Dissolution of the Mind | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Om Asato Ma Sadgamaya Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om lead us from the unreal to the real, lead us from darkness unto light, lead us from death to immortality. Om peace peace peace. Good morning, everybody. Welcome back. Long time, yeah? Welcome back to many familiar faces and some new faces too. There is a little bit of an echo here. I think I can reduce the volume maybe. Can you hear me at the back? You can hear me at the back. Okay. So, happy Father's Day. I, this morning, my

phone gave me this news item, 40 silly jokes on Father's Day, 40 dad jokes. And one of those jokes was, it was, what do you call a funny mountain? Hilarious, hilarious. And silly and corny as that might sound, but I was thinking it goes well with today's subject, the alarming title of dissolution of the mind. Mano laya, mano nasha. But it's not alarming. I sometimes think that when they said this, used this term, The ancient masters must have had a joke in mind. Because what you attain upon this so-called dissolution of mind is a hilarious

life. Swami Vivekananda, he was a very funny man. And people asked him, and when he came to this country, people said, look, you're a teacher of religion. You should be more serious, you know. And Vivekananda answered that, oh, I am serious. When I have a tummy ache, I am serious. I always think that I am Brahman. But when I have a tummy ache, I say mother. And then he says, half seriously to a disciple of his, he says, Madam, always have these two sides. Always have these two sides. And in a funny way, he shows

the entirety of the Vedantic teaching, Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman. The absolute reality, which is existence, consciousness, bliss... and God, saguna Brahman, the God of religion. Always have these two sides, madam, he said. The philosopher Wittgenstein once wrote that he intended to write a whole book of philosophy, which would be entirely jokes. And he was serious about it. I don't think he had a funny bone in his body. Swami Vivekananda said very much the same thing. He said that he loved Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll's book Alice in Wonderland. Every time I go there to

Central Park, there is the statue of Alice. And so I think about that. He loved that book because there is no rhyme or reason in it. He says, our so-called rhyme and reason is just one state of the mind. The reality is beyond this. So he wanted to write a book which would at first sight be stuff and nonsense, but it would be the deepest philosophy. Enlightenment, realizing that you are Brahman, your real divine nature, that's the goal of spiritual life. And at least that's how we put it in Vedanta. But one Swami joked, he

said, enlightenment has these two sides. Light has two meanings. Light means light, that which illumines. Light also means we are free of burdens, light. So enlightenment does these two things. It shows us, it illumines our real nature. The truth, what we are, what it is. And we realize that we are that. And the second one, what it does is, it lightens us. It gives us a mind that is light and free of burden. What are the burdens? Sin and guilt are burdens. Anxiety is a burden. Fear is a burden. And if we can be enlightened,

then free of mind, free of anxiety, mind free of fear, deeply free of fear forever. The philosopher and teacher Krishnamurti, he says, my secret is this, that I do not care. I remember a long time back, the only job I ever held, you know, so I had a mentor. I still remember he imparted some worldly advice to me. He said, you know, Vishwaroop, which is my pre-monastic name, I was swallowing up all the great advice coming from the mentor. So, you know, Vishwaroop, there are these three ways you can be happy in this world. One

is, if you're very rich, you can get some buffer against unhappiness. Or if you're very powerful, that can give you Some buffer against unhappiness. Or if you're indifferent. And that was the point of his, the wisdom he was trying to impart. Enlightenment, I always remember, what did Jesus promise in the Bible? He says, come unto me, ye that are heavy laden. So I shall relieve you of your burden, burden of worldliness. And he says, I will put a burden on you too. I'll put my yoke on you. But my yoke is light. It's delightful. So

how do we have a mind that is enlightened in both the senses? Mostly we talk about the first one. How do we inquire into our real nature? I'm not the body, not the mind. I am pure consciousness. That's the first sense of enlightenment. I realize who am I. But then there's the other side, which is promised by spirituality. You should feel lighter after spirituality. You should be like Vivekananda and say that, happy. St. Teresa of Avila, she said that a sad nun is a bad nun. A sad nun is a bad nun. I remember faux

pas, which I committed, of all the places where I had to quote this, I quoted it in the convent, But there were nuns sitting in front. A sad nun is a bad nun. And one of the nuns didn't take it too well. She said, and monk Swami. Sad monk is a bad monk, yes, but it doesn't rhyme. So how do we have a mind which transforms the illumination of enlightenment into the burden-free, the lightening nature of enlightenment? We had a wonderful speaker here day before yesterday. He came all the way from India, from Benares and

Himalayas also. Swami Pranav Chaitanya Puri. He gave a talk here in Hindi, which I translated on the fly into English. But a very important talk, especially for non-dualists like us, not Advaitins. He said, why is it that after long cultivation of non-duality, Advaita Vedanta, you know, he has talked about, he has seen monks and scholars, pundits, who are thoroughly well-versed in non-duality, Advaita Vedanta, and who have led good lives, apparently disciplined, caring for others, simple austere lives. And yet at the end of their lives, they seem that sometimes some are overcome by unhappiness, depression. Some

are overcome, some, he gives a startling example of a guru, of a teacher of his, who became an atheist after the end of a very pious life, at the very end of it. And shocking everybody. Why does this happen? This happens because, his analysis was this, that the non-duality, the Advaita which has been apparently cultivated, has not been deeply accepted inside. His analysis was, we can have an Advaita of the mind, because it's very philosophical, very logical, rational, one can stay at that level. So this Advaita of the mind, the Advaita of the thought, the

Advaita of reasoning, where I have studied all the texts, I know all the arguments, I have convinced myself and I can convince others also. I can give you all the texts and quotations and arguments and sound very convincing. Yet at some deep level, I really haven't convinced myself and I don't even, the worst part of it is, I don't even know that that is so, until what happens is, life comes knocking, gives hard knocks and then the world of Advaita which is mental, purely mental in imagination, in reasoning, in the mind, that cannot withstand the

hard knocks of this life, this waking life, this quote-unquote real life. He gave it a term Pratibhasika Advaita. In Advaita to explain a little further, in Advaita Vedanta, we talk about three levels of reality. One is the ultimate reality, Brahman, existence, consciousness, bliss. And the next one is this world which we ordinarily consider to be real, but from an Advaitic perspective, this is an appearance, Jagat Mithya, Brahma Sathyam, Brahman is real, this world is an appearance. But this so-called world of appearance in Advaita Vedanta, for us, in our day-to-day life, this is the reality. This

is our life. It is in this that we are happy, in this that we are miserable, in this that we are worldly and sinful, in this that we try to be religious and spiritual. This is life for us. And so this is called Vyavaharika, transactional in Advaita Vedanta. And there is another level of reality, the world of imagination, world of errors, like seeing a snake in a rope, like a dream, like an illusion. This is called Pratibhasika, purely our internal world, subjective. Each one of us has an internal world of imagination and thought. I can

look at a flower there and that's a transactional, Vyavaharika flower. And I can imagine the flower in my mind that is a Pratibhasika, an appearance, a purely mental flower. This is well known in Advaita Vedanta. But what he did, knew, in that talk, for the first time I heard this and the beautiful analysis, he says your whole Advaita, your spiritual life in the path of Advaita can be mental, Pratibhasika, and can remain so and often undetected by the spiritual seeker. Sri Ramakrishna says [Bengali] has understood something and feels one has attained. [Bengali] and he says

[Bengali]. Once in a while it slips away from spiritual life, even from moral life. How terrible this is. So this is Pratibhasika Advaita, the Advaita of the mind. And how do you convert it into real Advaita? Into the Advaita which is lived in this life, not just in the mind. And Advaita which is finally realized as Chidananda Rupa Shivoham, Shivoham, I am Shiva, I am pure consciousness. How do you do that? That is the other meaning of enlightenment. Where you are free, you get the results of Advaita. So when the shocks of life come, you

are not shaken. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, Yasmin sthito na dukhhena gurunapi vichalyate Centered in which even the heaviest shocks And sorrows cannot shake you. Having attained which, there is nothing greater to attain. So how do we convert our mental Advaita, our listening to YouTube lectures, and taking notes, and reading books, that is part of it, that is Sravana, that is actually the basis of Advaita Vedanta. How do you convert that into something that is real, that is enlightening in both the senses? And which will actually help us in life, help us in life,

in day to day life. That is the subject today. This is called, it is rather alarmingly called dissolution of the mind, Mano Laya. The reason being that the book from which I am drawing today's talk Is called the Nectar of Supreme Knowledge, which is an English translation of the Yoga Vasishta Sara, the essence of Yoga Vasishta. And in that book there is a chapter, Mano Laya Prakarana, fourth chapter. And it draws from its parent book which is Yoga Vasishta, the big book which is 30,000 verses. Whereas the essence of Yoga Vasishta is barely over 200

verses. Now we have an English translation, Nectar of Supreme Knowledge. That is why I am just sampling it. So I have been giving a series of lectures. Today is one more in that series. And in that the fourth chapter is called dissolution of the mind, Mano Laya Prakarana, the chapter on dissolution of the mind. This term comes from the original Yoga Vasishta. There is another similar term, Mano Nasha, destruction of the mind, even more alarming term. But remember, once we go through this process, not that the mind will be dissolved. Somebody was joking, you know,

the ways of dissolving the mind we know. At one time it used to be staring at the television screen called idiot box for mind-numbing hours and hours. That's a non-spiritual way of dissolving the mind. Or its modern version, mindless browsing on the internet hour after hour. This is dissolving the mind. And then somebody quipped, or listening to a mind-numbingly boring talk On dissolution of the mind. That also can dissolve your mind. Now in the spiritual self, dissolution of the mind. To make it a little more technical, we will go to Jeevan Mukti Viveka, a book

written by Vidyaranya Swami, a master of Advaita who lived about 600 years ago in the south of India. He is known better as the author of the Panchadashi, the text which I have often referred to. So in this other text of his, Jeevan Mukti Viveka, it is a sort of a manual or a monograph on understanding the goal of Advaita which is Jeevan Mukti. Jeevan Mukti is liberation while living. Where? Here. Not just here. Not just, I have understood that I am Brahman. Won't help. When disease comes, pain comes, failure comes, life draws to a

close, this particular life, it won't help. So what will help? There in that book, Vidyaranya Swami says that there are these three components of Jeevan Mukti. Of enlightenment while living, there are these three components, means an analysis. He is drawing from the Yoga Vasishta which is the parent book of the book I am using also. And what are the three components? He says, Tattva Bodha. Tattva Bodha means realization of the truth. I am Brahman. I am not the body, not the mind. I am awareness itself. I am consciousness itself. And this consciousness is one and

non-dual. There is nothing apart from this consciousness. The entire world, this body, our waking state, our dream state, Our deep sleep, it appears and disappears in this one consciousness. This is the underlying reality of the entire universe and of ourselves. And I am that, you are that. Tattva Masi. When we realize this, when it becomes a living reality, then you call it Tattva Bodha or Tattva Jnana. Realization of the truth. This is enlightenment in the first sense. You get, Oh! this is what I am. This is so amazing. If it really happens, then you can

call it enlightenment in the first sense. It may not really happen. It may still be a kind of understanding, a kind of intellectual conviction. So it really happens. One Swami put it beautifully, how it happens. How Vedantic study leads to this first, this enlightenment, realization. He was here a few months ago. Swami Anubhavananda Saraswati, the smiling Swami, he gave a talk. He says when you keep listening to Vedanta, you keep listening to Vedanta, with a teacher you study, with a text. It could be a YouTube lecture, it could be sitting here, whatever it is. You

keep listening to Vedanta. As we keep listening to Vedanta, at one time, the attention turns from listening to the teacher and the text to the listener. I am listening. You must listen attentively. That itself is an art, how to listen. So I am listening. I am swallowing it in. I love it, what the person is saying. I am listening and listening and listening attentively. At one point it happens. It turns. Oh, he is talking about me. All this is about me. Here, now I see it. Dramatically, it's a twist which happens. It refers back to

me. It's like the tenth man. I am the tenth man. You know the story, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. So that turn it happens and that is called self-realization, tattva bodha. But according to Vidyaranya Swami and this Yoga Vasishta tradition, that's not enough to be enlightened. The test of enlightenment is, are you free of sorrow? Have you solved your personal problems? At least, not the problems of the world. Have you solved the personal problems? Have the claims of Vedanta been proven? Vedanta says, dukkha nivritti, atyantika dukkha nivritti, which is a

Sanskrit term meaning complete transcendence of sorrow. Problems will keep coming from the world, but it does not affect you. You have transcended that sorrow. You have attained that which, centered in which even the heaviest of sorrows cannot shake you. So have you attained that? Paramananda praptischa and deep, lasting, limitless fulfillment, that which cannot be exceeded. Have you attained that? Do you feel it? Is it hilarious? If it is not, if it is not, by the way, just a little footnote, somebody might say, oh, enlightened one feels it's hilarious. So starving children and people dying in

wars is hilarious? There is no space for snarky comments like that. It is the enlightened ones who have the genuine compassion and sympathy for the suffering, not us. We are hard-hearted people. I have seen people who say, no, I feel so much. Yes, I have seen people who feel so much, who burst into tears at the reading of or looking at the television pictures of some suffering person across the world, but who would be nasty to the person sitting next to them in the couch. That is not compassion. It is sentimentality and that sentimentality does

not exceed, cannot overcome that person's selfishness. Notice that sentimentality is never transferred into action. Doesn't do the slightest good to anybody else, neither to themselves, not to anybody else, especially not to those around them. Whereas when there is a selfish desire, when we want something, we are up and doing. But somehow our great sympathy for others doesn't make us do anything except express that sympathy, and really, really feel and cry. No good. That's not Vivekananda, for example, who found life hilarious, but also set in Motion this tremendous machinery. I just think today here in the

Vedanta Society of New York, we are not healing the sick or feeding the hungry, but we are proud to belong to this worldwide organization set in motion by Vivekananda. We have thousands and thousands of people for the last century or more. The sick are being healed, the hungry are being fed, the uneducated are being educated. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. I am so glad that the monks and devotees of the order are doing this tremendous work. That's compassion. Sometimes people ask, the old question about if God exists, then why is there so much suffering

in the world? What is the answer to that? Every religion has answers and I have a list of 23 or 24 answers, not mine, but Professor Arthur Herman, Professor of Philosophy at Hawaii University. He wrote this book, The Problem of Evil in Indian Thought. What is the response? But he has got a list of 24 answers to this question. If you are interested, you can look it up. You will not be impressed by most of the answers. It is collected from all the religions of the world And all the philosophies of the world. But the

first answer, people ask me, the first answer I say, before you give those 24 theories, the first answer is the annual report of the Ramakrishna Mission. There you see the hospitals and the schools and the disaster relief. That should be the response. So hilarious doesn't mean heartless. This is a person who can enjoy life and who can have tremendous sympathy for the next person, for the suffering person and sets in motion a machinery which till today, that's why we are sitting here, whether it's spiritual service, service to the hungry, service to the illiterate, service to

the poor, the service, that is The answer to the problem of evil. So that is one illumination, realization that I am Brahman, which makes life hilarious, the funny mountain. But also the teacher says you must get the results of it and to get the results of this illumination, the second meaning of enlightenment, light, enlightenment, light, the burden is gone, life becomes hilarious. You genuinely feel compassion for others and all of that. For that two more components are necessary. The two components Vidyaranya Swami says are called Vasanakshaya and Mano Nasha. The complete eradication of worldly desires,

worldly and other worldly desires and this dissolution of the mind, Dissolution of the mind, which is what we are going to talk about today. So he has got chapters in that book of his Jeevan Mukti Viveka. I am talking about Vidyaranya Swami. So there is a whole chapter on enquiry, who am I, that is the standard Advaita stuff is there. The first meaning of enlightenment, oh I realize, I get it, it is lit up. The second meaning, the two other chapters on Vasanakshaya, eradication of desires and up to the, it is not just giving up

the cookie which I like, up to giving up the highest heavens. I do not desire anything in this world nor indeed in other worlds. We are very casual about dismissing it. Oh I do not want anything in heaven. I do not want heaven. One of the Swamis who used to teach us, Swami Shivamayanji who has passed since, so we were novices, he said to become a monk you have to give up. Giving up is not only of this world, whatever this world can give but other worlds too and we are very casual about it, dismissive.

Yes, yes I give up all the pleasures of heaven. He said you cannot give up a cookie and you are saying you are going to give up the pleasures of heaven. Why do we say that? It is because the modern man, the modern person does not believe in those heavens. You don't believe they exist. That's why you are so cavalier about it and say I give it up, I don't want it. That was the whole temptation of Nachiketa in Kathopanishad when the Lord of death Yama says, whatever you want in this world, kingdoms till the

life, you can live for a hundred years and rule over kingdoms and if this is not enough, the joys which are available not for mortal man but in other worlds, in heavens, which human beings cannot even conceive of, all of those will be yours. So that is the eradication of desires, Vasanakshaya. But then comes another chapter which is the dissolution of the mind and so that is the subject we are going to talk about. What is this dissolution of the mind? The dissolution of the mind is the mind must be trained to such a pitch,

Must be spiritualized to such a pitch, deeply imbued with ethics, with devotion, with selflessness, with one pointed concentration and of course already the knowledge of the self is there. So with knowledge and devotion and meditation and Karma Yoga, selflessness, it must be trained to such a pitch that at a moment's notice you should be able to withdraw it from engagement with the world and center it on what you have realized, enlightenment, that light within and be merged in Samadhi. It's not enough to say I know I am Brahman, I know all this is Brahman. But

you must also be able to switch off the movie at will. The example is of the movie and the screen. So you go to a movie and you know it's a screen on which the movie is playing. But the whole screen is covered by the movie. So when you look at the screen, you are looking at the pictures in the movie. Now if somebody wants to see the screen, there are these two approaches. One approach is you can switch off the movie and then you see the screen. Oh this is the screen. Or the other

approach is that you understand, we all understand what a movie is, what a screen is. And so when we are watching this movie, we can also honestly, truthfully say yes we are seeing the screen. It's covered with pictures right now but it's not that we are not seeing the screen, we are seeing the screen. The first one when you switch it off, no movie at all, really no movie, just the screen, blank screen by itself. That's the yogic method. Do you have the ability to switch off the world? You can't switch off the world out

there. To switch off the world in your own perception and experience. Do you have that ability? And that comes from long training in meditation. Or the second one is the Vedantic approach where the movie of the world can go on. You are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, thinking, imagining, working and yet you say it's all Brahman. Are you delusional? No. You know the truth. Even when the movie is playing, it's still just the screen. So these are the two ways. But the Manonasha, dissolution of the mind, wants us to train the mind in spirituality. One

might say, a devotee might say, I know there is God and I believe in God and I love God. That's it. Why do I need to train the mind? A Jnani on the path of knowledge might want to say that look, I know it's all Brahman. Why do I need Samadhi? What do I have to do with the mind? I am not the body and the mind. I just said I am not the mind. Then why do I have to do anything with the mind? But this is the thing about spiritual life. Training of the

mind is essential in spiritual life. And when it reaches its peak, it's called dissolution of the mind or destruction of the mind. Remember, mind is neither dissolved nor destroyed. No need to be alarmed. It's in fact much better than it used to be. Why it's called dissolution or destruction, we will see. Sri Ramakrishna was once asked by Swami Turiyananda, I have told this story ad nauseam, many, many times. When he had throat cancer, Sir are you suffering? And Sri Ramakrishna said, yes it hurts. And then Swami Turiyananda said to him, but I see Sir that

you are in great delight. And Sri Ramakrishna said, Oh the rascal has found me out. So this story everybody knows. Somehow in the middle of cancer, terminal cancer, he is still in great delight. But then there is a second time he asked, the second episode is not often mentioned. Another time, Swami Turiyananda Harinath, he asked a more precise question. Sir, what is going on now, this cancer, the pain, do you feel it? And Sri Ramakrishna said, what kind of talk is that? Does the body ever become a sadhu? It's the mind which becomes a sadhu.

Shourir kokhono sadhu hai, monhi sadhu hai. See, the Atman is already a sadhu. Sadhu means a holy person or whatever. I mean generally it's perfect. The Atman, pure consciousness or if you are a devotee, God, is always sadhu. There is no problem there. The body is always changing and subject to birth, change and destruction. It will never change. It will never be perfect. It's not designed to be. There is no such thing as a perfect body. No matter what the gyms tell you. Every gym and yoga studio is advertising a perfect body but there isn't

and we all know that. Body will always deteriorate. If you do a lot of yoga and gluten-free then it will deteriorate less. But it will deteriorate. So it is the mind which has to be spiritualized. This is the subject today. The dissolution of the mind or the manonasha is better, what Sri Ramakrishna's words, monhi sadhu hoi, spiritualization of the mind. Now the path of yoga, by which I mean the path of meditation, is the path, the par excellence of the dissolution of the mind. That is basically the whole sadhana in yoga. So we will begin

with that. But we will see dissolution of the mind in other paths also. So yoga is very clear. What you do is, the mind is flickering all the time and that's the problem. And we focus the mind till it becomes immersed in samadhi. Now the mind in samadhi is not a sleeping mind. The mind in samadhi is not a dull mind. It's actually the most alive mind. It's the most alert mind. The mind is the most alert mind, the most awake mind. So in the yoga shastra we read, yoga chitta vritti nirodhaha. What is yoga?

Yoga is the cessation of the continuous movements of the mind. Chitta vritti, all kinds of movements. All our perception, all our thinking, all our understanding, our emotions, judgments, everything is a movement of the mind. Memories, everything is a movement of the mind. And quietening the movements of the mind is meditation. And absolutely stilling it is samadhi. At least for a while. So yogas chitta vritti nirodhaha. And the peak of samadhi is technically called asam prajnata samadhi. So this is all yoga. In which what happens? What happens then? Tadadrashtu svarupayavasthanam. That I am pure consciousness is

realized at that time. When the mind is stilled then I realize that I am pure consciousness. What happens when the mind is not stilled? Right now for example, we are listening hopefully, we are thinking, hopefully. So when the mind is not stilled, what is happening? Vritti sarupya mitaratra. So the yoga sutra says the consciousness is apparently, within quotes, identified with the movements of the mind. So like that right now, I don't think that I am pure consciousness. I am thinking I am the one who is listening to this talk. I am the one who is

thinking. I am the one who is remembering. So we become, I the consciousness has become occluded, Hidden by these movements of the mind. And the only way of appreciating that I am pure consciousness, the yogis say, is to quieten the mind and then finally silence it in samadhi. Once you have realized it, silenced it in samadhi, you realize you are pure consciousness. You are what is called the sakshi or the witness consciousness. So this is the yogic approach to dissolution of the mind. And they are absolutely valid. In fact Vidyaranya Swami says in Jeevan Mukti

Viveka, this must be mastered. This must be mastered if you want to attain Jeevan Mukti. A question may arise. Suppose I have the first sense of illumination, enlightenment. I have a clear understanding I am Brahman. But I haven't practiced meditation to the extent of samadhi. And yes, in the mind some desires are still there, much attenuated. But I can see they are floating around. So am I not an enlightened person? Vedanta is very clear about it. Vedanta says the goal is Jeevan Mukti. You must get the result of enlightenment. If you don't have the result

of enlightenment, if your mind is still disturbed and shaken once in a while, you have a way to go. You may have realized that you are Brahman, But you need to complete the course. The eradication of desires, of this worldly and other worldly desires and the ability to immerse yourself. If you are Brahman, you must be able to still yourself in Brahman. With eyes open, with eyes shut. But with eyes shut, yes. Not just with eyes open. It's cheap to claim, it's the same. With eyes shut is Brahman, eyes open is Brahman. So I am

always eyes open. That can easily deteriorate into self-deception and materialism. So you must be able to get rid of the whole world as a matter of experience. And remain still in awareness only. This is called dissolution of the mind, Manonasha, from a yogic standpoint. Chitta vritti nirodha samadhi. Sri Krishna also supports this. In the Bhagavad Gita, there is a description of the enlightened one. Sthita pragya, whose wisdom, whose enlightenment, first sense of enlightenment is established. See, first sense of enlightenment, I realize I am Brahman. But that has to be stita, established. Otherwise there is always

a complaint. I understand it in the class Swami, but after I leave, it's all gone. Or it's fine in the time of meditation, but after that it's gone. That Swami who came here, Pranav Chaitanya Maharaj, he was saying, see Advaita, he was joking, that when I began my spiritual life, I kept Advaita confined to my meditation. In meditation it's Advaita. With eyes open this is dualistic. But no, Advaita spilled over. Then I thought, alright with eyes open, but eyes open when I am studying Vedanta, or you can extend it to listening to a Vedanta talk,

then it is Advaita. But rest of the time it's dualistic, it's worldly. No, you cannot do that. If it is non-dualism, it must be with eyes closed and eyes open. So to make it with eyes, but for that eyes closed Advaita is very important. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, the second chapter, the characteristics of the enlightened one, the one whose wisdom is established, he says, Koormonganiva, just like a tortoise is able to withdraw its limbs, and there are tortoises there, or turtles... turtles... there. If you scare it, it immediately withdraws. Like that, like

flipping a switch, you can switch off the light and fan, like that flipping a switch we must be able to withdraw from contact with the world. Otherwise we are slaves to the world. Something is there we must see, something is heard, immediately disturbs our minds. So in Vivekananda says, slave to a good word, Slave to a bad word, and goes on. There is a whole powerful sequence. He says we are enslaved by the world, why should we be so? He says that, He says, kinkarasya kinkarai kinkari kritha aha aha. Alas, Alas! Kinkara means servant. By

the servants of my servants I have been made a servant, alas. I am pure consciousness, who is my servant? The mind. Who is the servant of the mind? The five senses. And who am I now? The servant of the five senses. You must see that movie, yes I am going to see the movie. You must taste that food, yes I am tasting that food. You must talk to these people, yes I am talking. Hello, hi, I am going on. Why? Why? You must look at the mobile phone, what message has come, all nonsense. But you

must look. I have been made a servant. Kinkara, servant. By the servants of my servants. By the servants of my servants I have been made a servant, alas. No, Krishna says you must have the ability to withdraw. Eyes want to see, I will not see. Ears want to hear, I will not hear. The mind wants to chatter, I will not listen to the chatter. Silence. And then the truth beyond the silence is revealed. This is chitta vritti nirodha. One and primary meaning of manonasha, of dissolution of the mind. Literally the mind is dissolved or stilled.

It is not damaged. It is in fact a great rest for the mind. When the mind comes back after that, again starts working, it will be a very luminous mind. Very alert mind, very sattvic mind. It is a wonderful mind. This is what Sri Ramakrishna said, moni sadhu hai. The mind has become a sadhu then. But to this the bhakti yogi says, what nonsense. Chitta vritti nirodha, sit quietly. Dumb. The Lord has given me a mind to think. The Lord has given me a heart to love and feel. Why should it be an obstacle to

God realization? It is not an obstacle to God realization. I will not sit quietly. I will not still the thoughts in my mind. No, I shall think of my beautiful Krishna, of my beautiful Sri Ramakrishna. I shall sing and clap my hands and dance. No chitta vritti nirodha. Why? I shall decorate the image or the picture of Sri Ramakrishna. I shall perform daily worship of my chosen, my beloved. I shall adore, I shall love. That's what the mind is meant for. That's what the heart is meant for. And that is also dissolution of the mind.

That's also dissolution of the mind. Not literally. But that mind which is absorbed in the Lord. That mind is a sadhu mind. And this in many ways is a much sweeter, in some ways, quote unquote, easier approach than chitta vritti nirodha. Chitta vritti nirodha. If you see the book which I was studying, the nectar of supreme knowledge, there is a verse. Sit ramrod straight. Not a good idea. But anyway, sit ramrod straight. Clench your teeth. Bite your upper lip to the lower lip. And close your eyes. And do not move until the mind is still.

I mean, the idea is that. Don't do that actually because no yoga teacher will tell you that because it will tire out the body. But it shows the determination. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that when I would sit for meditation, I would hear the clicks as if all my joints are getting locked. Until the amount of japa and the meditation I was supposed to do is over, I will not be able to move even if I want to move. Then I would hear the clicking sound of the joints being unlocked and I could get up.

That's a powerful mind. It's a mind only. Stills. Decide to still the body, it will be stilled. Still the mind, it will be stilled. Another time he says, when I sit for meditation, a being is to come out of me with a trident and threaten me until I finish the meditation I should not move. So this is just a powerful mind. But here the devotee says, I shall sing and dance and laugh and chant and worship And love my lord, the lord my god in as many ways as possible. This is also dissolution of the

mind. And a beautiful way of dissolving the mind. The mind is ever immersed in divine bliss. This is also enlightening. Second sense. The karma yogi says, no, no chitta vritti nirodha for me. I shall engage in service of god in all these forms. In the divine to feed the lord. Swami Vivekananda says, my god the hungry, my god the poor, my god the illiterate, my god the wicked, my god the wicked. In all these forms the lord is coming before me. How shall I worship? Not with flowers like the bhakti yogi with incense and singing

and clapping. No, with service, with food to the hungry. It's an offering, it's a puja. With education for the illiterate. With aid for those who are afflicted by storms and earthquakes. Swami Vivekananda, he saw this in India at that time. He said, yes, spirituality, religion is there, still living. But look at the land. Thousands and thousands are swept away regularly by famine, by plagues, epidemics. It's a society that has become so weak and incapable of looking after itself. Notice in a society people are suffering on a mass scale next door and we don't do anything

about it. Oh, it's their karma. That spirit is gone. Centuries of colonialism, of the loss of national vigor, the impoverishment of an entire race. And the result was this, the complete falling apart of social structures. And Vivekananda said, he put the monks to work, he put the devotees to work. And he said, this work is not just a way of national reconstruction. That's one of the effects. But it's a spiritual practice. If you are Vedantins, you must admit that the same Brahman you realize is one reality is in front in these ways. Pramadadas Mitra, he

writes to Swami Akhandananda. Pramadadas Mitra was a great scholar who lived in Benares and a friend to the monks. But he had doubts. He writes to Swami Akhandananda who had started an orphanage in Murshidabad in West Bengal. It's a very big ashram now. He says, you are monks. You are supposed to wander the land and spend your time in meditation and beg for your food and teach spirituality. Why these schools and orphanages and relief work and hospitals? And Swami Akhandananda writes back a fiery letter. He says, realize Brahman. For what purpose? Doesn't your own Vedanta

say you are already ever free Brahman? What meditation and what spiritual practice will you do for the freedom of Brahman? You yourself admit you are the ever free Brahman. And that Brahman you are saying is the reality of the entire universe. I see that Brahman naked without a dress to put on. I see that Brahman wasting away from hunger in front of me. I see that Brahman afflicted by superstition, by lack Of education, lack of opportunity. And to serve Brahman in these forms is my life's spiritual practice. And if this takes me to hell so

be it. Fiery letter. So this is the Karma yogi's attitude. No chitta vritti nirodha. I will do this and this is also dissolution of the mind. Dissolution of the mind, the mind which is limited to this body and mind. I will do everything for only this one. This body which will die tomorrow, which is falling apart every minute. To feed it and to clothe it and to decorate it is the whole goal of my life. Alas, I have become the servant of the servants of my servant. So this selfishness, this utter selfishness is reversed by

the Karma yogi. This is dissolution of the mind. In that sense, Manonasha, destruction of the selfish mind which binds us to this limited being. For such a selfless mind, a mind purged of selfishness, the realization that I am Brahman is a matter just like that. They say in the palm of your hand. It's very easy. That is dissolution of the mind. Now if you have had a sense that I am building up to something, you are right. We come to dissolution of the mind in Vedanta, in the path of knowledge. The verse which I was

referring to, I wanted to get the book but I forgot. But anyway, I will tell you the meaning of the verse. The verse goes, Antarmukhataya, when the mind is turned inwards. And then what is done? Chid agno juhata tri jagat trinam. The straw, the little piece of grass, dry grass which is the three worlds, is poured, is offered into the fire of consciousness. Then alone the mind is dissolved. What does this mean? This is the Vedantic way. It's a very poetic way of putting it. Here the imagery is of a Vedic fire sacrifice. So a

big fire is lit and the priests offer Ahuti into it. Swaha! You are going to do the same thing. The fire is already lit. There is an eternal fire. It's called pure consciousness. Offer the three worlds into it. Offer this body into it. Offer the senses into it. Offer the mind and thoughts into it. That is dissolution of the mind. Merge the world, body, senses and mind into pure consciousness. Dissolve the world, body, senses and mind into pure consciousness. How we shall do that we will see. But two points which the book mentions. So this

book I am referring to the Nectar of Supreme Knowledge from which I have drawn today's talk. It's enriched by lot of notes by Swami Dhireshananda, the translator. So a lot of information about Advaita Vedanta. So here he makes two points. He says, look, he wants to distinguish between the primary understanding of the meaning of dissolution of mind which is the yogic understanding. In Samadhi mind has stopped, actually stopped. The world has disappeared. It's there but you don't experience it. The body has disappeared. It's there but you don't experience it. And the mind is still. Only

awareness, you are centered in awareness. That is called Samadhi. Now, there the footnotes mention two points. One point is a quotation from the great Advaitic master Madhusudana Saraswati. He is one of the greatest post Shankara Advaita masters. He is famous for his book Advaita Siddhi which is very heavy duty. Somebody called it a brain fryer. Which is a response of the post Shankara Advaitins to their dualistic critics. But he is also well known for a massive and wonderful commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Gudharta Deepika, the lamp of hidden intent. The lamp of hidden intent, Gudharta

Deepika. And just it might interest you. We are actually studying that at Harvard University. There was a Bhagavad Gita class which I attended and Professor Clooney was teaching it at Harvard Divinity School. And the text, the Gita was studied with the commentary of Madhusudana Saraswati. And the English translation which was used was actually published by our order, Swami Gambhiranandaji's translation. So that book is Madhusudana Saraswati's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Swami Gambhiranandaji, published by I think Advaita Ashram. Now, it is a massive commentary on Bhagavad Gita, detailed commentary. And Madhusudana Saraswati brings into

play his wide scholarship of all the philosophies. There is yoga there, there is bhakti there and of course Advaita is there. Now in the sixth chapter, 29th verse, where it talks about seeing the Atman in all beings. There Madhusudana Saraswati goes into an aside, some extra information. He says, for the dissolution of the mind, attainment of enlightenment and dissolution of the mind, since ancient times there have been these two grand ways, he says. And he quotes a verse from the Yoga Vasistha, which says, Shiva, the Lord has given these two paths for two kinds of

seekers. Not advanced and lower, two kinds of seekers. What are these two paths? One is the path of yoga, where you still the mind in samadhi and you realize your pure consciousness. Another is the path of inquiry, Vedanta, where you inquire with the help of Vedantic texts and you realize your pure consciousness. The first path is for those who consider the world to be real. I am quoting from Madhusudana Saraswati, who is quoting from Yoga Vasistha. The first path is for the yogis who consider the world to be real. And if you consider the world

to be real, a real entity out there, in that case there is no other way, again I am quoting precisely, there is no other way for you to realize your pure consciousness except wiping out the world experience. That you can do only in samadhi. You can do it in deep sleep, anesthesia also, but then the mind is not awake there. Here the mind is most awake but still. So awake and still. For the yogis there is no other way. And then he goes on to say, Madhusudana Saraswati speaking, but for us the followers of Vedanta,

those who are on the path of the Vedas, the Vedic path, the master, our revered master Acharya Shankara has shown us how through self-inquiry one can attain the realization that I am Brahman. I am pure consciousness. And therefore he adds, therefore Shankara has not indicated the path of yogic samadhi for his followers. So there are these two distinct paths. And then he goes on, earlier he has said, for some yogic samadhi is a possibility, for others inquiry leading to self-realization is a possibility. You might take to one or the other. Recommendation, do both until it

gives a result. Why do both? Vivekananda says do all. The karma yogi's mind dissolution, the bhakti yogi's mind dissolution, and the yogi's mind dissolution and the Advaitins or the Jnani yogi's mind dissolution. So that's the note from Madhusudana Saraswati. Chapter 6, verse number 29. Chapter 6, 6.29. Long discussion. And then he says enough said, let's get on with the Gita. But it's a very valuable discussion. People ask can you attain enlightenment without samadhi? And there he says yes, you can, on the path of inquiry. The path of inquiry also leads to mind dissolution. Now Vidyaranya

Swami, the second footnote quotes from Vidyaranya Swami, where he says that by samadhi one can realize that you are pure consciousness. Or by inquiry one can realize you are pure consciousness. And then he goes further, even if through samadhi you have realized pure consciousness, he shows the limitation of the yogic way. You have realized you are pure consciousness, but still the question remains, how many pure consciousnesses are out there? I have still my mind in samadhi, so I am the witness of the mind. I remain as that. But there are so many minds and so

many bodies out there, are there many witnesses? And also what is this world and the body and the mind? So he says further Brahma Jnana is still waiting. He calls it Brahma Jnana or Brahmakara vritti, Vidyaranya Swami and that quotation. He says after yogic samadhi and realization you are the witness consciousness, it still remains for you to contemplate the Vedic Mahavakya, Vedantic Mahavakya. You are that or I am Brahman, that realization still remains. Then only you can say the mind has been dissolved and you have attained enlightenment in both senses. I know, I have realized

and also the burden is gone. I am free of it. Life is hilarious. Ok, now a little touch of what this sacrificing the entire world, body, senses, mind into the fire of consciousness, what this might mean? It's like this. Follow this carefully, if at any time you wish to close your eyes, for following it, not for sleeping. There are some who can actually have the master, the yogic art of sleeping with eyes open. They can look at you and yet they are sleeping. It's a difficult art. But this is as the verse says, antarmukhataya, inwardness.

And inwardness is really helped by closing the eyes or looking down so that the eyes don't, I was reading the neuroscience shows that the moment your eyes open, a big part of the brain kicks in. And lot of activities start. So if you feel like closing your eyes and turning inwards, you may. Notice whatever we are seeing, you see so many colors and shapes and people and things out there. Whatever we are seeing and have seen and will see, all of this variety is seen by the same eyes. And what we are seeing is continuously

changing. The eyes are not changing, generally speaking. The eyes are also moving and changing but generally. So the seer is one, not that we are one eye, one organ of vision and unchanging relatively. What we are seeing is many and continuously changing. All the changing panorama of this is grounded in one thing. That is the eyes, the organ of vision. Let me put it a little more generally. All that we see is nothing but vision or seeing. This is called merging the seeing into the all that is seen into the seeing. Merge the seen into

the seeing. What does it mean? I am making a very subtle point here. What I am making is this. We have the strong unquestioned belief. There are things out there and I am only seeing them. Pay attention here. What Vedanta is saying, notice one subtle point. What you are seeing is not apart from seeing. What I mean by that is, look at this orange cloth. You are seeing a patch of orange. This patch of orange which you are seeing, do you have any evidence that it exists apart from your seeing it? Not only that, the

patch of orange which you are seeing now, which I am seeing now, literally, even in the most physicalist, scientific, physiological explanation is being projected in the brain. You are not actually contacting something orange out there right now. Whatever is going on, the final result is I feel I am seeing an orange patch, an orange cloth. So this orange cloth is entirely internal to you. It is not a cloth outside. That comes later. That is a whole materialist assumption. But what we are actually experiencing literally right now is internal to us. In a physicalist way it

is internal to the brain and in a phenomenological way, I am using the philosophical terms, it is internal to our experience. So when I say the seeing is nothing apart from your seeing, I literally mean it. There is no cloth apart from your seeing the cloth. So all that we see is just part of our seeing. This is merging the idea of external objects back into the vision. Into the fire of vision I offer all that is seen. Into the fire of hearing I offer all words, sound, music, noise. I offer that. Similarly taste. This

one tongue is the basis of all that we have tasted and all that we can taste. Similarly smell, similarly touch. Into the fire of the senses I pour the external world. This is a very big move. If one can understand this deeply, it is a revolutionary way of thinking. Normally we think there is the external world with my five senses I am experiencing it. But we are saying now there is no external world apart from your five senses experiencing the five sense objects. Your so called external world is colors and shapes, is touch, is sound,

is smell, is taste. What is it apart from that? You might say it is a clock, alarm. Yes but it is a sound. But Swami you can go and see it. It is a sight. You can touch it Swami. It is touch, pressure. Apart from that I mean it literally. So this is literally pouring the universe into the five fires of the senses. But all the five fires of the senses dump their information into the mind. If the mind were not working, none of the senses would give you any data. You may look but you

will not see. Mind is elsewhere. Once Swami would joke, you are here but you do not hear. Mind is not connected to the ears. So mind is the fire into which all the five sense inputs are offered. And you get all these experiences. What is mind? Mind is thoughts, emotions, ideas, memories, even the ego sense. They are nothing but mind. All thoughts I pour into the fire called mind. All perceptions I pour into the fire called mind. All memories, sense of intellect and ego I pour into the fire called mind. This is right now. You

can actually do it. And the mind is nothing other than consciousness. In awareness only we are aware of movements of the mind. Thoughts appear in consciousness. Emotions appear in consciousness. Perceptions appear in consciousness. The mind is nothing more than an appearance in consciousness. This recognition is nothing more than I the consciousness. In a magical way I am appearing as the mind. And in a magical way this mind is appearing as five sense inputs. And in a magical way I think there are external world. I poured the mind into consciousness. This is pouring. Tri Jagat Trinam.

You have reduced three worlds. Waking, dreaming, deep sleep or heaven, earth and hell. You have reduced it to a straw. We throw into the fire of consciousness. It's immediately burnt up. This is called dissolution of the world, dissolution of the senses and the body and the mind into I the consciousness. Start like this. Open up the senses. Look at the world here. All of these sights and sounds are nothing but sensory inputs. There is nothing out there. It's all my sensory inputs. Prove it Swami. Notice in the dream. When you are closed eyes and sleeping,

you are seeing. Without actual physical eyes being open. The mind is doing it by itself. No sound. You are wearing noise cancelling earphone or ear bud. You are hearing. The mind is doing it by itself. The mind generates senses and the objects of the senses internally. That mind is an appearance in consciousness and you are that one consciousness. The mind is your magical power and the senses are the magical power of the mind. And the world is the magical power of the senses. I pour, I toss this piece of straw called the three worlds into

the fire of consciousness which I am. Chidagno Antar Juhata. Continuously. It's a continuous process. We are externalized. Forgetting that I am consciousness, I am aware of the mind. Forgetting that I am mind, I am aware of the senses. Forgetting the senses, I am aware of the world. First step back into the mind. Then step back into consciousness. The Swami whom I mentioned, the smiling Swami Anubhavanda Saraswati, he made a very interesting observation. He said, who is spiritual? Who is spiritual? The one who is worried about the mind, not about the world. If you are worried

about your mind, you are spiritual. If you are worried about the world, you are materialistic. Why did that person behave like that with me? Materialistic. Why did I get upset when that person behaved like that with me? Spiritual. You see the distinction? We often say, I complain, I try to meditate but the mind is so restless. Good, it's progress. Because now you are worried about the mind, not about the world. You say, the world is the cause of my not meditating. Then you are worried about the world. But I am trying to meditate but my

mind is so restless, You are worried about the mind. That's progress. The exact words he used were [translated: worrying about the world is the work of the mind. Enlightening the mind is the work of the witness. Where are you sitting? Think about it.] To contemplate the world, to consider the world, to process the world is the job of the mind. To illumine the mind is the job of consciousness. Where are you sitting? If you are continuously thinking about the world and people And problems out there, you are sitting in the mind. If you are worried

about the mind, why the mind is getting upset, why the mind is restless, why the mind is not interested in spiritual practice, you are sitting in the Sakshi, witness consciousness. So just words to encourage us. But good, good point. It's an interesting point. He is saying, the lowest kind of person is interested in other persons. A higher mind is interested in events. But the best minds are interested in ideas. Notice, you have gone from person to something impersonal, events. There is still world. Then higher is ideas. If you consider the ideas, you are sitting in

the Sakshi. That's an improvement. This is called dissolution of the mind. Offering the world into the senses, the senses into the mind, the mind into consciousness. The eyes are a fire which is burning. Recognize that and offer everything that is seen. Even while you are seeing it, offering into the eyes means, what I am seeing is nothing different from seeing. What I am hearing is nothing different from hearing. It's part of the hearing. Just like when you see or hear in a dream, after waking up, we don't say, there was something external, I saw it.

There was something external, I heard it. No, we just say the whole thing was imagined. The seer and the hearer and what was seen and what was heard were both imagined in the dreamer's mind. Exactly like that. Offer the seeing and the hearing and the smelling and the tasting and the touching into the fire called mind. Offer the fire called mind into consciousness which you are and be at peace. This is dissolution of the mind. The Jnani is dissolution of the mind. Dissolves the world, the senses, the body and the mind into the fire of

consciousness. We are nearly over, up with time. Just another point I want to mention. That text, Nectar of Supreme Knowledge gives us five ways of dissolving the mind. One of them is what I just mentioned, the inquiry, self-inquiry. Offer everything into the fire of consciousness. The Jnani's way of dissolving the mind. The second one is the Bhakta's way but the way it is put in the text is Anudvega. Be free of anxiety. The Naradiya Bhakti Sutra says, Sarvada Sarvabhaave na nishchintitehi Bhagavaneva bhajaniya. The Lord alone is to be worshipped, served, loved, adored and surrendered to

and be concerned with. Only concern is the Lord, not the world, not the body, not my personal affairs, not even my own Mukti. And how is the Lord to be adored, believed in, worshipped, loved, surrendered to? How? Nishchintitehi, free of all anxiety. You are not free of anxiety. Anxiety is always about the world. Not free of anxiety means you don't believe in God. Can't the supreme power take care of you? It takes care of the world. Can't it take care of you? It will take care of you. What has to be done? The supreme power

knows, God knows best what has to be done for me and for the world. So I am free of anxiety on that score. Being free of anxiety. Sarvada Sarvabhaave na. At all times and in all ways worship the Lord, love the Lord by God. At all times. Waking, dreaming, in deep sleep you can't say, but deep sleep the poet sings, sleep is my meditation on my mother Shyama. Deep sleep. So at all times and in all ways, whether in prayer or in meditation or in puja or in serving others, in all these ways, Swami Turiyananda

Ji used to say, in my days in the mountains, in the Himalayas, I would live in this little cottage and the whole day would pass in, he would say, jop, dhan, path, path, dhan, jop. In repetition of the mantra, japa and then in study of spiritual texts or in meditation. When my mind got tired of meditation, I would repeat the mantra. When the mantra, I got tired of repeating the mantra, I would study. And then when the mind became inward again, I would go into meditation. And this is where his cycle went on. He literally

meant it. Because at one time sleep also disappeared for him. And he got scared. He says six nights he did not sleep. And then he felt, maybe sleep will go away forever. And on the sixth night actually, he practiced sleeping. Finally got half an hour sleep and he felt relaxed. So this is nishchintitehi, be free of all anxiety. That is another way of dissolving the mind, the text says. Freedom from anxiety, freedom from fear. How? Rely on the Lord, rely on the Lord in life and death. It is all the Lord, the Lord's play. Whatever

I contact, whoever I contact, wherever I am, I am surrounded, immersed in an ocean of God. Be happy. Remain immersed with that. Another method it says, enquiry which we have already talked about. The devotion, be free of anxiety and love the Lord. Third one it says is Vasanatyaga, giving up all kinds of desires, Which is the whole chapter you will find in Jivanmukti Viveka. Very strong chapter on eradication of desires. Then the fourth one it says Pranayama. Ramana Maharshi, yogis, they have all stressed this. One way of dissolving the mind is by control of the

breath. One yogi said there is a deep connection between control of the breath, celibacy and dissolution of the mind. All three they go together. Control of the senses. Celibacy here means control of the senses, disciplined life, not indulgence in the senses. And control of the breath, pranayama and steadying the mind. Steady mind, steady senses and stilled breath, they go together. So pranayama, yogic pranayama is a way of dissolving the mind. Sri Ramakrishna however cautioned, it is not an easy way to practice, especially if the life is not pure and disciplined. It can lead to adverse

consequences. And he said Sri Ramakrishna, by sheer bhakti one gets kumbhaka, restraint of the breath and stilling of the breath. He says by the intensity of love of God, by sheer bhakti this can be attained. You don't have to do pranayama separately. So that also is mentioned. And finally the fifth method, first method self-enquiry. I am changing the order. Second method, love the Lord free of anxiety. That's the condition. Free of any worldly anxiety on your account or anybody else's account. Love the Lord. Third is giving up desires. That's the whole big topic in itself.

Full chapter is there in Jivan Mukti Viveka. Fourth pranayama. But careful. I have seen a dear friend of mine literally losing his mind because of excessive practice of pranayama without the requisite purity of life. Food, routine, all of these things are very important. And the last one is very interesting. He says Satsanga, the company of the holy, of the enlightened, of the sangha of people who are spiritually far ahead of us. If we go to them, their company is very useful in stilling the mind. Stilling the mind. Swami Saradanandaji writes when disciples would come to

Sri Ramakrishna, he would sometimes touch them on the part of their body like chest or sometimes he would touch the tongue. He would say stick your tongue out and you would write something. And then that person, the description by Saradhanandaji is unique, very indicative. The mind would withdraw from sense objects and it would turn inwards. Antar mukhataya. Saradhanandaji is saying just the touch of Sri Ramakrishna it would turn inwards. And then he says the accumulated impressions of past life spiritual practices and experiences would be activated. And the person would realize God. I will give you

three examples and end. How this company of the holy, this is the maximum, the limit and not that everybody's company, every holy person's company will give us that but this is Sri Ramakrishna's company. And those also selected people, not everybody. There are some people who would come, he would say, have you seen the temple? Go and see the temple. And he would say sometimes go and eat something and see the gardens. And sometimes they would be eager but he would turn them away. Or sometimes they would not be eager. There is this funny story of

people who would come in a boat to the temple garden. Two friends who came and one person was very interested in what Sri Ramakrishna had to say and was sitting and listening. The other person said, when will we go? When are you going to leave? And he says, little more, let me listen to him a little more. And this other person says, well I will go and sit in the boat. He doesn't even want to listen to Sri Ramakrishna. This is very interesting. But those who were select disciples who he saw their potential, he would

do this for them. So, Niranjananandaji, Swami Niranjananandaji comes and asks for a mantra. Can you initiate me? And Sri Ramakrishna says, stick out your tongue and write something and tell him the mantra and repeat it. He says, my mind immediately became absorbed and I couldn't stop repeating the mantra. He says, in a daze I went home. I was overflowing with bliss. And when I sat for meditation, when I got up, all the time The mantra is repeating itself. And especially when I sat for meditation with eyes closed, the whole room in the dark, it seemed

to be full of fireflies. Lights flashing everywhere and this mantra going on reverberating within me effortlessly, choicelessly also. I couldn't stop it. After a few days I thought I will go out of my mind. And I went and told Sri Ramakrishna and he laughed and he said, that is Ajapa japa. The mantra repeats by itself without any effort on your part. That's one. Then two more examples. One is the Vedantic way, one is the devotional way. But both how the mind is pulled in towards God. Swami Turiyananda was very interested in Advaita Vedanta and he

used to go to Sri Ramakrishna. And he became, but at the same time he started reading Vedanta books. There was no YouTube at that time but text books were there. So he was reading, he bought these books and he spent a lot of time studying them. Then one day Sri Ramakrishna asked, I don't see that young boy Harinath anymore. What's he doing? Oh he is studying Vedanta, Advaita text. Oh good. Few days later the young man turns up and Sri Ramakrishna said, hello there, I haven't seen you for a while. I hear you have been

studying Vedanta. Well that's very good. But tell me what does Vedanta say? Does it not say Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya? Brahman alone is real, the world is false. If that's what it says, all the books tell you that. Then why not give up the false world and catch hold of Brahman? And Harinath says that revolutionized his mind. See that's that movement where you listen, listen, listen, suddenly that attention changes from what you are listening to, To yourself, the listener. It changes from the arguments, the shlokas, the verses and the beauty of the arguments and all

of that and how I get it, it's all interesting to suddenly, Wow! This is real. Here is the reality, the rest of it can be let go. So the tremendous change, it came over his mind, Swami Turiyananda. The third example is of Swami Ramakrishnananda, Shashi Maharaj. He comes to Sri Ramakrishna as a young man, he becomes a disciple and he loves studying. One thing he loves studying, he gets a fascination for Persian poetry. So he wants to learn Persian in the original and he buys those books Also and starts learning Persian. One day, and he

used to get absorbed in the study, one day Sri Ramakrishna called him and he was so absorbed in the study of Persian that he didn't respond, he didn't hear. Later Sri Ramakrishna asked him, what are you doing? He says I am studying this and I want to learn this and he says be careful, if you do that you will not realize God. And this is the quality of the disciple. The moment he heard this, he took all the books and threw them into the Ganga. So this is the quality of the disciple. The instruction, immediately

you take hold of that. The Guru's instruction, you take it absolutely seriously and follow it lifelong. I have seen this in the senior Swamis. The shortest instruction becomes a lifelong practice. Then, for example, I have seen Swami Pavananandaji, he was an Irishman whom I saw at the end of his life, a very great Swami, disciple of Swami Sivananda. I was in Deoghar Ramakrishna Mission. I joined as a monk there and this old Swami was there. He had lived there all his life, most of it. How? Because when he became a monk, 1920s, late 1920s, his

Guru Swami Sivananda said, Go and stay in the Deogar Ashram. Why don't you go and stay in the Deogar Ashram? You might have, we might think that no I am okay here. Okay, since you are saying I will go and stay there and come back. Why don't you go and stay in the Deogar Ashram? This Swami, this monk, young Irishman at that time, he comes to this new ashram in Deogar in those days and stays there for the next 60 years. Because Guru said. He went to different places but he stayed there. Then finally, Shashi

Maharaj, one more story about him, how Sri Ramakrishna, first he withdrew him from those various fascinations. They are good fascinations but in spiritual life they may be blocks. One day, the young Shashi Maharaj who became Ramakrishnananda, he is searching for something and he is hurriedly walking through Sri Ramakrishna's room. And he missed seeing that Sri Ramakrishna was sitting right there. He was on the bed, maybe in the semi-darkness and absorbed in meditation. And Shashi Maharaj was, he was moving around the room and rummaging, looking for something. Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna said, what you are searching for,

it is here, it is here, it is here, pointing to himself. And he says, I was stunned. This is like, you know, the response to ages of searching. What I have been looking for through lifetimes is here in front of me, as the avatar, as incarnation. That's why of all the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, they all loved him. He bound them all in the cords of love. But no one matched Shashi Maharaj for the intense one-pointed devotion to Sri Ramakrishna. For him Sri Ramakrishna was the treasure of his heart. His life was built around Sri

Ramakrishna. That's why he got the name Ramakrishnananda. So this is also dissolution of the mind. I pray to Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada, Swami Vivekananda. May they bless us. May our lives turn hilarious. May the joy shower in our lives. May our minds become sadhu in this very life itself. Om Shanti Shanti Shantih. Hari Om Tat Sat. Sri Ramakrishnarpanamastu. Thank you.