CHAPTER 32 

THE ATTAINMENT OF REAL

FREEDOM IN THIS LIFE 

The Ideal of Spiritual Freedom 

A man called at a pastor’s home. He was met at the door by the pastor’s little daughter. ‘Daddy is not home’, she told him. Then with a smile of confidence she added: ‘But if you want to ask any question about salvation, I can tell you all about it. I know the whole plan of salvation.’

Salvation is not something one gets by talking. It is much deeper than most people think. It is concerned with the real nature of the soul and its ultimate destiny. Every religion has its own concept of salvation, but all of them agree that it is a state of perfect happiness which the soul attains to after death. (Swami Yatiswarananda, ‘The type of Salvation We want’ in the Adventures in Religious Life) The question is, how to attain to the blessed state. According to Judaism, it can be obtained by leading a perfectly moral life. To this Christianity adds the clause: provided, one has faith in Christ as the only Savior. It believes that through his death Christ redeemed mankind from the taint of original sin. Islam rejects this view. According to it salvation is entirely God’s fiat, and faith in the final prophethood of Mohammed is absolutely essential to receive it. Hinduism holds that salvation means mukti or freedom. The search for freedom is an important factor in human life.

CHAPTER 23

MYSTIC WORSHIP

Offer Everything to God

‘What is most covetable to people in general and whatever is especially dear to oneself should be offered unto Me. That offering produces infinite results.’ (Bhagavatam) 

We worship with the things we get from Him. We do not create the flower, nor do we create the fire. These come to our hands and the way we use them makes the difference. The devotee offers everything that comes to him to the Lord. And what is the fun of that? Thereby you expand your soul. By offering to God what He gives you, you yourself feel purified and your soul grows. It assimilates a larger share of the blessings of the Lord. The more you appropriate those things as your own, the narrower and more clouded your soul becomes.

Anything can be offered to the Divine: your food, new dress, car, everything you get. Before you start using it, first offer it to the Lord mentally. Accept it as a sacramental thing and use it with care. This purifies the mind, elevates it. God is the greatest purifier. Anything connected to Him becomes holy. By handling sanctified things, we sanctify ourselves, purify ourselves. In our asramas (monasteries), our new publications and invitation cards are first sent to the shrine. They are put in circulation only after they are offered to the Divine. This is good practice which you can do in your home regarding everything you buy.

CHAPTER 12 

THE PROBLEM OF SEX IN SPIRITUAL LIFE 

The Influence of Sex on Life 

Sex is an important problem in spiritual life. Every aspirant must come to grips with it one day or other in his life. As some of the modern Psychologists have pointed out, sex plays an important part in an average man’s life, and absorbs a lot of his thinking, feeling and willing. Those who want to lead an intense spiritual life should first of all reduce his dominance of sex in their lives. Those who have led a pure life from an early age will find the problem easier. But the modern young man turns to spiritual life after collecting lots of impure thoughts. He generally finds a huge jungle to clear before he can successfully take up spiritual life.

The chief difficulty about sex is that it exists at various levels of personality. Sex is not all physical. Apart from the Physiological urges, sex exists in the mental planes as subtle attractions or fascinations. It is like an iceberg just the tip of which is seen outside. The more introspective an aspirant becomes, the more he understands the subtle ramifications of sex within him. Very often this frightens people. Few people can face the great challenge that the control of sex offers. But unless one fully meets it, there can be no true spiritual life. One needs tremendous grit, an iron will for this. If an ordinary man gets a peep into the mind of a true spiritual aspirant, he will be frightened away. It is like the interior of a blast furnace where pure metal is being constantly separated from the ore.

THE SPIRITUAL IDEAL

CHAPTER 1 

THE SPIRITUAL QUEST 

Spiritual Conversion 

The Young prince Siddhartha was sitting alone under a tree in his palace-garden absorbed in his thoughts. It was mid-night and the whole world lay hushed in darkness and silence. He had just then left the banquet hall having got disgusted with the noise and mirth of dancing girls. An intense dissatisfaction, a deep void, was growing within him. All of a sudden, there arose strange voice. As he listened, he heard some celestial beings singing in chorus:

We moan rest, alas! But rest can never find; We know not whence we come, nor where we float away. Time and again we tread this round of smiles and tears; In vain we pine to know whither our pathway leads, and why we play this empty play  

Rise, dreamer, from your dream, and slumber not again! (Quoted in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)

Chapter 18

मोक्षसंन्यासयोग:

Sanyasa and Tyaga Explained - Tamasika and Rajasika Tyagas are Purposeless - Tyaga of Sattvika Nature is Indispensable - The Components of Karma - Atman is Inaction - The Three Gunas give Impetus to Karma - The Fourfold Caste Explained - Karma Yoga is Karma Sanyasa - Egoism is Harmful - All Karma belongs to Iswara - Freedom of Enquiry into Truth - The Category of Self-surrender - Competency for Following the Gita - The Dawn of Knowledge - Sanjaya’s Conclusive Statement.

अर्जुन उवाच |

संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम् |
त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन ||१८-१||

Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga
The Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas
Chapter 14
गुणत्रयविभागयोग:

Jnana aids Mukti - The Process of Birth - The Functions of the Gunas - The symptoms of the Gunas - Transcending the Gunas is Mukti - The Definition of the one who has Transcended the Gunas.

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् ।
यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनयः सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गताः ॥ १४-१॥

śrībhagavānuvāca |
paraṃ bhūyaḥ pravakṣyāmi ṅñānānāṃ ṅñānamuttamam |
yajṅñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṃ siddhimito gatāḥ ||

Jnana Vijnana Yoga
The Yoga of Knowledge and Realization
Chapter 7
ज्ञानविज्ञानयोग

Prakriti- Low and High-The is-ness in the Elements and Beings is Iswara – The Excellences in Beings come from God – The Maya of the Three Gunas – Four types of Viruous Men – The Votaries of Minor Gods – Four types of Virtuous Men – The Votaries of minor Gods- The Characteristics of Iswara – The Discerining and the Non-discerning.

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः ।
असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥ ७-१ ॥

śrībhagavānuvāca |
mayyāsaktamanāḥ pārtha yogaṃ yuñjanmadāśrayaḥ |
asaṃśayaṃ samagraṃ māṃ yathā ṅñāsyasi tacchṛṇu ||

The Scriptural Trinity

Scriptures are essential to all regions. They gave religions from transformation from elimination. That faith which has no gospel; for its guidance gets lost in a series of transformations. Finally, it degenerates and loses its individuality. But a faith that draws approval and inspiration from a sacred book is able to hold its own. It has in such a holy document authoritative statements to encounter the opposition and meet the attacks of the heterodox. All the religions of the world that have endured the consequences of time and of transformation have their own scriptures for anchorage (port). That the Bible is the scripture of the Christians is well known even to those beyond the pastel of the Christendom. The Quraan remains ever associated with the followers of the Islamic region. The scripture of the Buddhist is the sacred collection of all the enlightened utterances of the Buddha, known as the Dammapada.

Swami Turiyananda on Vivekananda

Sri Ramakrishna did not allow everybody to practice the nondual aspect of meditation. What good is it to proclaim that you are one with the Absolute unless the universe has vanished from your consciousness? Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ‘You may say that there is no thorn but put your hand out -the thorn will prick, and your hand will bleed.’ But with regard to Swamiji, Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘If Naren says that there is no thorn, there is no thorn; and if he puts out his hand no thorn would prick it, because he has experienced his unity with Brahman.” When Swamiji used to say, ‘I am He,’ he said so from his direct perception of the Absolute. His mind was not identified with his physical self. At the Baranagore Monastery, we used to study scriptures and philosophy a lot. Swami Abhedananda particularly engaged himself in much study. Swamiji did too and also meditated many hours. We all practised great austerities. Sri Ramakrishna made us do it. Then we attained the bliss of liberation while living through the Master’s grace.

Swami Turiyananda on Vivekananda

Sri Ramakrishna did not allow everybody to practice the nondual aspect of meditation. What good is it to proclaim that you are one with the Absolute unless the universe has vanished from your consciousness? Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ‘You may say that there is no thorn but put your hand out -the thorn will prick, and your hand will bleed.’ But with regard to Swamiji, Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘If Naren says that there is no thorn, there is no thorn; and if he puts out his hand no thorn would prick it, because he has experienced his unity with Brahman.” When Swamiji used to say, ‘I am He,’ he said so from his direct perception of the Absolute. His mind was not identified with his physical self. At the Baranagore Monastery, we used to study scriptures and philosophy a lot. Swami Abhedananda particularly engaged himself in much study. Swamiji did too and also meditated many hours. We all practised great austerities. Sri Ramakrishna made us do it. Then we attained the bliss of liberation while living through the Master’s grace.