Experiencing Unity of Man and God

25 July 1996, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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Neither by penance nor by pilgrimage nor by study of scriptures nor by (repetition of the name) can one cross the ocean of life. One can achieve it only by serving the pious.

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One cannot attain the goal of life merely by going to the forest and performing penance, leaving family, friends, and property. Even if one attains mastery over six (scriptures) and performs (repetition of the Name) from morning till night, one cannot find fulfillment in life. One should serve noble ones, serve society, and recognise the principle of oneness in order to cross the ocean of worldliness, which is the root cause of man’s endless cycle of birth and death.

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Peace is the main goal of one’s life. Without peace, life is worthless. That is why sang, “There is no happiness without peace.” One can be happy only when one has peace. On the other hand, if one has no peace, the entire life will become a nightmare. Everything appears dark to a blind man. Similarly, howsoever great you may be, the world is nothing for you when you are asleep.

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Do not be under the delusion that eyes are meant to see anything and everything in this world. Even birds, animals, and insects have eyes. What is the use if one cannot see the divine effulgence with one’s eyes? Ears are given to listen to the divine sound of (), and the mind is meant to experience peace.

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What is the reason that one is unable to experience peace? There are five types of roots of sorrow () that cause suffering to humans. These are: ignorance, ego sense, desire, hatred, and fear of death (, , , , and ).

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What is meant by ? ‘’ means knowledge. Therefore, signifies lack of knowledge. What is that lack of knowledge? It is not the lack of worldly knowledge. It is the lack of knowledge of one’s divine nature. One considers oneself to be an ignorant mortal due to . It is impossible for such a person to achieve peace. One who is in the grip of leads a worldly life, identifying with the body and mind and lacking the wisdom to know that one is divine. Body attachment and attachment to the world cause immense suffering. All this is the result of , which causes untold suffering to humans.

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The second root of sorrow is ego sense (). One is unable to recognise the root cause of this worldly life and all the suffering associated with it. One forgets that the mind is the root cause of all the suffering. As a result of this, one becomes a victim of ignorance and delusion. One is subjected to various types of sufferings because one is unable to control the mind, which causes all sufferings, sorrows, and difficulties. signifies the inability of man to understand the true nature of mind, which is the root cause of all suffering.

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Desire () is another root of sorrow that causes suffering. What is meant by ? Here does not mean the tune of a song. To desire this, that, and everything signifies . When these desires become unlimited, becomes (disease). People undergo suffering because they are unable to control their desires.

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Develop equal-mindedness Then comes the root of suffering called hatred ( klesha). In times of difficulties, sufferings, and losses, one expects help from someone close. But if that person declines to help, one’s expectation turns into hatred.

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How does something good give us sorrow? gives an example of this. He said, “I offer my salutations to both good people and wicked ones.” You may say, there is some meaning in offering salutations to a good person, but what is the purpose in offering salutations to a wicked one? A wicked person causes suffering to you when you meet them. Similarly, a good person makes you sad when the good person leaves you. Therefore, offered his salutations to wicked people so that they would not come near him. Likewise, he offered his salutations to noble ones so that they would not go away from him.

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Association with an evil person and separation from a noble one both cause suffering to man. Human life consists of union () and separation (). It is described as an ocean with turbulent waves of and .

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Who can judge what is good and what is bad? Therefore, as the teaches, “One should remain equal-minded in happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat ().” Treat both happiness and sorrow with equanimity.

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In order to attain peace, you should exercise equal-mindedness. Do not consider someone as good and another as bad. See God in both. The same is present in both. That is the feeling of oneness and Divinity ( and ). Bodies are different, tendencies of mind are different, but Divinity is one and the same in all.

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Identify yourself with the Self Names and forms may vary, but Divinity does not change. As long as one observes differences, one cannot attain peace. That is why propagated the principle of oneness. He considered God as the indweller of all beings and experienced oneness.

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I often tell you that you are not one person but three: the one you think you are, the one others think you are, and the one you really are, which signify identification with the body, with the individual soul, and with God (, , and ).

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Similarly, when you focus the lens of your vision on the wickedness of others and press the button of intellect (), their wickedness will enter you.

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Usually, people take the photo of those whom they like. Since you like good people, focus your mind on them only. Then your feelings will become one with theirs. Do not think of the evil of others, because if you keep on thinking about it, you yourself will become evil. As are the feelings, so is the result ().

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Develop unity and experience Divinity Once, cowherd maidens () came to and asked, “You are always thinking of . As a result of this incessant contemplation on , you may become yourself. When becomes and there is no duality, what happiness will you derive?” replied, “Oh , by thinking of constantly, I may become . In the same way, as thinks of continuously, He may become . Then also there will be both and .” Therefore, when you think of God, God also thinks of you. In this manner, you create God.

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Try to experience Divinity by understanding this principle of unity. Forget all differences and have faith in unity. The knower of becomes verily ().

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Everyone knows that they have to die one day or the other. Yet, everyone wants to cling to life, and nobody wants to die. This is due to sorrow of fear of death ( klesha), which afflicts people.

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What is the main cause of sorrow? Worldly desires are the main cause. You become a victim of various roots of sorrow () when you forget your real nature and focus your mind on the world.

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Be happy with what you have. Why do you worry about something you do not have? Do not crave things that you do not have. This is your real spiritual discipline (). When you are not satisfied with what you have and constantly worry about what you do not have, how can you experience happiness? Therefore, be content with what you have and share it with others.

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The physical heart is like the main switch for the mansion of human body. It is only the main switch, but not the ‘current’. Then where is the current? “Brilliant like a streak of lightning set in the midst of the blue rainbearing clouds ()”. Where is this ? This effulgent power is present in the spinal column. This is also called the central nerve current (). It is from this that the current enters the main switch of the heart. If you do not know this, you may enquire about it yourself.

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Doctors perform heart surgery. If you think, the life principle is present in the physical heart, then where does it go when heart surgery is performed? Since life is not present in the heart, a heart-lung machine is used during the course of a heart surgery. (spiritual heart) is not confined to the body; it is present everywhere. This spiritual heart is present in the body right from top to toe. When an ant crawls on your foot, you immediately become aware of it. So where is your ? It is present in your foot also. Otherwise, how could you become aware of an ant crawling on your foot? The physical heart is located at one particular place in the body, whereas the spiritual heart pervades the entire body. The physical heart helps in blood circulation, but it has no control over the life principle.

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( concluded His Discourse with the , “...”)