February 3rd, 2008
“Knowledge of the Self”
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of our most Beloved Bhagavan,
All things are meant for one objective. Just as we say that all roads lead to Rome, all spiritual paths lead to only one goal. What is that goal? It is the knowledge of the Self, or you may call it Awareness, or you may say, “Self experience.” Experience of the Self, or knowledge of the Self, is the goal of all spiritual paths.
As Bhagavan Baba says, whatever He does, whatever He makes us do, it is all directed to this objective of making all of us experience the Self -- that is, acquire the knowledge of the Self. All other things are secondary, the primary objective being awareness of the Self. Paths may be different; procedures, languages and religions may differ, but the centre is one and the same: that is the Self or consciousness.
This knowledge of the Self is what is called Jnana. Jnana or the knowledge of the Self is different from secular knowledge. Knowledge relating to the world is secular knowledge or information. It is all the data or subject matter we gather and develop out of the five elements collected through the five senses. The whole world is completely made of the five elements. These five elements are observed by the five senses and that information is collected in the form of worldly knowledge or secular knowledge. Spiritual knowledge is different from this. It is beyond the five elements and beyond the perception of five senses. That means the source of the five senses as well as the source of the five elements is one and the same.
Here is a simple example: I want to learn physics or chemistry or medicine or biology-- something different from what I have learnt so far. For this, I have books and teachers, and I also have a laboratory to make observations. I have eyes to see what I am doing, and ears to hear what is taught to me. So, the five senses help me to develop worldly knowledge or secular knowledge; but the knowledge of the Self is the very source of the five senses.
What do I mean by that? I may hear, I may see, talk, touch or smell, but the ‘I’ is the same. It is not as if there is a person in me who sees, another person in me who hears and some other person who touches. No, I am making use of these five senses to experience this objective world.
This ‘I’ is common. And this knowledge or awareness of this common ‘I’ is what is called Self or spirit or consciousness. This knowledge of the Self is what is called Jnana. Usually people think secular knowledge is Jnana. No, the scriptural texts have clearly said that worldly knowledge is different from spiritual knowledge. There is Paravidya vs. Aparavidya: Aparavidya is secular knowledge or worldly knowledge, whereas Paravidya is Param meaning supreme. It is the knowledge of the Self.
Another difference is this: in the context of worldly knowledge, sound is heard, scene is seen, object is touched, flower is smelt. So there are two entities here: the one who sees and the one that is seen; the one who hears and the sound. But in spiritual knowledge, Paravidya, the seer is the seen; the observer is the observed. That is all. Therefore, there are not two but one -- the seer and the seen, the hearer and the sound, the experiencer and experienced are all one, non-dual entity. Therefore my friends, worldly or secular knowledge is dual, while the knowledge of the Self or Paravidya is non-dual.
Here is another aspect: worldly knowledge is acquired or learnt from a guru or a teacher who teaches you. You go to a school, attend some university, or go to the laboratory to do some experiments. These are the things you acquire from different sources to get worldly knowledge.
The knowledge of the Self, on the other hand, is not taught or given. It is something already within you. It cannot be acquired as a master’s degree in physics or as a PhD in chemistry is acquired. The knowledge of the Self is not acquired because you are already in the acquisition or possession of it. The knowledge of Self is already there. It is not acquired nor learnt in a laboratory by way of observation. I just realise there is Self. That is all. There is Self within me; that awareness is the knowledge of the Self. It is not to be learnt. There is no five- or six- year course, no PhD or doctoral degree, no university -- neither Harvard nor Oxford. There is just awareness of the Self.
Finally, all worldly knowledge is obtained by our outward approach: I cannot see a burette or a pipette in the laboratory if I don’t open my eyes. I cannot burn the Bunsen burner or weigh a compound balance or see through a microscope if I don’t open my eyes. I cannot hear sounds if I don’t pay any attention. Therefore, the senses collect outward information. This is secular knowledge.
Once the outward-going tendency is blocked, once the door is shutdown -- meaning eyes and ears are closed so I don’t see anything or hear any sound -- when all the five sense doors are closed, what happens? The inner curtain is lifted. Unless the outer sense doors are shut, the inner curtain is not lifted. What is this inner curtain? It is the curtain of I–ness, of ego, of attachment. Once the five senses are closed, the inner curtain is lifted and one is able to know or visualise the Self, which is the true ‘I’.
So there are two forms of this ‘I’ – the external ‘I’ and the internal ‘I’. The external ‘I’ is the one that you see: personality, achievement, accomplishment, greatness. That is, all bio-data. These are all the external ‘I’. But the inner ‘I’ is beyond all these. Inner ‘I’ is always in unity, while the external ‘I’ goes on changing from time to time.
For example, I was a graduate; now I am a postgraduate. In the future, I want to have a doctoral degree. So there is gradation in the outer world, in the outer realm or outer horizon, in the field of secular knowledge. But in the field of the knowledge of the Self, the inner Self, the inner ‘I’ or the real ‘I’ is always the same.
The external ‘I’ goes on changing: I was a boy, later a youth, then an old man. But the real true ‘I’ is the inner ‘I’ that is unchanging. Awareness of the inner ‘I’ -- which is changeless, eternal, full of nectar, immortal, without a beginning or an end, and is the source of all the five senses as well as the five elements -- is the true ‘I’ or Self. Anything related to that is the knowledge of the Self or Self awareness, what we call Paravidya.
My friends, my sincere appeal to all of us including myself is this: let us not forget the primary purpose of spirituality. After all, we come to Bhagavan for many problems. Family, business, or health problems bring us to Him. In a way, we are very grateful to our problems; we are very thankful to our problems. If there were no problems, we would be at our native places, enjoying the world for nothing. But our problems brought us here. So God has sent us an invitation in the form of a problem in order to bring us here. So our problems are Divine, because they have shown us the spiritual path. Then, how can I say my problem is painful? I have gained from my problem. Pain is gain!
Now having come here, we should not multiply our problems. We should not increase, amplify, or magnify our problems as problems brought us here. Why create another problem again? We have crossed the main gate and we are in the central hall; we don’t need to cross the main gate again. Similarly, having been with Swami, let us know the purpose of life. That is the knowledge of the Self, or Self awareness. (Unfortunately, many of us want to remain miserably at the main gate only.)
That is why Baba says, “How long will you spend your time in learning the alphabet? Until retirement or what?” When parents admit us to a school, after some time they expect us to go to college, and then we are expected to move on to a university. We can’t remain in kindergarten, singing nursery rhymes all our lives, can we? No. If we do that, it only means our growth has stopped at that level.
The spiritual journey is continuous. I may stop my studies at the post graduate level, or I may stop earning after retirement. I may stop working when I fall sick or when the body stops cooperating, which happens naturally with age when the energy level comes down. But if you want to fight with your energy level and want to continue to work, there are many hospitals open! We have to plan our schedule depending on our age: what can I do with these resources? What can I manage? If we forget the limits of our resources – the age and condition of the body, and fight against it -- if we do not compromise with the body’s condition, the body has to go to a doctor.
Therefore, some moderation or regulation is expected at some stage or another. What I want to tell you is this: worldly knowledge has some limits at some point of time, whereas the knowledge of the Self is infinite. It is infinite, a continuum, an eternal journey, a continuous pilgrimage. That is the difference between knowledge of the Self and worldly knowledge.
My friends, our attempt in these Sunday talks is to remind ourselves of what we know already. There is nothing new. We hear from Bhagavan, we go through His literature, and these talks will help remind us again and again. It is said that the cow brings back the grass eaten already and chews it once again. The cow’s way or style of eating is called mastication. That means bringing back what has already been consumed.
So what we do is we hear, which is called Sravana. Having heard, we recapitulate, memorise, discuss, deliberate or think about it again and again. This is known as Manana. So Sravana is listening, Manana is recapitulation or bringing back to memory. That is what we are doing here.
So what is the immediate benefit, the immediate effect of this knowledge of the Self, or Self awareness? This morning I was watching TV. Some Swamiji was saying that if you do such-and- such, you will get the result in a week’s time. Good! There is someone else who will tell us we can get the same result in three days! We want everything instantaneously, immediately--we can’t wait, you know! Therefore my friends, what is the immediate benefit of the knowledge of the Self or Atmajnana? It is this: we will drop a very painful quality within us; that painful quality will go! That is the immediate benefit of Jnana.
Here is a simple example: once the blood pressure is controlled, the rest of the problem can be controlled automatically. Similarly, one quality must be controlled or be totally gone for spiritual elevation or spiritual advancement. That is possible by the acquisition of the knowledge of the Self.
What is it that will go immediately? Just as doctors tell us, when you eat a salt-free diet or pepper-free diet, your blood pressure will come down, similarly with the knowledge of the Self, a fundamental, painful quality will get out, thereby making our life heavenly. What is that quality? Raga, that is attachment, and Dwesha, that is hatred. They will both withdraw.
NO ATTACHMENT, NO HATRED
A man of Jnana, a man of awareness or Self knowledge will not have any Raga and Dwesha. Let us say there is a person in London who has so much knowledge of the Self, but he is full of Raga and Dwesha. I say it is not knowledge he has; it is only bookish information.
Suppose I tell you, “Sir, I am reading day and night for the last couple of months, but I successfully failed in the examination.”
Then you might tell me, “You must have read something else, not the textbooks! Or you must have gone into samadhi, or sleep while reading; or you must be a dunce of international standards. Otherwise, how can you fail after spending a couple of hours every day reading?”
Similarly, the sign of a man of Self knowledge is this: no Raga (attachment), no Dwesha (hatred). That is the sign. How do we know? When the magnet attracts, we know it is iron. How can we tell if an ornament is pure gold? Go to the goldsmith; he will put it on the touchstone. How do you know if you have fever? You put the thermometer in your mouth and it will record the temperature. So, how can we say he is a Jnani, a man of knowledge? He should not have Raga and Dwesha.
If he has these two, he needs some more medication; he needs some more sadhana, more introspection, more self evaluation and self assessment. He still has a long way to go. If I have seen the map and know where Washington D.C is, that doesn’t mean that I have been there. Similarly, the knowledge of the Self is not information; the knowledge of the Self is awareness, the experience of awareness.
Here is the second basic quality of a Jnani. I can explain whatever I know about botany. Being a post-graduate degree holder with a long period of experience as a teacher, I can explain easily. All the things we have learned and acquired in the world in the form of secular knowledge can be explained vividly, graphically; but knowledge of the Self cannot be explained. So how do you explain? I explain by saying that it cannot be explained. The only explanation is that it cannot be explained; that is all.
Simple example: when water and sugar are separate, I can taste water which is colourless and tasteless. When sugar is added to the water, you can taste the sweetness; but by what measure can you decide the sweetness of the sugar in water? It is impossible. That is Atmajnana, the knowledge of the Self. Therefore my friends, we can only explain that this Atmajnana is inexplicable or cannot be explained.
Worldly knowledge can be experienced and explained. All outer things can be experienced and explained. But the inner experience of the Self can only be experienced; it cannot be explained, because there is no experiencer separate from the experience. The experiencer is the experience, the seer is the seen; observer is observed; it is non-dual. Therefore the non-dual world cannot be brought within the narrow limitation, the narrow framework of time, space and the senses. To try to do so would be a useless waste of time.
Therefore my friends, Bhagavan’s main mission is this evolution. But we still want to remain at the primary school level or nursery level. Perhaps He may be disgusted with us and stop giving discourses or stop talking to us also. Why? Because we are useless fellows; we want only worldly things. So He says, “Alright, please enjoy yourself.” It is as if your son wants to play with toys even at the college level, and you finally say, “Alright, play.”
Therefore my friends, we should evolve from stage to stage. We should evolve and grow from stage to stage. Bhagavan once pointed out to me, “How long would you like to be at the nursery level? How long do you want to learn nursery rhymes: Ba-ba black sheep, have you any wool?” How long? Should you not allow growth?
Yes, it is true we want to hear about Baba’s miracles and experiences; but for how long? How long? Baba said in one of His discourses, “To know that sea water is salty or saline, you don’t have to drink the whole sea. A spoonful is enough!” A spoonful of seawater is enough to know that it is salty or saline. You don’t have to drink a whole lot!
Similarly, to know Bhagavan is omniscient, how many thousands of times should we experience miracles? To know that Bhagavan is all-knowing, how many thousands of miracles do we need? It only means that we need confirmation, reconfirmation, affirmation, reaffirmation, negation and acceptance. In the mean time, the chapter of our life comes to a close.
We accept God in the morning, deny Him by the evening, and then get some dream in the night. With morning, again comes awareness; by evening, it is gone. So we pray for another dream that night! Life is not a dreamland, nor a merry land. No, this is reality. The reality is YOU, that is all. Whether you dream or not, YOU are here. You sleep, you dream; but the real YOU is continuous in all the states of consciousness or awareness. That is the knowledge of the Self or Atmajnana.
Therefore my friends, the fundamental quality of a realised person is that he is beyond Raga and Dwesha, attachment and hatred. To put it in other words, he has no sense of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’. He who says, “My people, my country . . . your people, your country,” has to appear for another examination in spiritual nomenclature! He has to improve himself.
There is nothing like 'mine' and 'thine'. When you feel that oneness, when you know all are one, when you understand basic unity, you cannot stand in front of the sea and say, “This is my water; that is your water.” You cannot divide water; you cannot divide air or fire. You cannot say, “This is my fire; that is your fire.” Both the fires will burn both of us to ashes! (Laughter) So they cannot be divided.
So this kind of division or duality relates to the world; but unity is the basic feature of a religious man or a spiritual man. He finds everybody close to him.
We often wonder why Bhagavan feels at home with everybody. He is from this part of the country (South India), from a remote village in Andhra Pradesh; yet He feels He is with everybody. Let them be from Belgium or Brazil, He is very friendly. They feel at home. He jokes with them, and immediately He becomes a member of their family. He is so dear, so close with everybody. You may be from Malaysia or Indonesia, Singapore or any other country. He becomes a member of your family immediately.
Those who have experienced His interviews will certainly agree with me. When you are fortunate enough to be given an interview, the way Swami talks to you gives you the impression that the Avatar has come for you only. It is as though the Avatar cannot get along without you. (Laughter) And you begin to feel that you have known each other for ages and ages. That is the greatness of the Avatar! He makes you feel at ease; then He can communicate freely that you and He are one. This is the real experience in the company of Bhagavan.
We may say, “You and I are one.” Many politicians say that. Bank accounts are different yet, “You and I are one!” Yes. (Laughter) Bank accounts, luxuries, bungalows, cars are different, positions are different; but, “You and I are one.” (Laughter) Like someone said, “All are equal, but some are more equal than others!” (Laughter) How can some be more equal than others?
Therefore my friends, a spiritual man will never have considerations of this kind: mine and thine. He will only experience oneness, as we experience in the company of our Bhagavan.
So, if I give up that Raga and Dwesha, attachment and hatred, what will happen? After all, we want to know what will happen. What do we get? We don’t offer even a cup of coffee to anybody without expecting something! Some people don’t even smile unless they have some obligation. (Laughter) This is a commercial world indeed! We feel disgusted with such people; but we must thank them because they make us take to the spiritual path. We must thank all those people who disappointed us, frustrated us or neglected us. If it weren’t for them, we would not have come to this path.
So, once you give up the feeling of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’, what will happen? All problems are not problematic. Problem and problematic are two different words. One may have a problem like a stomach ache or a headache; still he may manage to work and smile. Some have family problems or business problems; still they are very active and smiling (which means they have a problem, but that problem is not problematic).
Therefore, a man of knowledge, an Atmajnani, has problems, but none of the problems are problematic. Just as you find heavy logs of wood floating on the surface of a flowing river -- they are very heavy, but they float – similarly, an Atmajnani (one of knowledge) will have all his problems float or fly away. He remains unaffected.
Is this not a very good promise? Is this not a reward to be coveted? Should this not be an ambition in our life? Do we like to sink in the sea of our problems? Do we want to drown ourselves in a sea of problems? Do we want to get ourselves burnt because of these problems? No, we want to float; we want to fly.
A bird flies happily across the sky because of its light weight. Yet, some of us find it difficult to walk because the body luggage is more than required! Yes, the airport authorities should relax their rules. They weigh the luggage, but not the body. If we start weighing the body, we may need two seats or double reservations! (Laughter) See, my friends, the advantage of the knowledge of the Self is that you become light; you can fly freely. You can enjoy life like a bird -- you are so free, so smiling, and so happy. You lead your life blissfully. This is the first thing.
Secondly, a knowledgeable man (I am speaking of Self-knowledge), an Atmajnani or a realised soul will never judge anybody. He won’t say that you are bad or good; lovely or ugly. He won’t say that you are advanced. Who am I to judge anybody? A knowledgeable man, an Atmajnani, will not judge anybody.
If he judges, he still has a long way to go; he still has to pass through some more stages. Why? Is he not capable of judgement? Is he not capable of deciding? Can’t he measure? Can’t he be critical? Can’t he tell me what I am? No. Why? Because a man of knowledge will find himself in everyone. When you and I are one, when I see myself in you, how can I say you are bad?
If I stand in front of a mirror and I find a monkey there, what shall I do? I should accept that is what I am, that is how I look. There is no point in breaking the mirror or filing a suit on the fellow from whom I purchased the mirror!
“It is Belgium glass, very costly! Take him to the court!”
They will say, “Sir, the glass is alright. Please check your face once again!” (Laughter)
Therefore my friends, if I am judgmental, if I go on commenting about other people, if I go on talking about other people, it may not be a sin or anything basically wrong like a murder, but yet I may be a very long way from becoming a Jnani or a man of Self-awareness. I am still a long way from becoming a man of knowledge of the Self, if I see others as others and I consider myself different from others. That is what Baba has said:
Karunanum Thittinathantha Pappam Abbu.
If you go on criticising people, you will be gathering sin.
Vidovatha Ennadikki Vasudendu.
The consequences of the sin you are committing will never leave you, so to criticise others, to judge others, is a sin.
Karunam Thittinathatha Pappam Abbu,
Vidovatha Ennadikki Nee Vasudendu.
That sin will never leave you. Understand that.
Paraullu Parullu Kadhu,
Paraullu Parullu Kadhu,
Paramat Godeyuniya,
Unna Mutta Tholukku Sonna Maatta.
That is what Baba says. What you see in the other man is not other. No, it is only you. The others are your own images, your own reflection. There is no other. The one without the other is Divinity. Therefore my friends, a realised man, an Atmajnani, will be non-judgemental.
Some people might say, “Well, I think I have the knowledge of the Self, but still I judge. Why do you say that I don’t have the knowledge of the Self? If you want, I will quote the Bhagavad Gita. I read Bhaja Govindam everyday. I read it; I have the knowledge.”
No. Here is a simple example: If the radio set is spoiled, you cannot listen to any station such as BBC or Delhi. You will only hear “tttuuurr” (a static sound). That is all. Why? Because the radio set is spoiled. Therefore, when our mindset is spoiled, we judge unnecessary sounds. There is nothing wrong with the broadcast; there is something wrong with our radio set. So, repair yourself.
Therefore, Bhagavan says let us correct our radio set so that we get the transmission radio waves properly, so that we can listen to all stations. Therefore an Atmajnani will have the radio set of his mind corrected or perfected. That is what I would like to bring to your attention.
What is the next benefit for a realised man, an Atmajnani, the one of awareness? What else is he going to get? Is he is going to be a millionaire? Is he is going to be the president of the country? Or is he going to be the richest man or greatest man or any other superlative degree you would like to use? No, an Atmajnani, a man of realisation or Self-awareness, a man of Self-knowledge, will not be born again. That is all. This is a full stop. As he has this knowledge of the Self, he has no Raga or attachment, no Dwesha or hatred, and hence, no rebirth.
Everyone says, “Moksha, I want Moksha, Moksha,” as if it is some sweet in the canteen. It is not like that. What do you mean by Moksha? Moksha is that where there is no question of rebirth. Rebirth takes place because of attachment. Once attachment is gone, there is no question of rebirth. That is Moksha Amrutha. Therefore, a realised man will not have to be born again.
But what if we want to be born again? All right, let us be born again, go to school, get beaten by our teachers, go to college, appear for exams a number of times, get married, get wedded to worries, have children and then some more diseases. If this drama is enjoyable, please enjoy it! (Laughter) Have any number of cycles you want! But if you want to cut that off, if you want to end the cycle of birth and death, it is only the knowledge of the Self, Atmajnana that will set you free. Then there will be no Raga or Dwesha any longer.
Another point: some people think an Atmajnani, a man of knowledge, will not go to a temple and will not worship. Do you think he is a lazy man? No, a man of knowledge is not lazy. Please understand.
To quote Baba, “Laziness is rust and dust. Realisation is rest and best.” That is what Baba has said: realisation is rest and best. An Atmajnani, a man of Self-realisation, knowledge of the Self, is always active and dynamic. He is not sluggish; he doesn’t feel sleepy. No. He excels in every job given to him.
TRUE WORSHIP
He goes to the temple and he worships, but his process is different. The usual religious type of worship process is this: collect a number of flowers from the market and give it to the pujari (priest), so that he will do the worship on our behalf. (Laughter) Or give him some money so that he will buy the flowers and he will do the worship. It is beautiful: we have very short-shortcuts for everything. We have no time to go to the market, no time to buy flowers, so we give rupees 25 to the pujari, and he will buy the flowers and do the worship for us! What he actually does, we do not know! There is no reason to feel pity for anyone; we have to pity ourselves!
Therefore my friends, an Atmajnani, a realised man, worships with flowers. As he worships with flowers, it is not the flower that is important to him (whereas you and I consider flowers very important, be it jasmine, chrysanthemum or a rose). An Atmajnani is not bothered about the flower; he thinks of the spirit behind it. The flowers of touch, the fragrance of character, the flowers of a strong will, the flowers of virtues, he will think in these terms. He will not say, “Here is a jasmine flower, Hari Om, a rose flower, Hari Om.” His whole act of worship is at a different level altogether.
X-RAY VISION
Here is an example: all of you have a camera and you each take a picture: “Mr. Anil, come on smile!” So I smile and you take a photograph. When I go for X-ray, they also take a picture; but there is no smile, only teeth; (Laughter) no skin, only bones. That too is a photo! (Laughter)
So a doctor does not look at your photo, like your passport size photo for the immigration counter. (Laughter) He looks at your x-ray. Therefore, a Jnani sees the x-ray, while a worldly fellow looks at the regular Kodak film. So we have to understand that a Jnani goes by the spirit, whereas a non-realised man does things mechanically.
How can we say that a man who goes to a temple and worships is without awareness? His face will tell! The face will tell you the spirit behind it. If he puts on a long face or keeps looking at his watch while repeating Hari Om, it is mechanical, robot worship.
The Jnani smiles, so happy, so blissful. He feels the statue in front of him and he forgets himself until someone says, “Sir, please give way for the next man.” He doesn’t know (he is blocking others) because he has lost himself in total identification with the deity or the statue in the temple.
That is the real x-ray-type approach; whereas looking at how many people are in the queue, how many in the front, how many are dressed nicely, or what kind of jewellery they are wearing, this is the ordinary camera-photograph type of approach. Therefore, an Atmajnani does spiritual rites or spiritual duties with an altogether different spirit.
Another point: we close our eyes and worship when we sing songs. This morning there was a very beautiful song:
Antharanga Sai Anatha Natha Sai
Deena Bandhu Sai
Karuna Sindhu Sai
Wow! One sheds tears naturally when hearing this! The meaning is this:
Antharanga Sai
Oh Sai, You are in me.
Anatha Natha Sai
You are the only refuge for all of us who are forlorn.
Nobody cares for us—
You are the only one who cares for us, who has concern for us.
Deena Bandhu Sai
You are our only relation.
We are neglected, we are poor,
but You are our relation.
Karuna Sindhu Sai
You are the ocean of compassion.
It is really a beautiful song, a very meaningful song. Now, a man of non-awareness will think of the tala (beat). How does it go . . . fast or slow? Or he may think of the instruments or the singer: “He is my classmate (or your classmate) . . . my son (or your son).” So the singer, tune, beat and attention (on everybody), these are the considerations of a man of non-awareness.
At a higher step, I may think of Swami, so that He may fulfil my desire. I have some problems:
Karuna Sindhu Sai
“If You can’t solve the problems, who else will solve my problems? If You don’t look at me, who else will look at me, oh Lord?” We appeal to His mercy, His grace. We pray to Him so that He will come to our rescue. That is a little higher.
Another still higher point: “Swami, should I sing throughout the night?” Not necessary. “Twelve bhajans (devotional songs) are necessary?” Not necessary. Just one prayer from the bottom of your heart is enough to burn the mountainous heap of sins. Sins may be of the size of a mountain, but they can all be burnt with the one matchstick of one bhajan.
To light your cigarette, you don’t need the whole matchbox. To light your gas stove, the whole matchbox of fifty matchsticks is not necessary. One is enough. Similarly, one bhajan, one thought, one prayer will make our lives sublime. It can burn mountains of sins also. That is the spirit of an Atmajnani. This is what we have to understand.
Another point: externally or outwardly, how do we know so-and-so is a realised man? Of course, we don’t have to know. We should become realised ourselves! The realised man, a man of knowledge, is not a film actor or a cricketer to copy and imitate. But still if you want to know (though it is not necessary to know), there is one point to keep in mind. What is it?
There is peace around an Atmajnani. Wherever he is, there is peace around him. There is bliss around him. There are smiles around him. There is laughter around him. There is dance around him. There will not be long faces, tensions, pretensions, and drama. Everyone will be genuine and everyone will be ecstatic in front of an Atmajnani.
How do we know? Watch Bhagavan’s darshan. As Bhagavan starts giving darshan, you will watch yourself. How were you before darshan? How are you during darshan? You know for yourself! We forget all our worries and we are very happy when we see Him. He is a realised soul; He is Divine. When comfort, happiness, bliss and peace pervade around a person, you can call him an Atmajnani, a realised soul, a soul supreme. That is what we can see.
Another feature or point about an Atmajnani: Some people say, “I do this, I do that.” We are not doing this or that for any propaganda, promotion or recognition. No, let us do it for our own selves, because certain spiritual techniques or approaches are too personal. You cannot bring romance to the street! Divine romance lies in our heart -- so secret, so close, and so intimate. I cannot put it in the fish market! Divine romance is very personal.
Therefore my friends, we have to understand that a man of knowledge or Self-awareness is not affected by the three qualities: thamas (animality), rajas (passion), or sathwa (piousness). He is beyond these three qualities, being without attributes.
If we say, “You are a good man,” he will say, “Ok.” If we say, “Ugliest fellow,” he will answer, “All right, go to the next. At least you will find another better person.” He is not bothered by your compliments. There is no fishing for compliments in the case of a realised soul.
My friends, these are the points which I wanted to share with you this morning. The rest we will carry on with next week. Thank you for your time. Thank you for being here. (Applause)
I am really thrilled and excited, believe me or not, because many people are under the impression that all people want stories, that all want to hear about personal experiences. No, that is not all. There is something more. You study matter at college level, and you study about energy at the university level. You study the body at the college level, anatomy in the second year of medical course, physiology at a higher level, radiology during the third year, cytology in the fourth year, and medicine in the final year. You go on learning more and more.
Bhagavan, I have no words to thank You, Swami. We have so many people who want to have the knowledge of the Self. If I am to pray, I have only one prayer: Bhagavan should bless all of you with this thirst, this hunger, this appetite and longing to have knowledge of the Self or Atmajnana.
May Bhagavan be with you for ever and ever! Thank you very much. (Applause)
Prof. Anil Kumar ended his talk with the bhajan, “Ramakrishna Hari Narayana”.
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