Category: Swami Veda Bharati

Dear Fellow Traveler on the Path of the Sages,

This is just to reassure you that after my 5-7 year silence begins

• The regular programmes of teaching at our Rishikesh Ashram will  continue through other advanced and experienced teachers.
• The guidance for your personal meditation will intensify.
• This little teacher’s silence will enhance your own silence and vibration.

Silence mothers the mind if you know how to be nurtured by her. Our Ashram specializes in the science of silence —- yes, it is a methodical science in which you are guided when you come to practice silence at the Ashram.

We have programmes for silence lasting 3 days, ten days, 21 days, 40 days —- and few rare ones may graduate to 90 days as at least two dozen initiates have done so far (writing in June 2011). Each of these fortunate ones experienced a breakthrough.

All who do the practice of silence at the Ashram — either one of our two ashrams —-know what a magic touch the place imparts through its vibration.

May I invite you to undertake this adventure into the depths of the Ocean of your own Self, and come take a silence retreat. I will be there to serve you, now, and even more so, after my 5-7 year silence begins on 10th March 2013.

I await to see you,

With a very personal affection in service of Gurudeva,

Swami Veda Bharati

It is said repeatedly in the Puranas (the great cosmological epics of India in Sanskrit) that when the earth can bear no more the burden of human sins, she, our mother, turns on her sides and we all come tumbling down all over.

It is also stated repeatedly that when the rulers are immoral and selfish, that corrupts the entire social order. AND, the order of Nature. This is a well known tenet in the teachings of India and of such philosophers as Confucius.

So, in the ancient stories of kings and kingdoms in India, whenever a natural disaster strikes, the king enters introspection :

 Kim aham paapam akaravam

Kim aham saadhu naakaravam

What transgressions of the laws of morality have I committed?

Which right acts have I neglected to perform?

Then the king undertakes acts of self-purification :

pashchaat-taapa, confession to oneself, and

praayashcnitta, repentance and expiation

If our greed had not raised the ocean levels, and had not cut down the mangrove forests, would the tsunamis not be a little less disastrous?

Some calamities like earthquakes cannot be prevented  — except by massive and collective good karma of all people through thousand year spans. But some of their side effects can still be reduced.

What is the purpose of prayer at the times of such crises? Can our prayer mitigate the effects of the disasters? Can they lessen the pain of those suffering? Not so, not immediately. But it is also well known that prayer reduces the mental anguish.

How so? Each thought we think creates waves in the universal mind. Its waves can be directed/channeled towards the target minds. If we know how to pray.

Wordless prayer is the most effective; it is a state of intense feeling in the mind that is first stilled and purified, after freeing it of all sense-inputs and emotion-uprisings. The mind thus stilled through a particular type of heart centre meditation (to be learnt from an expert) is ready to send wave of  an intense feeling of  wellness, comfort and solace to the target mind(s).

Thus may we pray for those who are suffering.

Sars and bird flu!! Very important for the affluent air traveler to be saved from it. So all the high-tech precautions are taken.

Are we taking the same precautions to stop the epidemic of cancer? Are we doing so by reducing the artificial chemicals wherewith we wash out fruits? How we contaminate our milk (right in the udder), how we force ourselves to breathe lead-laden air? How we nurture our angers constantly and intensify them to destroy us?

Sars and Bird Flu!! 2880, that is, two thousand eight hundred and eighty, 2880 (I repeat intentionally), children die of malaria in Africa alone EVERY 24 HOURS.

Is that not a natural disaster of calamitous proportions?

Do we say a prayer for these children and their loving parents and siblings, and forego the purchase or rental of one video to buy and send a mosquito net?

Don’t buy the mosquito net in USA or Europe and send it : for the price of one in these countries, maybe ten can be made where they are needed (providing some employment too).

Send prayers,

And, more important,

food parcels

for the 600 children who will be dying in the next one hour?

And for the 14400 who will die in the next 24 hours, wrapped perhaps in a newspaper to ward off cold, lying a cardboard box, with their knees pulled deep into the belly, curled up?

Any rations-laden military helicopters to rescue them?

Build more atomic reactors in quake-prone zones like California? And, also, more massive dams in the quake-prone zones like Uttarakhand Himalayas? Shall we?

Wisdom, Wisdom, where hast thou gone?

Our hearts go out to those thousands in Japan who have been hit by the triple crisis of earthquake, tsunami and radiation. Triple sorrow for them and for those of us who care.

Let us pray for them, wherever we are, singly and in groups.

Also do not forget to do something for those 2 children who died of malaria while you read this paragraph; and those 4  children who died of starvation also while you read the same paragraph. How many pictures of those on the TV, and in the newspapers?

When you pray for the suffering of Japan, do include these other neglected disasters.

Pray also that our rulers and others who hold and wield power(s), do an introspection:

Kim aham paapam akaravam

Kim aham saadhu naakaravam

What transgressions of the universal laws and consequent ethical principles have I committed?

Which right acts have I neglected to perform?

Remember that we also hold and wield some power(s); pray for your own self-purification to ward off world disasters of an immediate as well as far off future.

May your prayer be an action.

Swami Veda Bharati

---

In Japanese

日本とその他の災害について

プラーナ（サンスクリット語で書かれたインドの偉大な宇宙論的叙事詩）の中で、地球が人間の罪という重荷を担いきれなくなったとき、私達の母である彼女はそっぽを向き私達はみな至る所で倒れる、とくり返し言われている。

君主が不道徳で自分勝手なとき社会の秩序全体、そして自然の秩序を崩壊させる、ということもくり返し述べられている。これはインドの教えや孔子のような哲学者の教えにおける有名な教義である。

よって、古代のインドの王や国家の話では、天災が起こると王は内観に入る：

Kim aham paapam akaravam

Kim aham saadhu naakaravam

私はどのような道徳律に違反したのだろう？

私が怠った正しい行いとは何であろう？

そして王は自浄作用のある行いを始める：

pashchaat-taapa　自分への懺悔、そして

praayashcnitta　悔恨と償い

私達の貪欲さが海洋のレベルを上昇させなかったならば、そしてマングローブの森を切り倒さなかったならば、津波の惨事はもう少し小さかったのではないだろうか？

何千年にもわたって全ての人々が共同で良いカルマを大量につむことを除き、地震のような災難は防ぐことはできない。しかし、それでも副次的な悪影響は多少減らすことができる。

このような危機のときに祈る目的は何だろう？私達の祈りは災害の悪影響を和らげることができるのか？苦しみを小さくすることができるのか？すぐにそれはできない。しかし、祈りが精神的な苦悩を減らすということもよく知られている。

どうしてだろう？私達が考える１つ１つの思考が宇宙のマインドにおける波をつくりだす。その波は対象のマインドへ導かれる／向かうことができる。どのように祈るか私達が知っていれば。

言葉のない祈りが最も効果がある；それはマインドにおける強い気持ちの状態であり、最初に静まり浄化され、その後感覚や湧き上がる感情から解き放たれる。よって、特定のハートセンターの瞑想（エキスパートから習う必要がある）を通して静まったマインドは、健康、安らぎ、癒しの強い気持ちの波を対象のマインドへ送ることができる。

それ故、私達が苦しんでいる人々のために祈りますように。

SARSや鳥インフルエンザ！！裕福な旅行者にとってはそれらから身を守ることがとても重要であり、あらゆる最先端技術の予防策がとられる。

私達は癌の流行に対しても同じ対策をしているだろうか？果物を洗う人工化学薬品を減らすことによって、対応しているだろうか？私達はどのように自分達のミルクを汚染しているか、そしてどのように汚染された空気を吸い込むことを自分達に強いているか？どのように私達の怒りをつねに助長させ増大されて自分達を壊しているか？

SARSや鳥インフルエンザ！！２８８０人、２千８百８十人、（くり返します）アフリカでは毎日２８８０人の子供達がマラリアで孤独に死んでいる。

それは天災ではないのか？ 私達はこれらの子供達、彼らの愛する両親、兄弟姉妹のために祈り、ビデオを１本レンタルしたり購入する代わりに蚊帳を買っているだろうか？

アメリカやヨーロッパで蚊帳を買って送らないように：１つ分の値段で、現地ではおそらく１０個は作れるだろう（雇用も含めて）。

 

祈りを送ろ

うそして、さらに大切なのは

食糧の小包

次の１時間のうちに死んでいく６００人の子供のために？

 

そして、次の２４時間のうちに、おそらく寒さから身を守るために新聞紙にくるまり、ダンボールの上で横になり、ひざを折り曲げ深く抱えて死んでいく１４４００人の子供のために？

軍隊の配給ヘリコプターは彼らを救出しているか？ カリフォルニアのような地震の起きやすい地域にさらに原子炉を建てるか？

 

そして、また、ヒマラヤのウッタラーカンドのような地震の起きやすい地域にさらに巨大なダムをつくるか？どうだろう？ 知恵、賢明さ、どこへいったのだろう？

 

私達のハートは、地震、津波、放射と３重の危機に見舞われている日本の数千人へ送られている。

 

彼らと、彼らを見舞う者への３重の悲しみ。

 

私達が今いる場所で、１人でもグループでも良いから、彼らのために祈ろう。また、この段落を読んでいるうちにマラリアで死んでいる２人の子供達のこと、そして同じ段落を読んでいるうちに飢えで死んでいる４人の子供達のために何かすることも忘れずに。テレビや新聞にそれらの写真はどれくらい載っているだろうか？

 

日本の苦しみのために祈るとき、これら他のなおざりにされている災害のためにも祈ろう。

 

そして、君主や力を持つ者達が内観するように、祈ろう：

 

Kim aham paapam akaravam

Kim aham saadhu naakaravam

私はどんな宇宙の法や倫理原則に違反したのだろう？

私が怠った正しい行いとは何であろう？

私達も力を持ち行使していることを忘れずに：差し迫ったそして今後の世界中の災害を防ぐよう、あなた自身の自浄作用のためにも祈ろう。

 

あなたの祈りが動き出すように。

スワミ・ヴェーダ・バラティ

Do you seek power? Do you wish to conquer your world? Is the whole world your adversary? Do you seek the power of wealth and control over others? Does the world seem full of unsympathetic, unjust people, always criticizing you, attacking you? Are you anxieties and worries of the past or of the future?

Once upon a time an ancient king had a hall of mirrors built in his palace to entertain his guests. One morning after a long night of celebration, after the banquet was over and all the guests had left, the king’s pet dog wandered into this hall of mirrors. He saw himself surrounded by a thousand other dogs, baring their fangs, snarling, barking. With each of his barks was the echo of a thousand others. The valiant dog defended himself all alone from those thousand opponents. In the morning the king’s dog was found lying on the floor, totally exhausted and near death.

What would have been the best way for the king’s dog to make those thousand other dogs cease barking at him? Only to sit back and stop baring his own fangs, stop barking , stop attacking. For with each attack he made, a thousand of his own reflections lunged back at him, robbing him of life.

To find peace and true power in your life, sit back a moment and be still. Be quiet, be tranquil, and the world will cease to attack you.

Once a great woman saint was passing through a forest infested with robbers. With her was a noble woman bedecked with gold and jewels. When the robbers attacked, the saint took the jewellery of her companion, gave it to the leader of the robbers and said, “ Here my son.” When she said “my son”, there was such a depth of love in her voice that the bandit chieftain wept. “ From the time I was a child, no one has called me thus, son – and so lovingly. My mother died when I was so young” From that time on the leader of the robbers became her true son and followed her everywhere . Later he himself became a great saint. Such was the power she had over him.

There is a power which is not the power of wealth and riches nor ego. Neither is it a power exercised to control others. There is a power that is in loving eyes, the power in a gentle touch of the hand, soothing injuries, bringing light to eyes that were blind, healing the unhappy, making the lonely rejoice.

Once upon a time an emperor posed this question to his advisors: “Here, I have drawn a line on this board. Without touching this line in any way, please make it shorter.” After all his counselors had pondered over the problem and had given up, his wisest minister approached the writing tablet. He drew a line parallel to the emperor’s, but just a little longer, and said,” your Majesty, your line is now shorter.”

If you always seek to shorten the lines drawn by others, you will not win your battles. Draw your line from your own genius. Tap your own resources. Apply your concentration with an inner relaxed mind. Center your mind. Your creative energy is waiting to burst forth. There is within you an eternal genius waiting to express itself. Sit back and listen to him. Draw your line with full concentration, without comparing it to the lines of your competitors. Then you will have drawn the longest line of all.

When the famous Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great died in Babylonia, he said to his retinue, “When you bury me, cover me with a shroud. But place both my hands out of the shroud with the palms up and put a pinch of ashes in each, so that the world may see and know what the conqueror of the world is able to take with him.”

If you seek conquest, seek first the power of self conquest. Then seek that power which is service to others. Seek the power to benefit and comfort the many. For only such a power will be remembered. And even if you yourself do not gain from this power, many years hence generations of people will continue to benefit from it, and you will be blessed.

Once upon a time there were three young men, two of whom were not yet born and one who was not yet conceived. Suffering from the pain of miserable poverty, they decided to migrate from the city named Empty. On the way, feeling weary, they rested under the shade of three trees, two of which had never been planted and the third which has not yet grown. Having rested there and eaten of the fruits thereof, they came to three rivers, two of which had no water and the third which had run dry. They quenched their thirsts from these rivers and then crossed over in three boats, two of which had never been built and the other which had no bottom. After a long arduous journey, the three youths came to a city called Future and settled down in three houses, two of which had never been built and the third which had no walls. They lived in Future city ever after.

Your present anxieties and worries are as baseless as the unreal cities in the parable. Although your anxieties and fears and sorrows are here presently, the bad events which you base them on are forever gone or have not yet arrived. Clear your mind and in the light of your clear mind you will see that in this very moment there are solutions to the problems which have already gone or not yet arisen.

Which power do you truly wish? That which involves you with the false reflections of the snarling dogs of the world?  Or the power of peaceful tranquillity which draws people to you?  Which love do you really wish for? The phantom love of wealth and riches or ego and its control of others? Or the infinite power of the heart? Do you wish to succeed by competing against the lines drawn by others? Or do you wish to blaze forth in the creative expression of your own eternal genius?  Do you wish to conquer the world and gain only ashes?  Or the enduring powers of self-conquest and of one who has served? Do you wish to create and live in fear of the ghosts of past and future? Or to dwell in the city of divine clarity of the moment?

I wish for you the true powers of tranquillity, love, inner genius, service and divine clarity of each moment.

---

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from The Light of Ten Thousand Suns by Swami Veda Bharati.

SHIVA SANKALPA SUKTA¹

Our much maligned mind deserves a look at its positive attributes. It is the most creative form of energy in the universe. It is our very being. With some malignancy, it is still the source of immense benevolence, all beneficent knowledge, and all love and beauty.

Recently I wrote a series of 27 articles for Life Positive (India) magazine, titled “MIND: THE PLAYGROUND OF GODS.” It is now converted into a book by the same title, yet to be published.  There is much to sing in praise of the mind.

No pathologies here; only the divine power of the mind — so the ancient Rishi sang in the Vedas.Shiva-sankalpa-sukta, ‘Hymn to the Mind Fulfilled with Divine and the Beneficent’, is well known. The 33^rd chapter of Kanva recension of Yajur-veda contains only the first mantra.  The 34^th chapter of the Vajasaneya recension has six. These are the most well known. Less known is the apocryphal version in the Khila-suktas of Rg-veda (Khila-sukta 33), containing 26 mantras

In this presentation I plan to synthesize the commentaries of the great acharyas, Sayana, Uvvata, Mahidhara and Swami Dayananda Saraswati into paraphrased presentation of a comprehensive rendering.

The portion paraphrased from the first three acharyas is given the heading SUM and the one by Swami Dayananda Saraswati is given the heading SDS.

This, for the first six of the mantras from Yajur-veda. The remaining 20 mantras are being translated for the first time.

It has required these many paragraphs to translate the mere 21 words of the first mantra as presented below. Other mantras are also more or less consisting of similar number of words but they require lengthy explanations.

The explanations of mantras given here are by no means exhaustive, only illustrative. The true meaning will dawn upon the contemplative muni only through meditation. As meditation progresses through its many stages and states, so does the meaning unveil itself.

No mantra is ever recited in the tradition without worshipfully remembering its rishi, the seer and its devata, the deity, divine conscious power. Quite often the real name of the sage is not known as s/he has taken on a name reflecting on the subject matter revealed. Thus the rishi of the first six mantras from the 34th chapter of Yajur-veda is named Shiva-sankalpa and the deity is mind itself. The rishis of the mantras from khila-suktas, apocryphal hymns, are not known.

What are presented here are paraphrases and not always literal translations of commentaries, although we have attempted to maintain an integral intellectual honesty in making these presentations, staying as close as possible to the original.

SHIVA-SANKALPA HYMN

Mantra 1.

SUM

I am the self that is consciousness² . I am purusha, dweller of the city of body and nature.

I have a mind.

This, my mind rises like the sun. It rises above and beyond my senses and travels far beyond them.

In my wakeful state it traverses and is operative towards even the distant objects through its contact with the senses.

So also does it go to the objects concealed as they are of the past, future, present, too close, or too distant. It goes to them as though they were in its own realm.

Similarly goes the mind of one seeing dreams. It goes to distant objects, objects that are in the form of imprints and impressions that have created realities that consist of latent proclivities (vasanamaya padartha)

As the mind reaches out far in dream and sleep by whatever path, by the same path does it return to where it has been in the wakeful state.

The mind of one asleep, being in its natural state, goes to atman the spiritual self which is normally thought of as distant; it becomes absorbed in it, coalesced with it.

This divine mind is the medium through which is expressed bliss.

This angelic godly mind (daivam manah) is by which one becomes a being of bliss and does no longer grieve or suffer³ .

– Brhad-araNyaka Upanishad 1.5.19

The divine in the human person is the cognition-self. In that does the mind dwell and it is through the medium of this mind that cognition-self is grasped; hence it is of the shining ones, angelic, godly. As it is said:

‘Through mind alone can one perceive the Immeasurable and Permanent One’.

– Brhad-araNyaka Upanishad 4.4.19

It is called light because it is the instrument of illumination and operation of the senses which are the means of cognition of each of its realm.

It is one single light among the lights known as senses that lead one to experiential consciousness and cognition.

Furthermore,

Of these senses, mind is the true light, the one light of many lights, the illuminator, the one that impels them into involvements (pr-vartakam). The senses only thus impelled do become involved each in its realm.

Atman connects with mind; mind with the senses; the senses with their objects – so says Nyaya⁴ . Without being connected with the mind they cannot be operative.

May my mind be of resolve towards the fruits such as the celestial and heavenly ones in the life beyond, and of welfare, bene, in the current life. May it be resolved upon the right means such as sacraments for attaining the celestial and worldly beneficence.

May it be such, keeping dharma as its object, that its resolve and inclination is always productive of bene.

May dharma alone dwell in my mind and never any sinfulness.

May such a mind, not dependent on causes homogeneous to senses, my realm, the conditionality (upadhi) of all operations, of me who am the field-knower, be shiva-sankalpa⁵ .

May it be totally intent upon the acts (kriya) of the hymns (sukta).

Sankalpa is the attraction towards desirables like opposite sex; may my mind become such that its desires rest pacified.

Thereby,

May my mind be established in Shiva, one-bliss-self, Supreme Self; may it dwell established in the in Knowledge that Supreme Self.

SDS

Oh Lord of the universe,

Or

Oh King,

Through your grace, my mind that

—dwells in atman the self and serves as its instrument,

—carries a human being far and makes one grasp manifold objects,

—is the light (jyotih), the illuminator and impeller of auditory and such senses,

—thus wanders far in the wakeful state,and in sleep state similarly enters into the inner instrument ( antah-karaNa)—

may such my mind, consisting of resolves and anti-resolves (sankalpa and vikalpa), be endowed with desire towards dharma.

Those who follow the divine commands and keep company of the wise, thereby purify the mind that is endowed with manifold powers; the mind that is operative in wakefulness and pacified in sleep.

Those who know that the mind is the speediest of the speedy forces and the impeller of senses, they thereby bring the mind under control; they can thus channel the mind away from the ugly and the undesirable and towards the beautiful and the benevolent.

Mantra 2

SUM

Without the mind being in health and self-stability⁶  no actions may be perfectly intent nor would they be [right] action. Sacraments and sacred acts cannot be performed without the mind, and these acts can only be undertaken when knowledge has arisen before.

This mind is unique. It is unprecedented, for, it precedes the senses. It is yet non-externalized because it is identifiable with atman the self.

This mind alone can be sacramental and sacred. It dwells within the bodies of all entities that are born. The senses dwell in the externals; the mind alone is the internal sense.

May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts⁷.

SDS

Because of being in the presence of God and the saintly, those who are ever intent upon action keep their minds under restraint.

They are the meditative ones (dhyani) endowed with intelligence, performing the enjoined acts such as fire sacraments, other dharma-endeavours, pursuits of experiential knowledge or in battle fields.

The mind [wherewith they so perform] is unique, endowed with the highest attributes and actions. It is honour-worthy, coalesced in the hearts of all living beings. May such a mind, identified as the very process of thought contemplation, be shiva-sankalpa, ever inclined towards the [path of] dharma.

It well behooves the human beings that, through realizational worship⁸ , beautiful thoughts and company of the noble ones, they divert their minds from non-dharmic conduct and incline it towards dharmic behaviour.

Mantra 3

SUM

The mind that produces specialized cognitions in beings, is the means and the medium wherewith the highest knowledge is obtained.

This mind fully and harmoniously causes the cognition of both generalized knowledge [of direct perceptions] and the specialized cognitions [of inferential processes]; this same mind is the medium wherewith highest knowledge [from wise sages and from revelations] is received.

This mind is identical to patience and sustaining resuscitating power (cause and effect being non-differentiable)⁹ –

That same mind is the interior immortal light operating within as the  illuminator of all senses –

Immortal, never dying, being one with atman the self.

Without this mind no action can be performed because all involvement in and operation of actions in beings is preceded by the mind. Without this mind’s health and self-stability all possibility of actions will be annulled.

May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.

SDS

Oh Lord of the Universe

or

Oh highest, wise, yogin,

My mind that, when given knowledge by you, is

—the producer of specialized knowledge as buddhi the faculty of intelligence,

—as the instrument of memory,

—as identified with patience and sustaining resuscitating power (dhrti),

—the cause of [mental] actions such as modesty,

—indestructible illuminator inside the beings because it is a companion of atman the self,

—without which no action can be performed,

may the instrument of all actions, such mind of mine who am the soul-self (jiva-atman)

be filled with desire for the ever-benevolent Supreme Self (parama-atman).

Oh human beings, the mind that is the instrument of fulfilling all purposes of beings as it is the inner illuminator in four aspects of inner instrument (antah-karaNa), faculty of intellect (buddhi), mind-field (chitta) and identifying principle (aham-kara)—

Divert that mind away from injustice and non-dharmic conduct and tending and inclining towards justice and truthful action.

Mantra 4

SUM

The mind wherewith is grasped, known, from all sides the reality relating to the past, the existent world that is present, and future

—for, The mind operates in realities relating to all three times whereas senses are limited only to the current direct perception—

this mind is immortal, that is, perennial

—for, the senses perish with liberation but the mind remains imperishable.

The mind wherewith the sacrament of seven priests¹⁰  is extended, expanded—

May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.

SDS

Oh human beings, the mind united with the imperishable Supreme Self, wherewith all this reality staying in the three time divisions – past. Present and future, is grasped, known;

The mind wherewith the fire sacrament like agniShToma as well as the application of empirical sciences is extended, expanded,

may such my mind joined in yoga be filled with the resolve towards liberation (mokSha).

Oh human beings, the mind that is trained and has become accomplished through the main methods as well as the subsidiary means of yoga, becomes thus the knower of all three time divisions¹¹ as well as of the whole creation, and thereby the medium accomplishing action, realizational worship and knowledge —

Direct that mind to love and benevolence.

Mantra 5

SUM

The mind in which the lauds [of Rg-veda], psalms and hymns [of Sama-veda], and the liturgical chants [of Yajur-veda] are established —it is only in the health and self-stability of that mind that there would flash the three levels of knowledge (Veda) and it is thus that in such a mind all Word is established.

In the passages of Chhandogya Upanishad starting with

‘Oh Peaceful Beloved (saumya), mind is made up of food’
—Chhandogya Upanishad 6.1-16

it has been explained that the power to recite the Word (Veda) comes only upon the health and self-stability of the mind.

How is this? An illustration is given:

As the spokes are established in the navel (the centre) of the chariot wheel, so is the network of Word established in the mind.

Furthermore, as the stretches of thread are woven and interwoven in the fabric, so also the full knowledge and accurate and harmonious cognition of beings with regard to all subjects/objects is woven and interwoven in the mind, is emplaced therein.

[It is to be reasserted that] knowledge arises [from within] only in the condition of mind’s health and self-stability; in the anxiety and disturbance of the mind there is absence of knowledge.

May such mind of mine be shiva-sankalpa, one with pacified activities, the one in which all operations are now resting in peace.

SDS

The mind in which the Rg, Yajus, Saman and Atharvan Vedas are affixed, are stabilized from all sides, like spokes in a hub,

the one in which the knowledge of beings with regard to all subjects/objects is woven like jewels in a [necklace] thread —may such my mind be filled with resolves of imparting the true scriptures such as Vedas.

Oh human beings, it well behooves you that you purify with knowledge and dharmic conduct that inner instrument, mind,

—by whose health and self-stability alone the foundation of sciences such as those of the Vedas is established and the wisdom as to the [right] behaviour patterns accrues.

Mantra 6

SUM

It is the mind that carries the (human) beings¹² exceedingly from here to there as they beings operate only impelled by the mind.

How is that? Here an illustration: the way a good charioteer, controlling, leads the horses with a whip.

Second illustration: as the charioteer leads and controls the horses with the reins.

There are two similes here. In the first the concept is ‘to lead’ and in the second it is to ‘control’. As the charioteer both controls and leads the horses, so also the mind controls and leads the beings.

This mind dwells, is established, in the heart, for, it is in the heart that it is to be found and realized¹³.

This mind is non-aging as it remains [unaltered] in the respective condition during childhood, youth and old age.

It is the speediest [force], for it is said

‘there is nothing speedier than wind; there is nothing swifter than mind’ ¹⁴.

May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.

SDS

As a good and clever charioteer drives the horses from all sides with the help of the reins, similarly the mind drives living beings, such as humans, swiftly in all different directions.

Just as the charioteer controls the speedy steeds with reins and keeps them under restraint [so also does the mind].

This mind is established in the heart, impeller towards subjects/objects, free of conditions like the aging process, and is the speediest [force].

May such my mind find favour in the restraint that is identical to auspiciousness.In this mantra there are two similes.

The mind leads a human being perforce towards the object of his attachment and addiction the way a charioteer leads the horses with the reins. It reins them as a charioteer reins the horses.

The foolish ones follow this mind and the wise bring and keep it under control.

This mind is

— the cause of comfort and happiness when purified and source of sorrow when impure, and

—conquered, it grants accomplishment and adepthood (siddhi); unconquered, it generates failure.

It well behooves human beings to bring and keep this mind under their control.

KHILA-SUKTA 7-26

The five, fifty, hundred, thousand, million, billion are the bricks of the fire altar that the body is composed of. It is all of the mind. May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.   -7

This great Person, of the solar hue, beyond darkness I do know; The wise ones who see its womb and origin do so with the mind. May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.   -8

Wherewith the wise and learned move in their acts by speech, mind or action and point in the direction of one’s self that the living beings follow; may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.   -9

The shining ones, devas, who cause the resolves in my heart and mind and shape the sky of my inner vision in manifold ways; they who circulate in my ears and eyes, they are of the mind. May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.   -10

The one whom the wisdom-endowed ones, seers and poets (kavis), purify, and reveal this moon that is verily an expansive creator and ordainer, along with the moving and unmoving entities and heaven and space, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -11

By which the awesome heaven, earth and sky of inner vision is filled, and by which mountains, quarters and sub-quarters are all pervaded, and so, too, all this fully knowing world, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -12

Unmanifest, immeasurable, transcending beyond manifest and unmanifest   Shiva, to be known as subtler than the subtle, May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -13

On the charming peak of Kailasha¹⁵ mountain is the home temple of the Peace-creator Shiva; gods rejoice in that. May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -14

Of the solar hue, burning with ascetic splendour, that which you see in the caves as you are born; of Shiva-form, the risen Shiva, the temple of Shiva. May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.- 15

Whereby all this that is of the world came into being, the knower of all things, even of the great gods; that which is the single foremost light of ascetic endeavour — may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -16

The half-lotus¹⁶  that is beloved of the cattle, wealth, long life-span, power, progeny, animals – may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -17

The one that is recited soundless in all the Vedas, non-pierceable self (atman), may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.-18

That which is gayatri in Vedas and elsewhere, all-pervading great God, that is spoken when known, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.-19

Om in which prana is fully controlled, that same Om that is the great God, who is all, whose is all, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -20

The one who knows the great God, Om the highest of Persons, Om the Supreme Self, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.-21

Om, with four arms, patron of all worlds, Spirit dwelling on Waters (naaraayaNa), stable and still in all, having entered all, pervading all, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -22

That is Brahmaa (the creator) beyond the beyond; that is all-carrying Vishnu (preserver) beyond the beyond; that knowledge is beyond the beyond. May such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -23

Children of God (brahmaNas) who always recite this Shiva-sankalpa hymn, whereby they will attain the highest liberation, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -24

‘Is’, ‘is not’ – upon sleeping all this vanishes, and yet again is seen certain as before;

‘is’, ‘is not’ – the middle state is the beneficial one. [Wherewith this is realized], may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts.-25.

‘Is’, ‘is not’ — this is contrary disputation;

‘Is’, ‘is not’ — all this is indeed a secret concealed in the cave;‘Is’,

‘is not’ – that which is beyond the beyond— whereby this is realized, may such my mind be of beautiful and divine resolves, filled with Shiva-thoughts. -26

Editor’s Notes

¹The meaning of ‘shiva-sankalpa’ will become clear as one reads the presentations below. A sukta is a hymn in the Vedas that may consist of whatever number of mantras, like stanzas of a Psalm. The word sukta is not used for post-Vedic hymns for which the word is stotra.

² The commentators are not sectarian as regard to their school of philosophy. ‘Self as consciousness’ is Vedantic terminology, ‘purusha’ is from Sankhya.

³ Acharya Sayana’s quotation reads anando bhavaty… (becomes bliss) whereas the contemporary published text reads anandy eva bhavaty… (becomes only blissful).

⁴One of the six systems of Indian philosophy.

⁵The preceding and following paragraphs explain the meaning of shiva-sankalpa.

⁶Sva-stha, the term commonly used for ‘healthy’, has this verb root meaning, self-stabilized, dwelling in one’s true nature.

⁷The same long explanation of this phrase that was given in the first mantra is to be repeated here; to be read again for contemplation in the context of this second mantra and each subsequent mantra.

⁸Upasana (pronounced upaasanaa) is the highest, deepest of the three levels of worship, viz, (a) stuti, hymnal or other praise, (b) prarthana (pronounced praarthanaa), prayer, and (c) upasana, translated here as realizational worship, literally means the devotee being in a state of consciousness of ‘sitting close and near to the divinity’ in a direct experience of the presence, a realization, the Deity becoming real to oneself.

⁹The word dhrti is consistently translated by Shankaracharya in his commentaries as : an inner self-sustaining power in us that when the strength of one’s senses is almost totally depleted, one still calls upon this power to resuscitate oneself. Since the source of this power is in the mind and the power is an effect of the two, the cause and effect, are identified with each other.

¹⁰The commentators who were also experts at Vedic ritual often limited their translations to ‘yajnika’ (ritualistic) references and frequently ignored the ‘adhyatmika’, spiritual interpretations of greater depth. They speak of this sacrament of seven priests as the agniShToma fire rite in which the soma juice is pressed according to the ritual and liturgy prescribed. From the point of a yogin translating the current hymn, the seven priests are the seven energy fields within oneself.

¹¹A yogin is often referred to as tri-kaala-jna or tri-kaala-darshin, one who can see beyond the present into all three divisions of time.

¹²According to the commentators, ‘human’ in the original is only a synecdote to include all living beings.

¹³This refers to special meditation practices whereby the nature of mind is realized by a yogin.

¹⁴The reference for this quotation has not been found : na cha vaataat kim-chanaasheeyo’sti na manasah kim-chanaasheeyo’sti.

¹⁵A mountain in Tibet sacred to four religions. Here, however, following the tradition of yogins, the highest centre of consciousness, the abode of Shiva.

¹⁶The suggestion seems to be towards the unpronounced, unrecited, inaudible soundless sound of the half-mora of OM.

Cease your Yoga, for, cessation (ni-rodha) is yoga.

The Master asked an artisan to shape a hollow globe of crystal, with all the air vacuumed out of it. He placed it in front of a burning worship candle (deepak) and told his disciples to meditate on the fullness of the crystal globe.

This is yoga.

The Master reached up and grabbed a bolt of lightning from thundering, rumbling clouds. He plugged the lightning into the base of a disciple’s spine and said, “Henceforth, be a lightning bolt!”

This is yoga.

The Master dipped his copper goblet (kalasha) in the ocean and filled it. He held the goblet aloft to his disciples and said, “This is the whole ocean; dive into it!”

This is yoga.

The Master drew a single vertical line on a writing board and said to his disciples, “This is all the scripts; now read the scriptures written in all   scripts and learn them by heart!”

This is yoga.

The Master uttered the sound of the letter “a” and said to his disciples, “This is all the languages; now contemplate the scriptures revealed in all languages!”

This is yoga.

The Master taught an advanced mathematics class, wrote the number ‘1’ on a blackboard and said “This is all the numbers; now count to the end and backwards and add, subtract, multiply, divide and work out the square roots, cube roots, decimal points and negative numbers of all possible numbers from this ‘1’ that I have written!”

This is yoga.

The Master marked a point ‘ . ’ on the same blackboard and said to his disciples, “This is all the uncountable myriad universes; enter their inner spaces and explore in freedom”.

This is yoga.

“The Master squeezed a drop of a thousand times concentrated juice of the bitterest herb on the disciple’s tongue and said “Savour and enjoy the sweetest flavour (rasa) masquerading as the bitter.” 

This is yoga.

The Master said, “Cease! (ni-rudhyasva)”.

The Master said, “Harmonize! (sam-aa-dhehi).

This is yoga.

Meditate on the emptiness (shunyataa) of the fullness (poorNataa), on the fullness of emptiness. Have your spine plugged to a lightning bolt. Dive into a drop as in an ocean. Decipher all million scripts in a horizontal or vertical line and read all the scriptures revealed in all the universes. Recite the sound of “a” in a manner of non-reciting (a-japaa) so that all the mantras may become recited. Count all the universes and all the atoms of all those universes by simply saying ‘1’.Explore the expanses unfathomable spaces in the non-magnitudinous dot.  Savour the sweet flavour of a concentrate of the bitterest herb. Then, cease. Harmonize.

This is yoga.

Then the Master said, “None of the above! Or, below!!” – This is turiyaateeta, beyond the fourth state of the consciousness of yoga.

May you unveil in yourself such open mysteries of yoga, dear aspirant of yoga. May your yoga cease to be an aspiration, for, it has now been achieved.

Swami Veda Bharati

Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh

January 2011

In Spanish: Esto es Yoga

Cesen su yoga, pues, el cesar (ni-rodha) es yoga.

El maestro le pidió a un artesano crear un globo vacío de cristal, con todo el aire succionado fuera de él. Lo puso en frente de una vela de veneración (deepak) y le dijo a sus discípulos que mediten sobre lo lleno del globo de cristal.

Esto es yoga.

El maestro alcanzó y cogió un rayo de luz de nubes tormentosas. Puso el rayo en la base de la columna de un discípulo y le dijo “Sé un rayo de luz.”

Esto es yoga.

El maestro recogió agua del océano con su jarrón de cobre (kalasha) hasta que éste estuvo lleno. Le enseñó el jarrón a sus discípulos y dijo: “Este es el océano entero, sumérjanse en él.”

Esto es yoga.

El maestro dibujó una línea vertical en una pizarra y le dijo a sus discípulos: “Estas son todas las escrituras. Ahora lean las palabras en todas las escrituras y apréndanselas de memoria!”

Esto es yoga.

El maestro entonó el sonido de la letra ‘a’ y le dijo a sus discípulos: “Estos son todos los idiomas, ahora contemplen las escrituras reveladas en todos los idiomas!”

Esto es yoga.

El maestro enseñó una clase de matemática avanzada. Escribió el numero ‘1’ en la pizarra y dijo: “Estos son todos los números. Ahora, cuenten hasta el final y de regreso, sumen, resten, multipliquen y dividan. Trabajen las raíces cuadradas, cúbicas, puntos decimales y números negativos de todos los números posibles que parten del ‘1’ que he escrito.

Esto es yoga.

El maestro dibujó un punto ‘.’ en la misma pizarra y le dijo a sus discípulos: “Esto es todos los incontables universos. Entren en los espacios internos de estos universos y exploren la libertad.”

Esto es yoga.

El maestro exprimió una gota de un jugo mil veces concentrado de la hierba más amarga en la lengua de un discípulo y dijo: “Saborea y disfruta el más dulce néctar (rasa) disfrazado en lo amargo.”

Esto es yoga.

El maestro dijo: “Cesen!” (ni-rudhyasva)

El maestro dijo: “Harmonizen!” (sam-aa-dhehi)

Esto es yoga.

Mediten en el vacío (shunyataa) de lo lleno (poorNataa) y en lo lleno de lo vacío. Pongan un rayo de luz en sus columnas vertebrales. Sumérjanse en una gota, como en el océano. Decifren las millones de escrituras existentes en una línea horizontal o vertical y lean todas las escrituras reveladas en todos los universos. Reciten el sonido de ‘a’ sin recitar (a-japaa) para que todos los mantras sean recitados. Cuenten todos los universos y todos los átomos de esos universos simplemente diciendo ‘1.’ Exploren los vastos espacios dentro del insignificante punto. Saboreen el dulce néctar del concentrado de la hierba más amarga. Luego, cesen. Harmonizen.

Esto es yoga.

Luego el maestro dijo: “Nada de lo anteriormente dicho.” Esto es turiyaateeta, más allá del cuarto estado de la conciencia del yoga.”

Descubre en tí estos misterios del yoga, querido aspirante.

Que tu yoga cese de ser una aspiración, pues ahora, ya ha sido logrado.

पूर्ण – आहुति

pūrṇa – āhuti

The Offering of Completeness, of Perfection Which Is Made with the Mantra

पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते।

पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते॥

pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate|

pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya

pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate||

That is pūrṇa; this is pūrṇa.

pūrṇa is taken  from the pūrṇa.

Upon taking pūrṇa from the pūrṇa

what remains, too, is pūrṇa.

The word pūrṇa means filled, fulfilled, complete, perfected, as perfect as God.

“That” always refers to the transcendent and “this” to the tangible material, eminent universe including ourselves.

The definition of infinity recited in the fire ritual is as above.

A sanyasin (Swami) has moved beyond one family to embrace the world-family in equal love. For this reason, swamis do not normally speak of their pre-sanyasa families. They refer to their pre-sanyasa families as ‘poorvaashrama family’, the family from the previous Ashrama, the preceding station of life. I will call it their pre-history.

However, some high level swamis have written autobiographies in which they have detailed the pre-histories of their physical families as context for a guidance that the readers/students/disciples may receive from such writing.

Hoping that this writing may give guidance and inspiration, this swami is giving a glimpse of part of his pre-history.

The Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, had a stepmother by the name Noor Jahan (1577-1645). She was a powerful empress who wielded the true royal power in the entire empire during the reign of Shah Jahan’s father, Jahangir (1569-1627).

Noor Jahan spent her childhood at a small settlement in Punjab, and later decided that the place where she grew up should be re-established as a proper township.

She invited a Brahmin family to settle in the new town and help establish it.

The founder of this family branch was a yogi. After serving the empress by helping establish the township, he took jivita-samadhi, a term used when a great yogi decides that s/he has completed his/her life work and it is time to leave the body. A hole is dug in the earth, the yogi sits down at the bottom in meditation, and leaves the body. Disciples/descendants then cover up the body with more earth and a grave or mausoleum may be built. Such ‘graves’ are called ‘samadhis’.

There are hundreds like these all over India where worshipful honouring continues for generations and centuries.

The samadhi of the founding father of this branch of the family is one such holy place.

This yogi founded the family line from which Usharbudh Arya is descended.

The sacred knowledge was passed on to the founding father’s daughter. She also followed on her father’s footsteps and took samadhi the same way. It has been a tradition in the family, established by her command, for four centuries, that a new bride must be brought and presented to this founding matriarch at her samadhi to become a full member of the family.

The land grants given by the empress Noor Jahan sustained the family for 300+ years. How much of the yoga or Vedic knowledge was carried on through these generations I cannot say.

The family is now scattered all over the world and hold successful positions. I have met them in Nairobi, Vancouver and elsewhere. In order to respect the privacy of the diverse living lineage of this family, I do not include the place or family names.

350 years passed. Usharbudh Arya’s father decided to give himself to the pursuit of this knowledge and dedicated himself to raising a son who should become a ‘rishi’.

That is again a long story of much family ‘tapas’.

In order to accomplish the spiritual goals for his son Usharbudh, his father Pandit Durga Das, cut himself off from all relationships and external worldly samskaras that might touch his son. The result is svb.

Dedicated to the transcendent, avoiding confinements of personal relations, svb met one of these physical relatives for the first time in his life only 4 years ago – the only first cousin who searched and found and came to see svb at SRSG Ashram.

These family members think that this svb may be the same founding father re-born.

Now, 400 years have passed.

Even though countries, cultures, circumstances, education systems have changed, the thread of spirituality continues. There are pictures of two granddaughters (actually grandnieces) meditating under the tree next to the holy samadhis.

Who will be the yogi descendants in the family, how many generations and how many centuries from now – cannot be said. The family samskaras continue to be passed on.

Would the founding father of the American branch of the family be thus blessed four centuries from now, with a yogi down that line ? Let us pray that a positive answer manifests itself.

One last word:

Some months before Gurudeva left his body he called over to his chamber and instructed :“The day you sit down in Samadhi and ‘will’ it that ‘I will now leave my body’, only then you will leave your body.”

Svb now wishes to prepare for that moment, of Guru’s prediction/instruction coming true, by taking five years’ silence from 2013.

More than 400 years will have passed since this family’s founding father sat in samadhi and willed himself to leave. Only the Guru knows whether svb’s wish to follow the footsteps of his ancestor and other yogis will be blessed with success.

---

Editor’s note

Swami Veda Bharati ji plans to take a five year vow of silence on the auspicious night of Shivaratri 2013. Before Swamiji goes into silence, he invites all of the initiates, Swamis, initiators, teachers, and potential teachers to Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama in Rishikesh, so he can impart special guidance on secrets of effective teaching and give further spiritual teachings.  For more information about this gathering, please follow this link:

https://www.ahymsin.org/main/index.php/2013-Gather-of-the-Sangha/2013-all-teachers-and-sangha-gathering.html

Question to Swami Veda

You encourage us to meditate on the full moon day. Through the meditation we are connected. You are in India and we are in Taiwan. What is the mechanism by which this happens?

Answer

I am sitting here and you are sitting two meters from me. That is quite a long distance! And we are connected. How does this happen? If you are sitting behind that pillar, how does that connection happen?  Your body is limited in space and time. It has dimensions, a past, a present and a future, and you think you are a body. So long as you think you are a body, you will not understand the connections that exist in the universal mind. When you and I are meditating together, and there are periods of silence, we are connected. Because at that time, you are not thinking of the body, you are purely in the mind. So when you will learn about your mind and soul, you will know that there are no distances the universe. If a master was sitting in a galaxy, one trillion light years away, and you were sitting on this mustard seed size planet, the connection would still be there. And when the master is not in the body, the connection is still there. In fact, the true traditions of this earth are still being passed on, mainly by the disembodied masters. They are the ones who have brought you here. Somebody dreams something, somebody gets a very strong feeling inside. Something inside you says, “Let’s go and meditate for fifteen days in Rishikesh.” From where does that feeling arise in you? Who make you think that thought? You think it was your own inclination.

But there is some greater hand that is guiding you. There are times when people come to Rishikesh who do not know anything about this ashram. Somebody in Brazil gets a strong feeling to go to India and go to Rishikesh. The lady arrives and goes and sits down in a hotel. She does not know where to go. Seven days she sat in her hotel room. Then she got tired of sitting in the room, so she came out and started walking. Or took a vehicle, which stopped somewhere, and she started walking, and she sees the ashram and just walks in. Somebody from the reception says, “Swamiji, there us a lady here from Brazil, and she is leaving for Delhi and the airplane tonight.” I called her to my chamber. She speaks Portuguese but she understands Spanish. I gave her five minutes of meditation, and that was enough, her purpose of coming was fulfilled. And she meditates impressively.

Why ask about Full Moon Meditations? Somebody is broadcasting in a machine in Moscow, or Washington or Beijing. And you are hearing it in Taiwan. The person who does not know about radio waves wonders, “How does this happen?” It is not coming over some wires, but the instrument is tuned to the waves, because those waves are everywhere. So your mind is everywhere. Understand the nature of the mind. How is it that a mother is sitting in her house and her child is in an accident. And she gets this strong feeling inside, and she runs out and finds her child. How is the connection established?

Because it is a link of love between the two minds – the mind of the mother and the mind of the child. The mind of the masters and those who are serving the masters – their mind is a motherly mind. If you are not a mother, you cannot be a teacher. When taking a teacher training program here, whether you are male or female, learn to be a mother. A mother to anyone who passes by you. A mother to anyone who comes to your class. A mother to anyone who has any suffering. A mother to anyone who has any need. Then you are a teacher. And the persons should feel that they are being mothered. So the connection between the master’s mind and your mind is like the connection between a mother’s mind and your mind.

Please understand that this mind is not something limited to the size of your body. Your mind is not some kind of liquid or solid that is poured into the vessel of your skull, and kept there with a tight lid. Like the radio waves, your mind is an all pervading wave. You are a wave in the universal mind, and you are also the wave that is the universal mind. Can you take a piece of chalk or pencil and draw a boundary line between two waves in a river? Can you draw a line between two waves in the sea and say, “Wave number one, you stay on this side, and wave number two, you stay on that side. This is my country and that is your country?” Can you do that? You cannot do that. The energy is not in the shape of the water. The energy is that, because of which, the water becomes the wave. So the wave of your mind, and the wave of another’s mind touch each other. When the one mind wave and the other mind wave touch each other, and know that they are loving and embracing a fellow mind wave; when they know that it is the light waves of the mind that are embracing each other – what is that called? That touching of the minds, that hugging and embracing of the minds? What is the name for that embrace? It is called love.

And when you truly love, you can sense what is happening with the object of your love, even a thousand miles away. How does that connection happen? It happens even in those who do not understand that they are not the body. It happens even in those who do not understand the universality of the mind principle. And it happens much more in those who have understood the universality of the mind principle. When you understand that, then you are a teacher. Not because you can recite the relaxation exercise. If you are not a mother to the person you are teaching, then you are not a teacher. You be the mother mind and let that person be the child mind.

Swami Veda Q & A

27 March 2008

Speaking to TTP group from Taiwan