Stay Unattached: Renounce Doer-ship

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Friends, relatives, wife and children all are limited only to this particular life. Each person and his relationship to you are limited only to this life. Who knows who will be entangled with you in your forthcoming birth? It is our vasanas (proclivities) which keep us entangled forever without letting go of us. They are the seed bed of the next birth. That is why, if one does not increase his infatuation with the karma, one would gain immeasurably in the hereafter. One stays for a day or two in one choultry and then moves on towards his destination without forming my association or infatuation with it. In the same way, one should look upon this world as a choultry and not form any attachments. Thus, one should continue to do one's duty and recognize and revere the Almighty that is the form of satchidananda (existence-knowledge-bliss).One should do one's duty and present the result and the feeling of being the doer to the Almighty and be untouched by it all. 

As long as one is alive, one should take care of the body. But it is a waste of time to think of or worry about death. This body is on loan to you from the panchabhutas (sky, wind, fire, water, earth). As life leaves it, the body returns to panchabhutas. The air joins air, the energy joins the energy. The body is a part of the earth. It is futile to cry for it when it dies. In the same manner, it is futile to feel happy at birth. One should be content thinking that it is but the law of nature. The earth shelters the seed. The clouds rain water. The plants are born by sun light. Does the earth, clouds or sun dance with joy at the sight of the plants sprouting? In the same way, the wise are beyond these feelings of happiness or sorrow. We should be like that. Where then is the scope for happiness or sorrow?

Happiness and Sorrow

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Happiness and sorrow are delusions. They are the fog which covers up and hides the reality. What we feel are the pleasures of this world are not truly its pleasures. Examine this aspect closely. Many people commit mistakes in understanding these aspects. It is by the prarabdha karma that one gets delicious food to eat while another gets dry bread to eat. The one who gets dry bread may be plunged in sorrow. Another may get merely the dry crust of the stale bread. The man who got the delicious food to eat will think that he has everything and lacks nothing. One may eat delicious food or one may eat rice with pickle. It is merely to assuage hunger and to fill the stomach. Some may wear costly shawls with jeweled embroidery. Some may cover their skin with rags. The purpose is to cover the skin. Beyond this basic use there no further use for these things.

It is ignorance to give importance to happiness or sorrow. If the mind is an ocean, the waves of sorrow and happiness are always rising and falling in that ocean. What you feel as sorrow and happiness are not real. They are mere delusions caused by your infatuation with the body. You may have a doubt here. Waves are present only if water is present. Light is present only if a lamp is present. So there must be a causal factor for the birth of these notions such as happiness and sorrow. What is it? It is the six enemies such as lust, anger, covetousness, delusion, pride and envy which is the basis for the experience of happiness and sorrow in this world. The form of the waves is delusion. It makes the truth seem a lie; and a lie seems as the truth. When a poor man sees gold in the hand of a rich man, he feels envious. Then the wave of envy starts in his mind. He gets the feeling, "That gold should be in my hand." The moment he gets this feeling, another wave of greed starts in his mind. First, we have to conquer our six enemies. Once they are conquered, they cannot do anything to start these waves. We should place our knowledge as the superior officer over these enemies. Over knowledge, we should place discrimination as the supervising officer. If we successfully achieve this, there will be no further pain of happiness and sorrow for us.

Mukti is true happiness. To take birth and die is true sorrow. Any other happiness or sorrow is a mere delusion.

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It is natural for each organ to feel attraction or aversion in respect of objects pertaining to each sense. Do not come under their sway, for they are enemies of all spiritual aspirants. - Srimad Bhagavad Gita

Origin Of Maya

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Q: How has this maya originated? Who originated it? When did it arrive and from where? You said that pure consciousness is the basis and foundation of this world. You also said that the entire universe is nothing but pure consciousness. Whence sprang this maya?

I will let you know whence this maya came. The energy contained in pure consciousness is maya. Maya encloses pure consciousness. As how one cannot separate sugar and its sweetness, as one cannot separate the sun and its light; in the same way are the maya and Brahman. The sun and sunlight are two different words. But it is only by a conjoining of the both that the form of the sun visible to us. We distinguish and identify the sun by its form, the heat and the light it radiates. In the same way is maya and Brahman. But there is an end to maya and there is no end to pure consciousness. Pure consciousness has no beginning too. It just is. It is by maya or prakriti or nature that this whole world has formed.

Those who enter the cave of Self realization do not revert to ignorance. They take the form of that cave and dance in the joy of infinite bliss. The reason for all this eternal Brahman. Maya is his creation. The power of this maya is as the limitless ocean of unplumbed depths. The feeling 'I am such and such' is formed by maya. This is an untruth. Once maya casts its net of deception on us, we cannot know and recognize either the truth or untruth. Maya has two principal qualities. Know you what they are! What is visible and true is hidden by maya. What is not visible and is untrue is shown by maya.

All people are mesmerized by maya and are victims of illusion. A servant gets a dream that he has become a king. By this dream maya has shut out his true state of servanthood. In addition even if he was not the king, he fell into the illusion of believing himself to be the power of maya in the dream. In this manner, maya hides the true brahman and shows the world which is illusory. In truth, this world is not. It is only the universal consciousness which fills all. But due to maya we are able to see only this world. All things visible to us in this world are mere illusion but we are deluded into thinking that they are true by the power of maya. If we succeed in removing the covering of maya by discriminate knowledge, we will be able to see and realize brahman. You will then realize that you are the world. When the pollutants are removed from the water one gets pure water. In the same way, when the maya is removed pure consciousness is visible. You think of, pray for and seek the truth. Atman is the truth. I tell this to all. To recognize, realize the atman and to be immersed in it is the sole objective of spiritual endeavor. 

Pure Consciousness Is Indivisible

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Q: How does the constitution which is one for all change to so many forms to benefit people in different ways? By such division does not its unity get disturbed?

Baba: The constitution is a unified whole. It is indivisible but looks as if divided and applied differently to different individuals. The same applies to pure consciousness. It is not divisible but the individual obtains only what he grasps. Let us take the example of pots of various sizes filled with water. The same sky one sees in the mighty river is seen in the pots too. The pot may be big or small; the sky reflected in the water contained in the pots or the river is the same. In the river one sees the biggest reflection of the sky. The sky in each pot seems smaller or larger depending on the size of the pot. Has the sky been divided? In the same way is the case with pure consciousness. This world is an illusion (maya). Brahman and maya have joined together to create this world.

The Underlying Unity

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Happiness or sadness is the dharma relating to the heart. The heart gets the consciousness only when it is conjoined with the soul. This consciousness shines in the beings in the form of paramadharaka, vyavaharika and pratibhasika depending on the progression and spiritual maturity of the beings. Even though the body is one it has the various forms of youth, maturity and old age. It is the same case with the consciousness. 

The paramadharaka consciousness may be seen only in the saints. Those who model their conduct as enjoined by the sastras and know what is to be retained and what discarded and progress towards salvation are the vyavaharikas. Those who believe the untruth to be the truth and whose intellect is steeped in ignorance are the pratibhasika. You should know that the pratibhasika are the ignorant, the vyavaharika are the wise and the paramadharaka are saints. Even so, the same Atman shines in all. The king, his officer and his emissary are all parts of the same kingdom. The basis and the foundation of their power is the constitution of that country. Even then, there are differences among them. One rides in state on the elephant and sits on the throne. He moves about as he fancies. All the people follow the constitution. It is the duty of every one to follow it without demur. The king, his officialdom, the servants, and the people are all different but they all follow the same constitution. The king may die but the constitution lives on. The successor to the king obtains his power from that. That constitution is not a thing to be purchased or sold commercially but all weal is available because of it. By which constitution the king sits on throne, by the same constitution the servants serve him and look after his every comfort. The king gets the greatest benefit from it; his officialdom gets lesser benefit, his servants even less benefit and the common people the least benefit. In the same manner he who has realized and experienced that his soul and Brahman are one gets the Brahman in full form.

How Come 'Many' From 'One'?

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Nana asked, "You say that Brahman is everywhere; you say it is pure bliss and it is one. If it is one, how is that visible to us in so many forms in this universe? You say that the pure consciousness is filling everything in the animate and inanimate world. And you say that its forms is pure bliss. Why then is there so much misery in this world? I am not able to understand this. How can one born blind in both eyes appreciate beauty? In the same way, how can pure consciousness which is the truth, abide in this world which is an illusion? If you say that the soul is the pure consciousness, how are there so many souls when the consciousness is one? Each soul has its own experience of pleasure and pain; happiness and misery. How can you say that a single pure consciousness abides in all and everywhere? The soul abiding in each body is different from the others. How can you say that the pure consciousness is the soul? Please clear my doubt."

Baba said, "Still your mind in concentration and peacefully listen to what I say. Take some pots of water and mix white, black, yellow, green, red and magenta colors in the water. They all look different from each other. But the water is the same in all pots. The water seems red in the red pot and yellow in the yellow pot. If the mixed colors are removed from the water, the same water remains. In the same way, the soul is one. The hearts are many. It is only when the soul and the heart are joined in one place that the happiness or sadness is experienced. The Atman has no division. It is the same everywhere. This is the truth."

(To be continued)

What Is Pure Consciousness?

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

What is the basis for this universe; what is existing in all living and non-living creation and is still left over; what is the life force which is the foundation of the universe is the pure consciousness. In what the universe again merges at the end of it, all is pure consciousness. What is visible to our eye in the entire universe is that Brahman. The pure consciousness shines without interruption in all in the form of, 'I am', 'I am'. This is a constant experience of all living beings. You asked me where the pure consciousness is. You tell me where it is not. You may search everywhere in this universe and outside it; you will never find a place  where it is not. Everything is pure consciousness. It has no name and no form. As the air is beyond shape or form or color or other attributes, so is pure consciousness. That is pure consciousness or Brahman. Never forget this truth. The saints who have realized themselves are always in the direct experience of the Brahman. The various animal life, plant life and humanity are all its forms. The seer, the seen, the look, the knowledge, the energy - pure consciousness is the basis or the foundation for all this. It is omnipresent, pure bliss. It is the true knowledge. The form of that pure consciousness is Brahman.

Moksha

Sri Shirdi Saibaba

Shama, dama, titiksha, uparati, shraddha and samadhana are the six sadhanas. Shama is to possess mental restraint towards sensory objects. Dama is to forcibly restrain the body and the senses from seeking sensory enjoyment. Titiksha is forbearance. It is to bear with equanimity all that is happening one as a result of prarabdha karma. Uparati is the withdrawal of the senses so that one does not fall into the maya of considering woman, gold, children, relatives and friends as true. Shraddha is the faith and devotion to one's guru. Now I will tell about the last samadhana. Listen carefully. 

To look at happiness or misery with an equal eye with the heart bearing steady is samadhana. The one who has the strong desire for moksha in his heart, and disregarding everything else; searches sincerely for the path to achieve the knowledge of the Brahman is a mumukshu. Moksha is not kailash, the abode of Shiva or Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu. Moksha is a very difficult thing to achieve. The path to moksha has many obstacles and pitfalls. Nana! Pay close attention. To conjoin with the pure consciousness which is the basis and the foundation of this universe is moksha. To reach that everlasting stage is the object of human endeavor. All else is waste.

Nana: Baba, What is pure consciousness? What are its characteristics? Where does one find it?

(To be continued)

Sadhana

Shirdi Saibaba

Sadhana is the efforts one makes towards one's salvation and towards achieving the ever-pure knowledge of Self. It is of four kinds.

1. Wise discrimination of the permanent and the impermanent nature of things.

2. Dispassion

3. Six practices of shama (mental restraint)

• Dama - Control of body and senses
• Titiksha - Forbearance - bearing all with equality
• Uparati - Withdrawal or abstaining from sense objects
• Shraddha - Faith in one's Guru and Vedanta
• Samadhana - Concentration of the mind on scriptural or other elevating truths

4. Mumukshu - Active quest for knowledge.

This is a complicated thing to learn, so listen carefully.

Let me tell you first about the discriminate wisdom of permanence and impermanence. The firming up of the belief that Brahman is the permanent truth and the world is an impermanent lie, until it is a rock-like foundation of all thought is the discriminate wisdom of permanence and impermanence. Many try to talk about this discrimination and the knowledge of permanence and impermanence and make an exhibition of their foolish ignorance. Many go in groups to Pandharpur begging for alms on the way. Not one of these has come to know the Brahman.

Who is Brahman? What does he look like? Where does he stay? Who knows these things? Those who go in groups to Pandharpur merely to boast to others that they too had performed pilgrimage are not true devotees. Some read many books on spirituality. They give instruction to others about morals and right conduct, but they themselves are not pure. As long as one's heart is impure, what is the use of books or of teaching? They are like the frogs in the lake of knowledge, who instead of drinking deeply the nectar of knowledge flowing from the lotus which is Brahman eat instead the mud of barren arguments lying on the bed of the lake. 

Those who speak criticizing others will stay on in the mud. They will not gain wisdom. Those who indulge in barren arguments and those who always criticize others will not gain knowledge of Brahman. He who has no desires for either the worldly or the spiritual is the man of true dispassion. Know this to the truth.

(To be continued)

Shirdi Saibaba

Barring your name and form, there exists in you as well as other beings a sense of being or consciousness of existence. That is Myself.

Relinquish Doer-ship

Do not entertain any sense of doership in you while doing good or bad actions. Surrender your body, mind and soul to the Lord and then see what He does.

Shirdi Saibaba

Let the world go topsy-turvy. You remain where you are.

Shirdi Saibaba:

Barring your name and form, there exist in you a sense of being or Consciousness of Existence. That is Myself. Knowing this, see ME inside yourself, as well as in all beings.

Sri Shirdi Saibaba:

God lives in all creatures. Leave off all killings. It is better to be patient and put your trust in Him. Whatever happens is for the best and is divinely ordained.

Shirdi Saibaba:

He who loves Me, always sees Me. He revels in thinking and talking about Me, thus completely surrendering himself to Me. He does not enjoy anything without offering to Me. I shall repay his love by lifting him up from this mire of Samsara.

Brahma-Jnana

Sri Shirdi Saibaba:

A feeling of disgust with the things of this world and the next is an important qualification to get Brahma-Jnana.

Brahma-Jnana

Shirdi Saibaba:

When there's an intense desire to get free, Self-Realization is near at hand.

God within!

Sri Shirdi Saibaba:

When you surrender to God, you shall realize that He is within you. He resides in the innermost recess of all beings.

Offering

Shirdi Saibaba:

Any humble offering given to any saint or God reaches the One Supreme alone.

Devotion

Sri Shirdi Saibaba:

Those who are fortunate and whose demerits have come to an end take to My worship. Uttering the Holy Name shall take you over the seven seas. The Lord rests there where there is full devotion.