Quest In Reality

[little-self]

Shantnu I told you before, let us not discuss God as a subject, as yet, but should confine ourselves to gross-conscious and its subtle reflections (circles).
Yes, it is possible for a person to achieve to higher circles, without in any way, involving him in religious activities (rituals). As explained earlier, life lived for others---selfless service, surrendering oneself to the needs of others, control over senses and equanimity of mind, would certainly lead a person to the same level that a spiritualist attains! The only difference is, whereas the former, like a scholar, though possessing the knowledge of both the sciences of negative and positive, would becomes the tool of his own achievements. On the other hand, a spiritualist, in the attainment of his goal, sheds all his negative tendencies. He is a wise who discriminates his actions and acts always for the benefit of others. The former is always selfish, self-centered, egoistic, whereas the later is selfless, self-sacrificing and compassionate. The major difference between the two is the absence of compassion and love in the former and their over – abundance in the later. A scholar is a product of nature, whereas the wise is above Nature (senses). Both work for the selves, the former works for the improvement of his gross-conscious which always relates to material (sensory) knowledge. But the latter canalizes the dry-ness of others with his love and compassion and lifts their subdued selves from the slothful levels to the upper levels of intelligence (consciousness).
Umeshwari It is clear then, a person can realize, attain to the second level of consciousness, without help of a Master or Divinity.
Shantnu No. His reach is only up to the first level of gross-conscious. Cosmic-consciousness he can attain, (realise), it he develops (activates) the latent potency of love-pulses, already existing in his memory-cells. Rather the very nucleus of the molecules, whose composition he is, contains the pulses of love.
Umeshwari All that you have taught me so far leads to the conclusive belief, that we are the masters of our fate. Then what is the role of the so-called masters in our lives? Even their contribution to humanity has been very insignificant as compared to the marvels of material sciences. Therefore, the roles of geniuses have been more important and result-oriented than the theologies of the Masters. Our rich cultural heritage is because ofSindhu, Harrapan, and Mohenjodaroo civilizations, not because of Puranic (Indianmythological tales) stories. Scientific inventions, discoveries are for the benefit of entire humanity. In every field, man has improved his living standards. And due to these, average age of man has increased markedly.
Against all this progress, what have our Masters/Messengers/prophets /saints, contributed in our lives? Have we in any way, benefited from their theologies and scriptures. Instead of being useful to their societies, they had been wasting huge sums of money, wealth-resources in the construction of temples – mosques – churches and many other houses of God, where no God delves but their (Gods) descendents spend lavish lives. Had this money been spent or is spent on scientific research, education, medical care or on the removal of poverty, earth would have been an unenviable place to live on. If we go through the recorded history, behind almost, all wars, battles and their resultant destruction wrought on society, religions were the major cause. Religious dogmatic ignorance, mutual rivalry, expansionism (rather forceful conversion) of religions, have been and are still the major reasons on which communal riots, carnage, inter-community inter-national, bestial destruction is brought about on the innocent citizens of the world. I wonder if we belong to a civilized world or living in the kingdom of the beasts, who happen to be more civil than we!
The words of the prophets, messengers and Avatars have only segmented us into narrow groups of pseudo-believers. If I am not being harsh I would say their ‘words’ carried no potency, otherwise their will, would have brought peace on earth, instead of numerous wars, It was because of the differences in their words (theologies) that their followers fought with each other. The fault lies with the masters not with the followers, because the masters themselves were not aware about the oneness of the God and brotherhood of man.
Our misfortune has been, that most of the masters – who started new faiths (religions) belonged to royal families. And it is the cult of the royalty to fight over assumed causes. Chivalry, heroism, name, fame, honor and scholarship of scriptures or revelation of truth – actually half-truths---all this created divisions. They even created divisions in the kingdom of God. Because for them God was a bigger lord like them and like them He ruled over a larger realm.
In their chivalry they renounced the might of the mundane world and assumed the power of the spiritual world, which was even more powerful than the former. In the mundane world, they (Master) had the power only over their (followers) bodies and property but in the temporal word, they even had control over their conscience!
Of course, they made some efforts to expand their level of consciousness as they were the elite of the society.
Only in rare cases, some faiths were established by the ordinary persons, who really had attained higher-levels of conscious. To their misfortune, again, the elite of the society became their followers and their real teaching became the handy tools of their followers, which they used according to their needs and interests.
Please tell me, has there been one faith/religion whose master or followers have not fought both physically and theologically, with the believers of the other faiths or has there been one Master, who has recognized the Divinity of another Master, hence had no difference of opinion? It is really very funny; can there be any difference of opinion about the Reality?

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Remember, since man put his feet on the earth or, we can even go further back and say it with authority, when creational process started, there ever was a material world. Either the elements were fighting with each other (fusion) or the man has been fighting with man. Man inherited from nature the qualities of creation and expansion, so there can never be identical motives. Again like nature, man too is a unit of combination of molecules. And the nature of each molecule is to transform itself into another combination of entity. Each particle duplicates, then creates fusion and multiplies with atom chain-reactions. Any particle, which has become active (prone to split) will never merge into another except in explosion, which would go on and on to create, recreate atoms – till their backward journey (compression) starts.
All this shows that each particle is an independent single entity. Each will create its own world of planets – suns – pulsars –galaxies. A journey from a finite black-whole to an infinite black-whole and again the same recycling!
Someway each human is a unit and it shall create its own world. That’s why no two human beings are identical. Each one goes through different environment, upbringing – combination of molecules. Though outwardly we may seem to enjoy same kinds of facilities but each one reacts differently to the same situations because of his inherited, genetic past ‘karmas’. Each human has to live his life according to the restrains he is confined into and the destiny he is supposed to live through.
Umeshwari You are contradicting yourself. First you say, we are the product of our own environment and simultaneously we have to live through our destinies too.
Shantnu You will find two divergent views, even in the Indian classic (Gita). On the one hand Krishna reveals to Arjuna that not a blade of grass moves without his will, on the other hand he exhorts him, to action. He further explains to him, even though nothing is there in world, which is not already destined to happen but still each object living or inert, has to discharge an obligation to society/environs, in which it happens (not by chance) to take birth. Both destiny and karma (action) are essential functions of nature. Each co-ordinates and co-exists in perfect harmony. If one solely believes in destiny and discharges no Karma (action) he is taken away from his pre-destined course of life and put in another circle of slothful existence.
Umeshwari What are these circles which have a direct bearing on the discharge of our destiny/karma? And you had also spoken about the free-will – a rare gift to humanity. How the three intermingle and coordinate our course of life and the obligatory actions attached therewith?
Shantnu We let off the subject of the Masters for a while and take up, first, your recent queries, which in essence are not distinct. Like nature, humanity too, has categories of people who display identical qualities. They not only have common physical features and habits but many an identical mental aspects as well. In whichever country or clime they live, they always cohabit together. They not only ooze identical smells but emit sensory rays which are also of the same colour. These rays (pulses) form one group in the atmosphere, whose subtle replica reflects in the outer-space, where there are no atmospheric disturbances of the planet. There are as many groups (circles) in space as are the number of aspects of our minds. But there is always a chance to leave, upward/downward from one circle and enter another, according to the nature of use-misuse of our free-will.
Suppose a person is destined to be laborer, whether due to past karmas or present circumstances, but instead of being satisfied with his present lot, he acquires additional skills, qualifications, while performing his normal duties, he has taken better advantage of his free-will for a positive purpose and has come out of his predestined destiny and changed his fortune. Persistent effort, determination, will-power, can change a person’s allotted lot, there is no doubt about that. That is why, in ancient Hindu scriptures of India, so much stress is put on karma (actions). Fates are made or de-made according to positive/negative use of one’s free-will. Even if we believe in past-karmas/destiny, integrated use of will-power can extinguish one’s past karmas, simply by out-living (exhausting) them, by activating the latent memory cells and by discriminating on them, their influence can be weakened or completely mitigated. It all depends upon the intensity or awakening (activation) of the gross-conscious (mind) that would clear the dregs of past or present sensory emotions. The simplest thing to understand is, we are the product of our past-present, gross-subtle selves, knowledge/intelligence, the direct descendent of wisdom---the love pulses, permeating the cosmos. Our life is governed by our intelligence and that particular intelligence may relate to a class of persons with identical qualities. On earth they exhibit similar traits and in atmosphere, they radiate identical vibrations, whose reflections are enclosed into separate circles in outer space. All of this is the exact duplication of the mind that each entity consciously exhibits in grades of qualities, which correspondingly places them in their respective circles of identical radiations (colours) or the conscious-levels.

 

[little-self]

Shantnu In one respect you are right, most of the masters who established new faiths (religions) were the scions of society. There are others who were from amongst the commoners. There is also no doubt about the spreading of their faiths. Either they (Masters) themselves were the creator of their religions or their class adopted the faiths of the commoners, as it suited them politically. As far as their (Master) authenticity about the realization of Truth is concerned, they rightly achieved higher-levels of consciousness but not one of them could attain to the level of supra conscious state! Though their followers believe their masters belonged to that level, but the actual teachings propounded by them, are not the repository of Truth – the whole Truth. Each of them attained some level of consciousness and proclaimed that as the ultimate – truth.
Without going into the details of their theological revelations; discriminate them with the modern day science. Science is not different from spiritualism. Amalgamation of the two is the real balance that creates harmony in Universe. Science teaches us how a thing happens, whereas spiritualism tells us the source (why) behind that. About the period before the creation of this ephemeral world of materialism, the physicists and cosmologists are silent. But spiritualism tells us about the realms beyond.
We are not here to condemn or play down the realized truth of the masters. Our humble contention is that, whatever they ‘revealed’ as reality, does not represent the whole-Reality! Not one of the Prophet/Messenger/Avatar proclaimed himself as God but only as His messenger or the Divine spark like others. They have explained clearly that each one of us is the spark of one divine father; that all are divine and imbibe a soul (spirit) which represents the One (Over) Soul. You are also right about the roles played by the Masters and their general influence on the common people of their times.
First of all we should not compare their roles with the worldly rulers. The kings, dictators and conquerors have created and destroyed societies, cultures and nations. Similarly, since the advent of religions, there is in vogue the ‘State’ sanction to adopt a particular religion, and in every age religious zealots have been forcing their faiths on others, who happen to believe in other religions. Such forceful compulsion or conversion shows complete ignorance of the very tenets of their masters’ teachings. But this has been happening and shall go on happening as long as the personal inhibitions of man are related to the sensory world. It is not that we put too much reliance on the potency of our masters! Had it been so, there would have been no wars on religious differences and expansionism. Even the very founders of those religions either had to fight to establish their faith and died in the process, or were killed.
The Masters, who founded religions and new faiths, were just like other commoners. The only difference, if there was any, was in the awakening of their conscious level, completion (attainment) of spiritual consciousness or the awakening of their individual self into the Supreme- Self, which is Universal-Unit of all the units. Man or spirit is not two different identities. Both reside and sustain on each other. Any man can become a divine or a beast. It all depends the ways he deports his senses; whether he sways under their pleasures or he masters them and divert their energies to higher and better awareness of mind (intelligence).
Your other point, regarding the recognition of each other’s divinity, is also valid. It is strange that a commoner happens to recognize the spark of divinity in the Master, he follows, but the masters, among themselves feign ignorance of each other’s ‘divinity’ and engage in mutual criticism! They ought to recognize their Source---which is one---and should spread His word of love, not their hateful vibrations which become the cause of mutual bickering and fight. People should beware of these pseudo masters!

 

[little-self]

Umeshwari How one can recognize a real Master?
Shantnu He should be aware of the three worlds – that he should have the awareness of three-levels of conscious. All others are teachers, guides, scholars (of scriptures). They are shallow inside and have nothing to give to their followers. Instead of love, they spread hatred. The real Masters, too, cannot transform the fate of their followers. First of all the system of follower-ship, should not be there. If a Master has attained some level of Truth (conscious) he should not limit it to his followers only, because the Truth that he bestows is Universal, hence should be bestowed to all. But if the Master himself is attained to limited level of truth, then naturally, its revelation would too be limited. That’s why the Founder-Fathers of new religions have been able to convey the contents of their revelations only to few. The holiness – love pulse – awakened in them, they can not pass on to their followers, as there is nothing material in it (consciousness acquired) which a Master could transfer or delegate. He has no authority or the competency to make or de-make the fates of his followers. His newly acquired possession (awakening) is love, and that he cannot impart on others. His awakened divinity (love-pulses) can affect only that person, who himself has purified his pulses of sensory impressions.
The scope (range) of each master has been limited to the areas he traveled or to the followers, he initiated. Even their influence was limited, as the aura of holiness created around him attracted/affected his immediate followers only. They (followers) instead of adhering to the truths their master’s expounded became fanatic believers, who only followed their master’s outer symbols: What he wore or how he deports himself! Even today after thousands of years, one can distinguish a follower of a particular faith, because he still supports the ancient outer-symbols of his master.
What their masters revealed or taught, could only be grasped by few of his followers; who were ready to absorb the aura of holiness of their masters, because their masters had helped them awaken their latent pulses (latent knowledge in memory cells). Remember our master can help us, guide us, but we have to make our own efforts to raise our dormant cells to higher levels of consciousness. They help in removing gross layers of sensory-world and make them pure. These masters have themselves realized the love-pulses; their vibrations fill the hearts of their followers. As much grossness of sensory world they remove, that much void is filled with love-pulses (Grace). It also means, the devotees (followers) have to attune themselves to their master and draw his attraction towards them. It is a reciprocal affair, as much love (Grace) their Master showers, his followers return reciprocates the same amount of love as devotion.
Umeshwari Is this affair only between the Master and his followers?
Shantnu Love of a mother is confined to her children only. Other children may have her blessings but not the love which is limited only for her off-springs. I know, you love me and this love is not physical any more. You also love your daughter. All the same you love the children of your University. But your love for me is in its purest-form; it becomes a physical bond with your daughter (she being your creation); it further dilutes and turns into compassion for the students. One love has transformed itself into three forms. Masters too are human. They too behave in similar manner.
Umeshwari But there were (still are) Masters, who transcend the barriers of caste-creed-nationality and follower-ship and shower their grace on all!

 

[little-self]

Shantnu They come to this world on their own ‘sankalpa’ (will), for a limited purpose and after fulfilling it, they leave. Like other saints – Messengers - Prophets they do not have to undertake any kind of sadhna (Spiritual Discipline/exercise – devotion). They do not have to work for the attainment of the three levels of conscious. They are aware of past-present-future but deport themselves as ordinary human beings. They reveal their reality, only to few chosen ones. They never play foul or err in their chosen missions. Their love-grace-blessing is for everyone. They never create any religion, faith as they represent the truth – Love combination, whose Source is One. And they reveal this Reality only. Their revelations are still valid. After 5200 years, Truth revealed to Arjuna in the form of Gita, is still as valid as it was then. Thousands years hence, its validity would remain as fresh and valid as it is today. Truth-Reality never changes with the changing dimensions. Sacred scriptures---sacred, because each scripture is proclaimed to be the word of Gods---of other religions have lost their significance in the scientific era of today! Not that they did not contain reality. But they revealed limited realities not the whole-Reality. Since its (Gita) enlightening discourse there have been many skeptics, but never, ever, there has been one, who followed its philosophy and failed to experience the Bliss of the Existence of God.
But we should not attach too much importance to Krishna factor. He too was only a medium for the revelation of Truth. He was a prince and like princes, he employed questionable means – tit for tat – dubious dealings etc. May be for nobler ends but means should never be negative or against the ethics one preaches. Thought-word-deed should be one.
Truth told in Gita is Eternal, Krishna’s Source too was eternal, but He is not accepted by many a reincarnation of God, because according to them His actions, behavior or tantrum, did not correspond to the whole Truth-Love. (A contestable statement though!)

Umeshwari Then, why we give so much importance to the ancient or present masters, when they played only limited roles, in limited spheres, for the benefit of only few, and for the misfortune of the many.
Shantnu Umesh, Truth is one. And that is, Reality, supra-conscious, supreme – intelligence. Many saints through self-restraint, sacrifices, yogic sadhna, (spiritual-exercise) compassion and love, realized some levels of Truth. But mistakenly they thought their realization as whole and considered themselves as the ‘know-er’ of Truth, thus true representatives of God. As their realizations were only partial and their explanations or revelations were also incomplete. So their realities differed with each other. They made the source of their realities as local-personal-separate. Each of their reality personified and represented one different God. Their glossary of Gods equaled the number of faiths and religions in existence. As each ruler erected his empire and created its boundaries, the same-way founders of religions segmented the society in as many groups as there were religions. Where the state-religion, power combined, societies-Nations-civilizations became their targets in the name of holy wars – crusades, Jihad. The wars fought by the rulers for the expansion of their worldly realms and the resultant destruction wrought thereof, was negligible as compared to the quantum of ruins left by the zealots of the religions.
Umeshwari It is a childish society! Every religion proclaims peace and co-existence, but its ‘thekedars’ caretakers are ever ready to kill each other. Their slogans of peace, co-existence, brotherliness, may have some relevance but only between their own brethren. Religions have proved more lethal than the man made WMD weapons. History is a witness, whole civilizations have been destroyed, and cultures ruined, societies vanished, just in the name of religions.
Can’t there be a universal religion or
Can’t we accept One-God? One-Truth-Reality; or
Can’t all the religions, preach oneness of One Source.
Shantnu Questions, Questions? For centuries, thinkers have been asking and raising the same questions. But the bestiality in man has always been more powerful than the dormant logic in him. The temptation of worldly power, possession of a few tinsels, is more important and prominent than the existence of Reality. Material comforts, egoistic satisfaction are more attractive than the latent Reality, which is not visible and thus can easily be ignored. God-Reality-Truth-Love is good adjective and handy tools. He uses them as he is in the habit of using material object for his comforts and benefits.
Fault does not lie with the followers but as told earlier, in the incomplete Realization of Truth by their Masters. If the one-truth is segmented into many sub-truths, believers are baffled and instead of going deep into the realms of reality, they find the easiest way, by letting the sensory world over-rule their rational powers.
Unless mundane-religious leaders shed their selfishness and egoistic heights---which is unlikely until the arrival of a Master, who possesses extreme potency of love, compassion for all, and a Universal word for all, our earth planet would remain the same, as it has been since man took birth on it.
Umeshwari Then it is the man, who is responsible for his misfortune?

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Only he is the master of his fate.
Umeshwari Then it is the transformation of man, which is necessary. Till then no Godly agency is of any active help. Is it really possible to bring inner-transformation in man, or awaken his latent conscience? Mighty kings and generals have changed the very maps of the world many times over, then why can’t a divine entity, dealing in ‘divine love’, bring matching changes in the inner maps of conscience!
Shantnu A good question, but there is no valid practical answer. No power, even from Supreme-Intelligence Source, will be able to do that. There have been and there still are, who had been making this effort sincerely and without any selfish motive. But as you had earlier explained, their influence have been very negligible, and confined to a narrow stretch of land. Their conscience-level could never uplift beyond their gross-conscious. We need a Master, who transcends these three-levels of consciousness and he could be either from the Source or be a commoner, who elevates to that level! Unless an entity, realizes supra-conscious level and His intelligence permeates the entire universe, there cannot be one voice, one-word-oneness of humanity. That entity has to be ‘live’ in each cell (particle) whether pervading in the living or the inert.

Umeshwari Or is it not possible, if both the forces, secular and spiritual, unite into a common cause, for the benefit of humanity?
Shantnu This can never happen even in the wildest imagination of man. Five negative forces (passion, anger, greed, attachment, envy and ego) would never unite man in one unit. In case they become one unit, they are liberated. Now tell me is that a possibility in the present circumstances?
Umeshwari But suppose a real Master arrives, shall we listen to Him!
Shantnu Definitely, if He is a real Master and descends from the Source, He will be coming with all the allied forces (divine-powers) to transform the hardened hearts, clean the slush covered love pulses, and again make the mother earth a worth living place.
Umeshwari Is it a dream?
Shantnu No, it is as true as our daughter, who is coming back from the school. To tell you a secret, He has already arrived and is completing His self-allotted mission.
Umeshwari Have people recognized Him?
Shantnu I recognized my daughter through you i.e. her mother, same way people with insight and elevated conscious are recognizing Him and are enjoying the Bliss of His physical proximity and the rare of the rare marvel sought by the saints, His grace which is available aplenty there.
Umeshwari Where is He and how He is known?
Shantnu Know thyself! It is your choice of free will, whether to recognize Him or deny Him. But otherwise, even if I tell you about Him, it would be of no use, for, first of all you have to develop in you certain pre-requisites which enables you to know Him, to imbibe His Grace!
In the meantime, their daughter joined them and together they had late luncheon. Without going in for evening siesta, their daughter asked him.
Sheetal Papa, how creation began, and what are the latest theories about it?
He told her, at length, about Dr. Stephen Hawkins’s theories about cosmology, contained in his book ‘A Life in Science’. After exhausting explanation he summed up:
Shantnu The research of the cosmologist will continue, perhaps computers may take their place to make quick calculations of their equations. But, my darling cosmology, as a subject, may be tackled by equations or mathematical calculations, and they might one day, know some part of the working of the creation. They may also make some progress in understanding the material structures (roaming fragments), but what created space that wrap up the creation---as according to them, one major dimension is required to wrap up the already existing ones!
Every scientific mind has no doubt about it, that the Universe in which we are living is self-contained as every other entity in the Nature. But Nature too, like its entities, sustains on certain principles, which are not man-made or come by as of the result of evolution alone. We can someday create a perfect model of the Universe, with all its material components. But is may take aeons to take shape, as our efforts have obviously started from the very base of the gross-conscious (mind). Just imagine it took lakhs of years for man of today to be ‘civilized’! During that time he learnt to use robots instead of stone tools, laser beams in place of manual administration or passive acceptance of the lot. His progress in material science has been appreciable, during the last two hundred years. Due to his intense desire for material progression, his gross-conscious has awakened. Once it activates to the level, where his pulses (passion) are optimum charged, intelligence sources (knowledge) would trigger off whole knowledge of the material worlds automatically into his grasp.
It has to happen as since Stone Age, man’s endeavor has been in the improvement of his material comforts, and he has achieved his aims to large extent. He is bound to make more advanced leaps in future.
Sheetal Papa, I am off to school again. They are taking us to space-auditorium.

 

[little-self]

Shantnu O.K. See you tomorrow then (while his daughter had left). Umesh you have really adopted the modern ways of education in your Institute. I wonder how you have introduced so many faculties in such a short time!

Umeshwari It has not been a short time. Fourteen year’s separation is a long time. I can’t explain the way I felt during your absence. Somehow I was sure; you would come back one day. Today I am happy you seem to have revived your lost memory better than the last time. Your talks with your daughter were interesting. I loved it all. All of these years, I felt very lonely. Though I had no worldly bonds with you, but my man, it was my love that always buoyed me up. Then there was your daughter. I always saw you in her. I don’t know but I had the prescience about your coming that is why I had already arranged for Sheetal’s absence from the hostel for two days. Today she can stay with us.
But you have changed! Years have not burdened your body, but your soul has risen high. You are more serene, calm and composed. Tranquility is even more pronounced on you. All this shows, you are more enlightened now. You know, what my first reaction was, when I saw you yesterday. You looked a Saint to me that is why, instead of coming into your arms, I fell at your feet. Though, in the worldly sense, you have made me your wife, but now, I don’t feel that way. I worship you. You know during your separation, I developed a high degree of love-hate relationship. I loved you, because you were in me, but I hated you also because you had left me. But as years rolled by and your daughter grew in years, I began to understand, love is not in the proximity of the bodies but in the heart, where I preserved your cherished memories. How time had passed, I realized only yesterday, but otherwise you were always with me. I brought out memories of each moment I had spent with you. Happily, I lived on them. I was ever fresh; I have lived these years with a smile on my face. These were your loving memories which brought that smile on my face. Sometimes my happiness seemed superficial to Angelee, and she often thought I was deranged.
Now tell me, where you have been all these years.
Shantnu Frankly speaking, it seems as if I was put in a time machine and fourteen years metered out in just two days. He told her about his stay with Baba and his long discussions with Nitan.
Umeshwari You had a wonderful experience. That’s why you have peace on your face, and a subtle glow around you. Don’t smile, remember I have been a Sanyasin (ascetic) myself and gone through rigorous sadhna (spiritual practice) for seven years. Now you are grown in stature. I mean, attained to higher level of conscious, which is the domain of the true seekers…
Shantnu Please, I just want to be myself, a normal human being, not an identity of urges, desires of inflated ego. I feel poorer in every sense. Even my thinking (questioning) ability has waned away. I no more want to see any more places and seek guidance from the exalted ones! For naught, I had taken my body hither-dither when all that I sought was within me. From now onward, I stay put any place you wish, it does not matter anymore. Since you too are leaving for South-India, I am not sure about myself. Any place … is good for me. Places are no more important…
Umeshwari I won’t go if you desire so.
Shantnu No. No. Go, it is your destiny that is calling you. Baba sent me back to you before your departure, to discharge some old debts of attachments.
Now tell me, what is it that you seek there and you have that here? Go you must, but you have to explain to me the different between the quality of work that you will discharge there and which you do not find-here?
Umeshwari There I shall be in the presence of Divinity…

Shantnu Do you understand what is Divinity?
Umeshwari No. But I shall try to understand…
Shantnu By fleeing from your responsibilities which are here, and taking on new one’s! No Umesh, you cannot escape from your world which you have created here. Quality of action does not change with the change of place. Action, activity, performed anywhere, bears the fruits according to the quality of labor/effort put in by the doer. It is the motive, not the place that is important.
Umeshwari Then the company of good people has no influence on the outcome of our action?

 

[little-self]

Shantnu It all depend on the motive and stature of the doer. If the action is performed for the satisfaction of our senses, mind and ego, then naturally, our motive would be selfish and the fruits would automatically accrue at the gross-level! Our conscious-state at the time would also be at gross-level. This state (Tamasic) has no scope for positive vibrations. Even if our motives are good of the society, we are not freed from the clutches of motives (selfishness). Actions are basically without the prefix of good or bad. Only clean hearts bereft of intentions (good or bad) have a place for positive vibrations. Good pious company, in such a state has a ripening effect.
But in your case, you are going with a selfish motive of Self-realization. But you can’t attain, even if you go in the very presence of the Source, because as yet you are not mature to gain entrance through the gates of Grace, to the realms of Reality. Because you are still mastered by your senses! You should be aware that the mind is below the senses and ‘reality’ transcends the mind. A wave of good intention impels you to leave your child, University, and other responsibilities and seek salvation at the feet of your new Master.
May be your new Master is genuine, but your first duty is here. Complete your duties here, then seek elsewhere. But that elsewhere is also here – within you, so why bother outside and tarry your body to distant places on the flimsy commands of your mind. Create inside your mind, what your mind seeks outside. You will wonder to realize, whole worlds abound in there.
I am sure; even if you still go, your Master will send you back because being a genuine he is not going to accept incomplete beings in his presence. First of all be a completed human being and then merge. And that is a state not a physical company (Union). To be in that state, one has to rise above the physical level and go beyond the mind. When one reaches there, then there is hardly any need for the Presence, as one feels union everywhere.
Umeshwari Then where is the need for a real Master to incarnate as a human being?
Shantnu To teach humanity by setting an example, by living an ordinary life, even though possessed of the powers of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.
Umeshwari But what is the need for Him to live an ordinary life, when cosmos are at His command! Why should He play a small role, in a small inhabitation, when the entire Universe is His domain?
Shantnu Every potent thing has a small beginning. Even the cosmic-drama had its beginning in a small particle. But that potency, impulse has the entire Universe in its infinitesimal size. Like whole Universes unfold from a minute particle, same way love and grace spring in abundance from the Master and pervade the cosmos. As a human life, His performance is perfect. He performs all His chores Himself. He never delegates His ‘duties’. Sleep, rest, comforts are not for Him. Besides being numerous other things, He is always a Karamyogi (supreme-doer). Though He controls the elements, He never interferes in the operations of Nature. His every action is an example for posterity. By his tireless activities, which are always for the betterment of society – nay for Nations? Like Masters of past, He is a self-less doer, humility adorns Him, devotion springs from Him, wisdom blossoms and He walks amidst His flock, like a torch bearer, who lights their dark hearts and blooms their faces with love. He never accepts anything but always gives. Love and Grace are the priceless ‘things’, He distribute.
Ancient Masters have left us the legacy of their sacred works in the form of sacred scriptures. Imagine the royalty, those could bring to their pro-genies, but they gifted them to humanity, as a remittance of their debt to society.

Umeshwari Do the Masters have a direct say in our lives?
Shantnu No. A master is not reactive like elements but a witness like space. He is above the material world, so does not react on its account. His domain is like space, where invisible vibrations of love and Grace pervade. He deals in these commodities which have no form or sound.
Umeshwari Then why he takes on a physical form?
Shantnu To make us realize that we too are divine, that in us (humanity) is Divinity – not anywhere else.
Umeshwari What is Divinity?
Shantnu Suffice is to say presently, it is the life-force (Life-Principle), in us that keeps us alive.
Umeshwari And actually, it is something else.

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Yes. It goes on changing its names, as we go on increasing our levels of conscious. It is the sense of perception in sense organs, conscious (mind) of the senses, it is the sound in space, Self of the consciousness; Super-Self of self (pure conscience). Though it was one all the time, but temporarily assumes different names and forms (sound/images), reactions and reflections. A Master too assumes different forms to convey in practical form, different messages to different categories of life-forms. Messages of truth may seem simple but it is always eternal as it comes direct from the Source. A Master may assume an ordinary form but His Word is Eternal, for He represents Totality – the Reality. Reality subsumes in His miniature form. Like cosmos take form from a minute particle, the mighty powers of Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience are compacted in His small stature. An intuitive insight can have a glimpse of that wondrous phenomenon; with His grace of course.
Umeshwari I am still not clear about the physical incarnation of the Master.
Shantnu I think you are not clear about the descent of a Master. A Master who displays the symptoms of cosmic-conscious and other attributes at birth, incarnates on account of His will. He comes with a specific purpose. During His sojourn on earth, He exhibits super-natural powers, which come to Him, naturally. Though He lives an ordinary life still He is possessed of extraordinary powers which extend beyond the nature. He seemingly controls the nature and materializes and de-materializes its elements at will, still He lives within its bonds…
Umeshwari But He could display these powers by staying back wherever He was. Why the physical form?
ShantnuEnergy being emitted by gross-elements gets too much wasted by the time it reaches the other planets or targets. Its carrier channels – rays, vibrations meet en-route many an obstructions such as gigantic bodies, their atmosphere or ozone layers. From the emitting point to the receiving end, it has lost its original potency and is received in a very diluted from. You know electricity transmitted from the generation sources, is largely wasted on transmission lines. Had there been no transformer centers en-route, there would have been no satisfactory transmission of power from the power houses to distant cities. Transformers transfer the energy and channel it further. All elements of Nature work on the same principles. Take water: dried up water of oceans are stored in the form of ice on the mountains. It melts according to the needs. Had there been no storage of water as ice, oceans would have submerged the earth. Nature and its elements though seems to devour each other, keep their balance and are the rejuvenating centers, which receive the energy of the elements, store it for some time and release it later according to need.
Same-way, the Masters who incarnate on this planet and exhibit symptoms of super-natural powers, at their very birth, are the conductor of divinity, the very physical store house of Truth, Existence and Bliss. In these small bodies as human beings they are compact entities, constricting in them the 108 dimensions (54 of creation-al process +54 of their subtle bodies). A normal man can’t comprehended their splendor or amassed powers because he is used only to four+plus one of space dimensional world. There is nothing abnormal about them, the differences lies in our state of dimensional levels of existence. What they display are their normal tools of Existence. Only our comprehension is limited to four dimensional worlds. The difference is between our narrow insight and their broader vision.
The genuine Master tries to awaken within us the latent power of insight (consciousness) and brings it at par to His level. Until then He tries to live like us. In the process they release enough powers of Grace-Divinity-Love-Bliss, which we can absorb and go on increasing our conscious levels by slow dozes of the ingredients, which are found at each level of 108 dimensions.

Umeshwari What are the dimensional levels?
Shantnu These are the conscious-levels. Our capability of comprehension denotes the level of our conscious (ness).
Umeshwari How a Master upgrades our level of consciousness?
Shantnu He works on us at different levels. So long we are in the 4-dimensional world. His approach is totally rational. He differentiates between nature and its Creator. He treats Natures a self-sustaining entity and its Creator a mere witness. He tells us we are the masters of our own fate and we are the one’s who can change it.
Umeshwari But isn’t it true?
Shantnu Upto Reality level, it is true. But beyond comprehension- conscious-Existence, there is – and that is--not an entity or a witness…
Umeshwari Then what is that?
Shantnu To know that, we need a Master.
Umeshwari But where can we find a Master, who is either a direct descendant or a Realized One, who ascends by stages during his present life? According to you, a genuine Master is the one, who is aware of the three worlds. So please tell me where is that Master?
Shantnu Please first be a master of self and seek the grace from within.
Umeshwari But grace is the privilege of a Master. I always thought it is sought from without (Master) and absorbed within, whereas love springs from within and spreads without.
Shantnu You are right. But the real enquiry starts from within. It develops your insight that clears your foresight, and widens your vision. That is to be able to receive the grace of a Master, we have to first master our self.
Umeshwari Then why we need a Master at all, if all that we need or seek is within ourselves?

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Really, we don’t need the help of Master, until we have ourselves mastered. Till we are in gross state, He is like a beacon of light, which stirs our conscience. But in case our consciousness is not awakened, the Master can do nothing with us. We are then like rust-iron, on whom magnetic fields of grace have no effects at all. But this does not mean, we should shun the company of a real Master. If we are sincere in our efforts, the grace rays emanating from the light-house (Master) would encourage and enlighten our path of self-realization.
Umeshwari You mean, He can guide and authenticate the correctness of our path-ways. Intricacies of inner journey are very delicate. Any minor deviation can lead to disastrous results. Instead of raising our conscious we can easily be swayed by negative tendencies. Because as we go on increasing our levels of conscious we acquire powers (dimensions) which we assume are super-natural. Without proper guidance, consistent seeker gets stuck up. Then either he revels in his neo-acquired powers or uses them for nefarious purposes.
Shantnu Very right. You have gone through similar experience, which was very painful. The problem with such seekers, who masquerade as masters, is that they restrict their further progress (of self-realization) by falsely assuming their achieved level of consciousness (Reality) as complete and final.
Umeshwari How do we know the difference?
Shantnu Super-Natural powers come natural to a genuine Master. Since childhood, He supports these powers. He does not boast about them and does not use them for His benefit. Whatever He has or possess is for others. He does not criticize other masters. However, by His actions He reveals His omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience not to intimidate or impress others but to mitigate the sufferings of humanity. They know the inherent potentialities of mankind and encourage them by precept, to awaken and realize their latent powers. But a masquerader or a partially realized one, always gloats over his achievements and criticizes even the genuine Masters. Had he been realized to their level of consciousness, he might have known about the genuineness of a real Master and would shy away from criticism. It is the ignorance of such Masters that comes out as criticism.
Umeshwari What are super-natural powers and why it is said that these should not be displayed by the Masters?

Shantnu Earth is not the only planet, which supports life. There are countless other worlds besides ours, which are governed by varying ranges of dimensions. If a person envisioned by 2-dimesional world confronts four dimensional man of our land, he would find our man, displaying extra ordinary powers, which could rate as super-natural. Similarly, if we confront an alien conditioned by more than four dimensions, obviously we would wonder at his natural deportment as super-natural.
Umeshwari You had just said we should first be our masters; in that case if we have to learn everything connected with Reality, by our own effort, then, I would again ask, what role a Master has in our lives.
Shantnu A real seeker becomes wise by self-inquiry, whereas a wise becomes wiser by learning from others. I had told you that there is a second class of Masters, who realized their Self, by self-inquiry. They were born like us, but by persistent endeavor, they achieved highest level of consciousness, that is supra-conscious level, compressing in them the 108 dimension, like the first class of Masters, who descend, already equipped with them. The second class of Masters is an ideal example for novices (seekers) as they learn and emulate, more easily from their experience.
Umeshwari The direct descent; are they not ideal to follow and learn from!
Shantnu Only the wise are fit to learn from them.
Umeshwari Why?
Shantnu Because ordinary minds equipped with gross conscious are not ready to comprehend the range of their dimensions (powers) so they shy away from their company. They may worship them, when They have left the scene of life, as in their reverences is the key of fear of Their super natural powers, that kept ordinary seekers away from Them during their lives but after their physical exit, people do not become their followers or try to learn from their experiences, because such Masters exhibited extra-ordinary powers, thereby much superior to them in every aspect of life. So people feared them. Mundane powers, wealth, physical prowess or beauty, creates awe in the hearts of layman but fear of death and super-natural powers, produces response of worship. How hard a direct-descendant (Master) may try to lower down to our level of dimensions, but we never feel normal or equal in His presence. So a seeker learns better from second class of masters, because they belong to his class and speak his language and conduct like him. Till we also become wise, we belong to him, but later much later, having achieved the levels beyond the perceptional world (Mind-ego-intelligence), the first class of Masters, take our charge and guides us, fosters our wisdom to the next state of statelessness.

 

[little-self]

Umeshwari How can we make a proper distinction between a genuine and a hoax or a partially – realized master. There are a hoard of masters selling God ware, in the name of divinity and cheating the innocent/ignorant persons of their wealth and emotional property. During the process, the finer sensitivities of the followers are hurt beyond repair. All this leaves them embittered-emotionally battered and physical wrecks beyond repair, reprieve or salvation.
Shantnu Yours questioning has brought us back to the zero level. Don’t you worry; earnest quest always starts/proceeds from the beginning. It is the beginning of quest from beyond the perceptional levels. It is a quest beyond the gross level of conscious. Ignorance, doubts and questions, are the three requisites for self-enquiry. From ignorance to knowledge (doubts to clarity of mind) liberation and question stage to final answer (Reality). This is the pursuit of the journey that we have to follow. It is not a novel way. Many a seekers have already beaten this trail. Their travails are the beacon lights for our endeavors, the lamp-posts which signal the genuineness of our path. And that path leads through pure-consciousness.
Umeshwari What is pure-consciousness?
Shantnu A mind which is free of questions and doubts. So now, our real quest begins. Let us remove our darkness of ignorance and take our next step, in the light of Reality.



------------
6



Next Morning Angelee paid them a surprise visit along with five students. All of them sat in a semi-circle. Shantnu was in the center.
Angelee I know we have disturbed your peace. But I was helpless before their entreaties. All of them are doing advanced research in metaphysics. They were curious to meet you, so I brought them along.
Students Sir, we have heard so much about you, we simply could not resist meeting you and learning some basics of Truth from you.
(Following is the question-answer sessions which continued for nine days. So it is staggered in nine sessions.)
Students Sir, we don’t know how we should begin.
Umeshwari I will help you in that by asking the Master (there was no mocking smile on her face), what is pure-consciousness?
Shantnu It is the purest state of gross-consciousness.
Stundent How gross consciousness becomes pure?
Shantnu When gross is sieved and filtered, only conscious remains.
Student Sir, how we do that?
Shantnu Having realized the present state of awareness (conscious/intelligence) we remove the irrelevant data out of mind/conscious?
Student How do we know, what is relevant or irrelevant?
Shantnu By applying our sense of discrimination.
Student What is that?
Shantnu Intelligence. Both are one.
Student By relevant or irrelevant we mean, good or bad. Is it not so?
Shantnu Quite right.
Student Whenever an act is undertaken, its reactions, whether good or bad, affect the undertaker. Who is the undertaker in the present case?
Shantnu I will make your question simple for you. You want to know when we remove the irrelevant data from our gross-consciousness, how do we know that the removed data was really irrelevant? Who is to decide that?
Student Naturally, I will decide that.
Shantnu Which I?
Student The present ‘I’, otherwise known as gross-consciousness.
Shantnu If it were so, the present gross-consciousness, would not have allowed in irrelevant data. An entity can’t know of its infirmities, unless it elevates itself to a higher pedestal and observe itself or some other entity, already elevated to that state should discriminate between the relevant and irrelevant.
Student Sir, what really is that ‘I’ which elevates itself from gross-conscious state of mind (which is the mixture of good and bad) to the next state of right or wrong.
Shantnu First, we should be clear about one thing. Sense of discrimination only promotes goodness by leaving out the bad. Now about the ‘I’ states. ‘I’ is an identification which goes on changing according to the earnestness of our quest or degree of its (i) involvement with the senses.
Student Sir, make it clearer.
Shantnu You know ‘I’ go on changing its identities. I am the body – the mind – the intelligence – the conscience – the wisdom – the Reality. one ‘I’ transforms itself into many i”s.
Student It means the ‘I’ that changes into so many ‘I’s is not the true ‘I’. Its source is not Truth (Reality) as it never undergoes changes.

 

[little-self]

Shantnu You are right. It does not emerge from the Truth.
Student It means the ‘I’ that changes into so many ‘I’s is not the true ‘I’. Its source is not Truth (Reality) as it never undergoes changes.
Shantnu You are right. It does not emerge from the Truth.
Student Then what is its source?
Shantnu Its source is the incomplete data stored in our memory chambers. It builds it identity on the basis of the present gross-conscious level (Mind) which composes of more than seventy percent data that is irrelevant.
Student What is the short cut to come out of this confusing state of mind?
Shantnu There is no confusion. Our mind goes through some transformations which we call as identities and ultimately finds its true identity. We often confuse these transformations (mental states) with personality changes. Actually, these are neither transformation, nor the personality changes but the mental states that we go through, as our level of consciousness goes on expanding. As there is only one cosmic mind, so there is only one mind to an entity. An individual may have many personalities still it has one Master (mind).
Student Like an individual has one master – the mind, who is the master of different personalities, an individual possesses?

Shantnu An ego.
Student Then ego does exist.
Shantnu So long we identity with different personalities and identifications, ego is there to ratify their superficial existence.
Student Superficial?
Shantnu Yes. Neither of them exists. Ego is state of mind that exists for sometime but the moment (mind) elevates itself to the higher state, it (ego) vanishes. This process of elevation – vanishing goes right up to the intelligence level of the mind. When its (mind) conscious encompasses wisdom state, ego vanishes forever.
Student Please Sir, will you be kind enough to illustrate for us the different identities of ‘I’ so that we may understand its transformation more clearly.
Angelee No more. Enough for today, discriminate well on what you have learnt today. Remember, the words coming out of this master’s mouth are as the result of direct experience. You are fortunate to be in his company. If we don’t impose ourselves on your hospitality, then Didi (sister) we shall come again tomorrow.
Umeshwari By all means (looking at Shantnu).
Next morning at eleven they assembled again and continued the dialogue.
Shantnu Welcome. Before we start let me caution you about my infirmity in scholarship. I can’t repeat or continue like a tape recorder. Like a scholar I can’t deliver lectures from crammed knowledge. My knowledge comes direct from the activated conscious of the moment. So an earnest seeker should never snap a rich enquiry (dialogue) as it may never come again. The chain of thoughts and their exhilaration may never sprout again. Never let an idea go, it may prove the wisdom of tomorrow.
Now I shall have to start from the point, we left yesterday. It was something like, the illustrations of different ‘I’s. Isn’t it?
Student Yes Sir, we are really sorry. Please continue for our sake.
Shantnu We are talking about the different variations in the ‘I’ levels. Or we can define these variations as our reactions experienced at physical-mental-intellectual levels. Better still we can explain these variations as changes from gross to subtle levels which we undergo when we go through the transformations of the personality ego.
Student Kindly elaborate.
Shantnu Let we take our first form as physical entity (I). At this state I consider my body as Boss and all my actions are centered for its pleasure, appeasement.
Student But body can’t be the boss. These are the sense organs which take or give pleasure.
Shantnu When we are controlled by the senses our body (including its sense organs) becomes the playground of these reactions.

 

[little-self]

Student But it is not the body or its sense organs, that cause (instigate) reactions in it. It is the mind-boss that pulls its strings.
Shantnu But a sensual man, never lets his mind work (activate). He considers himself only as the body and fulfillment of its demands is his ultimate aim.
Student How it is possible not to activate our minds; it can not be powered either by body or its senses?
Shantnu But it can be overshadowed. It is not a physical entity that could be controlled by the physical body. It is the subtle body of our body, which is in a position to control it (body) but it (mind) is encased in the body, and there is a barrier of the senses: which is the subtle body of our body. And when subtle body of the senses is activated to its heights, the physical body becomes merely its tool of pleasure.
Student Do the senses have the feelings of pleasure (or pain) without the help of the mind?
Shantnu Mind is the subtle-body of the senses as senses are the subtle body of the physical body. Each sustains on the other except the body which is inert and is used only as their tool. Its higher bodies, senses and mind, control it. Senses being its immediate reflection (subtle-body), naturally dominate it. Though the body is never bereft of conscious, it can be easily over-shadowed by its gross-body (senses). Grosser bodies have their shadows. But as one’s conscious level transcends physical-barriers, these shadows become thinner and thinner until they vanish at the doors of wisdom. Now I will ask you, who are the actual enjoy-er of the pleasure, the body, mind, intellect or the ego.
Student Obviously, it is the mind!
Shantnu No my dear, it is the Self.
Student Sir, what is the Self?
Shantnu Presently, we can define it as the purest reflection of oneself.

Student But our present-self is the incomplete personality identified with the ‘I’ ego.
Shantnu Ego or ‘I’ are nothing but the changing stages of the conscious. Regarding incomplete self, you are perfectly right. As Self is the reflection of our physical self, so whatever condition the gross-self will be, it would reflect itself as the real-Self.
Student That would be the impure farm of the Self. But as we know, Self is Pure-Whole-Bliss.
Shantnu Exactly. That is what I meant when I said, the real enjoy-er is the Self not the gross-self. Therefore, whatever our trilogy of body-senses-mind does, it directly reflects on our real-Self. That is why, we should, keep our self clean and pure, so that no impurities are reflected as shadows on our Self.
Student That also means, whatever we eat may ultimately reflects on the conditioning of our pure-conscious (Self).
Shantnu You are doing very good. Please continue.
Student Please tell us, how our reactions are produced at different levels of variations of the personality changes.
Shantnu At physical level, if I am a physical brutal; on seeing a beautiful woman, I will grab her and molest her. On seeing a beautiful flower, I will pluck and wither its petals to smell its fragrance. On seeing the wealth of others, I will loot it forcefully and possess it. Grab (greed) and possession are the automatic reactions at the gross-level. When one has enough of physical exploits one feels stagnated. Here he overwhelms the physical state and enters the next higher-level, the mind.
Student But what about the middle level of the senses?
Shantnu Whereas the body is the tool of the senses, the senses in turn are the monitors of the body and the sensors of the mind. Mind, being expansive by nature, when perceives the beauty of the woman, through its senses, starts the exercise of compression and it wants to take in its ‘control’ all the beautiful women, flowers and wealth in the world. Its expansive nature expands its hunger and its desire for the material objects of the world is as insatiable as its nature of attraction.
The gross-state is attracted by the good physique of the women, beauty of a flower and the wealth of others. But the mind is attracted by the beauties, fragrance and wealth of the world. The farmer is satisfied with individual body, flower and wealth but the latter is satisfied only when it has in its sway the control of all the three commodities of the planet.
Again when it (mind) realizes its limits of joy, it is bored with its possessions and it activates its intelligence which tells it that whatever it had tasted (felt) so far invariably had two aspects of good/bad, gain/loss and love/hate. Then it becomes conscious that beauty does not lie in the limbs of a woman, her real beauty is in her merits. To enjoy the smell of a flower, it has not to be smothered; the real wealth is in austerity, that for sustenance one needs only a few basic needs, not the entirety of the world.
Then mind applies its sense of discrimination and all of a sudden it dawns on it that everything live or inert, in nature, is beautiful. Nature is beautiful so its constituents too are beautiful. Beauty is love and love is beauty, which is nature. All the fragrance in the world belongs to nature. Similarly, wealth too belongs to nature, as whatever is available or produced on our planet, ultimately belongs to nature as earth is a part of the Nature.
In nut-shell, whatever we do or eat even, has its direct effect on our Self-through its immediate agencies, body senses, mind, intellect ego-wisdom. These agencies are influenced by the motives which in turn are prompted by the positive/negative tendencies.
So to give a pure and clean reflection of our self, which would project as Self, we should eliminate the false variations in the illusory personalities of the ‘I’. ‘I’ should not be identified with body-mind-intellect-ego, wisdom aspects singularly. All of them are the stairs of conscious, which help us step by step in removing the grossly material, through the sieve of the intellect. To attain Self whose other attribute is, pure-consciousness. That even our present state of mind, however limited its conscious may be, should be without the blemishes of doubts, motives, tendencies, desires and attractions.

 

[little-self]

Student It is very difficult to accept, whatever we eat, do influence the Self, which in other words, is the soul.
Shantnu You are confusing the actual meaning of these two words. Every word gives a proper meaning when it is appropriately used. Presently, we are talking about pure-conscious and the Self. The self we usually identify ourselves with is the combination of body-senses-mind, whereas the Self which is associated with inner-identity, is the gist of intellect-conscious-wisdom.
Presently, our endeavor is to remove our doubts and questions so that at the end we have a conscious which is without the dark smudges. We have often used the word, influence or affect in place of shadows on the Self. Remember our Self is always pure as it is the reflection of our finer sensitivities. Intellect, sense of discrimination and wisdom lets in only the purest gist of the self (knowledge/conscious) which ultimately constitute the Self.
Student Then it is shadowed by the negative tendencies or knowledge.
Shantnu First let us understand knowledge is never negative. The quest that leads to Reality is the real knowledge. Everything else is acquired knowledge used for selfish attainments. When we start the inner enquiry to know about our real Self, our search is blocked at the gross-conscious level by the acquired knowledge, which is mostly composed of useless ‘data’. That irrelevant data is the dark shadow which trails our endeavor right to wisdom level. Only at this stage (wisdom) these accompanied accomplices are sieved out and thrown as ‘dirt’.
Now about soul point, it is a religious word and we shall discuss about it, when we talk of religion. Your other query about the diet part having effect on the self…
Student It is already answered Sir, that Tamasic (negative) diet, action; even association leaves their impressions on our minds, which can only be removed by the application of wisdom. And that is a tremendous job, Sir.
Shantnu Knowing of yourself, you automatically know about your Self, which is your true form. And for that we have to transform our forms from gross to subtle state and then transport our self to casual which is neither a state nor a level.
Student Does casual also reside in Self, which is currently confined in the physical self.
Shantnu The Self is not confined to the body, though we have this impression, it, actually, is Universal. Once we come to comprehend it, we shall immediately know the self in us, is the same Self that resides in each of us. It not only pervades in us but in the neither worlds that were, are, and shall come into form. It is the one Universal truth whose only veracity is its eternal existence. We as human beings have a unique gift from nature, of mind, through whose proper application, we can have the glimpse of this august Reality not only the glimpse but merge in it and become Eternal like it.
Student Sir, what do you mean by ‘we’?
Shantnu ‘We’ mean the individual Self.
Student But, Sir, if the Self is Universal, it can’t have individual entity.
Shantnu A very good question. The Universal Self did not bifurcate into parts and establish itself in the individual selves. On its own principle it duplicates itself; on the same principle, nature and its creations came into being. By doing so, it does not deplete its splendor; rather it enhances itself into many.
Student Kind, Sir, this has removed our misconception about the ancient statement that our Source it from Bliss. Now we understand how our origin is from the Eternal Bliss.
Angelee Then let us disperse now. Your period for today is over.
They all left the presence of Shantnu with bowed heads.
Umeshwari noticed that whenever Angelee was in the presence of her husband, Shantnu; she kept her head covered with her sari or dupatta (head scarf). It showed her reverence for her man – Shantnu. She often wondered, as she did fourteen years ago, if he really belonged to anyone! Now, he took more interest in his family affairs but simultaneously he showed equal interest and concern for all the persons he met. She concluded that he had become more universal than the individual Shantnu she knew. Though he loved her more, but it was also a fact he loved everybody else as equally. She loved his personal-self; other seemed to love his impersonal-self.
She heard a loud voice.
Shantnu Where are you lost dear?

 

[little-self]

Umeshwari In you, as ever.
Shantnu How true you are. I love you the way you are.
Umeshwari Or you love the world, the way it is.
Shantnu My dear, you are part of that world.
Umeshwari But not ‘that world’! Like I love my world and that world is only you.
Shantnu What about our daughter?
Umeshwari She is the expression of our love.
They both fell silent like the silence around them.
----------
Student Sir, today all of us are in a very depressing mood.

Shantnu Oh, dear me, what is the cause for depression.

Student Sir, since early morning, we have been on this subject of Reality. After exhaustive discussions, we have come to an impasse – and believe there is no reality. We want to believe, there is reality, but at the moment, we are confused.
Shantnu What do you believe is reality?
Student We were taught to believe, there is Reality and also to discriminate between permanent and transient. The permanent is Reality. But we are not sure anymore.
Shantnu You impasse is mental block-up. It is a very sensitive state of mind. A student who is not sincere in his endeavor and lacks objectivity he is easily led to believe in nihilism. Nothing exists beyond what he has already known! It is a false state of false reality based on incomplete ‘known’ knowledge. He is standing on the brink of his endurance. A little extra effort will take him beyond the impasse, otherwise his fall is imminent – which shall again douse him in the slush of sensual world, he so assiduously had risen himself from. You know, at every step up in the extension of consciousness – when we get rid of unwanted elements and retain only useful data, we become more aware of our ignorance. Each step unfolds ‘new; - reality for us. Step-by-step we are refining our gross-consciousness, by removing unwanted data and each step awakens in us new levels of consciousness, which we mistakenly believed were Reality. Reality never changes. Only our perspectives go through new thought – processes.
All the digression we have been undergoing with the help of the acquired knowledge incidentally is data collection not knowledge. In a vain attempt to realize Reality we have exhausted the store of our scholarship, we suddenly face the state-of-nihilism, which you call an impasse. The state comes when we use wrong tools of worldly scholarship for unveiling the covers of Reality.
Student Does Reality have covers?
Shantnu I had already told you, Reality has no covers. These veils are the mental states we are placed at a given moment. It is not subject to change. Beside other attributes, its one attribute is that of stillness. Though it is still-calm-compose, but its creation-nature, is fast moving. As motion brings on change, so these vast varieties of colorful moving cosmos! Still faster than these are the fleeting thoughts compressed in a human mind. Their speed is faster than the speed of light. We are thus possessed of a tool (mind) that is ever-changing. But it too gets stuck-up at one stage, when because of its power of speed and intelligence; it has bypassed the cosmos and is thus jarred there. But its power of intelligence failed it as if did not keep pace with the speeding mind. Though it is equipped with fathomless depths of comprehension but the data stored in its depths is not sufficient and relevant enough to last its probing powers.
Student Kindly elaborate.

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Mind can easily envision the cosmos but is not sufficiently equipped with intelligence to comprehend the complete effluence of nature and the intelligence that sustains it.
Student Why is it so, Sir?
Shantnu Because the basis of our intelligence is the worldly knowledge, which is very limited, with that knowledge we can comprehend only a fraction of nature.
Student Sir, how we can increase our power of comprehension?
Shantnu Every thought accompanies three essentials, motion-picture-sound. With the balanced co-ordination of these three, mysteries of nature are unveiled and consequently our power of comprehension increases.
Student But does this help us in the realization of Reality?
Shantnu No. Mind and its faculties help us in understanding our place in nature. It clears our out-vision, which pierces the secrets of nature and we try to keep pace with material changes of the world around us.
Student But if it does not lead us towards Reality – then why should we move in that direction?
Shantnu You want the world to stand-still and stop its evolutionary process! Do you want to go back in the womb and once again become the amoeba, from where you evolved?
Or you want to be in the Stone Age man once again?
My dear, boys, material progress is as essential as the evolution of nature. Being its part, rather its penultimate model, it is a genetic fact plus our nature, to know our place in Nature. That is to acquaint ourselves with the latest mysteries of Nature and as a result man’s progress thereof. With this basic knowledge we understand the limits of our ignorance in each sphere of life so that we could keep pace with the changing nature of the Nature and adjust ourselves accordingly.
Mind is our tool to comprehend nature. By knowing nature, we understand about our selves. And our self, leads us to the Self, which is Reality.
Moreover, it is the worldly knowledge that helps us to comprehend the gross intrusion in our consciousness. Unless we are worldly-wise in every aspect of life, we cannot aspire to be wise, which is the pre-requisite of an earnest seeker.
Knowledge of the material world makes us aware of the duplicate subtle worlds, existing in us.

Student Sir, you have immensely helped us. But last gate has still to be opened.
Shantnu For that we have to, firstly, know about the extent of your impasse, meaning at what level of conscious (-ness) your mental block up has occurred. We have to know at what level of consciousness your endeavor to unfold the Reality covers, is stalled.
Now let us see, how different categories of people, reflect Reality in different colours.
You know the major obstacle in our realization of Reality is our wisdom.
Student Our wisdom, Sir?
Shantnu Yes, our own very wisdom. It lacks the power of implementation (execution). Even if it is elevated to higher level of consciousness it can’t practically demonstrate its tenets, I mean it can’t live its philosophies (truths) because that power lies with the sense organs. Wisdom remains intelligence unless it is enlivened practically. A wise has to maintain an ideal balance of his thought-word and deed. He should speak what he actually believes, is the truth. And his actions should reflect his speech and thought. In simple words, a the life a wise should actually be the outer-model of his inner-thought.
Student That way Sir, our mind, intelligence and wisdom are entirely dependent on our body and its sense organs. The expression of all the three is possible, only through the sense organs. In case any of our body organs is handicapped, their expression would also be tainted.

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Exactly, as Reality finds its expression through Jnana (wisdom): wisdom too finds its expression through intelligence and intelligence channel through the mind. The chain of Reality, wisdom, intelligence, mind, sense organs and the body, is sustained by the life-forces of conscious. Though each prefers to be an independent body, but in reality each is dependent on the other. It is again the consciousness that determines their dependence or the independence. When we are in the superficial state of gross-conscious, we falsely presume ourselves as body mind-intelligence-wisdom complex. As reality express through each of its unit, that unit, temporarily asserts itself as the only Reality. Suppose I am in the body-consciousness. I would only eulogize its strength, glamour, charms and personality. Day and night I would be engrossed in its upkeep and comforts. For me, body is my world and the pleasures I derive out of it, are the ultimate ends, I strive for. When it is ‘live’, I am alive; when it is dead, I am dead. This is the only Realty.
When I have out-lived the utility of my body pleasure, I strive for more and yearn for joys. Then I have realized that these were not my body and sense organs, which enjoyed those pleasures, it was, actually, the mind, which was enjoying those pleasures, all the time. It was the mind, who prompted the body to indulge in physical domains as mind on its own can not directly indulge in sensual pleasures. Only sense organs can create pleasures, through their pleasure-zones, which the mind enjoys. Body is a mere tool: it is the mind, who is the bidder. This is the only Reality. Then I realize, my body and mind are of no use to me unless I have an impeccable intelligence. Mere pleasure and joy are of no avail, until I grasp the very powers, which created them. I become aware of my body, as a mere shell, that contains a mind which possesses conscious that is only of gross-state and I am conscious only of sensual objective world. There should be finer aspects of the life also. I start the self-enquiry. I find my knowledge is insufficient to probe the mysteries of the world – the cosmos. I am enthralled with the knowledge that there are billions of other galaxies besides our own. I compare my mind’s stature with the vast expanse of the cosmos. I try to unravel the secrets of life – the source. This is the only Reality for me.
Then suddenly it dawns on me, there is only one Source and that source, pervades the cosmos with its conscious, that permeates each and every object in the universe whether it be animate or inanimate. This is the only Reality. So you see I have passed through different levels of Reality. At each level I had thought, ‘I’ was the Reality, whereas it was the incomplete reality, an expression of the next higher level.
Thus we can surmise:
Body-consciousness is a reality, a highly individualistic-state; when an individual extremely activates his body and its senses and utilize them for his selfish purpose and derives pleasures thereof.
Mind (gross) consciousness too is a reality; an egoistic state, where an individual has fully activated his mind and uses its allies (lust, anger, greed, attachment, envy) in the fulfillment of its aim to master his environs and the entities living in them.
Intelligence (conscious) is also a reality; an individual-refining-state where an individual refines his gross-conscious mind and nets in only crystallized clear intelligence, which has all the available ‘data’ and knowledge of Nature.
Wisdom (conscious) is the purest expression of Reality; but it is not complete. It is neither a state nor a level but represent the true nature of Nature that is comprehended by the trilogy of body-mind-intelligence. It encompasses the gift of the three and fructifies it in self-example of a selfless life.
Reality-(Conscious) represents totality.
Student But that is an impossible task. We can’t know all; therefore our conception and comprehension of Reality would always be incomplete.
Shantnu Don’t get depressed. It is not something that you come to know only when you have comprehended the mysteries of the cosmos. Though it is a fact, it pervades the cosmos but it has gifted the man with the unique faculty of wisdom, by whose use he can realize not only about his reality but Reality that represents Totality. Its simple journey starts from the individual to totality and the secret process of their realization is self-enquiry.
Student It is simply said than done. Sir, it is a momentous job, a traumatic experience.
Shantnu No. It is the easiest thing to realize in life. For every other thing we have to work so hard and add needless burdens. To be wealthy, means, a value-less life and a possession of a hoard of houses, cars, planes, luxury yachts, black money and what not. But in the journey of Reality, we shed away not only these possessions but the allies of the mind too. As we advance, we become lighter and lighter, until we are completely burden-less both physically and mentally.
So don’t worry and hesitate. Start the journey now and accomplish the task early in life, with the simplest tool of self-enquiry. For the acquisition of knowledge and intelligence, we need costly text books but here we need only the faculty of enquiry, which is possessed by all and the most easily accessible to all.
Enough for today, we meet tomorrow to share ourselves and the joys abounding therein. Thank you.



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[little-self]

Student Sir, today we don't find any subject for discussion.
Shantnu Now, you should stop using the Sir, appellation.
Student Then how should we address you, Sir?
Angelee I can solve this problem of yours. You may address him with the appellation of 'Dada', which connotes different relationship in India: such as, elder brother, grandfather, group leader etc.
Student Madam, what is the difference?
Angelee Master does not want to interact with you on impersonal level, as ‘sir’ word creates the distinction of superiority of rank, age, knowledge and degrees. It is a western style of class-segregation which instead of establishing personal relationship between the pupil and the teacher, servant and master, subordinate and officer, keeps them apart. But in old traditional style of education the Guru (teacher) established direct personal rapport with his pupils. This system created not only an atmosphere of equality but at the same time it inspired reverence in the hearts of the pupil. Close proximity and interaction reflected the latent virtues of the teacher. His noble life became a living example for the students.
Student You mean to say, there should be Guru-pupil relationship in place of student-teacher impersonal interaction i.e., there should be personal basis interaction. But madam, students, I mean pupils, may not take wrong notions of the sense of equality?
Angelee If a teacher, besides his acumen of intellect, also leads an exemplary life; he will automatically leave an immediate impression of virtuosity, on the impressionable young hearts of his pupils. Instead of their derision he will inspire respect and reverence.
Student Oh yes, now we understand. You, yourself, are an example. Though you are the VC of this University, still you are sitting and behaving with us, like equals. In our pursuit of knowledge you have not only brought us here, before a real master, but are also sharing an experience with delight and happiness.
Shantnu My dear little one's, I am neither a teacher nor endowed with the worldly honors. So I don't deserve any kind of appellation. Like the scholars of today, I have not assumed degrees or the wealth of knowledge. That way I am a pauper. Rather I have de-hoarded whatever I ever possessed or acquired and today I feel as empty of knowledge as you students. I am as anxious and curious of knowledge of Reality, as you are, so in our quest of Reality, we are on equal footing. There is absolutely no difference. Our equality of relationship is not a myth but a reality, I am your elder in age, and so as your VC has commanded, you may call me, from now onward, as 'Dada' (Angelee eyed questioningly).
Student We are extremely happy, Dada this has also brought a major break-through in the removal of our mental block-ups. Dada does these mental block-ups or the changing identifications of the self, also represents the doubter's nature in us?
Shantnu Bravo, my dears. You are doing very fine. A good question indeed! Why do we develop doubts?
When we completely identify ourselves with any one of the 'self (of body' mind, intellect, wisdom - consciousness) we don't have any doubts. But as soon as we are free of that identity and are ready for refining our consciousness, our mind develops apprehensions, which we call as doubts. You know when we are no more plagued with the negative tendencies - the playthings of ours senses - and our mind is in their grip we are immersed in the gross-level living of body-conscious, we decline our-self to lower regions of conscious. This leads to bondage of the mind with the material-objective world of sensual pleasures. But soon, it (mind) leaves the region of grosser-self, it moves towards the pastures of refinement, improvement, enhancement and enlightenment, it liberates itself and attains Reality. Thus our mind is the basic, as well as the only factor (entity), that creates its bondage and its liberation also. It is the cause of its ruin and the fruits of its own liberation...
Student Dada, gross-conscious produces only negative tendencies?
Shantnu Actually there are no lower or higher, or negative or positive tendencies. These words only connote type of life we live in and the impressions produced thereof. If we are excessively involved with the indulgences of our senses, the resultant impression or the vibrations produced would reflect only baser/lower quality of life. If the same intensity of involvement is also exercised in the subtle states of our mind (intellect-ego-wisdom), our mind produces the vibrations of positive qualities of life. So when our mind is in degeneration process, it develops psychosis of fear/doubts because of its slackening grip on Reality and substituting the gross-conscious levels as the Reality. But when it starts unshackling itself from lower-regions of negative tendencies and elevates itself towards Reality realms, it exhibits faculties of compassion, love - sacrifice and affection. Negative to positive, positive to neutral, neutral to reality, is the way. And the way leads via self-enquiry.
Student Self-enquiry! Can it remove the doubts?

 

[little-self]

Shantnu When we are in the baser regions of body-senses-mind trilogy, only sense of perception, can take us out of their slush. The direct impact of noble virtuous lives of our parents, teachers and leaders would impel our mind to change its direction from bondage to liberation. Only at this stage of change-over, self-enquiry takes on the charge.
Student Dada, you mean, when our mind identifies itself with body-senses concept, its reversal journey comes through only precept and as soon as it normalizes itself, it can raise its level of conscious through the agency of self-enquiry.
Shantnu Yes. And to simplify it more clearly, we may state that when we are living in the physical-state of mind, only beautiful (positive) things of the ephemeral world could produce any impact on our mind and turn its direction.
Student Then at what stage we develop doubts?
Shantnu When we are in the physical state of conscious and get bored with the constant similarities of our daily life, we look up for more, for something higher than the stagnation of the present day life. This disaffection with the present identification and the non-conception of the higher level of consciousness is the doubting state. We are hanging in the middle because having loosened our grip of the sensual-living and finding as yet, no firm grip of the next level; we find our-self, temporarily in the doubters lobby. But as soon as we enter the subtle conscious levels we are, no more, tormented by the doubts. At this stage we are stalked by the naked truth of our ignorance-level of reality. Then we don't entertain doubts and lack maturing but observe the complete paucity of knowledge.
Then the instrument of self-enquiry, slow and steady removes the layers of our ignorance and unfolds the thinnest cover of ever blooming ever permeating ever pervading reality. So doubt no more, Realize ever more.

Student Dada, yesterday, we were discussing about the phases of doubt and you explained it as the transitional period between any of the two levels. Then what state do these words represents : ignorance, immature, incomplete, unintelligible and lack of knowledge or any such words which indicate our lack of grasp to any aspect in life.
Shantnu All of these words show our half-hearted grasp on life! I mean incomplete knowledge (consciousness awareness) of the various aspects of life.
Student Dada, we can never possess complete knowledge that is the preserve of only a perfect Master, who is aware of the three worlds. Our knowledge about any aspect is always limited, which we falsely believe as complete. How can we make this distinction between the complete and the incomplete knowledge?
Shantnu When we are aware of the three attributes of a subject (creation, sustenance, destruction) its qualities (guans) of Sathwic (truth) Rajasic (activity), Tames (inertia) and about its placement in time (past-present-future), then we can positively claim about its knowledge. But as you have rightly observed, we possess a very limited knowledge in any subject, we can't acclaim ourselves as Master of that subject.
Student Dada, how does our knowledge become unlimited from the limited state?
Shantnu When you become Master of all the subjects - a 'Jnani'(wise) you become!
Student But that is impossible! All of a sudden, we cannot release ourselves from the limited bondage of the trio (body- mind- intelligence) and make ourselves an unlimited (all-knowing entity. There ought to be a process - a long process at that, through which we shall have to grill ourselves and attain the truths of all the subjects.
Shantnu Truth is always revealed, as IT, ever exists. Only knowledge is attained, for worldly knowledge is always acquired. Also remember truth is always singular not plural. And Truth revelation or realization also does not require us to go through a cumbersome process; it is as simple as you or me. It requires of us to be in normal state of mind and observe things as they are. Not as they ought to be.
Student How do we bring ourselves in a normal state of mind?

 

[little-self]

Shantnu Purity of body-mind-intellect makes us better aware of their counterparts in Nature. The material world, its gross-Conscious (atmosphere) and its integrated intelligence represent in us the trilogy of body-mind-intellect. As we achieve the optimum level of purity in our senses, mind, and thought, we automatically acquire the purest consciousness of their counterparts in Nature, thereby widening our scope of insight, that now encompasses the Universal-mind or as natural sequel to our purest state of mind, our-self subsumes in the gross-integrated-awareness and automatically, becoming part of the Universal-mind, gets aware of the gross-cosmic mind.
Student Dada, what is the difference between Gross-integrated-awareness and integrated-awareness?
Shantnu Gross connotes the physical aspect of Cosmos, whereas the integrated-awareness represents the subtle as well as the gross aspect of Nature.
Student Dada, what is the normal state of mind?
Shantnu When we observe the rope as a rope i.e., when the twilight of doubt does not superimpose on our immature mind the image of snake in place of the rope. Lack of knowledge of the surroundings, immaturity of the mind, and the ignorance of Reality, befog our intellect and our mind, accordingly, gets tainted images of the Reality. Reality is not something beyond our 'conception'. It is simply there and we have to observe it, with the untainted glass of wisdom. So start by observing the things in their truest forms. Their truest forms are as the result of our pure intellect. Purity of thought thus makes it possible to observe the truest nature (form) of an object - which is the Reality of that object. So, Reality, when translated in simple words represents the normal state of an object, because normal nature of an object is its truest form, which is its Reality. So the first word in the dictionary of wisdom is, ‘Be’ normal. And observe thing in their normal state and you have sown in your intellect the seeds of wisdom. It is a state, where you are not bothered about past and are not apprehensive about your future. It is the present that is all important. If you apply this formula to your present state of mind, you will observe the present state of your mind or attention, command your concentration to participate earnestly, in the discussion we are interlocution.
Student What is the concentration of mind?
Shantnu Detaching your mind from past and future and focusing it on present. And that present is presently, our subject of discussion. At present, that present are you and me and the subject we discuss. Then, our level of discussion (enquiry) goes on deeper and deeper, I mean, getting simpler and simpler, we forget our physical entitles and are conscious of the subject at hand. Thereafter, the subject matter too vanishes and only remains the language of silence, which reflects the underlying meaning of our subject of discussion.

Student Dada, what is the language of silence? Does silence too has a language?
Shantnu Firstly, we try to understand the physical (material) aspect of an object; then its inner composition and thereafter the cause behind its composition. The material aspect is the body, composition aspect is the matter, the cause behind is the conscious-particle. And that consciousness is the Reality for us...
Student Sorry for the interruption, has Reality more hidden aspects beyond this, even?
Shantnu The ultimate cause behind Nature is not only the Reality; That Reality too has its origin, and origin from whom? It can not be its own cause anyway! Presently; we should confine ourselves to the present subject of discussion and that is - the language of silence. Up to the level intellect, our wordly languages are rich enough to understand and express in speech or writing, the nature around us or beyond. But as soon as we try to go beyond the conceptual world, our vocabulary of words fail to describe the experiences, our intellect goes through before it reaches the realms of wisdom. As wisdom has no expression in words, it exudes expressions through joys and ecstasies, which our vocabulary fails to describe. At that time each of us creates a language, an inner language, which advances our self-enquiry to heights which are beyond our conception and elevates the self-toward the Self. It is a language of rich emotions and feelings. In them is compressed the entire happiness of the worlds and the very essence of their joys. The Nature in bloom, blossoms joys which fructify the finer sensitivities of its inhabitants, animate or imamate, and stir in them the life current, the energy-force, and their churning creates ecstasy. That churning is the silent state of Nature and its elements and its counterpart the wisdom, in human race.
Student Dada, elaborate it a little further.
Shantnu Every object in Nature has its image and sound. When we have understood about the objects which emit images and sounds, the language (vocabulary) has fulfilled its utility. But when we try to understand the one basic factor that unites those images and sounds, in the ultimate analysis of Nature, our language fails us and we have to, at that point, create, a language, which has no words, images or sounds in its repository, but only silence that probe the unfathomable silence zones of inner-self and the cosmos, wherein abound the invisible (latent) silent stationary particles, which were the cause of the Origin The one-unifying factor in them all, is the element of consciousness-Awareness, which is beyond description, expression and to understand that, we have to take help, of the silent language - the wisdom, which has the capacity to elevate and unite our-self (individual-particle/life-force) to the Universal-Self (Conscious-Patrice). The only medium that fructifies our compressed particle and elevates its conscious state and ultimately uniting it, to the Integrated-Consciousness, is the language of silence. Silence is the zone of peace, equipoise and normalcy.
Student Dada, does silence really exists without words and language?