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Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.
I again pick up a verse from Bhagavad Gita which stands quite independently, at the same time which means a complete and comprehensive spiritual sādhana, pursuit, its perfection and fullness.
Altogether it is only 32 letters, maybe six or eight words. Sri Krishna says, this is from the fifth chapter of Bhagavad Gita, labhante, plural number is used. They attain, they get, they have, brahma-nirvāṇam, the release, the freedom, the redemption arising from Brahman, this is the highest human attainment and need that you can think of.
Who are getting them? Rṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ – the rishis, the sages, the saintly people. Who are they? Kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ. The word kalmaṣa means any kind of a stain, taint that accrues to the mind, the heart or even the intelligence, primarily the mind. What the sādhana aims at spiritually is to make the mind pure, innocent, natural, facile, smooth, very flexible, it should not have any kind of a taint. Anything that is adverse to the mind’s wellbeing is a stain or a taint. All the taints, kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ, they should become weak. It means, it should not become very strong, heavy and tight.
So the mind should not have undue constrictions. Any kind of a constriction is bad. And what causes constriction? Whenever your mind is constricted, you will not be peaceful. There will be a heaviness, tension, stress and strain. This is what we will always feel. So it is so simple. Look into your mind and see whether you are happy with anything or unhappy with something. It is almost like beautiful and radiant, cool moonlight on the full moon day. Our mind will become like that. Kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ.
Chinna-dvaidhā, it means no kind of a division, a break, a doubt you must have. This generally refers to the intelligence. The kṣīṇa-kalmaṣatva relates to the mind and chinna-dvaidhatva relates to the intelligence. You should not have any doubt. Is there any birth, is there any death, is there any rebirth, will there be any heaven, hell, how many times I was born, how many times I will get born, is my soul one or two, there should be no doubt either about the world or about actions or about God or about this or about that.
What is after all a doubt? A doubt that assails the intelligence. When you are peaceful, happy and free, why should you worry about any doubt? So that doubt should get dissolved in the intelligence, the mind should become pure, gentle, benign and benevolent. What do you find here? You don’t find any philosophy here. You don’t find any soul here. You don’t find God also here. It is a question of your own personality, particularly the inner one.
And what is the discipline, austerity that you have to do? Yatātmānaḥ. Our body is spoiled if at all by virtue of the senses it has. Regulation and refinement of the senses, moderation of the senses. You are not asked not to employ your senses, we have to employ. If we have to walk, we have to look into the ground and see where we place our feet. So the eyes have to be employed, you have to be mindful about traffic and other sound. So everywhere. Our cooking gas is given a particular smell so that if it leaks you will know, so the nose has to be active. Tongue has to be active, skin has to be active. So we have to be employing our senses throughout the wakefulness. But in employing them have regulation and moderation.
In the hands of the senses you should not be pulled or pushed unduly. Understand that they are your senses and the senses have to behave in a manner that you are not broken, you are not made heavy in your mind, there is no dislodgement taking place for you. That regulation of the senses, a proper and regimented employment of each sensory organ. Wear dress comfortable, good for the skin, good for the climate, good for your complexion. Take delicious food, very tasty food but take it in such a manner that nothing is injurious or excessive so far as the digestive powers and the requirement of the body are concerned. Speak very well, choose your vocabulary. Make your speech as endearing as possible to the others, let there be enough of meaning, purpose and message in what you talk. Write well, speak well, think well, everything is good. And this goodness comes from regulation, refinement.
Labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ – When the kalmaṣa, the stain of your mind is completely cleared, one becomes a maharshi. You are wondering, who is a maharshi? A maharshi is one whose mind is good, benign, clear and beautiful and whose intelligence is clear about all matters. He is not doubtful about anything. The clarity of the intelligence on the one hand and the serenity of the mind on the other, these together constitute ṛshitva.
Then one more point. Sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ – You should be interested in the welfare of all creatures. This shows the expansion of the human individual mind. Vasudhaiva kudumbakam – Consider the whole earth to be your family. All the denizens of the earth become your family members. Imagine how beautiful is such a mind! Just like you are concerned about yourself, your family and family members, you are also concerned about the welfare of the people. Just imagine! Who will not like such a spirituality?
This spirituality is one of goodness, beautifulness, endearingness, sweetness, expansion, enlightenment, clarity, benignness, benevolence, wah, wah! I am wondering who will not like such a spirituality. Either it is not properly explained or it is not properly heard and read and understood. So the spirituality I find is something that will be stolen by everybody.
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.