Swami Vedvyasananda Saraswati

Ramakrishna was born in the Bengali village of Karmarpukar in 1836. He is believed to have been a living avatar, a divine incarnation. In the village he grew into a happy child who loved to sing and play games. He was gifted with spiritual intuition and showed no interest in school. He preferred to spend his time in the company of wandering monks and sadhus listening to stories from the scriptures. The village folk used to worry about him, for he would sometimes go into ecstatic trances, appearing to lose all outward consciousness.

When still a young man, Ramakrishna took up the position of officiating priest in a newly built Kali temple on the banks of the Ganges. There he spent all his time praying to the divine mother to reveal herself to him. But he always retained the innocence and freshness of a child. If the temple was closed he used to retreat to the forest and meditate, discarding his dhoti and Brahmin cord. He cared only for Kali, and his heart ached for a vision of her. So great was his longing, that one day in the temple, he ran blindly towards a sword on the wall to kill himself. But before the blade pierced his body he collapsed, and his consciousness was flooded by wave upon wave of crystal clear blissful light. Thus the divine mother became alive within him.

People began to think that he was truly mad, for his behaviour became more and more unfitting for an orthodox Brahmin priest. He would offer prasad to Kali and then eat it himself. He decorated his body with sandalwood paste. Sometimes he would sit for puja in the temple and go into an ecstatic trance for hours together.

One evening the owner of the temple, Mathur, was watching Ramakrishna pace up and down outside his room. As he walked one way he took the form of Kali. As he turned and walked back, he assumed the form of Shiva. Mathur fell at Ramakrishna’s feet in awe.

Early one morning when Ramakrishna went down to the river’s edge to collect flowers, he saw a small boat draw up alongside one of the banks. A holy lady stepped ashore, dressed in ochre robes and carrying a few books. An air of purity and deep peace surrounded her and Ramakrishna believed her to be the divine mother. Her name was Bhairavi and she stayed with Ramakrishna for three years. She accepted him as her son and initiated him into tantric practices.

Ramakrishna also learnt Vedanta from Tota Puri, a sannyasin of the Puri sect. But his teachings were non – dualistic and he could not accept the dualistic worship of Ramakrishna. He told him to separate his consciousness from the vision of the divine mother if he wanted to realise Brahman, but this Ramakrishna could not do. One day Tota Puri became angry and with a sharp piece of glass he struck Ramakrishna’s forehead between the eyebrows. Ramakrishna instantly entered into nirvikalpa samadhi for three days. Tota Puri was amazed, for it had taken him many years to attain the same experience. However, Tota Puri still did not fully accept Ramakrishna’s worship of Kali.

It happened that Tota Puri contracted dysentery. The illness lasted so long and he felt so ill that he decided to give his body to the Ganges. Wading out into the river, he kept on walking and walking. But the water did not drown him and he reached the other side unharmed. He sat down on the bank and laughed heartily at the power of the divine mother and her play of maya. The next day he went to Ramakrishna and offered obeisance to Kali.

Ramakrishna was so immersed in the spirit of the divine mother that he forgot he was bound to the body. She dwelt within him and he saw everything as her manifestation. During his life he led many people to know and love her, for he would talk to her, laugh with her and obey her as if she were his friend and mother. “In this body there are two people,” he said, “Kali and her devotee.” Ramakrishna’s whole life was a hymn to Kali.

Kali

Kali is the shakti or energy of Brahma, the unmanifest essence behind creation. In her eternal play of cosmic action, Kali acts as creator, maintainer and destroyer, always remaining free from the veil of maya which she creates. She is usually depicted as being gruesome, the ruler of the lower passions: greed, lust and anger. At the same time she destroys impurities, bringing the body, mind and soul in tune with the higher self. Thus as her victims fall, so they are liberated. Kali is therefore the mother of compassion and purity. She takes many forms, sometimes old and wise or young, virgin and innocent in her godliness. Kali has an invoking mantra which, as a visible force, manifests to the mind’s eye as the accompanying yantra.

Symbology

The centre point is bindu, pure consciousness, Brahma. The five triangles represent the five jnanendriyas (sense organs): eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin; the five karmendriyas (motor organs or organs of action): feet, hands and genitals; and five pranas: prana, udana, samana, apana and vyana. The eight petals are the eight-fold prakriti: earth, water, fire, air, ether, manas (lower mental mind), buddhi (higher intellect, intuition) and ahamkara (ego, doer). The circle is the symbol of avidya (ignorance). This yantra can be used as a focus in meditation to develop concentration and one – pointedness of mind.

(Courtesy: Yoga Magazine  October 1977)

In Thailand there is a tradition that every person must live the life of a monk for a while. What is the reason?

In Thailand every Buddhist has to adopt the lifestyle of a monk for some time. He shaves off his hair, wears geru clothes, begs for alms, sleeps on the floor and lives in a monastery. This is applicable to all Buddhists, prince or pauper.

I have lived on alms, too. I did not need to, but I purposely undertook seeking alms for four to five years. I did it because it was essential for my mental growth and mental health. Whatever I have gained in life can be attributed to this mode of living. There was absolutely no necessity of 0begging because my needs were limited, and I had neither family nor children. Why should I have sought alms? In Benares where I was, one never starves, yet begging and resting for the night in a dharmashala, under a tree or in the veranda of someone’s house have such reactions on the mind and body that one’s mental and spiritual life is uplifted.

I do not know when and how it began, but this mendicant lifestyle is prescribed in all religions of the world. It is there among Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jains. I have wandered from Afghanistan to Burma. Whenever I had some money, I undertook a train journey. One could travel to Benares without a ticket also. In those days, sadhus received a lot of support. Now it is very difficult. I moved around a lot in 1945 in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, etc. in Assam I took elephant rides. In Madhya Pradesh I lived among the adivasis, tribal people, in places where there were no roads, where even bicycles could not reach. I used to sleep in cowsheds. The adivasis were very poor. One of them fed me with mouse soup for two months, and I drank it unawares. I was doing my chaturmas in Bastar. One of the disciples of my Guruji was a revenue inspector there. When I asked for a place of solitude he took me to the adivasi village for solitary living. The huts there have only one big room. Everything happens there. They all sleep in the same room in a row. I too used to sleep in the same row along with them. During the day I would sit under a tree on a mat of leaves. My host would bring me rice and mouse soup. After the completion of two months the revenue inspector came to take me back. He too was served the same meal. He asked the adivasi what it was and learned that it was mouse soup. We were shocked, but the soup had no adverse effect on me. I understood his poverty because of which he could serve me nothing better. I was surprised to find that the soup affected neither my body nor mind. There were many such incidents in my mendicant life.

The choice of the life of poverty, of begging, is a therapy. It removes sickness. Poverty is not a curse, but its distress is a curse. Poverty is curse when you feel its pangs. The Mahabharata tells how when Dronacharya saw the utter disappointment on his son Ashwatthama’s face at being denied milk, his heart moved so much that he shifted his loyalty from the Pandavas to the Kauravas. When your wife or parents complain about some deprivation, it stings your heart. Even I would have been affected if I had had children and a wife. There was nobody to take me to task for not earning a living, and I was happy that way. However, I saw how unhappy people are, both the haves and the have-nots. Those who have no money are unhappy because of deprivation and those who have plenty are unhappy for not having more. They become greedier and unhappier. All the saints-Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi-were beggars. Nietzsche, the great political philosopher was poverty-stricken. There are many more examples like that. The great mathematician Ramanujam died of untreated tuberculosis.

Excess of money also brings sickness because a smug complacency, a false security comes to you, which leads to excessive enjoyment. Excessive enjoyment invites ill health and ill fame. You also harbour the fear of the income tax department. Everything that makes you happy and comfortable is packaged with fear and anxiety. Therefore, money should go to him who will spend if for the well-being of others. He may then earn millions of rupees, but he will not claim its ownership. He will consider himself a trustee.

There is a story about Mahatma Gandhi. Once, his wife kasturba found a four-anna coin lying on the floor of the ashram. In those days four annas had a lot of value. She picked it up and bought a toy for her grandchildren. Gandhiji learned about it and lost his temper. He told her that the money belonged to the institution; it was not his, even though it was given to him. He told her that she was not to use a change of sari till she weaved a new one by herself. He wrote about this incident in the ashram bulletin Harijan Patrika under the heading, ‘Embezzlement in Gandhi Family‘.

If a person sets aside one part of his income for the family, one part for the society and one part for the people who live below the poverty line, then even if he amasses wealth it does not matter. It does breed vice. This allocation of money is righteous because, after all, the money that you earn comes to you from society. So you owe it to society. Society gives you education and employment, builds your house, builds social systems of law and order, sets up public utility services and maintains your security. For all this you are indebted to society. That is called social debt.

Everyone has to pay back five kinds of debt. The first is social debt. Then there is the debt you owe to your mentors and educators who contribute to your intellectual growth. One more debt is the one you owe to the poorest and helpless section of society. The saint pays back all the debts as did mother Teresa. Sainthood is not conferred as a degree or qualification. Those who pay back this debt are called saints. A saint is one who dedicates himself and everything he has to those who have no one to look after them, the loveless and the orphaned. Even God is described like this. He is the one who gives refuge to the hapless and the loveless. He is deenabandhu, friend of the poor. He is deenanath, lord of the poor. He is deendayal, merciful towards the poor.

If all the moneyed people follow the rule of sharing, of reaching out to the needy, then money is not harmful. Then you need not be worried about money. Money creates havoc only when it is put to selfish use, greedy consumerism and unlimited sensual enjoyment. I am not criticizing money as such. And I do not denounce poverty as such. I only condemn its distress and suffering; otherwise, poverty is a positive quality. Similarly, wealth is a curse and a blessing at the same time.

Satsang : 13 September, 1997

Paramhasma Swami Satyananda Saraswati : Issue – July 2008

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The ashram is a symbol, an external expression of what should be happening in everybody’s minds and hearts. Ashram life is designed in such a way that it reminds you of illumination every moment you are there. There is a synthesis of karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga and jnana yoga in the ashram.

An ashram is not a monastery or organization, but a place where you taught to realize your spiritual self. That is the purpose of an ashram. Therefore, every seeker on the spiritual path must expose himself to ashram life. Here, the richest and the poorest, the virtuous and the vicious, the peaceful and the restless, all live and work together in harmony, it is an environment where we not only meet physically, but also exchange energies. We share, partake of and vibrate within the same energy field.

The atmosphere of the ashram is charged with spiritual vibrations created by the system, discipline, good thoughts and spirituality of all those who live in or visit it. When we go to the ashram, we find those positive, spiritual energies flowing which the mind cannot comprehend and the senses cannot see or smell, but the inner being understand. In order to maintain the purity of those vibrations, it is important that ashrams are simple. An ashram is not an expression of desire; it is a place that gives you what you need, not what you want. Swami Sivananda used to say, “Ashrams are born of the pure mental ray of a yogic sankalpa, not of desire.”

When you go to an ashram, participate in all its activities so you can contribute to the ashram’s progress and growth. If you work selflessly in the ashram, you also get the reward. The growth of the ashram and your spiritual growth are catalyzed simultaneously.

Swami Satyananda Sarswati Issue: : February – 2008

Pratibha means talent or genius. Talent is divine quality; is divine light manifesting through an individual. There have been talented scientists as well as talented saints.

Many take sannyasa, but not every sannyasin is talented. There have been very few talented sannyasins such as Swami Vidyananda ( author of Panchadashi ), St Francis, Swami Vivekananda or Adi Shankaracharya. Such talented people can be found in the industrial world also, and they earn in the millions. They have such an intellect that they can turn silver into gold and gold into ashes overnight. Take the example of Dale Carnegie. He was an ordinary village boy, but he wrote such books that sold millions. He also established the Dale Carnegie institute which is today one of the most respected institutes in the US. Or take the case of Henry ford. He was the son of a farmer, but he brought in a revolution. Similarly, jesus Christ was the son of a carpenter, but would you not call him talented?

The yogis who are talented are called raja yogis and raja rishis. There are those who think and those who see. Those who think are called munis. Those who see are called rishis, seers, they are also called drashta, withness.

Talented people create their own path; they do not care about other’s opinions. A talented person will not tread the beaten path. He will forge a new path and inspire others to walk that path. There is a particular restaurant in France which sells water! People from all over Europe go there only to drink water. However, this is not ordinary water. They procure water from all over the world, from volcanoes, from the sources of rivers, from springs, form the atlantic; they get sulphur water, uranium water, steaming volcanic water. Water from all over the world is packed and brought there. They have researched the healing properties of different waters and believe in just one thing: the cure of human diseases lies in water. Now this is talent. You earn money by selling water! If you can sell an idea, you can sell water as well.

So, if you require money, use your talent. You don’t need to steal or borrow it. Talent exists in every individual, but usually it remains suppressed. It exists in circumstances do not always allow it to blossom. So bring out your talent. Make the effort, attach the booster of talent to your effort and you are bound to succeed.

Satsang at Rikhiya Swami Satyananda Sarswati 2000

Issue : Nov- Dec -2008