Saturday, February 2, 1884
MASTER (to Mahima Chakrabarty): “Now let me tell you something that will agree with your mood. According to the Vedānta one has to know the real nature of one’s own Self. But such knowledge is impossible without the renunciation of ego. The ego is like a stick that seems to divide the water in two. It makes you feel that you are one and I am another. When the ego disappears in samādhi, then one knows Brahman to be one’s own inner consciousness.
“One must renounce the ‘I’ that makes one feel, ‘I am Mahima Chakravarty’. ‘I am a learned man’. and so on. But the ‘ego of Knowledge’ does not injure one. Śankarāchārya retained the ‘ego of Knowledge’ in order to teach mankind.
“One cannot obtain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one is extremely cautious about women. Therefore it is very difficult for those who live in the world to get such Knowledge. However clever you may be, you will stain your body if you live in a sooty room. The company of a young woman evokes lust even in a lustless man.
“But it is not so harmful for a householder who follows the path of knowledge to enjoy conjugal happiness with his own wife now and then. He may satisfy his sexual impulse like any other natural impulse. Yes, you may enjoy a sweetmeat once in a while. (Mahimacharan laughs.) It is not so harmful for a householder.
“But it is extremely harmful for a sannyāsi. He must not look even at the portrait of a woman. A monk enjoying a woman is like a man swallowing the spittle he has already spat out. A sannyāsi must not sit near a woman and talk to her, even if she is intensely pious. No, he must not talk to a woman even though he may have controlled his passion.
“A sannyāsi must renounce both ‘woman’ and ‘gold’. As he must not look even at the portrait of a woman, so also he must not touch gold, that is to say, money. It is bad for him even to keep money near him, for it brings in its train calculation, worry, insolence, anger, and such evils. There is an instance in the sun: it shines brightly; suddenly a cloud appears and hides it.
“That is why I didn’t agree to the Mārwāri’s depositing money for me with Hriday. I said: ‘No, I won’t allow even that. If I keep money near me, it will certainly raise clouds.’
“Why all these strict rules for a sannyāsi? It is for the welfare of mankind as well as for his own good. A sannyāsi may himself lead an unattached life and may have controlled his passion, but he must renounce ‘woman and gold’ to set an example to the world.
“A man will have the courage to practise renunciation if he sees one hundred percent renunciation in a sannyāsi. Then only will he try to give up ‘woman and gold’. If a sannyāsi does not set this example, then who will?
“One may lead a householder’s life after realizing God. It is like churning butter from milk and then keeping the butter in water. Janaka led the life of a householder after attaining Brahmajnāna.
“Janaka fenced with two swords, the one of jnāna and the other of karma. The sannyāsi renounces action; therefore he fences with one sword only, that of knowledge. A householder, endowed with knowledge like Janaka’s, can enjoy fruit both from the tree and from the ground. He can serve holy men, entertain guests, and do other things like that. I said to the Divine Mother, ‘O Mother, I don’t want to be a dry sādhu.'
“After attaining Brahmajnāna one does not have to discriminate even about food. The rishis of olden times, endowed with the Knowledge of Brahman and having experienced divine bliss, ate everything, even pork.
(To Mahima)“Generally speaking there are two kinds of yoga: karmayoga and manoyoga, that is to say, union with God through work and through the mind.
“There are four stages of life: brahmacharya, gārhasthya, vānaprastha, and sannyās. During the first three stages a man has to perform his worldly duties. The sannyāsi carries only his staff, water-pot, and begging-bowl. He too may perform certain nityakarma, but his mind is not attached to it; he is not conscious of doing such work. Some sannyāsis perform nityakarma to set an example to the world. If a householder or a man belonging to the other stages of life performs action without attachment, then he is united with God through such action.
“In the case of a paramahamsa, like Śukadeva, all karmas—all pujā, japa, tarpan, sandhyā, and so forth—drop away. In this state a man communes with God through the mind alone. Sometimes he may be pleased to perform outward activities for the welfare of mankind. But his recollection and contemplation of God remain uninterrupted.”
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