quotes4
Even an imperfect practice of this yoga destroys the effects of past sins."
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Maharishi identifies the source of thought as infinite, therefore every thought starts out as an entirely life-supporting and right pulse of energy and intelligence -- it is only when thoughts travel through the restrictions of a stressed or limited mind that they are malformed into less-than-good pulses.
Thousand names of Vishnu (793) Ratnanaabhah - "Of beautiful navel." Text books of Bhakti-cult advise devotees that they should meditate upon the Lord's navel-point, as a flashy, brilliant jewel (Ratna). This point of concentration is not without significance. The mystics of India long ago explored the percentage of human action that is grossly manifest at the physical level. Today also, psychologists confess that they have no other knowledge beyond the obvious fact that thoughts express themselves as actions. But deeply meditative mystic enquirers delved deeper to detect and chart the story of actions. In their adventurous explorations, they discovered that in seed form all thoughts are with the Infinite (Para) before manifestation. From this womb they become manifest and an individual becomes dimly aware of thoughts in their embryo form -- vague and still incompletely unformed (Pasyantee). Thereafter, the thoughts get translated into expressions (Madhyamaa) and in their last full stage of manifestation they come to express themselves as actions in the outer world (Vaikharee). In this chain of processes when thoughts become manifest for the thinker, it is said the seat of Pasyantee-stage is the navel region. This brilliant seat of nascent manifestation of all thoughts is indicated here as "the jewel of his navel." Generally, the intelligent student would readily jump to the conclusion that this truth is merely a poetic exaggeration, but there is a deep significance in it indeed.
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Maharishi: "Abundance of love is the goal of all destiny."
A child's NDE (near death experience) gives an idea of that goal of abundant love:
"I let go and soon as I released the pleasurable sensations began. Starting with something simple like contentment and peace. Gradually transforming into feelings of utter bliss. I became aware of a bright point of light, a brilliant tiny pinpoint of brilliant light that was 10 million times brighter than the sun.
As I approached it it got bigger and more intense and more beautiful and it pulled me in and accelerated and I got spit out at the other end. In front of me were these giant titanic golden columns rising into like jack and the beanstalk and they were stacked in such a way that it felt like it was a gate or an entrance to something.
I was greeted by a being or a spirit -- I don’t know what this thing was. He said “Raymond, I want to show you some things” and there was this...what I can only call a download. It was like billions of questions were answered in just a moment. All of creation opened up and shimmered and I understood. Heavy stuff for a 9-year-old.
After the big download this being said to me “Now I want to show you who you really are.” and he introduced me to God face to face. What God looked like was when you look at like a photograph of a galaxy. Each one of those little pinpoints of light was God and each one of those little points of light was worshipping saying “We love you, I love you”. It was beautiful, blissful, unconditional pure love. I was told by God that “It was not my time and I had to go back.” and I just said no no no, you got this all wrong I am not going back, and once again “It’s not your time, you have to go back.” I was sent back to my body. Getting stuffed back into my body was painful and gross. Like putting on an old crusty pair of socks and I remember what happened and it was I just don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be here."
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The Sanskrit word "tapas," usually translated as "austerity" or "penance":
Maharishi:
"The actual word meaning of tapas is heating -- increasing in glow of life. Life is infinity, immortality, immovability, unboundedness, absolute, and so the increasing value of the glow of life means increasing value of infinity, of immortality, of unboundedness, of absolute Being." Patanjali and the Eight Limbs of Yoga, 18AUG1971, Humboldt State College, CA
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Killing is not righteous, inasmuch as it is based upon the erroneous idea that the body is the self. When your brother's body died, he did not die. Nor are you killing these yaksa when you slay their bodies. All this is a product of ignorance.... The Lord is pleased when you acquire forgiveness, compassion, friendliness, and equal vision towards all beings. Then there is freedom from limitation (jiva), and union with the absolute. These followers of Kubera, the god of wealth, were not the slayers of your brother. It is the will of God that is responsible for the birth and death of a person. He creates the universe, and he protects and ultimately destroys it. Yet, because he is not egotistic about it, he is not tainted by the activities of the qualities of nature. The Lord's energy has the power to create, preserve and to destroy. Moved by this energy, male and female unite to reproduce their likeness. Moved by this energy, the individual body is destroyed through the agency of some other being, and the destroyer is destroyed by death. Therefore, dear child, give up the idea of 'I' and 'mine', and adore the Lord with all your heart.
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The Lord is indeed impartial. The guna (qualities) of prakrti (nature) constitute the universe, which is subject to time. They function in this light, and hence he presides over them. With the passage of time, one or the other of the guna gains supremacy. In accordance with that, and in conformity with the time, the Lord promotes the cause of gods and sages when satva is in ascendency, that of the demons when rajas is in ascendency, and that of the lower spirits when tamas is ascendent. The Lord is in fact the unaffected witness. Yudhisthira asked a similar question of Narada. Listen to Narada's answer. Yudhisthira said: O sage! When the wicked Sisupala, who hated and therefore insulted lord Krsna, was eventually killed by the Lord, we saw that his soul entered into the Lord, though we hear that the tongue of one who blasphemes against God will develop white leprosy. I cannot understand this mystery. Graciously explain it to me." Narada replied: The body of all beings is the product of the elements. And, through ignorance, the false notions of 'I' and 'mine' are born. Then there arise feelings of pain and pleasure, honour and dishonour, praise and censure, etc. All these are absent in the Lord. Hence he who fixes his mind on the Lord, whatever may be his intention, earns his grace. Many have become one with him by fixing their mind upon him, through love, hate, fear, friendship and devotion.
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Prahrada said to them: Friends, this human life is extremely precious. Therefore one should cultivate devotion to God, and the virtues that are conducive to God-realisation, even from childhood. In fact, man has no other duty in this world. Just as we get unhappiness without our striving for it, we shall also get happiness in this world without effort, by the force of our past karma. One should not therefore waste one's energies in seeking happiness, which in any case does not lead to the supreme security of the Lord's Lotus Feet.
One should, while the body is still vigorous, strive to reach the Lord's Feet. How fleeting life is here! Even if a man lives for a hundred years, half of it is spent in bed. Of the remaining fifty, twenty is wasted in childish play and adolescent diversions. Yet another twenty is occupied by senility. The short span that remains after all this is wasted by ignorant man in useless pursuits of pleasure, which only create greater anxiety, and a sense of insecurity.
Yet, friends, the problems of the ignorant man are insurmountable! Since his senses are not controlled, he is unable to turn away from the objects of pleasure, which he considers indispensable to him, from his wife and children who appear to him to be his only security and hope, and from his possessions to which he ignorantly clings. He has come to regard sex and the palate as the sources of pleasure; how can he understand their real nature?
Even when pains, failures and frustrations stare him in the face, he does not awaken to their true origin - lust for pleasure - which he therefore does not easily give up. On the contrary, he endeavours to amass more wealth, often by robbing others of theirs, although he knows it to be sin. One who is caught in the snare of diversity - I, you, he - who therefore differentiates between his possessions and others', and who constantly endeavours to increase his at the expense of others, cannot attain self-realisation, though he be learned. The company of such people should be avoided by all means.
On the other hand, God-realisation does not demand much exertion, because God is omnipresent! It demands association with the holy ones, and compassion and friendliness for all. It is from them that we learn the truth which opens our eyes and which enables us to realise that the universe is an appearance and the Lord alone is real. In fact, it was on account of my association with Narada that I attained this wisdom.
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Maharishi's response to a question about world events:
“We are not fond of commenting on the events; we are fond of correcting the basis of all events. The basis of all events is the consciousness of the individual, the collective consciousness of the nation, the collective consciousness of a continent. It is that which we want to purify; it is that which we want to harmonize, to integrate, so that in the light of higher levels of consciousness, the negative trends will not sprout in the world.
“So we are working on a very positive level, sowing the seeds of purity, sowing the seeds of prevention from crime, prevention from conflicts, prevention from all negativity. Our profession is prevention. This is why we ring the bell of prevention all the time, and we think that virtue, as the proverb goes, virtue triumphs. We feel we are on the virtuous level, and there is no doubt the virtue will prevail on earth. And these little things here and there, they will disappear themselves out of their own reactions; they'll just drop out of life.
“So we don’t waste time on verbal criticism or anything. We believe in lighting the lamp, and we don't think it is of any use to fight with the darkness. Fighting negativity is not in our manual of action; it's not in the etiquette of our behavior. In our manual of performance, the thing to do is to create harmony, to create stress-free individuals, to create problem-free individual life, social life, national life, world life.”
—Maharishi, Global Press Conference, MERU, Vlodrop, Netherlands, Sept. 25, 2002
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Or, he performs good and charitable acts, thereby winning a holiday in heaven, even becoming its ruler.
But, it is only when one's cycle of birth and death is about to halt that one meets with a holy man.
Such a meeting generates devotion to you, which puts an end to the transmigration of the soul."
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An experience from the Invincible America Assembly (IAA):
“In the first week of the IAA, during Yogic Flying, I dove into the deepest level of silence, and from there I was projected into the air with so much bliss. Eachtime I flew, I perceived in my awareness the collapse of fullness to a point.“As the Assembly progressed, I began experiencing more and more ecstasy, and sometimes hours of rapture at a time. In Yogic Flying, I felt further refinement and clarity. I noticed the same collapse of silence from infinity to the point, and glowing light and bliss right before lifting off. I sometimes have experienced this phenomenon not only before liftoff, but again while in the air. This really has been a major, divine, and powerful experience.
“In recent months, I began experiencing a new kind of sumptuous, sublime silence that is so rich and deep. After several weeks of dwelling in this divine place, I came to a new level of experience in Yogic Flying where the pulling-up force of gravity was much stronger than the coming-down aspect. For a split second, I had entered into that other field where floating is possible. The level of awareness that is necessary to hover became very clear to me.
“Many times during the TM-Sidhi® program, I perceive the whole universe as expanding and collapsing in a flash--originating from my heart. I now perceive the glow of the junction point of silence and dynamism in activity, as well as during program. Objects are all aglow sometimes.
“Knowledge comes to me daily from within myself. I learn more from the field of Veda than from information outside myself. I have had some striking intuitions that have led to a new understanding of the mechanics of cognition. The experience is so practical in daily life for any decision or direction I take. It is so incredible. During the past days, my experiences of intuition have been very precise and transparent. I am connecting to the source of all knowledge and retrieve reliable, accurate details from this field.
“Sometimes my awareness expands to infinity, my body melts away, and I'm only consciousness. That is all there is. Once, my body also expanded to infinite proportions as it became linked to that expanded consciousness.”
— L.R., Invincible America Assembly Participant
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The Vedas to Lord Krishna: "None is dear to you, nor is anyone your enemy. When you gaze on your own creative power, the individual souls are clothed with a subtle body in accordance with the karma latent in them. Their souls are not infinite and eternal as individuals. When matter and spirit are confused with one another, the individual is apparently born - just as we speak of the birth of a bubble or a wave. You alone are the reality in them all."
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"Sage Karabhajan said: In the satya age, the Lord had a white complexion. Men of evenminded and peaceful disposition adored the Lord through tapas, or austerity. In the treta age, the Lord had a crimson complexion. Men of veda-learning worshipped him by means of vaidika rites. In the dvapara age, the Lord was of dark brown colour. Men worshipped him by vaidika rites and tantrika rituals. In the kali age, the Lord is of a dark complexion. Men adore him by singing his glories: "I take refuge in your feet, O great one! They remove our afflictions, and grant our desires. They are the source of sacredness, and are adored by thr gods. They destroy the devotees' suffering, and are a boat to cross the ocean of mundane existence." In fact, because of the fact that the Lord is so easily accessible to his devotees in this age, wise ones extol the glories of this age when the Lord is attained by singing his names and praises. Southern India will especially produce a great number of devotees of the Lord. These devotees renounce all duties, and take refuge in the Lord, and they are instantly freed from their obligations to the gods, the rsi and their ancestors. Devotion itself washes away any sin that such a devotee may commit. Sage Suka said: Narada concluded by reminding Vasudeva that the Lord himself was incarnate in sri Krsna."
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"Lord Krsna said: It is true, even as you said, that I am about to leave this earth, as my task has been accomplished, and my return to heaven is desired by Brahma and others. As soon as I depart, the age of kali will begin on earth, and people will progressively turn to adharma. Such a world is not fit for you to live in. Give up all attachments. Know that the entire world is but a projection of one's own mind; the appearance itself has no true validity. One who is not inwardly at-one with the reality, perceives diversity here; and he is subject to right and wrong action and inaction. Know through yoga self-restraint that the whole world is your own self and has me as its Lord....Seeing the whole universe as the self, you will enjoy inner peace as the friend of all. Uddhava said: Lord! The path of renunciation that you have expounded is impossible for those who have not completely overcome the instinct of pleasure, and who are not whole-heartedly devoted to you. Kindly tell me how I can reach such a state of detachment and renunciation. I take refuge in you, O Narayana, O true friend of man! Lord Krsna said: In this world, one has to uplift one's own self by oneself. One is one's own guru, for one discovers the path to supreme blessedness by examining what is perceived and what is inferred. Among all creatures, the human being is dearest to me, for he can, by vigilant observation, immediately realise me."
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QUESTION: "What was it that Guru Dev did that makes him important as the source of the revival of this knowledge?"
MAHARISHI: "In his ashram he manufactured me. (Laughter/Applause) He produced me and put me out in the market. (Laughter)
And then the waves of life -- I rolled on over the Pacific and over the Atlantic and in the skies and everywhere. Just this. Just this. The message of life rolled on around the world like that. People got a changed perspective. The perspective of life was changed, is being changed. And then I started to multiply myself -- some of me found here, some of me found there, some of me found here -- and all that was found of me was found of Guru Dev, because the tree is nothing but the expression of the seed which within it had concentratedly every aspect of the tree like that. The tree expresses just the glory of the seed -- in all directions it goes here, there and everywhere.
The outer light is just the quality of the inner light in a bulb. And each bulb shines here, and we say, 'Oh, what a beautiful bulb. White light. Good.' The bulb knows that the power comes from the station, from the powerhouse. So all those enjoying the light around the bulb sing the glory of the bulb, but the bulb within himself is emitting light with the light of the powerhouse.
So all the changed vision that the people in the world have been receiving for the last so many years and, as a result of that, gaining more and more ground on the reality of life, all that comes from the blessings of Guru Dev."
Poland Springs, USA -- July 12, 1970
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(See Unabridged Bhagavat Purana for complete quote)
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Lord Krsna continued: The wise man, realising that oneness alone is the truth, should neither praise nor condemn anything in the world. Diversity is the result of the soul's sleep, or ignorance! It is a long dream. When such is the case, what is good, what is evil? Whatever is described by speech, and whatever is thought of by the mind, is all false.
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Lord Krsna replied: "I shall tell you what I consider to be the greatest form of yoga, that practice which pleases me most, and which is the best way to attain immortality. One should offer his whole mind to me, his heart to me, and with his whole being devoted to me, do all actions for my sake. He should see me alone in all beings, and thus cultivate equal vision towards all beings - from the high-born and learned brahmana and devotee, to the lowest and meanest of creatures. By this incessant practice, he will overcome the spirit of rivalry, of finding fault with others and of contempt - all of which are associates of self-conceit. Without the least sense of shame, and without regard for the opinions of others, he should prostrate himself like a fallen piece of wood before all, even to animals like the donkey. In this way he comes to regard everything as Brahman the infinite. This indeed is the greatest of spiritual disciplines, the greatest yoga, and the quickest way to self-knowledge. There is no loss at all in this path, and nothing but spiritual gain. As this practice has been ordained directly by me, it is beyond the operation of the three guna. Actions dedicated to me are also beyond the operation of the guna, and hence conducive to liberation. What I have told you thus far contains the quintessence of the knowledge of vedanta. I shall confer my own self on him who propagates this knowledge. He who listens to this dialogue of ours, will develop supreme devotion, and is not bound by karma."
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Saunaka asked: Tell us about the origin of the veda, and their classification.
Suta said: Brahma the creator concentrated his mind and focused it on the self. He then heard in the cavity of his own heart a sound-vibration which is capable of being experienced when the mental modifications are tranquillised.
By adoring that sound vibration, the yogi purify themselves of the impurities caused by material substances, actions and forms, and attain immortality. That sound vibration was heard as the Om with its three divisions of A U M, and which is the indicator of the supreme being.
The three divisions of this monosyllable represent the three qualities (guna), the three veda, the three spheres, and the three states of consciousness. From these, the creator then evolved the complete set of alphabets.
Exercising these alphabets, with his four faces and mouths, Brahma gave expression to the four veda - rg, yajus, sama and atharva.
Brahma taught these veda to his sons, the mind-born sages, who in their turn passed them on to others. Thus the veda continued to be 'heard' by successive generations of sages.
During the present cycle, a part of the Lord incarnated as the son of the sage Parasara and Satyavati, with the auspicious name Vyasa. It was he who classified the veda, dividing them into four groups.
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In a 29APR 1959 press conference in Los Angeles, Maharishi "...told the journalists, 'My life
truly began 19 years ago at the feet of my Master when I learned the secret of swift and deep meditation, a secret I now impart to the world.'" P.244, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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In a 31DEC1959 press conference in London, Maharishi said: "The transcendent Divine is said to be omnipresent. Its nature is said to be bliss. How is it that we happened to miss that experience of the omnipresent? As a matter of fact, the experience of the omnipresent -- that which is everywhere, that which is pervading everything -- should have been the first experience of life and should have been the sustained experience of life. How did we lose sight of it? Because we engaged ourselves in experiencing only its expression rather than its initial state. The glory of subtle creation is not our common experience. When the senses cannot experience the subtler fields of creation, then obviously we fail to experience the nature of the transcendent, which is subtler than the subtlest creation." P. 270-71, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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Maharishi, Rishikesh, 1961
"That which we think is not right, we refrain from it, but we should not begin to regard everything in the world as not being right. Do not carry the sense of right and wrong too much in your mind. Have a natural attitude, and take things as they come. With regular meditation, sattva will be maintained and will grow, and right behavior and right values will be there. Everything will go by itself; all success will be yours." P. 363, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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Maharishi, Hochgurgl, 1962
"Regarding meditation it is said in the Upanishads that even if there is a mountain of karma extending for miles, it will be burnt away by this meditation which is of transcendental value, which takes the mind to the transcendent. This is the greatest purifier....The falling of the impression deep in the mind is the binding influence of the karma, is the result of the karma. To meditate does not make a man free from karma but free from the binding influence of karma. We don't get freedom from karma, nor do we get freedom from the effects of karma, from the fruits of karma, but only the binding influence of karma is released. The law of causation remains. However, we have created a situation such that action does not make a deep impression in the mind. The mind is freed from the binding influence of karma....The law of karma says that the one who has created the karma has to bear it; he cannot possibly escape it. Karma means action. Action means creation of some vibration . Say I do the karma of lifting this bunch of flowers. Lifting this has produced some vibration, which begins to spread in the atmosphere. When the vibrations are set up here, they go and strike the wall and return back to the doer again. Action and reaction are equal in the scientific law. The influence produced by one's action returns to the doer, because it is he who has created it. Some vibrations reach to here, and from there they return; some vibrations reach the moon, and from there they return; some vibrations reach the sun, and from there they return; some vibrations reach the stars, galaxies, millions of miles away, and there they return to the doer -- return, rebounding echo." P. 431-32, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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The Vedas: Source of the Subtle Science
"The whole field of life is covered in three main divisions. Each of the four Vedas is divided for our understanding into three parts; that is Karma Kanda, Upasana Kanda, Gnana Kanda. Kanda means chapter. Karma Kanda is the chapter of action. Chapter of Upasana, Upasana means to sit near, sit near God, sit near Reality, sit in contact with the real substance of life. Upasana Kanda deals with all the ways and means to get to nearness to God. Nearness to God means nearness to immortality, nearness to almighty great existence. Gnana Kanda is the field of enlightenment or knowledge, perfect knowledge, knowing through understanding and knowing through direct perception.
There is nothing in the cosmos, either in the material plane or in the spiritual plane which cannot be directly cognized. Vedas provide a direct method of direct cognition of material existence in this unlimited cosmos and also they provide a direct technique to cognize that which is evenly permeating, evenly pervading the entire physical structure of the cosmos, that all pervading reality, Almighty God. The knowledge of Reality, knowledge of fullness of life, knowledge of the One Reality permeating all these diversities, this knowledge is dealt with in the third chapter, that is the last chapter of the Veda. That is why it is called Vedanta, that is anta of the Veda. Anta means the end of the Veda. Life is giving that wisdom, knowing which we gain immortality on every level." P. 20, "Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi"
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Press Conference, New Delhi airport, 24DEC1963
"Journalist: 'Why did you choose to propagate this system in foreign countries rather than in India?'
Maharishi: For India I went out! (laughter)'" P. 542, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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BBC interview, London, June 1964
BBC reporter: "'Can anyone learn it [TM]?
Maharishi: Everyone can do it because it doesn't need any doing, it only needs allowing the mind to fathom more joyful regions of one's own inner personaltiy.'" P. 554, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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Maharishi, Bad Mergentheim, 1964
"This world was as it was, it is as it is, as it will be, under the influence of that Almighty who is the presiding deity of the Absolute and relative -- both fields of life. He is God. He is someone who is mysterious, something other than the Absolute and other than the relative yet commanding the Absolute and the relative. Pervading the relative is the existence of God, the power of God, God Himself. He stands somewhere between the manifest state and the unmanifest state, presiding over both." P.581, Thirty Years Around the World – Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment
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God is not Visnu, Siva or Brahma; not the wind, the sun or the moon; not the brahmana or the king; not I nor you, not Laksmi nor the mind (intellect).
God is without form and undivided (not in the objects); that splendour (devanam) which is not made and which has neither beginning nor end is known as god (deva) or Lord Siva which is pure consciousness.
That alone is fit to be worshipped; and that alone is all.
If one is unable to worship this Siva, then he is encouraged to worship the form.
The latter yields finite results, but the former bestows infinite bliss.
He who ignores the infinite and is devoted to the finite abandons a pleasure-garden and seeks the thorny bush.
However, sages sometimes worship a form playfully.
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Maharishi on Behavior and Surroundings
"If someone makes an ill-humored remark, a joyful mind that is fully developed and full of love and contentment responds to it with forgiveness. The joyful man does not mind the wrong, because his is a strong mind. a strong mind has the ability of tolerance; a weak mind takes upon itself all the insult and all the ill-humor of the utterance.
Another point may be made in this connection: If someone has already had doubts regarding another man's behavior, even if that man expresses something of love and joy, the doubter keeps on having doubts because his doubts were present before the conversation started. So a doubting or unkind mind, even if there have been reasons for the doubts in the past, fails to enjoy the joyfulness and sincerity of the other. Thus, it is not the present behavior of the man that is causing the other to be doubtful; rather it is the state of his own mind.
So as far as the influence of the atmosphere upon the individual is concerned, the state of mind is of primary value. The nature of the atmosphere turns and takes shape according to the state of mind of the individual. If one puts a red glass to his eye, he sees everything as red; if he looks through a green glass he sees everything as green. Whatever the individual's state of mind, it reflects itself. But due to ignorance, generally, the atmosphere is held to be responsible for it.
The individual is responsible for the atmosphere. True it is that the individual creates the atmosphere and the atmosphere in turn has its influence on the individual. But when the mind of the individual is strong, functioning at its full potential, then he is able to make the best use of the surroundings and circumstances. This is the art of behavior with others. The art of action and the art of behavior lie in making things favorable for us and in not making them unfavorable. The atmosphere is there for us to use and not for making us miserable. If someone has said something, it is his action, his responsibility in saying it. If it is useful to us, we enjoy it, accept it, think about it, act on it, and derive benefit from it. But if it is not useful and elevating or favorable to us, then we do not think of it again and again; we do not attend to it. If it happens to be an expression of something bad, and if we are not responsible for it, and the speaker thrusts the responsibility for the wrong on us, then he is in the wrong. We do not bring that wrong to mind and mull it over and over. If we do so, we are putting a bad thought in our mind, which was not our own fault in the first place.
Therefore, once and for all, we must make our mind such that it becomes a principle of life that we naturally think and act in a way that is elevating and beneficial to us. This way we derive great benefit and advantages for ourselves and others. We do not go for damaging or malicious thoughts, either to reject or accept; indifference is the weapon be used against any negative situation in life.
This is the art of behavior. If someone has done us an injustice, we do not harbor it or think about it. Perhaps it was a mistake. If we permit it to affect our future actions toward him, we are not giving him the opportunity to improve in his relations with us, and we also suffer. Even if he does harbor ill-feelings toward us, we will benefit him and ourselves if we still behave toward him with love and tolerance. In this way, we help the atmosphere to improve, and, with an improved atmosphere, we are better served." SBAL, pp. 178-179
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King Chitraketu
“O King, what relationship does this dead body have with you? You may say that you are related as father and son, but do you think that this relationship existed before, or will continue to exist in the future? Does it actually exist now?” “As pieces of seaweed come together on the surface of the ocean and then are separated by the force of the waves, so the living entities who have accepted material bodies come together and then are again separated by the force of time. When seeds are sown in the ground, they sometimes grow into plants, and sometimes, if the ground is not fertile, they do not fructify. Similarly, being impelled by the energy of the Lord, a prospective father can sometimes beget a child, but then again, sometimes conception does not take place. Therefore, one should not lament over the artificial relationship of parenthood, which is ultimately controlled by the Supreme Lord.” “Every living being is in a temporary situation, and so is the entire cosmic manifestation. Thus, all varieties of material manifestation are not factual, although they cannot be considered as nonexistent or unreal.”
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not personally interested in this temporary cosmic manifestation. Nonetheless, just as a boy on the beach builds sand castles that have no intrinsic value- the Lord creates by engaging a father to beget a son- he maintains by engaging a king to see to the public’s welfare- and he annihilates through agents for killing, such as snakes. Although these instruments of creation, maintenance and annihilation have no independence- due to the spell of the illusory energy, one thinks himself to be the creator, maintainer, and destroyer. As one seed is generated from another seed, from one body (the father) through another body (the mother) a third body (the child) is produced. Divisions of generalization and specification, such as nationality and individuality, are the imaginations of persons who are not advanced in knowledge.” King Chitraketu was destined not to get a son, so that even though he married many thousands of wives, all of them proved barren.
Due to the blessings of Angira Rishi, a son was sent by the grace of maya, but the child was not to live for long. Knowing this, Angira had informed the king that he would beget a son who would cause him both jubilation and lamentation. Now, after hearing the instructions of Angira and Narada, King Chitraketu became enlightened, and thus he was relieved from his false lamentation. Becoming enlivened with a new hope, Maharaja Chitraketu wiped away the tears from his face and addressed the two rishis as follows: “You have come here dressed as avadhutas, just to cover your real identities. Still, I can understand that you are the knowers of everything, and thus the most exalted of all personalities.” “Sometimes, just to benefit materialistic persons like us, who are always absorbed in sense gratification, great devotees dress like madmen and wander over the surface of the earth, according to their own desire. I am foolish, just like an animal, but I am confident that you can impart to me real understanding. Therefore, please ignite the torch of knowledge, and thus save me from the darkness of ignorance.”
Angira Rishi replied, “My dear King, when you had desired to have a son, I approached you. I am the same Angira Rishi who enabled you to have this child, and this is the great sage, Narada, the direct son of Lord Brahma.” “My dear King, it is very unsuitable for an advanced devotee of the Lord like yourself to become absorbed in lamentation over the loss of something material. Therefore, we have come here to relieve you of this false grief, which is born of ignorance.” “When I first came to visit you, I could have given you the supreme transcendental knowledge, but because you were so materially absorbed, I only gave you a son. Now, however, you are actually experiencing the misery of a person who has sons and daughters. Because they are all temporary, one’s wife, friends, relatives, palace, kingdom, treasury, military power, and all other opulence and objects of sense perception are causes of fear, illusion, lamentation and distress. Because of their impermanence, they are no better than a gandharva-nagara, dreams, or mental concoctions. Only because of our past actions, do we create the temporary mental concoctions of wife, children and property, and on the basis of these dreams, we perform further activities.” “My dear King, please consider who you really are- are you the body, the mind, or the soul? Try to understand where you have come from, where you are headed, and why you have been put under the spell of material lamentation.
By understanding your true position, you will be able to give up your unnecessary material attachment, and thus attain real peace.” When Angira had first come to King Chitraketu, he did not bring Narada Muni with him. But, after the death of the king’s son, Angira had Narada accompany him, so that he could instruct Chitraketu about bhakti-yoga. The difference was that, in the beginning, Chitraketu was not in a mood of renunciation. After the death of his son, however, the king became overwhelmed by grief and thus could easily be awakened to the platform of renunciation, by receiving instructions about the falsity of this material world. Only when one is at this stage can he be instructed in bhakti-yoga, for as long as one is overly attached to material enjoyment, the science of devotional service cannot be understood. Thereafter, by utilizing his mystic power, Narada Muni brought the departed son of Chitraketu into the vision of all the lamenting relatives.
Narada then said, “O living entity, just see how your mother, father, friends and relatives are overwhelmed with grief because of your having passed away. Because you have died untimely, you can still re-enter your body and enjoy the remainder of your lifetime, surrounded by your friends and relatives, and accept the royal throne from your father.” The living entity re-entered his former body and replied, “According to the results of my fruitive activities, I (the living being, the jiva soul) transmigrate from one body to another. Thus, I sometimes appear in the society of demigods, sometimes in the human species, and sometimes as a lower animal or plant. In which birth were these my mother and father? Because no one is my actual mother and father, how can I accept these two persons as my parents?” “This material world carries one away like a river, and thus all people become friends, relatives and enemies in due course of time. The living entity wanders throughout the universe, being injected into various bodies by one father after another, and thus he is just like gold that changes hands again and again, along with the sense of proprietorship.”
“After remaining in a man’s custody for some time, when an animal is sold to another person, the former owner loses all sense of proprietorship. And yet, in spite of these temporary relationships that are based upon the perishable material body, the actual living being is eternal, and thus devoid of an intrinsic parental relationship with others. Being part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, the living entity is only an observer or witness of the material qualities, and is unaffected by them in all circumstances. Therefore, no one should become disturbed by lamentation in the face of loss in this material world.” It is our practical experience in this world that today’s friend may become tomorrow’s enemy. Thus, instead of lamenting for his dead son, King Chitraketu could have rightly thought, “This living entity was my enemy in my last life, and has now appeared as my son to give me further pain.” Thus, instead of lamenting, he could have felt jubilation due to his enemy’s death.
If one questions, “How could Chitraketu love his enemy so much?” the following example can be given. When one’s wealth falls into the hands of an enemy, it becomes that person’s friend. Because the money can be used to harm the previous owner, to who does it really belong? After the jiva (soul) finished speaking, he departed, and by hearing his words, Maharaja Chitraketu and his other relatives were astonished. By cutting off the shackles of affection, which had been based upon their illusory relationship with him, all of the boy’s relatives gave up their false lamentation, performed the necessary funeral ceremonies, and then burned the dead body. The queens that had poisoned the child lost their entire bodily luster, due to shame, and by remembering Angira’s instructions, they gave up their ambition to bear children. Under the direction of the brahmanas, they went to the banks of the River Yamuna to bathe and atone for their sinful killing of the child.
As a result of hearing from the two great rishis, Chitraketu became fully enlightened with spiritual knowledge, and thus he was able to come out of the dark well of family life, just as an elephant emerges from a muddy reservoir of water. After bathing in the Yamuna, King Chitraketu offered oblations of water to his forefathers and then worshiped the two sons of Brahma."
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Rama said:
What is to be known is known, what is to be seen is seen.
We are all filled with the supreme truth, thanks indeed to the nectarine wisdom of Brahman, imparted by you.
This fullness is filled with fullness.
Fullness is born from fullness.
Fullness fills fullness.
In fullness, fullness is ever established.
However, for the further expansion of awareness, I ask again: pray bear with me.
The sense-organs are obviously present in all.
Yet, how is it that the dead person does not experience sensations, though while living he experienced their objects through those organs?
Vasistha continued:
Apart from the pure consciousness there are neither the senses, nor the mind, nor even their objects.
It is that consciousness alone which appears as the objects in nature and as the senses in the person.
When that consciousness has apparently become the subtle body (puryastaka), it reflects the external objects.
The eternal and infinite consciousness is indeed free of all modifications.
But when there arises the notion of 'I am' in it, that notion is known as the jiva.
It is that jiva that lives and moves in this body.
When the notion of 'I' arises (ahambhavana), it is known as ego-sense (ahamkara).
When there are thoughts (manana), it is known as mind (manas).
When there is awareness (bodha), it is intelligence (buddhi).
When seen (drs) by the individual soul (indra), it is known as the sense (indriya) .
When the notion of body prevails, it appears to be body; when the notion of object prevails, it appears to be the diverse objects.
However, through the persistence of these notions, the subtle personality condenses into material substantiality.
The same consciousness thereafter thinks 'I am the body', 'I am the tree' , etc.
Thus self-deluded, it rises and falls, until it attains a pure birth, and is spiritually awakened.
Then, by being devoted to the truth, it attains self-knowledge.
I shall now tell you how it perceives the objects.
I said that, on account of the notion of 'I am', consciousness abides as jiva in the body.
When its senses descend upon similar bodies outside itself, there is contact between the two, and there is desire to know (to become one with) them.
When there is this contact, the object is reflected within oneself, and the jiva perceives this reflection, though it believes that the reflection is outside!
The jiva knows only this reflection, which means it knows itself.
This contact is the cause of the perception of external objects.
Hence, it is possible only in the case of the ignorant one whose mind is deluded, and not in the case of the liberated sage.
Of course, since the jiva (which is but a 'notion') and all the rest of it are inert and insentient, the reflection thus seen and experienced is in fact an optical illusion or intellectual perversion.
The self is all-in-all all the time.
* * *
"It is frightening even to think of the play of the mind."
Vasistha continued:
O king, O Rama!
With the help of my eye of wisdom, I searched for the mendicant.
I entered into deep meditation, wishing to see that mendicant.
I searched for him in this universe, but I could not find him.
How does one's imagination appear outside also as if real?
Then I proceeded north to the land of the Jinas.
On top of an anthill, there exists a vihara (shrine? or Bihar) inhabited by people.
There, in his own cottage, was a mendicant (bhiksu) known as Dirghadrsa, whose head was yellow in colour.
He was in deep meditation.
Even his attendants did not enter his cottage, afraid to disturb his meditation.
It was the twenty-first day of such meditation.
It was destined to be his last day.
Though from one point of view, he had been in meditation for only twenty one days, from another point of view, thousands of years had passed.
For, such was the notion that arose in his mind.
I knew that such a mendicant had lived in another epoch; and even in this epoch he is the second such mendicant.
However, other than these two, I could not see a third mendicant.
With all the wits at my disposal, and all the faculties I could command, I entered into the very heart of this creation, looking for the third mendicant.
At last I found him, but he was not in this universe.
He was in another universe which, however, was almost exactly like this universe, though created by another Brahma.
Even so have there been (and there will be in the future) countless beings.
In this very assembly, there are sages and holy brahmanas who will thus entertain notions of other beings who will thereupon appear to be.
Such is the nature of Maya.
Some of these beings will be of natures similar to the one that imagines them.
Others will be quite dissimilar.
Yet others will partly resemble them.
Thus is the great Maya which baffles even great men.
But it does not exist nor does it function here - for it is only delusion that causes all these to appear and disappear!
Else, where is a short period of twenty-one days, and where is a whole epoch?
It is frightening even to think of the play of the mind.
All this is but appearance which unfolds like the lotus in the morning and reveals diversity like a full-blown lotus.
All this arises in the infinite consciousness which is pure.
Yet the appearance appears to be tainted by impurity.
Each thing appears as if fragmented, and at the end of that fragmented existence, it undergoes other strange fragmentation.
All this is relatively real, not totally unreal.
All of them manifest in the All - the cause is in the cause!
* * *
* * *
"Once upon a time, Bharadwaja, along with sage Vamadeva, visited a number of holy places and reached the surroundings of the great river Yamuna. Lord Sri Krishna, his brother Lord Balarama, and the cowherd boys were playing there. The saints asked the boys to show a happy place in the river where they can bathe without fear of the crocodiles and other dangerous sea animals. The cowherd boys began to ridicule the great sages due to their natural ignorance. At once Lord Sri Krishna came running near the saints, saluted them with great humility and devotion saying "I will show you the best place where you can safely take your bath in the river. After you finish it, please be our guests. We can offer you rice with curds, cream and milk with sugar. There is just-milked cow's milk, naturally hot. Can I offer it to you?" The sages replied "We are pleased with your offer. We are satisfied. We fully know you, the Lord of Vaikuntha." Lord Krishna showed them the way. They took their bath in the holy river and went further on their pilgrimage, thanking the Lord of Brindavan." Lives of Ancient Indian Saints, vol. 1 by Vidvan Bulusu Venkatewarulu, pp. 125-6
* * *
It is only when one becomes firmly rooted in the notion of this world-appearance as the reality, that the notion of karma arises."
* * *
The Sage continued:
The perception or the experience of 'the world' exists within the atomic particle of infinite consciousness.
Just as the reflection in a mirror is only mirror, however, it is non-different from the infinite consciousness.
This Infinite consciousness is beginningless and endless; that itself is called creation.
Wherever this consciousness shines, there this creation exists, non-different from it even as a body is non-different from its limbs.
* * *
"...when the desires of a man of Self-knowledge vanish he becomes immortal." A Thousand Teachings of Sri Sankaracharya, p.206
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"When the Witness is discriminated from the intellect etc. which are unreal, It does not identify Itself again with the gross or the subtle body as before, just as butter raised from milk and thrown into it does not get mixed with it again." A Thousand Teachings of Sri Sankaracharya, p. 209
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"Even an imperfect practice of this yoga destroys the effects of past sins."
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Mechanical Path to God Realization
"Perception is the result of the natural radiation of consciousness from the center of pure Being in man onto the object to be perceived. An example will illustrate this more clearly.
The current from a battery cell reaches the bulb and through the process of projection it comes out as a beam of light. As it proceeds, the content of light diminishes until eventually a limit is reached where the light may be said to be nil. Likewise, from the inexhaustible battery of Being the radiation of consciousness starts and, through the nervous system, reaches the senses of perception and passes on to the object of experience. As it proceeds to radiate outward the content of consciousness, the degree of bliss, diminishes. The whole process is automatic and mechanical.
The nervous system is the means through which consciousness manifests and projects itself to the outside world, resulting in the phenomenon of perception.
The process is automatic and mechanical. If we have to see an object we open the eyes and the sight of the object results automatically without the use of the intellect or the emotions. In order to see an object, in order for the perception to take place, it is not necessary to implicate the intellect or emotions. This is what is meant by the statement that perception is a mechanical process.
The radiation of consciousness starts from the abstract, absolute pure state of bliss and carries the bliss content in a diminishing degree as it proceeds outward. The oneness of Being appearing in its infinite variety is an automatic projection of consciousness." MMY, SBAL, p. 295
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"...meditation...develops tolerance. You do not mind the mistakes he is committing. For closeness it is necessary that you begin to tolerate the mistakes. Just as you begin to appreciate the wrong pronunciation of children when they are beginning to speak. Even if they pronounce wrongly, you enjoy their pronunciation. So if you want to love someone closely, then begin to appreciate his wrong doings more than his right doings. When you begin to enjoy and give expression to your joy at their wrongdoings, love increases and closeness increases. Love knows no reason; it knows no discrimination. Accept him as he is. And this type of sensibility and ability to accommodate increases with meditation because meditation brings the mind to contentment. When the mind is contented you simply do not bother about anything. Nothing irritates you; nothing affects you."
MMY, London lecture, 1960s
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"If the needs and desires of a devotee are fulfilled without much exertion and trouble then closeness to God is verified on the material level."
Maharishi's commentary on Ch. 9, v. 22 of the Gita.
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Ch. 10, v. 11 of the Gita:
Lord Krishna:
In order to grant grace to them only, I, abiding in their self, destroy the darkness born of
ignorance, by the luminous lamp of knowledge.
Maharishi's commentary:
This verse presents the mechanics of God’s grace. The devotees of God find solace in this
teaching which makes it clear that the revelation of true knowledge of God and the destruction of
the darkness of ignorance is by the grace of God Himself—God who resides in the loving hearts
of the devotees—devotees who worship Him with love as mentioned in the previous verse.
‘Only’ is a very significant expression. The Lord says ‘to them only.’ The question may be
raised—is God so partial? Is He so small as to be flattered by the worship of the devotees? Can
He not bestow His mercy to those who have fallen and forgotten Him or those who are busy
helping others and do not find time to worship Him?
All such questions are valid only on the level of ignorance. Just as a bulb covered with dust
fails to emit full intensity of light, so does a heart not purified by deep devotion fail to bring out
the full light of God who is already present in the transcendent core of every heart.
This transcendent abode of the Lord is ‘the luminous lamp of knowledge’ and when the
mind, during meditation, transcends and gains transcendental consciousness, it goes beyond the
veil of ignorance and is then said to be in the direct light of God, the light of knowledge,
transcendental consciousness or absolute Being.
Love or devotion is a quality which softens the heart. When the heart is fully softened and
there is no corner left in hatred or malice of any kind, then it is pure. In this purity the heart is
soft and has the capacity of maximum expansion -- then when the waves of devotion rise high to
embrace eternity, the devotee finds fulfillment in the transcendent Bliss.
This influence of devotion on improving the heart may also be explained in terms of
material or physiological construction of the body. Heart is a very important portion of the
nervous system. With the practice of transcendental deep meditation, when the mind gains transcendental consciousness, the entire nervous system automatically gains a state of restful alertness. This releases all tensions in the physical structure of the nervous system and keeps it in the normal functioning order. This is how the heart, functioning normally, gains the ability of unbounded emotion which corresponds with the transcendent state of the mind. The increased capacity of the heart for unbounded emotion succeeds in handling the waves of love which rise high in deep devotion to God. This explains that unless the heart has been cultured and unless it has gained the capacity of holding powerful waves of love, realization of God who is ever present within, is not possible. Devotion increases the capacity for God’s love and then only it is possible for the heart to find fulfillment in Him.
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"This world-appearance is but a long dream which manifests everywhere, being the imagination of Brahma the creator and all others. The objects thus born in the Creator's dream migrate from dream to dream, from embodiment to embodiment - thus generating the illusory solidity of this world-appearance." Vasistha's Yoga
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Lord Shiva said:
"Be a sword which sunders what is regarded as peace and what is regarded as restlessness."
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All action should be to nourish the fine feeling developed in the practice of the TM-Sidhi Program. That is why we say, "Speak the truth, but see that you are speaking delicately."
Do not speak non-truth and do not speak in a non-sweet way, so that the feeling is nourished. The whole effect of activity is to enrich the feeling of the other.
Be as delicate as possible. If communication accomplishes something on the gross, but damages something on the level of feeling, then it is a spiritual loss!
The feeling is more important for life. Nourishment of the feeling level is the basis for growth of the spiritual holistic value. Delicate behavior on the surface should be such as to nourish, uphold and enhance the Transcendental value where feelings merge into a common source.
Maharishi
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The diverse creatures have no purpose for coming into being, or for their continued existence.
They are not real entities, though they appear to be so.
The causal relationship is brought in later on, in order to rationalise this unreal creation.
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"At that time there were only four things in that pure and limitless space: (1) the black-coloured Rudra" who stood without any support and without any motion,...nothing else existed." Vasistha's Yoga, p. 568
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"During the cosmic dissolution when all world-appearance has ceased, the eternal infinite consciousness...imagines itself to be Brahman." Vasistha's Yoga, p. 560
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"The infinite consciousness is absolutely pure. Brahman rests in himself. However, there arises just a little notion of the jiva. Where this notion of jiva arises, there ignorance arises: that itself is considered as creation by the same consciousness." Vasistha's Yoga, p. 633
Maharishi: "Jiva, then, is individualized cosmic existence; it is the individual spirit within the body. With its limitations removed, jiva is Atman, transcendent Being. When the individuality of the jiva and the universality of the transcendent Self, the Atman, are united and found together on one level of life, then there is Brahman, the all-embracing cosmic life." From the commentary on Ch.2, v. 18 of the Gita
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Maharishi on knowledge
Maharishi: "The study of the Veda is the study of knowledge. Knowledge leads to action, action to achievement, and achievement to fulfillment. Our purpose is life in fulfillment. We must have the total value of knowledge for the total value of fulfillment.
Knowledge depends on experience. If experience is clear, knowledge is profound. The Veda on paper is only the signpost of knowledge. Real knowledge is structured in consciousness. As Guru Dev used to say, 'The knowledge that is in the book remains in the book.' Veda is the blueprint of knowledge, to verify our experience.
"Richo akshare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhi vishwe nishedhu, yastanna veda kim richa karishyati ya it tad vidus ta ime samasate. The Vedic mantras are structured in the immortal, imperishable absolute pure consciousness, where all the devas reside. He whose awareness is not open to this field, what can the verses accomplish for him? He who knows pure consciousness is established in eveness, wholeness of life."
Maharishi: "The knowledge from an enlightened person breaks on the hard rocks of ignorance."
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Sarasvati
"The MINISTER will say: She is the wisdom that shines in the hearts of all. Since she is the essence (rasa) of intelligence in all, she is known as Sarasvati. She bestows immediately on all whatever is prayed for, for she is the self of all. Hence one experiences the fruition of one's own prayers. You have not asked for liberation; you have only prayed for the destruction of enemies.
YOU will say: Why have I not prayed for liberation? You say that she dwells in my own heart; why has she not inspired me to pray for liberation? The MINISTER will say: It is because in your heart there was the impure habit of wishing for the destruction of enemies. Therefore, you did not pray for liberation, but you did pray for the destruction of enemies. Whatever be the citta (mind, heart), that a being is, and this is the experience even of a child. Whatever one knows in his own heart and whatever one experiences again and again in his heart, so that it becomes a habit, materialises whether it be good or not good." Vasistha's Yoga, p. 652
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