Articles for Saadhana

I have been reading a chapter or still lesser from Srimad Bhagavatam, only the ekadasha skandam, the eleventh called the Mukti Skandha. I don't know whether you have wondered why I am reciting it. Because this is the portion I have to explain in the telecast. I don't have time to read and recite them and be able to do it with the facility and mastery that I want. So, I am using this time. Not only that, it will be one way of doing something very purifying and sublime. Maybe the people who hear my recitation will also pick up a kind of a fondness for the text in some manner to some degree or the other.

The portion I have been reading now during the past few days is on siddhis - yogic powers. Krishna says that, "People who are practicing devotion and yoga will automatically get some yogic powers. And these powers are altogether 18", he says. "The eight powers are definitely associated with me, associated with Creation". They are generally the ones spoken of.

अणिमा महिमा चैव गरिमा लघिमा तथा

प्राप्तिः प्राकाम्यमीशित्वं वशित्वं चाष्ट सिद्धयः ।।

aṇimā mahimā caiva laghimā garimā tathā|

prāpti prākāśyamiśitvam vaśitvam ca aṣṭasiddhayaḥ ||

- Amarakosha

These are the eight. What are they? aṇimā mahimā, laghimā garimā.

aṇimā means becoming atomic in shape. mahimā means becoming mountainous, so big, garimā means very weighty, laghimā means weightless.

Like that it goes. Sri Krishna also adds many other things. Do this, do this, and then you will hear everything and all in the Universe, you will be able to see, you will hear divine sounds wherever they may transpire, etc. etc. Finally he says, all these powers are obstacles in the path of yoga. What do you think now? Are there such powers and can they be had is an important question. It is something like titillating the human mind with heaven, prajapati-loka etc. To the rational mind Brahma is an imaginary deity, Mahavishnu is another imaginary deity, Shiva is another imaginary deity. If the deity itself is imaginary, his residence and world also is imaginary.

But though imaginary, whenever we speak of, "Do this practice, chant Hare Rama for 3 crore times, then you will get into Vaikuntha.” “Ah, let me chant". See, people start doing it. They may not know whether it is true or untrue, but even then there is a feeling that if they will do it, they will get it, etc. What exactly is the science and the rationale behind this?

There are some religio-spiritual austere processes, which it is always nice to do, and they have got a greatly purifying, expansive and elevating effect. People are differently tempered and constituted, so to make them do, you can give any kind of a promise and description … because the promise and description are not what matter. How they influence the human mind to do something good and nice, that is the important point. Sri Krishna says that the Vedas have adopted a parokṣa style of narration. What is parokṣa? It is not direct. It is an indirect method. "There is a heaven. You can attain it by jyotiṣṭoma. Perform it." "Oh, I will attain it, I will attain it" and jyotiṣṭoma was done. What is this jyotiṣṭoma - some yajña, dāna and tapas. And that is always good for the mind.

After some time, the shastras say there is no point in attaining even heaven. You will have to fall from there.

"Oh, is it so"?

Initially they accepted the dictat "Perform jyotiṣṭoma and you will get heaven". So, they have already forged a faith in the scriptures. Afterwards they are told this heaven is useless, it is worse than earth.

"Oh, then why should I do it"?

Then what is greater? Greater is self-purification and self-knowledge.

"Oh, let me try for it".

But this deluding the deluded people with some non-existent rewards, this is one method. What matters is how what is said influences the human mind. That is meant by indirect statement. It is not a direct one but an indirect one.

Now so far as the siddhis are concerned, Sri Krishna says, to get any siddhi whatsoever, what is it that you want? You want to be atomic, extremely subtle. So, you focus your mind on the extremely subtle, subtle, subtle level. And do so thinking that "I am extremely subtle", that is, God is extremely subtle. Think about the subtlety of God, he says, subtlety of mind, “my subtlety”. If you are able to fix the mind there exclusively, you will become subtle.

Similarly the other qualities like laghimā, mahimā etc. Think of me as the biggest and the hugest, then you will become huge. I am wondering what exactly is the meaning here? The meaning is only this - We are living in a pāñcabhautika material world -mountain, sea, sky, sun, moon, stars - all of them are within this orbit. And we have got a mind which is above matter, inside our body. This mind being above matter and energy, has got untold powers and potentials. It can act upon matter to any extent. Normally we never use the mind to that extent. But every day, it is mind that acts on matter. For example, our hand is matter, our leg is matter. Whenever we are moving our hand and leg, what is it that acts on them? The mind. Without the mind, can you move your legs and hands? You cannot. So, mind is always acting on matter and energy. In fact, mind is the only agency which can act. This mind, when focused in a centric manner, and for a long time, whatever you focus on, that it will become and produce.

या मतिः सा गतिर्भवेत् ।।

yā matiḥ sā gatirbhavet

-Ashtavakra Samhita 1.11

So, you think of atomicness, atomicness, atomicness. "I am mind, mind, subtle, subtle, subtle", then he says, the whole body will become atomic.

If you think of something very big, you will become big. If you think of something light, you will become light, heavy, then heavy, like that. You will start hearing sounds from the heavens, you will develop the power to see to any great distance, hear from any great distance. All these are powers. And then he says, all these powers are said to be, by the great people, similar obstacles in the path of Yoga. Where do you stand now? So, two propositions I find there. One is - mind has got full power over matter. Another is - keeping the mind with you, you are not supposed to make it act on matter unnecessarily. Understand the futility of all such endeavors, and then use the same mind to think of God in the absolute and all-pervading manner. When you are able to do so, all the desires will fall. You will become so great, so huge and so potent, he says, you can reach any limit. He says,

तस्य चाज्ञा यथा मम ।।