Ones of Divinity – compiled from the talks given by Ratan Lal
THE MOVEMENT OF REFLECTED CONSCIOUSNESS
The same Divine power
that appears as a guru and pushes from without is in silence, pulling from
within.
Those who are ready or have done some spiritual practice in the physical proximity of a Master like
Bhagavan Baba, feel that their minds are being pushed from outside toward the
inside. From the inside, that same Divine Power is pulling the mind towards
Itself. Then the mind becomes absolutely quiet, free from thoughts. That is the
greatest role played by the guru, God, or any Spiritual Being. Thoughts are
pushed away so that the attention is turned towards one's Source. Inside, the
real Self is waiting for one, in silence. Knowing the Self to be the sole
reality, what is there to fear? Even without the physical presence of a great
Master, one can practice withdrawing one's thoughts from everything external.
The mind will feel a void in the beginning. That is a mental darkness, because
the mind feels the absence of thoughts as a void. As the mind goes deeper
towards its Source, it gets merged· into That. Then the game is finished.
First, one sees the
Self as objects. Then one sees the Self as a void. Later one sees the Self as
the Self. Only in the last case, there is no seeing but only being.
When one sees
blankness, divert attention from the blankness to the seer, that is, to the
Consciousness that sees the blankness. Know oneself to be the changeless and
Absolute Conscious Existence-the light that never dims. Liberation means to be
aware of the Self. Meditation on the Heart center' is only a practice, and not
an investigation. Only the one who meditates on the Heart can remain aware when
one's mind ceases to be active and remains still. When the
mind is quiet, it is ready to dive within. The "I am the body" idea
is common to both, the Jnani and the Ajnani. The Ajnani
(ignorant person) sees only the body as himself. The Jnani (wise person)
sees everything as the Self.
Real knowledge
transcends both knowledge and ignorance. There is no object to be known there. Remaining
within oneself, as being, is to contemplate it. Thought postulates the three
fundamentals: individual, world, and God. Only One appears as three. Ego says
that the three are really three. Remove the ego and remain in your true nature.
Beyond the reach of those who experience the three states, there is the state
of waking-sleep known as Turiya, meaning the transcendental experience. Since
that state alone is real, and-the other three are unreal, know that Turiya
itself is beyond the three states of mind. Atman, or the real Self, gives light
to the mind and shines Within it as its substratum. The highest state is that
in which the ego dies and Atman remains. When the pot has· broken, its inner
space merges with outer space. Similarly, with the death of the gross body, the
spirit merges in the Absolute. Self-dwells in all, and all dwell in the Self.
A devotee of Krishna
ordered a goldsmith to make a golden statue of Krishna. He then remembered that
Krishna was fond of cows, so he ordered· a golden cow. Krishna was also fond of
peacocks, so the man had a golden peacock made. He placed them in his shrine.
After some time, the rich man became poor, and he had to sell the golden
statues. He went to the goldsmith and offered him the statue of Krishna. The
goldsmith weighed the statue and said, "I will give you 60,000 rupees for
it." Then the man offered the cow. Once again, the goldsmith weighed the
statue said, "60,000 rupees." The same thing was repeated with the
peacock. The devotee got very angry and said, "You fool. Are you blind?
Can't you see that is Krishna and these are only a cow and a peacock? And
you're offering the same price for all!" The goldsmith said, "Sir, I
am concerned only with the essence, which is gold. You are the one who gives
importance to names and forms." This is the case with all. Instead of
thriving on differences, one should seek the Essence, the Oneness that pervades
everywhere. That is why Bhagavan reminds everyone that, "There is only one
caste, the caste of Humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of Love.
There is only one language, the language of the Heart. 'There is only one God,
He is Omnipresent." Be in the world, but do not allow the world to be in
you.
What is the diff ere
nee between the soul and the Atman?
The question itself
shows that the questioner believes in an individual soul. When one gives up the
sense of separation, soul and Atman are the same. The real soul is
Consciousness. Do not individualize the Soul. As long as the sense of
separation from Divinity' exists, one will have faith in the sense of
individuality, which one calls the individual soul. There is no mind, no
individual soul as such. It is that so-and-so died. There is no one to die.
Only the body that was born is mortal. Everyone knows that death is a certainty
for all. Whatever takes birth, dies. The Atman does not die. The Divine Self
does not die. Here is a person called Karim. Karim is only the name of the
body, so that others may distinguish this body from that body. The indweller is
God. The indweller in all is the Divine Self.
What is the
difference between mind and soul?
Mind and so-called
soul are identical. It is called by many names-Mind, Intellect,' Subtle Body,
Individual Soul and Ego. Everyone is endowed with subtle and gross bodies,
which correspond respectively to the inner and external instru.ments. At this
stage, it is explained in this manner. Later, one realizes that
"outer" and "inner" pertain only to the body.
Is there an
individuality that survives when one dies?
Even now, there is no
individuality. Only one's notion of it is there. What survives is one's
tendencies. That is why Bhagavan Baba tells all to have less - inclination
towards the world. Lessen the tendencies and desires to have fewer thoughts.
Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba's name has spread throughout the world. Some biased people who have
never met Him; or even seen Him, dissuade others from visiting Puttaparthi.
They say this is a new wave, a new movement. Let
everyone be assured that this is not new. What Baba teaches is Truth. He
encourages the realization of the Atman. He teaches all who approach Him about
the Real Self. This is the highest teaching contained in all the religions.
It is the superimposed
adjunct (the tendencies of mind) that moves. This movement,
reflected on the Consciousness, is ascribed by the ignorant to the
Consciousness itself. Hence, the wrong notion of doership arises. The
"I" remains untouched by the reflected light of Consciousness. The
mind projects its latent tendencies as the objects of a shadow-play in the
waking and dream states. This spectacle is mistaken as real by the Jiva.
The identification of the ego with the reflected Consciousness is proved to be
false upon realization. The identification of the ego with the body ceases to
exist upon the destruction of the latent tendencies. The identification of the
ego with the witness is broken when it is discovered, by experience, that there
is no contact of anything at all with the Self. Superimposition creates the
limitations of individuality in the Absolute.
Some people have
greater faith in the world than in the Reality of Consciousness. They imagine
that Consciousness is dependent upon a body in be revealed, whereas the reverse
is the truth. The body is dependent upon Atman, the latter being its own
support and anchorage. One must stop considering the seen as more real than its
basis. Light and darkness, wisdom and ignorance cannot coexist. Everyone is
aware of the rope or the snake. If one focuses one's mind on God, then,
automatically, it will be deviated from the world.
It is stated in the
Gita that one should disown the sense of doer-ship and thereby uproot the
attachment to the reward of action. Krishna advises Arjuna to act as an
instrument of God, by cultivating renunciation in action, not of action.
Continue doing the duty in the world, however big or small, but remain
unruffled and unconcerned regarding the consequences of the actions. The ego
should be subdued until it is totally annihilated. The end of the ego does not
result in death, but in deathlessness.
While contemplating,
in order to keep the mind still, look upon the Atma-the Real Self corresponding
to the Sun which shines of its own accord despite the passing clouds. Likewise
let the mind abide in Atman recognizing everything other than Atman as
temporary, as such, unreal. Thoughts pertaining to mundane problems come and go
like the passing clouds. The Real "I" remains as it is. When "I
am the body" notion is given up, the ego naturally recedes back to its
source. The tendencies of the mind can be eliminated by making the mind abide in
the Self. This is the practice. The culmination is the abidance as the Self. (end)
