Darshan with Swami Krishnananda – 1996

by Swami Krishnananda

19. One Cosmic Dream

(Darshan given on February 12th, 1996)

A visitor: In meditation, earth is dissolved by water, water by fire…

Swamiji: That is one kind of meditation. I don't say that is the only way. From the universal existence came space. From space or sky, as they call it, came air. After air came fire. After fire came water. After water came earth. From the earth, plants and trees and all things conceivable grew, and your body is nothing but a conglomeration of the consumable articles that are arising from the earth. The body is made up of foodstuff. When you return, the physical elements in your body will return to the earth, the earth will dissolve in water, water in fire, fire in air, air in space, and space in the universal existence. That is how you have to meditate. That is one method. There are many other methods of meditation also.

Another visitor: When I have a dream, everything is taking place; this whole universe is taking place in something smaller than a pinhead. And in this waking, there is no size. There is no infinitely big or infinitely small. It must be just the same. In the dream, the whole of existence is taking place inside my mind.

Swamiji: Even now, whatever is taking place in the world is taking place within the Cosmic Mind. So this is only a long dream. Then what is your problem?

Visitor: So this long dream is just all one manifestation, just the one manifestation?

Swamiji: There is one dream only, finally, and of One Person.

Visitor: Just the capital One.

Swamiji: Right. That is correct.

Visitor: And here is just some other world. Is it so, that there is some other world?

Swamiji: What is the meaning of 'some other world'? This world is there. It is inside the dream of the Cosmic Mind. I don't understand what you are asking.

Visitor: There are some other planes of existence – my astral body…?

Swamiji: Seven planes are there. All the seven planes are included within this cosmic dream. In what way are you better now by hearing all this? You are the same person. Why did you ask a question which doesn't benefit you?

Visitor: To clarify my understanding. Do I need to be concerned about these other seven planes?

Swamiji: You are going to be no better by hearing this.

Another visitor: If everything is available in the supermarket, then why does one go astray? Is the truth not that strong? Why doesn't it get absorbed into the system?

Swamiji: The heart of the person has not fully appreciated the fact that the supermarket contains everything. It has a doubt that perhaps the supermarket does not contain everything. The lesser market also has valuables, so why not have the benefit of the earthly market also? Evidently, some of the benefits of the earthly market, you may not find in the supermarket. This the heart says, though the intellect may accept that the supermarket may include everything that is in the lesser market. So there is a clash between the feeling and the understanding. The intellect clashes with the heart. It is like a clash between husband and wife. Whose word will you take, the husband's word or the wife's word? This causes unhappiness in the family. The wife will insist, and the husband also has got his own way of talking. So the whole family is in confusion. They never agree. But if they by chance agree, then wonders will take place.

Visitor: How will they agree?

Swamiji: The feeling is the troublemaker. It will never allow you to keep quiet. So tell the feeling: “Deeply think over this matter. Do you understand that in that supermarket you have everything?” Naturally the heart will say, “Yes, I agree.” “Do you agree really?” Tell the heart that it contains everything that the world has. Are you able to understand this point? Do you know that whatever you have in this world is also there, so there is no need of going to two places? Or are you thinking that they are different markets – one market is here, one market is there, and you have a choice between the two?

But listen, there are no two markets. This so-called visible market is a reflection of that market. What you are seeing here is also that, only in a distorted form through the sense organs. So whatever you are seeing here is that which you are also seeing, as in a mirror. Go on telling this again and again every day, a hundred times. What you are seeing is not different from that, so there is no choice between this and that. “Let me have this, let me have that” – there is no such question at all. What you are seeing is a reflection of that. Do you want the reflection, and also the original separately? Do you understand me? Go on telling like that a hundred times, a hundred times, a hundred times. Then the heart will join with the mind, and there will be wonder afterwards. This is a simple answer to you. What I am telling you is nothing but meditation.

You can qualify what I have said by another method. Be intact in yourself. Don't be afraid of losing yourself in God, but think deeply that this whole universe has been created by a mighty, all-pervading force. You are seeing it, you are visualising it; you are happy to see it because it is like your father and mother.

Visitor: I am feeling lost in it, sometimes.

Swamiji: No, you cannot get lost. Your problem is, you don't want to get lost, isn't it? You want to maintain your individuality. I am saying that it is quite all right; you maintain your individuality, but consider yourself as the son of this great Almighty Creator of the universe. With millions of eyes He is looking at you and He is sending you rays of benediction, protection, and all that is blessed for you. Assert: “The Almighty Creator of the universe is looking at me; I am basking under the worth of His great brilliance, and I have no fear whatsoever. I am under the guardianship and protection of this mighty Creator.” There is no question of losing yourself. This is a conditioned form of meditation. You can continue like that. Don't think of losing yourself. This is a qualified form of meditation. The other one, which I mentioned, is unqualified, so that is causing some difficulty. You can qualify it with this more pleasant, comfortable and happy envisaging of the master creative power of this whole universe. Continue like that. Then there is no you, yourself. It is quite all right.

Another visitor: I want to know the difference between the working mind and the thinking mind.

Swamiji: When you think, you are working. The thinking process itself is the kind of work the mind is undertaking. There is no difference between them. Thinking is action. They are identical, unless you have some other idea of working.

Visitor: I spoke to another swamiji who said that the working mind is, as I understood it at that time, pure action, without premeditated thought, without thinking beforehand.

Swamiji: There is no action without thought. How will you act without thinking?

Visitor: What about response – responding to something that comes to you.

Swamiji: That is also a mental action, so what is your problem now?

Visitor: I saw a difference between the thinking mind and the working mind.

Swamiji: This is a theoretical matter. But what is troubling you now? What is the reason for asking this question?

Visitor: Since we spoke about it, it's been on my mind and I wanted to just ask you about it.

Swamiji: No action is possible unless the mind is moving, so mental action is real action. If the mind is dissociated from the body, bodily action has no meaning. The movement of a corpse cannot be called action because there is no mind. This means to say that action is mental action only. What you think is what you're doing.