The nature of jnanis and vijnanis

The Jnāni reasons about the world through the process of ‘Neti, neti’, ‘Not this, not this’.

Reasoning in this way, he at last comes to a state of Bliss, and that is Brahman. What is the nature of a Jnāni? He behaves according to scriptural injunctions. “Once I was taken to Chanak and saw some sādhus there. Several of them were sewing.

(All laugh.) At the sight of us they threw aside their sewing. They sat straight, crossing their legs, and conversed with us. (All laugh.)

“But jnanis will not talk about spiritual things without being asked. They will inquire, at first, about such things as your health and your family. “But the nature of the vijnāni is different. He is unconcerned about anything. Perhaps he carries his wearing-cloth loose under his arm, like a child; or perhaps the cloth has dropped from his body altogether.

The man who knows that God exists is called a Jnāni. A Jnāni is like one who knows beyond a doubt that a log of wood contains fire. But a vijnāni is he who lights the log, cooks over the fire, and is nourished by the food. The eight fetters have fallen from the vijnāni. He may keep merely the appearance of lust, anger, and the rest.”

PUNDIT: “The knots of his heart are cut asunder; all his doubts are destroyed.”

MASTER: “Yes. Once a ship sailed into the ocean. Suddenly its iron joints, nails, and screws fell out. The ship was passing a magnetic hill, and so all its iron was loosened.

“I used to go to Krishnakishore’s house. Once, when I was there, he said to me, ‘Why do you chew betel-leaf?’ I said: ‘It is my sweet pleasure. I shall chew betel-leaf, look at my face in the mirror, and dance naked among a thousand girls.’ Krishnakishore’s wife scolded him and said: ‘What have you said to Ramakrishna? You don’t know how to talk to people.’

“In this state, passions like lust and anger are burnt up, though nothing happens to the physical body. It looks just like any other body; but the inside is all hollow and pure.”

A DEVOTEE: “Does the body remain even after the realization of God?”

MASTER: “The body survives with some so that they may work out their prarabdha karma or work for the welfare of others. By bathing in the Ganges a man gets rid of his sin and attains liberation. But if he happens to be blind, he doesn’t get rid of his blindness. Of course, he escapes future births, which would otherwise be necessary for reaping the results of his past sinful karma. His present body remains alive as long as its momentum is not exhausted; but future births are no longer possible.

The wheel moves as long as the impulse that has set it in motion lasts. Then it comes to a stop. In the case of such a person, passions like lust and anger are burnt up. Only the body remains alive to perform a few actions.”

PUNDIT: “That is called samskara.”

MASTER: “The vijnāni always sees God. That is why he is so indifferent about the world.

He sees God even with his eyes open. Sometimes he comes down to the Lila from the Nitya, and sometimes he goes up to the Nitya from the Lila.”

PUNDIT: “I don’t understand that.”

MASTER: “The Jnāni reasons about the world through the process of ‘Neti, neti’, and at last reaches the Eternal and Indivisible Satchidananda. He reasons in this manner:

‘Brahman is not the living beings; It is neither the universe nor the 24 cosmic principles.’ As a result of such reasoning he attains the Absolute. Then he realizes that it is the Absolute that has become all this-the universe, its living beings, and the twenty- four cosmic principles.

Milk sets into curd, and the curd is churned into butter. After extracting the butter one realizes that butter is not essentially different from buttermilk and buttermilk not essentially different from butter. The bark of a tree goes with the pith and the pith goes with the bark.” PUNDIT (smiling, to Bhudar): “Did you understand that? It is very difficult.” All-embracing realization of the vijnāni MASTER: “If there is butter, there must be buttermilk also. If you think of butter, you must also think of buttermilk along with it; for there cannot be any butter without buttermilk. Just so, if you accept the Nitya, you must also accept the Lila. It is the process of negation and affirmation. You realize the Nitya by negating the Lila. Then you affirm the Lila, seeing in it the manifestation of the Nitya. One attains this state after realizing Reality in both aspects: Personal and Impersonal. The Personal is the embodiment of Chit, Consciousness; and the Impersonal is the Indivisible Satchidananda. “Brahman alone has become everything. Therefore to be vijnāni this world is a ‘mansion of myrth’. But to the Jnāni it is a ‘framework of illusion’. Ramprasad described the world as a ‘framework of illusion’. Another man said to him by way of retort: This very world is a mansion of myrth; Here I can eat, here drink and make merry. O physician, you are a fool! You see only the surface of things. Janaka’s might was unsurpassed; What did he lack of the world or the Spirit? Holding to one as well as the other, He drank his milk from a brimming cup! “The vijnāni enjoys the bliss of God in a richer way. Some have heard of milk, some have seen it, and some have drunk it. The vijnāni has drunk milk, enjoyed it, and been nourished by it.” The Master remained silent a few moments and then asked Pundit Shashadhar to have a smoke. The Pundit went to the south east verandah to smoke. Soon he came back to the room and sat on the floor with the devotees. Seated on the small couch, the Master continued the conversation. MASTER (to the Pundit): “Let me tell you something. There are three kinds of Ānanda, joy: the joy of worldly enjoyment, the joy of worship, and the Joy of Brahman. The joy of worldly enjoyment is the joy of ‘woman and gold’, which people always enjoy. The joy of worship one enjoys while chanting the name and glories of God. And the Joy of Brahman is the joy of God-vision. After experiencing the joy of God-vision the rishis of olden times went beyond all rules and conventions.

Three states of God-Consciousness

Chaitanyadeva used to experience 3 spiritual states:

1. The inmost
2. The semi-conscious
3. The conscious

In the inmost state he would see God and go into samādhi. He would be in the state of jada samādhi. In the semi-conscious state he would be partially conscious of the outer world.

In the conscious state he could sing the name and glories of God.

HAZRA (to the Pundit): “So your doubts are now solved.”