At the feet of Baba: 2019

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Chapter 11, Leela 5: Baba's Control over the Elements - Fire

Leela:

One day at noon, the fire in the dhuni (sacred fire) began to burn brightly and its flames were seen to be reaching the rafters above. The people who were sitting in the Masjid did not know what to do. They dared not to ask Baba to pour water or do anything to quench the flames.

But Baba soon came to realize what was happening. He took up His satka (short stick) and dashed it against a pillar, saying, "Get down, be calm." At each stroke of the satka, the flames began to lower and reduce in intensity, and in a few minutes the dhuni became calm and normal.

Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The wonderful life and teachings of Shri Sai Baba, Translated by Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji (Mumbai: Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, 20^th Edition 2002), p66

Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p91

Teachings from Leela:

ADVAITA VEDANTA CONCEPTS

Definition of Real (Truth)

In Advaita Vedanta, reality is defined as something unchangeable, that which remains the same at all times, past, present and future. Truth is unconditional. It always was, is and will always be true at all times.

For example: The statement, “this chair exists”, may be true at this moment, but it wasn’t true at any time in the past before the chair came into existence, and will not be true in the future after it is damaged or destroyed. The statement “this chair exists” is only true with a condition that it only exists for a certain period of time. Therefore, the chair cannot be said to be real.

Anything that changes cannot be real or true. The human body, using this definition, is not real as it changes with time and is subject to birth and death. The same can be said for the human mind. Only that which has always existed, is existing and will always exist in the future, is real and true.

Only Brahman, also known as sat-chit-ananda (the One Universal Consciousness), passes this test of reality and truth.

Discrimination between Real (Truth) and Unreal (Untruth)

In Advaita Vedanta, Brahman (the One Universal Consciousness) is the one and only reality and everything else is mere appearance, projection or illusion.

The Metaphor of the Snake and the Rope

One of the most common examples used in Advaita Vedanta to illustrate this is mistaking a snake for a rope in semi-darkness. The snake is unreal, an illusion, but the rope is real. In the same way the world appears to us, who are ignorant, as real but it is in fact unreal. It is an illusion behind which is Brahman (for details, please see my previous blog, Chapter 39, Leela 1: Baba's Interpretation).

That which is non-existent in the beginning and in the end, is necessarily so even in the present (i.e., in the middle).

For example, when one misunderstands a piece of rope to be the serpent, the serpent was not in the rope before the point of delusion nor will the serpent remain after the individual’s right cognition of the rope. That which was not in the beginning and which rolls away at the right knowledge is considered by us as an illusion of the mind.

Mandukya Upanishad, with Gaudapada’s Karika, Translation and commentary by Swami Chinmayanandaji, Page 122, verse 6:

The jivatman (the individual self), has no separate existence of its own. It is only a projection or reflection of the One Reality, Brahman. It is our individual consciousness, the activities of our mind, and our senses which give us the illusion that our individual self is real. A jivatman is deluded by this projection due to its ignorance and experiences duality (the existence of two separate entities, God, and the individual self). While we have this delusion, we are bound by the cycle of births and deaths and the laws of karma.

We can only be freed from this cycle when we attain moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death). When we fully withdraw our mind and senses through meditation and detachment, we can see the Supreme Self hidden behind our individual self, which leads us to moksha.

The Metaphor of the Waker, Dreamer and Deep Sleeper

We are pure consciousness. We are neither the waker, nor the dreamer, nor the deep sleeper. Our true or real nature is none of those three. Our dreams appear to be real when we are dreaming, but when we wake up, we realize that the dream world was wholly created in our mind. Similarly, when we will reach moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death), we will realise that we have finally woken up to reality and that our waking world was just as unreal as our dream world.

A Parable of King Janaka and Sage Ashtavakra

One day King Janaka woke up from his dream, completely dejected as in his dream he lost his kingdom in a battle and was exiled from his kingdom. He started walking out of the kingdom, tired and hungry he begged for food. He finally was able to get some gruel, but as soon as he was about to eat it, a bird knocked down his food into the dirt and he started crying.

At this point he woke up and asked a very philosophical question, “Was that true or is this true”. He was asking whether his dream was true or his current, waking state true. Nothing would satisfy the king until he could get an answer to his question.

When Sage Ashtavakra heard this, he came to king Janaka’s rescue. Ashtavakra asked Janaka, “In your dream did you experience the waking world”?

Janaka replied in the negative.

Then he asked Janaka, “In this waking world do you experience your dream world”?

Janaka again refused.

“So, if neither of the states, waking or dreaming, is consistently true, then neither of them is true. Neither this is true nor that is true, only you are true”.

1) When your mind is overpowered by any of the six internal enemies (anger, lust, greed, attachment, etc.), your Sadguru will come to your rescue

Arishadvarga (Six Enemies of the Mind)

In Hindu tradition, the arishadvargas are the six enemies of the mind. They are kama (desire or lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), ahamkar (ego, pride, hubris), moha (emotional attachment), matsarya (jealousy, envy). Everyone who has not reached moksha struggles with them. For details, please visit my previous blog, Chapter 19, Leela 2a: Variety in Upadesh -- Slanderer Condemned

The strength of their hold within us is a good indication of the degree of our spiritual progress. Each time they interfere in our lives they inevitably cause things to go wrong which, in turn, brings us suffering. Each such experience of suffering is a lesson to us that molds our spiritual self. As we go through our countless lives, these lessons accumulate, and move us closer and closer to moksha.

We are not perfect individuals yet. We have come into this world to learn and grow spiritually. That the whole reason we’re born again and again is to work through these enemies of the mind and remove them. It is important for us to be engaged in this world and use this opportunity to learn from them and bring in the required transformation to diminish them and move beyond them.

As this struggle with the arishadvargas is a natural process for all jivatmas, your Sadguru will not interfere. However, if you are in danger of having your mind overpowered and fully consumed by them, just as Dwarkamai (A dilapidated masjid in Shirdi where Sai Baba lived) was in danger of being consumed by the rising flames, He will intervene to stop the calamity from happening.

His Leela

The rising flames in the dhuni are a metaphor for these enemies which arise in our minds. Via this leela, Baba wants us to beware of these enemies. When we get overpowered by them, our minds become filled with emotional turmoil and we lose our equanimity (calmness and composure), and are at risk of acting rashly and falling off the spiritual path.

We become blind to our spiritual aspirations and forget to turn to our Sadguru for help to remove these enemies from our mind. Without this help, we waste a precious opportunity to purge the mind, which is very essential for our spiritual growth.

Being omniscient, Baba knew the flames in the dhuni were rising but pretended not to notice. As long as these enemies do not overpower us, our Sadguru ignores them and leaves it up to us to deal with them. His devotees were afraid to call His attention to the flames, just as we are hesitant to turn to our Sadguru for help, due to shame and embarrassment when we become conscious of being caught up in such thoughts.

Baba, being omniscient, knew that if nothing was done, a calamity was bound to happen, so He took control of the situation. Once these enemies within us reach an extreme where they become a serious danger, our Sadguru intervenes and helps reduce their intensity. Baba brought down the flames using an unorthodox approach, by striking His satka to the ground and requesting the flames to calm down. He wants us to understand the importance of removing them as they are obstacles in our spiritual growth.

2) Contemplate upon the transient nature of our reality and focus on the Real not the Unreal

Please see the explanation on the Real and the Unreal
in the Advaita Vedanta Concepts section above.

Symbolism behind Baba’s Dhuni and Udi

In His early days, when He first came to Shirdi, Baba treated the sick with medicinal cures that He custom-made for them and was very successful in curing them. This caused more and more patients from far and wide to seek Him out for his cures. Later, when the number of patients became too large to treat individually, Baba gave out only the udi (ash from the dhuni, the sacred fire), both for external use and to use orally. The udi was just as successful at curing the sick.

Baba wanted to continue His legacy of treating His devotees. To fulfill His legacy, He started the dhuni (sacred fire) which produced the udi which could be distributed widely to cure His devotees. It is a valuable gift for all His devotees, past, present and future, out of the deep-rooted compassion He had for each and every one of them. In His wisdom, he picked a mode of manifestation and distribution of His remedies which could easily be sustained after His nirvana. This would be difficult for any product other than udi.

For over one hundred years after Baba's Mahasamadhi, His dhuni (Sacred Fire) has been burning in Dwarkamai and continues to do so even today. There are regular reports of present-day udi, created from the dhuni now burning in Shirdi, curing the sick. removing pain and creating abundance. It is a legacy that His devotees continue to benefit from after his nirvana.

His Leela

The udi from the dhuni is a metaphor for the transient nature of our reality. Udi, being ash, is a reminder that nothing and no one exists permanently. It reminds us of the perishable nature of the body which will one day be turned to ashes. Via this leela, Baba wants us to realise that everything impermanent will turn to ash one day.

Udi is also a reminder that, in order to remember God constantly, our ego must first be destroyed or burned into ashes. It symbolizes the burning of our false identification with our bodies, liberation from the limitations of mortal life, and freedom from the cycle of birth and death, so that we can achieve moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) and realize our true nature.

Advaita Vedanta scriptures provide profound discussions on what is permanent and real. They conclude that only Brahman is permanent and real. Brahman is described as sat (existence), chit (consciousness) and ananda (bliss). Brahman is our true nature, and this is what our Sadguru is asking us to contemplate.

Putting into Practice

Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.

1) When your mind is overpowered by any of the six internal enemies (anger, lust, greed, attachment, etc.), your Sadguru will come to your rescue

How to proactively deal with arishadvargas (internal enemies)

Focus on reducing your ahamkar (ego, pride, hubris) and moha (emotional attachment), and at the same time increasing your empathy towards others to proactively deal these arishadvargas.

In my previous blog, Chapter 24, Leela 2: Anna Chinchanikar vs. Mavsibai I have discussed krodha (anger) in more detail. It is the most common internal enemy that we all have to deal with on an ongoing basis. Anger is almost always triggered due to:

a. ahamkara: as when your ego is threatened or attacked.

b. moha: as when people or worldly objects to which you have strong emotional attachment are threatened or attacked.

Some of the most basic advice in our tradition offers is that, to make spiritual progress, you must free yourself of your ahamkara and moha.

The best way to start doing this is to practice karma Yoga (performing actions with absolutely no expectation of anything in return). It is the path of dedicated service to the community or society, while renouncing the results of our actions, or making them a spiritual offering to God or your Sadguru.

This will teach you humility and increase your empathy towards others. As a result, you have a diminished ego, your attachments to worldly objects decrease, and your attachment to God increases. This practice can be started with a modest time commitment but must be practiced consistently over time.

In order to proactively build up empathy, contemplate upon the idea that every person or creature that you come across in your daily life is truly one with God. Go through a mental exercise, where you try to expand the love you have developed for your Sadguru to another person or animal. Do this repeatedly, deepening your love for this person or creature each time. Seeing God in all beings, allows us to expand our love and empathy to all beings.

What to do when arishadvargas (internal enemies) start to appear in your mind

While your Sadguru will help you if your arishadvargas become too destructive, you must learn to deal with them before they go that far.

· Become conscious of the circumstances that trigger these internal enemies and try to prepare your mind ahead of time to anticipate and avoid them.

· The best way to deal with them is to first acknowledge them. It is difficult to change something we don't know exists.

· When you notice that one of the enemies is just beginning to appear in your mind, STOP IMMEDIATELY. Remember this leela and ask Baba for forgiveness.

· If its too late to divert it and it has already formed in your mind, then offer it to your Sadguru. Doing this repeatedly will weaken its hold on you.

How will you know that you are making progress in diminishing your arishadvargas (internal enemies)

You will notice over time, with shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust) and saburi (patience), that the time it takes to catch yourself in the act will get shorter and shorter to the point where you will be able to remove these arishadvargas altogether from your life.

Cultivating this kind of awareness requires consistent practice and commitment, as we are all so used to simply reacting to things without thinking and analysing the situation.

Finally, to sum it up:

· It takes incredible power of self will, and shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust) in your Sadguru, to overcome these enemies.

· Do not delay in dealing with them anymore. RIGHT NOW, is a good time to start working on eliminating them.

· If you think that you cannot, with your own efforts, eliminate them, do not shy away from calling your Sadguru for help and He will surely help.

· Your Sadguru has amazing capabilities to help you in times of trouble, so seek His help and He will do everything possible to help. Please see my previous blog for details: Chapter 11, Leela4: Baba's Control over the Elements - Water

Meditate on the fire of Baba’s Dhuni, it will burn up your ahamkara and moha.

2) Contemplate upon the transient nature of our reality and focus on the Real not the Unreal

In order to contemplate on transient nature of our reality, look closely at the world around you and you will not find any permanence in it. Everything in this world is transient, and will inevitably change, decay, die and turn to ash over time. Your ahamkar (ego), people, places and things are all temporary. It is your emotional attachment to them that is the cause of all your pain and suffering

Does it mean that, to avoid suffering, you must not love anyone?

Emotional detachment does not mean that you must renounce love and compassion for the people around you.

If your love has expectations about what you get in return, or if you feel a possessiveness for your loved one, it is easy to see how this type of love could cause you suffering.

Instead, if your love is unconditional, with no expectations from the loved one, and no feeling of possessiveness over the loved one, then it will make you open your heart more to love others and wish for their happiness and well-being without any expectation of reciprocation. For further details, please visit my previous blog, Chapter 31, Leela4 Megha.

If we do not work to remove these emotional attachments and entanglements, we will have to experience the necessity of removing them the hard way, after experiencing endless pain that comes from attachment to people and objects. After all that suffering we will finally realize the need to turn inwards within ourselves and introspect, and begin to appreciate the real.

By working on removing these emotional attachments now, we can save ourselves a great deal of suffering. By this leela, Baba is trying to teach us this important message.

Here is a story of a king and his four wives, that brings home the message of why we must focus on the real and not the unreal:

Once upon a time there was a rich king who had four wives. He loved the fourth wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the third wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another man. He also loved his second wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate, and patient with him. Whenever the king faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times. The king’s first wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the king fell ill and knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, ‘I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I’ll be all alone.’

Thus, he asked the fourth wife, ‘I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?’

‘No way!’ replied the fourth wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad king then asked the third wife, ‘I have loved you all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?’

‘No!’ she replied. ‘Life is too good! When you die, I’ll remarry!’

His heart turned cold. He then asked the second wife, ‘I have always turned to you for help, and you’ve always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?’

‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help this time!’ replied the second wife. ‘At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.’ Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning. The king was devastated.

Then a voice called out: ‘I’ll go with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.’

The king looked up and saw his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, he said, ‘I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!’

In truth, we all have the four wives in our lives:

· Our fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

· Our third wife is our possessions, status, and wealth. When we die, these will go to others.

· Our second wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

· Our first wife is our spiritual achievements, neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and pleasure. It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go.

What we all must learn from the above story is to focus on the real, which is our spiritual goals, instead of focusing on the unreal, the material pursuits of this world. Do it NOW before it is too late!

Meditation Method to Develop Viveka (the ability to discriminate between the real and the unreal)

One direct meditative method, called self-inquiry, is to look within ourselves, such as that prescribed by Swami Ramana Maharishi. With this method it becomes clear to us what is real and what is unreal.

Contemplate on what is permanent and meditate by asking the following questions.

a. Who am I?

b. Where is this “I” in my body and mind?

c. Who is it within me that asks the question “Who am I?”

Listen to the stories with reverence; Reflect upon them deeply.
After reflection, contemplate on them. This will bring great satisfaction.

Shirdi Sai Baba

Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, Chapter 3, verse 18

Mantra:

Om, Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ
Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ
Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu
Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet
Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ

Meaning:

May all be prosperous and happy
May all be free from illness
May all see what is spiritually uplifting
May no one suffer
Om peace, peace, peace

This above mantra is from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2015/09/hinduprayerforeveryone_globalgoals/

I would encourage all of you to please share your interpretations, learnings and experiences on how you have put this leela into practice.

Om Sai Ram.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Chapter 39, Leela 1: Baba's Interpretation

Leela:

Please Note: There are different versions of this leela in the Indira Kher translation (a verse-by-verse translation of Hemadpant’s original Marathi pothi) and the Gunaji version, which is more of a summary. The Gunaji version of this leela has additional material not in the original pothi. For the purpose of these blogs, we are focusing on original leelas and teachings of Baba as captured by Hemadpant. Therefore, we will look only at the Kher version for this leela.

Once, Chandorkar, a true devotee, was sitting in the mosque, pressing Baba's feet and, at the same time, murmuring verses from the Bhagavad-Gita. As his hands pressed Baba’s feet, he busied his tongue in murmuring the fourth chapter of Shri Bhagavad-Gita. Just see the marvel of what happened then!

At verse thirty-four, his recitation came to a halt. “Nana”, Baba said, “What are you murmuring? Do say clearly what you are softly muttering! Allow me to hear what you are murmuring so indistinctly”. The moment he was thus commanded, Nana obeyed at once and recited all the four lines of the stanza.

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśhnena sevayā
upadekṣhyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśhinaḥ

Baba then asked him to explain clearly, its significance. With great humility, with folded hands, Nana very happily answered in sweet words and explained the significance of Bhagavan Shri Krishna’s intent.

tat—the Truth; viddhi—try to learn; praṇipātena—by approaching a spiritual master; paripraśhnena—by humble inquiries; sevayā—by rendering service; upadekṣhyanti—can impart; te—unto you; jñānam—knowledge; jñāninaḥ—the enlightened; tattva-darśhinaḥ—those who have realized the Truth.

B.G.IV-34

Nana was very well-versed and had done a deep, prolonged study of the commentaries on the Gita. He began to explain the significance of the verse word by word. Very courteously, with great humility and in sweet words, Nana was ready to give an exposition, after carefully arranging the words from verse into prose. He said,

‘He who prostrates in obeisance at the guru’s feet, is ready to give up his life in the guru’s service and puts a question to the guru very respectfully, to him the Jnanis will knowledge with exposition.

‘In brief, what Shri Krishna, Kindness Incarnate, said so lovingly to Arjun was this, that guru-service and guru-worship alone, are the means of attaining knowledge. O Arjuna, if you go along this way, then the Self-realized Jnanis will show you the way to knowledge. Baba, this is the significance that I understand. Shankaracharya, Anandgiri, Shankaranand, Shridhar, Madhusudan and Neelkantha – they have all described this way of Bhavan Shrikrishana’s giving instruction in their commentaries.

Sai Samarth accepted the exposition of the first two lines. But as for that of the remaining half of the verse, listen to what Sai said. The other devotees too, sat there open-mouthed, to listen, gazing on Baba’s face, like the Chakor bird gazing at the moon to savour the particles of nectar.

Baba said:

“Nana, try to understand the complete third line, once again. Add the elision mark before the word ‘Jnana’ and then see the significance. Do not think needlessly that I am saying something quite to the contrary, reducing sense to nonsense; how can earlier commentaries be all untrue? You say that the masters of knowledge who have seen the Truth, will instruct thee in that wisdom. But when you take the word ‘Ajnana’ in place of ‘Jnana’, you will get the true significance.”

As it was, Nana was already full of humility. On hearing this sweet exposition, he prostrated at Baba’s feet, making obeisance with both his hands.

Based on Shri Sai Satcharita, The Life and Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, G. R. Dhalbokar, Translated by Indira Kher (Slovenia: Bird Publisher, 2009), p334

Teachings from Leela:

BACKGROUND

What is Ajnana

Ajnana is most commonly defined as ignorance. Ignorance is defined as lack of knowledge, but it can be misleading if we think of ignorance as just lack of knowledge. Ajnana is not just lack of knowledge but lack of true knowledge. Ajnana, then, is not simply ignorance but spiritual ignorance. It is ignorance of our true self and of the true nature of reality. Ajnana is our spiritual ignorance that hides jnana (our true self) from us.

Here are some examples Ajnana which stand in the way of a seeker’s spiritual development.

1. I am a Jiva (creature), an individual, separate from all other jivas

2. I am my body. When my body dies, I die.

3. God, the world and Jiva are different.

An Ajnana Example in Detail

I am a Jiva (creature), an individual, separate from all other jivas.

Let us understand this using the following analogy:

Let’s say there are several empty pots on the ground. Each pot feels that the space within it is its own space, and it identifies itself with this space. Each pot feels that it is separate from other pots, and that the space within it is different from the space outside. When all the pots are broken, the individuality of each pot is destroyed, and they realise that there was only one space in and through each pot. The feeling of individuality was a delusion.

Similarly, when this delusion, that we are individual conscious beings separate from all other jivas, is removed, the knowledge of our true nature appears. We realize there is no distinction and separation between our individual consciousnesses, and we all share a single consciousness, the One Universal Consciousness’.

In order to achieve true spiritual knowledge, we must remove ajnana, the delusion that we are all separate beings, which hides jnana underneath, that we are actually all the One Universal Consciousness.

Maya

Maya is the power in creation, by which limitations and divisions seem to exist in the Oneness that is true reality.

Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter 5

Maya at its core is nothing but ignorance or Ajnana. In order to hide our true reality from us, Maya uses its two magical powers, the Āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling power) and the Viksepa śakti (projecting power).

The Āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling power) hides the truth about ourselves from ourselves. Due to darkness of ignorance we do not see the reality as it is.

The Viksepa śakti (projecting power) projects an illusory untruth.

The Snake and the Rope

Suppose you are walking down a narrow path and it is getting dark. Suddenly you realise that there is something ahead which is dark and coiled up. You think it is a snake and you are afraid to go near it. You are terrified due to the appearance of the snake but must go through this narrow path to get to your destination. So, you gather courage, pull out a flashlight and point it towards the imaginary snake. When the light falls on it, you realise your mistake, that it is a rope and not the snake you imagined it to be. Your fear disappears, you feel relieved and you are then able to happily walk down the path.

Now let us analyse this situation to understand the implications of this mistake.

What mistake did we make?

We received some incomplete information (a view of something dark and coiled up where there was not enough light to see clearly) and jumped to a premature conclusion. We immediately projected a snake in place of the rope, which was an illusion and not true. An Illusion is an appearance of something which is different from what it truly is. We did not realize our illusion as illusion. We did not see the reality as it was. The true existence of the rope was replaced, and the illusory snake appeared in its place. The fear of the snake took over us and we began to suffer from the fear.

Does the rope have to be there for us to make this mistake?

The existence of the rope is absolutely necessary for the illusion of the snake to occur. If there was no rope, we would not see a snake. The illusion was made possible because of the reality hidden behind it.

How can we rectify this mistake?

We must make sure that we do not jump to conclusions without sufficient information. We must realize we do not have enough light to see clearly. We must take the trouble to turn on a light, go closer and see for ourselves that it was a rope and not the snake we assumed it to be. With the proper lighting, the false illusion will immediately disappear, and the reality of the rope will be established. The rope will appear as a rope and not the snake. Our fear too will disappear as soon as we realise that it was a rope and not a snake.

The Snake and the Rope - a Vedantic perspective

This is the classic example used in Advaita Vedanta (Non-Dualistic Vedanta) to explain how we make the mistake of identifying ourselves with the body and mind based on an incomplete understanding of our personal experience. In this world of Maya, due to our ignorance of our true nature, we do not realize that our reality is One Universal Consciousness, i.e. Sat-chit-ananda or Brahman (the universal consciousness).

Maya’s Āvaraṇa-śakti (veiling power) hides the rope, or the truth about ourselves from ourselves. We do not see that we are the One Universal Consciousness.

Maya’s Viksepa śakti (projecting power) projects an illusory untruth, which is the snake. We instead believe that we are separate individuals limited to our body and mind.

The error is that we do not know the rope as the rope and we mistakenly project a snake in its place. This projected, illusory non-existent snake brings us suffering.

Since when did the One Universal Consciousness become many, separate Individuals?

If we are One Universal Consciousness, then since when did this ignorance begin? I remember asking this question to Swami Prakashanandaji (Chinmaya Mission). He replied that our ignorance of the One Universal Consciousness is anaadi (beginning-less, always existed).

The following example will illustrate this point. If you ask the question to someone who doesn’t know Sanskrit, “since when do you not know Sanskrit”? If they answer, “from birth”, you then ask, “Oh, then did you know Sanskrit before birth?” This questioning helps us understand that ignorance is beginning-less, that it always existed. However, once someone learns Sanskrit, their ignorance of Sanskrit ends. Ignorance has no beginning, but it could have an end.

In the same way we, the jivas, never knew the truth about the One Universal Consciousness. For countless births, we have carried this ignorance with us. Even though this ignorance always existed (is beginning-less), the good news is that it need not be end-less. Once we realise our true nature, our ignorance ends.

What can we do to overcome this ignorance?

When we discover the rope as the rope our ignorance disappears. We do not see ignorance and reality together. When we perceive the snake, we do not see the rope at all; and when we see the rope, we do not see the snake at all. When we see illusion, we do not see reality, but when we see reality, the illusion vanishes. Similarly, we need to remove the ajnana created by the two powers of Maya, in order to overcome this ignorance and for jnana to shine forth that was hiding behind it.

When we turn on the light, we realise our mistake and the fear of the snake disappears. There is no snake but our ignorance had created a fear of the snake. As soon as the light of knowledge shines, it dawns upon us that the rope is the rope and not the snake. We successfully remove the ajnana and jnana reveals itself, which was always hidden behind ajnana.

If we do not make the effort to carefully examine our day-to-day experience in this world, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that we are our body and mind, and we are trapped within the powers of Maya. However, when we follow a sadhana (daily spiritual practice) of bhakti, naam jaap or meditation we will be able to remove this ajnana.

One direct meditative method, called self-inquiry, is to look within ourselves, such as that prescribed by Ramana Maharishi With this method it will become clear to us that our awareness is separate from our mind and our body.

1) Sadguru helps remove Ajnana from your mind, revealing the self-luminous Jnana hidden underneath

One important ajnana which stands as a major obstacle in our spiritual path is the belief that we are the body and mind.

We are NOT the body

Even though, in our own experience, it feels to us that we and our bodies are the same, this is an ajnana that we need to remove, so that we can realise our true hidden Self. Let us take this following example to get a deeper understanding of this ajnana:

Suppose the unfortunate situation where someone loses their legs in an accident. If the person is the body, should they not become less aware or conscious after losing a major portion of their body? We know that the person experiences the same level of awareness and consciousness, so it cannot be true that we are our body.

We are NOT the mind either

As we witness the thoughts in our minds, it feels to us that we are our minds, but the fact is that we are actually the witness of the thoughts in our minds, totally detached from our minds, not the thoughts themselves.

If there was no consciousness illuminating our thoughts and giving the thoughts awareness, the thoughts would come and go without us being aware of them. It would not matter to us whether our thoughts were joyful or sorrowful, and we would be completely unaffected by them, as if we were robots. Our thoughts, by themselves, are inert (inactive). It is our consciousness, our sense of awareness, that gives life to our thoughts, and not our thoughts which give rise to our consciousness. Thus, we are not our mind.

When we observe the thoughts in our minds, we might think that it is the mind witnessing itself. This is actually true. When we observe our thoughts, we are using one part of our mind to watch over the rest of our mind – which is a kind of mindful meditation, and a great meditative practice.

While this practice does not really allow us to experience the sakshi (witness) behind our thoughts, it does allow us to experience a distance from our thoughts, allowing us to observe our thoughts without being too judgmental.

The true goal is to become aware of the sakshi within us, the sense of awareness that is in our minds, the sense that we are here, that we can sense our thoughts. This sense of awareness is not a thought in our minds. It is our individual consciousness, the witness of the thoughts in our minds. It is the witness consciousness that actually makes us aware of the thoughts in our mind.

This witness consciousness helps us understand how Sat-chit-ananda or Brahman (the universal consciousness), the universal witness consciousness witnesses everything in this Maya world.

Ignorance of our true Self leads us to suffering in this Maya world.

When we mistakenly believe “I am the body”, we believe that the lives of our loved ones end when their physical forms die. We believe that we have a short existence, of a limited number of years. A great deal of sorrow, anxiety and suffering comes from this. "I am the body" is a great delusion and is a cause of our bondage and suffering.

When we mistakenly believe “I am the mind”, we are held hostage by our thoughts. We feel joy when we have happy thoughts, and sorrow when we have sad thoughts. Unfortunately, most of us have mainly thoughts filled with sadness, anxiety, fear and doubt, and this leads to suffering.

Why is this ignorance or ajnana a problem?

According to Hinduism, a jivatma (individual self) is born again and again until its ignorance is removed, and it becomes perfected and reaches moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death). The jivatma passes through many births and deaths, entering many bodies and assuming many forms. This cycle of births and deaths continues almost endlessly, allowing it to burn off the fruit of previous karma, and exposing it to the risk of creating new, bad karmas, creating a vicious cycle of sorrow and suffering.

All we need to do to remove ajnana is to unlearn the wrong notions, and the truth that is hidden by this ajnana will reveal itself.

It is easy to learn something but most difficult to unlearn it. Nobody has to remind you that you are the body. It comes naturally to you. Nobody has to remind me that I am Laxmi. We do not have to meditate on it.

On the contrary, to unlearn this delusion, we need to meditate and constantly remind ourselves that we are not the body and not the mind. If I am not the body and mind then I must be the consciousness illuminating my thoughts, which is Sat-Chit-Anand hiding behind our delusion.

Our Sadguru helps us unlearn the false knowledge that we have learnt so far about our true nature

The discussion on Ajnana described above will help us understand the wrong notions of ajnana we have accumulated over several lifetimes. It is our Ajnana that holds us back from knowing the truth. Thus, a true Sadguru helps us remove our Ajnana. Once this Ajnana is removed with the Sadguru’s grace, we understand our true nature which Sat-Chit-Anand and we attain bliss. When Ajnana is removed, what remains is Perfect Jnana.

In my previous blog, Chapter 9, Leela 5: Baba Fed Sumptuously, Baba is teaching us how to unlearn the false knowledge we have learnt so far about our true nature. Baba said, "Eating that lovely bread I am heartily contended, and I am still belching. The dog which you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread is, one with Me, so also other creatures (cats, pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms. He, who sees Me in all these creatures is My beloved. So, abandon the sense of duality and distinction, and serve Me, as you did today." What Baba is trying to teach us is that every person or creature that you come across in your daily life is truly one with God. The consciousness you experience is only One, and all other creatures who also experience consciousness are experiencing the exact same consciousness you are. There is no difference between you and them.

2) You cannot have even a little bit of arrogance in front of your Sadguru, as your Sadguru knows everything you know and more

Baba noticed a bit of arrogance in Nana’s mind and wanted to prick his bubble. Nana was no doubt well versed in Vedanta and Gita and thought that He knew Sanskrit and the scriptures which he assumed Baba didn’t. Nana lacked humility, an important quailty for his spiritual progress.

Just because you did not see your Sadguru speak Sanskrit or perform certain tasks in front of you, do not make assumptions that He does not know it.

Baba took the opportunity to bless him at this opportune time when he was reading the appropriate verse from the Gita to prick that bubble, and that made Nana realise that in order to gain knowledge from a Sadguru we must give up our arrogance. Baba, having reached moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) Himself, became Omniscient. Do not be surprised that He knows everything that everyone knows. Therefore, He has access to all the details in the whole universe.

A person who is not humble can never attain wisdom. This is very well explained in the following example.

EXAMPLE: If a pitcher is empty and one wishes to fill it with water, it is not enough that a person goes to the river. The pitcher only needs to lean down as the river does everything else for it. The pitcher cannot get water from the river by itself. It leans down and the river fills it up with water. If the pitcher is not ready to lean down then it will float on the river, throughout the duration of its life and remain empty, without even a drop of water falling inside it.

When we fall our head at the feet of the great saints. The head represents our ego. What this gesture is saying that one's own sense of greatness that is stored in one's head is now being placed at the feet of the saints and therefore when they are complete, it is just because of this great saint. This is what humble reverence is. It is an acceptance that you are empty, and you want to be filled just like the pitcher.

Via this leela, Baba not only pointed out to Nana, but to all His devotees, to get rid of arrogance in order to seek true knowledge.

3) Your Sadguru sometimes emphasises specific teachings from the scriptures which are relevant for your spiritual progress

The Absolute Truth cannot be fully understood merely by our own contemplation. The Pañchadaśhī states, “Only through a Guru can you understand the Vedas.” (1.2) [v31]. We are clouded with ignorance from several lifetimes. We cannot remove this accumulated ignorance by our own efforts. We need the help of a self-realized Saint, who has successfully removed this ignorance in Himself and who can show us how to acquire this true knowledge.

Via this leela, Baba wanted to point out to His devotees this verse from Bhagvad Gita, which explains the process of acquiring true knowledge by first removing false knowledge to help us make spiritual progress. Let us look below the specific teachings that Baba wanted to point out to us.

What are the important learnings from chapter 4, verse 34, of the Bhagvad Gita, that Baba wants us to know?

a. Humble Reverence (see discussion in Teaching (2) above)

b. Spiritual Inquiry

Do not ask a guru questions out of idle curiosity or to measure him, but to humbly attain true knowledge. Mere questioning is not enough. The question must not be made with any improper motive or attitude or to trap the Guru and catch at mistakes in the answer, or out of idle curiosity.

Ask questions with the shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust) that you will benefit from the answers to achieve moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) or spiritual progress. The questions must be serious and with a view to achieve moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death) or spiritual progress.

c. Seva (service to your Sadguru)

Approach your Sadguru with an attitude of Seva, indicating that you value His teachings and are willing to do what little service you can in return, to acknowledge and respect them, fully realizing that your service is no match in value to the knowledge He is imparting to you.

You must not ask Him for any favours but let Him decide what He wants to give you. You must humbly accept everything as His prashad.

4) When reading the scriptures, pay close and careful attention to every detail in order to understand its true essence and significance

By asking for a word-by-word meaning of the sloka Nana was reading, Baba wanted us to realise that we must not gloss over or blindly accept what we read. We must carefully weigh each word and ask questions until we clear all our doubts and are ready to accept what is read with a clear understanding.

While reading something we must read it with full concentration and attention to detail. In order to understand the true essence and significance of what we read we must analyze, reflect and contemplate on what is read, reviewing the material repeatedly, until we understand it. Then with humility, we must explore any doubts we might have by posing questions to knowledgeable sources.

Baba asked Nana to substitute the opposite of the word Jnana, which is Ajnana, in order to get the true significance of what is being read. Via this Leela, Baba has shown us a technique we could use to understand the true essence and significance of what is read. Similarly, we must play with words, switch them around or substitute them to understand why the text has a particular choice of words, to get the true essence of what is being read.

Putting into Practice

Here are some suggestions on how we could use this leela in our daily lives.

1) Sadguru helps remove Ajnana from your mind, revealing the self-luminous Jnana hidden underneath

Via this leela, Baba is helping us to understand that we are deluded in our understanding of ourselves and our reality, and that when this delusion is removed, we will automatically understand the truth about ourselves and our reality.

One way to remove our delusion is via bhakti marg (the path of devotion). When we engage in devotional service to our Sadguru, His krupa (grace) showers over you, removing the obstacles in your spiritual progress, including delusion.

The privilege of human birth gives us the opportunity to remove ajnana (our delusions) and gain jnana (knowledge of the Absolute Truth). Act wisely in this human birth and take advantage of this opportunity to grow spiritually.

By carefully contemplating upon this leela, you can overcome your delusion and ignorance. Have complete shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust) in your Sadguru that He will help you along the way, in this long and difficult journey to moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death).

2) You cannot have even a little bit of arrogance in front of your Sadguru, as your Sadguru knows everything you know and more

The practice of humility is the only cure for arrogance.

What is Humility?

As per the Bhagvad Gita, chapter 13, verse 8, when we become proud of the attributes of our individual field, such as beauty, intellect, talent, strength, etc. we forget that God has given all these attributes to us. Pride thus results in distancing our consciousness from God. It is a big obstacle on the path of self-realization since it contaminates the entire field by affecting the qualities of the mind and intellect.

In order to receive your Sadguru’s krupa (grace) you must get rid of your abhiman (arrogance) and ahankar (ego). Approach your spiritual master with absolute humility, not with even a trace of arrogance.

Here are some examples of arrogance, and tips for you to practice to overcome this arrogance, as you contemplate upon this teaching:

i. Do you find yourself believing that you know more than your Sadguru?

Such feelings must be overcome in order to continue your spiritual progress. Your Sadguru, enlightened by achieving moksha (freedom from the cycle of birth and death), is omniscient and it is impossible for you to know more than Him.

ii. Do you consider people as objects to be used and manipulated for personal gain?

You must change this attitude and practice gratitude by showing appreciation for others. Remember, every person around you is the embodiment of Brahman (the universal consciousness), and it is important to leave your cleverness behind and treat everyone with respect, and perhaps a bit of reverence.

iii. Do you push back with excuses and justifications when someone confronts you when you do something wrong?

Practice the right way to respond to constructive criticism by asking questions to understand what you’re doing wrong and then learn from it to improve for the future.

3) Your Sadguru sometimes emphasises specific teachings from the scriptures which are relevant for your spiritual progress

Throughout the Sai Satcharitra, we have witnessed that Baba has pointed out relevant teachings to individual devotees for their spiritual progress.

He has also repeated certain universal teachings in many leelas, such as, shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust), saburi (patience), the importance of realizing that He is manifested in all creatures (dogs, pigs, etc.), and that He is always aware of His devotees’ true thoughts and intentions. Take these teachings to heart and apply them to your daily life.

Since your Sadguru is your spiritual guide, have shraddha (faith based upon knowledge and trust), in Him as He will guide you along this path and introduce you to specific teachings needed for your spiritual growth.

4) When reading the scriptures, pay close and careful attention to every detail in order to understand its true essence and significance

Do not take anything you read literally, especially on the internet. In today’s day and age, where there is massive amount of biased and distorted information available on the internet, we must use our ability to reason and question the source of what is read and not take everything at face value. We must be active learners, ask lots of questions and clarify our doubts before accepting the information, instead of being passive recipients of information.

We are what we think. In order to improve the quality of our thoughts, we must systematically pick and choose quality information. In order to choose quality information, we must first make sure that our sources of information are authentic and reliable.

Once we have done our due diligence regarding the source of the information, we must then carefully proceed to examine the information to extract the significance of what is being read.

When studying the scriptures, such as the Gita, the Upanishads, the Puranas, don’t gloss over details. Weigh each word carefully and ask yourself why this word was chosen instead of another. Is there a subtle difference in meaning between the words, and what nuance is this teaching you? This is what Baba is trying to teach us via this leela.