The Chidakasha Gita: Teachings of Paramahansa Nityananda – Part 1

Editor’s introduction

In the early 1920’s random sayings of Sri Paramhansa Nityanandaji were written down by devotees and eventually compiled under the name of Chidakasha Gita. Those sayings were often fragmentary and a hodge-podge of subjects. I have attempted to separate them under subject headings. This has not been easy, and sometimes I have had to omit some altogether as being incomprehensible in the form they were set down. This of course is a defect of the transcribers and not of Nityananda who was speaking spontaneously in spirit consciousness without interest in polished expression. May he approve and bless my efforts.

Swami Nirmalananda Giri

Ananda

God is in bliss. In God is bliss. That is the nectar of wisdom. In that nectar is joy. When we approach that nectar, we experience joy.

The essence of every creature is eternal joy. Acquire eternal joy. What is eternal ananda is eternal mukti. The mental seats (posture) are the thrones of kings. The eternal seat is the eternal joy. When Sat and Chit are united. The same is Paramananda. The same is called Chaitanyananda.

Atma

The coconut kernel, detached from the shell, makes a dull sound when shaken. So also the soul and body must be thought of as separate. The first is light. By that light all vices are consumed.

We drink the juice of the sugar cane and throw away the refuse. Similarly, this body is a house for the atman. When it is spoiled, we build a new one.

It is the nest that perishes; not the bird. The nest is built of earth. The blood vessels and nerves are earth; in the blood vessels are the blood and semen; this body made of flesh is subject to death; if it is not washed for a single day, it stinks; we cannot trust the human body.

It is not the body that exists nor disappears. He is the One who is the supreme doer.

The body is the cave. In this cave dwells the atman. Atman, dwelling in the body, must attain moksha (liberation). The outward bodily parts are various; in the invisible (subtle) all is one, indivisible.

What the nest is to the bird, is the body to the soul. The body is the house of the soul. What is “that house” and what is “this house” is subtle discrimination. The gross body is the beggarly house. What to say of Brahmananda! No one can describe it.

From the cause is the effect. Whence is the cause? The cause and the effect are from the atman. Cause and effect must be the slaves of oneself. Both these are from the atman. This atman absorbs the cause and the effect and becomes one. The maya which the atman creates is annihilated by atman.

Just as all rivers enter the ocean, both the good and the evil enter the atman. Both are sacrificed to the atman. Both the good and the evil are from the atman. They enter in that from which they came. Mind is the cause of good and evil acts. Mind is atman’s power (instrument). No one can increase or diminish it (the soul force). What will happen will happen. It will happen only in one way according to the eternal law.

Why do you hold an umbrella? To prevent the rain from falling on you. Rain is maya. Truth is the umbrella. Chitta (firm mind) is the handle (of the umbrella). In everything there is truth. But there are very few men who have realized that truth. Maya is from the atman. But the atman is not from maya. The prime minister is of the king. The prime minister is not the king. Mind is not atman. Mind is the reflection of the atman. Mind is two ranks below atman. Mind is subject to destruction; atman is indestructible. Mind is deluded by the various objects to the senses. Atman is not subject to the delusion caused by the threefold qualities, the trigunas. Mind is subject to the threefold qualities. When we say that mind is a fragment of the atman, we mean the mind is to the atman what the river is to the ocean. Atman is the ocean; its water is measureless and endless. Similarly, atman has neither a beginning nor an ending. Atman has not come from anywhere nor does he go anywhere. Atman is everywhere. There is nothing existing but atman. Anterior to you and posterior to you is all creation, which fact is unknown to you.

Atma is beyond all karmas and formality. Karma is that which is done without attachment. A man is free from sin if he performs karmas disinterestedly. Karma is that which is done by the knowledge of atma who is actionless and passionless.

Atma is not perceptible to the senses. It is perceived by intelligence (buddhi). It is not perceptible as a thing with form and qualities. To those whose attention is fixed on the body, it is very difficult to attain peace. It is also very difficult for them to see the atma. The attention towards the visible should be lessened. The love towards the invisible should be increased. So long as the attention is directed towards the visible, pain and pleasure may appear to be dual. But when the attention is directed towards the invisible, the sense of duality will disappear.

O mind! Enter the house of ananda! When the whole area is flooded, we cannot distinguish the wells and tanks in that area. Because there is darkness, we must infer there is light. When you taste sweet things, remember there are pungent things to be swallowed. What is the state of the jiva when the jiva has realized that the atman is not the body? Such souls have attained their pristine condition. “I” and “mine” are not visible to the physical eyes. “I” and “mine” are not to be found above the tip of the nose. That which is above these, has neither beginning nor ending. A visible object has a beginning and an ending. Since atma is invisible to the physical eye, atma is without beginning and ending. It is impossible to lessen the power of atman because atman is always constant. Just as space is homogeneous everywhere, so is the atman the same everywhere. The head of man is the abode of the light, of millions of suns. Which is bigger, the eye or the sun? If the eye is damaged, is it possible to see the sun? So the eye is more important.

The fruit is according to the internal faith of a man. Good and evil are not of the atman. Atman, like the reflection of an object, takes that form which the mind wants him to take. The jiva is like a bird in a cage; when the nest is damaged, the bird is not effected. The bird flies away. The bird may build a new nest and enter it in six months, in a year, or in five minutes. That depends on the bird’s efforts. From this place to the railway station, you can go in twenty-four minutes or in a month.

When the mind is unwavering in all the external and internal causes and effects, then the one sees the atman. When the idea of jnana and vijnana is absent, then one sees the atman. When one knows but he is not aware that he knows, then one sees the atman. Men who have realized the atman are like blind men; are like deaf men although they hear; they do but they are unaware of what they do. When the senses are acting, they are disunited with them. So their action is inaction to them. In them, the idea of creation is less; the idea of nullity is more. Since their power of forgetfulness is great, their actions are inactions. Their attention is concentrated not on the coconut shell but on the kernel (on atman, not on the body). They are beyond both sin and merit. They are like a boat in water. Just as water and boat are quite distinct, they feel the gross and the subtle to be separate. They are indifferent to bodily functions but concentrated in jnana. They drink the juice of the sugarcane and throw away the outer skin. When the sugar is manufactured, it does not become the cane again. When by practice one has realized that he is atman, the idea that he is the body never returns. Like an old vessel after the necessary repairs, shining with the lustre of the new, buddhi, when the vasanas are annihilated, can be transformed into the pure sattwa quality. Then we will have contentment.

When ice is placed in water, both become one. Similarly, man who has realized the atman merges in the atman. Just as the rivers enter the sea, all vasanas are merged in atman. Atman is not a thing. Karma is a thing.

Avadhuta

An avadhuta is the greatest of men. Yogis and sannyasis want some siddhi, i.e., power acquired through yoga or tapas. An avadhuta does not want anything.

An avadhuta has conquered death and birth. He has no consciousness of the body, an avadhuta has gone beyond all gunas (qualities). He is the knower of the Omniscient Light. He has no consciousness of the “I.” Such is a Raja Yogi, not a Hatha Yogi. When he comes to a village he feels glad, whomsoever he may see. He has no consciousness of duality though he moves here and there. He has no hunger. He eats plentifully if he gets plenty of eatables. If he does not get, he will not ask anybody. Those who give to him poison and those who give to him milk are the same to him. Those who beat him and those who love him are the same to him. To an avadhuta, the universe is the father, the mother, and the relation. He becomes the universe and the universe becomes him. The universe is merged in him.

He who is desireless is an acharya (teacher). A desireless man is a sannyasi. He is an avadhuta in this world, who has abandoned desire. Avadhuta is a man of the first class; he is the most supreme of men. There is no state higher than that of avadhuta. Avadhuta is he who is above all. He to whom this world and the next have become one is an avadhuta. Consciousness sky; real sky; emancipation from bondage; the bliss of self government; the bliss of Brahma; real bliss; yoga bliss; fulfillment of human birth; lordship of mukti; power to teach emperors; these are the “possessions” of an avadhuta.

Bhakti

It is not bhakti to give a man some money or to give him a meal as charity. Bhakti is universal love. Seeing God in all beings, without the least idea of duality, is bhakti.

Bhakti in the beginning is selfish. Afterwards, there is no selfishness in it.

A vessel without water is of no use. Bhakti is water; intelligence (buddhi) is the vessel. He who has no subtle bhakti is no man.

Take ten men; their bhakti is not of an identical nature. When ten people are going on a journey, if one of them sits to take rest, the remaining nine will also do the same. Likewise, one man is inspired with bhakti; other people, by seeing or hearing him become also bhaktas.

Bhakti is the state of eternal bliss.

Bhakti (devotion) is nothing but love a man manifests towards an object. A man should believe that thing as great by which, because of his faith, he has been much benefited. This belief should not be relaxed. There is not a single thing without bhakti. All animals have bhakti. Just as water flows in different directions, so also is bhakti of different types. All animals have a right for bhakti. Bhakti is in all objects. Bhakti should be absolutely pure. Bhakti should be realized in the sky of consciousness. Bhakti should be internal and it should realize the subtle. Then a man becomes desireless and sorrowless. This state is eternal mukti. Let mukti be entered into by the path of sushumna.

Desireless bhakti is not for the enjoyment of worldly happiness. This bhakti is not related to nature. This bhakti is not for getting rid of any difficulties. There is no relation whatsoever between this bhakti and difficulty. No one should shrink back from the path of this bhakti; he should proceed on the path of this bhakti. Just as a big lizard embraces the wall very firmly and never leaves it, so also, desireless bhakti should firmly embrace the heart lotus with steadfast faith.

Bhakti by the path of skill (yukti) should be one with shakti. By such a bhakti let the heart be purified of all its upadhis; let such a bhakti become absolutely free from desire; let this desirelessness become the strongest; let the senses become quiet. (The giver of peace, i.e., the Lord of the Universe, is the Omkar, i.e., all existence). Let his bhakti become unwavering in that Giver of Peace. This is real bhakti. This is eternal peace. This is the atman–luminous. This is what is called Sat.

This bhakti is beyond both this world and the next. This is nothing but the mind filled with eternal ananda.

The highest of all arts is the Brahma Vidya (art by which God is realized). Such an art cannot be bought for money. It is not obtained by honor or dishonor. It is not obtained by outer fame. It is acquired only by unwavering devotion (bhakti). Without bhakti, there is no liberation from bondage. Mukti is attained by a man only by the subtle bhakti.

Brahman

From a plank are manufactured tables, chairs, etc., etc. So also, Brahman is the primordial tattwa (substance) from which numberless worlds are formed.

To say “I am Brahma” is not just. “Thou (O God!) art all; all art Thou,” we must say.

All is He, pervading everything. He is the One, pervading all creatures; qualitiless; the one Omkar; One, Whose form is everlasting peace; blesser of those who have faith in Him. The same being punishes those who ridicule His devotees. He makes the death of His devotees easy. O Shiva! Do not lead me towards hell but lead me towards You. The giver is Shiva.

He is the Omkar, Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara, the origin of Parabrahman. Vishnu is the mental modifications (vrittis). What is Shiva is the decoration of the body. Brahmeshwara is leaving aside of the body idea, like the kernel of a dry coconut which is separated from the outer covering.

He is without form. He is without change. He is above discrimination. He is bliss absolute.

When a man has learnt to write on paper he need not practice writing on sand spread on the ground. Similarly, when a man has attained Brahman which is qualitiless, he does not descend to Brahman with qualities. When the milk has been changed into buttermilk can it be again converted into milk?

Breath (Prana)

Just as we draw water from a well, we should draw breath. When we breathe out, it should be like letting down the bucket into the well. When we breathe out, it is the carbon [the impurities of the body] that are expelled. When we breathe in, it is the breath of Omkar. Breath of Omkar is the manas.

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.

If a building has no doors, we cannot call it a house. Without fire, we cannot heat water. Without air, fire cannot burn. Without food and sleep, a man can live for a few days but without air (breathing), a man cannot live even for a few seconds.

Without the control of breath (pranayama), a man cannot be a yogi; nor is he a sannyasi. Without a rudder, it is impossible to steer a boat or ship.

It is the breath that man brings here at birth and it is the breath that man takes with him when he leaves this world.

In pranayama, puraka is drawing up the breath. Kumbhaka is retaining the breath. Rechaka is exhaling the breath. These three kinds of breath are from within. Nothing is taken from outside. While thus the practice is going on, the prana will move only in one nadi. We then feel the internal joy. Who can describe this Brahmananda? The outside world will then be forgotten. We will then be in the world beyond.

Harmonizing the prana and apana, enjoy the eternal bliss. The seat of breath is the truth. It is the internal space (chidakasha). In the eternal space is the tower of eternal bliss. This tower is the seat of eternal peace. In the “unconscious sleep,” enjoy the “conscious sleep” of bliss. This is not the sleep of beasts. Sleep the “sleep of man.” Enjoy that sleep which must be the aim and end of man. Sleep the sleep of the “spiritual eye” (upanayana). When talking, when sitting, without any desires, without any thoughts, sleep this spiritual sleep. Fixing your attention on breath, sleep. Perform the natural “japa” of the inward and the outward breath. Have mental (subtle) bhakti; yes, have it. Attain liberation from bondage. Have constant bhakti; never interrupted. Breathe up and down without any restraint. Drawing the breath upwards is puraka; stopping the breath is kumbhaka. Kumbhaka is your “real seat.”

Breathing out is rechaka. While breathing in, it should be like drawing water from a well. Draw the breath up to the brahmarandhra in the brain. By such a breathing, kindle the fire of jnana. Purify the nadis. Burn the three humors (vatha, pitha and kapha) in this fire. What is called discrimination is such a fire: it is the yoga-fire; it is the food-digesting fire in the stomach. The discrimination is the solar light. God pervades the universe in the form of subtle energy. Creation is caused by the doubts of the mind. Creation is purely a mental affection. When you have attained same-sightedness, there will be no creation.

The subtle state is common to both mobile and immobile beings. The difference is in the casual (prakriti). Difference is delusion. Difference is in the body. Bodies are transient. Prakriti is evanescent. When you realize the subtle in the gross, that state is called moksha. Mukti is the indivisible. Mukti is in the heart-space. In the heart-space is Shiva-Linga. It is self-existence. This is also called the prince-prana. This is the “upward breath.” This is known in yoga as prana. Prana is the ONE. Prana is the ONE in all. Prana is existence. This is known only to those who have practiced yoga. Those who have not practiced yoga are not aware of this fact; they being bound by desires. So, cut asunder the bondage of desires and hence attain salvation. Realize the one Tattwa, i.e., Paramatman. Realize Him by the internal eye.

Without a rope, water from a well cannot be drawn up. In the body, breath is the rope. Drawing the inward breath harmoniously is like drawing up the water from a well.

In order to make planks of a wooden beam, it should be sawed up and down. Similarly, breath should move upwards and downwards in the body. It should be led into buddhi and made always to move in an upward direction. To take a stone uphill, requires great effort but to bring it down by the same route is not difficult. So also, going up is difficult but coming down is easy. It is difficult for the prana to leave the body. To receive a thing is easy but to return it is difficult. Those men who do not return what they have received are not worthy of the name of “men.” The are merely animals; they have no virtue.

(It is impossible to describe the pangs of death). Jnana is attained by subtle thinking. So breath should be controlled. The mind should be merged in the sound.

Those who do not breathe through the nose, have no desires of any sort. Their breath is purely internal. They concentrate their breath in the brahmarandhra where the ida and the pingala meet. They have realized the Paramatman; they look upon all things as self. This is swarajya (self-government). What is swarajya is jiva’s true place. The light of life is prana vayu. Prana vayu is the capitol of swarajya government. Atman is the lord of the swarajya government. Swarajya is one’s own energy. This energy must be kept under perfect control. What is swarajya is not a hill; it is not gold. Keeping under control both desire and anger is swarajya. A man must say what he does and do what he says.

If you hold nose and mouth tight, you are not able to talk. Similarly, a thing that does not breathe does not emit sound. Just as water goes on diminishing in a well in summer, so also, the power of breath goes on diminishing in the body. When the water is moving, the air moves along with it. You can live without food or without drinking coffee for five days. But you cannot live for five minutes without breathing.

The highest of all powers is the power of Maya. A dead body and so also a stone are unable to talk. Likewise, if air does not act, fire cannot burn; i.e., if breathing is not regular, the fire of digestion will be impaired. When the digestive fire does not act properly, the phlegm in the lungs becomes hard. Fat increases in the body. The food that is eaten remains in the stomach undigested. If there is any obstruction in the pump, water will not flow out properly. Similarly, if the breathing becomes difficult, fever, thickening of the mucus, are caused. By this, all diseases are caused.

Those who do not practice pranayama have no yoga. It is impossible to draw water from a well without a rope.

Puraka is drawing the breath up. Kumbhaka is retaining the breath. Rechaka is the exhaling of breath slowly from within. Many sorts of cakes are prepared from the same rice. So also, by breath everything is accomplished. The functions are different. What is called pranayama is all internal working. The same is Shivashakti in man. When this shakti is guided to brahmarandhra, it is communion with Godhead.

Samadhi means controlling one’s energy. Samadhi is the upward breath. The upward breath is what is called the Taraka Brahman. When the upward breath has become perfect, the whole world is within you. This upward breath is the same in all creatures. A Raja Yogi is one who has realized the one, indivisible. He is one with God when he is talking or sitting or walking. Raja Yoga is like sitting in an upper story and looking around below. Raja Yoga is so called because it is the king of all yogas. When our intellect becomes one with God, the same is known as Raja Yoga. It is all peace; it is formless, qualitiless. Bliss has no characteristics whatsoever. This is known as jivanmukti.

Just as there are the gutters on both sides of the road for the water to flow freely, so also you must allow the breath to take an upward course freely. It requires great effort to carry a stone upwards. But without the least effort on our part it suddenly comes down. Similarly is concentration. It is easy to take birth; but it is very difficult to leave this body.

We must discover the source of a river. After it joins the sea, there is no use in seeing the river. To a tree, its mother root is the most important; all other roots are subsidiary. When we raise a chair, our breath goes upwards. That is the seat of prana. When we are cooking, flames of fire have an upward course; so also the smoke takes an upward course. In the lighted chimney the course of the heated air is upwards. Similarly, in the heart-space the course of breath is upwards. Our joy is caused by the motion of the air (vayu). Without this air motion there is no blood circulation. When a water canal is dammed the motion of water has come to an end. So also in this body, such a dam is vatha, pitha, and kapha (the three humors or tridoshas).

Those who do not concentrate on breath have no aim, no state, no intelligence and no fulfillment. So concentrate and think. Concentrate on the indrawing and outgoing breath. Draw the breath in properly. Breathe, concentrating on the sound the breath produces. Concentrate on the sound which is produced internally. Have faith in the internal sound and breathe. Breathe in.

Breathe deeper and deeper. Breathe in so that the internal sound may be audible to the ears. Do not think of anything else. Eating and drinking, coming and standing and eating, these do not elevate the soul. Cook for yourself; do not desire to eat what others have cooked. O mind! Do what you do with faith.

Prana is like a rope. When exhaling and inhaling it moves harmoniously. Prana is indivisible, it has no difference of time. Prana feels this difference when it is coupled with the gross.

Prana should be tied down by the rope of faith. Let prana attain moksha by its upward direction. Liberation from the sensual ties is moksha. Then comes peace. O prana! Enter the abode of peace. Have under control both this world and the next! Such souls will attain Satchitananda. They have no attachment to the results of karma. They are eternally liberated from bondage. They are eternally one-minded. They have conquered the qualities of the jiva.

Just as small rivers enter the sea, our attention must be fixed on the internal breath.

Desirelessness

If you perform tapas for thousands of years with the desire for results, it is of no avail. But if you perform tapas for one ghatika without any desire for fruits, you will see all in God and God in all.

A man becomes “desireless” when he sees a dead body burning. This desirelessness is temporary. This is the secret of the body. Desirelessness imparted by a guru should not be abandoned. From desirelessness a man obtains liberation from bondage. This desirelessness is the best; guru is secondary.

The desire that a man be initiated is of the third class. Getting a guru is of the second class. By practice; getting experience for oneself is the real desirelessness which is the goal of human life. When one practices and imparts his knowledge to another, it is Yogananda Desirelessness. It is the imperishable and the indivisible state. It is the tree of peace. The climbing of the tree of peace which is in the head and being one with that peace tree is the real imperishable desirelessness. The cutting of the primary root of passion and anger is the imperishable desirelessness. Being in samsara, enjoying a little of its pleasures and then renouncing it is the second desirelessness. Desirelessness is liberation from bondage in this very life.

Those who have no faith have no desirelessness. Similarly, those who have annihilated the manas, have no vasanas. So also, those who have no faith do not reap any fruit. We buy a diamond for five or six thousand rupees; this is all rental delusion. If we have no mind to buy a diamond, its value is nothing more than that of a lump of earth.

He is a Brahmin who has performed the upanayana ceremony. Establish what is called “upadhi” in you. Being desireless, look inwards in your heart. See with the eye of desirelessness. Discard distinctions. Burn to ashes the idea of “you” and “I.” Yes, you burn it to ashes.

One who has destroyed desire, root and branch, is the teacher of all.

He who meditates on God and who is desireless, is the saviour of the world. He who meditates on God is a muni (sage). He is Shiva and Shiva is he. All that is visible is Shiva.

Men who have no desire need not have a separate God. They need not strive for anything. When the mind runs after various objects of the senses, to bring the mind to one-pointedness, what is called “practice” is necessary. Man should concentrate on buddhi as long as there is the beating of the pulse in man, and as many times as the pulse beats. The manas should not be united with the senses. Whatever you may do, your mind should be concentrated inwards upon buddhi. In order that a man may not be drowned in water he must learn how to swim. Maya should be conquered by the Supreme Maya. What is Maya? When the manas runs after sense objects, variety of desires are created. It is you that cling to the coconut tree; the coconut tree does not cling to you. Similarly, has Maya hands and legs to catch hold of you?

That yoga by which a man becomes free from desires is the path to moksha. Doubt will not disappear until the jiva unites with Shiva and becomes one.

He who is ignorant of the true goal of life is a beast. This goal is desirelessness. He who is ignorant of this fact is not a man. Man who is the crown and culmination of God’s creation, must not be like a frog which sinks below water and rises above water repeatedly. This human life is not a comparison to that of the frog. This life cannot always be attained. When we have acquired it, we should make efforts to reach the goal of life. Meals cannot be had before cooking. Discrimination

Divine madness

The sense of equality is the greatest thing in this world. People go mad after shadows; very few are mad after the invisible (the subtle). True madness is very rare, it being found only in one among a lakh or two. Other people run mad after sixteen things in a ghatika (twenty-four minutes). “I want this,” “I want that,” “This is different,” “That is different,” such is their mad talk. Entertaining various motives is madness. Fickleness of mind is madness. Greatness is madness. Practicing and seeing the reality is the opposite kind of madness. Liberation from birth and death is divine madness. Those who have not realized the truth are mad after the gross. Everyone has one sort of madness or another. Thousands of people possess houses, diamond jewels, gold and property. They did not bring these with them at birth nor will they take these with them at death.

is the fire; intelligence is the vessel; mukti is the goal of life.

Divine unity

The water in the well is the same at all levels. There are not two waters in the same well. So also the life energy is the same in all mobile and immobile beings. Likewise the energy in the sun and the moon is the same. Atma is in space and space is in atma. Those who have realized this will sing with joy. They know the Ananda Kundalini. They will try to discover where this kundalini is. They will join it by pranayama after finding it out. They must join it by repeatedly performing pranayama; they must realize bhakti; they must realize mukti. They must conquer both birth and death and must forget all. One must conquer death and things allied to it. One must understand the true nature of maya. One should realize Nityananda (eternal joy). O mind! Become one with this eternal joy. Enjoy such a mind which has become one with this eternal joy. Become one with the Supreme Being. O mind! The external world must melt and become one with the Supreme Being.

Until the consciousness “I am the body” is wiped off, mukti is a thing far off. Unless the idea of “twoness” is annihilated, there is no yoga, no mukti. In a sense, everyone is a yogi. But every one of such yogis has a certain object in view. When a substance becomes one with the original substance, when the dualities of lives is wiped off, it is called union or oneness. When this is realized, we see oneness in all. The real yoga is that which is detached from everything.

Instead of believing in thousands of gods, if a man believes only in one God, he can realize what bliss is. Then only is a man content. Those who believe in thousands of gods are never content. So long as you think of two, there is no happiness. So feel happy only in ONE. God is only one, never two. Those whose faith is such see God in themselves. They see all as atman. This is the path to moksha. For such a man there is no enemy. All are his friends. A man should not spoil himself by believing in two. He should attain by believing in one. A man must return from whence he has come. Knowing cause and effect playing on external matter, reach the place from whence you started. This is moksha.

O mind! Banish the idea of duality; have subtle discrimination. Having abandoned the idea of duality, think that the visible universe is all Shiva, the spotless.

Doubt

Those who have no doubt find that this doubtlessness is the path to one-pointedness of mind. A doubting person’s intellect is small (limited). Wherever they may see, they see nothing but doubt. Everybody is subject to his own nature. There is no cause for finding that quality which one has not. In the shaking water a man cannot see his reflection. In the still water a man can see his reflection quite properly. Similarly, to a fickle-minded man his real nature is not visible. To a steady-minded man, wherever he may see, he sees the ONE, indivisible. He sees himself in others. If you put on red spectacles you see everything red. You cannot see green. Everyone sees according as he thinks.

Duality

Property and fame are here only. There, everything is one. Duality exists here only. On the other side, there is no duality.

The energy in the sun appears as light. Likewise there is an energy in the form of light in a gaslight. To those who have lost the difference between day and night, the light of the sun and that of the gaslight are the same. There is no difference between the two.

Duty to others

One must not reserve sugar for himself and distribute sand to others. One following the royal road should not lead others to the path covered with forests. It is one’s bounden duty to lead others by the royal road. We must do this at once. We are not sure about the future.

Fire is essentially an internal thing. Fire is the supreme of all. The origin of all creation is fire. First we must realize ourselves and then impart it to others. This is the highest duty of man. When you feel pain, you must realize that others have pain just like you. When you feel hungry, you must realize that others have hunger just like you. We must think that what is our goal is also the goal of others. When a physician develops a new medicine and he does not reveal it to others till his death, the medicine is lost to the world with him. One who does not know the ways and means to realize God is not a man. The most supreme knowledge is the knowledge of God. This knowledge must be imparted to others so that they may understand it. Those who are hungry must be fed. Nobody asks you about God unless he has discriminative power.

A man falls into a well. We should take him up, not allowing him to die. We must not think that a man will always be bad. We must try to correct him.

Evenmindedness

A ripe fruit is very sweet to the taste. The same fruit when it is unripe is astringent. Both are produced by the same tree. The difference between the two is caused by time. As soon as a coconut is planted in the ground, it does not grow into a plant. First, it sprouts, then it becomes a plant and finally it becomes a tree. A tender coconut tree can be easily plucked from the ground. But a fully grown coconut tree cannot be easily plucked. So also our mind must be unaffected, whatever people say to us or whatever they say about us, the mind must always be under our control. This is what a man must accomplish in life. This must be the one object in life. This a man must accomplish even if his head is to be struck off. We should give a blow with the mind itself, not with a cane or a hand or something. We should learn to tie a man without a rope. This is what a man should accomplish in life.

Faith (Shraddha)

The first requirement is faith. The second is devotion (bhakti). Those who have no faith cannot have devotion. The judge listens to what the defendants say. Faith is just like that.

One’s faith is the greatest thing. Above faith, there is no God. In this world there is nothing higher than faith. Man devoid of faith cannot be deceived by the wicked tricks of others. Man enjoys that in which he has his faith. The internal faith should be concentrated upon breath. Those who have no faith have no thoughts of anything. Those who have no faith have no regard for sadhus and sannyasis. They think (wrongly) that thousands of sadhus are merged in them.

Faith is like a rope. Faith must be tied by the rope of dharana. What is faith is nothing but dharana. Our attention must always be concentrated on dharana. That concentration must always be coupled with faith. Faith should be filled in every nadi of the body. To such people there is no existence of maya as a separate thing.

Fear

What is called fear is the creation of the mind; for the internal sight, there is no fear. Fear exists to the man who has no internal eye.

If you are afraid of water, you cannot cross a river in a boat. If you are afraid of fire, you cannot heat water. Fear must be banished. To accomplish anything worth doing, one must be thoroughly fearless. Mind is the cause of anything we do.

The fear of death is dead forever. What is called the feeling of “I” and “mine” is nothing but the fear of death. This is an obstruction to the path of God-realization. When the truth is realized, death becomes an external condition just as you sleep, forgetting the external world. This is not different from what is called “the internal life.” Then the senses are turned inward and when they move internally, “I” and “mine” become atomic and become merged in the highest. When the jiva suddenly awakens from sleep and becomes aware of the external, then only he realizes the nature of sleep. This is the state of jnana. The cause of birth and death is desire; by this desire, the shadow appears as reality.

Food

There is not a fixed rule about the taking of food. It has not been said that one should not take his meals. Moderation! Moderation is the rule. Half stomach, food; one-fourth water; do not love sleep too much.

Fire consumes anything and everything. It does not distinguish between good and bad. Likewise those who are doing “karma” may eat anything. Those who do not know what “karma” is are not aware of what they should do. Such a one suffers from indigestion. One whose digestion is all right may eat anything he likes. It will be digested. Sleep is necessary; moderate sleep. Do not eat when the stomach is full. Be always regular in your meals.

Full of food (annapurna) means full of prana. Food (anna) means prana. If we store our money in a box without much thought about it, it remains in a great store. If we spend from it, it becomes less and less. Money is life; the box is intellect (buddhi). The box requires nothing. Similarly, if a man knows himself, he does not want anything. If by the internal exercise of the sadhana (practice) which is with us, we lead the prana to the brahmarandhra, and there if prana and Shiva are united, then we do not require anything. Restraining the manas from going down and showing it the royal road of the middle path is what is called food.

God and Man

The real place of the jiva is formless, indivisible. God pervades all things movable and immovable. He is the One without a second. God is the origin of the Vedas. He is the Lord of the body. He is the Lord of jivanmukti. Man to be man, must meditate on God.

No man should think he is the doer. Everything is ordained by the Paramatman.

He is Paramatman who is in jivatman. Paramatman is the witness to the qualities of the atman. When the jiva realizes that he is not different from Paramatman, he is called Nityatma (the eternal spirit). When the tender mango is on the tree, it is united with the tree; so also are the jiva and Paramatman united. When Sat, Chit, and Ananda are in union and when the three gunas are merged in Satchidananda, then only do we say that it is yoga.

God-vision

You must see that God Who is in the heart-space. Yes, you must see Him. You must see that Krishna who is eternal bliss (Nityananda). It is delusion to regard stone as God.

All tattwas have one root tattwa called Parabrahman. When this is realized, it is called jivanmukti. You must see the river at its source and not after it merges into the sea. You should see the mother root of a tree. All the trees have one mother root. So also, all have one and only one God. When you have realized all as one, homogeneous, this realization is mukti.

Although all fingers are not of the same size, when you take your meals they come to one size. So when your experience ripens, you see the one, indivisible.

One who has become one with the Supreme has accomplished the object of his birth. One must concentrate his mind on the Supreme. One must become one with the Supreme. Wakefulness, dream state, and sleep state must melt in the Supreme and become one.

Hari–Hara

Hari is no Lord; Shiva is the Lord. What is called Hari is delusion.

What you see with the physical eye is the gross intellect. What you see outside is the gross intellect. What you see inside is not Hari. What is visible is not Shiva. What you see inside is not the universe. In Shiva is Hari; in Hari is not Shiva.

He that saves you at the time of death is Shiva. It is not Hari. Shakti is in Shiva. Maya (delusion) is in Hari. Bodies are earthly. The bodily senses are all looking outwards. Shiva is internal; he is the brahmarandhra. That which is taught by others is no real knowledge; that which has come to your experience is real knowledge.

Truly, truly, realize that the eternal atman is one in all. Hari is not the knower; Shiva is the knower. What is Hari is wandering. “Hari! Hari! I want this; I want that; Give me, give me,” you say. This is of no use. Such a man is never happy. Let Hari merge in Hara. Burn Hari in Hara. Saying “Hari, Hari” is nothing but mental delusion. You praise Hara, hiding this delusion in your mind! He who has given you eternal joy is Shiva.

Shiva is the giver of eternal mukti (liberation) and eternal bhakti. What is Hari is keeping the mind in the world. Shiva is keeping the whole universe in one’s atman. Saying, “Hari, Hari,” is going down. But Shiva is the guide to the path of bliss. Mukti is obtained by the upward course of prana. Hari is like a horse without reins.

Head (Sahasrara, Brahmarandhra)

The head is the ocean of ananda (joy). In it is situated the prana linga, i.e., the seat of liberation (mukti). This cannot be learnt from books. It is inherent in the brain.

When Sat unites with Chit, Ananda is the result. This Ananda is Paramananda, Sri Satchidananda. Paramananda is experienced in the head. In the head is the brahmanadi. Brahmananda is Paramananda. The jiva enjoys this bliss when he is one with Paramatman. This bliss is also called Shivananda. Paramananda is experienced in the head. This state is eternal joy. This state is jivanmukti.

What is visible is transient; it is perishable. When the mind is merged in bindu and nada, nirvikalpa samadhi is attained. Our attention is then entirely towards ananda (eternal joy). Fixing the attention between the eyebrows, the prana should enter the holy brahmarandhra. Here the light of lights becomes visible to the divine eye. This is mukti. This is eternally supreme joy. This is the place where the manas ought to dwell; this is the eternal being whence the Vedas have sprung. This is seeing Paramatman in all; this is the real place of jivatman.

Just as a tire of a bicycle is filled with air by a pump, the nadis should be filled with Vedantic discrimination (discrimination derived from the perusal of Vedanta). Prana should be raised to brahmarandhra, the highest point in the brain.

The nadis should be purified and such purification should be done step by step. Buddhi and manas should become one with Paramatman. You should play with him. You should sit in the upper story and look around downwards. Buddhi’s place is above.

You must be one with the nectar of ananda. You must know those who are always merged in this eternal joy. You should know the very secret of this ananda. Truly, the kundalini must be awakened. Just as we rock a child in a cradle, we should fix our attention in the head and examine what takes place there. Paramananda (supreme bliss), sadananda (eternal bliss) are there in the head. Shiva linga is also in the head which should be one.

Our head is like a coconut fruit. In the coconut there is water and kernel. Likewise, there is water and kernel in our head. In the head is chidakasha. It is the well of hridayakasha. We should draw water from this well and drink it. It is no use digging a well in the earth and drinking water from it.

You have a certain thing in your hand; if you look for it somewhere else, you will not find it. If you sit in an upper-story, light a lamp there, and close the doors, those who are below cannot see the light. See the bioscope! See the drama!–all these are seen in the head. Everything should be seen from the same place; you need not go to several places to see several things. The city of Madras can be seen from there as well as from here. It is better to see it from one place. We must “idealize” it in our brain.

What we call the heart is not below; it is above (the neck). When we are cooking, the flames go upwards; so is the heart upwards. There is light in the heart; there is no darkness in it. If a man’s head be struck off, we cannot say who the man is by simply looking at his trunk. It is the heart which sees through the eye. A man must have the internal eye. What is called the heart-space is the face which is triangular. We can know a certain man by looking at his face. A man must know his own secret. A man must know himself.

When a train leaves a station, the next station is alerted that a train is approaching by the sound of bells ringing. What is called “bindu-nada” is the bell. Just as we hear a sound when we throw a stone into a well, we hear bindu-nada inside the head.

Praise God within yourself. Praise Him in your head! You must know the secret of Parabrahman who is eternal joy. Yes, you must know that secret. Look for Him in the heart. See Him with your inner eye; not with the outer. See the royal road with the internal eye. Leave the downward path and come to the central path. The downward path is that followed by those people who decorate the external body without knowing the secret of God.

One must meditate in the head. One must meditate upon the ocean of eternal bliss.

Look for the all-pervading God in the head! Truly look at Him in the head! Hence enjoy the eternal bliss! See this creation in the heart.

“Shiva is from Kashi;” the heart-space is Kashi; manas is Kashi. Everything is Kashi. The eternal atman is Kashi. What is Kashi is in the head. The ten nadas (sounds) are eternal. The subtle Kashi is the Nirvikalpa Kashi. What is Hardwar is the nine gates in the body. It is the heart-space. It is the place of peace. Yajna (sacrifice) is the immortal jnana (wisdom).

The head is the mango. In it is the sweet ambrosia. This ambrosia is the essence of the five senses. This ambrosia is the supreme energy in man.

To probe into truth requires subtle discrimination. This subtle discrimination is upadhi. The subtle is hidden in the gross. The seat of upadhi is the heart-space. When the kundalini is raised to the heart-space in the head, then the breath is single. In this highest state one sees the universe in one’s self. Then one sees everything in Him. All the multitudinous changes are seen in oneself.

Meditate incessantly on the Paramatma who is in the jivatma. Space is in you; it is in the head. Meditate on the heart-space which is in the head.

The Lord of mukti is Shiva. Shiva is the linga in the head. This linga is nothing but Omkar. Enlightenment is the most important thing. Without nerves, there is no sound. Bhakti may be compared to the oil in a lamp. Nadis may be [compa]red to the wick. Subtle discrimination is the flame or the light. The nadis are the glass of the lantern. The various air holes of the lantern are the brahmarandhra. The form of discrimination is intelligence.

The fruit is always at the top of the tree. Similarly, the fruit in man is upwards. If you plant a coconut in the earth, coconuts are eventually seen at the top of the coconut tree. For every tree, the fruit is at the top.

The throat place is the Muladhara where the serpent power (kundalini) is originated. The heart-space is the place for the throat place. The heart-space is in the middle of the eyebrows. Swadhisthana is in the brain. Ajna is triangular. What is called Raja Yoga is above the neck. Ajna is the locality where man attains mukti. What is called “this world” is jivatma. What is called the “next world” is Paramatma. The union of these two is the space of consciousness. Chit is the mental mood. Sat is the one, indivisible.

Shivashakti is one, indivisible. Shivashakti is salvation. Shivashakti is the upward breath. Shivashakti is prana vayu. It is the Omkar; it is the Pranava. From Pranava is creation. Pranava is consciousness of the body, Omkar is soul consciousness. Omkar is like the kernel in a dry coconut. The finite becomes one with the infinite. The river becomes one with the sea. The mental moods are the rivers; the indivisible Shivashakti is the sea. Just as paper when burnt in fire loses its individuality, the mind loses its individuality in the atman. Five or six roads may have only one junction. We may travel by these roads either by walking or by train. The body is the train by which we come and go.

Creation disappears in primordial nature. Coming out from this primordial [nature] is called creation. Entering into it again is called destruction. When you are conscious of the body, and of nothing else, it is “creation.” For Raja Yoga there is no particular action prescribed. There is no Shiva worship. There is no particular place. All this takes place to a Raja Yogi in the brain center. Salutation takes place in the brain center. If one salutes in the brain center, it reaches all.

When the jiva leads the Shivashakti in man internally to the center of the brain and there becomes one with Shiva, the indivisible, mukti is realized. Brahmananda is for him who has attained this mukti. Always concentrate on Shiva. In the beginning was Shiva. In the beginning there was Shivashakti alone. The Great Protector is the eternal ananda. The great desirelessness is the eternal ananda. He who is without desire, is without the three qualities (gunas). That is real virtue. You are the king of yourself. You are the lord of mukti. Look within yourself. The real form is the human form. Man stands at the head of the animal kingdom. In this world there is nothing higher than man. It is man that has created all the countries.

The head is the seat where the smell of musk, sandal-paste, camphor and concentrated camphor is experienced. Ants swarm at the place where there is sugar. Where the sound of Omkar is experienced, there is no ignorance. That which is seen by the spiritual eye is the real heart. That which is seen by the physical eye is not the real heart. The greatest is the head. The origin of breath is true ananda. The real ananda is in the cavity of the heart. The house of breath is the dwelling of kundalini. This is the house of Shiva. This is our real happy home of peace. This is the home of sattwa guna. One who lives in this house does not care for honor and dishonor. This is the home of a yogi who has renounced everything. This is the home of those who have the power of subtle discrimination. This is the home of kundalini. This home is the heart home.

The engine (body) does not move without steam (prana). A coconut tree does not yield jackfruits. What one talks without experience is in vain. The judge and the magistrate hear what the plaintiff and the defendant say and form an idea of the case. But they do not know the truth of the case. It is not enough if you have sugar in your hand; you must taste it to know its sweetness. Although there is water in the bowels of the earth, we must dig a well in order to get the water. The main thing is the internal practice and the union of prana with Parabrahman in the center of the brain. This is seeing God face to face; this is the fulfillment of yoga; this is the eternal peace.

All creation is mental. The body is nothing but a means to an end. Shakti is of the atman. The highest tower is in the head. This is the seat of the atman. This is the sky of consciousness. This is the greatest support. The Ajna (the sixth lotus-chakra of the body) is the support. The seat of kundalini is the heart sky. What is travelling in a train is the thought of the atman. The mail train is the Hatha Yogi. The local train is the Raja Yogi. (The acquisition of peace is happiness). The difference is only in time. Although the velocity is the same, time differs. This difference is the delusion of the mind.

Think and think about Brahman. Mind, though seemingly different, is one and one only. Mind when it is one-pointed is great indeed. This mind is the eternal mind. This eternal mind is supreme joy. This eternal mind is called chidakasha. A clean mind is a clean space. A clean space is siddhi. This clean space is yoga. This clean space is the heart. When you move in this clean space, it is fulfillment. When you move in this clean space, the difference between “you” and “I” will vanish. In this clean space is mukti, bhakti, shakti and the path suitable. This clean space is buddhi. When the jiva dwells in this clean space, the attachments to sense objects will be burnt away. This clean space is brahmarandhra. What is called Raja Yoga is above the neck. What is called the “color cavity” is above the neck.

Mantra is this brahmarandhra. Mantra is the minister to prana. This prime minister of prana is atma bindu (atma point, which is spaceless, timeless, causeless). In the midst of this is eternal mantra. In the midst of this is chidakasha. This chidakasha is Chit. This is supreme joy. This is the supreme medicine. This supreme medicine is the supreme guru whose mantra is Tat twam asi: That art Thou; Thou art That.

Subtle intelligence should be concentrated in the head. The intelligence should be concentrated at the top of the sushumna. Both the mind and buddhi should be in the head. The mind must be in the buddhi, buddhi in the mind. Discrimination is from buddhi and from discrimination is effected the union of jivatman and Paramatman.

The prana must be firmly fixed in an upward direction with great faith. That is the path to liberation. This body is like a cave to the atman, and in this cave dwells the eternal atman. Yoga means becoming one. When the two become one, that is yoga. When the mind and buddhi become one, it is called yoga. When the jiva travels by the path of buddhi and enters the brahmarandhra, it is called yoga.

Buddhi should be concentrated in the head. Your attention should always be above the neck; never below the neck.

Whatever one may be doing, the attention should be fixed in the head.

The guiding light of a steamer is on the top; similarly is the brahmarandhra to a sannyasi.

Human distinctions

He who meditates on the Reality is a sannyasi; he is a yogi. The distinction of “pariah” exists in the external. Internally, all is one without distinction. What is “pariah” is not after death. A pariah is he who has envy and pride; who holds vain discussion about religion; who talks ill of others behind their backs. Sewing is not stitching thread and cloth; but stitching manas and buddhi, i.e., merging manas in buddhi.

Now the distinction of male and female. A true female is one who is merged in the external; a true male is one who is merged in the internal. One whose buddhi is firm is male; one whose buddhi is fickle is a female. This distinction of male and female is external only. Internally such a distinction does not exist at all. When the manas and buddhi are merged in the atman, one who is physically a woman becomes spiritually a man.

In the beginning, there was only one religion propagated by Shiva. In the beginning, there was no difference like “man” and “woman” among human beings. This distinction was only in the gross nature. In the subtle nature, all was one. The subtle has no qualities. The subtle receives only the eternal ananda everywhere. “Having” and “seeing” is all mental delusion. The visible world is transient.

Mean dispositions of the mind are senselessness. This senselessness is the pariah (outcaste). Joking and mocking at others, hypocrisy, pride and envy, etc. are the pariah characteristics. He whose skin is black, he whose clothes are black, is not a pariah. A man who has a turban on his head, a wristwatch on his wrist, is a pariah if he does not recognize the equality in all. One who is a pauper is not a pariah, but he who is selfish and is full of differences is a pariah. He is not a man who has not realized the truth of Vedanta. Liberation in one’s lifetime is that Vedanta which is like a trained horse. But the Vedanta which is like a wild elephant is not mukti but delusion.

When we call a man “pariah,” it is nothing but mental delusion. A piece of cloth goes equally well into the mouth of a “pariah” or “brahmin.” A Brahmin does not use even the chunam touched by a pariah. He does not sit on the same mat with a pariah. Someone acts like this; another sees it or hears of it and he blindly imitates it.

Those who call another a pariah are themselves pariahs. Suppose there is a bunch of plantains; from the plantains of the same bunch, we prepare various sorts of eatables. The plantain is a fruit. If it is cut into slices and fried, it is no longer called a plantain. It is called “fried slices.” So also, variously named preparations are made from plantains (of the same bunch). In the beginning, there was only one bunch; preparations are manifold. The original form is one only. So also, in all creatures, the sound of Omkar is one only.

Anybody can handle a lamp without distinction of caste and creed. So also, the sun gives the same light to all. Sun is visible to all alike. Fire is visible to all alike. Supreme buddhi (intelligence) and jnana (knowledge) are one to those who have developed in them the power of the internal eye.

If one bathes in a river, his body becomes clean, let him be a pariah or a brahmin or a child. Likewise, the internal state of man is the same though the exterior of every man may appear to be different.

All do not feel hungry at the same time and to the same degree. Similarly, all do not attain mukti at the same time. There is only a difference of time. Men dispute among themselves because of the difference of language. In Hindusthani sugar is called “mittha.” In other languages it is called “sakkare,” etc., etc. The use of sugar is the same to all. Although the sugar may be put to different uses, the places where it reaches is only one (the mouth).