The Chidakasha Gita: Teachings of Paramahansa Nityananda – Part Two

Ignorance (Avidya)

One who has not realized the truth is a beggar. One who has not destroyed delusion, one who has not left off the downward (worldly) path, is a beggar.

Those who are indifferent to honor and dishonor enjoy bliss, true bliss which is the same as Brahmananda, i.e., at-one-ment with the Godhead. If we concentrate our intellectual powers for five minutes, we feel that bliss. Those who have not realized the primordial cause, have not realized the goal of life. Like moths falling into the flame of a burning lamp, those who have not realized the truth, are caught, in the net of delusion. The moths repeatedly see the lamp. They repeatedly hover round the lamp and at last they fall into it and die.

Inner consciousness

If any powder falls into the eye, our attention is turned on the eye. Similarly, if our outer attention is directed inwards, it is called introversion (internal sight). Ignorance is like a casket of powder. The possessor of a box only knows what is contained in it. Others do not know it. The real wealth is the energy of life. Intelligence is the box. The box is locked after the wealth is stored in it. Locking the box is giving the manas its proper place in the head. That thing received is the soul in man. Turn your soul to God within yourself; realize internally your own secret. The universe is in you and you are in the universe. The inner man is the ONE in All. He who is “there” and He who is “here” is the one and the same.

Japa

If you keep sugar apart from us, we cannot have experience of its sweetness. If we eat it, then only we know its taste. A man cannot get mukti if he simply repeats “Rama,” “Krishna,” or “Govinda” for a thousand years. He must repeat it heartily.

Jnana

A man or woman should be educated. What is education? The jiva should know the secret that He is the Paramatman.

Seeing earthen and stone images is not seeing God. It is mind’s hallucination when you regard images as God. Without true jnana, mukti cannot be attained. Our taking human birth is the effect. Giving it back is the cause. We must know the cause and effect. Likewise, we must know the good and the evil, the right and the wrong. Knowing all, peace must be attained.

The book consists of parts, but jnana is the indivisible one. A book consists of chapters, but jnana is single-chaptered. For those who have not realized, a book is necessary; but to a man of realization, there is only one undivided being. When a man takes birth, he is not born with a book in his hand but he is born with a brain. While coming (into this world) and going away (from this world), a man has no book in his hand. Only in the middle period he takes a book.

At the place where there is running water, there can be no m.ud; the place is quite clean Ignorance (ajnana) is mud; the current of water is bhakti and jnana.

Buddhi must become one with jnana. You should always drink the water of eternal joy.

When we are little children, we do not know who is our father and who is our mother. When we grow up, we come to know our parentage.

When a chicken eats, it scratches everything towards it with its feet. Similarly, when a man’s intellect is developed, he becomes selfish. Every day men die; every day men are born; but rarely do they burn their selfishness. Selfishness completely disappears when the divisible becomes one with the indivisible. From rice various kinds of eatables such as ambada and halva are prepared. These preparations are not called rice.

The match is in the match box. Light is in the match. Rub the match and kindle the fire. Ajnana is darkness; jnana is the light.

If you see the dawn in the heart sky, it is possible to describe it. One must experience these things in one’s atman. What is called jnana is in buddhi (intelligence). Those in whom buddhi and jnana have become one, can describe what this is. Those in whom intelligence and jnana are separate, cannot describe what it is. What is called subtle discrimination is the union of buddhi and jnana. The reflection of the sun ripples in the water. So also is mind. If mind is fickle, it is enamored of Maya.

This madness (delusion) is caused by the gross. There is a madness caused by subtle discrimination; this is divine madness. The gross madness is the gross discrimination. Whatever we may eat, the path of food to the stomach is the same.

When you walk in darkness you have fear. But in light there is no fear. Ignorance is darkness. Knowledge is the light. Guru is such a light. Light is guru.

Once the well should be emptied of its water. All the mud should be removed. The water which then comes is the purest. Jnana is like this pure water. Once you burn away the thought of “I” and “mine” then non-attachment to the objects of the senses will result of its own accord.

The jiva is like a calf tied in a room. The calf is always very eager to go out of the room. So also, the jiva is very eager to drink jnana which is like amrita.

Pleasure and pain are things to be merged in buddhi. By the help of buddhi, one must attain moksha. When the mind is merged in the atman and when oneness is realized, one attains moksha. Jnana is internal. At the beginning, jnana can be known. As one progresses, this jnana is also forgotten. Then there is nothing to be said or nothing to be listened to. All is Brahman and Brahman is all. This state may be called the state of “nothingness.”

Jnani

Jnanis are mindless. To jnanis, all are the same. They have no slumber, no dreams, nor sleep. They are always in sleep [i.e., yoga nidra]. The sun and the moon are the same to them. To them, it is always sunrise.

When a man is entirely sunk in cold water, he no longer feels the cold of the cold water. A perfect man is not subject to anger.

In the infinite, there is no finite. To a jnani, there is no ajnani; to an ajnani, there is no jnani. If all the children beat a mother, she does not throw them away.

He is a jnani who has given up worldly pleasures and by practicing yoga seen God. Ananda is not in what you hear. Bliss is a matter of experience. Such a man is called a mahatma. Those who have seen earthen and stone images do not become Mahatmas. He is a mahatma who knows himself.

Vayu (air) is imperishable; it is one, indivisible. It exists in everything. When the glass chimney of a lamp is shut, there is no light. When it is not shut, the lamp shines brightly. If we take earth and imagine it to be sugar, it is sugar only in thought. The nature of earth is not changed. So also, even if a man becomes a yogi or a jnani, the nature of the body does not leave him. Manas becomes one with Brahman; not the body. Jnanis are subject to the limitations of the body. Since their manas is annihilated, they are not aware of their bodily condition. A man in sleep, if bitten by a cobra, is not aware of the cobra bite and he is not affected by it. Similarly, jnanis are not aware of their body and hence, the bodily conditions do not affect them. When a letter, written in English or in any tongue, is given to a child of five or six months old, the child throws away that letter and it cannot know what is contained in it. A child of six months old does not at all know the difference between a diamond and a lump of earth. Such children have no idea of the body. They are always in the thought of atma. Children have no idea of duality. When their brains develop, they become aware of differences. When the brain is not developed, prana in such a child is in the sushumna.

As the child is growing month by month, it gets knowledge of various things. Earlier knowledge is of no use. When a man is in the knowledge of all, he must be like a child. A true jnani is just like a child of six months. Such a child is not conscious of its own calls of nature. It does not distinguish between the two calls of nature. Jnanis are similar. They do not like one thing and dislike the other. They have no idea of poison. The administrator of poison should think about it. The eater (jnani) never cares for it. Likewise, a jnani does not say, “I want dinner,” “I want that.” They are always well established in the internal atman.

The subtle intellect is buddhi or jnana. The internal concentration is one-pointed. The gross intellect is like a horse which is not controlled by reins. The intelligence which is acquired from others is not permanent. It is not Hari; it is not Shiva. That which is imparted by the guru is the subtle intelligence. It is never gross. The gross intelligence is bestial. He is not a man who does not return what he has received.

He who has a burden on his head, has his attention on the burden. Similarly, he who acts the part of a king in a field drama, has his attention fixed on the crown. Likewise, jnanis have their attention fixed on buddhi.

You do not feel the scent of a flower which is in your own hand. Flowers which are distant smell sweet. Babies whose brains are not developed, see no difference in the things of the world. When their brains are developed, they see the difference in things. Until a baby is six months old, it feels no differences. A first class yogi is like a baby of this type. If you give a diamond to a baby, it throws it way. To such babies, pebbles and diamonds are the same. Similarly, to true jnanis a lump of earth and money are the same. They have no desires of any sort. They see the one atman everywhere. All is seen in the atman and the atman in all. This vision is internal. What is called internal vision is subtle discrimination. Subtle discrimination is Shivashakti. Shivashakti is the indivisible Shakti of the Parabrahman. What is Parabrahmanshakti is the atman. This is the one Reality.

Those who are physically blind have no knowledge of forms. To such, light is of no use. Those who have destroyed mental modifications, have destroyed all desires. Such people are not subject to dreams.

There was a bare plain; there a traveller’s bungalow was erected. Scarcely two days had passed [when] a meeting was held there. Chunam was used to cement the stones. The walls were all whitewashed. On the very day of whitewashing, a meeting was held. A certain coolie was appointed to warn the people attending the meeting lest their feet and bodies be besmeared with the chunam. The meeting was over and all the people dispersed. But the coolie stayed behind. Afterwards, many a meeting was held in the bungalow. There was nobody in the bungalow to tell the coolie, “You were engaged with a certain salary a month; now take your salary up today and go away. From tomorrow, your services are not required.” Yet the coolie continues to do his duty. So is a jnani in the midst of worldly people. There are many people in this world who behave like the people in this bungalow. They are ignorant of the subtle. They are ignorant of what karma is. Hence the comparison of the world to this bungalow.

In a similar way, you must understand all matters. One is standing still. Another is working. All are imitating one another. They are ignorant of both justice and injustice. After knowing justice, they will not stoop to injustice. For a just man, it is very difficult to do injustice. Such a man will never tell a lie even though his tongue were to be torn asunder. An unjust man wants everything. A just man wants nothing. He is not afraid of anyone. The whole world is in him. The minds of the unjust people are in the world. It is the duty of every human being to know what is justice and what is injustice.

Birds are like airplanes. Men are like beasts. Beasts are like men. Dogs are like jnanis. If you feed a dog, it will never forget you till its death. It will have constant love for the master, who has fed it but once. Men have no subtle discrimination. They think not whence they have come and whither they are bound. A man of perfectly ripe understanding should be like a dog.

If you go to see a king, you have not the boldness to tell him to his face what his defects are. But behind his back you criticize him. So also, (worldly) people are not bold enough to criticize a jnani to his face. If you gaze at the brilliance of the sun and come into the house, you see nothing for a while. Similarly, if you emerge from a dark place into a light place, you cannot know whence you emerged.

Suppose a man awakes from a sleep out of fear, and sits up. Then he is so confused that he has no clear knowledge of anything. So also, jnanis who are always in yoga nidra (yoga sleep) do not know anything about the external world. If you have an umbrella, your head does not become wet by rain water. Those who take meals daily have hunger. Those who are entirely merged in cold water do not feel cold. A perfect man is never excited to anger. A fried seed cannot sprout. Like gold well burnished, your mind should be always pure.

A jnani loves ALL as a cow loves its own calf. This is what is called same-sightedness. There is no house which is without doors; there is no cooking without vessels. A dog feeds on food, cooked either in earthen vessels or in gold vessels. Birds think of today’s necessities; never tomorrow’s.

Brahmahood means realization of oneness within oneself. Pindanda (microcosm) is that which is visible outside. Brahmanda (macrocosm) is seen inwards. This macrocosm is beyond creation. Creation is a mental condition. Atma is uncreate. Mind has fears of all sorts. All creation appears to exist only to the embodied. When the external is internalized, there is an end of all fear. If you have gold ornaments on your body you have fear of thieves. Those who have not such ornaments have no cause for sorrow. They have one sightedness. Desire is in those who see with the physical eye. They see differences. Desire causes a man to work. Desirelessness is mukti. Desirelessness for fruit is jivanmukti. This is the state of an avadhuta. This state is a subtle one. Jnanis have the internal sight. They have annihilated the manas. They experience one spirit everywhere. They have no idea of differences. They have realized the one, indivisible. In the gross state there are differences. The internal breath is not divisible. It is indivisible; it is one.

The idea of grossness is all mental. The subtle state is atmic. Jnanis always enjoy yoga nidra. They are in this state whether they are sitting or walking. Jnanis may be compared to a tortoise. These animals project their limbs outside only when necessary; at all other times they keep themselves inside the shell.

Atma is not perceived by the senses. Atma is quite different from the senses. It is perceptible to jnana. It is free from the body idea. Those are yogis who know the true nature of the senses and behave according to that knowledge. Those are called mahatmas. What they utter is Veda-word. They are like the seeds of the tamarind fruit. The tamarind matter is sticky to the touch but the seed is perfectly pure. The heart of a mahatma is like the tamarind seed, perfectly pure. These mahatmas are ever young. For a jnani, there is no age idea.

Fill a lamp with oil and light the wick. When the oil becomes less, the wick comes lower and lower and the light becomes less and less. If you again supply the lamp with oil and light the wick, the light shines as before. Similar is the internal life of a jnani. Their mental life is like butter placed in water. The butter does not sink in water. It floats above water. The body is like the water and the butter, the soul.

Kundalini

Kundalini is the eternal bliss; yes, it is so. Eternal bliss is in the heart. Infinite light is kundalini! Kundalini is the Light of Brahma [Brahma Jyoti]. The sunlight is the subtle light.

The energy called kundalini should be roused by pranayama. By rousing kundalini a man must attain liberation.

The subtle power of kundalini must be comprehended by the path of buddhi. By discrimination and shraddha the prana should be heated in the sushumna like boiling milk, and led towards the sahasrara in the head. When the kundalini crosses the various chakras in the body, our bodily qualities change. The change of one quality means the change of one birth. When the prana is led upwards through the chakras, peace of mind and forgiveness are acquired. Five chakras and five houses (panchabhutas) should be crossed and the sixth chakra should be reached. After conquering the six qualities, Satchitananda should be entered into. After enlightening the ajna chakra, akasha and Agni Mandala (sphere of internal fire) should be attained. Shakti and Shiva should be one, present, past and the future–the place of these is bindu. In bindu is jnana fire. This should be meditated upon and prana-linga should be entered into. Let prana become one with Shiva. Conquer both yantra and mantra. Let buddhi proceeding through akasha go to the center of the sky of consciousness and there be one with the dawn of the atman. Let the qualities of karma be sacrificed and let the jiva, by the path of pure akasha, become one with Paramatman. Let the jiva take his stand on the top of the sushumna which is his real home. Let the feeling of “mine” and “yours” disappear. Let all the qualities of the jiva be unified, and man become a siddha (one who has realized) and be fearless. Knowing the path of the atman, O mind! Distribute spiritual food to others! Knowing the path of the atman, O mind! Conquer both birth and death! O mind! Be free from birth and death! O mind!

Man

All are men. There is no incarnation higher than man. Man is the greatest of animals. But those are the best of men who ponder over the subtle.

“Ekadashi” means the worship of the ONE. To such a man every day is ekadashi. Those are called “men” who have such an ekadashi. A man should think very little about the gross. He should spend much of his time in meditation of the subtle.

A dead thing is without motion; it is soundless. A living thing has the delusion of sound; it has consciousness. Conscious creatures have impressions and movements. Creatures, conscious of sound, have the delusion of sound. They have the light of Brahma in them. Consciousness of creatures is light. Men know the distinction between justice and injustice. Lower animals have no distinction of such a sort. Man stands at the head of all creation. There is nothing impossible for man in this world.

Man is in the universe and the universe is in man. Man is the greatest of animals. Mind in man is fickle. In man both this world and the next merge. Shivaloka is the third (divine) eye. The Shiva nadi is the sushumna nadi, also called the Brahma nadi.

Maya

Salt is obtained from sea water. When it is mixed with water, it becomes one with it. Similarly, Maya springs from Paramatman and finally merges in him.

When a boy has passed the first standard and he goes to the second standard, books of the first standard are no longer required by him. When a man is in sound sleep, he sees neither the stars nor the sun nor the moon. He is aware of nothing. Then the mind is nil. Sleep is a subtle condition; it is not gross. In sound sleep we are not conscious of the body. Then we are conscious of atma alone. We will have sleep when prana is in a fixed plane in the body. When the ego is completely destroyed, everything seems to be like a reflection. The mind’s delusion is not permanent. It is not Shiva.

We must not be fooled by the shadow (reflection). What is called maya is delusion. To distinguish between the subtle and the gross is delusion. The delusion caused by the subtle and the gross are the same. The delusion caused by the gross is multitudinous.

To say that “this” is different from “that” is itself delusion. This delusion is caused by the mind. Look into the heart and realize the delusion called worldly joy. See the eternal soul in the heart. Yes, see it. You must say what you experience. You must not speak from hearsay. Speak what you have experienced. What is hearsay is no reality. What is hearsay is no ananda. What has repeatedly come to your experience is ananda.

There is a station where four railroads meet. One train goes to Calcutta; another to Bombay; a third to Madras; (and a fourth to some other place). They all start from one station and they reach one station only. Similarly is Maya. Maya is born of us and it disappears in us. It is like butter in milk. Butter emanates from milk and it merges in milk. The sayings of a great sage last long. Even if there is none to hear them, they continue to live long.

The Lord of Shivaloka is nothing but Shivashakti (Shiva’s energy). What is Maya is in Shiva. Shiva is not in Maya. Creation and destruction are both Maya caused by Him. In the Paramatman, everything becomes latent-effect, soul, manas, Brahma, waking consciousness, Taraka, sleep, extreme ignorance, and the whole of the external world.

Shiva is in you; you are in Shiva. Maya is in you. Creation and destruction are both in Maya. Those who are free from the bondage of the qualities (trigunas), are free from Maya. He who is free from the delusion that he is the body, is nothing but bliss incarnate. That which is free from the idea of honor and dishonor is internal.

Mind itself is maya. It is the mind that creates images or ideas. All sorts of relations, all creation, cause and effect, light and universe, universal light and the Supreme Light–all these differences are caused by one’s own ignorance. When this is realized, there is no fear of Maya.

Meditation

From the beginning there is only one religion taught by Shiva. If you sit in a room closing the doors, you do not see anything outside. When the doors are closed, the jiva communes with Shiva. When the doors are not closed, the jiva is separated from Shiva.

Mind (Manas–Buddhi)

The glass of a chimney lamp, when covered with carbon, is not transparent. Similarly, the carbon of the mind should be removed.

Just as camphor is consumed by the flames of fire, so also, the mind must be consumed by soul fire.

There are matches in a match-box. Fire is produced only when the match is rubbed against the side of the box. So also, the manas is the match; buddhi (intelligence) is the side of the box. We should rub the manas against buddhi and then we get the kingdom of atman which is the same as the liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

Manas is the gingilly [sesame seed]; buddhi is the oil mill; amrita is the oil.

Buddhi is the king; manas is the minister; manas should be subordinated to buddhi.

Your mind should not flicker like the reflection of the sun in the shaking water.

The sea water is boundless; the tank water has a boundary. Our mind must be like the tank water. Mind is the cause of good and evil. A man may be good and bad according to his good or bad thoughts. God does not do good or evil to any man. The reason is, intelligence and knowledge are the divine faculties in man. A man protected by good thoughts cannot be harmed even by a cannon shot. Without yoga, liberation from karma is impossible.

Mind is the creator of ideas. When the gross ideas are suppressed and the man lives in the subtle, this state is called nirvikalpa samadhi or samadhi without ideas. Just as we teach a bird how to talk, keeping it in a cage with its feet bound, we must keep our mind in our buddhi. A man must learn for himself.

The mind is the seat of sin; it is the cause of action, good and bad. Mind is the cause of all these. If there is no mind there is no speech, without the mind, nothing can come and nothing can go. But for the mind, nothing can be accomplished. Suppose one knows how to speak English but he does not know how to write it; then we cannot say he knows English fully. When he knows both, then only can he secure a passing grade in English.

A man’s mind never remains stationary.

Chitta is the cause of desire.

Sat is the one, indivisible. It is the one “subtle” which is everlasting. Chit is always changing.

When the Sat unites with Chit, the result is Ananda. This Ananda is Satchidananda, Sri Nityananda, Sri Paramananda. Union of the jiva and Paramatma is Ananda, Yogananda, Paramananda, Satchidananda and Brahmananda.

Yukti (skill) is like walking on foot. Shakti is that which enters the heart. Sannyasa is like going on a train. He who goes on foot is a wanderer. (Manas is fickle). The body is the train. The passenger in the train is manas. If there are no passengers (manas), the train will not move; tickets will not be issued; people will not gather. Then there is neither the first class nor the second nor the third. Manas is the class of peace; the master of the chariot is buddhi; the engine is the head; the nerves and the blood vessels are the screws; that which moves in the nerves and blood vessels is vayu (air).

When you have attained perfect peace, there is no necessity of going anywhere. There is no necessity of seeing anything. There is no necessity of going to Kashi, Rameshwara, Gokarna and other holy places. All is seen in the mind. Going and coming are delusions of the mind. When peace is attained, ALL appears to be the ONE. Liberation from bondage is seeing the ONE in ALL and the ALL in ONE. This is desirelessness. The thing in the hand must be seen in the hand itself. You cannot find it anywhere else. So also, everything must be tested in one’s own thought.

Manas (mind) is inferior to buddhi (intelligence). Buddhi is the king. Manas is the prime minister. The prime minister must go to the palace often to see the king. So also, manas is the king of the body.

One who has annihilated the manas is the universal teacher.

When buddhi (understanding) has attained acute discriminating power, we will experience Vivekananda. Vivekananda is Paramananda; Satchidananda. When existence (Sat) and knowledge (Chit) become one, ananda will result. This is Brahmananda; Shivananda.

To ride a horse safely in the midst of a crowd of two thousand people, the rider must be efficient. Buddhi (intelligence) is above; manas (mind) is below. Buddhi is the king; manas is the prime minister. Mind must be subordinate to buddhi, The first is sound; the second is the impression which the sound carries. The primary guru is the manas; the secondary preceptor is he who initiates you. The secondary guru is the teacher. The primary guru is that which practices. Realization is the primary guru. You cannot have a secondary preceptor unless you have a desire to have him. When you have the desire to possess a thing you require a secondary guru. The secondary guru is he who shows you the well. The primary guru is he who drinks water from the well.

The primary preceptor banishes the darkness in you, giving you light. Darkness is ignorance; light is knowledge. He who shows you the path to the subtle, leaving aside the gross, is the guru. The one guru who is in all is the Lord of the Universe. One is not the guru to the other. One is only a secondary guru. Guru is the Lord of the Universe.

Whatever may be the contents of letters and post cards and various newspapers, the box in which they are posted is the same. The tongue distinguishes between things pungent and things sour. To the mind, there is no such difference. Just as we cage a bird binding its legs and then teach it to speak, so also intelligence becomes one with the soul when it is caged in the cage of manas.

The umbrella does not hold the man; all is held by the mind. When the mental moods are destroyed, all differences disappear. Such a man has no desire. He is a sannyasi. He is a yogi. A man who has manas wants everything. A man who has no manas has everything in himself. Just as in a steamer there are all sorts of accommodations, so also a man who has conquered the mind has the whole world in himself.

When a boat is sailing, everything around appears to move. So also, when mind is disappearing everything appears to whirl round. What is experienced in sleep is not experienced in the waking state. What is experienced in the waking state is not experienced in sleep. If you place a vessel, without water, over fire, no sound is produced. In order to produce sound, water is necessary. So also, those who have no subtle discrimination will not be benefited. If you are bitten by a cobra in sleep [that is, in dream], you will not die. In sleep, mind is quiescent. When there is manas, there is everything. What is called creation is a mental affection. When there is thorough introspection, there is no creation.

The water is hot only so long as it is kept on the fire; but when the vessel is kept on the ground, the water becomes cooler and cooler. Our buddhi must be like the water placed over a fire. Similarly, faith should be constant.

Dharana is the means by which the buddhi’s power of discrimination is increased. Dharana is the path to mukti. Dharana is the path leading to the highest. For prana (life energy) to become steady, dharana is a means. When life energy becomes steady, the mind becomes steady. When prana is given an upward direction, then jnana enters every nadi and peace is the result. Then nature and the subtle become separated. Then powers resulting from yoga–peace of mind, forgiveness, and patience–these are experienced in the buddhi. Those who practice constant dharana feel that the whole external world is existing in themselves. One should, being quite steady in mind, be enjoying eternal joy (Nityananda).

If you have manas, you want everything. If you have no manas, you do not want anything. If you have manas, God becomes a separate being for you. When you have merged manas in buddhi, you have no separate God. All appears as one. If you have desire, you want a separate God because God’s help is necessary to accomplish your desire. Then the manas goes after the various objects of the senses and causes doubt about various matters. Then one feels the necessity of an idol or image. Cause and effect appear to be two separate categories. Image worship is due to maya or ignorance.

Just as camphor is lost in fire, mind and buddhi become one with each other. Like little children rocked to sleep, chitta, being placed in buddhi, must know who the “I” is.

The body may sit firm but it is the mind that should sit firm. Those whose minds are not purified seldom have equal-sightedness. Those who do not practice will have great difficulty in possessing the sattwa quality in them. The subtle intelligence is developed by practice; unless you practice, the desire for worldly things cannot be destroyed. Hankering after landed property, after woman, and after gold is difficult to be extinguished. What is the thing to be attained by man? When the chitta is free from the three forces–sattwa, rajas, and tamas–it is called “purushartha.” Just as dirty linen becomes clean when washed in soap water, so also, chitta should be purified by washing it in the soap water of buddhi and it must be made as pure as space. When you learn sewing on a machine, in the beginning your attention must be fixed not on the legs but on the hands. When we fix our attention on buddhi and make the mind merge into heart-space, then we will attain that eternal peace which is called Nityananda.

Those whose minds are pure may call God by any name they please.

The jiva, because he is engrossed in the various qualities of the world, has forgotten his real atman and has occupied a lower rank. Let him take a higher (upward) direction by the help of buddhi.

The mind is like cotton placed in the wind; devotion to God is like water poured on the cotton. Similar is the destruction of the mind. The mind which is like cotton should be wetted by the water of jnana and the chitta should be freed from desires. That is moksha. In the manner of the cotton, let man attain mukti.

A man may meditate on the atman although he is engaged in various actions. The various objects of the senses are outside us, not inside us. Even when we are performing various actions it is not possible to keep the buddhi separate from them. If a car driver, when he steers the car, takes his hands off of the wheel the car runs in whatsoever direction and is endangered. Mind should be in buddhi. We must not let the mind wander. Mind should be fixed on internal dhyana. Mind should be developed by the power of introspection. O mind! Enter the sky of consciousness by developing the subtle buddhi and filling every nadi of the body with this buddhi!

O mind! Be always content! O mind! Do not be deluded by shadowy appearances!

The mind filled with eternal ananda is the seed of all things. The mind filled with eternal ananda is the subtle seed of all things. Let this be developed with discrimination. The mind filled with eternal ananda is that without qualities. It is the diseaseless; it is the universal reason; it is called the Creator; it is the witness of all; it is the one Sat for this world and the next. It is the One pervading in and out; it is the Knowledge, higher and lower, (jnana and vijnana); it is the one Cause and Effect; it is the Universal Witness; it is the Stainless Atman; Witness of All, it is the Universal Guru; it is the Universal Light; it is the Universal Father and Mother; it is the bindu in Omkar; it is MA, A, E, Om the Great; Movable and the Seen; Om the Essence; it is what is declared by the sages as “The Truth.”

Moksha–Mukti (Liberation)

Paramatman is in jivatman. The real mukti is to know the subtle in the gross.

Cow milk can never be bitter. The stone fixed in the earth cannot speak. By visiting places of pilgrimage like Varanasi [Benares] and Rameshwaram, a man cannot attain mukti. What is essential is keeping the mind steady for a moment by introversion.

“This world” means jivatma; the “next world” means the union of jivatman and Paramatman.

Mukti is according to the nature of our bhakti. If you try hard, you get a good salary. If you try little, you get a small salary.

There are many people in this world to take care of those who have passed the I.C.S. [Indian Civil Service examination], but there is none to inquire about the path to divinity. No one can describe what the bliss of mukti means and what it is. That religion which was taught by Shiva from the beginning of creation is one and one only.

Feeling of duality is hell; feeling of absolute oneness is mukti. Absolute bhakti (love) is mukti.

Perfect peace, never perturbed peace, is the goal of man. This is Yogananda; Paramananda. The ocean is bigger than all the rivers. The sea is almost boundless. You cannot measure the water of the ocean. It is not possible to practice bhakti, leaving off samsara. Being in samsara, we must attain mukti by being “this thing” and by doing “that thing.” What is desire is samsara. Desirelessness is mukti. Then one will enjoy eternal bliss, eternal wisdom bliss. Eternal peace which is the highest bliss, is the goal of man. When the mind is swimming in eternal bliss, it is known as mukti.

Why is man called man? The true man is he who ruminates (performs manana). If you do not know the path leading to Brahman you will be born again and again. If you do not know the path you will have no contentment. This contentment consists in doing your duty without attachment to results. This non-attachment to results of action is called mukti. It is also called the supreme joy. Desire is hell. Desirelessness is supreme joy. The supreme position is Shivashakti. Shivashakti is the knower of both the visible and the invisible.

He who desires mukti should at once give up the idea: “I am the body.” Such people alone can realize the atman. To those who think “I am this body,” it is very difficult to see the atman. Those who hold fast to the idea “I” and “mine” may practice for a thousand years; yet they will not attain even the slightest fraction of shanti.

“All these forms are my own forms;” thus should a wise man meditate. When the mind becomes firm in meditation, and when the Supreme Oneness is realized in the sky of consciousness, it is called moksha. The path of moksha is not far from one’s atman. Like the distance between the eye and ears, the distance between sin and merit is very slight. Moksha is not beyond buddhi.

Moksha does not come in search of us. We should search for moksha and enter therein. What is moksha? Moksha is freedom of the mind from actions and standing apart from the internal state. Moksha is not to be attained by a different outward path. What is moksha is not different from one’s atman.

We have not striven for moksha, so we feel that it is far off from us. Moksha is not a thing to be attained by going “here” and by going “there.” One should search within oneself. The mind should be merged in buddhi and by the path of discrimination one should enter mukti. God is the Indivisible One. Because of his doubts, man has made images and called it God due to ignorance (Maya). This doubt should be removed by the path of discrimination. By doing so he must attain jivanmukti (liberation from bondage in this very life).

Enjoy eternal peace! When the buddhi is enlightened, every man comes to know his own defects and merits. Like one’s reflection in the mirror, the various desires of the mind will be visible to buddhi. The gross and the subtle will seem to be separate like the reflection of the sky in clear water. These experiences will be had by those who have realized the atman. The internal state of man will be like an object sunk in water. In all forms the One is seen. So be sunk in the water of jnana. Let the desires of the mind be washed in the Ganges of the atman. Thus realize ananda. Enter mukti. O mind! While sitting, lying, sleeping, and walking, be on the path of mukti and enter it. For mukti to be attained, no particular time is prescribed. When you are walking in the company of others, let your mind be in the sky of consciousness. Let the mind with shraddha drink the nectar of mukti.

Realizing bhakti and mukti to be one, become one with Omkar. Let the ten indriyas become slaves of buddhi, like a bird deprived of its wings. Let prana which is moving in ten directions be made to move in one direction only. Let this be done internally. Let prana enter the chidakasha (space of pure consciousness). Let internal peace be attained. Let mukti be attained in same-sightedness (seeing the One in all). Having attained mukti let them see the whole universe as freed from bondage. The body is the engine; knowledge (jnana) is the steam; discrimination is the movement; shraddha is the line; knowing this, let the train be driven; the driver is the intellect (buddhi); the digestive system is the boiler; the nadis are the screw; knowing this, enter the atman by the subtle oath of buddhi. Attain thou peace. Just as the train moves on rails, so also discrimination should move on the path of subtle buddhi.

To those who are ever merged in samadhi, the body’s existence is quite foreign. To such, the gross and the subtle become separated like the kernel and the shell of the mango seed. To those who always think “I am not the body,” there is no separate samadhi. They enjoy eternal samadhi; absolute samadhi; Shivanatha Samadhi; Manolaya (mind annihilation) Samadhi. To those who are always sunk in the sugar of jnana, sugar does not exist as a separate thing. Such men are quite regardless of the external acts and the external world.

Money and Possessions

Gold chains around the neck; gold jewels on the ears; gold rings on fingers. These are the causes of the fear of being robbed when they are on the body. Money is the cause of fear. When there is no gold on the body, then there is no fear.

Non-dual vision

Rivers and streamlets enter into the sea and there become one. Similarly, finite things become one in the infinite. Dualism loses itself in Non-dualism. Non-dualism is oneness. This realization of the oneness is the most supreme.

After a man has realized oneness, he will no longer be born. Those who are immovably fixed in the idea of oneness die only when they desire to die. Such men are perfectly desireless. Realization of oneness is the most subtle one. What is same-sightedness (samadarshana) is realizing the atman in all. This equality consists in realizing the one in the many. This is known as introspection.

When the next world and this world are realized as one and the same, a man has attained same-sightedness. This is also called the union of jivatma and the Paramatma. What is the jiva is mental modifications (vrittis). Paramatman is the Great Silence, who is above the three qualities. He knows not good and evil, cold and heat. He is qualitiless, formless. He is No-Thing.

Omkar–Pranava (Om)

Om is Pranava. Pranava pervades the form (body). Om is bodilessness and formlessness.

However wicked a man may be, within five minutes his wickedness may be changed into goodness. So long as there are clouds, the sun’s rays are not visible. As soon as the clouds scatter in all directions, the sun becomes visible. Om is the tower of peace! Om is the form of peace! Om! Salutation to Omkar!

Omkar is one without a second. Omkar is the cause of both creation and dissolution. Omkar destroys manas. Omkar is really the atman in you. Omkar is indivisible; a divisible object can never be indivisible.

Omkar is indivisible. Omkar is creation. Omkar is maya, action, manas, consciousness, light of consciousness.

He is a man who has realized God by the internal eye. Such a man feels that the universe is in him and he is in the universe. Mind, engrossed in the world, is not steady. Shiva who dwells in the heart-space is the ONE, everlasting. Shiva is Omkar. Omkar is Pranava. When united with forms, it is Pranava. Omkar is the unawareness of bodily existence.

Omkar is the elite of all. Omkar is like the dawn of the sun. Omkar is the witness of all. Omkar is the most frightful of all forms. Omkar is fire. There is not a greater thing in this universe than fire. Fire is pervading both internally and externally. In the middle is the earth. The earth is below; air is above. Air pervades the universe; the universe is in air. The first is air; the second is fire. The first is discrimination; the second is sound. Soundlessness is in the form of air. Soundlessness is eternal bliss. It is existence-knowledge-bliss. The self should be merged in soundlessness. The visible world is in the self. When Sat unites with Chit, Ananda is realized. This Ananda is Vivekananda, Chaitanyananda, Sri Brahmananda, Paramananda, Sri Nityananda, and Satchidananda. What is manliness is the realization of this ananda. This is Brahma Jnana, Yoga Jnana, Kala Jnana. This Tri-Kala-Jnana is in the heart. In the heart is mukti. Nityananda Mukti is in the heart.

One is the dwelling; one is the eternal dwelling; that dwelling is Omkar. That dwelling is formless; changeless; indivisible. Future is not happy; today is the happy day. Tomorrow is not; day after is not. Nine o’clock, ten o’clock is not the time. Now is the time. The indivisible time you realize by discrimination is “the time.” The time that you spend forgetting the goal of life is beggarly.

Realization of Omkar is the annihilation of the world. Realization of Omkar is the destruction of the manas. When honor and dishonor have become one to a man, he attains ananda, eternal joy, exhaustless joy, real joy. Then all that appears, becomes nothing but joy.

All things with form is Omkar. Omkar is the divine in them. What is Omkar is the subtle bindu. Omkar pervades both in and out in the form of air. It is impossible to describe Shivashakti (energy of Shiva). Only those who have experienced it can describe what it is. Without experience, it is impossible to describe what Shivashakti is. Men of book knowledge cannot describe it. But those who have the knowledge of the atman can describe it.

Everything comes out from within; not from without. One becomes bad by oneself; one becomes good by oneself. Similarly, there should be Omkar breathing within. Then, there is purity. When evil merges in the good, that evil is transformed into good; the thing in your own hand has no smell; it has no price. A thing that is got from others has smell; it has price. A Raja Yogi Mahatma is Nityananda, all pervasive Omkar, all pervasive Pranava. He who is the Sri Guru is Nityananda.

All-penetrating Omkar is the all-penetrating Pranava.

The form of God is peace. Om and peace are His forms.

The sacred syllable Om is like a storm in the sky. Om is without beginning or ending. Omkar is like a stage manager in a drama. As it works through the bodies of men, those bodies are pervaded by Omkar. This syllable is inside us, outside us and everywhere. It is the cause of everything that exists. We need not bring it up to consciousness anywhere. That sound exists in everything. We need not recall it separately to memory. This energy is not divisible but indivisible. This sound exists in every animal. Whatever sound is produced by animals, it is nothing but Omkar. What is called Pranava is another name for Omkar. When it is united with prana and moves in the body, it is called Pranava. When the nature and the subtle (i.e., physical and non-physical), sthula and sukshma, are separate, it is Pranava. When we feel both to be one, then it is called the feeling of oneness. This is identical with Omkar. At that time, one sees the One everywhere. That which you worship with faith, becomes All.

That energy called Omkar pervades the universe and is formless. It is the light in all and light of all. Ignorance and knowledge are mere phantoms, i.e., not realities. Happiness and misery will never touch a man who has realized the oneness.

Devotion, reasoning and power–these three become one and become Omkar. Egotism becomes merged in Omkar.

No one wants to look at a fruitless tree. Why is man called man? Because he has “manas” (thinking power), he is called man. Manas should get knowledge of various sorts and being united with peace, must become one with Omkar.

Prakriti is like a railway carriage; those who are in it are like jnana; the stations are like the chakras; within the chakras is the subtle (sukshma); the subtle is within the tube (nadi); within the subtle tube is the energy of the kundalini; kundalini in the form of Omkar is in the subtle tubes; let this Subtle be known by experience.

Let meditation, manas, and faith be merged into one; let the subtle point of light be kindled between the eyebrows and the union be established. In the Omkar, let the pure chitta be firmly fixed, following the path of subtle buddhi. Let the manas become steady being firmly fixed in dharana and samadhi. Let the mind be one-pointed. To establish chitta in akasha, there is no other means than samadhi. O jiva! Enter thou akasha! To the jiva who has entered the akasha there is no separate existence for this world. O mind! Be quite free from body idea! To make the chitta firm is very difficult without sadhana.

The energy of Omkar is like a mine of water. It moves in all directions. It pervades both inside us and outside us in the form of buddhi. It becomes vibrationless, creating, maintaining, and destroying all. The vibrationlessness becomes one with buddhi. Buddhi becomes merged in Omkar. Omkar becomes one with buddhi. Omkar becomes one with the world. The world becomes one with Omkar. The Omkar and the world become one with akasha. Akasha becomes one with buddhi. Buddhi becomes one with akasha. Buddhi and akasha become one with Omkar. The imperishable becomes one with buddhi. The imperishable and jnana become one with buddhi. Buddhi becomes one with atman. Atman becomes one with buddhi.

From discrimination [a yogi] becomes one with atman through the path of buddhi. The cause and effect juice of yoga. The juice of yoga transforms every quality of the body, directing it upwards. O mind! By the upward path, pervade all those qualities of the body. Shake off all doubts from all parts of the body by bathing in the Ganges of Shiva. Let Shiva and Shakti be one with Omkar. See with the third eye the forms and qualities of the world. Let the doubts of the mind be reduced to ashes; let the six enemies of the body be burnt to ashes; let the body be smeared with these ashes; thus enter Shiva by the help of the third eye. Be Shiva and Shiva, you. Let the difference between you and Shiva be sacrificed in the midst of the five fires of the five senses. Let all doubts be heartily sacrificed in these fires.