27. Avatara
(Darshan given on March 26th, 1996)
A visitor: Adi Sankaracharya, in one of his books, quotes a passage where Vasishtha tells Rama, “You are not the son of Dasharatha.” And it seemed as if the consciousness of the Avatara could become clouded, that it became clouded for a moment, that he forgot who he was.
Swamiji: These are some theories. You may take them for what they are; for different purposes different things are told about one and the same thing. If Rama is an Avatar, you may also be an Avatar but for some reason you do not think you are an Avatar. Do you know the difference between you and Rama? What is the difference? He is the son of somebody; you are also the son of somebody. You are a human being; he was also looking like a human being. You call him Avatara, but you are not Avatara. Why are you not? Tell me the reason.
Visitor: Identity with my parents.
Swamiji: Rama had no identity with parents? Why are you bringing this point of parents? Well, he also had parents. He was as much conscious of his parents as you are or anybody else is. Now, how does this explain the difference between an Avatara and an ordinary person? Because he is conscious of things in the same way as you are conscious of things, what is the difference between an Avatara and an ordinary human being?
Visitor: He doesn't forget being the Avatara.
Swamiji: Why are you forgetting? What have you gained by forgetting?
Visitor: I have lost by forgetting.
Swamiji: Now you get it back. Why not? If you are confident, it will come. Now what does Vasishtha say to Rama?
Visitor: “You are not the son of Dasharatha.”
Swamiji: “You are a descendent of God.” Right.
Visitor: So it seemed as though Rama had forgotten.
Swamiji: Everything in the world has an empirical face and also a transcendent face. It is there in every person, even in an atom, even in a tree, even in a mountain. Everything is partially ephemeral and empirical, transient, but at the same time there is a transcendent imperishable element in all things, not only in human beings but everywhere. The phenomenal side, the empirical side, involves the whole of the body and the mind, the body-mind complex, which is a person entirely involved in the phenomenal process, just as a person can be caught by a rapidly moving river and can think only one direction. The phenomenality and the power of externality involved in phenomenality compels everybody, every person, everything, to look outward and never look inside because the eternity is an inward reality, and the perception is an outward phenomenon. The power of phenomenality, which you may call centrifugal, compels you to look outside, and you will never look inside. This is the reason why people and things sometimes look phenomenally involved, and sometimes they are able to overcome the pull of phenomenality and manifest eternity. These people who are able to overcome the pull of phenomenality and act in the light of the eternal principle inside are the Avataras. They are Godmen. Those who are unable to bring the eternal principle into harmony with the phenomenal movement, they become busy people. They are industrialists and workers, this, that, family people involved in all sorts of problems.
There is nothing wrong in perceiving the world, but you must perceive it in the light of the eternity that is at the back. The noumenal principle, which is the transcendent, determines even the perception outside. But, as I mentioned, the force of perception in an external fashion of space and time is so strong that it will not allow you to turn back to visualise the eternity that is in you. To the extent you are able to turn back the force of externality in the direction of the eternity in you, you are a Godman in that percentage. To the extent it is not possible, you are a worldly man. This applies to Rama and Krishna, and even to yourself, myself, everybody.
Visitor: Thank you.
Swamiji: When you are in Paramtma, you should know that you are in Paramatma. Who will know?
An ashramite: Why should we know?
Swamiji: Then what is the good of your going there when you don't know anything. You can be here itself. When you don't know you are rich, you are not rich, really speaking. Suppose you are rich but don't know that you are rich, can you call yourself a rich man? Everything is conditioned by knowledge. If you have entered God, but don't know you have entered God, then you have not entered God. I asked you a simple question but you are not able to answer it. If you have entered God, you have vanished. If you have vanished, who will know that you have entered God. If you don't know anything, then what's the good of going there? It is like an idiotic man having nothing and imagining that he is a wealthy man. He may be a millionaire, but his brain is idiotic. He doesn't know he is a millionaire. If that is the case, you cannot call him a rich man. In the same way, if you don't know where you are, you are nowhere, really speaking.
This question arises because the mind is not purified completely. You cannot forget that you are a retired colonel. You are a big man. No big man can go to God. This is a very important thing. If you say you are not a big man, that you are a very small fry whose personality is completely annihilated, you don't exist at all in the eyes of people, then there is a chance, because two big people cannot exist in the world. God is also a big man, and you are also a big man, so they cannot stick together. Two bigs cannot stick. At least one man should be a little less.
Great chitta shuddhi is necessary. If it was such a simple matter, why did Lord Yama refuse to answer Nachiketas' question? It is because the mind cannot receive it. No philosopher can understand what happens to him when he enters God.
You are an important person, not an ordinary fry. The idea that you are an important person must go, and you must be very humble, like a blade of grass. People may tread over you, and still you don't say anything about it. If you don't exist at all, God will take care of you. But if you exist, there is a contradiction between your existence and His existence. Your personality should go away. You are like an automaton, and for practical purposes you are existing, but in your mind you are not existing at all. If this confirmation is acceptable to you, I think one day or the other God will bless you.