Talk 1.
A wandering monk (sannyasi) was trying to
clear his doubt: “How to realise that all the world is God?”
Maharshi: If you make your outlook that of wisdom, you will find the world
to be God. Without knowing the Supreme Spirit (Brahman), how will you find His
all-pervasiveness?
Talk 2.
Someone enquired about the nature of
perception.
M.: Whatever state one is in, the perceptions partake of that
state. The explanation is that in the waking state (jagrat) the gross body perceives
gross names and forms; in
Swapna (the dream state) the mental
body perceives the mental creations in their manifold forms and names; in the sushupti
(deep dreamless sleep), the identification
with the body being lost, there are
no perceptions; similarly in the Transcendental state identity with Brahman
places the man in harmony with everything, and there is nothing apart from his
Self.
Talk 3.
A question was asked as to the nature of
happiness.
M.: If a man thinks that his happiness is due to external causes
and his possessions, it is reasonable to conclude that his happiness must increase
with the increase of possessions and diminish in proportion to their
diminution. Therefore if he is devoid of possessions, his happiness should be
nil. What is the real experience of man? Does
it conform to this view?
In deep sleep the man is devoid of
possessions, including his own body. Instead of being unhappy he is quite
happy. Everyone desires to sleep soundly. The conclusion is that happiness is
inherent in man and is not due to external causes. One must realise his Self in
order to open the store of unalloyed happiness.
Talk 4.
Maharshi was asked by an educated young man:
“How do you say that the Heart is on the right, whereas the biologists have
found it to be on the left?” The man asked for authority.
M.: Quite so. The physical organ is on the left; that is not
denied. But the Heart of which I speak is non-physical and is only on the right
side. It is my experience, no authority is required by me. Still you can find
confirmation in a Malayalam Ayurvedic book and in Sita Upanishad ; and he
produced the quotation (mantra) from the latter
and repeated the text (sloka) from
the former.
Talk 5.
Mr. M. Frydman, an engineer, remarked on the
subject of Grace, “A salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a
waterproof coat”. It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such.
Maharshi added, “The body is the waterproof coat”.
Talk 6.
A question was asked by a monk (sannyasi)
about how to prevent the mind from being distracted.
M.: You see the objects on forgetting your own Self. If you
keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world.
Talk 7.
When asked if occult powers (siddhis) can be
achieved along with Omnipotence (Iswaratva) as mentioned in the last verse of Dakshinamurti
Ashtakam, Maharshi said: “Let Omnipotence (Iswaratva) be accomplished first and
then the other question may be raised.”
Talk 8.
“Can anyone get any benefit by repeating
sacred syllables (mantras) picked up casually?
M.: “No. He must be competent and initiated in such mantras .” Maharshi illustrated this by the following
story: A King visited his Premier in his residence. There he was told that the
Premier was engaged in repetition of sacred syllables (japa). The King waited for him and, on meeting him,
asked what the japa was. The Premier said that it was the holiest of all, Gayatri
. The King desired to be initiated by the Premier. But the Premier confessed
his inability to initiate him. Therefore the King learned it from someone else,
and meeting the Minister later he repeated the Gayatri and wanted to know if it
was right. The Minister said that the mantra was correct, but it was not proper
for him to say it. When pressed for an explanation, the Minister called to a
page close by and ordered him to take hold of the King. The order was not
obeyed.
The order was often repeated, and
still not obeyed. The King flew into a rage and ordered the same man to hold
the Minister, and it was immediately done. The Minister laughed and said that
the incident was the explanation required by the King. “How?” asked the King.
The Minister replied, “The order was the same and the executor also, but the
authority was different. When I ordered, the effect was nil, whereas, when you
ordered, there was immediate effect. Similarly with mantras.”
Talk 9.
Someone enquired: Why is it said in scriptures
that the Sage is like a child?
M.: A child and a Sage (Jnani) are similar in a way. Incidents
interest a child only so long as they last. It ceases to think of them after
they have passed away. So then, it is apparent that they do not leave any impression
on the child and it is not affected by them mentally. So it is with a Sage.
Talk 10.
A visitor asked how to realise oneself in
accordance with Maharshi’s instructions, contained in his text of Truth
Revealed , verse 9, supplement. The difficulty was in controlling the mind.
M.: It is to be done by controlling the breath. If you practise
it by yourself without other help, then the mind is controlled. Otherwise the
mind comes under control spontaneously in the presence of a superior power. Such
is the greatness of association with the wise (satsanga).
Talk 11.
“Can destiny (karma) ever come to an end?”
M.: The karmas carry the seeds of their own destruction in
themselves.
Talk 12.
A man asked the Maharshi to say something to
him. When asked what he wanted to know, he said that he knew nothing and wanted
to hear something from the Maharshi.
M.: You know that you know nothing. Find out that knowledge.
That is liberation (mukti).
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