The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
“THE END OF WISDOM IS FREEDOM”
Part 1
September 18th, 2005
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram to Everybody
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
It is so nice to be back again this Sunday to spend more time on some of the teachings of our most beloved Bhagavan. This morning I would like to share with you a few thoughts on the topic, “The End of Wisdom Is Freedom”. That is the topic of the day. This title is not of my making nor am I coining the sentence. It is a quotation from Bhagavan Himself. He made four statements. This is one among them and it is taken for our discussion this morning. Let us recall the other statements.
“The End of Education is Character”
The first statement He made is: “The end of education is character.” Why did He say this? He said this because we may have education, but we do not have the end or the fruit of education in the form of character. Therefore, there is education without character. My friends, Bhagavan says that it is the character which is the objective or the aim of education. He makes it very clear that the end of education is character. This topic can be dealt with in the company of students, not here. We finished that earlier.
“The End of Culture is Perfection”
The second statement He made is this: “The end of culture is perfection.” What do we mean by that? Anything that is imperfect cannot be branded as ‘culture’. Imperfection reflects the lack or the absence of culture. Culture demands perfection because perfection is culture. Bhagavan materialises a ring and He Himself fits the ring onto the finger of the devotee, the blessed one. By fitting that ring to the ring finger of the chosen blessed devotee, Bhagavan says, “See, correct fit…perfect. The ring I give is neither loose nor tight; it is a correct fit, perfect.” It means God is perfect. Perfection is God; perfection is Divinity. That is culture. We can deal with this second statement later.
“The End of Knowledge is Love”
The third statement is: “The end of knowledge is Love.” What is knowledge? How can its end be Love? Why not knowledge without Love? Why not Love without knowledge? This statement will be dealt with in due course of time.
“The End of Wisdom is Freedom”
The fourth statement is: “The end of wisdom is freedom.” This topic is totally spiritual. With your kind permission and with the Divine blessings of Baba, I want to deal with this topic. I have a few questions before I go into the details of this topic.
The first question is: What is ‘wisdom’? Second, what are the qualities of a man with wisdom? Third, what is the harm if I don’t have wisdom? What is the harm? Fourth, when I have wisdom, can I have freedom too? Will my wisdom take me to freedom? Is there a guarantee? Next question, what is freedom? I should know that I have upheld freedom out of the wisdom I acquired. So, having acquired wisdom, I should know the state I enjoy is freedom. Unless I know what freedom is, how can I say that I am free? So, what is freedom? Can I have freedom without wisdom? Can there be only wisdom without freedom? Should they go together? What happens if I don’t have freedom? These are the things to be answered in this talk on ‘the end of wisdom is freedom’.
Knowledge, Information and Wisdom
As usual, my friends let me tell you that all the points made here are from Sathya Sai literature. None of these statements are my own. I do not venture into that. God has given us enough material. We don’t have to make or create or generate material. Our business is to collect the material according to the caption or according to the title of the topic for discussion. So, my job is to collect the material available from Sai literature on the topic, “The End of Wisdom Is Freedom”.
There are two words that are familiar to us, which are sometimes mistaken and viewed as synonymous; but they are not. What are those two words? Knowledge and wisdom. People think that these two words are synonyms, but they are not. A man of knowledge may not be a man of wisdom. A man of wisdom need not necessarily be knowledgeable. So, you can be one of wisdom without knowledge, and you can have all the knowledge without wisdom. They don’t have to go together.
I will point out a few differences between knowledge and wisdom. Point one: Knowledge is from and of the outer world, all this world of five elements. Wisdom is inborn, born from within. That which is without is knowledge, while that which is within is wisdom. This is the first point.
Point two: Knowledge is borrowed; knowledge is second-hand information. Knowledge is transmitted from one generation to another generation: “My teacher taught me; now I teach my students.” That’s all. What he told, I repeat. It is verbatim. Therefore my friends, knowledge is passed on from one generation to another generation. Wisdom is not like that. It cannot be passed on. It is generated from within. It is revealed from within. Its origin is within.
The third point: Knowledge is physical, dealing with the world, science, technology, agriculture, astronomy, fine arts and what not. All information comes under knowledge. But wisdom is not information. Wisdom is discrimination, leading to transformation. So, information is knowledge, while transformation is wisdom.
Next point: Acquisition of knowledge is the purpose of all education. I go to college; I attend university. What for? To acquire knowledge. Acquisition of knowledge is the purpose of education. But that which is within you, that with which you are born, which is your birthright, is wisdom. It is rather intuitive. Knowledge is stored in the brain, in the head; while wisdom is intuitive. The awakening of intuition leads to wisdom. The intuition has to be awakened to gain wisdom. The head is used to memorise so that knowledge can be stored. Knowledge can be stored in the head as data is stored in a computer. On the other hand, wisdom is intuitive, within. While knowledge is physical, wisdom is spiritual.
Knowledge Goes on Changing With Time
Knowledge keeps changing. At one time we said that the atom was indivisible and indestructible -- Johnson’s theory of atoms. But Johnson’s theory is revised today because matter can be split. Today an atom is divisible, out of which enough energy is created to supply electricity for the whole city of New York for one day!
Therefore my friends, knowledge changes. At one time, for malaria we consumed Paludrine tablets. Later Paludrine tablets stopped functioning. So, we had to take Avloclor tablets for malaria because mosquitoes started liking Paludrine tablets. They were having Paludrine for breakfast, fine. Therefore, we had to take Avloclor tablets later. But subsequently, Avloclor tablets also stopped working because mosquitoes enjoyed the company of Avloclor tablets. Now we have to take Nivaquine tablets. Therefore my friends, medicine goes on changing. Engineering goes on changing. Scientific inventions, scientific discoveries, scientific theories, scientific applications go on changing from time to time.
Wisdom is Changeless
Wisdom is changeless. Wisdom is eternal. Wisdom is nectarine. Wisdom is immortal. Knowledge is learnt by attending a school or a university where subjects are taught by a teacher, a professor or a lecturer. Wisdom is not taught. A teacher outside teaches you all the knowledge of the outside. But you are your own teacher of wisdom; you are a teacher unto your own inner Self.
Your Conscience is Your Teacher
Wisdom is given to you by your Self. What is that Self? Follow your conscience. Your conscience is your teacher from whom you derive wisdom. You have a teacher outside from whom you get knowledge. Like this, my friends, we can keep extending our thoughts in this direction. I don’t want to divert or deviate any further. Now we have come to know what wisdom is. To summarise, wisdom is that which is within me, that which I am born with, that which is my birthright, that which is creative, spiritual, Divine, intuitive and changeless. These are the qualities of wisdom.
Wisdom Makes You Wise
The Holy Bible speaks of Solomon, the wise man. The man of wisdom is wise. Wise is different from cunning. Knowledge may make you a person who has a cunning nature. Wisdom will never make you a man of hypocrisy or diplomacy, much less cunning. A wise man means an ideal man -- straightforward, discriminating, experienced, with intuition highly awakened. Therefore, my friends, this wisdom, which is absolutely essential, is within us. This wisdom makes you wise; failing which, you are otherwise. So, we should be wise, not ‘otherwise’!
What is Jnana?
This wisdom, particularly in the field of spirituality, is called jnana in Sanskrit. Jnana is a Sanskrit word used for wisdom, spiritual wisdom. But there are different words here which I want to share with you this morning, words often used by Bhagavan in His Divine discourses from time to time. What are they? (I hope you will permit me to make use of the board, as I am a teacher myself for a period of four decades and little more. Are you able to see this? OK.)
I am drawing a small circle. Around that, draw a little bigger circle; around it, another one. Three circles. The smallest circle has this point as the centre. The bigger circle around has the same centre point. Still bigger circles have the very same centre point. Am I clear? The centre is same for any number of circles. Draw any number of circles, an infinite number of circles, as big as you can -- as big as you possibly can.
So, there may be any number of circles, but the centre is same. That outer circle, that bigger circle, is what is called jnana. Jnana or knowledge is all the information I get from newspapers; what I see on TV or what I read from books; all that I get from sciences, humanities, fine arts, trash, gossip, rumour, reality, falsity and what not. All that I come to gather, I come to collect, comes under the title ‘knowledge’ or jnana. Am I clear?
What is Vijnana?
And out of this jnana, I specialise in one field to eek out my living, to get a job and draw a salary for the maintenance of my family. You are a lecturer in English or you are a professor in biology or a professor in medicine, or you are a doctor or an engineer or an architect or a computer expert. You specialise in one field. Therefore, out of all this knowledge, that branch or that field of specialisation is called vijnana.
Jnana is knowledge. Vijnana is speciality or specialisation, intensive study or in-depth knowledge in a particular chosen field. Am I clear? That is what vijnana is. You are a doctor; at the same time, you are not an engineer. I am a professor, not a doctor. The field of specialisation, the field of operation, the field of functioning where you have your expertise is vijnana.
What is Sujnana?
The third word relates to the fundamental questions of our life. Where do I come from? How long will I live in this world? Where do I go ultimately? Who is God? Who am I? What is my relationship with Him? Why am I born? How nice if I am not born? Why are so many people around? Why did God create this whole thing? What for? What is my life for? Only to celebrate birthday annually or to dump the body with foodstuff, adding on some more weight until the doctor says ‘no more’, or to make the body unfit enough to be treated by a doctor every week, if not every day? Is the body garbage where all the stuff can be dumped? Peanuts? Finished. Ice cream? Good. Coffee? Why not?
These are all the questions relating to the purpose of life, the goal of life, the aim of life. All the knowledge concerning these fundamental basic aspects of life is called spiritual knowledge or sujnana.
Sujnana is spiritual knowledge. These are the words repeated by Bhagavan in his Divine discourses. “Jnana, vijnana, prajnana sujnanamulu”. We appreciate His words. We appreciate His expertise in this visesha. “How well Baba speaks!” But how well have you understood? I am not here to appreciate Baba and His rhyme of “jnana, prajnana, sujnana”.
So what? Have you understood it? Are they synonyms? Why should He use this rhyme?
In different pages of Sai literature, on different occasions, Bhagavan tells these aspects which I am drawing your attention to this morning. So, sujnana is spiritual knowledge, dealing with the purpose of life, the goal of life, your relationship with God and all such other aspects.
What is Prajnana?
And then the central one -- the central word is prajnana. Prajnana is also called Self or Atma or consciousness. My friends, this prajnana is the centre for jnana, vijnana and sujnana. Prajnana is same. What do I mean by that? You have the screen on which films are projected in a cinema hall. Some films are interesting, while some are disgusting. Some films projected on the screen are full of music. The music is listed on the screen. When we hear music, we nod our heads and we move our feet to the correct beat of the music (unless one is dead)!
One who cannot respond to music is dead and gone. Even if he respires, in actual he is a gone case! We all respond to music, eastern or western. Music is Divine. Therefore my friends, this music has fast beat like Shiva bhajans. Shiva bhajans are never slow because Shiva is full of vigour and action. He wants you to dance to Shiva tandava, Shiva tandava is the cosmic dance. The dancer should be very fast. If the movements of the dancer are slow, the dancer must be a lunatic or does not know what dance is. The dance is fast and the movements should also be accordingly fast.
Prajnana or Atma -- the Movie Screen is Unaffected
On the screen, the excellent dance is projected. But the screen does not move, does not dance. This film is followed by the projection of another film. What is it? The hero and the villain are fighting. Fighting is interesting to some people as they cannot fight; but at least they would like to watch others fight. “Since I don’t have the guts to fight, I will be happy to see you fight, and I encourage you to fight still more.”
People want fancy pictures. Why? They appreciate them within but have no guts to express it. However, the screen remains just like that. Prior to this film, there was no music to either the fast beat or the fighting. The screen remained the same -- no clapping, no nodding. And then comes the next film, showing floods, like the tsunami or Katrina. We are really surprised and shocked to see so much water and people dying. But we say, “Chalta hai…Let them die…what we can do?” They are untouched.
My friends, the point I want to draw your attention to is this: Be it music, dance, floods, fire, earthquake, romance or fighting, the screen is unaffected, unruffled, undisturbed, unagitated. Here is the light; under the light, I see you and you see me. When I know you, I say, “Hi, how are you?” When you know me, you put on a smiling face as if recognising me, having seen me sometime back. But this light is not bothered whether we know each other. It gives both of us light.
Similarly, the light, like the screen, is unaffected, is prajnana or the sense. It has no beginning. It has no end. It has no pain. It has no pleasure. It is unaffected by birth, death, profit, loss, success, failure. These are called dualities or polarities or opposite, ironical, diabolical opposites. Am I clear? Therefore, this prajnana is not affected.
Experiences of mind only can be expressed
Dhukkeshvanudwignamanaah sukheshu vigataspruha
Veetharaagabhayakrodhaha sthithadheermunihruchyate.
Sankya Yoga, second chapter: Not at all disturbed, equanimous, balanced -- that is prajnana, awareness. Am I clear? That is within every one of us. “Where is it? How do you know?” One simple example: When I sleep without any dreams, undisturbed, I enjoy my sleep. Next morning, I look active and energetic. You are active and energetic when you have a sound sleep. If you have a disturbed sleep, you have to sleep in the office because you did not sleep at home that night. (Many people do that. They snore too! They compete with the ceiling fans!) Therefore, a disturbed sleep will make you very weak and will make you sleepy throughout the day.
Therefore my friends, a good sleep, what is called ‘a sound sleep’, does not mean making sounds. No. ‘Sound sleep’ means undisturbed sleep, not the sleep during which you make sounds. None of that! Next morning you wake up and you are fully energetic. So when I say, “How are you? Had a nice sleep last night?” “Oh yes, why not?” That’s what you say. So my friends, that good sleep which you enjoyed last night is not the experience of your mind; it is not the experience of your intellect, nor is it the experience of your body. To be sure, it is not the experience of your outer senses.
When you eat some sweet, I ask you, “How is it?” “Ah, gulab jamun, very nice…good sweet.” “I see.” I ask you to take some Andhra pickle. “How is it?” “Enough for this life sir, enough,” he says. “I could go to the moon straightaway, without paying any money!” “Oh I see.” You see a beautiful garden. “How do you like it?” “Ah, the garden is so wonderful; I used to stay there.” “Oh I see.” Many things can be expressed -- many, many things. How? All those things recorded by the mind, all those things experienced by the mind, can be expressed. All that is expressed are the feelings or experiences of the mind only.
Body present BUT mind IS absent
Swami gave this example: “If you are physically present here, but your mind is not here, then even if I stand in front of you, you don’t see Me.” Where is your mind? It has to make your return reservation ticket, or your mind is in the foreigner’s canteen. ‘What preparations will there be at twelve o clock?’ ‘How fast should I go there?’ ‘Am I going to get in the first line, first row, and first seat?’ So, mentally I am in the canteen, though physically I am here. What for? Therefore, it is the mind that matters. When I am very worried, I forget even the taste of what I am eating. I do not know what I am eating; I am simply swallowing.
On the other hand, when you are free, you enjoy every item. That is because actions and the mind together give you the experience. Action without the mind will not give you any experience. Therefore my friends, all that I say, all that I express, is prompted by the experience of the mind only. Hence, jnana can be acquired, can be repeated, can be passed on, and can be handed over from one generation to another because of the memory of the mind.
Jnana and Vijnana are limited to THE boundary of THE mind
“Sir, did you see that newspaper this morning? Did you follow that TV announcement this morning? Oh, did you see that latest book in the store?” It is easy to say because the mind has recorded them. Therefore, information, jnana, is nothing but the memory, the recollection, the recalling of the mind expressed. Vijnana, the science and technology, is the deeper interest of the mind in a special chosen area.
To give you my own example, somehow throughout my life, I was continuously, uniformly, consistently weak in mathematics. Any examination in mathematics was enough to create tension in my mind. That was my situation right from my childhood. I love English literature. I am ready to hear literature for any length of time. For your information, I am student of botany. I am a lecturer in botany, that’s all. I have nothing to do with literature, though I love the subject.
So, my mind is inclined towards literature. My mind is inclined towards philosophy. My mind is inclined towards the study of medicine. My mind is inclined temperamentally to be a computer expert. Mind takes you to that area of interest. So vijnana is also of the mind only. Jnana, information, is of the mind; and vijnana, specialised information or super speciality or the field in which you are an expert, is also of the mind. Both are within the range of the mind, within the purview of the mind, within the jurisdiction of the mind, within the boundary or within the limit of the mind.
Jnana and Vijnana relate to Pravitti
Jnana and vijnana come under external, pravritti, ‘from the outside’. Pravritti means ‘external’. Then comes sujnana, spiritual knowledge. You don’t get this from books. Jnana and vijnana are obtained from outside by study. Yes, without the study of books, I can’t get knowledge; without the study of books, I cannot be an expert in the field. So, jnana and vijnana are obtained by studying on the outside, pravritti, external.
Sujnana is obtained by Vicharana or Enquiry, not by Study
Then comes sujnana, spiritual knowledge, which is not obtained by study. There are people who can repeat the whole Bible verbatim, by heart. There are people who know all the 700 slokas of the Bhagavad Gita. They can recite it from all sides, and from top to bottom. That is not sujnana. That’s a tape-recorder. That is only a tape-recorder.
Why? Because spiritual knowledge is not obtained by reading or by study; it is never taught. Spiritual knowledge is obtained by enquiry, vicharana. Therefore, pravritti, the external, is obtained by study or adhyayana. Adhyayana means ‘study’, whereas sujnana, spiritual knowledge, is obtained by enquiry, which is the inward path, nivritti. I think I am clear. Vritti means ‘behaviour’, ‘pattern’. Pravritti is ‘outward pattern’; nivritti is ‘inward pattern’. For outward pattern, you need adhyayana or study. For inward pattern, you need vicharana or enquiry. Is it clear?
Now, what do jnana and vijnana give you? Jnana helps you to know how to move in society, how to keep yourself informed of the latest developments in society, in the government and with the people around. Which government is going to be toppled? Which government is going to give more than earlier governments? Which government is going to cheat more than earlier governments? Which politician can successfully manage you, tackle or deceive you? All this is learned and is jnana. This will make you know what is around you externally.
Vijnana, the specialisation or expertise, will earn esteem, prestige, status, dignity, and respectability. You get respectability, prestige and position because of vijnana or specialisation and expertise. Respectability and status are because of vijnana. Jnana makes you aware of the circumstances of the environment, of the ambience, societal, political, financial and what not.
Sujnana is for Dynamic and Stronger People
What is the benefit of sujnana? Any money? No. Any increment? Certainly not. Any promotion? Nothing doing. What is sujnana or spiritual knowledge going to give you? (That’s why many people are not interested.) With jnana, I can lend my ear to gossip, enjoy watching TV, hear music, read the newspaper. With vijnana, I can have comforts and a luxurious life. But sujnana, well, we can take care of it later, not now. “Let me retire.” Let me be undone with arthritis, spondylitis or bronchitis, and then I can think of sujnana -- as if sujnana is cheap and second-rate.
Sujnana is to be obtained by a man who should be stronger than a man of jnana and vijnana. Sujnana is achievable or attainable by a man who is more dynamic than a man of jnana and vijnana. We should understand that. So, what is this promise, what is this that we get out of sujnana? Sujnana will direct you towards your being, towards your centre, towards your very Self, towards your very consciousness, the spirit, the Atma.
So, sujnana directs you towards the Atma, the Self, the spirit, the consciousness. What do I get? We are business people. What do we get by talking to people? There are some people who say “Sai Ram” to you when they want some favour from you; otherwise, they won’t recognise you. When they say “Good morning”, it means they want you for something. When they don’t say anything, they don’t want you for the time being. Sujnana is not that, my friends. The being, your very centre, the Self, the awareness or consciousness is known by sujnana or knowledge of the Self, Atma vidya, Adhyatma vidya, or spiritual knowledge of the Self.
My question is, “What do I get?” By knowing about pragna, the Self, consciousness, what do I get? “If I get a gunny bag full of currency, it is worth trying; otherwise, it is not.” What do I get by knowing the Atma, the Self? What do I get by knowing consciousness? Before I tell you what you get, let us know what we have been getting until now.
Perils of Jnana and Vijnana
First, by jnana and vijnana, I become a very good businessman. I get lot of money. Good. Later, income tax and commercial taxes, followed by all diseases, are waiting at the doorstep. Most rich people are necessarily sick, please take it from me. Labourers, workers in the field, agriculture labourers will never fall sick. You and I drink ‘Bisleri water’ because we don’t want to drink polluted water.
Some people eat in terms of calories. “Mr. Anil Kumar, what do you eat?” I ask, “Why are you interested?” They ask, “How many calories did you eat?” I say, “Please forget about it. Let me enjoy my food. Let me enjoy the nice chutneys and pickles. Let me not calculate in terms of calories, oil and chillies. We will meet later at 2’o clock, not now!” Am I clear? So, some people calculate in terms of calories. “Oho, chutney - 50 calories; oil - 20 calories. Oh, I see.” Poor people! They cannot enjoy the food also.
Pleasure and Pain Shadow Each other
So my friends, with this kind of knowledge, this kind of awareness, what do you understand? Where there is pleasure, there is pain. There is nothing like constant absolute pleasure.
TV channels today show so many pictures, provided you have the patience. You can sit there in front of the TV and watch films continuously. There are channels that run for 24 hours. It was said, “Tell me who your friends are, and I shall tell you what you are.” Today, “Tell me your TV channels and I shall tell you what you are!” The channel you watch will speak of your psychology, your temperament and your attitude, how you were brought up, the institution you belong to, your teachers and your parentage.
Therefore my friends, TV is good. But watching TV constantly will give you some eyesight problems. Plus there is unnecessary tension watching fights, pistols and guns. When the heroine in the cinema cries, I also cry. But the heroine cries only after receiving 25 lakhs of rupees (money). That is an expensive cry! On the other hand, I pay money to see it and cry! “She receives money and cries, while I pay money and cry.” That is what Baba points out. Therefore, both of us cry. One gains, while the other loses.
Therefore my friends, where there is pain, pleasure follows. Where there is pleasure, there is a shadow of pain. Take it from me: Money is followed by worries and problems. Comforts are followed by maintenance. Some people say, “Do you know what kind of flooring I have, Mr. Anil Kumar? Marblex or triplex?”
“I am not aware of the brand, the latest brand. I have come to meet you, not your floor!”
He adds, “You will not find this kind of flooring anywhere.”
“OK.”
“You know that show case? It came from Bombay.”
“Oho, I see.”
“It is the only one in Puttaparthi.”
“Aha, I see.”
There is some white flooring in some residences. I tell them, “I pity you.”
“Why?”
“You have to keep cleaning throughout the day. So, you will be a doctor sweeper with a Ph.D. qualification in sweeping, that’s all.”
Modern Day Comforts Require Constant Maintenance
So, comforts are followed by a strenuous, laborious, boring process of maintenance. You have to maintain it. A guest comes and says ‘hello’. As he leaves, you mop your floor. Is this life interesting? Certainly not. I like eating. Then what happens? After 40 or 50 years of age, I have to get up in the middle of the night because of reflux problems, which is an indication of what I have eaten. Therefore, every pleasure will have pain as its shadow.
No ABSOLUTE HAPPINESS or unhappiness
Every success will have failure as its shadow. Every benefit will have loss as its shadow. There is nothing like absolute happiness or total unhappiness. No. Baba gave a beautiful example. A fellow was having his food. There were small stones mixed in the rice. (We are capable of adulterating anything. Even poison is also adulterated now. So, if any fellow decides to commit suicide, he won’t die because he doesn’t get pure poison. There is no pure poison today. Poison is also adulterated successfully!)
Small stones got struck in his teeth while eating. The stones were white and mixed well with the colour of the rice, so that the stones were not visible. Immediately he called his wife and said, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you cook properly?”
The poor lady said, “I have been cooking for you for forty years, ever since the bondage of this marriage. So far, this has never happened. Each year, there are 365 days, and you eat twice a day. How many bags of rice you must have eaten? This has never happened before. Why do you shout like that? Perhaps your BP is increasing, you retired fellow. You have nobody else at home to shout at. I am the only person available.”
This is what happens with retired people. While in service, they can shout at their subordinates. But after retirement, there is no one to shout at. Children will shout at you. So, the only person available at home is the wife. He can shout at her, but she understands this fellow, so goes deaf in five minutes. That’s why you find many housewives smiling when the husband shouts (Laughter). “Arey! When he is shouting, how do you smile?”
“He is like that after having retired.” (Laughter)
TAKE time to Compliment Others
Baba comments this way: “Though you have been eating wonderfully for 39 years, 11 months, 30 days; and now, a little unhappiness you cannot bear? Happiness keeps happening, but goes unnoticed and unrecognised. When the housewife prepares chutney with less salt, you say, “What happened to you? You did not concentrate while cooking.” But the fellow simply eats the curry, which is nice. But he doesn’t comment. Only when there is something wrong, he comments. When something is fine, you can say, “Honey, you have done well -- the curry is nice and all your preparations are nice.” Do we ever say that? We don’t say that. We become busy, so we have no time to compliment.
You should also know how to compliment your partner. We should know how to do that. Yes. You should say, “Hi, very nice” and she should also say, “You have done a good job.” We should not spend life like an inanimate, dead log of wood, pulling on life. Life is not like that. Therefore, the principle is: Good and bad, profit and loss, pleasure and pain always go together. When Swami is giving you interviews, you are very happy. That will be followed by a prolonged period of silence where He will not even look at you. For one month, morning and evening interviews. For one year, you are non-existent!
Sujnana Leads to Non-Dual Blissful State
Therefore my friends, all the experiences of jnana and vijnana (of the mind) give you dual experiences. But sujnana, spiritual knowledge, will take you toward prajnana, the centre of your very being, which is non-dual bliss. Prajnana does not give happiness or pleasure or joy because pleasure has the opposite of displeasure; happiness leads to unhappiness and joy to sorrow. But bliss is bliss. That’s all. Therefore my friends, prajnana gives you non-dual, eternal, permanent bliss.
How do you know? Where is the guarantee? I know because in deep sleep, there is no mind at all. Mind is at rest, is passive then. When the mind is not recording anything, when there is no ‘I ness’, when there is no ego, there is bliss (in deep sleep). The moment I wake up the next morning, I feel very fresh and energetic. You cannot express how fine your sleep was. You can say how the ice cream is. You can say how the sweets are. You can say anything. But you cannot say anything about or describe your experience that is beyond the mind.
All those experiences within the mind are expressed. Those that go beyond the mind remain as unexpressed experiences, as non-dual things cannot be expressed. Only duality submits to expression. Non-duality is experienced. So, prajnana experienced is non-dual. Therefore my friends, jnana, vijnana, sujnana and prajnana are the different words used to describe different aspects of knowledge or wisdom.
The other things we will discuss next week. Thank you for your patience.
OM…OM…OM…
Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti