Qualified Advaita
Table of Contents
MASTER: “Brahman is qualified by the universe and its living beings. At the beginning, while following the method of ‘Not this, not this’, one has to eliminate the universe and its living beings. But as long as ‘I-consciousness’ remains, one cannot but feel that it is God Himself who has become everything. He alone has become the twenty-four cosmic principles.
“When a man speaks of the essential part of the bel-fruit, he means its flesh only, and not the seeds and shell. But if he wants to speak of the total weight of the fruit, it will not do for him to weigh only the flesh. He must accept the whole thing: seeds and shell and flesh. Seeds and shell and flesh belong to one and the same fruit.
Synthesis of Sankara and Ramanuja
The Nitya and the Lila belong to the same Reality. Therefore I accept everything, the Relative as well as the Absolute. I don’t explain away the world as māyā. Were I to do that I should get short weight.”
MAHIMACHARAN: “It is a good synthesis: from the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute.”
MASTER: ‘The jnanis regard everything as illusory, like a dream; but the bhaktas accept all the states. The milk flows only in dribblets from the Jnāni. (All laugh.) There are some cows that pick and choose their fodder; hence their milk flows only in dribblets. But cows that don’t discriminate so much, and eat whatever they get, give milk in torrents. A superior devotee of God accepts both the Absolute and the Relative; therefore he is able to enjoy the Divine even when his mind comes down from the Absolute. Such a devotee is like the cows that give milk in torrents.” (All laugh.) MAHIMA: “But the milk of a cow that eats without discrimination smells a little.”
(Laughter.)
MASTER (with a smile): “That’s true, no doubt: Therefore that milk should be boiled. One should boil such milk over the fire a little while; there will be no smell whatever if you boil the milk over the fire of Knowledge. (All laugh.)
Explanation of “Aum”
(To Mahima) “You explain ‘Aum’ with reference to ‘a’, ‘u’, and ’m’ only.”
AHIMA: “‘A’, ‘u’, and ’m’ mean creation, preservation, and destruction.”
MASTER: “But I give the illustration of the sound of a gong: ’tom’, t-o-m. It is the merging of the Lila in the Nitya: the gross, the subtle, and the causal merge in the Great Cause; waking, dream, and deep sleep merge in Turiya. The striking of the gong is like the falling of a heavy weight into a big ocean. Waves begin to rise: the Relative rises from the Absolute; the causal, subtle, and gross bodies appear out of the Great Cause; from Turiya emerge the states of deep sleep, dream, and waking. These waves arising from the Great Ocean merge again in the Great Ocean. From the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute. Therefore I give the illustration of the gong’s sound, ’tom’. I have clearly perceived all these things. It has been revealed to me that there exists an Ocean of Consciousness without limit. From It come all things of the relative plane, and in It they merge again. Millions of Brahmandas rise in that Chidakasa and merge in It again. All this has been revealed to me; I don’t know, much about what your books say.”
MAHlMA: “Those to whom such things were revealed did not write the scriptures. They were rapt in their own experiences; when would they write? One needs a somewhat calculating mind to write. Others learnt these things from the seers and wrote the books.”
MASTER: “Worldly people ask why one does not get rid of attachment to ‘woman and gold’. That attachment disappears after the realization of God. If a man once tastes the Bliss of Brahman, then his mind no longer runs after the enjoyment of sense pleasures or wealth or name and fame. If the moth once sees the light, it no longer goes into the darkness.
“Some friends said to Ravana: You have been assuming different forms for Sita. Why don’t you go to her in the form of Rāma?’ Ravana replied: ‘When I contemplate Rāma, even the position of Brahma appears insignificant to me, not to speak of the company of another man’s wife! How could I take the form of Rāma for such a purpose?’
“All worship and spiritual discipline are directed to one end alone, namely, to get rid of worldly attachment. The more you meditate on God, the less you will be attached to the trifling things of the world. The more you love the Lotus Feet of God, the less you will crave the things of the world or pay heed to creature comforts. You will look on another man’s wife as your mother and regard your own wife as your companion in spiritual life. You will get rid of your bestial desires and acquire godly qualities. You will be totally unattached to the world. Though you may still have to live in the world, you will live as a jivamnukta. The disciples of Sri Chaitanya lived as householders in a spirit of detachment. “You may quote thousands of arguments from Vedānta philosophy to a true lover of God, and try to explain the world as a dream, but you cannot shake his devotion to God. In spite of all your efforts he will come back to his devotion.
“A man born with an element of Śiva becomes a Jnāni; his mind is always inclined to the feeling that the world is unreal and Brahman alone is real. But when a man is born with an element of Vishnu he. develops ecstatic love of God. That love can never be destroyed. It may wane a little now and then, when he indulges in philosophical reasoning, but it ultimately returns to him increased a thousandfold.” After the devotees had left the Master, Mahimacharan brought Hazra to the room. M. was present. Mahima said to Sri Ramakrishna: “Sir, I have a complaint against you. Why have you asked Hazra to go home? He has no desire to return to his family.” Duty to one’s mother
MASTER: “His mother has told Ramlal how much she is suffering on account of his being away from home; so I have asked Hazra to go home, at least for three days, and see her. Can anyone succeed in spiritual discipline if it causes suffering for, his mother? While visiting Vrindāvan, I had almost made up my mind to live there. But, when I remembered my mother, I said to myself, ‘My mother will weep if I stay away from her.’ So I returned here with Mathur Babu. Besides, why should a Jnāni like Hazra be afraid of going back to the world?”
Sir, that would be a pertinent question if Hazra were a Jnāni.
Oh, Hazra has attained everything. He has just a little attachment to the world because of his children and a small debt. As people say, my aunt is now in perfect health, only she is slightly ill!
Where, sir, is Hazra’s knowledge?
Oh, you don’t know! Everybody says Hazra is quite a man. Everybody knows that he lives in the Dakshineswar temple garden. People talk of nothing but Hazra. Who would bother to mention my name?
You, sir, are incomparable. You have no peer in the world. Therefore nobody understands you.
There you are! To be sure, no one can have dealings with the incomparable. So why should people mention me at all?
What does he know, sir? He will do your bidding.
That is not so. You had better ask him about it. He said to me, ‘You and I are on even terms.’
He argues a great deal.
Now and then he teaches me a lesson.
Sometimes I scold him when he argues too much. Later, when I am lying in bed inside the mosquito curtain, I feel unhappy at the idea of having offended him. So I leave the bed, go to Hazra, and salute him. Then I feel peace of mind.
(To Hazra) “Why do you address the Pure Ātman as ‘Isvara’? The Pure Ātman is inactive and is the Witness of the three states. When I think of the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, then I call the Pure Ātman ‘Isvara’. What is the Pure Ātman like? It is like a magnet lying at a great distance from a needle. The needle moves, but the magnet lies motionless, inactive.”