Path for a Bhaktha to become a Muktha

This human birth is very difficult to attain. It cannot be got for a song. The body is as a caravansary; the mind is its watchman; the Jivi is the pilgrim, and so, no one of these has any kinship with the others. The pilgrim is bound for Salvation City, Mokshapuri. For a troublefree journey, there is nothing so reliable as Namasmarana, the Remembrance, of the name of the Lord. Once the sweetness of that name has been experienced, the person will not have exhaustion, unrest or sloth. He will fulfil his pilgrimage of Sadhana joyfully, enthusiastically and with deep conviction. Still, for achieving this Sadhana, Sadbava or Righteousness is very important. Without fear of sin, righteousness cannot originate; love of God, too, cannot develop. This fear produces Bhakthi which results in the worship of the Lord.

Stupidity is the cause of man's downfall. It is like sheepishness! When one sheep rolls into a pit, all fall into the same pit. That is ruinous. Avoiding this, it is better to think about the good and the bad, the pros and cons of whatever is done and then jump. Death will not leave off any one, whatever he may be. It continues to threaten all; if it is another's turn today, it is yours tomorrow. Look at the blossoms in the garden! When the gardener plucks the flowers, the buds exult that tomorrow is their turn to be gathered into his hands, and their faces are so full of joy when they unfold in that hope. Do they feel any sadness? Do their faces droop? Are they any the less bright? No. The moment they know that the next day it is their turn, they make themselves ready with great gusto and excitement. So, also, one must be ready on the path of Sadhana, enthusiastically remembering the name of the Lord, without worrying and feeling sad that one's turn is tomorrow or so, because some one died today. The body is like a tube of glass. Inside it the mind is ever changeful and restless. Seeing its antics, death keeps laughing. The bird Jiva is in the nine-holed pot. It is a wonder how the bird has a body; how it came into the pot, and how it rises up and goes. The Suras, the Munis and Naras of the Nine Khandas and the Nine Dwipas are all undergoing the sentence of carrying about with them the burden of the body. Now, of these, who are the friends and who, the enemies? When egoism dies out, all are friends; there are then no enemies. This lesson has to be remembered by all.

Man is experiencing joy and misery through the ear. Therefore, avoiding the cruel arrows of hard words, one should use words that are sweet, pleasant and soft; and with that softness, add the sweetness of Truth. To make the word soft, if falsehood is added, it would only clear the way for some more misery: A person who has become a Sadhaka should use very soft, sweet, true and pleasant words. Such persons can be recognised by their good qualities themselves. Thus, of those who have become Sadhakas, the means (mind) is Mathura, the Hrudayam (Heart) is Dwaraka, and the Deha (Body) is Kasi. At the seat of the tenth gate, it is possible to realise the Paranjyothi, the Supreme Effulgence. All efforts are of no avail if the heart is not pure. Look at the fish! Living as it does perpetually in water, has it rid itself of its foul smell to any extent? No. The Vasana of Man will not disappear even if he is immersed in many heart-purifying Sadhanas, so long as the heart is full of the illusion of Egoism. Such a man, if he is desirous of getting rid of the feeling of 'I' and 'Mine', must worship Hari. He must become a Sadhaka, without likes and dislikes. Vikaras like these cannot co-exist in the same heart, with the Sadhu nature. Light and Darkness can never co-exist at the same place, at the same time. He whose heart is ruled by the group of Six Passions can have only Ahamkara as his Manthri (Minister). Those who have such a Manthri are worse than foolish men, however great they claim to be as Pundits, Sadhus or Sanyasins.

"Can a donkey carrying perfume become an elephant?" Can an ass change into an elephant, simply by carrying a bundle of sandalwood? It can appreciate the weight and not the scent! But the elephant pays no regard to the weight; it inhales the sweet scent, isn't it? So too, the Sadhaka or the Sanyasin or the Bhaktha will take in only the pure truth, the pure essence of good activities, of Godliness, and of the Sastras, Vedas and Upanishads. On the other hand, if for the sake of mere scholarship, learning and disputation, one goes on arguing, he will know only the weight of logic, missing the scent of Truth! The on-lookers may praise them as the embodiments of the Sastras and the Vedas; but, where even the essentials are lacking, how can there be an embodiment? For those in search of the essence, the burden is no consideration. If mere reason is employed, nothing worthwhile is gained. Love (Prema) is the one big instrument for the constant remembrance of the Lord. To keep that instrument safe and strong, the Sadhaka needs no other appliance than the scabbard of Viveka, Discrimination.

There are many in the world who utilise their vast learning in disputations and believe that they are superior; this is a great mistake. If they are really so learned, there will not be so much disputation at all. They will assume silence as the honourable course, because, those exalted in learning will have experienced the essence of the Vedas, Sastras and Upanishads. They will see that the nature of that essence, its core, the purity of the Godhead it proclaims, are all One, however one may realise it. They know that God appears in whatever form He is taken to have, and that He manifests in action to any one the feelings which he associates with Him.

Of these two, what is important is the acquisition of single-mindedness, equanimity, free from Vikara, i.e., likes and dislikes, and not the acquisition of argumentativeness. Why have we all these Sadhanas, all this Japa, Dhyana, Bhajana etc.,? Is it not for acquiring single-mindedness, one-pointedness? Once that one-pointedness has been earned, human effort becomes unnecessary, its inner significance will then be revealed to him. So, those eager to become Sadhakas, to attain salvation, should not yield to arguments and counter-arguments, they should not be enticed by wiles of bad feeling; they should see their own faults and not repeat them again, they should guard and protect the one-pointedness they have acquired, with their eyes fixed on the goal they are after, dismissing as trash whatever difficulties, defeats and disturbances they might encounter on their path. One must dwell on such objects as would give enthusiasm and joy, and not waste valuable time, building up doubts regarding all things, big and small. Whatever else is unimportant, these two have to be attended to as essential:

• The conceit that one knows everything.
• Doubt whether it is or is not.

These are the two chief enemies of the Sadhaka. What does it matter who these enemies are? One should decide for oneself that one is firmly fixed in one's Reality, if that is pure, everything is pure. If that is true, everything is true. If you wear blue eyeglasses, though Nature is resplendent with many colours, you see only the colour you have worn, isn't it? If the world appears to you as with differences that is due to the fault in you only. If all appears as one Prema, that too is your Prema only. For both these, the feeling in you is the cause. It is only because one has faults within him, that he sees the world as faulty. When there is no knowledge of fault in oneself no fault can be found even by search, for should they not know which are the faults?

Now a question may arise whether the Lord Himself has faults, because He too searches for faults. But how can it be said that the Lord is searching for faults? He searches for goodness only, not for faults and sins. Those are based on the standard of the Gunas of each. The Lord will not examine the wealth, the family, the Gothra, the status, or the sex. He sees only the Righteousness, the Sadbhava. Those endowed with such Sadbhava, He considers as deserving His Grace, whoever they are, whatever they are.