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THE HIGHEST TRUTH

Swami Chinmayananda

ALL Upanishads are trying to say what they constantly fail to express, theInexpressible. And yet, we are in such a helpless condition that we have tostudy them because they are the best and go nearest to the Truth. Yet theTruth is never expressed in words. It cannot be.

Language, sounds or words, and experiences of the Infinite belong to twodifferent categories. One cannot express the other. Therefore you mayattempt any amount of study but you are as far away as you were beforeyou started the study. Study itself offers no guarantee for spiritualunfoldment. There are people who have not studied spiritual books and yetare spiritual giants. There are people who have studied all the scripturesand yet are more perverted than the ugliest of us. It seems socontradictory.

I would not have said this ten years ago So then, all our temples, churches,mosques; or scriptures, ritualism, study and discussions, are useful only tothose students who can strenuously work towards the higherconsciousness.

Brahman, the Reality is nothing other than 'mindlessness'. So long asthere is a mind, there is no Brahman or Reality. The end of the minditself is Brahman. The absence of the mind is the presence of theReality. Where the mind exists, Reality is covered, veiled. Justbehind the mind is the Truth. So long as the mind exists, you cannotsee it. The flower is kept behind a mirror. So long as the mirror is there,you will never see the flower. So long as the mind exists, you see onlyOET (0-objects, E-emotions and T-thoughts)and the PFT(P-perceiver,F-feeler and T-thinker).

Remove the Mind-mirror

The mind is to be destroyed. The mind has to be transcended. The mindhas to be annihilated. If the mind is to be thus exhausted, the varioussadhanas that have been prescribed have to be followed. The process

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which the mind can be annihilated at the body level is Karma Yoga. Theprocess by which the mind can be annihilated at the mental level is BhaktiYoga, and at the intellectual level Gnana Yoga. All these yogas are there,but none of them is true.They are processes by which the mirror is to beremoved. The flower is not describable in terms of the mirror or what I amseeing in the mirror. The shape, colour and the experience of the flower issomething totally different. So do not. go about with the idea - I have readthe Upanishads; I am the group leader; I take classes, etc. It will take younowhere unless you make use of the knowledge to rise above thesedelusions. The example of the flower and the mirror is a limited one.However, if the rishis' words are falsehood; my words are twenty thousandtimes more false- meaning the statement -"when the mirror is not there, theflower is there,. Similarly, the statement that "when the mind is not there,there is Brahman" is also not a true statement, please, because Brahman isnot behind the mind only. Brahman is not only behind the mind but also infront of it. It is where the- mind was, it is all-pervading and infinite. Thatwhich is all - pervading is not limited. That which is limited has a form. Thatwhich has a form is perishable, finite. Therefore, Brahman is imperishable,without form, unlimited and infinite.

When my mind is not then I alone am. Where? Nowhere. You may saynowhere or everywhere. It is the same thing. Everywhere and nowhere areagain falsehoods because they are there only with reference to the front orthe back, the sides, the top and the bottom.

There is really no up, down, above or below. When you are sleeping, whatis your dimension? Where are you? Silence alone is. In deep sleep what isyour dimension? Where are you? You cannot say. Because there is nofront or back, right or left, above or below. You are just all-pervadingdarkness. Think.

Thus, where the mind is ended, the experience is the Infinite Bhuma theinfinite Reality. That alone is Aham. I alone am. Again, "I" cannot be used."I" has no existence without "you", Therefore, "I" also cannot be used.When that experience comes, any word you talk is nonsense. Think.Advaita is not a thing to be preached. It is to be experienced. Anubhava

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gamya. "Anubhava" - again, WHO is to experience and what? What tobecome? Thus any word you use is only false - a delusion.

The Four Veils Over Reality

Let us pull down the mind. How to do so? Think. The mind exists onlybecause of four things. When we look at an object , through our minds, wenever see the object as it is. We always see it coloured through our minds."Pasyannapi , cha na pashyati moodha".

One who does not have the right knowledge, sees not even though helooks. He sees nothing but his own projection. Look at a flower and writedown the thoughts that come into your mind - it is a beautiful flower. It isyellowish in colour. Its name is such and such. It belongs to that family, ifyou know botany. I have seen such a flower in Gopalakrishna Iyer's place.It was in Coimbatore that I first saw it. It was in Chettiar's house. But theChettiar is not good and so it goes on. What are you thinking? "Chettiar,"while you are looking at the flower. You do not see the flower. It is only aspring board for the mind to shoot ahead. Think. The mind is thought flow.Therefore, when I see the flower, I can never see the flower - "Pasyannapicha na pashyati moodha ".

If you can see the flower as flower as a flower as it is - you see Brahmanonly. Guna, kriya, visesha, sambandha - quality, activity, adjectives,relationship. Remove these and look at the flower. What you see is nothingbut Brahman. Because these four are interpretations of the mind, whereverthe mind functions, it functions in these only. The mind sees the quality. Orit starts thinking in terms of its activity - that it is dancing; or in terms of itsadjectives -it is yellowish in color; its name or its relationship; where yousaw it first; the girls on whom you saw the flower; of the puja in which thatflower was used, etc. Therefore, you have not seen the flower. Try to take aflower and see it as it is. See a blade of grass. Don't name it. Remove thefour- guna, kriya,visesha and sambandha - and look at it . Look at me.Forget my name. Forget my guna, my actions. Look at any object, whetherit is the anu (the atom) or the whole universe. If these four are not there,the mind is ended. In that still, alert moment of objectless awareness, you

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are... (pure being). These four are nothing but the interpretations, theprattling of the mind. Remove them and look. It is nothing but a spreadof alertness or consciousness only.

The No-mind is that

The mind in this alert state is a mind at meditation. The mind at meditation isa mind no more. Where the mind has thus dissolved itself, a bhava, anattitude alone is. That experience is called amanee bhava. Amanee bhava isBrahman. Manee bhava is samsara. You and I are nothing but the mind. Solong as we are identified with the mind, we are far, far away from theReality. The moment you forget the mind, you are That. Tat Twam Asi.

To do this you need not seek anyone's permission. It is your prerogative. Ifyou are not ready to do this, any amount of studying the scriptures,preaching and sadhanas will not help. You will only complain that "forso many years I have been following these". You were following yourown mind. "Do not follow me" -say all the rishis. This is that whichtranscends everything. It is more than the known and the unknown. Aslong as there is the function of the mind, IT is not realized. Stop itsfunctioning. You are looking at IT. This is the highest evolution.

To transcend it is the challenge that is thrown upon us now. To the fullygrown man-man, the challenge is to grow to be a God-man. For this youhave to work. You have to stop the play of the mind. The play of the mind isthe play of these four-name, form, etc. And this is not to be done for a longperiod of time. A fraction of a second is enough. After thus knowing the realand wider capability of our nature and our personalities, we can play withthe mind. In all activities thereafter, there is a new sense of freedombecause we know that we are not these limitations. These limitations arenot our own. We do not belong to them. We are only sojourners here. Weare natives of another realm altogether.

If, in that way, you look at any fleecy cloud, twinkling star, winging butterflyor nodding leaf, each object is but a spring board for you to rocketyourself into that ecstatic experience of the Highest.

"Do" nothing

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When three young men were going up one of the Himalaya mountains ona hiking expedition, at a certain corner, they saw a langoti-dhaaristanding at a ridge and looking into the amplitude of the distance. One ofthe young men surmised:"That man is standing there because he issearching for the cow that has strayed away". The other man guessed: "Whatare you talking, he is a young man. He won't be standing there like that for acow. It must. be a girl". The third one asked: "What are you imputingunnecessarily? He must be a poet. He is looking into the sky, lost inpoetry. "All the three then started battling among themselves. At last theydecided to ask him. They went near, but the man was not at all disturbed.He continued to look out into the vastness of the cold sky. They looked athim and at what he was looking. They tried to adjust their eyes to the anglein which his were turned. But they could see nothing enchanting. At lastthey gathered courage and asked him, "What are you doing?" He said,"Don't disturb me. I am very busy. I am trying to remain, doing nothing." In the same way, do nothing. Forget that you are doing nothing also.These are the methods by which you can express this state. Here there istremendous poverty of language. Language cannot express it. I am tryingto do nothing. But it is very difficult. Because even if you keep quiet, youknow that you are keeping quiet. The mind has to be transcended.Any method by which the ambit of the mind's activities can be reduced, iscalled a sadhana. Reading the scriptures is one method. If Gita chant= ingis a method, it is also a sadhana. Any method, be it serving the poor,political activity or the domestic activity of looking after your family - but forwhich the mind would have otherwise rambled into various fields... andbecause of which the mind's activities are reduced to an extent - is alsospiritual.But ultimately remember - what is to be reached is this hushed quiet. Thequiet of the mind, even if it is artificially created is good. But the mindrevives itself. When you are exhausted and sleep for a while, you feelrevived. Why? Your mind has had rest. People who are disappointed orfrustrated need a sleeping pill so that they may sleep. They wake up laterto explore methods by which they can win again. They had little energy.The agitated mind that is quietened, revives. The quietened mind cures itsown ulcers. When it was active, it was bruised and ulcerated. When it ishushed, it is cured and healed. It gets positively recharged.

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If the mind is consciously brought to a halt, that is called meditation. Eventhough this may be only a split moment, not only are its ulcers are cured,but the mind gets charged with terrific force. A mind so charged with energyis a dynamic one capable of great things. Hence the importance ofmeditation. I insist on this.

Why don't we progress ?

When study group members have attended classes for some time, therewill certainly come a state of dislocation, a state where you feel that youknow all these things. You would have understood

all these things, but there would be little expansion, and hardly anyinspiration. After. having gone through a few books like the Gita or theUpanishads, they become lax in their sadhana. This sense of lassitude isthere because they are not being initiated into ampler field of inwardexperiences. I am not talking of the experience of color or sound, but ofinner experience - the experience of an expansion, a soaring height, anexploration of the deeper depths of life. This can come only when the mindis folded.

The mind cannot be packed up so long as it is extrovert in nature.Extrovertedness of the mind means that the mind is more and morepoignantly active in these four directions - jathi, guna, kriya, sambandha.When it functions in these four or five channels, the mind gravitatestowards objects, emotions and thoughts. It is tied to the lower cravings. Liftthe mind. Expand the mind. Sublimate the mind. Purify the mind.Spiritualise your existence. These are the words expressed by teachers.Any thought, any idea or when the mind makes a sankalpa or vikalpa thatthis is a 'taste or it is 'sound' or about its properties or relationship - allthese are prattling of the mind.

The silent mind

With a silent mind, look around. There is nothing but Brahman everywhere.Every object is nothing but Brahman. Brahman when seen through the

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mind is the world. Hush the mind. From where you used to see the world,there dwells Brahman.

Even if the mind is not totally ended, if its grossness is removed, itbecomes subtle and with a subtle mind you start recognizing, in the objectsof the world, a progressively deeper thrill.

You sit alone on the sea-side thinking particularly of nothing, in a holidaymood. Suddenly you find a late moon rising from the eastern sky. If yourmind is not preoccupied with other thoughts, and you are in a relaxedmood, don't you feel that there is an "ah", a voiceless majesty, a wordless,inexpressible poetry, a compelling charm, an irresistible magic in the verysame prospect which you have seen from your childhood onwards andwhich is nothing new?

"No God can bless"

Study the scriptures seriously. Once you have its ideas in your mind, startputting them into practice. What is the, practice? Bhakti, karma etc. By allthese methods, the mind becomes subtle. Subtler the mind, greater anddeeper is the study. Mind understands more of the relative position ofBrahman and the world - jiva, jagat and Eswara. The relative positions areknown by the mind. Then whether your eyes are closed or open, it does notmatter. You are transported into an awareness of the presence everywhereof the dynamic Divine. No teacher can give you this comprehension. NoGod can bless you. No religion can give it.It is yours. You are already that.Transcend the mind. You have no enemy other than yourself and no friendgreater than yourself in

this process. If you close your eyes and cover them tightly and say there isno light, it is not the fault of the sun. There is plenty of light. You have toremove. your bandages, take away your hands and open your eyes, andthe light is there - self - evident.

Similarly the mind is to be ended. Whatever be the process that you adopt,it does not matter. We are today looking at objects incorrectly and not un-derstanding them properly. We see only the distortion of the mental

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projections. This great saboteur in ourselves is to be annihilated it, livescompletely -thoroughly. His experience is his own world. This is the finalstage and the final instruction th at teachers try to give to their students. Butintelligent teachers wait till the end, till the student is capable of com-prehending . To you, it is another bit of information.

Sadhana is very important. When a man starts sadhana, he understandsthat his meditation depends upon the purity and beauty of the entire twentyfour hours of the day. Throughout the day, if he is a devil, and in themorning, does half an -hour of meditation - it is impossible! Can you saythat for one hour I know music, and the rest of the time, I am not amusician? If you say so, you are not a musician at all. You are playing withyour mind. If for twenty two hours of the day, you live in sensuousness,lust, greed and passion, what can the mind do in that one hour's meditationexcept sit down and completely and conclusively think of the very samething - lust, greed passion, etc., without. any disturbance? Rest of the timeyou have other disturbances. Now you are free!

Hence you will find that sama, dama and all moral and ethical values areessential. In order to enter into the greater chambers of inspired quietude -meditation - perfect living is essential.

If the spiritual sadhak has not yet acquired conviction and courage nor faithin the Highest Reality, then I must say, excuse me, there- is no spiritual lifefor you. To you there afterwards, the study of the Upanishads is only anintellectual preoccupation, an intellectual hobby to understand the variousphilosophies of the world. There must be the necessary mumukshutwa - aburning desire to get away from the binding encrustations of matter. If youare conscious of the imperfections of your present life, if you have not thedesire to end these limitations and reach the highest, the higher unfoldmentwill not happen.

The Irresistible

Once this is understood irresistible is. that individual's inspiration in life.Irresistible is the amount of energy that pours out of such an individual.Inexhaustible efficiency he has indeed. I say this because we find that

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when great masters like Sankara and others realized the Turth, the amountof work they turned out was stupendous. Whether it is the Christian masteror the prophets of the Western or the Eastern world, all of them were ableto bring about so much of concentrated work in a short period of their.lifetime. Also their work was possessed of such a dynamism. Did not Hitlerdo much more than an ordinary man? But where is Hitlerism today? Withintwenty years it is lost. Was not Stalin a stalwart? Are not volumes to bewritten about that single individual who governed the mind and intellect ofmen of an entire continent? But what is his name today?

There is a lot of difference between the influence of these masters and thatof the Mahatmas. The charming influence that Ramakrishna had on theminds of the people of India, the dynamic philosophy that Vivekanandapreached a hundred years ago amongst the din and roar of materialism inAmerica -even today America has not forgotten them. Despite all thesophisticated machinery and modern political organizations, the world isbadly in need of such men today.

It is indeed to your country; it is indeed to you, that the world looks.Therefore, strive. You are great. You at least have claims to the knowledgeof the Upanishads. How many of the millions in our country, who claim tobe Hindus, have at least an intellectual information that behind the mind isthe highest Reality. Ask the pundits. Ask the professors of philosophy. It israrely that we get a chance to even get the information, and after hearing,nothing happens. That is why, after some time, you feel like giving up. Butwho is responsible for this? Experience is a thing that cannot be handedover. Each one will have to work for himself. There is no other way. We arehelpless. We do not know how to teach you.

The key is not with me-

In short, Vedanta points to a cener in ourselves which is our own realnature, which is nowhere above the cloud. It is here, right here, just behindthe mind, How do you discover it? Open your eyes and, look at a thing-anything, it does riot matter. Good, vulgar, ugly-never mind, or a beautiful,inspiring thing. Ugly is a word. The mind says it. Beautiful is a word of the

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mind. Try to retreat. Remove from it the name, the form, the shape,properties, qualities and relationships. What is perceived there? What isperceived in and through the mind is Brahman.It is meditation of thehighest order. Reach it by any means you know. All are spiritual paths.Realize this Truth and then live to serve. Till then you are only in the burialground. You do not live. You merely exist. Try to wake up and live.Uttishtatha. Wake up!You are only dreaming your own mental projections.How long can you go on playing with this? Grow. Look at the world as it is.See it as nothing but your own vilasa matra. This mindless perception is thevision of Truth. Rediscover your own Self. That is the most satisfyingculmination of all evolution. It is utter contentment. A total sense offulfillment. Listen, reflect and meditate., and come to comprehend that I amSiva that Spiritual Essence. However much you may point this out, it is oflittle help. Only when we come to experience It do we. understand. Toattain this State, the key is with you and not with me.