In the same way, we in India always believe that God is one. But we dress the one divinity in different costumes! (Laughter)
So we dress the divine in different attire and give every form a different name.There are 1008 different names of the divine in Hinduism, and they have attached a form to every name. This is what it is.
The audience there appreciated this understanding. Some people said, 'Gurudev, you have explained it so nicely. Until now could not understand why Indians worship so many Gods and Goddesses when God is one'.
Every form belongs to the divine. When you adore the form, you are adoring the divine behind the form. With this knowledge, the very act of worship, which is more an inner phenomenon, assumes a more colorful and vibrant expression, indicating that both the form and the formless are all divine.
Thousands of saints in this country, who went through form to formless. If you see Tulsi Ramayana, what Tulsidas says..he wouldn’t have written that without experience. 'Rama niranjan, arupa,' he said all that. First he sees Rama as an individual person. But then he saw that the spirit behind Rama is formless.
Same way Saint Francis of Assissi, he went through form and he became formless. Meera went into form and got to the formless. Guru Nanak Dev. We have many many examples in this country.
When there is true seeking, you will never go wrong. That’s my contention. Because nature will guide you. Because, see the Intelligence, the Cosmic Being is such, it doesn’t let you down. So, it guides you into the right path. I don’t think it would be a waste of time or it is wrong. But you have to do that with proper viveka, wisdom.
You have to go from the form to the formless. If you jump only to the formless, that path is full of misery.
Lord Krishna said in the Gita, that there are people who worship the formless, but that path is full of pain and sorrow. You can see this yourself. Take Moses for example, his path has been very miserable and sad. Jesus - his life was so sad. Take the example of Mohammad Paigambar, he had to undergo so much pain and struggle, and the bloodiest part of history is his. It continued after him too, all his family members had a very painful and sorrowful state.
This is the reason why Buddha said, "Buddham sharanam gachhami", i.e., I go to Buddha for refuge. Buddha is the formless in the form.
Then he said, "Sangam sharanam gachhami", i.e., I surrender myself to the society and take refuge in the service of society.
And then he said, "Dhammam sharanam gachhami", i.e., I take refuge in the ultimate truth.
To get away from misery, Buddha said four things; recognise there is misery. There is a reason for the misery. It is possible to get out of misery. To get out of misery, take refuge in the enlightened or Buddha. Again, Buddha is the formless in the form.
Lord Krishna said the same thing, "Aham tvam sarvapapebhyo, mokshapapebhyo mokshayishyami ma sucah".
Lord Krishna very clearly said that those who worship the formless, their path is very tedious and full of misery. That is true.
Any worship is only for the formless, but the path through the form makes it joyful, easier and more perceivable for people. You may choose a path with rubble and a lot of potholes, or you may choose a nice road, a highway. This choice makes a difference.
It is true that the fact of formless omnipresent almighty is the truth at the level of university. But it is also true that you reach university only after passing primary and high school.
OURNEY FROM FORM TO FORMLESS -Post 2 of 2
GOD,GURU and SELF is one.-Sri Sri
ONE CONSCIOUSNESS
This whole creation is made up of one energy. Everything is made up of just one thing.
Whenever anything bothers you, if you come back to this one principle - there is only one energy which everything is made up of, so there are a lot of possibilities; that brings great relief. Are you getting what I’m saying?
There are three types of intellect.
One is an intellect which is dormant or doesn’t function at all; sleepy, in slumber and only into negativity. This is Tamasic Intellect.
Then there is Rajasic Intellect. Most people have a rajasic intellect. Rajasic intellect means seeing everything as different – This person is different, that person is different, this person behaves that way, that lady behaves this way; dwelling on these differences. Thinking there are so many people, so many personalities, and seeing that as reality. Doing this sometimes you go very high and sometimes you go down. This is rajasic intellect.
Then there is Sattvic Intellect, which is the goal of evolution.Sattvic intellect sees there is only one thing that is underlying all other differences. That is the reality.
There is one underlying truth. That one thing has come up in so many forms.
Let me give you an example. Have you seen a puppet show?
A rajasic intellect is seeing all the puppets as different characters. A sattvic intellect says there is only one person who is making all these dolls dance. Actually it is a Mono Act.
One person who is behind the curtain, is making with his ten fingers all these different stories happen on the screen and is making them dance.
Have you seen those puppet shows? They tie one thread to each of the ten fingers and they make all the puppets run around.
So a sattvic intellect is seeing that there is only one thing, one truth, one reality, one consciousness that is underneath the whole creation. When this truth is well lodged in the mind, though you see the differences, dwell in differences, you will be unshaken.
A house that has a very good foundation does not collapse in an earthquake. It has a shock absorber. A real shock absorber is deep inside knowing that all this is made up of one consciousness.
All of matter is one consciousness. I am that one consciousness and everything is that one consciousness. One who knows this is free. It is called freedom. ‘I’m so free. Nothing bothers me
SHIVA-THE CAUSE OF ALL CAUSES
Shiva can be split as Sha+ee+va where
• Sha stands for shareeram or body
• Ee stands for eeshwara or life giving energy
• Va stands for vayu or motion
Thus Shiva represents the body with life and motion.
If the 'ee' is removed from Shiva, it gets reduced to sha+va or Shava which means a lifeless body. Anything with Shiva is with life, and anything without Shiva is Shava, or without life.
So Shiva is auspicious, Shiva is potential, and Shiva is life. Shiva is all encompassing - the universal soul or consciousness. Realizing this Shiva Tattva leads to Ananda (bliss).
WHO IS SHIVA? WHAT IS SHIVA TATVA?
Sri Sri: I would ask the question 'What is not Shiva?' Is Shiva somebody? Is he a form? Is he someone sitting in some place?
No! Shiva is the entire universe. He is in every atom of the universe.
The Shiva Tattva Has Three Stages:
Arupa - without form
Rupa-Aarupa - form emerging from the formless
Sarupa - with form
Before creation, the process of creation and the creation, is Shiva.
Shiva doesn’t have a body, he was never a person at all. To symbolize the unfathomable, the infinite divinity, and to make it comprehensible for young people, for children and others, they made a form. In fact, there is no form to Shiva.
Shiva is a principle (Tattva) from where everything has come, everything is sustained in it, and everything dissolves into it. Shiva is the space, it is the consciousness.
There is no way that you can even step out of Shiva at anytime because Shiva is the summum bonum of the whole creation. That is why Shiva’s body is depicted in blue because blue signifies the sky; the all pervading infinity which has no limits, and no shape.
The consciousness which is bliss and innocence, the consciousness which is the bestower of dispassion - is Shiva. The whole world is moving in an auspicious rhythm of innocence and intelligence - that is Shiva.
The permanent and eternal source of energy, the eternal state of being, the one and only one - is Shiva.The soul (of everything) is called Shiva – there is no difference between the soul and Shiva.
It is a miracle how the same consciousness is present in every being in this creation! There is no other miracle greater than this.
IT HAS NO FORMS YET IT IS ALL IN FORMS
In the Rudra-abhishekam, it is said,
'Virupe-bhyo vishva-rupe bhyash-cha vo namo namah'.
Virupe-bhyo means, that one which has no form and, Vishva-rupe-bhyo means, yet it is in all the forms of the universe.
Everything, all forms are the manifestation of the formless Shiva. Shiva is the consciousness that present all over; it is an energy field.
IT NEVER BEGAN AND IT WILL NEVER END
Shiva is never born and he has no end. He is eternal. He is the fourth state of consciousness, known as the 'Turiya avasta' (the meditative state), that is beyond the waking, sleeping and dreaming state.
There is a beautiful story related to Shiva. Once Brahma the creator, and Vishnu the preserver of the Universe wanted to find Shiva and understand it completely. So Brahma said, I will go and look for his head and you find his feet. So for thousands of years Vishnu went down and down to find Shiva’s feet but couldn’t find it. Brahma went up and up to find his head but couldn’t find.
The meaning here is, there is no feet and no head to Shiva. There is no beginning and no end to Shiva.Finally they both met at the middle and said that they couldn’t find either.
This universe is Ananta vistara (of infinite expanse). The consciousness pervading this infinite universe is also infinite and is Agneya (not knowable). It is only lovable.
HOW YOU CAN KNOW SHIVA?
'Tapo yoga gamya'
(a verse from Veda Saara Shiva Stotram by Adishankaracharya). He can be known through tapa (penance) and yoga.
Through Omkaara you can know it, i.e., if you go deep into Omkara, the primordial sound of the Universe. Om is not something that you repeat. It is something that you hear.
HOW YOU CAN UNDERSTAND SHIVA?
To understand Shiva the ancient Rishis recommended 4 steps:
Anavopaya - disciplining the ego
Anava - meditation
Saktopaya - activating the energy centres by centering one's attention in silence
Sambavopaya - freeing oneself from thought
'Shruti Gyan Gamyah'
(a verse from Veda Saara Shiva Stotram by Adishankaracharya). He can be understood through the knowledge of the shrutis* that you hear deep in meditation. Only through meditation; through the depth of the wisdom of the shrutis can you understand what Shiva is.
Shiva is a symbolism of the inexpressible. It is not someone with a snake hanging around his neck as some people are propagating, "Oh, Adi Yogi lived some 10,000 years ago", This is all rubbish and has no scientific evidence. Nobody lived 10,000 years ago in the Himalayas like Shiva with a snake around his neck and water flowing from his head. Absolutely not!
We have three states of consciousness – waking, dreaming and sleeping, and there is a fourth state of consciousness where we are neither awake, nor dreaming, nor sleeping. It is a state where the mind is awake but the body is resting, and you know you are present, but do not know where you are - this is Shiva. And this state is experienced in meditation.
Shiva is a principle. Shiva is the fourth state of consciousness, which is neither waking, nor sleeping, nor dreaming. The fourth state of consciousness which is benevolent, which is absolute peace is Shiva.
Without yoga, Shiva can’t be experienced. Yoga doesn’t mean only asanas (physical postures) but yoga is that experience of Shiva which happens in meditation. It is when that ‘wow’ happens from within.
If you start to enter that state where you are not dreaming or sleeping, you enter the state of samadhi, where you are free from worries.
So where should you search for the Shiva Tattva? Search for it in-between the states of waking and dreaming, or in-between deep sleep and waking, not far away in Mount Kailash.
When you are meditating, what is the experience that you have? It is neither waking nor sleeping. That glimpse of the fourth state is what is called Shiva Tattva. When you sit and meditate, you get in touch with the Shiva Tattva deep inside you. This state gives you the deepest rest possible that you can experience. The mind becomes fresh, delicate, beautiful and innocent.
There are some versus in Sanskrit in which Shiva’s description is so beautiful.
'Namami-shamishan nirvan roopam, vibhum vyapakam brahma-ved swaroopam. Nijam nirgunam nirvikalpam niriham chidakashmakashvasam bhajeham.'
(Opening verses of the Rudrashtakam – An Ode sung in the glory of Lord Shiva, by Shri Goswami Tulsidas)
It is the lord, it is the most powerful, it is all over, spread everywhere. There is no place that it is not. It is that space, that consciousness where all the knowledge is present. It was never born and it has no attributes. It is a state of Samadhi where there is nothing, just the inner sky of consciousness. That is what is Shiva.
YOGA UPNISHIDA SAAR
Now begins the Upanishads. What is Divine? The first verse says that the Brahma is One — without a second. He is the immortal essence. He is without the number two. He is One homogenous mass of knowledge and bliss. He is self-contained. He is all full.
Brahman is within and without. He is above and below. He is in front and behind. He is on your right side and left side. He is everywhere like the all-pervading ether. He is Chidakasha, ether of consciousness.
They have always talked about the “non-dual (advaita)” — ‘No Two’ —because when you say One, you have already said Two because how can you make something One if there is no Two? This is very subtle: you have to catch it.
One infinite space that is immortal means that which does not die, that which does not change. It is one homogenous mass of knowledge and bliss and it is self-contained. This definition of Divine nobody can dismiss. What is God? The infinity — knowledge of the ‘knowing-ness’ of the infinity — and bliss. This ‘knowing-ness’ of consciousness is all pervading.
So this space is full of that consciousness; that’s why it is called chidakash — the space is not an empty space. The space has a mind of its own. It is stuffed with knowledge and consciousness. And it is infinite. One name is given to the three aspects — that is called Brahman. There will be no problem for any atheist to believe in such a Brahman, in having such a God.
And this consciousness, this space that is all pervading, is the basis of creation because the creation has come from this, is sustained by it, and will go back to it.
Just like the outer space, so is the material space. The building you are in now exists in space, and when the building is brought down or knocked down, still the space remains; and again another building is built in the space. The space will remain the same.
So is the Brahman. It is indestructible. This universal consciousness, of which all the little bodies and human beings are part of, is immortal, eternal and stays forever.
The sapling of consciousness is within you -- it needs to be nurtured through spiritual practices like meditation. Some coconut trees yield in three years, and some in 10 years. And those that are not nurtured never yield, they simply exist.
Know that the five attributes — satchitananda nityaparipurna (truth, consciousness, bliss, eternal and complete or total —express Brahman in the best possible manner. Meditate on these in thy mind and realise.
Attaining higher states of consciousness does not require any complicated strategy; one just needs to learn the art of letting go. The confluence of knowledge, understanding and practice makes life complete.
When you grow into higher states of consciousness, you find that you are no longer thrown off-balance by different situations and disturbances. You become strong yet soft -- a delicate and beautiful individual capable of accommodating different values in life without any conditions.
As your consciousness opens and the whole system gets physically, mentally and spiritually elevated, your life truly becomes worth living.
BHAGWAD GEETA
As your mind blossoms, new aspects of the knowledge will blossom in you. Knowledge is structured in your consciousness.
Where does your mind go? It goes towards, beauty, light, strength..
Lord Krishna says, ‘Wherever your mind goes, see Me in that. If something is beautiful, it is because it has life in it. It is the same consciousness. So the mind goes back to the source.
(Turning back to explaining the 7th Chapter)
Lord Krishna says: Now hear, O son of Pṛthā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.
I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge both phenomenal and noumenal, by knowing which there shall remain nothing further to be known.
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies.
Besides this inferior nature, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.
Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both its origin and dissolution.
There is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.
I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.
All states of being—be they of goodness, passion or ignorance—are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything—but I am independant. I am not under the modes of this material nature."
We are made up of the same substance as the sun. If there is no sun, there is no earth. If there is no earth, then there is no you.
If you talk to a quantum physicist today, he will say the same thing - everything is made up of one wave function.
The same thing Lord Krishna said: I am the life in everybody.Turn our mind inward and look at the life force that we are.
In life, it is Me. Life is god. God is not something outside the life. Life is Divine.
What is the mind craving for? This pleasure, that pleasure. Right now, attend to the life. Its not that only my life is God. Life everywhere is the same Atma.
