Magazine - Year 2016 - Version 2
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Language: ENGLISH
Language: ENGLISH
Renunciation of the Fruit of Actions Leads to the Grace of the Lord - 3
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The Triple State of the Realized One
All the activities drop off in the final stage of a jnani. But this does not mean that in the final state there would necessarily be complete absence of activity; activities may take place or they may not. This final state is extremely fascinating and sublime. The jnani is not concerned about what is taking place in this state. That would invariably be pure, good and beneficial. The jnani stands at the zenith of sadhana. There he would be untouched by all the actions even while doing them. He may even destroy, and yet he is not the destroyer; and even if he does good, he is not the doer of the good.
The final state of moksha is the zenith of sadhana. In this state, sadhana becomes natural and effortless. Then there is not even the thought that ‘I am doing something.’ This final state of realization (Siddhavastha) is not a state of morality. A child speaks truth, but it is not a moral act, as he has no idea of untruth. To speak truth while being aware of untruth is a moral act. In the final state, untruth does not exist; truth alone exists. So there is no question of morality. What is forbidden, what is worth abjuring comes nowhere in the picture. Ears do not hear what should not be heard; eyes do not see what should not be seen. Only that gets done which ought to be done; one does not have to do it consciously. One need not have to avoid consciously what is worth avoiding, but it does get avoided. It is in this culmination of sadhana, when it has become natural, amoral—or you may call it supra-moral—that morality reaches its supreme height. We may call this a state of sattvik sadhana wherein sattva has been transcended.
How is one to describe such a state? Just as one gets indications of the coming eclipse, there are indications in this state that moksha is to follow the death of the body. Experiences of the state of moksha begin even while the physical body is still in existence. Words fail, language falters while describing this state. Howsoever violence a man in this state commits, he does nothing. How to judge his actions? Whatever is done at his hands will be nothing but sattvik karma. Even when he no more does any activity, he shows the right path to all in the world. This grand vision makes one speechless.
This final state is three-dimensional. One of them is the state in which we find sage Vamadeva. His declaration is famous: ‘All that is there in this universe, that am I.’ A jnani becomes completely egoless. He loses any sense of identification with the body. His activities cease. Then he attains a special state of consciousness. In this state he is no more confined to a single body. This state is not a state of activity. It is a state marked with intense and pervasive emotions and feelings. All of us can have experience of this state on a small scale. A mother takes upon herself the virtues as well as vices of her child. The child’s sorrow makes her sad and his happiness makes her happy. But this state, this experience of identity in the case of a mother is limited to her child. She takes upon herself the child’s faults. A jnani takes upon himself the faults of the whole world. He becomes a sinner by the sins of the world and the virtues of the world make him virtuous. And yet he is absolutely untouched by the merits and the sins of the world.
In the Rudra Sukta in the Veda, the sage says, ‘Yavashcha me tilashcha me godhoomashcha me’ (‘Give me barley, give me sesame, give me wheat.’) He is continually demanding something or the other. How big is his stomach? But then he, who was demanding all this, was not one contained in a single physical body measuring three cubits and a half; his Self had become one with the whole universe. I call this ‘Vedic vishwatmabhava’ (The Vedic attitude of identification with the whole universe) as we find this sense of identity at its height in the Vedas.
Narsi Mehta, the Gujarati saint, says, while singing the Lord’s praise, ‘Bapji pap mein kavan kindha hashe, nam letam taraun nidra aawe’ (‘O Lord! What sin have I committed, that I should feel sleepy while chanting your Name?’). Was Narsi Mehta feeling sleepy? No, it was those who had assembled to listen to him who were sleepy. But Narsi Mehta had identified himself with them; he was in a particular state of consciousness. This is the state of the jnani. The jnani, in this state, may be seen doing all conceivable virtuous and sinful acts, and he would himself concede it. Does not the Vedic sage say, ”I have done a lot of things that should not have been done, I am doing such things, and will continue doing them.” When such a state of consciousness is attained, the Self begins to soar high in the sky like a bird. It transcends the limitations of earthly existence.
Just like this state of consciousness, the jnani has also a state of activity. What sort of activities will the jnani do naturally? Whatever he will do will be nothing but sattvik. Although he is still bound by the limitations of the human body, his whole body, all of his organs have become sattvik; so all his activities are bound to be sattvik. If you look at it from the point of view of practical affairs, his behaviour will reflect the ultimate perfection of the sattvik nature; if you look at it from the point of view of vishwatmabhava, he appears to be doing all the sinful and the virtuous deeds in the universe, and still he is untouched by them. It is so because he has peeled off and flung away the body stuck to the Self. It is only when one flings away this worthless body that one attains the state of identification with the whole universe.
Besides the state of consciousness and the state of activity, the jnani has a third state too. That is the state of jnana, the state of knowledge. In this state, he can neither bear with sin nor virtue and flings aside everything quickly. He is ready to set fire to the whole universe. He is not prepared to undertake any action. Its very touch repels him. In the final stage of sadhana or in the state of moksha, these three states are conceivable for the jnani.
How is one to imbibe this state of no activity, this last state? The way is to train ourselves not to take upon our shoulders the burden of being the doer of the actions we do. We should keep reflecting, ‘I just happen to be instrumental. I am not really the doer of actions.’ We should first assume this stand with humility. This, of course, will not immediately result in the complete eradication of the sense of being the doer. It can happen only gradually. Let us first feel that ‘I am nothing, I am just a puppet in His hands. He is moving me.’ The next step is to feel that ‘the activities do not touch the Self; they are of this body. But I am not this transient and mortal body; I am full of divine consciousness.’ And, meditating over this feeling, you should remain completely untouched by the fetters of the body. When this happens, the state of jnani will be attained wherein connection with the body is as if completely severed. This state will be three-dimensional as we have already referred. In the state of activity, wholly pure and perfect activities will be done at the hands of the jnani. In the state of consciousness, he will have the feeling that he is the doer of all the sins and the virtuous deeds in the universe; yet he will remain untouched by them. In the third state of jnana, he will not let any karma touch him and will burn it down. A jnani can be described in terms of all these three dimensions of the final state.
‘Thou Alone......Thou Alone’
Having said all this, the Lord then asks Arjuna, ”Have you listened to all this carefully? Now ponder over it fully and then do what you think right.” The Lord thus magnanimously gave complete freedom to Arjuna. This is a unique feature of the Gita. But then compassion welled up in Him and He took back that freedom. He told Arjuna, “Give up your will, your sadhana; give up everything and come to Me; take refuge in Me.” What this means is that you should not have any independent self-will; you should do what He wills you to do. Let His will prevail. With full freedom, you should feel that you need have no freedom. Reduce yourself to zero. Let there be the Lord, and the Lord alone, in the universe. The goat, while alive, bleats ‘mee.....mee’ that is, ‘I....I....’ But when it is dead and its guts are made into strings for carding cotton, the strings, as saint Dadu says, give the sound ‘tuhi......tuhi’ (‘Thou alone....Thou alone....’). Now there is nothing but ‘Thou alone.....Thou alone.....’
All the activities drop off in the final stage of a jnani. But this does not mean that in the final state there would necessarily be complete absence of activity; activities may take place or they may not. This final state is extremely fascinating and sublime. The jnani is not concerned about what is taking place in this state. That would invariably be pure, good and beneficial. The jnani stands at the zenith of sadhana. There he would be untouched by all the actions even while doing them. He may even destroy, and yet he is not the destroyer; and even if he does good, he is not the doer of the good.
The final state of moksha is the zenith of sadhana. In this state, sadhana becomes natural and effortless. Then there is not even the thought that ‘I am doing something.’ This final state of realization (Siddhavastha) is not a state of morality. A child speaks truth, but it is not a moral act, as he has no idea of untruth. To speak truth while being aware of untruth is a moral act. In the final state, untruth does not exist; truth alone exists. So there is no question of morality. What is forbidden, what is worth abjuring comes nowhere in the picture. Ears do not hear what should not be heard; eyes do not see what should not be seen. Only that gets done which ought to be done; one does not have to do it consciously. One need not have to avoid consciously what is worth avoiding, but it does get avoided. It is in this culmination of sadhana, when it has become natural, amoral—or you may call it supra-moral—that morality reaches its supreme height. We may call this a state of sattvik sadhana wherein sattva has been transcended.
How is one to describe such a state? Just as one gets indications of the coming eclipse, there are indications in this state that moksha is to follow the death of the body. Experiences of the state of moksha begin even while the physical body is still in existence. Words fail, language falters while describing this state. Howsoever violence a man in this state commits, he does nothing. How to judge his actions? Whatever is done at his hands will be nothing but sattvik karma. Even when he no more does any activity, he shows the right path to all in the world. This grand vision makes one speechless.
This final state is three-dimensional. One of them is the state in which we find sage Vamadeva. His declaration is famous: ‘All that is there in this universe, that am I.’ A jnani becomes completely egoless. He loses any sense of identification with the body. His activities cease. Then he attains a special state of consciousness. In this state he is no more confined to a single body. This state is not a state of activity. It is a state marked with intense and pervasive emotions and feelings. All of us can have experience of this state on a small scale. A mother takes upon herself the virtues as well as vices of her child. The child’s sorrow makes her sad and his happiness makes her happy. But this state, this experience of identity in the case of a mother is limited to her child. She takes upon herself the child’s faults. A jnani takes upon himself the faults of the whole world. He becomes a sinner by the sins of the world and the virtues of the world make him virtuous. And yet he is absolutely untouched by the merits and the sins of the world.
In the Rudra Sukta in the Veda, the sage says, ‘Yavashcha me tilashcha me godhoomashcha me’ (‘Give me barley, give me sesame, give me wheat.’) He is continually demanding something or the other. How big is his stomach? But then he, who was demanding all this, was not one contained in a single physical body measuring three cubits and a half; his Self had become one with the whole universe. I call this ‘Vedic vishwatmabhava’ (The Vedic attitude of identification with the whole universe) as we find this sense of identity at its height in the Vedas.
Narsi Mehta, the Gujarati saint, says, while singing the Lord’s praise, ‘Bapji pap mein kavan kindha hashe, nam letam taraun nidra aawe’ (‘O Lord! What sin have I committed, that I should feel sleepy while chanting your Name?’). Was Narsi Mehta feeling sleepy? No, it was those who had assembled to listen to him who were sleepy. But Narsi Mehta had identified himself with them; he was in a particular state of consciousness. This is the state of the jnani. The jnani, in this state, may be seen doing all conceivable virtuous and sinful acts, and he would himself concede it. Does not the Vedic sage say, ”I have done a lot of things that should not have been done, I am doing such things, and will continue doing them.” When such a state of consciousness is attained, the Self begins to soar high in the sky like a bird. It transcends the limitations of earthly existence.
Just like this state of consciousness, the jnani has also a state of activity. What sort of activities will the jnani do naturally? Whatever he will do will be nothing but sattvik. Although he is still bound by the limitations of the human body, his whole body, all of his organs have become sattvik; so all his activities are bound to be sattvik. If you look at it from the point of view of practical affairs, his behaviour will reflect the ultimate perfection of the sattvik nature; if you look at it from the point of view of vishwatmabhava, he appears to be doing all the sinful and the virtuous deeds in the universe, and still he is untouched by them. It is so because he has peeled off and flung away the body stuck to the Self. It is only when one flings away this worthless body that one attains the state of identification with the whole universe.
Besides the state of consciousness and the state of activity, the jnani has a third state too. That is the state of jnana, the state of knowledge. In this state, he can neither bear with sin nor virtue and flings aside everything quickly. He is ready to set fire to the whole universe. He is not prepared to undertake any action. Its very touch repels him. In the final stage of sadhana or in the state of moksha, these three states are conceivable for the jnani.
How is one to imbibe this state of no activity, this last state? The way is to train ourselves not to take upon our shoulders the burden of being the doer of the actions we do. We should keep reflecting, ‘I just happen to be instrumental. I am not really the doer of actions.’ We should first assume this stand with humility. This, of course, will not immediately result in the complete eradication of the sense of being the doer. It can happen only gradually. Let us first feel that ‘I am nothing, I am just a puppet in His hands. He is moving me.’ The next step is to feel that ‘the activities do not touch the Self; they are of this body. But I am not this transient and mortal body; I am full of divine consciousness.’ And, meditating over this feeling, you should remain completely untouched by the fetters of the body. When this happens, the state of jnani will be attained wherein connection with the body is as if completely severed. This state will be three-dimensional as we have already referred. In the state of activity, wholly pure and perfect activities will be done at the hands of the jnani. In the state of consciousness, he will have the feeling that he is the doer of all the sins and the virtuous deeds in the universe; yet he will remain untouched by them. In the third state of jnana, he will not let any karma touch him and will burn it down. A jnani can be described in terms of all these three dimensions of the final state.
‘Thou Alone......Thou Alone’
Having said all this, the Lord then asks Arjuna, ”Have you listened to all this carefully? Now ponder over it fully and then do what you think right.” The Lord thus magnanimously gave complete freedom to Arjuna. This is a unique feature of the Gita. But then compassion welled up in Him and He took back that freedom. He told Arjuna, “Give up your will, your sadhana; give up everything and come to Me; take refuge in Me.” What this means is that you should not have any independent self-will; you should do what He wills you to do. Let His will prevail. With full freedom, you should feel that you need have no freedom. Reduce yourself to zero. Let there be the Lord, and the Lord alone, in the universe. The goat, while alive, bleats ‘mee.....mee’ that is, ‘I....I....’ But when it is dead and its guts are made into strings for carding cotton, the strings, as saint Dadu says, give the sound ‘tuhi......tuhi’ (‘Thou alone....Thou alone....’). Now there is nothing but ‘Thou alone.....Thou alone.....’
