Welcome to Day 31 of our 40-Day Retreat 2008.
Synopsis of yesterday’s Talk
The last day we were speaking about the quality of the seeker or disciple, that allows for powerful Guru Deeksha or initiation or transfer of energy. We spoke about giving up bad company, desisting from bad actions, and also about giving up desires, intentions that are not good for you. The idea of “not good” meaning here, that are distracting from your spiritual journey, not that they are not good in themselves. For example, if you have worldly desires that allow you to be more comfortable, or allow you some pleasure in the world. It is not that they are not good in themselves, but that they become distracting to your spiritual goal. That is the intention that I take from it.
I am going to read another verse from Guru Gita that takes us a little further, because the verse I read yesterday was telling us how to desist or move away from those things that draw us more into the world. The idea of ‘being drawn into the world’ is that we become caught up in the bondage of the power and pleasure principle in the world. And of course, the end of that is suffering, because you are not going to be completely fulfilled by following the things in the world. They may make you comfortable, but they are not going to fulfill the greatest desire of the embodied soul which is liberation or freedom - a freedom where there is bliss, contentment, expanded self-awareness.
Going deeper into the Practice
This verse goes a little deeper into where the cause is. Not just desisting from these things that you see, but it takes you deeper into the place from where these things arise. It takes us a little deeper into the practice, and into a place where we can have powerful Guru Deeksha, or where we can draw the energy from the Parama Guru in a more powerful way.
The verse says:
Chitta tyaaga niyuktash cha
Krodha garva vivarjitah
Dvait bhaava parityaagee
Tasya deeksha vidhyeeyate
One whose heart is fixed in Tyaaga (renunciation), who is free from anger and pride, who has abandoned the feelings of all kinds of duality, to such a one Guru Deeksha is fruitful.
Chitta tyaaga niyuktash cha - one whose heart is fixed on Tyaaga or renunciation
Krodha garva vivarjitah - who is free from anger and pride
Dvait bhaava parityaagee - one who has abandoned the feelings of all kinds of duality
Tasya deeksha vidhyeeyate - to such a one Guru Deeksha is fruitful
Renunciation comes from deep within
It is telling us about renunciation. It is taking us to a deeper level. What is the root cause? Where does attachment come from? It comes from deep inside of us, chitta, the very heart of our being. And it says, it is from there that we need to detach, not just the outer association but from deep inside. It brought the idea of anger and pride, two very common qualities in what we are caught up.
When our desires are unfulfilled, anger comes. And when we get too involved in the world and the ego is very powerful, then there is the sense of pride: “I know more than you do. I have more than you have. I am more powerful than you are”. That is pride. It says go into the chitta deep into your heart to take these qualities out. And that is what is tyaaga. It refers to one who has abandoned all feelings of duality. You can see that anger and pride are dual: anger is a kind of negative energy, and pride is too much positive energy. So it speaks about dvait which is about duality. For me, there is a big teaching inside of that.
Attraction and Aversion
Two qualities get us caught up in the world. If you think carefully you will see: one is great attraction – a desire that pulls us into the world; the other is aversion – pushing away. Sometimes we do not look at aversion as something that we need to get rid of: “Oh, I don’t want to be around those people. They are not good people. They are very materialistic. All they speak about is how much possessions they have and how great they are. I don’t want to be around such people. They are so impure”. That is aversion. “I want to be amongst those people who look so pure, who are praying every day and chanting all the mantras. Those are the people I want to be around”.
Deal with duality objectively
The idea of tyaaga is that you should not have any of those. That is preference; that is duality. So it is taking us to a next step explaining that renunciation is not simply giving up something for another, rather it is getting into a place where none is more important than the greater goal that you have.
It is not about shunning bad company. It is not about preferring good company. It is dealing with both objectively without judgment. And whereas you may get involved in good company, you have to be careful that you don’t become attached to it so that you can’t do without it. Because then suffering comes. Then when you see bad company and you shun that all the time, then you are in pain every time bad company comes around you, because our world has both. Our world is a world of duality. So if you think that you will never have bad company, know that they will be all around you.
Test of Detachment
The most important quality really, is not to be affected by life’s duality. If you look carefully, you will see how deep within you these ideas are: “I don’t want to be around that one, but I want to be around this one. I don’t want to be around sadness but I want to be around happiness. I don’t want to be around hardship or poverty; I want to be around comfort and riches.” Of course, it is nice to be comfortable. It is nice to be wealthy and surrounded by abundance, but the danger is, can you do without it if it is not there? That is the test! Can you sleep on the floor if you don’t have a comfortable bed? Can you eat a simple meal if you don’t have a lavish one? That is the test.
Inner Solution
It is saying to go deep inside so that you become attached to none. Not anger, not hate, not pride nor too much ego. And it is saying that such a one will receive a lot from the Parama Guru. So at the subtle level this holds us back from receiving, though we don’t see that. And though the energy of the Parama Gurus around has a presence, it is our own inability to receive more that keeps us back from receiving the higher and higher initiations.
Opening of every chakra is like an initiation
By “higher and higher initiations” I mean the deeper opening of the chakras, and the higher chakras. The opening of every chakra is like an initiation - opening of the heart to love, opening of the throat to communication, and opening of the brow to new knowledge and co-creative power. The tool that you need to use here is the intellect, because it is difficult to see how aversion can be a bad thing, as it seems almost natural. For example, the verse says to keep away from bad company initially, but now it explains a little deeper. It is not just keeping away from bad company; it is being detached inside from bad company. Because you can be around people who can do what they like but you can stay detached from the whole thing.
Be detached from inside
Of course, in the early stages when you are very sensitive, you need to stay away. That is fine, but always remember not with anger, not with hate. You are staying away just to protect yourself. But in time, the goal should be to be unaffected by it.
Sometimes we think on the spiritual journey that we have to give up everything. That we will have no comfort, no wealth around us and we are afraid of poverty because it is dis-empowering. The idea is not to shun wealth and abundance. Welcome it if it comes easily to you; if it is natural. Welcome it but do not be attached to it. That is the main idea.
Renunciation is not moving away from some physical object or space. It is moving away from the attachment to that. It is not about the physical. It is about our inner attachment. So this takes us a little deeper into how to be a good disciple, and it invites us to use the power of discrimination in every moment to ensure that we do not become caught up in attachment, desire and aversion, and being negative towards the world.
Attached only to the goal of Freedom
This is really a very subtle point which I think every seeker who wants to go further needs to really understand, because you can be in the midst of wealth and abundance and become completely unattached, like the king that I explained to you the last time. He was such a powerful ruler but he would not move if the Guru did not say to move. He was detached from everything else, and attached only to one thing – knowledge and desire for freedom, which is so beautiful.
Have a powerful Vision
May you be blessed to understand this. And even though you may not be perfect in its practice, if the mind is very clear about the objective, soon enough the realization of your desire for freedom from both will come. Don’t lose the vision. And the vision should be so powerful that it should exist in every moment in your awareness. That is how powerful your vision should be. It should exist in every moment! That is the kind of student I am. When I go after something, it is there in my awareness in every moment. I do not lose sight of the goal.
