Sastras

After Bhagavan came into the new hall it was decided by the Sarvadhikari to keep the library in the old hall, and so some big almirahs were made.

After Bhagavan came into the new hall it was decided by the Sarvadhikari to keep the library in the old hall, and so some big almirahs were made. It was also decided that the library should be looked after by Govindarajula Subba Rao, and that Venkataratnam should remain exclusively in the service of Bhagavan. Venkataratnam handed over all the work to Subba Rao and sat in the new hall with Bhagavan.

In the afternoon of the day before yesterday, at 3 o’clock while returning from the Gosala Bhagavan saw the almirahs that were being made and also the books that were spread out in the old hall and then came into the new hall. While sitting on the couch he looked at Venkataratnam and said, “What, Assistant Librarian? Have you handed over charge of everything and come here?” Venkataratnam replied in the affirmative. With a view to remove any little regret about it that Venkataratnam might be having in his mind, Bhagavan remarked as follows: “Ancients have said that the superabundance of book knowledge is the cause of the rambling of the mind. That will not carry you to the goal. Reading of Sastras and becoming pandits may give fame to a person but they destroy the peace of mind which is necessary for the seeker of truth and deliverance. A Mumukshu (a seeker of deliverance) should understand the essence of the Sastras but should give up the reading of Sastras as that is inimical to dhyana (meditation). It is like accepting the grain and discarding the chaff. There will be many big almirahs with many books. How many of them can be read? There are so many books and religions that one life is not enough to read all the books relating to even one religion. Where then is the

time for practice? The more you read, the more you feel like reading further. The result of all that is to go on discussing with other people who have books and spend time thus, but that will not lead to deliverance. What books had I seen and what Vedanta discourses had I heard except to close my eyes and remain peaceful and quiet during the first two years of my coming here?”

A person who had come into the hall a little earlier, said, “Swami, you must favour me by giving me that peace for my mind.” Bhagavan replied with a smile, “Oho! Is that so? First find out what is meant by the mind. If you enquire thus, the mind itself will disappear. That which will be left is peace itself. You will then know that what is always there is what is called peace. Even the Vedas begin with ‘Shanti’ and close with ‘Shanti’ (peace). Everyday the Vedas are being recited here. Whenever they are recited, the words ‘Shantihi, Shantihi, Shantihi’ will be repeated. But no one bothers to find out the meaning of those words. If they understand the meaning they would realise that what is begun with Shanti and what is concluded with Shanti must have Shanti in between also. The whole thing will be full of Shanti. Hence they must be begun at a time when the mind is peaceful and quiet.”

Venkataratnam remarked, “Sankaracharya has said the same thing in his ‘Atma Bodha’ when he described the Jnani as Atmarama and Shanti as Sita:

tITvaR maeha[Rv< hTva ragÖe;aid ra]san!,

yaegI zaiNt smayu´ae ýaTmaramae ivrajte. Having crossed the ocean of illusion and having killed the demons of likes and dislikes, the yogi, now united to shanti (peace), finds delight in the Self and so remains in his own glory.

Atma Bodha, verse 50

It is this sloka, is it not?” “Yes,” said Bhagavan.

“Recently, a gentleman who came here for Bhagavan’s darshan has written to me. It seems that, since his return he is seeing a light and hearing a sound while sitting for dhyana. He is unable to find out what it is. He has asked me to mention this to Bhagavan and write to him your remarks, if any,” said Venkataratnam.

“Whatever light is seen and whatever sound is heard, there must be someone who sees and who hears. Ask him to find out who that someone is. He should not worry about these outside things. If he enquires about the someone who sees, the thought of those outer things will completely disappear. There will not be any care or concern whether such things appear or disappear. They are not there without the Self. None has any doubt about one’s own self. Leaving such a certain thing as Self, people begin entertaining doubts and undergo all sorts of troubles to clear those doubts. Let him doubt the person who gets the doubts,” said Bhagavan.

“If all experiences disappear through the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ is there any need of Sastras for a sadhaka?” asked Venkataratnam. “If a person reads Sastras he can debate with the pandits and thus feel satisfied, but they are of no use for sadhana. Whenever any thought comes, enquire who gets the thought. The answer to this is mouna (silence). Where there is nothing else except one’s own self, whatever you see or hear, that is Brahman. That is Atma and that is the ‘Self ’,” said Bhagavan.

10th July, l949

(253) ADVAITA DRISHTI

Recently an Andhra gentleman came here, discussed the story of the deliverance of Gajendra in the Bhagavatam and read out some padyas (verses) from the Bhagavatam written in Telugu by Pothana. He then asked for Bhagavan’s opinion about the ‘Sakshatkaram’ (divine vision) that Gajendra had. Bhagavan said with a smile, “You see, Gajendra prayed that he might be saved from death. In the padyas that you have read out, there is description of God, saying that He is without any of the attributes, such as birth, sin, form, action, destruction and other qualities. It is also stated that He is omnipresent. That means that he prayed to the Paramatma in all His fullness. When he came to a state where he did not see anyone else except Paramatma, it means that he sees only the Paramatma everywhere. If that is so, who is it that causes pain and who is it that is being pained? When the subject matter is thus so full, what is the meaning of saying that God came out of a fort in a garden in Vaikunta? What else is it except a bhavana (idea)? You may call it Sakshatkaram or whatever you like.”

“If that is so, are all Sakshatkaras mere ideas?” asked the devotee. “From the viewpoint of Dvaita, that is Sakshatkaram, but from the view-point of Advaita, those are only bhavanas,” said Bhagavan.

Sometime back, some Andhras who were going on a pilgrimage came here and stayed for some days. Amongst them a lady sang in the hall now and then the songs of Bhadradri Ramadas. One day she sang the song beginning with ‘Ikshvaka kulatilaka’. In that song it is stated that Ramadas made this jewel and that jewel and it cost this much and that much. After that, she sang the song wherein it is stated that

Ramadas made some ornaments which Sri Ramachandra wore and went about proudly with them. When Bhagavan heard this, he looked at us and said, “Did Sri Ramachandra ask for those ornaments? It is all the devotee’s own desire. Why then abuse Ramachandra?”

“If you want to abuse, you should abuse God only, it is said,” remarked a devotee.

“That is all right. Appar also prayed to God abusing him in the same manner. He however abused in a subtle way. Apart from that, it is stated that ‘I have made this ornament and that ornament’. Who is he to make that ornament? It means that he is somebody different from God,” said Bhagavan.

“So long as there is a God and a devotee, that feeling is natural,” said the devotee.

“Yes, that is so as long as we have a Dvaita Drishti — a feeling of duality; but in Advaita Drishti — a feeling of oneness — you will not have all this. You are myself and I am yourself. When such a feeling comes, who is the doer? What is it that is being done?” said Bhagavan.

“That is called Parabhakti, is it not?” asked that devotee.

“Yes, yes,” said Bhagavan nodding his head and kept quiet.