|
Other Baba-books
|
||||||||
 |
The
original Sanskrit verses and with comments taken from the writings of
|
|||||||
'Residing
in the heart of all beings they have from Me remembrance,
knowledge and reasoning; 1 2a 2b 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18a 18b
"
Listen
to this chapter
sung! " "
Listen
to this spoken chapter in
Audio
" s'rî
bhagavân uvâca s'rî-bhagavân
uvâca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead
said; ûrdhva-mûlam -- with roots above;
adhah -- downwards; s'âkham -- branches;
as'vattham -- a banyan tree; prâhuh -- is
said; avyayam -- eternal; chandâmsi -- the
Vedic hymns; yasya -- of which; parnâni --
the leaves; yah -- anyone who; tam -- that; veda --
knows; sah -- he veda-vit -- the knower of the
Vedas. Usually,
the word -ûrdhva- is taken to mean
"above", "high", etc. But if you consider the world
to be a tree, then it has its roots in
Brahman; that is, the roots are above and
the branches are below! This was taught to Arjuna
by Krishna thus: "The tree of samsara or life is
a very peculiar one. It is quite distinct from the
trees of the world. The trees that you see in the
world have their branches above and their roots
below. It is a topsy-turvy tree." Arjuna
intercepted with a question. "How did it get the
name as'vattha? It means a banyan tree, is
it not? Why was the tree of life called so? Why not
some other name?" A strange name for a strange
tree! "Listen, as'vattha means
anitya, impermanent, transient; it also
means the 'banyan tree'. Its fruits and flowers are
good neither for smelling nor for eating. However,
its leaves will be ceaselessly quivering in the
wind. So it is called chaladala, meaning
'quivering leaves'. Worldly objects too are
ever wavering, unsteady, ever changing positions.
In order to make people understand this truth and
strive to overcome it, it is called
as'vattha. "This
disquisition is to make man develop the higher
vision and yearn for steady faith in
Brahman. The objective world can be truly
understood only by two types of examination: the
outer and the inner. There is a reasoning that
binds and a reasoning that liberates. He who sees
the world as world sees wrong; he who sees it as
Paramâtmâ sees right. The world
is the effect; it has a cause; it cannot be
different from the cause. It is just a mutation of
Brahman, which constitutes it. The millions
of beings are the branches, twigs and leaves; the
seed is Brahman, in which all the tree is
subsumed and summarized. He who knows this, knows
the Vedas." -
Gîtâ Vahini, pp. 209-10 adhas'
cordhvam prasritâs tasya
s'âkhâ adhah
-- downward; ca -- and; ûrdhvam -- upward;
prasritâh -- extended; tasya -- its;
s'âkhâh -- branches; guna -- by the
modes of material nature; pravriddhâh --
developed; vishaya -- sense objects;
pravâlâh -- twigs; adhah -- downward;
ca -- and; mûlâni -- roots;
anusantatâni -- extended; karma -- to work;
anubandhîni -- bound; manushya-loke -- in the
world of human society. The
tree of creation is hanging down with its roots in
heaven; or else, it will dry for want of
sustenance; it is called as'vattha, the
horse tree, for as'va or horse is in Indian
tradition the symbol of restlessness, wavering
agitatedness. The banyan tree which is the
as'vattha shivers in every leaf, with the
slightest whisper of wind. You must have heard of
the As'vamedha
or Horse Sacrifice, a great rite in the
past. The inner meaning of that rite is the
destruction of the wayward mind, the aswa!
-
Sathya Sai Speaks VII, p. 288 na
rûpam asyeha tathopalabhyate tatah
padam tat parimârgitavyam na
-- not; rûpam -- the form; asya -- of this
tree; iha -- in this world; tathâ -- also;
upalabhyate -- can be perceived; na -- never; antah
-- end; na -- never; ca -- also; âdih --
beginning; na -- never; ca -- also;
sampratishthhâ -- the foundation; as'vattham
-- banyan tree; enam -- this; su-virûdha --
strongly; mûlam -- rooted; asanga-s'astrena--
by the weapon of detachment; dridhena -- strong;
chittvâ -- cutting; tatah
-- thereafter; padam -- situation; tat -- that;
parimârgitavyam -- has to be searched out;
yasmin -- where; gatâh -- going; na -- never;
nivartanti -- they come back; bhûyah --
again; tam -- to Him; eva -- certainly; ca -- also;
âdyam -- original; purusham -- the
Personality of Godhead; prapadye -- surrender;
yatah -- from whom; pravrittih -- the beginning;
prasritâ -- extended; purâni -- very
old. [to
verse 3:] It is the ups and downs that
samsara involves that cause joy and grief.
The decline in grief is welcomed as joy; the
decline in joy is bewailed as grief. They are but
the obverse and reverse of the same coin,
samsara. Samsara has only some
sara, that is to say, a little reality, a
microscopic quantity of truth. It is called in the
Bhagavad Gîtâ a tree named
as'vattha, a name that means "that which
will not exist another day". This appellation
brings out the fact of illusion, which is mistaken
as lasting and real. But being a huge big tree, it
can be destroyed only by the axe of
jñâna or, as the
Gîtâ says, by the fire of
jñâna
(jñâna-agni).
-
Saithya Sai Speaks V, p. 280 [to
verse 4:] Creation is happening from beyond
the beginning of time. First the lotus arose from
the navel of the Primal Person, called in
scriptures Nârâyana. From this
lotus, the Lord Himself manifested as
Brahmâ; Brahmâ felt an
urge to look at all the four quarters; so, he
developed four faces. Brahmâ became
aware that he must activate himself, so that
creation can happen, so He seated Himself in the
padmasana posture of yoga and
entertained the idea of all this creation.
-
Bhagavatha
Vahini, chapter
33
(p. 240) nirmâna-mohâ
jita-sanga-doshâ nih
-- without; mâna -- false prestige;
mohâh -- and illusion; jita -- having
conquered; sanga -- of association; doshâh --
the faults; adhyâtma -- in spiritual
knowledge; nityâh -- in eternity; vinivritta
-- disassociated; kâmâh -- from lust;
dvandvaih -- from the dualities; vimuktâh --
liberated; sukha-duhkha -- happiness and distress;
samjñaih -- named; gacchanti -- attain;
amûdhâh -- unbewildered; padam --
situation; avyayam -- eternal; tat --
that. The
deha or the physical body is only an
upadhi or instrument. It is the spirit
within which is the sakshi or the witness.
Karma cannot cease as long as attachment to
the decaying body continues. Attachment to the body
should be substituted by the realization of the
reality of the âtmâ. The
deha or the physical body composed of the
five elements, namely, earth, fire, water, air and
ether, and subject to disease, decay and death,
cannot cross the ocean of samsara. That is
why one must surrender himself at the Lotus Feet of
God and realize that he is not the deha (the
mortal body) but the dehi (the divine
âtmâ inhabiting the deha),
not the sarira (body) but the sariri
(the divine âtmâ residing in the
sarira). -
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p.
123 na
tad bhâsayate sûryo na
-- not; tat -- that; bhâsayate --
illuminates; sûryah -- the sun; na -- nor;
s'as'ânkah -- the moon; na -- nor;
pâvakah -- fire, electricity; yat -- where;
gatvâ -- going; na -- never; nivartante --
they come back; tat dhâma -- that abode;
paramam -- supreme; mama -- My. mamaivâms'o
jîva-loke mama
-- My; eva -- certainly; ams'ah -- fragmental
particle; jîva-loke -- in the world of
conditional life; jîva-bhûtah -- the
conditioned living entity; sanâtanah --
eternal; manah -- with the mind; shashthhâni
-- the six; indriyâni -- senses; prakriti --
in material nature; sthâni -- situated;
karshati -- is struggling hard. Each
one has to return to his home to which he
originally belonged. For a time, a man may go out
from his village elsewhere on some work. But once
the work is over, he will feel restless and will
not be at ease until he returns back to his
village, to his home. The place he has visited may
be good and attractive, but he will feel out of
place until he gets back to his home. So also, the
pilgrim of jîva, until he reaches back
to the place of his origin, will not have true
peace and happiness. What is that place of origin
of the jîva? In the Bhagavad
Gîtâ, it has been said:
mamaivâms'o jîva-loke s'arîram
yad avâpnoti s'arîram
-- the body; yat -- as; avâpnoti -- gets; yat
-- as; ca api -- also; utkrâmati -- gives up;
îs'varah -- the lord of the body;
grihîtvâ -- taking; etâni -- all
these; samyâti -- goes away; vâyuh --
the air; gandhân -- smells; iva -- like;
âs'ayât -- from their
source. Îs'vara
manifests Himself among individuals who
aggregate together to constitute a community. Every
individual is an aspect of Îs'vara.
Likewise, society too has emerged from
Îs'vara. An individual has form but
society has no such definable form. In the same
manner the world is visible but
Îs'vara is invisible. Though He is
invisible, His existence becomes indisputable
because there cannot be creation without a
creator.
-
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p.
24 s'rotram
cakshuh spars'anam ca s'rotram
-- ears; cakshuh -- eyes; spars'anam -- touch; ca
-- also; rasanam -- tongue; ghrânam --
smelling power; eva -- also; ca -- and;
adhishthhâya -- being situated in; manah --
mind; ca -- also; ayam -- he; vishayân --
sense objects; upasevate -- enjoys. utkrâmantam
sthitam vâpi utkrâmantam
-- quitting the body; sthitam -- situated in the
body; vâ api -- either;
bhuñjânam -- enjoying; vâ -- or;
guna-anvitam -- under the spell of the modes of
material nature; vimûdhâh -- foolish
persons; na -- never; anupas'yanti -- can see;
pas'yanti -- can see; jñâna-cakshusah
-- those who have the eyes of
knowledge. God
is encased everywhere as the child in the womb.
Some declare that they will believe only in a God
that can be seen or demonstrated. This is the usual
argument of the worldly minded. But it is not easy
to see, with gross physical eyes, the
Paramâtmâ, which is subtler than
the subtlest. You must first get command over a
powerful microscope, fit for the purpose. Either
the jñâna-chakshu or the
prema-chakshu is wanted, the eye of wisdom
or the eye of love; only with these can you see
God. -
Upanishad
Vahini,
p. 76 yatanto
yoginas' cainam yatantah
-- endeavoring; yoginah -- transcendentalists; ca
-- also; enam -- this; pas'yanti -- can see;
âtmani -- in the self; avasthitam --
situated; yatantah -- endeavoring; api -- although;
akrita-âtmânah -- those without
self-realization; na -- do not; enam -- this;
pas'yanti -- see; acetasah -- having undeveloped
minds. yad
âditya-gatam tejo yat
-- that which; âditya-gatam -- in the
sunshine; tejah -- splendor; jagat -- the whole
world; bhâsayate -- illuminates; akhilam --
entirely; yat -- that which; candramasi -- in the
moon; yat -- that which; ca -- also; agnau -- in
fire; tat -- that; tejah -- splendor; viddhi --
understand; mâmakam -- from Me. gâm
âvis'ya ca bhûtâni gâm
-- the planets; âvis'ya -- entering; ca --
also; bhûtâni -- the living entities;
dhârayâmi -- sustain; aham -- I;
ojasâ -- by My energy; pushnâmi -- am
nourishing; ca -- and; aushadhîh --
vegetables; sarvâh -- all; somah -- the moon;
bhûtvâ -- becoming; rasa-âtmakah
-- supplying the juice. aham
vais'vânaro bhûtvâ aham
-- I; vais'vânarah -- My plenary portion as
the digesting fire; bhûtvâ -- becoming;
prâninâm -- of all living entities;
deham -- in the bodies; âs'ritah -- situated;
prâna -- the outgoing air; apâna -- the
down-going air; samâyuktah -- keeping in
balance; pacâmi -- I digest; annam --
foodstuff; catuh-vidham -- the four
kinds. The
Bhagavad Gîtâ also declares that
it is God who digests the food and distributes its
essence to the entire body, in order to sustain it
and strengthen it. The energy that digests the food
is symbolized as the fire in the stomach.
-
Sanathana Sarathi, December 1978, p.
240. The
Truth that is in all beings, is also in you. Search
for that; discover that unity, the source of
courage, of love, of wisdom. You do not realize
that it is He who digests the food that you
consume, for, as He says in the
Gîtâ, "I am the
vais'vânarah fire that is in the bodies of
all beings and digests the four types of food they
eat." That fire digests food, but it is careful
not to destroy the stomach itself! He is the basis
of all activity, though Himself unconcerned.
-
Sathya Sai Speaks IV, p. 346. sarvasya
câham hridi sannivishtho sarvasya
-- of all living beings; ca -- and; aham -- I;
hridi -- in the heart; sannivishthah -- situated;
mattah -- from Me; smritih -- remembrance;
jñânam -- knowledge; apohanam --
forgetfulness; ca -- and; vedaih -- by the Vedas;
ca -- also; sarvaih -- all; aham -- I am; eva --
certainly; vedyah -- knowable; vedânta-krit
-- the compiler of the Vedânta; veda-vit --
the knower of the Vedas; eva -- certainly; ca --
and; aham -- I. dvâv
imau purushau loke dvau
-- two; imau -- these; purushau -- living entities;
loke -- in the world; ksharah -- fallible; ca --
and; aksharah -- infallible; eva -- certainly; ca
-- and; ksharah -- fallible; sarvâni -- all;
bhûtâni -- living entities;
kûtha-sthah -- in oneness; aksharah --
infallible; ucyate -- is said. Sat-Cit-Ânanda
is kûtha-sthah (changeless; the never
changing entity is âtmâ or
Brahman). Sat-Cit-Ânanda
represents the integrated reality of truth,
consciousness and bliss. Kûtha-sthah
is the immutable and immortal reality ...
Kûtha-sthah in this context refers to
the unchanging, immutable and eternal principle of
spirituality.
-
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, pp.
52-3 There
are two purushas: the
ksharah-purusha, and akshara-purusha.
The ksharah-purusha is bound up with
material life and so is subject to change. He is
entangled with the five kos'as or sheaths,
the five prânas (vital airs), the five
indriyas
(senses
of perception). The akshara-purusha is the
witness, the sakshi.
-
Sathya Sai Speaks VIII, pp.
123-4. In
the aspect of purusha, there are two kinds: the
individual purusha and the group
purusha. If there is one individual, he is
called purusha but when there is a group of
individuals, it should be described as Prajnanam
Brahma. As
an example to illustrate this, if there is one tree
we call it a tree but if there are a large number
of trees, we call the combination a forest. In the
same manner, if God is present in the totality, he
is referred to as creation. The individual is born
because of God's wanting to be born.
-
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1978, p.
110. uttamah
purushas tv anyah uttamah
-- the best; purushah -- personality; tu -- but;
anyah -- another; parama -- the supreme;
âtmâ -- self; iti -- thus;
udâhritah -- is said; yah -- who; loka -- of
the universe; trayam -- the three divisions;
âvis'ya -- entering; bibharti -- is
maintaining; avyayah --inexhaustible;
îs'varah -- the Lord. Îs'vara
is present in all the living beings in God's
creation. This was the truth spread by Lord
Krishna. -
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1978, p.
52-3. Îs'avasyam
idam sarvam - all this is inhabited by God.
Every person is a sanctuary of the divine
âtmâ. Therefore, if you hurt others,
you will hurt Îs'vara who resides in
them. -
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, p.
154. yasmât
ksharam atîto 'ham yasmât
-- because; ksharam -- to the fallible;
atîtah -- transcendental; aham -- I am;
aksharât -- beyond the infallible; api --
also; ca -- and; uttamah -- the best; atah --
therefore; asmi -- I am; loke -- in the world; vede
-- in the Vedic literature; ca -- and; prathitah --
celebrated; purusha-uttamah -- as the Supreme
Personality. There
is another over-all purusha, the
Purushottamah (Supreme Personality), who is
beyond the three segments of time, the three
universes and is everywhere at the same moment. His
glory is evident in all things and beings. You
should strive to escape from the identification
with the body and feel that you are only the
residents of the body - the ksharah-purusha.
Then, by sâdhana you are able to
cognize the akshara-purusha, the witness of
even the ksharah-purusha, the
jîva. By pacticing the unbroken
presence of the Purushottamah who is
resplendent in all creation, you can ultimately
merge in Him, as the consummation of all the lives
you have spent here below.
-
Sathya Sai Speaks VIII, p. 124. On
the other hand the nameless, formless aspect of God
is referred to as Purushottamah. We should
see here that if the formless aspect of
Purushottamah takes a human form, we call
him purusha. Having taken the form of a
human being, the Purushottamah sets an
example to other living things and establishes the
oneness of all creation. We should recognize the
truth that the aspect of the Âtmâ can
be realized only if you have a clean mind.
-
Summer Showers in Brindavan 1978, pp. 110-111.
yo
mâm evam asammûdho yah
-- anyone who; mâm -- Me; evam -- thus;
asammûdhah -- without a doubt;
jânâti -- knows; purusha-uttamam -- the
Supreme Personality of Godhead; sah -- he;
sarva-vit -- the knower of everything; bhajati --
renders devotional service; mâm -- unto Me;
sarva-bhâvena -- in all respects;
bhârata -- o son of
Bharata. The
most satisfying prize is
Purushottamah-prâpti, the
attainment of the Lord, the Supremest
Purusha. Purusha is "he who lives in
the pura", namely the body, the physical body.
He who lives in the universe which is His body - He
is the Supremest, the Purushottamah. A tiny
ant creeping over the foot is cognized by your
consciousness; that is to say, the purusha
has consciousness filling the entire body. The
Purushottamah has consciousness filling and
activating the entire universe, which is His body.
The individual tree is the purusha, the
forest is the Purushottamah. The
jîvi is the vyashti (individual
object, part of whole), the samashti
(collective aggregate of individual parts;
integrated whole) is God. For the purusha to
become Purushottamah, the path is yoga
(union of the individual self or
âtmâ with the Supreme Being or
Universal Self etc.), or jñâna
(spiritual knowledge; experiental wisdom) won by
karma (activity, action, work, duty; fate;
consequences of acts done in this life and past
lives) and bhakti ( devotion, duty to God)
-
Sathya Sai Speaks IV, p. 78. iti
guhyatamam s'âstram iti
-- thus; guhya-tamam -- the most confidential;
s'âstram -- revealed scripture; idam -- this;
uktam -- disclosed; mayâ -- by Me; anagha --
o sinless one; etat -- this; buddhvâ --
understanding; buddhi-mân -- intelligent;
syât -- one becomes; krita-krityah -- the
most perfect in his endeavors; ca -- and;
bhârata -- o son of Bharata. As'vamedha-(yajña):
'Horse Sacrifice' A Vedic horse sacrifice; At
the end of life or a period of government of a
king, a horse with a plaque around his neck is sent
out into the kingdom accompanied by an army; Anyone
who challenges the honor of the king will be
disputed. Also a method to separate from wordly
detachment and status. (see also S.B.
6.13,
& S.B. 8.18)
|
||||||||
