many people, they believe in it and that's what they do it. So this is called that which is heard. So what are we talking about? We are talking about dispassion. So what is dispassion? We must have complete detachment towards things which are either seen or heard. Now why do we want this dispassion? Because what is our goal? Our goal, whatever desires we may have, what is the essence of any desire? Can you tell what is the essence? Why do you want such a thing? Happiness. And if you want happiness, then you have to fulfill two other conditions. Become like tails. Do you know what are those two conditions? If you want happiness, you have to be alive. Sat. And then one more condition. What is that condition? You should be totally conscious that I am enjoying something nice. It is really enjoyable. This is what happens, you know. As an example, you want to enjoy some nice food, anything. Read nice book, watch nice movie, whatever. First of all, you have to acquire that object. Then you have to experience it. And once you experience that object, these three things, you are there. You are aware that this object has been enjoyed, experienced. And the result of that experience is what? You have to be aware that you have really enjoyed it. Feeling I am happy, that should come whenever we experience something. A funny example I will give you. You are very hungry and you want to enjoy something because you enjoyed this thing previously. You knew that that would give you tremendous amount of pleasure. And you get that object and you take it and you put it in your mouth. You put it in your mouth. Suddenly you fall into deep sleep. What happens to your happiness? The first two conditions you have fulfilled. You are there and you got the object and you enjoyed it, you experienced it. But the enjoyment has not come. Because immediately after experiencing some object, a feeling comes. And if you are not aware of that feeling, then you won't enjoy it. That's why we say, you know, children at night, they get hungry. You know, they cry, small babies, they cry. And the mother gets up and then circles them. Next morning this fellow gets up and said, yesterday I was so hungry and you didn't give me anything. What happened was even as he was circling, he fell asleep. So he doesn't even remember. So do you get what the point I am driving at? You have to remember, you have to be awake, you have to be. That is the difference between a gourmet and a non-gourmet. You understand what is gourmet? This fellow, even if you give a small food material, he stretches it on and on and on for hours together. How nice it is. The other fellow, just to swallow it, he says, okay, it was alright, now what now? But that fellow really enjoys it. That capacity to pull on that feeling, that comes to a yogi. So what happens is, even the most ordinary thing, by the power of his mind, he keeps on that feeling, so that he will never become insatiated again. I am only just giving one example of this. This is not the complete yoga. So the ability to stretch on, to be satisfied with the most ordinary things is part of that yoga. But here we are discussing about dispassion. Now there is something curious about dispassion. You know what it is? If you want to develop dispassion, what is the first condition? Passion. If you don't have passion, how can you have dispassion? Looks curious, isn't it? Only when you have tremendous desire, I cannot live without this object, only such a person would become really a great yogi. I will give you certain examples also. First let me quote Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna asked one of his devotees, do you love anyone? Do you love anyone? That fellow, he thought, if I say I love somebody, Ramakrishna may certify me as a worldly person. He said, no sir, I don't love anybody. You don't love anybody? He said, no. You don't love anything? A cat, a dog? No sir. This fellow, you are such a dry fellow. However are you going to become a lover of God? Because if you don't know how to love an object, what you are seeing, how are you going to become a lover of God who is unseen? Now here is a curious fact. What is that fact? Why is this world created? Why does God tempt us? A man is tempted by a woman, a woman is tempted by a man. Parents are caught in the love of children and children are caught in the love of parents, etc. Why? Tell me why? I am talking from a spiritual point of view. Should not God say and create all these fellows as terrible nuisance? And the very birth itself, father is a nuisance, mother is a nuisance, brother, sisters are nuisance, neighbors are nuisance, the whole world is a nuisance. How fast we can progress towards God? What is the meaning of progressing towards God? You love God. What is the meaning of loving God? Where is that God? You yourself are the God. You want to love yourself. Don't I love myself now? Our facile worldly answer is I love most myself. I don't love anybody. But from the true point of view, I am loving my neighbors. Who is our neighbor? Who is my neighbor? See, what is the statement? Listen carefully. I claim that I love myself. But what is the truth? The truth is I love really my neighbor. I don't love myself. I always love my neighbor. And who is my neighbor? Whatever doesn't belong to me is my neighbor. And who is the most terrible? This body and this mind. Why they don't belong to me? Why they don't belong to me? Because how much trouble they are making me go through. Every morning I say I love that. I love my body. So what should my body do? Return my love. It says I love you also very much. Okay. How do you show your love? Today morning I won't get hungry. So you are free. What does this wretched body do? As soon as I get up. Come on. Breakfast. Come on. Give me this. Give me that. Give me that. All from birth to death. What is it doing to me? Because I love it. I think I love it. It's not that I love it. I am forced to love it. Like a gun. Like a slave. Slavish love. Is it love? Is it love for myself? It is only love for somebody, something which doesn't belong at all to me. Because when the time, it was not there before I was born. It will not be there when I, I mean when this body. So it says bye. It says to me. And then I have to get out. You know crematorium. What does the body say to me? Bye. And then I have to seek. Is there somebody else who loves me? Then some other body says I am here, I love you, come on, come on, come on. And we rush into its arms. Then the same story goes again and again. Why did God create this world where there is marriage? Where there is relationships? Where there are friends? Where there are enemies? Where there are likable things? Where there are unlikable things? Why? You know what was Swami Vivekananda's answer? He said this is a school, this is a gymnasium and this is a circus. He gave three answers. Why did God create? What is this creation? This creation is a gymnasium and it is a school and it is a circus. What is the meaning of these three answers? It is a gymnasium where you love, you learn how to love. If you don't love your family, if you don't love your neighbours, if you don't love your country, your religion, your language and the whole world, animals, plants, how are you going to love God? Let me dwell a little time upon this concept. This is the first. Gymnasium, what do you do if you go to gymnasium? You strengthen your muscles. What is this worldly gymnasium meant for? For developing the muscles of our love. And is it a pleasant thing to go to the gymnasium? Which one would you like? As soon as you come back, after whole day's back-breaking work, which is preferable? To lie down on a beautiful, easy chair, sofa and have a first-class cup of coffee and a beautiful 55 inches OLED high-definition TV, or immediately have some hot water, run to the gymnasium and go on pedalling like that. Which is more preferable? But why do you go? Because you develop your muscles. So this world is designed and God being infinitely intelligent. Let me ask you one question. How many worlds are there? How many worlds are there? Do you know how many worlds are there? As many individuals, so many worlds are there. And every individual has his own special, private, personal world designed specifically for that person, so that he can grow in that situation. You know like if you go to a gymnasium, there will be what is called a trainer. And that trainer will design the exercises suitable so that he can gradually grow up. So this is the first answer. Why in this world, family, you grow? You grow by loving. Not because they also love you back. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But we grow through our experiences. Why is it called a school? What is a school meant for? To acquire knowledge. What is the knowledge? I put it in a funny way. What is the goal of a school as far as the pupils are concerned? Do you know? To kick them out as soon as possible. How does the school do it? It will go on pumping that knowledge into you through lessons. If necessary, private tuition is also given there, so that in the minimum allotted time you pass your exams and the school... He will sigh of relief and say, Thank God for that this fellow is out. What is the purpose of a school? We learn our lessons. What are the lessons we have to learn in this world? There is only one lesson we have to learn in this world. Only one lesson. Do you know what that lesson is? This is what is called dispassion. What is it? I do not belong to this world. This world does not belong to me. If we do not learn that lesson, we become attached. When we learn that lesson, we become detached. Not indifferent. Not cold. Detached means what? Clear knowledge. I do not belong to this world. This world also doesn't belong to me. Now, a further question. What do you mean by world? All of you, neighbors, chairs, this land, this Vedanta center. You know what is world? We have only one world. What is that world? It consists of only two things. Body and mind. My body is my world. Because whatever I experience is only through this body. And through this mind. There is no world outside my body and outside my mind. That's why dream is a good example. Dream. We create the entire world as we are experiencing right now. This exact replica of this world is created in the dream. When you are dreaming, do you say it is a dream? Or do you say it is this world as we understand it? Only when we come out of that state, we say, oh that was a dream. But then what is the curious fact that when we go into the dream state, what is the reality of this world we are experiencing now? Here you are listening to my talk. And slowly you enter into that highest state of Samadhi. And you are dreaming that you are in India. Where are you? Where are you? In India. In India. Even though your body is here, where is your world? In India. Anyway, what is the point we are talking about? The whole world is nothing but our own body and our own mind. Accepting this nothing is there. Those who are new, they may take some time to understand it. But this is the truth. There is something. I am not saying there is nothing outside. There is something. But we do not know. All that we know is through this body and mind. So this is the lesson we have to learn. What is the lesson? Body and mind. Mind is changing. Body is also changing. What is your body? Tell me. What is your body? Give description. After one year, does this description tell you? When you are a baby, you say I am a baby. Now, do you say you are a baby? Your whole world has changed with the change in the body. That is why Swami Vivekananda gives a beautiful example. We have five sense organs. Supposing by chance, a person has a sixth sense organ. You know what happens to that person? Now, let me give you an example. First, let me give you a real example. Then I will give you an illustration. You know, there was a French painter, very famous landscape painter called Monet. You have heard about Monet? Now, this Monet used to draw fantastic, you know, these bridges and grounds and these things. Now, you also must have heard that there is something called ultraviolet light. Now, you look at a beautiful rose. How does a bird or an insect looks at that rose? We think, because we have no option, as I see it, either red or pink or whatever it is, the bird, the insect is also looking. That is my opinion. But that is completely wrong opinion, false opinion. So, now science has devised certain cameras which can also capture things in ultraviolet light. And it is fantastic world. So, this Monet, what happened? He had cataract. So, one eye, cataract, it was operated on. It became normal. He started painting as before. When the second eye got cataract, they operated it. Something happened. Now, he started seeing things as birds and insects see through ultraviolet light. As though he was reborn. His whole, what is called painting, colours and style, as if there was a total change. And there were people who could discern it. And they asked, suddenly we see a change in your style. Why? Then he mentioned this fact. After the second cataract operation, now I can see things which I could never see before. And in a BBC program, this was shown once, his paintings, the difference between these two. So, educated. What is the illustration for? Let me give you, and this is a real incident. Let me give you an illustration. We all have five sense organs. I see you and you see me. I smell you, you smell me. I hear you, you hear me, etc. Suppose Ram Krishna had given me a special sixth sense organ called seeing things as atoms. How do I see you then? What do I see? Dancing atoms, whirling atoms only I will see all of you. And as nothing else. What is the point? The point is our perception of the world changes according to the perceiving instruments. The sense organs or whatever, including the mind. We already have got six senses. Do you know that? Five physical sense organs like the eyes, the ears, and the tongue, and the nose, and the skin. And what? These are five. What is the sixth? The mind. Suppose this ultraviolet ray is like that, a new type of perception through the eyes. Then my whole world is different. That is why an insect's world is different. A bird's world is different. Our world is different. Even a dog's world is different. You know dogs can smell things. That's why peculiar things are coming. Suppose somebody is starting a disease, say cancer. I am not sure. This illustration may not be absolutely right. But it seems some of the dogs can smell and say, oh, this person is beginning to have this kind of disease. Because it is all chemistry, you know. We don't get that smell. But the dogs might get. And they may warn the person. One thing we all know about it. There are people who have fainting smells. And there are some dogs which are always with them. Before the fainting, even the person is aware the fainting is going to come, the dog already smells. And it has been trained to pull the man down so that he will either sit down or lie down so that he won't be injured. And as you know, some of you know, some animals, they say, they can smell earthquake, tsunamis, etc. Scientists are now seriously searching. Some dolphins and some animals, some birds, you know, they make peculiar sounds, etc. Who knows? Because it is not a miracle. They have been endowed with certain type of sensory power. Unfortunately, we have been endowed with certain, but it is limited. For them also it is limited in some ways. What is the point? Point is, there is no such fixed idea of world, the world depends upon how we perceive. And we perceive or experience the world only through two instruments. What are those instruments? The body and mind. Now the whole topic has come because of dispassion. Why God created the world? So that we can develop dispassion. And how to develop? What is the precondition to develop dispassion? Passion. Passion means what? You develop your capacity to experience this world to the optimum, to the maximum. What happens then to the maximum? Then what happens? That is all. This is all. I was expecting I will be in heaven forever. But this is all. Nothing more. My mind is not satisfied. My heart is not satisfied. This doesn't satisfy me. It is at that point. If this doesn't satisfy me, what is there that can satisfy me? Do you see now? Passion turns one into dispassion. But supposing a person has experienced something of the world and he has to experience a lot. Do you think he will become dispassionate? His hope may be this is not complete. If I get something more, then I will be very happy. And if I get something more, I will be very happy. When he reaches that one more step forward, but still one more step is this. Always there is a sense of dissatisfaction. Imagine a person has enjoyed the fullness of the world. What would be the result? Because nothing can satisfy a person because the person's desire is infinite. So only he can be satisfied with infinity. And what is that infinity? God. And what is that God? My own self. But unfortunately, I do not know about my own self. So the whole purpose, design of these spiritual practices is meant only for one. What is it? To know that whatever I experience is imperfect. Ephemeral, bound, limited, conditioned by three factors. What are those three factors? Time, space and causation. Time. How much time our enjoyment lasts? Even the highest enjoyment. And every place has its own limitation. And then as soon as the cause is finished, the effect also will be finished. But before we can come to that state of dispassion, we have to work through this to develop passion, love. Then get disappointed. Now let me conclude this talk with just few examples. Shri Ramakrishna says, if you love someone to the utmost, then only there is a hope you will realize God. There was a question, when do I realize God? What was his answer? When three forces of love are combined. What are those? The love a chaste wife bears for her husband. The love a loving mother has for her only child. And the love a miser has for his worldly object. Combine these three. Why? Because if you have only one, the other two are loose. That means all the love you can muster, you can potentially develop, has been developed. And there is nothing more. If you combine them. And then what is the next sentence? Direct it to God. Then you will realize God. To put it in Vedantic language, what it means is, experience the experience to the utmost. Experience the experience. Because whatever I experience is only an object. I am not the object. I am the subject. And whatever I experience is called the object. So experience, anything that is experienced is called an experience. In other words, object. You squeeze the whole object, the whole world called body and mind to the utmost. It won't give you satisfaction. Why? Because it is conditioned. Conditioned by three. What are those three? Mind, space and causation. And then you are left blank. High and dry as they call it. Then your attention turns. Where? If the experience doesn't give me the experience I desire, there is only one option. Turn away from the experience. When we turn away from the experience, there is only one left out. What is that? The experiencer. In this whole world there are only two. Experiencer and that which is experienced. When you turn away from the object, then what is left? Subject. Who is the subject? The experiencer. The I. Ultimately say, what a fool I am. I am searching for myself. The whole world. I am the only one who can really satisfy. And I am beyond time and space and causation. My real I. When we say I am here, we are talking about the body. We are talking about the mind. But when I am talking about the real experience, where is not the experiencer? He is everywhere. The experiencer is in the waking state. The experiencer is in the dream state. The experiencer is in the dreamless state. When is he absent? He is always ever there. And that is infinite. That which is eternal, that is infinite. And that which is infinite is eternal. And that which is eternal and infinite is none other than myself. So that is called self-knowledge. What is dispassion? To come to that state where even the entire world, if I possess, it doesn't give me the least bit of happiness. When I come to that state, then I will be forced because there is no option to turn to myself. This is called, in Sanskrit language, antarmukhenatva. Now my sight is fixed outside, focused outside, it goes outside. But when I become truly spiritual, it turns back into myself. This is called dispassion. That state is called dispassion. It should be natural. It should be spontaneous. And it will come only when we practice the spiritual disciplines. This is a wonderful topic. How can we attain to that state of dispassion and turn back to myself? That is the subject matter of these few coming aphorisms. We will discuss in our next classes. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti