Bhakti is not desire - Narada Bhakti Sutras

In an earlier blog, we have already discussed that no less than Swami Vivekananda - in his essays on Bhakti Yoga - has clarified that the love towards God talked about in the context of Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion) is surely not mere emotionalism and is also not to be confused with disturbing or lower desires either. Further confirmation of this view is provided by the Narada Bhankti Sutras - which is probably the most famous ancient Sanskrit text on the subject. Of course there are other texts on bhakti too, and some of them are mentioned in Narada's sutras themselves. What is mentioned below is based on a commentary on Narada's Sutras by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. 

In a nutshell, bhakti is not of the nature of desire. Rather, it's nature is that of yogic control or cessation (nirodha), and what's more, the exact word - nirodha - used in Patanjali's yoga sutras to define yoga has been used here too, to describe the nature of this state of mind. To further confirm, Narada emphasizes that "love" is not the same as lawlessness. Society's rules and laws are to be respected and followed - else, there is a danger of falling into sin. While the gopis' (cowherd-women) love for Krishna constitutes  the very definition of devotion, they too forever kept in mind Krishna's greatness and Godliness, and never once allowed disrespect for Krishna to enter their minds. This is why their love for Krishna remained pure (with no place for sin there). 

In the first chapter, Narada tries to define and describe bhakti (devotion). He says that bhakti is like the greatest form of love, like amrita (nectar which is supposed to bestow immortality), attaining which, the devotee is drunk with bliss, completely immersed in the divine "atman" (soul), wants nothing, grieves nothing, hates nothing and is enthused by nothing. It is clear from related literature 

that in such contexts, not being enthused simply means that lower results (sense-pleasures) cease to be the motive for the work. The devotee is not unenthusiastic - only that enthusiasm of the lower kind is missing. The control or cessation characteristic of yoga and bhakti has been explained as adequate rest from both worldly as well as "vedic" duties (outer rituals associated with religious 

activity). Swami Vivekananda uses the words "giving up" of both popular and scriptural forms of worship, but Sri Sri explains that simply stopping of activities like worship and rituals is not implied here. It is the right kind of cessation of the outward forms of worship that is being referred to - something which flowers from within with the right kind of inner preparation and makes the outer 

forms drop away on their own. In this state, the devotee feels one with the Lord and is indifferent to contrarian impulses. While the devotees' feelings may be strong, scriptutal rules are to be followed till the state of mind is really firm. Else, there is danger of falling into sin. And similarly for worldly rules, food, etc. In other words, the devotee must not ignore rules and regulations required in ordinary life either. If improper food weakens the body, the devotee should not ignore this simple worldly knowledge because of his intense feeling of oneness with God. Swami Vivekananda adds that even after bhakti is firmly established, a few outward forms or rituals required for the preservation of the body may continue, although other social forms may be given up then. 

Narada mentions that according to the rishi Paraashar, bhakti is evidenced by an attraction towards worship and related rituals. According to rishi Garg, it manifests as an interest in stories related to the Lord. According to Shandilya, it is an unfettered immersion into the self. Narada, however, describes it as a state in which all activities (physical and mental) are offered up to the Lord, and in which forgetfulness of the Lord causes intense misery to the devotee. Just as was the case with the gopis. 

In the second chapter, bhakti has been called the greatest of all paths, because it is of the form of the result of the paths. In other words, bhakti is both the means and the end - whereas (it is perhaps being implied that) other paths are mainly the means to an end which is already captured in the path of bhakti. 

In the third chapter, the "methods" of bhakti have been "sung". The chapter starts by stating that the methods involve the devotee "giving up" lower pleasures and even association with people and being immersed always in devotion. When with the world, the devotee should continue to sing the praises of the Lord. All this, happens mainly by the grace of great souls and the grace itself happens because 

of His grace. Such souls (gurus, teachers) are no different from the Lord, so the devotee should focus on them alone, and them alone. 

The devotee is therefore advised to shun bad company - it leads to anger, lust, illusion and the well-known problems. Even if at first these may seem to have a small impact, they grow into giant waves of the sea if associated with. Only a devotee who shuns such company, serves the great souls, transcends the petty ego, removes the bondage of the world and the three gunas (modes of material nature - sattva, rajas and tamas), gives up excessive concern for bodily welfare, is beyond conflict, and even gives up the fruits of worldly action - only such a devotee crosses the ocean of maayaa (illusion) and helps others cross too. 

The fourth chapter metions that bhakti is beyond all qualities and is the finest of all perceptions, but it manifests differently depending upon gunas and conditions. The "Aarta" are people who remember the Lord due to a need while the "Arthaarthis" remember with the aim of achieving material rewards. The "jigyasus" are those who are seeking and the "Jnanis" are the ones who are in knowledge. The former are the lower kinds of devotees while the latter are the higher kinds. Again, it is emphasized that bhakti being its own result, is the easiest path to follow too. While lower desires, pride, anger, etc. are to be given up, that love which is beyond the three qualities (gunas) is to be inculcated more and more. Swami Vivekananda adds that all human feelings can be turned towards God to make them pure. Thinking of oneself as forever a servant of the Lord or a friend of the Lord are the main ways in which to think about the Lord. (Later, other manifestations of the feeling have also been mentioned.) In this way, transcending the separation between the worshiper and the worshiped, the task of devotion (love) is to be performed forever. 

In the fifth chapter, Narada says that when such a devotee arrives, even the Gods dance and the Earth gets a master (the earth becomes "sanaath"). For such a devotee, there are no barriers posed by caste , knowledge, form (gender), wealth, etc., because such devotees are His people. Arguments have no end, and therefore it is best to avoid them and focus on activities which enhance this devotion. Thoughts of pleasure and sorrow, desires and wants, gains and losses are all to be given up so that not a moment is wasted in activities other than the pursuit of this devotion. Non-violence, truthfulness, and other good behaviors are of course never to be given up. This devotion manifests in eleven different ways (attraction to worship, feeling of being a servant to God, feeling of being a friend of God, feeling of being a partner of God or married to God, feeling of oneness with God, etc.) but is the same essential feeling of devotion to the Lord. The book ends by stating that this ancient path has been this described by the author and the like of him without fearing the jeers of the world. Clearly, there was a time when people could not talk about oneness with God, or being married to God as a proper way to approach the spiritual. Because talk of oneness does not amount to experiencing oneness. And yet, it is equally clear that what we ordinarily mean by oneness (non-dualism) is not to be ignored as a mere construct of the mind. 

Sadanand Tutakne

Sri M: Living Light of the Nath Tradition

Sri M, born Mumtaz Ali in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) in 1948, has written of his transformation into a yogi, his years with his guru travelling to different places in the Himalayas, of mystical experiences before and after meeting his guru, and of later years at the Krishnamurti foundation and afterwards in his book "Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master - A Yogi's Autobiography". A few of these experiences have also been mentioned in freely available videos of his interviews and lectures. Even if only to force our minds to remain open to the possibility of higher dimensions of consciousness and existence, it seems worthwhile to go over some parts of his life story here. Or, even closer home, think of the purity of mind these stories create or the deep rest the heart of a believer gets when it learns of these things being true. Or, think of it as a story the great yogi wanted his friends to hear - for reasons we may not yet understand. Or just think of it as a "time-pass" with a joker friend of yours who thinks much of his games. All these are non-disturbing ways of thinking of these incredible events and would be conducive to learning. If you get excited and feel depressed that you are not at the same level as the yogi on these dimensions, you are likely to feed the disturbed mind that is always crying for one want or the other. Do you have your own way to calm the disturbed mind? If not, then don't let your visualization and imagination of your junior position vis-a-vis this yogi get the better of you. The book was written to help us. It is like prasaada at the end of a puja. It is like a snack shared amongst friends. It is like a gift from a parent to the child. Surely, the ancients who wrote in Sanskrit would have called these stories "milk fed by the mother to her child". We may call it the mother Ganges instead. So such is the nature of great stories. Some of the great old ones like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata also have metaphysical (esoteric) interpretations, but the stories still retain their full status as simple stories. So might the yogi have higher or other purposes in presenting his case, but it still retains its position as a "feel good" story. Compulsive believers have a compelling reason to partake of this prasaad. May it be auspicious. 

1. In early childhood, he was often disturbed by some nightmares but even in dreams, nothing ever harmed him. Both he and his younger sister were fairly studious, his sister even more than he. He heard of great sufis from one of his grandmothers and his father too had an interest in yoga and used to keep some books on yoga in his office. He liked to eat at some of his Hindu friends' place mainly because, he says, he did not get good idli sambhar elsewhere. 

2. His guru from the Himalayas first contacted him at his Kerala residence when he was nine years old. The yogi beckoned to him from under a jack-fruit tree in the courtyard of the house, blessed him and asked if he remembered anything. Sri M replied in the negative, and the yogi left after telling him that he would remember in due course of time. After this meeting, Sri M felt himself meditating spontaneously at night, and perceived soothing lights arising from the heart center or running up his spine. Even before this incident, Sri M was inclined towards the mystical, in the sense that when Swami Abhedananda from a nearby ashram would come to his part of the town singing devotional songs, Sri M would find the music very appealing to his heart.

3. He went to see a swami called Gopala Pillai who was visiting his friend's place. Gopala Swami touched his forehead as a blessing and Sri M was in waves of ecstacy. Overwhelmed, he ran to the jackfruit tree in the courtyard of his house. Slowly, the experience subsided. 

4. A librarian provided timely help by pointing to good spiritual books by a variety of authors - e.g., Swami Vivekananda, Madam Blavatsky, the Upanishads, etc. Sri M also read philosophers like Aristotle in those days.

5. At the age of 14, he met another mystic of high repute in the area called Kaladi Mastan. The mastan sportingly called him the big thief - the thief who had come to steal the mastan's treasure.The mastan was a wandering monk who kept almost no possessions, but at his touch, Sri M went into an ecstatic trance for 3 days. Shopkeepers who were around when the mastan blessed him told him when he came to that he had been in trance for three days. 

6. Two other mystics blessed him via dreams. Swami Abhedananda, who used to sing devotional songs with his troupe, happened to bless him around this time. That night, Sri M dreamt of himself as a gopi (cowherd girl) playing with Lord Krishna, the master yogi himself. Another mystic, Mai Maa, lived in rags and was followed everywhere by a few stray dogs who she often fed. Offering her some dosas, which she accepted, when Sri M returned home, he was blessed by her in a dream. He woke up feeling the energy within him and could not go to school that day because he was so "drunk" with the ecstasy. He writes that the night of the dream, he could barely walk due to the experience and that the feeling subsided only the next evening. 

7. During these early days, he also visited the shrine of a sufi saint named Beema Bibi, in whose name exorcisms were conducted at the shrine regularly. Once he ran away to meditate in a grove where many saints were said to have had illuminating experiences. The reason was that he found in the books he was reading, different statements made by two renowned yogis about the location of the heart center and was perplexed by that. At night, he got an answer from someone who seemed to know that Sri M was bound to come into association with Babaji - a legendary figure who is said to have maintained his young body for centuries, and is said to be the preceptor of Shri Lahiri Mahashaya, who revived Kriya Yoga in the modern world. 

8. With many such experiences guiding the way, Sri M finally decided to go to the Himalayas without informing his family. However, before that he did a "trial run" which was itself an experience. Finally he took the plunge, used the trains to reach Haridwar, and started searching for a true guru. Over the next few months, he stayed at different places like an ashram and once with a naga sadhu, and met practitioners of different kinds. Some were honest to the core and were living life according to their understanding of the scriptures, while others like a naga sadhu he met were addicted to their "chillum". None of them satisfied him fully, though, because they had no direct realization of God, or the higher dimensions of reality. He was told that although there were truly realized souls in the Himalayas, they were rare to find and that there were a fair number of fraudsters too. However, some of them really wished him well and wanted to help him and with their best wishes, Sri M carried on towards the higher regions of the Himalayas. He visited caves known to have been named after ancient rishis who were supposed to have meditated there and one fine day, was willing to throw himself into the cold waters of the Alakanandaa seeing no progress on the main aim of his life. That day, he met the same yogi who had visited him at his residence at the age of nine. The yogi knew about his travails and from where he had come, and giving him something to eat and drink, asked him to stay for a few days. As Sri M found out, this was Maheshwarnath Baba, disciple of the legendary Shri Guru Babaji (of Kriya Yoga fame), and a self-realized yogi himself. With Maheshwarnath Baba (or, Babaji, as Sri M calls him), Sri M spent three and a half most wonderful years, travelling across the Himalayas, witnessing miracles performed on occasion by Babaji (Maheshwarnath Babaji) to help someone or the other, meeting other siddhas and yogis from Tibetan and other traditions, learning from Babaji’s discourses on the upanishads or yoga, and practicing meditation or yogic exercises as taught by Babaji. At some point, he was officially initiated into the Nath tradition by Maheshwarnath Babaji, but was also informed that his role, later in life, was going to require him to go back to the world of ordinary humans, live external life like a regular householder, but also try to maintain the inner spiritual awakening while doing all that. Sri M was not keen to go back, but had learnt by then that the gurus knew best. 

9. On one particular evening, a ball of light which looked the size of the moon from a distance descended from the sky in front of the cave where Sri M and Babaji were resting with the “dhuni” (fire) lit in front of the cave. The ball seemed to be a vehicle, which opened up and allowed a large blue serpent to dismount. Babaji seemingly spoke snake-language with the large serpent and at the end, asked Sri M to bow to the creature. After the creature departed in the same spaqcecraft, Sri M inquired and learnt that there was a planet in the Milky Way where these highly evolved serpents lived and that the serpents have had a long-standing relationship with humans for centuries. They had taught humans many a thing in the early phases of human development, but could not continue on earth due to problems with humans later. The being who had come to see Babaji was simply called “Nagraj” by Babaji – since he was quite high on the administration of the planet according to Babaji. Babaji said that some disputes on the planet (Sarpalok as he called it) had still not been resolved despite the higher level of spiritual evolution of these beings and that Nagraj had visited him to discuss what could be done about those disputes. 

10. Samadhi or universal consciousness had to be bestowed upon Sri M by “other means” since there wasn’t enough time to get there via meditation. It was a simple dome-shaped instrument (perhaps made of some metal) which was placed on his head by two experts who had the sanction of his guru. They pressed the helmet-like structure on his head with the help of some strings and pressed on it. Sri M was first outside the body and then back in again. He then saw that in that state, consciousness had no center – this body or that, or even another heavenly body, anything could be called the center. When someone spoke to Sri M, he could feel his consciousness being within the speaker, as though it was himself speaking to himself. All these and many more amazing experiences have been recorded by Sri M for the reader’s benefit in his autobiographical book. It includes some of his experiences with J. Krishnamurti too, whom he met after Babaji asked him to go back to the “ordinary world” and work and live like a regular householder. There were also some remarkable experiences at Shirdi where he went with his guru. 

11. Sri M did marry many years later and has two children from the marriage. He waited for a signal from his guru before starting “satsangs” and discourses in which he could teach about spiritual matters. The association with Maheshwarnath Babaji continued even physically after his return to the regular world – even though it was rare. Once, Babaji asked him to come over to Mumbai where he was planning on helping a disciple’s family with a period of emotional stress. Babaji would surprise him by surprise meetings of this kind at times. Maheshwarnath Babaji – who used to look like a 30-year old for decades and may have lived for dozens of decades according to Sri M’s calculations – finally decided to exit his physical body many years later, after duly informing Sri M and transferring most of his capabilities to Sri M. Sri M buried the body as per the guru’s instructions. 

Over the years, Sri M has been speaking at universities, in the Indian Parliament, and on television too, spreading the light as best as he can. Most recently, in 2015, Sri M undertook a padayatra from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, stopping at various cities to talk to people and just bless them, if nothing. He has written that as a youngster, he learnt several magic tricks due to his interest in the field, so the present author is skeptical about the "ashes" he materializes in some of his interviews on freely available videos. In any case, he performs this trick adding that such siddhis are child’s play and not to be given much importance. Perhaps what is much more important to Sri M is that the learning of universal oneness be reflected in daily life, by somehow translating the Samadhi experience into a light which can guide all action.

Sadanand Tutakne

Ahimsa in the Gyaneshwari - "that utmost care is ahimsa"

The 13th chapter of the Bhagawad Geeta talks of what constitutes jnana or knowledge and mentions more than a dozen characteristics of knowledge. Where these characteristics are absent, knowledge (jnana) may be said to be absent. Among these characteristics, ahimsa or non-violence also appears. As with any virtue, it starts seeming impossible to practice when taken to an extreme. Another great virtue which also seems impossible to follow in extremes is pridelessness. When stretched to an extreme,  it raises issues like whether even feeding oneself is pride because it amounts to giving your own body some importance! Other couplets in the Geeta explicitly recommend that practitioners should not go for extreme forms of penance and hurt themselves out of misplaced pride, and a number of teachers over the centuries have also recommended the same. Following them, we may also do well to not go to extremes and hurt ourselves in trying to score more points on one dimension. Jnaneshwar (or, Gyaneshwar) in his commentary on the Geeta also reminds us not to hurt ourselves, but also does whatever he can to sensitize us to what ahimsa is. The present author hopes that the great yogi's teachings are not being misinterpreted here, due to limitations of translations or the learning and absorbing capacity of the present author. 

Dnyaneshwar - as his name is pronounced in Maharashtra - is said to have been initiated by his elder brother (Nivritti Nath) who in turn is said to have received his initiation from Gahini Nath, one of the nine great teachers in the Nath sect. The present author takes great joy in thinking of the light of the evening oil lamp as a blessing from the nath yogis. As such, he is confident that even if he made an error, the naths would correct it, but wouldn't it be even better if at least the essential meaning could be conveyed properly here - given the limits of knowledge of one who has not ever been in the superconscious state? So help me Jnanadev. What did you want us to take from there? 

Gyaneshwar starts his commentary on Ahimsa by stating that ahimsa has been interpreted differently by different authorities, but some interpretations amount to cutting and selling one's own hand and then buying food from the proceeds of the sale! In particular, the translation goes, the purva mimansa of Jaimini seems to preach non-violence through violence! The present author has not read the purva mimamsa and hence cannot comment on which statement Dnyaneshwar is referring to, but Gyaneshwar himself clarifies that the mimamsa recommends more yajnas if the rain gods need to be propitiated, but forgets that these yajnas are cruel to animals and plants. Gyaneshwar moves on to criticize Ayurveda too - elaborately describing how cruel it is to dig up the roots of a plant or to peel the bark of a full grown tree in the name of helping a human! He then chastises worldly-wise men who filter water before drinking but forget that many micro organisms die when water is filtered too! 

After these examples, he begs the listeners' forgiveness for the gory details in his commentary, but adds that he also plans to present his own view, and does not intend to stop after merely criticizing others.  

Then Gyaneshwar talks of the feet, the hands, the expressions and the state of mind of the non- violent. In a nutshell, the feet of the non-violent are always careful and never forget that a living being - even if only a microbe - may get injured if they perform carelessly. The hands never rise for fear that they may cause a disturbance in the atmosphere which may harm something or someone somewhere. However, they do rise to bless or help, or to serve the needy and then they perform these tasks with dexterity and ease. The non-violent gaze never falls upon anyone for fear that it may hurt something somewhere,  but if it does fall upon someone, then it is the most peaceful and benign of looks for the being on which it falls. Similarly for the breath, and of course, these outward signs happen only because the same is the csse with the mind. The person established in ahimsa gives up violence in outward action,  speech and in his mind. As the seed grows into a plant, the seed-thought of mental non-violence has the outward effects as mentioned above on all sense organs. 

Thus elaborating on non-violence, Jnanadev again apologizes for the lengthy discourse but adds that it was not done just out of passion. Rather, he says, it would have been inappropriate to only give his view without providing a critique of the contrary ones in this matter. 

Shades of light and darkness are involved in all karmas. Walk, says Jnaneshwar, and you would be killing some micro organisms. However,  he also adds in one place that fearing all this, some people advocate not even feeding their bodies, and in practicing these extreme disciplines, continue to hurt their own bodies, which is also violence of some kind. It seems, therefore, that Jnandev - like many commentators after him - also wants mankind to continue with works which are uplifting or essential. However, they are to be executed or performed with great caution to avoid hurt, wherever possible. That utmost care, taken when performing any action, is Ahimsa, according to the Gyaneshwari.  

Sadanand Tutakne

"Think out, feel out", says J. Krishnamurti

If there is one book by J. Krishnamurti which all can understand, it must be "The World Within", published by The Krishnamurti Foundation of India, and available in Indian bookstores. It seems that during the second World War, Krishnamurti did not make public speeches in the United States but continued advising people who would visit him in Ojai, California. The book is a collection of essays based on discussions Krishnamurti had with people from all walks of life during those days, and the essays seem to contain a clear and consistent advice across the dozens of essays. In a nutshell, Krishnamurti seems to be advising each of the questioners to "think out, feel out" each thought in the most expansive way possible, gain invaluable self-knowledge about the thinker in this way (including his less obvious motives, desires and confusions) and thereby enable the mind to get into deeper levels of silence and finally into truly "choiceless awareness" of all motions of the mind. Constant choiceless awareness of all aspects of the mind would finally bring clarity, integration of different layers of the conscious and unconscious mind, and would resolve conflicts and other problems of human life in a more fundamental way. 

While no summary given here should be expected to be a full substitute for the book, the present author hopes that this article will prove to be a fair summary of and a good pointer to the unparalleled wisdom in this book. Towards this end, a few of the essays have been selected and summarized below. Each essay is based on a conversation with a particular person who visited Krishhnamurti in those days to get his advice on a particular matter. The summaries are in my own language, but I hope that the message of Krishnamurti is still intact  - even where my words differ a bit from his. For example, the title "think out, feel out" may give the impression that thought is central to Krishnamurti's teachings in this book. That is true, but it should be also be kept in mind that deep thinking has been promoted in these essays as a means to arrive at that "choiceless awareness" of all activities of the mind, which is closer to the yogic idea of "thoughtless meditation" or "nirvikalpa samadhi", which has been upheld by teachers of all generations as "the" gateway to superconscious knowledge. Choosing these words for the title (and the words have been used by Krishnamurti himself in some of the essays) should not, therefore, be misunderstood as an attempt to downplay the place that "thoughtless awareness" has in yoga, or in the pursuit of  super-conscious knowledge in general.  

Chapter 1: Anger and Intolerance 

This is a 1-page chapter in which Krishnamurti points out to the quesioner that his anger towards a colleague was a result of his own attempts to make the colleage conform to a particular pattern, and therefore, the problem would persist even if he took up another job. Such patters breed thoughtlessness and prevent understanding of the circumstances. According to Krishnamurti, the  questioner would benefit much more by trying to understand the deeper reasons behind his own thoughtlessness rather than by being a slave to the environment and expecting the environment to change in his favor all the time. 

Chapter 2: The Voice of Reality? 

A lady who had now started meditating more regularly wanted to discuss whether the voice she heard was her intuition (and therefore enlightened) or merely the voice of tradition or thought playing in her head. Although the voice had been guiding her into more noble thoughts (like those of service to others), she had started doubting it too. Krishnamurti writes that meditation does not lead to enlightenment without understanding the course of desire. Deeper awareness of the "me" and the "mine", and of the process by which desire arises (via contact and habitual thinking patterns) and how it manifests itself in thought and action, would provide the right kind of self-knowledge which could then lead to right thinking. That right thinking would then be the beginning of right meditation. Meditation must not be based merely on mental formulations, even if noble. Right thinking based on self-knowledge is important.  

Chapter 3: The Joyous and Aching Problem of Birth and Death

A lady who had lost her son in the war came to discuss reincarnation and existence beyond the bodily life. Krishnamurti pointed out that a mind almost paralyzed with sorrow could not be expected to consider the problem of death adequately. If her loss was her main concern, then no theories and beliefs about the hereafter would really fill that void. He explained to her that hatred towards those who caused her son's death would only prevent the development of the state of mind which can experience reality. On the contrary, in transcending hate, anger and grief, the mind may become more compassionate and compassion could purify the mind and help it grow to the state where it would be ready to comprehend the timeless. Evil means do not produce good ends and violent means do not result in peace. Mothers on both sides were crying for their sons, and hating the mother on the other side was no solution to her own sorrow. With this introduction, Krishnamurti led her into her initial question about life after death, and the lady said that she would come back another time to discuss that. 

Chapter 5: Psychological Dependence 

A lady wanted to go over with Krishnamurti her psychological dependence on her husband and her environment. Although this dependence was not financial, it had yet resulted in nervousness and exhaustion and had made her a bit more quick-tempered. 

Krishnamurti advised her to be aware of the process of attachment and detachment that this dependence caused in her (i.e. the movement between aloofness and attachment which was set in motion by the dependence), but to do that without condemnation and judgement. This way, if she could guide her conscious mind into understanding all the reasons for her psychological dependence, then her unconscious mind would also slowly start projecting itself into the conscious mind. By pursuing this "method" again and again, the conscious and unconscious mind would start getting integrated and would work together to find the solution. The resuling integration of the mind, coupled with good diet and general health, would bring the needed fullness to her life.

Chapter 7: Lust is in the Mind

A man came to discuss how to overcome his all-powerful sexual appetite, to which he said he was a slave. He had tried joining different cults to transform the habit, and had also been seeking help from an analyst, on whom he was becoming more and more dependent. What was the way out? 

Krishnamurti reminded him that love was not just a sensation - it was a quality felt when there was no awareness of the petty self. It is a great creative force and without understanding and releasing this creativity, sexual release would inevitably become a burden and a problem. To release this creative energy requires understanding and transforming desire and craving. Each desire further deepens the grooves of habits in the mind, and many such desires, when not understood and transformed, add up to create lust. To be free of this gigantic momentum of lust, the man would do well to practice awareness of each desire at the deepest possible level. Each time he chooses awareness over dark habitual patterns, the light of self-knowledge will deepen and ultimately dispel the darkness of the earlier habitual thought patterns. When this process is followed with regard to all thoughts and feelings, the awareness and self-knowledge will lead to right thinking, which will liberate thought from the sense of the "me" and "mine" and bring forth the realization of that love which is of the highest. 

Chapter 10: A Different Standard of Living

A doctor approached Krishnamurti with his dissatisfaction with his own medical practice. He said he was earning lots of money and prescribing pills and medicines, but felt that medicines were only a temporary relief and that true healing of patients required a very different approach. To try that, however, would mean that he may have to give up his present standard of living and that might bring forth resistance from the near and dear as well. 

Krishnamurti explained that in giving in to various pressures to maintain a high standard of living, we would be helping create a mechanical and cruel world of competition and pride. The doctor agreed to that. Krishnamurti went into whether the doctor was himself ready to change and lead a simple life, if that is where deep reflection and understanding led him. The doctor asked how that could be made possible, and Krishnamurti explained to him the need to practice choiceless awareness of each thought, motive and feeling, whether conscious or unconscious, because without the "right thinking" explained in other chapters, there could be no peace and no love. Krishnmurti ends the chapter by saying that he explained to the doctor what is really involved in this arduous task of developing right thinking and self-knowledge.   

Chapter 21: Not by Bread Alone

A man said that "socialism was his religion" and that "bread for all" was the highest goal for which even liquidation of people who stood in the way of this socialism was acceptable. The means may be violent but the ends justified it, said the man. 

Krishnamurti says the man was surprised when Krishnamurti started off by asking him if bread held first place in his own life. The man replied that that was not so. Krishnamurti explained that by giving primary importance to matters which were secondary would not solve the confusion of the world. While  man could not survive without bread, giving bread (or, baser human tendencies) the primary role in life had itself created a world of sensate values, of authority, ruthlessness and bloodshed. The end of these baser tendencies did not lie in violent changes or revolts which give in to the opposite. Opposites create their own opposites, says Krishnamurti, and there is no solution in the opposites. In giving in to violent anger against the system, man would not be going beyond the lust (or, craving) for power or personal immortality. The solution to these opposites was in using the right means - love and peace - to transcend the problem of opposites. 

Chapter 34: Prayer, A Complex Affair

A man aggressively demanded of Krishnamurti why prayer was not part of his prescribed methods and why Krishnamurti focused only on meditation and did not concern himself with prayer. He insisted that prayer was an integral part of the pursuit of the divine and prayer according to some traditionally well-respected processes had been known to produce results. 

Krishnamurti starts by writing that prayer is a complex affair and is offered for a variety of different ends. There is prayer for worldly ends but there is also prayer to experience "reality" or God. While many of these prayers often bring forth particular results, the subtle process of "demanding and supplicating", "begging and offering" continues and it needs to be considered whether these mental processes themselves bring forth an understanding of ultimate reality. The dualism inherent in us, which divides the prayerful and the prayed to, needs to be carefully understood as a mental process guided by conscious or unconscious motives. By constant choiceless awareness, when craving in all its forms is deeply understood without condemnation or judgement, then the processes of dualism start withering away. The distinctions between the one praying and the one being prayed to, start falling away and it is this understanding which can make the mind ready for perceiving reality. The delusions of craving - even if noble - are not, by themselves, the road to happiness. 

Chapter 42: The Dull and the Sensitive Areas

A man mentioned to Krishnamurti his increasing dullness and lack of interest in most matters, whether business and politics or his personal interests. There were still a select few areas which were not yet in the same category, but for the most part, things were becoming dull and routine and nothing seemed to interest him much. There was no real need to earn much anymore, because he had savings, etc., and needs were therefore taken care of.

Krishnamurti writes that it is unproductive to fight the areas of the mind which are already dull. The more we work on the dull areas, the more confusion it leads to. Rather, the man should work on those areas of his mind which are still lively and in deepening these areas, through an oblique approach, one could hope to reviviffy the other dull areas of the mind too. Starting with these areas, persistent awareness of all thought-feeling could slowly start spreading the light of self-awareness to other areas as well. Entering a gardenn only through our chosen door amounts to being obstinate and obstinacy leads to dullness, not to expanding awareness. The oblique way of working further on areas of the mind which were still lively could give hope. 

Chapter 76: In Seeking the Real, Bread will be Supplied

Here, Krishnamurti deals with the question of distant spiritual goals and whether they are a help or a hindrance in discovering reality. He starts out by asserting that there is no beginning and end - rather, greed of achievement creates these. The "distant goals" inspire us mainly when the present is not fully understood. In that situation, the lure of a distant goal, and the feeling that we may achieve it some day, create their own comfort of a distant but possible improvement. Yet, if the present is not understood in its full significance, there is little hope of improvement in the future because what is not understood, persists, and the confused reality of the present creates a confused future. Ignorance is to be understood and transformed now - as it arises. As a tree dies when its branches are repeatedly cut as soon as they arise, so also does ignorance get transformed into wisdom if it is understood and transformed every moment, as it arises. That which is understood, ceases to be, while that which has not been dealt with adequately, continues into the future. Reality is always new and patterns of confused memory coupled with the desire for security, are not the means to understand it. The questioner of course asks that if all reality is truly new and therefore uncertain, then how can we even expect to earn our daily bread? Krishnamurti replies that in seeking the real, bread will be supplied, but if we seek only bread, then even that will be destroyed. Bread is not of ultimate value to man, but making it of primary value leads to a society of murder and starvation. The advice, then, is to seek the eternal through the transient. As Krishnamurti puts it, "there is no path to it because it is the ever-present".   

As an end-note, the author of this article would like to make another note on the title's suggestion to "think out, feel out" in the deepest and most expansive way possible. Is this to be taken to an extreme and called the only method which can be of help in any and every circumstance? While Krishnamurti recommends it, and while the present author has no claims to any similar spiritual experiences, it seems clear that there could be a few situations where an aspirant finds it easier to calm his/her mind by a distracting thought. Technically, that may be different from 'thinking out, feeling out" in the most expansive way, but let us note that the same book says that working on the dull areas of the mind is often unproductive. Therefore, it would perhaps be easy enough for readers to accept that even the method given here - that of thinking and feeling out in the deepest possible way - may need to be combined judiciously with other "techniques" and "methods" in a few peculiar situations. When the problem of excessive craving comes up as a large enemy battalion on the horizon, all tools should be kept handy. That does not, in any way, mean that there is no place for the longer-term and time-tested strategy in a war. 

Sadanand Tutakne 

Buddhyaa Dhriti Griheetayaa (or, Hold your mind, Sadhu!)

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and looking at the newspapers earlier in the morning had  brought a great sense of peace. So much so, that the daily breathing exercise was given up in favour of tea and breakfast. It seems that brought some guilt with it, or maybe all things are transient anyway, so the great peace which came via a look at the newspapers was lost and the present author was just a bit sad at noticing that. Then it was time to try some time tested tactics and tricks on the mind because, believe  me, they do work many times. Most of the times, I think. So the mental tricks were attempted - for example, trying to tell the mind not to crave an experience as J Krishnamurti has said. Of course, so have others. Some time later, it seemed clear that the problem today was perhaps more biological than mental. So after some partial success with the mental method, one great biological device was put to use - looking out the window at the calm Sunday noon sunlight!  It was clear to me that the trick would work, and I am not surprised it actually did. Half of the peace felt in the morning was back instantaneously.

A few months ago, a copy of the Ashtaavakra Gita was graciously gifted to me by the grace of the elders in the family. Actually,  it is a lecture series given in the early nineties by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Since the Ashtaavakra gitaa is a pure non-dualistic text, it often goes into the deepest Advaitic ideas which are not easy to verbalize.  To those who have not been reading such texts, it can give the impression that the world is being called meaningless  and that it is therefore only for the monks. Sri Sri provides very detailed comments on some selected points and makes sure that we don't go back with misconceptions like the idea that non-dualism means favoring laziness or un-creativeness or being unenthusiastic.  So the book is more a lecture by Sri Sri and I will here refrain from saying anything much about the Ashtaavakra text itself. Of course it is a text in the loftiest of the Advaitic traditions and surely we need all the help we can get to apply these ideas in life.
I found three points very illuminating in the book, and perhaps there would have been many more had I not read Advaitic texts many times before. In other words, being exposed to these ideas for many years now, I did not find many of the ideas "new" and so the ideas I have selected below are simply the ones which appealed the most to me. Each of us might find many other ideas and explanations in the book very illuminating and so all are invited to read the lectures for themselves.

1. The first is a sentence somewhere in the book where Sri Sri says that when we get agitated, we can see that the unconscious mind has started to chatter. Conscious awareness of someone's behaviour does not cause much agony,  but when unconscious chatter starts, the mental problems multiply. Later authors like Eckhart Tolle have of course brought home the importance of conscious awareness extremely clearly, and so do other texts on yoga allude to this point, but somehow, something clicked when I read this sentence in  the Sri Sri lectures too.

2. The second idea is in a chapter named "Honoring the secret", and that is the idea itself. Being used to thinking of open sharing of knowledge as the best thing, this idea was a bit different from my usual ones, but upon reading the chapter, all my doubts were put to rest. Honoring the secret does not mean that spreading knowledge is bad. All it means is that the true understanding of these matters is revealed when heart and soul is put into serious efforts and Sadhanaa to realize the truth of what is  being said. The secret is that it has to be discovered,  and to practice the methods requires some inner respect for the ideas. By constantly falling prey to contrary ideas, the practitioner will prevent those very actions from being undertaken which can help him understand what is being said. So putting some effort into correctly understanding is better than constantly allowing opposite thought patterns to take over. Speaking without understanding may be another such behaviour pattern, although the book is mostly talking about contrary thought patterns which need to be dropped in favor of right understanding.  To that extent, occassionally not speaking, at least before understanding,  might also be helpful, and so, honoring the secret is far from preventing the spread of knowledge - it is rather exhorting people to understand better instead of falling prey to contrary impulses. It is common knowledgebin India that gurus give to disciples what is right for them and that can be different for different disciples. That is another reason to honor the secret, but the recommendation here is a positive one, not a negative one. It helps create the right psychological framework to put the ideas into practice. This is no negative rule to prevent the spread of knowledge.

3. The third idea which appears in some other lectures of Sri Sri too, is that words coming from the Guru are not special in themselves and need not be uncommon. Rather, it is the blessings which come along with the words which are important and which are supposed to help the practitioner in different subtle ways. How one person receives those can differ from another. Whether it will be a dream for one or a wave of bliss in meditation for another  is difficult to predict, but the words have power and that then makes the words special. Hence, the practitioner  is advised not to think of how simple or complex is the mantra given to him or  her, but rather honestly get involved with the practice so that he (or she) may understand.

Sadanand Tutakne

On Desire

This article is just late in the sense that it was planned weeks ago and was "wisely" postponed so that the author could "reflect" some more on it. However, those noble plans never materialized, so here is what the plan was to write a few weeks ago.

This topic becomes interesting because of some common questions people have about it. Perhaps the most important question is whether all desires are bad. To answer this question, I would first refer the reader to Paramahansa Yoganandaji's article called "The Desire that Satisfies All Desires", where he says that desires can be classified in to those that help us find God and those that obstruct our finding him. Retaliation and anger are of the second kind and forgiveness and love (kindness) are of the first kind. Desires are shaped by our environment and the worldly environment indeed takes peoples' attention away from God, unless they remind themselves that God is the only way to perfect peace and happiness and seek Him out in their daily lives. Let me remind the reader that Maharshi Patanjali's Yoga Darshan also mentions that vrittis (tendencies of the mind) are of two kinds - klishta (those rooted in separative consciousness) and aklishta (less/not rooted in separative consciousness). The second kind of tendencies are not obstructive in the path of Yoga. The control or elimination which Yoga seeks is of the first kind of vrittis.

This does not, however, mean that there is no scope for confusion here. The Yoga Darshan itself talks of "Dharma-megha samaadhi", which is attained when even the interest in retaining the higher knowledge (prasankhyaan) obtained in states of samaadhi is given up. Of course, when the place of prasankhyaan in Yoga is understood, this follows more naturally. According to Shrimat Swaami Hariharaananda Aaranya, the gross forms of the kleshas (separative tendencies born out of Ignorance of the underlying Unity consciousness) are to be made subtle by kriya yoga or concentration, the subtle forms are to be further reduced to the form of burnt seeds (which can't flower anymore) by using the contrasting higher knowledge gained in samaadhi (prasankhyaan) and there is a final state of complete dissolution of the "chitta" (heart or mind) too, wherein there is no more any need to keep the prasankhyaan consciously active in the mind. Work is then (always) performed out of the highest discrimination - which never then diminishes - and therefore there is no longer a need to use the prasankhyaan knowledge to further reduce the kleshas. When understood this way, the message becomes clearer, but such references in texts and other places can sometimes confuse common people who have not had the opportunity to "learn it all". There is a very common saying amongst people that "even the desire for emancipation is a desire" and these kinds of statements can confuse those who have not had the time to seek out the details.

And that is not all. Daily life also brings out situations where people have to rebel against desire. Think of a student constantly dreaming of his goal in life to the point where his days and nights are spent mainly "wanting" and not executing on the intermediate steps that he has been told will help him gain that particular knowledge. Or a person with a big project in mind who can never begin. On the other hand is the person who has "torn himself away" from the want of success for a few weeks and has settled down to executing the intermediate steps. Haven't we seen in our own lives that this kind of "mere acceptance of fate"  often leads to success whereas the constant and painful "want" for success just acts as a distraction until it is given up? The same is the state of a beginner in meditation (perhaps any exercise which needs some conscious effort). The "want" may be acute, but until the conscious mind forces the first step, inertia never allows success to come near in that particular exercise.

So these kinds of daily lessons also point to the fact that there are situations where desire needs to be put under conscious control even to achieve what one desires! This adds to the feeling that all desire needs to be controlled or won over - including the desire for God. This, then, can be a source of confusion in the seeker's mind too and pose questions like whether even the desire for emancipation is "bad". For such seekers, the words of experts like Paramahansa Yogananda and Maharshi Patanjali can help clarify - at least to an extent.

One of our Upanishads also says that the Self reveals itself not because of any particular exercise routine or discipline, but because of the act of seeking itself, so this again points to the idea that all desire is not be given up by beginners. The beginner is perhaps better advised to follow the distinction between "good" and "bad" desires, until that other understanding arises in which the questions and the related confusions are eliminated and replaced by wisdom. What happens in that state can be left for some other day. It is difficult to say whether desire never arises in that state, but casual reading of lives of saints suggests that even if they do arise, they are dealt with with wisdom, because of which it is said that the response is always "perfect".

A second question related to desire is what happens when the beginner starts actioning upon the desire to achieve the goal. I believe this is where the yogic discussion of gross versus subtle kleshas comes in again. Once we action upon a desire, we convert it from a mere distraction to an actionable inspiration or in some cases into a "need". Desire in its "need" form is very actionable and helpful in bringing peace and stability to the mind too, because the actions then start following the need, creating lesser conflict. Over time, though, it is possible that some subtle distractions (desires in their disturbing form) still remain in some form in the mind, and it is these that Yoga advises to further reduce to a "burnt-seed" form by keeping the higher knowledge in one's mind (consciously). In an even more advanced stage, no such contrasting knowledge might be needed, because there seems to be a state where the kleshas just go back to where they arose from, never to arise again. This, it seems, is the "prati-prasava" (opposite of creation) of the seeker in Patanjali. So the actioning in the present might not be the complete end of the story, but according to the Yoga teachers, it at least takes us part of the way.

A final question is whether all wants except those for God are "bad". Here again, the advice from various sources seems to be to be practical and make progress starting where we are, rather than doing violence to ourselves due to our conceptions about the highest possible state of consciousness. Some modern teachers have said that we should let the practice do it for us, rather than forcing ourselves to do what we are not really prepared for. Some have said that there is no need to go to the jungles. Others have said that all good human emotions can be retained as long as one turns them towards God, so there is no need to give up our emotions altogether. So maybe energy is frittered away in conflicting desires and emotions, but the advice seems to be "to seek God first", and not to crush all emotions first. When wisdom comes, it is said that the rightful place of all these will be clear to the seeker through an unfailing intuition or understanding of the Supreme or some other similar source.  

Sadanand Tutakne

On Anger

Like desire, anger is probably a favourite topic of discussion for the philosophically oriented. In the Bhagwad Gita, it has been said that anger leads to a sort of hypnosis, which destroys memory and thereby intelligence. Even in common discussions, educated people mostly do not disagree that this kind of deep and/or persistent anger is to be avoided. That brings us to the question of whether anger is fine in smaller bits - especially where it can help you keep healthy (or, preserve your sanity).

Here, at least a few situations come to mind where the answer might still be "no". Firstly, say this smaller anger was a cause of hurt to some people, maybe on a recurring basis. Kind-hearted people would naturally want to reduce instances like these. Another situation is where the "small" anger has become a habit. Once a tendency to get angry everywhere is developed, the angry person is likely to feel depleted of energy every now and then, simply because of the frequency and the intensity of the emotion. Even if the anger is not always expressed, the fatigue is likely to show up because the "energies" are being depleted anyway. A third is a situation where the person feels that the anger is always justified by his/her logic. This might not deplete as much energy, but even here, the person could be creating more isolation for himself/herself, so it might be better to be cautious even in these cases.

In a few situations, where both parties ensure that the anger does not drain so much energy and actually try to clear the atmosphere, we might end up with a great solution to the particular situation even after getting angry. However, simply because of such experiences, we might further strengthen our general tendency to get angry, or, we might be strengthening the bonds of maya (seperate egoistical consciousness), and who knows what the final effect might be?

Now let's make the jump I want to make here and accept for now that we want to avoid anger. The few scriptures we read don't clearly define the situations where anger is good or the extent to which it should be encouraged, so we go with an overall feeling that it is better to avoid it than indulge in it. Even when teaching small children how to behave in day-to-day situations, it is not clear that deep anger helps - what they need is some clear direction, and not our deep resentment towards their mischief or their laziness on that day. 

So for now, let's assume that the scriptures do ask us to overcome anger because it is in the interests of higher spiritual development. Is there a method that works? Of course, no method works without our will, and if the will is very strong, maybe no method will be needed. Yet, some of us, I'm sure, would have felt that techniques and methods also help where the will is strong but not perfect yet. It is mainly for this group that I would like to share a set of two ideas which I gathered from some articles written by someone who is highly revered in my family. I am not giving the name here - let's just call him Swamiji for now. However, his revered status in my eyes is important because that further helped me pay attention to the words.

In one article, Swamiji says that while the total cessation of "prapanch" (worldly life, or the "street-smart" activities we have to sometimes pursue to lead a worldly life, or to elaborate, the delusional activities done under the influence of "maya") is not possible (probably said for the practitioner, not for the self-realized), it is still important (for the practitioner) to control its "saamraajya bhaav" (i.e., aggressive or overwhelming role in daily life). In a different article, he says that while the ego (ahankaara) is multi-faceted, it has four main "branches" or manifestations. Since that essay was written in Hindi, let me mention the four manifestations in Hindi itself. They are:

(a) cheezon ke milne se hone waalaa sukh (the pleasure of getting things),
(b) na milne se hone waalaa dukkh (the displeasure at not getting them),
(c) apamaan (insult), aur (and)
(d) apayash (infamy).

Now let us put these 2 together. If anger is our problem, the first idea tells us that even if it is impossible for an ordinary practitioner to completely eliminate it, we would do well to bring its overwhelming influence under control.

The second idea then tells us that the insult or displeasure we feel is one of the four main manifestations of an over-sized ego (over-sized for the spiritual aspirant at least), and hence is good to control and down-size it. Together, they make a super recipe for controlling anger and other toxic emotions which can all too often sway us, if we choose to stay that way. 

I am sure there would be many other such sayings and teachings in all the well-known scriptures, but today, I do not have a ready compilation of such teachings from those well-known sources. Needless to say, whatever we respect a lot, we can pick and try to emulate. In that sense, the power lies in our own mind and not in the words. Then again, from a different point of view, the words really need to carry that power too!

Sadanand Tutakne