How do we define a Tantric as a Deva or divine personality – what are the external criteria. Shrii Sarkar explains:
When ideology is totally reflected in a personality, that very personality is worshipped as a divine personality, a god. Ordinary people follow His instructions; they want to be guided by His will, because they experience bliss by moving in this way.
– Discourse 5, Namah Shiváya Shántáya
Another criteria is that one has transcended the ripus and pashas.
One who has overcome fear, who has gone beyond fear, is called a divyácárii. And the divyácárii who successfully defeats the ripus and the páshas and, rising above petty selfishness, identifies himself or herself with the collective interest, becomes one with ParamaPuruśa. This gradual movement towards the supreme goal is the path of Tantra. It is a safe path where there is no scope for fear. And the naturalness of human life is not impaired under any circumstances.
– The Fundamental Difference between Veda and Tantra, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 5
The Tantric sádhaná introduced by Sadáshiva was the first sádhaná to be given in this world. Tantra sádhaná is the only sádhaná. Without sádhaná there is no Tantra and without Tantra there is no sádhaná.
Another way is that one becomes like one’s Parameśt́in Guru (Lord Shiva, Lord Krsna or Lord Anandamurti).
Kramena devatá bhavet. One becomes God in due course. That is, one attains godhood. Rising step by step from viira bháva (heroic stance), one becomes a veritable god and reaches divya bháva. We call such a person whose conduct becomes ever noble, a godly person or a Shiva-like person. Such a person proceeds far along the path of evolution and one day merges in Parama Puruśa, and becomes Parama Puruśa Himself. These are the different stages of spiritual practice.
– The Three Stages of Spiritual Progress, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 4
Still another way to define someone as a divine personality is their character. As Shrii Sarkar explains:
Sarve ca pashavah santi talavad bhútale naráh;
– From Animality to Divinity, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 1
Teśáḿ jiṋána prakásháya viirabhávah prakáshitah.
Viirabhávaḿ sadá prápya krameńa devatá bhavet. –Rudrayámala Tantra
[In the beginning everyone is a pashu, an animal. But when spiritual thirst develops, these people become viira, heroic. And when they are firmly established in viirabháva, they become devatás.]…
And that man is no longer known as viira. He is a deva, or devatá. Krameńa devatá bhavet. “He becomes devatá, he becomes deva in human structure, deva in human framework.” That stage is divyabháva. Then that person’s goal, his object of adoration, becomes “Mahádeva”, not Viireshvara but Mahádeva.
In the first phase the Lord was Pashupati, in the second phase Viireshvara, and in the final phase Mahádeva. So the same Lord, according to one’s own psycho-spiritual stratum, is to be addressed sometimes as Pashupati, sometimes as Viireshvara, and sometimes as Mahádeva. Now, I have said that a person has three types of expression: One expression is thinking, the thinking faculty, and the second one is speaking… In the first the function is within the nerve cells, and in the second, the function is – where? With the lips. And the third action is action with the physical body, corporal action.
And in the final stage, that is, when one attains the stage of devatá, then what one thinks, one says; and what one says, one does. There is no difference amongst thinking, saying, and doing. And that is the best stage of human structure or human existence.
You should all try to be like this, and I want the number of such persons, who have attained the stratum of devatá, to increase. And you have become workers, or wholetimers, just to increase the number of these devatás in human society.
In this supreme fight of a godly Tantric or Sadvipra, weapons are crucial as we have seen before when learning what is their Mission. This is why Shrii Sarkar explains,
And as a result of further fight, when this fighting tendency, this belligerent tendency, becomes his wont, in that case He becomes a deva, he is called a deva.
– I Have Become a Hero, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 34
Dyotate kriid́ate yasmádudyate dyotate divi;
Tasmát deva iti proktah stúyate sarvadevataeh.
[The vibrational manifestations emanating from the Supreme Nucleus are known as devatás or devas; and these devatás address that Supreme Nucleus as “(Mahá)deva”. He with His powers vibrates the entire universe, makes the entire universe dance; and He by dint of His occult and supra-occult powers brings everything back onto His lap.]
So he becomes a deva. And he says: “O Lord, by Your mercy I have become a deva, a god.” (Deva means “god in human structure”.) “And Thou art my Lord, Thou art Mahádeva.” So in the third stage that very Lord becomes Mahádeva. Pashupati becomes Viireshvara, Viireshvara becomes Mahádeva – according to the status or phase of sádhaná of the spiritual aspirant.
Now, this fight, this fight against the eccentric force fighting, eccentric force functioning, in the world, is actually the sádhaná. You know, in each and every structure, there are two forces, the centripetal force and the centrifugal force. In the case of this Cosmological world, in the case of this Cosmological system, in the case of this Brahma Cakra, the centripetal force, the centre-seeking force, is called vidyá, and the centrifugal force is called avidyá. So this spiritual practice, or intuitional practice, is a fight between vidyá and avidyá. A sádhaka is to strengthen his vidyá, his centripetal force, in his movement towards the nave of this Cosmological order, towards the nucleus of this Cosmological order – because of the fact that this Cosmological nucleus is the nucleus of all other nuclei of the universe. It is the abode of supreme beatitude. All other nuclei of the universe are sheltered in Him. (That’s why he is called Náráyańa. Ayana means “shelter”. And Nára means “Operative Principle”.) There is no other way. If one wants peace of permanent nature, if one has developed the longing for supreme beatitude, one has no alternative but to move towards this Supreme Nucleus; and this movement is sádhaná. And while moving towards this Supreme Nucleus, one will have to fight against the centrifugal force, the avidyá shakti.
In this fight against avidyá shakti one must have sufficient weapons. You know, a soldier requires weapons, and sádhaná is a fight. In your internal sphere, that is, in your mind, you should have ten weapons. Those ten weapons are five Yama and five Niyama [moral principles]. And similarly, while fighting against evil forces in this crude physicality, you should have ultra-modern physical weapons also. Those who want disarmament and those who want to ban the atom bomb are not friends of human society. They do not want to accelerate the speed of human society. Rather they want to retard its progress. Weapons you must have, but you should have control over your body and mind. There must not be any abuse or misuse of your weapons.
Now, in this progress, that is, in the realm of intuitionalism, you should have ten internal weapons – Yama and Niyama – and your progress in sádhaná depends on jiṋána [wisdom], karma [service work] and bhakti [devotion]. Your progress is effected by jiṋána and karma.
Despite this, even divine personalities can be defeated. Hence they require Divine Grace at every step.
And in the final phase they attain godhood step by step. Here the struggle is purely internal, controlling the debasing propensities of the mind one by one. Now the aspirants are called devas or divine beings, and their course of action is known as divyácárá. In the first phase there may be some physical obstacles, but these can be surmounted by the Grace of the Lord. In the second phase, too, there are mental obstacles, but they too can be overcome by the Grace of the Lord. For He clearly says:
The Essence of Spiritual Progress
Daevii hyeśá guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá;
Mámeva ye prapadyante Máyámetáḿ taranti te.
“This Máyá, this depraving faculty, this avidyá shakti, is my Máyá: she is under my control” – Shakti sá shivasya shaktih. So those spiritual aspirants who have surrendered at the altar of the Supreme need not be afraid of Máyá because the Lord before whom they have surrendered controls that very Máyá. Daeviiyeśa guńamayii mama Máyá duratyayá: “This Máyá of mine is insurmountable.” But Mámeva ye prapadyante – “Those who have taken shelter in Me” – Máyámetáḿ taranti te – “will easily surmount this Máyá.” So spiritual aspirants need not be afraid of this Máyá: She can do nothing because the Lord is with them. In pashvácára and viirácára, they are helped by the Lord to fight against Máyá.
What is divyácárá? From the root div comes the word deva which means vibrational faculty, vibrational manifestation. The Supreme Cause is noumenal: from It emerges the vibrational faculty and the entire universe. All the manifestations are nothing but a mesh of so many vibrations of so many wavelengths, and thus there is variety in this world. Pra karoti iti Prakrti – prakáraḿ karoti iti Prakrti.
Now in the third phase the spiritual aspirants become one with a particular expression, and slowly they move towards the nucleus of the universe that controls all the vibrations. If a particular vibration is called a deva, the Supreme Controlling Faculty of the devas is called Mahádeva: Tvamiishvaráńaḿ paramam Maheshvaraḿ Mahádeva. Finally the spiritual aspirants become one with the nucleus, and then they control all those vibrational expressions, all those devas – then they themselves become Mahádeva.
Those who are divine personalities no longer look towards the great personalities of the past or present for guidance. Rather they solely focus on that Supreme Divinity from which all divine entities emanate and are pervaded.
In the third phase, the aspirant realizes the fact that the human entity is more a spiritual one than a psychic entity. And in this third phase they feel that the lord of all emanating vibrations or emanated vibrations is the supreme Mahádeva. He is the only goal, He is the only desideratum of human beings, and especially of intellectual beings.
– Parama Puruśa the Great
Such divine personalities are not content with their divine state or with their revolutionary activities. Rather they are ever-filled with longing for the Supreme Beloved Lord.
In the final or spiritual sphere, the rhythm of speed is on the spiritual level. In the spiritual sphere there is only one cause for grief: “My Parama Puruśa is my own. He is my Father. And yet there is such a distance between Him and me.” This distance is painful and unbearable for the sádhaka. This stage is called “divyácára” or “divyabháva” in Tantra. In this stage, Parama Puruśa is called “Mahádeva” or “Devádideva” – the God of gods. At this level the sadhaka becomes a deva, a vibrational existence. The sádhaka can vibrate the world, can create a vibration in the universe, and is thus a deva. The sádhaka capable of creating vibrations calls Parama Puruśa by the name of Mahádeva. Mahádeva is another name of Shiva…
– Pashupati, Viireshvara, and Mahádeva
“Deva” means a vibrational force, and the collective vibrational force, or vibrational rays, are known as “Mahádeva”. He controls all the devas, all the vibrational forces in the universe, and thus He is “Mahádeva”.
Vashiikára
We have seen thus far the first three stages of Pratyáhára. The final stage of this process of introversion and submersion in one’s innermost Self is vashiikára. Finally the devotee transcends the ripus and pashas.
The páshas and ripus assert themselves through the medium of the mind and the indriyas. If even one indriya remains uncontrolled, it should be concluded that there is still a worm in the flower of the mind; and a worm-eaten flower cannot be offered to the Lord. Only when all the indriyas are fully controlled can it be said that the mind is under the complete control of the átman [unit consciousness]. This is real pratyáhára, or vashiikára siddhi, for it means Prakrti has merged into the Supreme Cognitive Principle. This is called Krśńasharańa [taking the shelter of Krśńa] in devotional psychology.
– Sádhaná, Discourses on Tantra Volume Two
The importance of pratyáhára sádhaná is immense, because it involves a harmonious blending of knowledge, devotion and action…Vashiikára siddhi is only attained by devotees.
In this state all worldly life comes to an end – one’s life becomes a Mission to deliver justice, equality and love to all beings by fighting against all odds.
The fourth and last stage of sádhaná is that of vashiikára, when the propensities are all completely directed from the mahattattva towards the one original and ultimate Self (Atman): that is, the sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] is established in his svabháva [nature] and svarúpa [own form]. As the very word vashiikára implies [vash means “control”], all the propensities are completely under control. Worldly friends and relatives have already deserted the sádhaka as they desert a dead body after cremation or burial, and he becomes merged in the permanent and lasting Self, Brahma (Consciousness).
– Yatamána, Vyatireka, Ekendriya and Vashiikára, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 33
Though this is a state of advanced yogis, its bliss can be savoured also by novice disciples. For this purpose Baba created Páiṋcajanya – collective meditation as 5 AM every morning.
The fourth stage is when Parama Puruśa alone is your goal and you attain oneness with Him. Its spirit is, “with the bliss I enjoy after attaining oneness with Parama Puruśa, or with the bliss I am giving to Parama Puruśa, or with whatever emanates from that blissful entity, I shall make my existence meaningful.”
– Vashiikára – 2, Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 6
I have introduced Páiṋcajanya to help you derive bliss from this stage. At the time of doing Páiṋcajanya the mind becomes filled with spontaneous joy. And no external object is required – just one’s inner self. This self sufficiency which every human being can realize through Páiṋcajanya, brings success and a new spirit of fulfilment to human life. One’s life will shine with the divine effulgence of Parama Puruśa.
Let your advent in this world be successful in all ways. I want your existence to shine, to be resplendent with the joy of being alive. This is the reason why I introduced Páiṋcajanya and Sadávrata – to bring supreme fulfilment to your lives. Let your advent on this earth be successful, individually and collectively.
This leads of omniscience. However even at this stage downfall is still possible. This is what total surrender is most crucial for a deva.
Next comes the fourth and final stage, the stage of vashiikára. In this stage all the psychic vrttis are brought well within the control of the spiritual practitioner. Suppose someone wants to know what happened 20,000 years ago. The moment the desire to know arises, his or her mind will return to the distant past and will see what really happened 20,000 years ago. If someone wants to know what is written on a particular page of a particular book printed in a certain country he or she sends the mind to that page and comes to know the contents immediately. These are all signs of absolute vashiikára siddhi. Ordinary people think that Mr so-and-so is a very well read person but the fact is otherwise. Everything has come from his vashiikára siddhi. He can project his mind anywhere to know anything. At that stage everything comes within his perfect control and he attains a kind of godhood. If he fails to surrender himself to Parama Puruśa, however, what will happen? Well, after attaining vashiikára siddhi and acquiring various occult powers, he will develop some ego. He will curse those he hates and thus, unknowingly, will gradually degenerate. He will meet his downfall. So after attaining vashiikára siddhi, one should surrender one’s unit soul (atman), endowed with the acquired occult powers, to Paramátmá. What will be the result? One will become one with Parama Puruśa, one will become Parama Puruśa.
– The Four Stages of Human Progress
The psychological transformation behind the evolution of the deva is explained as follows.
The fourth stage is known as vashiikára. There one is established in the ideation of Parama Puruśa, to satisfy whom one is doing kiirtana. Here one completely surrenders himself or herself before Parama Puruśa, and he or she is under the complete control of Parama Puruśa.
– Bio-Psycho-Spiritual System of Kiirtana, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 30
Kaośikii Shakti
As we have seen during the Cosmic Cycle of Creation, different forms of Shakti emerge. The shakti where one attains the Cosmic Nucleus, the Supreme Subjectivity or Paramátmá is known as Shivánii Shakti or Kaośikii Shakti. It evolves as follows:
In that triangle of forces, the Operative Principle is called Prakrti and not Máyá, because in that stage She was not able to create anything concrete. The Operative Principle in the triangle of forces is called Kaośikii Shakti or Shivánii Shakti, and Its witnessing counterpart, the Cognition, is called Shiva.
– The Supreme Cognition, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 24
In actual fact, Kaośikii Shakti is the first movement towards creation. As Shrii Sarkar explains,
In the cognition of the state of perfect equilibrium of guńas, it remains as the Cognitive Being. When it becomes manifest and expresses itself through rhythmic projection as an ideational entity, then we can call it the first emanation of the creative purpose (saḿkalpa). This marks the state of Kaośikii Shakti.
– Discourse 22, Shabda Cayaniká Part 4
It must not be forgotten while one controls and sublimates these shaktis that the goal is always the Cosmic Nucleus and not any shakti. Absorption in this Goal enables one to become free from the bondages of these Shakti as one starts of merge with that Supreme Subjectivity
At the first stage, when there is no imbalance in the triangle of forces, Prakrti is called Kaośikii Shakti (Shivánii Shakti). She is given this name because she is responsible for the creation of the kośas [layers of mind]. In that supreme stage Kaośikii remains unmanifested, remains as the primordial cause of all subsequent manifestations…
– The Devotee and the Lord, Discourses on Tantra – 1
In intuitional practice this process is reversed: devotees elevate themselves from Bhavánii Shakti to Bhaeravii Shakti, from Bhaeravii Shakti to Kaośikii Shakti, and finally attain oneness with the Supreme Entity. Those who pursue this path of divine adoration are called devotees. Whom do devotees ideate on? Certainly on Puruśottama. Those who accept matter as their object of ideation can never attain Puruśottama, but will invariably degenerate towards the staticity of Bhavánii Shakti. Their entire being will ultimately be converted into inert matter. To ideate on Puruśottama means to transform Bhavánii into Bhaeravii and Bhaeravii into Kaośikii, thereby establishing oneness between the devotee and the Lord. In the process of transforming crude waves into subtle waves, devotees become one with their final goal…
In the struggle to transform Bhaeravii Shakti into Kaośikii Shakti, Citishakti [Cognitive Force] plays a dominant role, because Bhaeravii Shakti is the second stage of Citishakti in the flow of creation…
Thus in ásana shuddhi [purification of the seat of spiritual contemplation], Bhaeravii Shakti is concentrated at a nuclear point, and subsequently transformed into Kaośikii Shakti. When that transformation occurs, the unit mind gradually dissolves into the Cosmic Mind. The three principles of Prakrti remain perfectly balanced in Kaośikii Shakti, and thus lie unexpressed.
Devotees reach Kaośikii Shakti with the help of Bhavánii and Bhaeravii Shaktis. Hence devotees must be Sháktas, always ready to fight against the hostile forces which thwart spiritual progress. They must not encourage timidity or cowardice… But one should remember that Kaośikii Shakti is not one’s final goal. Even after merging one’s identity into Kaośikii Shakti it can still be the cause of bondage and subsequent rebirth.
One aspect of the Tantric dynamics of the Creative Process, of the created world and of all created beings is pramá or symmetry and equilibrium. Just as there is a Cosmic Triangle of the principles of Prakrti (Cosmic Creative Principle), so also in every sphere of material, metaphysical and spiritual life there is ultimately a triangle of forces. Bringing balance, harmony and sublimation to these triangles is brought about by the control of the 3 shaktis.
In the last stage of this movement, that is, in the spiritual sphere, one comes in contact with the kaośikii shakti, the primordial force of creation. And through the lokatrikońa [Triangle of Creative Forces] which was established through pramá siddhi [spiritual equipoise and harmony], which has pramá saḿvrddhi [complete balance and harmony in one’s physical life and in the world] as one side, pramá rddhi [psychic equilibrium and harmony that is the essence of morality] as another side and pramá siddhi as the third side – one approaches the vertex of the guńatrikońa. This is the particular vertex of the unbalanced triangle, from which the kaośikii shakti came out moving in a straight linear order, not in a systaltic way.
– Physical Propulsion, Psychic Propensities and Spiritual Attainment, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 18
Now in this final stage of spiritual practice, the kaośikii shakti will move in a straight line in the opposite direction, along the upward movement of kulakuńd́alinii, and finally one will become one with the guńatrikońa. This is the state of perfect consummation of human existence; this is the glory of supreme spiritual attainment. You are the spiritual aspirants, it is your duty to establish a balanced triangle through pramá saḿvrddhi in the physical sphere, pramá rddhi in the psychic sphere, and pramá siddhi in the spiritual sphere. By this, your coming to this earth will be successful.
6th Lesson
The Lesson of Ananda Marga Sahaja Yoga associated with the state of a divine being is that of Dhyána or the 6th Lesson. In this state one becomes absorbed in the divine flows and love emanating from the Supremely Beloved (Parameśt́in) Guru. It is thus that one’s very existence becomes suffused and dissolved into divine Consciousness. One then uses this blissful state to give more and more love to that dearly Beloved Guru.
Sixth Lesson: An Introduction
Dhyana is the ultimate lesson of Ananda Marga Sahaja Yoga. Many times Baba would quote a shloka (verse) from the Kulárńava Tantra stating that the state of Sahaja (or Brahma Sadbháva) is the highest state and that dhyana is the process leading to this state. Sahaja comes from the words “Saha” meaning “with” + “ja” meaning “that which is born.” So “sahaja” refers to something that is “easily or naturally attained.” So this Sahaja Yoga is not an artificial mental process to get control over one’s mind and body, nor is it a series of positive moral sentiments. Sahaja Yoga is that process by which one’s attains the ultimate state of existence that is our most natural state. The Supreme Consciousness in the core of our being is our natural state, it is who we really are. The yoga or path of union with that natural state is Sahaja Yoga.
The First Lesson of Ananda Marga meditation takes us to our Goal, our Beloved [Ishta] by harmonizing our meditation with the nature of our mind and the nature of our mantra. The Sixth Lesson of Dhyana, like the First Lesson starts with a process of withdrawal (Pranidhana) but here the meditation is harmonizing with the flows of our Ishta and of His physical Form revealed in the Guru Cakra. Baba has explained how Dhyana leads to the Sahaja stance saying,When the mind moves towards Paramátmá, that is dhyána. Dhyána is madhyamá [middling; second best] because there is duality between the sádhaka and the object of his or her worship. And the supreme state, the uttamávasthá, is that where the sádhaka [worshiper] and the object of worship are one – where the worshipper, the worshipped and the worship unify themselves into one. Therefore, sahajávasthá is supreme – it is uttamá. This is the saying of Shiva. Kabir has also said, Sádhu sahaja samádhi bhalii [“The seeker attained sahaja samádhi”]. Sahaja is derived from the prefix saha plus the root jan plus the suffix d́a. Ja means “that which is born”. With what is it born?
– The Dialogues of Shiva and Párvatii – 3
Jiivátmá [unit consciousness] and Paramátmá [Supreme Consciousness] are born together. They are together, but jiivas simply do not look to Him. People think that Paramátmá is without, so they are not able to attain Him. When they look within, there is oneness. This alone is Sahajávasthá.
From this quote, we can realize that Sahaja is a state of union and Dhyana therefore is a process of deepening one’s union with the Beloved. The word “Dhii” means a benevolent and pure intellect. Purity arises when that intellect is increasingly less polluted by various mental propensities (vrttis). This state of true wisdom arises when one’s mental energy is diverted away from limited expressions like propensities, sentiments and towards the Ishta or Beloved Goal. This process is called Pranidhana and it is part of both First Lesson and Sixth Lesson. The difference is that First Lesson involves Pranidhana focused on different stages of more and more intense detachment from various crude states and the Sixth Lesson involves more and more intense attachment towards assimilating various mystical subtle ecstasies (bhávas) emanating from the Divine Form of the Ishta. The state whereby one’s intellect or Dhii attains ultimate purity by always being absorbed in the thought and ideation of the Ishta is called Dhruva Smrti or “firm, constant remembrance.” This leads to Dharma-megha-ananda Samadhi. Megha means “cloud”, Dharma means “sublime righteousness” and Ananda means “infinite happiness or bliss.” Those who experience this bliss who are selfless, who are devotees develop intense righteousness. This righteousness is strongly felt by others around them like a storm-cloud.
Dhyeya
The word Dhyana comes from the word “dhyae” which means “to think of, imagine, contemplate , meditate on , call to mind , recollect, to be thoughtful or meditative to hold an image in the consciousness continuously without allowing any other image to come, mature reflection, deliberation, absorption.”
Now what is the difference between contemplating upon a human being and Dhyana? To answer this we have to understand who is the Goal of our dhyana, namely our Dhyeya?
The first type of Dhyeya is an Iishvarakoti or a person who has achieved great realization in their spiritual practices and has developed the capacity to guide others as a lower (anya) guru (preceptor). Such preceptors will ask disciples to not to be diverted by their physical Form but to go within it towards the Supreme Consciousness deep within. For example Ramakrsna Paramhamsa said that he was an Ishvarakoti.
The second and much more rarer category of Dhyeya is a Brahmakoti or a person who has reached complete union with the Macrocosm (Saguna Brahma). Such preceptors are called Sadgurus because they can give liberation from the cycle of birth and death by merger with Saguna Brahma. Such preceptors can bless disciples in Dhyana by the Darshan of their physical Form but encourage disciples to go beyond this towards Paramatma Dhyana. Paramatma is the Macrocosmic Nucleus or the Supreme Soul residing in the core of our Soul. In Paramatma Dhyana one begins by realizing a blissful, formless effulgence that fills everything and dissolves everything into it. Permament establishment in this state leads to the realization of cid-akasha or the Sky of Consciousness. This is the highest state for yogis.
The third and incomparably more precious category of Dheya is a Mahasambhuti or a manifestation of Taraka Brahma. Taraka Brahma means Consciousness (Brahma) in the role of the Supreme Liberator (Taraka) who bestows salvation (moksa) or merger in Nirguna Brahma (the Unqualified, Pure Stance of Consciousness). Such preceptors are called Parameśt́in Gurus or Supreme-Ishta [Beloved] Gurus. These Adi Gurus are the ultimate source of Grace of any lower guru. Disciples can only attain salvation by dhyana on Mahasambhuti after first merging with their personal guru and the guru of their spiritual lineage or dynasty [paraḿpará]. On this small planet, the three Mahasambhutis who have visited here are Lord Shiva, Lord Krsna and Lord Anandamurti. In the subtler realms of the Cosmic Mind, of the collective mind their physical Form is still present. As Baba says about Lord Shiva, “In the causal world His sweet smiling form is being transformed according to His wish and radiating divine effulgence throughout the universe.” (Vashiikára – 1)
The physical Form of Mahasambhuti is an expression of Taraka Brahma. Each part of this Form – radioactive with shakti (divine energy), rapturous beauty and omnipotent love – is an infinite treasure of wondrous, ecstatic expressions. To see this Form in one’s life is the ultimate blessing. Paramatma is, as Baba says in Idea & Ideology, the ultimate state of Saguna Brahma. Hence Paramatma dhyana is far inferior to direct dhyana on the physical form of Mahasambhuti. So Dhyana on the physical Form of Mahasambhuti is the starting point for serious devotees.
Now when we concentrate on an ordinary human being intensely, it becomes an obsession which narrows the mind and degrades us into crudity and causes us to lose the capacity of our higher levels of mind and to project our mental propensities onto them. Ultimately the mind revolts again and again against such concentration on finite beings. However, when we concentrate on a saint what we find is that the infinite, Supreme Consciousness that they have experienced in their meditation overflows onto us causing the stirring within us of Supreme Consciousness buried in the depths of our “I-feeling.” With the case of a Sadguru it is found that concentration on his/her form leads us towards union with the Macrocosm or Saguna Brahma within them.
However, when it comes to Dhyana on the Mahasambhuti of Taraka Brahma we come into the realm of liila or the blissful divine play. Each and every action (liila) of Mahasambhuti – tiny or grand – is radiant with infinite and unique form of bliss. To meditate on one or more of these liilas of His as Mahasambhuti in the past on this planet, to meditate on His new liilas taking place now in the causal world – the endless forms of bliss generated by this takes us to the ultimate stance of Consciousness. Furthermore this blissful union allows Him to use our bodies to share this bliss with others and to be the vehicle for His Mission to liberate human society from all forms of exploitation, violence and religious dogmas. This union of the Dhyeya, the dhyátá [disciple] and the dhyana [specific practice one learns in initiation] is the real Sahaja or all-natural state of being alive as a genuine human being on this earth. The great Shaeva Tantric scripture of Kashmir, the Spanda Karikas states,
Ayamevodayastasya dhyeyasya dhyáyicetasi
Tadátmatásamápattiricchatah sádhakasya yá. (II.6)
[This alone indeed, is the arising of the Dhyeya in the mind of the disciple (doing dhyana) – namely the sadhaka’s (spiritual aspirant’s) realization (and dissolution) of identity within That (Dhyeya) by the force of divine will (icchá).]
Needless to say, this divine will power or conation arises only in the mind of someone with tremendous love. This will power is associated especially with Shambhuliunga (the seed point of the Triangle of Creation; the Basic Principle) which is found in the Guru Cakra where one does Dhyana on the Guru.
Preparation
All the earlier lessons are preparation for Dhyana just as Dhyana itself is preparation for divine love where one becomes part of the divine play (liilas). The main purpose of these lessons is to merge the energies of one’s sensory and motor organs with one’s ectoplasm (citta) or basic substance of the mind. This citta has five layers and one needs to introvert energies to higher and higher levels until one merges in the highest layer (Kosha) that is called the Hiranmaya Kosa [subtle causal mind]. This golden realm is rarely developed in the individual mind and it is developed by Dhyana and this development enables one to develop the power of divine will arising from ardent love for the Beloved (Dhyeya). Baba explains this saying,
The subtle causal mind is the last (fifth) gateway of perfection. It is the third stage of the superconscious mind. One who experiences this stage of mind reaches very near the Infinite Self within, and such a person’s desire for supreme union becomes unbearable. Such a person has an intense desire for God. In this stage of mind there is a complete reflection of Supreme Consciousness. When the spiritual aspirant reaches this stage of mind, his or her mind becomes one with that subtle causal mind, and as a result his or her mind becomes one with the Supreme [or Cosmic] Mind and becomes an all-knowing mind. Then the person becomes an all-knowing personality and attains complete spiritual awareness. The person experiences a divine current of the supreme happiness. He or she attains the fullest expression of humanity: divinity. This is the aim of life. One can reach this stage of mind through dhyána.
– The Superconscious Mind
There are many other practices which prepare one for Dhyana. Pranayama Baba said is very important as deep concentration that enables contemplation (dhyana) arises when the breath is calm or in a state of pause. Baba has said that someone who has Pranayama Siddhi (ability to perform pranayama without using one’s fingers to open and close the nostrils) will readily become established in Dhyana.
Another important aid is three principles that are the heart of First Lesson – Shravana, Manana and Nididhyasana. Shravana is the spiritual practice of constantly hearing and singing the Divine Name. Manana is the practice of constantly meditating on the Supreme Consciousness alone as in First Lesson. Nididhyasana means taking all mental propensities that are introverted and sublimated by shravana and manana and surrendering that entire psychic energy and one’s self unto Supreme Consciousness. This is done through Guru Puja at the end of meditation. It must never be forgotten that Baba said that all lessons of Sadhana, including Dhyana are simply aids to prepare oneself to surrender one’s body, mind and Atman unto Baba who is waiting for our surrender during each line we recite of Guru Puja. Thus Dhyana itself is a form of ultimate sacrifice of true surrender to the heart of the Parameśt́in Guru. This is why the Kulárńava Tantra defines Dhyana saying,
Yávadindriyasantápaḿ manasá saḿniyamya ca
Svántenábhiiśt́adevasya cintanaḿ dhyánamucyate. (XVII.36)
[Completely controlling, introverting and sublimating the burning pains and miseries of {life dominated by} the indriyas (sensory and motor organs) and the contemplation of the divinity of the inner being of one’s Iśt́a (Beloved Goal) is called Dhyana.]
And to marvel at the mystery of the inner reality of the Lord, to become intoxicated with this reality in His ecstatic expressions (bhávas), to dedicate oneself to serving Him and giving Him bliss – this is the true existence (sadbháva), the only existence worthy of human dignity as children of immortality. Only when human beings run to Him, attracted by His divine Grace, enchanted by His sweetness and benevolence, will they attain real immortality.
In a Nutshell
Immortality lies alone in attaining Nirguna Brahma or the Pure, Unqualified Consciousness. This is why the Muńd́aka Upańishad states,
Na chakshushá grhyate nápi váchá
Nányaerdevaestapasá karmańa vá |
jiṋánaprasádena vishuddhasattvastatastu
Taḿ pashyate nishkalaḿ dhyáyamánah (III.1.8)
[Not by the eye is That [Absolute] apprehended, not by speech or other divine power, nor by penance (tapas), nor by noble service work. The enlightenment (jinana) that comes from the Divine Grace (prasáda), the sentient spirit that comes when one is completely pure and Dhyana enable one to behold That Niskala – Unamanifested, Seedless, Objectless Consciousness.]
This Niskala is not to be realized by reading the Upanishads or by intellectual analysis. This Niskala is realized in the internal realm of the cakras [centres of subtle vital and spiritual energies.] As Baba says,
Now this Guru Cakra or Guru Entity or form of Guru is also Him, that is, that Supreme Entity, and He is attracting everything in this universe towards Himself with unparalleled affection from one controlling point. The space measured by ten fingers lying between ájiṋá and sahasrára cakras also belongs to him. This ten-fingered space is the abode of Niśkala Brahma or pure Brahma. So the spiritual aspirant will have to gradually rise up from the bottom to the top, through múládhára [base of spine], svádhiśt́hána [opposite root of penis], mańipura [navel], anáhata [centre of chest], vishuddha [throat], ájiṋá [between the eyebrows], and there, after bathing in the confluence of three rivers [in ájiṋá cakra] and being vibrated by the grace of Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness], they will gradually rise upwards to the highest point of the ten-fingered abode of Parama Puruśa and arriving there they merge into and become one with Him, this being the highest stage of sadhana. This is nirguńa nirvikalpa samádhi [non-attributional supreme spiritual stance].
– Vasu and Vásudeva
This is why Baba has quoted the Krama Tantra of Kashmir as saying that by Dhyana one can obtain everything without any other spiritual practice or lesson. Baba has said that if one does extra dhyana one will lose touch with the external world but if one does both Dhyana and 1st lesson then one will maintain balance. So, when human beings surrender all their concentrated mental power into the cosmic infinitude within the inner being of the Iśt́a [ideational Desideratum] one becomes free from microcosmic bondages, that is also a kind of penance (tapas) and is called “dhyána yoga.” Why is Dhyana a form of suffering or penance according to Baba? Because the goal of a devotee in doing dhyana is not get the power, blessings and love of the Beloved, but to sacrifice oneself for Him. This starts with service to society. In a discourse on Brahma Sadbháva which is the ultimate goal of Dhyana, Baba explained this saying,
All the urges and longings should be gathered together and directed towards the Supreme. If this is done indomitable psychic energy and invincible spiritual energy will grow from within. This will enable people to solve all the world’s problems – economic, social cultural, big and small. Unless one develops oneself in this way, as an ideal human being, one will not be able to solve any problem, no matter how madly one beats one’s chest or how loudly one shouts slogans. The solution should be commensurate with the problem just as the prescription should be commensurate with the disease. The present world is plagued with numerous problems. To solve these problems we need ideal men and women who are highly evolved from within; strong men and women whose lives are based on the solid foundation of spirituality. In the absence of such people the problems will remain unsolved. That is why I say, concentrate all your love and devotion, consolidate all your psychic propensities and channelize them towards the Supreme One. Don’t allow them to flow towards any other direction, towards any other object.
– Ideation on Brahma
This unbroken flow of the mind-stuff (citta) in one continuous stream, like the flow of oil, where all the propensities of the mind are fixed on the goal is called Dhyana. When we concentrate on an external object the flow of our mind in always broken even though we may not be aware of it. This is because the mind by nature resisting losing itself in something external. Hence the flow of the mind when concentrating on something external is like a movie in which a series of pictures are played so fast that we think that it is in continuous motion. Dhyana is not an artificial flow like this and that is why Dhyana gives great joy – because it is so natural (Sahaja). The process of dhyána is so continuous that all capacity of action is exhausted in maintaining this continuity, and the resultant therefore is inaction. When there is a cessation of action, the mind ceases to exist, and that is called samádhi. Samádhi is also called karma samádhi – the actionless state when all karma ceases. This samadhi does not last due to unexpressed samskaras in one’s mind and due to failure to observe perfect moral conduct by fighting injustice and inner vices and due to failure to surrender one’s mind to the Ideology so as to be able to indulge in selfish states of mind.
As part of Dhyana one must maintain adjustment with one’s glands and sub-glands and this is done by the early stages of withdrawal or Pranidhana. Dhyana is directly concerned with bháva. When the devotee gets actual experience of the Beloved Baba in meditation or in daily life this is what is bháva or Idea from the microcosmic point of view. Here the mind is harmonizing, flowing together with that of Supreme Consciousness deep within our “I-feeling.” Baba notes that there are three types of bhávas or Ideas. They are (1) intellectual-cum-intuitional; (2) actional; and (3) devotional-cum-emotional.
Dhyana based on the intellect’s pursuit of knowledge ultimately leads to realization of Nirvikalpa Samadhi [merger in the Macrcosmic Nucleus or Paramatma] if the knowledge is desired to educate and enlighten others about the ideology of the Lord and if devotee surrenders everything – including all one’s knowledge. However such yogis are useless when it comes to giving love to the Lord. Their dhyana is essentially parasitical.
Dhyana based on the determination (samkalpa) to do certain works in this world will ultimately lead to Nirvikalpa Samadhi, if the work is part of the Mission of the Lord and if the devotee surrenders everything. These devotees with great zeal to work endlessly for the Lord are blessed with Him with devotion in a future life.
Dhyana based on the emotional outpouring from the devotee to the Lord will ultimately lead to Nirvikalpa Samadhi, if one is NOT selfishly expressing all that is in one’s own heart and trying to get His love. Only if one is trying to give more and more bliss to His heart by surrender can one get moksa or salvation. These devotees are the true practicioners of Dhyana. Many devotees practice dhyana as per their samskaras or mental tendencies arising from the stored reactions to their past deeds. Thus one will do Dhyana on Baba as His servant or PA, or as His child, or as His friend, or as His premii (divine lover). A true devotee like Sant Jinaneshvar will say that “I will not have any relationship with You.” Such devotees will not want that their Dhyana and their relationship be guided by their samskaras. True devotees will realize that just as Baba is everything to us – father, mother, brother, sister, friend, wife, husband, lover, son, daughter and servant – so we must be everything for Him
Ultimately the only thing that is important is love and love means Baba getting bliss. Whether we get bliss is irrelevant. Our dhyana becomes feeble when our love is feeble. Then we have great difficulty in maintaining concentration as the mind runs away to trivial pursuits. This is why Baba said that the best way to catch the mind is to think about the physical service of the Iśt́a in dhyána. This means doing detailed, long service to Him in Dhyana as His PA, as His mother, etc. This will cause our love to increase. Baba explains this saying,
Dhyána is withdrawing the mental propensities from all extroversive entities, and then collecting those withdrawn mental forces, mental propensities, and urging them towards the Supreme Entity. If there is no love for the Supreme Entity, this movement cannot be done. Where there is no love, the mind will not run after Him. So dhyána also becomes meaningless.
“Dhyána” comes from the root verb “dhyae,” which means to withdraw the mental propensities and to goad them towards Him. So, if people practice all these things without having love for the Supreme, they won’t be able to get anything. But, if there is an iota of love, if there is a wee bit of love, they gain everything. Only those intelligent people who know this – even if if they are not efficient or proficient in the sphere of dharma; even if they are not efficient in doing japa kriyá [mantra incantation]; even if they know nothing regarding yoga; even if they know nothing regarding celestial and extra-celestial knowledge; even if they do not understand Guru Bhakti [devotion to Guru]; even if they do not understand the inner spirit of japa; even if they do not know jiṋána [knowledge] – can get everything if the spirit behind this idea of loving the Supreme is just in a rudimental phase. In a later phase it becomes, “I love Him not to get anything; I love Him because I get pleasure in loving Him – and for no other purpose.” And in the final stage the devotee feels that, “I love Him, not to get any pleasure for myself. I love Him, because I want my love to give Him pleasure.” That is purely unilateral, not reciprocal. Where there is the idea of reciprocity, it is not devotion, it is an ordinary commercial transaction – give some money, get some article.”
– Who is Gopa
This ultimate stage of devotion is the essence of true Dhyana. Baba has given one definition of dhyana as sarvarasásvádana in a footnote in the book Yoga Sadhana. Sarva means “all” rasa means “flow, nectar” and sváda means “to taste”. So to taste all the divine, nectarean flows coming from every expression of Baba’s physical Form in Dhyana, from his subtle moods or bhávas, from His endless Forms of effulgence and from His yearning is what Dhyana is all about. However, this is not done in the selfish way of enjoyment of crude devotees. One enjoys because our enjoyment gives Him delight. When we are thrilled with one of the countless beautiful ways in which Baba is adorned with various clothes or colours, we are especially thrilled because we feel Baba’s delight in our thrill. The sign of a true premii (divine lover) is to bring out the Beauty in the Beloved by the simplest action like a gaze because there is utmost surrender and burning yearning to set His heart on fire. In reality, rasa also means “relish”. Every object of the entire physical, psychic and spiritual realms is created out of His delight or blissful relishing at being able to express His love. So in reality whatever we relish in this world is already relished by Him. Devotees share even their enjoyment of His love with Him. When they eat, they share the nice taste of the food with Him. When they do service, they share the joy of helping others with Him. When they study and enlighten others about His ideology, they share this joy with Him. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was such a selfless devotee that he even shared the bliss of Radha Bhava with Krsna. This is what made him the only Neohumanist in the history of this planet.
And when we see such devotees we realize how Baba’s categories of bhakti apply to Dhyana.
1) Tamasika Dhyana is Dhyana where one is goaded by the desire to defeat, harm or kill someone else. To pollute one’s dhyana by talking to Baba about one’s personal enemies is a crime. To use Baba in dhyana to vent all one’s negative feelings about people in this way – this is the action of criminal devotees.
2) Rajasika Dhyana is the most common type of Dhyana. Here one is goaded by various material desires to have a good job or posting, to get money, to get success in exams, promotion, to get more intellectual knowledge and be a great intellectual, to want for peope to respect and serve us, etc and to get relief from one’s problems of daily life. This type of Dhyana is most hypocritical. Such disciples will say, “I am not thinking about that job. I have left everything up to You. You do what You like.” But internally there are expectations, hopes that the Lord will give them the job. Such people are nothing but devotional parasites. Such people are reborn as luminous bodies for thousands of years.
3) Sattvika Dhyana is common amongst yogis. Here one desires spiritual bliss, bhavas, samadhis, to become a famous saint/guru, to have spiritual knowledge, to get moksa so as to escape from suffering in the world. Many of these people say they want to enjoy tasting sugar and not become sugar. They are a more subtle form of devotional parasite. So long as such devotees remain humble and serve others, they will be blessed by the Lord with purer devotion in future lives where they will be able to do genuine Dhyana for the first time.
All these 3 types of dhyana are forms of Narcissism which is nothing but malignant self-love. Such devotees will do Dhyana and even merge with Baba to give bliss to themselves. For example, they will enjoy massaging Baba in Dhyana and at the same time be merged with Baba and receive their own massage. Thus they will exploit Baba’s bliss in Dhyana to get bliss by massaging themselves. This is Dhyana based on Atma-sukha Tattva (Principle of Selfish Pleasure). This self-centred psychology is also the root of capitalist greed and violence. It is also the cause for the downfall of the disciples. This is why Baba warned us,
You are plundering His mercy in everything day and night. Go on working as a machine, leaving the doership to Him. How little can your poor intellect comprehend or analyse His unfathomable sport (liilá)! So, instead of trying to comprehend or analyse keep the bearing of that inscrutable Juggler aglow before your eyes…
– The Primordial Cause of Creation
So I repeat, do not try to analyse that Supreme Entity with the pride of your petty intellect. Do the Sádhaná of attaining Him with the ardent devotion of your heart and all your discrepancies and limitations will end. Remember, where “you” is “He” is not and where “He” is, small “you” is not. He is your final destination.
Types of Dhyana
This ultimate existence arises when the disciple attains the realm beyond the Hiranmaya Kosa [subtle causal mind] called Satyaloka. This is the realm of the Satyaloka. This is the realm of the purest existential feeling [Knower-I] in the form of the awareness “I exist” that is free from almost all forms of duality. This layer of the mind is called the Mahat or the Vastness of Cosmic Consciousness. The process of purifying the Mahat accelerates when all the Lessons are practiced regularly as part of one’s Dhyana. This allows one to be blessed with the divine touch of the Beloved. Baba said in Timmern, Germany, that “there cannot be any peace, any happiness or any beatitude till the aspirant comes in tactual contact [touch] with the Supreme Self.” When this tactual contact becomes intense and one feels it overwhelmingly in every part of one’s being, then there arises the bliss of the devotional stance of Mahabhava as Baba revealed in His discourse. Yet this bliss transcending all lessons comes only by purifying the Mahat. As Baba explains,
The more one’s mental mirror is clear, the more it is free from impurities, and the more brilliantly and fully it receives this spiritual radiance. Those unit beings who purify their existential “I” (Mahat) through intuitional practice, enjoy the sweet bliss of His touch. If Mahatattva is impure, His reflection is not properly received. Thus those sadhakas [spiritual aspirants] whose minds are crude and inert are not able to apprehend even a iota of His sweet essence. That is why at the time of happiness their illusion-dulled mental waves seek to remain in smug oblivion, disregarding Him; and at the time of sorrow they unduly find fault with Him, failing to understand His merciful dispensation that exists behind that sorrow. Just as in a dirt-free or less dirty mirror you can see an original object very well and in the event of more dirt, the knowledge of object becomes hazier, exactly so is the case with self-visualization of Átman in the mental mirror.
– This World and the Next
And the Beloved shines in each mental mirror in countless, unique ways. This is why, there are as many types of Dhyana as there are disciples. Among the types discussed by Baba is Bhávátmaka Dhyana. In this state the disciple becomes lost in the fathomless greatness of the Lord. Beginner disciples say, “In each and every way You have revealed Yourself, I have lost myself.” Through each of the countless gestures, movements, dances of every part of the physical Form of Mahasambhuti – ecstatic moods (Bhávas) are being radiated. In addition there are so many more expressions of love on the psychic level in the way in which He creates so many dramas of ultimate intense intimacy through countless divine dramas (liilas). From these also so many Bhávas are radiating. So in this type of dhayana one is becoming lost in these expressions. This is not an ideal form of Dhyana because here one is losing oneself in the bliss of His Bhávas rather than giving Him Bliss that send Him into more sweeter Bhávas.
Then there is Rasánandayoga Dhyana. In this Dhyana, one feels surrounded by Him on all sides and feels His touch. One’s entire mind and body is vibrated with the touch of the Supreme. This is a type of Dhyana attained by a devotee who love the Lord as a divine lover (premii). One is blessed with this state by selfless service, selfless fight against injustice and selfless, continuous love – but ultimately it is all the Grace of the Beloved Baba. Baba said that to begin to understand His Grace, one has to do Dhyana. Baba has explained the bliss of His Touch in Mahábháva in these words,
When the sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] feels the closest proximity of Parama Puruśa, even within his embrace, that bháva is called mahábháva… At the time of mahábháva, the sádhaka feels the tactual presence of Parama Puruśa and falls down. At that time, every nerve-cell, every nerve-fibre and every pore of the human body feels the divine touch. The entire [extent] of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds becomes filled with devotion.
– Dasha, Bháva and Mahábháva
This type of dhyana is also not ideal. A true devotee lives to give bliss to Baba and not to receive bliss from Him. When one is crying, singing, laughing, dancing with tears streaming, hairs standing on end, swooning – this is not love. This means Baba is loving us. When Baba is crying, singing, laughing, dancing with tears streaming, hairs standing on end, swooning – when one sends Baba into Mahabhava – this is the real love.
Another type of Dhyana discussed several time by Baba is Anudhyana. Anu means “following.” So here one is following or trying with determination to attain union with Him deep within. Many times, Baba has quoted a shloka (verse) from the Shvetáshvatara Upanishad, that the way to union with Him is through Abhi-dhyana or complete dhyana, comprising Pranidhana and Anudhyana. This Upanishad is strongly influenced by Shiva Tantra and hence was often quoted by Baba. Anudhyana essentially means to run after the Beloved in the endless chambers of the Guru Cakra [occult plexus at the crown of the head], Sahasrara Cakra [Macropropensitive Plexus above the crown of the head] and beyond. When we run after something or someone then our feelings for them are heightened, then our determination to find and hold them is intensified. Intellectuals say the spiritual path is like a razor’s edge but devotees rush forward without bothering about the path because they are in love with their Beloved Lord. This is the actual Dharma as Baba says,
People must be freed from the spell of scriptural authority and led along the path of rationality. They should be made to understand that to run towards Parama Brahma – the essence of all essences – is the one and only dharma. There is no other dharma for human beings…We are running and shall continue to run to take shelter aboard the only dependable ship on the ocean of the physical universe – the Supreme Entity. That Supreme Entity is the only shelter of all (though He Himself has no shelter). We have none but Him, we have no other desideratum.
– In Adoration of the Supreme
There are different ways of starting Dhyana. Some begin by imagining and ideating on Baba’s Form as shown in the photo. Others however do not do this but instead simply sit, wait and cry for Him to come. Others run forwards crying out unto Him. Eventually one will have to run after Him. Now when one runs after Him, He will play hide-and-seek. Even when He appears, He will reveal all one’s mistakes, defects, hypocrisy and sins. This is a test. Those who have less love will feel pain and will stop running after Him. They will cling to their sinner complex and inferiority complex as a form of negative self-centredness so as to avoid full commitment to surrender.
Those who have more ardent love will say, “O Lord, I may be a sinner, I may be a degraded person, but still I am Yours. I am Your child. Whatever I may be, a sinner, a fool, a scoundrel, I will chase You. I will run and run after You. After all, how much can You run? I will surely catch You. I won’t spare You. I am a sinner. I am a sinner, but even then I will not spare You, because You are this sinner’s Father!” Such devotees He is bound to place in His lap.
Sometimes it happens that a person running after Him in Anudhyána ultimately forgets himself or herself. This is known as árádhaná. When devotees feel in their heart of hearts that their existence is meaningless without attaining their Beloved and that they cannot survive a single moment without feeling His blissful presence, then one truly starts to run like mad. One neither looks right, left or straight ahead. One neither thinks or feels anything – one desperately tries to find Him, hold Him and love Him every single moment. This irresistible urge causes one to not just forget oneself but to lose oneself completely.
This anudhyana does not just take place when one meditates. It also takes place in the collective or social realm. Baba explains this saying,
This running, this forward movement, is known as “proto-psycho-spirituality”. What happens through this proto-psycho-spirituality? When a person is guided by it to think in a particular way, and sees that one’s own benevolent mode of thinking is not reflected in other people’s activities, then that person can easily realize their true nature. So those who practise this proto-psycho-spirituality can easily recognize those demons in human framework. Then, after recognizing them, it is their duty to expose them to others also, to make people understand that they are repeatedly harming human society. It is not enough for one to personally unmask them; one must open the eyes of others also. Only in this way can the well-being of the world be promoted. Thus it will not be sufficient to lie peacefully in wait, like goody-goodies in isolated ivory towers. One will have to spread one’s wings and soar high into the blue firmament.
– An Ideology for a New Generation
While one may attain salvation by this type of Anudhyana or Aradhana it is not ultimately ideal for devotees. True devotees are running after Him to give Him bliss. They do not run to Him because they are charmed and overwhelmed by His sweetness. They run towards Him out of burning yearning to give Him more and more bliss. The sign of this purer Anudhyana or Aradhana is that when one has this, Baba will chase you and will openly give His heart for you and swoon with love for you. Ultimately Baba says that the secret of Dhyana, like all sadhana, is to realize that in fact we are not doing dhyana on Him as the object of our mind. In fact Baba as the soul of our soul does dhyana on us and watches as we try to realize Him and surrender to Him. So for the devotee, it is He truly who runs after us in Para (higher) Anudhyana. It is He who loses Himself in His Aradhana for us. This is the Final Word in Dhyana.
Conclusion
Dhyana has many marvelous mysteries that cannot be written. The details about the Guru Cakra, about Baba’s Mudras, about how Dhyana becomes transformed into actual contact (Darshana) with Baba, etc are to be experienced and not spoken of. Above the treasures of radiant light coming from every part of Baba’s Feet is thus far beyond the scope of human language. The beauty of Baba’s dress, the special blessings and bliss of meditation on each part of His Form, the countless dramas He creates in just one single moment – all this is waiting to be expressed. The very purpose of Sadvipra Samaja is to create a society where one can spend one’s life celebrating these countless types of bliss with Baba and gain the power to drown Him in His own love. It is for this reason alone that we concentrate on His Mudras. To protect us from everything that takes us away from this ultimate Mission of Union and to bestow us with the capacity to be able to love Him as intensely and tenderly as He loves us – it is for this reason that we surrender unto His Mudras in Dhyana. This is the real meaning of Baba’s Crucial Command.
Utilizing the vibrations created for eternal time
-Ananda Marga Caryácarya
by Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrtijii through jánusparsha
and varábhaya mudrás, take
yourself and the entire universe
ahead along the path of
all-round welfare.
Oṋḿ shánti!
Vishesh Yoga
This is a special spiritual practice of many lessons that was given only to advanced, hard-working Acaryas (teachers of meditation). This is a sadhana requiring intense concentration power and a lot of free time since the practices take a great deal of time and even burn a great amount of physical energy.
Now, Shrii Sarkar has clearly said that it does not give more devotion than the normal Sahaja Yoga that all disciples practice. Then what is the purpose of this form of sadhana? The answer is that this sadhana gives one tremendous mental power and subtle physical power. This power is solely to be used for the revolutionary work of the Sadvipra. This yoga is a very dangerous yoga. Those who perform this yoga while having conscious or sub-conscious desires will fall from the spiritual path and also cause other people to fall. Those who master this special yoga to do more and more service work and revolutionary work become Purodhas. Let us examine who is a Purodha. The definition of a Purodha is
Purasi Hitaḿ Dhárayati Ityárthe Purodhah.
Definitions
Hita means “benevolent service”. That which leads to one’s physical, psychic and spiritual well-being is called hita. There is a word hita whose colloquial meaning is “good”, but which actually means the desire for physical, mental and spiritual progress. There are four types of service that lead to hita.
- Shúdrocita sevá is serving with your physical body, rendering physical service, rendering medical service.
- Then kśatriyocita [martial service] is security service, helping the weak.
- Then vaeshyocita sevá [economic service] is relief work, feeding the poor, helping the needy.
- Then viprocita sevá is preaching morality, teaching, preaching the ideology, doing dharma pracára [spiritual propagation]. They are all viprocita sevá… Now, all these four items come within the scope of hita [welfare].
Dhárayati means “carries, maintains, holds, undergoes, practices, preserving, sustaining, observing and practicing.”
Ityártha means “having this purpose, for this purpose” “having this meaning”, “means”, “is called”. Artha also means temporary relief from physical, psychic and spiritual (viraha – burning yearning for Him) pain as per Baba.
Commentary:
So who is a Real Purodha? A Purodha is someone who is always taking the lead in all spheres of social service. That means people who are taking the lead of doing sudhra service of providing medicine, food, clothing/blankets, housing to refugees from violence, victims of natural disasters, victims of exploitation. That means people taking the lead to doing ksattriya service and protecting lower castes, indigenous people (adivasis), religious minorities, racial minorities from violence and discrimination. That means people who are taking the lead in doing vaeshya service by starting cooperatives and making poor communities economically independent and helping fight for economic freedom (of their community and their samaj) from corporations and the government.
That means doing Vipra seva which has many dimensions. Firstly it refers to those who are educating the people not just in literacy but by doing jinana vistara (informing the people what their economic, spiritual (of their ancestral spirituality), political, cultural, social rights) and vijinana sadhana (fighting to establish the people in those rights in daily life).
Secondly it refers to those who are training people how to carry out protests and revolution.
Thirdly it refers to those who are doing the most important work of creating a cultural renaissance in the local samaja language by creating new grammar based on Baba’s [affectionate term for Shrii Sarkar], creating new moral, yogic (incorporating local gods as related to different cakras and different stages of Brahmacakra), devotional (based on His songs), folk culture, novels, plays poems, newspapers, radio stations, etc.
Fourthly it refers to those who are creating a meditation revolution – not amongst rich elites stressed out from robbing the rest of the planet – but from young boys (in US, India, etc) in prisons due to poverty, amongst the women who are sold like cattle, amongst the people being robbed and killed by the corporate-government-military elites.
Fiftly it refers to those who are creating a devotional revolution like Caitanya Mahaprabhu and like Baba asked us to do when He visited Spain. Baba asked us to do Kiirtan Peace Marches (Kiirtan Shanti Yatras) and Neohumanism pracar to fight religious extremists. For Baba’s Final Command was for every margis and every wt in every house to prepare to fight those “Snakes” who preach religious hate and who practice religious violence in all countries of the world. Sixthly it refers to those who are developing the ideology in all dimensions such as preparing block-level, regional-level and samaja-level economic plans by collective meetings with the local people and experts (cultural, economic, ecological. It also refers to those who are surrendering to Baba and by His Grace expanding and developing the ideology in the realms of PROUT, Brahmacakra, Microvita, Prama, Agriculture and so much more. Seventhly it refers to those are spreading the Stories of the Blissful Liilas of Lord Anandamurti in songs (bhajans), dramas, epics, biographies,etc. in all languages of this planet. Eightly it refers to those who are working through all these ways and more to unite humanity to give more and more love to Baba and create a revolution in His heart.
Those who are showing by their sacrifice, courage (risking their lives) and non-stop work how to serve humanity in all these ways they are the purodhas. Baba said in the article “The Criteria of the Guru” that the True Guru (Paramestin Guru) will guide humanity in all intellectual and intuitional fields, in all practical physical fields and in all the dimensions of spirituality. So a True Disciple (of the True Guru) or purodha also has to lead the society by risking their lives in fighting injustice, by surrendering their selves so completely that Baba’s All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Loving shakti flows works and fights to guide humanity through them in ALL these endless ways.
One who is holding (dhára), who is protecting, nurturing, loving humanity (especially suffering humanity) in all these ways is a Real Purodha. One who is practicing and undergoing suffering (Tapas) in pursuit of this kind of nuclear revolution is a RealPurodha.
They alone can be called (ityartha) sadvipras, because the meaning and purpose of their lives is to serve humanity by liberating them (artha) from physical, psychic and spiritual sufferings. In reality there has been only one Real Purodha in the almost 60 year old history of Ananda Marga on this tiny planet.
Shaeva
We have seen that Ananda Marga sadhana is a blending of three types of spirituality – the Shákta, and the Vaeśńava. The third and culminating form spiritual personality is that of the Shaeva.
The difference between the unsullied Shaivite Shaeva bháva and the Vaishnavite nityánanda is very little. In fact nityánanda can also be experienced in Nirguńa Brahma bháva [the Shaeva bháva, here denoted the “non-attributional” bháva]. The difference between the Vaishnavite nityánanda and the Shaivite nirvikalpa samádhi [trance of indeterminate absorption] is not more than the difference between the original bháva of Puruśottama and that of Nirguńa Brahma. The attainment of the eternal stance at the altar of Nirguńa Brahma is Shaevávasthá [the highest state of merger with Shiv]. In Ananda Marga there has been a unique blending of the Shákta, Shaeva and Vaeśńava systems of spiritual practice…
– Sádhaná, Discourses on Tantra Volume Two
When sádhakas become ensconced in nityánanda they are said to have attained the Shaeva stage. One who has not been an ideal Vaeśńava cannot be an ideal Shaeva. Shaivites have no minds of their own, for they have already surrendered their minds to their dear Lord. This is the supreme surrender, this is the supreme attainment.
Ratnákarastava grhaḿ grhińii ca padmá;
Deyaḿ kimapi bhavate Puruśottamáya.
Ábhiiravámanayanápahrtamánasáya;
Dattaḿ mana yadupate tvamidaḿ grháńa.
[Your abode is brimming over with gems and jewels. The goddess of fortune is Your housekeeper. What can I offer to You, O Lord? Oh yes, there is one thing You lack, as it has been stolen by Your devotees; it is Your mind. I therefore offer my mind to You. Please accept it.]
Kaevalya
As seen earlier, when the kundalinii rises and as the yogi surrenders, at each cakra a unique form of devotional samádhi takes place. The final stage in this process and in what we have seen is Rágátmiká Bhakti.
And the last stage is when that kulakuńd́alinii comes here [crown of the head]. I said that in the unit structure, Shambhúliuṋga, Parama Puruśa, is here, at the controlling point of the pineal gland. The divinity, the sleeping divinity, is to be exalted to that point, to the controlling point of the pineal gland. And there is the final stage of samádhi. That final stage of samádhi is called nirvikalpa samádhi in yoga, and kaevalya in Tantra. In Sanskrit kaevalya means ‘only’. Kevala means ‘only’, and the noun of kevala is kaevalya.
– Stages of Samadhi, Discourses on Tantra 1
That is, only one Entity exists. That entity may be I, that entity may be He. But the differentiation between ‘I’ and ‘He’ disappears. So ‘I exist’ and ‘He exists’ – these two ideas disappear: ‘exists’. That is, it is the stage of non-attributional Consciousness. It is the supreme stage of yogic sádhaná [spiritual practice]. It is the supreme stance for a yogi.
Now by dint of sádhaná, one is to arouse and exalt that sleeping divinity. That Svayambhúliuṋga [at the base of the spine] becomes one with Shambhúliuṋga [state of Macropsychic Connation].
But for this one requires divine help. And I know one is sure to get divine help. And I know further that one is getting divine help. And I know still further that in future, for infinite time and infinite space, one will be getting this divine favour. And you are all sádhakas. You will certainly attain that supreme stance and enjoy that divine blessedness. You are sure to enjoy it, my sons and my daughters.
Acquiring Knowledge
The blissful form of knowledge that one acquires in this state is described below.
The last stage is samyaka átmasthiikarańa. When the sky filling cloud of the mind is directed towards Parama Puruśa it is called dharmamega in scripture. Human beings come in close proximity with Parama Puruśa through the science of dharmamega. That stage is called samyaka átmasthiikarańa. It is the stage in which sádhakas form a clear understanding of the physical, psychic, and spiritual realms of life. They thereby come to know of everything of this universe. Their knowledge is lasting, final and absolute. The [yoga] scripture says, rtambhará tatra prajiṋá, i.e., their knowledge is filled with veracity.
– Ekendriya – 2, Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 6
Permanent knowledge is not possible through perception, inference, or authority, or by studying books or discourses. The knowledge which one attains by expanding one’s mind in the psychic sphere through the practice of sádhaná, which I gave the name upa átmasthiikarańa is also not everlasting, although it does last for a certain period. Knowledge only becomes permanent when the human beings withdraw the entire intuitive element and focus it on their spiritual point of ideation. At that time the entire universe comes within the scope of their mind, and they become omniscient.
Dagdhabiija
At this stage all seeds of past karma stored in the mind are burnt. However those who are genuinely divine personalties never seek to escape. Rather they willingly take upon themselves the sins (past karma) of others. Why? It is because this negative karma causes so many people to lack purity of mind and to feel powerless and full of various complexes. When people are freed from their crude karma they can dare to dream to ending the limitless himsa of the capitalists despite the powerful armies under their control. Such a liberating deva is called a Dagdhabiija.
While doing sádhaná, a sádhaka reaches a stage where púrńa bhakti [cent per cent devotion] is aroused for Paramátmá. Then one remains unassailed even if a cyclone of misery attacks him or her. One feels maximum torture in the mind, but he or she little cares for it, taking it to be the benediction of Paramátmá Himself. Torture is there but he or she derives bliss from it. The sádhaka of that stage is called dagdhabiija [burnt seed]. A dagdhabiija comes within the range of psychic directly.
– Dagdhabiija, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 30
Biija means “seed”. Wherever a seed is sown, it [sprouts into] a plant; but where the seed is burnt, a plant is not produced. A sádhaka becomes dagdhabiija when he or she has no more pain or pleasure of his or her own. One who has surrendered in toto and has not kept in hand even a single paisa of it, is alone dagdhabiija. All carry their own burdens, but if a dagdhabiija sádhaka so desires, he or she can carry the burdens of others also. And those who want to carry the burden of others do lessen the burden of Paramátmá indirectly. You should remember this.
Do not remain worried about your individual problems at all. Be prepared to carry your own burden and be prepared also to carry the burdens of others. Then alone are you brave. Be dagdhabiija. Everyone has his or her own individual problems. Do not try to pass them on to others. On the contrary, bear the burdens of others. No one is your enemy. Be ready to bear the burdens of others.
NeoHumanism
Now in this stage one’s bhakti or devotion blossoms in society. As Shrii Sarkar says,
When this Neohumanism operates in the external sphere, then internal devotion as a principle is transformed into devotion as a mission.
– Bondages and Solutions, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
This devotion as mission is explained beautifully by Shrii Sarkar as follows:
So first there is “spirituality as a cult [yoga]”, secondly, “spirituality in essence”, and thirdly, “spirituality as a mission”. All existential phenomena are emanating from the Existential Nucleus. The existential nucleus of a single individual has a direct link with the Cosmological Hub, a direct link with the Existential Nucleus of the Cosmological order. But this path is not psycho-spiritual; according to Neohumanism, the final and supreme goal is to make one’s individual existential nucleus coincide with the Cosmic Existential Nucleus (nádabindu yoga, in the language of Tantra). As a result, the unit being’s entire existential order becomes one with the Controlling Nucleus of the existential order of the Supreme Entity of the Cosmological order, and that will be the highest expression of Neohumanism. That Neohumanistic status will save not only the human world but the plant and animal worlds also. In that supreme Neohumanistic status, the universal humanity will attain the consummation of its existence. Then nothing will be impossible for human beings; they will be able to do anything and everything.
– Neohumanism Is the Ultimate Shelter, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism
Today’s humanity is in despair; people think too much about their imperfections. They think, “Can I do it?” But in that supreme, Neohumanistic status, they will say, “Yes, I am a Neohumanistic being and I am destined to do great work. For that purpose I have come onto this earth. So there is no scope for doubt whether I can do it or not.”
Once long ago I went to Purulia. I was carrying heavy baggage. I asked a village man: “Can you carry this baggage?” He replied: “Why not, certainly I can!” I appreciated his answer very much. And I am sure that one day this Neohumanism will inspire the world population to say, “Why not, certainly we can!”
And I am confident that on that day no geo-sentiment will be able to rear its head, no socio-sentiment will be able to erect barriers of discrimination in human society, nor will any demon be able to harm millions of people in the name of humanism by exploiting their gullibility. And when those ever-vigilant human beings, those physico-psycho-spiritual entities, will be able to merge their existential nuclei with the Supreme Existential Nucleus, then only will Neohumanism be permanently established, and human beings will be ensconced in the joy of freedom forever. On that day they will proclaim in full-throated voices: “We have come to the world to perform great deeds – for the physical welfare of all, for the psychic happiness of all, and for the spiritual elevation of all – to lead all from darkness unto light.” If, even then, someone says: “No, darkness is good for me!” we will tell them: ‘All right, darkness is good for you, but just once why don’t you come and see the light – it is even better!’
PROUT
Thus it is when that becomes a deva that one becomes a full-fledged Sadvipra. Now Shrii Sarkar has said that the Sadvipra is a blending of Lord Shiva’s Avadhuta, Lord Krsna’s gopi and Lord Krsna’s spiritual warrior. Now let us explore these unique forms of spirituality.
Shiva Avadhuta
Shrii Sarkar quoted a Sanskrit verse which defines the Avadhuta as follows:
The sádhaka who views everything with equanimity, be it his home or the burial ground, gold or grass, his own children or his enemies, fire or water, his own property or another’s property, lives in the world as an avadhúta, as the veritable manifestation of Shiva.
– Discourse 24, Namámi Krśńasundaram
Such Avadhuta are Kaolas which are defined thus:
Kaola means the spiritual aspirant who has raised the coiled serpentine, known as kulakuńd́alinii in Sanskrit, and brought it to the controlling point of the pineal gland. (To establish the union of the fundamental negativity with the fundamental positivity; of the starting point with the culminating point.) Such aspirants are called kaola because they have raised the kulakuńd́alinii; the adjective of kula is kaola. Kula is the noun, kaola the adjective. All sádhakas, each and every sádhaka, can become a kaola through sádhaná.
– Kaola and Mahákaola, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23
The Kaolas as true devas live out of devotion to the Supreme Lord known as the Mahakaola.
The point where the jiivabháva, that is, the sense of the unit identity, is locked, is called kula. Hence those who achieve perfection through sádhaná are called kaola…Those who can move the collective ectoplasm through the medium of their ectoplasmic rhythm, can awaken new power in shabda [sound expression] through their own ectoplasmic strength. The awakening of this power in shabda is called purashcarańa in Sanskrit. And those who can perform such a tough task are called Mahákaola. They alone are worthy of the status of guru and no one else. When a Mahákaola awakens vibrations in the universal ectoplasmic body through the medium of particular shabdas, those shabdas [are also altered and] acquire the status of siddha mantras [liberating mantras].
– Mantra Caetanya, Discourses on Tantra Volume One)
Krsna Gopi
The Gopi is defined by Shrii Sarkar as follows: Gopáyate yah sah gopah. [Those exist solely to give bliss (to the Lord) are known as gopas.] As Shrii Sarkar explains
Those whose very nature is to give joy to Parama Puruśa are in gopii bháva…Those who are genuine devotees do not do anything for their own pleasure: they do everything for His satisfaction, and they get much more pleasure by serving Parama Puruśa than even He gets. You should always remember…You should emulate the example of those devotees who have genuine love for Parama Puruśa who are ever ready to do everything to give joy to Him. Oh spiritual aspirant, do not desire to be a philosopher, or an intellectual – become a devotee. Be one with Parama Puruśa, and make your existence meaningful in all respects through constant service and devotion to Him.
– What Is the Way?, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11
How do we become gopis? Shrii Sarkar explains it in the following words:
Those who worship Parama Puruśa with single-minded devotion, with their undivided attention discarding all other mundane thoughts, and, bringing about a smooth softness in their mental flow, move towards Parama Puruśa, are called gopiis or devotees. No one can depict these types of devotees, because the inner devotion of their tender ideation is embedded in the deepest recesses of their hearts. It is completely internal, a matter of their psychic world. It is also difficult to give proper expression to the thoughts of these gopiis, who are specially endowed with this unique devotion and ideation. This sort of gopiibhava, the ideation of a gopii, may be attained as the result of spiritual practices and merit from the performance of virtuous deeds for lives together. While imbibing this ideation of a gopii bit by bit as the result of prolonged meditation and merit, one can gradually elevate oneself to the highest state of devotion. It may also happen that within a very short period, even within an hour or two, this gopiibháva may be aroused as the result of exclusive absorption in Parama Puruśa. So one can become a gopii as a result of prolonged practice, or even within a very short period. This ideation is never confined within the limits of time. When a person moves towards Parama Puruśa with tender ideation, full of smoothness, full of sweet peace, he or she is called a gopii.
– On the Colour Festival, A Few Problems Solved Part 5
Krsna Warrior
The nature of the warrior of Dharma Yuddha [War to establish a society founded upon spiritual righteousness] is so inspirationally revealed below:
Krśńa wanted to arouse a strong urge in people’s minds to fight against evil forces. Although Krśńa did not provide any socio-economic-political theory, He made people conscious in the social, economic and cultural spheres, and advanced society by providing inspiration in His own unique way. That is, Párthasárathi Krśńa helped the people to advance by expanding their social consciousness. That is why those who had received schooling from Párthasárathi jumped to the stage of sárśt́hi right from the lowermost stage of sálokya. They did not rise gradually to successively higher stages through joy and sweet blissful experiences, but advanced to the highest stage all at once. But this sudden expansion involved labour, toil and struggle. It entailed great risk and demanded uncompromising fighting spirit…
– Discourse 3, Namámi Krśńasundaram
In the case of Arjuna, in the initial stages there were soft murmurings, but in the final stage there was the ear-shattering noise of Páincajanya [the name of Krśńa’s conch for commencing battle] resulting in Arjuna’s final, supreme realization. However, things were different with Vraja Krśńa [Krsna as the Lord of devotion]. His flute produced different notes at different times. When devotees achieve some spiritual progress through madhura bháva, they hear a sound similar to a cricket sound. If you meditate in a lonely place with deep concentration you will hear the sound of crickets. Of course the crickets become silent after a while, whereas the Cosmic sound never stops its continuous refrain. This is the first stage of the flute sound of Vraja Krśńa.
There are other sounds at other stages such as the roaring of seas, the rumbling of clouds and, finally, at the stage of sárśt́hi, the pluta [full] sound of the Onḿkára [the Cosmic Sound], continuing its eternal flow without any break or pause. But while hearing the sound of the Onḿkára, sádhakas hear within it the sound of the flute. With their physical ears they hear it. When a sádhaka attains this stage, he or she attains sárśt́hi, and feels, “Lord! You exist. I exist. We are so close that I have become You. You have become me.” One can attain sárśt́hi through Párthasárathi [Krsna as the fighter for justice] no doubt, but not of this kind. There the ideation is ‘O Parama Puruśa, O Lord, O Párthasárathi! You have made me exclusively Your own. My separate existence cannot be kept intact. I am a mere tool in Your hands. I will aim my arrow as You want me to. I am ready for all kinds of work’.
Shrii Sarkar has revealed that one prime duty of the Sadvipra is fighting and subduing dogmas in the society. While market fundamentalism (capitalism) and utopian totalitarianism (communism) are full of dogma, the real poisoners of society with dogmas are religions. How Sadvipras fight them is explained in the sterling words below.
The dogmatic-minded people, the traditional people, are neither human beings nor animals. They do not listen to reason. They are to be struck, and those who do the striking are Sadvipras. The striking is to be done with a hammer! They are to be hit not with a hammer, but with a sledge hammer.
– hree Causes of Sin, A Few Problems Solved Part 6
Suppose the Sadvipras do not hammer the dogmatic-minded people, what will happen? Because of their unnecessary presence the speed of others is retarded. The stagnant people commit suicide and become the cause of death for others.
Sadvipras will not leave or forgive such people, but will set them right with an iron hand. Dogmatic-minded people cannot be checked by the sanguine eyes of the so-called intellectuals or by the arms of the military. Humanity wants to move ahead, but the stagnant people who are neither human beings nor animals have blocked the way of the Sadvipras and have obstructed their movement. The common mass will not tolerate these obstructions.
This suicide is not deliberately done by the people. Those who commit suicide, do it when their mind is in a negative state. It is unnatural. Therefore, Sadvipras will remove this unnaturalness with the blows of their hammers. None can check it.
The duty of the Sadvipras will be to hammer these stagnant people who are a burden to society, who suffer from inertness in their physico-psychic sphere, at the appropriate moment so that the path of human progress becomes straight, clear and well-constructed.
When will the three causes of sin [poverty, excess wealth and static minds] be removed? Only when the Sadvipras will be ready to fight against them with an iron hand. Today, at this hour, it is my call to the Sadvipras of the world not to delay any longer. They should march ahead and save human ity and make the path of humanity free of thorns.T
To fight against overwhelming odds and triumph as a deva must requires perfection or Siddhi in the Principle of Tapah (austerities for the welfare of humanity).
Tapah Siddhi is an impossibility without the six factors of Bhati [spiritual Preceptor, spiritual (not religious) practice, scripture, spiritual philosophy of life, universal social outlook, socio-economic paradigm to end exploitation. Those who strictly adhere to the principles of morality, are ensconced in Tapah, and are ready to wage a war against immoralists are sadvipras. Only those Sadvipras are safe from destruction and extinction who can work for the welfare of the human society. Therefore, it becomes the prime duty of all people to make themselves and others Sadvipras. By Sadvipra it is not meant those who practice Mala-Jap [rosary] or Práńáyám. In Práńáyám also there are three stages – Puraka means to inhale; Kumbhaka which is to hold the breath and recak which to exhale. The Práńáyám of the Sadvipras will be to inhale the entire universe in Purak, to keep it within in Kumbhaka and then to exhale it after mixing it with their own greatness and good will in Recaka.
– Future of Civilization
Sadvipras will wage a ceaseless struggle against immorality and all sorts of fissiparous tendencies. Those who pose as Dharmic but are bashful with the spirit of fight cannot be called Sadvipras. Shiva was great because his Trishula [trident] was always ready to strike at the immoralists. Krishna was great because his arrows were meant to curb the anti-human and immoral elements. He also encouraged the moralists to wage war against the immoral ists. They were not only Sadvipras but also the parents of Sadvipras – the great Sadvipras…
By making a useless fuss over problems one will not ease the trouble. The spirit to fight against all odds alone can solve the problems confronting human beings. March ahead and wage war against all difficulties, every impediment. Victory is sure to embrace you. Difficulties and encumbrances cannot be more powerful than your capacity to solve them. You are the children of the great Cosmic Entity. Be a Sadvipra and make others Sadvipras also.
It is not only the dogmatic people who require a hammering it is the animalistic persons who bully and dominate society today.
There is movement in all three spheres of life – physical, mental and spiritual.
– Accomplish Your Work with This Body Only, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 23
Movement in the physical realm means the construction of the sadvipra society. [Sadvipra: a spiritual revolutionary.] The society is filled with pitchers of pápa [vice, sin] today. Break these pitchers to pieces with a stroke of your feet. [This is your destiny.] Pápa will oppose you, but you will have to face the challenge. One who annihilates physical pápa is a sadvipra. This is your dharma in the mundane world. You are human beings, because you are fighting against the immoralists.
In the psychic realm you have to establish righteousness by removing the germs of crude mentality. Everywhere in the world today the crude intellect dominates. It is your duty to replace it with your righteous intellect.
Once I was travelling by car in Bihar. The driver had to stop the car several times to remove the dogs from the street. When a sádhaka who was sitting beside me asked why the dogs did not heed the horn of the car, I replied that the dogs could not hear, for this was the kingdom of the dogs, the rule of the dogs.
This is the condition that prevails throughout the world today. Crude animal intellect is reigning supreme throughout the world. You have to remove it. It is natural that it would not hear your call, it would not like to move from its position. Under these circumstances, you will have to remove the predominance of animal intellect even by the use of force. I do not want [animals] in the form of human beings to remain on this earth even for a second. This is a world of humans, and not of animals. Therefore, do not relax even for a fraction of a second.
In the spiritual realm, your task is to establish Cosmic Ideation. Marching ahead is life. Those who malinger and shirk the responsibility of moving ahead should be thrown in the cremation ground. If the body becomes old by moving, let it be changed. It is not proper to wear old and dirty clothes. If the body decays in the process of moving ahead, change it for another one, and go on performing good actions.
I want you to work with this body only, and then leave it permanently. This is not impossible for you. Increase the speed of your activities thousands of times or even countless times more than what it is now, and accomplish your work with this body only.
However despite this harshness to the arrogant exploiters, Sadvipras are full of softness for the so-called wretched people scorned by society. As Shrii Sarkar explains in these noble words:
It was mentioned earlier that human value means nothing but to treat the joys and sorrows, hopes and aspirations of human beings sympathetically, and see them merged in Cosmic Consciousness and established in divine majesty. And if one is to elevate oneself to that sublime height, he or she will have to be supplied with an environment suitable to his or her physical, mental and spiritual existence. It is the birthright of everyone to make headway in their trifarious existence. It is the duty of society to accord recognition to this human right. Society has failed to do its duty, and that is why life is full of sorrow and suffering.
-The Neohumanism of Sadvipras, Neohumanism in a Nutshell
No one can say for certain that no great person might have emerged from among those wayward urchins whom we are wont to slight and hate. Women who have turned to prostitution for the sake of their physical existence might have grown into noble personalities if their agony had been appreciated sympathetically, and if they had been rehabilitated by society. But since society has nothing to do with human value, a good number of great personalities are withering away in their embryonic stage. The sadvipras will undertake to revive this neglected section of humanity. To them no sinner is contemptible, no one is a rogue. People turn into satans or sinners when, for want of proper guidance, they are goaded by depraving propensities. The human mind goaded by depraving propensities is satan. If their propensities are sublimated, they will no longer be satans; they will be transformed into gods. Every course of action of society ought to be judged with an eye to the dictum “Human beings are divine children.”
Shrii Sarkar reveals how Sadvipras will fill the society with universalism and courage saying,
Only to those who aspire to realize Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness] and are free from selfishness may be entrusted the guardianship of society. Only those who are established in Yama and Niyama and who have accepted Brahma [the Supreme Entity] as the goal of their life are capable of safeguarding the interests of the human race. Such people alone are sadvipras and only they can represent humanity – they alone can serve all creation selflessly. Sadvipras will be identified by their conduct, their commitment to service, their dutifulness and their strength of character. Only they will firmly proclaim, “All human beings belong to one race! All have equal rights! All are members of the same human family!” Only these sadvipras can warn the exploiters in a thunderous voice: “No exploitation of one person by another! No exploitation in the name of religion!” Such sadvipras will become the guardians of society. Sadvipras will never stop the ongoing class struggle which manifests according to the laws of the samája cakra [social cycle]. They will only ensure that the rulers do not exploit society; thus they will rule the rulers.
– Social Defects in Gandhism
Now what is the primary duty of the Sadvipra – it lies in controlling the Social Cycle. As per the spiritual vision of history and sociology given by Shrii Sarkar, human history is the history of the collective psychology of a civilization.
When the collective psychology is dominated by the urge for Káma or material pleasure then it becomes dominated by matter and is known as Shudra Society. When the society is dominated by the urge for Dharma or noble righteousness then the society is known as Ksattriya [martial] Society. When the society is dominated by the urge for Para [higher] Artha (meaning, intellectual knowledge) then it is known as Vipra Society usually controlled by priests. When the society is dominated by the urge for Apara [lower] Artha or wealth and prosperity, then it is known as Vaeshya [Capitalist] Society. The extreme exploitation of the capitalists impoverishes the entire society, driving to revolt then there occurs a Shudra [worker] Revolution. Since the Shudras are unable to hold power for long, the warriors (ksattriyas) seize power and then the social cycle begins anew.
As we have seen in the first quote of Sadvipra in this article, the Sadvipra remains at the nucleus of the cycle. The Sadvipra does not allow society to suffer repeatedly when the Martial, Intellectual and Capitalist rulers become corrupted and then exploitative. Instead the Sadvipra rouses the common people to revolution and brings the next age into being. The Sadvipra does not seize power but rather remains as the watchguard. Only when the rulers of a society become exploitative do Sadvipras launch a nuclear revolution. As omni-dimensional personalities, Sadvipras are capable of martial, intellectual and economic warfare.
The Sadvipra accomplishes this as we have seen by creating powerful waves in the collective psychology. As Shrii Sarkar explains
If the resultant cumulative flow of innumerable individuals is termed the social or collective flow, then the latter’s trough and crest is shorter than the trough and crest of the individual flows. And this shortness of the collective wavelength hastens either a kránti [evolution] or a viplava [revolution].
– The Kśatriya Age, Human Society II
What does this mean? When an individual or a group of individuals (such as Hari Parimańd́ala Gośt́i) creates tremendous waves in their minds due to intensely loving and longing kiirtana then this can create a revolution in society. Such mental tidalwaves are called the Tandava Dance.
Parama Puruśa seated in the middle of this cosmological order is merely smiling to see that His vast and mysterious universe of animate and inanimate creatures is moving around Him as the Nucleus. Here the living world does not only include human beings, it also includes birds, animals, reptiles, trees and plants. I have described this endless movement of microcosms around the nucleus as an eternal dance around the Supreme. I call it a dance because this movement of the microcosms is also proceeding in a rhythmic vibration, alternately rising and falling. Thus it is not an ordinary movement – it is a veritable dance. When the waves are gigantic, the dance becomes unnatural: in that case we can call it the tańd́ava dance.
– The Hub of Universal Activities, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 11
Thus the entire society becomes dominated by this Tantric dynamism of Tandava. This will cause more and more people to become Sadvipras as Shrii Sarkar explains:
With the smooth, natural and progressive channelisation of the psychic urges of the individual and collective mind towards the Supreme Entity, psychic pabula will be converted into psycho-spiritual pabulum. Then each person will be a Sadvipra, and the whole society will be a Sadvipra Samáj – an Ánanda Parivára. So the transformation of psychic pabula into psycho-spiritual pabulum is the only panacea.
– The Transformation of Psychic Pabula into Psycho-spiritual Pabulum, A Few Problems Solved Part 8
This is why Shrii Sarkar calls upon us all saying,
A yuga parivarttana [change in age] is taking place. All of you plunge wholeheartedly into making sadvipra samája [spiritual society]. Do not be indecisive, do not hesitate, and do not under any circumstances feel fear. Your victory is a certainty.
– The Purpose Behind the Advent, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 1
Let us then close with the song of the Sadvipra we are bound to sing and bound to embody in our lives.
Prabhat Samgiita 4871 (01/06/1990)
EI, PÁPER NIGAŔ DURNIITI GAŔH,
BHEUNGE PHELO KARO CÚR,
ESO BHÁI ESO PRÁŃA KHULE MESHO,
ÁR THÁKIO NÁ DÚR,
BHEUNGE PHELO KARO CÚRDÁNAVA KARECHE SHÁSAN SHOŚAŃ,
ÁÁ
DÁNAVA KARECHE SHÁSAN SHOŚAŃ,
KARIÁ CALECHE SVAJAN POŚAŃA
DUŚTA PEYECHE ABÁDHA TOŚAŃ,
NIRIIHA HOLO ÁTÚR,
BHEUNGE PHELO KARO CÚR,EI, PÁPER NIGAŔ DURNIITI GAŔH,
BHEUNGE PHELO KARO CÚR,PÚRVA ÁKÁSHE DEKHO RÁUNGÁ RAVI,
ÁÁ
PÚRVA ÁKÁSHE DEKHO RÁUNGÁ RAVI,
MUCHE PHELO JAMÁ JATA KÁLI SABAI,
DEKHO JENO RAVI NÁHI JÁY D́UBI,
NÁ ÁSE ÁNDHÁR ASUR
BHEUNGE PHELO KARO CÚR,EI, PÁPER NIGAŔ DURNIITI GAŔH,
BHEUNGE PHELO KARO CÚR
These shackles of vice,
This fortress of corruption
Break free and pulverize them.
Come brothers and sisters,
Come with an open heart,
Merging with everyone.
Do not stay away anymore.
Break free and pulverize them.
Demons are tyranizing and exploiting,
Guarding and nourishing their gangsters.
The vicious and the depraved revel in joy,
While the helpless poor are frantic.
Break free and pulverize them.
O look at the colourful sun
In the eastern skies.
Wipe out all the piled-up darkness;
See to it that the sun doesn’t sink.
And that demons do not prowl in the dark.
Break free and pulverize them.
– Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar