Shirdi Sai Baba Stories,Leelas and Teachings.: Anusthan-A Discourse By Upasani Maharaj Of Sakori-Part 4.

Dear all,

Happy Baba' day .

Today I am uploading the 4th part of Anusthan-A Discourse By Upasani Maharaj Of Sakori.Readers can get back to other parts of the Anusthan from the links provided just below this post .Jai Sai Ram.

THE PATH OF SELF PURIFICATION

In order that the characteristics of the Supreme Source should manifest themselves in us, we should observe strict silence (Mauna) and carry on Anushthan at a fixed time in a fixed place as has already been outlined and God will reveal himself to us in that very place. We will not be obliged to go anywhere or to any individual.
We do not possess the divine attributes to any great degree and hence we shall have to instill those qualities into us by force and transform our nature from the human to the Divine. If this practice is carried on long enough, we get firmly established in Divinity and our Anushthan is then complete. Such a transformation is almost entirely the outcome of our association.

Times without number have I given you to understand that I am or a Sadguru is like a lump of wet clay. He is blind, deaf and dumb. You can fashion him as you please.

The state of a Jeeva (individual soul) too is exactly similar. You too, like wet clay are moulded by circumstances. You are at present under British Rule and so you ape and acquire their dress, customs and manners. We unconsciously acquire the qualities of those with whom we closely associate ourselves. Hence the proverb “Tell me what your company is and I shall tell you what you are.” Place the highest minded philosopher in the midst of rogues, scoundrels and vagabonds, he cannot raise them to his level but he will unconsciously gravitate to theirs. The association with drunkards will induce in us a thirst for drink. A lump of wet clay may be cast into the form of an ass. This form, if not required, may easily be demolished and remoulded into a cow or into an angel, as he wish.

A jeevatma may likewise be moulded into whatsoever form we choose. If a soul lacks faith and devotion, they may be induced in him by dint of patient and persistent effort. If the clay gets dry, it has first to be made wet by sprinkling some water and then modeled into the required form. Even so in the case of a mind from which the elements of faith and devotion are entirely absent. Greater trouble has to be taken but nevertheless those virtues can gradually be induced into such a mind of relentlessly pursuing the path of Satkarma or Anushthan. To replace the old by the new or the bad by the good costs not a little by way of hardship and labour. By strong and determined effort, however, unmindful of the hardships and sufferings, the objective may be achieved in this very life or in one or two lives at the most.

Gold too like wet clay can be shaped and reshaped at will. But it has first to be heated in the fire in order to reduce its hardness into mellowness. The soul’s hardness (evil tendencies) has to be reduced to softness (good tendencies) by melting it in the fire of Satkarma.

LET THE MIND WANDER IF IT WILL DURING ANUSHTHAN

It is the common experience of many that as soon as they sit for Anushthan their mind begins to wander hither and thither. But I say, “Let the mind wander where it will. Of the three instruments (Thri Karana) God has gifted you with, the mind is not within your control. But you are masters of your tongue and body.

Therefore, keep these two firmly engaged in the service of God. In the instance of the husband and wife cited above (See Section 8) the husband was heterodox and unruly to begin with but was slowly converted by the good example of his wife. Our mind may be likened to the husband and the body to the wife. By the steadfast devotion and incessant striving of the wife of a body, the husband of a mind can be brought under control and into harmony. By the systematic practice of any kind of Anushthan such as reading of a holy scripture Abhisheka, Japa or Dhyana, the mind will feel ashamed of its wanderings or will spend its force and get exhausted and will inevitably come to rest. The more it acquires the attributes of the Source, the more blissful it becomes. What is required of you is that you should not allow yourselves to be distracted by the wandering aspect of the mind but steadily push on your Anushthan. You have already seen that the mind resembles a lump of wet clay and can be fashioned into any specific form. The more the mind absorbs the qualities of the Original Source, the steadier will it become. The true nature of the mind is not to wander but this has become its nature by force of habit.

Even if the mind wanders, you are free to disregard it and continue your Anushthan uninterrupted. If the body tenaciously carries on its Satkarma, the mind cannot but come to rest. The question is often asked whether an Anushthan in which the mind goes on wandering upon worldly things will be of any great spiritual value. In my opinion we incur no loss by the wandering of the mind but on the other hand there is a great advantage to be gained. This statement of mine may somewhat puzzle you and you can come down upon me with the retort that in the scriptures and Puranas it has been laid down that all Satkarma should be discharged with a steady and one pointed mind. How then can these apparently contrary statements be reconciled? I do not say that the scriptural injunctions are inaccurate but what I drive at is that because you are not in a position to carry on Satkarma with an unwavering mind, it does not mean that you should abstain from it altogether. Something is better than nothing.

In the course of Anushthan, the agent experiences a two fold aspect of the mind.

1.The steady aspect which goes on continuously with the prescribed Anushthan.
An Unsteady or fickle aspect which keeps on roaming from place to place or object to object whether they be good, bad or indifferent. The mind is one but its working is two fold and there is no inconsistency about it. The mind starts some kind of activity through the body and engages itself in another avocation. The latter does not come in the way of the former but both run simultaneously. Anyone resorting to any form of Anushthan first plans it out intellectually and then works it out physically. Having endowed the body with the necessary strength and power to carry on the physical activity of the Anushthan such as sitting steadily in a particular pose, repetition of prayers and hymns, pouring of water and telling of beads, the mind projects itself forth into the wide world of its acquaintance. “He the mason started the building of the latrine or not? How long are we to use our neighbour’s latrine even after repeated warnings from him not to do so etc.” Or again if there is a patient in the house, “Which doctor shall I call in for treatment? What remedy?” etc. Or again “For want of avocation I have opened this ship, will it turn out a profitable concern or not” etc. These or similar thoughts come crowding into the mind. If a drunkard sits for Anushthan, his thoughts naturally wend their way to the liquor shop. “There is shortage of the usual dose. Whom shall I send to fetch some more for me? If perhaps I take a puff of Ganja, the mind will be in high spirits and it will be in a mood to meditate on God” etc. This two fold working of the mind is a matter of common experience of everyone who enters upon any form of spiritual sadhana. So long as the Satkarma continues without a break, the wanderings of the mind are of no great account.

What is Anushthan for? It is capable of purging the mind of its impurities and restoring it to the state of Absolute purity of god (Sadavastha). Wheresoever the impure thoughts of the mind travel or whomsoever they touch upon, is rendered unholy or impious. In order to purify all these polluted objects, the mind generates power by virtue of its Anushthan and transmits it to the several objects or individuals who have been rendered unholy by its vicious thoughts. Thus the course of Anushthan purifies both the mind and the wide range of objects or persons within its purview.

Whither does the mind wander? Its vagaries are confined to those places, objects or individuals whom it has come to know of through any of the senses. It cannot conceive or think about anything of which it knows nothing. Thus if the mind has no knowledge of a lion, it cannot imagine anything about it; nor can it remember a person whom it has known nothing about. If it is possible for anyone to shut himself up from any sort of knowledge pertaining to the world, the world would not exist for him at all. His mind is a complete blank i.e. it will be very subtle and concentrated unlike the average mind which is expansive and diffused. In the process of Anushthan the mind journeys from place to place, person to person, whether it be a friend or foe, pure or impure, returning every now and then to the place of Anushthan. It is also possible that it never returns but continues its march from place to place. All those places, persons or objects the mind thinks of constitute the mind, and the extent of its wanderings marks out its boundaries.

Therefore unless and until all the constituent elements of the mind get purified, the mind as a whole cannot be said to be pure. How then can the mind abstain from wandering in the course of Anusthan? For instance, say a gentleman undertakes a certain piece of work but before finishing it, is obliged to go somewhere else. What prevents him from entrusting the work to his son and completing it through him? Is it obligatory that you should not leave the work unfinished or entrust it to another? If the mind wanders in the course of an Anushthan, does the Anushthan come to a standstill on that account? Again take the instance of a person who has started on foot from Sauri to Kopargoan. Having invested the feet with the necessary strength and capability to undertake the journey, the mind sets about its own work of roaming about “Well, at Kopargoan, shall I be able to meet such and such a person? Will he do the work for me?”etc. countless thoughts of a similar nature flash across the mind in quick succession, but does this impede the progress of the feet? If it be so, we can well admonish the mind, saying, “you, fool, be still. Because of your wanderings, my pace has become slow. Kopargaon which is only four miles ahead has now been removed a hundred miles farther away by your restlessness.” But as a matter of fact, it is not so. Were it so, we shall be justified in concluding that no activity is possible unless the mind is steady. So long as the Satkarma goes on uninterrupted, there is no need whatsoever for the mind to be still.

Coming Next:

THE NEED FOR AND BENEFIT FROM THE WANDERINGS OF THE MIND

Post Already Posted:

Introduction and Preface.
(a)Experience of opposite states as the time of God-Realisation.
(b)Attainment of God through wifely devotion.
Anusthan-A Discourse By Upasani Maharaj Of Sakori -Part 1.
Anusthan-A Discourse By Upasani Maharaj Of Sakori -Part 2.
Anusthan-A Discourse By Upasani Maharaj Of Sakori-Part 3.

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