Q. We commit many sins and do many meritorious deeds with this
body and this mind, Swami! They bring about grief or joy; now,
this "I" of which you are speaking, is it the doer, consumer of
the grief or joy?
A. Not for a moment. He who does is the doer; doing is a
modification. Doing is producing a modification, is it not? So the
person appears as if he is modifying. But the "I" is
modification-less. He is the fixed, so he is not affected at all.
Doer-ism is the quality of the Anthah-karana. So, the "I" takes on
the appearance of the doer and the gainer of the fruits of the
deed.
Q. If so, how can we know about the entry into this world and
the exit from this world into another?
A. It is the Anthah-karana, the Lingadeha, that moves from this
world to another, from one birth to another, according to the
accumulated merit. It is the limited Lingadeha that has the
entries and exits. You who are like the sky, omnipresent and
unaffected, have no arrival into this world or departure to
another. You are not of that nature.
Q. Then what is the means of gaining Moksha?
A. Vijnana is the means.
Q. Some great men say that Yoga is the means. Is that true?
A. That is also true. There can be two roads to a place, isn't it?
Q. Which is the better road? A Both are good and important.
Both take you to the same goal; only, you cannot travel on both at
the same time. People can choose the road which suits their inner
promptings and do the sadhanas of that path. Both release the
sadhakas from bondage.
Q. Swami! Is Jnana acquired by Yoga or is Yoga acquired by
Jnana?
A. Yoga gives Jnana; that Jnana confers Moksha easily. This is the
correct position.
Q. What is the effect of Yoga? How does it benefit?
A. Yoga is like fire; that is why the word "Yogagni" is used. It
burns all sins away; so the Anthah-karana is rendered pure. When
that happens, Jnana is born there. The splendour of that Jnana
dispels the darkness of ignorance and delusion; that is
Liberation.
Q. Has Yoga got so much potentiality?
A. Why ask if it has… It has. However learned a person is, however
great his detachment, however deep his wisdom, unless he conquers
his senses, he cannot qualify for Moksha. Without Yoga, all these
cannot rid themselves of sin. Unless they clear themselves of sin
their Anthah-karana does not become pure. Without a pure
Anthah-karana, Jnana cannot be acquired; and without Jnana, there
can be no Moksha. So, Yoga is the very foundation.
Q. This is rather hard to follow, Swami! Give me some
illustration to make it simpler, even for the unlearned.
A. When a storm is blowing, can any one light a lamp? So too, when
the sensual desires are blowing strong, the Jnana-lamp cannot
burn; it will go out soon, even if it is lit.
Q. What are the gains from Yoga?
A. It destroys all impulses and urges towards the sensual world.
It puts down the mind and its agitations.