Divine potencies in man

9 October 1994, Brindavan

Published English.

1

2

3

From the most ancient times, men have been engaged in the search for God. The questions, "Who is God?" and "What is the means to realise God?", are not of today. They have been there from the earliest times and have agitated mankind ceaselessly. A few , who comprehended the nature of the Divine and who felt that the purpose of human existence is to seek the Divine, undertook various spiritual exercises to discover how to achieve this objective. The purpose of human life is to realise the Divine. It is, in this context, that human birth becomes the rarest among all living beings. The ancient sages, recognizing this truth, pursued different kinds of penances to experience the Divine. Some of them, feeling that the task was beyond their powers, gave up the quest in the middle. Some others, recognizing that this was the sole purpose of human life persevered in their efforts with determination.

4

5

6

“" (Oh man! We have experienced the effulgent, all-pervading Supreme Divine).

7

Where did they experience Him? They declared: “We have found Him beyond the darkness, beyond the mind and the senses, in our hearts." Man is a combination of the body, the mind and the (Spirit). He is thus the embodiment of these three. But, forgetting the mind and the , when man identifies himself solely with the body, he reduces himself to an animal. When he forgets the and the body and identifies himself with the mind alone, he becomes a (demon). When one forgets the body and the mind and adheres only to the , he gets divinised.

8

and are synonymous The body is the instrument of action. The mind is the instrument of cognition. The is steady and unwavering. Corresponding to these three, are , and (action, ritual worship and devotion). What is the difference between and ? In both of them, (love of God) is inherent. and are synonymous. Contemplating on God, forgetting the world, living in a state of is (total surrender to God).

9

have been celebrating the festival from ancient rimes as a mode of worship of , the Divine, as Mother. They worship , and during these nine days. Who are these three? They are three forms which have fascinated man. Their esoteric significance is represented by three: (potencies). They are: , and . These potencies have been given other names.

10

The concept of (total surrender) is related to Self-Realisation (Oneness with the Divine). God, in fact, dwells in every human being as the . The body is the sacred abode of the . Hence the scriptures declare - "The body is the temple of God in which the individual Spirit dwells as the Ancient One." Just as the diamond is found in clay and not in a rock, the Spirit (as consciousness) resides in the earthly body. The body is of the earth, earthy. The is consciousness. Humanness is the coming together of the mundane and the spiritual consciousness. It is a combination of good and evil. It is a mixture of the transient and the eternal.

11

Hence, for what is or (auspicious or inauspicious), for or (truth or falsehood), for and (perishable or imperishable) the prefix "a" accounts for the difference. For instance, (untruth) is that which is not (true). (transient) is that which is not (permanent). By understanding these distinctions, men have sought to realise the Divine.

12

Misuse of the body by man today The human body is precious. Man today is not realising what he owes to his body. The body that is composed of the five elements, which has been given to man to understand his true nature, to recognise the truth about his immortal Spirit, and to experience the eternal within him, is being used for the enjoyment of physical pleasures. The body surely has not been given for this purpose. The body is a (shrine). The Indweller is the (Knower). The relationship is that of (body) and the (Indweller). Instead of recognizing this integral relationship, man is concerned with only the body and seeks to realise the Divine. How is this possible? The first requisite is for man to acquire the firm conviction that the Divine dwells in his heart.

13

14

"" (God appears in human form).

15

16

17

"" (The One Supreme Spirit is the indwelling Spirit in all beings).

18

The (Absolute Reality) is One only, through the wise call it by many names. We have to endeavour to experience that Divine. The significance of , and has to be rightly understood. The three represent three kinds of potencies in man. (Will power), (the power of action), and (the power of discrimination). is manifest in man as the power of (speech). is present in the form of dynamism, the power of action. is manifest in the form of Will power. The body indicates . The mind is the repository of . The is . comes from the body, which is material. The power that activates the body that is inert and makes it vibrant is . The power that induces the vibrations of is , which causes radiation (of energy). These three potencies are represented by the : "." represents (the earth). represents the Life force - also means Conscience in man, represents the power of radiation. All the three are present in man. Thus, , and dwell in the human heart.

19

Physical forms of subtle potencies within man Men are prone to exhibit rajasik qualities like anger and hatred. They are the menacing manifestations of . The extolling of the Divine in song and poetry and the pleasing vibrations produced by them indicate the power of . The pure qualities that arise in man such as compassion, love, forbearance and sympathy are derived from . When people worship , and externally in pictures or icons, they are giving physical forms to the subtle potencies that are within them. The unfortunate predicament of man today is that he is not recognizing the powers within him and developing respect for them. He goes after the external, attracted by the physical forms. The relationship between the material and the subtle has to be understood. The remedy for man's ills is contained within himself. But man seeks remedies from outside. Here is an illustration of what happens in the world. A hotel and a drug store are adjacent to each other. When a hotel server gets a headache, he goes to the neighbouring drug shop for a pill to cure his headache. When the drug storekeeper gets a headache, he goes to the hotel for a cup of coffee to cure him, instead of taking one of his own pills.

20

21

Men engage themselves in many outward (spiritual practices). These must be internalised. All scholarship is of no avail if there is no realisation in the heart. The scholar may expound the texts, but lacks the internal experience. One who has mastered the may be able to explain the words, but cannot recognise the , the Supreme Person hailed by the .

22

When a person goes to a temple, he closes his eyes in front of the idol, because what he seeks is an internal vision of God and not a sight of the external form of the idol. God is Omnipresent as proclaimed in the . God is One, though names and forms may differ. All education today is related to the physical world. It will not serve to reveal the Divine. It was this which impelled to teach a who was learning by rote 's Grammar that at the moment of death only the Lord's name () will save him and not the rules of grammar.

23

Though this teaching has been propagated for centuries, very few practise it. Many read the as a daily ritual. But how many carry out the commands of their fathers? How many practise the virtue of fraternal affection and love proclaimed in the ? Is there anyone standing for the gospel of (right action) as upheld by ? Of what use is it endlessly to listen to discourses without putting anything into practice? The is being read and expounded all the time. Is a single precept from it being put into practice? Not at all. The shows the path to God realisation. But simply reciting the is valueless. Follow the and tread the path indicated by it. Only then you will reap the reward.

24

25

26

Get immersed in that Love. What should be pure love has been polluted today by all kinds of attachments. Pollution today is all pervading and has spread to the hearts of people. Purity has become scarce. (Love of God) is all-powerful. demonstrated this all conquering power of love for the Lord. He survived every kind of ordeal by his faith in .

27

28

Though people live in the phenomenal world and carry on their activities, they should perform all their actions as an offering to please the Lord. What is it you should do during these ten days of the festival? Convert your (Will power) into a yearning for God. Convert into a force for doing divine actions. Convert your into the Divine Itself.

29

"" (The Divine is Truth, Wisdom and Infinite)

30