Q. You have been saying that Jnana is essential; well, what
exactly is the function of Jnana?
A. Jnana makes you realise the Atma-swarupa, that is to say, your
own Reality.
Q. And Yoga? If a person has no Yoga, what happens?
A. He is like a lame man.
Q. And, if a person has no Jnana?
A. He is like a blind man.
Q. They say that Yoga destroys all blemishes, removes all
faults. How does that happen?
A. Can rice become eatable unless it is boiled over a fire? By
Yoga and other disciplines, the Chiththa becomes soft. It is
called Thapas, heat; it becomes Thaptha, hot. Moreover, Yoga and
Jnana are like oil and flame. The oil is Yoga and Jnana is the
illumining flame of the lamp.
Q. Swami! Pardon me for asking this. There are so many teaching
Vedantha, now; have they all realised truth, experienced this
Reality?
A. How can this be said? You can yourselves judge them. See if
they have purity of heart, purity of thought, purity of mind,
knowledge of the inherent and immanent Paramatma; only such have
the right to teach Vedantha, for they alone can experience the
Vedantha.
Q. The teaching by those who have no such qualities, will it
benefit to a certain extent at least?
A. Fine descriptions of the various delicacies and tasty dishes
will not satisfy the hungry man. The Vedantha which stops with
words is like that. It has to be experienced in order to satisfy.
Again, listening without eagerness to learn, is also ineffective.
Unless the teacher has detachment from sense-objects, his teaching
is but parrot talk. Those who come to listen, without desire to
learn and benefit, are only engaged in showy demonstrations.
Q. Baba! You say that purity of heart, purity of mind and
knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Paramatma are
essential. Then, of what use is Sadhana done through the body,
composed of the Five Elements? Is it not enough if one acquires
the Jnana of Swa-swarupa?
A. Wonderful fellow! Simply because the rudder is essential, can
you take it that the boat is unnecessary? How can you cross the
river with the rudder alone? Believe that the Lord has conferred
upon you the body as a boat to cross the sea of Samsara, and
Chiththa as the main thing in it. That is the first step in
Vedantha. Swaswaarupajnana is the rudder really. But that alone is
not sufficient; physical habits and disciplines have also to be
attended to. To attain the ethereal eternal stage, the disciplined
body is important.
Q. Another doubt afflicts me, Swami. Talking of physical
disciplines, may I know whether Brahmavidya makes any distinction
between male and female?
A. Well, my boy! This boat has no such distinction. Brahmavidya
and Chithasudhi do not depend on sex at all. All who are ill have
the right to the drug that cures, is it not? So too, all who have
the illness of Bhava (birth and death) have the right to
Brahmavidya, the specific that will cure it. It may be that not
all can afford to have access to that wonder drug; but you cannot
argue that some have no right to it.
Q. Why, Swami, some Vedantha scholars themselves say that women
have no authority to learn or practise Brahmavidya! The boats are
not of the same nature, it seems.
A. My child! As I said, both have equal right to the specific. But
both have to follow a regimen in order that the drug might act
upon the system. Brahma-bhavana or the contemplation of the
essential basis of oneself, is the drug; along with it the regimen
of Jnana and Vairagya has to be rigorously followed. Women may not
be able to observe this disciplinary regimen as rigorously as men,
since they are weaker. Perhaps, the reason for those people
denying women the right of this drug is this weakness. But all,
whether men or women, who can observe the restrictions and
regulations, have an equal right to benefit by the drug of
Brahmavidya. That is my verdict.