Hinduism 25
Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Prayer
ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।
मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ।
हरिः ॐ ।
Transliteration (IAST):
Om Saha Nāvavatu
Saha Nau Bhunaktu
Saha Vīryaṃ Karavāvahai
Tejasvi Nāvadhītamastu
Mā Vidviṣāvahai
Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ
Hariḥ Om
Translation:
Om, may Brahman protect us both.
May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.
May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.
May what we both study reveal the truth.
May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.
A Discourse on Hinduism: Understanding the Nature of the Self and Liberation
Introduction: The Fundamental Question
So we are meeting after about two months' time. I hope some of you would remember what we had discussed in the past. This talk is all about Hinduism.
In our last class we had discussed one particular topic. The most important question that arises in every living creature's mind, especially human beings, especially in times of suffering, is: Who am I? Why am I suffering?
If we are suffering, whether we ask the question or not, it is there unconsciously—why am I suffering? I have no right to suffer because it's not my nature to suffer. How do we know? Because when we are enjoying, we don't question who am I? Why am I enjoying? What right have I got to enjoy? I should complain to God about it. We never do that. In fact, we don't want God. If God comes at that time and says, "I would like to have a chat with you," we say, "Later on."
So that shows that we have forgotten our true nature. This is what Vedānta is telling, and yet we are here. So why? The answer is to be found.
The Nature of Suffering and Pleasure
Though we are seeking, are we really seeking to get out of suffering? Because the condition of suffering—we have discussed—if there is pleasure, there would be pain. The payment for pleasure is pain, not money, not things. But proportionate to our suffering, our enjoyment also is the same.
So the question comes, we discussed briefly: What is the nature of this world called in Vedānta saṃsāra? Saṃsāra means the world that we experience. What is our role? We are also part of this world. Then what is our true nature?
The Seer and the Seen: Subject and Object
Now here comes an interesting analysis. The whole world is divided into two parts: the seer and the seen, the subject and the object, the knower and the known, the experiencer and the experienced.
Suppose I am seeing God—who is the subject? Me. Even God becomes an object to me because I am experiencing him, I am seeing him. So who is more powerful in this case—God or me? Me, because if I close my eyes... see, you are all here in front of me. I don't want to see you. I have the power. I just close my eyes. All of you have disappeared. Is it not true? I have the power to put you off. That's what happens in deep sleep. We are all finished. The whole universe is gone, as it were. Disappeared, as it were. This is an important part.
So what is the question? The question is: you are seeing me and I am seeing you. Do I think myself at any time that I am an object? I am an experienced? I am the known? Yes, we do, out of māyā. At the same time we know that we are the knowers, but we are not the known. There is a curious sense that we are not the experienced, we are not the known.
What about the mirrors? What is the function of all the mirrors? To be known by the whole world—how nice I am looking, how beautiful I am. Don't you see? If I truly know that you are not experiencing me, what is the point of going to a cosmetic surgeon and doing all those things? But at the same time, this curious mixture: I am a subject and at the same time I am also an object.
As far as the soul is concerned, I am the subject. As far as the body and mind is concerned, I am the object. Who am I then? Because logic tells us the subject and the object, the knower and the known, can never be the same. Logically it is impossible. If that is true, then who am I?
The Concept of Māyā and Superimposition
Why do we need all these discussions? As I told you, as knowers we want to be free from suffering. But as the known, we are incapable of experiencing or escaping from this suffering. We want to escape from this suffering. So is there any way out?
Logically, Vedānta philosophy tells: you yourself have given the answer. Find out. If you are the known, you cannot experience suffering. But if you are the knower, you are free. Then I am put in confusion. What am I? At times I feel I am the knower, and at the same time I also feel... do you follow what I am talking about?
I nicely dress myself, go out into the public. At that time, I want to be known by you as a beautiful object, a beautiful person. I am using the word, instead of person, I am using the word object. So I would like to be known as a beautiful person. Person means object. Person means really conscious being. That's why I use the word object, as a beautiful object. But then, at the same time, I would like to know that you are appreciating me. I want to know. I want to be known at the same time. I want to know.
Curiously, we notice everybody else, excepting those who are near to us. So we would like to be noticed. At the same time, we would like to know that we are noticed. This is the most common phenomenon.
What's important for our discussion here today is: we would like to know, who am I? Am I the knower or am I the known? Am I the subject or am I the object? This curious mixture of the knower and the known, the subject and the object—it is called māyā, adhyāropa, superimposition. The soul thinks it is the body and mind, and the body and mind, which is inanimate, unconscious, insentient, thinks it is the knower, it is the soul. This is called māyā.
Knowledge versus Information
We are in this curious situation. As I said, why do we want to know all this? Are these dry, futile discussions? No, very important. The importance is, unless we know the answer—not information, but knowledge.
When we use the word knowledge, we always have to distinguish it from the word information. What is the difference between information and knowledge? Information never changes us. No change takes place within us. Whereas knowledge brings about instantaneous transformation within us. That is the nature of knowledge. In other words, realization.
Swami Vivekananda used to use that word frequently: realization. What is religion? God-realization. God becomes real. What is real for us now? This world, my body, my mind, objects we see—this is real. But when I know I am real, then what happens? A curious thing takes place.
A crystal-clear demarcation between the subject and the object takes place, and I will know, or the person who realizes knows, that I am the subject, I am real, the object is not real. It is a big philosophical discussion, I won't go into it now. But the truth is, what Sri Ramakrishna says: this world becomes unreal.
The Nature of Suffering for the Realized Soul
When the world becomes unreal, instantaneously something happens. What happens? Wherefrom is our suffering coming? From the world, from the body, from the mind. You see, when we say suffering comes from the world, always we have to understand it clearly.
Let me give an illustration. Suppose it is very hot, the temperature—you see the thermometer, it is on high, 120 degrees, 150 degrees Fahrenheit, whatever. What does it matter to me? Suppose I am in an air-conditioned room. The thermometer is showing outside it is 150 degrees. I am in an air-conditioned room. Does it make me suffer? No. But if I go there, then what happens? It's not the heat that is outside that is the cause of my trouble. When I experience the heat through this body, then the suffering comes. That heat becomes real to me.
If it is cold, then I experience. If somebody is praising, I experience. If somebody is blaming me, I experience. If somebody is praising me, I become very happy. My blood pleasure goes up. When somebody criticizes me, my blood pressure goes up. Either way, I suffer.
But what happens when a person realizes? It doesn't affect. Even though people may praise, even though people may even cut his body into pieces, just like it happens to anybody, it happens to the person. Jesus Christ, for example, he was crucified. That was one of the most horrible ways of killing a person. But then what did Sri Ramakrishna say when this topic came? He said, just like a dry coconut, the inside part was not affected at all. The Jesus, the real Christ, the Jesus—yes, he was crucified. But the Christ: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He was not affected in the least.
Neither are we also affected really. How does this happen?
The Dream Analogy
Supposing you are dreaming. You went to bed, you are dreaming. Somebody comes and takes a knife and starts hacking you into pieces. Do you feel the pain? No—you do feel. As long as you are dreaming, you scream. Your own scream wakes you up. When you wake up, you say, "Oh, what a horrible dream I had." You know nothing happened to you. Even though really nothing happened to you, but as long as you are thinking something happened to you, because you think that that was real.
In our state of ignorance, actually nothing happens to our soul. But because we think something is happening—I am feeling cold, I am feeling heat, etc., etc.—I experience both suffering and non-suffering.
Now take another analogy. You are watching a movie. And in the movie, somebody is hacking somebody. Maybe you yourself have acted as one of the actors. And you are being hacked. And you are watching it, preview, you know. Would you feel that somebody is hacking? Suppose the hacker who hacked you in the cinema is sitting by your side. What would you do to him? In fact, if he had hacked you very beautifully, you are feeling it, and you turn and say, "Congratulations, how wonderfully you hacked me." You praise him. So why? Because you know it appears, but it is not real. Whereas if you think it is real, then immediately you will react.
So for the soul, not only for the realized soul, even for us, really nothing happened. It is just like a dream. But don't make any mistake. Until we realize, a dream is no dream. It is reality.
The Witness Consciousness
So the point I am making: a realized soul, he has clearly this distinction. What is experience? What is seen? He becomes only witness. He knows that is not real. Whatever is an object is not real. The subject alone is real. The knower alone is real. Therefore, the object cannot influence him.
A realized soul, he doesn't suffer. Rather, he enjoys everything. See the fun of it. In drama, everything is enjoyable. The more horrible, the more enjoyable. How do we know? All walks of life. You go and see, pay money and see again and again. Why? Because you know everything is enjoyable. In the most horrible things, enjoyable. Why? Because they seem to be so real.
You see, what is the criteria that somebody acted very well? You know Girish Chandra Ghosh? He was acting as a drunkard. He was beating his mother or wife black and blue. And Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was sitting among the audience. And he forgot it was a drama. He took out his shoe and threw it at Girish Chandra. And it hit him. And Girish Chandra Ghosh hugged it to his chest and said, "This is the greatest compliment I have ever received in my life." You know, so realistic.
That drama or that cinema which produces the greatest effect upon you as if it is true—you almost forget that it is not real. You experience the reality. That is the greatest truth. That is the criteria. If the acting is third-class acting, that means what? There is no coordination between the lips and the words. First-class acting we all enjoy.
That's what a spiritually realized soul—this wonderful acting, everything as if it is real. Just as we watch a first-class cinema and enjoy it, a realized soul enjoys the first-class show. But he need not be buying any ticket. Because when he opens his eyes, that is a show. When he opens his ears, that is a show.
The Power of Self-Control
Mark my words, when he opens his ears means what? You see, we human beings, we have eyes. We can close. All forms will come to an end. But have you ever seen how to close the ears? Unless you are deaf and have a machine with an on-and-off switch, you cannot help yourself listening to what is going on. But these realized souls, they have the power. By their mind it is to the eyes: "Don't look." They may be open. Nothing will go. Ears are open. But they say, "Don't hear anything." They can't hear anything. They have such a tremendous self-control. We call it śama. We need dama. Dama means physical aid.
So they see everything. At the same time they are 100% conscious. This is not the reality. And what is the reality? The reality, the multiplicity is not the reality. There is only one person who is acting. Who is Rama? Brahman. Who is Rāvaṇa? Brahman. Everything is Brahman only. Krishna is Brahman. Kaṃsa is Brahman. Śiśupāla is Brahman. Everything is Brahman.
Sri Ramakrishna's Teaching on Divine Play
Beautiful teaching of Sri Ramakrishna. You know there was a character called Hajra. Ramakrishna sometimes used to scold him. And sometimes he used to love him also. So somebody asked, "Sir, why do you keep him here?" Because very easily Sri Ramakrishna could have gotten rid of him. "Why do you keep him?" Ramakrishna said, "You know, the drama will not be alright unless there are some buffoons." You know this whole thing is līlā. But for them, not for us. For us, my friends are real. So are my enemies. If I am enjoying, it is sweet. That is wonderful. But if somebody is...
There was a philosopher. He used to say, it was a great Vedānta. He used to say, "The whole world is a dream." Some young people didn't like him. And he is saying. So one day they decided to teach him a good lesson. So they got hold of his legs and started dragging him on cobbled roads. And they asked him, "Do you still say this world is a dream?" He said, "Yes. It is a dream. A very painful dream."
But that's not the experience of a realized soul. For him, there is no unreality. This is the most wonderful thing.
Three Levels of Reality
When we are worldly people, completely worldly: I am real, the world is real. When I have taken to spiritual practice: I am real, the world is not real. When I have realized the truth: then I am real, the world is also real. Because there is only one reality.
Then what is this called līlā? Līlā means divine play. What is this divine play? It is the same reality which has taken all these forms. The speaker and the audience. The player and the football hooligans. The football players. The good football audience. And the what is called hooligan football audience. All these are nothing but different appearances of one reality, which is Brahman.
Remember, one madcap had come to Dakshineswar. And Hriday followed him. And at some point he stopped. And he pointed out to a sewage canal. He says, "When you can see that sacred Ganges which is flowing by and this sewage water are one and the same, then you have attained the highest destination."
The Nature of Saṃsāra
Coming back to our subject now. We are all suffering. Saṃsāra means suffering. Is there no happiness? Who says there is no happiness? I discussed it. Happiness is there. Pleasure is there. Joy is there. And the opposite also is there. What is the proportion? Fifty-fifty.
You know during the Second World War, somebody advertised: "Rabbit meat available here." So one man went, ordered a plate and started eating. He was not getting rabbit at all—rabbit taste. Then he called the manager and said, "Is it really rabbit meat?" He said, "Look here sir, rabbit is you know very rare. All the soldiers have taken away." "So what did you do?" He said, "You know I had to mix a little bit of horse flesh. So it is a mixture of rabbit and horse." "What is the proportion?" the man asked. He said, "Fifty-fifty." "What do you mean by fifty-fifty?" "One horse, one rabbit."
What is the proportion of pain and pleasure in this world? If you really analyze, we find, you know what we find? Like this—fifty-fifty. The amount of pain, suffering. But we forget just one moment of that pleasure. We forget all the suffering. And again we long for it again and again and again.
The Inevitability of Suffering and Death
But a time will come. Because there is one fact is there. As long as we are young and we are ready to work very hard, ready to undergo any amount of suffering for a little bit of temporary pleasure. But a time will come, this suffering becomes intolerable.
Old age is a suffering. Nobody can avoid it. We try our level best to avoid it. Surgery and this and that. You know like old car, old machine, machinery. If you repair one side, you stretch—the other side will tear off.
So ultimate suffering is: give up everything. And then we have to—all that is known, all that is experienced to be our own—our relatives, our family members, everything we have to leave behind. Everyday we are experiencing. Who wants? You know the greatest suffering fact in life is death. But we also unfortunately know it. None of us are ignorant that death is a part of life. We are prepared to accept it. But on one condition.
Say, I must live 99 years, 364 days. I must have first-class supper on the last day. Go to bed and not get up. But that doesn't happen in life. Any time, anywhere, in any imaginable form, death comes. It can be pleasant. It can be also very, very unpleasant. Time is very relative, you know. One moment of intense suffering appears to be like an eternity we are suffering. And one eternity of enjoyment—how holidays pass. This is called saṃsāra.
The Search for Eternal Happiness
So a time will come. However many times we try to find ways and means how we can escape. "If I take medicine. If I do this. If I worship God. If I repeat this mantra. Then by God's grace I will be only enjoying." But certain existential types of suffering cannot be avoided. And as I said, most important of these sufferings is old age and death.
So after a long time we are forced. "No, I tried many ways. It didn't work out. But how can I escape suffering?" In fact, as I mentioned many times, what is the only effort of human being? Twenty-four hours what are we trying for? Only for happiness. We breathe for happiness. We go to school so that we can be happy in the future. We work in the offices for future. We get married for happiness. We divorce again for happiness. Whatever we do, this is the truth.
But it is not possible. At last the soul understands. If you are in the saṃsāra, it is the nature of this world. You cannot escape suffering. Yes, there is some amount of joy. But you cannot escape. So our problem is: how to be happy all the time, as much as possible, without undergoing any suffering? Is it possible? Yes, it is possible.
How do we know? We cannot know it through any amount of reason. Only a realized soul comes and tells. "You seek eternal happiness—eternal and infinite happiness." "Yes." "Is it possible?" "It is not only possible, it is inevitable. Because this is your true nature."
How do we know? This is what you are striving for. From birth to death. From life to life. This is what you are striving. If you really know that it is not possible, then immediately you will give up. This is the nature of desire.
The Nature of Desire
We all have desires. But many desires we give up voluntarily. Never we entertain. Not because we don't have desires. Because we understand it is impossible to fulfill those desires. For example, who doesn't have the desire to go and live in the Buckingham Palace? But if I ask you, "Do you have the desire to live in the Buckingham Palace?" He says, "No. Absolutely no." And if I ask you further, "Why don't you have this desire? Are you a realized soul?" He says, "No. It is not possible." Simple answer is: it is not possible. So you give up. Already we are doing that.
Then why don't you give up the desire for the attainment of infinite and eternal happiness? So what is the answer? Vedānta gives the answer. You want to be in this world and you want to have eternal happiness. It is not possible. Why? The nature of this world is it is non-eternal. It is impermanent. So you cannot be in this impermanent world and get permanent happiness.
Is there any other world? Any other state? Yes. There is another state which is eternal. And that state is not only possible but it is inevitable.
Each Soul is Potentially Divine
In fact, Vedānta is a most wonderful philosophy. Swami Vivekananda had summarized it in one sentence: Each soul is potentially divine.
But many times we fail to understand the meaning of this word potential divinity. Divinity is not only something to do with spirituality. Divinity has something to do with everything. You become an excellent cook. You are manifesting your divinity. You are a very good doctor. Then you are manifesting your divinity. You are an excellent sportsman. You are manifesting your divinity.
You are a very cheerful soul. You know ordinary people. Ordinary household. There are people who are glum. There are people who are more or less—they have a very positive outlook. Everything they take in a sporting way. How much variation.
Somebody has conducted a beautiful research. He went to the hospital. And hospital means you know those who are terminally ill. There is no hope. They are going to die. So this person got curious. So what is the difference between one patient and the other? There also he found some people as soon as they get the verdict that they are terminally ill, then they feel very depressed. They die sooner. There are some people say, "Okay, this is life. We had wonderful time. We enjoyed. Let me also enjoy as long as I can. This is the nature of life."
There are some people as you know, they seek euthanasia. Vedānta doesn't approve of it. Euthanasia means you are trying to escape your destination. There are people who say, "No, I don't want any euthanasia. I will suffer as long as I have to suffer. I had my good times. I have no regrets." That's a very good attitude.
See, that person under even the most ordinary circumstances is very cheerful, very happy. That person is manifesting his divinity. And what is spirituality really speaking? Suppose there is a person who doesn't claim he is spiritual. But he is very cheerful. Another person who claims he is praying to God and all that, and very you know morose and glum. Whom do you prefer? Whose company do you prefer? That is real manifestation of divinity.
That's why the word divinity must be understood in so many ways.
The Three Guṇas
You are sitting here. You are listening. All of you are not listening with the same degree of attention and concentration. Some of you are listening nicely. Some of you now and then you switch yourself off or go to some other place, have a good time and come back. I don't have that choice unfortunately. That would be very difficult again too.
So much variation between person and person. What is the difference? Swami Vivekananda, he pointed out. The difference between one person and the other person is the manifestation of divinity. How does this divinity manifest? Further detailed explanation is given. You know what it is? The difference between one man and the other man is the difference between what we call qualities—three qualities: sattva, rajas and tamas.
A sāttvic person—very focused, very concentrated, very cheerful, whatever be his bodily condition. A rājasic person is very, very restless and always moving from state to from object to object, from place to place, etc. A tāmasic person again looks like a sāttvic person, but he is completely switched off.
How to Get Out of Saṃsāra
How do we get out of this saṃsāra? That is where the very first thing we have to understand is what is the nature of the soul. Now Swami Vivekananda, as I mentioned, had given a summarized essence of Vedānta: Each soul is potentially divine.
Now this statement has to be understood from two standpoints. One standpoint is the absolute. Another standpoint is the relative. Am I really divine? The answer is: from the absolute point of view, yes. From the relative point of view, no. That is why Swami Vivekananda he used the word potential. You have the potentiality of becoming divine. In fact, that is also misunderstanding, misstatement. The real thing should be: you are divine but you do not know the fact. If you do not know the fact, it is as good as not being divine. But with this difference.
What is the difference? Suppose you have some nice food in your fridge or somewhere and you are very hungry and you want to eat food. Where is the food? You have forgotten that there is food. If you have forgotten there is food and there is no food, there is a lot of difference. If there is no food, then there is no place nearby where you can get food. Then you are going to die. But if you have forgotten that there is food, after some time you make an effort and then or somebody tells you there is food. "Why are you suffering so much?" The moment somebody gives you information, then there is immediate change in your status.
Or food is thousand miles away. Somebody says, "Where can I get food?" "It is thousand miles away. There is no way, no transportation, you can't go there." What good will that information do to me if I am hungry? But then food is there. Only thing is I have forgotten food is there and I phone to somebody. He says, "Last week only I gave you so much food. How could you finish all that food?" Immediately you say, "Yes, I have kept it there, I have forgotten." Immediately it is available. That is the difference.
Absolute versus Relative Divinity
So Swami Vivekananda's statement is: from the absolute point of view we are only pure divinity. From the relative point of view we are potentially divine, not non-divine. Potentially divine. What does it mean? We are divine but we have forgotten. The moment somebody tells us, immediately that is available for us.
So the nature of the soul is—this is one of the most important first points—we are all potentially divine. That means divinity is available for us. How do we get back this? So again we don't get back divinity. We are divine already.
The Three Schools of Indian Philosophy
India has produced three schools of philosophy: the dualistic philosophy, school of philosophy, and the qualified non-dualism—this is Viśiṣṭādvaita—and the non-dualism. All these three quarrel with each other with regard to certain things. But there are certain common things which all of them agree.
So what are those things? The first thing, all the schools, there is no controversy that we are all divine. There is no controversy that we are all Ātman. The technical word is Ātman. Ātman means a divine soul. We are all Ātman.
The second point they all agree without the least bit of difference is: this world is an imperfect world. Some schools say it is unreal. Some schools say it is real. That's not the point. If it is real, they don't advocate you to be here. So they also admit though it is real, it is severely limited. And it is a bondage. It causes suffering. You must get out of the suffering. They all agree. Is world real, unreal? But it is not desirable. What does it matter whether it is real or unreal? Get out. That is there they all agree.
Common Ground Among All Schools
The third point they all agree is: you can attain to your own status if you follow certain spiritual disciplines. Whether you become one with God, remain separate from God, remain near God—but one thing is there, once you attain that destination, the first thing is you are not going to come back again. No rebirth. You are not going to come into this world.
Second point they also speak out is that there, what is the condition? One hundred percent unalloyed bliss. There is no trace of suffering at all. Whether you become one with Brahman or remain in the presence of God, it doesn't matter. Vaikuṇṭha, Kailāsa, Goloka, it doesn't matter. But such a state, nobody wants to come back from there. Because it is the most blissful place available. They all agree with.
Another point they all agree is: you will have to practice spiritual disciplines. There is no disagreement about spiritual practice. You are impure, you must become pure. Or put it this way: you are ignorant, you must become knowledgeable. This is the simple fact. How you become knowledgeable? Either by your effort or through the grace of God or through the Brahman's grace. That is a different issue. But we are ignorant, we can become knowledgeable. And through spiritual disciplines we must become, we will become knowledgeable. We will realize our own true state. No controversy there.
The Path to Spiritual Progress
Another point where they all agree without any disagreement is that it is—there are different ways. But spiritual disciplines are always the same. What is it? Let me put it this way. You want to go from this place to London. How many motorways are there? At least we know. How many are there? Two. M4 and M40. So M4 is different. M40 is different. Because there are also ways where you can flit from one to the other. But two different pathways.
But what is this thing? You will have to—the road may be different. But you, the traveler is only one. How do we know the spiritual progress? The more you approach London, the more you are progressing. Is it not? In spiritual life also there is no controversy. Whether you follow the path of bhakti or whatever—we will discuss about it, four important yogas—but the spiritual progress is exactly the same.
Just to give you a few details. No religion. Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism. They all quarrel. "Our religion is superior." "Our religion is superior." Like that. "Our God is better than your God," etc. But there is no quarrel among them.
Would any religion say, "Speak untruth"? What do they say? "Speak truth." Would any religion say, "Be selfish"? Every religion would say, "Be unselfish." Would any religion say, "Don't love anything, anybody"? Every religion says, "Love everybody." Every religion says, "Love God. Love everybody. Develop your love." Whether you are a devotee or a man of knowledge, whatever it is. Every religion says, "Do good to the world. Be good and do good." Whether they advocate God or no God—Buddhism for example. Buddha doesn't talk about God. But one thing, he always speaks. What is it? Be good and do good.
So over these points, there is no controversy at all.
Sri Ramakrishna's Universal Teaching
So Sri Ramakrishna's special teaching is: don't worry which path you follow. Whichever path you follow, follow it sincerely. That would be, you like that path. As many faiths, so many paths. It's a wonderful, wonderful teaching of Sri Ramakrishna. If you are a Christian, God bless you. Be a good Christian. Best Christian. Or a Hindu. Be a best Hindu. But follow your own path.
What about, would we all reach the same? If there is any controversy about the destination, first reach the destination. Then start fighting there. Why do you want to waste your time here? You see, first come first served.
One man, in a cartoon, you know, he was showing—one American fellow, great, he wanted to climb. First man, he wanted to be the first man to climb Mount Everest. So with great difficulty, he climbed. Suddenly he went to the very top, with great difficulty, and found there was a cave. And an old man is sitting and meditating. So I asked him, "Since how long you are here?" He said, "Ever since I was 10 years old, I came here and spending my time."
If there is any controversy, let us go there and then start quarreling. Don't waste your time here, because we don't know. Without knowing what the destination is, quarreling is a waste of time. This was Sri Ramakrishna's special teaching. So no Indian school of philosophy ever differed from these points. No religions would ever differ in these essentials.
Returning to Potential Divinity
So coming back to our subject: each soul is potentially divine. What does it mean? From the absolute point of view, we are not potentially divine, we are divine. From the relative point of view, we have forgotten the fact. We have not lost the divinity. There was a poem, a long fellow, Paradise Lost. What do you mean by Paradise Lost? Paradise is never lost. It is—you have only forgotten. In fact, it is there all the time with you. But we have forgotten.
So to remind ourselves that we are divine, the more we can feel that we are divine, the more we are progressing in spiritual life. This is the first point. Each soul is potentially divine. We are talking about Hinduism. This is one of the most important theories or teachings of Hinduism. We are all potentially divine.
The Nature of the Jīva
The second thing, then what is our state? Analyze your state. We are called jīva. That is the technical term. What is jīva? It is the divinity encased within this body and mind. There are only three bodies. We say three śarīras. That is why Shiva is called Tripurāri. Three bodies. What are they? The gross body, the subtle body and the causal body.
So what is the state of this soul, this Ātman? Somehow it came to be mixed up. It came to understand I am the body and I am the mind. How many bodies are there? Three bodies are there. Therefore how many worlds are there? Three worlds are there. Gross world, subtle world and the causal world.
The Three States of Experience
See the most wonderful thing. Western philosophy doesn't talk about these three bodies. Western psychology doesn't even recognize that there are three separate states of experience. At best you know the first thing Western psychology is trying to analyze about our actions. It studies our actions. This person is talking like this, behaving like this. That means our waking state experience first. Occasionally to reinforce or to make a better understanding of waking state experience, it also talks about certain things like dreams, like the unconscious, etc.
But it doesn't take into consideration two important facts. One important fact is we have actually three bodies, three states of experience—waking, dream and dreamless—and this experiences three worlds. These three are three separate worlds. I will talk about in a bit more detail in my next class. Three worlds. Why? What do we mean by world? World means our state of experiencing reality.
You are sitting here. Do I think that I am dreaming and I am giving a talk? I must be a great talker. To dream like this, in dream also I am giving you a talk. Certainly I am aware that I won't get so many audience in my dream. This is waking state. This is reality. But go to dream state. Totally this whole waking state experience is completely annihilated. No connection whatsoever. You may be in Delhi, you may be in America, you may be somewhere else. And of course if you go into the dreamless state, no wife exists, no husband exists, no problem, no talk. What a relief! So three different states of experience. This is the first point completely ignored.
Hindu Psychology and Reincarnation
The second point Hinduism points out. Hinduism also has developed its own psychology. The whole Patanjali Yoga Sūtras deal with nothing but depth psychology, much, much more deeper than any western psychology. Now some western psychologists are studying Patanjali Yoga Sūtras.
But the fact is Hindus very naturally believe in reincarnation. Why does this person behave like this? Only because he was born in this particular family? Now there are so many things of which have no connection with this family, country, religion. That means Hindus believe sincerely we are having many, many past births. And so many things we have done in the past we don't know, we don't remember. We don't remember doesn't mean again that there is no memory. You have to be very clear about it. We have all the memories like your old computer. Some file you made, you dashed off a letter to your boss. "I don't like your face" and all that, it is all there. He has kept it in memory. You have forgotten. So the experiences are all stored. But the mechanism by which we can retrieve them, that is lost, temporarily lost. But we can always get it back.
So why a person behaves like this? Not because of his experiences only in this life. So many past lives, the experiences are influencing our lives.
The Washerman's Example
Ramakrishna used to give a funny example. There was a king, he had some children, all princes. So they were all playing. So you know one prince he said, "Now let us play the washerman's game." "So what is the washerman's game?" "That I will bend down, you take some old pieces of cloth and go on beating on my back as though you are a washerman and I am a slab of stone."
Ramakrishna used to say about this, you know why? Every time they want to play, he will bring up this topic. Why? Because that fellow was a washerman in his past birth. And that influence was so strong. Even though he was born as a prince, he couldn't forget this.
We believe, Hindus believe that we are not what we gathered only in this life. So to study only a tiny bit of our behavior which pertains only to this particular birth doesn't reveal the real understanding about the man's psychological nature. I am not talking about divinity, the psychological nature. It is important for us to understand these three states of experience. First of all waking, dream and dreamless state. Then we have many, many past births.
Unexplained Behavior
That is why we don't go deep into it but suddenly we get surprised. An ordinary family, not very religious and a child is born. From childhood he is sitting and meditating and praying and one day he becomes a saint. Or a good family, they don't do any harm to anybody. Extremely gentle and good nature. Suddenly a very wicked nature comes out. One of the children maybe might become a great sinner. Person who kills, murders everybody.
You know, don't you see? Everyday news, somebody went and killed his own parents. Or some mother had killed her child, brother had killed his... You don't see. These are not very common things. Suddenly one asks you, why did this person behave like this? The present life experience is not sufficient to explain all these things.
Another point is there which I won't go into deep. Why this person is killed? According to our theory, it is the destiny of that person to be killed. Why some people they survive even after being killed? Because the person's time hasn't yet come to die. Anyway the whole point is, if we want to study what is the real nature of this person, it is very important for us to study these three states of experience.
The Five Koshas
Vedānta also tells us that we have been covered by five sheets, five coverings as it were. I will talk a little bit distance. The nature of the Ātman. This would be most important topic. Why is it important? Because you have to remember what are the fundamental pillars, four pillars of Hinduism. What is that the first pillar is? Mukti, liberation. What does it mean? We are not free. If we are free, why should we strive for freedom? We are not free.
What is it that binds us? There is something which is binding us. Whatever, whatever it is. There is something which we should get out. But that also shows a very fundamental truth. What is that truth? If your nature is to be bound, how are you ever going to be free? Unless your nature is free, you know we call it pure water. If the water is not pure, any amount of boiling is not going to make it pure. Only if we assume, yes water is by its nature very pure, something got mixed up with it. So there are methods to separate these two.
We are free by nature. That is the point. If we are not free by our nature, if the soul is bound always by its nature, there is no way we are going to be free because that is whatever our nature, that only we will become. That shows that we are free because that is what we are trying to be all the time.
Analyzing the Soul's Nature
How this analysis of these three states of our experience, our pañcakośas, and what happens when a person realizes his true nature? How do we know that we are free? So one of the most important points Hinduism gives is: here is a person who has realized God or has self-knowledge and what is his nature? Even though we can understand a person is dead, we don't know what happens, whether he is free, whether he is bound, whether he has gone to hell, heaven, we don't know. But there are persons who realize God, who have self-knowledge like Ramana Maharshi, for example, of course, Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda, all these.
Then what is their nature? They are also in the same world. They are also undergoing as it were like us. They are eating, they are drinking, they have a body, they have a mind as it were. At least we see them. But what is their true nature?
Characteristics of the Realized Soul
When we look at their life, we certainly notice certain differences. What is the difference? First difference we notice is they are extremely happy under all circumstances. Second, they don't depend upon anything for their happiness. Third, we see there are characteristics, which I would not go into, characteristics of a realized soul. He is only truth. Truth alone comes from his mouth. And he is completely unselfish. And whatever he does, he does only for the good of other people, etc., etc.
But the most important point for us: it may be hot, it may be cold, some people may be beating him, some people may be trying to kill him, but they are serene, joyous, blissful. These are the points. Our scriptures also point out.
Proof of Freedom
How do I know that my nature is free? Because they will show as an example and say, "Look, have you seen this person? Have you heard about this person? Even though he was in the same world as you, but he had become completely different person as it were. If he could become, this is most important, if one person could become, what can prevent all the other persons from being that?" That is the Vedānta special philosophy. If one man can have an experience, everybody else, if they try in the right way, can experience the same truth.
These are the points we will discuss in our next class.
Closing Prayer
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Om Śānti, Śānti, Śāntih.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.