Welcome to the 2013 Raas Purnima issue of e-Sanai



by Sri Sandip Dasgupta

Welcome to the Raas Purnima issue of e-Sanai. This is the time of the year when our Master decided to give up His current body – perhaps as a test to see if we were truly prepared to accept the “I-Reality” that He had shown us the path to (instead of His body).  Sri Sri Babathakur unfolded the “Science of Oneness” as revealed to Him in the current body.  He had repeatedly emphasized that this “Science of Oneness” is the only panacea for the current age.  According to Him, just as ancient currency cannot not be used as legal tender today, so cannot the age old message of our Shastras be understood and absorbed, unless it is customized for the current age.   To summarize the “Science of Oneness”:

 

·         By definition, Absolute can only be ONE.

·         That Absolute is the substratum of all living beings and objects of this universe.

·         Just like we cannot think of a circle without a center, this substratum is the Absolute core of everything.

·         This substratum or the I-Reality is the God that resides in each one of us.

·         We do not have to look outside or go to a temple to find this God.  We need to look within ourselves, recognize the substratum within us, and identify ourselves with this I-Reality/God Absolute in everything you do, think etc.

·         When we are always conscious of this I-Reality that is the substratum within us, then we are making positive steps towards realization.

·         A Sadguru is one who has realized this “Knowledge of Oneness” and unfolds this Knowledge to whoever is a sincere seeker.  The seeker’s mind is like the window of a room that lets in sunlight.  If the window is wide open, it lets the maximum amount of sunlight in – if however the window is closed, then the sunlight is blocked.  Similarly, even if we have the opportunity of coming in close contact with a Sadguru, we will only absorb the amount that our mind will let us absorb.  This is why the preparation of mind is very important for progress on the spiritual path.

Our Master was the embodiment of that Absolute I-Reality.  If we reflect on His words, His actions, His Name – we shall see how He was always identified with that Absolute Reality.  Here is my humble attempt to capture some of them:

o   Let’s begin with His name – Sri Sri Babathakur.  He repeatedly told us that we should not confuse His name with the body of the current incarnation.  He had explained that the “Baba” of the mundane plane and Thakur (God) of the transcendental plane are but One, not separate. To solidly signify this Oneness, the two words “Baba” and “Thakur” had been joined into ONE word – Babathakur!

o   He never initiated anybody – because that would mean that the Guru is superior to the one being initiated.  He saw the Supreme I-Reality amongst everybody and hence didn’t feel the need to initiate anybody in the traditional sense.

o   He maintained that He was here on a Missionless Mission – hence he did not believe in setting up any institutions. This is because when one preaches to another, the concept of duality comes in!

o   He repeatedly told us – Mene Maniye Cholo.  In other words, recognize the presence of the I-Reality amongst everybody.  This will spur thoughts of Oneness and equality, eliminate hatred, jealousy, competitiveness towards others in life – and thus usher Supreme Bliss within our lives.

o   He repeatedly stated – “Accept All, Reject None”. This emanated from His “Science of Oneness”.  If the same I-Reality resides amongst all of us, then we are accepting everybody to be that I-Reality – the question of rejection doesn’t arise because one needs duality to reject another.

o   He once went looking for the Nastik/atheist.  He quickly discovered that there was no such being! The “I” that was looking for the atheist, was Itself the Supreme “I-Reality”!

o   He repeatedly reminded us that He had always been with us, is with us, and will always be with us – in good times and in the not-so-good times.  He was reminding us of the Supreme I-Reality amongst us – not the mundane body.

o   He reminded us that “I was always alone, I is always alone and will remain alone”. By definition of the “Science of Oneness”, there is only one Absolute “I” – and hence the Absolute "I" is always alone.

o   His august proclamation – “All Divine, for all Time, as It Is” - tells us clearly that by the very definition of Absolute (which is unchangeable), the Absolute “I” will remain unchanged inside us for all times .

The list goes on and on.  All I can say is that

·         In every breath, He gave us the message of Oneness

·         In every step, He showed us the path of Oneness

·         In every action, He indicated that the action was being performed by the Supreme I-Reality

·         In every argument, He pointed us to that Oneness!

So, on this auspicious day, can we all commit to reflecting on His words (Mananam) everyday?

Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur!
 

Make Room for Joy





by Sri P.C. Lahiri

Dr. Marguerite Theophil is an an educator, an organizational consultant to business houses and educational institutions, a personal growth coach, and the founder of WEAVE, a institute dedicated to the advancement spiritual knowledge.  She recently wrote an article titled “Why Not Make Room For Joy?” which appeared in the Bangalore edition of the Times of India on November 11, 2013.  The article has been well appreciated by the intelligentsia, who perceive it as being an effective tool to improve the quality of life at all levels.

In the article, Dr. Theophil mentions having visualized an extra room in her home to “Welcome Joy”, prompted by the unexepected comment of a friend who remarked that she had no room for joy in her life.  'Making a room' and 'make room' however are two different things.  In order to make room for joy in one's lives, certain things need to be moved out, as it is very difficult to experience joy if our lives are cluttered.  She listed out a few things that need to go out of our lives to make room for joy, such as:

·        "Manic busy-ness”, by taking some quality time off and relaxing

 

·        "The external pressure of putting others before self”, by ensuring that we're breathing first before attempting to help others breathe

·         “resentments”, by nipping evil in the bud and not allowing it to take roots

·         “worrying about that which is clearly beyond our control”, by accepting the reality of the fact (i.e. that these situations are indeed beyoond our control), and instead focussing on dealing with what is within our control.

·         “blaming others or own self”, by joyfully observing the kindness, good deeds and other positives around us

·         “grumbling”, by appreciating the blessings that always come our way

·         “awfulising” (a special coinage of a psychologist), by consciously avoiding distortion of thinking and not making a mountain out of a mole hill

One can think of many more such points, but when joy takes up residence within our selves, all the above get edged out of our lives.

When a qualified and intelligent person writes a piece which touches the subtle side of our lives and offers to provide tangible solutions, many amongst us are impressed and motivated to follow such a person.  Do you know why?  Because she is in the same orbit as we are, albeit with a clearer concept of life than ours.  Are we though able to accept in the same way a person who comes from a higher or the highest orbit and provides a comprehensive, one (i.e. singular) solution?  Let us see.

While walking bare foot early morning on the dew-laden grass, if a few thorns were to get stuck in the sole of our foot, we would not only stop walking and take a seat, but also look for a bigger and stronger thorn to get the weaker embedded ones out.  We would be unable to extract the embedded thorns with one of the same size and strength, howsoever attractive or suitable looking that thorn may be. The tool with which one repair a defect has to be by nature, of a higher category/orbit for it to do an effective and long-lasting job.  Another example (albeit from a different angle) is that of a defective car which is running and cannot be repaired while it is in motion.  The car has to be stopped and cooled down, the right mechanic has to be found, a patient wait has to be undergone, a repair cost has to be incurred - and only then does the car become available for further driving.  If any one of the above acts isn’t performed, we may again run into problems with the car. The most important of these acts is that of getting the right mechanic.  A temporary or short-term fix can be provided by many mechanics, and choosing such a mechanic may be acceptable to many amongst us, given our own lack of knowledge.  However the trouble shall recur and come to haunt us sooner or later.  Such mechanics are readily available; they work fast (which is to our liking as we are always in a mad rush), and have the gift of the gab to easily convince us by communicating along the same wavelengths that we do. Who however is this right mechanic?  One who has a comprehensive, all-round knowledge about his job; does his work patiently and thoroughly without appeasing the customer by hurrying; generally talks less; never overtly tries to convince anyone; and more often than not, is not very well known.  Only those lucky ones who have come in contact with such a mechanic truly know about his silent all round expertise, his quiet excellence, his worth.  It is interesting to note that when these lucky ones refer him to others, many a times the others come back not so impressed; simply because he does not behave and talk from our plane or the way we expect him to. Many of you may have heard the above examples from Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur (the Master). I have simply elaborated on them through self-analysis for my easier understanding.

Master’s offered the following ‘One Solution’ to all ills of life — ‘All problems belong to the mind and not to the Self which is Consciousness and Bliss Absolute. Since mind is the modification of nature or prakriti, it is non-self, hence unreal. When mind itself is unreal, all its problems are unreal forever. As Self, you are Master of nature, not its slave. Remember this.’

‘Even when you have a problem or are in trouble, you just take some rest, relax yourself and think—No I am Pure Consciousness which is the only substratum and background of all. See how the problems get solved by themselves, leaving no trace at all.’

All problems get solved by themselves, leaving no trace at all — one comprehensive, total solution to end all ills of life for all individuals in this universe - wherever they may be and whosoever they might be.  This solution is applicable to one and all, without any exception, whatsoever.  It is simpler than the simplest, but harder than the hardest.

How many of us who have spent years with Him have been able to accept the above One Solution? The answer is almost none. Why?  Because the Solution comes from an ‘orbitless orbit’ - sans any pomp and show, free of cost and effort, not tailored specifically for our limited intellect and outlook (and yet not difficult to understand at all with little introspection) - and last but not the least, because it is the simplest and most direct of all solutions.

We are verily Joy Itself.  Do we still then need to make room for joy?

 

Revealing Characteristics of Consciousness Itself

 



The following is an 'as is' electronic reproduction of an article that originally appeared in the 2004 Raas Purnima issue of 'Sri Sanai', published by the Saccidananda Society, Kolkata.  It is the second in the series of articles titled, 'Revealing Characteristics of Consciousness Itself', that contain the teachings of Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur

The first characteristic of human life is education, which is a must for one and all.  Without education, man is no better than other animals of subhuman nature.  Education imparts experience, experience of one's own inner nature and outer nature as well as that of others with whom one has living relationship.

The experience that man acquires through education is solely objective, hence manifold.  Objective knowledge is essentially needed for relative process of life.  But that cannot solve all problems of life.  Objective nature gets refined and wider when it is resolved into subjective experience.  Subjective experience, even though superior and wider than the objective one, is also of mixed nature, i.e. conditioned and limited by Bhava or ideas of heterogeneous nature.  Therefore, it is not perfect or reliable.

Objective experience in ordinary life is conducted by the subjective one which in accordance with its characteristic features of various degrees, is found among the men of technical professions.  Such experience par-excellence terminates in proficiency.  Yet there is want of perfection.  The education that imparts perfection and realization is inherent in man. It is not the result of his intellectual exercise, but is the true nature of his inmost Being or Self which is infinite, eternal and spontaneous, of ever-revealing homogeneous nature.

The need of education is felt by human mind, not by other lives. In other lives, i.e. in animals and the rest, in place of education, what is found is their natural instinct and impulse which are conditioned and limited according to their constitutional nature. Only in human life the need of education is felt owing to man’s constitutional nature which is more developed and delicate in character.  Besides this, owing to his developed inner nature, his willing and thinking faculty together with enjoying tendency, all these nature born qualities grow in such a manner that they become the ruling constituents of his nature. That is why man prompted by his inner nature wills to do, wills to know and wills to enjoy according to his desire.

The threefold desire of man, such as willing, thinking and enjoying, is found to not be equal in all men. This threefold desire is differently known as conation or volition, cognition or appreciation and emotion or devotion. Some are born with conational nature, some with cognitional nature and some are born with devotional nature.  Very few are born with mixed nature of either of the two or of the three. Either of these aspires to grow and develop in accordance with its complete and perfect nature for which it requires prompt and proper training or education. Without that it cannot properly develop.

Men of volitional nature, according to their constitutional qualities, are mainly of three grades, viz. Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic.  Similarly men of both cognitional and devotional nature are also of three grades, viz. Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic.  Men of volitional nature with predominating Tamas are mostly found among the labor class, daily-wage earners and soldiers, military men with proper training; those with predominating Rajas are found among the skilled men, technicians, engineers, social reformers and politicians, etc.; and those with predominating Sattva are found among the Hatayogis and Rajayogis.  Those of cognitional nature with predominating Tamas are found among pundits, scholars and littérateurs, etc.; those with predominating Rajas are found among philosophers, poets and scientists, etc.; and those with predominating Sattva are found among the spiritual seekers, Jnanayogis--- sages, seers and realizers.  Men of devotional nature with predominating Tamas are found among sensualists, dancers and artistes of all branches; those with predominating Rajas are found among musicians and Sadhakas, etc.; and those with predominating Sattva are found among Bhaktas, Premiks and devotee-lovers of God or Self.

Education provides us with experience and knowledge in general sense. In life what we learn at first, i.e. what we acquire as education is objective knowledge (knowledge of object).  We are born and brought up in outer nature called Prakriti. This Prakriti, constituted of three ingredients, namely Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, which together with five basic elements (Pancha Sthula Bhut), viz. earth, water, fire, air and ether, builds up the gross visible universe of form, name and idea. In fact, the gross panoramic universe is the open playground of Prakriti, This Prakriti characterizes only predominating Tamas associated with Rajas and Sattva in proportionate degrees. Prakriti is not free and independent by itself. It is the outer expression or manifestation of inner subtle nature called Swabhava which is constituted of the reflection of Consciousness Itself. The Consciousness Itself is verily the central nature of creation called Swabodha or Divine Self (Real I) which is the source of both inner nature Swabhava and outer nature Prakriti. Inner nature Swabhava constitutes the Jeevahood or living beings of innumerable varieties with their respective body or form as their outer nature. Jeeva as individual life is manifold . Of them the human being is the highest and superior to all the rest. Man is also of various diversified characters. They are classified in three groups, viz. Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic. Each of them has specific characteristics of nature according to their inner constitution, Swabhava, which for its integral development, progress and betterment, has to struggle against the self-contradictory environmental conditions and limitations of Gunas and Bhavas of both inner and outer nature.

The inner nature Swabhava is manifestation of the central nature Swabodha. Outer nature Prakriti is ruled by inner nature Swabhava which is again ruled by Swabodha. The entire creation (Jeeva-Jagat) is the manifestation of central nature Swabodhatma which is the Lord of both Jeeva and Jagat. Swabodhatma, the central nature, is also the manifestation of the transcendental nature called the Brahman/Atman, the Godhead Absolute. Brahman/Atman, the Supreme Godhead, is of the nature of Saccidananda Absolute. This Saccidananda, though a unity of three distinct words, Sat-Cit-Ananda, is in reality the True One homogeneous nature designated as Brahman/Atman, the Absolute Reality. Of Divine Saccidananda---Sat is Existence Absolute, Cit is Consciousness Absolute and Ananda is Bliss Absolute. Either of these three signifies the other two also. That is the beauty and reality of the Supreme Divine Self or the Absolute Brahman/ Atman of the Infinite and the Eternal One of homogeneous nature.

The real existence of Divine Self is all pervading. Hence, not a single individual expression or manifestation, either of inner nature or of outer nature of Divine Self, is excluded from the Divine Existence and Light (Consciousness). The whole matter is a unique network of the Divine Mind.

Though the Self Divine is of homogeneous nature, all manifestations of Its inner and outer nature, i.e. Swabhava and Prakriti, are of heterogeneous nature which characterizes the differences and contradictions with one another. That is why all kinds of manifestations of both Swabhava and Prakriti are considered in appearance as non-self. It cannot be understood by Jeeva which is of Swabhava by nature, conditioned and limited by Prakriti. Even though Jeeva Swabhava is no other than Swabodha or Divine Self in reality, owing to its constitutional limitations and conditions caused by its self-generated lower nature, it cannot realize it’s True Nature/the Divine Self of ever-perfect, immortal and homogeneous character. Apparently, Jeevas are found to be manifold and diversified in nature of heterogeneous characteristics. Heterogeneous nature appears to be seen on account of the inseparable relation, condition and limitation of both ideas of inner nature together with names and forms of outer nature. Jeeva, specially human being, is a Self-forgotten one, who, owing to the fault of his own intellect, acts and experiences under the rules of duality of Swabhava and Prakriti. He is possessed by the sense of relativity and duality as well. In order to get rid of such nature and be re-established in his true divine homogeneous nature he has to cultivate and follow the esoteric science of Swabodhatma of central nature.

Consciousness under both Prakriti and Swabhava is Avidya, that under Swabodha is Vidya, and beyond that it is Paravidya. All pertaining to Avidya is non-self, all pertaining to Swabhava is embodied soul or being (Jeeva). Jeeva is a mixture or combination of Self and non-self both. Jeeva or embodied soul or I is so called when it is associated with and conditioned or limited by the outer nature, Prakriti, i.e. non-self. Self when free from Prakriti and Swabhava is Pure Consciousness, but when it is associated with Swabhava and Prakriti it is mixed consciousness, impure consciousness. Swabodhatma is pure Consciousness, unmixed Consciousness; while Swabhavatma is mixed consciousness, impure consciousness. It is called mixed and impure consciousness because it is conditioned and limited by non-self qualities.

Jeeva, the embodied being, is impure I of condition and limitation, i.e. consciousness with condition and limitation. Hence, it is called Swabhavatma. When it is free from condition and limitation, it is Swabodhatma, Pure Self, i.e. Perfect Divine I. Jeeva has double nature, one with non-self and the other with Pure Self. Non-self indicates outer nature and Pure Self indicates central nature. Swabhavatma, so long as it is associated with and conditioned by non-self outer nature, it is worldly life (Samsarin); and when it is associated with Pure Self of central nature, it is ever-free Divine Life. Ever-free Perfect Divine Life is Pure Self Divine, Real I; and embodied worldly life is impure, finite and conditioned I. Conditions and limitations are Gunas or Bhavas which are called Upadhis. Consciousness or Self, i.e. Real I is ever-free from Upadhi of any kind; and that associated with Upadhi is ever-bound soul, embodied being.

Sri Sri Babathakur


to be continued............
 

Naad Brahman - The Cosmic Sound of Hinduism

by Sri Ajit Halder

The Sanskrit word ‘Naad’ refers to the ‘sound’ which pervades the entire Universe and is a form of energy, while the word ‘Brahman’ is synonymous with the ultimate creative power underlying the Universe. So Brahman manifests as Naad, and the composite word ‘Naad Brahman’ signifies that the whole Universe is filled with Naad energy that is believed to be at the heart of the process of Creation and is thus intimately linked with Brahman.

 

The question then arises:  How can we best use sound as a means to release us from our earthly bonds and ensure our spiritual progress towards our creator Brahman?  A devout Hindu fervently wishes to spiritually elevate himself/herself to the supreme state of Brahman-consciousness and voicing Naad as a form of worship presents a powerful, effective way to realise that objective. This paper proposes that by chanting hymns and mantras, i.e. through Naad practice, a devotee will reach Brahman.

 

The phrase ‘Naad Brahman’ draws our attention to the holy sound generated either by the utterance of the eternal syllable OM or by the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra or by the blowing a shankha (conch shell) as the precursor to religious worship or to the holy chanting of hymns during a puja.  Over thousands of years, Indian Rishis (sages) by divine inspiration, discussed and practised vocal and sound techniques to elevate human consciousness to a spiritual level and bring humans closer to their divine nature.  Those Rishis discovered that the human voice is a powerful tool to commune with the universal spirit and to bring the individual to a higher level of awareness, enabling his/her divine union with the creator God.  The Rishis developed Naad Yoga as the science which guides the individual to join with the divine by using the power of sound and voice through utterances of mantras, singing of Shastriya Sangeet (i.e. Indian Classical Music), and performance of Naam Japa (i.e. remembrance and the repeating of the name of the Divine) – all of which involve the use of the voice, mind and soul. When a worshipper recites ‘Jai Sri Krishna’, the sound produced enters the body system through the ears and sends exhilarating vibrations which sanctify the auditory canal and other parts of the body receiving those vibrations. It should be noted that the concept of Naad also includes the non-linguistic sounds of mystic words (Beeja mantra) like Hrim, Krim, Hum and Shrim uttered as part of Yogic practices.  In all its manifestations, the Naad stirs our souls deeply, imbuing us with Divine Power.

 

We hear sound when someone utters words to convey a message, sing a song, or just make a noise.  We enjoy listening to the sound emanating from an instrument like the violin or a sitar.  We also hear sound when something physical like the skin of a drum, vibrates.  The sound waves emanating from the drums reach our ears and resonate with the vibrations of our mind, bringing us immense joy in the process.  A Naad may thus convey the notion of different types of created sound i.e. a variety of listening experiences.  Although Naad has hitherto been equated with the English word ‘sound’ which can be heard or listened to, it also includes another type of sound, ‘soundless sound’ that is the subtle, inner sound created without the vibration of a physical object.  It is now clear that Naad admits of two types of listening sensation – (i) ahata (i.e. ‘struck’) sound produced say, by striking a metal plate with a hammer or hitting the membrane of a tabla with fingers, and (ii) anahata (i.e. ‘un-struck’) sound, a mystic sound produced spontaneously on its own, and experienced regularly only by spiritually uplifted Siddha Yogis and other enlightened souls.  Depending upon the intensity of a seeker’s concentration and the level of his/her mental purity, Anahata Naad can be distinctly heard in deep meditation.  This ‘hearing’ paves the way for the seeker to attain the highest level of spiritual consciousness.

 

This discussion started by depicting Naad as the mundane, everyday ritualistic sound (i.e. the ahata sound heard through the ears), and progressed to showing Naad as also incorporating the subtle mystic sound (anahata Naad) that isn’t audible and can only be perceived by the human heart while practising meditation in silence.  It is obvious now that the word ‘sound’ does not adequately cover the whole spectrum of Naad and we should search for a more appropriate word to describe Naad. This new word should be broad enough in its coverage on two fronts: firstly, it should represent phonic signals received from the external world that excite our hearing organ and secondly, it should refer to the non-phonic sensation of Naad that is self-generating and which sways the inner world of our minds and hearts.  One ought to recall that sound is generated by the vibration of a material object; hence the word ‘vibration’ is perhaps a more appropriate expression to represent Naad in the context of this article.

 

It is a scientific truth that atoms are at the core of all matter and that they are in a state of constant motion, vibrating.  Vibration then is both a movement and a ‘sound’ and is a more suitable word to include both the ahata and anahata aspects of Naad. Moreover, we know from the scientific analysis of cosmic radiation left over from the Big Bang cataclysm that this origin of cosmic matter sounded like a deep Hum (Beeja mantra), akin to a continuous humming sound.  Such studies also indicate that shortly after the big upheaval, giant sound waves began propagating through the entire space. Since Naad existed from the instant of Brahman’s creation of the Universe, this scientific observation surely links Naad with the origin of the Cosmos and Naad may thus be aptly termed the Cosmic Sound of Hinduism.  Ultimately, it is natural for a devotee to get personally involved in his/her act of worship by using the power of Vak (speech), recitation of mantras, or singing devotional songs to reach convergence with Brahman.