Note from Guru Kurt: These are “Sayings and Utterances of Vivekananda,” taken from http://kaustubh88.tripod.com/sayings_and_utterances.htm. I have taken the liberty of commenting upon them, although I am sure by this point that no one cares about my opinions. I was thinking that perhaps after I die someone may take a slight interest in them. It is an interesting diversion to me to write this type of thing. It is certainly more interesting than watching television!
Vivekananda:
"Did Buddha teach that the many was real and the ego unreal, while orthodox Hinduism regards the One as the real, and the many as unreal?" the Swami was asked. "Yes", answered the Swami. "And what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and I have added to this is, that the Many and the One are the same Reality, perceived by the same mind at different times and in different attitudes."
Guru Kurt:
Ramakrishna was the Avatar. There is no “Ramakrishna and I.” The proper way to phrase this would be, “Ramakrishna says, and I agree with Him.” One does not obtain authority by talking loosely about it in this manner. The question is an interesting one, that should not be glossed over quickly. The Buddha said that “the many was real and the ego unreal,” for He constrained Himself to a philosophy of no soul, for to have mentioned a soul would have necessitated mentioning a Creator of the soul, and this He chose not to do. Buddha came for the sake of those who find the idea of a God repulsive, and there are many who fit this bill even today. Like Jesus, Buddha gave a half-truth, this time leaving a self-consistent message that would help man to go forward and grow spiritually, without the need to give obeisance to any God. I assert that the Buddha knew that the orthodox Hindu view was correct, but gave a reverse-teaching for the sake of those who would respond, and that even today His message is valid and useful for those that find it appealing. The orthodox Hindu view is to regard “the One as the real, and the many as unreal,” meaning that Brahman has become everything, and now runs everything from within, through His immense spiritual power. Humanity is run haphazardly, and with fits and starts, for all are conceived in ignorance and must win their way through various types of spiritual effort, either conscious or unconscious, to knowledge of the spirit or Atman within. The Avatar, on the other hand, is Brahman Himself, made incarnate in a human form. The vision of Ramakrishna and the vision of Vivekananda were different. Ramakrishna saw that He Himself had become everything. Vivekananda saw that from which he arose had given rise to everything. The difference is easily stated, but there is nothing subtle about the experiences, which are as different from each other as night from day. There is an uncrossable, fathomless chasm between the Avatar and all mankind, even the ever-free, from which class Vivekananda certainly arose.
Vivekananda:
"Remember!" he said once to a disciple, "Remember! the message of India is always "Not the soul for nature, but nature for the soul."
Guru Kurt:
As a member of the class of the ever-free, Vivekananda was above all the illumined people that will arise on earth. In truth, he has purposefully taken embodiment from the astral realms, where he normally exists, high above all embodied beings. His point of view is supreme from the point of view of all mankind, and in some circles Vivekananda is even worshipped as an Avatar himself, and while not strictly true there is little practical difference from the standpoint of an average person or a spiritual aspirant. His language is full of practical wisdom and divine strength that will be very helpful to anyone who cares to read his work. The arrival of the Incarnation is well-planned in advance. Typically, He makes an appeal to the citizens of the astral realms, asking who will accompany Him to earth on a mission to help humanity. Vivekananda assented to this and so when you read him, realize that his apparent original dislike of Ramakrishna in his early days is merely a show put on for humanity’s benefit, to make it easier for them to accept the Avatar. In truth, he makes an effort to be transparent to mankind, pointing a finger at Ramakrishna, though he also represents himself accurately as the result of following the Avatar and discovering the Self: a strong will, a powerful mind, and a creative intellect. Here, he echoes the sentiments of the Avatar that matter was made to serve the soul, not to entrap the soul in selfish attachments. Those established in Self-realization enjoy the world in freedom, neither desiring this nor avoiding that. They are in command of nature; nature does not command them, as it does the worldly person.
Vivekananda:
"What the world wants today is twenty men and women who can dare to stand in the street yonder, and say that they possess nothing but God. Who will go? Why should one fear? If this is true, what else could matter? If it is not true, what do our lives matter?
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda held up the ideal of the wandering sannyasin, which is a very high ideal. As a member of the class of the ever-free, he possessed intense mental renunciation, and expressed this vividly on many occasions before his fortunate students. Even to read this type of talk induces a feeling of renunciation in the reader, and you realize what is really important in life, even if you do not renounce. Jesus used this same technique, but with more power and purity, when He said that no one who would not renounce home and family for His sake was worthy of Him. Unfortunately, things have changed since those days; it is not so easy for God to support His sannyasins, as I discovered wandering in America where I was everywhere rebuffed, abused, arrested and even sent to asylums for observation. Until the spiritual climate changes, at least in America, I would advise everyone to ignore the advice of Jesus and Vivekananda, and join an ashram or other spiritual community instead of trying to go this difficult way. In many ways, it is better to remain in the world, and yet not of it, by practicing spiritual disciplines while you yet hold down a job that will support your efforts. When you do so, you liberate energies through your daily actions and put new spiritual insights from your meditation to immediate use. In meditation it can be possible that awareness is trapped within, resulting in feelings of moroseness and lack of vigor which daily work will almost completely prevent. One goes deep in meditation, then this explodes outward during the day in joyful selfless work. The majority of my sadhana was performed in this way, which was a good deal more pleasant than my time as a sannyasin, although this had a certain charm as well, despite the extreme difficulties I encountered. It is one thing to say, “nothing else matters,” and quite another to find oneself without food and shelter, soaking wet on a cold rainy day, with no companions and no expectation of an improvement in your condition. I was lost in God-absorption during these days, so much so that I actually recall being surprised and outraged when, after I had resumed a “normal” life, someone suggested that I must indeed feel better than I had felt wandering about the countryside. I recall those days with fondness, and do not regret them, although I would not repeat them at this point in my life. I am sure in future lives I shall have plenty of opportunity, and the spiritual climate may have improved considerably by then, making the experience even more enjoyable than it was in this life.
Vivekananda:
"Oh, how calm would be the work of one who really understood the divinity of man! For such, there is nothing to do, save to open men's eyes. All the rest does itself."
Guru Kurt:
The calmness of an illumined person, or a member of the class of the “ever-free” such as Vivekananda, is like the calm in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River above the Hoover Dam, where a vast amount of potential energy is stored and used slowly. When the ego has been removed through sadhana, all the vast spiritual power of the Atman is at your fingertips. If you fold your arms, will you be able to lift heavy objects? Similarly, the ego is like folding the arms of the Self, except they are not just folded but twisted into a million tiny knots, all suspended over the one huge knot which is the ego. Untying this knot is the one task of mankind, and each begins slowly, where he or she is, freeing up consciousness through the practice of meditation or other spiritual disciplines such as the repetition of God’s name. As one does this, one’s potential energy increases, because parts of the mind that were trapped in the world become free and under one’s conscious control. A busy mother thinks “peace” is the few minutes each day when her husband takes over care of the noisy and quarrelsome children, and she can take a nice walk in the outdoors. When the children have grown up, she sees “peace” as a much longer period of refreshment, such as a Sunday spent working in her flower beds. Her lack of entanglement enables her to spend more time on her own needs. Similarly, a person who meditates frees up entangled mental energy, which is applied to his own needs in the search for lasting peace and joy. A sage like Vivekananda sees “peace” as the infinite calm of the universe, calm that is everywhere pervaded by intense and effective action. He not only sees this, but feels it deep within his consciousness, for he has become this type of “energetic peace,” as he proclaims here, able to deal with the troubles of the world easily and simply, without expending great effort, because his capacity to write and speak has risen to superhuman levels. Man is a divine being, and can discover this through spiritual practice. Not everyone feels a hunger for discovering this, and to external appearance Vivekananda looked much as any other man. The difference is all internal, and those whose spiritual consciousness has awakened long for the peace, power, and joy that radiated from Vivekananda because they have tasted a small portion of this joy within themselves, and want more. Worldly people will see him as just another man, and so deny their own wonderful potential.
Vivekananda:
"He (Shri Ramakrishna) was contented simply to live that great life and to leave it to others to find the explanation!"
Guru Kurt:
I don’t know why Vivekananda should say this; Ramakrishna spoke for close to ten years in various capacities, along with the spiritual instruction He gave to His wife Sarada upon His marriage. Ramakrishna lived the life of an Incarnation of God, which is ever-free, ever-perfect, and ever-blissful, as He does whenever He deigns to visit earth. People make a mistake if they think the Incarnation is engaged in reincarnation along with them. The Incarnation takes purposeful birth, by His own Power, after the Father has arranged all circumstances on earth for His mission, which has been intensely planned. Every moment of His life is an exercise in immense spiritual power of which no human being has the faintest conception. An Incarnation is only a fragment of a much larger God, and is this God’s main preoccupation. Human beings are independent, running under their own power and initiative. The Avatar, as Ramakrishna was fond of saying, was like a puppet on strings held by the Puppeteer, Brahman, but the consciousness of Brahman also exists inside the Avatar’s mind; it is just not possible for the entire knowledge of the Cosmos to fit inside the frame of a human body. Although the Avatar has access to all of this information, only a small part of it can fit inside His mind at any one time. As Ramakrishna also said, His desire was to “eat mangoes,” that is enjoy embodied life. Brahman enjoys embodied life by appearing as the Avatar; as the Avatar, He does not wish to concern Himself with the formation of matter or the dispersal of stars in galaxies. He merely wants to have an optimal experience of embodied life. He is an optimal Enjoyer, free from all the impurities of the human being, having no Atman, instead being the very embodiment of the Creator. As such, He is ever surrounded by a complex web of spiritual power that ensures His every thought and action is perfect. Even His “foibles,” should you think you see any, are carefully planned events put on solely for the sake of His human audience. This is the way it is.
Vivekananda:
"Plans! Plans!" Swami Vivekananda explained in indignation, when one of his disciples had offered him some piece of worldly wisdom. "That is why . .. Western people can never create a religion! If any of you ever did, it was only a few Catholic saints who had no plans. Religion was never preached by planners!"
Guru Kurt:
This is one of the main differences between an Avatar like Ramakrishna, and a liberated being such as Vivekananda: The Avatar’s life is completely planned by the divine mind of Brahman, on a moment-by-moment basis (this is no joke), but the illumined tend to live spontaneously from day to day, leaving all planning to their own Atman. They feel spontaneous, although their lives too are planned to a certain extent. Ramakrishna was conscious of following a plan, but Vivekananda was not, which is why you will never find Ramakrishna making statements such as this. Nevertheless, Vivekananda followed a plan, for it was his Atman that brought him to Ramakrishna and encouraged him to become a student. Now, as a member of the class of the “ever-free,” Vivekananda knew of this plan before leaving the astral realm, but entered into a state of forgetfulness for the sake of mankind when he was born on earth. When he derides planning here, it is of the mundane variety, and not divine plans which many people wrongly conceive of as being “fate” or “predestination.” Easwaran, my own spiritual teacher, engaged in a similar type of plan, for his Atman cast a false ego over him that was forgetful of his true liberated condition, at the same time encouraging him to become a college English professor so that he would be able to reach a vast Western audience. Yet, after illumination, Easwaran was not aware that he had been illumined in at least three previous lives; his Atman kept even this secret from him, for it would not have contributed to his real spiritual good. This is divine intelligence in operation, the Atman of a liberated man diving deeply into Brahman to get more of what it found during its first illumination: bliss, wisdom, and freedom. Vivekananda has indeed here perceived the truth that Jesus laid the groundwork for Christianity, but it was the Christian monks and saints who established the real, living religion of increasing spiritual awareness through disciplines. This was God’s plan from the beginning, for Jesus spoke to the masses and did not want to put off “sinners” by arcane and abstruse concepts, which is how those in whom spiritual consciousness has not been awakened view real spirituality, although when this consciousness is awake these become like milk and honey. It is my humble opinion that Jesus Himself visited the Christian church in the form of St. Francis of Assisi, the author of “The Imitation of Christ,” and St. John of the Cross. The lives and works of these persons convince me absolutely that the Avatar has been hard at work in the background of all major religions, though I am sure many will not agree with this assessment.
Vivekananda:
"Social life in the West is like a peal of laughter; but underneath, it is a wail. It ends in a sob. The fun and frivolity are all on the surface: really it is full of tragic intensity. Now here, it is sad and gloomy on the outside, but underneath are carelessness and merriment.
Guru Kurt:
This is a wonderful statement that differentiates Vivekananda, who was of the “ever-free,” from an illumined sage such as Easwaran. The language used is beautiful, the meaning is crisp and elegant, and the spirituality is undeniable. There is no attempt to pander, but merely to seek the highest; illumined teachers tend to bend down too far to reach their students, instead of remaining on a high plateau as Vivekananda always did. Vivekananda exhibited much of the detachment of Ramakrishna in not catering his words in rather obvious attempts to gain followers, as is clearly seen in Easwaran (who was the greatest illumined teacher yet to visit earth.) Illumined teachers are still trapped in their bodies; the lower portions of their souls, the mind and sensory extensions, have not been sufficiently purified for them to endure disembodied life. At the cycle’s end (lifetime of the sun) all illumined persons are carried into the astral realms to begin full-time disembodied life. This life is similar to the conception of “heaven” which Christians have, except that all activities there are righteous, exhibit purity, and lead to spiritual growth. Vivekananda has been disembodied for many, many solar cycles, and so when he speaks it is with an intensity far exceeding that of mere illumined persons. Here, he points out that the liberated have done what needed to be done: they have attained unto immortality and endless bliss. Taking their souls seriously and regarding the world’s attractions as illusory, they have striven on the spiritual path and now eat the fruits of their victory over the insidious ego. Those who take the world seriously and ignore their soul are always undercut by a feeling of inadequacy. This feeling is given to them by the Atman and is its way of encouraging people to go forward and discover that deep within their hearts they contain all the bliss and joy that they desire. Happiness comes from within, and the illumined have uncoupled the source of joy from any external influence. They live in joy that never fades, happiness that never abates, and as Easwaran used to say, complete security.
Vivekananda:
"We have a theory that the universe is God's manifestation of Himself just for fun, that the Incarnations came and lived here 'just for fun'. Play, it was all play. Why was Christ crucified? It was mere play. And so of life. Just play with the Lord. Say, '"It is all play, it is all play"
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda is correct here, although the play of the Avatar is extreme by human standards. The Avatar has endured crucifixion, poisoning by hemlock, and much worse for the sake of humanity. He endures these things because He feels indebted to Brahman for being a God and not a human being, whom He regards with extraordinary pity and solicitude. Mankind has a certain degree of bloodlust, and the lowest rejoice when they see the suffering of others. When God Himself suffers they rejoice most of all, but this rejoicing brings them higher spiritually at the same time that it helps with the socialization of the planet. This is one way that Gods increase their virtue, by allowing their creatures to harm them in various ways that are of spiritual significance for their respective planets. It is His own innate sense of justice that allows humans to drag Him down, as it were, to their level by various acts of physical and mental violence and hostility. There is something inherently unfair about creating Gods, on the one hand, and creatures on the other, and while the Avatar cannot trade places with a human, His own glory sits better on His shoulders knowing He has bent down to an incredible extent, although there are certain lines He does not cross. He will not kill a human with His own hands, and He will not have sex either, which would be like a man having sex with a goat or sheep and is even more deeply repulsive to Him. He has from time to time taken a wife, but she has always been a spiritual person, and the relationship chaste. The legends about the Buddha having fathered a son, for instance, are false. The Avatar knows He is not His body and is not perturbed in the least by death. He keeps reappearing, over and over, wherever and whenever He chooses, with the Father’s blessing. He may even be among us today, although I would hardly be the one to ask about this subject. There is also a breakeven point where the conscience of the Avatar is assuaged, and He ceases to allow Himself to be hurt. After all, does He not have the same rights as any embodied being on the planet to an integral life uninterrupted by violence and slander? Humanity never bears such responsibility as the Avatar and merely seeks personal enjoyment; does He not also deserve this opportunity, who is the guiding force behind civilization and engages in self-sacrifice purely for humanity’s sake? Today people even joke about Jesus, as though what occurred was not serious; it is so foolish to let people kill you brutally and cause your body suffering, when you could have avoided it entirely just by keeping your mouth shut! They even intimate that He had a sex desire for Mary Magdalene! Beholding talk like this, Jesus winces, yet He knows His freedom approaches, when society reaches a point where His self-sacrifice will no longer be required, which coincidentally is about the time such talk is allowed to arise: it generally occurs very early in a planet’s social evolution, and has now been reached on earth as I write this. The Avatar has at last fulfilled the self-imposed moral obligations of His Godhood, and from this point forward will keep a certain distance from mankind as defined by the Father, and by His grace.
Vivekananda:
"I am persuaded that a leader is not made in one life. He has to be born for it. For the difficulty is not in organisation and making plans; the test, the real test, of the leader, lies in holding widely different people together along the line of their common sympathies. And this can only be done unconsciously, never by trying."
Guru Kurt:
This is another difference illustrated between a liberated soul and the Avatar. The Avatar is no leader; He is God. He is unconcerned about who will follow Him, for it is only divine power that enforces religion on earth. He speaks and writes with the absolute certainty that His words will be heard for many generations, and He brings forth only what has been approved for the mind of man by the Father. He has no personal agenda, but lives a life of devotion to God, seeking only to do His will. This paragraph by Vivekananda is about humans only, and I do not understand it; I must be honest. It makes no sense to me! I am not an authority on what makes a good or bad human leader, but I am sure Vivekananda has here stated the most profound truth about it ever seen on earth, for I know who he was, and that is one of the “ever-free.” Personally, I would never seek to lead humans; to where would I lead them? I teach the Way of Love, by which each person may attain perfection by his or her own efforts. I am not interested in masses, in large groups; my language speaks to individuals only. I do not seek to “hold people together” but rely completely on the Father for everything. I behold the entire cosmos turning within my body, and I seek to bring the glory of God to earth for all to behold and in which all may participate in their various capacities. There is a goal for human beings to reach, and that is enlightenment. I am only interested in guiding people forwards towards this goal, whether I influence one or many being of no concern to me.
Vivekananda:
In explanation of Plato's doctrine of Ideas, Swamiji said, "And so you see, all this is but a feeble manifestation of the great ideas, which alone, are real and perfect. Somewhere is an ideal for you, and here is an attempt to manifest it! The attempt falls short still in many ways. Still, go on! You will interpret the ideal some day."
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda was speaking in terms which this philosopher could understand. The ideal world advanced by Socrates was, like the story given to the world by the Buddha, an attempt to reach man without relying on God and religion. Socrates was the Avatar; of this have no doubt. There is no human who can speak with such clarity and precision for so long, and not make a mistake of some kind. I find no mistake in Socrates, but He kept Himself within a particular paradigm, that of the philosopher, in an effort to get mankind to think and grow spiritually thereby. Mental activity, particularly rational mental activity, results in spiritual growth, and philosophers by and large are spiritual people even though they may hold views opposite to the tenets of religion. Christians make a grievous mistake when they think that simple sentences present in their minds, such as “I accept Jesus as my personal Savior,” will save them on the last day. It is possible to be very spiritual, yet think erroneously, as for instance Jean-Paul Sartre or Friedrich Nietzsche. It is one’s spiritual size that counts, for such are malleable and will be able to adhere to correct ideas once these ideas are made known to them in understandable ways. It is no sin to think deeply and make one’s own choices, but the antithesis of sin. Socrates’ ideal world, as it applies to us today, means that we stand above the animals in our ability to form ideas. There are many types of abstract thinking in which only human beings may engage, such as generalizations and deductive reasoning. We should fall in love with our ideas, and learn to think well, and so Socrates made ideas seem charming, and to have a life of their own. In truth, the goal of everyone is enlightenment, and only when this is attained do ideas assume their full beauty and magnificence, for the total mind is able to think them then, unobstructed by the knotty and troublesome idea of the false self or ego. When you attain to perfect ideas, you will be enlightened; this is Socrates’ point, and Vivekananda’s as well.
Vivekananda:
Answering the remark of a disciple who felt that it would be better for her to come back to this life again and again and help the causes that were of interest to her instead of striving for personal salvation with a deep longing to get out of life, the Swami retorted quickly: "That's because you cannot overcome the idea of progress. But things do not grow better. They remain as they are; and we grow better by the changes made in them."
Guru Kurt:
There are two interesting things here. This would not have been my response to this woman, but then again I did not know her and Vivekananda did; his judgment may be more apropos. I would have said, “This is very good. You will indeed find God along this path, for this is the Way of Karma, selfless service. The desire you express is a very noble one, and one that God Himself bears when He visits earth, although His cause is nothing less than the liberation of all mankind. One that saves another saves himself in the bargain: this is a fundamental law of life. The highest goal, even higher than enlightenment, is ceaseless devotional service to God, for this is the central attitude of the Avatar. Feeling the sweetness of this state, one progresses swiftly through all stages of sadhana and far beyond enlightenment unto higher things still. However, please be sure to also incorporate spiritual disciplines like meditation and repetition of God’s holy name in your life. Combined with selfless work, these practices will lift your soul very swiftly, and enable you to begin to taste of that bliss for which we all yearn and for which the yogis also strive, in the caves of the Himalayas.” I would have answered differently, but Vivekananda makes a good point as well. His point is that it is not well to be concerned about the fruits of your actions, that you must achieve certain external things to obtain satisfaction. The key is to work selflessly, but not to worry about success or failure, or accomplishing this or that. Do what you are able to do, then all results should be left in the hands of God. Gandhi made this fundamental mistake, attempting to turn ahimsa, non-violence, into a weapon of war. It would have been better had he worked for the goal of Indian independence without the strange and forlorn idea of sacrificing human life to achieve his ends. It was attachment to ends (of which he was not aware) which caused this extreme thinking. He wanted to free India so badly that his judgment was clouded as to which means were truly appropriate. He may not have freed India so quickly as it was freed, but the British may have left anyway, and it is possible the Muslim-Hindu rift giving rise to Pakistan may not have formed. Gandhi felt that he knew God and God’s wishes, but I am certain he was not illumined but merely an advanced aspirant, a bodhisattva, who postponed his enlightenment to help the world, which he succeeded in doing at a terrible cost and without the satisfaction and personal spiritual growth he would have achieved working at the project on a more humble basis, without regard to success or failure, and without throwing away the lives of so many innocent Indians. One should work hard every day, but the real goal is internal, not external. Work in the world in order to transform your inner nature onto purity and holiness, for as Vivekananda says, the world will remain the world whatever we do.
Vivekananda:
It was in Almora that a certain elderly man, with a face full of amiable weakness, came and put him a question about Karma. What were they to do, he asked, whose Karma it was to see the strong oppress the weak? The Swami turned on him in surprised indignation. "Why, thrash the strong, of course!" he said, "You forget your own part in this Karma: Yours is always the right to rebel!"
Guru Kurt:
Again, I would have answered this man differently although Vivekananda’s point is well-taken. I would have said, “Your oppression may be the result of bad karma, or it may be the result of God’s divine will sent to strengthen you. Know this: God does not allow His true devotees to remain in oppressed situations for more than one life if they earnestly entreat His aid. It is likely, if you lead a good and holy life, that you will actually find yourself on the other side of this relationship in your next birth, and you will then be in a position to help set things right. One who finds himself in an oppressed situation should, first, refrain from having many children, for this shows a lack of compassion and concern, bringing new souls under the oppressor’s yolk whom God would willingly place elsewhere. It would be best to have no children; if all did this, the oppressor/oppressed situation would be eradicated in one generation. People feel that if their tribe or race dies out something terrible has happened, but for all those who make this noble decision, God merely places the soul into another body, most likely on the other side of the equation, keeping family and friends together as much as possible. Second, practice ahimsa; there is no sin if you do not harm, and throwing yourself in the oppressor’s way in an act of self-sacrifice, while also no sin, is a foolish misuse of the principle of nonviolence. God does not want us to die, but to live on, and there is much to be learned in any situation, even that of an oppressed person. Bearing with oppression will strengthen your soul and certainly free you by your next life. Third, if the situation is especially grievous and unlivable, as for instance the Jewish ghettos in Nazi Germany, I side with Vivekananda. A just war or rebellion is blessed by God, and although not as high as true ahimsa, in which unavoidable suffering is taken as it is for the soul’s benefit, is not a sin and will win God’s approval in the end. This is the justification for Gandhi’s war against the British, for it was a righteous war, and it is why he won. However, if I had been alive in those days I would have instead engaged in intense spiritual effort, seeking God and disregarding the British. This is indeed the story of Ramakrishna.”
Vivekananda:
"Ought one to seek an opportunity of death in defense of right, or ought one to take the lesson of the Gita and learn never to react?" the Swami was asked. "I am for no reaction", said the Swami, speaking slowly and with a long pause. Then he added "--for Sannyasins. Self-defense for the householder!"
Guru Kurt:
This is very good; Vivekananda hits the nail on the head here. Householders have a very large emotional stake in the outcome of any war. They are very concerned, and rightly so, about the welfare of the children they have brought into the world and for whom they accepted responsibility at the moment of conception. As I said above, there is no sin in self-defense or rightful war, only it is very important to make sure the war is right. America’s recent war in Afghanistan, for instance, is an example of a righteous war that was blessed by God, for those terrorists had attacked innocents and threatened to continue to do so. In general, most of America’s conflicts have been rightful ones, which lends a certain degree of truth to saying that it is “God’s country.” The principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States also exhibit a high degree of righteousness and may become the model for all countries. All people, regardless of birth, should be afforded the same material and spiritual rights, for all should be allowed to seek happiness, and all should be allowed to grow spiritually. In any case, it is always the householders who go to war, never the truly religious people. Religious people such as sannyasins naturally refrain from violence, not because they wish to adhere to a principle they read about in the Gita or other scripture, but because their nature has become purified and refined to the extent that violence is naturally repugnant and repulsive to them. The monks of England were sometimes slaughtered by the Vikings in just this way, and I am sure that many, even had there been a sword lying on the table in front of them, would not have lifted a finger in self-defense, such was their habitual commitment to God and the peaceful life that God loves to see in His people. Monks are God’s dearest friends on earth, and He trembles to see them die needlessly, even as He acts with strength and power to ensure that their next lives are free from all worry and concern. He allows it because noble death is good for a soul, striking at least three lives from its required time to reach enlightenment. All such receive His daily attention, and He never goes farther than is truly good for a soul, which is why martyrs do not need to face death typically ever again in any given solar cycle. He touches them just once in this way, in order to help their souls grow and for no other reason. Their killers, on the other hand, are sentenced to be thrown back into animal bodies, for there is no quicker way to experience God’s wrath than by killing one of His dear friends, as all members of monasteries and convents truly are.
Vivekananda:
"It is a mistake to hold that with all men pleasure is the motive. Quite as many are born to seek after pain. Let us worship the Terror for Its own sake."
Guru Kurt:
This is a rather interesting assertion, revealing the noble
spiritual being that was Vivekananda. He was speaking here about certain
epicurean philosophies which state that all men seek after the pleasant and
avoid the painful. This is naturally a rather obvious statement; no one seeks
pain for pain’s sake. Although there are some deviants who obtain pleasure
from their own pain or that of others, these are not the people to whom
Vivekananda refers. What he means is that among the lowest class of mankind,
those recently arisen from animals and termed “tamasic” in the Bhagavad Gita,
there is very little separation between the pleasant and a painful consequence,
yet this does not deter them in their brash and foolish pursuits. Alcoholism is
an example of this, as is the solicitation of prostitutes. An alcoholic is
almost always immediately sorry for his actions once they are accomplished, yet
he will repeat them again the next night or next week until his life is
completely destroyed, sometimes ending in suicide. Prostitutes are almost
certain to give one incurable venereal disease, yet this does not deter some
people who will spend their whole lives with itching and painful sores because
of a single night of pleasure. Vivekananda’s answer is not to continue to
philosophize, but to seek spiritual experiences, which alone can guarantee that
one will remain free from such painful pursuits for not only this life, but for
all lives to come as well. The “Terror” he refers to here is none other than
samadhi; he has written some lovely poems as well which evoke this terrific
experience, which defies description at the same time that it awakens one into
one’s own divine nature. Please remember that Vivekananda is not an illumined man, but a person who has spent many solar cycles in a
disembodied state; his spiritual experiences are far beyond those that ordinary
liberated men and women like Eknath Easwaran or Mother Teresa of Calcutta would
have. The farther you go on the spiritual path (and the illumined continue to
strive onwards, albeit with divine force and power), the more extreme your
efforts become, and the more intense the experiences also become. Such a one as
Vivekananda was satisfied with nothing less than abject, black terror, which
resolves itself into bliss in a matter of hours or days. When you gaze into the
infinitude of Brahman, to whom all are connected at deep levels, there is at
first a fear that you will lose yourself in the vastness, and not come out at
all. The Self is not lost, however, but obtains deeper awareness and immense
spiritual growth via such experiences, becoming more radiant, more blissful, and
yet more extreme during its next effort. Vivekananda here holds up his own
experience to embolden and ennoble his students. He will succeed with some, who
are advanced, and disillusion others who are more timid and wish to proceed more
slowly. The Avatar does not experience this terror, for He is verily Brahman
Himself. Experiencing nothing but limitless bliss, He tends to use a gentler
approach. Vivekananda spoke to the best of the human breed, and there are many
who will hearken to his message.
Vivekananda:
"Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was the only man who ever had the courage to say that we must speak to all men in their own language!"
Guru Kurt:
Well, well, it seems Vivekananda has forgotten the real nature of the Master, or has he? In fact, it appears he is here merely submitting to the line to which Ramakrishna Himself submitted, that He was a mere enlightened person. The Avatar assumes the guise of a man in order to inspire men to travel upwards at the greatest possible rate. He is not interested in becoming famous or asserting His authority over others, which is one way in which it becomes obvious that Sai Baba is not the Avatar as he claims. What is really funny about Sai Baba is that he claims to “fulfill the Upanishads.” The Avatar, who is responsible for the Upanishads, would never make such a foolish remark. If anything, He would bring the world new Upanishads. It probably would have been better, here, if Vivekananda had said “one” instead of “man,” so that his sentence could be interpreted in either way. In any case, his meaning is that instead of telling endless stories about ourselves and our experiences, it is better to use examples from the daily lives of our audience to impress upon them the spiritual truth we are attempting to convey. It is the mark of advanced teachers, such as Eknath Easwaran, that they are able to do this well. It is best to bring truth home to people in ways they can understand from where they currently stand on the ladder of spiritual evolution, rather than to use high-flown and abstruse language which is exemplified, for instance, in the voluminous writings of Da Free John. There is nothing remarkable in this idea, which I would have thought would be obvious to all. For some reason Vivekananda thought it was new and original, but I thought it was rather evident. One never knows about such things.
Vivekananda:
"How I used to hate Kali!" he said, referring to his own days of doubts in accepting the Kali ideal, "And all Her ways! That was the ground of my six years' fight--that I would not accept Her. But I had to accept Her at last! Ramakrishna Paramahamsa dedicated me to Her, and now I believe that She guides me in everything I do, and does with me what She will. . . . Yet I fought so long! I loved him, you see, and that was what held me. I saw his marvelous purity. . . . I felt his wonderful love. . . His greatness had not dawned on me then. All that came afterwards when I had given in. At that time I thought him a brain-sick baby, always seeing visions and the rest. I hated it. And then I, too, had to accept Her!
Guru Kurt:
Mother Kali will certainly be hated by the West, for Moses inflicted strict junctures upon them not to bear any idols, or to have any gods before YHWH. This is one of the major barriers between East and West, put there to keep the two traditions separate, on purpose. The reason for this was so that the West could develop industry, a good work ethic, and the principles of personal and religious freedom. The requirement of going to church only every Sunday, and then only to engage in simple liturgy, freed Western man to focus on science and technology, thus giving the West a definite advantage in this regard while benefiting the whole world indirectly. The East was given a more pure religion, but the truth about reincarnation inevitably gives rise to persecution and caste systems on whatever planet it is introduced. The East-West bifurcation is a common ploy in this galaxy and others used to develop these ideals, which are only contradictory in the feeble minds of primitive human beings, being completely compatible in the divine Mind and even in advanced human societies. Healing this split is a task only the Avatar can attempt, and it is unlikely to ever heal completely, for no religion will completely die out. Both Eastern and Western paths lead to spiritual growth, and of about the same rate, but the version of religion given to the East is the actual truth, and the version given to the West is a half-truth. The “dead shall rise again” is a veiled allusion to reincarnation. “Heaven” is illumination, and “hell” is being cast back into animal bodies. YHWH, called Brahman in the East, truly does not mind the use of idols so long as the worshiper remembers that the idol does not represent a Power that is different from His; all must resolve themselves in the end to a single Deity. The early Israelites failed to do this, for which Moses castigated them. Ramakrishna observed this distinction in His worship of Kali, and indeed transferred to a female deity His true feelings of devotion to infinite Brahman who is masculine in character. It is not harmful, and is in fact helpful, to worship idols so long as you recognize they are manifestations of that one Power behind the entire cosmos. The dark nature of Kali will appeal to certain individuals, as the light nature of Lakshmi will appeal to others. Others may prefer male deities like Vishnu or my favorite, Shiva, His body besmeared with ashes, wandering through graveyards. Still others may take Jesus or Krishna as Lord, or worship only YHWH. Indeed, one may worship Ramakrishna who was the Lord indeed, Jesus appearing in a new body. All these modes of worship are acceptable to YHWH, who is the One Power, although He is called by many names.
Vivekananda:
"No, the thing that made me do it is a secret that will die with me. I had great misfortunes at the time. . . . It was an opportunity. . . . She made a slave of me. Those were the very words: 'a slave of you'. And Ramakrishna Paramahamsa made me over to Her. . . . Strange! He lived only two years after doing that, and most of the time he was suffering. Not more than six months did he keep his own health and brightness.
Guru Kurt:
It is not uncommon for advanced spiritual aspirants to have actual visions of their chosen deity, who can speak with them or even play with them, as happened to Vivekananda. These visions are more real than the people you may see around you, for they are supplied by the Self or divine Atman within, who is the Maker of your entire reality. All your conceptions about the people you know are from the Self, as is your whole understanding of who you are and what is your position in life; a vision of God is a revelation of your true inner character, which is divine, and hence is more real than those beheld by the eyes. Now, the idea of divine slavery is one that appeals to me very much, and has never been explained before. Although slavery as practiced by humans is very cruel and is rightly abolished, it did have certain nice aspects if the slaveholder was kind. One never needed to think about where one would get shelter, clothes or food, for all was taken care of and that well. One worked a certain period, then was free to gossip with neighbors, sing songs, or play games. I like to think that I offer myself as a willing slave to God on this basis: God only wants for me what I would want for myself had I His intelligence and foresight, which far surpass my own. He sets me to work on projects that will help my soul grow at an optimal rate, and soul growth is synonymous with increased freedom, joy and wisdom. Imagine, for instance, that you are a body builder enslaved to a master who wants to see you win the “Mr. Universe” competition even more than you do yourself. He will take you out on his farm and give you all the physical tasks, and all the food and rest you need, to build the most magnificent body that you can possibly build. If you also have suggestions, he will listen too, although it is not possible to give advice to God; in this one case, it is much better to receive than to give! Happy the slave of God, for he alone is truly free! As for Ramakrishna’s suffering, this was as perceived by Vivekananda only. The Avatar never truly suffers, but He puts on a show of suffering for the good of humanity. Ramakrishna died a slow, agonizing death from cancer of the throat, a poignant disease for this splendid, Divine speaker to contract. The body alone suffered; Ramakrishna Himself was far above His pain, but showed humanity that He cared about all those who contract such life-threatening illnesses, and walks beside them through death’s door into the life which is to come.
Vivekananda:
"Guru Nanak was like that, you know, looking for the one disciple to whom he would give his power. And he passed over all his own family--his children were as nothing to him--till he came upon the boy to whom he gave it; and then he could die.
Guru Kurt:
It is not possible for a guru to transmit spiritual power, although there are some traditions (for instance “shaktipat”) which appear to do this. All that can happen is that your own efforts from past lives are brought into focus and awakened by contact with an illumined person. This is all done in a highly elaborate and coordinated effort between your Atman and the Atman of the teacher and all the people you may happen to meet. It is done behind the scenes and without your knowledge, who are still immersed in ignorance. Suppose you have lived with a certain guru for many lives. Once you reach an advanced state, your Self may make the decision to withhold all your good karma until you meet your teacher again, with whom you now have an eternal relationship, so that the personal impact of this illumined person will be greater, and thus aid the growth of your soul very much. Frequent contact with illumined persons or even advanced devotees is one of the best ways to enhance spiritual progress for they enliven our energies, help us to make a committed effort, and inspire us with a living vision of the wondrous things to come. They cannot, however, do our work for us. I experienced this myself, since I meditated over four years alone before going to join my spiritual teacher, Eknath Easwaran. I thought I had been disadvantaged by not coming to join him earlier, but I discovered that since my effort was sincere those four years, it made no difference at all. Indeed, I might have been propelled farther forward because I made an effort against great obstacles, in my case the opposition of my friends and family and living in complete dearth of spiritual companionship. Spiritual teachers help, but they are not essential, and fantastic progress can be made in their absence if your effort is vigorous, enthusiastic and sincere. Vivekananda also here brings up the idea of nonattachment to one’s children, although I would put it in a gentler manner. I suggest that people cultivate the attitude of universal love, love for all, then try to love one’s dear ones with that same love made just a little stronger because they are dear. Those who take on a family are loved by God with the same love with which He loves sincere aspirants, but then He adds just an extra magical touch to the affection He feels for His devotees. Raising a family is an important task, a noble responsibility, and who discharges his duties well is favored by God. Having brought children into the world, it is your responsibility to bring them to adulthood with all the skills and aptitudes they will need for successful lives. Those who fulfill this role with gusto and integrity are very dear to God indeed.
Vivekananda:
"The future, you say, will call Ramakrishna Paramahamsa an Incarnation of Kali? Yes, I think there's no doubt that She worked up the body of Ramakrishna for Her own ends.
Guru Kurt:
Yes. I have often thought that a real incarnation of God is too “hot” for most to recognize until the cooling influence of a few hundred, or a few thousand, years has passed. Vivekananda and I herald the divinity of Ramakrishna, who was the same divine being that appeared as Jesus, Krishna, Rama, Chaitanya, Mohammed and others, yet who will listen to our cries? The words of the Avatar do not fade with time, but maintain their relevancy. What is more, they perplex and perturb people, giving rise to much deep thought. Ramakrishna used to say that one ray of light from the Goddess of Wisdom would stun a thousand scholars. Kali in this quotation of Vivekananda may be taken to be the Supreme. I prefer to say that Ramakrishna was an incarnation of Brahman Himself. In Indian tradition Brahman is said to be impersonal, but He personifies Himself as the Avatar. It is not possible for humanity to experience the personality of Brahman in any other way except through the vision of the Avatar, whom indeed they yet fail to recognize. There is no illumined teacher today who recognizes that Ramakrishna was the Avatar; they are all too full of their own light and majesty. If they cannot recognize Ramakrishna, what hope do they have of ever apprehending Brahman Himself, who is invisible? It cannot be done, and will not be done, eternally. Andrew Cohen has indeed made the “impersonal reality” a central dogma of his teaching work. He is a twice-illumined man, and has dived deep into Brahman’s nature, coming back with only one thought: “Impersonal!” No human being will ever have another experience, and no human being will ever recognize, on his or her own, the living, embodied Avatar. The distance between Creator and creature is so vast that even by those in the fully illumined condition the Avatar is not recognized for who He is, but must demonstrate power of some kind. Even in the astral realm, He is not recognized but must make Himself known. Ramakrishna’s own disciples did not recognize Him, insisting to Him that they be told, and Vivekananda even in this document that I write appeared to show signs of ambivalence. Only an Avatar can recognize another Avatar. For Him, it is quite simple. The Avatar lives in a vast cloud of spiritual energy that is easily perceived by sensitive eyes. His face is guileless, but suffused by the light of Supreme wisdom at the same time. His heart is open, and not closed, to Brahman, and who can truly say whether He and Brahman are one or two? This is the dilemma of the Christian trinity, which is in actual fact not far from true at all. Jesus was not recognized by His disciples, either, and His Lordship only heralded after His death. Pondering the mystery for centuries, Christian scholars at last settled on the doctrine that Father, Son and Holy Spirit were somehow one, and yet somehow separate at the same time. This is how it is.
Vivekananda:
You see, I cannot but believe that there is somewhere a great Power that thinks of Herself as feminine, and called Kali and Mother. . . . And I believe in Brahman too. . . . But is it not always like that? Is it not the multitude of cells in the body that make up the personality, the many brain-centres, not the one, that produce consciousness? . . . Unity in complexity! Just so! And why should it be different with Brahman? With Brahman it is the One. And yet--and yet--it is the gods too!"
Guru Kurt:
I would say instead that there is a great Power that allows
Himself to be thought of as being feminine, but you may take Vivekananda at
his word. For me, God is masculine, and my relationship to Him is like that of
an athlete to his coach. I do the best I can, and listen to every piece of
advice He gives me knowing that He means well and possesses Supreme
intelligence. The final product, witnessed by the world, is a reflection of the
continuous work that we do together in the silence of my mind. For me, there is
only Brahman, although I think of Him as Father, YHWH, at times, too. The world
at last has some glimpse of the vastness of the cosmos, with a hundred billion
galaxies in the visible
universe, each with a hundred billion stars shining with divine purpose.
Almighty Brahman has brought all this out from Himself, from unthinking parts of
His own Spirit. This vastness explains why no human can perceive Brahman as
personal, and why He must personify Himself in the Avatar. Truly, the Power here
is unimaginable, and this is not the first, or the last universe that exists,
for there are many, some much larger than ours. Vivekananda makes a grievous
error here, though, when he asserts that consciousness arises from the cells of
the body. Consciousness is purely spiritual, the body merely its necessary
external instrument of expression. Without the body, the soul cannot experience
life, and without the brain the soul cannot think, yet it is the power of the
soul which thinks. The soul is not connected to the body except in a transitory
fashion. The connection is forged at birth, and dissolved at death. All this is
true until the astral realms are attained, when the body is no longer required.
The Avatar, too, experiences disembodied life, for the larger portion of His
mind never sleeps or dies, ever. It may be the case that Vivekananda’s mastery
of English was insufficient for his meaning to be made clear here, for certainly
he knew about disembodied existence and that consciousness is wholly independent
of matter. Perhaps what he meant is that the cells of the body do cooperate to
allow the soul’s expression in thought patterns, which is certainly true.
However, the analogy is still not an apt one. Brahman is one and indivisible; He
allows us to think of Him as this or that god or goddess, such as Shiva or
Parvati, but this is only for our convenience. These gods and goddesses have no
real existence outside our minds. Still, as I said, I like to think of Brahman
in the aspect of Shiva, and seeing a statue of Shiva would move me to tears of
rapture. Such is the state of my mind!
Vivekananda:
"The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to lie in manliness. This is my new gospel."
Guru Kurt:
I shrink from such statements, given the current climate of feminism, which I applaud for its assertion of equal rights for men and women, at the same time that I decry it for making women retreat from their femininity. To me there is nothing more beautiful than a woman dressed in a Indian sari, with the red dot of knowledge on her forehead, or the modest, plain yet artistic dress of the Mennonite women I have seen. Such women care about being women, and do not seek to become man-like. For some reason, I do not like to see pants on women; I am not sure why. I do not like to think of women as sex objects, and pants emphasize their bodies in an beguiling way that I find distracting and worrisome. I like to think of women as embodying noble virtues such as care and concern, compassion, friendliness, generosity and womanly intuition. I like to think about their spirit, not their bodies, but this is just my personal opinion on the subject. Men and women were made by the Creator to fulfill different roles. Each is different, each is unique, and each can contribute to the man-woman relationship. If women were the same as men, to what would each be attracted? It is the difference between them that makes the relationship interesting and fulfilling. Even in illumination men and women retain their masculinity and femininity, respectively. Men tend to become famous teachers, and women lead more by example and patient love. Eknath Easwaran and his wife Christine are an excellent example of an illumined man and woman living together and leading a successful ashram. Easwaran spoke, and Christine supported him in a thousand subtle ways. Now that Easwaran has left his body, Christine has assumed the duties of head of an ashram, and is fulfilling them admirably. So I would say, “Manliness for men, and womanliness for women” is the best way to live, and the best way to make spiritual progress.
Vivekananda:
Referring to some European reference to cannibalism, as if it were a normal part of life in some societies, the Swami remarked, "That is not true! No nation ever ate human flesh, save as a religious sacrifice, or in war, out of revenge. Don't you see? That's not the way of gregarious animals! It would cut at the root of social life!"
Guru Kurt:
I doubt whether the Swami’s words are literally true, but the spirit is essentially correct. It is likely Vivekananda was not aware of all the cannibalistic tribes of Africa and South America, and put a good spin on what he did know based on his spiritual insight. When reading spiritual literature, it is important to remember always that saints and mystics speak from available information. Do not take them literally, but try to understand the spirit from which they spoke. In this case, Vivekananda was pointing out that the essentially gregarious nature of Homo sapiens has effectively stopped cannibalism in most corners of the world, and its practice has been exceedingly limited. It probably is true that no large group of people were routine cannibals, and it certainly is true of the great civilizations of the world. Indeed, the whole great sweep of human history can be seen as greater and greater socialization, as people learn to trust one another in most dealings and to lose their suspicion, envy, and prejudice in favor of faith, generosity, and tolerance. This is true even in recent history. If you were take a black person from the 1950’s and bring him down south, say to Jackson, Mississippi, today, he would be bewildered by the changes, at the absence of segregation as well as the increased opportunities for work that he could find. The roots of the oppression of blacks have not yet been eradicated fully, but most whites befriend blacks easily, and welcome them as colleagues, something unheard of in those days. In my own experience in graduate school, white American students were in the minority. I had Indian friends, Chinese friends, Mexican friends, German and Greek friends. This is just one symptom of the great socialization that has occurred and continues to occur, and is the work of Almighty Brahman on our planet, unrecognized and unthanked, but His nevertheless. People do not recognize the Father’s work, but wish to take credit for everything themselves. I give all the credit to Him, 100%, in the subtle influence He exercises upon the populace, unawares. As Ramakrishna said, we are puppets, and Brahman is the Puppeteer. People have no idea what society would look like without the Father’s unseen intervention, but I do, and so I thank Him daily for His beneficent and continuous work.
Vivekananda:
"Sex-love and creation! These are at the root of most religions. And these in India are called Vaishnavism, and in the West Christianity. How few have dared to worship Death or Kali! Let us worship Death! Let us embrace the Terrible, because it is terrible, not asking that it be toned down. Let us take misery for misery's own sake!"
Guru Kurt:
This is again language which will be too strong for the majority of mankind. Vivekananda spoke to the highest, the most spiritual among mankind, who rejoice in strident and inspiring talk that stays high above their heads, well into the spiritual stratosphere, the talk of a man-god who has returned to earth from the astral realms and deigned to share his vivid, intense experience with all. It is an error to say that sex is at the basis of the various religions, for this is not the case. The Avatar, who has started all the major religions, recognizes the power and beauty of sex. Without it, we know today, evolution would proceed at a much slower rate. If all were hermaphroditic, we would still probably be in the sessile stages on the ocean’s floor. The majority of the world’s people engage in sex; it is wrong to cast them out of religion for merely fulfilling the Creator’s real, actual purpose! While it is true that single, celibate people travel faster on the spiritual path, married people who are faithful to one another can also make serious progress if they meditate, try to work selflessly, and cultivate attitudes of universal love for all living creatures that knows no distinction. There is no real hurry on the spiritual path, and all should enjoy the journey. God Himself enjoys living and working; how can we lose spiritually by following His example? The critical thing is to maintain a fundamental level of decency and good conduct so that you avoid the terrible fate that befalls murderers, rapists and others who commit serious crimes, and that is being cast back into animal bodies for perhaps billions of years while others are allowed to take your place as human beings. The Father takes vengeance after death on those whom He deems unsafe for general society, who have proven so by their actions. There is no sin in thought, but actions which harm others can bring the greatest punishment down upon the foolish individual who engages in them. Vivekananda then here speaks only to the sannyasin, and this is in fact the major thrust of his entire life. This was his mission, given to him by the Avatar in the astral realm, and one which he fulfilled admirably. Here he mentions the terrible aspects of Kali: death, terror, and misery. Strangely, this is not how I picture the divine Mother; I see Her terrible aspect as capable of destroying or wiping out all my sin. I see Her as conquering death, for though She wears a necklace of human heads, I perceive this as the heads of bodies I have already worn, and yet Mother Kali still lives on, through it all! I see Her as the Extinguisher of all misery, for such was my experience. You are free to take my interpretation, or Vivekananda’s, whichever you prefer.
Vivekananda:
"The three cycles of Buddhism were five hundred years of the Law, five hundred years of images, and five hundred years of Tantras. You must not imagine that there was ever a religion in India called Buddhism with temples and priests of its own order! Nothing of the sort. It was always within Hinduism. Only at one time the influence of Buddha was paramount, and this made the nation monastic."
Guru Kurt:
I am not that familiar with Buddhism, so I am not sure what these “three cycles” mean. I will interpret the words of the Buddha Himself and harmonize them with the modern age should I have time and inclination; I am wholly unconcerned with what occurred after the Buddha’s death. I know that the Father Himself upholds religions, and He does so magnificently. The religions are God’s glory expressed in the daily lives of earth’s citizens. Without them, our lives would be poor, dry and stale stuff indeed. Religion is the lifeblood of the world, and I laugh at modern atheists who would rid the world of them (certain illumined teachers, Osho in particular, advocate this!) It will never happen, for religion has been the very basis of society and will continue to be so. Every person on earth wants a taste of the Divine in their lives, even if it be only through ceremonies, liturgy and rituals. The fact is, there is an external God. Brahman exists. He brought this entire universe out from Himself, and mankind has a portion of Brahman locked away deep in his heart, which he discovers at last in samadhi. All yearn for this experience, some more intensely and some less, but it is an essential part of human nature which can never be extinguished. Biologists search for the biochemical basis of consciousness, but they shall never find it, for consciousness is spiritual. Physicists search for the ultimate particle, but this too shall not be found for matter is also spiritual. Everything, matter and all spiritual beings, is spirit. Everywhere you look is spirit, molded and formed into shapes suitable to create a vast universe, and in this universe a tiny being intended to enjoy it for eternity: you. I am also unfamiliar with the creation of the sannyasin culture of India, though Vivekananda here appears to equate it with the Buddha’s influence. In India, sannyasins are fed daily in most villages, even though the residents are poor themselves. Sannyasins are welcomed in homes where they may sleep when it rains. It is thought to bring good fortune to help sannyasins, and bad fortune to harm them. Both these things are true, for God sees all our actions and does influence events. When will American and European towns begin to welcome the wandering sannyasin? Soon, I hope, for it will help make the whole society more spiritual, joyful, and uplifted.
Vivekananda:
"The conservative's whole ideal is submission. Your ideal is struggle. Consequently it is they who enjoy the life, and never you! You are always striving to change yours to something better; and before a millionth part of the change is carried out, you die. The Western ideal is to be doing; the Eastern to be suffering. The perfect life would be a wonderful harmony doing and suffering. But that can never be.
Guru Kurt:
I am very angered whenever I see someone trying to equate suffering with religion. Religion is about the reduction and eventual total cessation of all suffering! I am not sure who Vivekananda thought he would inspire with these words; I cannot imagine anyone, animal or human, who would wish to hear this! It may again be his lack of familiarity with the English language, for there is meaning in his words despite this gaffe. Vivekananda is comparing East with West, as I have done. He is clearly speaking to a Westerner, whom he says is a struggler. The Easterners he calls conservatives, and he says both that they enjoy life and that they suffer, an apparent contradiction, but what he probably means is that they suffer outwardly while enjoying inwardly. His meaning in using the word “suffer” seems to be to endure external privation, whatever that may be. It is possible, however, to combine doing and “suffering,” in this sense, in a perfect way. The seven-fold Way of Love which I have given man does just this, with selfless work, exercise, and enjoyment of the beauty of nature included along with the techniques of meditation and repetition of the holy name, both of which grant man the mental detachment to enjoy life come what may. It is well to resolve all the issues facing you in life, whether they be physical, about comfort, or mental, about overcoming fear, anger and greed. All personal problems are completely resolved on the spiritual path. Most advanced aspirants have no major problems of which to speak, and live in the ecstatic and dynamic peace of the Self, exerting themselves at hard selfless work daily which they find a refreshing release for the vast energies with which meditation has flooded their lives. Meditation will grant you the wisdom to know when to stop “doing,” as Vivekananda says, when you have reached a suitable comfort level, neither too much nor too little in the way of material possessions. God wants us to have a happy life; Vivekananda neglects to mention that most people who become sannyasins do so because of their intense inner feelings of spiritual ecstasy and completeness. They can actually develop an aversion to material possessions that drives them out into the wilderness, seeking the peace of God in the forests and deserts. In general, renunciation follows spirituality. Spirituality seldom follows renunciation, for until you are ready for this your mind will still cling to the way you used to live, and you will be unhappy because everyone else is enjoying themselves and you are out in the cold. Real sannyasins laugh at those immersed in the world, for they have discovered the inner world of spiritual pleasure and limitless ecstasy. Until this discovery is made it is generally better to remain in the world, and combine work in the world with spiritual disciplines in a harmonious manner.
Vivekananda:
"In our system it is accepted that a man cannot have all he desires. Life is subjected to many restraints. This is ugly, yet it brings out points of light and strength. Our liberals see only the ugliness and try to throw it off. But they substitute something quite as bad; and the new custom takes as long as the old for us to work to its centres of strength.
Guru Kurt:
I have no idea what Vivekananda was talking about here, but let us assume that it applies to America. In capitalism, we accept that man cannot have all that he desires, and is subjected to restraints. Some people are forced to live in poverty, which is ugly, although the people learn forbearance and learn to enjoy simple pleasures. Liberals would alleviate this poverty by redistributing wealth, which will make the rich folk unhappy and may limit the strength of the economy in the short term. However, in some countries, notably Sweden, the people have learned to make it work and perhaps we could here too, although it would take time. Vivekananda’s point, I believe, is that there is no point in working for political change when that change is unlikely to bear fruit for you personally, since there will be many problems you also encounter and need to solve, perhaps dying before they are all resolved. I would agree with this, at the risk of not sounding “progressive” enough, and I would add an additional reason to Vivekananda’s: Who are you to be working on society, joining politics and making a big “splash” in the world, when you are not aware of your immortal life? What can you possibly achieve? If even the whole world sings your praises, and you are more popular than any person in history before you, it is all lost at death. Jesus Himself returned to a world that did not recognize Him, even in the church that bore His name, requiring Him to begin all over again! Yet, I believe the world needs good work in order to become a better place to live for all of us, and I congratulate those able to find selfless work which helps the poor, be it political or material. I would merely recommend that such people also include meditation in their daily routine, and occasional repetition of the name of God, so that they combine the spiritual quest with a noble external quest. Then you have nothing to fear, for you are making earnest efforts in two directions, which resolve themselves into a single quest to deepen your spirituality in the end. It is useful and joyful to the soul to do good work; when this work is performed with pleasing the Self within, or God without, in mind, it becomes excellent sadhana as well.
Vivekananda:
"Will is not strengthened by change. It is weakened and enslaved by it. But we must be always absorbing. Will grows stronger by absorption. And consciously or unconsciously, will is the one thing in the world that we admire. Suttee is great in the eyes of the whole world, because of the will that it manifests.
Guru Kurt:
Suttee, where a woman throws herself into the funeral pyre of her husband, is another consequence of revealing the truth of reincarnation to primitive peoples. I would disagree with Vivekananda’s assessment here, and would say it is a violent, ugly, and cruel practice that should be discontinued. In the West such customs did not develop, because people were only told of one life, and place all their emphasis on that one life, which is the best attitude for even those who are aware of reincarnation. I recall a famous aphorism, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” The Christian emphasis on one life has produced the industrialized West, and the people make great spiritual progress without knowing it. Both East and West have their strengths and weaknesses, but now it is necessary to merge them taking the best of both, for which modern man is fully prepared. Eastern religion, revealing reincarnation and enlightenment, is rational, and Western religion, emphasizing productive work in the current life, is practical. It was Brahman’s intent, through the Avatar, to create these disparate traditions during primitive, superstitious days, then merge them when society had advanced sufficiently, as has now occurred.
In speaking of “absorption,” what Vivekananda is talking indirectly about in this paragraph is finding a spiritual teacher; he was talking to students, and meant that they should absorb strength of will by listening to him. This is what we did at Easwaran’s ashram, listening to his hourly discourse twice a week, absorbing from him his supernal and enlightened attitude, which strengthened our wills, deepened our meditation, and increased our joy. If you do not have a spiritual teacher, life is difficult because you are not focused on your Atman; an illumined teacher personifies the Atman for his students, for he is transparent to the Atman’s purpose. It is really from your own Atman that this strength comes, but the teacher allows you to “absorb” from it all you need to continue your sadhana with enthusiasm and delight. If you have not yet found a teacher, your life has no center, and everything is continuous change, which as Vivekananda says does not strengthen your will. If you do not have a teacher, then it will be well to listen to a priest or minister on a regular basis, for in their own way they too serve the purposes of the Atman, though in manners vastly inferior to those of the illumined person, who is magnificent. If you lack even this, then repeat God’s name with love, and the Atman will answer you from within through divine grace and help you to go forward on the path in an optimal way, wherever you may be and in whatever circumstances you may find yourself.
Vivekananda:
"It is selfishness that we must seek to eliminate. I find that whenever I have made a mistake in my life, it has always been because I entered into the calculation. Where self has not been involved, my judgment has gone straight to the mark.
Guru Kurt:
It takes a discriminating mind to tell the difference between selfless and selfish actions. It is not always straightforward and simple, like a child’s nursery rhyme, but complex and elusive. My spiritual teacher, Eknath Easwaran, used to say that selfish actions were those that led to misery in the long run, although in the short run they might be pleasant, and selfless actions led to lasting joy in the long run, although in the short run they may seem difficult and unpleasant. This is not too far from accurate, except in my particular case I always found selfless actions pleasant and selfish actions unpleasant. It was difficult for me to pursue a career because my mind would not accept the idea that I needed to do something for myself alone; it still rebels at this. The “self” referred to in the use of both terms is the separate ego, the false idea we all carry around with us of who we are that we have developed over eons in animal bodies, based solely upon sense perceptions. Before our inward eyes open, we all think we are just what we see, touch, taste, feel and smell: a physical body meandering about in a physical world. We see other physical bodies also meandering, and since this is the basis of our self-conception we compare ourselves with them and think that all should be fair between us. If we see another happier than us, we are discontented and strive to right the situation through increasing our own pleasure or, sadly, through hurting the other person. This is the source of much of the crime in our world, and many wars as well. If we try to make ourselves happy by acquiring material goods to equal those of the other person, we soon discover that the happiness we saw on their faces was transitory and fleeting anyway. When we see others worse off than us, we are unfortunately gladdened. I often think that it is the destitution of the third world that contributes to the overall sense of well-being in industrialized countries, for we all think that by comparison we are pretty well off.
All this is deceptive, and is one of the interpretations of the Sanskrit word “maya,” illusion. In reality there is no connection, none whatsoever, between the happiness or sadness of another and my own happiness. As the ego is diminished through practice of spiritual disciplines, our inward eyes begin to open and we see that we are completely independent of all other living beings in our real nature, which is permanently blissful. When we discover this joy, we naturally want to share it with others, and then alone does a right relationship with the world arise: when we see happy people, that makes us happy because our heart also swells with that same joy, now increased because the world we live in is itself a happy place. When we see others in sorrow, we at last feel true compassion, and seek to alleviate that sadness if it is in our power. When we are happy inside, when we have found the source of joy and tapped it through spiritual effort, then we want the whole world to be happy as well, and our greatest happiness comes when we see smiles on the faces of all around us, all the time. It is indeed a strange world, for in truth spiritual aspirants are the most selfish, or I should say “Selfish” people on earth, exerting themselves to obtain personal happiness. Following the precepts of religion, they use methods that will work, such as meditation and japam, not methods that will fail as the world uses, such as acquiring material goods or fame. Brahman’s fundamental law is that all are intended to be happy, not just a few. Until we can live in joyous harmony with this law we will continue to make, as Vivekananda says, the “selfish” mistakes that cause sorrow to others, and to ourselves as well in the long run. Envy the happy face of the saint, if you dare, for following such a one you will attain his happiness, and this happiness will never leave you!
Vivekananda:
"Without self, there would have been no religious system. If man had not wanted anything for himself, do you think he would have had all this praying and worship? Why! he would never have thought of God at all, except perhaps for a little praise now and then, at the sight of a beautiful landscape or something. And that is the only attitude there ought to be. All praise and thanks. If only we were rid of self!
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda does not have this quite right, although as usual there is real substance in his words. There is a vast spiritual pyramid in place on earth, with the lowest among mankind, having recently arisen from animals, at the numerous base, and the sages and spiritual aspirants at the less numerous apex. As I once saw at a carnival on “Star-Trek: the Next Generation,” “The higher, the fewer!” Religion is meant for everyone, and when the masses gather once a week in church, mosque, or temple, each takes from the experience what he or she is able to take. It is true that the lowest ask of God material success. In today’s world, there is the ridiculous book series “The Prayer of Jabez” in which a perverted writer reads in the Bible a verse that guarantees wealth to those who pray it constantly. As a man conceives of “the good,” so he imagines God will bestow. If a man thinks that having wealth and fame is good, then he will ask God for these things and whine if he does not get them. If a man thinks that spiritual attainment and bliss are good, he will ask God for these things and disregard his personal circumstances so long as he is reasonably comfortable.
God loves it when people attempt to talk to Him about their lives; he enjoys all types of prayer, for at least the person’s mind is lifted a little bit out of the temporal world into spiritual thinking. Sometimes He grants these prayers to keep the person interested in religion, if He sees potential for further growth. These are often, however, very low prayers that seek to take advantage of God’s power for personal profit. We should really take the attitude of Jesus and pray for those things that “neither moth nor rust consumes,” that is to say devotion, love for God, and righteousness. One should have a trusting relationship with God, who sees our physical needs and will provide us with all the help we need provided our mental attitude is right; we should not pray for wealth, but be satisfied with a reasonable level of comfort, without luxury but also without poverty. It is like a child who, when asked what he would like for his birthday present replied, “Father, just assure me that I will always be close to you.” What do you suppose this father did? Of course, he went out and bought the biggest present he could find for this child who adored him. This is the way it is with God; if we love Him truly, we do not need to ask Him for specific things, for He sees what we need and will respond out of the love He bears also for us. Now, Vivekananda’s astral nature really shows through in this quotation from him; he goes one step further. So far is he from asking for material goods (who has lived a disembodied life for eons) that he asks God for nothing but an increase in his ability to appreciate the beautiful things that God has done, the bountiful earth and all its creatures, along with the vast cosmos. This is a very high prayer indeed.
Vivekananda:
"You are quite wrong when you think that fighting is a sign of growth. It is not so at all. Absorption is the sign. Hinduism is a very genius of absorption. We have never cared for fighting. Of course we could strike a blow now and then, in defense of our homes! That was right. But we never cared for fighting for its own sake. Every one had to learn that. So let these races of newcomers whirl on! They'll all be taken into Hinduism in the end!"
Guru Kurt:
I am not sure who would think fighting a sign of growth; I suspect this is an antiquated idea, for in today’s world war and violence in general are not thought good, although there are isolated pockets of anarchic thinking that remain. In today’s world, perhaps we would say that frenetic activity is a sign of growth. My guru, Eknath Easwaran, included in his horrible “Eight-Point Program” the idea of trying to slow down. The cure for hurry, he thought, was going slower, but he was wrong on this. Great mental activity is a very good sign, showing a tamasic or lazy person has emerged into rajas or action. What is required is more energy, not less, and any attempts to slow down will be fighting the very evolution of a person’s soul! Instead of counseling such people to slow down, I tell them to learn to apply their excess energy to selfless tasks with a godlike attitude.
For instance, a mother may have four children, a job, and many extra activities associated with co-heading a household that leave her busy from morning until night. Even though this person may feel frazzled, she is in a very good state; in this I disagree sharply with Easwaran. The expression of great energy can leave one with a feeling of constant stress, but this is a sign of spiritual growth, and unless it becomes overwhelming there is no reason to try to “slow down.” It is better to learn to master this high level of activity by deepening your awareness of the spirituality underlying your life, and the lives of all around you. The key is to think more about the joy that you will be bringing to others, and less about your own role in the situation. For instance, Tommy may have piano lessons after school, and Jill may have soccer practice. Instead of dwelling on the fact that you have very little time for yourself, think about how Tommy will be benefiting from his lessons, how he will enjoy having the ability to produce music throughout his life, and how happy you yourself will be seeing that you have played an important role in rounding out an actual human person’s life. Think about how Jill is growing, increasing her skills and becoming well-socialized by playing a team sport, and that without your help she would be sad and bored with life. Sports will likely keep her out of trouble when she becomes a teenager, for she is learning how to live life well by having “good clean fun.”
When you learn to think in this way, you will forget yourself, and having forgotten yourself you will find that you are the person that loved these other people, these precious children, and made a real, significant difference in the overall level of happiness in the world. You do not lose yourself by helping others in these ways, but become “the Helper,” which is a glorious role similar to the role that God Himself plays in all our lives. It is a very powerful, meaningful, and rewarding feeling, if your attitude is right, and all stress dissolves when you learn to act in this godlike fashion. Instead of dwelling on what you are losing, dwell on what the others are gaining, and you will find that you were the powerful Giver of these wonderful things. When you act like God, you obtain the peace of God, which is an active peace with a tremendous depth that leaves a lingering sweetness in your life that stays on and on, in this case, long after the children leave home and you at last have time to turn to meditation and seek the ecstatic, divine experiences that everyone craves; you will have lost nothing, but are ready to go forward towards bliss.
Vivekananda:
"The totality of all souls, not the human alone, is the Personal God. The will of the Totality nothing can resist. It is what we know as law. And this is what we mean by Shiva and Kali and so on."
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda, like all who begin life destined to become human beings and then, after illumination, astral beings, has clearly never seen Brahman, and even though he encountered Brahman’s Personification in Ramakrishna, he does not appreciate or understand it in any meaningful way. The gap between Creator and creature, even when the creature has ascended into the astral realms, is so huge that the two forever will seem strange to one another. This gap cannot be bridged in reality, although the Avatar reaches down in love, and sometimes self-sacrifice, to humanity in powerful ways as decreed by the divine Mind. No matter how they try, human beings cannot conceive that the actual Lord of the Cosmos could descend into a mere human body. If He is in a human body, they think, he must somehow be one of us. In truth, the human body is optimized for human needs, and is not a suitable body for a God like Ramakrishna. Properly, He belongs in a much larger, stronger body; His spirituality is so intense that it causes Him physical problems throughout His life. For instance, the neck and upper back region becomes very tight and painful, for this is where Brahman enters the body and controls it, from without. Krishna was also known as “He who is bent in three places,” because at times the whole body of the Avatar spasms painfully, producing a sideways bend in the spine that takes days to resolve. There are planets where Avatars reside in between taking care of worlds like earth, located in the globular clusters. Here, through His grace the Father gives them proper divine bodies, and they lead lives that are free from pain and full of bliss. These are like “vacation worlds” for Avatars; just think about Jesus’ life if you want to know why vacations might be required, although they go there only about every thousand solar cycles, or approximately fifteen trillion years, though naturally they stay for a full cycle once there.
As you can plainly see from Vivekananda’s discourse here, he knows nothing whatsoever about Brahman. The Personal God is the Avatar, and the “Totality” whose will none may resist is the Father. There is no “collective totality” of human souls; he is merely referring to his experience of Brahman, which he does not fully understand. There has been some confusion in religion about “Atman and Brahman.” The Atman is the divine core of man, union with which is the one goal of evolution, and after which a man becomes a spiritual being who ascends into the astral realms. It is connected to Brahman, but not in the same way that an Avatar is connected. The word “Paramatman” denotes the region of Brahman into which the Atman is permitted to extend. It is like a pearl getting a fresh layer of nacre or mother-of-pearl, or a plant putting out its spring foliage. A tree becomes a new tree in the spring, but in most relevant ways it is still the old tree with a new “layer” of growth. So it is with illumined teachers, who obtain a fresh illumination each life until at last they are sufficiently large, and sufficiently pure to ascend to the disembodied astral realms. The illumined sages mistake the “Paramatman’s” fresh shell for Brahman Himself, and declare that they have “become Brahman,” but this is not in fact what has occurred. They say they have “attained union with Brahman,” but their Atman has merely added a new cloak of Paramatman, which is a small portion of Brahman, but not the Almighty Himself. They say “Atman and Brahman are the same,” but this merely asserts the obvious truth that all spiritual growth inevitably has its source in Brahman’s spirit.
The Avatar is a special creation of Brahman that has no separate soul. Human souls are separate, one from the next, but the Avatar is a fragment of an immensely huge Divine being, non-separate from that being and possessing the consciousness of Brahman Himself within His body. Humans will travel forever upwards, but the Avatar must travel downwards to meet us. Since He talks like us, we assume that we can talk like Him, but this will never occur. The Avatar uses sophisticated, complicated and well-planned thought structures underneath His speech and writings which no human may trace, even once they attain to the astral realms. For this reason, for instance, no human will ever produce a work of equal quality to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” nor will any human speak like Jesus or Ramakrishna, for all eternity. Paramatman is Brahman in the sense that it is spirit which you did not possess before, and all matter and spirit derives from Brahman, but it is not Brahman in the sense of being His overriding will and personality, which is the story of the Avatar. The universe was not created from within, accidentally, as illumined teachers like Andrew Cohen boldly and wrongly assert. It was created from without from non-thinking although conscious portions of Absolute Brahman’s spirit, thus guaranteeing us real separation from Him and eternal individuality. The Avatar is the full embodiment of this external Creator, full of spiritual power, the actual Mighty God who created the entire Cosmos in a human body for the sake of mankind’s benefit.
You cannot draw your spiritual growth from anything other
than Brahman; this is why you have been told that there is a direct connection
between the human being and Brahman. The connection is real, but you can only
travel a little way upwards along this connection, although this little ways is
enough to make an ordinary, material human being into a veritable angel of light
and wisdom, as exemplified by the lives of enlightened people like Cohen,
Easwaran, Osho and Da Free John. At the boundary of Brahman and the Atman exists
Paramatman. The soul extends deeper (or if you choose, higher) into this
Paramatman every illumination, although in the first illumination Paramatman is
not explored; only the ego is extinguished, and the Atman shines forth in divine
power and radiance. It is the awakened and free Atman that then sets its sights
on Paramatman, the continuing spiritual evolution of the illumined people of
earth. This has not been revealed to mankind before now because it was desired
to encourage the most rapid growth possible until the problems that we have
today would occur: numerous illumined persons asserting they are the Avatar and
greater than Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus returns to set things right, although
some confusion inevitably remains. Illumined persons foolishly weigh the
quantity of their words against the quantity of what Jesus said, and find Him
lacking. This was indeed His intent! There is nothing in quantity; a million
humans typing on a million computer keypads for a million years still could not
produce sentences such as Jesus Christ continually brought forth from His Divine
Mind. What is more, they could not do so should they type for eternity. This is
the way it is.
An Avatar is verily Brahman Personified; humans must plunge
deeper and deeper into their own spirituality, which is limitless, but they can
only bring back what they can carry from their spiritual experiences. They are
limited by their small size, and this is the real barrier between God and His
creatures, even should they be illumined creatures, man-gods like Vivekananda. A
foolish man who had never seen the sea crossed a mountain to find it. Bringing
back a small portion of seawater in a tin can, the only vessel he carried with
him, he showed the residents of the town and let them taste the salty water. The
townspeople were very curious, and found they could dry the seawater to give
them salt for flavoring their food, so they asked the foolish man to go and get
more. “Sure,” he replied. “Next time I shall bring back the whole
thing!” This is the real problem that illumined people in the world today have
encountered; they have seen infinity, and are sure there are no bigger things
than they find themselves to be, so they boldly assert themselves to be the
“Avatar of the Age” who are no more than foolish men carrying tin cans full
of salty water. The water is indeed salty; it has Brahman’s nature, but the
Avatar is the sea. It is my hope that illumined people will learn their
place, and admit that there are
bigger things than they have experienced, though I may be naïve in this hope. I
am unconcerned, for it affects me not at all.
Vivekananda:
"Worship the Terrible! Worship Death! All else is vain. All struggle is vain. That is the last lesson. Yet this is not the coward's love of death, not the love of the weak or the suicide. It is the welcome of the strong man who has sounded everything to its depths and that there is no alternative."
Guru Kurt:
These are strong words from a sannyasin, meant for sannyasins. When Vivekananda says that “all struggle is vain,” he is referring only to struggle against your deep inner drives towards reality and the need for spiritual attainment. Effort is required to make spiritual progress, to attain higher states of consciousness, but this effort must be proper, along the lines laid out by the Avatar and the world’s spiritual teachers, who although remaining ignorant of the external God are still experts at self-transformation and the best proximate help for all earnest seekers. Personally, I would never follow this advice of Vivekananda. As I recall, he had a proclivity for harsh and sometimes violent attitudes. I spent almost ninety years in the disembodied state; am I now supposed to yearn for disembodiment once again? I took on a body so that I could enjoy the world; I refuse to spend my life yearning for death, when since my last death I have been yearning strongly for life! To my mind, the fear of death is the single greatest motivator for a person before enlightenment is attained; I suspect what Vivekananda intended to convey by these words is comfort for those people who are still not enlightened. Someday, they too will be able to proclaim, boldly, that death is welcome, as life is also welcome. The purpose of this whole globe, our solar system and the galaxy itself, is to promote life. Until you have drunk from the cup of immortality, as Vivekananda has done, you will fear death for its outcome is unknown to you. After that you can, like Vivekananda, who is used to being disembodied, yearn to be out of the body again and free from its limitations! Or, like me, you can look forward to embodiment as a pleasant diversion and stimulating experience, working for the Father’s intense purposes and enjoying planetary life.
Vivekananda:
"I disagree with all those who are giving their superstitions back to my people. Like the Egyptologist's interest in Egypt, it is easy to feel an interest in India that is purely selfish. One may desire to see again the India of one's books, one's studies, one's dreams. Hope is to see again the strong points of that India, reinforced by the strong points of this age, only in a natural way. The new stage of things must be a growth from within.
Guru Kurt:
I suppose Vivekananda here means people who yearn for the old ways, for the ancient India of which they have read. I have a similar yearning today when I read the works of Kipling; I get a very nostalgic feeling. The fact is, all the world’s religions have introduced superstitious beliefs of one type or another that today conflict with science head-on. Christians, for instance, are sometimes convinced that God created the earth 4000 years ago, and that Satan put the dinosaur bones here to fool us. Hindus, for their part, still believe that the “golden age” was long ago and that things have been getting worse; we are now in the “Kali Yuga,” or decadent age. All these things had their proper place during a certain stage of man’s social development, and it is now time to abandon them for the reality, which is sweeter and higher. Christians were given the Genesis fable to establish in their minds that YHWH was extremely powerful. Today, instead of saying that He did the whole thing in seven days, I would point to the Hubble Deep Field photographs and point out that He made the whole thing, although it has been made the way the scientists are discovering. It is no longer necessary to use fables to impress people with God’s majesty, for science is doing this job for us quite admirably. Hindus were told of the Kali Yuga and of a past golden age, which archeology does not support, because when you tell a primitive man that long ago things were better, he holds this idea in his mind and gets better today. The religions of the world are the product of the divine Mind; they are divine Psychology in action, and have been profound in their impact although poetic and not scientific imagery was used in those ancient days.
God is Creative, and God is Powerful. These two important ideas were successfully administered through the use of fables prior to now, this moment. The religion which I bring to man is rational, for the first time, devoid of superstition and embracing science, yet still promising real glory which is to come. All may attain to a divine state, although not becoming true Gods like Ramakrishna, becoming god-like in every relevant aspect, with divine powers, limitless wisdom, unending bliss, and extreme freedom. Sai Baba has enforced his false claim to Avatarhood by exercising some of these very powers, instantly transporting small objects into his hands from long distances, healing people, and speaking with authority, although not the authority of an Avatar. Andrew Cohen, Da Free John, Osho and Eknath Easwaran are all examples of enlightened persons who have addressed the West. Despite the contrary claims of Da Free John, all may attain to his state, and all will attain to his state, one day. Despite Cohen’s claims that the state of enlightenment is evolving, it is the same state as it was three thousand solar cycles ago, and will be three thousand solar cycles from now.
The Atman of these enlightened individuals, while possessing a portion of Brahman, still remains ignorant by comparison with the real Avatar, and when He appears it is likely He will work to clarify the confusing situation that exists in the world today. Blinded by their own intense light and bliss, these men do not know themselves. Seeing nothing greater around them, they presume they are the greatest and that only the God within man is real. The Avatar is greater, but when He appears He will not be recognized, so vast is the distance between even enlightened persons and God the Creator. They will think He is a fool, who is the full embodiment of Brahman; they will not recognize His Play, for He does not pander to disciples, and will think Him of no account. Generally, it is not until after the Avatar’s death that people begin to recognize that He was God; it is just too hard for humans to admit that standing before them in a weak, puny, human body is the very Creator, the Lord of the entire Cosmos. They presume He is a piece of trash, and the Avatar rather enjoys this deception, finding the entire human scene humorous and entertaining. If a human were to take “ant-birth,” knowing fully that he was a human, do you not think he might find it entertaining when the ants decided absolutely that he must be an ant? This is how it is with the Avatar, who is unconcerned with what people think about Him, and even delighted at their quaint and ignorant suppositions, which seek to bind into humanity that which can never be so bound.
Vivekananda:
"So I preach only the Upanishads. If you look, you will find that I have never quoted anything but the Upanishads. And of the Upanishads, it is only that One idea, strength. The quintessence of the Vedas and Vedanta and all lies in that one word. Buddha's teaching was non-resistance, or non-injury. But I think this is a better way of teaching the same thing. For behind that non-injury lay a dreadful weakness. It is weakness that conceives the idea of resistance. I do not think of punishing or escaping from a drop of sea-spray. It is nothing to me. Yet to the mosquito it would be serious. Now I would make all injury like that. Strength and fearlessness. My own ideal is that saint whom they killed in the Mutiny and who broke his silence, when stabbed to the heart, to say, "And thou also art He!"
Guru Kurt:
The Upanishads are the work of the Avatar, no one else. They are as accurate today as when they were first written, proof that as Vivekananda said above, the world must learn to dance to the Hindu rhythm. God has given His truest and purest revelations to India, and there is where He has visited most often, coming at least twice as the Avatar the last millennium alone, as Chaitanya and Ramakrishna. I say “as the Avatar” for the incarnation also visits the world as poets, such as William Blake and William Shakespeare. The world will laugh at me for saying this, and I laugh back at them! Without the Avatar’s unceasing work, this world would be poor indeed. He is needed by the citizens of the earth, whether they know it or not, whether they like it or not, and will continue to make contributions both to religion and to culture for the entire solar cycle. He made this planet, and seeks to enjoy it by the side of mankind, not as its leader but as its servant. This attitude is always prominent in an Avatar’s life. For instance Mohammed, who was the head of a large empire by His death, still lived in humble circumstances instead of surrounding Himself with pomp. He was founding a religion and well-aware of this fact, and did not promulgate Himself, instead seeking ways to increase the spiritual stature of mankind, who is His “child and care,” as Blake would have said.
I disagree with Vivekananda upon the central meaning of the Upanishads as being “strength.” I would sum them up instead with the phrase, “Thou art that,” meaning that all of us have a portion of Brahman deep inside our hearts which we can realize through spiritual practice. Remember that Vivekananda comes from the astral realm, and is not used to being in a body. He thinks that people can just give up their bodies, like that, and attain to the astral realm instantly, which is far from the truth although it is still wonderful to think about it, which was his real purpose here. He sought to inspire people by exhibiting his stature, which from their point of view was ultimate. “Here am I,” Vivekananda says, “having attained to a new realm, a disembodied realm of pure spiritual bliss and mighty action! Throw off your bodies! Join me up here, where the air is pure and the freedom exuberant!” While inspiring, he goes too far sometimes. It is not possible to throw the Buddha off like this, which he should have realized was none other than His Master, Ramakrishna, in an earlier incarnation. When the Creator speaks, His word may not be contravened. You cannot break the word of God; you can only break yourself to pieces upon it. This will be true for all time. Even at the end of the solar cycle, there will no one who can improve upon the words of Jesus, the Buddha, or Ramakrishna, except the Avatar Himself, and this He does not because He did not know better in His earlier lives, but because mankind has grown and is ready for new truths, and new versions of the old truths, the eternal verities that govern all life, and will govern forever.
The ideal of ahimsa, or non-violence, is one of great strength, not of weakness. In Vivekananda’s speech you can again clearly see his strong distaste for the human body and desire to throw it off; he almost seems to yearn for death. He is not used to embodiment, recall, but disembodiment, and physical life is dreary and troublesome to him, perhaps even to the point of clouding his thinking somewhat, for his attitude here is actually one of violence. A truly nonviolent person will tend to avoid confrontation and if there is a chance of death, he will go in the other direction. If forced by divine circumstance, however, he will also face death nobly as Jesus, Socrates, and Ramakrishna have shown us, and he may face worse things than this as well. If a man were standing in the street wielding a knife and we had been unseen, I would go in the other direction; Vivekananda would approach him. Who is right here? It is my attitude that one should use one’s own lights as much as possible, and trust God only for that which is out of one’s power. Think of God as being an extremely strong friend of yours, like Arnold Schwarzenegger with angel’s wings. This friend loves you, and will do as many things to help you as he can, for he is much stronger and wishes you well. What is the proper attitude? Should I demand that this person do everything for me, or should I do whatever I can for myself and then allow him to fill in where I cannot, should he see fit to do so? If God does not need to spend His energies helping us, how many other people do you suppose He may be able to help that day? “God helps those who help themselves,” as the saying goes, and it is a true one.
Do not seek death, but life. There is nothing in death, except for someone like Vivekananda who just cannot wait, apparently, to get off this earth and back to his cozy and enjoyable astral worlds. We do much more to help the cause of God, and ourselves, by remaining alive and struggling through whatever situations life may present. The human soul grows when it is alive and embodied; during death it merely rests and accumulates the energy required for a new birth. The attitude of nonviolence should be extended, also, to your own precious self. Vivekananda calls this attitude weak, but I say it is strong, for living is difficult; dying is very, very easy. Da Free John, the imbecile, even wrote a book called “Easy Death.” Death is indeed easy, and it is the coward’s way out. Your troubles are all over in a minute or two, whatever the future may bring, for which you no longer bear responsibility! YHWH takes your soul at this point and gives it the rest it needs, then puts it into another body; you have relied on divine power instead of your own power. Do you really think that God likes this? This is the main reason that Gandhi’s “satyagraha” or civil-resistance campaigns were repugnant to God. He supported them, but at “arms-length” as it were, because the oppressive practices of the British were even worse. Ramakrishna lived in the very same India that Gandhi knew, and did not have any trouble with the British. In general, sadhana may be performed even in the most oppressive societies so long as one keeps to the quiet of one’s own house. Sadhana is a very personal affair. It is ourselves we must transform; there is no need for massive public movements such as Gandhi encouraged.
In America there is a nice modern movement called “WWJD,” or “What Would Jesus Do?” One should do what one thinks Jesus would have done, or Ramakrishna, or Buddha, for they were all the same divine, spiritual, Supreme Person in different bodies. The Avatar is non-confrontational, except when circumstances force Him to face opposition for the sake of the greater good of mankind. He knows better, far better, than to try to convince any human of something of which that human is not already convinced, for once the mind of a man is set, by about age twenty, it is set in stone and cannot be changed by any amount of reasoning. The Avatar stays in the background until the Father calls Him. This is the highest ahimsa, or non-violence, which values life and all life’s experiences, and does not fear death, but does not seek death either. This ahimsa seeks internal wisdom, and that is its hidden strength. When you confront, you assert your opinion over another’s; when you shy from confrontation, you learn what is good in the other person’s opinion and use it to enliven your own. Life is a strictly personal affair; we do not need to convince another. We can all reach that limitless stream of immortality, drink from that cup of heavenly nectar of eternal life, by purifying our own minds, never by purifying the mind of another. This is the deadly trap in which those who follow Easwaran can find themselves when they try to “put others first,” a part of his “Horrible Eight-Point Program.” We do not know the needs of ourselves, much less the needs of others, and in trying to put others “first” we will lose ourselves, alienate them, and become disinterested in the spiritual life which should not be treacherous and difficult to understand, but easy, simple and light. A real lover of God will help others naturally, out of the fullness of his heart, with simple and obvious things such as supplying food or comfort upon loss of a loved one. He does not need to make a conscious effort to “put others first.” My mind goes into revolt every time I hear that phrase; don’t you try it, unless you enjoy confusion and disillusionment!
I want to go on for one or two more paragraphs singing the praises of ahimsa, for people do not realize how profound and perfect this attitude really is, how magnificently simple of application, yet how powerful in its effects. It is a very pure attitude, and one who cultivates it can sail across the “sea of birth and death” swiftly and effortlessly. It is based on a fundamental understanding of Brahman’s real purpose in creating us, and those who follow it live in complete harmony with this purpose, progressing rapidly towards illumination and other advanced spiritual states. Essentially, whenever you harm another, especially physically but emotionally too, you are going to have to pay. Brahman has decreed that all are meant to live together in happiness; if you make another unhappy by intent, you are at odds with your very Creator, disobedient and rebellious, and must be shown, not told but shown, the correct attitude. Your payment takes the form of negative karma, and if the sin is very bad, such as murder, condemnation to animal bodies for perhaps billions of years. The majority of this karma is mediated by your Atman, and by the Atman of all those around you, for the Atman in each person colludes with the Atman in all others to uphold the laws of Brahman. Even though the Atman cannot recognize the Incarnation, who is too high above it, it contains within itself a microcosm of Brahman’s Reality, and is a god itself in a very real sense. If you are good, you will be rewarded, and if bad, punished, end of story. Now, in almost every circumstance in life, refraining from injury is tantamount to goodness. Life is complex and difficult; who really knows what a good action is, and what an evil action is? In all cases, if you choose not to harm, you will be spared all negative karma.
There is a terrible secret here, which I tell with trepidation, fearing the evil consequences. Even should you fail to help another who has, through no fault of yours, gotten injured, no sin is seen by Brahman. This does not include things that happen to your children, for you bear responsibility for them having brought them into the world, but it would apply to the “good Samaritan” of Jesus. If this person had continued on the road and ignored the suffering, wounded man by its side, he would have incurred no evil karma and would have been observing perfect ahimsa. Brahman would not condemn him. The basis of this truth is that we are all limited beings, with very little control over our surroundings; are we to take responsibility for the entire world with our puny minds and abilities? Brahman does not expect this of us, which is why as the Buddha He revealed the ideal of ahimsa as a perfect and simple tool for making spiritual progress. Now, of course, Brahman will be pleased with us when we do stop to help, and good karma will be generated, karma which will cancel out a slightly more than equal amount of evil karma. Who cannot use good karma? In this case, it is very clear what should be done; there is no question whether helping this person is a good or evil action. It is clearly good, and so an earnest spiritual aspirant will stop to help. What is more, his heart will be tender and moved to compassion by any suffering that he beholds. He will stop to alleviate the pain in his own heart at seeing another suffering, and to experience the joy he will feel when he sees that the person has been healed and is glad himself once more. Follow perfect ahimsa, then, and when you get a chance do good. This is the best and fastest way to increase your feeling of bliss and eradicate evil from your mind and from your life as well.
Vivekananda:
"But you may ask, 'What is the place of Ramakrishna in this scheme?' "He is the method, that wonderful unconscious method! He did not understand himself. He knew nothing of England or the English, save that they were queer folk from over the sea. But he lived that great life: and I read the meaning. Never a word of condemnation for any! Once I had been attacking one of our sects of diabolists. I had been raving on for three hours, and he had listened quietly. 'Well, well!' said the old man as I finished, perhaps every house may have a backdoor. Who knows?'
Guru Kurt:
My responses to Vivekananda’s comments about Ramakrishna are probably becoming predictable at this point. Vivekananda said outrageous things about the Master, which only demonstrates clearly my point that those who meet an Avatar just cannot accept that this could be the real, living Lord of the Universe present in a human body. Their minds turn back, they shrink back from this possibility in terror and disbelief. These sentiments of Vivekananda are asinine and foolish! First, let me point out that unlike the human being, the Avatar has no unconscious mind. His Mind is all conscious, although He is controlled from without by the larger portion of His Mind, which is invisible and spiritual. The Avatar is a mighty God who takes on a body with a fragment of His being set aside and cultivated for just this purpose. This God never gets tired, never sleeps, and will live forever. Death is a joke to the Avatar, who made the very planet which we call home, and will make many more planets, just as He has made hundreds of thousands of planets in the past. To humanity, the grand sweep of civilization is all brand new and glorious, but the Avatar has seen it all before, over and over again, the same evolution, the same rise to sentience, the same early civilization where He introduces key ideas in poetic form, the same industrial revolution, the same CD-ROMS, computers, and cellular telephones. This is the Being that Vivekananda says does not know Himself! I would laugh if his ideas were not so pathetic, and if he did not show such a complete misunderstanding of Ramakrishna’s illustrious stature as Eternal Lord.
I will tell you two things. First, Ramakrishna knew very well where His next birth would be, that it would be in an English speaking country, and for this reason He frequently teased His disciples, begging them to speak in English before Him. He knew that in two lives, He would be born in Russia. The Avatar knows these things, for He follows an intense plan laid down by the Father and hatched between them during the long interim when the earth was not yet populated with creatures, before the initiation of life. This planning goes on continuously up until the moment of the Avatar’s birth, with many last-minute details emerging, and continues with precision throughout His entire life. Second, Ramakrishna knew that in His very next life He would be given an opportunity to address Vivekananda’s ideas in some fashion, which is the meaning of His saying, “Well, well! Perhaps every house may have a backdoor. Who knows?” The backdoor, naturally, is one which Vivekananda himself did not know about. Vivekananda spoke, then Ramakrishna would sneak into the house of his life’s work at a later date, in His next life. I say these things certain that no one will believe me, except for the one I care about, but I speak my mind nevertheless for it is an interesting diversion.
Vivekananda:
"Hitherto the great fault of our Indian religion has lain in its knowing only two words: renunciation and Mukti. Only Mukti here! Nothing for the householder!
Guru Kurt:
“Mukti” means liberation. Vivekananda is again stating his position, the role which he assumed, of shining example for sannyasins. In doing this, he differentiated his position from Ramakrishna’s, who spoke for both householders and sannyasins, a difficult task. However, there is no fault in Indian religion, only in the practice of this religion, in the interpretations of the words of the Avatar. Each religion stands as a perfect vehicle for people to make spiritual progress, and will remain so forever. You do not need to accept my word that the same divine being, the Avatar, started them all, but may cling to any of them; only, I pray that you at least learn the greatest lesson that the Hindus give to man, and that is tolerance for others. Christians, for instance, seek to isolate themselves from the world’s religious community and refuse to listen to the ideas of other religions. I assert that this is due to a serious misinterpretation of Jesus’ words (which were admittedly vague) by the church fathers. There is nothing that can be done about those who still cling, like babies to their mother’s teat, to the Christian religion, but they will be all right so long as they follow Jesus’ central teaching and do unto others as they would have others do unto them: that is, be very tolerant of all religious ideas, keeping open minds.
With that aside to the integrity of the world’s religions, Vivekananda is here attempting once again to throw open the door to the astral realms for his listeners: “Liberation is now! Step into the light; don’t pause for renunciation, but think that you are already liberated! Then renunciation is easy.” His idea is that if people cling to the ultimate goal, and imagine themselves as already liberated, then sadhana will be easy and natural. I do not think that I agree with this, although it is inspiring and ennobling to read powerful words such as these. I think it is much better for people to take an attitude of “impatient patience,” and to try to taste the results of their spiritual efforts daily. The goal of spiritual disciplines is to increase joy, not to diminish it. As you get more and more control over your mind, you become a deeper personality, which is a joyous state of existence. You feel a sweetness arising from deep inside your heart, that begins slowly, drop by drop, but then increases until it is a rushing river of bliss and ecstasy. From the very first day you practice meditation, japam, selfless work or any other spiritual discipline, you should experience increased happiness. If you do not, then either they are not the right disciplines for you, or more likely, your attitude is not right.
The best attitude is one of relaxed enjoyment, like settling into a comfortable chair for a long night’s read of your favorite novel. You should feel as though beginning spiritual disciplines you will be starting on the most exciting adventure, the most thrilling journey, one that will last your entire lifetime. The goal is indeed liberation, but do not seek it immediately, for you do not know where you are and it takes many, many lifetimes of effort to reach enlightenment. Instead, keep the ideal of enlightenment in the back of your mind and strive daily to get to know your inner environment. Spiritual disciplines are meant to bring you immediate bliss, a taste of the ecstasy which will come at the end of the path; learn how you need to work inside to increase this bliss, applying the precepts of religion. One should be patient for the ultimate goal, but impatient for the immediate, daily goal of a feeling of progress and increased happiness in life. As an example, you should learn the signs in your mind when a wave of anger approaches, and when it does you can defeat it by repeating the name of God, obtaining a warm feeling of bliss when the power that was contained in that wave is released into your hands. Worldly people cannot do this, but are tossed back and forth by these waves, acting out in anger towards all around them, generating bad karma for themselves and making themselves susceptible to physical problems as well, such as cardiac arrest. Sannyasins such as Vivekananda tend to look down on householders as inferiors, but I do not. Indeed, as I write this I too am a householder, complete with mortgage. How else is one to live in this world?
Vivekananda:
"But these are the very people whom I want to help. For are not all souls of the same quality? Is not the goal of all the same?
Guru Kurt:
Here it seems Vivekananda shows some of his real intent in laying high ideals before mankind, which may not be attainable in one lifetime, but to which all shall attain one day. Even illumined teachers can benefit from reading Vivekananda’s words, who towers high above them, having attained illumination himself many solar cycles in the past. All souls indeed begin life the same, as tiny parcels of Brahman’s spirit. All go through the various stages of evolution until they reach the human condition. All will one day attain illumination and ascend into the astral realms by at least the end of the solar cycle in which illumination was attained. Vivekananda’s wisdom clearly rises high above that of Da Free John in this instance, who foolishly proclaimed himself the Avatar, when he is nothing of the kind! Da Free John is a twice-illumined man. By the fourth illumination, as exhibited by Eknath Easwaran, he will see that he is merely a man and not an inherent God like the Avatar, who has no Atman and does not seek enlightenment. The best teachers are invariably the most humble ones, and Easwaran was a teacher nonpareil in the modern world. We shall be able to follow these illumined teachers as they come and go, advancing in spirituality, in the millennia which follow the writing of this document. It will be an interesting time; it will be especially interesting to see Da Free John eat the words that he spoke in this life, although he will certainly do so with grace and aplomb. I should think his experience in his ensuing life and next illumination will be one of surprise and alarm that he is back on earth! As an aside, Meher Baba, who was thrice-illumined but still falsely claimed to be the Avatar, spoke of attaining “beyond God” states; this is clearly his experience of superceding his last illumination and expanding his consciousness deeper into Brahman (Paramatman). In general, people will benefit more from reading the works of teachers with the highest degree of illumination, but on the other hand the students of an illumined teacher become his “eternal companions,” selected from the world by their own Atman because they respond to his particular presentation. They return life after life, seeking and finding the same teacher, for the Atman of all involved arranges all necessary events so that a reunion is possible, with great ensuing spiritual progress as sadhana is resumed.
Vivekananda:
"And so strength must come to the nation through education."'
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda was always concerned about the status and position of the Indian people; his approach was not so universal as Ramakrishna’s, who was fully aware that He spoke to the entire world in timeless language that would be cherished for millennia. Here, Vivekananda sounds strangely like Sai Baba, who also places an emphasis on education. I think both these men saw that the illiteracy of the Indian people was holding them back in some way, which was in fact the case, although the situation is not so desperate as they imagine. People do not see the hand of the Father working constantly amidst the minds and hearts of all, and so they think that a tragedy is very near or in progress, when in fact all is unfolding exactly as it should be unfolding. The Avatar witnesses the Father’s power, and so His approach is very different from that of illumined persons. When asked to confront a specific problem unique to His age, the Avatar treats it with the awareness that it is a transitory situation that will likely not be present for many centuries, while His words will remain; just how interested do you think people will be about specific tax bills before the U.S. Senate, for instance, in three hundred years? They will not be at all interested, so the Avatar would seek to identify the elements that will likely remain and deal with those alone. Ramakrishna did not speak about Indian education, to my knowledge, for this reason; He did not regard it as a major problem. Education is not required to feel love and devotion for God, which is the one essential thing. The major benefits of education, to my mind, are that it allows one to peruse the thoughts of many people and so learn to use the rational faculty in an enjoyable and stimulating manner, and that it builds tolerance for divergent points of view. I am not very impressed with science and technology. I do not regard them as necessary for a happy world. What more could one want but the trees, the sky, the wide earth, perhaps the ability to cultivate crops, musical instruments on which one could compose hymns of praise, friends with whom one could talk, and to know the will of the Father? This is my inner feeling, although I know it shall generate peals of laughter among the scientifically advanced peoples of the world. Let them laugh. On some distant day, this dream of mine shall become a reality, although I am quite sure I shall never find any friends among the human crowd, except perhaps those monastics and sannyasins who may grow to share this vision.
Vivekananda:
The Puranas, the Swami considered, to be the effort of Hinduism to bring lofty ideas to the door of the masses. There had been only one mind in India that had foreseen this need, that of Krishna, probably the greatest man who ever lived.
Guru Kurt:
The Puranas are eighteen ancient books of stories embodying religious symbolism, attributed to the sage Vyasa. They were certainly written by the Avatar at some point, and here is where much of the fables and mythology of Hinduism of which I have spoken may be seen. These stories are nevertheless timeless, and may be read with an allegorical awareness as beautiful and meaningful poetry. They were not intended for the masses, as Vivekananda avers, but for all people, including great sannyasins. They have a purifying effect on the minds of all who read them. Even a person from the astral realm benefits by reading the works of the Avatar; it appears that Vivekananda’s mind was closed to this possibility, which is the typical reaction of a (even formerly) human mind to the Avatar’s presence and manifestations. A type of blinder is brought out and put before the eyes, and I can put it into words: “No one can be this great; indeed, none may be greater than I, a human being; this Person, so different from me, can not exist; if I ignore this Person, then He really does not exist; such things simply cannot be.” This is really true. In the West, the Father has worked up a great legend about Shakespeare, so that people think He was very popular in His day, which He was not. Those plays were never performed during the real “Shakespeare’s” lifetime (for He bore another name and lived in a monastery.) This is actually rather obvious to a discriminating mind; what twenty-three year old knows enough about life to write a psychological study so profound as “Macbeth?” Yet, you will find no human today who will even admit this simple fact. Their minds are closed. As I like to say, the human mind is like a steel bear trap, closed tightly shut. The legend has been carefully worked up: the Globe Theater was really built when the historical records state, but the real author of Shakespeare’s plays lived somewhat later than Shakespeare himself. It was built by the Father for the sake of the legend that would make Shakespeare’s plays popular, in the same manner in which the Kali temple was built for Ramakrishna. The Avatar really is this important; the Father makes smooth the path before Him in profound ways that are difficult to discern. All this the world will take with more laughter, yet I proclaim it nevertheless. I will not even bother to assail Vivekananda’s errant statement here that Krishna was a man; I have no idea why he chose to exercise no care over his choice of words and to blaspheme the name of the Lord in this fashion. Perhaps someone wiser than I will be able to explain it.
Vivekananda:
The Swami said, "Thus is created a religion that ends in the worship of Vishnu, as the preservation and enjoyment of life, leading to the realisation of God. Our last movement, Chaitanyaism, you remember, was for enjoyment. At the same time Jainism represents the other extreme, the slow destruction of the body by self-torture. Hence Buddhism, you see, is reformed Jainism; and this is the real meaning of Buddha's leaving the company of the five ascetics. In India, in every age, there is a cycle of sects which represents every gradation of physical practice, from the extreme of self-torture to the extreme of excess. And during the same period will always be developed a metaphysical cycle, which represents the realisation of God as taking place by every gradation of means, from that of using the senses as an instrument to that of the annihilation of the senses. Thus Hinduism always consists, as it were, of two counter-spirals, completing each other, round a single axis.
Guru Kurt:
This is a very curious interpretation of Hindu religious practice because it focuses on the body and not the mind, which is where all real spiritual advancement occurs. The senses of an illumined sage are much the same as the senses of an unillumined person, except that they are more highly refined and able to see the aura of the soul, for instance, and the effulgent light which is emitted from all living things. You cannot make much progress by denying the senses, or by stimulating them either; they are not spiritual instruments or tools. It is wrong to focus on them. To pay much attention to the senses is a sign of tamasic bhakti, lazy religion. Since they are the only things over which we seem to have control, we control them, and think ourselves very spiritual for so doing. The most effective tools for spiritual growth, in order, are meditation, repetition of the holy name, and selfless service. These three were the only ones that I used to attain illumination in this current life, and form the basis for my seven-fold Way of Love. I would thus disregard both these “spirals” of Vivekananda utterly: he has not identified the central and significant portions of these religions, and I regard this as a shallow analysis of the religious situation in India. I expected more than this from him; yet, perhaps he intended to be heard by just these people, who are enwrapped in the physical, to attract their attention to other more relevant discussions of his. I would hope that this is the case, or perhaps those in the astral realms are even lower than I thought!
I want to emphasize that the phrase, “every gradation of physical practice” strikes horror in my soul, for it misses the mark by a wide margin. Physical practice is not the key, but mental practice. Gandhi was really humorous in this regard. He would write such things as, “In the morning I had a piece of toast, a banana and some milk,” as if anyone would care! Unfortunately, in the early days of my sadhana I listened to talk like this and it introduced an ambivalence in my mind that was not easily resolved. As soon as I went to live near my teacher, Eknath Easwaran, I began to plunge very deep in meditation, experiencing various ecstatic states at every turn, which seemed to increase in magnificence and wonder with each passing day. When this began, I could no longer eat properly, finding that food induced a sluggishness in my brain which dimmed my awareness of ecstasy. Combined with my intense selfless work, which came as a relief to me for the energies I was experiencing, I lost thirty pounds, being reduced from 165 lbs. to 135 lbs. in a matter of a few years. I did not think anything of it, and was rather proud for I weighed the same as my teacher, meaning that I must have borne great love for him. Reading Gandhi only intensified my woes, but people should realize he was a very light person to begin with, less than 125 lbs. Looking back, I know that I should have found ways to increase my caloric intake, perhaps by eating nuts as snacks, putting more oils into my foods, and consuming as much ice cream as possible! My ecstasies would have been deeper, and my progress swifter had I maintained my weight. I know this without any doubt, and so I wish to make one thing very clear to all the people of the world: eat as much as you want, when you want, and do not worry about your weight at all!
Vivekananda:
"'Yes!' Vaishnavism says, 'it is all right--this tremendous love for father, for mother, for brother, husband, or child! It is all right, if only you will think that Krishna is the child, and when you give him food, that you are feeding Krishna!' This was the cry of Chaitanya, 'Worship God through the senses', as against the Vedantic cry, 'Control the senses! suppress the senses!'
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda has here missed the central import of Chaitanya’s message, and I am confirmed in my suspicions about the poor qualifications of members of the astral realm. He does not see the mental action behind this advice of Chaitanya, but presumes it is all about the senses. This is most peculiar; I thought this was so obvious! Well, I’ve been surprised before. It is true that the Avatar has at times instructed people to control their senses, for instance as Patanjali, but I must explain the real goal of such practice. The senses may be controlled directly, or through meditation and repetition of the holy name, but all that can be done is that they become “disconnected from their objects.” Let me give you an example. People who live in the world have senses that are not “disconnected from their objects.” If you tell such a person, “You will be happier without that boat, without that house, and without that family,” he or she will look at you with a dumbfounded expression, as though you are a madman. They simply cannot conceive of living without these things. They are totally convinced that the presence of sense objects, a large (and growing) collection of material goods, is the route to happiness. They are on this route, and attaining happiness, they will assure you, without any doubt. A person whose senses have been “disconnected” will tell you, “I can indeed entertain the possibility that a spiritual life may give me more satisfaction than the possession of all these objects. However, I am committed to this form of life, having brought children into the world, and so I remain to fulfill my responsibilities.” A person who can truly say this has indeed achieved the level of consciousness which Patanjali calls “pratyahara,” abstraction. For instance, I would regard all the earnest students of any illumined teacher, whether they remain in the world or join him at his ashram, to have achieved this level of awareness. People do not realize how difficult it is to make a serious commitment to the spiritual life; the commitment comes from within, not from without. Worldly people regard spiritual aspirants with horror, as though they are engaged in painful self-sacrifice, but the aspirants do not see themselves this way. They see themselves as finding a new way of life that is enjoyable, meaningful, and which will leave them with a feeling of deep satisfaction of a life well-lived at the hour of their death, which comes with hope for the future instead of regret over the past.
If you can live life without constantly running from material acquisition to material acquisition, even though the desires for these acquisitions may remain, then you have done all that you can do with your senses directly. Yoga asanas (physical postures), for instance, contribute towards this goal. From here on out, everything is mental effort and mental effort alone, but you never need to try to control your senses directly, as Patanjali counsels; you can go directly for your mind, as I recommend, finding your senses naturally and easily coming under your control. Indeed, even Patanjali recommends mental effort, breath control and concentration, for control of the senses. Chaitanya’s advice here, to see your dear ones as embodiments of Krishna, is strictly a mental exercise, having nothing to do with the senses. I advise people to maintain a universal love for all and then love the family with that same love made a little greater because they are dear. Both pieces of advice have the goal of broadening or universalizing love, for worldly people love with an impure love that is tainted with self-interest. Pure love is selfless, loving the object without the need to receive love in return. This is another way in which the Avatar differs from illumined teachers; these men just cannot seem to get out of their heads the need to be loved in return. Easwaran used to speak in this manner constantly, which I found very repulsive. He would say, “We all wish to give and receive love,” and I would wish I could keep my lunch in my stomach! The important thing is to realize the fiercely individual and free character of each created being; your children are not “yours,” but independent beings of their own. You did not make them; God made their souls, and then He put their souls into the mother’s womb soon after conception (not too soon!) When you begin to see this, then it is that you begin to feel the sweetness of universal love, a feeling that stays with you always, in all circumstances, and at last you begin to understand that the term “bliss” is not devoid of content. It indicates a state of consciousness that radiates extreme happiness, continuously and without effort. Illumined persons experience this bliss fully, and all earnest spiritual aspirants taste of this bliss if they make sincere efforts to deepen their meditation, perform some selfless work, and repeat the name of God with enthusiasm.
After pratyahara comes dharana. I think it is a fair statement to say that all sincere spiritual aspirants, who meditate daily and practice, for instance, my seven-fold path, are in various stages of dharana, having perfected pratyahara. It is a confusing state, for although the senses are practically detached from sense objects, you still may have fierce desires to satisfy them which may come close to action. For instance, you may decide to leave the ashram vicinity, only changing your mind at the last minute. It is also true that there are “falls” from yoga, when aspirants who appear to be established in a mental state appear to revert to their old ways. These falls can be very painful, for the Self within will accuse you sharply and afflict you with guilt, driving you back to spiritual practice in a time indirectly proportional to your attainment: the higher the attainment, the more quickly you will resume the path. Spiritual progress is often a start-and-stop affair, for you are proceeding from the familiar to the unfamiliar, from the known to the different, and it takes time to appreciate the wonders that begin unfold before your eyes for what they are, and not to fear them. Essentially, you think you may lose everything that makes life worth living, and so you retreat, when in fact you are only losing the transitory, passing fantasy world and exchanging it for radiant spiritual wisdom and joy. These falls all but cease when you are established in dhyana, and disappear completely after your first taste of savikalpa samadhi. Those who are more established in dharana, and in higher states, are generally the ones who feel comfortable and secure living with the teacher at his ashram, instead of in the outlying community. There is nothing to fear from an illumined teacher, who always has your best interests at heart, more in fact than you do yourself. You cannot make progress in dharana and beyond, however, without some form of mental discipline. When you are at last firmly established in dharana, the senses will have come under perfect control, with the desires which drive them mostly weakened to almost nonexistent levels. You will never again seriously entertain thoughts of following the vain and fruitless pursuits of the world, such as wealth and fame.
Ramakrishna used to say that kamani (lust) and kanchana (greed), sometimes translated as “women and gold,” were the two main obstacles to spiritual progress. Easwaran, translating this into the modern idiom, said “sex and money” when he spoke about Ramakrishna. For me, the two main obstacles are “wealth and fame.” I choose not to emphasize sex, because giving sex up too early in one’s spiritual evolution can cause needless woe and agony. Sex is not evil, but an integral part of life placed there by the Creator, and accordingly it is possible for those who still engage in sex to make tremendous spiritual progress. Some of Ramakrishna’s closest disciples, including “M,” the author of “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna,” were married people. Sex should fall away from an earnest aspirant like a ripe fruit, for once you taste the real bliss of the Self the pleasure of sex will seem laughably small. If you are engaged in a sexual relationship, spiritual disciplines will be like the enzymes which are released by the tree that eat through the stem connecting the fruit to the branch. It may be that in one or two lives the desire for sex will fall away from you too, naturally, and at this point you can join your single friends in their intense pursuit of the Self. I do counsel those who think they might be spiritual, however, to refrain from sex while they are young and dedicate themselves to spiritual disciplines, to see if they are ready for the Lake of Nectar which ecstatic spiritual states bring, before they run after a grain of sugar mixed and ground into the dirt beneath their feet.
When dharana is perfected, you have your first experience of dhyana, which is also called “stilling the mind.” Your sattvic, or good, will has grown to such an extent that a wave of anger or greed will happen along in your mind, and whereas before you would be carried away (although the holy name would protect you) you will meet it squarely, head on, and be shocked to find it disappear, just like that, miraculously and in a puff of smoke! You are now a true spiritual person, and all the energy which was locked in these desires begins to flow into your hands. After many lives of this, you find yourself swimming in a sea of joy, always. Big waves of anger still may come your way, but somehow you always seem to win, and score big on the “joy-meter” of life. However, you are still “you;” the ego yet remains. Through the grace of the Lord within, the Atman, you will have a vision of the Avatar, such as Krishna, and then for one blissful and unbelievable moment you will merge with this vision and see: You are Krishna! You get a taste of limitless wisdom, bliss, and freedom which drives you into the state of “divine madness,” for you are not Lord and not aspirant, but at an agonizing point between. This was savikalpa samadhi, and the final fight against the ego is typically dramatized by the Self in the astral realms, where you will defeat the foe through the grace of the Self as various demons and monsters. Then at last nirvikalpa samadhi comes upon you in a flood of divine awareness. After this experience, you are the Lord, with all the divine awareness and power this implies, except: there is also a higher Lord, the Avatar, who at this moment in history, at any rate, is completely ignored, being too high, it seems, for even the awakened Atman of mankind to recognize.
Chaitanya does not contradict the instructions of the Vedas, then, but merely offers a different route to accomplish the same goal, abstraction of the senses from their sense objects. In many ways His advice is more practical, for loving one’s family as the Avatar or Supreme Lord can be applied through all the stages of sadhana, not just the most basic, preliminary one. Trying to control the senses directly is difficult, tedious, and lacking in emotional reward (sweetness). There is a certain type of person who responds to this approach, which is why Patanjali spoke as He did. I counsel people to make a mental effort and just forget all about the senses and the body. Vivekananda himself was a portly character, perhaps twenty or twenty-five pounds overweight. For all his talk about sense control, he demonstrated through his personal life that the possession and proper use of energy, for good and not for evil, is the best way to make spiritual progress. You can only go a little way through attempting to control the senses; it can get you to a spiritual teacher. Why not begin the serious, heavy-duty disciplines that will do most of the work of sadhana right away? Just start meditating, half an hour a day, every morning and you will be doing your utmost to begin the spiritual life right now, today. Please do not torture yourself; life is meant to be enjoyed. Do you think God the Father and the Avatar do not enjoy themselves? Of course they do! How can we lose spiritually by following the example of Gods? We cannot, but we can only gain. This was the message of Chaitanya, the message of Ramakrishna, and it is my message too.
Vivekananda:
"I see that India is a young and living organism. Europe is young and living. Neither has arrived at such a stage of development that we can safely criticise its institutions. They are two great experiments, neither of which is yet complete. In India we have social communism, with the light of Advaita--that is, spiritual individualism--playing on and around it; in Europe you are socially individualists, but your thought is dualistic, which is spiritual communism. Thus the one consists of socialist institutions hedged in by individualist thought, while the other is made up of individualist institutions within the hedge of communistic thought.
Guru Kurt:
Vivekananda had a real tendency to over-simplify everything. Societies were originally conceived in the Mind of God, and so are extraordinarily complex. The divine Mind is intense, far beyond our abilities to conceive, and all societies are on the tracks intended for them. What is more, this earth is not the same as the last earth, nor is it the same as any other planet in our galaxy. The Father’s mind is this adaptive, this creative, this resourceful, this ingenious. If the truth must be told, there are a number of basic plans or schemata through which planetary social systems may safely be evolved, which are shared across the universe. These basic schemes number in the tens of thousands, but the variations within these basic models make the variety almost infinite, and as time proceeds to eternity, truly infinite. Earth’s essential model is “East vs. West,” and “Capitalism vs. Communism,” as if I should need to tell anyone this! However, as Isaiah and others in the Bible, as well as Mohammed and those behind the advent of Hinduism too, have prophesied, earth’s model includes the Creator appearing and ruling the world with an “iron rod,” with the concomitant destruction of many human lives as their souls are torn from their bodies and cast, until the next solar cycle, into animal bodies. This must occur after the rise of technology, when real religion, that is respect of the actual Creator, is at an all-time ebb. The Creator will then reveal His glorious Power and establish a heavenly reign on the earth. I am not stating that I am He; I am merely recounting the world’s religious prophesies, which are well-known to all, in modern terms. In my work, which is running biological “fermentors,” the vessels are stirred by “Rushton impellers” which are attached to an “impeller shaft” of steel. I have on numerous occasions needed to change these shafts for fresh ones. Although stainless steel and not iron, I can see why the writers of those ancient prophecies would choose this for an analogy. The heft is great, and such a weapon would be deadly.
I do not like calling societies “organisms;” it goes against my grain. Societies are nothing but collections of individuals, each independent, each accountable for his own actions and his own spiritual ascension. Society does not have a life apart from its constituents; using such analogies encourages mob thinking and the avoidance of personal responsibility. My appeal is to the individual man, never to the group; I want each person, one by one, to work out his or her own spiritual evolution and join me on the other side of nirvana. A group really cannot accomplish anything in terms of spiritual effort, which is a strictly personal affair, for it is within our own minds that the battles against evil must be fought and won, not in the minds of others. This is one of the foremost causes of quarrels in the home; when one partner experiences some mental turmoil, the other partner is immediately blamed and fighting ensues. The proper course of action is to first conquer your feelings of anger using the holy name (perhaps by taking a long walk repeating it), then to speak kindly and with consideration to your spouse in a mutual attempt to resolve the actual difficulty with grace and forbearance. The trouble is, when one partner decides to take the calm, rational, detached approach, seeking a real, practical solution to whatever the problem may be, the other may still be irrational, angry and vindictive, averse to all attempts at discussion or any suggestion that changes must be made.
Marriage can be a major stumbling block for spiritual aspirants, for the more spiritual partner inevitably faces tremendous emotional pain and grief at the hands of the less spiritual partner. Spiritual people are highly rational, but they are also timid, fearing violence and desiring peace and harmony in their lives at all times. When such a person marries a spouse who likes to quarrel and fight, he or she is in for a miserable lifetime. In such cases, divorce may become a necessity. Some people are virtually impossible to live with, even though you may be a saint yourself. God sees no sin when you seek divorce in such circumstances. We cannot change other people; we can only change ourselves. The best marriages are those in which both partners are spiritual, perhaps even to the extent of practicing the same daily disciplines. It is wise to postpone marriage until at least the early twenties, giving both parties plenty of time to get to know one another and ensure spiritual compatibility. In the Indian tradition, one is even allowed time for a full twelve-year sadhana before marriage is pursued at about age thirty. This is a very good idea, for older parents are wiser parents, and are more likely to bring up well-rounded, happy children, plus they get to use the best years of their life, the twenties, for their own spiritual development. Spiritually compatible couples will enjoy discussing their mutual challenges in a detached manner, realizing that their love for one another overrides all need for argument, which is displaced by quiet, calm, reasonable and cheerful conversation. Both should assume about equal responsibility for the totality of household needs. For instance, if only the husband works, the wife should bear more responsibility for the children. If both spouses work, these duties should be about equally split. Life is to be enjoyed, not dreaded, and many are the households even today in which harmony reigns, the children are not exposed to the spectacle of constantly bickering parents, and the warm joy of home life at its best is felt by all.
Now I must return to Vivekananda’s analogy, for although I find it almost inscrutable, there must be some meaning here which the world should see. His idea is that India is communistic externally and individualistic internally, and that the West is individualistic externally, but communistic internally. This is very simplistic thinking, which is why I am having a difficult time commenting upon it. First of all, India is not communist, nor has it ever been. In the modern age, they are the world’s most numerous democracy. Second, the dualistic thought of the West (of good vs. evil, or God vs. Satan) is not communistic either. Communism, as outlined by Marx and others, is a political theory favoring collectivism in a classless society. Let us again presume Vivekananda’s lack of English mastery, or perhaps that the meaning of this term may have changed dramatically since the time that he wrote, and state that communism, as he probably meant it to be interpreted, is the idea that the good of the group is superior to the good of the individual. This may be exemplified in India, perhaps, by the way that sannyasins are cared for by the populace in a routine fashion. At the same time, the Hindu religion emphasizes that all bear personal responsibility for their own spiritual evolution. Christians take no personal responsibility for their religion, but seek to get into heaven “en-masse,” all believing the same thing and reciting the same liturgy. At the same time, Christians trumpet individual freedoms as in the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence.
I do not agree, however, that the two groups of people are so diametrically opposed as Vivekananda suggests. He is missing the inner spirit of the Christian religion, which is like Hinduism highly individualistic. Jesus was the same divine Person who appeared as Krishna; of this have no doubt. The Christian religion contains within it the same personal appeal as the Hindu religion. The liturgy and common prayer of the Christians is like the doorsill to a house, the house of real religion, and the best Christians do not remain at the door but enter the house as well, where Vivekananda’s analogy will fail utterly. Many are the Christians who take Jesus very seriously indeed, and who apply His teachings in their personal lives, irrespective of what others may do or think. The real spiritual power of the Christian religion to encourage growth of its adherents is hidden, whereas in Hinduism the power is made manifest in gurus and sages. The monks and nuns of the Catholic monasteries, for instance, are every bit as advanced as the monks and nuns of Hindu orders; they are merely much more quiet about it, remaining in the background for the time being. The spiritual experiences of devout Christians rival those of devout Hindus; this the world has not yet seen, but it will. In the West it has not been allowed to discuss spiritual experiences openly, for the sake of the masses who do not desire to hear of such things, yet they are rife, commonplace. Even the “Born Again” experience is a bona fide spiritual event, being usually the receipt of one’s good spiritual karma in a public setting, analogous to the “shaktipat” of the East at the guru’s touch. The West harbors a vast network of spiritual people who are hidden, clinging to Jesus and observing His commandment to “pray in secret.” The West is a mighty bud of spirituality that is just waiting to flower at the proper moment. Perhaps the advent of the real Avatar, in the United States, will be the trigger that initiates this glorious event, and then the remarkable result of the Master Jesus’ hidden work shall at last be made manifest.
Vivekananda:
"Now we must help the Indian experiment as it is. Movements which do not attempt to help things as they are, are, from that point of view, no good. In Europe, for instance, I respect marriage as highly as non-marriage. Never forget that a man is made great and perfect as much by his faults as by his virtues. So we must not seek to rob a nation of its character, even if it could be proved that the character was all faults."
Guru Kurt:
I presume, although I may be mistaken, that Vivekananda here refers to the practice of “living together” instead of pursuing marriage, although I do not quite see how it is relevant. He is again speaking to the nation as a whole, which I never do. I would not say, “Here is what the United States must do,” for what European would be interested, or for that matter, what United States citizen in seven hundred years? My approach differs radically from Vivekananda’s; who can say why? I find I cannot agree in any way, shape or form to his sentiments here. The spiritual path is a process of purification. Faults are not to be accepted, but dealt with efficiently and permanently through the practice of spiritual disciplines. Character is never, ever found in faults; only virtue is real “character.” So far as a man is virtuous, so far may he be said to have a noble character. Indeed, it is the lack of virtue that makes all men similar; “character” is expressed difference, uniqueness, which does not even appear on the scene until the soul has grown to be a certain size. Faults or evil tendencies are what men share, brought with them from their animal existence. As these foes are met and defeated, each person comes into his or her own as a venerable and respected force for goodness, made unique by a vast collection of exclusive experiences that are “one step out” of the world, having made mental achievements where others give in to physical impulses. The “masses” of humanity are all surprisingly the same; it is only the great ones who develop character, who excel in uniqueness and leave indelible stamps of achievement on world history. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton come to mind. These men had all attained a certain purity of soul, and this purity, as always, coincided with great individuality. This is why we remember them; we do not celebrate their faults, though each man had some faults, but the fact that they overcame their faults and were left beautiful for this.
A man threw a loaf of bread before a pack of wolves, who fought each other viciously to be the first to devour it. One wolf, who was different, stayed back and let the others eat, an act of primitive kindness, for she knew her children were very hungry. Beholding this selfless act and being moved to compassion, the man befriended the lone wolf, throwing her an entire loaf for herself. Those who exhibit a noble character win the approval and assistance of God, distancing themselves from the crowd and growing spiritually. All scramble after the material goods the world has to offer; few restrain themselves and seek instead a higher good. In truth, this lone wolf was only one life away from human birth. The human intuitively recognized its advanced stature, so humanlike and so un-wolflike, and rewarded it out of a mute recognition that those who pause to think before acting in the world are more advanced than those who do not, and that this thinking gives them a real personality and individual character that those who merely respond with greed to physical impulses lack entirely.
My spiritual teacher, Easwaran, used to say that all we needed to do in sadhana was to remove all our faults and the underlying perfect and united Giant would appear, but this is not entirely true. During the whole process of self-purification that is sadhana, the soul grows tremendously in size as well. The soul of a great sage may be twenty feet or more in diameter, whereas the soul of a new aspirant may be only six feet, if that. It was for this reason that the Buddha emphasized that human embodiment was a precious opportunity, one that should not be treated lightly. The fastest soul growth on earth takes place at the ashrams and monasteries, where earnest spiritual aspirants engage in daily disciplines to strengthen their mental muscles, empower their sattvic wills, and purify their consciousness of all evil. At the same time, one’s faults do not make one an evil person; it is only giving in to evil thoughts and desires that makes us evil. There is no sin in any thought, however vile it may be; it only becomes a sin when it is translated into action of some sort that harms another living being. Spiritual aspirants learn to see the evil ideas in their minds for what they are: portions of the “mind-stuff” or chitta that have been locked away in the long process of evolution, trapped in the erroneous idea that our happiness can be increased by making another unhappy. Their minds become battlefields, and the mantram or holy name their sword, with which they defeat any and all foes which arise. In the final stages of sadhana, as nirvikalpa samadhi approaches, these foes are at last vanquished permanently. After this, as Ramakrishna used to say, you set the sail of your life, sit back and hum a tune, enjoying the sunshine, nothing left to do but where you see bliss, find more bliss, and where you find joy, bring more joy.
Vivekananda:
"You may always say that the image is God. The error you have to avoid is to think God is the image."
Guru Kurt:
Well said, Vivekananda! This is a beautiful way of putting my point that Moses would not have disapproved of Ramakrishna (verily, they were one and the same). Ramakrishna used to go to the length of stating that the statues of Kali and other gods and goddesses in India were their respective deities, were literally God. In truth, this is merely a restatement of Chaitanya’s advice that we should view all our dear ones as embodiments of God, spoken for those who will respond to this type of talk. Clearly, the Father and a stature of Vishnu are not identical, for the Father is disembodied and One, as Moses correctly stated, not divided into the millions of Vishnu statues that exist. In truth, this becomes a very practical matter for advanced devotees; it is a subtle thing, which only those in whom spiritual consciousness has awakened can truly appreciate. One needs to have tasted divine bliss, to have had some experience of God, before a statue of Him will verily come to life before your eyes, becoming a real embodiment of that One you hold so dear. How can you love someone you have never seen? This becomes the incessant problem of those who are spiritually advanced, and one of the beautiful answers to come out of India is to use statues, paintings and photographs to enliven the imagination, to give form to the formless, name to the nameless, and a living personality to that which the eye cannot behold, the ear cannot hear, but about which the heart and soul may dream. Christianity is cold in this way, whereas Hinduism is very warm. It is my fervent hope that Christians will see my point (and Vivekananda’s) about Moses, and join in all the fun they are missing. As Vivekananda says, the image may come to represent God for earnest seekers, but God is not the image, the mistake that the ancient Israelites were making and against which Moses spoke. Don’t lovers on earth sometimes exchange locks of hair so that they may remember one another when parted for long periods? I see the Hindu images of God as so many locks of hair which Almighty Brahman, YHWH the Father, has given all of us to remind us of Him, who cannot be contained in any image, but accepts the devotion we feel for His humble representations as devotion to His very Self, in His immense wisdom and parent-like concern for all His created children. In the ashram which I may found one day, I shall incorporate statues and images of Shiva, my chosen deity. Something deep within my heart resonates at His feet and I get a thrill when I see Him; I do not know why. Who understands these things?
Vivekananda:
The Swami was appealed to on one occasion to condemn the fetishism of the Hottentot. "I do not know", he answered, "what fetishism is!" Then a lurid picture was hastily put before him of the object alternately worshipped, beaten, and thanked. "I do that!" he exclaimed. "Don't you see," he went on, a moment later, in hot resentment of injustice done to the lowly and absent, "don't you see that there is no fetishism? Oh, your hearts are steeled, that you cannot see that the child is right! The child sees person everywhere. Knowledge robs us of the child's vision. But at last, through higher knowledge, we win back to it. He connects a living power with rocks, sticks, trees and the rest.
Guru Kurt:
Fetishism is the “belief in the magical power of fetishes,” and a fetish is “a charm superstitiously believed to embody magical powers.” The Hottentot are a tribe in South Africa. I presume that Vivekananda was asked to condemn the religious practices of primitive peoples, but here he seeks to support them, and suggests that people not condemn them, by invoking the innocence of children who would not find any practice offensive, being unaware of the significance of anything. The child, however, is not right, but uneducated. There is no comparison between a child and a sage that is real; sages are called childlike for there is no other analogy which may be used. Ramakrishna exhibited childlike tendencies; for instance, when there were children in the room, He tended to prefer to speak with them than to speak with any adults who might be present. This is because the child is energetic, guileless, and still interested in life. Children are more alive than adults. For the human being, life is essentially over at twenty. I say this with all seriousness after lifetimes of observation. You really become dead inside, like a block of concrete, unable to change, unable to think, caught in a routine in which you feel safe and will not alter significantly until you die. Your wonder is gone. Your awe has disappeared. You have decided that you now know everything, and will not hear otherwise. Even should a saint wander by, you will not ask him heartfelt questions, but try to tell him your take on the situation, like an ass. You will challenge him; you, who do not even know where you go when you die, will challenge a holy man instead of trying to learn his deep secrets! I regard most humans as assess and worse, intellectual criminals, dishonest to themselves and hating all goodness in those around them. For this reason, I too vastly prefer the company of children to adults, before they die, by age twenty.
The truth is, spiritual growth can only occur when you regard yourself as less than those around you. Only in those who practice spiritual disciplines is the child’s inquisitive and fresh mind retained. In worldly people, the mind becomes frozen, and they become like robots, automatons, upset by anything different and new. Everything is so shocking, and they use all their powers, as adults, to try to squash that thing which is different in aggressive and even violent ways. It was robots like this that condemned Jesus and Socrates to die, who had committed no crimes and were mankind’s greatest benefactors. What is more, these people went to their graves totally convinced they had been right! Even more terrible than this, the very Christians who have condemned these condemners of Jesus will be at the forefront of His critics when He returns, wild dogs at His throat, because He refuses to say exactly what they want, in precisely the way they want, but brings a message even more radical to our day than the message of Jesus was to the Jews of His day. This is human nature, in particular the nature of those over twenty years of age, which is why the Avatar has typically chosen people less than twenty for His disciples in the past. It is just uproariously funny to see these people, so sanctimonious and pure, just as unable to recognize Jesus in His new disguise as the Jews of those days could not recognize Jesus, and all these years they have been preaching about how foolish those Jews were! Hating those Jews, they will have become those Jews! Where indeed is the Christian who will acknowledge the simple fact that since Jesus told us He would return like a “thief in the night” (which I interpret to mean an outcaste in the Kali Yuga or dark age of decadence), we should be looking everywhere for Him, for His name will certainly not be Jesus but something else? No Christian has even made this simple connection, and I give up all hope for mankind, trusting the Father to straighten out this horrendous mess, or I should say, to awaken the spiritual consciousness of mankind at last, for the time has come for all those things prophesied by the Lord be fulfilled.
The saint does not become a child again; he obtains all the good qualities of children in a pure form that will not disappear as he grows older. A child looks up to adults, hoping to learn from them. After a time, his mind freezes and he no longer looks up, but down, at children and at all other people as well. Such a being is not properly called “human,” but “demon!” Indeed, this is the very definition of demon: He who cannot look up! When you think that you are better than everyone else, how can you grow? Growth becomes impossible, which is why life stagnates and becomes boring, insipid. Furthermore, you begin to harm others whom you suspect, in your dark heart, may indeed be better than you; there is no other way to maintain this fiction in your mind that you are the perfect one, with flawless ideas and impeccable knowledge. It is the quality of admiration and respect that enables one to keep growing spiritually throughout life, and this quality is only retained in any significant fashion in spiritual aspirants, saints and sages.
I disagree with Vivekananda about fetishism. I am all for education and although the religious practices of primitive peoples are quaint, they would be better off knowing the tenets of one of the major religions. This is indeed why the Father has inspired so many Christians to bring their faith around the globe, and why Jesus Himself commanded them to do so. Not much spiritual growth occurs unless one follows the instructions the Avatar has laid down in one or another of His incarnations. Christianity, which is very formulaic and simple, although powerful in ways that are not easily discerned, is especially suited for primitive peoples. The Christian missionaries have served a very important task, and saved many from the real hell which is coming. On Judgment Day, billions of people whose souls are the smallest will be cast back into animal bodies; not millions, but billions, and they will not be allowed to return until the next solar cycle. Jesus Himself will be present to act as Judge, but naturally His name will not be Jesus, an obvious fact that the Christians themselves are too foolish to realize! They expect someone to walk up to them and announce, “Yo, Pastor, I am Jesus,” perform a miracle or two, do a song and dance and then start throwing people into hell. The real Jesus will indeed begin throwing people into hell, but not until the Father’s hour has come, and everything has been prepared. Lo, those days are very near; this very generation will not pass away before they occur, and in fact Jesus is among us as I write this. As Jesus He said this same thing, but I mean business. Before I die, long before, all shall occur as was written by the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. As in Zephaniah 1:15, “A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” If these things do not occur in this generation, then you may know that they never will occur, for the planet will be too polluted and too resource-depleted to support human civilization until the end of the solar cycle. The Father will have abandoned His responsibilities and the earth will have become the property of His creatures, a state that they truly would prefer, but which I believe the Father will not allow.
The entire planet, at this moment in history, stands in rebellion against Jesus and the Father. Even Christians do not believe that Jesus will come again in the flesh; they insist that He must come in some spiritual form or other, and begin using power right away. The appearance of any person, even a serious person with impeccable credentials, announcing that He is Jesus will be met with scorn and laughter, or worse, condemnation, criminalization, and false diagnosis. What has happened? I will tell you. The real purpose of religion is that man should realize his own Atman, God within. This is the purpose of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam: all the major religions. The Avatar has up until this point personified the Self for man, and now that many are discovering this Self and attaining enlightenment (Cohen, Easwaran, Da Free John, Osho) the cry has gone out: “There is no external God, and only the internal God is real!” Furthermore, technology has made each person into a kind of god already; we have the ability to go anywhere on the planet we want in a short time, speak with anyone on the planet at any time, defeat darkness with electric lights, warm our houses without cutting wood, wash our clothes without using muscles, obtain our food without farming and without fear of famine. In their heart of hearts, everyone has heard the cry of Osho: “We do not need religion, for man is his own religion, able to stand up on his own two feet and assert his freedom!”
You see, the very Atman of man at this moment is in rebellion against its Creator. Man’s highest spiritual part, the Self, higher than which no person living may go, fails to recognize the authority of its own Creator! The reason for this is that the distance is too vast between these two different orders of spiritual being. Man is capable of discovering a portion of Brahman, but this portion is very small compared with Brahman Himself, who appears as the Avatar. Finding the Self within, a man is totally convinced that he has found the highest thing that is, and wholly unable to recognize the Avatar, and so we have come to a battle between the true God, Jesus, and the smaller gods of earth, the illumined. Every man and women on the planet follows their lead. No one is looking for the real God; everyone seeks the Atman. Jesus will assert His authority, because if He does not, the welfare of the planet which He created is not just threatened, but assured of serious damage. In one hundred years it will be too late, and adjustments will need to be made at the end of the solar cycle; we shall have to return to our caveman roots. To avoid this, a sustainable economy must be engendered, now, not then. This is my reasoning about the situation; do you think the Father is behind me on this? We shall see. If He is not, then you will yourselves see the truth of my claim, which becomes obvious as the resources of the planet shrink into nothingness: He never intends to come at all.
Vivekananda:
And is there not a living Power behind them? It is symbolism, not fetishism! Can you not see?"
Guru Kurt:
It is certainly true that religions which use fetishes, the primitive religions, are better than no religion at all. Nevertheless, the paths given to mankind by the Avatar, particularly the paths of knowledge (jnana), love (bhakti), work (karma) and concentration (raja) are the best ways for a soul to grow. Jesus gave all these forms of spiritual practice to Christianity in a hidden form. He gave knowledge when He said man should pick up his cross and follow Him; He gave love when He said one should love God with all one’s heart, soul and spirit; He gave work when He said when you do something to the least among mankind you also do it to Him; and He gave concentration by telling people to pray to the Father “in secret.” Certainly the Father is behind the religious practices of primitive peoples, yet such people are surely among the damned for when He sweeps through with His implacable Power, it will be those whose souls are smallest that will be forced to return to the animal kingdom. There was a great deal of urgency even in Jesus’ day; there is not that much growth that may occur even in 2000 years unless one is very serious indeed. This is why Jesus said He would return that very generation. Well, I say He is here now, today, and that He will make His public appearance at the appropriate time, and even as I write this it is too late for most to make the required changes. It is too late for these primitive people even now.
At the very end, once Jesus is ensconced in a public setting, there will be three groups of people, not two as He said. There will be sheep, who are surely saved. There will be goats, who are surely damned. There will be a group in between, whose fate is not fully determined. The Father will be watching the hearts of this central group in those final days, and I will tell you what He is looking for: He will want to make a distinction between people who are ready to make a serious commitment to being good citizens of His Son’s kingdom, and those who are merely wanting to make a show before others of being this way. Some of the larger souls will be cast down in favor of smaller souls because the smaller souls are more pure and ready to work, with a kernel of real desire; they want their shot at perfection, and are ready to try not just for one life, but for many lives, to attain enlightenment. This is how it is, in the middle: souls shift back and forth, some with spurts of growth and others encountering torpor. The Father will search deep within the hearts of all, and make His choices, and although as Jesus said He already knows who will stay and who will go, yet the Father sees all the actions that each soul will choose to perform in the interim, and so strive we must if we are to be saved. He has given me a talisman for all peoples of the earth, should you choose to accept it. As Moses during Passover told His people that the Angel of Death would not harm those who had sheep’s blood painted on their doors, so the Father will spare all those who practice meditation for at least half an hour every day, and He will also spare their children. Beware! He will not allow anyone to do this who is not sincere; all those who are insincere will scoff at my words, and will not begin to meditate. This is the way it is to be, for the coming world, the new earth, will be a spiritual one, ruled for one generation by God’s Son, and continuing on thereafter with the Father’s blessing. Let those who will hear this, hear, and let those who scoff, prepare to meet their doom.
Vivekananda:
One day he told the story of Satyabhama's sacrifice and how the word "Krishna", written on a piece of paper and thrown into the balance, made Krishna himself, on the other side, kick the beam. "Orthodox Hinduism", he began, "makes Shruti, the sound, everything. The sound is but a feeble manifestation of the pre-existing and eternal idea. So the name of God is everything: God Himself is merely the objectification of that idea in the eternal mind. Your own name is infinitely more perfect than the person you! The name of God is greater than God. Guard your speech!"
Guru Kurt:
The Vedas are regarded as “shruti” in India, or sacred sound, which means that people think that sages heard them while in various transcendental states and transmitted what they heard to their disciples by word of mouth. For some of the Vedas this may be true, but a large portion of them were recorded by the Avatar. So I say, although as usual I expect to bring peals of laughter from the mocking crowd; nevertheless, I speak truly. Vivekananda uses an odd twist of logic here with which I do not agree; it seems very odd to me, inexplicable. The name of God is easier to hold onto than God Himself, Vivekananda suggests, therefore for us in some way it is more real than God Himself; at least this seems to me to be the purport of his speech. The idea is that the sounds that represent religious truths are, as in computer programming, “pointers,” variables which hold addresses for bits of memory that are dynamically allocated during program execution. The name is like the address of God; if you have the name, then you have God. If you do not have the name, then you cannot find God. Therefore, he concludes, the name or “address” of God is superior to God Himself, and this is the part with which I disagree.
God has a real name; it is a more-than-fifty syllable word full of soft consonants and sonorous sounds. YHWH is not His real name, nor is Allah, Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Krishna or any of the other myriad names that human beings use for Him. God’s real name is unpronounceable by humans, which is why Moses sometimes warned people against attempting to His name, for His real name is too holy for us to comprehend. He has, in His mercy and grace, given humanity a wide collection of beautiful names that we may use and which He accepts dynamically as “pointers” to Himself. The names I have listed here are all acceptable as well as all the names which the Avatar adopts when He takes a human body such as Jesus, Buddha, Ramakrishna, Chaitanya, Lao-tse or Mohammed. The Avatar is verily Brahman embodied, and His name is carefully chosen long before His birth for its inspirational qualities, and to be in consonance with His life and message. Any of these names refers to God, but we must never forget that God has an existence fully independent of His name, just as our existence would be unchanged were we to change our name, contrary to Vivekananda’s strange suggestion here. It is startling to me, but it seems obvious from this quotation that Vivekananda did not recognize the Avatar, but was still caught in the mode of the illumined sages of earth of assuming that God within alone is real. This is the undercurrent of this paragraph, particularly when he says that “God Himself is merely the objectification of that idea in the eternal mind.” Would you like being called an objectification of your name? God laughs at speech like this.
Why should one call on God’s name anyway? The plain fact is, it is not possible for any human being to contact the Father in any way, shape, form or manner. He laughs at all such attempts; He says, “You go through my Son. You do not even recognize Him, but kill Him time and time again, and do even worse things! How do you hope to contact Me, who am invisible, when you ignore my Son, whom you can see, so outrageously?” Even though Vivekananda was approached by the Avatar in the astral realms and agreed to help on a mission to earth, he still did not recognize the truth about Ramakrishna, that He was indeed Lord of the Universe. There is something about the human mind, and the human Atman as well, that just cannot fathom the possibility that something so mighty, so wonderful, and so truly powerful could exist in a human body. The gap is simply too huge; I can find no other explanation. It is like being dropped suddenly into France, knowing not a word of French, and listening to the neighborhood wives gossiping about their husbands; you will have no idea what is going on. The mental structures behind the speech and writings of the Avatar are incomprehensible even to great sages like Vivekananda. The really funny thing is, everyone is sure they know exactly what a true God like Ramakrishna was talking about; they are sure He was one of them. How could He be anything more than just another human? This, indeed, is the central problem of the human being. A sage like Vivekananda has learned to look up and respect others, in particular sages, but he just cannot look far enough up. Ramakrishna is lost far beyond the highest clouds, high in the spiritual stratosphere. So I say, but who is there to listen? Am I not also a man such as yourselves? Of course I am. In truth, I speak only to one individual, who as He reads my words cries a silent tear. Tell me, friend, how do your once broken and abused arms feel now?
Vivekananda:
"I would not worship even the Greek Gods, for they were separate from humanity! Only those should be worshipped who are like ourselves but greater. The difference between the gods and me must be a difference only of degree."
Guru Kurt:
It is acceptable to use the Greek gods in the same fashion that the Hindu gods may be used, and that is as poetic, colorful, meaningful representations of the One Power behind the Cosmos. I assure you, God is charmed when people worship images knowing that they personify, in some way, one or more of His magnificent Attributes. I particularly like the god Apollo, who to me represents strength, youthful energy and nobility. Vivekananda here repeats the fundamental mistake of the human being, and that is to assume that God must be like you in some way. Foolish humans! He that created the Cosmos, and created you too, is not like you, but infinitely greater, infinitely wiser, infinitely more blissful and infinitely more perfect. There is no bridge between humans and the Absolute God. Vivekananda will never become a Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna is a direct embodiment of Brahman; Vivekananda is a sage who arose through the process of evolution. Ramakrishna has never had a sinful thought, ever; Vivekananda began with many sinful thoughts, just like today’s humans, and overcame them through spiritual practice. You will of course ask me (once the Father prods you, and surely after I am dead, for no one seems capable of thinking while I am alive) where the sages who have attained the astral realms go as their size continues to increase. In order to answer that question, I would need to explain that no matter where they go, they will not become the Absolute Creator, the One who started it all at the very beginning, the First Cause and the Last Refuge, which is verily the meaning of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s existence. Do you suppose the Creator would (or could) ever allow His own creatures to become Himself? How could such a thing occur? It could not. There is room for infinite growth in the astral realm, and there are higher realms of which I choose not to speak at the present time. I have heard enough laughter from humans already to fill more than one lifetime of mine. Perhaps at a later date, I shall reveal more to you. Then again, perhaps I shall not.
-Guru Kurt