|| Shree Hari ||

Experiencing Immortality

अमरताका अनुभव

continued..... 

Question ‒ I am not body‒ this is ok, but body is mine and for me only ?

Answer ‒We assume three types of relationship with body ‒(1) I am body, (2) body is mine and (3) body is for me. All these three relationships are fake, they are not real. In reality body is not ‘me’, not ‘mine’ and not ‘for me’. Reason being that if body was ‘me’ then on changes in the body, I would have also changed and on the death of body I would have also become absent. But this is everyone’s experience that the way the body was earlier, it’s not like that now, but I am the same. Body has changed, but I have not changed. Had body been ‘mine’ then I would have had full control on it i.e. I would have kept the body the way I would have liked it, would have made it beautiful, would have changed its color, wouldn’t have allowed it to change, wouldn’t have allowed it to fall sick, wouldn’t have let it become weak, wouldn’t have let it grow old and at the very least wouldn’t have let it die. But this is everyone’s experience that we have no authority on the body and despite of trying very hard, it falls sick, it becomes weak, it grows old and it even dies. Had body been ‘for me’ then we would have felt satisfied on getting it, we wouldn’t have any desires left to get anything else and we would have never been separated from the body, it would have always remained with me. But this is everyone’s experience that we don’t feel even slightly satisfied on getting body, our desires don’t end, we don’t feel complete and body also doesn’t remain forever, rather it gets separated from us.

Just like we have no relationship with all three bodies - gross, subtle and causal ‒ the same way ‘activity’ happening through gross body, ‘thinking’ happening through subtle body and ‘stability’ (Samadhi) happening through reason body has no relationship with us. Reason being that every activity has a beginning and an end. No thought remains forever, rather it comes and goes. Restlessness after stability, falldown after samadhi happens. What it means is that neither activity always remains, nor thoughts always remain and nor stability always remain. We all experience coming-going of all these three, but no one experience the change in oneself. Our nature of existence always remains. Neither things remain with us nor activity, nor thoughts, nor stability. We remain alone only. Hence we should make our nature to live alone (without things, activities, thoughts and stability)

to be continued.......

‒ From the book in Hindi ‘Amarta ki Aur’ by Swami Ramsukhdasji

|| Shree Hari ||

Experiencing Immortality

अमरताका अनुभव

continued..... 

Question ‒ If lion comes in front of you now, then fear will be felt ?

Answer ‒ If there is death of some dear one, if wealth goes away, then human being is in grief. Same way there is tension that what will happen if wife dies ? What will happen if son dies ? This grief-sorrow-tension are also only due to not valuing one’s vivek (power of discrimination). There will be changes in the world, it is necessary for circumstances to change. If circumstances will not change then how will world work ? How will human being become adult from child? How will foolish become intelligent? How will patient become healthy? How will seed become tree? Without change, world will become like a static photo!  In reality, the one who can die (changeable), only dies, the one who can remain, never dies. This experience is evident to everyone that on death, body is lying in front of us, but the owner of body (embodied soul, jeevaatma) leaves. If this experience is valued then there cannot be sorrow-tension. On the death of Bali, Bhagwan Ram points Tara to this experience only ‒

तारा बिकल देखि रधुराया । दीन्ह ध्यान हरि लीन्ही माया ॥

छिति जल पावक गगन समीरा । पंच रचित अति अधम सरीरा ॥

प्रगट सो तनु तव आगे सोवा । जीव नित्य केहि लगि तुम्ह रोवा ॥

उपजा ज्ञान चरन तब लागी । लीन्हेसि परम भगति बर माँगी ॥

                               (मानस, किष्किन्धा॰ ११ । २-३)

taaraa bikala dekhi raghuraayaa, dinha gyaana hari leenhi maayaa

chiti jala paavaka gagana sameeraa, pamcha rachita ati adhama sareeraa

pragata so tanu tava aage sovaa, jeeva nitya kehi lagi tumha rovaa

upajaa gyaana charana taba laagi, linhesi parama bhagati bara maagi

      (Manas, Kishkind॰ 11 । 2-3)

When Lord of Raghus saw Tara's distress, He imparted to her wisdom and dispelled her delusion. "made up of five elements, i.e. earth, water, fire, ether, and air, this body is extremely vile. The mortal frame lies, buried in eternal sleep before your eyes, while the soul is everlasting. For whom, then, do you lament?" The light of wisdom dawned on her and now she embraced His feet and asked of Him the boon of supreme Devotion.

(Manas, Kishkind॰ 11 । 2-3)

Question ‒ What is the main reason in not valuing "vivek" (power of discrimination)?

Answer ‒ Main reason is ‒ Attachment to contact born pleasures. We want to enjoy the pleasures of union, because of this we don’t value our “vivek”, i.e. knowledge doesn’t stay inside. What it means is that the more there is attachment to worldly pleasures, the more intelligence becomes blunt, because of which the essence of Satsang is not understood even by reading-listening. It has come in Gita that a person attached to worldly pleasures and accumulation (of worldly things) cannot even decide upon getting to Parmatma. [1] Attachment to worldly pleasures covers their knowledge.[2]  Hence till when there is even little attachment to things, human beings, activities, thinking, stability (samadhi), till then knowledge has only been learnt ‒‘रागो लिङ्गमबोधस्य’ ।

|| Shree Hari ||

Experiencing Immortality

अमरताका अनुभव

continued..... 

Question ‒ If lion comes in front of you now, then fear will be felt ?

Answer ‒ Fear will be felt because  ‘I am different from the body’‒ this thing has been learnt by hearing, it has not been understood.   This is the difference between a thing that has been learnt and that which is understood.  During other times, a parrot keeps saying RadheKrishn-GopiKrishn, but when a cat catches, then it says “tein-tein,” while time is now to do RadheKrishn-GopiKrishn! But learnt knowledge doesn’t come handy at the right time.  

Lion comes so there is nothing wrong in trying to save oneself from it, but becoming fearful is wrong. Reason being that the one who is to die is dying and the one who is to live is living, then fear for what reason ? Lion will kill the one who can be killed, how will he kill the one who is immortal ? Lion will eat so its hunger will be satisfied, what difference will it create in us ?  How long can one who is bound to die, be saved ? He will surely die. Hence he should neither desire to live, nor should he fear death.

There is one subtle thing. The amount of fear that is felt before doing Satsang, same amount of fear is not felt after doing Satsang. There is lot of difference caused to thought process and bad habits (thoughts, emotions) automatically get destroyed. But this will happen when, we will respect the things of Satsang, we will value them, we will realize them.  By giving value to things of Satsang, these three things are necessarily experienced by devotee-

1.   Earlier the force with which Lust-anger etc. bad habits (thoughts, emotions) use to come, they do not come with that force now

2.         Earlier the duration they use to stay for, they don’t stay for that long now

3.      Earlier the quickness with which they use to come, they don’t come that quickly now.

‒ By looking at these things, devotee’s enthusiasm should increase that the bad habits (thoughts, emotions) that decrease, they definitely get destroyed also. In business there is both profit and loss, but in Satsang there is only and only benefit, there is no loss at all. Like a child being in mother’s lap (care) automatically grows, he doesn’t need to put in efforts for growing. Same way by being in Satsang, a human being automatically develops. If quest to know (to realize Bhagwan) is very strong and even little bad habit (thoughts, emotions) are intolerable then immediately there is attainment.

“Vivek”  (power of discrimination) awakens through Satsang. By the amount devotee gives value to “vivek”, by same amount lust-anger etc. bad habits (thoughts, emotions) decrease. By always giving value to “vivek”, that “vivek”  only turns into divine-knowledge (tattva gyaan), then due to absence of any other power, there is no question of any bad habit (thoughts, emotions) remaining. Whats it means is that on attaining divine knowledge (tattva gyaan), there is acute absence of mental agitation.

to be continued.......

‒ From the book in Hindi ‘Amarta ki Aur’ by Swami Ramsukhdasji

|| Shree Hari ||

Experiencing Immortality

अमरताका अनुभव

continued..... 

We assume our state to be within body, assume ourselves to be body, then this is our mistake. Respecting wrong thing and disrespecting right thing is the main obstacle in salvation.  It is only on assuming ourselves to be body that we say -  I am child, I am adult, I am old. In reality, we never became child, never became adult, never became old, rather only body became adult,  only body became old. Body got sick then I got sick, body got weak so I got weak, money came so I became rich, money went, so I became poor ‒ all this is only due to assuming unity with body and wealth. When anger comes, then we say I am angry ! Just think, does anger remain all the time? Is it on everyone? When it doesn’t always remain and is not on everyone, then how is it in me? Dog enters a house so does it become owner of the house ? Same way if anger came, did I become angry ? Anger comes and goes, but I always remain.

Country changes, time changes, things change, people change, activities change,  conditions change, circumstances change, incidents change, but we always remain. Waking, dreaming and sleeping – these three states change, but we remain the same, then only we have knowledge of starting and ending of these states and their changes. Thinking from a gross point of view, then like we came to Rishikesh from Haridwar so then first we came to Rayawala from Haridwar, then from Rayawala to Rishikesh. Were we living in Haridwar then how we would have come to Rayawala and Rishikesh ? Were we living in Rayawala then how we would come to Haridwar and Rishikesh ? Were we living in Rishikesh then how we would have come to Haridwar and Rayawala ? Hence we neither live in Haridwar, nor in Rayawala, nor in Rishikesh. Haridwar, Rayawala and Rishikesh – all three are different, but we are the same. We remained the same in Haridwar, we remained the same in Rayawala and we remained the same in Rishikesh. Same way we remained the same while awake, in dream also we remained the same and while sleeping also we remained the same. Hence instead of seeing the one who is changing, we have to see the one who is going to remain the same, i.e. we have to experience detachment in ourselves ‒ ‘रहता रूप सही कर राखो, बहता संग न बहीजे ।’

We have no relationship with the one that continuously changes ‒ this is immortality (salvation or liberation). Immortality is axiomatic and natural; it doesn’t need any doing (any effort).  We have assumed our affinity, with death.

to be continued.......

‒ From the book in Hindi ‘Amarta ki Aur’ by Swami Ramsukhdasji

|| Shree Hari ||

Experiencing Immortality

अमरताका अनुभव

continued..... 

It has come in Gita‒

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय

नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।

तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्

यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥

(२ । २२)

‘Like human being leaves old clothes and wears new clothes, same way soul leaves old bodies and goes into new bodies.’

Like by leaving old clothes we don’t die and by wearing new clothes we don’t take birth, same way we don’t die by leaving old body and we don’t take birth by taking on new body. It means that body dies, we don’t die. If we die then who will experience the result of our good and bad activities ? Who will go in other species ? Who will be bonded ? Who will get salvation ?

Body is destructible, no one can keep it and the nature (swaroop) is indestructible, no one can kill it ‒

अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।

विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति ॥

                                                 (गीता २ । १७)

Indestructible will always remain indestructible and destructible will always remain destructible. That what is destructible, is not our aspect.

We wore a kurta, so did kurta become our aspect  (swaroop) ? We wrapped a bed-sheet so did bed-sheet become our aspect ? Like we are separate from the clothes, same way we are separate from these bodies also. Hence we should always have this natural feeling in our mind that I am not the one who dies, I am immortal. ‘अमर जीव मरे तो काया’  Being is immortal, body dies. If we value this “vivek”, this conscience, then the fear of death will be erased. When we don’t die at all, then what fear of death ? And that which is only dying, what desire of keeping it ? Our childhood is no longer there, so now we cannot bring back the childhood and show; because it has died, but we remained there. Hence body is always going to die and I am always going to remain immortal ‒ where is doubt in this ? Now, only this thing needs to be respected, this needs to be valued, this needs to be experienced by oneself, not just learnt. Like if we get wealth, then there is happiness from inside, same way hearing this thing, happiness should come from within and the desire to live and fear of death should not be there! Reason being that by the thing through which our sorrow, jealousy, vexation, crying etc is removed, what will be greater happiness than getting that thing ! Such benefit will not be there even after receiving millions-billions of rupees. Reason being that we get millions-billions and we get earth’s kingdom then too, all that will be left behind, it will be separated from us!

अरब खरब लौं द्रव्य है,    उदय अस्त लौं राज ।

तुलसी जो निज मरन है, तो आवे किहि काज ॥

to be continued.......

‒ From the book in Hindi ‘Amarta ki Aur’ by Swami Ramsukhdasji

|| Shree Hari ||

Experiencing Immortality

अमरताका अनुभव

All human beings naturally have knowledge (i.e “vivek” or power of discrimination or conscience) in them. The job of the devotee is to give value to this conscience. This “vivek” or conscience isn’t born. Had it been born then it would be destroyed also; because everything that can take birth can be destroyed – this is the rule. Hence “vivek” (conscience) isn’t created, rather it is awakened. When devotee gives value to the axiomatic "vivek" or conscience in him, then that conscience gets awakened. This itself is called as ‘tattvagyan’ (knowledge of Supreme Truth) or ‘bodh’ (enlightenment).

All human beings have this feeling  that they always remain, they never die. They want to remain immortal. This desire of immortality proves that in reality he is immortal. If he had not been immortal then he would not have had the desire of immortality also. Like, there is hunger and thirst so it proves that there is something (food and water), through which that hunger-thirst is quenched. If food-water were not there, then hunger-thirst would have also not been felt. Hence immortality is axiomatic.  Here this doubt is there that if someone is immortal, then why there is desire of being immortal ? The resolution to this is that despite of being immortal when he rejected his conscience and accepted himself to be one with mortal body i.e. ‘I am only the body’‒accepted this, then the desire of immortality and fear of death got created.

All human beings have this realization that this body (gross, subtle and causal body) is not my real identity. Body changes in front of eyes.  The way the body was in childhood, it is not like that now and like it is today, it will not remain like that in future. But I am the same i.e. what I was in childhood, same I am today and will remain in future. Hence I am separate from body and body is separate from me i.e. I am not the body‒this is the experience of everyone. Still by not considering oneself to be separate from body and considering being together with body is disrespect, insult, disobedience of one’s conscience. Devotee has to give value to his conscience that I am immortal and body is mortal. There is no second, when body does not die. The flow of dying is only called as living. When that flow appears it is called as birth and it is called death when it disappears. What this means is that the thing that changes all the time, that only is called birth, that only is called state and that only is called death. Childhood dies then adulthood takes birth and adulthood dies then old age is born. This way every second birth and death is called living (state). This sequence of birth and death always continue in a subtle manner. But we always remain just the same. There is change in the states (of body), but our nature is not changed even by little. Hence body always lives in death and I always live in immortality ‒ Value needs to be given to this “vivek” or conscience.

to be continued.......

‒ From the book in Hindi ‘Amarta ki Aur’ by Swami Ramsukhdasji