The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
“THE END OF WISDOM IS FREEDOM”
Part 2
September 25th, 2005
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
My friends, last week we started discussing the subject, “The End of Wisdom is Freedom”. In that connection, I explained the important areas of wisdom, according to spiritual parlance. Briefly for review, all that is known, all that is collected, all that is read or heard of, comes under jnana or wisdom. Vidya refers to studying a specialised area, with all its expertise, which is one’s own chosen field. When that topic is well-known in its depth, it comes under vidya. Jnana and vidya relate to the outer world, and are acquired by study.
Then we have two other forms of wisdom, both of which are within. They are not gathered from the outside; they are within. These two are obtained by enquiry, by going into one’s own Self, not by study. And that happens to be the spiritual knowledge, which relates to the nature, the quality and the effect of the Self, the spirit, consciousness. This is known by enquiry, by withdrawing the senses, and by the art of meditation. One is able to go within and experience consciousness. This is called sujnana. Finally, you reach the very centre of your being, where you experience Divinity from within, where you find total identification without any separation, and you are one with That. You are That. This is pradnayana.
These four I mentioned last week, so this week we shall go into the other details of the subject. (We are a bit away from the usual venue, so it may lead to couple of minutes of delay for the commencement of the talk. But it doesn’t matter. It is not the length of the talk that is important, but the actual content, the subject matter, which will help us in the long run.)
Jnana means awareness of the self
My friends, why should we be knowledgeable? Why should we acquire wisdom? Before I go into the details, let me make it clear, amply clear, that jnana is ‘spiritual knowledge’ according to the spiritual sacred text of Sanathana Dharma. But from the worldly point of view, when used in a worldly sense, it has the different meaning of ‘ordinary knowledge’. But in the spiritual context, jnana means ‘spiritual knowledge’. Jnana, when in the spiritual context, means ‘knowledge of the Self’, ‘awareness of the Self’. I think I am clear.
Now, let us try to understand how this jnana will help. How does it help me? The first point, very clearly indicated by Bhagavan in His discourse, is this. (I repeat that all these points are all collected from Sai literature.) My friends, we all know that we are somehow dissatisfied, frustrated, disappointed and oftentimes depressed. With all that is possible in this world, with all the plenty and prosperity, still we are dissatisfied. Why? Because there is a latent, spiritual longing within us. There is an immanent emotional urge within every one of us.
Most of us are sorrowful
We are physically satisfied with all the amenities of life. We are psychologically satisfied with all desires fulfilled, but emotionally we are impoverished, emotionally we are bankrupt, emotionally we are extremely poor. That’s the reason why there is an urge from within, there is an appeal from within, there is a lacuna within, and there is a void within because we do not have emotional satisfaction. All this may be acquired, yet one continues to be discontent. The reason is that we have not satisfied our emotional requirement. Therefore, the first thing to accept is that most of us are sorrowful. Watch the faces of the people and you will understand how sorrowful people are. Some are so sorrowful that they can make anybody near them equally sorrowful! So we miss the joy of life, my friends.
We forget that life is joyful; we forget that life is ecstasy. We forget that life is dancing, that life is a celebration, that life is a festivity. Every moment is a festival; every day is a celebration. A child always jumps in joy. A child is always extremely happy, dances and laughs, because to a child every moment is an eternity. Eternity is in the moment for the child; whereas eternity is the future for all of us, a future which is not guaranteed. Eternity is the future to an adult, whereas eternity is in the moment for the child. Therefore, the child is extremely happy. When the child cries, the child cries totally. When the child laughs, the child laughs totally.
An adult cries within, but laughs outwardly; outward laughter, but inward crying. Some people cry outwardly, while they are happy inside. So, we are dichotomous and we are divided. We are divided, and therefore we are miserable. We are not totally in any state. We are not holistic.
We live in the future or in the past
We are not complete in any state of mind or in any situation, because we don’t want to appear to be what we really are. We want to create an image; we want to create a personality; we want to have status; we want to gain prestige. It is all bogus hypocrisy and just a myth. We want to live some image of our own making. Therefore, none of us are true to our own being. When that which is true within us is not reflected, it is manifested in terms of idiosyncrasies, foolishness, ugliness, hypocrisy, stupidity, and Himalayan ignorance. Therefore, there is this kind of dichotomy.
We are not true to ourselves because society accepts us only when we are ‘so-and-so’. Society respects you if you are ‘so-and-so’. Therefore, you want to be ‘so-and-so’ and not who you really are. When you are not able to be who you want to be, at least you want to pretend to be who you are not! In that unsuccessful pretension, we land in failure, losing the ground on which we stand, unable to reach the heights we want to, because we are hanging in between. That is the cause for our misery. That is the cause for our sorrow.
Therefore my friends, most of us are sorrowful because either we live in the future or we live in the past; or because we are not able to live up to our own expectations; or because we are not of the standard that we want to be; or because we are not able to achieve what we really want to. All these things will make our life miserable or sorrowful. This is highly pitiable.
No one needs to sympathise with anybody. Let everyone pity oneself. After all, there is nothing to be achieved in life, and there is nothing to be attained in life as everything is already given to you. You are born with happiness, but you choose to be unhappy. You are born in bliss, but you choose to be sorrowful.
if I am natural, I'll be blissful
The whole of nature is dancing. The flowers are tossing their blossoms because of the touch of the wind. The rivers are flowing beautifully. The wind blows so excellently, caressing your cheek. The mountain adds to the beauty of nature; the passing clouds will make you forget; you are lost in watching the beauty of the sunrise. The whole world is dancing; the entire nature is celebrating! But I have not tuned myself to nature. I have not tuned to nature; instead I have tuned to all the artificial things that I have created for myself. If I am quite natural, yes, I’ll be beautiful, I’ll be joyful, and I’ll be blissful.
The present sorrow is because we are cut off from nature, and we are leading an unnatural life. There is too much exploitation of natural resources. Deforestation is going on, on a large-scale, pollution is everywhere, and nature is taking its own toll. Nature is expressing its own reaction today, whether it happens to be the tsunami, or Katrina or Rita, whatever it may be. This is nothing but nature’s reaction against man’s exploitation. Man goes on exploiting nature; he doesn’t want forests, he wants only flats. He doesn’t want water to be pure; he wants to have an industry where all fuel waste is dumped into the water, polluting it. This leads to natural calamities, as we are aware of. Be it as it may, my friends, everyone seems to be sorrowful.
In olden days, at least we could go to an elderly person and say, “I am unhappy” and that elderly person would say, “Don’t worry, I was like you too. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine tomorrow.”
But nobody is left to sympathise with us because each one has got his own story. If you want to share with a friend a simple, unhappy thing, he has got a bundle of unhappy things to unload on you. We are left with no one to share with, not even the members of the family. Brothers and sisters, parents, friends…we can’t share anything with our own people because they have got head-loads of their own problems.
The father calls the son and says, “Son, here is my problem.”
And the son says, “Enough is enough! I have my own problems right now.” (Laughter)
Therefore at every level, with all the electronic gadgets, with all the bank accounts, with all the mobile facilities for effective communication, we are still successful in being miserable. We are very successful in being miserable.
Why? Because we got cut off from nature. We got used to the artificial life. Therefore my friends, it is very clearly analysed why there is sorrow. It is because we have a body. Some people, out of desperation, out of total frustration will say, “I am fed up with my life. I don’t want to live anymore.” These statements are made out of total frustration. Where is the guarantee that you are going to be happy after death?
Live in the Moment
I well remember a gentleman speaking in the presence of Bhagavan. A very responsible man made an irresponsible statement, and he got into trouble. What he said on the dais was this: “Swami, we want to serve You. In the coming period, when You are going to come back to us as Prema Sai, we would like to serve You -- even in the next incarnation as Prema Sai.”
He thought that it was an occasion to come forward with all the intensity and altitude of his devotion to God. But our Bhagavan not only reads the lines, He reads in between the lines also! You know what He said? “You don’t have to serve Prema Sai. It is enough if you serve this Sai.” (Laughter)
You don’t have to wait that long. If you are not happy now, where is the guarantee that you are going to be happy in the future? If you cannot serve this form, where is the guarantee that you will serve the next form in a better way? No, no, that is wrong. So, enjoy the moment. Live in the moment. Live in existence, because life is here now. God is here now. Never live in the future. It is a fool’s paradise, like building castles in the air. Therefore my friends, all this suffering is because of the body given to us. It is because of the body that we have.
Body is the result of our karma
Then the next question is, “Why do I have this body, after all?” Well, the analysis will tell. The scriptures say that you got this body because of karma, or the result or the reward of past lives. We did certain actions, and actions lead to reactions, and we have to enjoy the reward, the boon or the bane, whatever it may be. We must have enjoyed all sorts of experiences of pleasure and pain. We must have done all deeds, good and bad alike.
I think it is relevant if I tell you a question put to Swami by an industrialist, a very big man. I’m sure that he would not like it if I mentioned his name openly. (Laughter) If you insist, I shall whisper his name in your ear at the end of the meeting, (Laughter) because there is nothing that can occur to me confidentially in my life, as of today. (Laughter) It is just an open book. Even Swami does not wish to tell me all which is not supposed to be known to everybody. He knows that I am a newspaper. (Laughter) Yes, He knows it.
you CANNOT ESCAPE from the results of your actions
That gentleman asked, “Swami, we are doing so many good things now. I am a great philanthropist. I give so much money in charity to others. I do so much. I share so much. Then will there be any exemption, or concession, or reduction, or omission, or commission (Laughter) in the gravity of the pain that I suffer? I may be suffering now because of my past actions, but I am doing so much good now. Can there be remission, or omission, or commission? At least some rebate?” (Laughter)
Then Baba laughed and said, “Impossible! I know that you are an industrialist. To you, life is a balance sheet. So you think that you did so much good, and did only this much bad or sin.”
That man’s thinking is like this: ‘So that (good) minus this (bad), and I’ve got so much good to my credit. Why not?’
But God is not simply an auditor. God is not simply an accountant. He’s something more. The Divine accountant, the Divine auditor does not add, does not delete. He does not deduct and he never multiplies. His business is that whatever good you have done, He will give you all the boons, all the rewards. It may be 5% or 10%. All the bad you have done, whatever it may be, He will see to it that you cannot escape from the results of your actions. So, 50% good you have done, alright, 50% good things you will enjoy. 50% bad things, yes, the reverse applies, the reverse of the same coin. There is nothing like reduction; there is nothing like addition or multiplication. For all the good done, you have the benefits; for all the bad done, you have to face the appropriate suffering.
it is Desire that prompts you to act
Therefore my friends, sorrow is because of the body, and the body is the result of all the consequences of the good and bad that we did in the past. OK. Why did I do anything at all? You say good and bad. Why would I do that? What is it that prompts me to act? What is it that motivates me to act? What is the foundation for action? The foundation for action, what prompts you to act, is desire. Let us be very clear. It is desire that prompts you to act.
I say I want to become rich. Therefore, I resort to all sorts of procedures and methods, lawful and unlawful. By hook or by crook, I want to be a rich man; so I end my life as a crook! Therefore, the desire for money will drive me to any extent. The desire for position will make me resort to any low level. So, it is desire that is responsible for action or karma. You are able to take action because of the body you have taken, and it is because of the body that life is sorrowful.
Then the next question is: “OK, why should there be desire at all?” My friends, if we care to read all scriptures with a scientific temperament, no science can ever match any scripture, because every scripture explains concepts in a methodical, scientific, mechanical way -- like a theorem in mathematics, like a chain of reactions in chemistry, like the laws of physics. To say that a scripture is unscientific and non-technical is a statement made by a madman. No. All scriptures are highly scientific and technical, provided you have a proper approach to them. With the reverential, respectful, prayerful approach, you will find certain revelations that all the things said in a scripture are scientific, technological, radical, logical and technical.
Desire is born out of ignorance
Therefore, my point is, why desire? Why do you desire? The reason is ignorance. I see. Is desire born out of ignorance? Certainly, because I desire something in the complete imagination that I would be happy the moment my desire is fulfilled. The moment the desire is fulfilled, soon after unhappiness again haunts me. Every desire that is fulfilled will never make you absolutely happy. It will make you happy for the moment, and the next moment another desire will enter. It is something like mosquitoes getting in! (Laughter)
I think most of our friends from overseas will enjoy this example because they have not been exposed to the music of mosquitoes! (Laughter) So, even if you are successful in killing this mosquito, there will be another one that will have a beautiful landing on the airport of your body! (Laughter) Yes, you cannot be successful in killing all the mosquitoes. No, there is one after another, one after another! Like this, my friends, desire is endless. But we do not know that.
Every fellow comes to the office and says, “Sir, I’ll be happy if I get a job.” OK, we give him the job.
Soon he will say, “Sir, this money you are giving is not enough.” Oh ho. Then you have to give him more. Then, after one more year he will say, “Sir, one increment is due for me.” He doesn’t stop there. At least he should have some apartment, some quarters here -- why not?
What was his initial desire? To have a chance to work, that’s all. Then it gets multiplied. It is not the mistake of the man. It is true with every one of us. If anyone says, “I have no desire” please keep him at a respectful distance because he is a hypocrite of the highest order. We have seen enough of life. We have seen enough people that we are not going to be cheated anymore. Enough is enough. So no one can say, “I have no desire.” Well, even to say, “I am taking care that there will be no more desire, that I will be desireless” is again yet another desire. It means that you have got the desire to be desireless. Yes, why not? Therefore my friends, desire is born out of ignorance.
only Jnana or wisdom dispels ignorance
How to be out of this ignorance? What is it that you should do to be out of this ignorance? It is only through spiritual knowledge or jnana. Please understand, my friends.
Sorrow is because of the body. The body is obtained because of the consequences of karma or action, and this action has desire as its root. Desire is born out of ignorance, and ignorance can be dispelled only by knowledge or jnana. Therefore, the end of wisdom is freedom. It means that this wisdom or spiritual knowledge will remove the darkness of ignorance. Once this darkness of ignorance is gone, you will be desireless. When you are desireless, you are free from all the consequences or results of your actions. Then you don’t have to take another body again. There will be no rebirth, with the result that you can conveniently forget the feeling of sorrow. There will be no sorrow at all.
So it is spiritual knowledge, or jnana, that is very much required. People are interested to know what is the harm if they don’t have jnana. ‘What hell am I going to suffer if I don’t have it?’ If you don’t have jnana, you will have all the misery, bundles and bundles, tons and tons of it. Psychiatrists will find a lot of work with such people. It is only awareness of the Self, it is only this spiritual knowledge, that gives you the supreme state of bliss. None of the worldly things can make you fully happy. If you are really happy with all the worldly comforts and conveniences, how do you explain thousands of people assembling at every religious centre? How do you explain thousands of people gathering at every religious meeting? It means that people want something more. People want something beyond, not that which is simply available in worldly life.
Jnana Yoga is knowledge that connects you with the Divine
Now I would like to draw your attention to some important aspects. As it is put here, “Knowledge or jnana will make you free from all sorrow or misery.” That is the substance I want to communicate. Then the Bhagavad Gita will come to our rescue by explaining the uses of jnana in a much more detailed manner. (As you know, Bhagavan’s commentary on Bhagavad Gita is the Gita Vahini. I want you to go through that. But don’t mistake me as a commission agent of the book Trust. I am not, as of today!)
This particular Gita Vahini gives us new insights into the Bhagavad Gita with which we are not all familiar. We have lots of commentaries on Bhagavad Gita, but Gita Vahini from Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is something unique and very special, because He uses examples from daily life situations with practical suggestions, so that it appeals to every reader. So taking the help of Gita Vahini, I would like to draw your attention to certain important aspects relating to wisdom or jnana.
You have a fund of information. In Bhagavad Gita. The title of the fourth chapter is, ‘Jnana Yoga.’ Jnana is wisdom, while yoga means that which connects you with the Divine; so it means ‘the knowledge that connects you with the Divine’. What do you mean by that?
We are disconnected now. We have got to connect again. When the wire is disconnected, there will be no power supply. All the mikes and lights will never function because the wires are disconnected. So what we have to do is to reconnect the wire to facilitate the power supply, and then to make use of the electrical current that we have here. Similarly, we are disconnected from Divinity, so now we have to be reconnected through wisdom, knowledge or jnana. Bhagavad Gita tells of the value of wisdom in its own unique style in the fourth chapter called ‘Jnana Yoga.’
“THE Truth shall set you free”
Yes, it is clearly stated in the Holy Bible, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” If you don’t have any fear of sin, or love for God, how do you expect to acquire wisdom? How do expect the wisdom to reach you, and to bring its fruits to you? Impossible! As Bhagavan Baba said, “Fear of the Lord, love of God, and morality in society.” Fear of sin, (papa bhithi) love of God, (daiva prithi) and morality in society, (sangha nithi) are the three essentials to acquire wisdom. Then only can you hope to have spiritual wisdom some day or another.
Again it is said in the Holy Bible, “Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.” What is the Truth, the Divine knowledge? What is the Truth? It is jnana, the Divine knowledge, that will set you free, says the Holy Bible. Further, the Bible goes on to say that everything shall be added unto you. With this wisdom, with this jnana, everything shall be added unto you. Without that, whatever you have is just useless. There is no doubt about it.
Now I’m coming to the Gita, the fourth chapter, 39th sloka. I’ve been giving these references so that if you have copies of the Gita, if you are interested, you can certainly go through them and be benefited. I think I am giving you a little homework. A teacher’s habit -- what am I to do? (Laughter) This is what Gita says now:
Sraddhavamllabahte jnanam tatparaha samyatendriyah
Jnanam labdhva paramshanthim achirenadhi gachathi.
This is the sloka. What does it mean?
If you want to have wisdom, you must pine for it
Here Krishna tells Arjuna, “My dear son, if you want to have wisdom, jnana, (Shraddhavamllabahte jnanam) you should have that shraddha, that sincerity, that steadfastness, that yearning, that pining, that longing, that love. If you do not have that love, if you don’t have that spirit of longing, you cannot acquire wisdom.”
Some people come and say, “Sir, long back I met you. On my way, I have come to visit Baba.” I see. On your way to some other place you have come to visit? You want to see Swami and go? You will not be benefited by that. On your way you will have a brief stop over, and you want to have the full benefit. God is also calculating. Yes, He knows. When you cannot spare time, when you do not have that much patience to hear Him, to see Him, to wait for Him, how do you expect to be benefited or profited?
There are devotees who come and say, “I have got my return ticket tomorrow. Can I speak to Swami?”
I say, “I don’t know whether you can speak to Swami or not.”
“What is that answer? Why do you say that?”
“If I say that you cannot, Swami may call you for an interview. (Laughter) If I say you can, it will be embarrassing to face you again. Therefore, nothing is guaranteed my friend. We must wait.”
Patience saves you in the long run
In spirituality, waiting and patience saves you in the long run. It is not anything like instant food or instant coffee. We’ve got used to these instant things. All these instant things give you instant diseases also. (Laughter) Instant cancer, instant AIDS, instant diseases, yes…because we’ve got all instant things. But God waits. He wants us to wait. That’s what saburi is. Saburi is what Shirdi Baba used to say. Saburi means waiting, patience.
Shraddhavamllabahte jnanam. If you’ve got that shraddha, that waiting, coupled with patience, you will be rewarded. It is not an instantaneous reward. It is not a spontaneous outburst. No. It is everlasting. It is eternal. It is immortal. It is nectarine, blemishless. When He is going to grant you permanent things, can’t you wait temporarily for some time? For a permanent gain, we have to wait temporarily right now. Particularly with Sai Baba, who loves it if you wait more and more…yes, yes. If you are in a hurry, it is not a matter of worry to Him. Let him wait. Let him be VIP, or President or anybody. Let him wait.
And if anyone of us dares enough to tell Him, “Swami, so-and-so is waiting”, He will say, “You also sit by his side.” (Laughter)
Waiting for God is meditation
My friends, this is no reason for disappointment. Please understand it. Waiting elsewhere is boring; waiting elsewhere is punishment; waiting for someone or waiting for some other reason is disgusting and vexing. But waiting for God is penance, waiting for God is meditation, waiting for God is prayer.
So let us understand this, because there are some people who say, “We are sitting here for two hours, since 6 o’clock in the morning.” So what? You have to pay some money because you have been given an opportunity to meditate? Where can you meditate? We hesitate to sit anywhere. This is the only place you can meditate. So God has given you the chance to meditate for hours. How lucky you are!
In ancient days, seekers had to go to the forest to meditate, in the midst of all threats and the dangers of wild animals and forest fire. Today you are comfortable here in Sai Kulwant Hall. You sit here after breakfast with the petrol tank (your stomach) now full! No problem until lunchtime! ‘Oh God, I cannot afford to wait.’ That is not the right attitude.
‘Yes, take Your own time…how nice it is. We are far better off than most.’ Far better off? Why do I say that? We don’t suffer at all by sitting and waiting here. Moreover, what a spiritual atmosphere we have! No one talks about anything other than Baba.
If you just talk to someone, “You know what happened to me?”
“Oh yes, thank you,”
“You know how I came?”
“Oh, I see.”
“Swami looked straight into my eyes.”
Only Swami, Swami. Swami is the centre of attraction. He is the centre of our conversation. He is the centre of all talk. He is the centre of all activity. This is meditation. When anything draws your attention totally, that is meditation.
People say, “Oh Anil Kumar, go there.”
“Why?”
“Swami’s car is already there.”
“I see. Did I ask you?” (Laughter) He tells you like that, unsolicited.
Somebody will say, “Are there any lights on? Please go.” Why are you bothered?
Somebody will say, “Vedam has started. It will be very bad if you start moving then. C’mon go and take your seat.”
Why? Your concern and everybody’s concern is Swami, Swami, Swami, and Swami only. What else can be meditation more than this?
What else can be meditation? Is it sitting cross-legged? Is it sitting straight until you develop back pain? Is it starving, or is it turning your body upside down? That’s all forced gymnastics. This is true meditation: waiting for Baba and thinking of Baba. Sharing Swami’s news, His views and mission with everybody is enough of prayer. Therefore, we need to develop first of all this art of shraddha, born out of love, sincerity and steadfastness.
Jnana leads to supreme peace
Sraddhavamllabahte jnanam. Jnanam is wisdom. You can get this wisdom only if you have shraddha, steadfastness, yearning, and love for Him. Labdhva paramshanthim.
Arre, arre, arre! What a nice thing it is! You are thirsty in the hot summer, and you are given some Sprite, 7-Up, or Coke. You will enjoy the cold drink. Aaaah! “My thirst is quenched.”
Or you are hungry because the airlines you flew on did not supply the food you relish. (The food which airlines supply in the transit will make you lose your appetite. The very smell and taste of it makes you not want to eat anything…such a wonderful brand of food supplied by them! So after 48 hours of flying, resting, and sitting in the lounge while you go back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or to New York JFK Airport, when you go home, naturally you start smelling the preparation of dishes waiting for you there. Your parents and your people know what you want, and you are waiting for those delicious items, specially made for you. You’ll first attend to that, and other details later (Laughter) as you are very, very hungry. Therefore my friends, good food satiates your appetite, while cold drink will quench your thirst.
Similarly, this spiritual knowledge, what will it do? Jnana, what will it do? Will it satisfy your needs? No.
Labdhva paramshanthim. It is supreme peace. Param is spiritual, super, and shanthi is peace —the supreme peace. Jnanam labdhva – after acquiring this jnana, after acquiring this wisdom, after knowing the spiritual knowledge, you will have paramshanthi – the spiritual peace, the Divine peace, the super peace, that abiding infinite peace. You will get it.
“Why peace, sir? I want cold drink, not peace.” (Laughter) Cold drinks will never give you peace. Five-star hotels will never make you peaceful. After all, all that we do is only to be peaceful. That’s why at the end of prayers, at the end of bhajans, we sing, “Om…Shanthi…Shanthi…Shanthi.” You don’t chant, “Om…cold drinks…cold drinks…cold drinks.” You don’t say, “Om…pie and doughnuts….” (Laughter) You don’t say that because getting those things will not give you real shanthi or peace. Moreover, the peace that we get in the world is actually only a ‘piece’. The peace is only tasted as a small ‘piece’ by all of us. But actual paramshanthi, the param means spiritual, Divine, super-infinite, beyond limits. Therefore my friends, by acquiring this spiritual knowledge, we are not at a loss. We are going to enjoy supreme spiritual peace.
The reward of jnana is immediate
Our next question is, “How soon?”
“Sir, I am depositing money in the bank. How soon will I get the interest?”
“If you wait for six months, this will be the rate of interest. If you wait for one year, this will be the rate of interest. If you wait for six years, the money will be doubled. If you wait for twenty years, your son will collect the interest.” (Laughter)
Some people are interested in interest. So they go on thinking about the interest they will collect in twenty years. Your son should have the interest to know, it is not your interest that counts. Therefore my friends, how soon am I going to get that spiritual peace? How soon before I am going to enjoy that peace abiding? When am I going to be in that state of infinite peace? When? In 2008 or 2010?
Achirenadhi gachathi. Very soon, very soon! So my friends, for those of us who are used to the fast computer age, courier services, email and the internet, God gives you peace faster than internet information, faster than any other mode of the latest information technology. “Soon.”
A simple example: Suppose you are doing bhajans wholeheartedly. When you sing a bhajan wholeheartedly, you are not going to get supreme peace tomorrow. You are not going to get that Divine peace tonight. You will get it now itself. When you sing bhajans, you are peaceful right here and now, not tomorrow.
Achirenadhi gachathi. Very soon! Therefore my friends, Bhagavad Gita tells us that we should have this wisdom or spiritual knowledge so as to earn the infinite, supreme, spiritual, ‘super’ peace, the taste of which we can never get if we don’t have this knowledge. But there are two conditions. I am doing bhajan, but I am looking constantly at the watch because my next flight is at 6.30 from Bangalore. So my concern is, ‘When should I get up from here?’ So how can you enjoy bhajan? Impossible.
Most of us travel by trains. A train ride is a long journey. It stops at certain places for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We get off the train and go to some railway restaurant to eat. We order dosas or idlies, as we like. Suddenly we hear the train bell ringing. Arre! We have to throw down our food and run.
Somebody will say, “No sir, that bell that you heard is not your train; it is some other train.”
“No, no. I think it is my train.”
“No sir, I tell you. You just came in. This is lunchtime. That train will have to necessarily stop here for at least 20 minutes. The driver also must have his food, as well as the guard. So don’t worry, as the engine has to be changed also.”
“No, no, no!”
So, when you are ‘bell conscious’, how can you enjoy lunch on a railway platform? Impossible! It is not possible. Similarly, you cannot enjoy bhajan so long as you look at your watch. You can never enjoy your meal, so long as you are looking at your watch. If we are only conscious of when we need to run or when we need to go…arre!…arrre!...we are nowhere.
Swami has given a beautiful example about our modern life. How is our modern life? He compares it to a rat that has somehow or other gotten into a drum. When the rat moves to this corner, the sound ‘thada’ comes and the drum plays this way. When the rat moves to that corner, taka-dim, taka-dim, the drum plays that way. As the rat moves, it starts running this way and that way. So our life is like that of a rat today, as we are beating at both ends. Thus we have no rest, my friends.
there are two conditions
Therefore, to enjoy the supreme bliss (paramshanthi) very soon (achirenadhi gachathi), there are two conditions. What are they?
Tatparaha or total concentration. When you sing a Baba bhajan, think of Baba and do bhajan; don’t look to that side and this side, or try to know the name of the singer. Why are you bothered? If someone tells you the name of the singer, are you going to be like him? It is not necessary to know, so don’t try to know the singer. Repeat the song, and be the song itself. Then you forget yourself. Be the song and forget all else, that’s all. That is tatparaha or one-pointed attention.
And then there is samyatendriya. While doing bhajan or some puja, or while reading a scripture or listening to a talk, the eyes are tempted to look to this side and that side. The nose is tempted to smell what is going on in the kitchen. The ears are tempted to listen to the morning news on TV or to some pop music. See that the senses are not attracted; see that the senses will never let us digress; see that the senses will never take us away from the point of interest. It means control of the senses.
Therefore my friends, we can enjoy supreme, Divine peace, (paramshanthi) very soon, (achivenadi gachachati) if only we have one-pointed attention (tatparaha) and control of senses (samyatendriya). These two are the requirements.
It’s not that difficult. Sitting in the Kulwant Hall, you can control your senses because there is nothing to look at and nothing to hear. The only thing is that the mind has to be controlled, because the mind is always concerned about the return journey, or about the clothes given to the dhobhi, (whether he will return them on time or not), or whether we will be able to sit in the first row this evening, or whether Swami will come: ‘Better if He comes by 2.30 so that I can catch the bus by 4 o’clock.’ (Laughter)
So, the only problem is the mind. The rest of the senses are under control. If there is control of the mind and also control of the senses, very soon you will enjoy the paramshanti, supreme peace or Divine peace, provided there is yearning and longing for His love.
Sraddhavamllabahte jnanam tatparaha samyatendriyah
Jnanam labdhva paramshanthim achirenadhi gachathi.
That’s what Gita says in 4th chapter, Jnana Yoga, 39th sloka. Then it is also said in the 33rd sloka, 4th chapter.
Jnana gives better benefits than all rituals
My friends, there is a practice here -- maybe elsewhere also, I am not sure: We’ll ask somebody to pray on our behalf. We’ll pay them some money and we’ll ask them to pray. He will receive the money and pray for you. ‘Oh, electronic prayer, I see.’ So we can employ somebody to pray for us. In fact, we find announcements: “If you want me to pray, contact this number and remit a bank draft.” So he will be waiting for the money, while you will be praying for the money. So it will be a prayer for the money, of the money, and to the money, not to God. Therefore my friends, all the rituals that we do, spending some money like that will not be giving as much benefit as the benefits of wisdom. Jnana will give you much greater benefits.
Then there are other rituals done involving money: I can pay you some money to organise this yagna. I’ll give you some money; so come on and do this puja. I’ll give you money to do some ritual, some japa. Priests do that. You may be benefited. (I say this because I don’t want to be cursed by those people to whom this is their only means of employment. I have enough enemies, so why a few more now? Not necessary.) Alright! You are happy that you paid some money. There are some people who say, “If you pay 2000 rupees, all your sins are forgiven.” I see. So easy, why not? 2000 is cheap because we committed 200,000 sins! A good deal indeed! But we should ask them if there is a sale or something, so that he can reduce it further! (Laughter)
Therefore my friends, what I can say is that all the benefits you may get by doing rituals, spending so much money on them, is nowhere when compared to the gain of jnana. It is nowhere when compared to the profits and benefits, and the good that you will get by this wisdom or jnana. So all sacred rituals, all yagnas, fall to nothing when compared to this Divine knowledge, jnana yagna.
Acquisition of divine knowledge is the highest Yagna
Believe me or not, Swami said that satsanga -- when we discuss Bhagavan and we are thinking of Bhagavan -- is a yagna unto itself. But unfortunately, we think that yagna means a fire with some priests around, tins of ghee, smoke and wood placed there, plus mantra chanting. I don’t say this is not yagna; but that is a seasonal yagna. You don’t do that yagna every day in your home. Is that possible? Do you have nine priests every day with all the wood and ghee? I don’t think even a king can afford it! Impossible. Also, in modern society, our accommodation is only just adequate for all of us to sit down and get up, that’s all. If a guest is there, he has to sit out on the veranda. As that is the accommodation we have, how do you expect to have a yagna there?
Therefore Krishna says, ”More than all the known yagnas, the highest yagna is acquisition of Divine knowledge.” The acquisition of the Atmic knowledge, knowledge of the Self, is the highest, most profitable yagna. That is said in 33rd sloka, 4th chapter.
Sreyan dravyamayad yajnyaj jnana yajnah paramtapaha
Sarvam karmakhilam partha jnane parisamapyate.
All yagnas or spiritual rituals that you do, while spending so much money, may be good. But “Jnana yagna paramtapaha. Oh Arjuna, this jnana yagna is supreme.” Atmajnana, the knowledge of the Self, is supreme -- the highest, the greatest and the noblest -- not the yagna where money is involved.
knowledge of the SELF is the final aim of all spiritual pursuits
“Oh I see, sir, I am so disappointed as I am paying so much money to priests to do some puja for me. I am offering so much money to the church. Will it all be in vain? Is it all going to be useless?”
No, no, no, don’t discontinue. You can do it. But understand that whatever you do should ultimately end in the acquisition of spiritual knowledge only. Whatever you do should end in the Atmic awareness. So, awareness of the Self, knowledge of the Self is the culmination, the aim and objective -- in fact, the final aim of all spiritual pursuits and all spiritual endeavours.
Baba gives one example: You may eat in the North Indian canteen or the South Indian canteen or the Western canteen. You may eat in any one of these canteens. But the sole purpose is that you should fill your belly. That’s all. South Indian canteen won’t fill your nose. North Indian canteen will not fill your ears. Whatever may be, the canteen food should fill your belly and satisfy your hunger. Similarly, whatever path you may follow, whatever ritual you may follow, should all lead to the experience of the Self, the awareness of the Self, the acquisition of the knowledge of the Self. That’s the finale. That’s what is said here in this sloka:
Sarvam karmakhilam partha jnane parisamapyate.
All the deeds, all the rituals, all modes of worship, and all forms of spiritual practices will ‘jnane parisamapyate,’ meaning that they end with spiritual awareness. They all take you to the knowledge of the Self. Whatever you may do -- it may be platform 1 or platform 2 or 3 or platform 4, or express train, goods train or passenger train -- all these trains should reach the platform of the railway station. Similarly, it may be any ritual that you do; all these ‘trains’ of rituals should reach the ‘train station’ of Atmavidya or knowledge of the Self. This is what Bhagavad Gita says here.
Some people are happy condemning themselves
I would like to bring to your notice another sloka and then take leave of you. This is very important and very promising, as some of our friends are so critical of themselves.
I had a friend, who used to always tell me, “Mr. Anil Kumar, don’t think I am a good man. Don’t think I am a good man.”
I said, “Why should I think? Where is the need for you to tell me, so as it is obvious?”
Some people say, “Mr. Anil Kumar, you don’t know my past.”
“Arre, I don’t bother about my past, so what have I got to do with your past?” (Laughter) As I am ashamed of my own past, why should I care about your past? Past is past. Why?
Unfortunately, there are some people who are happy in self-condemnation. They condemn themselves. “Before coming to Baba, you did not know me.” Please forget it. Why should I know?
“You know I was very angry.” So what? You are not angry now.
“I was very greedy.” You are not greedy now.
“I was a drunkard.” You are a teetotaller now.
Why do you bother? Because he finds happiness in condemning himself. This is bad. Feeling guilty is much worse than guilt itself. Something bad you committed then; now it’s finished… end of the matter. If you go on thinking about what you have done a long time ago…..cha, cha! Bad accounts brought forward. Guilty consciousness is worse than the guilt itself. Never feel guilty. It’s over. That’s all.
atmavidya will atone for all sins
Therefore, Lord Krishna tells us, (and this is of importance to each one of us), “Oh Arjuna, you may be thinking that you are a sinner. You may be thinking that you are the worst of sinners. You may be condemning yourself; you may be critical of yourself. You may be feeling diffident, psychologically lost, mentally gone. You are thinking that you are very bad in this world. But my dear son, I must tell you, you may be worse than the worst of fellows; you may commit the worst of sins, where nobody can compete with you; but I give you a guarantee my son. I give you a clean chit that with the acquisition of the knowledge of the Self, Atmavidya, nothing can touch you.”
Atmavidya will atone for all your sins because Atmavidya will tell you what sin is and what merit is. That we will learn subsequently, later. For the time being, it is enough if we know that all the sins are atoned for, are forgiven, are simply cancelled with the acquisition of this Divine knowledge.
I am not dogmatic or fanatic. I am logical and rational enough, because Atmavidya will speak of merit and sin at a different level. Who commits the sin, and who prompts the sin? Adi Sankara tells it all in Atmabodha. It is also all very well explained in Viveka Chudamani by Adi Sankara. We shall think of those things subsequently. Right now we don’t have to bother about sins at all, because the compassionate Lord will see to it that you are beyond that.
If even you are the worst of the sinners…papakrutamaha…you may be saying, “Oh Lord, how can you forgive me? Nobody has committed such a crime as I have done.” The answer: Sarvam jnana. If you have a boat, it is easy to cross the river or to cross the ocean. Suppose you have to walk in the night, all alone. As there is no power supply, it is pitch dark. How to go? If I give you a torchlight you can go, as long as you can walk. Similarly, the mistakes or sins committed by us may be as big as a sea or a lake or a river. They may be infinite. But with the boat of the knowledge of the Self, you can certainly cross. There is no problem at all. So Bhagavad Gita says that the knowledge of the Self is a boat that will take you to the other shore comfortably and safely.
The rest of the things next week! Thank you very much.
Anil Kumar ended his talk by singing the bhajan, “Jayaho Jayaho Gopalana.”
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