Articles for Saadhana

I am reading actually the Ekadasha Skandham of Bhaagavatam. This is the last message Krishna gave to Uddhava. It is altogether 24 chapters. This is said to be the quintessence of Srimad Bhaagavatam.

I was particularly reading - what are the varnashrama dharmas of our country. varna means vertical categorization. Ashrama means horizontal. Initially we are brahmacharis, then we get married, then life doesn’t stop there, you have to leave the household, go to the forest, live there. If you succeed in living, take up sannyaasa - and the sannyaasa is the endpoint of life. How this is taken up and what are the practices and disciplines observed by them in the different stages; etc etc.

Actually when I read it, I find that it is the history of our society. Just like a historian will write and history students will read, I am also reading it. So I understand this is how our people were living and should live. See, all of you have a feeling that married life alone will complete. Then you have grandsons, grandchildren. They also get married, so you are very happy. But no! It’s only half your life. Until then your life was in a way connected to the family and other members. You have never been able to develop the inner personality of yours whereby you feel enriched and finally you go away from the world wanting nothing, looking for nothing; absolute fulfilled state!

Those two more important parts of life we are avoiding. So I openly say from my platform, “You are all half-humans, you are not full humans as long as you live only as a married person with children and grandchildren. You have not been able to spend any time for developing your mind, purifying the mind, enlightening your intelligence and understanding the truth of matters including your life, world, God etc.”

So, these are the orders – brahmacarya, gārhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. And what are the items that they have to care for? You know, a grihastha, he was living in the house, very well protected, by himself. He was earning money, he had money, etc, etc. Such a householder suddenly decides to leave the household. And the same man who was very well protected etc., this is what U., you should understand. You are not able to leave anything. What is the mind development then? Why are we so much clinging? Let go! You have to leave! And then he says, “I will eat only such things which are cooked by sun.” What? Which are cooked by sun! “And I will never keep anything for the morrow”. The same householder who was storing items lavishly for tomorrow, he decides to leave and live an altogether different life. Just see the potential of the mind. You may not do it, baba, but at least think that it is possible. The mind that clings to everything, M., it decides to leave and you are struggling with your smoking.

See, the mind which is clinging to things, it decides to leave. And when you decide to leave, when poverty comes you, when you are a householder, it is a suffering. When you openly embrace poverty as an austerity and you start moving away from the house, then the starvation is a great honor, it is an enrichment, it is a crowning glory everyday of your starvation! You will not curse it. See, the same plight when it comes to you when you want it, when you have opted for it. Otherwise – “I am suffering, I am nothing!” But when you become a wanderer and you are put to starvation, every day, every minute of starvation becomes a blessing! See! See the difference!

This is why I say, manaḥ kṛtam kṛtam kāryam na tu dehakṛtam kṛtam. Whatever is done by the mind - that alone is done, not what is done by the body, so the householder, who was like that.

Śrīmadbhāgavata pictures a Rishabha Chakravarthi. He was a great man. He called his children, gave a beautiful sermon on dharma and after saying all that, he simply said “I am going to be an avadhoota” and walked out of the palace. Walked out of the palace!

And not only that, he went out but he was not an ordinary mendicant. He became an avadhoota. avadhoota means not looking for anything - he will not keep the body even clean. Everything! Bhāgavata says that he was so austere and ascetic that even his stool was smelling beautiful fragrance from kilometers away. Finally he came to the Coorg Mountains and put stones into his mouth. You will be afraid sometimes, frightened also. Like a ghoul he became and he wanted to destroy his body. At that time there was a wild fire, in the fire he got burnt. See a man can take to spiritual hippyism to such an extent. Can you imagine the chakravarthi who was in the throne and the palace, after giving the sermon, he simply becomes an avadhoota? Listen to it, baba, listen to it! You may not be able to do it but at least honor it. This is the potential of the human mind. Everything becomes different when the mind is changed.

So, I was reading the varnaashrama dharma. In two places it is exposed. One I have already written, that is - Narada to Yudhishthira in the seventh skandha. I did not want to write, but Maa said you write it - because the same subject is discussed by Krishna and also by Narada. So there is a difference. I will try to go into the difference. I wanted to tell you I am reading it so that at least some of you may have an occasion to hear it, not that you may like it or you will understand, but to listen to this. I am a very creative person. I am wondering what can I do to make this Ekadasha Skandham popular. So, I am thinking, I want to do a mass program, a very massive program. What is that program, I have some ideas coming to me. Let me see whether I will be able to do it. A very massive program! At least ten thousand people should attend, that is my feeling. Where is the place for ten thousand people to assemble? It is not easy.

So, I wanted to ask you, I am coming here reading so that you will be hearing. Do you like it when I read? Huh? They are liking! What about R., M., S.? Our A. is missing. So, I just came here to read because I want to read it myself. You should understand the joy I am getting. Bah! If I want to eat, the primary reason is that only when I eat, the body will be nourished, and such a nourished body alone will be able to…. You know I am already hungry, I’m very hungry - I’m not able to read. So you understand the need for food. Food is required so that the body is kept up. And the body is kept up so that the praanas can be retained. And only when the praanas are there, you can speak, you can see, you can hear, you can walk. So the purpose of nourishing the body is only to keep it up. So even if I have to read, I must have strength and energy. Today I started reading half an hour back. I came here also. I wanted to tell you whether you like it or not. So I will continue to read it here. It is so much enjoyable, so much enjoyable!

ज्ञानं विशुद्धं विपुलं यथैतद् वैराग्यविज्ञानयुतं पुराणम् ।

आख्याहि विश्वेश्वर विश्वमूर्ते त्वद्भक्तियोगं च महद्विमृग्यम् ।।

तापत्रयेणाभिहतस्य घोरे संतप्यमानस्य भवाध्वनीश ।

पश्यामि नान्यच्छरणं तवाङ्घ्रिद्वन्द्वातपत्रादमृताभिवर्षात् ।।

दष्टं जनं संपतितं बिलेस्मिन् कालाहिना क्षुद्रसुखोरुतर्षम् ।

समुद्धरैनं कृपयापवक्यैर्वचोभिरासिञ्च महानुभाव ।।

jñānaṁ viśuddhaṁ vipulaṁ yathaitadvairāgyavijñānayutaṁ purāṇam |

ākhyāhi viśveśvara viśvamūrte tvadbhaktiyogaṁ ca mahadvimṛgyam ||

tāpatrayeṇābhihatasya ghore santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīśa |

paśyāmi nānyaccharaṇaṁ tavāṅghri dvandvātapatrādamṛtābhivarṣāt ||

daṣṭaṁ janaṁ sampatitaṁ bile'sminkālāhinā kṣudrasukhorutarṣam |

samuddharainaṁ kṛpayāpavargyairvacobhirāsiñca mahānubhāva ||

(Śrīmadbhāgavatam 11.19.8-11.19.10)

Uddhava tells, “Cool and wet me with the shower of your words. Rain me with your words”, he says. These are all typical oriental expressions. Do you have any appreciation for them? There is no English expression like this.

samuddharainaṁ kṛpayāpavargyairvacobhirāsiñca mahānubhāva |