The Sakara and Nirakara Worship

4 August 1984, Bhagavad Gita Series, Bhajan Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam, AP

Published English.

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Man today is aspiring for several things; he is acquiring wealth, gold and several other material things. He is able to achieve honours, prestige, positions and power. However, these are only momentary as stated in the twelfth chapter of the . What is to be achieved is God’s grace, which is resplendent, full of essence, most precious like a diamond and which grants perpetual joy. How then can you achieve such pure Love and Divine grace? Which path do you have to tread for achieving this boon? This has to be examined. Unless the field is cleared of wild bushes, stones and pebbles and tilled properly, the seeds sown will not sprout. Similarly, in the (field of the heart) it is only after the ego and bad qualities are removed that the crop of (atmic bliss) becomes available. The same principle is explained in the in the , where it is said that “” (attachment to the body) must be removed. Man deludes himself into thinking that he is loving God. But what is the use? What is important is the fact whether God loves you or not. Even if you love God, if God does not love you, the result is nil. Then how to achieve God’s Love?

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And said “.” It also exhorted us to be “.” You must always be contented, contented to the heart. (contentment) is different from (contentment flowing out of an equanimous mind). There is a difference between and (song and music) and and (Singing and soul-stirring singing). It is said, “.” In kirtanam, the song may come out of the lips, most mechanically. But in sankirtanam, the heart melts and moves into a song which flows freely, dancing in ecstasy. Similarly, the words and . (contentment) is momentary, temporary. This is related to the mundane world. This is a worldly nature (). On the other hand, is like sankirtan. It flows from one’s heart. This is permanent, related to the eternal truth and other — worldly. This is related to the “” (the inward path). is changeless; neither anything can be added to it. It is a changeless, self-contented state of mind. A true devotee should never think about material loss or gain and cultivate a steadfast mental equilibrium. The word “” connotes an equanimous state of mind where one is neither elated by success nor depressed by failure. can be taken to mean pure, unsullied and unwavering love. Whatever God grants, whatever God gives, must be taken as “” (His gift) and we must be contented with that. Such an equanimous state of mind and balanced behaviour can be considered as .

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“” (Firm determination) This is the nature of a person, when he has a firm, steady and unwavering mind. Man, by nature, is endowed with courage and steadfastness. He puts these qualities to use in so many ways. Some people use their courage and adventurism in mountaineering. They are extremely courageous. Some others employ these qualities in swimming and crossing the seemingly endless ocean. Yet others show their courage in travelling through dense forests infested with wild animals. Some people mercilessly torture others and extort money from them, displaying their courage and adventurism. Yet, there are some others who bid adieu to Divinity, forget humanity and indulge in cruel acts, like demons. They employ their courage in such acts. Thus, courage and steadfastness can be employed either in good or in evil deeds.

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, while he was only , put his courage, adventurism and steadfastness in committing evil deeds like highway robberies. But after coming in contact with the (seven great sages), he diverted his capacities in chanting the holy . Ultimately, he transformed himself into a great poet and a seer composing the immortal epic . Thus, if these God-given powers of courage, fortitude, adventurism and steadfastness are properly channelled in the control of senses, yearning for God and the divine path of devotion, human birth will become meaningful. Human nature will acquire uniqueness.

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And Worship The Bhaktiyoga has explained in detail about the worship of God with attributes () and without attributes (). Of the and forms of worship, or the and methods, which is better and which is more feasible and useful to the devotees - the dwelt at length on this aspect. Without practising the and methods of worship (i.e., worshipping God with a form and attributes) initially, we cannot worship God without form and attributes ( and ). As long as there is body-consciousness and body-attachment, man cannot contemplate on the , aspects of God. As long as man thinks I am the body, I have a body, I am a human being, it is not possible for any body to attain the , (Absolute Divinity). That is why, said . Therefore, a (devotee) or a (spiritual aspirant) must invariably start worshipping God with a form and attributes, in the beginning. When this goes on for some time, he can gradually switch over to the worship, nevertheless having a firm foothold in the aspect of God.

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Some people propose that God can be worshipped in the cosmic form. But this worship of the cosmic form is also a worship. God as the Lord of the universe is . God in His cosmic form is . , which is beyond these two and also beyond the mind and senses, is the , . Whatever we have experienced in our wakeful state, at least some of them will be visible in our dream state. During the wakeful state, the influence of mind and senses is great. But during the dream state, even though the influence of the senses is absent, there will be that of the mind. In the deep sleep state (), which is causal in nature, however, even the mind disappears. is the result of the influence of the objective world and the senses. is the result of the influence of the Mind. is the result of the mind and senses merging into one. Here there is neither the mind nor the senses. Hence, perhaps only in the deep sleep state () it might be possible to contemplate upon the (God without form and attributes). It does not mean that we should always depend upon the principle. Both and are necessary for the . Just like the two wings for the birds, two wheels for the cart, two legs for the human being, similarly, both and methods of worship are important for the treading on the spiritual path by the influence of (Devotion). When he thus travels with the help of both the and , he will be able to reach his goal of (Divine presence). is momentary, whereas is permanent.

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Is Momentary; Is Permanent A small example for this: You are sitting in thousands in this hall of . You are sitting here for one or one and a half hours. I am also in this hall, along with you. We are all sitting within the four walls of this hall. We are all sitting here for a specified time and for a specific purpose. However, when you go back to your places and recollect this experience in your , you will realise that this , the thousands of people sitting therein and are all imprinted in your heart. Outwardly and in the waking state, you are all in at this moment. But when you go back to your places and contemplate upon this scene, lives in you. Even though you are in for one hour only, this experience gets imprinted in your lifelong. Whenever you recollect that experience, the scene flashes in your mental frame. Is it not because you had experienced this in the waking state that it is permanently imprinted in your as ?

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Without the sakaratatwa, there is no scope for the getting firmly imprinted in your . Hence, for the to establish itself firmly in your heart, it is necessary for you to worship the , in the beginning.

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We want to teach the word ‘Chair’ to a child. Simply by repeating the word ‘chair’ or its spelling, he will not be able to comprehend its form. But once you show a chair to him and tell him that that particular form is the chair, he will easily understand. Once he has recognised its form, even though the “Chair” is not physically there, he will easily be able to understand the meaning of the word “Chair.” Hence, the form is necessary until one is able to recognise the formless. The form is (that which vanishes) and the formless is (permanent and indestructible). can be recognised only through . Divinity is like . To realise this, the approach is through form only. To the question whether God exists or not, not everyone is firmly established in his conviction. Several people will be oscillating with several doubts whether God really exists; if so, where does He exist? Why is He not visible to me; Is it true or false? Is it simply a delusion? Or a fantasy, etc., etc. In order not to fall prey to such confusion and doubt and to develop a firm faith, it is necessary for us to take the help of a form for our worship of God. One more example:

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There is a question whether ‘God’ exists or not. The answer to this question is the word ‘God’ itself. If there is no form or an object like ‘God’, then where does the word ‘God’ come from? If there is no object, there is no name for it as well. If there is a name, there is the object. Therefore, the very word ‘God’ proves the existence of ‘God’. This is a tumbler. Tumbler is a word. The meaning for this word, in itself, is its form. Meaning () plus word () make up (material or object). Every object or material that exists in this world is the meaning of a word. The meaning of the word chair is denoted by its form. That which teaches the meaning of a word is sound. Word and sound, together, make up an object. If there is no God, there cannot be a word ‘God’. However, you may bring out an example of certain words like (flower in the sky). Here there is a word, but the object as such does not exist, because there cannot be a flower in the sky. This is only a metaphor. It is only a combination of two words, gagana (sky) and kusumamu (flower), both of which exist. Similarly, for every word in this objective world, there is a form. It is impossible not to have it. Let us take a Dictionary. There are several words in the Dictionary. Are there not definite forms for all these words? There is a word ‘God’ in the Dictionary. If there is no God, why should this word be included in the Dictionary? Therefore, even if you have seen or not seen, experienced Him or not, the word God itself denotes His form. This is (personification). First, it is form; then, the word. This is a chair. If there is no chair, there is no form or word. Therefore, first it is (God with a form). Then, it is (God without a form). It is impossible to leave the form and directly go to the formless. Another small example:

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This is a pillow. What is the object that covers it? It is called a cloth cover. What is inside? Cotton. You may say that the material inside is cotton and that outside is cloth. But I will say, both are cotton. That means, cotton that is shapeless has taken the shape of a thread and ultimately woven into a cloth. The cloth is (form) and cotton, (formless). The and merging themselves into one is called Divinity. But we cannot take a lump of cotton and lean on it. The cotton () has to be converted into a cloth (), to be of use to us.

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As long as there is body attachment, such conversions are necessary. As long as you have the body attachment of “I am the body,” it is impossible for you to give up the . Even in the , we are performing several types of worship; for example, the “” (sixteen forms of worship). We perform so many (worship). We light a lamp and an and burn camphor before the Deity. All this is (the satisfaction we derive by worshipping God with a name and form). When this gradually gets imprinted in the as (Formless Divinity) and after shedding our body consciousness, we worship Divinity with the (mental flowers). As long as you are worshipping God as , you offer different types of flowers like jasmine, marigold, , etc. Here, the body that worships as well as the flowers that are used for worship, both are transient. However, the flowers that are to be offered in the worship of the (formless Divinity) are totally different. Here, the flowers to be offered are the flowers of (nonviolence), (sense control), (forbearance), (peace), (compassion), (truth), (penance), etc. All these belong to the . Unless we go up to a higher stage in our and enter into the (inward path), we should not give up the (external activities). Basing on this principle, in Bhaktiyoga of Chapter 12 of the taught how a devotee should develop qualities.

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A devotee should always be happy, contented and peaceful. He should not give scope for any pain or sorrow in his heart. That is why, has exemplified as an embodiment of devotion and surrender. had been constantly chanting and contemplating God’s name and form at all times. In spite of the great physical pain and the difficulties he underwent at the hands of his tormentors, he never shed tears or cared for the pain. That is why has been glorified as “” (always happy and contented, a Yogi). A devotee should never allow bad qualities like anger, envy, jealousy, hatred and carrying tales to enter into his mind. These are literally enemies to him and hinder his progress on the devotional path. He must be alike to everybody. If you hate anybody, it amounts to hating the God whom you worship. If you take any action against anybody out of ego, it amounts to taking action on the very same God whom you worship. That is why the has exhorted “” (never develop any hatred towards anybody). This is the most important warning to us. Just as the seeds sown in a field do not sprout without cleaning the field beforehand, similarly, and God’s grace cannot be obtained without shedding the bad qualities in us. This is so, in spite of any amount of we may undertake.

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teaches us to treat others as embodiments of the Divine. It is not enough if you worship God alone. You must love and respect the (beings) also. Worshipping God and tormenting , does it amount to devotion? This is simply ignorance. Such persons can never enter into the devotional path. In course of time, I will teach you what further things are to be learnt in , what needs to be followed by the devotees, how to utilise your time and energy in undertaking sacred activities and thus sanctify your body and time.