The Cleansing Process

On the Telegu new-year day in 1981, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba blessed devotees gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam with a profound discourse on means to achieve peace. He emphasized the role of right-mindedness and related spiritual practices as key to peace through realizing the common thread of the soul in all beings. 

As the core of this universe, about which we speak and which we describe, the  Paramatma (supreme self), about which we cannot speak, is beyond all description. Both the cognizable and non-cognizable have emanated from the same One indivisible consciousness. Each is full and complete in itself. The individual consciousness is the manifestation of the cosmic consciousness. When the material sheath falls off, it merges in its source. The Vedas declare, “That is full; this is full. From the full, emerges the full. When the full is taken from the full, the full remains full.” So, the cosmos, the world, the individual—all are embodiments of the full. Nothing can be fractional or incomplete.

The symbol of the full is Om, the pranava (the primal sound). The Vedas announce: “The One indestructible sound Om is Brahman, the universal absolute.” Everywhere, the moving and unmoving are only paraphrasing Om, elaborating its nature and illustrating its potentialities. The past that has gone, the present that is here, and the approaching future are all also Om. The pranava is the name, and Paramatma is the named. The two are not separate. “Sarvam Khalu idam Brahma—All this is indeed Brahman.” But, this awareness of the immanence of the universal can come to man only when the I-consciousness is forgotten; when the ‘I’ disappears, man becomes fit to know the non-‘I’.

The four steps in sadhana 

In order to delve deep into the principle represented by the pranava, four steps have been prescribed for sadhana [spiritual exercises]. One may doubt how the eternal unique integral Om can be understood in stages! The steps, however, are designed to help the identification of the principle itself.

In the Sastras, the steps are known as jagrata [wakefulness], swapna [dream], sushupti [deep sleep], and turiya. Jagrata means: “being awake,” “exterior alertness,” or “outward vision.” The consciousness is gross in this stage. The impressions that impinge on the consciousness in dreams [swapna] are reflections and images of the truth. In the sushupti or deep sleep stage, the individual is not at all conscious; he is just a witness who, after awakening, acknowledges that he slept well. The consciousness is not aware of itself. It is pure unaffected awareness. It has no contact with the objective world or the outer and inner senses. It is pure Brahman consciousness. The last stage is turiya. It is the stage when the consciousness is fully aware of itself. It cannot be identified as such by any means! We can try to delineate it a little by saying that it is the silence that prevails, after one Om and before another Om follows it.

These four stages of pranava are associated with the deities Vishnu, Brahma, Rudra [Shiva], and Paramatma. Vishnu means that which is omnipresent. The visible universe is suffused with beauty, and beauty is God. Since the universe is the body of God, the Supreme Person—Vishnu—is also described in the scriptures as “He who delights in decoration.”

The material universe is saturated in harmony, law, and symmetry; therefore, it is charming and fascinating. Through this attraction, the external world draws man into various paths and exertions. The five elements, the five senses, the five vital airs, and other phenomena teach man various lessons to mould his nature. Consequently, the objective world can be taken as his guru.

Experiences in dream and deep-sleep stages

Vishnu is the deity who fosters, feeds, moulds, and masters. Moreover, He is the guardian of the cosmos. The scriptures teach man to sanctify the waking hours, for they belong to Vishnu, and are charged with the Vishnu-principle. They [the scriptures] exhort man to avoid wicked deeds, polluting thoughts, and all types of errors and failings.

During the dream stage, we can experience holiness and bliss; but in the waking stage, we can experience that only by engaging ourselves in steady, pure unselfish activities. In dreams, we see diverse objects and persons, strange worlds, of skyscrapers and castles. From where did these emerge? Through whom were they presented? The supreme consciousness is the basis for the creation of various dream appearances. Brahma is the deity that creates. So, the dream state is the Brahma-phase of consciousness.

Then, there is the deep-sleep stage. Here, the experiences gained during the waking hours or encountered in dreams do not impinge on man. They have all been extinguished. Rudra, the deity into whom the cosmos ultimately merges, is therefore associated with the deep-sleep phase.

Lastly is the turiya stage, the stage of atma consciousness. When a doll made of salt is dropped in the sea, it reaches the bottom and is dissolved. The same happens to the seeker of the atma (self); he is dissolved. He becomes one with that which he sought to know. He cannot return and describe the experience.

“The A of Om is the vishwa [cosmos]; the U is tejas [effulgence]; and the M is prajna [integral wisdom]”—this is another interpretation in the scriptures. Vishwa is the waking stage, tejas the dream stage, and prajna the deep sleep stage. The spiritual exercise of meditation on Om is therefore very important for seekers. The Vedas prescribe the repetition of the pranava while studying holy texts, reciting the name of the divine, carrying out daily duties, and giving gifts.

Nine essences and sustainers of life

Om is the essence of all sustenance, the embodiment of rasa [vital essence]. The earth is the rasa of all creation—moving and unmoving; water is the rasa of the earth; food is the rasa of water; the human being is the rasa of food; the word is the rasa of the human being; rig is the rasa of the word; samaveda is the rasa of the rig; and, Om is the rasa of samaveda. These eight rasas—the earth, water, food, person, word, rig, sama and Om—lead to the ninth, ananda (bliss). These are the nine essences; the nine sustainers. Ananda is the goal that man is seeking; it is the aim of human life.

Man struggles variously to attain ananda. Ananda is the height of happiness, the embodiment of joy. It is sought in three different ways, according to the innate quality—satwic, rajasic, and tamasic—of the seeker. The satwic path is poison in the early stages, and nectar while coming to fruition. It invokes firm control and regulation of the senses, cognition, and action. This is very hard to accomplish. But as one progresses in practice, the joy increases, and bliss is attained. How can such a goal be secured without undergoing hardships? The scriptures say, “Happiness cannot be won through happiness.” Happiness can be won only through misery. Pleasure is but an interval between two pains. To achieve the satwic happiness that is positive and permanent, man must perforce take on trials and tribulations, loss and pain.

The rajasic and tamasic paths

Now about the second type—the rajasic path. In the early stages, this path is nectarine; but later, it slides into misery because the happiness is derived through the senses, from objects of the external world. The pleasure soon reveals itself as unreal, false, and exhausting. Once the process starts, it drags on with no facility for rest. Man becomes too weak to pursue the goals of dharma, artha (prosperity), kama (fulfillment of desires), and moksha (liberation) that are laid down for him. His intellect, imaginative skill, and intuitive faculty—all are rendered lame. Man can even lose his humanness. Today, the blind pursuit of objective sensual pleasure has resulted in this very calamity. Man has forgotten his true divinity and surrendered his life to unholy activities.

Lastly, we have the tamasic path. People who prefer this way of life are unconcerned with the problems of the world; they sleep away their lives, deriving joy in sloth and darkness.

Of these three paths to ananda, man must accept the satwic road, regardless of whatever the hardship, loss, misery, anxiety, and labor it entails. He must attain the awareness of divinity, the experience of Godhead (Bhagavan), and be established in the ananda.

Nine lamps that illumine the mind

What is the inner meaning of the expression, Bhagavan? The Vedas say, “The Bhagavan principle is the same as Brahman—the Paramatma. Bhagavan is the ultimate, the full. Bha means having full auspiciousness and prosperity. Ga means deserving of praise and adoration. In the Ramayana, Bhagavan is described in clear terms. He (Bhagavan) sustains the universe, using His creative power as the means. He fosters what is created. So, He is Sambharta or Bharta, which means He who raises, rules and saves. Bha also means light or splendor.  Hence, Bhagavan is He who sheds and spreads light—the embodiment of light and effulgence. Since He can, and does illumine all things and beings everywhere at all times, He is Bha-ga-van. 

When do we need light? We don’t need it during the day, but when night prevails. Then, we need a lamp, a flame, or the Moon. So too, until wisdom enlightens us, we need sadhanas; until we experience the One unified divine, we have to accept and practice discipline, regulations, and sadhanas.

Ignorance is the night. Knowledge is the light. There are nine lamps that can illumine the mind and free it from darkness—sravanam (listening), kirtanam (adulation), smaranam (remembering), padasevanam (showing respect by touching the feet), archanam (ceremonial worship), vandanam (paying obeisance), dasyam (doing service), sakhyam (friendliness), and atma-nivedanam (self-surrender). We must shape ourselves into fit instruments for the spiritual pilgrimage.

There are four classes of persons: those who pay attention to their own faults and the excellences of others—the best; those who highlight their own excellences as well as the excellences of others—the middlings; those who pay attention only to their own excellences only and to the faults of others—the worse type; finally, those who present their own faults as excellences and the excellences of others as faults—the worst. Each one can discover for himself the group to which he belongs. Remember this: when one is yearning to become aware of the full, the sacred, the love, the atma, the Bhagavan, he has to prepare himself for the first and the best group—discovering his own faults and observing only excellences in others. This is the most desirable sadhana.

Uphold the true glory of man

Man is suffering today because he is engrossed in the external world, with no sadhana or steady practice to correct his vision. What can ten baths a day do to cleanse a person, when his mind is fouled by evil thoughts? What can the shaven head and the ochre clothes do to foster spirituality when his mind is riddled by desires and wants? You may rotate a ball of sweets outside the mouth but unless it is put into it (the mouth) and eaten, hunger will not be abated. So also, develop sincere longings, cleanse the mind, purify the thoughts, and put the precepts into practice. In Vedanta, this process is mentioned as, karma marga, the path of activity.

There is no fruit without a flower; there can be no devotion without karma (action). The fruit ripens and becomes sweet; likewise, bhakti (devotion) ripens into jnana (wisdom). So, we must first take up holy activities with clean intentions. One sadhana that is cultivated on a large scale today is dhyana (meditation). But, the meditation that is done is not in consonance with the principle of Indian culture. In the absence of a purified mind, meditation can never achieve the mergence with God. How can a house be built without brick and mortar?

Correct your faults by sadhana

It is said that one can succeed in meditation by indulging in it whenever a little time is available, and that one can be engaged in this sadhana, regardless of one’s feelings and thoughts, habits one is prone to, and the path one follows. But this advice is not correct. If one has to remain quiet for sometime without being distracted or disturbed by fear or anxiety, one could drink alcohol or consume opium. However, meditation must have far higher aims and far stricter credentials; or else, Indian culture will suffer great damage. Therefore, fine virtues have to be cultivated first and good thoughts have also to be entertained.

Uphold the true glory of man

Many people come to me distraught and pray, “Swami! I have no peace. Give me peace” But peace cannot be got from the outer world; it has to be sought in the heart. Wicked desires breed misery; beneficial desires result in joy. The removal of desire ensures peace. When desires after desires multiply in the mind, how can peace be gained? After bhajan (devotional singing) and meditation, you repeat shanti thrice, praying for physical, mental, and spiritual peace. But only the awareness of the atma, being the reality of all, can confer peace.

When a single mango seed is planted, the tree yields thousands of fruits, and in every fruit, you find the seed! Similarly, the same atma is in every being! The Lord is the seed that is manifested as thousands of seeds. “Ekoham (I am single) Bahusyam (shall become many),” said the Lord. When we posit differences and distinctions due to ignorance of this fact, we are afflicted by fear and peace disappears. When man doubts and disbelieves his fellowmen, how can peace prevail? Now, the mind of man is tending towards evil. The mind has become a bad mind. The year that begins today [5^th April 1981] is called “Durmathi” (bad mind) and, hence, people apprehend that evil may increase.

Despite what astrology may indicate, you can direct your mind and your intellect into propitious channels of peace and prosperity. By sadhana, you can correct your faults, mould your excellences, and ensure peace for yourselves, your society, and your country. Pray everyday for the welfare of the entire world thus: “Lokas samasthas sukhino bhavantu—may there be peace in all the worlds.” This is my message for the New Year.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 15