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Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.
Today the subject that comes to my mind is the meaning, content, purpose and uniqueness of tattva vichāra. The word vichāra refers to the deliberate, intentional introspection particularly the spiritual introspection that one does. As I was telling you yesterday that meditation is an exclusive mental effort. In meditation mind alone should work nothing else. The eyes to be closed, the hands to be interlocked, the body to be motionless. So the entire physical activity is called off and the mind alone is employed in meditation. Generally the mind does thinking. This thinking is given a direction, an exclusiveness, this is called meditation. This is done by the mind.
Now vichāra is done by the intelligence. The intelligence is I would like to say, the refined form of mind itself. When the mind functions the intelligence does not and cannot. When the intelligence functions the mind also will not and cannot. It is not like the eyes and the ears working together at the same time. I can see you, I can also hear what you talk. If necessary I can also be smelling if you are wearing some fragrant flowers. So three or four senses together can be employed but in the case of the mind and the intelligence they together cannot be employed. Either the mind does its work or the intelligence does its work. Normally the employment of the mind is common and almost irresistible but the employment of intelligence in a useful, spiritual and beneficial manner is an art, a habit and a process that you have to cultivate and master.
The one point that people fail to understand is they are not able to relate the effectiveness, importance and supremacy of introspection, in other words intelligential exertion. We have four levels of activity, physical and sensory. They are considered to be the lowest in its effect, then oral activity which is greater, more effective and superior to the sensory activity. These are the two visible forms, articulation and physical activity. Then we get into the mind, mental activity, then intelligential or intellectual activity. So the mental activity like remembering etc. is superior to the other two and intellectual activity is the highest, best and the most effective.
It is due to lack of vichāra that devotees are not able to rise and advance in their path of devotion either getting nearer to God or bringing God closer to them. We have millions and trillions perhaps of devotees in the world but, but, but their devotion does not generally fructify. It is only because they don’t employ the intelligential factor in them. So this introspection is something very unique in its effect, in its place, importance. What is the introspection that you should take up? The introspection should be adhyātmic. The word adhyātmic can be translated as spiritual. Now the question is what is spiritual? In the whole world we have matter and energy. The entire panchabhūtas are either matter or energy. Earth is matter, water is matter, air is matter, fire is energy and space, I don’t know whether we can put it as matter or something else. Matter and energy alone are there, alone are there.
Now besides matter and energy there is one factor then the whole world is complete in its creation, function and role. The third factor is chetana, chaitanya or consciousness. Consciousness is that which animates our body, activates our body, designs and initiates all activities and interactions, implements them, concludes them, keeps a memory of them etc. This consciousness functions only in three different ways. One as the mind doing mentation, another as the intellect doing intellection and the third is ego doing coordination and assertion. All the three are like walking, running, jumping, and squatting by the legs. The substance involved in all these functions is the same; only functional differences are there which are called mentation by the term mind, intellection by the term intelligence or intellect and ego, the assertion and coordination by the term ego.
Now my dear souls, ‘P’ hear me very, very carefully. This introspection alone has an effect to change and improve your character, behavior and what not. Secondly, secondly, to change and improve your character I said, secondly or even firstly to shape your character, behavior and response. One is to shape, i.e. any kind of a character can be cultivated. Any kind of a behavior can be cultivated. Any kind of a response and reaction can be cultivated. I always say, a person gets angry when he does not know what to do. The inability to know what you do, what should be done, that results in anger. And anger is something that nobody likes and nobody approves of. The man who gets angry he doesn’t like it. The people around on whom it is focused they also don’t like. But nevertheless we get angry. You know why you are getting angry? Because you don’t know what to do. Some problem is there, question is there, hazard is there, some confrontation is there, you don’t know what to do.
There is one simple path to be followed. When you are about to get angry with somebody please leave the place, don’t stand there. When you are going away the other party especially your married partner may say “Ah you are running away because you cannot hear me.” Don’t turn back to reply, simply go away. You say, “When you stop talking I shall come. Otherwise I will get angry and do something very bad.” See very simple – leave the place or you write something. If nothing at least God’s name or if you have a mantra, that mantra. Another thing is you take deep long breaths, expel the air as much as possible and refuse to take without touching the nose. Then fill the lungs enough with air and don’t leave it. Hold it, contain it but without touching the nose. If you do it three, four times, there will be no anger at all.
The introspection can be done to any extent. Why am I getting angry? why do I have a desire, is it necessary? The mind alone desires and the mind alone seeks ways to fulfill the desires and the mind alone feels the desires have been fulfilled. So the whole desiring process, effort process, fulfillmental process, all these are taking place only in the mind. Now the feeling of joy, it is emotional , it is created by the mind. No joy belongs to the body or matter and energy. Once you understand that desire is a mind’s work, pursuit of it again is mind, fulfillment is again felt by the mind. So, instead of desiring and pursuing it and getting fulfillment in the form of joy why don’t you ask the mind to generate joy throughout without any desiring process? I don’t think anybody has any answer to give. Now this is a result of introspection.
So you can do introspection in a major manner. What is this world, we are living upon the earth, the earth is surrounded by air, air is further surrounded by free space. After some time there are so many other stars and planets and galaxies. All of them are equally surrounded by in the same manner as the earth is surrounded by. But the earth is dense, air is not so dense. Nevertheless the earth remains in its own axis. Why? How? There seems to be some balancing force or principle. What is that? Wherefrom the space itself was born and from the space how concrete and dense substances were evolved? When something evolves from something there must be a sequence, a law, a process. So how many laws and processes are there and what is the source of all these?
Then look into your own body. What is this body? How is it made? If all the blood vessels are stitched together, I am told, it will be more than one lakh kilometers in length. The optical nerve, the eye specialist tells me, consists of millions of fibrous nerves. What do we mean by this? What is this body? How is it made? What is the mind? What is the brain? What do I refer to as ‘I’ ‘I’ ‘I’? So an enquiry into oneself - introspection, an enquiry into the world - another introspection, enquiry into God, the religious God. Who is He, where is He, does He have a body? Is He not present everywhere? Can an omnipresent being have any form at all? Will He have eyes, nose. So introspect over it. Introspect over your own behavior, your own character, your own interaction, your own attitude, your own objective. But you should introspect.
Many people are introspecting. All intelligent people are reflecting upon whatever they do. But here we have to reflect upon ourselves, our character, behavior and interaction. Question why am I miserable, how can I be happy, what is the source of joy, how can I live and move in this world without being troubled and tormented? So the subject can be introspected over. When you introspect you will find the intelligence explores, explores and, and brings forth newer and newer facts and phenomena. The entire Mahabharata was written by Vedavyasa by introspection. Ramayana was written by Valmiki by introspection. The entire Vedas were evolved by introspection. Introspection is the highest level of human activity. The lowest is the sensory one, physical. The next is the oral, articulation. The third is the inner, mental and fourth and the highest is introspection. I would like you to rate it properly and understand its potential, magnitude and possibility.
I wonder whether you know that I am always introspecting. You know I have been speaking for 57 years. I cannot obviously speak unless I think. So I think. I am not so much a reader as I always say but I am a thinker. And I am thinking always, always. Unnecessary thoughts are very few in my system. And this introspection will be helped by your deeksha and anusandhāna. When you do anusandhāna the undesirable and unnecessary thoughts are kept away and whenever a good subject is there for you to think about, the intelligence becomes free and focused. Please understand the efficacy of introspection. That is the highest form of activity that a human being can and does do. It is by introspection science is evolved, technology is evolved, all this civilization results from introspection.
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.
