Posted on: 25 Feb 2017
[Maha Shivraatri Message] The three instruments (Trikarana) are 1) Mind, 2) Word and 3) Action. Mind generates word and action. Action gives full effect to others. If you injure somebody, the other person suffers a lot and thus action is the full potential field of fruit. Though, Mind is generator of action, by itself, it is ineffective to exhibit any practical fruit. If you think in your mind that you have injured him, the other person is not suffering at all. You can imagine as if you hurt somebody by mind, but you can't hurt him even by trace by such imagination (mind). Action is a male husband working for potential fruit. Mind is a female wife unable to do anything practically. The wife provokes the husband to do any action practically (I am taking the female and male of ancient time only here for simile!). Nobody suffers from your mind but everybody suffers from your action.
Q) What about the word, which is in between Mind and Action?
Answer: Word used in scolding certainly hurts somebody but the suffering is not as severe as that of action or practical injury. Word is not like mind, which cannot cause any suffering. It is more than mind but lesser than action. It is like a person of neutral gender, who is neither male nor female. Catching this instrument (word) alone in the spiritual worship is neither this bank nor that bank of river. Some people recite prayers only without any practical action or service. The prayer is also not associated with any sincere mind. The practical service done without mind has little effect. The receiver may not be happy to enjoy your service done without mind, but, the enjoyment is true. But a prayer done without mind is totally waste. The reason is that both mind and word come under theoretical devotion only. At least during recitation of prayer if the mind is present on God, in course of time, such mind has the possibility of generation of service. When the mind is also absent, what is use of such prayer?
We find most priests reciting prayers for the sake of others in this similar way. Since the issue is not personal, the mind is naturally absent. The priest is paid by others for such a recitation and at least in view of such payment, the priest should associate the mind with the prayer. However, the psychology of many priests is that the person paying for the prayer will be unable to detect the mind existing in the recitation of the prayer! The payer also leaves the priest alone and comes at the end to pay the money. This makes the priest to become corrupt in not reciting the prayer with mind. Of course, by this, the priest gets sin. But the work of the payer is not done. Hence, this priesthood is not correct due to this natural flaw.
The priest should stop earning money by reciting prayers for the sake of others in the above mentioned way of payment. The priest should inspire the human being with spiritual knowledge and devotion so that the human being by itself approaches God. You must not fight for the sake of somebody. You must make him to fight by himself. Your training is important in this spiritual life. Therefore, the path of worship involving only word from throat is totally waste, which is deceiving others thereby deceiving yourself. The word is created by God for a wonderful purpose for which you are not using it. The purpose is to use the word in propagation of spiritual knowledge and devotion so that every human being must be well informed of all these spiritual truths and by itself should become an excellent devoted soul. If you use the word in its actual purpose, you are pleasing God. If you use the same word just in mechanical recitation of prayers to earn few rupees, your life is totally wasted because you are in no way better than an animal, which also earns food by tedious and mechanical work. Sage Yaska compared such a foolish priest to a coolie carrying on the luggage of a bag containing Crores of Gold just for a wage of Rs 10/- (swarnabharah harah…).
The feeling or mind is nervous energy. The word is mechanical energy. Work is another form of inert energy only. Thus, mind, word and work (action) are different forms of the inert energy only. Energy propagates in the form of waves. The Shiva Linga indicates the inert energy propagating as a wave and thus indicates all the three instruments to be properly used in spiritual life. If you don’t learn this from the vision of Shiva Linga, what is the use of all this worship related to Shiva Linga? If the main secret is not understood, everything is waste. Hence, you must dedicate all these three instruments together to God. You may do thousands of worships without this analysis, all those are not very effective. You must analyse and find out the truth of direction before you do anything (Jnaatva kurvita... Gita). Even little worship in right direction is fruitful than lot of worship wasted in wrong direction!
Q) Shri Hrushikesh asked: “Swami! Can You give a message for the uplift of Hijras, who are neither males nor females, wandering without any fruitful aims of life?
Swami replied: Really, these people are very pitiable because they have not realised the main goal of human life. The divine goal of sex between male and female is only extension of humanity (prajayai gruhamedhinam…). If a human being is not eligible for such divine goal, a better divine goal should be realised for which efforts must be put up. The goal of any human soul is only to get the grace of the ultimate God and no better goal of life can exist. The Veda says that even the children generated by a human being can't protect that human being except God (na prajayaa…). In such case, why should you worry for the generation of children? Shankara did not marry and get children. Shri Paramahamsa married but never tried for children. Do you consider these two unparallel divine personalities to be useless like 'Hijras'? The other purpose of sex, which is of very low level of the state of animals, birds etc., is the desire for the embracement or touch (yehi samsparshajaa bhogaah, duhkha yonaya eva te - Gita) of smooth flesh of other's body! The Gita says that the pleasures involving aspiration to rub one skin on the other skin are certainly to lead to grief only in the end because the old age steals away the whole glamour! The aspiration for smoothness is due to temporary flesh and color of the skin is due to play of visible spectrum of light only! Bhagavan Shri Satya Sai Baba told in one speech a wonderful statement, which is always thought provoking. The statement is “When you don't have eraser or pencil, you request others for those, but, when you have the same with you, why should you request others for such things? Similarly, you have lot of flesh and smooth skin in your body provided by God! Then why do you crave other human beings (females) for the same?” Shankara told “why are you attracted towards the body of a lady? It is just skin, blood, flesh etc., only (etat maamasa vasaadi vikaaram)”. With the help of such statements of knowledge-diamonds, we must divert the attention of these pitiable people towards spiritual goal. Getting the children through sex is only an intermediate goal. But getting the grace of God is the ultimate goal. If you achieve the ultimate goal, why should you bother about the intermediate goal?
Today is Shiva Raatri and you find Lord Shiva as 'Ardha Nareeshwara', who is female as well as male in His body. These people should keep such Lord as their ultimate goal. What about Lord Vishnu, who became Mohini and became wife of Lord Shiva to deliver a son called Manikantha? Lord Vishnu (Krishna) is said to be Purushottama (king of males), who became female! What about the case of worldly males? The Veda says that all the male human beings (Purusha) are not only females but also wives of God (Striyah satih pumsah…). Where is male and female in fixed notion? It is only an apparent modification of the body of human being. All the sages saw Lord Rama and wanted to become females and embrace the Lord feeling that Lord alone is Male (Purusha). These sages should be kept as guides of spiritual path for them. One day Meera requested her preacher Tulsi Das to give some place in his asylum for sleep. The preacher refused saying that the asylum is only for males. Then, Meera asked the preacher “Is there a male in us, the human beings, also? So far, I am thinking that Lord Krishna alone is the Purusha (male) and all the human beings are Prakruti (female) only”. The soul is Para Prakruti. The five elements of the body, mind, memory and ego are apara prakruti (eight components). All these nine are called as 'Navaavaranams' (The nine obstructions to reach God). All these nine components are called as Prakruti. The enjoyer of Prakruti is Purusha, who is God. Some Scholars liked to call the male in human beings as Purusha and God as 'Purushotthama'. This classification also exists in the Gita, which shows the egoistic psychology of males! Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa stayed in Brundavanam for one month in the dress of a Gopika wearing Saris and jewels. Who is a more enlightened spiritual soul than Shri Paramahamsa in this Kaliyuga age?
A beggar begs for Rs 2/- in a very pitiable way, which can be compared to the tender female level. A scholastic devotee gives spiritual knowledge and sings devotional songs and does not beg at all. This can be compared to the dignity of masculine level to whom, you offer at least Rs 100/-. If you see the way of begging of these Hijras, it neither belongs to tender female level nor to the dignified masculine level. They demand for Rs 10/-. This shows that their minds are perverted to a level of arrogance due to their efforts to suppress their inferiority complex. We should not mistake it as real arrogance. Their attitude is turned towards illegal sexual activities. Their minds must be diverted to the super most spiritual level before which any worldly level is far far inferior!
Q) Shri Kishore asked: “The reverse activity of spiritual knowledge in practice is not disappearing, to be very frank”. Please enlighten on this.
Swami Replied: The external atmosphere is always the root cause for such strong force in action. Already, there is a printed pattern of psychology in our sub-conscious state and this was also a printed impression by the then existing external atmosphere. However, this sub-conscious state is limited to the faculty of memory (Chittam) and this memory is suppressed in deep sleep, though not in the states of waking and dreaming. The sub-conscious state alone becomes the king of dream. But, the sins done in the dream are not effective for punishments. This sub-conscious state works in waking state. This becomes stronger if the present external atmosphere in the waking state is also congenial to it. However, if the present external atmosphere is good, the force of sub-conscious state is reduced. Moreover, the time of awaken state can't be completely occupied by sub-conscious state and its congenial external atmosphere because a part of awaken state is taken up by the good external atmosphere. As the good external atmosphere becomes more and more, consuming more and more time, the sub-conscious state becomes more and more weak and on one day it may even disappear. Hence, concentrate on this spiritual knowledge given by God in human form, discuss with spiritual friends and finally involve yourself in the service of God to propagate this spiritual knowledge. One day you will be reformed by the propagation. Do you know the first person to be reformed by your propagation? The answer is yourself only. When you are reformed, all the pending punishments are cancelled since punishment is for reformation only and not for revenge. During the process of propagation also, God will keep your file in cold storage, which is inactive and you will not be disturbed by any punishment. The order of God is “Such and such a Soul is My servant involved in propagation of spiritual knowledge for the reformation of the world and hence, no action should disturb his work”. It may look as if it is for the reformation of the world, but, it is actually for your reformation only. Reformation means not repeating a sin practically. Reformation does not come by mere repentance and confession, which may be considered as initial theoretical steps. But, sitting in these two theoretical steps only throughout life is like sitting in L.K.G class only till 60 years of age! Except this path, no other way is there. The force provoking you to do the sin is only wrong knowledge either given by your external atmosphere here or given by sub-conscious state. The wrong knowledge can be plucked by right knowledge like a diamond can be cut by another diamond only. Worship, singing songs, taking cold water bath, fasting etc., are totally useless for this goal.