Prominent Learnings during 1750-1950 CE-XI-- Sant Mat (1)

Happiness can not be traveled to, owned, earned or worn or consumed. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude-----------.  ( Maharshi Mehi) 

Sant Mat is a universal spiritual path comprising of the philosophy and teachings as taught and practiced by Saints, prominent on Indian sub continent from about 13th century CE. It delineates on the path of union of soul with the Divine. It shares a lineage with Sikhism,  Hinduism on Karma & Incarnation as well as Sufism. It incorporates a practical Yoga system, known as सूरत शब्द योग .

 Another commonly accepted definition of Sant Mat is found in " Man know thyself " by one of the prominent Masters of this path, Sant Kirpal Singh. To quote," Man is constantly changing or introducing new names & terminologies to describe this science. The Masters were called Saints and the nature of knowledge Mat, thus giving us the term Sant Mat.Other terms, such as शब्द योग, सूरत शब्द योग, सहज योग  are also closely associated with the same path."

" Everything lies inside us and that God is within." The outside world is only an image of the inner reality. It is one of the basic teaching of Sant Mat as described by its Masters. Moreover, Sant Mat movement assert that the Master is provided by God, as the channel for human interaction through which God manifests in the world. The key tenets of Sant Mat  are;

• Initiation by a living Master orसतगुरु .
• Role of connecting one's soul or attention, called सूरत with the inner current of light and sound of God called शबद .
• Emphasis on Ethical life style and Self less service. While Ethical life style requires a person to write a daily self introspecting diary from self improvement point of view besides internalizing other required actions in one's way of living, Self less service or Seva is devoting oneself to mental. physical or financial service to the Gurus and devotees.
• Internalizing values of अहिंसा ( non violence), Truthfulness, Chastity, Love for all, Humility and a strict vegetarian diet.

The Principles and Teachings of Sant Mat, evolved over a period of time, have been influenced by several Saints and Philosophers, all of whom preached pure and untarnished spirituality. Let me quote a few of these prominent ones;

• No caste or creed, the Lord requires; the love alone that He desires. Devotion deep and love sincere; these do the soul to Him endear ( Kabir Sahib).

• सतगुरु is the only one who can get us released from काल (death) ; believe this as true. सतगुरु defeats काल  and takes the soul to the motionless plane, where सतपुरुष ( God)  is, leading to infinite happiness and freedom from coming back to this world. ( अनुराग सागर, a Kabir Pa-nth literature).

• Concentrate your mind and remember the Supreme Being without saying anything. Close the outside doors ie quieten your sensory organs and detach yourself from  everything. Open the inside doors and concentrate on meditating and remembering God. ( Kabir 1008 Bani).

• One can not become a true lover of God so long as he has fear of death in his mind. The abode of love is too far; it is not easy to reach there.One may be blessed with love only after he overcomes the fear of death ( Kabir 1008 Bani).

• Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself, that you have built against it ( Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic).

• The Garden of Love is green without limit and yields many fruits other than sorrow and joy. Love is beyond either condition; without spring, without autumn; and it is always fresh ( Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic).

• What shall avail external purity, if inward pollution there be? Without a Master, true hath been, all thy oblation, O, Bulleh, in vain ( Bulleh Shah).

• He, who conquers the mind, is Lord of all mankind ( Guru Nanak).

• With over-indulgence, we purchase pain; Lust , anger & greed do never cease; and bring sorrow again and again; In chains of pain and pleasure bound; we come and go in anguished round ( Guru Nanak).

• We are not alive because we have a body, but because we are a soul ( Maharshi Mehi).

• Through the practice of meditation, we can progressively move the consciousness inward within ourselves ( Maharshi Mehi).

• The ultimate realm is fully contained within the inner mirror and is the source of true नाम ( Sant Sat Sahib).

• Right गहनी  ( understanding), Right रहनी  ( living) and सिमरण ( mindfulness, remembrance and meditation) are core teachings of Sant Dari-ya Sahib.

• सत्पुरुष सोई सतगुरु गाया , जीव अंस सब वहाँ से आया ; तीन लोक तिरगुन का घाटा , उन सब रोकि जीव की बाटा। ( Tulsi Sahib in Ratan Sagar).

• दिल का हुजरा साफ़ कर , जाना के आने के लिए ; ध्यान गैरों का हटा , उसको बिठाने के लिए। ( Tulsi Sahib in Ratan Sagar).

• The Lord in शबद form is always with you and is never far; have patience and you will get a glimpse of true light ( Swami ji Maharaj).

• Love and eagerness for परमार्थ ( spirituality) are necessary for a devotee of Radhasoami faith. It is necessary for a true spiritual devotee (परमार्थी ) of this faith to attend सत्संग ( spiritual gathering) and perform spiritual practices in the attitude of love (Soami ji Maharaj ).

• सतगुरु raises the सूरत ( the soul) of जीव  ( the person) to गगन ( the sky) and make शबद audible to him within himself. When the सूरत reaches ब्रह्माण्ड , it begins to perceive शबद. While in सहस - दल - कमल ( the thousand petaled lotus), it has some inkling of शबद.  सूरत ( the soul) ascends to the crooked tunnel (बाँकनाल ), rushes to the"causal plane" ( त्रिकुटि) & gets access to दसवाँ द्वार ( the tenth gate)( सारबचन  of Soami ji Maharaj).

• If you desire to maintain yourself at higher level of awareness, you must abjure lust. Lust blinds the inner eye, screens from our sight the refulgence of heavens & plugs our ears against the inner music ( Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic).

Let me now sum up a few key principles of this path that have emerged over time and are the guiding force for its Masters as well as followers all over the globe.

• Ultimate Reality is beyond any beginning or end, infinite, beyond birth and beyond the senses. Its nature is imperishable, beyond time and space, beyond sound & beyond form as well as beyond the scope of mind .It's not manifested in physical form, beyond the illusion of माया ( illusion). Knowing or Merging this Divine Reality is the goal of all spirituality.
• Individual soul is an inseparable part of the Supreme Being. Bound by illusion (माया ). the individual soul remains within the cycle of birth and death. To escape from this cycle, one must experience realization of this Supreme Being. But how?
• By practicing devotion through--- (a) सिमरण ( reciting and remembering the name       of Supreme Being given by the Masters; (b) मानस ध्यान ( meditation on Divine Form); (c) दृष्टि साधना ( Yoga of inner light & inner seeing); (d) सूरत शबद योग ( concentration on inner divine sounds); the practitioner transcends the realms of darkness and reaches higher planes of Divine Reality. Only in a human body, individual soul can achieve unity with Divine.
• Abstinence from the vices of Lying, Stealing, Intake of intoxicating substances, Adultery and Violence is a must for all Sant Mat aspirants. Eating any form of meat is considered a form of violence in this path. A few other requirements for devotees of this path are-- (a) Trust and belief in God (b) Commitment to seek divine within (c) Devotion and service to a living Spiritual Master or सतगुरु (d) Attending to सत्संग and performing practices in the attitude of love. 

The path has been enriched and strengthened further by several of its Leaders and Masters over a period of time. It is considered as one of the prominent spiritual path practiced today by its followers across the globe. Some of the great Masters of this path include Soami Ji Maharaj, Baba Jaimal Singh ji or Baba Ji Maharaj, Baba Sawan Singh ji, Master Kirpal Singh ji Maharaj, Master Darshan Singh ji Maharaj, Master Rajinder Singh ji Maharaj and a few more. It has led to emergence of many sects within contemporary Sant Mat movement and include Radha Soami Sat-sang Beas, Radha Swami Sat-sang, Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, Divine Light Mission etc.

 Without going into specific teachings of each of its leaders, we shall share some more key principles & practices evolved and firmed up by these leaders and Masters in the next blog. Let me end this blog by another quote from Sh Kabir Sahib.

Forsake lust, anger, vanity and avarice,

Imbibe continence, contentment, truth & tolerance.

Prominent Learnings during 1750-1950 CE-- X

Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy---- ( Shri Sai Baba)

Sai Baba of Shirdi, an Indian spiritual master, regarded by His devotees as a saint, a fakir, a sat-guru and even an incarnation of God,  immensely impacted the masses, irrespective of any community,during His life span of close to the year 1835 to 1918. His typical Sufi clothing of knee length one piece kathi robe & a cloth cap identified him as a Muslim fakir.

He lived a solitary life in an old & dilapidated mosque undertaking long periods of meditation and maintaining a sacred fire called " dhuni", from which he gave sacred ash, called udi to his visitors. He preached his devotees the importance of self- realization and criticized love for materialistic things. His well known epigrams---" अल्लाह मालिक " and " सबका मालिक एक है " generated feelings of superiority of God besides love and respect for all castes and religions. Those, who came in contact with Baba, were able to find His " human peculiarities" and also " divine peculiarities", mixed up so closely that the two  seemed to be inseparable.


Baba was always engrossed in the self. He was the storehouse of self-knowledge and divine bliss. He was not depressed by misfortunes and loved all creatures of God. Several virtues visible in His actions and behavior were--Forgiveness, Benevolence, Charity, Calmness,Disinterestedness, Control of Mind and Body and Egolessness. As for activity, Baba was very active and never idle.He used to say," Do not be idle,work;utter God's name; read scriptures." Learnings from His life are endless. However,we shall try to pick up a few key messages from His life under the following broad areas.

RELIGION & ETHICAL LIVING

• Religion is that which binds people back together in society for purposes of worship and other allied matters. Religion is a social phenomenon. Every religion must be God's religion.
• Respect all creeds. All religions are but particular paths leading to one ineffable goal. For Baba, all paths were equally valid; ईश्वर ( the Hindu God) and अल्लाह ( the Muslim God), being synonymous. He wanted to belong to all. He invariably followed the practice of non- discrimination of his devotees.
• His notion of unity of the mankind, that appealed to masses was very congruous with Sufism, which believed that the light of God exists in every creature.
• He frequently quoted passages and verses from Hindu , Muslim and Sufi scriptures. One of his famous expression was," अल्लाह रखेगा वहिसा  रहेना । "ie let us remain as God places us. Moreover, let us be content with what we have and submit our will to God.
• Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If any men or creature comes to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect. श्रीहरि ( God), will certainly be pleased. If you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked and your वरण्डाः ( small shaded space at home)  to the strangers for sitting and resting.
• Harboring hatred is harboring poison. Sai Baba"s actions and practices, visible to the masses were, " सर्वभूता हिते रताः " ie He loved all creatures equally. He could place himself inside the heart of each creature, which inferred that He was, " सर्वभूता आत्मा भूता आत्मा " ie the soul of all creatures or the position of one who realizes himself as God. This is the aim of Religion to lose one's being in divinity.

MORAL & ETHICAL VALUES

• Advised his followers to lead a moral life; help others; love every living being without any discrimination and opposed all persecution based on religion or caste.
• Emphasized the importance of performing one's duties without attachment to earthly matters and being content irrespective of situation.
• Encouraged his devotees to pray, chant God's name and read holy scriptures.
• Led people to develop two important characteristics in their character--- devotion to Guru ( श्रद्धा ) and waiting cheerfully with patience and love ( Saburi). He criticized atheism.
• Shunned any kind of regular rituals and interpreted religious texts of both Islam and Hinduism. The three main Hindu spiritual paths--- Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga influenced His teachings,
• Encouraged charity and stressed upon the importance of sharing resources.

SOME OF HIS NECTAR LIKE WORDS 

• मेरे रहते डर कैसा ? Why fear when I am there?
• हमारा कर्तव्य क्या है? ठीक से व्यवहार करना, ये काफी है. ie our duty is to behave properly, that is enough.
• नम्रता से मनुष्य वह  हासिल कर सकता है जो वह गुस्से में रहकर नहीं कर सकता। ie Humility can achieve everything while anger can not.
• If any one does any evil into you, do not retaliate. If you can do anything, do some good into others.
• If you see the moon, you see the beauty of God, if you see the sun, you see the power of God and if you see the mirror, you see the best creation of God. So, believe in yourself.
• Speak the truth and truth alone. Have " Saburi"--- ie patience and courage.
• We should not harbor envy, rivalry or combative disposition towards others. If others hate us, let us simply take to नाम जाप  and avoid their company.
• क्रोध मनुष्य को मूर्ख बनाता है और बाद में पछतावे पर ख़त्म होता है। ie anger fools us and we repent it later.
• Stay by me and keep quiet. I will do the rest.
• Surrender completely to God. One should grow into God and then only one knows God. God is love , nothing but love. God is one to be felt at heart.
• God can be realized by true faith alone. The fruit of silence is Prayer and the fruit of Prayer is Faith.
• If you want me to speak thru you, you should empty your mind, heart and body and allow me to settle within you. The moment you do that, I begin to speak thru you.
• मैं सभी को एक ही रूप में देखता हूँ। ie for me everyone is same and equal-.

Baba's messages to Humanity in general, during his lifetime were endless. His actions and behavior demonstrated these to masses. He was a perfect celibate He was not attached to anything. He was pure consciousness, the resting place of desire, anger and other feelings. Some of prominent messages, He gave for humanity at large, while answering queries of His devotees, are shared below;

• Be whatever you like, do whatever you choose, remember this well that what you do is known to me. I am the inner ruler of all. I am the mother origin of all beings--- the harmony of three virtues, the propeller of all senses, the creator, preserver and destroyer.
• To get the knowledge of self, Dhyana ( meditation) is necessary. If you practice it continuously, the vrittis( thoughts) will be pacified. Meditate always on my formless nature, which is knowledge incarnate, consciousness and bliss.
• Let anybody speak hundreds of things against you, do not resent by giving him bitter reply. If you tolerate such things, you will certainly be happy. Let the world go Topsy-turvy, you remain where you are; look on calmly at the show of all things passing before you.
• God lives in all beings and creatures. He is the great wire- puller of the world, Unless He will it, nobody can do any harm to others. We should take pity and love all creatures, leave off adventurous fights and killings and be patient.
• Do not entertain the sense of doer-ship in doing good, as well as bad deeds; be entirely pride-less and ego-less in all things.
• While answering a person, who wanted Baba to help him understand and see God ( ब्रह्म), Baba said," I want five. One must surrender the five to get at ब्रह्म. One must surrender the five senses( इन्द्रियाँ ), the five vital forces( प्राण  )  & Manas, बुद्धि , अहंकार ---the mind, intellect and ego, all of which involve वैराग्य ( detachment). All can not tread the  road to ब्रह्म ज्ञान, which leads to light everywhere.
• In another discourse on qualifications for ब्रह्म ज्ञान (self realization), Baba said," These include (a) मुमुक्षा ie intense desire to get free from bondage,(b) विरक्ति or feeling of disgust with worldly things, (c) अंतर्मुखता ie gazing inwards and not outwards (d) Catharsis( purging away) of sins, wickedness and wrong doings,(e) Right Conduct to lead a life of truthfulness, penance, celibacy and insight,(f) Preferring श्रेयस( the good) to प्रेयस ( the pleasant)--- while good deals with spiritual affairs, the pleasant deals with mundane matters, more close to greed, attachment,(g) Control of mind and senses, (h) Purification of mind-- It is in purified mind where विवेक and वैराग्य come up, leading to self realization, (i) necessity of a Sad-guru.

Sainath was said to be a  सम्पूर्ण अवतार( complete incarnation of God). Inwardly, he was unattached and an abode of peace, but outwardly, he longed for welfare of masses.. His was a spotless and blameless moral life,a wonderful model of Ethical perfection. He showed himself to be a great unifying factor in society and a universalizing force. Sai Baba has been one of the finest flower of Indian spiritual idealism and culture. Let me end the blog by another of His quote

Life is a song, sing it; Life is a game, play it;

Life is a challenge, meet it; Life is a dream, realize it;

Life is a sacrifice, offer it; Life is love, enjoy it.

Prominent learnings during 1750-1950 CE--IX

The Divine Truth is greater than any religion or creed or scripture or idea or philosophy--- Sri Aurobindo

 Continuing my learning on Dharma, Ethical Living and spiritual wisdom from great Saints and philosophers of the period 1750-1950 CE, we shall now cover Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, an eminent Indian Philosopher, a great Yogi, Guru, Poet and a renowned spiritual reformer. Through" Integral Yoga", a method of spiritual practice developed by him, he wholeheartedly  worked for transformation of human life and human nature into a life divine, and contributed towards making the world a divine place to live.

" When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of silence." and " Our actual enemy is not any force exterior to ourselves. but our own crying weaknesses, our cowardice, our selfishness, our hypocrisy and our purblind sentimentalism." are two of such wisdom filled powerful messages of Sri Aurobindo focusing on self introspection,Yoga and ethical living in general.

Born Aurobindo Ghosh in the year 1872 in then Calcutta, he joined Indian Independence movement and was jailed for defying British rule. During his stay in Jail, he had mystical and spiritual experiences, directing him to leave politics and carry forward his spiritual insights. He founded Aurobindo Ashram Pondicheery in 1926 and worked with his spiritual collaborator Mirra Alfassa, a French lady, also called " The Mother".His literary works namely ' The Life Divine', "Synthesis of Yoga"," Savitri" as well as commentaries on Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagwat Gita and many more scriptures are shining examples of his profound wisdom and spiritual insights. For his commendable spiritual cum philosophical work and messages to the mankind, he was nominated for Noble prize in Literature in the year 1943 and also for Noble Peace Prize in the year 1950.

The vast canvas of knowledge of Sh Aurobindo from his literary scriptures is awesome and difficult to be put up in a small blog. However, I will try to put some of his key thoughts in three to four sub headings.

HINDU RELIGION & THE WORLD RELIGIONS

• That which we call the Hindu religion is really the Eternal Religion because it embraces all others.
• In the wider Hinduism, which is not a dogma or combination of dogmas, but a law of life, which rejects nothing but insists on testing and experiencing everything---- In this Hinduism, we find the basis of Future World Religion. This Santana Dharma has many scriptures-- Vedas, Vedantas, Gita, Upanishads, Darshanas, Purana's, Tantra's etc. At the same time it does not reject Bible or Koran. It believes in the ultimate goal of any religion, which is emancipation from the bondage of material nature and freedom from individual rebirth.
• If a religion is not universal, it can't be eternal. A narrow religion, a sectarian religion, an exclusive religion-- can live only for a limited time and a limited purpose.
• The world moves through an indispensable interregnum of free thought and materialism to a new synthesis of religious thought & experience, a new religious world life free from intolerance, yet full of faith & fervor, accepting all forms of religion because it has an unshakable faith in the ONE. The religion which embraces Science and Faith, Theism, Christianity, Mohammedanism and Buddhism & yet is none of these, is that to which the World Spirit moves.
• Each religion has helped mankind .PAGANISM ( a modern religious movement, having respect for mother earth and incorporating beliefs and practices from outside of main world religions) has helped mankind to visualize largeness and height of one's life, giving him many sided perfection. To expand the concept, Christianity gave him vision of divine love & Charity; Buddhism has shown him a noble way to be wiser, gentler and purer; Judaism & Islam how to be religiously faithful in action &  devoted to God; Hinduism has opened to him the largest & profoundest spiritual possibilities. A great thing would be done if all these God visions could embrace and cast themselves into each other, shunning away related intellectual dogmas and cult egoism.
• All religions have saved a number of souls, but yet none has been able to spiritualize mankind, mainly because of cult egoism and dogmas.

YOGA, INTEGRAL YOGA AND ITS OBJECTS AND PROCESSES 

• Yoga is a generic name for any discipline, by which one attempts to pass out of the limits of one's ordinary mental consciousness into a greater spiritual consciousness.
• Yoga is the exchange of egoistic for a universal or cosmic consciousness.
• Yoga is the passage of the human thinking animal towards the God consciousness, from which he has descended.
• Gita tells us that equality of soul & mind is Yoga and that this equality is the foundation of the Brahman state ( ब्रह्मस्तिथि ).
• Integral Yoga, a method of spiritual practice, leads to evolution of human life into a life divine on earth. It believes in spiritual realization that leads to transformation of a man's nature enabling a divine life. 
• Yoga is communion with God for knowledge, for love or work.The Yogin puts himself into direct relation with that which is omniscient & omnipotent within man & also without him. He is in tune with the infinite & becomes a channel for the strength of God to pour itself out upon the world, whether thru calm benevolence or active  beneficence. 
• The Yogin sees God in all things and events.He is the flood, He is the earthquake, He is death that leads to a higher life, He is pain that prepares us for a higher bliss. 
• The Yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world; to effect a spiritual transformation & to bring down a divine nature & a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of Humanity. Its aim is liberation and transformation of the human being. It is not Personal Ananda, but bringing down of Divine Ananda on earth.
• The three processes of Yoga are--- ( a)-- The संकल्प  of आत्मसमर्पण  Put yourself with all your heart and all your strength into God's hands; make no conditions, ask for nothing ; ( b) Standing aside and watching the working of the Divine power in oneself. This working may be difficult and therefore faith is essential. Remember the words of Gita--" मच्चित्तः  सर्वद्गर्णी  मत्प्रसादात  तरिष्यसि। ie by giving thyself up in heart and mind to ME, thou shall cross over all hurdles & perils bu My Grace. (c)The vision of God everywhere and in all things, in all happenings, the surrender of fruits of action and action itself to God and the freedom thereby from ignorance, from अहंकार , from द्वंद , from desire, so that you are शुद्ध , मुक्त , full of Ananda, pure, free, perfect and blissful in your being.
•  Another quote from famous Gita shared by revered Aurobindo in this context is; " सर्वधर्माण परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ; अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्योः मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शच ie Abandon all dharma s and take refuge in Me alone; I will free you from all sins and evils; do not grieve.
• Yoga is skill in works, meaning thereby that it leads to transformation of mind and creation of a spiritual condition of universal equality and God union. By the skill of Yogin, it leads to perfect adaptation of the soul and its instruments to the rhythm of divine and universal spirit in a nature liberated from the shackles of egoism as well as limitations of the sense mind. 
• By practicing Yoga, as the state of being changes, the will and temperament gets modified. Yogin begins to subordinate his personal will to the sense of Supreme Will, which attract him upwards--- merging into universal and infinite. His temperament also gets delivered from all leash of straining & desire, from all urges of passion or pain of willful self delusion.

OTHER KEY PHILOSOPHICAL MESSAGES ON SPIRITUALITY FOR HUMANITY

• Spirituality is indeed the master key of the Indian mind; the sense of the infinite is native to it. Further, Gita is the greatest gospel of spiritual works, ever yet given to the human race.
• Live within, be not shaken by outward happenings. Arise, transcend thyself; Thou art man and the whole nature of man is to become more than himself.
• All existence is a manifestation of God. He who chooses the infinite has been chosen by the infinite.
• All thoughts, desires, conventions and attachments, which come from outside, must be ruthlessly pushed away. The inside must be made extremely calm and quiet; there should reign an upward aspiration--- a state of awaiting.
• All desires and egotism will have to be banished from the being. To be free from all egoistic motive, let us be careful of truth in speech & action; void of self- will and self-assertion; watchful in all things, in all situations.
• Sin and virtue are a game of resistance we play with God in His efforts to draw us towards perfection. Further, one who loves God finds the object of his love everywhere.
• Not in the state of unconsciousness, but in full awareness, when the higher power will descend into and direct us, then only the Yogic life will begin. For reaching this stage, one has to do intense Sadhna leading to total manifestation of divine in oneself.
• All can not reach in a single life, highest in this path; but all can go forward. As a man advances, he gets peace, strength and joy. Further, even a little of this Dharma, delivers a man or a nation out of great fear; Conveyed in a verse ," स्वल्पमप्यस्य  धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात ". It conveys that Spirituality is not a thing divorced from life.
• There are two great factors in universe, Silence and Speech. Silence prepares, speech creates; Silence acts and Speech gives impulse to action; Silence compels, Speech persuades. It is the sovereign stillness which commands the harmony of life and is the calm of the Yogin. In this calm, right knowledge comes, which eventually becomes the infallible source of right action ( योगाः कर्मसु कौशलम ).
• There is no escaping from the belief that God exists. He is all. All proceeds from Him. All exists in Him.. He is all wise, for all knowledge is His. He is all love( सर्वमङ्गलम ). His is an infinite wisdom, ours is finite; His is perfect, ours underdeveloped; His is an infinite and all wise love, ours a finite and unwise love-- a love full of Maya. God's love looks beyond.
• Try to see oneness in all things. Become one in soul with all beings( सर्वभूतात्मा ). Become a center of the radiation of the divine state( ब्रह्मस्थिति ). It is not only in things animate but in things inanimate also that we must see Narayana , experience Shiva, throw our arms around Shakti. We must see Him in all events, actions, thoughts, feelings, in ourselves and others, throughout the world.
• Ideals are not truths, not realities, they are at most potentialities of future truth. Great executive personalities have usually been men of considerable idealism.
• When we have passed beyond enjoyments, then we shall have bliss; which also mean that we should go beyond individualizing to become real persons. Ego and Desires are actual bars in this realization.
• Man is God hiding himself from nature, so that he may possess her by struggle, insistence, violence and surprise. God is universal and transcendent.
• God and Man; World and Beyond World, become one when they know each other. Their division is the cause of ignorance and consequently suffering.
• The soul needs no proof of its rebirth, any more than it needs proof of its immortality.
• All birth is a progressive self-finding, a means of self realization. To grow in knowledge, in power, in delight, love and oneness, towards the infinite light, capacity and bliss of spiritual existence; to universalize ourselves till we are one with all being; and to exceed constantly our limited present self till it opens up fully to the transcendence in which the universal lives.
• Will, Karma and consequence are the three steps of the energy which move the universe. But Karma and Consequence are only the outcome of Will, which gives them their value and without it they would be nothing. And the Will of Man is the agent of Eternal. Man is a conscious soul of the Eternal. His soul, thought, will and action, are intimate with universal soul, thought , will and action.
• Karma and  Consequence draw their meaning from their value to the soul; they are steps by which it moves towards the perfection of its manifested nature.
• The pursuit of Truth may entail on me penalties and sufferings; the world may demand from me loss of outward happiness, good fortune or damage to my body. I must still follow truth. I must increase my inner strength & inner greatness and must not ask for quite irrelevant reward. Happiness or sorrow, good fortune or ill fortune are not my main concern, whether in this birth or in future; but my perfection and higher good of mankind, irrespective of sufferings and tribulation.
• In a broader sense, Dharma is ethical; it is the idea of moral laws. It, on its heights holds up the moral law in its own right & for its own sake, to human acceptance and observance. The larger idea of Dharma is indeed a conception of the true law of all energies and includes a conscience, a rectitude in all things, a right law of thought & knowledge, of aesthesis, of all other human activities & not limited to our ethical actions.

THE DIVINE LIFE

• Man also is God and it is thru his developing Manhood that he approaches the Godhead. Life also is the Divine, its progressive expansion is the self expression of the ब्रह्म , and to deny Life is to diminish the Godhead within us.
• When a man lives in the cosmic self, he necessarily embraces the life of the world and his attitude towards that world struggling upward from the egoistic state to the one of compassion, of love or of helpfulness. Even charity and altruism are often essentially egoistic in their immediate motive.
• A Divine life in a Divine body is the ideal that we envisage. Divine body is an evolution out of our human imperfection and ignorance into a greater truth of nature and spirit-- a transformation. 
• The Divine existence is pure and unlimited, it is SAT; whatever it puts forth in its limitless purity of self-awareness is truth of itself--- SATYA. The divine knowledge is knowledge of the Truth; the divine workings are words & ideas of the Truth; the divine will is power of the Truth. God is universal and infinite. His infinity is Supra-cosmic.
• A Divine Life upon earth can only come about by a spiritual change of our being--- a radical and fundamental change; an evolution or revolution of our nature. The embodied being have to rise above the domination of its veils of mind, life and body into the full consciousness and possession of its spiritual reality.
• The Super-Mind is in its very essence a Truth Consciousness, which is always free from ignorance. Super-mind is an eternal reality of the divine being & divine nature. The nature of Super-mind is always the same, a being of knowledge, proceeding from truth to truth and hence inevitable. Its manifestation of the Divine Life will also be inevitable, its own life on its own plane is Divine. The truth consciousness is a luminous many sided dynamic. In it, there can be a spiritual feeling, a spiritual sensation and a spiritual essentiality of substance that knows and reveals, that acts and manifests in an omniscience which is one with omnipotence.
• A new Humanity on earth means for us the development of a type or race of mental beings whose principle of mentality would be no longer a mind in the ignorance seeking for knowledge, but, a seeker after light not its natural possessor; open to light but not an inhabitant of light; not yet a perfected instrument; truth conscious and delivered out of the ignorance. It would be called a Mind of Light, a mind capable of living in the truth, capable of being truth conscious.

The world of spiritual and philosophical knowledge of revered Aurobindo and also his spiritual collaborator Mirra Allfassa ( The Mother) is boundless. The philosophical greatness and depth of revered Aurobindo can once again, be experienced in his marvel scripture SAVITRI----the story of conjugal love conquering death. Quoting one passage from  this scripture;

" He is the Maker & the world He made,

  He is the vision & He is the Seer,

  He is himself the actor & the act,

  He is himself the knower & the known,

  He is himself the dreamer & the dream."

 Humanity will  ever remain indebted to revered Aurobindo. In a small blog of mine, I have tried to share only a few key insights from his scriptures, literature and messages during his life time. Let me end the blog by a quote from revered Mother;

The only true freedom is the one obtained by union with the Divine. One can unite with the Divine only by mastering one's ego.

Prominent Learnings during 1750-1950 CE--VIII

Silence is truth,Silence is bliss,Silence is peace and Silence is the self -- Ramana Maharshi

Continuing our thrust on learnings from prominent Saints and Philosophers of the period 1750-1950 CE, we shall share some of the spiritual and ethical messages conveyed by a Hindu sage of Southern India and a leading proponent of Advaita Vedanta Sh Ramana Maharshi of the period 1879-1950 CE.

" Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What's wrong is seeking it outside when actually it is inside,"and ," Your true nature is that of infinite spirit. The feeling of limitation is the work of mind." are two examples of his simple, straightforward messages to the community, uplifting their self and spiritual insight.

Born in December 1879, named Venkataraman Iyer, he had a deep interest towards Self introspection and Self analysis raising basic question to his teachers on " Who am I? and seeking  answers on purpose of life. He strongly advocated Self Inquiry (आत्म विचार ) as means of Self Realization. His philosophy and wisdom has been 
compiled into several books by his disciples. Naming a few; The collected works of Ramana Maharshi, Everything is an illusion, Be as you are and Gems for Bhagwan.                                                                            

As per him, the whole Vedanta is contained in two Biblical statements --," I am that I am" and " Be still and know that I am God". God is within us. It is only our wandering minds and perverted ways that stand in the way of our knowing myself or God. Nan- Yar, meaning " Who am I ?" has been his philosophical mantra." Who am I", really means trying to find the source of the ego or the "I" thought. Let me now briefly share some of his teachings on " Self Inquiry" and " Self Realization", two of his fundamental approaches.These are;

• The Self can not be found in books. You have to find it for yourself, within yourself.
• Turn your vision inward & the whole world will be full of supreme spirit.
• " I am", is the name of the God; God is none other than the Self.
• Guru, God and Self are one. As such, knowing the self, God s known. The Self is the only Reality and there is nothing else.
• All that is required to realize the Self is to " Be Still". If one's mind is still, the whole world appears peaceful. Mind control  means concentration and  concentrating the mind solely on Self leads to happiness and bliss.
• Self Inquiry leads directly to Self Realization by removing the obstacles or ignorance. It means trying to search for the sources of Ego or" I" and making efforts of getting rid of all other thoughts. The Self is pure consciousness and once the obstructions are removed, it shines forth.
• I want you to dive consciously into the self and into the heart.. Mind turned outward results in thoughts and objects. Turned inwards, the mind subsides but only after self inquiry. The mind is merely thoughts and of all thoughts,"I" is the root, which has to go.
• The Self is the pure reality in whose light, the body, the ego and all else shine. When all thoughts are stilled, pure consciousness remains over.This self, which is pure consciousness, has no ego sense about it. This ego or individual being is at the root of all that is futile and undesirable in life. It is to be destroyed. This is Liberation or Enlightenment or Self Realization.
• On a question on the purpose of Self Realization, Maharishi replied," The goal of self realization is Realizing the Real which means existence without beginning or end, everywhere, infinite; existence underlying all forms, all changes, all matter & all spirit. People talk of self realization generally, under the delusion of non self as the self and unreal as real. But, actually, self always has been the self and there is no such thing as realizing it. All vices center around ego and once ego is gone, Self Realization naturally results."
• On a question on the state of Self Realized person, Maharishi said," A self realized man remains calm and composed during all activities,unaffected by worldly problems and has no anxieties, worries or cares. He feels that everything is being done by something with which he is in conscious union. Further,the sensation is common both to the realized man and the unrealized man. The difference is that the unrealized man identifies himself with the body, mistakes the body for the self & feels it while the realized man knows that all this is self which is perfect, all this is Brahman.As per him, sin is the action of the ego against the universal harmony or the will of God. .
• Your own Self Realization is the greatest service you can render to the world.

Besides the path of achieving self realization thru self inquiry, Maharishi stressed upon following an ethical and moral life in society. His message," Self reform automatically brings about social reform." conveys his priority on self reform first and then only social reforms for ethical living of society. Some of key suggestions given by him on this area include;

• No one succeeds without effort. Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance ie people must do hard work and should not shirk from owning responsibilities.
• There is neither past nor future. There is only the present. Yesterday was the present to you when you experienced it and tomorrow will also be the present when you experience it. Therefore experience takes place only in the present and beyond experience, nothing exists. In this way, he stressed upon people to live in reality and avoid either day dreaming or extending upon the past.
• A member of the community should conduct himself always by word, mind and body in such a fashion that it results in help to the society. 
• A good brotherly feeling with a sense of equality is the supreme goal to be reached collectively by the community.
• Unless one is happy, he can't bestow happiness on others. There is no cause for you to be miserable and unhappy.You yourself impose limitations on your true nature of infinite being and then weep that you are a finite creature.
• When the embodied beings treat each other with equal respect, great peace and harmony flourish. The whole world shines like the one dwelling house of entire human family.
• Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns.
• Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the world.
• All good or divine qualities are included in JNANA ( spiritual enlightenment) and all bad or satanic qualities in AJNANA ( spiritual darkness). When JNANA comes,all AJNANA vanishes to make room for divine qualities in a man. If a man is Jnani, he can not utter lies or commit sins. The message is that spiritual enlightenment transforms ethical living.
• Peace is for purification of one's mind. Power is for growth of the community. Having established the community with power, one should then establish supreme peace. Ethical living demands peace all around by one's spiritual enlightenment as well as respect for others.

Maharishi had great respect for all religions and in no way his teachings oppose  any religion. He clarified," A religion involves two modes of activities; Horizontal & Vertical. Horizontally, it harmonizes and controls the life of the individual and society in conformity with its faith and morality. Vertically, it provides spiritual paths to attain a higher state or realize the ultimate truth during this life. Religions, horizontally, are not contradictory. Maharishi's vertical path has been most direct & central; the quest of one's self and for this, any religion could serve as a foundation.

There is so much to learn from Maharishi's  life. I will now share a few more relevant self related valuable  insights given by him based on his question answer sessions. 

• We are all really SAT-CHIT-ANANDA ( being, knowledge, bliss), but we imagine that we are bound by destiny and suffer. Maharshi clarified in one of the session," As long as a man is the doer, he also reaps the fruits of his deeds; but as soon as he realizes the self thru self inquiry or surrender, his sense of being the doer falls away and the destiny ends. Maharshi called it external liberation."
• There are only two ways to conquer destiny--- thru self inquiry to discover that only ego is bound by it or killing the ego by complete surrender to the Lord saying all the time," Not I, but thou, O Lord", giving up all sense of I and mine and leaving it to Lord to do whatever he likes. Accept His will and await His pleasure.He knows what is best and when and how to do it.
• True surrender is the love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of salvation. In other words, complete effacement of Ego is essential to conquer destiny. To explain a bit more, true surrender is giving oneself up to the original care of one's being. Let us not delude ourselves by imagining this source to be some God outside us. This source is within us.Let us seek this source, give ourselves to it and finally merge into it. 
• Holding on to Reality is Samadhi. It is totally different from Sleep.While sleep is a state of merging in ignorance and remaining unaware of  the world, Samadhi is merging in Reality. Further, remaining in the primal, pure, natural state without any efforts is " Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi".In this Samadhi, one remains calm and composed during any activity since he is moved by the deeper real self within and unaffected by anything external to it.
• Man's real nature is happiness which is inborn in the true self. Man's search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true self. The true self is imperishable and therefore when a man finds it, he finds happiness which never ends. While answering a related question, he said," First find out the truth behind yourself, then only you will be able to understand the truth behind the world.Without understanding yourself, what is the use of trying to understand the world."
• Grace is necessary for removal of ignorance but grace is there all along. All that is necessary is to know its existence. The highest form of grace is silence.it is also the highest spiritual instructions. If the Guru is silent, the seeker's mind gets purified by itself.

The enormous wisdom extracted from Maharishi's philosophy, writings and question answer sessions can never be contained in a small blog like that of mine. I have made a sincere attempt to pick up key learnings restricted to  my area of analysis. Let me end the blog by another gem of his saying;

The end of all wisdom is love, love and love