YOU'LL MEET HIM WHEN YOU LEARN TM OR THE SKY BREATHE & THIS IS THE REASON HE CAME TO EARTH & SOME VERY FORTUNATE PEOPLE GJ Newly translated discourse of Guru Dev (Vacanamrit by Jugal Shrivastava) The State of Perpetual SamΔdhi Itself is JΔ«vanmukti (Liberation While Living) The nature of the constant samΔdhi of great souls has been described as follows: “When identification with the body has dissolved and ParamΔtmΔ (the Supreme Self) has been realized, wherever the mind moves, there indeed is samΔdhi.” (Source: VivekacΕ«αΈΔmaαΉi, Adi Shankaracharya) This means that bodily identification has completely dissolved. Notions such as “I am a brΔhmaαΉa,” “I am a kαΉ£atriya,” “I am a vaiΕya,” “I am a ΕΕ«dra,” “I am a child,” “I am old,” “I am blind,” “I am deaf,” “I am fallen,” “I am foolish,” and all other ego-based identifications have been entirely eradicated. In other words, the superimposition of the ΔtmΔ (Self) upon the conditions of the body, mind, and intellect—and the attempt to define it through bodily attributes—has come to a complete end. When one becomes firmly established in the knowledge of the identity of one’s own ΔtmΔ (Self) with the all-pervading, unattached, attributeless, witnessing ParamΔtmΔ (the Supreme Self), which is ever-present in all that moves and does not move—then the direct realization of the Self arises. Abiding steadily in the ΔtmΔ, wherever the mind may go, there samΔdhi is experienced. All multiplicity of thought ceases. In every state and at all times—whether rising, sitting, walking, sleeping, or waking—the vαΉttis (mental modifications) remain absorbed solely in one’s iαΉ£αΉa deva (chosen deity). This alone is the nature of eternal samΔdhi. This alone is the natural state of abiding in the ΔtmΔ of one who is liberated while living. How is body-identification destroyed? From the above teaching it is clear that two conditions are essential for liberation while living: first, the dissolution of body-identification; and second, the direct realization of ParamΔtmΔ (the Supreme Self). Body-identification has arisen through a certain process, and by that very process it can be brought to an end. Whatever arises through a particular path must also return by that same path. Just as one ascends by means of a staircase, so too one must descend by that very staircase. In the same way that one gradually turned away from ParamΔtmΔ and strengthened the saαΉskΔras (latent impressions) connected with the body and the world, so must the saαΉskΔras related to ParamΔtmΔ be gradually cultivated and firmly established, while worldly saαΉskΔras are weakened and allowed to fade. When this process is complete, the delusion by which the body and its adjuncts were taken to be one’s true nature comes to an end. No longer identifying as brΔhmaαΉa, kαΉ£atriya, householder, celibate, child, or aged person, one comes to recognize the ΔtmΔ as entirely unattached to all such conditions—pure consciousness itself, the very light by which all existence is illumined. For this, sustained practice (abhyΔsa) and detachment (vairΔgya) over a long period are indispensable. Through detachment, one loosens one’s connection with the world, withdraws the mind even from sense-enjoyments related to the body, and gradually fixes it upon the name and form of the Supreme Self. In this way, the proper inner tendency begins to arise. In this connection, while describing the appropriate diet for a spiritual aspirant, ΕrΔ« ΕaαΉ karΔcΔrya MahΔrΔj taught that by eliminating rajasic and tamasic foods and partaking of those dominated by sattva-guαΉa, the mind and intellect become predominantly sattvic. When the intellect is thus oriented toward the highest truth, viveka (discrimination) arises. Through viveka, the illusory nature of the world and the eternal reality of the Supreme Self become evident. As a result, both detachment and spiritual practice become firmly established, and thereby the supreme goal is attained. Rajasic and tamasic foods may strengthen the body, but along with that strength they give rise to aviveka (non-discrimination) in the mind and intellect. Consequently, such strength is often misused for harmful purposes. Therefore, until discrimination arises, even nutritious food cannot truly be utilized for one’s highest good. Without viveka, even wholesome food cannot be rightly used. If rajas and tamas increase within the mind and intellect, one remains subject to sorrow and restlessness throughout life, and the rare human birth is thereby wasted. Who is truly happy? While explaining the nature of happiness, MahΔrΔjΕrΔ« taught that in the Indian tradition, the words of an Δpta (trustworthy authority) alone are accepted as a valid means of knowledge. An Δpta is one who speaks the truth—one who has direct knowledge of reality and unreality and who can reveal the true nature of things as they are. Those among us who have attained such realization are the great sages who know the three times—past, present, and future. The descriptions they have given regarding happiness and suffering are therefore accepted as authoritative. Ordinary, worldly-minded individuals, being subject to ignorance, often mistake suffering for happiness. How, then, can their judgments regarding happiness and sorrow be regarded as valid? YudhiαΉ£αΉhira, a true Δpta, was once asked by YakαΉ£a (in the well-known dialogue of the MahΔbhΔrata): “Who indeed is happy?” He replied: “That person is truly happy who, though living simply and eating only boiled vegetables once a day, is free from debt and resides in his own home, together with his family.”
