Читать книгу: «Salvation in Kali Yuga. Swami Vankhandi Maharaj: Interviews, Satsangs, Teachings, Parables», страница 3

One who loves God has no time for conflicts. One who lives advaita, has a non-dual view, never conflicts with anyone. For them, the opposites and extremes of existence are erased. For them there is no difference – important work or not important. All work is important. Here at this moment there are dirty dishes, they need to be cleaned. And they will clean them, because it’s for the good. They don’t find it offensive or shameful, they accept any such work as seva. This is non-dual attitude to reality, advaita-bhava. Small or big, dirty or clean – in every facet of existing phenomena, a person with advaita-bhava sees one God in everything – in every opposite. So why should they take offense and conflict?

Sadhana gives understanding of this. Become a sadhak, and you’ll achieve such an attitude to life. When the mind is cleansed of dirt, you won’t commit anything bad anymore. You will be balanced. But if there are preferences, attachments in the heart, they will spread like waves and transmit to others.

Suddenly Maharaj turns to the Russian devotee present at the interview, who knows neither Hindi nor English, and through the translator asks: «Do you understand everything?» She answers: «Only in the heart,» and the translator adds that later all this will be translated into Russian and that this is Siddharth’s seva – to bring this message to Russian-speaking people.

Maharaj: The «Ramayana» says: «Most of all I love those who do seva for the benefit of others.» Everyone loves sevaks. If you possess the quality of a sevak, everyone will love you. A sevak never considers themselves higher or more worthy than others. They have no ego. An egoistic person will never be able to engage in true seva.

It happens with us that a young person from a village goes to university, gets higher education, then gets a good job, and that’s it – they already consider themselves above everyone in their native village. They find it beneath them to simply take a broom and sweep in their own house, they’ll consider it beneath their dignity. It’s even awkward for them to bring a glass of water to a guest who has come to their house. Parents will both sweep the floor and serve water, but they will remain sitting. I’ve seen such things.

Siddharth: But many people do seva to earn respect from others…

Maharaj: You can’t approach seva this way. Seva is done selflessly, a sevak never expects reward, praise or encouragement. You simply do good, that’s all. Animals have a subtle ability to sense sincerity and true kindness. Look at our dogs, for example. We feed them, give them water, take care of them, and they respond and answer us with mutual love. Animals and birds understand everything. And trees, plants understand everything.

There’s such a story. Two biologists, an American and a German, were conducting research related to studying the emotional state of different plant species. The American scientist had his own laboratory where instruments were attached to tree roots, registering plants’ reactions to changes in the environment and surroundings. Once his German colleague came to visit, she had a knife in her briefcase. Before she could approach the laboratory door, the needle on all the American’s measuring instruments began pointing to red. This is the color indicating feelings of anxiety and danger. Then the American asked the woman to show if she had any weapons with her, and she admitted she had a knife. But when she removed the knife from her bag and took it away, and took a water hose in her hands instead, the instruments’ needles began showing green.

Plants and trees know and feel everything. Trees experience fear of violence and acutely sense others’ intention to harm them – to cut or saw them down. And if someone cuts down a tree, other trees growing nearby cry and suffer.

Japanese people never pick flowers. They only pick up fallen flowers or fallen petals. The Shastras say: if you need to pick a plant, talk to it, bow to it, explain to it – why and for what purpose you want to pick it. After such a conversation, the plant won’t feel pain. If you approach and roughly pick it, you’ll cause it suffering.

Siddharth: Do you directly feel your unity with trees and plants? Do you understand their language? They’re not much different from us?

Maharaj: They’re no different at all. The external form is different, but we exist with them in a unified space of consciousness, though at different levels. We are all one.

There was such a sadhu in Maharashtra state named Namdev. Once he was baking roti in the courtyard and went into the house for a minute to bring ghee. And then a dog, while he was gone, came, grabbed the roti and went further down the street. Namdev saw this and ran after it shouting: «Lord! Bhagavan! Where are you going? What about the ghee? Let me spread ghee on your roti, it will be tastier that way!» For Namdev, God was manifested in the dog. This was long ago. Back then, sadhus didn’t call a dog a dog, they addressed it as God.

I once planted a tree by our gates. It’s still growing there. And once during bad weather, one branch of this young tree was strongly bent to the ground by wind and pressed down by a log. I was sleeping in my house at night, and I dream that the tree is crying. Crying and crying. I could hardly wait for morning. In the morning I got up and went straight to this tree. I see – the pressed branch is lying on the ground. I removed the log from it, freed it from the weight, and it immediately rose up, even flew up. And it became so joyful. Trees, they understand and feel everything. This tree is still growing by our gates.

If you love someone, you feel and understand them. Unity of consciousness arises between you. It’s the same with animals. Sometimes I lie down to rest, and he [points to one of the dogs] comes at 11 AM to wake me up. If I forget to give him food on time, he comes and wakes me. Animals sensitively feel your attitude. They feel your love. You can’t show hostility and fear toward them. They pick up on such attitudes toward themselves very well.

All living beings understand the language of love. Chetan-atma, consciousness at the level of Atma, exists in everyone, it’s expressed through the feeling of love.

It was once predicted to a raja: tomorrow at noon Death will come to you in the form of a black snake, and you will die from its bite. When the raja woke up the next morning, he sat by the main palace gates. He placed gold and silver saucers beside him, poured milk into them and waited. Death came crawling as a snake and saw: the raja sitting in lotus pose, hands folded in pranam, and all around him were refreshments in gold and silver dishes. Death was amazed – no one had ever welcomed him so warmly! The snake began to drink the milk, and the raja continued to sit, showing no fear. His face radiated love and respect. Then Death appeared before the raja in its true form. «Well,» it said, «I gift you another 25 years of happy life. Thank you for the refreshment!» Such is the power of love – when you love, there is no fear. In a state of love at the level of chetan-atma [self-consciousness], you can communicate even with the consciousness of a snake.

Siddharth: You spend most of your time sitting by the fire. Do you also communicate with the fire?

Maharaj: Yes, of course. It has an element of Divine consciousness. This is Agni-Dev. If I offer it refreshment, it accepts it. If you simply place an offering in the temple, it remains untouched. Offer refreshment to the fire in dhuni, and the fire eats it. In our temple we do not offer sweets to the Deities. We offer prasad to Agni Deva through the medium of dhuni. If the sweet prasad is left in the temple, then the ants eat it. Some dedicate their puja to fire, some to dhuni. It doesn’t matter to whom you do puja. You can dedicate puja to a tree.

Siddharth: Maharaj, you already know many Russian people, have met with many. Is there any message you could pass on specifically for Russians?

Maharaj: I have already conveyed all meanings and messages to Russian people – both during my trips to Russia and here, sitting in the ashram. Do nama-chintan, do seva, look at everything from the position of love and compassion, treat everything with kindness and love. One who has love in their heart is capable of much. God comes where there is love. A bee sits only on the flower that is filled with honey-bearing aroma. Ishvara comes only to one whose heart is filled with love and bhakti. He comes to no one else.

Maharaj, 2015

Third Conversation: Practice

The next day, again around noon, Maharaj was sitting with devotees and talking about something mundane, and then fell completely silent. We sat nearby, with the recorder ready – in case there was still an opportunity to talk with Maharaj once more. The silence continued, and then I gave a sign to the translator. She addressed Maharaj like this: «Can we have another satsang?» He replied, surprisingly, that throughout this time, nothing but satsang had been happening. This indicated that satsang was perpetually ongoing in his presence, even if it’s not obvious. After all, the word satsang itself translates from Sanskrit as «connection with Truth,» «communion with Truth.»

However, Maharaj still allowed us to put a lavalier microphone on him to answer a few more questions.

Siddharth: Is repetition of the Name the main thing you recommend? The main sadhana for everyone?

Vankhandi Maharaj: Even Tulsidas wrote many years ago: when Kali Yuga comes and humanity becomes mired in sin and sinks into the darkness of ignorance, the spiritually seeking person will have only one path left – to keep attention on the Divine and repeat God’s Name. The Divine Name will become the only ray of light, the guiding thread that will lead a person to the pure shore of Truth. Tulsidas called the repetition of God’s Name adhara – the foundation and core of human spiritual practice. Otherwise one cannot stand firm.

What matters here is your attitude towards this practice. This sadhana will only work when you invest spiritual fervor, love, and firm faith into this process – shraddha, prem, and vishwas. These three components – the heat of your heart, love, and faith – ignite the spark, activate the Name, infuse life into It and fill It with power. The Name comes alive, gains power and immortality. It becomes the Name of Paramatma for you.

And then, on the wings of this Name, you either fly to freedom or achieve the fulfillment of samsaric desires and aspirations. That’s up to you. Whatever goal you set in your sadhana. If you want worldly happiness and success in samsara, the Name will give it to you. If you want mukti, It will help you attain mukti.

Someone from the gathering: And what if you want both?

Maharaj: It doesn’t work that way. You can’t catch both birds with one hand. I said yesterday that if you have tea in your glass and you want to drink milk from this glass, you’ll have to pour out the tea.

Siddharth: On one hand, I realize that mukti is most important for a person, that it is the only true goal of human existence. But on the other hand, I still have some unfulfilled worldly desires. I still want something from this world although I would prefer to be liberated and as soon as possible. What would you recommend in this case?

Maharaj: If you truly want to attain mukti, then the Name you repeat will gradually remove all other desires from your life to clear the path for mukti. Such is the power of Its influence. A Name written on stone can move that stone and work miracles with it. By the power of the Name «Rama» inscribed on stones, Hanuman was able to build a bridge across the sea to Sri Lanka.

The Name is beyond time. Time erases and devours everything, but the Name remains.

Mahatma Gandhi left life long ago, but his name lives on. The whole world knows and reveres Gandhi. He was born in a simple family and was an ordinary person. But all his life, on the advice of a saint, he repeated the name «Rama, Rama.» It never left his lips until the end of life. It was this Name that helped him show such persistence in struggle, endure many privations, maintain tyaga¹². He achieved his goals and now the world repeats his name with great respect.

That’s why I say that the Name you repeat carries a powerful charge of energy. Take, for example, murti, a stone or clay idol. It has no energy. But in its Name there is energy. Murti is an inanimate object. It doesn’t eat or drink, but when you direct your consciousness toward it and repeat its Name with fervor, love and faith, the murti opens up and enters into interaction with you.

This is how Ramakrishna Paramahansa acted. In one hand he held a laddu sweet and offered it to goddess Kali, in the other hand he held a sword. «Either Kali will come to me and accept the offering, or I plunge the sword into my neck and take my life.» He himself put himself before such a harsh choice. It was not a game or simple threat. Thus he had paved his way to interaction with Kali, to the sight and knowledge that came from Her. He was actually ready to die, to take his own life. And Kali came and accepted his prasad.

This is the uniqueness of human beings – they possess inner strength, will and the ability to concentrate consciousness on the Name. The Name comes alive and manifests its energy.

Siddharth: So, we choose the Name that attracts us and begin to repeat It. But do we need to prepare for this beforehand, perform any special rituals connected with this?

Maharaj: There must be purity and love in the heart¹³. That’s all. This is the main condition. And where and how you repeat the Name doesn’t matter.

Hanuman transmitted the Name «Ram» through every cell of his body and could himself catch the vibration of the sound «Ram» at a distance – in every word spoken by someone, in others’ thoughts, in phenomena and things. Although even he could make a mistake. Once a man was standing on the road, relieving himself, and in complete detachment was repeating the Name of God, Rama. Seeing this, Hanuman became indignant and kicked the sinner. After some time, he came to God Rama, and found him sitting and rubbing his bruised side. Hanuman sympathetically asked what happened. Rama replied: «Well, it was you, Hanuman, who kicked me!» Hanuman was shocked, he would never knowingly kick Ram. Rama explained to him: «The man you kicked is my devotee, my Name always sounds in him, whatever he does. The mantra of my Name emanates from his body constantly, regardless of where he is or what he is doing. It sounds in him consciously and unconsciously. My Name has become part of his existence, and if you strike my devoted bhakta, it means you strike me myself.» Then Hanuman begged Rama for forgiveness.

So it doesn’t matter where and when you repeat the Name.

Siddharth: When we repeat the Name, should we concentrate only on the Name? Or on something else? Where should we hold our attention?

Maharaj: You don’t need to hold attention on anything else, only on the Name.

Someone from those gathered: Maybe on some image or form?

Siddharth: Or breathing?

Maharaj: No. There is only the Name, you must hold onto It. Don’t be distracted by anything else. Different types of sadhana have different rules, but in nama-chintan sadhana your attention is directed only at the Name.

Siddharth: But how can we live, work and engage in any kind of activity when all our attention is held only on the Name? Or should we completely give up all activity?

Maharaj: The sound of the Name resounds within you. In your head. But your hands are free. Do what you want with them. As Kabir said, repeat the Name when you sit, stand, eat, drink, go somewhere. Your hands work, you work, but the Name continues to sound in your head. It should never be interrupted.

Live like this for about a year, and then you won’t even need to specially remember about it. The Name will live its own life, it will automatically pulsate in you, whatever you do, at the subconscious level – even in sleep, because the Name doesn’t sleep. You breathe and don’t even think about it, inhalation and exhalation happen by themselves. That’s how the sounding of the Name will become an integral part of your life – like breathing.

Siddharth: When will I reach that level where the sound of the Name happens at a subconscious level, what should be my next step in this practice?

Maharaj: What comes next is progress. Changes will come to your life, your consciousness, behavior, thoughts, and destiny. The Name will do its work independently of you. Your only task is not to interfere with It and never stop the practice. Continuously continue repeating the Name. If you get distracted by thoughts like «what’s next? what’s the next phase?» – then the process will be disrupted, and the practice will break. Don’t distract your attention from the Name, allow It to continue its work. It’s like when you’re watching a movie on TV and then you switch the channel, the film cuts off, and you miss the plot that follows. Abhyasa [practice] should not be interrupted. If you jump around and try new things, you’ll disrupt the process that’s begun.

Siddharth: Alright, my hands are free and I can do what I want with them, but some activities, like professional work, involve mental activity. And as soon as we start thinking concentratedly about something, we break our concentration on the Name. What should we do in such cases?

Maharaj: Mental activity isn’t really an obstacle. Several mental tracks can run in your consciousness at the same time. You can simultaneously cook food, talk to a friend, watch what’s on TV, and keep an eye on a child. Simply, when you clearly attune yourself to repeating the Name and it becomes part of your life, it’s as if a dedicated track for repeating the Name is created in your head. It becomes fixed in memory. Part of your attention will always be with this process, whatever you’re doing. This comes gradually, with practice.

Imagine two women carrying pyramids of pots stacked on top of each other on their heads. You can often see such a picture in an Indian village. The women walk with pyramids on their heads and chat cheerfully with each other, while part of their attention is constantly maintained on keeping the necessary balance.

One craftsman sat by the roadside engaged in his craft, making arrows for a bow. The main thing in his work was to sharpen the arrowheads, which required effort and great concentration. Once an entire royal procession on chariots passed by him. «Did you see what a luxurious procession it was?» someone asked him. «What procession, I didn’t see anything, I had to sharpen arrows.» That’s the level of concentration you need to develop in yourself.

Siddharth: Such level of concentration is only possible when we have strong love. How can we achieve such love to begin the practice of nama-chintana?

Maharaj: Such love doesn’t come immediately. But as you engage and practice, the power of love will grow in you.

Someone from the gathering: Should love be developed first? Or does it develop during practice?

Maharaj: You should already start this practice with a bit of love for the Name, then the Name will begin to respond.

Someone from the gathering: And how do we build up these three components for real practice that you talked about – shraddha, prem, vishvas [zeal, love, and faith]?

Maharaj: This builds up gradually during abhyasa. First comes a little love, which transitions into passionate worship and spiritual zeal, shraddha. Then firm faith, vishvas, appears.

Siddharth: Still, what should serve as the main motive to start this practice? Can we start it having in mind rather a certain goal in this world, or should we strive specifically for self-realization, mukti? Or should we start our practice without having any specific goal in mind?

Maharaj: You don’t need any desires. Just repeat God’s name with love in your heart. The «Ramayana» says: «He who distances himself from desires, fear, sorrow, and joy will find refuge in my heart.»

To realize any specific desire or goal of yours, you can perform anushthana¹⁴, recite some specific mantra. And then your desire will be fulfilled, the goal will be achieved. But the Divine Name – it is, first and foremost, about liberation, mukti.

Don’t set any goals. Don’t look for motives. Just repeat the Name. Repeat the Name, and your thirst will be quenched and you’ll be fed. Everything you need in life will be yours. Уou’ll achieve goals. There won’t be obstacles on the path to achieving them. If you ask for mukti – you’ll get mukti. If you want simple happiness in life – you’ll get that too, but then the Name won’t gift you its love and mukti, it will only help fulfill your desires. You’ll simply get plenty of what you want, according to your prarabdha¹⁵. On this path, you won’t have hindrances and obstacles. The Name will take care of this. The road will be cleared for you. Even if problems arise, the Name will help remove them.

Remember that your guiding thread and spiritual core are within you. And the Name is the foundation on which you can stand firm in your spiritual practice. The Name will never betray you, just remember It, and It will always come to your aid. The main thing is, don’t abandon It.