HOW TO GET VAIRAGYA
(Dispassion)
By
CONTENTS
OM
B::ðg:ð r:ðg:B:y:ö kÙl:ð
cy:Øet:B:y:ö ev:¶:ð n:àp:al:a»y:ö .
m:an:ð dòny:B:y:ö b:l:ð erp:ØB:y:ö -p:ð j:ray:a B:y:m:Î ..
S:as*:ð v:aedB:y:ö g:ØN:ð K:l:B:y:ö kay:ð kát:ant:a»y:ö .
s:v:üö v:st:Ø B:y:aenv:t:ö B:Øev: n:àN:aö v:òragy:m:ðv:aB:y:m:Î ..
bhoge
rogabhayaü kule cyutibhayaü vitte nçpàlàdbhayaü |
màne dainyabhayaü bale ripubhayaü råpe jaràyà bhayam ||
÷àstre vàdibhayaü guõe khalabhayaü kàye kçtàntàdbhayaü |
sarvaü vastu bhayànvitaü bhuvi nçõàü vairàgyamevàbhayam ||
In enjoyment there is fear
of disease; in social position, the fear of falling off; in wealth, the fear
of (hostile) kings; in honour, the fear of humiliation; in power, the fear of
foe men; in beauty, the fear of old age; in scriptural erudition, the fear of
opponents; in virtue, the fear of traducers; in body, the fear of death. All
the things of this world pertaining to human beings are attended with fear;
renunciation alone stands for fearlessness.
- Vairagya
Sakatam of Bhartrihari.
b:ÉaedsT:av:rant:ð\:Ø
v:òragy:ö ev:\:y:ð\v:n:Ø .
y:T:òv: kakev:Åay:aö v:òragy:ö t:e¹ en:m:ül:m:Î ..
brahmàdisthàvarànteùu
vairàgyaü viùayeùvanu |
yathaiva kàkaviùñhàyàü vairàgyaü taddhi nirmalam ||
Spotless freedom from desires
means such a dissatisfaction in respect of all objects from Brahma down to inanimate
things as is felt in respect of the excrement of a crow.
- Acharya
Sankara
Vairagya
Dindima
(A Proclamation of Dispassion)
kam:H #:ðD:Á: l::ðB:Á:
dðhð et:Åent: t:skrH .
jW:an:rtn:ap:haray: t:sm:ajj:ag:t: j:ag:t: ..
kàmaþ
krodha÷ca lobha÷ca dehe tiùñhanti taskaraþ |
j¤ànaratnàpahàràya tasmàjjàgrata jàgrata ||
There lurk thieves in the
frame viz., lust, anger and greed to steal the jewel of thy wisdom. Therefore
awake! awake!!
j:nm: dÙHK:ö j:ra dÙHK:ö
j:ay:a dÙHK:ö p:Øn:H .
s:ös:arm:ag:rö dÙHK:ö t:sm:ajj:ag:t: j:ag:t: ..
janma
duþkhaü jarà duþkhaü jàyà duþkhaü punaþ |
saüsàramàgaraü duþkhaü tasmàjjàgrata jàgrata ||
Birth is full of pains
: old age is full of miseries: woman is again and again the source of all miseries
and pains. This ocean of Samsara is full of grief. Therefore wake up! wake up!!
m:at:a n:aest: ep:t:a n:aest:
n:aest: b:nD:ØH s:h:ðdrH .
AT:üö n:aest: g:àhö n:aest: t:sm:ajj:ag:t: j:ag:t: ..
màtà nàsti
pità nàsti nàsti bandhuþ sahodaraþ |
arthaü nàsti gçhaü nàsti tasmàjjàgrata jàgrata ||
You have no mother, no
father, no relatives, no brothers, no wealth, no house, (nothing will remain
for ever, nothing will follow you after death). Therefore wake up! wake up!!
A:S:y:a b:Dy:t:ð l::ðkñ
km:üN:a b:hÚec:nt:y:a .
A:y:ØH x:iN:ö n: j:an:aet: t:sm:ajj:ag:t: j:ag:t: ..
à÷ayà
badhyate loke karmaõà bahucintayà |
àyuþ kùãõaü na jànàti tasmàjjàgrata jàgrata ||
You are bound in this world
by desires, actions and manifold anxieties. Therefore you don’t know that
life is slowly decaying and is wasted away. Therefore wake up! wake up!!
y:ad h] krn:a kran:a hò P]t:
s:aD:Øka kam: .
K:l:k k:ð rst:a edK:an:a hò P]t: s:D:Ø ka kam: ..
yàda haqa
karanà karànà hai phaqata sàdhukà kàma |
khalaka ko rastà dikhànà hai phaqata sadhu kà kàma ||
It is the only duty of
the Sadhus to remember and make others remember the “Right” (Absolute)
and it is the only duty of the Sadhus, to be the guide of the whole world.
edn: n:ikñ b:it:ð j:at:ð hò
.
dina nãke
bãte jàte hai |
The days are passing away
speedily.
s:Øem:rn: kr Â:i ram: n:am:
t:j: ev:\:y: B::ðg: A:òr s:v:ü kam: .
t:ðrð s:¤ c:l:ð n:eh Ok dam: j::ð hðt:ð hò s::ð p:at:ð hò ..
edn: n:ikñ b:it:ð j:at:ð hò .. 1 ..
sumirana kara
÷rã ràma nàma taja viùaya bhoga aura sarva kàma |
tere saïga cale nahi eka dàma jo hete hai so pàte hai ||
dina nãke bãte jàte hai || 1 ||
Remember the (holy) Name
of Sri Rama, i. e., remember God. Give up all the worldly and the sexual enjoyments,
and all other deeds, too. Not a dama (1/20th part of an anna) will go with you.
Only they get (something) who give (something). The days are passing away speedily.
B:aI b:nD:Ø A:òr kÙXÙm:
p:erv:ara s:b: j:it:ð j:i kñ n:t:ð hòö .
eks:kñ h:ð t:Øm: kón: t:Ømhara eks:kñ b:l: hern:am: ev:s:ara ..
edn: n:ikñ b:it:ð j:at:ð hò .. 2 ..
bhàã bandhu
aura kuñuma parivàrà saba jãte jã ke nate haiü |
kisake ho tuma kaina tumhàrà kisake bala harinàma visàrà ||
dina nãke bãte jàte hai || 2 ||
Brothers, friends, relatives
and family members—All these are related to you as long as you live. Otherwise
“who is yours”? (Dear Ones!) On whose strength have forgotten the
(holy) Name of Hari! (the Almighty)? The days are passing away speedily.
l:K: c::òras:i B:rm: kñ
A:y:ð b:_ð B:ag: m:an:Ø\: t:n: p:at:ð .
et:s: p:r B:in:aüöh kri km:aI ekr p:aCð p:Ct:at:ð hòö ..
edn: n:ikñ b:it:ð j:at:ð hò .. 3 ..
lakha
cauràsã bharama ke àye ba.De bhàga mànuùa tana pàte |
tisa para bhãrnàüha karã kamàã kira pàche pachatàte haiü ||
dina nãke bãte jàte hai || 3 ||
You have already travelled
over the 84 lakhs of Yonis (wombs) of the animal world. It is very fortunate
of you that you have got this human body. Still you have not done anything (for
the next birth). And therefore, you will have to repent for it. The days are
passing away speedily.
j::ð t:Ü l:ag:ð ev:\:y:
ev:l:as:a m:ÜrK: kús:ð m:àty:Ø ki p:aS:a .
sVy:a dðK:ð Ã:as: ki A:s:a g:y:ð kñr n:hiö A:t:ð hòö ..
edn: n:ikñ b:it:ð j:at:ð hò .. 4 ..
jo tå làge
viùaya vilàsà mårakha ka.Nse mçtyu kã pà÷à |
kyà dekhe ÷vàsa kã àsà gaye kera nahãü àte haiü ||
dina nãke bãte jàte hai || 4 ||
If you entangle yourselves
in worldly enjoyments after the objects, Oh foolish people! You entangle yourselves
in the clutches of the so-called death. And why! Are you hoping for breaths
(after breaths)? (Remember) what is gone is gone for ever. They, those that
have passed away will never return. The days are passing away speedily.
Once in Persia reigned
a king,
Who upon a signet ring,
Carved a maxim strange and wise,
When held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance,
Fit for every change and chance:
Solemn words, and these were they:
“EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
Trains of camel through
the sand
Brought him gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys over the seas
Brought him pearls to rival these,
But he counted little gain,
Treasures of the mine or main;
“What is wealth?” the king would say,
“EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
Mid the pleasures of his
court
At the zenith of their sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
Seated midst the figs and wine,
Said the king, “Ah, friends of mine.
Pleasure comes but not to stay,
“EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
Woman, fairest ever seen
Was the bride he crowned as queen,
Pillowed on the marriage-bed
Whispering to his soul, he said,
“Though no monarch ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh is only clay!
“EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
Fighting on the furious
field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield,
Soldiers with a loud lament
Bore him bleeding to his tortured side,
“Pain is hard to bear;” he cried.
“But with patience, day by day,
EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
Towering in a public square
Forty cubits in this air,
And the king disguised, unknown,
Gazed upon his sculptured name.
And he pondered, “What is fame?”
“Fame is but a slow decay!
“EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
Struck with palsy, sore
and old,
Waiting at the gates of gold,
Said he with his dying breath
“Life is done, but what is Death?”
Then as answer to the king
Fell a sunbeam on his ring;
Showing by a heavenly ray.
EVEN THIS WILL PASS AWAY.”
—Theodore Tilton
Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama
Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama:
Why do you search in vain
For pleasure outside?
Go to the fountain source
In the subjective Atma:
Awake, arise, stop not
Till the goal is reached.
(Rama Rama … …)
How long you want to remain
Slave of passion, tell me please?
Try to seek peace within
By dispassion; practice (Vairagya and Abhyasa)
(Rama Rama … …)
Are you not really fed
up
With illusory objects?
Enjoy the Atmic Bliss
By Manana, Nididhyasana,
Reflection, meditation.
(Rama Rama … …)
Sunaja Sunaja Sunaja Krishna
Tu Gitawala Jnana Sunaja Krishna.
At first there is a tender
emotion and warm affection,
Then it gross into glowing love, burning passion.
Through Sravana and Satsang
comes admiration,
Then attraction, attachment, supreme love.
I want my dear beloved
Krishna alone;
I want neither Mukti nor temporal blessings.
The world is unreal, full
of miseries,
God alone is real, full of Ananda.
You are running after the
unreal shadow,
You have forgotten the real substance.
You came alone (weeping),
will go alone (weeping), no one will follow,
Do Bhajan, do Kirtan, this will follow,
Why do you fight in vain
with your brothers? Fight with the mind and the Indriyas.
Why do you weep in vain for the death of relatives? Weep for the separation
of the Lord.
The love between husband
and wife is selfish love,
Brothers, sisters are united for selfish ends.
Death is ever waiting to
devour you all,
That ‘tomorrow’ will never come, open your eyes now (wake up now).
Life is short, time is
fleeting, (many obstacles to Japa and kirtan),
Apply yourself diligently to Yogic Sadhan.
This world is a mela for
two days,
This life is a play for two seconds, (This body is a bubble for two seconds).
When one is in union with
God, it is Samadhi,
The Yogi gets infinite bliss and knowledge.
Bhakti-Yoga is crossing
river by boat,
Jnana-Yoga is crossing river by swimming.
A Jnani gets knowledge
by self-reliance,
A Bhakta gets Darshan by self-surrender.
When there is one Vritti
it is Savikalpa,
When there is Triputi-Laya, it is Nirvikalpa.
When one is in fourth Bhumika,
it is Jivanmukti,
When there is no body-consciousness, it is Videhamukti.
When you are in a state
of Turiya, it is Jivanmukti,
When you are in Turiyatita, it is Videhamukti.
When there is Svarupanas,
it is Jivanmukti.
When there is Arupanas, it is Videhamukti.
When Jagrat appears as
Svapna, it is Jivanmukti,
When Jagrat appears as Sushupti, it is Videhamukti.
1. Remember the pains
of Samsara
2. Remember Death
3. Remember the Saints
4. Remember God
1 and 2 will produce Vairagya.
3 will bring inspiration. 4 will cause attainment of God-Consciousness.
(Remember
these seven vital points)
- Hari Om, Sensual pleasure
is momentary, deceptive, illusory and imaginary.
- A mustard of pleasure
is mixed with a mountain of pain.
- Enjoyment cannot bring
about satisfaction of a desire. On the contrary it makes the mind more restless
after enjoyment through intense craving (Trishnas and Vasanas).
- Sensual pleasure is
an enemy of Brahma-Jnana
- Sensual pleasure is
the cause for birth and death.
- This body is nothing
but a mass of flesh, bone, and all sorts of filth.
- Place before the mind
the fruits of Self-realization or life in the soul or Brahman or the Eternal,
such as Immortality, Eternal bliss, Supreme peace and Infinite knowledge.
If you remember the seven points always, the mind will be weaned from the
cravings for sensual pleasures. Vairagya, Viveka and Mumukshutva (dispassion,
discrimination from the real and the unreal, and keen longing for liberation
from birth and death) will dawn. You should seriously look into the defects
of sensual life (Dosha-Drishti) and into the unreal nature of worldly life
(Mithya-Drishti).
Read this once daily
as soon as you get up from the bed.
To The
First Edition
While it will be accepted
on all hands that the first and foremost requisite or qualification for an aspirant
treading the path of Ancient Wisdom or Yoga is Vairagya born of pure discrimination,
it is strange that nowadays when numberless books on Yoga, Vedanta and other
allied subjects are displayed at the sales window, none of these learned treatises
has ever thought or taken into head to supply this dire and long felt need of
spiritual aspirants. At such a time a book on “HOW TO GET VAIRAGYA”
by no less an eminent sage, Yogi and philosopher than His Holiness Sri Swami
Sivananda should be quite welcome to one and all.
True, the subject of Vairagya
has been dealt with in the sacred books of India by ancient sages like Vasishtha,
Vyasa, Yajnavalkya, Bhartrihari and others, but nowhere will the reader get
a clear, concise and compact knowledge of the subject, at the same time suited
to modern-conditions, tastes and requirements. While emphasis was laid on ruthless
renunciation, mental as well as, physical, by the ancients as a precondition
to Self-Realization, it is quite refreshing and heartening to hear from the
Himalayan Yogi that “Vairagya is purely an internal mental state,”
“it is not a mere external show,” and “a man may remain in the
busy world amidst various luxuries, and yet he may possess perfect Vairagya,
while a Sadhu who lives in a cave in the far-off regions of the Himalayas may
be keenly attached to his Kamandalu, walking stick or piece of cloth.”
It is earnestly hoped that
the object with which this publication has been undertaken will be realized
in the fullest measure.
THE PUBLISHERS
1st October, 1938.
“Happiness is within,”
“What is Vairagya?” “Miseries of mundane existence,” “Body,”
“Woman,” “World,” “Essence of Vairagya-Satakam”
and “Inspiring stories.”
In “Happiness is within,”
I have emphasized that happiness which is the driving motive of all human endeavours
is not in the perishable objects of the world, but is within one’s own
self and that even the very little momentary pleasure you get from sensual enjoyments
is but a reflection of the Atman Bliss only. Real and lasting happiness can
be had only from God, or the Atman, which shines in the chambers of your heart.
In the chapter entitled
“What is Vairagya,” I have pointblank stated that Vairagya does not
consist in running away in home, shirking the duties and responsibilities of
life but that it is purely an internal state and that a man while living in
the world amidst various luxuries may be a perfectly dispassionate soul. The
chapter is for the sake of convenience and ease divided into thirteen headings,
all useful and interesting. The need for renunciation of desire as a means to
liberation from bondage, varieties of Vairagya, its various stages, how to develop
it, the path of renunciation, what Vairagya is and what it is not- these
and many other allied topics have been nicely handled.
“Miseries of mundane
existence” is the inspiring title of the third chapter. It should be borne
in mind that ignorance is the real cause of all misery and hence it should by
all means be done away with and Self-Knowledge attained, if these miseries of
mundane life are to come to an end. One may easily renounce wife, son and property,
but to renounce name and fame is an extraordinary feat of the highest spirituality.
To attain knowledge of Self such a degree of renunciation is indispensably necessary.
I have condemned building of Ashrams and making disciples with a reservation
clause because this to me seems to be the prime cause of failure to attain the
goal of Yoga practice in the case of many a good aspirant nowadays.
Chapter four deals with
“Body.” Attachment to body is the cause of misery and bondage and
this attachment is of course due to ignorance of the Reality. When attachment
for one’s own body comes, then desire for sensual enjoyments, lust, anger,
greed, worry, anxiety and innumerable other miseries also come in its train.
If this is cut at the root by negating the body and identifying one’s self
with the supreme Self, then all miseries and sorrows will come to an end. Hence
the condemnation of attachment to the body.is purely carnal; it is not pure,
unselfish love. Hence condemnation of such love is justified.
“World” is the
title of the sixth chapter. Due to ignorance man believes that the world in
which he lives is a solid reality and that there is nothing beyond it. He therefore
wants to indulge in all sorts of sensual pleasures with a view to get happiness
from them. Had he known that the world in which he lives is unreal and that
there is something else which is an embodiment of Happiness, realizing which
one enjoys highest bliss, he would not do so. With a view to get happiness from
objects, he undergoes severe pain, tortures and tribulations and yet he does
not get the least satisfaction from them. I have tried to convince the reader
that this world of names and forms is unreal, transitory and fleeting, that
God, or the Atman alone is real and full of bliss and that he should try to
realize the Atman and get the happiness he wants from it.
In the next chapter entitled
“Essence of Vairagya-Satakam” I have given in a nutshell the sum and
substance of Bhartrihari’s century of verses which will be found very useful
to those who cannot afford to obtain each and every book pertaining to Yoga
or Vedanta.
In chapter eight, entitled
“Inspiring Stories,” the reader gets half a dozen thrilling and inspiring
stories of great saints and Yogis of ancient India, which are calculated to
produce deep Vairagya in him, and it is my firm belief that a book on Vairagya
like the present one has never been presented to the public as yet.
Prasnottari of Sri Sankaracharya
is appended at the end, which will be a source of strong inducement to lead
a life of dispassion in the world.
May the students of Yoga
and Vedanta in the East and West be all inspired to unstinted action by a perusal
of this volume is the earnest prayer of :
SWAMI SIVANANDA
15th September, 1938.
O Adorable Lord! Thou art
the subtle. Hence it is very difficult to understand and realize Thee. Thou
art the past, present and future. There is nothing but Thee. Thou art the Infinite
ocean of Grace and Mercy. Thou art known to Thy devotee alone. Thou art without
attributes and without forms and yet Thou possess attributes and forms. It is
very difficult to comprehend Thy glory and greatness. Thou art my father, mother,
Guru and sole refuge. Salutations unto Thee! Protect me. Guide me. Lift me up
from this terrible round of births and deaths.
O Lord! Thou art the indweller
of all Thou art the soul in all! Thou art the womb of all! Thou art the protector
of all: Thou art the bestower of fruits of Karma to all: Thou art all; Thou
dwellest in all; Thou art the source of all; Thou art the giver of Moksha to
all. Prostrations unto Thee!
O Lord! If Thou art the
sun, then I am the ray; if Thou art the ocean, I am the wave: if Thou art the
Himalayas, I am the tree; if Thou art the Ganga, I am the drop; if Thou art
the garden, I am the flower; if Thou art the electric light, I am the bulb;
If Thou art the landscape, I am the grass. By loving Thee, I have become Immortal.
The noose of Yama is cut asunder. Salutations unto Thee!
O Self-effulgent Lord!
Thou art the Supporter, the Saviour, the Creator, the Inner Ruler, the Governor,
the Master, the Protector and the Deliverer. Thou art the Dispeller of the darkness
of ignorance. Thou art the Remover of the miseries and sufferings of Thy devotees.
Thou art the Destrayor of the three kinds of sufferings (Tapas) or fevers of
human beings. O Venerable Lord! Salutations unto Thee! In Thee I take refuge.
Give me purity and devotion. Let my wandering, mischievous mind always rest
in Thy blessed Lotus feet.
O Sovereign Lord of all
creations! I do not want any wealth, or Moksha or power or dominion. But I do
want that sufferings and troubles of all beings should come to an end for ever.
Thou art ocean of mercy. Thou art omnipotent. Thou can do this.
OM
In Memory
of
Lord
Buddha, Raja Bhartrihari and Raja Gopichand,
who were
embodiments of Vairagya,
who renounced
their kingdom,
throne
and their all for the
attainment
of the Infinite
or
the final
beatitude of life
or Kaivalya,
the Supreme
Abode of Immortality
and
Eternal
Bliss
OM
!
Happiness
Is Within
Man wants happiness. He
shuns pain. He moves heaven and earth to get the happiness he wants from sensual
objects and, lo, gets himself entangled in the inextricable meshes of Maya.
Poor man! He does not know that these objects are perishable and evanescent,
finite and conditioned in time, space and causation. And what is more, he fails
to get the desired happiness from them.
This world is imperfect
(Apurna) and there is uncertainty of life. A barrister-at-law talks at
the telephone, ascends the staircase to take his meals and, alas, while ascending
he dies on the staircase. Such instances are not uncommon to you all.
There is not an iota of
happiness in objects, because they are insentient (Jada). Even the sensual
pleasure is a reflection of Atmic Bliss only. Just as a dog that sucks a dry
bone in the street imagines foolishly that blood is oozing out of the dry bone,
whereas blood is really oozing from its own palate, so also worldly-minded people
foolishly imagine that the happiness they enjoy in everyday life comes from
objects only.
You can find eternal, infinite,
supreme peace and bliss only in your Atma which shines in all its splendour
and glory in the chambers of your heart. It is an embodiment of Bliss (Ananda
Swarupa).
There is mental uneasiness,
dissatisfaction, discontentment and restlessness even in multimillionaires and
kings. Some kind of sorrow, misery or pain is invariably present even when they
are in the height of enjoyment of worldly pleasures. Show me a man who is perfectly
happy? When the marriage of his second son is being celebrated, the remembrance
of the death of his first son who passed away only sometime ago torments his
mind.
Mind is so constituted
that the rhythm of pleasure and pain is kept up like the rhythm of systole and
diastole of the heart. You entertain the fear that the happiness will pass away
soon, when you are in happy surroundings. This adds pain, when you are in the
enjoyment of sensual pleasures. Even if you remove the pain by some means or
other, it again manifests in some form or other such as loss of property, disease,
death, hostility and disappointment.
There is no hope of immortality
by means of riches. Such indeed is the emphatic and irrefutable declaration
of the Upanishads. "Na karmana na prajayana dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanasuh.
Neither by rituals, nor by progeny, nor by riches but by renunciation alone
one can attain immortality."
Mere giving up of objects
will not constitute real renunciation. Dear friends, remember this point well.
True Tyaga or renunciation consists in renouncing egoism, "I-ness,"
"mine-ness," selfishness, desires and cravings of all sorts.
For all beings a human
birth is verily difficult to attain, more so with a male body. It is said that
there are three things which are rare indeed and are due to the grace of God
viz., a human birth, the longing for liberation and the protecting care
of a perfected sage. The man who having by some virtuous actions done in previous
births obtained a human birth with a male body and a good intellect to boot
is foolish enough not to exert for Self-Realization verily commits suicide,
for he kills himself by clinging to things unreal.
You will now ask me the
pertinent question : "Why should I realize the Atman?" I say because
Self-Realization gives you freedom from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths
with its concomitant evils. Hear the emphatic declaration of the Upanishads:
"This Atman (Self) which is free from sin, undecaying, undying, free from
sorrow, hunger and thirst, with true desires and true resolves-that is what
is to be sought after, and which one must wish to understand; one who has sought
after his Self and understand It, obtains all worlds and all desires."
(Chhandogya Upanishad).
Hear again the forcible
utterances of the same Chhandogya Upanishad: "Yo vai Bhuma tat
sukham na alpe sukham asti, bhumaiva sukham bhuma tveva vijijnasitavyah.
The infinite (the Great) is bliss. There is no bliss in what is small (finite).
The Infinite alone is Bliss. But one should wish to understand the Infinite."
Every man in this world
is restless, discontented and dissatisfied. He feels that he is in want of something,
the nature of which he does not really understand. He seeks, in the accomplishment
of ambitious projects, the rest and peace that he feels he is in need of. But
he finds to his great sorrow and disappointment that worldly greatness when
secured is a delusion and a snare. He does not find any happiness in it. He
gets coveted degrees, diplomas, titles, honours, power, position, name and fame;
he marries; he begets beautiful babies; in short, he gets all that he supposes
would give him happiness. But yet he finds no real rest and peace.
Pious men, saints, sages,
Acharyas and prophets are never tired of saying that this restlessness of every
man, this state of discontentment, dissatisfaction and uncomfortableness of
being ill at ease with himself and his environments is solely due to the loss
of the companionship of the partner of his soul, who is ever eternally shining
in the chambers of your heart, who is ready to embrace you with outstretched
hands, if you really care to see Him and if you are really spiritually thirsty
and hungry.
One anna of pleasure is
mixed with fifteen annas of pain. Pleasure that is mixed with pain, fear and
worry is no pleasure at all. If you carefully begin to analyze this one anna
of pleasure also, it will dwindle into an airy nothing. You will find that it
is a mere play of the mind. O man! Wake up. Open your eyes. Develop Viveka.
You cannot get the real happiness from finite objects.
Nitya, Nirupadhika,
Niratisaya Ananda (eternal, infinite Bliss) that is independent of objects
can be had only in the Immortal Spirit or Atma or Soul or Brahman, the Indweller
of your heart. Therefore shun all external things ruthlessly and run to the
Feet of the Lord. Develop Vairagya. Vairagya is the rock-bottom foundation for
the spiritual path.
Why do men run after the
sensual pleasures? What is their concept of happiness? Do Samskaras force them
to repeat the same sensual acts again and again? Is man a mere creature of environment
or circumstance? Can he not obliterate his Samskaras by effective and suitable
means?
On account of ignorance
man runs hither and thither to seek happiness in objects. A little ginger bread
and some sweetmeats, a son and a young wife, some position and power and a little
money in the bank to boot will fill his heart with joy and calm down his nerves.
That is all he wants. Bliss of Atma, supersensuous Ananda and Peace, spiritual
ecstasy and knowledge are unknown to him. He does not want them. Nay, he dislikes
them. He hates people who talk about higher and sublime things. Believe me,
man can obliterate his Samskaras by Purushartha or right exertion.
He is not a creature of environment or circumstance. He is the master
of his destiny.
Amidst the din and boisterous
bustle of worldly activities, there do come moments of tranquillity and peace,
when the mind for the time being, however short it may be, soars above the filthy
worldly things and reflects on the higher problems of life viz., the
why and wherefore of life and the riddle of the universe. Man begins to enquire:
"Who am I?" The sincere enquirer becomes serious and gets absorbed
in his reflections. He begins to search and understand the Truth. Discrimination
dawns on him. He seeks Vairagya, concentration, meditation, and purification
of the body and mind and eventually attains the highest Knowledge of Self. But
the man whose mind is saturated with worldly Vasanas and materialistic
poison is quite heedless and is irresistibly carried away by the two currents
of Raga and Dwesha and tossed about helplessly hither and thither
in the tumultous Samsaric stream of worldly concerns.
Ah! How uncertain is sensual
life in this world! If you constantly think of the transitory nature of sensual
pleasure and its concomitant evils viz., miseries, worries, troubles, tribulations,
anxieties and premature death, then you will slowly develop Vairagya. The Vairagya
that comes momentarily is due to the loss of either wife, relation, friend,
son or property; this will not help you much in the spiritual path. What is
really wanted is Vairagya born of discrimination or Viveka.
In the presence of sensual
pleasure, spiritual bliss cannot exist, just as darkness cannot exist in the
presence of light. Therefore show extreme contempt for worldly objects. Destroy
all desires. Turn the mind away from the sensual objects. You will develop Vairagya.
You yourself have made
your life complex and intricate. You have entangled yourself in this quagmire
of Samsara. You have multiplied your wants and desires. Everyday you are forging
an additional link to the chain of bondage. Simplicity has vanished. Luxurious
habits and ways of living are embraced. No wonder there is unemployment everywhere.
People are dying of starvation. There is depression in trade. There is unrest
everywhere. There is wholesale devastation by earthquake. Divorce courts are
also multiplying. One nation is afraid of another nation. One nation suspects
that other nations are preparing for a big war. Life has thus become a matter
of uncertainty. It has become a mass of confusion, chaos and bewilderment. It
has become stormy and boisterous. It is full of under-currents, cross-currents,
subterranean currents and mixed currents. Is there no way of escape from these
troubles and difficulties? There is only one way. Lead a life of dispassion,
self-control, purity, selfless service, cosmic love. Develop the habit of taking
the right point of view, right thinking, right feeling, right acting, with right
mental attitude or Bhav. Practice devotion and meditation.
O Mohan! You have no real
sustained Vairagya. Your present mental state is due to pecuniary embarrassments.
This will not help you in the spiritual path. The mind will be waiting to get
back the object renounced, when it gets the first opportunity. No doubt you
are a man of spiritual Samskaras. But your Vairagya must be of that type that
is born of pure Viveka, (Nityanitya-vastu-Viveka), discrimination between
the real and the unreal. This is a rare commodity, a rare virtue, though many
people feign to be in possession of the same.
Thousands of young graduates
and young doctors come to me with earthen pots in their hands and attired in
orange coloured robes in quest of caves in Uttarakasi and Gangottri for deep
meditation and practice of Pranayama. And some young research students in science
and some Rajkumars go to the Punjab and Kashmir in silk suits with stiff collars
and ties in search of girls for marriage. Is there pleasure or pain in this
world? If there is pleasure, why do young educated men retire into forests?
If there is pain, why do young men run after wealth, women and position? Mysterious
is Maya! Mysterious is Moha!
Try to understand the riddle
of life and the riddle of the universe. Acquire Viveka. Take recourse to Satsang.
Enquire into the nature of the Atman. Study the Yoga-Vasishtha and the
Upanishads. Then you will have a comprehensive understanding of the innumerable
problems of life. There is not an iota of happiness in this world. Seek the
happiness within.
Is not a kingdom valuable
to be owned? Is not a summer palace in Kashmir or a pleasant garden with sweet-smelling
flowers of various colours nice to live in? Is not the company of young Mabaranis
with tender waists and lotus-like eyes dear as life itself, very pleasing? Yet
wise, dispassionate men like Bhartrihari, Buddha, Gopichand and others retired
into forests kicking all these things as worthless as straw, to realize the
Self which alone can confer infinite Bliss, Immortality, and eternal Peace.
The spirit comes and goes.
Therefore you will have to be careful always in nourishing and protecting your
spiritual Samskaras with burning Vairagya, intense and constant Sadhana and
burning longing for liberation (Mumukshutva). You will have to increase
your good Samskaras. You will have to develop them. You will have to multiply
them.
Vairagya is purely an internal
mental state. A man may remain in the busy world amidst various luxuries, women
and wealth, and yet he may possess perfect Vairagya, while a Sadhu who lives
in a cave in the far off regions of the Himalayas may be greatly attached to
his Kamandalu, walking stick or piece of cloth.
What Is
Vairagya?
An Internal
Mental State
Raja Janaka, though he
ruled a kingdom, was a perfectly dispassionate man. So was Raja Bhagiratha,
too. Queen Chudala possessed perfect Vairagya, though she ruled a dominion,
while her saintly husband, Raja Sikhidhvaja, who retired into the forest to
practice penance and Yoga, was intensely attached to his body and Kamandalu
(waterpot).
You cannot form a correct
opinion of any Sadhu or Sannyasin or even householder as to his mental state
of Vairagya or mental condition by just having a casual talk with him for a
few hours or staying with him for a few days. You will have to live with him
for a very long time to study his internal mental state.
Generally most people commit
serious blunders in these matters. They are deluded by mere external appearances.
They mistake a physically nude Sadhu for a great Mahatma in the beginning. Later
on they feel obliged to change their impression after closer contact. Physical
nudity alone will not constitute real Vairagya. The mind of the physically nude
Sadhu may be full of fantastic desires, cravings and appetites. Who knows! What
is wanted, therefore, is mental nudity, i. e., complete eradication of
Vasanas, egoism, etc. Do not be deceived by external appearances. Beware!
Beware!! Beware!!!
Defects
of Sensual Pleasures
If you do not possess Viveka,
if you do not try your extreme level best for the attainment of salvation, if
you spend your whole life-time in eating, drinking, sleeping, marrying and propagating
race, you are no better than a horizontal being. You will have to sit at the
feet of these animals and learn several lessons from them. Even animals possess
self-restraint to an astonishing degree. O man, where has your self-restraint
gone
Sensual enjoyment is attended
with various defects. It is attended with various sorts of sins, pains, weaknesses,
attachments, slave-mentality, weak will, severe exertion and struggle, bad habits,
cravings, aggravation of desires and mental restlessness. Therefore shun all
sorts of sensual enjoyments and rest in peace.
The Narayana Upanishad
says: "In the beginning these two roads were laid-the road, through Karma
and Sannyasa. The latter consists of the renunciation of the threefold desire
(son, wealth, and fame). Of these the road through Sannyasa is preferable."
The Taittiriya Upanishad also says: "Renunciation (Tyaga) certainly
is to be preferred."
Mere outward giving up
of thing is nothing. It is not real renunciation. Real Tyaga or Sannyasa is
absolute renunciation of all Vasanas and destruction of the heart knot
(ignorance), the Chit-jada-Granthi.
The Glory
of Vairagya
What should be renounced
is that Bhedabuddhi which says: "I am superior to that man. I have
done that. I have done this. I am the body" and the Kartritwa abhimana
which thinks: "I am the doer." There is no use of renouncing your
home, wife and children, if you cannot renounce these also.
He cannot be truly regarded
as having renounced the world altogether who has merely withdrawn himself from
worldly possessions. But he, who living in actual contact with the world, finds
out its faults (Doshas), who is free from every passion and whose soul
depends on nothing, may well be said to have truly renounced the world. Read
the story of Raja Sikhidhvaja in the Yoga-Vasishtha. You will clearly
understand this point.
Renounce this world. Renounce
the desire for Moksha. Renounce renunciation itself. Then you will become
That. You will become itself.
Dear brother! If you have
no real sustained Vairagya, you will find no improvement or progress in spirituality.
Vows, austerities, energy and meditation will leak out like water from a cracked
pot. Be careful.
There is verily no sword
more powerful than Vairagya to cut off all sorts of attachment to this world.
Hold this sword in your hand and march along in the spiritual path. You will
safely reach the goal.
The shadow of clouds, the
friendship with a fool, the beauty of youth, wealth, all these last only for
a very short time. They are impermanent. Shun them all ruthlessly.
Only a thirsty man drinks
water. Only a hungry man eats food. Even so, a man who is spiritually hungry
and thirsty will only drink the Nectar of Immortality.
The life of Vemanna is
worthy to be read. He was a Jnani of Andhra Desa. He was leading a voluptuous
life, most abominable indeed. The moment Vairagya dawned in him, he became an
entirely different man. He made no Sadhana as he was a Yoga Bhrashta ,
or one who had fallen from Yogic practices in his previous birth, and became
a Jnani . He was, and is very much revered by devotees.
This search after God and
God-Realization is a question of supply and demand. If you really want God,
if there is a real demand from your heart for God, then the supply would come.
He is really a Sannyasin
who is free from passion, egoism and who possesses Sattvic qualities.
Atma-Vichara (enquiry into
the nature of the Atman, or Self) and Yogic practices done without intense Vairagya
becomes fruitless.
To get Vairagya one should
seriously ponder over the various entanglements and bondage of married life.
If you get Vairagya, rest
assured that is a sign of purification of mind (Chitta-Suddhi).
The things that used to
afford you delight before give you displeasure now. That is a sign of Vairagya.
Vairagya that comes momentarily
after such accidents as the loss of some dearly loved relative or wealth is
known as Karana Vairagya. It will not help you much in your spiritual advancement.
The mind will be simply waiting for an opportunity to catch hold of the sensual
objects, when an opportunity arises.
Therefore, Vairagya born
of discrimination or Viveka is the premonitory symptom of spiritual development.
That will help the aspirant. That will give him a good spiritual uplift.
Varieties
of Vairagya
Vairagya is of two kinds
viz., Karanavairagya (on account of some miseries) and Viveka-purvaka-Vairagya
(on account of discrimination between the real and the unreal).
The mind of a man who has
got the former type of Vairagya is simply waiting for a chance to get back the
things that have been given up or lost. As soon as the first opportunity occurs,
the man gets a downfall and goes back to his former state. Vishaya (sensual
object) does havoc in him with a vengeance and redoubled force from reaction.
But the other man who has given up objects on account of deep enquiry and Viveka,
on account of the illusory nature of objects, will have spiritual advancement.
He will not have any downfall.
"Drishta-anursravika
vishaya-vitrishnasya vasikarasamjna vairagyam-That particular state of mind
which manifests itself in one who does not hanker after objects seen or heard
and in which one is conscious of having controlled or mastered those objects
is non-attachment." (Patanjali's Yoga-Sutras: 1-15)
It is only when the mind
is absolutely free from attachment of all sorts that true knowledge begins to
dawn and Samadhi supervenes. Secret powers, attainment of heaven, states of
Videha and Prakritilaya, etc., are all temptations. One should be perfectly
free from all sorts of temptations. Samadhi comes by itself when the Yogic student
is fully established in perfect Vairagya. Para-Vairagya is the means to Asampra-jnata
Samadhi.
Stages
in Vairagya
There are four stages in
Vairagya:
(1) Yatamana:- This
is an attempt not to allow the mind to run into sensual grooves;
(2) Vyatireka :-In
this stage some objects are attracting you and you are endeavouring to cut off
the attachment and attraction. Slowly Vairagya develops for these objects also.
Then the Vairagya matures. When some objects tempt and delude you, you should
ruthlessly avoid them. You will have to develop Vairagya for these tempting
objects and it must also mature. In this stage you are conscious of your degree
of Vairagya towards different objects;
(3) Ekendriya:-The
senses stand still and subdued, but the mind has either Raga or Dvesha
for objects. Mind is, in other words, the only sense that functions
independently;
(4) Vasirara :-In
this highest stage of Vairagya, the objects no longer tempt you. They cause
no attraction. The senses are perfectly quiet. The mind also is free from likes
and dislikes (Raga and Dvesha). Then you get supremacy
or independence. Now you are conscious of your supremacy. Without Vairagya no
spiritual progress is possible.
Vairagya is of three kinds
viz., dull (Manda), intense (Tivra) and
very intense (Tivratara). Dull Vairagya cannot help you
much in the attainment of your goal.
Vairagya is the opposite
of Raga, or desire. It is dispassion or non-attachment. It is indifference to
sensual objects herein and hereafter. Vairagya thins out the fatty sensual mind.
It turns the mind inward (Antarmukh Vritti). This is the most
important qualification for an aspirant. It is the one and the only means to
enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Vairagya that is born of
discrimination is lasting and steady. If you seriously think of the various
kinds of pain in this Samsara such as birth, death, worries, depression, suffering,
disease, loss, hostility, disappointment, fear, etc., if you understand intelligently
the defects of sensual life (Dosha Drishti), and the transitory
and perishable nature of all objects of the world, Vairagya will immediately
dawn.
How to
Develop Vairagya
Study of Vairagya-Satakam
of Bhartrihari, and the company of dispassionate Sadhus and Sannyasins will
also help one in developing Vairagya. The temporary Vairagya which one gets
when he is attending the funeral of a dead person and the Vairagya which a pregnant
lady in pangs gets cannot help one to attain spiritual exaltation. The mind
will pounce upon the objects when it gets opportunities.
Aspirants generally complain
to me "Swamiji Maharaj, we are meditating for the last 12 years. But we
do not know the reason why we have not made any substantial spiritual progress."
This is due to lack of intense Vairagya only. The mind will be ever thinking
of objects even during meditation. Intense Vairagya only can help the aspirant
in attaining Self-Realization.
"Tarparampurushakyateh
gunavaitrisnyam: Para-Vairagya or supreme non-attachment is that state wherein
even the attachment to the qualities (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) drops, owing
to the knowledge of the Purusha." (Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
: 1-16).
The Vairagya described
earlier is Apara-Vairagya (lower one). Now comes supreme Vairagya. In the former
state, there is preponderance or Sattva. Sattva is mixed with Rajas and Tamas.
The Yogi gets Siddhis and becomes a Videha or Prakritilaya. But
the Yogi with Para-Vairagya rejects the Siddhis also and gets Sakshatkara, or
Darsan, of the Purusha.
In ordinary Vairagya there
is a trace of Vasanas and desires. But in Para-Vairagya all Vasanas, Samskaras
and desires are fried in toto. In Para-Vairagya there will be no desire at all.
Perfect desirelessness is Para-Vairagya. In the Bhagavad Gita you will find:
"Objects fall away from the abstinent man, leaving the longing behind.
But his longing also ceases, who sees the Supreme." (11-59).
Note how Vairagya arises
in the mind. The transitory, evanescent and perishable nature of all things
creates a sort of disgust in all minds and in proportion to the depth and subtlety
of nature, this reaction from the world works more or less powerfully in the
mind of every individual. An irresistible feeling arises in our mind viz., that
the finite can never satisfy the Infinite within us, that the changing and perishable
cannot satisfy the change-less and deathless nature that is ours.
When you are not impressed
with rich living, rich style of living cannot attract you. When you are impressed
with the idea that meat and wine are not at all pleasurable, meat and wine cannot
tempt you. When you are impressed that a woman is nothing but a leather-bag
of pus, blood, urine, bones and flesh, woman cannot tempt you. In that case,
if you fail to get meat or wine or woman, or to have a rich living, you will
not be agonized at all in your mind.
Why are you attracted towards
a young, beautiful lady? Have you ever seriously thought over this life-and-death
problem? The answer is: because owing to your ignorance you vainly think you
will get pleasure from her. If you have Vairagya and Viveka, it will at once
tell you that you will get immense pain from her rather than pleasure. Then
your mind will recede or withdraw from the object, viz., woman.
It is only when the mind,
being divested of all its desires is indifferent to pleasure and pain and is
not attracted by any object that it will be rendered pure, free from the grip
of the great delusion like a bird freed from the cage and roaming about freely
in the Akasa.
As soon as Vairagya arises
in the mind, it opens the gate of Divine Wisdom. No true and lasting satisfaction
comes from the enjoyment of worldly pleasures. Yet, people rush headlong towards
objects, even when they know full well that the objects they are trying to seize
are unreal and that the world in which they live is fraught with miseries of
all sorts. This is Maya. When the mind rests in Atma then the only Nitya-Tripti,
or eternal satisfaction comes. Because the Atman is Paripurna (All-Full).
All desires are gratified by realization of Atma or Self.
Sometimes the mind gets
disgusted with one kind of Sadhana. It wants some other kind of Sadhana. It
rebels against monotony. The aspirant should know how to coax the mind on such
occasions and to extract work from it by a little relaxation of mind. The cessation
of Sadhana is a grave blunder. Spiritual practices should never be given up
under any circumstances. Evil thoughts will be waiting to enter the gates of
the mental factory. If the student of Yoga stops his Sadhana, his mind will
become the devil's workshop. Do not expect anything. Be sincere and regular
in your daily meditation, routine and Tapas. Do not deviate from the path you
have chosen. The fruit will come by itself. Your efforts will be surely crowned
with roaring success. It takes a long time to purify the mind and get one-pointedness.
Be cool and patient my child.
Cut the
Knot of Attachment
Attachment is the first
child of Maya. The whole Lila of the Lord is being kept up by the force of attachment
only. A sober man just tastes a small peg of Champagne, when he is caught up
in an evil company and becomes ultimately an inveterate drunkard through attachment
to spirit. A teetotaler just takes a whiff of Gold-Flake Cigarette and becomes
in due time a terrible smoker through attachment. There is in the mind a gummy
substance which is like a mixture of castor-oil, glue, gum-arabic, mucilage
of tragacanth, gluten paste, honey, glycerin, jack-fruit's juice and all other
pasty substances of this world. The mind is glued, as it were, to the objects
of the world with this mixture. Therefore attachment is very strong.
Therefore O man, never
say "My body, my son, my wife, my house, my property, my garden, etc."
Attachment is the root cause of the innumerable miseries and troubles of this
world. Discipline your mind little by little. The old evil habits will creep
in. Destroy them to the very root. Lead a life of perfect non-attachment. This
is the master key to open the realms of Brahmic Bliss.
But work incessantly without
attachment, without any identification. Then alone you can feel that you are
a different being. Karma Yoga elevates a man to sublime, magnanimous heights,
when done in the right spirit, with the right mental attitude or Bhav. One should
patiently work. That is all. No meditation or Samadhi is ever possible without
a preliminary training in Nishkamya Karma-Yoga. To work without attachment is
doubtless a difficult task. It is an uphill work. But it becomes a very easy
job and pleasant too to a man of patience and determination. You will have to
do it at any cost, if you want final beatitude and immortality. Everyone of
you will have to do it, though not now, at least after taking five hundred births.
There is no other alternative but to do so. But the question is: Why not now?
Why not in this very birth itself? Why not cut short the cycle of births and
deaths and enjoy the Bliss of the Self right now, this very second? Therein
lies real wisdom.
Work cannot bring misery,
but it is attachment and identification with work that brings in all sorts of
unhappiness and bondage. Understand the secret of work, the technique of Karma
Yoga and attain God-Consciousness. This Jnanagni or fire of wisdom will
consume all fruits of actions in toto.
Nivritti-Marga,
or the Path of renunciation
Have a strong determination
and a strong will. Never think of returning home after taking up to the Nivritti-Marga.
Look before you leap. Have courage, fixity of mind and a definite purpose in
life. Be not wavering. Are you ready to give up all possessions, including body
and life? Then alone come to me. Then alone take to Nivritti-Marga and embrace
Sannyasa. Think twice before you come to definite conclusions. This is not a
rosy path as you may imagine. It is full of thorns. It is beset with countless
difficulties and hardships. Be humble, patient and persevering. Never care for
Siddhis or quick awakening of the Kundalini. I shall serve you. I shall help
you. I shall take care of you. Be not troubled. Be not anxious. I am your servant
always. Be noble-minded. Mere emotional bubbling will not help you much. Some
young men have returned to their homes. Difficulties are many in this path.
But it can make you a King of kings, an Emperor of emperors.
Those who want to take
to seclusion and Nivritti-Marga should observe Mouna, non-mixing and disciplining
the Indriyas, mind and body while living in the world. They should train themselves
to a laborious hard life, coarse food, sleeping on the ground or a hard mattress
without pillows, walking barefooted without umbrellas. Then alone they can bear
the rigorous austerities of an ascetic's life. They should give up timidity
and shyness in getting alms.
Aspirants who take to the
Nivritti-Marga generally become lazy after some time, as they do not know how
to utilize their mental energy, as they do not keep any daily routine, as they
do not follow the instructions of their masters. They get Vairagya in the beginning,
but they have no experience in the spiritual line. They do not make any progress
in the end. Intense and constant meditation is necessary for entering into Samadhi.
Have you fully determined
with an iron will to stick to this line at any cost? Are you really prepared
to sacrifice this body and life in the cause of Truth? Have you understood the
glory of Sannyasa and the importance of seclusion? If your daughter, brother,
mother or son comes here and weeps, have you got the requisite strength to resist
Moha? After coming here can you cut off all sorts of connections with your relatives?
Can you stop all correspondences? Do not hide anything. Be absolutely candid.
Be frank and guileless. Speak to me the truth now. Open out your heart to me.
Sleepless vigilance is
necessary, if you wish to have rapid spiritual advancement. Never rest content
with a little achievement or success in the path a little serenity of mind,
a little one-pointedness of mind, some visions of angles, or Siddhis, a little
faculty of thought-reading, etc. There are still higher summits to ascend, higher
regions to climb up.
The attraction for objects
and ties of various sorts make a man bound to this world. Renunciation of all
attractions and breaking up of all ties constitute real renunciation. That Sannyasin
or Yogi who is free from attraction and ties enjoys infinite bliss and supreme
joy and peace. Fluctuation and imagination are the two seeds of the mind. Fluctuation
is the fuel. Imagination is the fire. The unceasing fire of imagination is kept
up by the fuel of fluctuation. If the fuel of fluctuation is with drawn, the
fire of imagination gets extinguished by itself. The mind becomes tranquil.
It is withdrawn into its source, the Atma.
You came alone. You came
naked. You came weeping. You will go alone. You go naked. You will go weeping.
Wily then are you proud of your titles, false wealth and false knowledge? Become
humble and meek. You will conquer the whole world through humility. Become pure
in thought, word and deed. This is the secret of spiritual life. The Upanishads
and the Gita harp again and again upon this one note.
To a passionate man there
is much pleasure in this world. He runs after money and women. His mind is intoxicated,
perverted and clouded. Poor man, he does not know what he is really doing. But
to a Yogi or a man of discrimination this world is a ball of fire. It is a huge
furnace in which all beings are roasted. The three kinds of heat viz., Adhyatmika
(internal), Adhidaivika (heavenly) and Adhibhautika
(external) are burning him.
Friend! Is there any limit
to the number of fathers and mothers and wives you had in the crores and crores
of previous incarnations? Yet this clinging and false relationship have not
gone. Discrimination has not dawned.
Are you not ashamed to
repeat the same old process of eating, drinking and sleeping day in and day
out? You are proud of your titles and knowledge. Have you improved your life
even a bit? What have you learnt from the recent Bihar and Quetta earthquakes?
Are you attempting to reach that imperishable seat, wherein all desires and
Trishnas are completely eradicated? Are you endeavouring, in however small a
measure it may be, to attain the highest goal of life, Atmic realization, which
gives immortality, bliss and peace? You are not crawling now. You have learnt
to stand up and walk. You can think, reason out, judge, infer and ratiocinate.
Will you not utilize this precious life and all your various faculties in meditation
and Self Realization? Can you give me a definite word of promise to the effect?
Speak to me the truth now. Climb up the ladder of Yoga. Drink the Nectar of
Immortality.
Vairagya born of Viveka
is enduring and everlasting. It will not fail the aspirant at any time unlike
the Vairagya that comes temporarily to a lady who gives birth to a child or
to a man attending a funeral in the crematorium. The view that everything in
the world is unreal causes Vairagya or indifference to the enjoyments of this
world and the other heaven worlds also. One has to come down to this Mrityu-loka
from heaven when the fruits of good works are exhausted.
The same five kinds of
enjoyment of sensual pleasures prevail in the heaven worlds also. But they are
more intense and subtle. This cannot give real and lasting happiness to a Viveki.
He shuns all enjoyments of the heaven world also. He kicks them mercilessly.
He is keenly aware of the pleasures of the three worlds and is convinced that
they are only a mere drop in the ocean of Brahmic bliss.
Remember
the sayings of the Gita
Meditation on the following
Slokas of the Bhagavad-Gita will induce true Vairagya: "The delights that
are contact-born are, verily, wombs of pain, for they have a beginning and an
ending, O Kaunteya, not in them would rejoice the wise." ( Ch. V-22
). "Indifference to the objects of the senses, and also absence
of egoism, insight into the pain and evil of birth and death, old age and sickness."
( Ch. XIII-8 ). "That which from the union of the senses
with their objects is at first as nectar, but in the end is like venom."
( Ch. XVIII-38 ). "Having obtained this transient, joyless
world, worship Me."
What Vairagya
is not
Vairagya does not mean
abandoning social duties and responsibilities of life. It does not mean detachment
from the world. It does not mean a life in the solitary caves of the Himalayas
or in the crematorium. It does not mean living on Nim-leaves, cow's urine and
dung. It does not mean wearing of matted-hair and a Kamandal made of fence-gourd
or coconut shell in the band. It does not mean shaving of head and throwing
of clothes.
What Vairagya
is
Vairagya is mental detachment
from all connections with the world. That is all. A man may live in the world
and discharge all the duties of his order and stage of life with perfect detachment.
He may be a householder. What if? He may live with family and children. But
at the same time he may have perfect mental detachment. He can do his spiritual
Sadhana. That man who has perfect mental detachment while remaining in the world
is a hero indeed. He is much better than a Sadhu living in the Himalayan caves
because the former has to face the innumerable temptations of life every moment.
Wherever a man may go,
he carries with him his fickle, restless mind, his Vasanas and Samskaras. Even
if he lives in solitude, still he is the same worldly man, if he is engaged
in building castles in the air, and thinking of the objects of the world. In
such case even the cave becomes a big city to him. If the mind remains quiet,
if it is free from attachments, one can be a perfect Vairagi even while
living in a mansion in the busiest part of a city like Calcutta or Bombay. Such
a mansion will be converted in a dense jungle by him.
A dispassionate man has
a different mind altogether. He has a different experience altogether. He is
a past master in the art or science of separating himself from the impermanent,
perishable objects of the world. He has absolutely no attraction for them. He
constantly dwells on the Eternal or the Absolute. He identifies himself every
moment of his life with the witnessing consciousness that is present in pleasure
and in pain, in joy and in sorrow, in censure and in praise, in honour and in
dishonour, in all states of life. He stands adamantine as a peak amid a turbulent
storm, as a spectator of this wonderful world show. He is not a bit affected
by these pleasant and painful experiences. He learns several valuable lessons
from them. He has, in other words, no attraction for pleasant objects and repulsion
for painful ones. Nor is he afraid of pain. He knows quite well that pain helps
a lot in his spiritual progress and evolution, in his long journey towards the
Goal. He stands convinced that pain is the best teacher in the world.
Let me sound a note of
warning here. Dear aspirants! Vairagya also may come and go, if you are careless
and mix promiscuously with all sorts of worldly-minded people. You should develop
Vairagya, therefore, to a maximum degree. The mind will be waiting for golden
opportunities to get back the things once renounced. Whenever and wherever the
mind hisses or raises its hood (for the mind is verily like a serpent), you
should take refuge in Viveka and in the imperishable fortress of wise, dispassionate
Mahatmas. There are different degrees in Vairagya. Supreme dispassion comes
when one gets himself established in Brahman. Now the Vairagya becomes perfectly
habitual.
A man can develop inner
mental detachment from pleasure and pain while living in the world. He should
see that he is not carried away by the pleasant experiences of the world. He
should not cling to them. He should simply remain as a silent spectator. If
he thus practices for some years, every experience will be a positive step in
his ascent in spiritual ladder. Eventually he will be crowned with sanguine
success. He will then have an unruffled mind. He will have a poised mind also.
A dispassionate man is the happiest and the richest man in all the three worlds.
He is also the most powerful man. How can Maya tempt him now?
Best Training
School
Doctors have a wide field
for developing Vairagya. Everyday they come across patients with incurable disease.
Everyday they see dead bodies in the mortuary. Thus they have innumerable chances
of seeing Maya in all her naked state. They can be convinced beyond
a ray of doubt of the impermanence of life here in this world of man.
The superintendent of jail
and all the officers there also have wonderful chances of developing Vairagya,
if they are lovers of Truth and Emancipation. The sight of hanging a condemned
prisoner will open their eyes.
Hey Saumya! Your mental
state is laudable indeed. The life of a Sannyasin is the best kind of life in
the world. A true Sannyasin is the monarch of the three worlds. Even an aspirant
is an emperor of the whole world. Lord Krishna also says : "Only wishing
to know Yoga, even the seeker after Yoga goes beyond the Brahmin world."
I am extremely glad to
note that you have got exceptionally good spiritual Samskara which want to burst
out in this birth. They need protection and tender nurturing for your further
growth and evolution. Do not be carried away by the temptations of the world.
Be careful. Be wise. The beginner in the spiritual path should not remain in
the company of worldly-minded people. He should resort to Satsang. The company
of worldly-minded people is a deadly poison. You will not become a prey to lust
if you shun their company. Remain in seclusion under the direct guidance of
a Guru who is fully established in Brahman till you get perfect Vairagya and
till you are established in the path of Sannyasa.
A Note
of Warning
Many aspirants come to
me with great Vairagya and enthusiasm in the beginning. But they do not keep
up the same spirit for a long time or till the end of their Sadhana. When they
begin to encounter some difficulties, they retrace their steps. It is indeed
a great pity. Look before you leap. Have a firm determination. Stick to the
path of Sannyasa till you reach the goal and realize the fruits of Sadhana.
If you lack any of these
qualifications, wait for three more years. Do spiritual Sadhana, Asanas, Pranayama,
concentration and meditation at home. Plunge deep into silent meditation. Plunge
your-self in selfless service also. This is very necessary for purification
of mind. Keep up your Brahmacharya. Destroy all evil habits, if you have any
of these, such as smoking, tea, coffee, etc. Develop all virtuous qualities.
Mark the change in your mental attitude. Then come to me. Come here and be prepared
to lead a hard, active life.
Some aspirants come in
a hurry. Due to lack of Vairagya they go back. This is not good. Hence the warning.
Many aspirants want to
do some nice work such as writing, collection of flowers for Puja, arranging
books in the library, some kind of supervision and management. They dislike
works such as drawing of water, cleansing utensils, washing clothes of sick
persons, sweeping, nursing, cooking, cleansing bedpans, etc. They consider these
works as menial. They have not understood the real spirit of Nishkamya Karma
Yoga. They are yet Babus.
Dear Prabhu! There is a
dull spiritual awakening in you and a dull type of Vairagya. You will have to
develop both. Dull Vairagya are mere bubbling, emotions will not help you much
to stick to the path of renunciation. For some time leave the house and remain
in a secluded place for a week or two. Enquire. Cogitate. Investigate. Do self-analysis
and find out if you have any Moha, attachment to your family members. Find out
if your mind runs after sensual pleasures. Be sure whether you will be able
to leave the sensual objects, relatives and all sorts of comforts and conveniences.
If you can completely disconnect yourself from the world, then alone come to
me. I will make you a yogi of Yogis in a very short time. There are many who
have advanced in the spiritual path considerably in course of one or two years.
You can also do that. Implicit obedience and faithful carrying out of instructions
of the spiritual preceptor to the very letter is what is expected of you; that
is the secret of success in the spiritual path.
Miseries
Of Mundane Existence
Ignorance
is the Cause of Misery
You are but repeating the
same action of yesterday yielding but momentary pleasure and enjoyed things
do recur again. Things seen yesterday are again present today. Ornaments worn
with exultation yesterday are, again, donned by you. And yet, even intelligent
persons do not get disgusted with them and are not ashamed of enjoying them
again and again.
Like ignorant children
that do taste again and again sweetmeats which impart sweetness for the time
being, you are also afflicted, ignorant of the true path. Days, nights, weeks,
fortnights, months, years and Yugas do cycle again and again, and nothing new
crops up. Wealth which only makes a host of thoughts whirl in the brain will
not confer Bliss on you. This wealth which the mind so much covets and which
is so very ephemeral in its nature is utterly worthless like a flower-bud in
a creeper growing in a well encircled by a serpent.
Nobody
Comes and Goes
The Prana! Life which is
like a drop of rain water dripping from the end of a leaf turned overhead flits
out of the body at unseasonable times. This life is ephemeral like the autumnal
clouds or a gheeless lamp or ocean waves. Life and death are but two acts in
the drama. Really nobody comes and goes.
The lives of those who
have freed themselves from rebirth are the noblest. There is nothing so baneful
as the life which is perishable in its nature and fleeting in the bestowal of
pleasure.
Fire of
Desires
The fire of desires has
scalded you quite. In the present state even a full bath in a pool of ambrosia
will not cool you down. It is these ever-waxing desires that bring on pains
of rebirths, the heaviest and the most excruciating of all pains. This body
which is composed of muscles, intestines, urine and fecal matter and is subject
to various changes, being at one time fat and at another time lean, shines in
this mundane existence simply to undergo pains. What beauty is then to be enjoyed
in this body which is composed of flesh, bone and blood, which has the tendency
to rot, which is of the same nature in the rich and in the poor, and which is
subject to growth and decay?
Three Fevers
There are scorpion stings
on one side. Serpents are on the other side. Flies, fleas, bugs, mosquitoes,
thorns and other insects trouble you from one corner. The sun scorches you in
summer. Cold stings you in winter. Influenza, plague, fashionable appendicitis,
pyorrhea, smallpox are all ready to devour you. Then there are the three fevers,
Adhyatmika, Adhidaivika and Adhibhautika. Fear, delusion, grief, sorrow
and misery kill you every moment.
Desire, anger, hatred,
jealousy, worry, anxieties and cares torment you every second. Deaths of persons
whom you loved so dearly give you severe shocks. Yet you will never renounce
the momentary pleasures of the senses of this unreal mundane existence. Such
is the depth of sensual enjoyments. You will speak through egoism, "O,
I am a powerful man. I am very intelligent. I can do any thing. There is no
God." You will twist your glued moustache and when the scorpion stings
you sharp, you will cry out bitterly: "O Narayana, Narayana, Narayana,
help me. Relieve me of this horrible pain."
If the hair becomes gray,
you invent various dyes to blacken it. You invent monkey gland grafting for
rejuvenation. If the teeth are fallen, you put on a new artificial dental set.
You will never leave the "will-to-live and enjoy." Miserable wreck
that you are! Hopeless specimen!
Think deeply. Cogitate.
Reflect. Have constant Satsang. Do selfless service of country and humanity.
Develop the four means of salvation. Study the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga-Vasishtha
and Viveka-Chudamani of Sri Sankara. Clear your doubts by approaching learned
Sannyasins. Have recourse to Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana.
Remove the veil of ignorance and rest in your own Svarupa-the Satchitananda
state. "Atma va are drasktavyah srotavyo, mantavyo, nididhyasitavyah-The
Self must be seen, heard, thought upon and deeply pondered." (Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad: IV.5).
Shun honour, respect, degrees,
name, fame, power, position and titles. They are absolutely worthless. They
will not give you eternal satisfaction. They will only intensify your vanity.
They are all intoxicants of the mind. They will bring misery and mental disturbance.
That is the reason why Raja Bhartrihari, Raja Gopichand and Lord Buddha deserted
their kingdoms, riches, honour, etc. They treated them as trifles.
Uncertainty
of Life
Only your actions, good
and bad, will follow you after death. And God will judge you according to your
deeds.
The attraction for external
objects ceases, but there yet remains the internal craving or sense-hankering
or thirsting which is called Trishna. That is why the Gita says: "The objects
of sense, but not the relish for them, turn away from an abstemious dweller
in the body, and even the relish turns away from him after the Supreme is seen."
Friend! Is there any limit
to the number of fathers, mothers, wives, sons, daughters, uncles and aunts
you had in the countless incarnations in the past? And yet the clinging and
false relationship has not gone. Discrimination has not dawned. What a great
pity it is!
Are you not ashamed to
repeat the same acts of eating, drinking and sleeping day by day? You are proud
of your titles and honours. Have you improved your life even a bit? What lessons
have you learnt from the recent Bihar and Quetta earthquakes? Are you attempting
to reach the Imperishable Seat wherein all desires and Trishnas will be utterly
annihilated? Are you endeavouring to attain the highest end of life, Divine
realization which confers immortality, bliss and peace?
In the recent Bihar earthquake
(this was written years ago, when the earthquake took place there) a rich banker
had to beg for nine rupees just to protect himself and his family from death
by starvation. A Pundit earned slowly twenty-five thousand rupees by selling
his books. But he had to spend that money in a short time in the treatment of
his chronic chest complaint. He tried all sorts of medicines, but all in vain.
He had to leave the house to lead a life of a hermit.
Life is quite uncertain
here. Diseases of various sorts attack the body. Yet man clings blindly to this
ephemeral life! He forgets the truth. O man, seek everlasting peace and bliss
in the Atma or Soul within you by purifying your mind and practicing intense
meditation. This is the right royal road to extricate yourself from the pains
of Samsara. Be quick in taking to spiritual practices. Hairs are becoming gray.
Teeth are failing. Indriyas are getting cold. Practice meditation and Japa while
you are young. You can do nothing in old age, when you retire from service.
It is extremely difficult
to have a pure and calm mind. But you must have such a mind, if you want to
have progress in meditation and Yoga.
Lord Buddha had Viveka
from his very boyhood. He was one who had been profoundly impressed from
his early youth by the transient and impermanent nature of all conditions of
worldly existence and by the sufferings and wretchedness in which he saw all
beings immersed. Will you not become another Lord Buddha?
You have spent eight hours
in sleep, and the rest of the day in idle gossiping, telling lies, deceiving
others, in selfish activities, in amassing wealth. How can you expect spiritual
good, how can you expect immortality and peace, if you do not spend even half
an hour in the service of the Lord, in singing His Names and in divine contemplation?
On the
Whole, Life is Sorrow
Lord Buddha says: "On
the whole, life is sorrow." You will find an echo of this statement in
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras "Sarvam duhkham vivekinah-All indeed, is
pain to a person of discrimination." This is not the philosophy of the
pessimists. This is wonderful optimism, as it induces deep Vairagya, weans the
mind from sensual pleasures and directs it towards God, the Atman, to realize
eternal and infinite Bliss.
"Mamsa-lubdho yatha
matsyo lohasamkum na pasyati, Sukha-lubdhastatha debi yama-bandham na pasyati."
Just as a fish in its desire
to eat flesh does not see the hook that lies beneath, so also man in his passionate
desire to get sensual pleasure does not see the noose of death.
How to
Eradicate Sense-hankering
Trishna means an
intense craving or sense-hankering. Through constant repetition of enjoyment
of an object, the longing for the object becomes very keen and acute. This is
Trishna.
It is all easy to become
a big research scholar in the Oxford or Cambridge University and to get an M.A.,
Ph.D., degree. But it is extremely difficult to eradicate these Trishnas.
That is the reason why Sri Vasishtha says to Sri Rama : "You can even
uproot the Himalayas. You can even drink the waters of the whole ocean. You
can even swallow balls of fire. But it is difficult to destroy the Trishnas.
Cravings cause incessant trouble in many different ways. These cravings are
the seeds of this Samsara" (Yoga-Vasishtha).
A worldly man is always
drowned in sorrow. He is ever struggling to get something, some money, some
power, some position and so on. He is always anxious as to whether or not he
would get it. Even when he is in actual possession of the things he so passionately
longed for, he is very anxious lest he should lose it. There is pain in earning
money. There is more pain in taking care of it. There is still more pain if
the money gets decreased. And when it is lost, just imagine for a moment the
magnitude of the climax and the intensity of pain it gives a man! Therefore
renounce money and rest in peace in the blissful Self.
In the presence of light,
you cannot have darkness. In the presence of sensual pleasures, Atmic Bliss
cannot exist. Worldlings want both sensual pleasures and Atma Ananda in
one and the same cup and one and the same time. This is an absolute impossibility.
They do not want to renounce sensual pleasures. They do not want to develop
real Vairagya in their hearts of hearts. They simply talk a lot.
Though a man knows he might
die at any moment, still he thinks he would live for ever. To get oneself entangled
in the meshes of Maya till death is simply foolish. He who is attached to wife,
wealth and children will not derive even an iota of benefit in the spiritual
path.
A bachelor who is full
of passion from head to foot imagines that he is miserable because he has no
wife! A householder who is tired and exhausted of worldly life thinks wife and
children are a mighty hindrance in his spiritual march.
Desire
for Name and Fame
One can renounce wife,
son, property and all else, but it is very difficult and rare to renounce name
and fame. Pratishta is established name and fame. This is a great obstacle in
God-Realization. This brings downfall in the end. This does not allow the aspirant
to march forward in the spiritual path. He becomes a slave of respect and honour.
As soon as he gets some purity and ethical progress, ignorant people rock to
him and begin to pay homage and salutation. He gets puffed up with pride.
He thinks he is a great
Mahatma. He becomes eventually a slave of his admirers. He cannot notice his
slow downfall. The moment he mixes up freely with householders. He loses what
little he had gained during the eight or ten years of his intense Sadhana. He
cannot influence the public now. His admirers also leave him because they do
not find any real solace or spiritual influence in his company.
People imagine that the
Mahatma has got Siddhis and that they can get children through his grace, plenty
of wealth and Himalayan herbs for the rooting out of diseases and the building
up of radiant and healthy bodies. They always approach a Sadhu with some selfish,
ulterior motive or other. The aspirant through bad association loses his Vairagya
and Viveka. Attachment and desire crop up in his mind. Therefore you should
hide yourself always. Nobody should know what sort of Sadhana you are doing.
You should never attempt to exhibit your psychic powers of Siddhis. You should
be very humble. You should pass for quite an ordinary man. You should not accept
rich presents from householders. You will be affected by the bad thoughts of
those who offer presents. You should never think that you are superior to this
man or that man. You should not treat others with contempt. You should always
treat others with great respect and profound consideration. Then only respect
will come by itself. You should treat respect, honour, name and fame as dung
and poison and wear disrespect and dishonour as gold necklace. Then only you
will reach the goal in safety.
Why this
Trouble
Building of Ashrams and
making disciples bring about the downfall of aspirants. Then, are all stumbling
blocks in the path of God-Realization. The aspirant becomes another sort of
householder. He develops institutional egoism. He gets attached to his Ashram
and disciples. He has now the same cares, worries and anxieties for running
the Ashram and the monthly magazine and feeding his disciples. He develops slave-mentality.
Thoughts of Ashram revolve in his mind, when he is in a dying condition.
Some Ashrams are nicely
managed by the spiritual heads of the respective institutions while they are
alive. When they pass away, the disciples who are petty-minded fight amongst
themselves in open courts. You can see so many cases going on. The Ashram becomes
a fighting centre. Ashram owners have to flatter the donors and appeal for funds
very often. How can thought of God remain in his mind, when one has his mind
fixed on accumulation of wealth and development of his Ashram? Those who have
started Ashrams already may now say: "We are doing good to the people in
various ways. We are having religious classes daily. We feed poor people. We
are training religious students."
It is quite true that an
Ashram run by a selfless dynamic Yogi or a realized soul or a Jivanmukta
is a dynamic centre of spirituality. It is spiritual uplift of so many thousands
of people. Such centres are needed in all parts of the world. Such Ashrams can
do immense spiritual good to the country. But such ideal Ashrams with ideal
spiritual heads to run them are very, very rare nowadays. Money is collected
in a variety of ways. Some portion is spent for useful purposes. The rest goes
to the comforts and conveniences of the founders of the Ashram and their beloved
disciples.
The founders of the Ashram
in course of time become unconsciously slave of worship and Puja. Maya works
in a variety of ways. They are quite eager that people should drink their Charanamrita.
How can a man who has the Bhav that he should be worshipped as an
Avatara serve the public? Workers are petty-minded. They fight amongst themselves
even for trifling things and disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the Ashram.
Where then is peace in the Ashram? How can outsiders who visit the Ashram to
get Santi, enjoy Santi there?
The founders of the Ashram
should live on daily Bhiksha from outside. They should lead an ideal life of
absolute self-sacrifice, a life of ideal simplicity like the late Baba Kalikambliwala
of Rishikesh, who carried water-pot on his head for the Ashram and himself lived
on Bhiksha from outside. Such people alone can do real good to the people. Founders
of Ashrams should never appeal for funds. It brings great discredit to the order
of Sannyasa itself. It is another way of respectable begging. The habit of begging
destroys the subtle, sensitive nature of the intellect and those who appeal
for funds frequently do not know what they are doing.
It is very difficult to
get good workers for the Ashram. Then why do you bother about building Ashrams
when you have neither money nor workers nor dynamic spiritual force? Keep quiet.
Do meditation and evolve yourself quietly. Mind your own business. Reform yourself
first. How can you help others when you are yourself groping in darkness, when
you are yourself blind? How can a blind man lead a blind man? Both will fall
into a deep abyss and break their legs.
Generally an aspirant is
very enthusiastic about his Sadhana in the beginning. He is full of zeal. He
takes a great deal of interest. He expects to get some good results soon. When
he does not get these results within the expected time be gets discouraged.
He loses his interest and slackens his efforts. He gives up his Sadhana entirely.
He loses faith in the efficacy of Sadhana itself.
Worry and
Anxiety
Man always thirsts for
possession of objects, wife and cattle. This surely makes him selfish. Selfishness
causes attachment. Wherever there is attachment, there are "Ahamta"
and "Mamata." The whole misery starts here. The whole Maya
Chakra begins to revolve from now. Man becomes a slave now. Strong
iron chains are fastened to his hands, legs and knees. He is entangled like
the spider or the silk-worm. This is his own self-created web for his own destruction.
Sit for a moment alone
in a quiet room. Enquire. Cogitate. Investigate. Happiness is a mental state.
It does not depend upon money or possessions. You actually see very rich people
are very miserable, while a poor clerk is very happy, and a Sadhu with a loin-cloth
only dancing in divine ecstasy.
Enjoyment cannot bring
satisfaction of desire. On the contrary, it aggravates and intensifies desires
and makes the mind more restless through sense hankering or Trishna just
as the pouring of ghee or oil aggravates fire. The fewer the wants, the greater
the happiness. Milk gives pleasure to some and pain to some others. The fourth
cup of milk brings retching or nausea. It does not give pleasure during fever.
Therefore pleasure is not in the objects but it is in the imagination or inclination
of the mind.
Mango is not sweet but
the imagination is sweet. Woman is not beautiful but the imagination is beautiful.
An ugly woman appears very beautiful to her husband because his imagination
is beautiful. There is a grain of pleasure in objects, but the pain that mixed
with it is of the size of a mountain.
Sensual pleasure is tantalizing.
There is enchantment so long as man does not possess the objects. He exerts
hard. His mind is filled with anxieties. He is under despondency because he
doubts if he would get the desired object. The moment he is in possession of
the object, the charm vanishes. He finds that he is in entanglement. The bachelor
thinks of his marriage day and night. He thinks he is in imprisonment after
the marriage is over. He is not able to satisfy the extravagant wants of his
wife. He wants to run away from the house to forests. The rich but the childless
man thinks he will be more happy by getting a son: he worries himself day and
night to get a son, goes on pilgrimage to Ramashvaram and Kasi and performs
various religious ceremonies.
But when he gets a child,
he feels miserable. The child suffers from epileptic fits and his money is given
away to doctors. Even then there is no cure. This is Mayaic jugglery.
The whole world is fraught with temptation.
When you cannot get the
objects, you feel miserable. The man who is addicted to taking tea, who is in
the habit of taking fruits and milk after meals, feels very miserable when he
cannot get tea or fruits and milk in a certain place. He scolds his wife and
servants without rhyme or reason out of sheer irritability. When the wife dies,
the husband is drowned in sorrow, not because of the loss of his loving partner
in life, but because he cannot get sexual pleasure now. The cause of pain is
pleasure. The cause of death is love for sensual life. Give up all sensual pleasures,
if you do not want pain. Give up sensual life, if you do not want death.
To wear spectacles at the
age of ten, to wear ring-watch, to buy a car by borrowing money, to wear fashionable
dinner-uniform and Ellwood hat, health boots, to have a French crop or bobbed
hair, to smoke Three-Castles cigarettes or Navy-cut or Manila cigars, to constrict
the neck with stiff collars, to walk along the beach with their wives in clasped
hands, to have newspaper in their pocket, to have a trimmed or Kaiser-moustache
at the middle of the upper lip, to take meat and drink brandy, to play bridge,
to gamble, to dance in ball-rooms, to borrow money to go to talkies and, in
short, to lead a life of dissipation-this is modern civilisation! Fashion and
style have made you a beggar of beggars!
Raga and
Dvesha
The two currents of the
mind viz., Raga and Dvesha (attr | 
