Commentary on Paramahansa Nityananda's Chidakasha Gita–Number 5
by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

Chidakasha Gita 11-13

11. The up-going breath is like the wheels inside a clock. Its movement is inside. When the movement of the breath is internal, one will see the world in himself.

It is good keep in mind when reading translations from Sanskrit or Sanskrit-based languages that “breath” is a translation of “prana.” Sometimes prana means breath, sometimes it means the subtle internal energy, and at other times it means both. So we should carefully consider any text in which “prana” or “breath” occur.

A Brief Sanskrit Glossary says: “In the human body the prana is divided into five forms: 1) Prana, the prana that moves upward; 2) Apana: The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general. 3) Vyana: The prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body. 4) Samana: The prana the carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 4) Udana: The prana which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.”

In this aphorism, the fundamental prana is indicated. The five pranas, which are the “clockwork” of any living organism, are really the single Prana operating in five different ways. That is, the upward-moving prana is the “original” prana that in the body also functions in four other modes, in much the same way that Prakriti is the basic substance and the three gunas are its modifications or variations.

“Prana” can also be translated “life” as well as “breath.” In that case, Nityananda is saying that life is exclusively internal, that all external phenomena are “living” but not Life itself. This is an important point because, as in most things, the West sees things opposite to the view of the East. For example, the West thinks that matter is the source of consciousness–that consciousness (and therefore intelligence) evolves from matter, whereas the East considers that matter proceeds from consciousness, that matter is really the vibrating effect of consciousness and of buddhi (intelligence). This is a great difference in viewpoint and colors just about all their thought and behavior. In the same way, the West confuses the “signs of life” with life itself–rather like confusing art with the artist and concluding that the painting has produced the artist. Yes, it is just that dramatically absurd–a kind of intellectual psychosis.

The conclusion Bhagavan wishes us to draw is that if we really want to live in the fullest sense we will become internally oriented, internally conscious, and internally oriented–this in contrast to the West which thinks that the more frantically and variedly active we are the more we are “living”–when really all we are doing is hallucinating. Psychosis, again. Yoga and Dharma comprise the spiritual and material psychotherapy that all human beings desperately need. One of the reasons so little comes of people’s becoming yogis is their assumption that their life is fundamentally sound and all right, that yoga will be the oil that stops their life-wheels from squeaking so they can be peaceful and “happy.” The real truth is that human beings are insane–actually, not just potentially–and need profound correction and reorientation of intellect and consciousness. But as Yogananda pointed out, people of similar craziness get together and declare themselves normal–it is those unlike them that are crazy.

However, the foregoing must not be taken in a mistaken way. Yes, we are “crazy” in the superficial levels of our being, but in our true Self we are always perfect–and it is the discovery/recovery of our Self that is the answer to our dilemma. AND WE ARE THE ONES THAT SHOULD AND CAN DO IT. This is a very important fact, in contrast to the disempowering cult-mentality of “you are a sinner,” “you are unworthy,” “you do not know what is right or good for you.” No: THOU ART THAT. And you can yourself reclaim your eternal heritage. No one either should or can do it for you, and that includes God, who set up the cosmos so you could evolve within it motivated by your own Self-power. Yoga is a supreme help, but it is your divine will that will effect the spiritual alchemy. So when I say we are crazy it is neither an accusation nor a lament. It is a calm diagnosis–calm because I know that we are only momentarily in trouble, and that we can without doubt awaken into Truth–the Truth that is Us.

Part of our self-correction and self-healing is the internalization of our awareness, the living within the various levels of our being as their possessor and controller. When this is done–and even when going through the process–we begin to perceive the inner world and live more and more therein. Does that mean we withdraw from the outer world and disengage ourselves from it? Not at all. For we come to see the the outer is a projection of the inner, that the better we live inwardly the better we live outwardly. As Sri Ramakrishna said: “If you can weight salt you can weigh sugar.” And we certainly can.

12. Just as we see the sky reflected in the water in an earthen pot, so also, to the internal vision, the sky of consciousness becomes visible.

This is a continuation of the subject of aphorism eleven. Nityananda says that when we become aware of the internal movements of prana, the inner world is seen. He is not speaking of wandering through all kinds of astral/psychic experiences and gaining “powers” of various kinds, but attaining the perception of Infinity. So he says that as the boundless sky can be reflected in an earthen pot of water, in the same way through our inner vision we can come to see and merge into the Chidakasha, the Sky of Consciousness which is Brahman Itself, and we ourselves. All boundaries are dissolved and Pure Being becomes our Abode, Becomes Ourself.

13. If food is prepared in a gold vessel, the dog eats it. If it is prepared in an earthen vessel, then also the dog eats it.

Paramhansa Nityananda is teaching us that often animals have more sense than human beings. In this case, a dog (which in India means a wild animal akin to a jackal–not what we know as a dog) is interested in food, and pays no attention at all to what contains it. It is hungry, so it eats. The result is the same whether the dish was gold or earthen. (In India “earthen” usually means a mud vessel simply dried in the sun, not a baked kind as we know.)

The idea is that we should be intent on what a thing is–not how it is packaged or presented. For example, if a brilliantly educated person speaks nonsense we should respond accordingly and not assume that a university degree means anything if a person is wrongheaded or a fool. (Think of some of your university professors!) At the same time an uneducated person, speaking in an unsophisticated and halting manner may be expressing profound wisdom. In the same way religious leaders often utter complete and blasphemous error while simple laity can speak great good spiritual sense.

We must not be influenced by the snobbery of “civilization,” but perceive with the eye of intuition what is the value and true nature of a thing or person. I have seen glitter gurus in India who had a great following because they “looked like a sage” and had lots of rich and powerful disciples. On the other hand, one of the most remarkable yogis I knew was a small, unassuming and rather comic-looking man who walked unsteadily because his was born with deformed feet and had deformed hands, as well. As a consequence he had less than a dozen disciples, in contrast to the hundreds and thousands that flocked to the popular teachers. Yet my dear friend possessed all the yoga powers (which he rarely used), daily entered into profound samadhi, and was very beloved to some of India’s greatest (and genuine) yogis. He lived in a tiny room, had two changes of clothes, meditated all night rather than slept, and tirelessly worked for the free education of the poor villagers of India. Yet who wanted to hear what he had to say? If he could have increased his height, corrected his hands and feet, grown luxuriant hair on head and face and developed shiny, glowing eyes, and “walked like an elephant” and gave polished but empty talks he would have had a large following. (In India the people know more about spirituality than those in the West, but they do not have much more sense.)

As long as he was robust in health, had a resonant voice, and gave lectures, my beloved Swami Sivananda drew big crowds to his ashram. But when I knew him he was failing in health and gave no talks at all, but in the satsangs asked riddles, told jokes, and in general had great fun. How we loved it! And him. He was giving away Divine Awakening with both hands as though he were God walking (with assistance) among us. But most people said he had gone senile, and in all that huge ashram we only had about twenty people at the morning satsang and forty in the evening satsang. How blessed we were. Those times with him are the most precious of my life. Yes, we laughed and enjoyed ourselves, but in each satsang there were moments of profound spiritual awareness. It often seemed to me that we could not be on earth. Other times I felt that time had reversed and we were sitting with one of the primal sages of India, whose very sight purified the heart. And yet the sophisticated and “wise” stayed away. They had no time to waste with such undignified and superficial goings-on. What they missed! But we did not, for which I will be forever grateful.

One of the greatest yogis I met was a woman wandering around rural Bengal pretending to be insane. Everyone was laughing at her, but she let me know her real character and blessed me greatly. A friend of mine, part of the UN Mission to India once asked a knowledgeable Indian man who was the greatest saint in Benares. He smiled and said: “The greatest saint in Benares is a dirty ‘beggar’ that sits all day opposite the main post office and seems to be crazy. But if you go there, don’t go near him with the intention of speaking to him or getting his blessing. For if you do, he will shout at you and run away!”

The essential message of this aphorism is that we should decide what we are after and care nothing about externals–and especially care nothing about what “the public” values. Our sole question as sadhakas should be: “does this take me to God?” and that should be the sole test.