SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT DEATH SHRA'DDHA JIIVA'TMA' AND PRATYAG'A'TMA' BEYOND THE PERIPHERY HIS REFLECTIONS ARE EVERYWHERE SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT DEATH official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3, 2nd edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. The human is a rational being and not a rational animal. Now, some people say that human beings will one day have to face the Day of Judgment, Doomsday. Let us see how far this is correct. Rationally speaking, does it make sense? Where will the dead bodies of human beings remain, in their graves? Won't those dead bodies turn into soil beneath the ground? Near the knee, and in some other place, the bones of a dead body remain undecayed for eight to ten years. The remaining portion becomes part of the earth. So where will those bodies stay after death? In the graveyard? Isn't it possible that a farmer will plough that ground? Under such circumstances, when the body, cells and nerve fibres no longer exist, where will the departing minds and souls rest? Now, what is death? After death the mind becomes suspended, and the mind and a'tman become dissociated from the decaying body. So on the Day of Judgement, who will rise from the grave? The body cannot rise since it has already turned into soil. And where will the bodiless mind go? And when the mind is suspended, the jiiva'tma' cannot function either. Here is another point - human beings do not have to wait for the Day of Judgement, their judgement is tied to their actions. Wherever there is an action there is an equal and opposite reaction, provided that the three fundamental relative factors of time, space and person remain unchanged. In this case, we may presume that space remains unchanged, but time is constantly changing. Thus, the Doomsday argument is illogical. Even the people of old did not really believe the logic of Doomsday. Those who did, did so out of fear and ignorance, but the rational person of today won't accept all this. Those who believe due to tradition do not really accept the idea with their minds and hearts either. They don't have the courage to speak out; that is why they don't say anything. In every action there lies the potentiality of its reaction, which will express itself at an opportune moment. The reaction of each action does not get consummated immediately. It must wait for the proper environment to enable its expression. Every environment is conducive to experiencing the reaction of some action or other, but it is a fact that not every environment is conducive to experiencing every reaction. However, no one can wait in suspension for eternity, because if that happens then the mind also will have to remain in suspension indefinitely, which is not possible. Not even for an infinitesimal period can the mind remain in a suspended state. Suspension will germinate the seeds of revolt and cause the mind to explode. Suppose somebody is suspended from his job. In his mind the seeds of revolt germinate. He files a court case, contacts so many people, organizes a demonstration, etc. That is the natural reaction to suspension. If the mind is suspended for a moment it cannot exist. Immediately after the death of a creature, be it insect or human, the search for a new body starts afresh. Wherever it finds an appropriate environment, it will get a new body. Until it finds the new body, is the mind suspended? No, Even then it is engaged in action, the action of search. Search, search, effort, effort. When a person dies, the mind becomes dissociated from the body. Death is of many kinds. When the nerve cells stop working, the nerve fibers stop working, the heart stop working and the lungs stop working, death may be considered complete. But sometimes, though the nerve fibres stop working, the heart stops working, and the lungs stop working, the nerve cells continue to work. In such a case doctors might pronounce the person dead, but after two or three hours or even two or three days, the person may come back to life. Everyone's nerve cells continue to function for at least some time after so-called death. In some such instances, as you have seen, I have saved persons from death. So even after death the nerve cells of a person function. If the nerve cells stop functioning, it means the person has started the search for a new body. The person may or may not get the new body right away. The dissociated mind, along with its reactive momenta, leaves the old body in search of a new one. In accordance with its samskaras, its reactive momenta, the mind searches for and finds an appropriate medium for expression. Let's say an alcoholic and a sa'dhu go from Patna to Benares. The sa'dhu will join the company of other sa'dhus on some riverbank, while the alcoholic will locate some pub. So, in accordance with one's sam'ska'ras, one gets an appropriate physical body. If a human being constantly hankers for food, the person is bound to get the body of a pig. Similarly, if one thinks of money all the time, one will become crudified and find oneself as a safe in some bank or in the home of some wealthy individual. The mind cannot stand still, nor will it stay suspended in a graveyard until the Day of Judgement. All this is contrary to logic and reason. This happens when people don't understand the difference between mind and soul. Everything moves, movement is the rule of this world. That is why `Jagat' (the world) means `that which is constantly moving'. So the question of someone lying in a grave for eternity does not arise. Where there is a graveyard today, we may have paddy fields tomorrow. Where people regard the supramental body as the soul or spirit, they make a mistake. Such people lack an understanding of correct philosophy. Those concerned with higher philosophy should also have tried to understand the reason why some people are happy and others sad. Why are some happy, why are others sad? Parama'tma' does not indulge in partiality. The truth of the matter is that everyone moves according to one's karma. To expand psychically is natural - no one is born dha'rmika or adha'rmika, righteous or unrighteous. Even after death one will not go the flaming fire of hell. According to our philosophy there is no hell or heaven. If the Lord taught righteousness to some and not to others, that would not be fair. And if, for that reason, one got to heaven while others didn't, would that be fair? That would also be favouritism. But this very thought, of eternal heaven or hell, is faulty. It is a defective approach. People speak like this due to ignorance and lack of proper philosophical understanding. Today's progressive human society cannot have any respect for these ideas. You people are able to say that Bhu, Bhuvah, Svah, Mahah, Janah, Tapah and Satya are the seven layers of the Cosmic Mind.* People used to say that one went to Svarga, or Svarloka,** and enjoyed a good life if one did good actions, or underwent suffering if one did bad actions. This notion is somewhat better than the notion of eternal heaven and hell, because the results of action have a beginning and an end. One remains in heaven or hell only until one's sam'ska'ra is exhausted, then takes another birth. But this is not a perfect idea or a proper goal either. One's goal should be to establish oneself in Satyaloka. * At times these have superstitiously been considered actual worlds. ** Svah. Eternal hell or heaven is a totally defective idea. The belief in the existence of Tala, Atala, Talatala, Pa'ta'la, Atipa'ta'la, and Rasa'tala is also incorrect. We should not encourage these approaches. There is no hell or heaven, and no one will go to hell or heaven for eternity after death, or lie in a grave forever; nor will anyone have to wait until any Day of Judgement. By constant ideation on Brahma, that is by surrendering to the Supreme, and by constant service, one should consummate one's reactive momenta and establish oneself in Parama Purus'a. In this way you will attain blessedness forever. This is the proper path. 17 October 1978, Patna SHRA'DDHA official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3, 2nd edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. In each and every corner of the world there is some usage or other prevalent among the human race of that area regarding their duty to deceased persons, to the dead. This event, this observance, is known as `shra'ddha' in Sam'skrta. There are innumerable types of observances, but they all come under the same heading, shra'ddha. What's the meaning of shra'ddha'? `Shraddhaya' diiyate yastu ityarthe shra'ddhah': that which is offered with shraddha' is shra'ddha.' And what is shraddha'? `Shrat satyam iti dhiiyata ityarthe shraddha'', that is, when an idea or a culminating point is accepted as supreme, then that idea or culminating point is called `shrat'; and when the mind, with its propensities, moves towards that object, that movement is called shraddha'. Shrat + dha is shraddha'. Now let us see some of the prevalent usages of the world in connection with this shraddha', or shra'ddha. When you offer something with shraddha', it is shra'ddha. A priest may say that your father will die only once, and so after his death you should arrange for a sufficient quantity of food-stuffs, a sufficient quantity of edibles, a sufficient quantity of clothes, etc., for him. And that has been done in India for about five thousand years, since the time of the Atharva Veda. And people have generally offered rice and sesame, also honey and ghee, to be consumed by that person who has left the world. Regarding these things, Mahars'i Ca'rva'ka (he lived in India about 2500 years ago, during the time of Lord Buddha. He was a bit senior to Lord Buddha. Ca'rva'ka's disciple, Ajit Kusum, was a contemporary of Lord Buddha) said 'If you are in a room, and another man is in the courtyard a few yards away, and you offer rice and sesame for that man, he won't get that rice and sesame, and his hunger won't be satisfied. And if a man is in another world, Aparaloka, and you are offering rice and sesame for him, will he get them? Is it reasonable? No, no. All these things are exploitation by the privileged class'. After offering rice, sesame, clothes, etc., what do you find? The rice is consumed by the purohita in his house. Go to his kitchen, and all that rice is being consumed by his family. That dhuti which is being offered by you for your late father is being used by the purohita, and the sha'r'ii by the purohita patnii; and the gamci, the towel, if it is surplus, is sold in the market. And the utensils are also sold in the market. So your deceased father, your parents, who are now inhabitants of Aparaloka, won't get anything. And the second thing you will see, or you will feel, is that they do not require these things. The microcosm, or unit spirit, does not require any food or clothes or sesame or utensils. All these ideas are scoundrels' philosophy. And they have been doing this type of exploitation for the last five thousand years, since the time of the Atharva Veda. In some other corners of the world, people wait for forty days, and after forty days they offer a particular type of prayer, and that prayer is supposed to make the position of the dead person secure. Is this logical? Certainly not. All these things done in the name of shra'ddha are nothing but a cheating business. In prehistoric times also, those people of less-developed intellect used to think in this same way, that even after death people require worldly objects. So in prehistoric times also you would find, looking within the graves, that they used to offer barley (at that time wheat was not popular), wine, honey, such things. And even now in India during shra'ddha they use these things - barley, wine, wool - so that the dead person will wrap that woollen ca'dar* around themself, etc. * Shawl or wrapper. Now, as I told you, in all corners of the world this type of exploitation is going on. And why are the people being exploited? Because they are under the veil of superstition. They are superstitious people. They are less developed in intellect. I remember a short story. In my town there was a businessman. Say his name was D'oman Sa'hu. And his father was also a businessman. During the day he was a businessman, and at night he was a d'a'ku**. Say D'oman's father's name was Mohan Sa'hu. Now a big pan'd'ita came from Kashmir to my home town and said that he had the capacity with the strength of his mantra, to arrange heaven for all pa'piis, all degraded persons, all degraded souls. Then D'oman thought, `My father Mohan is a d'a'ku. Let me take the help of this big pan'd'ita and arrange heaven for my d'a'ku father. ** Dacoit, robber. So the pan'd'ita said, `Yes, yes, yes. I will do everything, but I want fifty guineas as a fee for the purpose.' And D'oman agreed. But D'oman's friend was one Mr. Ravi Ghose, a very intelligent man. Ravi Ghose said, `You see, D'oman, that pan'd'ita is a businessman, that is why he wants fifty guineas. You do one thing. Let there be bargaining. Tell the pan'd'ita, `You see, pan'd'itajii, I can offer only fifty silver coins, fifty rupees. Please agree.' Then the pan'd'ita said, `Yes, it will be done, but had it been fifty guineas, your father would have reached just below the Pa'rija'ta tree of Nandana Ka'nana of heaven. If you give fifty silver coins, fifty rupees, he will reach the main gate of heaven, but not near that Parijata tree.' D'oman thought, `Right near the gate. Then that short distance will be covered by my father on foot. Then let me spend only fifty rupees.' Then again he went to Ravi Ghose, that crooked and intelligent fellow. Ravi Ghose said, `You see, D'oman, our first attempt has been a success. Now you just tell him, `Pan'd'itajii, I will spend only forty rupees; not fifty.' Pan'd'itajii said, `In that case, there will be a short gap.' Then next day D'oman said, `No, I will spend thirty rupees.' and so on. And finally the settlement was for ten rupees. So this is the commercial story regarding shra'ddha. There is nothing in it. So what should one do? Haven't we any social responsibility for dead persons? When the necessity arises, we should offer shraddha' for them, not barley or wheat or woollen clothes or wrappers or ghee or sesame. What can we do? As long as a man is here in our society we have a social responsibility for him. Human beings are social beings, we have a social responsibility for them. And when the leave this world and go to the other world, they go beyond the scope of our responsibility. We cannot render any service to them. Our social responsibility is over as soon as the cremation is done. So what can we do? We can say `O Parama Purus'a, while that man was with us we tried our best to do whatever we could do. But now they are beyond our scope, they are beyond our jurisdiction, so please do take care of them.' This much of a request can be made by us, and nothing more than that. And the Ananda Marga shra'ddha is just like that. Here we require no edibles, no clothes or anything else. We offer our shraddha', and we do nothing else, and we can do nothing else. 18 October 1978, Patna JIIVA'TMA' AND PRATYAG'A'TMA' official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3, 2nd edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. In so many rhymes, in so many rks and so many shlokas, it has been said that the only thing you may ask from Parama Purus'a is that He may guide your intellect along the path of bliss; and you should demand nothing else. In the Yajurveda it has been said, 'Ya eko'varno bahudha' shaktiyoga'd Varn'a'naneka'n nihita'rtho dadha'ti Vicaeti ca'nte vishvama'dao sa devah Sa no buddhya' shubhaya' sam'yunaktu. `No buddhya'' - `Nah' means `asma'kam', our. `Let Him guide our intellect towards blessedness, towards human welfare' `No buddhya' shubhaya' sam'yunaktu' - `let our intellect be attached to public welfare.' In the Savitr Rk it has also been said, `Dhiiyo nah pracodaya't,' that is `Ya na dhiiyo pracodaya't,' or `Ya asma'kam dhiiyo pracodaya't.' `Sadvidha'nam' karotu.' `So that He may guide our intellect along the path of bliss.' `Pracodaya't' means `Sadvidha'nam' karotu', `guide towards bliss'. So the primary factor that deserves development or exaltation is the intellect, the human intellect. The intellect should be purified. When the intellect is purified, when piety is established in the intellect, everything is obtained. And then, what is to be the final goal of this intellect? It is to be purified, very good, but after purification, how is this intellect to be utilized? What should be the final desideratum of the intellect, where is it to go? It has been said, 'Yatha' darpan'abha'va a'bha'saha'nao mu'kam' vidyate kalpana'hiinamekam, Tatha' dhiiviyoge nira'bha'sako yah sah nityo'palabdhi svarupeo'hama'tma''. The intellect is like a mirror, and Parama Purus'a is reflected on that mirror. That portion of Parama Purus'a reflected on that mirror is the jiiva'tma'. Suppose there is a red flower and there are twenty mirrors in a room. You will see one original flower and twenty reflected flowers. The original flower is Parama Purus'a, and those reflected flowers are jiiva'tma'. The reflected flowers are jiiva'tma', and the original flower is Pratyaga'tma'. Here the special name for Parama Purus'a is Pratyaga'tma'. The Entity that witnesses its reflected counterparts is Pratyak, pratyak+a'tma'=Pratyaga'tma'. Now, when the reflecting mirror is free from all impurities, you will get a better reflection. The mental reflection of Parama'tma' in you will be better if your mirror is in perfect condition. So you should keep your mental mirror always in perfect condition. And in order to do this, what are you to do? You are to purify it with the help of sa'dhana' and jana seva'. These two factors, sa'dhana' and jana seva', will keep the mental mirror in proper condition, in good condition. This phase may be termed the phase of Savikalpa. But what is your final goal, what is the Supreme Desideratum? Savikalpa, or Sagun'a'sthiti, is not your final Desideratum. You will have to go forward. It is not the Supreme Desideratum, it is not everything for you. It has been asked, 'If all those mirrors reflecting that original flower are taken away, what will happen?' The original flower will remain non-reflected. So if you remove your mental plate, you will be one with the Supreme. If the mirror comes near the original flower, and becomes one with the original flower, there cannot be any reflection. And that stage is the stage of Nirgun'a'sthiti. Now, how to do it? There is no alternative but to take the path of, to resort to, devotion. How are you to move towards the original flower, towards the original entity? You know, everything is moving around the Supreme Nucleus. How can you become one with that Nucleus? You will have to move towards the Nucleus, decreasing the length of your radius. And how to decrease the length of your radius? You will have to create devotion within your `I' feeling. So the rs'i says that when the intellect is no longer in a position to bear the reflection, that is, when that mirror becomes one with the original Entity, there won't be any reflection. Now, how are you to convert your `I' feeling, or your mental mirror, into nothing? The only way, the only approach, is complete surrender. `O Supreme Entity, You may be great, You may be the Nucleus of the entire world, You may be infinite, and I finite; You may be Great, and I may be small, You may be everything, and I may be nothing; but this much You cannot ignore, You cannot deny: You cannot deny that I am the child and that You are the Father. So I have a birthright to sit on Your lap. You cannot deny it. So each and every entity has the right to move towards Him, and to be one with Him. And when the mind becomes one with Him, the mirror is lost. There cannot be any more reflection. There cannot be any more Jiiva'tma'. Jiiva becomes one with Shiva. `Pa'sha baddha bhavet jiiva, pa'shmukta bhavet Shiva' - Jiiva will become one with Shiva. This is the human goal. This is the Desideratum. 20 October 1978, Patna BEYOND THE PERIPHERY official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3, 2nd edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Pu'rn'amadah Pu'rnamidam' pu'rn'a't pu'rna'mudacyate. Pu'rn'asya pu'rn'ama'da'ya pu'rn'ameva'vashisyate. The Non-attributional Entity is infinite, and the Attributional Entity is also infinite. And when this latter Infinite Entity is taken away from the formed Infinite Entity, the remainder is also infinite. So it is very difficult to use any article of speech for Him. But even so, that existential Entity is known as the singular Entity - `Ekah devah sarvabhutesu gu'r'ha.' Why do we say that, when we know, common sense knows, and philosophers also say, that the Supreme Entity is infinite? Why, even then, do we say `One'? We know He is infinite, even then we say He is One - why? Because we find no other, no second, infinite entity; that is why we say He is a singular Entity. Although infinite, He is One, because of the absence of any second entity. So we find no alternative but to say that He is One. And where does that singular Entity lie, and what is the nature of the singular Entity? Since the singular Entity is One, His stance remains unchallenged forever, but what sort of entity is He, or is It? He is deva. What is deva? The word comes from the root `div', which means `the Supreme vibrational entity' or 'the Supreme vibratory entity' - that which vibrates everything. He Himself is vibration personified, and He by His nature vibrates everything. He is the Supreme motivation. Wherever there is vibration, it is deva. But He is not an ordinary deva. He is the collection of all vibrations, so He is Maha'deva. He is the Controller of all our vibrations, that's why He is Maha'deva. There may be innumerable devas, but Maha'deva is the one singular Entity who controls all devas, all vibrations. `Sarvabhutesu gu'r'ha' - He lies covered in each and every expressed entity. He lies coverted in each and every manifestation. Those manifestations may or may not come within the scope of the sensory and motor organs. Now, you may say, does He lie covert in each and every expressed entity, and doesn't He remain beyond the expressed entities? To the latter the answer is no. He is both within and without. He is within and without the entities, so He is the Controller of all actions. He is Karma'dhyaks'a. He is Sarvavya'pii, all-pervading - `Sarvavya'pii sarvabodhantara'tma''. He is within each and every expressed entity, and also He is without each and every expressed entity, because He is Sarvavya'pii. `Sarvabhu'ta'ntara'tma'' - He is all-pervading, all-pervasive. He is beyond the scope of this expressed universe, although He functions within the expressed universe also. So when one is to become one with Him, one will have to go beyond the periphery of all these expressions and manifestations. One will have to place one's mind above the jurisdiction of this phenomenal world. 21 October 1978, Patna HIS REFLECTIONS ARE EVERYWHERE official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 3, 2nd edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Yesterday I said why He is called Eka and Deva nam deva and why He is all-pervasive and why He is always both within and without the universe. And He is Sarvavya'pii, all-pervasive. It's a fact, but how and why is He Sarvavya'pii? And what's the meaning of `sarva'? I told you in the past that the word sarva means `all things'. In the word sarva there are three letters, rather, three acoustic roots: they are `sa', `ra' and `va'. For each and every vibrational expression there is a particular acoustic root: there cannot be any vibrational expression without an acoustic root. Wherever there is any vibration, wherever there is any expression, there is some sound. That sound may or may not be audible, but the sound exists. and wherever there is any vibration, there must be some colour. That colour may or may not be visible, but the colour is there. So for all the Cosmic expressions, there are fifty pencils of vibration - not fifty vibrations, but fifty pencils of vibration. And if we analyse properly, we get about one thousand vibrations. And that is why the pineal gland, the controlling body or controlling structure of those one thousand vibrations in the human body, is called `sahasrara cakra', that is, `controlling one thousand vibrations'. But those one thousand vibrations come within fifty pencils of vibration, and those fifty pencils have sound, they have colour. And on the basis of these fifty vibrations the Sam'skrta alphabetical order has been created. The first vibrational pencil is `a' and the last one is `ksa' - total of fifty, sixteen svara and thirty-four vyainjana, sixteen vowels and thirty-four consonants. Now these sounds, starting with `a', though they are sounds, at the same time have their respective colours. And because they are not only sound but also colour, and because the Sam'skrta word for `colour' is `varna', these fifty letters are also known as `varn'a ma'la''. Actually, they are both shabda ma'la' and varn'a ma'la'. And because the first letter is `a' and the last one is `ks'a', the alphabet is called 'aks'a ma'la''. You see that the Rk Vaedika pronunciation of `s'a' (when combined with `ka') is `ksha', and the Yajur Vaedika pronunciation is `kha'. So you may say `aksha ma'la'' or you may say `akha ma'la''; they are equally correct. The first sound is `a', the last is `ks'a', that's why it is known as aks'a ma'la''. And that Parama Purus'a on whose infinite space these aks'a ma'la's are dancing, are being radiated, through Parama Prakrti, the Cosmic Operative Principle, may be suitably termed `Rudra' + `aksa' = `Rudra'ks'a'. These letters are not only sounds, they are not only colours, they are acous'tic roots also. And you know the first letter, `a'. `A' represents creation. Whenever you are going to create anything, mentally or physically, that tendency of your mind and that dexterity of your hand is represented by the sound `a'. Hence the sound `a' is the acoustic root of creation. And because before creation nothing can happen, because creation is the first or primordial phase of everything, `a' is the first letter. Similarly, in the field of consonants, the first one is `ka'. Why is `ka' the first consonant? Because `ka' is the acoustic root of objectivated Brahma, or Ka'rya Brahma, the effected form of creation. The sound of creation is `a', and the first sound emanating from that created being is `ka'; that's why `ka' is the first consonant, Ka'ran'a Brahma. A-u-ma, particularly `a', is Ka'ran'a Brahma, Causal Brahma, the causal counterpart. And for the effect counterpart the acoustic root is `ka'. Hence `ka' is the first consonant in `Ka'rya Brahma'. In Sam'skrta the sound or the letter `ka' has three meanings. First `ka' means `Ka'ran'a Brahma'. In Buddhist philosophy Ka'rya Brahma is called `Sam'vrtti bodhicitta'. `Kam' sam'vrtti bodhicittam pa'layati iti kapa'lika' - He who protects the created universe, he who is engaged in the Pa'lana Kriya' of the expressed universe, is Kapa'lika. The second meaning of `ka' is the expressed universe. And the third meaning of `ka' is `water'. And one day I told you that `Kena artha't jalena toyena chaditam' ityarthe kaccha' - `land surrounded by water is known as "Kaccha".' And you known one aquatic plant that is used as a leafy vegetable, called `karmi' in Hindi, `kalmi' in Bengali, `kalambii' is Sam'skrta. Similarly, all fifty letters are acoustic roots of different expressions. Among them there is one letter, `sa'. You shouldn't forget the sound. `Sa', `sha' and `s'a'. `Sa' is the acoustic root of the sentient principle, Sattvagun'a. 'Sha' is the acoustic root of the mutative principle, Rajogun'a. And `s'a' is the acoustic root of the static principle, Tamogun'a. `Va' is the acoustic root of Dharma, and `ra' is the acoustic root of energy, electricity, magnetism. All energies are represented by the acoustic root `ra'. That's why it is the old system of this country to prefix the word `Shrii' before the name. `Sha' represents Rajogun'a, `ra' represents energy, and this in the feminine becomes `shrii'. `Shrii' means the man who wants to have mutative activity and that his existence be full of energy. Now `sa'. When Parama Purus'a is first expressing Himself, first being attributionalized, then we can represent His qualities or the binding principle thereon, by the sound `sa' because the principle is Sattvagun'ii in that phase. And the principle is called `Kaos'ikii Shakti'. Then, in the process of creation, what happens? The process is served by energy, that is `ra'. And whenever something is created, there must be some characteristics, or wonts, or properties, in it. Water drenches. Drenching is its property. And where this property of drenching is lacking, we will not recognize it as water. If fire cannot burn, it will not be recognized as fire. So each and every entity has its special wont. `Sa', `ra', `va' - each and every entity has its origin in the sentient principle, represented by the acoustic root `sa'; each and every entity has energy in it, represented by the sound `ra'; and each and every entity has its own Dharma. (Human Dharma is called `Bha'gavata Dharma'. For each and every human being there is a Dharma, and that Dharma is Bha'gavata Dharma. If that Dharma is lacking, if there is no expression of that Dharma from a human body, we will say that that person is not a human being, that that person is worse than an animal.) So `Sa', `ra', `va' - `Sarva ucyate.' Because of the assemblance of these three letters, we say `sarva', meaning `everything'; everything is guided by this principle. So `sarvavya'pii' - in each and every entity, that is, sarva, He is pervading. He is all-pervading, all-pervasive. And where does this sarva reside? This sarva is the attributionalized form of that Non-attributional Entity. And in this Sarva there is a Nucleus; i.e., the witnessing portion of this Sarva is the Nucleus, and the witnessed portion of Sarva is all created beings. And I said once that all those created beings are moving around that Nucleus, that Witnessing Entity. And the march of the witnessed entities towards the Nucleus is their spiritual advancement. What is spiritual advancement? It is the march from electronic imperfection towards nuclear perfection. `Sarvavya'pii sarvabhu'ta'ntara'tma'.' `Sarvabhu'ta' means `all created entities'. `Bhu'ta' means `created being': root `bhu' + `kta' = `bhuta', that is, `come into being'. `Bhu'tataka'l' means `past tense' - `that which already happened'. And if we write `bhuta' it means `ghost'. (But this is not a Sam'skrta word. The Sam'skrta word for ghost is `preta', not `bhuta'.) Now there may be a question, can antara'tma', the spirit, or the jiiva'tma', exist only in living beings? `Sarvabhu'ta' means stone, metal, wood, everything - whatever has been created comes within the scope of `bhu'ta'. So the question is, is there any antara'tma' or jiiva'tma' in all those inanimate beings? Certainly there is, but due to their undeveloped stage of mind, undeveloped condition of mind, the jiiva'tma', or antara'tma', is not in a dominating role, is not in a prominent role. But the jiiva'tma' is there. Because of the mind being in a dormant form, the expression of jiiva'tma' is not clear, is not in a dominant form, in a dominating form. So it is the antara'tma' of Sarvabhu'ta, of all created beings from Brahma' to stamba. What is `Brahma'' here? `Brahma'' means `the creative faculty'. The Supreme Entity creates, He nourishes and preserves. He destroys. When He creates He is called Brahma'. He is the same Entity; Brahma', Vis'n'u and Maheshvara are not separate entities. When creating He is known as Brahma', when preserving He is known as Vis'n'u, and when destroying He is known as Maheshvara. I told you that the same man, Ra'majiivana, is known as Ra'ma to his father, as Ra'mu at work - and his children say `Ba'bujii', and his students `Master Sahib'. and when he is moving along the street wearing a t'opii*, the ta'unga'va'la** will say ,`Hey t'opii! Hey t'opii! Hey t'opii! He becomes a t'opii. But the man is that single man Rama. *Cap. ** Carriage driver. And similarly, here, these three faculties, Brahma', Vis'n'u and Maheshvara, are of the same Entity. So when He creates - I told you that the acoustic root of creation is `a' - when He creates, He is `Brahma' + `a'. What will be the result of the sandhi? `Brahma''. And that's why He is known as Brahma'. `A'brahmastamba.' From the creative faculty, Brahma, to a stamba - stamba means `blade of grass' - everything is His creation. So His reflections are there everywhere. Nobody is negligible, nobody is insignificant. Everybody, everything is significant - all things carry some meaning. And why do they carry some meaning? Because they are reflections of Parama Purus'a. `Sarvabhu'ta'ntara'tma'.' And He is Karma'dhyaks'a. In A'nanda Su'tram it is written, `Purus'ah akarta''. `Akarta'' means that He is not associated with krdha'tu. He is not associated with the root verb `kr', but He is associated with the permission for creation. Without His permission, Prakrti cannot create anything. So although He is not directly associated with creation, He is the Supreme Supervisory Faculty. He is the Supreme Supervisor. In a college the principal may or may not teach, may or may not hold any class, but they supervise the work of the entire teaching staff. So Parama Purus'a is Adhyaks'a, `adhi' + `aks'a', that is He sees. Nobody remains covert, nothing remains secret, in the actional sphere or in the sphere of psychic vibration. He knows everything. So He is known as Karma'dhyaks'a. Now, those who are at the same time wise, and clever, and cunning, must be in close contact and in sincere love with that Karma'dhyaks'a, because everything depends upon His Grace. Human beings are very weak; without His Grace nothing can be done. 22 October 1978, Patna