*1st November 2007 **Bangalore* * Ashram*
*Question and Answer*
*Question:* Guruji what quality of the Buddha appeases you the most?
*Guruji:* If you look at Buddha's life nothing seems unappealing to you.
Even with Sri Rama and the same with Bhagwan Mahavira!! They all lived in
Satwa, and in total Satwa everything that we do is perfect, every action and
every thought. Your whole existence becomes an example.
*Guruji talks on the Vedas:*
The story of the Vedas happened like this that, Ved Vyasa, one of the most
venerable ancient Guru, went to Brahma for knowledge. Brahma showed him the
entire mountain of knowledge and said, "take whatever you can"! Vyasa went
to the huge mountain but it was impossible for anyone to carry the whole
mountain. He took whatever he could by his hands. There came out the four
Vedas!! They are the Rig veda, Shama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. In
the Vedas again there are several sub division. There are 18 Angas. Like the
astrology(jotishsha stra), the grammar(vayakarana) , the karanas(logic) ,
Chandashastra (Music), Virukta (words), Kalpa, siksha. And again in the
Shiksha there are 6 upangas. They are Vaisheshik darshana, Sankhya Darshana,
Yoga darshana, Karmadarshana etc.
And in the Yogashastra, there was one called Patanjali, who attained the
height in the yoga. He was the master of the Yogashastra. When we say Yoga,
we just don't mean a few asanas(exercises) , we mean uniting. When the mind
unites with the soul, when the body unites with the breath, and when the
soul unites with the paramatma, yoga happens.
There is this story on Maharshi Patanjili. There were thousands of disciples
of Maharshi Ptanjali. One day they were all at the session with Maharshi.
Maharshi had a rule that there will be a curtain in between Maharshi and the
student. No one was supposed to see the Maharshi. This continued. The
students were taking knowledge from the preceptor and the preceptor
showering the knowledge to the disciples. One day something happened! One of
the students wanted to go to the toilet. He thought why disturb the Guru
anyway the Master will not able to see (since there was a curtain in between
them)!! He silently slipped off the class and went to the toilet. On the
other hand, among the rest of the students, one felt the terrible urge to
see the Maharshi. He whispered to the other fellow disciples that they
should see their teacher, and the teacher being all compassionate will
definitely forgive them and will not be upset on then.
So suddenly one of the disciples got up and removed the curtain. And as he
removed the curtain off, there happened a terrible disaster!! Everyone who
were present there turned into ashes!! All the disciples who were present
infront of the Maharshi Patanjali just turned into ashes!! In the meantime
the only disciple who had gone out to the toilet returned. Maharshi told the
student that he had done a great mistake by going out of the class without
the preceptor's permission!! And now the boy has to undergo a curse!!
Maharshi cursed him to be a Demon(Brahmadaitya) and that he should sit on a
tree and write down all that he learned from Patanjali. The boy immediately
turned to a demon and went up the tree and started writing that entire he
learnt from the Maharshi. He was writing on the leaves of the tree. It is
said that there was a goat sitting at the base of the tree. The disciple who
turned a demon kept writing on the leaf and throwing each leaf on the ground
and the goat started eating all the leaves one by one!!
Now who are those disciples who turn to ashes? Why did they turn to ashes?
Why was that only disciple saved? Why did he become a demon? Why was he
asked to write all that he learned? Why the goat did eat away all the
leaves? These are the questions that you should think and ponder.
There are two kinds of disciplines.
A) Sashana
B) Anusashana
Sashana is some discipline which someone else impose on you. Like you pay
taxes. (laughter) Most of the times you like to avoid such rules. Given a
chance you would like to break the rules.
Anusashana is self discipline. When you impose on yourself. Like you brush
your teeth! No body is going to fine you or take you by hand coups if you
violate the rule. You may loose some teeth maximum that may
happen!!(Laughter! !) Like fasting on Saturdays, or Mondays or some people
don't eat sour taste on the Friday for the sake of the Santoshimaa! ! This is
something that you inspire yourself to do. Do you see what I am saying? That
is anusashaana.
So the first sutra of the Patanjali Yoga Sutra says "Ataha Yoganusashana"
The second sutra says, "Tada yoga chitty Bitti Nirodaha"
There are seven levels of existence. The body, the breath, the mind and
memory, intellect ego and the self. In the mind there is memory. Even when
we close our eyes, we are thinking so much about the other events. Events
that has already happened. Like again in the dream. In the mind when the
thought stops flashing, yoga happens!
The third sutra of Maharshi Patanjali is "Tada drishte swaroope avasthanam"
You know many years back in Karnataka, when villagers used to go for watching
a movie, they used to get so involved with what was happening in the movie!!
Like if the hero was getting beaten up they would be throwing stones on the
screens and sometimes go ahead and tear off the screen itself!! (Laughter!!)
The women would do the entire make up and when they come to the movie and
see that their favorite heroin is in trouble and crying, even they start
crying!! Their entire make up goes off! (Laughter!!) They get so much
involved with the movie. Do see this?
So when the focus shifts from the scenery to the seer, from the object that
you are watching to the one who is watching, yoga happens.
Anybody has any questions?
*Question:* Guruji you mentioned in Asthavakra Gita that gandhiji preached
non violence but he died a violent death. That may be what he believed in
his life. But Guruji even Jesus died a violent death while he was preaching
only compassion and a love and non violence to people. Why is that?
*Guruji:* You know its not just one life. It's about several live times.
Life has many many forces! Also because it carries a lot of impression of
the past!!
*Question: *Guruji what is the relation between Panchakosha and seven layers
of existence?
*Guruji:* You find the relation and tell me. (laughter!) Find whatever
relation you want to!! It is related. Like the Anandamayee kosha is the
inner most in 7 layers but in the Panchakosha it is the outermost.
*Question: *Guruji how can I see you in everyone and everything?
*Guruji:* No need to see me in everyone and anything! Just be natural and be
yourself!! That's enough!
*Question:* Guruji how to be centered?
*Guruji: *First find out what is it that is taking you off the centre?
Living in the present moment keeps you in the centre. When you say "oh that
person has behaved with me like this etc, he is no good", know that you are
not in the centre. Centered means free from opinion. If you have a fight
with someone and the next moment can you go and again stand in front of that
person and forget about the old fight? It's ok if you pick up a new fight!
(Laughter!!) Because if you are picking up the old fight, knows that you are
not centered. Life is a mixture of everything, pleasant and unpleasant. If
you are sticky with the pleasant or unpleasant then you are not centered.
You know people who can love intensely can also hate intensely. It's just an
emotional swing. When you can go beyond love and hate, you can truly be
centered. You everything has its opposite. Like love has its opposite as
hate. Pleasant has its opposite as unpleasant. Only devotion has no
opposite. Having devotion is being centered. Let it be anything. It could be
your devotion towards science, music, to your parents, children, wife, and
husband. Then you are centered!
*Question:* Guruji how to let go in the mind when someone insults you?
*Guruji:* When you see your whole life as a dream then you experience
freedom. Your intellect experiences freedom. And you are very witty when
your mind is free. Have you all experienced being witty at some point of
time in your life? In such a state, you are not angry, you are not
ambitious, and you are not obsessed and fearful. So what is the state of
your mind then? You are calm. So in such a situation, when someone is
actually insulting you, you can be witty, and turn the whole situation! So
it neither affects you nor does it affect the other person!!
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