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Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.
I have been discussing the subject of handling the mind and also the intelligence, trying to bring about a unison between the mind and intelligence, thereby setting right the doubts, fears, the ambitions, and defects like jealousy, competitions, intolerance and the like, all arising from the mind. I discuss this subject as an important factor which the seekers of truth cannot escape. You might wonder as to why so much of importance is given to this subject. I am thinking about it in a loud manner.
In the twelfth chapter of Bhagavad Gita, there is a cardinal verse which says:
निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशयः ।।
mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhim niveśaya |
nivasishyasi mayyeva ata ūrdhvam na samśayah ||
(Bhagavad Gita – 12.8)
He was presenting the Bhakti Yoga, the chapter itself is called Bhakti Yoga chapter. “Fix your mind on me and also establish your intelligence in me. When these two fixations are done, then from that moment onwards you will be living in me”. When the mind and intelligence are fixed on God, from the next moment onwards, the devotee will be living in God. This is what Bhagavad Gita, Krishna and Veda Vyasa say. In the whole of spiritual life which is another name for devotional life, the net result to be achieved is mind-intelligence fixation on God. What is meant by mind fixation and intelligence fixation?
Mind consists of thoughts, memories, various types of reactions, responses, and a variety of these. The mind produces a number of negative and retrogressive traits also. It is such a mind that has to be fixed on God. So far as intelligence is concerned, it always wants to know and there will be doubt, speculation and the like. These also have to be resolved. So, can there be a spiritual, devotional or philosophical life in which the mind does not become clear and precise, the intelligence also does not become firm? Such a life can never be. That is why the importance is given. Another point that I thought of mentioning to all of you is, whenever a person thinks of pursuing spirituality, devotional life, philosophical or yogic life, in India, it always follows a sense of acceptance of God, and surrender to Him absolutely.
What is meant by surrender?
Relying upon God, who sustains this world in toto, to also sustain your life as an individual”.
See, especially joining an Ashram, pursuing the path of brahmacharya or sannyāsa, is such that we deny ourselves all kinds of other support, support from family, support from income, support from property and money, all these things are left. For such people, God alone is the sole source of reliance. This is a very important factor. When in such a reliance, you take up spirituality, spiritual pursuit, where is the question of not making sure that this reliance always supports you? Rely upon God for what? For physical sustenance and welfare, for mental sustenance and welfare, for intellectual and intelligential sustenance and welfare. Does it not mean that the mind’s vagaries will have to be resolved or dissolved and the mind should be taught to rely upon the Supreme Almighty? In the same manner, despite doubts, speculations, curiosities, resistance and the like, the intelligence should also be able to reply upon God. This reliance necessarily means dealing with the problems the mind poses, and the questions the intelligence presents. That is why I am giving so much of importance to all this.
In Bhagavad Gita when Sri Krishna stated speaking, He explains the sānkhya philosophy and then goes on to say
तस्माद् योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ।।
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogah karmasu kauśalam ||
(Bhagavad Gita - 2.50)
The man whose intelligence becomes yukta, integrated and united with God, sukṛta and dushkṛta are both transcended by Him. While discussing karma yoga, He says
बुद्धौ शरणमन्विच्छ कृपणाः फलहेतवः ।।
buddhau śara amanviccha kripanāha phalahetavaha ||
(Bhagavad Gita – 2.49)
Arjuna had surrendered to Sri Krishna and asked him for instructions. To such an Arjuna, Krishna says, “Surrender to the buddhi within you”. What is the buddhi that Sri Krishna is speaking about? Ātma buddhi, yoga buddhi and sama buddhi. Whether it is ātma buddhi or yoga buddhi, it is really sama buddhi. Now this sama buddhi should be taken up as a source to which you should surrender, is the meaning of the verse there. The sādhanā ultimately revolves on the mind and intelligence. It should be able to suspend all doubts by the process of reliance.
So, what I have to tell both B and V is that they should not take the subject easily. They should take the subject in a more serious manner without getting any fear, apprehension or doubt. As spiritual seekers, right from the beginning our reliance is on the Supreme Reality. How you look at it is a different matter. You can consider it to be a personal four-armed God or multi-armed God, multi-legged, multi-powered, may be something like sky or space. You can also regard it as the Antarātma in you. You can also think that my Guru is God and therefore, I surrender before Him just like Ekalavya did towards Drona. Whatever it may be, the process of surrender and acceptance is your mind’s. Removal of doubts and having clarity in this surrender and acceptance is something that involves and affects the intelligence. Unless you are able to look at your doubts and remove them, I don’t think you can progress. Bhagavad Gita says “Samśayātma vinaśyati” - the doubting person always gets destroyed. So to be constantly doubting, is not good.
You know, you may have a certain impression about me, this Swami, but I want to tell you, I speak all wisdom – viveka. I have told you earlier that at one point after sannyāsa within one or two years I started speaking about wisdom, wisdom orientation. It happened because during my wandering life, I met one or two persons who said that “Swamiji, what is clear to you from the śastras suddenly can be clear to us only through reason and yukti.” To reach the meaning of a word, we have to use reason. Otherwise we will not know what it is. Any śloka that is presented drives home a certain idea. What is that idea? To know it, you have to employ your reason.
Another person, living in the administrative way, told me that “Swamiji, clarity of thought is what you are presenting and this is what people generally lack.” One R was there in Ānandāshram years back, he had told me that “Ultimately, Swamiji, in spiritual life, it is clarity that is required, clarity is the attainment.” So, putting all these things, naturally my mind started reacting. So, I started speaking about in a logical and systematic manner. Otherwise I always used to use the words God, devotion etc. etc.
Then, for my own purpose, I found, being given to some religious and devotional eccentricities, as perhaps Rāmakrishna Dev or Chaitanya Mahāprabhu had, I had a lot of susceptibility. The moment I hear a devotional song, there is a violent tempestuous attunement to it arising from my mind, and this tempestuous attunement used to create spiritual havoc, though it is a joyful havoc, in my system. That was my nature. Then at one point of time, I started thinking about what Bhagavadgeeta says, more in Yogavāsistha Rāmāyana. There I found a complete orientation presented by wisdom and the purpose of wisdom orientation was to take away all kinds of angularities, abnormalities, eccentricities, unnecessary preferences, prejudices etc. right from the senses, minds, intelligence and everything. So, this wisdom orientation came to be like that. But why I said this? Then as well as now, it is my devotional nature and devotional reliance and acceptance that always make me what I am. I am trying to explain the devotional reliance in terms of knowledge, jñāna and perhaps reason also. But the fact remains that as seekers, you should always have this devotional reliance, acceptance and refuge. It is only a question of making that refuge unshakeable.
So, discussing the problem of the mind and arriving at a solution is very, very important. You may postpone it but you cannot escape from it.
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.
