Opportunity divine and necessity supreme¹

Opportunity in our spiritual life. We are all seekers, seekers of the infinite Truth. I am one of you. On the strength of my soul’s oneness with you I shall speak on opportunity and necessity.

I take no advantage of earthly and heavenly opportunities. I know perfectly well that my life itself is the greatest opportunity I have here on earth, there in heaven and everywhere.

Opportunity is the human aspiration to live by in the outer world. Again, opportunity is the divine realisation to live for in the inner world. Now, when I have an opportunity to know more about others, shall I use my opportunity to know others more or to know myself more? I wish to say that I shall do both. I shall use the opportunity to know myself more and also to know others more. By knowing myself more, I realise God the Creator. By knowing others more, I realise God the Creation. By knowing myself more, I realise God the Breath. By knowing others more I realise God the Life. By knowing myself more, I realise God the Unity. By realising others more I realise God the Multiplicity.

This is true. A really great man has not to depend on outer opportunities. He has abundant faith in his inner capacity. However, to say that a great man never complains of want of opportunity is an ideal affirmation of the state of consciousness for all great men. How I wish that all great men realise this truth and live this truth. A spiritual man finds not only opportunities but also constantly creates more and more opportunities. His opportunity is composed of his inspiration-light and his aspiration-height. With his opportunities he realises God, he serves God and he fulfils God.

Opportunity in the spiritual life means to do and to be. What can I do? I can totally identify myself with each fleeting moment and offer myself at the Feet of God for His use in His eternal Time. What can I be? I can be God’s Dreamboat. He will be my life’s eternal Pilot. Him to serve is my only awakened and illumined dream.

Opportunity is necessity. In the spiritual life a spiritual master is a necessity; a spiritual disciple is a necessity.

Let us pray with the Vedic seers:

If a disciple can make a conscious and constant oneness with the master, then he has done the right thing, absolutely right thing. If the master has established his conscious and constant oneness with the disciple, then the master has done absolutely the right thing. When the disciple’s oneness with the master is perfect, the disciple can work with the master. Only then and not before. When the master’s oneness, constant oneness, with the disciple is perfect, then only the master can work for the disciple. When the disciple works with the master devotedly, the Mission of the Supreme for the Supreme begins. When the master works for the disciple, the realisation of the Ultimate Transcendental Truth begins to dawn on the disciple. When the disciple works with the master, he has to work with purest devotion. When the master works for the disciple, he has to work with soulful and unreserved concern. The disciple has to feel that the master is the Light of his own heart. The master has to feel that the disciple is the Strength of his own arms. When the disciple feels that his master is the Light of his own heart, he is bound to be happy within and without. When the master feels that his disciple is the Strength of his own arms, his divine joy knows no bounds. And at that golden hour, choice hour, divine hour, what happens? God speaks to the disciple and the master. To the disciple He says: “My child, you are my purest pride.” To the master He says: “My son, you are my surest pride. Both of you have fulfilled me in my Vision, in my Reality, in my Mission and in my Manifestation on earth.”

The Bhagavad-Gita — The God Song. Chapter IV: Knowledge, action and sacrifice

In the second and the third chapter of the Gita, Sri Krishna blessed Arjuna with a few glimpses of Yogic light. In the present chapter, he blesses Arjuna with a flood of spiritual light. He widely and openly reveals the secrets of Yoga. Hard is it for Arjuna to believe that Sri Krishna taught Vivaswan (the Sun-God) this eternal Yoga: Vivaswan offered it to his son, Manu, and Manu imparted it to his son Ikshwaku; from him it was handed down to the royal Rishis. Long before Sri Krishna’s birth, Vivaswan saw the light of day. Naturally Sri Krishna’s declaration would throw Arjuna into the sea of confusion.

The eternal mystery of reincarnation is now being revealed. Says Krishna: “Arjuna, you and I have passed through countless births. I know them all, your memory fails you. Although I am birthless and deathless and the Supreme Lord of all beings, I manifest myself in the physical universe through my own Maya, keeping my Prakriti (Nature) under control.”

Maya

Maya means illusion. It also means the unreality of ephemeral things; the unreality is personified as a female, who is also called Maya. The words Dharma and Maya are the constant and spontaneous expression of the Indian soul. According to Shankara, the Vedantin of the Himalayan peak, there is only one Absolute Reality, the Brahman, without a second. Advaita or the Monism, deriving from Vedanta is his momentous philosophy. There is only the Brahman. Nothing outside the Brahman exists. The world as it stands before our mental eye is a cosmic illusion, a deceptive prison. It is only when true knowledge dawns on us that we will be in a position to free ourselves from the meshes of ignorance and from the snares of birth and death.

A thing that is, is real. A thing that appears is unreal. An eternal Life is real. Ignorance and death are unreal. Maya is a kind of power filled with mystery. We know that electricity is a power, but we do not actually know what electricity is. The same truth is applicable to Maya. God uses His Maya-Power in order to enter into the field of manifestation. It is the process of the Becoming of the One into many and again the Return of the many into the original One.

Prakriti

Prakriti means Nature. It is the material cause as well as the original cause of everything in the manifested creation. Purusha is the silent Face. Prakriti is the activating Smile. Purusha is the pure, witnessing consciousness, while Prakriti is the evolving and transforming consciousness. In and through Prakriti is the fulfilment of the Cosmic Play.

Arjuna knew Sri Krishna as his dear cousin; he later knew him as his bosom friend; later still he knew him as his beloved Guru or spiritual Teacher. Here in this chapter he comes to know Sri Krishna as the Supreme Lord of the World. Krishna says, “Whenever unrighteousness is in the ascendent and the decline of righteousness, I body myself forth. To protect and preserve the virtuous and put an end to the evil-doers, to establish Dharma, I manifest myself from age to age.” From these soul-stirring utterances of Sri Krishna, we immediately come to learn that He is both the Ultimate Knowledge and the Power Supreme. Confidently and smilingly, he is charging Arjuna with a high-voltage spiritual current from his great Power-House.

Samvavami yuge yuge (I body Myself forth from age to age)

Sri Krishna now declares himself an Avatar. An Avatar is the direct descent of God. In the world of manifestation, he embodies the Infinite.

In India, there is a spiritual master who declared himself to be an Avatar. Unfortunately he became an object of merciless ridicule, both in the West and in the East. As he could not put up a brave fight against their biting sarcasm, he finally had to change his unsuccessful policy. His proud statement went one step further: “Not only I, but everybody is an Avatar.” Since everybody is an Avatar, who is to criticise whom? Lo, the self-styled Avatar is now heaving a sigh of relief.

It may sound ridiculous, but it is a bare fact that in India practically every disciple claims his Guru to be an Avatar, the direct descent of God. A flood-tide of enthusiasm sweeps over them when they speak about their Guru. The spiritual giant Swami Vivekananda could not help saying that in East Bengal, India, the Avatars grow like mushrooms. On the other hand, to pronounce that there has been and can be only one Avatar, the Son of God, is equally ridiculous.

Each time an Avatar comes, he plays a different role in the march of evolution according to the necessity of the age. In essence, one Avatar is not different from another. A genuine Avatar, Sri Ramakrishna, has revealed the Truth, “he who was Rama, he who was Krishna is now in the form of Ramakrishna.”

There are two eternal opposites: good and evil. According to Sri Krishna, when wickedness reaches the maximum height, God has to don the human cloak in the form of an Avatar. Sri Krishna’s advent had to deal with the darkest evil force, Kansa. Similarly Herod, the peerless tyrant, needed the advent of Jesus Christ. Christmas, the birth of Christ, demanded the extinction of the life of ignorance. Janmashtami, the birth of Krishna, is celebrated throughout the length and breadth of India, with a view to leaving the sea of ignorance and entering into the Ocean of Knowledge.

The easiest and most effective way to conceive of the idea of a personal God is to come into contact with an Avatar and remain under his guidance. To have an Avatar as one’s guru is to find a safe harbour for one’s life boat. In this connection, we can cite Vivekananda’s bold statement: “No man can see God, but through these human manifestations. Talk as you may, try as you may, you cannot think of God, but as a man.”

According to many, as the Buddha is the most perfect man, so is Krishna the greatest Avatar the world has ever seen.

There are also Anshavatars (Partial Avatars). But Sri Krishna is a Purnavatar (Complete Avatar) in whom and through whom the Supreme is manifested fully, unreservedly and integrally. When human aspiration ascends, the divine Compassion descends in the cloak of an Avatar.

“As men approach me, so do I accept them.” There can be no greater solace than this to the bleeding heart of humanity. If we accept Krishna with faith, he illumines our doubting mind. If we accept Krishna with love he purifies our tormenting vital. If we accept Krishna with devotion, he transforms the ignorance-night of our life into the Knowledge-Sun of His eternal Life.

Sri Krishna now wants our mind to be riveted on caste. He says that it was he who created the fourfold order of the caste system according to their aptitudes and deeds. There are people who give all importance to birth and heredity and deliberately ignore those who are abundantly blessed with capacities and deeds. The result is that society has to suffer the ruthless buffets of stark confusion. True, birth and heredity bring in importance, especially in the heart of society. But this so-called importance cannot offer us even an iota of light and truth. It is by virtue of action, serene and noble, that we grow into the Highest and manifest the Deepest here on earth.

Action, Inaction and Wrong Action.

From the verse 16 to the verse 22 we see Krishna throwing light on Action, Inaction and wrong Action. Action, that is to say, true action is not just to move our legs and heads. Action is self-giving. Action is to abandon attachment. Action is to bring the senses under control. Wrong action is to dance with desire. Wrong action is to disobey one’s inner being. Wrong action is to swerve from the path of truth, esoteric and exoteric.

In common belief inaction is tantamount to inertia, sloth and so forth. But true inaction is to throw oneself into ceaseless activities while keeping the conscious mind in a state of sublime tranquility or trance.

Faith and Doubt close the fourth chapter.

Faith is not a mere emotional feeling to stick to one’s belief, but it is a living inner breath to discover, realise and live in the truth. Faith is the exercise taken by a seeker of his own will to force himself to stay in the all-seeing and all-fulfilling Will of God. The Yajur Veda tells us that consecration blossoms in self-dedication, grace blossoms in consecration, faith blossoms in grace and truth blossoms in faith. What else is faith? To quote Charles Hanson Towne,

Doubt is naked stupidity. Doubt is absolute futility. Doubt is outer conflagration. Doubt is inner destruction.

Sanmshayatma Vinaskyati. The possessor of doubt perishes. He is lost, totally lost. To him the path of the Spirit is denied. Also is denied the secret of life’s illumination.

Says Krishna: “For the doubting man, neither is this world of ours, nor is the world beyond, no, nor even happiness.” The New Testament presents us with the same truth: “The man of doubtful mind enjoys neither this world nor the other, nor final beatitude.”

In Nyaya, (logic) one of the six systems of Indian Philosophy, we notice that doubt is nothing but a conflicting judgment regarding the character of an object. Doubt comes into existence from the very fact of its recognition of properties common to many objects, or of properties not at all common to any object. Doubt is that very thing which is wanting in the regularity of perception. Also doubt being non-existent exists only with non-perception.

Doubt is an all-devouring tiger. Faith is a roaring lion that inspires an aspirant to grow into the all-illumining and all-fulfilling Supreme.

Poor, blind doubt, being quite oblivious of the true truth that faith is the most forceful and most convincing affirmation of life, wants to give a violent jolt to man’s lifeboat.

The poet’s haunting words of truth stirs our mind to its very depths.

The blossoms of the heart

Be happy

Be happy.
You will grow into God’s greatest blessing, His highest pride.

Be happy.
Yesterday’s world wants you to enjoy its surrendered breath.
Today’s world wants you to enjoy its surrendering breath.
Tomorrow’s world wants you to enjoy its fulfilling breath.

Be happy.
Be happy in the morning with what you have.
Be happy in the evening with what you are.

Be happy.
Don’t complain. Who complains? The blind beggar in you.
When you complain, you dance in the mire of ignorance-condition. When you don’t complain, all conditions of the world are at your feet and God gives you a new name: aspiration. Aspiration is the supreme wealth in the world of light and delight.

Be happy.
Do you want never to be poor? Then be happy. Do you want ever to be great? Then be happy.

Be happy.
You will get what you like most. You will be what you like best.

Be happy.
When you are happy, you and God command each other. God commands you lovingly. You command God hastily. When you are unhappy, the Hostile Forces command you ruthlessly, doubt commands you openly, bondage commands you triumphantly and fear commands you unconditionally.

Be happy.
God sees in you His aspiring Creation, His transforming Realisation.
His illumining Revelation and His fulfilling manifestation.

Be happy.
God sees in you another God. God sees you as another God. God sees you and He as One.

Ambition

Ambition. If you cast aside your ambition while still in the unaspiring life, lo, you become a brainless sheep.

Ambition. Embrace ambition in your aspiring life; lo, you become the condemned convict. You can never come out of the finite.

Ambition. In your outer life, ambition is the brightest height.

Ambition. In your inner life, ambition is the darkest night.

Ambition. In your outer life, the closer you come towards the land of fulfilling ambition, the mightier is your hopeful security.

Ambition. In your inner life, the farther away you go from the shore of ambition, the greater is the strength of God’s protection for you.

Before you became an aspirant, ambition was the highest aim. After you have become an aspirant, ambition is not only a low aim, but a serious fall.

Be sure, ambition is not aspiration. Ambition wants to command the world. Aspiration cries to serve the Creator in His creation.

Ambition is a human passion, never to be satisfied. Aspiration is a divine glorification, ever to be satisfied.

Ambition is the end of human realisation. Aspiration is the beginning of divine realisation.

Ambition is the chosen child of man. Aspiration is the chosen child of God.

Aspiration. Aspiration. Aspiration. In aspiration an aspirant lives far above the skies. In aspiration an aspirant’s Eye becomes one with the highest God. In aspiration an aspirant’s heart becomes the Absolute.

My occupation

My occupation is at once my delightful responsibility and my soulful necessity.

My only responsibility is to fulfil the Will of God. God has given me the love needed to love the world. God has given me the wisdom needed to become the world. God has given me the surrender needed to obey Him in the night of the finite and in the Light of the Infinite.

My only necessity is to fulfil all God’s promises to the world. He has made four promises: the perfection of human nature, the extinction of human death, the divinisation of the human body and the manifestation of His own realisation on earth.

My God does not force me to do anything, but He instructs me privately on how to do everything divinely.

My earthly occupation is to be far above the mire of ignorance. My heavenly occupation is to enter into the breath of ignorance and transform its very life.

I want the atmosphere of my outer occupation to be surcharged with God’s thoughts. I want the conscience of my inner occupation to be formed by God’s influence.

God’s secret thirst is the embodiment of my aspiring life’s occupation. God’s sacred hunger is the realisation of my fulfilling soul’s occupation.

My inner occupation is silence. My outer occupation is surrender. In my silence I see God, the Eternal Gift. In my surrender, I become God the Infinite Gift.

I think of God. This is my immortalising duty. God thinks of me. This is His self-chosen duty.

Ever the same again

Ever the same again
My lost Truth rediscovered
Ever the same again.

Ever the same again
My forgotten Self remembered
Ever the same again.

Ever the same again
My lost Goal regained
Ever the same again.

Where

Where Peace once sang,
I became my Master's flowing Grace.

Where Love once sang,
I became my Master's glowing Face.

Where Truth once sang,
I became my Master's master Face.

AUM

Man is Infinity’s Heart.
Man is Eternity’s Breath.
Man is Immortality’s Life.