Part II >

Sri Swamigal has been rendering ‘Upanyãsam’ (discourses), in Tamizh, in Premika Bhavanam. This is being brought to you here.

There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãsam’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamigal.

Premika Bhavanam - January 20 , 2001 - Saturday

Sri Swamigal,

"HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE"

"Why does Bhagavan who is 'sarva vyãpi’ - omnipresent need a temple? Why worship Him, who is present everywhere, in a temple? ‘Vishnu’ means omnipresent. Omnipresent means it is He who pervades all Beings. It is He who is verily all ‘jiva rãsis’ - creatures. We offer Him ‘naivedya’ - food offering. He who is ‘nitya tripthan’ - ever content; why does He need to be offered food? Why perform ‘thirumanjanam’ - bathing the Lord to One who is ‘nitya shuddan’ - ever clean - pure? What does He benefit from all these? We decorate Him in various clothes, offer flowers, garlands. Why? What does Bhagavan gain from such offerings from us? NOTHING! All THESE ARE PERFORMED ONLY TO PURIFY US!

To cleanse ourselves! What use is it if one says that he sees everything as Vasudeva - the Lord but fails to see himself as Vasudeva. Only if you first see yourself as Vasudeva can you see everything else as Vasudeva. It is said, ‘Sarvam Brahma Mayam’ - Everything is Brahman. A ‘jiva’ cannot see Brahman. As long as it remains as a ‘jiva’ he cannot see Brahman. We entertain differences such as likes/dislikes, good/bad. With this sort of a nature that perceives ‘ragadvesham’ - differences how can one ‘see’ Brahman? We call Hanuman (the Monkey-God who assisted Lord Rama in searching out His wife Sita) as Vãyu Puthra - the son of the wind. Why? Hanuman represents the mind. ‘Vãyu’ means wind. The mind is akin to a wind. The wind blows very fast and so does the mind. It is ever rushing from one thought to another. The movement of the mind is faster than the wind. When we sit down with our eyes closed we find how fast it moves. The mind is a monkey! It is continuously jumping from one thought to another. Innumerable thoughts rise up, one after another. The face reflects the thoughts within. The body and the mind have a connection. When someone is worried over something it is reflected on the face, for, don’t we ask him, "Is something worrying you? You seem so worried over something." Or if the person is bogged down by some grief, his face appears sad and when he experiences some happiness we are able to make out from his face and behaviour. Lord Rama is likened to Bhagavan, Sita to jiva and here, in this context, Hanuman likened to the mind. Everything is only in the mind. Likes and dislikes are all the work of the mind. If we offer worship to Bhagavan with this sort of a mind it amounts to slinging mud on Him. So with this sort of a mental make up how can we do ‘dhyãna’ - meditation? Therefore, cleanse it first and then meditate. And it is for this that the Mahatmas have built temples and installed their tapas in the idols to help us channelise our minds towards Bhagavan. All cannot take to meditation immediately. Only an ‘adhikari’ - the able can do it. One who does meditation always sits upright/erect.

Krishna blesses Arjuna with all the ways and means to attain the Lord. After blessing him, Krishna warns Arjuna, "Do not tell this to all and sundry. All are not merited to hear these. I have given you what I had given to the Sun and Manu." Arjuna questions Krishna, "I have been born now in these times. And so are you. How is it that You claim to have taught these to the Sun and Manu?" Krishna points out to Arjuna, "You have been born out of ‘karma’ - past deeds while I come down at my own Will. We have both been together in many ‘janmãs’ - lives. I am aware of how many ‘janmãs’ I have passed through and how many more ‘janmãs’ I shall pass through. (And pointing to the huge army on the battle field of Krukshetra) I also know everyone of these people on the battle field, what they were, what they are and what will they be!"

Therefore, one should cleanse the mind first and then move to ‘dhyãna’. So, we worship the Lord in a form, in a temple. We perform ‘Thiruvãrãdhanam’, ‘archana’, decorate Him with garlands, adorn Him with various silk clothes, take Him out on procession, etc. By turning the mind towards such virtuous deeds it is cleansed. We all seek happiness. But those that are sought through worldly pursuits are only temporary. To exert the mind towards attainment of worldly comforts is a wasteful exercise. We see everyone enjoying worldly comforts. Even those who possess no devotion towards the Lord enjoy material benefits. Even an atheist enjoys worldly comforts. Then will not the one who is devoted to the Lord receive what is needed? Whatever has to happen will happen and that which will not, shall not take place. If the daughter or son is not married yet, she/he will sooner or later get married. Everything occurs as per Bhagavan’s Will. We propose and Bhagavan disposes! If everything were in our hands then all the occurrences in our lives should be as we plan. But it is not so. Bhagavan takes care of everything. Just surrender and remain quiet. Be a ‘prapannan’ - the surrendered! If something else seems important/greater to you, it only goes to show that your mind has not fully set on Bhagavan. On death we only dispose of one body and take on another.

The fetus in the womb of the mother suffers untold miseries. It floats on its own urine and excreta into which the mother’s also mingles. The food that the mother eats also finds its way in here. The stagnated liquid produces germs that bite into the soft skin of the fetus. The bacteria in the liquid affect the fetus. This causes severe pain to the fetus. While lying in the womb it is aware of the life that awaits it.

We are unable to face any sorrow and run around for relief. But, there is no end to these sorrows. Is there? When one sorrow is removed another comes up making the earlier one seem trivial! There is none in the world who has not experienced sorrow at one time or another. So, do not be bogged down by these. How should one go about it? Remember that ‘Jagat mithyai’ - this world is illusory. Keep on practicing this in your mind. When you are ridden with some sorrow tell yourself, "This world is illusory. How then can this sorrow be real? It is also illusory". This will surely help you. Bhagavat Pãdã (Adi Sankara) says, “Lakshmi Nrisimha mama dehi karãvalambam”^*. Din it into your head, through continuous practice, that this world is an illusion. Will a shadow entrance anyone? Say, the shadow of some fruits is seen. Will he think he should eat it? He is aware it is a mere shadow and remains unaffected by it. When you are faced with any sorrow just look at it as a ‘sãkshi’ - witness.

One should develop ‘vairagyam’ - dispassion. Only then will meditation become natural. There is a ‘koopam’ - pond into which a lot of dirt has been thrown. The water in the pond is covered with ‘pãsi’ - moss. But when these are removed the clear water is seen. The pure water is deep down near the bottom of the pond. When all the dirt and the moss covering the water is pushed aside the pure water is obtained. Similarly, cleanse the mind of its dirt through your services to the Lord, installed in the temples by Mahatamas and then do dhyãna. There are several ways shown by the Mahatmas to attain bhakti and ‘jnãnam’ - Knowledge. What does one seek of a Jnãni? --- ‘Bless me with Jnãna!’ Demand Bhagavan Himself! He will give Himself to you. In earlier ages people went to a Jnãni seeking knowledge - removal of their ignorance. Meera, Tukãram, Thiagaraja, all these Mahatamas did not bless people with material benefits nor did they remove their worldly sorrows. They were forever singing, dancing the praises of the Lord and taught devotion to those who came to them. In earlier times the Mutts did not try to uplift the people socially but their aims were spiritual upliftment. It was only much later that social activities were undertaken.

Vittoba was a ‘vairagyasãli’ - deeply dispassionate person. His mind was set upon attainment of the goal set for this life. He had won over all his ‘indriyas’ - senses. Nothing affected him, neither happiness nor sorrow. There was no happiness or sorrow experienced by him. He sought nothing of the Lord. His mind was set on embracing an ascetic life. One night, he lay on the banks of the Chandrabãgha river in Pandaripuram. Lord Panduranga and His wife Rukmini are on their rounds. Wherever there is a temple, the God of that temple goes wandering around at night. Looking at this lone Vittoba, Rukmini’s heart goes out to him. She points out Vittoba to Panduranga and requests of Him, "Please do something for Vittoba". Panduranga asks, "What do you want me to do?" Rukmini said, "Find a nice girl for him to marry".

To be continued....

*Adi Sankara (Bhagavat Pãdã, Acchãryãl) during his wandering encountered a group of Kãpãliis. These Kãpãliss wished to perform human sacrifice. When they saw Bhagavat Pãdã they caught hold of him and said to him that he was going to be used by them for their human offering. Bhagavat Pãdã told them happily, "All these days I thought that this body of mine was of no use. But if it could come of some use to you, well, I am only too happy to offer it!" But just as they were going to offer his body, Lord Lakshmi Nrisimha saved him from the Kãpãliis. He questions Lord Nrisimha, "Nrisimha! Why did you save me?"(!) It only proves that Bhagavat Pãda was not merely preaching that we have a mistaken notion that we are this body. We are not this body but are Pure Consciousness.

Part II >

NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.

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