DEVOTION SA'VITR RK SUPREME DESIDERATUM THE SINGULAR ENTITY LORD OF ALL LORDS THE GLORY OF PRAN'AVA BEYOND THE PERIPHERY DEVOTION official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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. It has been said in Bhakti Sha'stra "Bhaktirbhagavato seva' bhaktih premasvaru'pin'ii, Bhaktira'nandaru'pa' ca bhaktih bhaktasya jiivanam." What is meant by 'bhakti' ? The word 'bhakti' has been derived from the root verb 'bhaj' by adding the suffix 'ktin'. 'Bhaj' means 'to call with devotion' ; that is to call the Lord with utmost devotion, taking Him to be everything of one's life, is bhakti. In other words, bhakti is to move towards Him after withdrawing all the expressions of one's mind. Now what is sha'stra ? Sha'sana't ta'rayet yastu sa sha'stra parikiirtitah. That which governs or disciplines for liberation or all-round salvation is sha'stra. In the case where the parents govern their children only for the sake of governing, when the children grow up and realise this they begin to disobey them. But where the discipline and control is aimed at salvation or liberation, that discipline is the discipline of shastra. And what is bhagava'n ? The word has been derived form the root word 'bhaga' plus 'maetup' suffix. 'Bhagava'n' means one who possesses the following six qualities: a'eshvarya, pra'tapa, yasha, shrii, jina'na and vaera'gya. 'Aeshvarya' means 'occult power', which in Sam'skrta is also known as 'vibhu'ti'. 'Vibhu'ti' has two meanings - 'ash' and 'occult-powers'. Here 'occult-powers' are eight in number, namely an'ima', mahima', laghima', pra'pti', praka'mya, vashistva, iishvaratva and antarya'mitva. In the English language, 'aeshvarya' is known as 'occult-power' ; that is, that which is acquired by cult is 'occult'. Prata'pa : He establishes Himself by His own power. Those who are not dha'rmikas get scared by His power, and those who are dharmikas find supreme protection in Him. Yasha: By His advent two things happen simultaneously. On the one hand, He gets staunch supporters, and on the other, sworn enemies. The whole human society gets clearly divided into two camps - moralists and immoralists, the bad elements. Everyone has to join either of the two camps, and complete polarisation takes place. If one is the North Pole, the other one is the South Pole. He is crowned with success and glory and at the same time faces bitter criticism and infamy. This happened to Lord Shiva and Lord Krs'n'a also. During their time also the whole society got divided into two camps - the moralists and the immoralists. Remember always dha'rmic people are ultimately bound to be victorious. Shrii : Shrii means 'attraction', the sweet touch of attraction. This word is made up of 'sha', 'ra' and 'ii'. 'Sha' is the acoustic root of the mutative force, 'ra' is the acoustic root of the actional faculty, 'ii' denotes feminine gender. Hence 'shrii' means 'one who possesses the actional faculty of the mutative force'. Jina'na : 'Jina'na means 'knowledge of the self" The knowledge of the self is the real knowledge. All other forms of knowledge are not knowledge at all, rather they are only shadows of knowledge. There is absence of true knowledge. This knowledge of the self can't be obtained from study of books, but can be acquired by merging all one's desires into Him, as He is knowledge incarnate and knowledge personified. Vaera'gya: Non-attachment. In Sam'skrta the word 'vaera'gya' has come from the root verb 'arinj', as has 'rainjana', which means 'to paint' or 'to colour' - that which colours the mind. 'Prabha'ta Rainjana' means 'he who colours the dawn'. Every object is vibrational and has its own colour. Due to the particular colour of an object, your mind gets attracted to it. So, you should not be attracted to the colour of any object. So it has been said, 'Bhaktirbhagavato seva'' - 'Devotion is service to Bhagavat or Bhagava'n'. Here Bhagava'n' means 'He who has bhaga', that is, He who embodies all the above-mentioned six qualities. Bhakti is service to Bhagava'n. 'Bhaktih premasvaru'pin'ii' that is, 'devotion is pure love'. 'Bhaktiranada rupa'ca' - 'The only desire of devotees is to give pleasure to Bhagava'n.' 'Bhakti bhaktasya jiivanam' - 'Devotion is the life of devotees.' Just as a fish cannot live without water, devotees cannot survive without devotion. Devotion is the essence, the very source, of life. What is then the most precious thing in human life ? It is devotion. If one has gotten devotion, one has gotten everything, and nothing remains unrealised. Devotees have to serve the Lord. Now, what is the true service ? To serve His creation is the real service. In common practice, we see that the parents are pleased when their sons or daughters are served. Similarly, the simplest and easiest way to please Me is to serve humanity. Forget whatever you were in the past, or whatever you did in the past, and from this auspicious moment on dedicate yourself to the service of humanity. 1 September 1978, Patna SA'VITR RK official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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 the Vedic hymn-prayer, "Asato ma' sadgamaya tamaso ma' jyotirgamaya Mrtyorma' amrtam' gamaya a'vira'virmayaedhi." The proper spirit should be to request the Supreme Self to guide the mind. That is, the mind should be goaded to the path of bliss. It should be properly guided. When the thoughts are purified everything is purified. So one may ask only one thing. That is, 'O Lord, remove my mental impurities and justify my psychic base'. I also said that one could ask for the same thing in the Gayatrii Mantra. it is incorrectly called Ga'yatrii Mantra. Its actual name is 'Sa'vitr Rk'. The Rk Veda, the oldest scripture in the world, is divided into several portions, and each and every portion is known as a man'd'ala and each and every man'd'ala is subdivided into several 'su'ktas'. Each and every su'kta is further divided into 'rks'. That is, each and every shloka of the Rk Veda is known as 'rk'. That is why the Veda is known as the 'Rk Veda'. This particular mantra, which is commonly known as the 'Ga'yatrii Mantra', is a rk of the third man'd'ala, sixty-second su'kta, tenth rk. In the Rk Veda, the rk is named by the word used in the rk for addressing the Supreme Entity. In this rk the Supreme Entity is addressed as 'Savita''. That is why it is known as the 'Savita'' or 'Savitr Rk', 'the rk for Savita''. During the time of the Vedas people could not write. Scripts were not known to them. The guru would speak and disciples would listen. The ear is called 'shruti' in Sam'skrta - That is why one of the names of the Vedas is 'Shruti'. The disciples could not read because there was no script. The Sam'skrta language has no script of its own. It has been written in different local scripts throughout the ages. In the Savitr Rk it has been said. "Onm' bhu'r bhuvah svah Onm' tat saviturvaren'yam' Bhargo devasya dhiimahi Dhiyo yo nah pracodaya't onm'." It is composed in a particular rhythm known as the ga'yatrii rhythm. In the Vedas there are seven recognised rhythms - ga'yatrii, us'n'ika, tris't'upa, anus't'apa, brhati, jagatii and paunkti. In gayatrii rhythm there should be three lines, and there must be eight syllables in each and every line. The rs'i who composed that mantra is known as the 'rs'i of the mantra'. The rhythm in which it was composed is known as the 'chant of the mantra'. This is the original mantra. The first portion is a later addition. It has been taken from the Atharva Veda, and is not a part of the original mantra. The three lines are: first line -- Tatsavitur varen'yam' next line -- Bhargo devasya dhiimahi last line - Dhiyo yo nah pracodaya't onm. There should be eight syllables in each and every line. Now the first line, 'Tatsavitur varen'yam', has seven syllables. As per rule there should be eight syllables. In the Vedic system whenever there is any clash between grammar and rhythm the rhythm is to be supported and not the grammar. Here, for the sake of rhythm, the correct pronunciation should be, 'Tatsavitur varen'i-yam'. It has been cut into two portions. In this mantra what is the prayer for? 'O Lord, guide my mind, guide my thoughts towards bliss.' This is the main idea, the central idea of this prayer. 'Onm' bhuh bhuvah svah onm' tatsavitur varen'yam.' 'The mantra starts with 'onm'. What is 'onm'? Whenever there is an expression, whenever you do something, there is a cosmic expression. If you are walking, you are moving, the sound 'khat-khat' is created, so there is a cosmic expression. If you are laughing, the sound 'ha-ha-ha' is created. Wherever there is any action or any actional expression, there must be an acoustic manifestation. The Supreme Entity creates. To create is also an action, it is also work. During creation He creates with His mind. He creates nothing externally. He creates everything internally, because nothing is external for Him - everything is internal. This quinquelemental world, which is something external for us, is purely an internal phenomenon for him. Not phenomena, not the plural, because for him it is a singular expression. That sound is 'a-a-a-a-a-a'. Here 'a' is the first letter of the Tantric alphabetical order. The first letter is 'a'. The first letter is 'alpha'. The first letter is 'a, the 'a' sound. Then after expression you have to preserve it - nourish it. The actional expression to preserve something is -u'. The sound is 'u'. It is the acoustic expressions of preservation and nourishment. Hence 'u' is the sound. After creating anything in your mind, what do you finally do? You withdraw these mental expressions or mental panoramas within yourself. This process of supreme withdrawal by Parama Purus'a is represented by the consonant 'ma'. A-U-Ma therefore represents creation, preservation and destruction. Hence this mantra, this incantation, starts with the sound 'aum', 'om'. He as Creator or Generator creates the sound 'a'. He as Operator creates the sound 'u' and He as Destroyer creates the sound 'ma'. Generator, Operator, Destroyer; G-0-D - 'God'. These expressions are septilineal, arranged in seven strata, seven layers. Broadly speaking they may be classified within the groups of three layers - the physical, psychic and astral worlds. The Cosmic Creator, Cosmic Generator, is the creator of the three, that is, the physical, psychic and astral worlds. He is the creator. Now who is the creator of the human body? He is the creator. Who is the creator of the human brain ? He is the creator. So He is Savita'. 'Savita'' means 'creator'; 'savita'' means 'father'. For this little planet earth, the sun is savita'. The sun is the father. And for all these planetary systems, all the stars with their own planetary systems, He is the creator. The Cosmic Nucleus is the Father, Supreme Father. We meditate on the divine effulgence of that Supreme Cosmic Father who created these physical, psychic and astral worlds. And why do we meditate on His divine effulgence ? So that He may guide our intellect unto the path of bliss. So before one gets initiation one may make a request before the Cosmic Father like this, 'O Lord, guide my intellect, goad my intellect unto the path of bliss, so that I may do something in this universe.' And when one gets is't'a mantra, gets initiation, then he is to do as per rules. He need not pray for anything else, because he has gotten initiation. Every entity is effulgent because of Him. He brings about the recreation of His progeny. All cometh from Him and goeth unto Him. Why do we meditate on Him? So that He may guide our intellect on the right path. 2 September 1978, Patna SUPREME DESIDERATUM official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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. All the manifestations of the world are vibrational. The fundamental reality is vibrational. It is so not only for the realm of those quinquelementalities, but also for the ectoplasmic and supra-ectoplasmic strata. These vibrational manifestations come in contact with the living being through different cells and organs. Amongst the sensory organs, the most important experience living beings acquire is ocular experience. Ocular experience is received through the optical nerves. In the realm of vision, colour is a very important factor. White represents the sentient principle, red represents the mutative principle, and black represents the static principle. There are seven controlling colours, and the process of permutation and combination to convey the large number of colours is not infinite. Had it been infinite in character, this expressed universe would also necessarily have been infinite. But actually this expressed universe is big, but not infinite. That singular entity, with the help of different expressions of Prakrti, or different - what should I say - tactics of Prakrti, can emanate innumerable vibrations. That is why it is said that although He Himself is colourless, His creation is in innumerable colours. It is a colourful universe, with so many colours attracting living beings. White is no colour. The combination of all the colours is white. Black is no colour. Want of colour is black. With the help of different manifestations of the Operative Principle, the noumenal cause remains a singular entity, but the phenomenal expressions are many. The noumenal world is singular in character ; the phenomenal world is multifarious in character. But why does He create this universe of so many colours, where there is a mess of so much colour? Why? What for? What is the intention? Why does He create like this? 'Varn'a'naneka'ni nihita'rtha.' Why ? The inner spirit. the intention, is known only to Him and to nobody else, and whoever comes in close contact with Him, whoever is in deep love with Him, can understand the inner spirit. A jina'nii cannot know it, only devotees can know it, because devotees can come in close contact with Him and know the secret from Him secretly. If one moves towards the emanative point, the point from which all vibrations emanate, one will discover that the starting point is the Supreme Entity and that one is moving forward as per pulsation of vibrations emanating from that Entity. One finds that the culminating point, of these vibrations is also that Supreme Desideratum, that Parama Purus'a. That is, the starting point is that Supreme Entity, and the culminating point of these vibrations is also that Supreme Entity. And to the Purus'a who is the starting point and who is the Desideratum, to Him I say that He should attach our intellect with the spirit of welfare, with the spirit of shubha. This should be the only prayer for each and every living being. 3 September 1978, Patna THE SINGULAR ENTITY official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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. Eko hi Rudro na dvitiiya'ya tasthurya "Ima'nlloka'niishata iishaniibhih Pratyam' jana'm' stis't'hate saincukopa'ntaka'le Sam'srjya vishva' bhuva'nani gopa'h." The question arises - is the Supreme Entity, the Supreme Faculty, a singular one or a plural one ? The question of plurality in the controlling faculty is a knotty one. The rs'i says the important law, the Supreme Controlling Faculty, is a singular one - a singular one. There cannot be any plurality in it. That is, it is singular and shall remain singular forever. Actually, one day I told you that the proper significance of the term 'rudra' is 'the entity that makes you shed tears'. And I also told you that to shed tears does not always mean lamenting. When you shed tears due to sorrow, when you are aggrieved, tears come out from the inner sides of the eyes straight downwards, and when you shed tears due to pleasure, then they come out from the outer sides. Tears coming out while lamenting is known as 'shoka'shru', and tears coming out in pleasure is known as 'a'nandashru'. When you are in a predicament, having to undergo great troubles, the tears that you shed are due to Him; and when you shed tears in pleasure, it is also due to Rudra. Due to so many clashes and cohesions in this expressed world - all its attributions - people shed tears. This world of attribution is a creation of His, so He is the Rudra. Had there been more than one Rudra, the system of the conformity of the universe would have been lost. So Rudra cannot be more than one. That is why I have said, 'Na dvitiiya'ya tasthurya.' You cannot have any supporter or competitor. That Rudra, the Supreme Entity, is the controller of the universe. 'Iish' means 'to control', and that entity controls this universe with the help of His Operative Principle. That is why in A'nanda Su'tram it has been said, 'Shaktih sa' Shivasya shaktih'- Shakti is the Operative Principle of the Cognitive Faculty. The Cognitive Faculty does not belong to the Operative Principle, rather, the ownership of the Operative Principle lies with the cognition. Without cognition there cannot be any Operative Principle, but without an Operative Principle there can be the Cognitive Faculty. He controls this universe - the Supreme Cognitive Faculty controls this universe with the help of His innumerable Operative Principles. Everything cometh from Him, remaineth in Him and goeth back to Him. He creates, He retains, He destroys. Actually, you know, there will not be any total annihilation and there will not be any thermal death of the universe. But, in a particular portion of the universe or in a particular portion of any planetary system, there can be, there may be, thermal death. In the past there have been so many thermal deaths, and in the future also there will be many thermal deaths, but only in a particular portion of the universe. The universe as a whole will never cease to exist. It will remain forever. So one should not be affected by the scare that the World is coming to an end. There may be death of this small planet earth, but the universe as a whole will never die. Before the death of this earth you or your descendants may quit this earth and go to some other planet of this solar system or any other planet of any other solar system. It is quite possible, quite probable that it may happen like this. When complete annihilation takes place in a particular portion of the universe, He remains there, too, and it means that nobody will ever become helpless or hopeless. He remains in contact with the entire creation. This grace of His is known as 'prota'. And when He keeps in contact with an individual, as he also does, that relationship, that companionship, is known as 'ota'. He is connected with the universe both individually and collectively. His individual relationship is known as 'ota-yoga' and His collective relationship is known as 'prota-yoga'. That is why we say, 'otah protah yoga'bhya'm' sam'yuktah purus'ottamah'. 'Pratyam' jana'm'stis't'hate saincukopa'ntaka'le' means the stage of complete annihilation. He is with everyone. So fear not. 'Sam'srjya vishva' bhuvana'ni gopa'h.' After creating this universe what did He do ? 'Bhuvanani gopah.' He concealed Himself. He concealed Himself just behind His creation. He does not remain in the forefront. He keeps Himself just behind His creation. So in order to find Him we will have to search through His creation. There is no other way. And to find Him, you will have to make a special endeavour, and that special endeavour to find Him is known as 'sa'dhana'. Therefore, by subjective approach through objective adjustment, you have to attain Him. This is the foremost duty of every human being. 4 September 1978, Patna LORD OF ALL LORDS official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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. "Es'a ha devo pradisho'nu sarva'h Pu'rvvo ha ja'tah sa u garbhe antah Sa eva ja'tah sa janis'yama'n'ah Pratyam' jana'm'sttis't'hati vishvatomukam." He is that very Entity. He is that very Deva who functions in all the corners of this universe. What is Deva ? 'Deva' means - "Dyotate kriid'ate yasma'dudyate dyotate divi Tasma'ddeva iti proktah stu'yate sarvadevataeh." The vibrational manifestations emanating from the Supreme Nucleus are known as 'Devata's', and these Devata's address that Supreme Nucleus as 'Deva'. That Supreme Nucleus is addressed by the term 'Deva'. He with His powers vibrates the entire universe, makes the entire universe dance ta'n'd'ava ; and He by dint of His occult and supra-occult powers brings back everything unto His lap. This is the definition of 'Deva', and these rays and pencils of rays coming out from the Nucleus are known as 'Devata's'. Deva is worshipped by the Devata's'. This Supreme Deva is also known as 'Maha'deva'. "Tvamiishvara'n'a'm' paramam' maheshvaram' tvam' devata'na'm' paramam' ca daevatam Patih patiina'm' Paramam' parasta'd Vida'ma devam' bhuvaneshamiid'yam." 'Iishvara' means 'controller'. There may be so many controllers in a country, even in a village - controller of stores, controller of ammunitions, controller of agricultural products etc. There may be so many controllers. They are all iishvaras. During the Moghal period, the Moghal Emperors, known as 'Dilliishvaras', the Lords of Delhi, sometimes used to forget, or rather were at a loss to find, the difference between Dilliishvara and Jagadiishvara, the Lord of the Universe. Sometimes they used to think that they were Jagadiishvaras. But amongst so many iishvaras, big and little iishvaras, lies Maheshvara, the Iishvara of all iishvaras, Lord of all lords. I have already said, 'You are the Supreme Devata' of all those Devata's ; the Supreme Devata' is Deva or Maha'deva. "Patih Patiina'm' paramam' parasta'd Vida'ma devam' bhuvaneshamiid'yam." 'Pati' in 'Pra'krta', becomes 'ai'. For example, 'deshapati' becomes desa'i (desha+'ai'=desha'i or desa'i). 'Dalapati' becomes daloi (dala+'ai'= daloi or dalui), and 'bahaniipati' becomes bahanoi (bahanii+ai =bahanoi). So You are the Lord of all lords, You are the King of all kings. Wherever there is some functioning, wherever some action is done, what happens ? There is a subjective counterpart and an objective counterpart. When this universe is the object, the Supreme Mind is the subject. Where the Supreme Mind is the object, Supreme Consciousness is the subject. When you see something, your eyes are the subject and the seen object is the object. Then, your eyes are the object and your mind is the subject. Next, your mind is the object and your a'tman is the subject. Then your a'tman is the object and Parama'tman is the subject. So, He is the Supreme Subject. He is the Para of all paras. Object is 'apara' and subject is 'para'. He is both Paresha and Aparesha. 'Vida'ma devam' bhuvaneshamiid'yam' He is the Deva. He emanates all the pencils of rays and pencils of vibrations from His infinite body. One is to know Him. He is respected and decorated and adorned in the universe. He is that Deva. A microcosmic fraction of a particular vibrational expression can be known, can come within the periphery of human knowledge, not more than that. 'Tava tattvam' na ja'na'mi' You are the King of all kings. King of all kings - that is 'emperor' in English, in Sam'skrta 'samra't''. He is the Supreme Subjectivity - Subjectivity of all subjectivities. If you are to know anybody you are to know Him only. Now one may raise the question : When I am His object, how can I make Him my object ? When you meditate on Him, you accept Him as your object. But everything is His object so how can you make Him your object ? Yes, it is a knotty question, but the reply is very simple. When you meditate on Him, He does not become your object. At that time you are to think that the Supreme Subjectivity is seeing you. He is seeing you as His object. Just now I said that this Supreme Deva functions in all directions. There are ten directions. First - north, east, west, south - four clear directions, lateral directions. ( N-e-w-s - 'news'. What you get, what you acquire, what you gather from north, east, west and south is news, n-e-w-s.) Then there are the sub-directions : isha'n, naerta, agni, va'yu - north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west. These four sub-directions are called 'anudisha'. Now east, west, north, south, up and down, the six lateral directions, are known as 'pradisha' in Samskrta. Six pradisha plus four anudisha - six plus four is equal to ten. He functions - that Singular Entity functions - in all ten directions. Not a single direction is neglected by Him or ignored by Him, and nobody taking shelter in any of those ten directions can avoid His witness-ship. If after doing something bad one tries to hide oneself in antariks'a, that is, in the sky, samudra madhaye, or under the water of the sea or in the caves of the hills, one will still not find any hiding-place in the universe. That Supreme Entity sees everything - 'Pu'rvvohaja'tah sau garbhe antah'. And this Supreme Deva expresses Himself in so many microcosmic forms, and those microcosmic forms are His objects. Each of His reflections on those microcosms is one jiiva'tma', and when He witnesses His own reflected counterpart, He is known as 'Pratyaga'tma''. 'Pu'rvvoha ja'tah sau garbhe antah'. He acted like this. He displayed Himself like this in the past, He is acting like this in the present, and He will act like this in the future. 'Pu'rvvohaja'tah sau garbhe antah.' All that is in the world, all that has come here, all that is in the process of coming, all that may be coming, all that will come - all these things are his microcosmic manifestations. Something in the present is a reflection of the Cosmic Father; so is something in the past and so will be something still in the process of coming. 'Pratyam' jana'm'stis't'hate vishvatomukham'. That is, He is Sarvatomukha. He is a multi-faced Entity. That is, wherever you go or from whatever corner you try to see Him, you will see His face. You cannot escape seeing His face ; and your existence cannot escape from His face. He is 'Sarvatomukhii'. That is, 'multi-faced'. This Purus'a has sahasra shiirs'a - innumerable brains. You have only one brain with limited power and limited capacity, but He has infinite, that is, innumerable brains, and infinite capacity. 5 September 1978, Patna THE GLORY OF PRAN'AVA official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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. 'Sarve veda' yatpadama'mananti Tapa'm'si sarva'n'i ca yad vadanti Yadicchanto brahmacaryaincaranti Tattepadam' sam'grahen'a braviimyomityetat'. Here something has been said regarding the glory of Pran'ava. 'Pra' - 'n'a' - 'va'. That is, the entity that helps you in moving towards your goal, in moving towards the Nucleus of the Cosmos, is called 'Pran'ava'. 'Pran'ava' means 'movement'. 'Sarve Veda' means 'all the Vedas'. What is the meaning of 'sarve'? 'Sarvah' - 'sarvao' - 'sarve'. 'Sarva' means 'everything'. In 'sarva', there are three letters, 'sa', 'ra' and 'va'. 'Sa' represents the sentient principle. Why is the letter 'sa' the first letter in this word ? When the first flow of creation emanates from Consciousness, from Cognition, the starting point is certainly the sentient factor. That is wby 'sa' is the first letter. Then 'ra'. Whatever has been created, or whatever is in the process of creation, must have movement in it. There must be speed, and not only speed, there must be velocity also. And this speed comes from energy. Without energy there cannot be any speed. 'Ra' is the acoustic root of energy. That is why 'ra' is the second letter. And 'va' is the third and last letter. The letter 'va' is the acoustic root of characteristics, properties. Each and every entity, each and every created being in this world, has subtle characteristics of its own. These are the properties, these are the svabhava. There is no entity in the world that has no svabhava. For properties, for characteristics, the acoustic root is 'va'. Now, everything that exists in the world comes from the sentient principle of the Cosmic Cognitive Faculty. Hence, the starting point is 'sa'. Everything moves with the help of energy. So there is 'ra'. And everything has some property, so there is 'va'. 'Sa', 'ra' and 'va' - these three letters are present in each and every expression, and that is why 'sarva' means 'everything'. Nothing can remain outside the periphery of sa-ra-va. The 'rk' of the Rk Veda means 'to know'. 'Veda' also means knowledge. 'Sarve Veda' means 'all knowledge'. 'Knowledge' here means spiritual knowledge. 'Knowledge' means supra-psychic knowledge. Psychic and physical knowledges are not true knowledges in the proper sense of the term, because they vary according to variation in time, space and person. They are not absolute entities. 'Berlin was the capital of Germany'. 'No, no, no, Bonn is the capital of Germany'. Both are equally correct, only there has been a temporal gap, a gap of time. 'Tapah' means undergoing pains, troubles, predicaments, tortures for the purpose of attaining the goal. It is called 'tapasya''. Those munis, those rs'is, those spiritual aspirants who undergo tapah, who expose themselves to tapah to attain their Supreme Desideratum, undergo such troubles, for what reason? To attain that very Entity. 'Icchantum' means 'desiring the spiritual'. People who want to establish themselves in supra-psychic strata are icchantu They are spiritual aspirants-those who want Him, those who have accepted Him as their only subjective counterpart in the physical stratum. I told you the other day that He is the Supreme Subjectivity and others are the objects. He cannot be your object. This is philosophically and psychologically correct. But during your meditation, what do you do ? What should you do ? He cannot be your object; He is the subject, He is everything. He sees you, because He is the subject, you are the object. But if you are thinking of Him, then He becomes Your object. How can He become Your Object ? It is an impossibility. To resolve this, I told you that as you do meditation, with the help of Your incantation, you should think that He is seeing You. That is the secret. 'Brahmacaryaincaranti' - What is 'brahmacaryam' ? In Sam'skrta, there are many root verbs for 'movement'. One word is 'calati'. 'Calati' is a general term that means moving, walking, going. Another word is 'carati'. 'Carati' means 'moving while eating'. You are moving, at the same time you are eating - like a cow, 'carati', because she is also eating. And when you move along the road while eating peanuts, you are also 'carati', because You are moving and eating peanuts ( You know, groundnuts, ' chiniya' ba'da'm ', in Bihar, 'Mugphalii' in Hindi ).If You eat while moving, then at that time you are just like a cow. Then 'at'ati'. 'At'ati' is also movement, but while moving or touring, one is also learning something. So at'ati' means 'moving while learning'. Not ordinary moving like 'carat'i'. Then there is 'vrajati' - moving while enjoying something Moving while enjoying pleasure, while enjoying bliss, is vrajati. Moving towards Him is vrajati - The person is getting pleasure while moving. See, there are so many verbs. 'Brahmacaryam - that is 'moving in Brahma while eating'. What sort of eating ? The person is getting all sorts of physical, psychic and supra-psychic pabula from the Cosmic Body of Brahma - Thus he who is moving in Brahma with the help of his second lesson, guru mantra, is brahmaca'rii' - He always remembers the fact that all his movements are within the Cosmic Body of Brahma. Acquire that rank, come in close proximity to that rank, I say. 'Aum' is the controlling word. There are three sounds in it. You know, in the Indo-Aryan alphabetical chart there are fifty letters : sixteen vowels and thirty-four consonants, Each and every sound of this alphabetical order, of this Indo-Aryan alphabetical order, is an acoustic root of a cosmic manifestation. So there are fifty controlling acoustic roots, and by the process of permutation and combination, a large number of acoustic roots of complex and complicated character may be created. ( You all know permutation and combination and you know mathematics ). And this controlling letter, as I said, is called 'pran'ava'. The rs'i says the three controlling letters are 'a', 'u' and 'ma'. 'A' is the acoustic root of creation. Hence 'a' is the first letter of the Indo-Aryan alphabetical order. Each and every vibration of the universe has a colour. That colour may or may not be visible. And there is certainly some sound. That sound may or may not be audible, but the sound is there. It may or may not come within the scope of our particular nerves. We may or may not hear it, but the sound is there. So action and expression must have some sound, and the sound of creation is 'a'. Why is 'a' the first letter and why not 'a'' ? Because 'a' is the acoustic root of creation. In the Roman script, 'a'. The pronunciation is 'a'-'alpha', 'aleph', same letter. And it is the acoustic root of creation. And after creating something, you are to maintain it. You are to nourish it, you are to serve it, you are to feed it, you are to supply it with all necessary pabula. And this process of maintenance is represented by the acoustic root 'u'. When you create something in your mind, you are retaining it for a short while, then you are withdrawing it within your mind; you take it back within your mind. Similarly, He creates something and after some time He withdraws it. This process of withdrawal is represented by the acoustic root 'ma'. For a mortal, this withdrawal is death, but for Him it is a simple process of withdrawal and nothing else. This process of withdrawal by Him is represented by the acoustic root 'ma', and that is why that day I told you, 'ma' is the last letter, last consonant. That is why it is 'a'+'u'+'ma'='aum'. That day I told you that 'a' is the acoustic root of the generating faculty, 'u' is the acoustic root of the retaining faculty, and 'ma' is the acoustic root of the destroying faculty. Therefore He has three functions. He becomes G-O-D, that is, 'Generator's first letter G ; 'Operator's first letter O ; and 'Destroyer's first letter D : 'God'. 6 September 1978, Patna BEYOND THE PERIPHERY official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 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 path of spirituality is beyond the scope of symbolization. The supra-mental or supra-psychic existence of Parama Purus'a is beyond the territory of our minds. And the feeling of our minds cannot be properly expressed by our motor organs. So our mind is an imperfect medium for conceiving the actualities of supra-psychic existence; and for conveying momentary feelings, our motor organs are imperfect media. All your feelings cannot be expressed through the vocal organ or any other organ; for a small trouble your say, `Uph!' and for a very big trouble also you say, `Uph!' It is very difficult for you and also for others to differentiate the first `Uph!' from the second one. They do not express the same gravity, the same feeling. Now, when our minds and the motor and the sensory organs fail to express certain psychic feelings, or express them only partially, then how can the mind express or symbolize the Supreme Self? It is impossible. Still, we call that supra-psychic-existential Entity `Parama Purus'a'. This is also a symbolization. The meaning or inner spirit of this form of symbolization is that when we call Him `Parama Purus'a' we say,`O Parama Purus'a, we call You that in order to express our inability to symbolize You.' Therefore to know Him you have to go beyond the periphery of your whole relative structure and finally attain unity with Him. This alone will be the supreme expression of all human sa'dhana'. 8 September 1978, Patna