Welcome to the 2016 Raas Purnima issue of e-Sanai

by Sri Sandip Dasgupta

Dear fellow devotees,

Welcome to the Raaspurnima edition of our electronic magazine. This is the time of the year when Sri Sri Babathakur left his mundane body. With the departure of His mundane body, it has become even more important for all of us to listen to His teachings and reflect on it – because we have had the good fortune of listening to Him directly.

I have for the last week been struggling to write this editorial  – as my mind has been preoccupied with thoughts related to work as well as the monetary crisis confronting the common man in India (triggered by the master stroke dealt by Prime Minister Modi and his team).  I have been trying to understand why the whole humanity has to go through such extreme pain caused by a set of people who have not been following the rules.  This time, I didn’t have the Master next to me helping me come up with an explanation – so, I tried to rationalize it in my mind. 

The Absolute ‘I-Reality’ created all the mundane beings in this world.  It is He who introduced the concept of “money” and “currency” in the mind of individuals.  It is He who created attachment between Jiva and objects (including money).  It is He who created greed in the minds of people and it is He Himself who created the concept of “white money” and “black money”.  While the whole world was “enjoying” the objects of the world, the Lord was simply sitting back and enjoying the “Sportful Dramatic Sameside game of Self-Consciousness”. 

Now the Lord has decided that it is time to start winding up the game of corruption – at least for a while. So, He has entrusted a leader like Mr. Modi (and his team) to begin the process of change.  This kind of change is nothing short of a nuclear bomb that has been dropped in the financial world of 1.2 billion people.  It is time for all of us to return to our roots and respect each other as the same “Divine One” and begin living in “Samasar”, instead of “Samsar”.  It is time for us to once again respect each other and live this life according to the rules of society.

Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur! Joy Babathakur!

Right Use

by Sri P.C. Lahiri

Master (Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur) has revealed the ‘Science of Right Use’ as the Right Use of six elements; namely― right use of 1) time, 2) wealth, 3) education, 4)life-energy, 5) environment, and finally 6) the simultaneous right use of all the above five.  We have our own understanding of these six right uses and their application in day to day life based on the revelation of this Science by the Master through video discourses, bhajans, books and articles.  This piece is a reflection on how to imbibe the aforementioned Science in our daily lives based on how the Master conducted Himself in day to day life. 

Real learning comes from observing and following a “living example of perfection”.  A perfect Life essentially demonstrates the sixth right use in all walks of life. The preparation to achieve perfection in each of the first five right uses is the sadhana (self-effort for perfection and realization) of a true seeker or follower.  It is only after the seeker achieves perfection in all the first five right uses that the question of sixth right use arises; and its perfection shall come only after prolonged simultaneous right use of the first five right uses so that it becomes one with the very innate nature (swabhava) of the seeker.  The preparatory process goes on as long as the ‘sense of otherness’ (the perception of something other than the being of the seeker/practitioner) remains.  When the sense of otherness disappears, the central Self-Divine nature reveals of Its own accord.  The sense of many-ness and duality gets merged into the realization of unity within and without.  Perfection of swabhava (the innate nature) unifies it with swabodha (the Self-Conscious central divine nature).  Then life becomes the play of Self-Consciousness with Itself, for Itself and in Itself.  Due to the absence of any other entity, time, wealth, education, life-energy and environment become one with that life. Due to this unity, simultaneous right use of all the five as one reveals from within effortlessly.  It is to be carefully noted that the sixth right use is not an effortful exercise.  The goal is achieved by such a seeker.  He/she becomes the master of the playing field of apparent diversity and many-ness, yet remains in the state of unity and perfection.  Hence, all the other players on the field look up to the master of the field for any kind of favor, grant, wish fulfillment, and finally perfection.

Now, we have heard the Master say (pointing to Himself) that ‘this One’ is ‘behind the goal post’. Reaching the goal is the name of the game.  What is beyond the goal?  We have also heard the Master say ‘nitya-advaita’ (eternally non-dual), not just advaita (non-dual).  Nitya-advaita is the original coinage of Master, just like His positioning of Himself― ‘behind the goal post’ is an original coinage.  Advaita is achieved when the goal is achieved; nitya-advaita is ‘behind the goal post’. ‘Behind the goal post’ is the Perfect Witness who has nothing to do with the play of many-ness and duality on the field.  He is absolutely un-attached and un-affected; whereas the master of the field has the duty to start, conduct and finish the game.  The master of the field also remains unaffected by the vicissitudes of the game but still has the duty to run the game. He also demonstrates the Science of Right Use in all the on-field activities - not only as a master/referee/umpire, but also as a player.  Only after the final whistle does the master of the field become unified with the Master behind the goal post.

How does the Supreme Master conduct Himself whenever He appears on the field from ‘behind the goal post’?  How is that possible?  From the position of ‘behind the goal post’, how can there be an appearance on the field?  To find an answer, let us try to assimilate and absorb the real meaning of some utterances of the Master in this regard.  Pointing to Himself He has uttered that ‘this One’ is not born. The Supreme Divine Mother is playing Her Supreme Divine game and to you it appears that ‘this One’ has a body.  I was, am and shall ever remain an eternal Witness.  You will know my true identity at the deepest core of your heart where you are one with ‘this One’. He also says that do not try to know, rather try to accept.  Real understanding is achieved only by ‘standing under’. The best effort to know cannot lead us to the state of all-knowing.  At best, it will give us more knowledge than most of the others, but not the state of all-knowing.  The practice of accepting one and all as verily our own Self shall culminate in the state of all-knowing without any specific effort to know more and more.  So when you ‘stand under’ your own higher Self which is the Self of one and all, you will realize the all-knowing Supreme Divine state of your True Nature where you are unified with ‘this One’. You will then understand and realize the true meaning of ‘behind the goal post’. An effort to intellectually understand the real meaning of this original coinage is an exercise in futility. So let us try to understand (by standing under) the day to day conduct of the Master, even if they “appear” to be routine in nature.

Time was not an important factor in Master’s life, but it was never neglected or disregarded. It was never an influence. On various occasions in the course of a single day, Master had to be told about bath time, food time or sleep time. The reminder to Master was more for the need of people around as they were all bound by time.  Master had no need including shelter, clothes, food, sleep etc.― no physical, vital, mental and intellectual or any need of any kind. This extremely unique and exceptional fact was witnessed day in and day out, yet He never ignored anything.  He was the perfect example of all-acceptance, despite being absolutely qualified to easily follow all-rejection since He had no need.  In a state of perfect unity and identity, there is no second entity.  So how can there be any need or any factor that binds/controls such a Supreme Soul?  And yet, His mundane life on the mortal plane was an unprecedented example of all-acceptance. One has to keep this unique factor in mind while trying to understand (which comes only by standing under) the lessons to be learnt from the life of the Master. 

In the treatise Knowledge of Knowledge vol. 2, Master has revealed an original coinage― ‘Time Eternal’. There is a full chapter on Time Eternal.  He has elaborated that Time Eternal is that perennial constant substratum on the bosom of which past, present and future play their game or it is the ‘timeless-time’ (in other contexts Master has used phrases like ‘missionless-mission’ and ‘causeless-cause’).  Time Eternal remains as the permanent Witness to the play of time (past, present and future).  Time Eternal revealed in the Master as He is identified with it. Therefore, if we say that Master has demonstrated the right use of time through His conduct in life, it is like saying that a world famous English writer knows a b c d…. Same will be the case in Master’s life with all other aspects of the Science of Right Use.  State of Time Eternal is the state of ‘behind the goal post’.  The master of all the right uses including the sixth has achieved the goal, i.e. the Self-Divine, and has direct experience of the central nature, the God-nature within each one of us. The direct experiencer of the transcendental and the trans- transcendental nature is the One behind the goal post.  From another angle― we the ordinary people are always involved in past-present-future; as also in tamasic-rajasic-sattvic gunas (qualities).  By virtue of merit, when we get so refined that we reach the central core of past-present-future or go beyond tamasic-rajasic-sattvic gunas, we realize the Self-Divine within, i.e. the shuddha sattvic gunas (purest of all qualities or Godly qualities) reveal within. Then it is said that we have achieved our goal to become the master of the field/world.  However even then the link with the world remains, although it does not affect such a soul.  Absolute freedom or the state of absolute unity and identity with one and all, where there is no existence of a second entity, is the state behind the goal post/nitya-advaita/gunatit (beyond gunas or qualities).

Since these states are way beyond any intellectual perception or understanding, the best and the easiest option for us is to simply follow the directions of the Master to ultimately reach the state of sixth right use and then everything shall move on its own accord spontaneously and effortlessly.  The above analysis to some extent shall subdue the curiosity of the mind to know more and more, and direct it to accept more and more. The depth of the profound wisdom of the Master makes one speechless and question-less; and that state is very helpful in becoming a serious devoted and dedicated follower. 

Submitted at the lotus feet of the Master.

  

Desire and Action

by Smt. Susmita Devi

Again I return to one of the innumerable quotes of Sadguru Sri Sri Babathakur. The following one is taken from the calendar of the current year:

“True Self is ever free from desire and action.”

When I first read it and discussed it with Ramen for the purpose of writing something on the topic, I pondered a bit over its inner meaning – not the words, which like most words, have synonyms. True to my habit, I therefore looked up the word ‘self’ and got the following varieties: Identity, personality, nature and character, but not the Self with capital 'S' (used in Hindu philosophy only).

Sri Sri Babathakur however has by 'Self', always meant the Inherent Divinity, i.e. the spiritual One, not the physical (body) manifestations of It. The addition of the word ‘True’ (with a capital 'T') is and can only be singularly mentioned, as I have often heard Sri Sri Babathakur point out: Self is indivisible and One without a second.

People are made up of innumerable physical and mental attributes, but few truly care to reflect on what makes the human mechanism work in such incredibly complicated and harmonious ways. Finding no logical explanation, one must return to the Divine, an invisible, incomparable and all-powerful non-entity. It Is - without becoming (i.e. not born and can therefore not die).

I think the inspiration behind the above quote is to create awareness about how born individuals can free themselves from ideas rooted in the ego (ahankar) or ‘small self’ as Sri Sri Babathakur often calls the personal aspect of an individual, who is bound to desire and performs actions in order to sustain life and satisfy individual hankerings for as long as possible, in ways most suitable to him/her. The True Self (Divine) has no desire since desire belong to individuality only. One must not forget that ordinary desires are rooted in the mind only and thus mainly represent nescience (spiritual ignorance).

Quotes from ‘Nectar Of Wisdom’ (pages 270-271) may make this clearer: ..."In one sense desire is the product of duality. To fulfill desires an agent is required and an agent to fulfill requires some instrument or tool like sense organs, cognitive power and activity. Nature without desire can’t function and nature without the basic Divine Will can’t function. The difference between the Will of the Lord and the desire of man is that the former is universal and hence spiritual and the latter individual, hence intellectual. That means the latter pertains to the non-self”...."So, the ego, born of duality can’t understand the Unity of Consciousness. It finds differences with itself and with others as well.  When differences appear, the reflected consciousness suffers, and we think we suffer."...."Individual desire is of objective character and the universal desire is of subjective character. Objective desires are always of the nature of tamas and rajas which, whether fulfilled or not, produces reactionary effects while subjective desires are of altruistic and spiritual nature. Subjective desires functions well with the Super-ego. To seek for spiritual perfection is thus a subjective desire and proceeds towards fulfillment and may reach the goal – the dawn of spiritual perfection and realization, which always is Universal in character.”

Sorry to say, the Truth is that, although we appear as separate entities, every born human (or animal) depends on Prana (life force) in some form.  Prana is that which allows individuals to exist - if there is no Prana, one is considered dead. But, it is only the physical body which dies because the Prana is released from it and carries all the worldly impressions of doing, saying and belief (Karma) till It again is suffused into another body (reincarnation). So when anyone says: ‘I was, is and will always be’, they are referring to Prana and not the variety of bodies which may be infused with the dormant Prana from last birth.

I try to reflect every now-and-then on the implied meaning, the effect it has on one’s life and how it may be possible to remain so aloof from daily activity and interaction with others as to forget that the ‘I’ is the imperishable part of one’s individuality, actions and reactions. 'I' does not remain in the dead body, but is contained in the Prana. I react to the memory of the quote in a practical way by asking ‘How can an ordinary mind grasp such high-level thoughts?’ How can such unique thoughts be used and communicated in daily life? To go to a lecture and nodding approval is easy, but when it comes to implementation in daily life there are many hurdles of habit and upbringing to overcome – especially the hurdle of the ego sense. Living in the world (especially in such a turbulent time as now with so many non-essential inputs), it is unquestionably, extremely difficult to remain calm and composed in the midst of chaos and socially imposed mind-work by saying ‘Let the Divine Lila (shadow-play/imagination) play, but retain an unaffected state in inner life’. This is the very reason why spiritual practices (e.g. meditation, yoga, introspection, giving unselfish service, listening to songs or lectures about the Divine Lila) must be practiced regularly. Human mind is prone to select the easiest way out, which often is just to participate in what others do and think.

We are born with a universal mind, but slowly develop it into an individual body/mind complex. Through upbringing, one is socially and culturally conditioned to carry one's daily functioning while living in a society. That kind of upbringing has the capacity to become so ingrained in one’s behavior and thought, that any response to environment becomes automatic like ’where is my dress, toy, food, husband, wife etc., etc'. The fact is that, whatever is provided us to use - and even the capacity to worship - is socially conditioned.  Mind, indeed, becomes conditioned with the reflection that ‘I’ am the center of the ‘my’ world - unique and special.  To enable one to accept and live according to the idea of Universal Unity, to accept and practice another viewpoint of life is not easy.  It takes numerous years, and mental and physical alertness (Tapasya) to imbibe that one is but part of a Whole - with limited time in each birth to reach Perfection and thus be able to shed both desire and the idea that the human form - the ‘i’ act (referring to the individual endeavor in the relative world) can be purged of useless ideas and practices. It is of utmost importance to carry on even then, for with each birth new aspects are impressed and used by mind. Many a saintly personage have written about and taught how to reach the stage where the small ‘i’ (individuality) is replaced by the Universal ‘I’. It is however not easy, for one must either negate common life and society or transcend it. To transcend is the ideal, yet very few can truly manifest the transcendental ‘I’, the Self, the undivided’ One without a second’. Those who can are, designated as Sadgurus, like Sri Sri Babathakur.

 

Information to Knowledge to Wisdom

by Sri Ajit Halder

‘Prajnana Brahman, the supreme non-dual Self-I, is the highest Truth or Reality which is neither subject nor object, but the real essence of both. The real essence is verily Saccidananda I-Absolute which is beyond the range of mind, intellect and word’, so said Sri Sri Babathakur. 

The above quotation is an appropriate illustration of the theme of this article.  It provides information on several topics, e.g. on ‘Brahman’, on His attribute ‘Prajnana’ and elaborating further, on His being ‘the supreme non-dual Self-I’.  This information creates interest in the reader’s mind to gain the knowledge that ‘Brahman, the highest Truth or Reality, is the real essence of both’.  This knowledge leads one to think deeply to bring oneself to a state of realizing the wisdom that the real essence is ‘Saccidananda I-Absolute’.

Typically, information is defined in terms of raw facts, knowledge in terms of information and wisdom in terms of knowledge. Thus, we notice a functional relationship existing among the three entities.  This model based on the three inter-related components may be easily comprehended if we include an understanding tier interposed between knowledge and wisdom.

Information  

We now discuss in greater details what is meant by the expression information. An item of information is inferred from the responses gathered in the process of answering interrogative question e.g. “who”, “what”, “where”, “how many” and “when” thereby making the answers useful for decision-making and/or undertaking an action that serves an intended purpose.

The dictionary defines information as ‘one word or a combination of words’, helping us become aware of some facts, about something, some specific organization or a specific person.

Let us consider the following informative statement referring to a person:  ‘Miss Madhumita Aditya lives at 23 Purbasha Sarani, Kolkata – 700085’.  This piece of information about Miss Aditya may have been taken out of a telephone directory.  This information on Madhumita if true, could be useful to her relatives and friends who may wish to contact her by sending a mail.  A letter envelope bearing this address sent by a friend will be safely delivered to Miss Aditya’s doorstep by a postman. 

Given facts do have a fundamental property of being true descriptions of an entity, have objective reality and can be verified, such definitions would preclude false, meaningless and nonsensical items of information from our information list.

We live in an age characterized by the phrase ‘The Information Age’ which is oft-quoted by the media and a host of other people who talk about and use information.  Hence, it is to be expected that various interpretations of ‘information’ are available in literature and used in common parlance.  We have offered a set of definitions of ‘information’ that are relevant and helpful for the progression towards the next item ‘knowledge’ and then onto ‘wisdom’.

Knowledge   

The term ‘knowledge’ is defined with reference to information that has been processed, organized or structured in some way, or is being applied to put into action.  It originates in the mind of the ‘knower’ and typically answers “how” questions.  

Knowledge may be considered as a mix of contextual information, expert insights and understanding gained from evaluating and incorporating new experiences.  It is often found embedded in official documents and repositories for future use by some interested person.

The development of Knowledge occurs through a gathering of information from multiple sources and is grasped by a sequence of acts beginning with processing, understanding and experiencing the accumulated learning.  It is an ongoing process taking place in the knower’s mind and may lead to some form of action.

Wisdom 

The concept of Wisdom is a profound understanding of the response made to a “why” query: ‘why’ something has been talked about or ‘why’ someone has acquired intellectual power to enable him/her to make ‘discriminating judgment’ on an issue and thereby improves his/her effectiveness in dealing with a problem, finding a solution or resolving a conflict.  Wisdom requires mental function to add value to the knowledge already possessed by an individual, and so, wisdom is a feeling in the mind that is non-materialistic in nature and helps to solve mundane problems of material i.e. worldly nature.

The two categories namely, information and knowledge, relate to the past as they deal with what has been, has happened or what is already known.  Empowered by Wisdom, people can create the future to their advantage, bringing in joy and satisfaction instead of just grasping the present and the past.  But achieving wisdom requires sincere effort by people moving successfully through absorbing usable information, acquiring new knowledge and getting energized to reach the desired state of Wisdom.   

In a more practical sense, Wisdom is the process by which we can judge between what is right and wrong, good or evil.  Whereas information leading to knowledge can have its origin in non-human resources, wisdom is a uniquely human state.

Conclusion 

The objective of this article has been to draw the attention of the reader to the fact that in performing our daily tasks, we rarely think that our actions are preceded by our minds going through the sequence of states: it starts with amassing ‘Information’ to be processed in our minds for acquiring ‘Knowledge’ and finally to the exalted state of possessing ‘Wisdom’’.

Sri Sri Babathakur’s extensive writings are full of wisdom that help a devotee make progress on the spiritual path.  There perhaps could be no better way to conclude this discussion than by quoting another divine message of Sri Sri Babathakur:

‘The realizer of the Supreme I-reality is His best holder (supporter), bearer (convenor) and distributor or server. He/I-Reality gives to His (Its) own Self-I dwelling in all beings/I-reality, since the infinite one Divine Self-I is the soul of all beings (I-Reality)’.

In this message, the ‘information’ bits are: ‘The realizer’, ‘the Supreme I-reality’ and ‘all beings I-reality’.  All these lead to the ‘knowledge’: ‘the best holder (supporter), bearer (convener) and distributor or server’.  From this ‘knowledge’ the reader acquires ‘wisdom’ to realize that ‘the Infinite one Divine Self-I is the soul of all beings (I-Reality)’.