Sai and Swami Sivananda on Hearticulture

Sai Ram. Again the Sadguru in various forms is sending very important and relevant messages. It is also interesting to note that Sai Maharaj (Sai Baba of Shirdi) prepared the present Samadhi Mandir very arduously for a few years, removing all weeds, stones etc. and growing beautiful fragrant flowers thus showing us how to prepare our minds / hearts. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of Sri Sai Satcharitra: 

"In his young days, Sai Baba grew hair on His head; never had His head shaved. He dressed like an athlete. When He went to Rahata (3 miles from Shirdi), He brought with Him small plants of Merry Gold, Jai and Jui, and after cleaning, he planted and watered them. A devotee by name Vaman Tatya supplied Him daily with two earthen pitchers. With these Baba Himself used to water the plants. He drew water from the well and carried the pitchers on His shoulders. In the evening the pitchers were kept at the foot of the Neem tree. As soon as they were placed there, they were broken, as they were made of raw earth and not baked. Next day, Tatya supplied two fresh pitchers. This course went on for 3 years; and with Sai Baba’s toil and labour, there grew a flower-garden. On this site, at present, stands the big mansion - Samadhi Mandir of Baba, which is now frequented and used by so many devotees."

He also showed that Sadguru can weed out / uproot the deep rooted desires (His uprooting the pillars when devotees were working on the extension to the Masjid - See Chapter 6 of Sri Sai Satcharitra, a brief excerpt is given below:

"In 1911, the Sabha - Mandap (court - yard) was also put in order with great labour and effort. The open space in front of the Masjid was very small and inconvenient. Kakasaheb Dixit wanted to extend it and put on it a roofing. At great expense, he got iron-posts, and pillars and trusses and started the work. At night, all the devotees worked hard and fixed the posts; but Baba, when he returned from Chavadi next morning, uprooted them all and threw them out. Once it so happened that Baba got very excited, caught a pole with one hand, and began to shake and uproot it, and with the other hand caught the neck of Tatya Patil. He took by force Tatya’s Pheta, struck a match, set it on fire and threw it in a pit. At that time, Baba’s eyes flashed like burning embers. None dared to look at Him. All got terribly frightened. Baba took out a rupee from his pocket and threw it there, as if it were an offering on an auspicious occasion. Tatya also was much frightened. None knew what was going to happen to Tatya, and none dared to interfere. Bhagoji Shinde, the leper devotee of Baba, made a little boldly advance, but he was pushed out by Baba. Madhavrao was also similarly treated, he being pelted with brick pieces. So all those, who went to intercede, were similarly dealt with. But after some time, Baba’s anger cooled down. He sent for a shopkeeper, got from him an embroidered Pheta and Himself tied it on Tatya’s head, as if he was being given a special honour. All the people were wonderstruck to see this strange behavior of Baba. They were at a loss to know, what enraged Baba so suddenly and what led Him to assault Tatya Patil, and why His anger cooled down, the next moment. Baba was sometimes very calm and quiet and talked sweet things with love, but soon after, with or without any pretext, got enraged. Many such incidents may be related; but I do not know which to choose and which to omit. I, therefore, refer them as they occur to me."

It is interesting to note that Sai removed the mamakaaram (I, my, sense) from Tatya in the form of his pheta and after burning it (the my sense), gave him a new embroidered Pheta (representing Guru's grace). Sai Ram. 

Now let us take up Sadguru Swami Sivananda's message on hearticulture - how to develop a pure heart.

SIVANANDA DAILY READING FOR 31 AUGUST 2011 - HEARTICULTURE (How to cultivate the heart as a good fertile land that gives sweet fruits instead of poisonous weeds) -

You must have a pure mind if you want to realise the self. Unless the mind is set free, unless the mind casts away all desire, craving, worry, delusion, pride, lust, attachment, likes and dislikes, it cannot enter the domain of supreme peace.

Mind is compared to a garden. Just as you can cultivate good flowers and fruits in a garden, by ploughing and manuring the land, by removing the weeds and thorns, and by watering the plants and trees - so too you can cultivate the flower of devotion in the garden of your mind, by removing the impurities of the mind (such as lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, etc.), and watering it with divine thoughts.

Weeds and thorns grow in the rainy season and then disappear in summer. But their seeds remain underneath the ground and as soon as there is a shower, the seeds germinate and sprout. Even so, the vrttis (modifications of the mind), manifest on the surface of the conscious mind, then disappear and assume a subtle seed-state in the form of samskaras or impressions. The samskaras again become vrttis, either through internal or external stimuli.

If you want to keep the garden clean you will have to remove not only the weeds but also the seeds that lie underneath the ground, which will eventually germinate otherwise. Even so, you have to destroy not only the big waves of the mind, but also the impressions which are the seeds for birth and death, if you want to enter the super-conscious state.

Those who have removed the impurities of their minds by japa (repetition of God's name), service, charity, pranayama (yoga breathing), etc., will enter into meditation as soon as they sit for meditation. The pure, ripe mind at once burns with the fire of meditation.

Without the help of meditation you cannot obtain knowledge of the self. Without its aid you cannot grow into the divine state. Without it you cannot liberate yourself from the trammels of the mind and attain immortality. Tear the veil that covers the soul, by practising regular meditation.

Self-realisation is the aim of life. The means to it are living an ethical life and ceaseless meditation. Spiritual duty is far more important than worldly duty. Live to seek God. Live to serve humanity. Fulfil God's will. You will be blessed. You will be happy.

Guru Purnima - Significance

Sai Ram. Ashaadha Purnima is celebrated as Vyaasa Purnima and also as Guru Purnima. Sage Veda Vyaasa, who divided the Vedas into manageable portions, who wrote the 18 main and 18 sub puranas, Brahma Sutraas and the Epic, Mahabhaarata is considered to be an incarnation of Sri Vishnu and is worshipped as Guru on that day. In addition, all other Gurus, who are One with the ParaBrahma are worshipped on that day. For many Hindu Monks (Sanyaasis), the day marks the beginning of the Chaaturmaas period (4 months of Spiritual Saadhana at one place) and this period also coincides with the rainy season in most of India, making travel impracticable for them, esp. if they need to go by foot as originally envisaged.

The Sanskrit word Guru has quite a few meanings - teacher, preceptor, instructor, guide, Heavy, Massive, Destroyer of Darkness etc.

The Dhyaana Sloka for Guru's worship is:

"Gurur Brahma gurur Vishnu gurur devo Maheswarah

Guru sakshat parambrahmah tasmai sri gurave namah"

Guru is Brahma, the Creator, Guru is Vishnu, the Protector and Guru is Maheswara, Siva, the Destroyer. In fact, Guru is verily the Parabrahma (Ultimate Self, the fusion of the Trinity) and so I bow to Sri Guru. Sri indicates respect and Sri indicates wealth, here material and spiritual wealth!

For those who do not have a specific guru it is suggested to add the following verse for Guru Dakshinamoorti, i.e., Lord Shiva in his incarnation as the Guru of the world.

Nidhaye sarva vidyanam bhishaje bhava roginam

Gurave sarvalokanam Dakshinamoortaye namah

I bow to Dakshinamoorty, the treasure house of all knowledge, the doctor for removal of the bhava roga, that is illness caused by a sense of separate existence (ego or doer feeling) and Guru of all worlds.

Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Dakshinamoorty, Dattatreya, Veda Vyasa, Krishna, Adi Sankara, Sai Baba... there are any number of Gurus, apart from many living Gurus.

It is said that when the disciple is ready, the Guru comes - when the wood is dry, even a small spark or a little friction with another wood will cause it to catch fire. Similarly a lamp will light up when the wick, oil etc. are all ready or when the circuit is properly made, at the throw of a switch). Deep yearning on our part, attracts the attention of the Guru, Who is always conscious of every thing that goes on in this universe.

A few insights on unity and diversity

Sai Ram. Real liberation / moksha is to understand and appreciate the innate unity beneath the apparent diversity. All matter is just different forms of energy just as all colors (wavelengths) belong to the same electromagnetic radiation spectrum. Thus every thing including matter is energy and vibration. That is unity, called by so many names (God, Allah, Para Brahma,...) and has all the names and no name.

Sai Ram. These insights come by the grace of God / Guru who is Zero!. In Hinduism, we refer to God as Nirguna Para Brahma. Nirguna means without the Gunas, characteristics, attributes, properties that differentiate one from another. White light has all the colors and no color. Similarly Zero has all the numbers representing Gunas and yet has no value, no Guna. Once we cross the mind / ego, we enter that no-mind state where every one and every thing is a part of you and you of course are a part of every thing else! You are together and are yet apart! Zero is in every number and is yet separate from all of them and is also the sum total of all of them. This is really wonderful and discovery of Zero was one of the greatest gifts of Hindus to humanity!

The past and the future lies in the present, which is Zero, which is No Mind, No Time. Once we realise that, the past or the future release their hold on us (our minds). Lord Krishna indicated this in His Gita when He told His Disciple Sri Arjuna,

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

(Gita, Adhyaya 18, Sloka 66)

In the above Sloka, many commentators have given to the word dharma the meaning of right / wrong, religion etc. in a rather restrictive sense. However, I submit an insight obtained by His grace that dharma refers to a characterisitc, attribute, property etc., that differentiates one person, one object or one action from another. A solid has some dharmas, fire has some dharmas different from say water etc. Dharma is dualistic and diversifying. Thus it is looking at the external world and is looking at the differences, representing an egoistic approach (the word ego means a sense of separation, the feeling of I and not I - you, they etc.). When dharma is given up and the ego is surrendered, merged into the Unity (Zero), the sins (and of course the merits also) disappear, just as the colors and tastes associated with a water drop merge into the ocean along with the water drop! Moksha is liberation from the concepts of right and wrong, the punya and paapa etc., that cause grief (Gita starts with Arjuna Vishada Yoga, the grief of Arjuna). Once the ego becomes One with the One (that is Yoga, unification), the doer, the deed, the object of doing, the non-doer etc. all merge into One. The karma and karma phala disappear!

These concepts are nicely explained in Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stotra, which proclaims Him as "Karanam, Kaaranam, Kartha, Vikartha Gahano Guhah", "Bhrajishnur Bhojanam, Bhoktha", and again, "Yagno Yagna Patir Yajwa, Yagnango Yagna Vaahanah" etc., thus making Him all inclusive. And when we add up all numbers (positive and negative), we get Zero! In Nirvana Shatkam, on the other hand, Sri Adi Shankara negates all these concepts by saying that He is "na punyam, na paapam, na moksham na dukham", and "na (a)ham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhoktha" etc. When we remove all numbers, we again end up with ZERO! He declares that He is Chidananda Rupa Sivoham Sivoham. Whether we include every thing (Vishnu, the One Who is All Pervading) or we exclude every thing, we end up with the Nirguna Para Brahma, who is the only One, Who is Satyam, Sivam and Sundaram! That is why we are told Sivaaya Vishnu Rupaaya, Siva Rupaaya Vishnave...

I bow to Sri Guru for these insights. Guru is One who shows the Sishya the errors of ignorance, the truth hidden by Maya and shows that the Sishya is in fact One with the Guru. Sai Ram.

About Zero, negativitiy etc.

About ZERO:

Sai Ram. The past and the future, in fact, every thing lies in the present, which is Zero, which is actually No Mind, No Time. Once we realise that, the past or the future release their hold on us (our minds).

Real unity is to understand and appreciate the innate unity beneath the apparent diversity. All matter is just different forms of energy just as all colors belong to the same electromagnetic spectrum. Thus every thing is energy and vibration. That is unity, called by so many names (God, Allah, Para Brahma,...) and has all the names and no name. Sai Ram.

Sai Ram. These insights come by the grace of God / Guru who is Zero! In Hinduism, we refer to that as Nirguna Para Brahma. Nirguna means without the Gunas, characteristics, attributes, properties that differentiate one from another. White light has all the colors and no color. Similarly Zero has all the Gunas and no Gunas. Once we cross the mind / ego, we enter that no-mind state where every one and every thing is a part of you and you of course are a part of every thing else too and are yet apart! Zero is in every number and is yet separate from all of them and is also the sum total of all of them. A wonderful thing indeed. Discovery of Zero was one of the greatest gifts of Hindus to humanity like Vedas and Upanishads!

About Number Line and Negativity:

Sai Ram. Here are a few thoughts about negativity and number line, mirrors etc. I sent these to a friend and am posting here for the perusal of all of you. I can't give you any source for these thoughts because they are the insights obtained by synthesis of several sources in my mind. The inputs came from science/maths, physics, spirituality etc. If the ideas resonate with you, use them. If not, just let them be.

Think of a straight line with zero at the centre and the positive numbers extending to the right hand side and the negative numbers to the left hand side of the zero. Now take any positive number for example, +10. Now think of a mirror at zero and you are standing at +10. You will see your reflection in the mirror behind at the same place that -10 would. You move closer and the image moves closer. You move farther and the image moves farther. But the image never disappears as long as you and the mirror are present.

Similarly if you were staying at -10, your image will be at +10. So, in a dualistic world, both positive and negative are bound to exist. Together they balance and add up to zero. In fact, zero is the 'mother / father' of all numbers. If you want to create a positive number, you need to necessarily create a negative number (its evil twin) and vice versa.

If you want to create a north pole, you also need to live with a south pole. If you need to work with a positve electric charge, you also need to take care of the negative charge. You will see light only because of shadows or because something absorbs light more or less compared to the surrounding object. You are reading this message because the background is white and the letters are dark. You could of course read it if the background is darker than the letters too, but if the background and the letters are identical, well, you can't read them. Then there is no background and no foreground!

Originally all creation was unipolar and unisex, undifferentiated. But to make itself more interesting and to enjoy the pleasure of uniting with it self, the One became many with opposing characteristics. The pleasure of sexual union is because of this innate tendency to become One again!

Pleasure is more enjoyable only after the pain. Cool shade is more enjoyable after being out in the scorching sun. Similarly the warmth of the fireside is so much more enjoyable after getting chilled to the bone and or getting soaked in rain.

Another interesting observation for you. The number to your right side is more positive than you and you are more positive than the number to your left side. For example, you are at +10 and your friend is at +11 and your enemy is at +9. Now, your friend is more positive than you and you are negative with respect to your friend.

Since the number line stretches from - infinity to + infinity, the position of zero is really not that important. You can shift it any where and still you will have an infinite number of points positive to its right and an infinite number of points negative to its left side. The concept of positive to the right side and the negative to the left side is by convention because most of us are right handed. The latin word for left handed is sinister and that means evil, dangerous in English now!

Water flows from a higher level to a lower level, electricity flows from a higher voltage to a lower voltage, similarly energy flows from a higher temperature to a lower temperature. Thus some thoughts elevate you and other thoughts sap you of your energy and similarly some thought forms (spirits) manifest themselves and try to take energy from you. If you are really open as a channel and if you are connected to the higher sources of energy, you will not feel depleted or threatened. If you are feeling that way, it just means that your ego is still active and is blocked somewhere!

Prayer and love opens the ego as a channel and allows the energy to flow smoothly. Till then, you should plug the outlet side so that you are not depleted. A good mantra acts both ways. It opens the input side and guards you at the output side as needed!

Blessings.

Sai Ram.

About Guru

The following is in response to a friend's question: Who is your Guru?

Sai Ram. I have many in the sense of learning from, but no one as far as receiving Mantra Deeksha is concerned. Lord Datttreya, Dakshnina Murthy, Siva, Vishnu, The Divine Mother Who goes by the names of Lalitha, Durga, Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi, Maha Saraswati etc., Sage Narada who taught me about Bhakti through His Narada Bhakti Sutras, Prahlada, the Epitome of Bhakti, Shirdi Sai Baba, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Satya Sai Baba, Adi Shankara and Shankaracharya of Hampi etc. are some of my Gurus!

Albert Einstein and other scientists who taught me that matter and energy are one are among my Gurus. My Gurus include Cosmologists who taught that the whole universe arose from a singularity, a point, a zero! The Hindu scriptures which talk of dark matter and dark energy albeit in different terms and Lord Sri Krishna who taught Gita are some more who are my Gurus.

Shri Veda Vyasa, who gave us the Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stotra, which goes on expanding the definition of God, Sri Adi Shankara whose Nirvana Shatkam negates all the concepts of God, thus both reaching the same conclusion not so surprisingly are my Gurus! Sri Guru Gita, a part of Skanda Purana, which extols the greatness of Guru, Sri Guru Charitra, and Sri Sai Satcharitra are the books that taught me, Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnuh Guru Devo Maheswarah...

My parents, and my teachers in my school and college life who taught me many lessons, my brothers and other relatives, my friends and those who were some what inimical to me, all of them taught me important lessons.

I am reminded of the reply given by Lord Dattatreya in Avadhuta form when asked similarly by king Yadu. Pl. see the following link for a full version of that.

http://www.swamij.com/twenty-four-gurus.htm

When the lamp is ready to be lit, a lamp, spark or a torch comes along and lights it. That lamp or that spark is the Guru. When the disciple is ready, the Guru appears because the Guru represents the Higher Self that is always inside the heart of the disciple!

A stray neutron is enough to start a nuclear reaction in a reactor or set off a nuclear bomb that is critical. A neutron source is used only so that the thing works when you want it. Similarly when we are ready, the Guru comes. When the door is open, the light and the air come in.

Thanks for reading this patiently. Your comments are welcome. Sai Ram.

Welcome to Swamy's Blog

Sai Ram. Unlike other blogs meant for specific subjects, this blog is to share my thoughts on all subjects as they come up. Some of them may be published in my other blogs too as needed.

Keep checking.

Blessings.

Swamy