The Sanctity Of The Five Elements

15 May 2000, Summer Course 2000, Brindavan

Published English.

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Present in the smallest of the small, As also in the largest of the large, And, shining as the all-pervading Witness, Is the Immortal Self. Known as the in the individual, And as in the Cosmos, is and is .

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The five elements of which the entire cosmos is built up, are present also in the human being. These five elements, namely, (earth), (water), (fire), (wind), and (ether) are cognised by us through the sensations of (sound), (touch), (sight or the perception of the form), (taste) and (smell). addressed as since the latter was the very son of Mother Earth. Indeed, every man can be called , being the son of Mother Earth.

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Since the earth is suffused with divine power, it is nothing but an or limb, of God. In our body, we have many limbs and organs like the hands, the feet, the nose, the eyes, the ears, etc.

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The earth is very big but God who is infinite and the subtlest of all, suffuses the entire earth with His divine power. Since the earth has (attributes), it is not independent. As long as exist, one cannot talk of independence. As the attributes diminish one by one, the subtlety of the entity concerned and its vastness increase. Earth has all the qualities of sound, touch, form, taste and smell. It is therefore finite. Moreover, the attributes together produce a binding effect that makes mobility difficult (one cannot move mountains, for example).

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The third element is fire. It has two attributes less compared to the earth (taste and smell) and is therefore capable of spreading in all directions, including the vertical. Fire in a subtle aspect, is present in humans and even in water. In humans it is known as – this is the name for the ‘fire’ of digestion. In water it is known as . Fire is latent in wood and stones also, which is why sparks are produced when wood is rubbed against wood and stone is struck with stone.

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Last in the list of elements is or ether, which is truly all-pervasive; it extends far beyond the earth. It has this capacity to spread everywhere because it possesses only one attribute, namely that of sound. Many think that means the sky; this is wrong. means ether, and it is present even here ( taps the table before Him) and also here (shows the mike). Sound is the sole characteristic of , and wherever there is sound there exists. It is said:

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. It means that is the emptiness of space. Though present everywhere, it cannot be seen.

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Reverence for God and Nature Far beyond all the five elements and completely devoid of any attributes whatsoever, is (God Almighty). Being totally attributeless, is more subtle than anything we can imagine; and He exists beyond space and time also. The say:

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. His hands and feet are everywhere in Creation.

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Though God is beyond everything, He nevertheless suffuses all the five elements, investing them with appropriate aspects of His divine power. He Himself is without attributes; but He is immanent in all entities with suitable attributes. Thus it is that the declares:

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. All beings in Creation have originated from Me and are nothing but aspects of Me.

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The earth has always been worshipped by the ancients of as Mother Earth, since it is the earth that, in some form or the other, provides food and sustains life. Most gratefully the ancients said: "O Mother Earth, I am able to have food on account of your kindness." Without the earth, we cannot have grain, and that is why earth was given so much respect and was accorded the position of a mother. However, scientists regard worship of the elements as superstitious behaviour, and those who worship thus to be fools. Those who worship the elements are not fools but those who criticise are. These critics have no idea of the inner significance of such reverence. Modern scientists are concerned only with the material and inanimate aspects of nature, being completely ignorant about the principle of reflection, reaction, and resound. If you strike the table, your hand feels hurt. Why?

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Instead, one must, to start with, try to understand the lessons that nature teaches. What a tremendous load the earth carries! Some people say: ", I do not wish to be a burden to Mother Earth.

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Desires are your burden! If you put a ceiling on desires, you become lighter and come closer to God. That is why often says: Less luggage, more comfort, make travel a pleasure. You must therefore sincerely try to decrease the burden of desires. If you do so, you will also cease to be a burden to God. Increase in your burden means more work for God! However, God being subtle, He does not directly carry your burden. Instead, He makes each person to carry their weight in such a manner that the person believes that it is actually God who is carrying! This is the subtlety of God. Though present in the five elements, He makes it appear as if the elements carry on all by themselves.

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The (cowherd maids) have sung beautifully about the subtlety of the Lord. They said:

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O ! Can we ever know You

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Subtler than an atom and mightier than the mightiest, You are the One that sustains all the eighty-four species!

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Can we ever know You, O

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It is impossible for anyone to fathom the depths of Divinity. The Deeper Significance of the Elements [the student who spoke before ’s discourse] prayed to to explain the nature of the five elements.

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There is no place where the elements are not present; they are all-pervasive. The human body too is one particular combination of the five elements. The almanac is called because it gives information about the heavenly bodies, all of which are made of the five elements. It is therefore important to grasp the meaning and the full significance of the five elements.

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Consider first the ether, which has sound as its only attribute. Although an innumerable variety of sounds are possible, the basic one is the primal sound . This sound is what you must really concentrate on. There are three syllables here – A (), U (), and M (), which together fuse into . The human being is an embodiment of the three constituent symbols of . The primal sound is the very form of , and man must resonate with it.

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or wind/air that comes next, sustains life. Without air, life is impossible. The breathing process consists of inhalation and exhalation, symbolised by . SO is associated with inhalation and HAM with exhalation. Since we take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide, SO is associated with the life-giving oxygen and HAM with the contaminant carbon dioxide. What is the inner meaning of the breathing process? Simply that we have to take in what is good and give up what is bad. This is the lesson that the element air conveys to us 21,600 times a day, through the principle. The body also takes in food and expels excreta or faeces.

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After the ether and the air comes fire. It has the capacity to burn anything that comes in its way, without any distinction whatsoever. This characteristic of strict impartiality is the basis of or the fire of wisdom, which burns away all worldly attachments. No one is making any attempt to under-stand the various manifestations of fire, including , , and . Latent in man are various treasures but he is totally unaware of them because he lacks the Knowledge of the Self.

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This is True Knowledge, and it is sorely needed today. Man has mastered worldly knowledge, secular knowledge, and material knowledge, but is totally ignorant about the Knowledge of the Self. With its brilliant blaze, proclaims the virtues of . The scriptures say:

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. From darkness, lead me to Light. teaches us that the fire of wisdom will lead us to Light.

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The sacred name has the potency to lead us from darkness to Light. The word is made up of three syllables: Ra, A, and Ma. Ra signifies the fire principle. A represents the moon, and Ma represents the sun. The fire principle Ra destroys all evil and sin. The moon principle A stills passions and brings peace.

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The sun principle Ma confers effulgence when evil is destroyed and peace reigns. Thus, the name compactly embodies the whole of wisdom. It has the power to destroy evil, to bring peace, and to confer effulgence. This is the inner significance of the name given by to the first-born son of Emperor . The fire principle thus has deep meaning.

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After fire comes water. It is most sacred and vital for life; there is life giving force in it. That is why water is sprinkled on a person who has swooned. Before eating, you offer the food to God by chanting . What happens to the food you eat?

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Who is present within that extracts vitality from the food you eat and distributes it to the various organs of the body? That deity is who says, "O man! Realise that I am the force within that attends to digestion and assimilation." This is the "" .

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External pollution is a reflection of internal pollution It is said that the Age provides the easiest path to liberation. However, man is ignoring the golden opportunity offered to him.

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Man today has become very clever or intelligent (in a purely worldly sense). Secular education has become widespread and schools are to be found in every street corner. A million ways have been discovered for making money. A cunning fellow once inserted an advertisement in papers, announcing that for a payment of just one he would disclose a sure method for eliminating mosquitoes from the house. Lots of people were taken in by the advertisement, and he collected plenty of money.

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Recognising the five elements as God’s gifts, their sanctity must be preserved. They must be made use of in a proper and befitting manner. Why do you sing ? Enquire deeply into the meaning of this practice. Bhajan singing provides an opportunity to chant the Lord’s name in a sweet and pleasant manner. The vibrations associated with the divine Name then suffuse into the atmosphere and cleanse it; the pollution present is wiped out.

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Thus, the basic purpose of is to convert bad into good.

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Subsequently, the vapour becomes a cloud, which too contains pure and sweet water. The rain that comes down brings this pure water to the earth. This is God’s Love manifesting as rain, bearing water as pure as that of Ganges. In a similar manner, (intellect) the blazing sun must distil away all bad feelings. What results would be the vapour of good qualities. When sufficient vapour accumulates, there results the rain of love. The cloud from which the rain comes is truth. Thus, truth is the source of the love drops. The rain of love ultimately gives you the crop of divine Grace. Therefore, all your thoughts and actions must be pure and sacred.

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A radio programme is broadcast from but in a fraction of a second you can hear it here. How? Because of the propagation of vibrations. Therefore, good sounds and holy vibrations generated by bhajan singing will propagate, purify the atmosphere, and help in the production of good food. In addition, when you breathe purified air, it also helps to keep out bad thoughts.

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God’s Love is Omnipresent Embodiments of Love! You should all live in Love. If everyone does so, the whole world would be enveloped in Love. is the living proof of this statement. is ever the embodiment of Love, and there is never any trace of anger whatsoever. At times may appear to "hiss" but even this springs from ’s Love! Sometimes, hailstones fall when it rains. The ice pieces may be hard, but they too are made of water. In the same manner, ’s reprimands also form a part of the incessant shower of Love. Never forget that even if appears to scold you, it is only a part of His Love and it is for your own good. is nothing but Love from top to toe. It is so always. Follow the principle of Love. Look upon the five elements as being saturated with Love. Always do your duty and perform sacred acts. Your spiritual evolution is your own responsibility.

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. One has to work for one’s own upliftment. This should be your approach to understanding spiritual philosophy.

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In the , there are many references to the root word . This root word is common to all forms of learning. The represent a comprehensive consolidation of all Truths, as discerned by the ancient and as practised by them. The confer bliss and happiness to those who follow the teachings contained therein. There is not even an iota of anything bad in the . Their teachings, if followed, lead only to good.

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Satsangatve nissangatvam,nissangatve nirmohatvam, Nirmohatve niscalatatvam, niscalatatve jivanmuktih. . Give up bad company and join good company. Do good day in and day out.

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Once, went to have the of Lord . The Lord smiled and asked, ", where are you coming from?"

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The sage replied, ", I have neither a home nor a family. I am all the time on the move. I wander over the three worlds, incessantly singing Your praise."

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said, "Is that so? Very good. Now tell me; have you understood the mystery of My Creation?" replied, "Lord, are You suggesting that I do not? Of course I have understood it."

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then continued, "Then you must have appreciated that there is nothing bad in My Creation. Have you ever seen anything bad?"

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thought for a while and replied, "Lord, forgive me but I have seen one thing that is bad."

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exclaimed, "What! Something bad in My Creation? Impossible! There is absolutely nothing bad in Creation." hesitantly said, "Lord, there is one thing that is foul." then demanded, "What is it?"

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whispered, "It is faecal matter. It is absolutely foul and no one can go near it. Why did You create such a thing?" said, ", you are wrong. Go and ask that faecal matter who created it?" resisted and protested that he could not go near that foul matter. But was firm and commanded to do as instructed. The Lord’s command cannot be disobeyed, and reluctantly went toward the waste matter.

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Even as he was approaching, the faeces said, "Stop! Don’t come near me. Stay away." was utterly surprised and angrily demanded, "What? You foul object asking a sacred one like me to stay away?" The faeces replied, "Yesterday at this hour, I too was sacred. I was good food in the form of tasty dishes worthy of being offered to the Lord. Then I came into contact with a human being and this is what happened to me! Once bad is enough; I do not want your company again!" Evil is thus born of the bad company one keeps. This basic fact is not properly understood and appreciated these days.

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Therefore concentrate on setting right your feelings, thoughts, and actions, instead of accusing others of spoiling you. Understand the spiritual basis of the five elements and the five life principles (). A proper understanding of these alone will guide you to the right path and remove your miseries. The five elements are most precious and sacred, and have to be used as well as experienced reverentially.

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entertained lustful looks and paid dearly for it; he was crushed by . Don’t ever heed to bad advice. listened to such words from , and what happened to her later?

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No one ever thinks of in a pleasant manner. She has gained such notoriety that no girl is ever named ! Bad advice also ruined and . They incessantly abused the noble , and in the end met their doom. Therefore, never listen to bad things.

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Cultivate Equanimity and the Spirit of Sacrifice wants to give an important advice to students. People may tell you various things that cause pain to you. Forget them and do not repeat them to others. If they caused pain to you, they would do so to others also. Why then repeat? Let us suppose somebody accuses you of something you have not done. You feel hurt. If now you report this to your parents, they too would feel hurt.

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Do you know why God has given you eyes? Is it for feasting them on everything and anything? No! God has given the gift of sight so that you may have His and feel blissful seeing His beauty. Eyes are sacred; they must be used only for sacred purposes.

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Develop that feeling and awareness. You will then certainly experience God. Nothing is bad in Creation. thought that faeces was bad. If the faeces remains for ever inside the body, will it be good for the body? Obviously not. That is why God has arranged for its expulsion – it is for your own good. Everything that God does is for good and good only.

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Regard everything in Creation as good. Suffering and pain are also good! If you happen to experience pain or suffering, tell yourself: "This is good for me, this is good for me, ...." Treat praise and criticism the same way, and be calm even if people abuse you. This is the recommended , and sacrifice is the recommended path. There is no superior to equanimity and there is no path better than sacrifice. This is the best way of achieving purity and sanctity.

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concluded the discourse by singing the bhajan: .