Be What You Are Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha -3
Posted in Labels: Be What You Are Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha -3
Be What You Are
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Respected
Swamiji,
.........The
six weeks holiday was a great blessing. During this period I entirely forgot
the outside world, giving myself to reading of religious books, meditation,
etc. I could go through the 'Talks by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi', 'Search in
Secret India' by Paul Brunton, 'Tripura Rahasya', etc. These books were
immensely delightful and they gave me a new outlook of things in their proper
perspective. My meditation also goes on nicely. I am now able to establish
myself in the 'state of the Self', as you would call it, for quite a few
minutes (30 to 45 minutes). That state of Peace comes to me regardless of time,
place or posture. All these are surely due to Swamiji's grace alone. You should
bless me for my continued progress.
I
have got a doubt to be clarified by Swamiji. When devotees often enquire of you
as to how to experience the 'I' within and how to know that one has realized
that state, you used to reply "when the Self is experienced, it will be
automatically known and nobody need tell the person that he has realized".
I presume the state of realizing the Self is the same as the state of Samadhi.
Again it is stated in Tripura Rahasya that even the ignorant people experience
the state of Samadhi occasionally in life (fleeting Samadhi such as when their
desires are gratified). However, they do not know about it unless somebody else
tells them. Is it then that they do not experience the Self in the fleeting
Samadhi? Or is it that the Self is experienced only in Nirvikalpa Samadhi?
Talking from personal experience, a devotee like me experiences the state of
Samadhi (may be this is savikalpa samadhi, not nirvikalpa) for a few minutes,
but again when he is in the waking state, he is not able to experience the Self or realize
the underlying divinity in the phenomenal world outside. When will this be
achieved? Where does the Realized Soul fit in?
One
more doubt – in Ashtavakra Samhita, it is stated that Sage
Ashtavakra is teaching Janaka. In
Tripura Rahasya, Janaka is said to be teaching Ashtavakra. Which is correct?
With
profound love and respects,
Yours
Dear
and blessed.........
Harih
Om Tat Sat. Your letter of the 10th has been received duly. I read the contents
with pleasure. I am happy that both you and your wife Kalyani, have begun the
practice of reading a few verses of the Gita every day, and also studying their
meaning in detail. There is nothing better to improve your sadhana, and
also your spiritual and secular wisdom. Try to understand the verses, their
meaning and their relevance and application to the daily life and activities.
If you reflect on this line, you will find the truths and principles extremely
practical to govern your speech, thoughts and actions at all times. Towards the
last part of the Gita from 13th to the 18th chapter, a lot of qualities,
traits, habits, etc. along with culture, custom and the like are described in a
very thorough and philosophical manner. Read them, ruminate, understand and try
to imbibe these. It will be very interesting and enriching.
May
the ceremony go on well, and may Kalyani have a safe and happy confinement.
Krishnan from Calcutta had been here for a few days, and on the 15th he left.
Somehow, I have not had time to reply to several letters for the past few
weeks, and I expect to write to all hereafter. Mataji has gone to Madras for
not too long a spell.
I
am very happy that the illness and leave together gave you a very good period
for Sadhana. This is how it should be. I am reminded of the verse from
Yoga Vasishta in which Vasishthadev tells Sri Rama
that with the association of the wise
people one's misfortune changes itself to the opposite. For instance, a state
of gloom suddenly looks to be one of auspiciousness and hope. Death seems like
a subdued festival. Danger gives the look of a real good fortune. Is this not
true? In your case, your sickness and rest have shone well. Very good. May this
be true of many others.
Holy
books like Gita, Bhagavatam, Yoga Vasishtha, etc. are as good as the Wise
People. To be in the company of such Sastras is very nearly akin to that of
being near Mahatmas. It is not possible always to be physically in the company
of the Wise. So you can always seek Sastras as a substitute. That is why so
many Sastras have been written by our ancients to give ample variety. To read them
and understand and live their spirit is delightful indeed.
Very
good that your outlook has improved and that you are able to think and see
matters in their true perspective. Of course, Truth is elusive as well. So
never put a full stop so easily. "The more you proceed, the farther it
recedes," is a great saying.
30
to 45 minutes of inward communion in stillness is not a bad gain. The one
important point is whether you are in peace or not. Then also see whether it is
a state of inertness or not. Peace and attention or awareness, when together,
establish you well in your own Antaratma. But there is a long way to go
yet. That is in wisdom, in steadiness, in cultivating qualities, virtues, etc.
which are enumerated in the Gita in several places.
Now
about your doubt: Samadhi, Self-realization, state of Self, etc. are
terms which are often used loosely, even by the so-called learned people,
without knowing what precisely they stand to denote.
Unlike
in Yoga or religious pursuits, in Vedanta everything has been studied and
defined properly. It is because of the fineness of
perception of the Seekers and Seers
that it has been so. The Seers always wanted to understand and reveal the
Truths in an appropriate manner. The very fact that the so-called God and the Self
have been equated with the Ultimate Reality, with specific definition of the
term Ultimate Reality, shows the preciseness of their understanding and the
amazing courage with which they spoke and explained the Truths.
Nirvikalpa
Samadhi is
the State of the antahkarana (the mind-intellect equipment, which is
normally in a state of flux) when it remains free from any doubts and
oscillations. Normally, to the unillumined and non-spiritual person, whenever
the mind thinks or the intelligence reasons, there will also be doubts and
oscillations. Therefore nirvikalpa samadhi, for the ordinary seeker,
will be attained only when the mind-intellect remain free and still, getting
immersed consciously in the Self within unlike in sleep. But this position
gradually changes. His wisdom grows and with that he acquires greater and
greater stability, clarity and Self-seatedness. And there must and will come a
time when it is not necessary that his mind and intellect remain 'still' or
'quiet', as before, in order that he feels the merger with the Self and the
consequent peacefulness and other glories. His mind will have become so pure,
so Truth-reflecting, that even in a state of its feeble activity, he still
feels the Selfness and Peacefulness associated with it. This state can further
grow, and he will be taken to more and more of wisdom and steady establishment
in it. And there will necessarily be a state for him when he feels very surely
that he has realized his goal and that he is the Self always, as is the Self
itself always. When and how this period of wholesome enlightenment comes or
dawns, no one can say. Read the last portion of Aparokshaanubhooti where
Sankara says:
Tatah
saadhana-nirmuktah siddho bhavati Yogiraat
Tatswaroopam
na chaitasya Vishayo manaso giraam
And thereupon he becomes saadhana-nirmukta,
which means he no more feels the need for pursuing the so-called sadhana so
systematically, with routine, etc., as he was doing before. This is when he
becomes a Siddha – one who has fulfilled his sadhana. So far he
was a seeker. Now he has found his object of seeking. The nature and feature of
such a Siddha cannot be described in words. The implication is that they
will be variant and divergent on various grounds.
So
mere Samadhi as it is, is not Self-realization. I think the
clarification you seek is lying within these words of truth.
Now
about Ashtavakra teaching Janaka and Janaka teaching Ashtavakra, such
differences and contradictions will be found here and there. These treatises
are or were written by different authors at different times. There may be cases
where some one wished to say something and he chose to do so through the mouths
of some accepted persons or authorities. Again, there can be more than one
person with the same name. Especially Hindus have the custom of naming the
new-borns after their grandparents, and this practice will naturally mean
duplication and multiplication of names. Even now, this practice is in vogue in
some orthodox families. We see many Shankars and Ramas and Narayanas in the
same lineage.
Another
point is that many of our authors and Seers ascribe the authorship of what they
write to some well known personality of the past. Lack of egoism may be one
factor to motivate such a step. But there is another factor as well. The use of
renowned names gives the author a great amount of leverage with the readers. It
is not so much who said to whom, or who wrote the things that counts. What
counts is really what was said and what for, with what effects and benefits. In
fact a great underlying truth about all our Sastras and Puranaas is that Time,
Place and Personality are the three fundamental factors on which rests the
whole process of narration and communication. These
three only help to say what is said.
Beyond that they do not have any additional significance.
So
always make use of Ashtavakra and Janaka, their names, to say and remember the
spiritual truths which transpired between the two persons in the form of a
dialogue. And that can be easily done, no matter whether the former taught the
latter or the latter taught the former. Both are equally valid for us.
Let
me stop for the time being. This letter has been rather long. I shall keep in
my mind the other points you have raised and shall also share them with Mataji
here, for ensuring her blessings as well.
With
love and Sivasis.
Your
Own Self
Swamiji
1974
A
girl of Indian origin, studying in U.K., intending to get a seat for medicine
there wrote asking Swamiji "to pray for her", complaining that her
recent results were not up to the mark for her medical admission. The following
is Swamiji's reply with a clear message of direction and elevation for all like
her and many others.
Dear
and blessed child....,
Harih
Om Tat Sat. Your letter of the 14th October was duly received here. I had left
for New Delhi before it arrived. In Delhi I was too busy this year, and so
could not write to any one properly. On coming here, however, on the 9th
evening, this is the first long letter I am writing, holding back this month's
'Vicharasetu' preparation.
O.K.
I have noted your dissatisfaction about your examination results. The several
feelings and concern you and others have in the development are also very much
in my mind. But, somehow, dear girl, my heart says that nothing has gone wrong or
adverse for you. You are quite safe, and so is your fate as well. May be, you
can try and make up for whatever lapses were there earlier by applying a little
more to your studies from now on. But realize that a troubled or anxious mind
will not help in your efforts. Accept whatever has come to be with full
openness and heartiness. If this basic sense of acceptance, and in a way a kind
of indifference is there, the mind will be stabler and more confident. That
will help you to go ahead and present yourself better, in true light. Think and
try to grasp what I am saying.
Yes,
your family and elders are an exceptional group. I know how your grandfather
feels happy and proud in having built up his lineage by finding prestigious
alliances for his daughters and sons.
But, remember at the same time the fact
that first and last he was, and is, much devoted to the saintly wisdom and
heritage, the ideals which they so richly represent. That is what his Divine
Life association clearly denotes. So let me ask, even at this early hour of
your life: Is education – academic or professional excellence – alone the sole
aim of a good and great life? You, a girl, have a different side to your life,
not just what boys and men have in general, or hope to have. When the material
and social aspirations are pursued and fulfilled, even then the potential human
mind will not sit still, contented or satiated. Surely not. I see you more as a
mother, a would-be mother, than just a girl and student. Your role is far
higher and nobler than even your brother's in this.
Dear…….
do you get to the depth of what I say? We surely need the lofty role of sweet
and graceful motherhood, from which alone the best creative progenies can
emerge in any land. Let me tell you, and through you, your parents and
grand-parents, that they should not feel bad about you at all. At the same
time, you should be awakened to this hidden part of your future life, its merit
as a progenitor. Educated and accomplished children are a great asset to any
family. In yours there are already many of this kind. May I now suggest that
you should mark a singular addition to this already enriched lineage. How can
you do this? When?
Education,
no doubt you need and I am sure you will have it even more. But all the
education is ultimately to embellish and give health to your mind, heart and
emotions. Doctors and medical men serve the bodies of people. But we must
equally have those marked few, who with gracefulness and unsullied love, with
spirits anchored in a much loftier plane, will look after the health and
well-being of the minds and hearts of people, a small or great number of them.
Can you apprehend this loftier role of the chosen cultural doctors of humanity?
Will you then rise up to it, despite whatever your educational
excellences will be?
Perhaps
your parents will not readily approve of what I say. Not that they will
disapprove. Even then, it is quite pleasant and acceptable to me! I know what
their daughter will be to themselves and to others in the years to come. Nature
always provides for exception, and exceptions contribute as much to the rule as
the rules themselves do. One openly, the other hidden! So do not worry, but as
a mother of future worry about what your heart and mind should become pregnant
with, right from now on, the cultural depth and insight they must be given to.
The seeds of genuine goodness – sublimity, sweetness, loyalty, concern for as
many as possible should be planted right now in the growing mind. Once you
realize this, I have no anxiety about you or your future. The rest will follow
by itself. In any way, I want you to be excellent, promising, and in finding
you thus is my fulfillment too. Tell your parents, in all humility and love,
that you will not disprove their confidence, but will prove it exceedingly
well, may be in the same direction as theirs and also in a higher and more
commendable one.
However,
study and prepare yourself cheerfully, come what may. Welcome the outcome
either way. Here is a mantra for you to chant to improve your intelligence and
the sense of discrimination........
Love
and Sivasis
Swamiji
1977
Respected
Swamiji,
............There
is a thought which often obsesses me; that I am wandering, that I am groping in
darkness. I pray and cry for His mercy to show me the way, to make me
understand what my destination is. What is my nature, in what direction I have
to proceed, I am helpless to decide with my own intellect. I feel my intellect
is very weak. All other people appear very strong, only I have weakness.
Sometimes
I do carry a conviction that God is behind everything which happens. At this I
feel that I am myself responsible for everything and why bring God into
question. But when I adopt the latter view, I find myself very weak in terms of
confidence and courage, and then at once try to take refuge in Him with a
prayer that He may show me the way, that he may take full responsibility of
directing me.
At
times, rather very often, I do argue that the cause of my miseries or
unhappiness is my own intellectual dullness, that I am not stable in my
perspective. This causes feeling of self-rejection, because I do not feel that
I have the capacity and strength to improve upon my limitations and thus again
I turn to Him with pain, with a weeping heart.
Thus,
there is a cycle or a chain of thought-processes which do not allow my mind to
have a stable and consistent perspective.
I
have only learnt to cry. I am a pampered child, full of inconsistencies and
indisciplined behaviour. There are desires to become this and that. Sometimes I
am drawn to the world, sometimes I am driven to spiritual bhaava. I wish to
stay somewhere and be contented. But this does not happen.
Every
saint inspires me. Among others, I have been inspired greatly by Sri Ganapathi
Sacchidananda Swamiji through his divine music and sound
vibrations. When I listen to his
bhajans, I draw my image in his footsteps. Sri Ramakrishna's life and Sri
Ramana Maharshi's writings have had a good influence. But I still feel I am
lacking the essence. I want to make sincere individual effort. Will He prompt
me to make the right effort? Till now I have not made much effort as such. I
have been floating in various directions. This must also be His will.
What
is His will for me? I trust Him, but I examine also my experience. I also
believe that I have not trusted Him fully. My surrender is not complete. My
faith is not complete. Otherwise why should I question any event, why should I
change my steps – moving forward and then retracing?
Who
is doing all this? Is it the will of the Supreme or my personal weakness?
I
do not know, I do not know but I want to know; No, I do not want to know. Let
me have faith in Him that whatever happens, it so happens by only his grace.
Let me stick to this faith, and live with this faith alone. Bless me Swamiji to
discover my real state........... Narayana...............Narayana.
Your
Own
Dear
and blessed seeker,
Harih
Om Tat Sat. The note you handed to me that day in your residence was with me
ever since; but what really counted was yourself, the individual in you, with
whatever that meant to my eyes and heart. I had already expressed this in the
hurried visit we made to
your house that night. And the personal
talk you had with me after your significant song. Nothing more was needed. Yet,
because you are a professor and hence given to learning and teaching, I thought
of writing these lines for it to serve more than one purpose.
First
of all, let me repeat I like you, and unknowingly my heart hosts yourself too.
What more do you want! Nothing, besides a practical realization of what this
means and conveys. Nothing must be a conflict or an apprehension in the path of
a true seeker. Like the stars in the nightly sky, the waves in the ocean, the
seasons upon the earth, every event, be it a turn, a drift, a push or a pull,
will come of itself to the seeker, if he is but genuine and humble in his
seeking and thoughts. The mind, a subtle and complex product of the same Nature
of which is the gross creation we see around us, is governed, like its external
counterpart fully with a set of inner laws. These laws are not along the same
lines as those governing matter and material things but are as forceful and
wholesome as the material laws. In many respects the two types of laws are even
a contrast to each other. 'Like attracts like' is an unfailing mental
law. But 'unlike poles attract' is the law governing magnetic pieces.
Nevertheless, both are Nature's laws, and are operative for the same reason.
So,
be free and confident, relaxed too, if you can. Nothing shall go wrong. If at
all, the wrong lies in not finding everything correct and ennobling. And once
it is recognized, the redemption is nearly accomplished. It is only a question
of some time lag between the wrong-discovery and correction. Always, sincere
recognition of an error is in itself half the correction.
Your
confessions are typical of any seeking mind. Even in devotional seeking, the
laws of seeking cannot be different. The seeker of truth will find these
questions relevant to the truth he seeks, and to the seeking that his mind
pursues. For a devotee, Truth is substituted by
'God' and seeking goes by another name
'devotion, or surrender'. But nevertheless, the issues are the same, identical.
Of course, you have to think of the subject just like you will think of any
other subject. Only then clarity will dawn.
I
wish you read two or three issues of 'Vicharasetu' in which I have discussed
the subject of making one's devotion exclusive. Perhaps they will clarify your
points to a large extent.
By
beginning and pursuing a set of religious practices, including bhajan,
you are trying to cultivate in yourself a new attitude, aimed at a certain
outcome. The attitude is called devotion, and the outcome, God or
God-attainment. Whatever be the object at which the whole pursuit is aimed, the
attitude belongs to the mind, and the outcome is also its own. Is this not so?
Think! What is the devotional attitude? In truth, it is one of unquestioning
acceptance of whatever comes on your way, and whatever threatens or promises to
come. But such an acceptance is not in the nature of the normal mind. And that
is the reason why we also make a deliberate attempt to cultivate it.
In
order to make the mind arrive at and preserve this trait of total acceptance –
a state of full reconciliation with the ‘is’ (the present) and ‘will
be’ (the future) – we build into it the customary quality called devotion.
We then define devotion as a state of wholesome surrender, full dedication and
the like. Now, what can possibly deserve such a wholesome attitude from us?
Naturally comes up the thought and evolution of a God, to whom we start
attributing all the qualities we want in order to answer all our needs on the
path of surrender.
When
something is done by a friend or an enemy of ours, we raise questions about his
actions, about him. But when a parallel act is caused by God, in the name of
Godliness, unquestionably it goes approved. Thus our Rama is unimpeachable in
spite of whatever he is
said to have done on various occasions.
It is more so with Krishna, who in his life embodies very grave and more
complex contradictions. But if even a semblance of anything of them is noticed
on the part of even a relative of ours, we begin to question in full
disapproval.
Does
this not give your intelligence a clear clue? The world of ours, equally so our
life in it, either and both together, throw us into a number and variety of
doubts, speculations, assessments, ambitions and ideals. And the process always
traps us psychologically on the one hand and intellectually on the other. At
the level of the mind, we become emotionally upset, and as a result
unpleasantness (in any form) emerges and is preserved. In the sphere of
intelligence we are assailed by doubts, disapprovals, questions and quests.
Other than the body-complex, we have, truly speaking, only the emotional mind
and the inquisitive intelligence. If these two are properly harnessed into an
integrated unit in our personality, then the real mission of religious life is
complete.
In
devotion, the devotee looks to his God. In truth-seeking, the seeker looks to
or thinks constantly of Truth. One may imply a personal touch, the other an
impersonal view. It is just a question of emotional or intellectual preference
or possibility. Some approach the whole pursuit taking first their stand on
emotion. The others do so with their stand on intelligence, on the knowledge it
brings about prima facie. But, as they progress, the emotional approach
must be climaxed by the evolution of knowledge, and the intellectual pursuit
crowned by an emotional attunement too.
In
your case emotion was your motivation. It gave you the fillip and acceleration
you so much needed at that time. That was the best for you in the circumstances
prevailing then. Now emotional ennoblement having been had, at least to a very
large measure, the
being naturally yearns to have an
intellectual awakening too, to catch up with the mind's evolution. Hence these
questions, self-evaluations, assigning duties to oneself, and then compelling
corrections. It is natural. Verily it is a process of effervescence within
one's being.
Whatever
be the object of devotion or seeking, the object only serves to occasion a
state in yourself. Devotional object stirs up and stimulates the devotional undercurrent
in your mind. The sought after object provokes similarly a sublime quest, in
the name of which all other yearnings are sublimated. In both, it is a pursuit
of exclusiveness by the mind. Exclusiveness in any field whatsoever is
not an inborn gift of the mind. In fact, in the course of life, our mind is
every moment becoming non-exclusive. Every new object, every new ambition,
ideal or code adds to its non-exclusive nature. Hence exclusiveness is
antagonistic to it. Verily exclusiveness of the mind is a great, lofty and
invaluable quality. Once it is imbibed, the mind becomes supreme in all its
workings. The legendry Hanuman jumped across the sea – this is an exaggeration
of the Epic, a style they have adopted. Sabari, the outcaste woman offered a fruit
to Sri Rama after first biting it herself to verify its taste, the more recent
Meera delightfully took the poison given to her (as a punishment for her
devotional loyalty and exuberance) – all these are acts caused by the exclusive
mind.
In
the initial stages, the exclusive mind is even prone to behave exuberantly,
sometimes casting aside conventions and rules. But very soon, especially when
properly befriended and guided by a Knower of Truth, it will beget its
moderation. And as for the intelligence, its pursuit is after clarity and
resolution. The questioning will stop, and then answering also becomes
redundant. This is one test of clarity. But generally this will not be, except
when the seeker feels fulfillment in his quest both for wisdom and for the
exhilaration his mind so much looks to. Fulfillment will at last fill both his
emotional and
intellectual sides.
In
your case, now the intelligence has begun to be active. And it is natural,
inevitable too. The process will be on and with that you will also be moving
forward. Let the inner sky of expanse brighten and the pleasant, nourishing,
inaudible but sentient vibrations emanating from it, surcharge your system –
inside and outside alike – giving no room for doubt or craving. May the
wonderful process grip you unawares. You have my benediction for it. It is for
you to be susceptible to it, and make it work for what you want. My dear....,
seek Me and My nature and Blessings right within you. There in your innermost
recess you will find the essence and bliss that I am, my being is. Externally I
may look a human, for else how can you see me? But internally I am the one
Spirit that every living being is pulsating with. Realize this in the sweet
embrace you will have from your own invisible Self within.
You
have had no loss whatsoever. You have no special gain either to be had.
Redeemed from the thought of losses, be also free from the obsession for gains.
That state of being is the best in which you are filled with fullness by the
simple nature of your own being.
If
every object of the eye, of the ear, of the tongue, of the nose and skin has a
taste of its own, then of what real taste must be the Spirit which puts us to
these tastes. The subject Spirit, the Self, that unknown God whom you speak of,
has its own pure wonderful taste. It is all taste in one sense, but
transcendental in taste in another sense.
Get
lost in its essence. It is there in your body, causing heat, causing thought,
raising feelings and emotions. Now you are using it for your songs, words and
actions. Stopping to do so, at least for a while, keep quiet, to enjoy its own
sweet company. In the silence of your room, in the still sky of your heart, in
the mere vibration of the cells in your body, aloof from everything else, but
awake to your own inmost
bosom – that lonely presence which
abides behind the first thought and the last feeling – linger in its company.
Be befriended by it. Get the delight, ease and fulfillment which you are
rightly an heir to. I am waiting to see you filled with its enrichment.
Your
Own
Swamiji
1977
Respected
Gurudev,
.......I
find a few obstacles in meditation. Firstly, the mood. For weeks together I
remain in a high mood spiritually, followed by a lull; the lull is
characterised by indifference and lethargy and the results during this period
are far from satisfactory. Secondly, evenings are better suited. I tried to
change to mornings. Despite all the efforts, mornings I find are not congenial.
I am more oscillated by the previous evening thoughts. I don't know why it is
so. Thirdly, I had a series of 'bad luck' for the past three months. However
this does not concern me much. But I am amazed at the way bad days do come like
a predetermined phase. I don't know whether there is something known as fate.
If so, what is its purpose?
I
was pained to see a note in the magazine that you had an injury on the finger.
How is it now?
My
wife joins me in sending our respects both for you and Mataji.
Affectionately,...
Dear
and blessed ...,
Harih
Om Tat Sat. Your letter of the 8th has just been received. I have yet to reply
a number of persons. However, yours gets the first response.
Every
creature, even the most complex product evolved by Nature, is an aggregate of
the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. This is a spiritual
enunciation to understand and explain creature behaviour and experiences. These
three components are there in every seeker too. In his case, he is more aware
of them, their workings, than the others. From sattva flows wisdom,
light, sukha and the like. The spell
of elation and joy you mention is an
offshoot of sattva. When sattva thus comes to the forefront and
remains so for a certain length of time, it is natural that it must subside
there upon, giving place to one of the other two. In your case, tamas follows
sattva, and remains in currency. Linking the two, acting as an
intermediate factor, rajas gets activated and actions follow as a rule.
This
cannot but be. The best outlook to remedy, if at all, is to become harmonious
and equal to both sattva and the tamas. When sattva is in
domination do not get too elated, and then again when it recedes and tamas dominates,
be free from the opposite reaction. Recognize both to be equal participants and
components in your being, and let them be as they naturally are. Preference to
one begets prejudice to the other. Keep your outlook moderate and reconcile
with whatever is. On all days none can have an equally effective or successful
meditative experience. In fact, the same dual outcome which guides your efforts
in the world must also greet you in your spiritual sadhana. Only then
the culture of moderation and harmony will become real and absolute. You may
not agree with my words, even argue against them in a way. It does not matter.
Again,
spiritually viewed, a number of obstacles are said to confront the seeker in
his sadhana. The first two, Sankara says, are anusandhaana rahitya and
aalasya – lack of continuity or clinging to the practice, then lethargy
and indifference. Just as smoke and other impurities arise while melting a
metal in the furnace, these are inevitable throw-outs from the sadhaka's system,
they being products which a normal life breeds and perpetuates within it.
With
diligence, determination and repeated thoughts and efforts, they are to be
overcome. You will need some amount of time to set them at rest. And that
should not cause concern. Do the sadhana, and you will get over them.
Evenings are quite all right, take to
them without any doubt. Evenings have their own advantage.
About
bad luck, can you find a world in which you can avoid bad? I think it is also
in the heavens as in hell. So it is better that you have it here and now, when
you are still with your body, mind and understanding. To think that a series of
bad luck has been met, and therefore there is a Fate or plight behind them, is
another traditional delusion. By positing a Fate, if you find harmony in
meeting them, Fate is O.K. The point is that the mind should be kept open with
a full place for bad luck any time, as for their opposites. If the quota for
bad is sizeable in your life, why not make use of it well early, leaving the
later portion of your life free of bad luck? Let your thought be promotional
even in meeting the bad. To meet the bad is as much a part of your sadhana as
meditation itself......
Yes,
your wife, children and you have my blessings and good wishes.
Sivasis
and
love.
Yours
Swamiji
1978
(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of H H Swami Bhoomananda
Tirtha ji for the collection)
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