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Even This Will
Pass Away
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 tent
Resting on 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 the air,
And the king disguised, unknown,
Gazed upon his empty throne
Looked 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 Tilten
********************
The Five
Commandments of Sri Ramakrishna (continued)
Swami Dayatmananda
"Keep holy company; and now and then visit
God's devotees and holy men. The mind cannot dwell on God if it is immersed
day and night in worldliness, in worldly duties and responsibilities. The
companionship of the holy and the wise is one of the main elements of
spiritual progress." This is the second commandment of Sri Ramakrishna. Man
is a gregarious animal. He wants friends and companions to share his
feelings, thoughts, joys and sorrows. Even saints and people advanced in
spiritual life desire the association of similar minded people. Sri
Ramakrishna prayed for a pure soul as his companion and obtained Swami
Brahmananda. For spiritual aspirants holy association is indispensable. Sri
Ramakrishna compares holy men to physicians and says that unless aspirants
keep holy company constantly their worldliness which has become chronic
cannot be cured. The wicked get transformed into good people or even become
saints by the potent influence of holy company. Saint Tulasidas, in his
Ramcharitmanas bestows high praise on the benefits of holy company. He says:
"The association of holy men can turn a crow into a cuckoo and a heron into
a swan. As iron is transformed into gold by the touch of the philosophers'
stone, so is the transformation that takes place by contact with a saint."
He goes so far as to say: "If the joys of heaven and salvation could be
weighed together in a balance, they would not equal the happiness that
results from a moment of Satsanga (holy company)". Once in the course of
conversation with devotees Sri Ramakrishna observed : "I visited the museum
once. I was shown the fossils. A whole animal has become stone! Just see
what an effect has been produced by company! Likewise, by constantly living
in the company of a holy man one verily becomes holy." There is a Sanskrit
verse which says: "Even a moment's association with the holy becomes a boat
which takes one across the sea of transmigration." This is not a mere
panegyric. Innumerable instances can be cited of the transformation of
sinners into saints by mere association. The devotees of Sri Ramakrishna may
recall how a thief became a saint by coming into contact with Pavahari baba.
Kalipada Ghosh turned over a new leaf by the blessings of Sri Ramakrishna.
Amjad the robber became a good man by the grace of Holy Mother Sarada Devi.
Who knows how many such incidents remain unknown to us! Sri Ramakrishna also
used to say : "If the aspirant thirsting after self-improvement mixes
indiscriminately with all sorts of worldly people, not only does he lose his
ideal, but also his former faith, love and zeal; they die away
imperceptibly. The society of pious men is like the water in which rice is
washed. This rice-water has the potency of dissipating alcoholic
intoxication. The society of the pious relieves worldly men, drunk with the
wine of vain desires, of their intoxication." That is why he recommends the
cultivation of holy company so strongly. The Sanskrit word for holy company
is Sat-sanga. The word sanga means company, and sat means good, truth, and
God. To seek the company of the holy means to become good, to observe
truthfulness, and to thirst after truth and God. Invariably one who keeps
good company, first becomes good, pure, unselfish, and kind. Then he becomes
sincere and truthful; after that he becomes a seeker of Truth and God. He
practises japa, prayer, meditation etc; he experiences constantly the
presence of God. In the end he obtains the grace of God and realises Him as
the Self of his self. The effect of Satsanga is incalculable. We live in the
midst of an adverse environment saturated with materialism and atheism.
Added to that we also bring our own past impressions which constantly are
trying to pull us down. There will also be times when we feel depressed,
frustrated and likely to lose our enthusiasm. Then there are the inevitable
events of life - accidents, death, pain and suffering. Under these
circumstances the difficulty of keeping our faith in God and higher ideals
is easily imagined. In these trying times the company of the holy and pious
can help us a great deal. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: "Bondage and
liberation are of the mind alone. The mind will take the colour you dye it
with. It is like white clothes just returned from the laundry. If you dip
them in red dye, they will be red. If you dip them in blue or green, they
will be blue or green. They will take only the colour you dip them in,
whatever it may be." Holy company makes one holy. The need for holy company
has been emphasised by all religions. Not only is holy company necessary, it
is impossible to progress in spiritual life without it, says Vedanta. To
emphasize this point the following story was narrated: Uma was the Universal
Mother incarnated as the daughter of Himavan. She blessed her father with
the vision of the several manifestations of the omnipotent Mother. Himavan,
highly pleased, asked his daughter to help him have the realisation of
Brahman. Uma replied, "O Father, if you wish to realize Brahman, you must
live in the company of holy men - men who have entirely given up the world."
It is not easy to get holy company. Even confirmed non-dualist that he was,
Sri Sankara has affirmed that there are three things which are hard to
acquire and can be had only by God's especial grace, and these three are :
human birth, an intense yearning for liberation and the association of a
great soul. Narada in his Bhakti Sutras makes a reference to the
companionship of the holy and points out that this companionship creates a
rare opportunity; its influence is subtle and difficult to comprehend. It is
obtainable only by the grace of God, but once obtained its effect is
unfailing. Holy company is a wonderful uplifter, for it exercises a silent
and lasting influence for good on all sincere recipients. However it is not
easy to recognise a holy man, for he does not go about advertising himself.
He does not assume false glories, rather he likes to remain incognito, to
stay in the background. Sometimes he appears very ordinary and commonplace;
at other times he even behaves in a queer way to keep intruders out. It is
therefore not an easy thing to recognise a great soul. It is only as a
result of the cumulative effect of merit earned in many births that one
comes across a holy man. But there is no need to despair. There is a law
which sees to it that the earnest seeker does come by his guide. As Swami
Vivekananda says when the field is ready the seed must come. What are the
benefits of holy company? It gives inspiration, and guidance. Holy company
makes one aware of one's faults and one will make the necessary correction.
The biography of Sri Ramakrishna narrates many incidents of how he used to
correct Swami Yogananda, Swami Niranjanananda and other disciples and
devotees and put them on the right road. We can find similar incidents in
the lives of every saint. The life of every saint acts like a powerful
search-light illuminating the path to God. In the company of holy men one
understands scriptures in the right way, for as Sri Ramakrishna used to say,
scriptures contain both sand and sugar i.e., essentials and non-essentials.
One needs right guidance to understand and apply them correctly. Then one is
able to understand the nature of the world, life, its meaning, the goal of
life and the best way of reaching it. In the company of a holy man one is
inundated with peace and an indefinable bliss, for holy men radiate peace
and bliss. Swami Turiyananda used to say that one visit to Sri Ramakrishna
used to inebriate him with bliss for days and days. Many people used to
visit Ramana Maharshi with their minds full of doubts and questions, but
once in his presence all their doubts disappeared and all questions ceased.
Holy men are free of egotism and their hearts are filled with loving
compassion. Hence their company helps one reduce the ego, the root cause of
all bondage. Holy company spontaneously brings the thought of God into one's
mind. Sri Chaitanya states: "Know him to be a holy man whose mere sight
produces in the beholder a spontaneous devotion to the Lord." What can be
achieved only with great difficulty and by hard practice for a long time can
easily be obtained in the company of holy men. The company of the holy gives
strength in times of depression and low periods. In the presence of a holy
man lust, envy, anger etc. cannot raise their heads. Once a disciple of
Swami Brahmananda wanted to test his Guru. In his presence this disciple
deliberately tried to think worldly thoughts but failed. Then he realised
how powerful and uplifting was the presence of these great disciples of Sri
Ramakrishna. Above all a saint by his grace can even grant the vision of
God, for as Narada states there is no difference between God and His
devotees. As Vedanta also asserts, a knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. An
illumined person's will is merged in the universal will; he becomes a
perfect instrument of God. Hence whatever he does is really an act of God.
We can now see why Sri Ramakrishna instructs us to cultivate holy company.
But there may be a difficulty. It is rare to obtain the constant company of
a holy man. And then even if we are fortunate in coming into contact with a
holy man it may be for a short time only. What then should we do? Holy
company means not only the companionship of saints. Anything that inspires
and propels one toward a nobler goal, towards God, is holy company. It could
be a book, or a place or an object. Every religion insists on the study of
scriptures and pilgrimage. A devout study of scriptures and the lives and
teachings of saints and sages is a wonderful way of having their holy
company. These have the power of truth and truth always uplifts and inspires
every one. The study of these holy books instantly transports us into the
presence of these great souls. For example when we read the Gospel of Sri
Ramakrishna we can palpably feel his presence immediately. Regular study of
the scriptures slowly brings about an inner transformation. The places and
objects associated with holy men can also act as powerful uplifters.
Visiting holy places definitely raises our minds. Clothes, rosaries, or
sandals and other objects associated with saints also remind us of their
life and help us. This is why relics (not merely for their apparent
miraculous powers) are cherished so devoutly by devotees all over the world.
Even certain events can help us turn towards a higher goal. Many aspirants
are advised to visit now and then crematoriums, hospitals and lunatic
asylums. These visits can bring to our minds vividly the evanescence of
life, check our mad rush after fleeting sense pleasures, and produce
dispassion and discrimination. We also learn to count our blessings and
appreciate the grace of God in having a healthy body and mind; we are
reminded of the preciousness of time and opportunity given us. But the best
holy company is the practice of the presence of God in our hearts. Constant
prayer, japa, and remembrance unveils the Lord who is present at all times
and at all places. To feel the presence of GodÑ this is the true meaning of
Satsanga. All the other means discussed earlier are only helps toward
reaching this goal. Until we achieve this we are advised to take recourse to
all the other means mentioned earlier. Thus we can see how the cultivation
of holy company confers so many blessings and is so very necessary in
spiritual life. We can ignore it only at our peril. (To be continued)
*******************
Seeing Brahman with
Open Eyes (continued)
Swami Siddheswarananda
Some aspects of the Mandukya Upanishad The
evolution idea, the idea of `progress', tells us that form A precedes and,
therefore, is the cause of form B which we are seeing now, and so on. This
is an error: the so-called cause is always the one and same reality
(`clay'). The same applies to the practice of spirituality: `realisation' or
`liberation' is not the `product' (effect) of a foregoing, personal effort
(cause), however much it may take its legitimate place. Also one should
always try to get rid of the notion of a substratum, of a separate, more or
less concrete base serving as a `ground' cause. Shankara's theory of
superimposition (adhyasa) of the reality as presented in the classic example
of the piece of rope which is being mistaken for a snake, is a concession to
the presupposition of causality. Nobody ever experiences ignorance or
unreality directly. It is always only afterwards, through memory, that we
speak of unreality or of error - so always in relation to an experience in
the past. The notion of reality persists through all of our perceptions and
experiences: the clay remains clay under all of its forms. The Mandukya
Upanishad places a time bomb under the presupposition of causality.
Turiya
The first part of Shankara's invocation of the
Mandukya Upanishad is addressed to Brahman, the one reality, looked at from
the causal standpoint: God (in religious terms). The second part is
addressed to turiya, a term which does not occur in any other upanishad.
Turiya is the one reality, looked at from the non-causal, metaphysical
standpoint. The Mandukya Upanishad actually contains a study of the three
states of consciousness which each individual is going through daily. As
such it first gives us a definition of the waking state, the dream state,
and the state of deep sleep. Subsequently the upanishad speaks of `turiya'
as being a fourth state of consciousness, thereby using the word `pada'
which may mean both `foot' and `quarter'. In his commentary Shankara
explains that turiya is not, for example, like the fourth foot of the four
feet of a cow, in other words, as part of an arithmetical series. Turiya is
Brahman, looked at from the non-causal standpoint, and is not part of any
enumeration or classification. The upanishad actually identifies turiya with
the fourth quarter of a coin that is divided into four parts as it were,
according to Shankara. The three states of consciousness of waking, dreaming
and deep sleep make up the first three quarters of the coin. The first
quarter merges into the second, the second quarter merges into the third,
etc. Turiya, being the fourth and last quarter into which the first three
merge themselves, completes the coin by making it into one whole and, in
that sense, it contains the first three-quarters. It could then be argued
accordingly, that each of the first three quarters represents a state of
consciousness, and that turiya is a fourth state of consciousness into which
the first three are merged successively. Turiya would thus complete and
`perfect' the other three states by making them into one whole, thereby
raising itself to a state of `transcendence' as compared to the other three
states. But it is not at all like that: Turiya is not `a state' which one
enters, stays in for a while, and then leaves again. Turiya is the
non-causal reality which persists throughout the three states of waking,
dreaming, and deep sleep. It is the awareness of the reality, the sense of
the real, which accompanies all of an individual's perceptions and
experiences. The realisation of turiya is a metaphysical insight. The one
reality is an indivisible Totality and forms no part of the scheme of
numbers. The example of the coin is used only to arrive at the notion of
prime number: the philosophy of Shankara is non-dualistic (a-dvaita)
therefore un-divided and in-divisible. For that reason turiya, the one,
non-causal reality, is considered as the number 1. Whether one multiplies,
adds or divides, the number 1 is always implied. Whatever the process that
is being applied, the number 1 is always implicitly present, we can never
eliminate it. The divisions which we make are but our own, mental divisions,
the abstractions of our intellect. The notion of `1'is a metaphysical
insight: turiya is the 1. Turiya is the Intemporal, the eternal Now, always
staying outside the framework of the personal vision. Here it is not a
matter of a `fourth' state of `transcendence': turiya is the eternal
`here-and-now', present under all circumstances and in all states of
consciousness. This given fact is, normally speaking, being disregarded by
the individual, because of the power of ignorance (avidya), resulting in the
denial and negation of its very in-dividuality, its in-divisibility. The
realisation of turiya is the removal of that denial, which does not mean the
`removal' of the world: it is only the ignorance which is removed. If the
ignorance (avidya) results in the negation of the one reality, then the
realisation of turiya is the removing of that negation, leading to an
affirmation, namely that everything is this one reality: everything is
Brahman. At the same time this realisation gives us the knowledge that cause
and effect are one in the moment of the eternal Now.
Avasthatraya: the three states
The unique contribution of the Mandukya Upanishad
lies in an investigation into the nature of the three states of
consciousness (avasthatraya) of waking (jagrat), dreaming (svapna), and
deep, dreamless sleep (sushupti). With a very rigorous logic it can be
established that, from the standpoint of consciousness, it is impossible to
arrive at a dualism. The individual which imagines itself to be passing
through the three states of consciousness every day, is in reality nothing
but the indivisible, pure and non-dual consciousness. The dialectics of this
analysis is well explained by K. A. Krishnaswami Iyer in his book: `Vedanta
or the Science of Reality.' One never becomes conscious of consciousness as
an object. As in the example of the clay, so also is consciousness not an
`object' to be known as such, nor is it an entity of which the individual as
a `subject' could have the experience. On the other hand, for consciousness
itself everything is equally an object, including the individual in its role
as subject. In the Samkhya philosophy also everything is prakriti, matter,
the whole of the mental world included. In Indian thought there is no
dualism between matter and mind. I think that that is the big issue which
separates European thinking from Indian thinking - there lies the whole
difference: From the standpoint of consciousness no real distinction can be
made between mind and matter. For that reason Cartesian thinking (`Cogito
ergo sum') actually represents a big fall in western philosophy, spiritually
speaking. Pure consciousness is like the number 1: indivisible (advaita).
The notion of individuality, the sense of `self', is really the notion of
consciousness, essentially undivided, persisting through the three states of
consciousness of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. The universal man - he who
knows through realisation that he is pure consciousness - bears the whole
universe within himself. In the waking and dream states there is the
experience of the reality in its manifested aspect, characterized by the
opposition between the `I' and the `non-I'. In the state of deep sleep the
reality is in its non-manifested aspect, which is the negation of the
manifested aspect. Well then, no one can imagine a state in which there is a
subject and an object, without there being another state, in which there is
no subject and no object. Everything which is experienced here in the
manifested, is known, because of its being opposed to its antipole, the
non-manifested: all relative knowledge arises from an opposite. According to
Prof. V. Subramanyam Iyer: `This is one of the greatest achievements of
Indian thought.' The positive can only become a form of knowledge, if the
negative also exists. We can only acquire the integral knowledge of the
relative, if we have an experience of another order in which all relative
knowledge is absent. Well then, every person is daily in the state of deep
sleep, the state of the non-manifested. An understanding of the position
which deep sleep takes up within the whole of the three states of
consciousness, gives a clarifying insight in which the error collapses. The
non-manifested is a negative affirmation. Is empirical knowledge possible
without its opposite? All knowledge arises through opposition: black -
white, cold - warm, pain - pleasure, etc. Empirical knowledge cannot arise,
unless there is non-empirical knowledge as well. If the whole of empirical
knowledge is only a play between the positive and the negative, then
empirical knowledge as a whole can only arise, if its opposite as a whole is
also a factor of our experience. Now then, without the state of deep sleep
it would be impossible for us to come to an experience of the waking and the
dream state. This is made clear in the last line of verse 5 of the Mandukya
Upanishad: `Deep sleep... who is the doorway to the experience (of the dream
and waking states).' This knowledge regarding the state of deep sleep is
only received through oral transmission. If all relative knowledge arises
through opposition, then the same applies to the awareness of reality:
because we are able to interpret the experience of the world and of our own
person against the light of pure consciousness as changeable, we also have
the awareness of an opposite, unchangeable reality, through our sense of the
real.
Maya or life as the confrontation of
contradictions
Maya is that which is constantly changing, thereby
giving rise to the numerous contradictions in life. That is why Swami
Vivekananda explains that maya is not just a theory of illusion, but a fact
of our experience: it is the confrontation of the contradictions in life,
the play of interaction between the positive and negative poles, where the
ordinary, relative knowledge springs from. The only way by which we may know
life, is by means of opposites, by opposition. And the true knowledge (jnana)
arises from the confrontation of the silence and the tumult. Only very few
can have that. This confrontation is to be met on a basis which connects all
the data of our perceptions and experiences, and which is not a denial.
(Compare the concept of `dharma' which literally means: `that which holds
things together.') When you faint, you deny pathologically; in samadhi you
deny supernaturally, in a trans-psychological state. But the reality is the
Totality, the whole of everything (sarvam). A summing up of three or four
states of consciousness would mean that the one reality is a compound, which
is impossible. And it is the great error of spiritual and philosophical life
to think that all that is matter in life is to be rejected: by trying to
make psychological supports and abstractions for oneself, by practising
yoga, by leaving the world, retreating into caves and thus to deny the world
completely. Surely, there are ways to leave the world, to practise
meditation, samadhi, etc. for oneself, but that is not the ultimate state.
It is not a matter of denying, of escaping or destroying the world, but of
destroying avidya: the fact that we are ignorant of the one reality as one
undivided Totality. One seeks solitariness, because one is too much occupied
by the outer world. We practise detachment and renunciation in order to
break our attachment to the material world, we enter the monastery in order
to discipline ourselves, but we can never deny the Totality. Why not try to
get rid of those contradictions of life here and now, in the little place
that we occupy in life? Why practise all this gymnastics, which only serves
to postpone the true knowledge? Therefore, it is not the yoga-samadhi as
such, as the ultimate form of meditation, against which a charge is being
made by the Mandukya Upanishad, but the wrong use of it as a means to arrive
at the knowledge of the reality. It is a warning against the practice of
meditation as an end in itself. The world is not going to be explained by
concentrating oneself exclusively on a condition of peace or by making
oneself immune to the world. And this explanation of the world, of life's
contradictions, that is what is needed. The word `samadhi' means: `sameness
of vision'. That sameness of vision comes with the enlightenment of the
buddhi, the faculty of metaphysical discrimination, as a metaphysical
insight. In the Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna taught this `buddhi yoga' to
Arjuna on the battlefield. He did not advise Arjuna to go and meditate in
the caves, but to fulfil his duty as a warrior on the battlefield,
established in the metaphysical insight. Sri Ramakrishna also admonished
Naren (the later Swami Vivekananda) to see Brahman `with open eyes'. Thus we
can make a distinction between the yoga-samadhi and the jnana-samadhi: the
former is a condition, inserted in time between a `before' and an `after',
whereas the latter is a metaphysical insight in our true, intemporal being,
which is not time-related. So the Mandukya Upanishad breaks with the wrong
notion as though the philosophy of the Vedanta or the spirituality of
Hinduism would advocate an escape from the world. The solution of the
problems and contradictions of life is the vision of the Intemporal here and
now. Why not seek that knowledge right from the beginning? `The unreal does
not exist; the real never ceases to exist. ` Even in the very confusion of
the error the awareness of the reality of the eternal Now never fails.
Time
The question `Why?' cannot be grasped; the `
Why?'s' are the barbed wire in which our intelligence gets stuck. The real
question is: `How?' When one meditates on the `How?', automatically the
value is given to the present moment, to the here and now. That brings us to
a study of the concept of time. I would not call anything a true
metaphysics, unless it deals with a study of the concept of time. All the
rest is but theology. And in this study of time there is no transcendence,
there is no possibility at all to place oneself outside of time. The notion
of a transcendence of time, of time coming to a standstill, is one of the
most childish ideas in philosophy. Nor can time be a means for seeking time;
that would be like trying to seek the mind by means of the mind. Meister
Eckhart says: `To seek the Truth with the mind is seeking the light of the
sun with the help of a candle.' The Mandukya Upanishad which treats of the
three states of consciousness, is a study of the problem of time: it
explains to us the three faces of time. We make a distinction between Time
itself as the Totality of the eternal Now (turiya), and time-duration, which
is an interpretation afterwards of that which is constantly changing. The
eternal Now is an ungraspable certainty, it is the eternal Subject which
never becomes an object of knowledge. When there is the notion of particular
attention, there arises the notion of time-duration, of Time apparently
being divided into duration. Then there is duality and multiplicity, and we
enter into the scheme of numbers. Through particular attention we are living
in time-duration as it were, in other words: in relativity. This particular
attention is innate in all beings and is the negation, as it were, of the
Totality as the indivisible One. That is the ignorance, the avidya of the
Vedanta, the western `fall' and `original sin'. It keeps `the third eye' of
wisdom closed. Now just try with the help of objectless attention (pure
attention without content) to perceive the three states of consciousness of
waking, dreaming and deep sleep on one and the same level. Then the three
states are not in time-duration, but in me, that is to say: the Me which is
the pure consciousness of the eternal Now - turiya - the One which is never
divided into pieces, the silence which is non-contradiction. It is realized
through the practice of objectless attention. That attention is at the same
time the infinite possibility for particular attention: the very objectless
de-tachment of the pure consciousness possesses within itself the infinite
possibility for particular at-tachment. This is the explanation of the
Vedanta. (Compare also the insight-meditation of vipassana in Theravada
Buddhism and of shikantaza in Zen Buddhism.) Realize the non-contradiction
of the silence in the very heart of life's contradictions - that is the
metaphysical insight. It is not an experience, for experience takes place in
time-duration. Nobody can experience Time, the eternal Now. `I am Time',
says Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The three states of consciousness
express the Intemporal Time as duration (in the temporality of the waking
and dream states), and as non-duration (in the non-temporality of the state
of deep sleep). Realisation of the eternal Now may be attained through
insight in the opposition between duration and non-duration. One should look
upon the state of deep sleep as a `substitute' for death, then there arises
a great contrast. Duration and non-duration form a big contradiction in
life; they express the contradiction between existence and non-existence,
between life and death. Our primary existential fear in the states of waking
and dreaming is a direct consequence of the non-dual and non-temporal nature
of deep sleep, to which one instinctively surrenders oneself without any
fear. (To be continued)
********************
A Mother's Heart
(continued)
Swami Ishanananda
This is the second instalment of Swami
Ishanananda's reminiscences of Holy Mother.
The story of the sick widow
One morning during the rainy season in 1917,Varada
arrived at the Mother's house in Jayrambati with some vegetables and flowers
for the worship. He then was told that Holy Mother had gone to visit a
certain neighbour. When the Mother returned after a while, she explained
that she had been to the house of an orphan widow who was suffering from an
infection in the ears. The lady's only relative was her small child, so she
had no one to look after her. Due to lack of medical treatment the infection
was much advanced, riddled with maggots, and it smelled so badly that nobody
was willing to come near the widow. Early that morning, Holy Mother had
prepared some juice of margosa leaves and, together with a Brahmachari, had
gone to see the poor lady. Squirting the liquid on the sore, the Mother had
cleaned it thoroughly. Now it was late in the morning; after finishing her
bath quickly, the Mother performed the daily worship, and then fed Varada
with the consecrated food. Still speaking about the sick widow, the Mother
told him: `Well, my dear, you sometimes take sick and helpless people to
your Koalpara Ashrama and look after them nicely. It would be a great
service if you could take her to your place and arrange for her treatment.
Due to lack of care, the sore smells very unpleasantly, and that is why no
one goes near her. Her little boy is also suffering so much!' Hearing these
words of the Mother, Varada started for Koalpara immediately. When the head
of the monastery heard the story, he decided to go and fetch the widow as
soon as possible. A group of monastics left for Jayrambati by bullock cart
that very night after supper, arriving at the Mother's house early morning
the next day. The Mother was very happy to see them, and exclaimed: `Eat
plenty of puffed rice, and then take the lady with you, otherwise you will
arrive at Koalpara too late at night.' The widow was laid on a wooden plank
and lifted on to the cart. Just before departure, Holy Mother gave her some
hot milk to drink and lovingly conforted her with sweet words. Covering
seven or eight miles of muddy, rainy-season tracks, the party reached
Koalpara in the evening, and they called in the village doctor at once.
After the doctor had administered some medicine and bandaged the affected
area, they realized how deep the infection was. From the nose and mouth very
big maggots came out, and from the ears oozed pus and blood with a horribly
rotten smell! The Ashrama members nursed the patient day and night by
shifts, but all efforts to cure her proved fruitless, and after a few days
the widow passed away. When Varada visited Jayrambati in order to make
arrangements for the funeral, he informed Holy Mother about the sad news.
The Mother exclaimed: `Alas! You have cared for her like her sons, my dear.
If she had stayed on here, with no help at all, she would probably have died
of thirst even.'
Holy Mother and her brothers' Guru
It was the year 1918, the Jagaddhatri Puja was
being celebrated at the Mother's house in Jayrambati. From early morning
that day, Holy Mother had been repeatedly coming near the image and,
prostrating in all humility, had prayed to the deity for the successful
completion of the worship. One Hrishikesh Bhattacharya officiated as pujari
(priest), while the tantradharaka (the prompter who helps in the recitation
of the lengthy mantras) was the family guru of Holy Mother's brothers. After
the three worships and food offerings had been performed according to
scriptural injunctions, there was arati (waving of lights before the image)
and a homa ceremony (worship in the fire). When all the ceremonies were
over, Holy Mother prostrated before the image of the Divine Mother, and then
prostrated before the family guru, taking the dust of his feet. When the
Mother was about to prostrate before the priest, the latter did not allow
her saying: `Mother, that you should prostrate before us! Please bless me!'
He was very annoyed at the family guru's accepting Holy Mother's
prostrations without any objection. Holy Mother was revered and worshipped
by so many people, and besides, she was much older than the guru. When the
priest expressed his displeasure to the guru, the latter, somewhat
understanding his mistake, replied with the following well-known verse: `By
whom the entire universe is pervaded,
Both the moving and the unmoving,
Whose undivided form is the whole universe,
To the One who has revealed that State to me,
To that Guru, be my salutation.'
On hearing these words, Holy Mother exclaimed:
`Oh, please don't speak like that' and left the room. Afterwards the
consecrated food was distributed among all the devotees and the villagers
present. Lalu has some fun On the day after the above incident, Lalu the
fisherman came to Holy Mother and after prostrating to her said: `Auntie,
today in the evening I will sing some baul2 songs.' Mother replied: `Oh no,
what will you sing? You will only give me trouble! Where are the canopy and
the lantern? I cannot arrange these things for you.' Lalu was not to be put
off so easily, he said: `No problem, auntie. I will procure all those
things.' At the appointed time, shortly before dusk, Lalu appeared on the
scene carrying a broken trunk on his head, and with a tom-tom hanging from
his shoulders. On seeing him, the Mother tried to discourage him: `Lalu, why
do you want to make people laugh at you? Instead of this, why don't you just
sit with the other boys and sing at few devotional songs to Mother
Jagaddhatri? You can have Mother's consecrated food before going back home.'
Lalu, however, had already made up his mind, and started setting things up
on the meadow opposite Holy Mother's house. He improvised a frame of bamboo
poles and spread on it some torn canvas cloth, thus getting the canopy
ready. He then tied a hurricane lamp to the canopy. The stage being ready,
Lalu began to play the tom-tom very loudly, so as to let the villagers know
that a special performance was about to commence. After a while, when Lalu
had played the announcing tom-tom for a second time, he managed to get a
small crowd of spectators around the stage. He took a cloak, anklets, and
the ektara out of the trunk. As he unfolded the cloak and was about to put
it on, lots of cockroaches fell from it! Nalini3 exclaimed: `You rascal! You
need not do any singing. I see you've come here to release cockroaches only!
Close that trunk quickly and be off!' Undeterred, Lalu shook the cloak clean
and then began his performance to the accompaniment of the ektara:
`He who takes this world for real, he is indeed
deluded,
Just think: who is whose father,
Who is whose uncle, in this insubstantial world?
Now take a puff at the hubble-bubble,
And a gurgling sound it makes,
But see the old man whose teeth are gone,
Puffed rice powder is all he takes.'
By singing a few such songs, Lalu entertained the
villagers, who were very happy and laughed a good deal. Holy Mother also was
seen laughing now and then, she enjoyed the function too!
Holy Mother's reaction to human suffering
During the famine of 1918 in Orissa, the
Ramakrishna Mission took active part in the relief operations. At that time
Holy Mother received a long letter of three or four pages from Swami
Saradananda, written from Orissa itself. In it the Swami described people's
suffering and fervently prayed to her for the improvement of their
condition. He explained that the help the Mission was rendering was quite
insubstantial compared to the needs of the people, and that they did not
know how to cope with the situation. After the whole letter had been read
out to her, Holy Mother prayed to the Master with tearful eyes: `Lord, I can
no longer see and hear about people's misery; please put an end to their
sufferings.' Then she added: `Have you noticed Sarat's (Swami Saradananda's)
large-heartedness? He is always ready to assist those in distress.' `Oh
Lord, give them in abundance; may they be able to supply the needs of all
the people!' Then the Mother wiped her tears with her hands.
Holy Mother entrusts some relics to Varada
Whenever Holy Mother combed her hair or pared her
nails, the lady devotees used to quarrel among themselves, trying to secure
some memento from the Mother. After one such row concerning the impression
of Holy Mother's feet, she never allowed anyone to take her hair or nails
again. Instead, she used to keep them tied in a corner of her sari, and
would either give them to some devotee in secret or throw them in the waters
of the nearby pond. Holy Mother blessed Varada on three different occasions,
by giving him some keepsakes. The first time was one day after lunch. During
his noon rest, Varada was suddenly woken up by the voice of the Mother
repeatedly calling him. When he went to her, she quietly put some of her
hair and nails in his hands saying: `Clean them well and keep them with
you.' The second time was while Holy Mother was cleaning her teeth, and one
tooth fell out. She gave it to Varada then and there. The third time was
towards the end of Holy Mother's life, shortly before her last journey from
Jayrambati to Calcutta. The Mother gave him a small bundle containing some
of Sri Ramakrishna's hair, and a fragment of the asana (seat) Sri
Ramakrishna had used during meals, saying: `Keep these with you.' Varada
replied: `Mother, you are giving me all these precious things, what shall I
do with them? Where shall I keep them?' He only had a biscuit tin where he
used to keep Mother's letters, together with the ink-pot and pen. But the
Mother reassured him: `Later on you may see what arrangements can be made.
Now you keep them with you.' Fifteen years after Holy Mother's passing away,
at the time of the centenary celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna's birthday,
Swami Ishanananda (Varada) was down with chicken-pox at the Ramakrishna
Mission's hospital in Benares. At that time, arrangements were under way for
the opening of the newly constructed temple to Sri Ramakrishna there. The
senior Swamis of the Ashrama used to come often to the hospital to visit
Swami Ishanananda. During one of these visits, the Swami told them the
following: `Holy Mother, of her own will, gave me some precious relics for
me to keep; but see the condition of my health. Besides, I do not have the
strength now to install these relics by building a temple for them. If you
all agree, we could install them for good in the new temple. What better
opportuniy could we get than a new temple in Benares?' The Swamis were
delighted at the proposal, and agreed at once. Swami Shantananda had a
large, firm copper box made, with four compartments inside, where the four
different relics were kept separately: Sri Ramakrishna's hair, Holy Mother's
hair, Holy Mother's nails, and Holy Mother's tooth. A description of each
relic was engraved on each compartment. On the day of Sri Ramakrishna's
birthday celebration, the relics were duly worshipped and installed under
the altar of the new temple.
A Mother's Heart
In 1918, when Holy Mother was sixty-five years
old, she fell seriously ill with malarial fever at the Koalpara Ashrama,
near her native village. The monastic members of the Ashrama as well as the
villagers of the locality were very concerned about her delicate condition.
At this juncture, when Holy Mother would have been much comforted to have
her dear niece Radhu by her side, the latter -whimsical as usual- suddenly
took it into her head to visit her husband's parental home in Tajpur, not
far away, and left at once in a palanquin. Holy Mother must naturally have
felt a bit hurt, but nevertheless decided to send a Brahmachari to Radhu, to
find out whether she would like to accompany her to Calcutta. Radhu would
not listen to any such suggestion, and refused to move from her
father-in-law's house. Meanwhile, Swami Saradananda and Yogin Ma arrived
with a physician in order to take Holy Mother to Calcutta, where she could
receive proper medical treatment. Within seven or eight days, when the
patient was in a condition to travel, they all left for Calcutta. This was
Holy Mother's first visit to Calcutta without Radhu. In Calcutta Holy Mother
soon recovered from her illness, but then it was Radhu's turn to fall sick!
By the middle of June of the same year Radhu had a painful boil on one
finger and wrote to the Mother in Calcutta asking if she could stay with her
again. The compassionate Mother, whom Radhu had recently deserted during her
illness, now behaved as if she did not remember anything of it at all! She
at once made all arrangements for Radhu's journey to Calcutta. Radhu
travelled with her husband and her mother, and a Brahmachari escorted them
all the way from Koalpara. They arrived at the Mother's house after nine in
the evening, and the next day a doctor began to treat Radhu's finger.
Maharaj's (Swami Brahmananda's) visit to Holy
Mother
One morning at nine o' clock, Swami Brahmananda
arrived at the Udbodhan House to have the darshan of Holy Mother. Covering
herself with a shawl, the Mother sat on a cot and asked Varada to bring the
Swami in. Varada escorted Swami Brahmananda, walking behind him towards the
Mother's room, and, as they came into her presence, he could see the Swami's
legs trembling! Maharaj made a full prostration at the Mother's feet and
then asked her about Radhu's health. The Mother blessed him by placing her
hand on his head, then told him about Radhu's illness, and asked him about
himself and the other monks. After giving brief replies to the Mother's
questions, Maharaj came out and sat in Swami Saradananda's room. Varada then
saw that, after meeting the Mother, Maharaj was perspiring profusely.
Following the Mother's instructions, Varada arranged some biscuits, fruits,
and sweets on a tray. Holy Mother held the offerings before Sri
Ramakrishna's picture for a while, partook of a tiny bit of it, and then
gave it to Varada saying: `Give this to Rakhal'. When Varada entered Swami
Saradananda's room and handed the prasad to Maharaj, Swami Saradananda
exclaimed: `Will you eat the Mother's prasad all by yourself? Maharaj: `Sarat,
you eat Mother's prasad daily, do you want a share of this prasad as well?
All right, here you are. After all you are Mother's doorkeeper; unless you
are pleased one cannot go near the Mother.' Swami Saradananda: `Brother, you
are the one who appointed me to this job!' Joking in this way, the two
brother-disciples ate the Mother's prasad with great joy.
Holy Mother's efforts to cure Radhu
In 1919 Radhu was pregnant, and gradually becoming
mentally unbalanced. Seeing the Mother at a loss to know how to cure her,
Nalini suggested that they make Radhu wear bangles offered to the `Mad
Goddess Kali' of the Tirol village, since that had once worked in lessening
Radhu's mother's insanity in the past. The Mother agreed at once and,
turning to Varada, said: `Look, Nalini is right. Varada, tomorrow without
fail please go to Tirol, offer worship to Mother Kali there, and bring the
bangles with you.' Varada left for Tirol the next day, spending the night at
a devotee's house on the way. Arriving in Tirol on the second day, he
offered worship to Mother Kali and bought the bangles, returning to Holy
Mother at Koalpara in the evening. The following morning before breakfast,
Radhu was bathed and the bangles were put on her wrists according to
scriptural injunctions. Holy Mother prostrated herself in the direction of
Mad Goddess Kali's shrine, and fervently prayed for Radhu's recovery.
Radhu's condition, however, did not change or improve in the least by
wearing the bangles; rather, Radhu's mother's madness took a turn for the
worse! She began to quarrel with Nalini for having prescribed the bangles
for Radhu. After a few days, Radhu's mother began to reproach Holy Mother
again and again, telling her: `Why did you bring Radhu from Calcutta? If she
had stayed there, she could have received proper medical treatment. Now the
weather is so hot; in Calcutta they would have applied ice on her head, and
that would have alleviated her condition. If you can manage to procure ice
and apply it on Radhu's head, she will be cured.' Holy Mother again believed
in the new proposal and turning to Varada said: `Varada, she is right.
Tomorrow please go by bicycle to Bankura and bring some ice.' As his bike
was not in a very good condition, Varada was reluctant to cycle all the
twenty-four miles distance to Bankura, but the Mother assured him: `It will
be all right, you please go.' The next morning Varada presented himself
before the Mother, ready to depart. The Mother did some japa (repetition of
a holy mantra) on his head and chest, and gave him an offered flower to tie
in his cloth. Travelling by bicycle and by train, Varada managed to return
to the Mother with twenty pounds of ice nicely packed, by five in the
afternoon the next day. At the Bankura Ashrama the members had given Varada
some cucumbers and other things for the Mother's household, so in the end
the young man had to carry a forty-pound load! While Holy Mother and Radhu's
mother were happily applying the ice to Radhu's head, Uncle Kali (Holy
Mother's brother) happened to come that way. Hearing of the new treatment
prescribed by the mad aunt (Radhu's mother was known by that name), he said
to Holy Mother: `Sister, do you apply ice on the head of a pregnant girl on
the advice of the mad aunt? Take care that she doesn't catch a cold.', and:
`Sister, you don't understand. If the big doctors of Calcutta have admitted
defeat, being unable to cure her, then this is no disease at all. In my
opinion she is possessed by a ghost. In the village of Sushnegere there is a
tantrik practitioner; why don't you send for him and get his opinion about
Radhu?' At these words the Mother stopped applying ice on Radhu's head and
said to her brother: `Fine. Tomorrow Varada will go to Jayrambati; from
there you will take him to Sushnegere. Explain the case to the man and see
if you can bring him with you.' The next day Uncle Kali and Varada arrived
in Sushnegere and, as soon as they approached the tantrik occultist, the
latter threw some mustard seeds at both of them, and at his altar, and then
said: `Yes, I have understood everything. In the next couple of days I will
have to go there. I have received the command.', etc. Uncle Kali still told
him in detail about Radhu's mental condition and requested him to come to
Koalpara to examine her. On the way back to Koalpara, Uncle Kali began to
talk to Varada on different subjects, and finally said, referring to Holy
Mother: `Look, Varada, if my sister would save all the money that the
devotees give her, she could be very well-off, but instead of that, she
spends it all on Radhu and her brothers, she doesn't save at all. Well, to
whom do you think she gives most?' Seeing that Varada uttered no response,
the uncle continued: `Look, Varada, my sister is not at all attached to
money, that is why she is respected by so many people. Her relatives try to
take advantage of her generosity as much as they can. If she were attached
to money like ordinary people, then she wouldn't be respected. That is why
she is not a human being Ñshe is a Goddess, do you understand, Varada? Well,
you boys have given up home and family at such an early age, and are busy
serving Sister day and night. You are your parents' only son. I know your
father, he is a God-fearing, noble soul. You boys of Koalpara, how much you
serve Sister! And Sister also is so gracious to you! Taking upon herself
such a heavy burden as Radhu, Sister depends on you for help and support.
Varada, you are indeed blessed!' While the uncle talked in this manner, the
two finally reached Jayrambati. The uncle stayed at his home and Varada
proceeded alone to Koalpara. When he met Holy Mother she asked him in detail
about the tantrik charmer, and then asked him further: `What did Kali say
all along the way?' As Varada repeated Uncle Kali's words, the Mother smiled
lightly and said: `Kali is always thinking about money. As if Sister were a
money-bearing tree! But he also has some devotion and faith. It is Kali
alone who stands by his sister through thick and thin, who always enquires
about her. All the other brothers, if they can get some money, that's enough
for them!' The next morning the charmer arrived at Koalpara. Holy Mother
prostrated before him in all humility and explained in detail about Radhu's
condition. He examined the patient and attributed the malady to the
influence of spirits. The remedy he prescribed, however, was impossible to
procure: the oil extracted from ten pounds of sesame seeds; four gallons of
Rui fish oil; iron obtained from distant, inaccessible places; and various
kinds of plants and herbs. All these ingredients had to be heated in a fire
made of bull-dung cakes. The resulting oil had to be applied on Radhu's
body, and from the iron from far-off places an amulet had to be made. Having
given all these instructions, the charmer took a five-rupee fee and left. At
first the Mother was very eager to get all the ingredients collected, but
with the passing of the days it became obvious that the task was simply
impossible. In this regard the Mother said, after a few days: `How many
deities do I pray to for Radhu's sake, but I get no response at all.
Whatever is to happen, will happen. Oh Master, you are the only protector!'
(To be continued)
The Life of Ibrahim
Adam - Aga Syed Ibrahim Daba.
This article was formerly published in Prabuddha
Bharata during 1940.
The Sufi sage Ibrahim Adam was the king of Balkh
in Persia, but he was spiritual-minded and always feared God and aspired for
a saintly life. He liked the company of sages and honoured them at his
court. During his rule he tried to be just and drew moral and spiritual
lessons from ordinary incidents. One day he bought a slave and asked him his
name. He replied, "I am your slave and whatever name you will give me that
will be mine." His next question was, "What do you eat?" The man answered,
"I am a slave and will eat what you give me." He then enquired what dress he
would like to put on, to which also the slave gave the same answer. "Have
you no wish of your own?" asked the King, and the slave replied once more,
"I am your slave. The slave's wish is that of the master's." The king was so
impressed by these replies that he began to cry and said, "After a lifelong
period of religious life, I learn today the true attitude of a devotee
towards God." One day the king was out hunting and at night he camped in the
forest. A dervish too was passing along that way to Mecca, and hearing that
the famous king Ibrahim Adam, who was so renowned for his piety and wisdom,
was camping there, he wished to meet him. When he was taken to the tent he
saw there ropes of silk and pegs of gold. The dervish said in surprise, "O
king, I heard that you were a seeker of God; how is it that I find you in
such luxury?" The king said, "What do you advise me to do?" The dervish
answered, "If your faith is true, come with me on foot to Mecca." The king
without hesitation left the tent and, dismissing his servants, accompanied
the dervish alone for the pilgrimage. They had not gone far when the dervish
said, "I have forgotten my begging bowl left in your tent; kindly wait a
moment here, till I go and fetch it." The King replied, "Do you see the
difference between you and me? I have left all my riches and comforts
without a thought while you cannot even part with your begging bowl!" The
dervish thereupon acknowledged him as a sage, and they both went up to Mecca
on foot. The incident which changed the entire course of Ibrahim Adam's life
was this: One night when he was asleep in his palace with his wife he heard
the sound of some footsteps on the terrace. Wondering who could be there at
that hour he got up from his bed and, climbing the stairs, found to his
surprise that a very holy-looking fakir was walking up and down fearlessly.
The king asked, "What are you seeking here at this time of the night?" The
fakir replied, "I have lost my camel and have come in search of it." The
king said, "How can a camel be here?" The fakir replied, "When the wise king
hopes to find God in the luxury of this palace, mine is a more reasonable
wish." The king's aspiration was kindled and he went down greatly impressed
and deep in thought, pondering on what the fakir had so dramatically told
him. Next day when he was holding his court a man in the garment of a sage
advanced towards him in great haste. So awe-inspiring and holy he looked
that nobody dared to stop or question him. He came right up to the king and
stood silent. The king asked, "What do you want?" The fakir replied, "I want
to stay in this traveller's bungalow for a short time." The king said, "It
is my palace and not a traveller's bungalow." The fakir said, "Who was on
the throne before you?" The king said, "My father." "Who was here before
your father?" asked the fakir. "My grandfather," replied the king. "Who will
be here after you?" enquired the fakir. The king answered, "My son." "When
so many people come and go living for a short time in this house, what else
is it but a traveller's halting place?" Saying this the fakir turned back
and walked away. The king was so impressed by his dignified manner that he
got up from his throne and went after him and asked him, "Tell me who you
are?" The fakir replied, "I am Khizir." (Khizir was a prophet who was the
Spiritual Guide of God-chosen devotees, and it was the order of God never to
question him however wrong or doubtful the order seemed apparently. After
his death it was believed by some that he was still alive and meets a
devotee suddenly at some place and gives the necessary guidance.) When
Ibrahim Adam heard that it was the great Prophet Khizir who had spoken to
him in the garb of that fakir he felt a fire burning in his soul and a great
pain in the heart. He came back to his house and lay down on his bed but
found no comfort. He thought of going out riding and while he was riding,
absorbed in thought, he heard a voice, "Wake up before thou art awakened by
death." He heard the same voice once or twice again and thinking it to be a
Divine command he decided to renounce the world and take wholly to spiritual
life. When he turned back he saw that he had already drifted away from his
servants, so he took the path of the forest. On the way he met a young
farmer to whom he gave his horse. He exchanged with him his royal robes, and
sending with him his last message to his wife and the minister, he walked
away into the forest. Ibrahim Adam then lived in a cave and was all the time
absorbed in prayers and austerities. He came out only once a week and
chopped wood for fire and made a bundle of it which he carried to the
neighbouring town and sold in the market on Friday mornings. After that he
would say his Jumma prayers in the mosque and go again to the market and buy
food for the week, half of which he used to distribute to the poor and with
the other half return to his cave and busy himself with his meditations and
prayers till the next weekend. As nobody knew him he got no visitors. The
place too was solitary. One night it was unusually cold, yet he took his
bath shivering all the while. When he went to the cave he saw some chopped
sticks of wood and wished very much to light a fire and warm himself with it
but he restrained himself thinking it an unlawful luxury and commenced his
prayer. He then went to sleep on the bare ground. During his sleep he felt
that somebody had come and covered him up with a warm blanket, but on waking
in the morning he saw to his surprise that a big snake had coiled itself
over him. He felt afraid and prayed to God, "O God, though Thou hast sent it
in Thy mercy and love, I am seized with fear which transforms Thy aspect of
Love into that of Terror." While he was praying thus the snake uncoiled
itself and glided away into the bushes. When the people discovered his
identity he left the cave and wandered away towards Mecca. People of the
town then began to come to the cave to pay reverence to it. A Sufi sage of
the time named Abu Syed also came to it as if on a pilgrimage and on
entering it he said, "Even if this cave had been filled with musk and amber
it would not have been as fragrant as the short stay of the aspiring soul
has made it." Ibrahim Adam spent many years in wandering before he reached
Mecca. Once again he met Khizir the immortal Prophet, from whom he acquired
great wisdom and attained Realization. When he was approaching Mecca the
people of the town came to know of it and they gathered in large numbers to
welcome him. The sages of Mecca too came out of the gate when the caravan
was arriving. When Ibrahim Adam saw them he fathomed their intention and
separated himself from the caravan. He met some servants who asked him about
the saint Ibrahim Adam. He replied, "What have the holy sages of Mecca got
to do with that Zindiq (an irreligious man - a name often given to Sufis by
the religious orthodox section). When the people heard the revered name so
badly abused they beat him on the neck and said, "How dare you call such a
holy sage a Zindiq? You yourself are a Zindiq." He laughed and said, "That
is exactly what I mean to say," whereupon they left him and went in search
of Ibrahim Adam elsewhere. Then he turned to his ego and said, "Do you see
how you have been punished? I thank God that I did not fail, but kept you
from enjoying the pride and comfort of the welcome." There he lived in the
fields near Mecca earning his livelihood either by chopping firewood or by
taking care of the crop or by working in the fields. When the news of the
arrival of Ibrahim Adam reached his wife, she and her son started in a
caravan of four thousand people for the pilgrimage that year. When his son,
who was about sixteen or so, arrived in Mecca, he inquired from the sages
where his father was, and they told him all about Ibrahim Adam and advised
him not to disclose his identity to his father, who would not be able to
recognise him as he was a baby when he had left home. The son thereupon went
alone in search of him and was told that he had gone to the forest for
gathering wood. Being too impatient to wait he too went there and found that
an old man was carrying a bundle of sticks and coming slowly towards the
town. The son, suppressing all his desire to help his father, went slowly
behind him till he reached the market where his father, putting the load on
the ground, cried, "Is there any one amongst you who would like to exchange
some purely earned food with this pure and honest labour?" A man gave him
some pieces of bread and took the bundle. He took the bread and came with it
to some poor fakirs and giving it to them began saying his prayers. On the
day of the pilgrimage Ibrahim Adam watched his son from a distance for a
long time. Somebody asked him why he was staring at the boy to which he
replied, "I think him to be my own son whom I left in childhood." Next day a
dervish brought his wife and son to Ibrahim Adam. On seeing him, they wept
till they fainted. When the son recovered consciousness he was asked, "What
is your religion?" The boy replied, "Islam." Thereupon Ibrahim Adam felt
pleased and said "Alhamdo lillah." Then he asked him again, "Did you read
the Quoran?" The boy answered in the affirmative. Then again he said, "Alhamdo
lillah", and after some time asked, "Have you acquired any learning?" The
boy again replied in the affirmative and he once more praised God. After
some time he wished to get up and go, but his wife and son clung to him and
did not let him move. He thereupon prayed to God standing, and the son
suddenly fell down and died. When his disciples asked him the cause of it,
he replied, "I felt such a strong love for them that I did not wish to leave
them any more. Then I heard a voice, `You teach renunciation to others; now
see how you follow it yourself.' Thereupon I prayed to God, `O God, either
take away my son or me.' The prayer has been answered and God has separated
me from my son." The disciples said, "It was a great sacrifice." To this he
replied, "Not as great as that of the Prophet Ibrahim who consented to
slaughter his own son as an offering to God." Ibrahim Adam had a great
desire to remain alone at the Kaba at night when nobody else would be there.
He said, "On one rainy night I was the only person there; so I wept, and
went round it and prayed to God for my salvation. Thereupon I heard a voice,
`It befits you more to pray for others than for your own self.'" Some people
asked him why he had left his kingdom, to which he answered, "On the day
when I left it I gazed into the mirror which was just in front of my throne
and I saw that my last abode on earth was the grave. I said to myself that
the voyage beyond was long, and I had no means of spiritual sustenance for
the long journey. The great God is Just and I had nothing to justify myself
before Him. Thinking so my heart grew cold and freed itself from the bonds
of pleasure". Once a man brought to him a thousand gold pieces and requested
him to accept them. He replied, "I never take from the needy." The man said,
"I am very rich." Thereupon the sage replied, "But don't you want more?" The
man said, "Yes." Thereupon he said, "Take away your money, for you are the
prince of the needy ones." On a certain day Ibrahim Adam was feeling very
weak and tired because of prolonged fasting, and on getting no food he
prayed to God to send him some food. Shortly after a man came and asked, "If
you are hungry, come to my house and I will feed you." He consented and went
with him. On reaching the house when the man saw him in the light he
suddenly cried out, "I am your slave, O master! All that is in this house is
your own; take it and consider me still your slave." Ibrahim Adam replied,
"Today I free thee for ever from slavery," and turning to God he prayed, "O
Lord, I will never again ask Thee for anything worldly. I asked for food and
Thou hast once more given me the riches of the world and lordship over men."
Once he wished to join the group of some fakirs, bur they did not let him
enter their circle and said, "You have still the odour of kingliness about
you." The biographer comments, "Just imagine, when they did not accept such
a God-realised sage in their circle, how can ordinary men hope to enter it."
"Once," he said, "I was crossing a river in a boat. My garments had all been
torn to shreds and my hair was long. Everybody in the boat began making fun
of me and teased me. A man would every now and then come to me and give me a
blow, or pinch and abuse me. I was happy to see my ego hurt and chastised.
Then a storm rose and the boat began to capsize. The men said that it was
necessary to throw someone overboard to allay the fury of the water and they
decided to throw me and took me by the ear. Just then the storm abated." On
another occasion, when his boat was sinking, Ibrahim Adam placed a Quoran
between the boat and the storm and prayed, and the storm subsided. Once a
man came to him and said, "O sage, I have performed many austerities; now
give me some advice." He replied, "I will tell you six conditions which you
must follow. The first is that when you disobey God and commit some sin,
don't eat the bread that God gives you." The man asked, "Whose bread am I to
eat then?" Ibrahim Adam said that it was not proper to eat His bread and be
disobedient to Him. The second condition is that when you are on the verge
of committing any sin, get out of God's dominions." The man answered, "The
whole creation is His, where can I go outside it?" The third condition was
that he should commit a sin only where God could not see him. The man said
that that too was impossible. "It is quite unfair," said the sage, "that a
man should eat His bread and live in His kingdom and yet disobey Him before
His very eyes." "Fourthly," said Ibrabim Adam, "when the angel of Death
comes to put an end to your life, tell him to wait till you repent and ask
forgiveness." The man said, "This too cannot be, for he won't listen to me."
"In that case repent before you die. Fifthly, when the angels of God visit
thee in the grave to question thy life, turn them out." The man said, "This
too is impossible for me." "Then," said Ibrahim Adam, "be prepared with thy
answers. Lastly, when thou art driven towards hell refuse to go there."
"This too is impossible," said the man. "Then, in that case," answered he,
"don't commit sin." This is one of the typical examples of his preachings of
a moral nature. Ibrahim Adam was a religious man throughout his life. The
remarkable thing about him was his complete forgetfulness of his past and
his great change of life. He always feared God and obeyed Him and he never
made any experiments with the mysteries of Truth nor tried to look beyond
religion and shariat. He was a pious man to the core. In his last days he
left the world utterly and repaired to some place where none could find him.
It is not certain in which place he died. Some say he is buried in Shaam,
and some opine that his grave is in Baghdad, while a third section asserts
that he lies near the grave of Hazarat Loot.
********************
Swami
Bhuteshananda Religion and Life (continued)
What is buddhi?
Buddhi is a modification or vrtti of the inner
organ. That which decisively reveals an object is called the intellect or
buddhi. When the mind becomes pure, the buddhi also becomes pure. When
buddhi becomes pure the Self is reflected as it is in it. Sri Ramakrishna
has said that the pure intellect and the Self are one and the same. When the
mirror is clean there will be no obstruction to its reflection; so also the
pure mind will not create any obstruction to the reflection of the Self.
When the pure mind expresses itself as the pure buddhi, it becomes the pure
Self. So Sri Ramakrishna has said: `Pure Mind, Pure Buddhi, Pure Atman - all
these are one and the same'. [The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 802]. In the
Gita(3.42) it is said that the senses are great, but greater than them is
the mind, and greater than the mind is the intellect, but the greatest of
all is God. Why has it been said that He is beyond the buddhi? That is
because the buddhi is also a vrtti. The Atman is not a vrtti and so it is
beyond the intellect. How are the thought waves of the individual mind
connected with the supreme Mind? Biologists say that the body is a
collection of cells; the body is controlled by them. The Brhadaranyaka
Upanisad [3.7.15] says: `He who is in every being but within them, whom no
being knows, whose body is all beings, and who controls all beings from
within, is the inner Controller. That is your own Self.' This is a
remarkable statement. He dwells in all beings but is different from beings.
All beings are `mine' because all are the body of the supreme Being, but
they don't know `me'. It's a beautiful paradox. It is He who resides in all
beings and controls them. So it is the reflection of the Supreme Mind that
is the individual's mind. The thoughts of the cosmic mind are reflected to a
slight extent in the individual mind. He resides in us and controls us. It
is not like an instrument, mechanically controlling from outside. He is the
inner Controller. The Self inside you is the antaryamin. If the body dies,
He does not die. He is different from the body.
Is it necessary to study the scriptures?
He who is not interested to learn the truths of
the scriptures need not study them. But those who want to understand the
truths that the scriptures teach and try to reflect them in their own lives
must study them.
What is the real truth?
Is there something like `real' or `unreal' truth?
That which is absolute can never be relative. So truth is truth and has no
`real' or `unreal' in it.
What is the ego?
Ego is that form of mind which feels, `I am the
doer' and `I am the enjoyer.' When there is no one to act, nothing to be
acted upon, and no effect is seen, then there is no action at all. But when
we regard the intellect as a faculty, mind as another faculty, etc, then we
give different names to the special modifications (vrttis) of the inner
organ (antahkarana). When the mind becomes pure we have pure vrttis rising
in it. When the antahkarana becomes pure, it becomes transparent. Then there
remains nothing to distort it.
What is pure antahkarana?
By pure antahkarana both pure mind and pure
intellect (buddhi) are meant. When the intellect becomes pure, it is pure
Self. Just as the sun is hidden by clouds, the mind envelopes the Self and
hides it. As the mind becomes pure, it becomes transparent. As it becomes
transparent, the real nature of the Self or God becomes progressively clear
to it. When the mind becomes completely pure in this manner, there will
remain no impediment and the Self stands revealed.
What is the pure Self?
It means that the Self has no superimpositions.
The body has birth and death; but we think that the Self also has birth and
death. This is superimposition. When something is superimposed on something
else, it is clear that the superimposed is unreal and so the thing-in-itself
is `impure'. When superimposition goes, the thing-in-itself is revealed as
it is.
How can we make our mind pure?
The mind is said to be pure when only pure
thoughts arise in it. Do not entertain or give room to unholy thoughts in
the mind and thus the mind can become pure. It will not do merely to sit and
weep that the mind is impure or restless: one must be up and doing.
Why is the Self regarded as unattached?
Non-attachment implies that the Atman is
indifferent. In other words, the Self is absolutely untouched or unaffected
by our feelings of happiness and misery, pain and pleasure.
Where is this Self?
The gross body, the subtle body, and the causal
body -behind these three is the Self or Atman. Everything else is illumined
by the light of the Self. The causal body is also called the seed body; it
is from this that the subtle and gross bodies are formed. What is the
difference between all these bodies and the Self? We see that when someone
dies, he is either cremated or interred. When this is done, the body that we
used to see disintegrates and merges with the five elements, called
panca-bhutas. Earth, water, fire, air and space - these are the five
elements. When thus the gross physical body disintegrates, we cannot see
anything else. There is the subtle body which we cannot see. This subtle
body will merge into the causal body. The causal body, as I said, is the
seed body (bija sarira). Thus the causal body remains in seed form. It is
like this: in the state of deep sleep, we do not function. We have no
awareness but that there is bliss. This deep sleep (susupti) is called the
causal state. Behind this causal body is the Self; it is beyond the causal
state. Thus the Self or Atman is neither gross, nor subtle, nor causal; it
is beyond everything. When we, who have the awareness of `I', transcend the
limitations of the gross, subtle and causal, then we attain to the state of
the pure Self. If we are to transcend body-consciousness or the feeling of
identity with the body, we shall have to practise spiritual disciplines
sincerely and progress steadily. How can we be liberated? Our scriptures
repeat times without number that once the feeling of I-ness goes there is
liberation. He who considers himself to be bound is bound. He who considers
himself to be free is free.
Are liberation for one and bondage for another
predestined? What do you think about this?
If you really wanted liberation, you would become
restless like a fish out of water.
Can sacrifice, etc., bring liberation?
He who has a thousand rupees in his pocket will
not become mad after a rupee, will he? He will tap his pocket and say, `I
have a lot of money.' He who wants liberation will not perform sacrifices.
So are sacrifices only meant for fulfilment of
desires?
Mostly so. Having acquired this life, spending it
well or ill is in our hands. We shall have therefore to struggle. King
Parikshit (of the Bhagavata) was destined to die in seven days. What did he
do during those seven days? He went out of the city and spent his time in
repeating God's names. He never felt, `Since there are only seven more days
left, let me enjoy life'. He had good past impressions (samskaras) in him
and so he tried to spend his last days fruitfully. The Bhagavadgita says
that out of thousands of people one or two strive for God. This was so in
ancient times and will be the same even today.
- Compiled by Smt Manju Nandi Mazumdar: due
acknowledgements to Prabuddha Bharata
|
Vedanta
Centre UK
