The religion of the Upanishads.
The spirituality of the Upanishads.The Yoga of the Upanishads.
When we think of the Upanishads, immediately our mind enters into these particular subjects: philosophy, religion, spirituality and Yoga.
Now the philosophy of the Upanishads is the vastness of the mind.
The religion of the Upanishads is the oneness of the heart.The spirituality of the Upanishads is the immortality of the soul.
The Yoga of the Upanishads is the total manifestation of God here on earth.The vastness of the mind needs God the infinite Consciousness.
The oneness of the heart needs God the Supreme and eternal Beloved.The immortality of the soul needs God the ever-transcending Beyond.
The total manifestation of God needs man’s constant inner hunger.God is Purity in the vastness of the mind.
God is Beauty in the oneness of the heart.God is Life in the immortality of the soul.
AUM
The philosophy of the Upanishads tells me, “See the Truth.”
The religion of the Upanishads tells me, “Feel the Truth.”The spirituality of the Upanishads tells me, “Grow into the Truth.”
The Yoga of the Upanishads tells me, “Become the Truth.”And God tells me, “You are the Truth.”
When I see the Truth, I know what God’s Compassion is.
When I feel the Truth, I know what God’s Love is.When I grow into the Truth, I know what God’s Concern is.
When I become the Truth, I know what God’s Selfless Life is and what His unconditional Duty is.And when I realise that I am the Truth, the full manifestation of Divinity’s Light begins.
The Upanishads offer to each aspiring heart countless messages. There are quite a few messages which are at once most significant and most fulfilling. Here is a stupendous message about life and death. Before death and after death, what happens?
Before death, life is a seeker.
After death, the same life becomes a dreamer.Before death, life struggles and strives for perfection.
After death, the same life rests and enjoys the divine bliss with the soul.Before death, life is God’s Promise.
After death, life is God’s inner Assurance. This assurance of God’s we notice while we fulfil God in our future incarnation.Life for each individual is an act of inspiration and revelation. Life is an experience, even so is death. Our human life is God’s sacred flame mounting towards the highest Source. Human death, the so-called death, is a secret play of God’s Will.
AUM
When we study the Upanishads we start with the concentration of the mind. Now this concentration of the mind is the most difficult thing that we can ever think of. We know what the mind is, we know what concentration is, but when it is a matter of concentration of the mind, it is extremely difficult.
Once some disciples came up to their spiritual Master and said, “Master, we have been meditating for so many years, for ten long years, how is it that we cannot control our mind?” The Master said, “My children, God-realisation is not so easy. Had it been easy, you would have by this time controlled your mind. God-realisation is extremely difficult, here is the proof. We consider the mind to be our best instrument. We consider it to be the highest, the most developed part in our human life. Look at its helplessness.” Then he went on to say to his disciples, “You are all in front of me. Now if somebody stands up right on the shoulders of your spiritual brothers, what will happen? Immediately your brother will be irritated, he will feel disturbed. His prestige is hurt. He is also a human being, how does someone else dare to stand on his shoulders? The same thing happens to the mind. When the mind is agitated by our thought, filthy, undivine, uncomely thoughts, it does not allow us to become calm, quiet and to meditate on God.”
The origin of the mind is divine. The mind proper is divine, but unfortunately the mind that we are using right now is the physical mind which is not helping us at all in our upward journey. Now this mind has consciously or unconsciously accepted three persons as its friends: fear, doubt and jealousy. I said in the beginning that the vastness of the mind is the philosophy of the Upanishads. Now, when the vastness wants to appear before the physical mind, it is horror struck, it is afraid of the vastness. Further, it looks at its own insufficiency, its own limited capacity and says, “How is it possible? I am so weak, I am so insignificant, I am an iota. How can the vastness accept me as its very own?” It doubts. It doubts even the existence of the vastness. First it is afraid of vastness, then it doubts the existence of vastness. By God’s infinite Grace fear leaves the mind, doubt leaves the mind. Alas, now jealousy comes in. It looks around and sees there is some fulfilment in the vastness, whereas in its own existence there is no fulfilment, there is no joy, so jealousy starts. Fear, doubt and jealousy, these three undivine forces attack the mind and make the mind extremely meaningless, helpless and hopeless in our upward journey. When the mind is attacked by fear, doubt and jealousy, something else consciously and deliberately comes in and feeds the mind and that is our ego. With ego starts the beginning of our spiritual end.
AUM
Now we have to go beyond the domain of the physical mind with the help of philosophy, religion, spirituality and Yoga. The seeking mind operates in philosophy. The crying heart operates in religion. The illumining soul operates in spirituality. The fulfilling Goal operates in Yoga.
There are two approaches. One is through the mind, the other through the heart. The approach of the mind is not safe. It is not secure, but one can eventually reach the Goal. It is not that if you approach God through the mind, you will not realise God. You will realise God but the road is arduous, you may doubt your aspiration, you may doubt God’s Compassion for you. Hence it may take you hundreds, thousands of years to reach the Goal. The other approach is through the heart. Now here we can do two things: either we can identify ourselves with the subject or object, with the Supreme Pilot, the eternal Beloved; or we can surrender our existence at every second to the Inner Pilot. Either we have to become totally one with the Will of the Inner Pilot, or we have to surrender totally, unconditionally to the Inner Pilot. When we approach God in either way, His Infinity, Eternity, Divinity, Immortality, immediately we feel as our very own.
If we follow the messages of the Upanishads step by step, if we start first with philosophy, then with religion, then with spirituality, finally with Yoga, then God-realisation need not, cannot and must not remain a far cry. God-discovery is our birthright and if we really want to discover God then we shall start right from the very beginning: philosophy, religion, spirituality and Yoga. When we fulfil the demands of philosophy, religion, spirituality and Yoga, God fulfils all our demands. Their demands are very simple: “aspiration and self-control”. Our demands are God’s gifts: “Peace, Light, Bliss and Power.” Do we really care for God’s gifts? If we really care for God’s gifts, then God will offer us the capacity to receive His infinite wealth. In our ordinary life we want something from somebody else, that person won’t give us the capacity, he will demand our own capacity. If we have capacity, if we work one day, then he will give us the salary, the boss will give us the salary. But in the spiritual life God wants to know whether we really want the money, that is to say, Peace, Light and Bliss. If we want them, then He Himself will energise us and be our aspiration and self-control, and work in and through us. He will work as the seeker within us and again He Himself will work as the Pilot for us. He Himself will be both the Employer and Employee. If we really want God, God will play at once both the roles:
```
The role of the Employerand
The role of the Employee.The role of the Seeker
andThe role of the Fulfiller.
```AUM 942. This talk was given by Sri Chinmoy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. On 1 March 1972↩
My Lord, kidnap my heart, I humbly pray.
Alas, mine is the life of a ruthless knave.I must die, no one must mourn and toll the knell.
Without Thy Light my goal an error grave.Eyeless desires and I together live.
The human souls frown at my moping mind.My famished heart pines for Thy bounty height,
Awaken my Will, my Lord, Thy Love to bind. ```My heart shall be as pure as aurora’s tears.
My wild vital must change its volcano-choice.To hound my golden thoughts my vital horse
In vain endeavours; in me His Ecstasy-Voice.I try, I cry, I sigh, but all in vain.
O Lord of my bleeding heart, I need the EyeThat sees the lives of the Present, Future, Past.
O doubt, aside you stay from my mission’s sky! ```I am the seed and root and boughs,
I am the aspiration-tree.In me abides the deepest deep;
My goal I build; I am ever free.My secret will absorbs my life,
My hidden treasure I share with earth.Her sleepless pangs in me now breathe.
For her my freedom vast, my birth. ```Quick march, quick march within,
To change the fate of mortal life.In you abides the Light
That pierces ignorant human strife.A deathless birth divine
Shall bare your hidden Sun-bright heart.Sole hope of the earth are you;
Ere long your mystic journey start! ```GATEMAN
DEVADATTAAJATASHATRU, THE PRINCE, LATER KING
DR. SAIVAKA, PHYSICIAN OF KING AJATASHATRUTHE BUDDHA
DISCIPLES OF THE BUDDHAGateman: May I know whom you want, sir?
Devadatta: Yes, please go and tell Prince Ajatashatru that his friend Devadatta is here.
Exit GATEMAN
Enter AJATASHATRU
Ajatashatru: Come in, come in. I am so happy to see you.
Devadatta: I wish to have a private audience with you. May I?
Ajatashatru: Yes, come into my chamber, come into my room. Nobody is there.Devadatta: Ajatashatru, my friend, tell me frankly: are you jealous of anybody?
Ajatashatru: I don’t think so.
Devadatta: I am. I am so jealous of Buddha. But my jealousy does not help me at all. He now has thousands of disciples, while I have only a few. And even those few disciples are leaving me and going to him. I hate him! I want to kill him!
Ajatashatru: Oh, now it seems to me that I am also jealous of someone.
Devadatta: Ah, you are also jealous of someone? Please tell me who.
Ajatashatru: I am jealous of my father, the King. Everybody touches his feet; everybody adores him. He has so much power and wealth.
Devadatta: You see, you have as much reason to be jealous of your father as I have to be jealous of Buddha. But we can easily solve your problem.
Ajatashatru: If you solve my problem I will also try to solve your problem, Devadatta.
Devadatta: Ajatashatru, your father is old. This is the time for him to take rest and retire, but these old men never give way. Even until the last moment they want to enjoy the world, they want to lord it over the world. In every way you have surpassed your father. You have strength; you have power. Just throw the old man into prison and then you will become King. You can rule his Kingdom peacefully and bravely. Who is there to stop you? I shall help you.
Ajatashatru: It is an excellent idea, an excellent idea! I shall do it. And when I become King. I promise you, Devadatta, I shall help you kill Buddha.
Devadatta: Be sure you don’t eat your promise, Ajatashatru. Now you are the Prince, but you will soon be the King. And it is on the strength of my advice that you will become King.
Ajatashatru: I am not a mean fellow. I shall remember your help. I wanted to become the King and with your advice I shall fulfil my desire. Then I shall help you get rid of Buddha.Ajatashatru: Why have I begun to suffer from all kinds of diseases and ailments since I have become King? When I was Prince I was always healthy and robust. But now I have lost all my health. Is it because of the pressure of my work?
Dr. Jaivaka: No, King, it is not that which is causing your suffering.
Ajatashatru: Why, then, am I suffering?
Dr. Jaivaka: Your disease, King, is psychological. You have an inner disease.
Ajatashatru: What kind of inner disease? What do you mean by inner disease, Dr. Jaivaka? How will you cure me?
Dr. Jaivaka: O King, I will not be able to cure you because your disease is not physical. Your disease is mental, psychological, spiritual. Only Buddha can cure you.
Ajatashatru: Buddha? Lord Buddha? Do you know that Devadatta and I are intimate friends, most intimate friends?
Dr. Jaivaka: Yes, I know it. And I also know that Devadatta helped you become King.
Ajatashatru: Certainly he did. And I promised him that I would help him get rid of Buddha.
Dr. Jaivaka: That also I have heard. I am fully aware of it.
Ajatashatru: Then why do you say that Buddha can cure me? That is impossible.
Dr. Jaivaka: O King, do you want me to tell you the truth, or do you want me to flatter you? No ordinary doctor can cure you. Only Buddha the Doctor can cure you. Your heart is extremely pure. Your heart is feeling miserable for what you have done to your father and for what you have been doing to Buddha, the innocent Buddha, the Light of the world. Once you rolled a big stone toward him while he was meditating on his disciples, but it veered away before hitting him. On another occasion, you set a mad elephant to destroy him. But Buddha just looked at the elephant and it bowed down to him. Instigated by Devadatta, in various ways you have tried to kill him, but each time you have failed and you will always fail. Buddha has realised the highest Truth. Your heart is crying for the highest Truth. This is your disease, the disease of your spiritual heart. If you really want to be cured, go to the Buddha. He is the Divine Doctor, the Doctor Supreme. Nobody on earth but Buddha can cure you. He can and he will.
Ajatashatru: O human doctor, you are sending me to the Divine Doctor. I am grateful. My life of vital desire has ended. My life of soul’s aspiration is beginning with your divine advice.
Dr. Jaivaka: Your soul is more than ready to accept the Buddha’s Light. Buddha the Infinite Light will transform Ajatashatru, the King of Ignorance, into immortalising Bliss.Ajatashatru: O Lord of the world, out of our stupendous ignorance my friend Devadatta and I tried to kill you several times, but we failed, badly failed. Today I am at your august feet, to be killed immediately by your wisdom-sun.
Buddha: O King. . .
Ajatashatru: Master, I am not your King. You are the King of my heart and soul. You are the Lord of my heart and soul. I am your undeserving slave.
Buddha: You are not my slave, you are my son, my chosen son. My compassion-sun forgives your ignorance-night. My wisdom-sun illumines, liberates and immortalises your heart’s cry.
Enter DEVADATTA. Falls at the feet of BUDDHA.
Devadatta: Siddhartha, while we two were quite young I fought with you over the possession of a bird. The strength of my unruly, undivine vital had to surrender to the strength of your all-loving heart. You won the bird. I told you that one day with my vital love of power I would conquer your heart’s power of love. Since then I have tried in hundreds of ways to humiliate you, to ruin your mission and to kill you, but I have failed. You forgave me then, O Siddhartha. Now, O Buddha, my shameless life desperately begs your forgiveness.
Buddha: Devadatta, forgiveness is granted.
Devadatta: O Buddha, if you have really forgiven this inhuman creature, then do me another favour out of your infinite bounty. Your heart of compassion took care of that innocent bird. Now I pray to you to take care of the crying, bleeding bird inside my heart. And also I pray to you to take care of its cage, this body.
DEVADATTA sings three times.
```
Buddham saranam gacchami.Dhammam saranam gacchami.
Sangham saranam gacchami.I go to the Buddha for refuge.
I go to the Dharma for refuge.I go to the Order for refuge.
```Who can show a disciple his true Motherland?
The Guru.What is the name of that Motherland?
Consciousness:Consciousness Infinite,
Consciousness All-Pervading. ```
Swapna
The second stage is Swapna, “dream”. Here the Self is in its mental nature. In this dream stage we enjoy mental thoughts, mental ideas, mental vibrations. This stage is also called Taijas.
Sushupti The third stage, Sushupti, is dreamless sleep. It is most necessary for all human beings. In dreamless sleep there is no desire, no worries, no anxiety. We observe the death of desire in Sushupti. Another term for this stage is Prajna.
New Year, New Year
Into our heart you have broughtInfinite Delight, Peace and Compassion,
And the Call of Heaven.We are the pilgrims of Light Divine
Marching along the road of Light.The night of tenebrous gloom and stone-inconscience
Is extinguished today.We now are growing into the everlasting life.
Where is poverty, inner and outer?Where is the sense of depletion?
Where are the errors of the mind?Far, very far are they.
Dawn, the daughter of the gods,Before us stands.
The Light of Heaven, filled with Nectar,Is our aspiration-cry and our satisfaction-smile.
The flute of the Absolute FatherPlays in the breath of our heart.
``` Sri ChinmoyFrom:Sri Chinmoy,AUM — Vol. 8, No. 6, January 1973, AUM Centre Press, 1973
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/aum_74