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THE
ESSENTIAL TEACHING OF ALL RELIGIONS of the world is meant to lead the
soul to a state of oneness with the Divine Self, or Self-realization. In
Vedantic mysticism, God is the innermost Self, the Soul of souls, the
innermost Seer, Hearer, and the Source of all perceptions. And the
purpose of one's existence is to be united with God by purifying the
mind.
One must learn how to draw the mind from the objects of the world and
direct it to God. Detach and attach-this is the mystic formula that you
must remember. But you may ask why you should detach yourself from the
world when it is God 's creation. The idea behind detachment is that
names and forms are maya, or cosmic illusion. The human mind
becomes caught up in names and forms and mistakes them for reality. If
you could strip an object of name and form and look at it without any
prejudicial notion or egoistic value, then you would be experiencing the
Divine majesty behind it. Until that state has been reached, it is
important to withdraw the mind. Each time your mind goes after objects,
remind yourself that they are perishable.
In
the Gita, Lord Krishna uses two significant terms to describe the
objects of the world: Anityam asukham lokam (Gita 9-33). Anityam
means perishable. Everything that you go after is perishable. Thus,
wanting to secure happiness in this world is a desire based on vanity.
You cannot have enduring joy through any object. No attainment in this
world can be deeply fulfilling to anyone, because it is just like trying
to collect a mass of clouds or catch hold of waves. All things are
changing; all names and forms are perishable-anityam God alone is
imperishable. Let your mind constantly remember this and withdraw itself
from the perishable and direct itself to the Imperishable Self.
The
other term the Gita uses to describe objects of the world is asukham,
which means devoid of joy. Though names and forms promise happiness,
the happiness that you see in them is like a mirage. The moment you go
after an object and possess it, you realize that your expectations were
in vain; happiness was never made secure for you in that object after
all.
Nothing
in the world can give you real joy because earthly joy is based on the
senses; it is conditioned. You crave for something for a long time, then
get it; and for a while there is a great sense of thrill in your heart.
But then you realize that the object is fundamentally insecure and that
you cannot hold on to it forever. Fulfillment eludes you once again.
Finally, frustrated because the object cannot give you happiness, you
become tired of it and look for something else that might make you
happy.
By
constantly reflecting upon the nature of things, you develop vairagya,
or dispassion. Dispassion is the secret of directing the mind to
God. If objects of the world are important to you, then the
process of directing the mind to God becomes difficult because there is
a contradiction within your mind. On the one hand you want to hold on to
the world, but on the other you want God. You are trying to put your
feet in two boats, as it were: one is going toward the realm of bondage,
the other toward Divine enlightenment. Therefore, there is a
contradiction in your movement.
When you have developed vairagya, however, you know that the
world cannot be substantial, and that you cannot hold on to it. So in
your internal understanding you let go of the objects of the world and
all its values and allow yourself to move towards God.
Revelation of Divine Presence: Sat
- chit - ananda
In the serene state of meditation, when you have withdrawn your mind
from the world, God begins to reveal Himself. You begin to understand
and feel the presence of God in three aspects: existence, knowledge, and
bliss, which is known as Sat-chit-ananda (Satchidananda).
In
the quiet of your mind you realize that you are not the body but the
eternal Self. A sense of eternity envelops you. You realize an existence
that cannot be taken away. That Divine existence sat
shines forth in the tranquil state of your mind.
Further,
you become aware that that Divine existence is absolute knowledge
pure awareness or consciousness. Knowledge is the very fabric of this
world. Nowhere can you not find it; even in an atom you can see
Divine intelligence operating. And this source of Divine intelligence is
deep within your own heart, operating through your mind, senses and
intellect. This second aspect of God pure consciousness is known
as chit.
The
third aspect of God is known as ananda. When your mind is
tranquil, disconnected from this world, not burdened by tensions,
worries, and anxieties, and unconcerned with time and space, a uniquely
joyful feeling overwhelms you and that is ananda, supreme
bliss.
So,
when you perceive existence, knowledge, and bliss, you perceive God. And
you perceive God in different degrees, depending upon the extent to
which you can render your mind tranquil, pure and enlightened. God is
like the sky, your mind like a lake. The moment the lake becomes calm
and the waves are stilled, it reflects the sky. Likewise, as your mind
begins to enter into a state of serenity, calmness, and stillness, you
develop the awareness of Sat-chit--ananda. You must become
sensitive towards that awareness, because that is the presence of God.
Each
time you meditate, try to be sensitive to that Divine presence
Sat-chit-ananda and
understand that all that you experience in this world of time and
space is like a projection on the screen of the Divine Self. That Divine
Self remains untouched, just like the screen in a cinema show. All the
projections continue giving rise to stories of tragedy or comedy, but
the screen remains unaffected.
The
innermost Self within you, which you perceive during the serene state of
mind, is the immutable, eternal Self, and is the reality behind all that
exists. Names and forms in the world change much like sand dunes in the
desert. When the wind blows on desert sands, the sand particles create
different patterns. As sand dunes go on changing, so all names and forms
change. But the reality behind all names and forms God does not
change.
You
must practise this kind of meditation regularly. Each time you sit for
meditation you ought to become acutely aware of the Divine presence.
When you are not in meditation you should develop the special devotional
attitude or bhavana that God is behind
all names and forms. Feel the Divine glory in the shining sun, in the
lustrous moon, in the surging ocean, in the wind whispering through the
trees, in the blossoming flower. Develop a sensitive and devotional
feeling that Nature is adoring God and revealing His glory through all
her expressions.
Infuse All Your Actions With a Spirit
of Worship and Selfless Service
Another important aspect of life which
you must pay attention to is your everyday actions. The ideal is that
whatever you do should be viewed as worship of God. Every situation that
you face things that you
experience within, as well as actions that you perform
all must be viewed as worship. Just as you offer flowers before a
shrine, so too you offer spiritual flowers when you experience different
things in life.
Whatever
you do in life be it eating,
working with your colleagues at the office, interacting with strangers
you are gathering flowers and offering
them to God. Whether your actions are selfish or unselfish, you still
must feel that they are an offering of worship. However, when you
perform unselfish actions to help others you are gathering flowers that
have an especially fragrant and wonderful aroma.
It is natural for people to be motivated
in their actions by selfish goals. However, such selfishness must be
reevaluated as one advances spiritually, and new attitudes must be
developed. You must develop the attitude that whether your project is
selfish or not, it is still a form of worship. You must learn to
experience joy and fulfillment when you see that the work you do will
ultimately benefit many people, even those not necessarily related to
you.
For
example, you may toil in the hot sun to plant many mango seeds,
expecting that the fruits of the trees will someday be greatly enjoyed
by you and your children and grandchildren. But as you work you may
learn that your property may pass from the hands of your family into
those of some stranger.
Suddenly
your mood changes from one of inspiration to one of dejection. Knowing
that you or your family may never get to eat the mangoes, you stop all
your planting! Looking around at all the work you have already done, you
think with disgust, "I'll never eat them. My children will never
eat them. All this has been done in vain! "
When you perform actions out of
selfishness, they cause bondage and create attachment and hatred. But
when you learn to perform actions in the spirit of selfless worship, you
set the stage for your liberation. Thus, even though your children might
not one day eat the mangoes, some other man's children might do
so; therefore it should not make any difference to you because God in
the form of other personalities would eat them. The mere planting of the
seeds, regardless of who is to enjoy the fruits, is an act of worship of
God. If you develop the vision that whatever you do is a form of
worship, then you will never be frustrated. But when you have ego's
image before you that is, when you say, "This is what I want
and if somebody else gets it, then I won't do it" then you are
bound to be frustrated.
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