WELCOME TO THE JANMASHTAMI ISSUE OF E-SANAI

 

by Sri Sandip Dasgupta

Welcome to the Janamashtami edition of our electronic magazine. As we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, let us recollect some things about Lord Krishna that our Master has told us.
 

In the bhajan “Krishna Bhaja Mana…” that was revealed to the Master (which can be found on Pg. 139 of the Bengali book, ‘Bhajanamrita’ published by Saccidananda Society, Kolkata) it has been stated:

- Serve Lord Krishna sincerely by loving everybody (and serving them)
- Praise the Lord sincerely by giving up our own ego completely to the Lord (Krishna)
- One will receive the true Darshan of Lord Krishna inside/outside if we can accept each and every one of us as Lord Krishna!
 
How simple, practical and wonderful is this teaching – yet so hard to follow in our everyday life! We run after the statue of Lord Krishna in the temple once a year – but Sri Sri Babathakur has repeatedly reminded us that the Supreme Lord is in each and every one of us. This is the Science of Oneness that he has espoused – that One Supreme I-Reality is the substratum of each and every Jiva as well as the Jagat that we consider to be real.  So, when we love thy neighbor/friend/enemy – we love the God within (Lord Krishna) and we get tremendous satisfaction.  This is the true love for the Lord – and then there will be no hatred, no war.  The Master has repeatedly reminded us that this “Science of Oneness” is the only panacea for the modern world.

In another question/answer session at New Delhi, India – our Master has highlighted a very unique quality of Lord Krishna. He has pointed out that Lord Krishna had never sought power or post – despite the fact that he possessed everything and had everything at his disposal. He compares that to modern day politicians who are constantly hankering for power and post – yet not interested in serving their constituency. On the other hand, Lord Krishna was only interested in spreading his teachings to Arjuna and the common man, for the benefit of society at large.

Sri Sri Babathakur has also reminded us that we should not get biased and limited by the current incarnation of Lord Krishna (as done by certain sects of this world).  He has reminded us that Lord Krishna has repeatedly come to this world in different incarnations, to make the necessary corrections of the society at that current time – and that this phenomenon will continue for ages to come.  If we remain biased and limited in our thinking, then we will not be able to grasp the teachings of the next incarnation of Lord Krishna.

So, on this holy day, let us pledge to consider every day of the year as Lord Krishna’s birthday, reflect on the Master’s teachings and pledge to make this world a better place to live in.

Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur!

Advaita Bhakti (Devotion in Non-Duality) - Part 2

by Sri P.C. Lahiri

The following is the second of a two-part series on Advaita Bhakti.  Interested readers can check out the first part (which appeared in 2017 Buddha Purnima issue of e-Sanai) by clicking on the link to the Buddha Purnima issue to the left.  

Master has narrated to us the way that Absolute Self I-Reality was revealed to Him.  He said that it revealed through three stages - vedana (physical pain), vedan (inner pain due to a strong yearning for the total revelation of the self-revealing Absolute One Reality), and Veda (Knowledge Itself).

Love of Saccidanandamoyee Maa (Supreme Divine Mother), who is one with the Saccidananda Satta (the Absolute Divine Substratum), revealed in the Master in a very unique and unprecedented fashion.  A prayer revealed from within, asking Maa to use Him as a dustbin to dump all the pain and waste of this universe.  Hundreds of striving as well as perfected souls (siddhas) pray for Maa’s aishwarya (powers); however no one is ready to take the waste which gets generated in creating and running the universal game.  What a demonstration of the Master’s unconditional pure Love of the highest order!

In pouranic (mythological) tales, we have heard of samudra manthan (churning of the sea) for nectar.  After the churning was over, the celestial Gods and Goddesses consumed the nectar, but no one was prepared to touch the poison which came along with the nectar.   However something had to be done with the poison, else it would destroy everything.  Gods and Goddesses prayed for the intervention and urgent help of Lord Shiva, the Supreme Realized Yogi and the God of all Gods (Devadidev Mahadev) - who drank the poison, but (through yogic powers) retained it in His throat, which turned blue.  That is why one of Shiva’s name is Neelkanth (the blue throated One).

One is awestruck by the above demonstration of supreme capacity, sacrifice and unconditional love of Mahadev, but how do we, the struggling souls, apply it in the present day to uplift ourselves such that unconditional love reveals from within us as well?   Such a demonstration has been given by the Master by praying for all the pain in the universe.  What happens after the prayer?  Supreme Divine Mother revealed as excruciating, unbearable body pain (without any cause of illness), due to which Master rolled on the ground from one wall to the other - without praying for the pain to go.  He accepted it in totality as the revelation of the Divine Mother.  Once this acceptance was complete in all respects, i.e. He got unified and identified with the pain, the last alphabet ‘a’ of vedana fell off and what revealed from within was vedan.  It was the inner pain due to the one pointed prayer, generated of its own accord, for the self-revealing (swayamprakash) One Absolute Reality to take over the entire body-instrument and reveal Itself to play Its ‘sportful dramatic sameside game’ as per Its Own Divine Will.  Once He got unified and identified with that inner prayer and the accompanying inner pain, the last alphabet ‘n’ of vedan fell off, and what started revealing from within was Veda, Knowledge Itself.  Since then, the self-revealing Absolute Knowledge has been manifesting Itself in each and every moment of His life, whether we accept and follow it or not is our own judgment.  Whether we accept and follow His august proclamation of ‘all-acceptance and all-embrace’ is again left to us. Master has showered the light of the Absolute, revealing the easiest and fastest way of realizing our True Nature.  Whether we accept and follow it or not is our own judgment - it has no bearing on the Master.  Also, Master has very clearly mentioned that it is not necessary that the Absolute shall reveal Itself through this process in everyone.  The self-revealing One Reality can reveal in any way since It is not a static principle.  It is ever revealing Itself from time immemorial, and shall keep doing so out of exuberance of Absolute Bliss.  One cannot put a full stop to say this far and no further.

If we are able to muster enough courage and faith for the words of the Master, then perhaps it may not be that difficult to follow Him in day to day life as per His directions.  We may not be used to accepting one and all as the manifestation of the same One Divine Self I-Reality.  However we can at least make a humble beginning in that direction at any time. There is only one proviso - have we been able to build enough faith and courage within us to follow the Master, or do we still have our doubts and reservations?  If we are able to overcome this hurdle, then everything else will follow.  We can always start small by seriously investing as much time as possible on the revelations of the Master. We can go through His books, videos and/or bhajans as per our inclination, knack and capacity.  This will gradually help in the availability of more and more time for dwelling on the utterances of the Master.  Just do it to see for yourself how more time becomes available without any disruptions to your normal life.  You will see your interest growing by the day.  As the inner meanings start revealing, inner joy will start increasing.  Little later, this joy will become the driver to move on till it gets ingrained in the innate nature (swabhava) as a habit.  Once a habit is formed, then the major part of the battle (if I may call it an internal battle of fighting resistance to change) is won.  Habit will drive us on as it would have become a part of our nature.  Arjun was told in the Kurukshetra war by Lord Krishna that your kshatriya (warrior class) nature will force you to fight even if you are now saying that I will not fight for various reasons of my own.  The last part of our inner journey from swabhava to Swabodha (the Self I/our True Nature) shall be completed by the continuance of the same practice of ‘all-acceptance and all-embrace’, till we get unified and identified with one and all as our very own Being.

Coming back to the life of the great bhakta Sri Tyagaraja (discussed in the last piece), we find that his compositions show a strong belief in Lord Rama, termed by him as Rama bhakti samrajyam (Rama bhakti empire).  For him, the very thought of Rama nama (name) itself was happiness.  As discussed earlier, he used to converse with his Lord regularly and be in a state of ecstasy from where many of his compositions came out.  His devotion to Rama was not something highly emotional because musical maestros say that his natural propensity for perfection remained intact in every composition.   What has been termed as natural propensity, stems from a deep devotion and immersion of the Self in bhakti of the Lord.   Making of perfect compositions no longer remains a highly intellectual exercise, as the Grace of the Lord plays in the bhakta while he is in a state of ecstasy in his love for the Lord.  This is what I have gathered from the talks of the Master on bhakti.  Despite all this, lots of his verses reflect deep inner pain of separation from his Lord.  The history of mankind shows one common thing in the life of all exalted bhaktas - they have all gone through strong inner pain of separation from their Lord/Guru/chosen deity at different times in their life.  Is this pain somewhat similar to the vedan that Master experienced before the fall of the alphabet ‘n’ of vedan?  Is this Advaita Bhakti?  All answers are available within the revelations of the Master.  I request fellow bhaktas to get it directly from His books.  When one gets an answer for himself/herself after immersing in the utterances of the Master, the joy experienced is something different. Let us not forget that the Absolute Self I-Reality personified is a perfect revealer of anything and everything - Himself remaining only a Witness, and not at all involved.  Hence, all answers are available from such a Soul.  The answers received from perfect spiritual Masters refine the mind and intellect to bow in total reverence to the supreme glory and majesty of the Absolute-incarnate.  Intellect of the highest level cannot even fathom a minuscule part of this glory, but it can salute and surrender to accept one and all as verily the Absolute Self I-Reality.

Submitted at the lotus feet of the Master.

Re-Study

by Smt. Susmita Devi

After many years, Ramen and I have taken up, yet again, to reading the words of Sri Sri Babathakur .  We decided to do so, to refresh the memory of his direct sayings from Nectar of Wisdom. 

At the time, I jotted down whatever I heard at His Holy feet, considering it only as a help to myself.... and that later, much later, after he would have left the physical body, someone might benefit from His words of Wisdom.  When He was in a body, I already knew that His words, later, might benefit a sincere seeker of Wisdom - as they were communicated directly by the Master. That is why He, before the publishing, listened to every word written and accepted it as His direct words and the beginning of a sincere Sadhana.  He then gave it the title ‘Nectar of Wisdom’.  None can therefore say that the book describes a personal outlook.

Ramen, being of an intellectual bend of mind, started with the introduction as dictated by Sri SriBabathakur himself, which I found too difficult to put in plain words and describe.  So I requested Ramen to read something else. Yesterday he randomly chose a chapter called ‘Desire and Expectation’, which seekers must try to work through in order to progress and to stabilize mind-work and ego-sense appropriately.

During our upbringing and in social life, we do NOT learn to curb our desires and expectations with regards to material/monetary rewards for our endeavours.   The chapter starts with the following question: ”Why, when one has a desire, a deep expectation, the desire or expectation is fulfilled only when the mind has become detached?” Sri Sri Babathakur immediately replies that “Desire is ignorance itself, or ‘nescience’, in the form of expectations.... The True Self has no desire. It has but one supreme Will. The Divine will. The Divine Will is free from reactionary effects that means objective desire, The Divine Will is free from reactionary effects (objective desires, expectations etc.)”. 

I have often reflected on the above sayings.  As far as I know, none can avoid having desires during their lifetime.  The trick, as I experience it, is to sublimate or negate worldly desires when they pop up in the mind.  Most desires are directed towards self-satisfaction in some form or other – be it in a material or subtle form.  Most desires are rooted in self-preservation, self gratification, self-glorification/beautification and are, per se, subjective in character.  A few desires are about altruistic endeavours, but at the beginning of the path to Realization, most are meant to satisfy the individuality, the ego. Sri Sri Babathakur said it clearly: “When the human desire becomes prominent and invites both organs of knowledge and action, one becomes active in life.... in both external and internal life.”  He added that the carrying out of desires needs effort - either mental or economical.  One’s wide-ranging desires and behaviour must somehow be addressed, otherwise they manifest as burdens that we plant on ourselves.  That is where spiritual endeavours come into the game.

Even by yielding somewhat to the conventions of the environment with regards to behaviour, the inner Self can remain unaffected if one constantly remains aware of the reason behind one’s worldly behaviour and desires.  I have, by and by, learned to ignore conventions - as far as it does not hurt anyone’s local cultural outlook.  Sri Sri Babathakur says: “In one sense desire is the product of duality.... Nature, without desire can’t function and nature without the basic Divine Will can’t function. The difference between the Divine Will and the desire of man is that, Divine will is universal, hence spiritual, and the latter individual, hence intellectual. That means the latter pertains to the non-self.” The words are true, but it is very, very difficult to distinguish between one’s individuality-related desires and the desires rooted in Divine Will.  The capacity to distinguish one from the other happens only after genuine and prolonged sadhana (spiritual practice).  Sri Sri Babathakur further point out that: “The Self is Pure Consciousness and is inactive; intellect is not really consciousness, but only a reflection of it – and it is active. It is, sure, very difficult to grasp how these two entities become interrelated and their respective characters intermingled... so only by realizing the Truth, one can perceive it.” 

Individuals on a spiritual path often think they recognize Divine in their meditations, but that is mostly due to the inventiveness of mind - for the Divine is without a specific form.  How can it be omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent within a ‘form’ perceptible by human mind?  As a reflection of Consciousness passing through the mind, we see in our mind's eye, a form.  It is ephemeral, but may occasionally take the form of one’s Guru, who is supposed to function as a direct channel for such visions.  Intellect, which we use to interpret many aspects of the Divine, is but a modification of Nature (Prakriti), which can be conditioned to elevate itself occasionally to the ephemeral level of so-called visions. “Owing to the proximity to the Self, it is perceived to be the doer, the experience etc.. In reality it is not so. Intellect or ego is misunderstood and misinterpreted to be the Self... So the ego, born of duality, can’t understand the Unity of Consciousness...”  It can however learn, or be trained, to accept the concept of the basic unity in dual appearances.

We must therefore in our daily life activities, return to duality in order to experience both agreeable and disagreeable happenings.  By repeating our mistakes, we may someday learn to avoid them by changing the mindset and behaviour to suit the aspirations for creating positive re-actions. Yet as a daily routine, it can be recommended to practice meditation (practice of stilling the mind and detaching it from daily occupations and thoughts) and conscious ‘positive thinking’, eventually leading to caring less about the fluctuating opinions amongst the people we happen to befriend or live with.

When the mind is stilled and the ego made subservient, the concepts of Consciousness may become clear indications to what lies beyond and above the normal mind-work. So, if one asks oneself ‘Who am I’ or ‘What am I’, it becomes clear that the “I” is beyond any question, as it verily is Divine Knowledge instead of name and form, along with social position and eventual wealth.

In daily life, one must attempt to distinguish clearly between desires of individual character and those emanating from the Highest Power working throughout our existence on this earth.  If the mind is allowed to play around with worldly desires as dictated by the ego (and some because of social practices), no progress on the spiritual path can happen – or if one is sincere, but yields too much to one’s social environment, it happens very slowly in uneven steps. Sri Sri Babathakur says: “Objective desires turn to subjective desires only when the objective desires are proved or experienced as mischievous and retroactive. One, therefore, must try to follow some cardinal virtues and values of life...and some suitable spiritual discipline suitable for his or her individual character and inherent nature.” 

Living in the midst of an ‘across-the-board’ society, it is quite difficult to maintain one’s spiritual practices.  I myself kept silent (moun) once a week for 24 hours despite the other people around me valiantly trying to make me talk.  I also as an example, decided to wear only blue dresses, as blue both signifies spiritual aspirations as well as is easy to maintain.  Any spiritual practice followed regularly gives mental strength and an inner certitude of doing as much as possible for one’s spiritual progress.  I actually remembered Sri Sri Babathakur’s words from a lecture: “A true seeker will devote himself or herself wholeheartedly to the cause of spiritual perfection and liberation in life and the objective desires will be put under control, mastered, and finally they will disappear along with anger, fear and futile cares... that means Absolute Freedom in realization of Reality, Self or God.” 

Being ‘on the path’ towards Self-realization is no easy task, for both body and mind undergoes noticeable transformations, and one’s whole life changes character – from being self-centered, to becoming altruistic.  One becomes much more aware of the major personal transformations one must undergo, so that thoughts of that Divine become an integral part of one’s daily life.  For me it started at a snail's pace, as I had to adjust to different ways of life (food, language, environment and though patterns).  Thus only gradually did I become ‘Indianized’ to the extent that I now feel ‘at home’ in this country with its countless varieties of nature, languages, food, climate, deities and beliefs. The overarching aim, amidst the apparent diversity, is to recognize them for what they are – i.e. the Divine Lila (play of God).  A sentence which describes that is the formula learned at the feet of Sri Sri Babathakur: One in One, One for One, One with One... etc.

A spiritual path is rarely straight and easy to follow, but through the guidance of a Sadguru like Sri Sri Babathakur, it is possible to go through one’s existence on earth following one’s chosen path, slowly learning to remain serene in the midst of the multitude of events happening every day, and enjoying the growing devotional or knowledge peace within.