Q. Swami, I have heard people use the word, Amanaska often.
What does it mean?
A. This entire creation, when it is realised as but Seen by the
eternal See-er, the Witness, simply disappears, as fog before the
Sun. That stage is known as Amanaska.
Q. What happens to the knowledge?
A. Even that disappears!
Q. This Witness that you spoke of, where does it reside in the
dream-stage?
A. It is in the Jivi; it not only witnesses but it also weaves and
creates everything it sees.
Q. And during deep sleep?
A. It is in the Full (the Modification-less) Reality.
Q. And, in the fourth stage, the stage beyond deep sleep, the
Thuriya?
A. It is merged in the Iswara-sthana, this changeless Entity.
Q. What is meant by the term, Paramaartha?
A. Parama Artha, that is to say, beyond and above this world
limited by the body and the senses.
Q. They talk also of Parama-pada. How will that be?
A. It will be devoid of Nama-Rupa or Name-Form and Kriya-Rupa or
Deed-Form.
Q. Swami! Is God transcending the Universe or immanent in the
Universe?
A. He fills the Universe and is also beyond it; so there is no
place outside Him; all places are inside Him; all Names are His;
no Name is alien to Him.
Q. How is the Godhead who fills the Universe to be referred to?
A. He can be called by various names: Paramapada: the Limitless
Open, the Paramaartha, the A-sarira (the Not-Body), the Paripoorna
(the fullest Full), the A-vaabg-manogocharam (the Un-graspable by
word or thought). He has many names.
Q. Is this Sath, this Entity, ancient or new, Sanathana or
Nuthana?
A. Of course, it is Sanathana, not Nuthana.
Q. Which is the ultimate Purushartha?
A. Why, Moksha, of course.
Q. When talking of Vidya, Swami, I have heard people mention
Four Vidyas. What are they?
A. Yes; they are Aanveekshaki, Thrayee, Vaartha, and Dandaneethi.
Q. These names are all new to me. What exactly is Aanveekshaki?
A. The Vidya by which one is able to discriminate between Atma and
Anaatma.
Q. And Thrayee…?
A. The Vidya by which one can attain Swarga or Heaven through the
appropriate rituals and Karma.
Q. What does Vaartha teach?
A. Agriculture and other productive efforts.
Q. What does Dandaneethi mean?
A. The rulers and guardians of society rule and guard, according
to this Vidya; it is essential for earning and enjoying riches and
crops.
Q. Which of these plunge man into the cycle of births?
A. All, except the first, the Aanveekshaki.
Q. The mastery of the mind is held essential for spiritual
victory. But to purge the mind of all evil, what are the virtues
which we have to cultivate?
A. There are four chief virtues: Maithri, Karuna, Muditha and
Upeksha.
Q. I must trouble you Swami to explain these too.
A. Comradeship and the company of the humble and the good;
affection for the Name and Form of the Lord - these are included
in Maithri; Karuna is the kindness one feels towards the
afflicted.
Q. What is the virtue called Muditha?
A. Muditha is the joy one feels when meeting people who are
charitable, who serve others, who help those in distress, etc.
Q. Upeksha?
A. Non-involvement; the feeling of unconcern at the wicked;
neither loving them nor hating them.
Q. Just like these four virtues, they also talk of four types
of Bhakthi; what are they, Swami?
A. My dear man, all the multifarious types can be included under
four categories; the Aartha, the Arth-aarthi, the Jijnaasu and the
Jnani. The Aartha is the person who is tormented by agony or
distress.
Q. What does Arthaarthi mean?
A. Those who desire Artha or wealth or spiritual power and for
that sake, worship God and pray to Him for than boon.
Q. Jijnaasu, you said. Who are they?
A. Those who seek liberation steadily and strongly, and go in
search of the Absolute.
Q. And the Jnani?
A. He who has escaped from the dual consciousness, the Dwandwa
bhava; who has known his identity with the basic Truth of the
Universe.
Q. Tell us the names of some who have achieved fame through
these types of Bhakthi, Swami. Then it will become clearer to us.
A. Oh, there are plenty of names. Among Aarthabhakthas, I can tell
you of Droupadi, Prahlada, Sakkubai; among the Arthaarththis,
Dhruva, Arjuna and others; among the Jijnaasus, Uddhava, Radha;
among the Jnanis, Suka, Sanaka, and others.