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“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another. These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action. Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.”
–Katha Upanishad 1:2:1

“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another.” This does not have to be the situation–the problem is in us. Since the good dissolves the ego and frees us from its seemingly eternal domination and bondage, it is only natural that those who are inured, even addicted, to its rule will find the good bitter in the extreme. In the closing chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna speaks of the one who chooses the good: “Deep his delight after strict self-schooling: sour toil at first but at last what sweetness, the end of sorrow.” (Bhagavad Gita 18:37)

Who would not choose this? Just about everybody. Why? Because it requires “strict self-schooling.” We have to educate and deliver ourselves. Neither God nor any holy being can do it for us. Therefore those who cling to their ego-addiction avidly “take refuge” in and “surrender” to and “place all my trust” in God, gods, gurus, saints, teachers, a religion, and whatever, knowing at least subconsciously that it will not work, for they alone can do the needful. The Holy Ones have already done all they could do for them. They have given the message and pointed out the way. Now it is their turn to get to work. Otherwise nothing will happen. And in their perversity this satisfies them completely, though they cover it up with religiosity and “devotion.” Those who do wish to achieve the good must shake off their self-hypnosis and begin the labor. They will be surprised at how pleasant it really is, and in time will come to realize that they were enjoying pain and avoiding the real pleasure that is found only in spiritual life.

The poison of pleasure

Krishna describes the pleasant as essentially “sweet at first but at last how bitter: that pleasure is poison.” (Bhagavad Gita 18:38) It is not just harmful–it is deadly. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist, wrote of those who, drinking a sweet drink that contains poison, “sweetly drink in their death.” (Epistle to the Trallians) “Aren’t we having fun?” “Come on–live!” “What are you afraid of?” “Why don’t you find out what it is all about?” “What do you know about life?” These are the desperate appeals of those whose consciousness is awakened enough for them to be tormented by the example of those who have more fully awakened and who “touch not the cup–it is death to the soul.”

The wise know that the good and the pleasant utterly differ in their ends. The pleasant leads to ever more addiction, a craving for ever-increasing intoxication, and finally complete collapse and destruction.

“When senses touch objects, the pleasures therefrom are like wombs that bear sorrow.They begin, they are ended. They bring no delight to the wise.” (Bhagavad Gita 5:22)

On the other hand:

“Self-controlled, cut free from desire, curbing the heart, and knowing the Atman, man finds Nirvana that is in Brahman, here and hereafter.” (Bhagavad Gita 5:26)

“For when a man’s heart has reached fulfillment through knowledge and personal experience of the truth of Brahman, he is never again moved by the things of the senses. Earth, stone and gold seem all alike to one who has mastered his senses. Such a yogi is said to have achieved union with Brahman. Then he knows that infinite happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the senses. He stands firm in this realization. Because of it, he can never again wander from the inmost truth of his being.” (Bhagavad Gita 6:8, 21)

The good also leads to complete collapse and destruction–the collapse and disintegration of the ego and its attendants, ignorance and desire. Then:

He knows bliss in the Atman, and wants nothing else. Cravings torment the heart: he renounces cravings. I call him illumined. (Bhagavad Gita 2:55)

The man of faith, whose heart is devoted, whose senses are mastered: he finds Brahman. Enlightened, he passes at once to the highest, the peace beyond passion. (Bhagavad Gita 4:39)

His mind is dead to the touch of the external: it is alive to the bliss of the Atman. Because his heart knows Brahman his happiness is for ever. (Bhagavad Gita 5:21)

Already, here on earth, before his departure, let man be the master of every impulse
Lust-begotten or fathered by anger: thus he finds Brahman, thus he is happy. (Bhagavad Gita 5:23)

Motivating forces

“These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action.” Both the good and the pleasant impel us to actions, but they do so in completely different ways.

The good points us to the way of benefit in a completely intelligent and non-emotional way. For example, the good never motivates us by selfish means such as promising reward or threatening punishment–this is the way of evil, including much of religion. The good motivates us toward itself simply by revealing its inherent value.

The pleasant is altogether different. It only shows us its external appearance. It does not reason with us, but entices or even compels us to seize it. The pleasant only shows us its immediate or short-term effect, but completely hides from us its long-term effects and blinds us to its inherent defects. The archetypal example of this is found in the Bible. There we are told that “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.” (Genesis 3:6) Here we see all the problems with the pleasant: only the external is considered, emotion and instinct come to dominate and eclipse reason, and the ultimate effect is completely unapparent.

In sum, the good reveals but the pleasant conceals. It is necessary that we see the good as truly good and the pleasant as harmful and even evil. This is not easy.

Next: Are We Wise or Foolish?

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A Continuation of “Worship and Discipline and the Gunas”

Tamas (dullness, inertia, and ignorance)

“When the givers of the sacrifice are inspired by tamas, they disregard the scriptural instructions: there is no food-offering, no prayer of dedication, no gift to the chief priest, and no faith at all.”
–Bhagavad Gita 17:13

Sometimes we have to pay attention to ignorance to figure out the ways of wisdom. And that is the case here regarding tamasic religion. This is a very full picture of deluded and confused “spirituality.” and we need to look at it so we can avoid it.

• Disregard of scriptural instructions

The word used here is very interesting: vidhihinam–which means both “lacking scriptures” and “discarding scriptures.” Krishna is implying here that scriptures are necessary for real spiritual life. However, in the East any book that contains wisdom is considered a scripture, even if it was written this morning. So Krishna is speaking of the wisdom of enlightened teachers that have been put into words and set down for our help in pursuing spiritual life. He is also referring to a spiritual tradition–not narrow and sectarian, but a tradition, nonetheless. In the West we tend wisely to shy away from “tradition” because of the deadly ignorance of those who boast of being “traditional.” But in the East tradition is always subject to intelligent scrutiny and is never a matter of “the book says it, so I believe it.”

Most important, authentic spiritual tradition is understood to be verifiable by each seeker for himself. In the West many are satisfied with intellectual jugglerly and argumentation, but in the East it is practical experience that is sought. Whenever I quote a scripture in my writings I certainly think of it as lending authority to what I have to say, but I usually use quotations simply because the scriptures say it much better than I can.

So tamasic religion is that which has no authentic scripture(s), no viable tradition(s). It may either be the shallow and flimsy “make up my own” whimsical kind, or a religion burdened with fantasy and lies claiming to be God’s latest revelation to the world. Either way, its characteristic is the darkness, confusion, and delusion of tamas.

On the other hand, some tamasic religion may have a great deal of scriptures in which true wisdom is to be found, but the leaders and adherents prefer to ignore the wisdom and subvert the teaching to suit their own fancy. So, while adulating the scriptures they really cast them aside. Consider the way every religion manages to condone spiritually poisonous behavior and thought, wresting the scriptures to not only approve, but often to advocate them. No religion is free from this, as anyone with open-eyed experience and observation will know. Often the divine light of holy wisdom is completely covered by the evil and untruth of a religion’s popular form.

Finally, vidhihinam can also simply mean “without knowledge (vidya)” or “discarding (ignoring) knowledge.” In other words, ignorant and ineffectual religion that boasts of its “faith” since it has no substance or reality. Today we find many religious currents in the world that were born in ignorance, and went on from there to greater ignorance. There are also religions that started out with authentic spiritual knowledge, with true spiritual revelation, but turned away from it in order to gain power and wealth. This is especially the case with state religions, or those that used to be state religions. Having remodeled their spiritual structure to suit their patrons, they lost their original value, and often the patronage, as well. Christianity is the latest and most blatant example of this.

• No food-offering

Asrishtannam means food that is either not offered, or is not shared out after the offering. This is an important part in Eastern religion of whatever kind. There is always offering of food which is then distributed to those present–usually in the form of an abundant feast. But the selfish refuse to do so, and their religion becomes one of taking but not giving. This is the mark of any cult–old or new.

No prayer of dedication. I think that Swami Prabhavananda had in mind the mantra known as the sankalpa which is recited at the beginning of any ritual, stating its purpose and dedication. Its absence would indicate religion that is vague, even purposeless, performed in a rote way simply for the doing of it, or religion whose real purpose is not at all grasped, and is therefore meaningless. But mantrahinam is like vidhihinam; it has the dual meaning of “without mantra” or “disregarding mantra.” This indicates religion that is without order or legitimacy, and especially religion that is without power, for power (effectiveness) is the fundamental characteristic of mantra. So we are looking at a religion that never had any spiritual power, or has come to discard–and even deny–that power. It can also be applied to the adherents of a religion that does have power and knowledge, but regarding which they are either ignorant or indifferent.

• No gift to the chief priest

Adakshinam simply means “without fee” or voluntary offering. This means a religion in which the members engage in take-but-no-give policy–the obverse side of the type where the religion only demands and takes. Such religion is proud of the fact that it expects nothing of its adherents, and they are proud of that, too. “Our religion is democratic ,” they boast. “You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to.” They confuse democracy with anarchy. It is certainly true that in worthy religion the members are not coerced or cajoled in any way. But people that want to avoid all involvment, commitment, or investment of time and thought are unworthy of such a religion and will never benefit from it until they change their outlook.

Such religion often denies the fact of priesthood or hierachial realities, refusing to recognize that some people may be more spiritually skilled or knowledgous than others. Such religion revels in a kind of egalitarianism that suppresses anything but lock-step standardization and mediocrity. “The priesthood of all believers” sounds nice, but it often masks ineffectiveness and repression.

Adakshinam also indicates a kind of selfish materialism that hates expenditure of time, effort, or even money on religion. My great-aunt Lou Maxey not only never put anything in the collection plate, she would grimly shake her head No whenever it came by her! But she was one of the first to head to the back of the church to get a free copy of the weekly church magazine. Deadbeat religion is nothing new.

At the opposite pole are the saints–that is why they are saints. As Mirabai, the great poet/musician saint of India wrote: “I have sold everything in the marketplace of this world and bought my Khanaia (Krishna). Some laugh at me and say the price was too great, and some say that the price was too small. But Mira only knows that it was everything she had.”

• No faith at all

The last quality of tamasic religion listed is shraddhavirahitam–devoid of faith or having abandoned faith. To really understand this, we must remember that shraddha is not mere intellectual belief, but an interior, intuitive conviction that arises as an enlivening of the inner intelligence of an individual. In other words, a religion of shraddha is a religion that is spiritually alive, and therefore inwardly perceptive. In the sixth chapter of the Gita we have this description of one who has this divine shraddha: “The mind of the yogi knows that Brahman:…the way is easy, Brahman has touched him.…He never loses sight of me, nor I of him.” (Bhagavad Gita 6:27, 28, 30) This is the religion we should seek, realizing that it can be hinted at outwardly, but can only be achieved inwardly. As Jesus said (Luke 17:21): “The kingdom of God is within you”–actually is you.

Tamasic religion really has no genuine perception at all–it is only obscurity and confusion. However, there are degrees of tamas (as with the other gunas, as well), and we can encounter people who have no faith in their religion because they dimly intuit that it is nonsense. But, being tamasic–one quality of which is inertia–they stay with it and go through the motions knowing it means nothing. Here, too, we find religions that once had a mystical aspect but jettisoned it for material gain or from spiritual blindness resulting from impurity and dulness of heart. There are individuals that are the same. For whatever reason they blind themselves to the insights they once had and become wanderers in the fog along with so many others. I have seen people do this for various reasons, but result was always the same: inner death. And I have never seen one regain what they willfully cast aside. Rebirth alone will restore it to them, and after how long a struggle?

The whole subject of tamasic religion is certainly gloomy, but spiritual adults know they have to acknowledge a lot of facts that are not pretty or pleasant, just as in material life unpleasant realities much be faced. The up side of the whole thing is that having given careful consideration to the matter we can avoid slipping into its ways and ourselves losing our inner vision.

The wise traveller knows both the right and the wrong roads.

Related post: How to Misuse Your Power of Thought

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Whenever the word “sacrifice” is used in the Gita it covers the entire range of spiritual practice and spiritual life in general. In the following verses ritualistic worship–and no doubt the fire sacrifice–is certainly referred to, but it applies in the wider sense just mentioned.

For those not familiar with the terms used in this article, here are some definitions from A Brief Sanskrit Glossary:

Guna: Quality, attribute, or characteristic arising from nature (Prakriti) itself; a mode of energy behavior. As a rule, when “guna” is used it is in reference to the three qualities of Prakriti, the three modes of energy behavior that are the basic qualities of nature, and which determine the inherent characteristics of all created things. They are: 1) sattwa–purity, light, harmony; 2) rajas–activity, passion; and 3) tamas–dullness, inertia, and ignorance.

Sattwa

“When men offer sacrifice in accordance with scriptural instructions, and do not desire any advantage for themselves, they are inspired by sattwa. Their hearts are set upon the sacrifice, for its own sake. An inner sense of duty impels them.”
–Bhagavad Gita 17:11
Sargeant’s translation: “Sacrifice which is offered, observing the scriptures, by those who do not desire the fruit, concentrating the mind only on the thought, “This is to be sacrificed;” that sacrifice is sattwic.”

Sattwa alone leads to liberation, so it is wise to order our spiritual life according to its traits as listed here.

First, we are told that sattwic life is lived according to the principles of the scriptures. This includes the teachings and counsels of those who have attained higher consciousness. It is necessary for us who have not traveled the path to consider the advice of those who have successfully traversed it. We need not be slavish or idolatrous about any scripture or teaching, but we need to seriously consider the words of those who have been inspired from within to lead humanity toward higher life. Mary Baker Eddy very aptly called such persons Way-Showers. This implies a very practical attitude toward them: they are not gods or absolute authorities, but they show the way to succeed in spiritual life. They are not interested in imparting a philosophy, but in showing us how to attain the Highest.

Just as a person experienced and skilled in something can teach others, so do they. It is always a clear matter of cause and effect. It either works or it doesn’t. Belief, obedience, or “surrender” have absolutely nothing to do with it. At all times it is according to the judgment of the seeker. Sometimes we have to follow a path to find out for ourself if it works. And nothing is sadder than those who spend years getting nowhere, yet clinging to a worthless discipline because they have “committed” themselves to it or–even worse–have entered into some pathological personal compact that enslaves them and blinds them to the evident valueless character of that path or association. Most unfortunate of all are those who are bound and blinded by “love” for the teacher or group that is stagnating and devastating their lives and hearts. “Loyalty” is the slave-collar about their neck.

Next we are told that spiritual life is not engaged in for personal gain in the external sense, but rather as an offering to the Divine both within and without. Such a way of life is not engaged in for any other motive than being in harmony with the cosmic order the ancient sages of India called Ritam. Truly spiritual people live a spiritual life because it is according to their true nature. They are expressing their inmost being. They are not trying to become something, but are moving out of darkness into the light so they can know what they really are–to behold their eternal Self, that which Buddhists call the Original Nature. Real spiritual life is not loading ourselves with an array of spiritual paraphernalia, but divesting ourselves of all that is not us.

Rajas

“But you may be sure that the performance of sacrifice for outward show, and in the hope of divine reward, is inspired by rajas.”
–Bhagavad Gita 17:12

This pretty well describes nearly all the religious or spiritual life of human beings! Those who are interested in the good will or admiration of man and God and hope to receive whatever they desire in return for their religiosity are in the grip of the rajasic ego. Ultimately it leads nowhere but back to more rebirth and confusion.

Next: Paying Attention to Ignorance to Learn the Ways of Wisdom. An article describing the influence of tamas on worship and discipline.

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The Fourth and Final part of the Series How to Know God

“By learning, a man cannot know him, if he desist not from evil, if he control not his senses, if he quiet not his mind, and practice not meditation.” (Katha Upanishad 1:2:24)

• Persisting in evil

Evil in all forms must be abandoned if the Self, which is all good, is to be known. This should not be hard to understand, but many deny it anyway, or try to skirt around it. Of them Jesus said: “They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2,5,16)–a false security that is really “the sleep of death.” (Psalms 13:3) But for us who wish to live it is important to determine what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong.

Sanatana Dharma has a concept of right and wrong unique among the world religions. The others teach that something is right or wrong because their God or Prophet has said so in their infallible scriptures. “It is in the Bible,” “It is in the ZendAvesta,” “It is in the Koran,” etc. Although the scriptures of Hindu Dharma do mention things as being good or evil, the basis for the statements are utterly different from that of other religions.

Sanatana Dharma does not look upon a thing as wrong because God or gods have declared it wrong or some lawgiver has prohibited it. And the same in relation to the things that are right. Rather, a thing is good or evil according to its innate character. Many times people tried to get Mata Anandamayi to approve or disapprove of something. But she would simply say: “If it takes you toward the Goal it is good. If it takes you away from the Goal it is evil.”

That which darkens, obscures, or limits our consciousness is bad. That which lights, clears, and expands our consciousness is good. That which helps in the search for God is good; that which hinders or delays it is not.

We all know people who declare that their addictions and illusions either do not hurt them or even are good for them. Very well; they have their reward. But the intelligent do not engage in such childish rationalization. They impartially examine and conclude accordingly. It is all a matter of the individual’s interest and honesty. In other words, it is all in our hands–as are all the aspects of our life if we face up to it. Sanatana Dharma does not list “bads” and “goods” because it assumes that those who wish to pursue dharma can judge for themselves. Though we can certainly determine whether the Vedic scriptures consider something harmful or helpful, we should look upon the list as neither exhaustive or even binding. Sanatana Dharma is Manava Dharma–human dharma. And human beings use their intelligent reason. Sanatana Dharma also leaves every one free to be wise or foolish. Dharma never condemns or praises. It just waits to be fulfilled.

• Lack of sense control

The senses must be controlled, but we usually mistake the way to do so. The upanishads use the simile of horses pulling a chariot, and we mistake that, too, thinking it a symbol of incredible forces to be overcome. But we need not think of it so drastically. Before you control a horse, you tame it. So before we control the senses we “tame” them through purification. Sadhana is the only way. Meditation alone purifies in a lasting manner.

At the same time we purify the senses by directing them Godward. We make the eyes look at sacred symbols or depictions, the ears to hear the words of sacred texts and sacred music, the nose to smell the offered incense, the tongue to taste the offered sweets or food, and the inner sense of touch to feel the exalted atmosphere created by worship and contact with the holy. Pilgrimage is valuable because it is a “total sense” experience of holiness. The good news is that we need not struggle with the senses, but turn them in spiritual directions.

• Restlessness of mind

Restlessness of mind is itself great suffering. Yama says that a quiet mind is indispensable to self-knowledge. Here is what Krishna has to say about it:

“If a yogi has perfect control over his mind, and struggles continually in this way to unite himself with Brahman, he will come at last to the crowning peace of Nirvana, the peace that is in me.” (Bhagavad Gita 6:15)

“When can a man be said to have achieved union with Brahman? When his mind is under perfect control and freed from all desires, so that he becomes absorbed in the Atman, and nothing else. “The light of a lamp does not flicker in a windless place”: that is the simile which describes a yogi of one-pointed mind, who meditates upon the Atman. When, through the practice of yoga, the mind ceases its restless movements, and becomes still, he realizes the Atman. It satisfies him entirely. Then he knows that infinite happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the senses. He stands firm in this realization. Because of it, he can never again wander from the inmost truth of his being.” (Bhagavad Gita 6:18-21)

Can I say more than that?

• Without meditation

“Without meditation, where is peace? Without peace, where is happiness?” (Bhagavad Gita 2:66)

The sine qua non of self-knowledge is meditation. The Self is ever-present but we do not perceive it because our vision is obscured by the illusion known as Maya. After describing the method of meditation, Krishna says: “If he practices meditation in this manner, his heart will become pure” (Bhagavad Gita 6:12) and the Self will become literally self-evident. In conclusion he remarks: “Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:8)

The formula

The Self can be known by those who truly desire to know. And that true desire manifests through desisting from evil, controlling of the senses, quieting (restraining) the mind, and practicing meditation. This is the real Formula For Success.

Related articles:

• Foundations of Yoga
• Introduction to Om Yoga

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Part Three in the series “How to Know God”

In the previous post Yama spoke about what doesn’t work in the search for God. Yama’s words of seeming negation are really quite positive, for he then tells Nachiketa: “But by him who longs for him is he known. Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.”

This is a remarkable statement. There are no tools or gimmicks that can mechanically lead us to the vision of the Self. Certainly there are methods that aid in our search–that is what yoga is all about. But it is a mistake to think that a technique can be applied like a crowbar to break open the inner treasury and loot the vault. (And this is the attitude of most “seekers.”) Methods, such as yoga (meditation), worship, and good deeds are necessary to successfully prosecute our quest for God. Their function is twofold: they prepare us–make us capable–for the attainment of self-knowledge, and they are manifestations–evidence, actually–of the genuineness of our aspiration. By engaging in them we live out our intention.

Ma Anandamayi continually assured people that the desire for God was the way to God–everything else were aids or expressions, but it is our own divine self-will that accomplishes our liberation. This is very important to understand.

It is commonly said that all religions are valid, that they all led to the same goal. That is true to some degree, but it leaves out the real fact: it is the seeking that brings about the finding. Frankly, it is the seekers who validate the religions, not the other way around. People finding God in all religions is not a statement about the worth of those religions, but a statement about the worth of those people. Sri Ramakrishna attained God-vision through the various religions he practiced and thereby demonstrated their viability as spiritual paths. But he also revealed that it is the nature of the individual to attain that vision whatever the path that is followed. For without that innate capacity what value would the religions have? The jivatman by its nature can know the Paramatman. As the Psalmist said: “Deep calleth unto deep.” (Psalms 42:7) Like attracts like; it really does take one to know one.

Swami Prabhavananda notes that an alternate translation can be: “Whom the Self chooses, by him is he attained.” In India they have the saying: “He who chooses God has first been chosen by Him.” Jesus told his disciples: “ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” (John 15:16) The very fact that we are seeking God is guarantee of our finding, for it is an indication that He has called us. And He does not call in vain. Nor do we seek in vain. (“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7)) “Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.”

Yet there are obstacles to knowing the Self:

“By learning, a man cannot know him, if he desist not from evil, if he control not his senses, if he quiet not his mind, and practice not meditation. (Katha Upanishad 1:2:24)

Learning

Yama lists mere intellectual study, the heaping up of extraneous “knowledge” which by its character is external and superficial as an obstacle–not so much in itself, but by the illusion of knowledge that arises in the self-satisfied mind of the “knower.” Yama’s assertion shows how mistaken it is to translate swadhyaya (self-study) as “study of scriptures” when we encounter it in the Yoga Sutras.

The Kena Upanishad examines this matter, saying: “He by whom Brahman is not known, knows It; he by whom It is known, knows It not. It is not known by those who know It; It is known by those who do not know It.” (Kena Upanishad 2:3) Obviously the word “know” has two meanings here. One is the mere intellection about Brahman, the other is knowledge derived from the direct experience of Brahman, from conscious union with Brahman. There is a knowing that is unknowing and an unknowing that is knowing. That is why Swami Prabhavananda renders the Kena verse: “He truly knows Brahman who knows him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know him to be beyond knowledge.”

Previously in this series:

• How to Know God
• What Doesn’t Work in the Search for God

Next and last in this series:

• Four Obstacles to Finding God and the Formula for Success

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Part Two in the series “How to Know God”

“The Self is not known through study of the scriptures, nor through subtlety of the intellect, nor through much learning; but by him who longs for him is he known.’ Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.”

Not through subtlety of the intellect

We cannot possibly figure out the nature of anything, much less the Self, by mere intellection. This is not the fault of the mind, any more than it is the fault of a blender that you cannot get television programs through it. There is absolutely no faculty which can perceive or reveal the Self. The Self alone knows Itself. As long as we attempt to perceive the Self through any intermediary, just so long shall we be frustrated–or worse, deluded. There is no instrument, however subtle, no capacity of the mind, however refined, that can reveal the Self.

Yet, the purified intellect (buddhi) can intuit the presence of the Self and even some of its traits, and this is good, but this is not Self-knowledge. Many intelligent people with highly developed intellects mistake this intuition for direct experience and knowledge. This is a subtle trap we must avoid diligently. How could we know if we have fallen into the trap rather than risen into the Light? That, actually is easy to determine. If we can talk about what we perceive, and define it, then it is not the Self, but only our approximation. That which lies within the range of speech lies outside the Self. No matter how near we can come to the Self, it is not the same as knowing the Self. For when the Self is revealed, all “knowing” not only ceases, it becomes impossible.

Intelligence should not be confused with intellectuality. Intelligence is a help to the revelation of the Self, but intellectuality is an insurmountable hindrance. That is why Jesus said to God: “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” (Matthew 11:25) To demonstrate this vividly, “Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2,3) Think how direct and uncomplicated a child’s mind usually is. Also, they are capable of intensely magical/mystical thought. How unquestioning they accept the idea of the miraculous, including the power of the individual–including themselves–to work marvels. How sad that they ever come to “know better” in a wrong way.

A friend of mine was watching a television program in which a pianist seemed to be floating in the air and even turning over and over. “How do you suppose they do that?” she mused to herself aloud. Instantly her five-year-old said: “Easy! There’s a magician hidden in the piano.” And that is so true: there is a magical being hidden in each one of us known as the Self which can do–and does–all things.

Not through much learning

Vyasa was the greatest sage of post-Vedic India, codifier of the Vedas, commentator on the Yoga Sutras, author of the Mahabharata (which includes the Bhagavad Gita), and the Brahma Sutras (Vedanta Sutras). Vast as his writings were, he summed up everything that was taught by these holy books, saying:

I shall tell you in half a verse what has been written in tens of millions of books:

Brahman is real. The world is unreal. The jiva [individual spirit] is none other than Brahman.

That is it. So when the future Swami Turiyananda told Sri Ramakrishna that he studied Vedanta for several hours a day, the great Master was astonished. Quoting the words of Vyasa, he asked: “How can you spend hours studying something so simple? What more is there to say?” Turiyananda got the idea behind the idea and himself became a knower of the Self.

All the learning in the world is futile in relation to the Self and Brahman, for they lie outside the scope of the intellect. The ear cannot hear color, the eye cannot smell fragrance. No thing can know the Self but the Self.

Then how can the Self be known? Red the next article The Key to Finding God.

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