Darshan of Swami Krishnananda – 1998

by Swami Krishnananda

10. Idol Worship, Cosmic Action, Ego, Meditation

(Darshan given on February 28th, 1998)

Swamiji: Action, of whatever kind, is a kind of interaction between oneself and another. It is an unavoidable thing. Even your seeing an object outside is an action. It is an action because you see it in a particular form and you cannot see it in any other form, though it is not true that the object has only one form. Due to the combination of certain forces of nature, for a specific reason, a thing looks like one particular thing. Everything of the whole universe is present in each thing and, therefore, the perceiving of any particular thing in one form only is a limited perception. Everything in the universe is concentrated in the object, and so is the case with any other object. Every person, every thing, whatever it be, is a concentrated form of all the forces of the universe.

This is the philosophy behind idol worship also. You worship an idol, a murti or something. The value of that worship is because all the forces of the universe are present in everything, and it is present in the idol also. It can be present anywhere. Idol worship is very valuable, and it has got a scientific background. So is the case with the person who sees it. I am seeing you, and you are seeing me. We both are on a parallel ground in order that perception can be possible at all.

So the Mahabharata war is not some person doing something in terms of another person. It is a cosmic action taking place. There are no friends and enemies in the universe. Sri Krishna was not an enemy of the Kauravas, nor was he a friend of the Pandavas. Very subtle thing. If he was a friend of the Pandavas, why did he allow at the end of the war for all the friends of the Pandavas to die there? Not one friend of the Pandavas survived. Is it a great blessing? Thousands of people, lakhs of people came to support the Pandavas in war. Every one of them died. Why? What was the reason? You kill the opposite party, but you kill your own party also. What do you say for that? This shows it is not an action of one party against another party. It is a cosmic action taking place and, therefore, neither you are killing nor something is being killed.

And so the distinction between the physical body and Atman cannot be made. It is a total action taking place. The whole universe is acting. Sri Krishna was not in favour of anybody, not even in favour of his own group of Yadavas, not even the Pandavas.

Why Krishna asked Arjuna to kill somebody? Krishna said, “What is the objection? The body is anyhow perishable, and what is the objection? You have not done any sin when killing a perishable thing.”

So Arjuna's question was, “If it is already perishable, what is the point in your asking me to kill it? And you have said Atman is immortal. Are you asking me to kill the immortal Atman? Naturally it has no meaning. There is no meaning in killing the body because it is perishable, and no meaning in killing the Atman because it is imperishable. So what is it that you are telling me, Krishna?” For that, Krishna never gave an answer.

There are many miracles in this world. So is God also. The great Almighty is behaving exactly like that. He will not give even a hint that He likes you, but if your heart is there, He will pour an abundance of blessing on you afterwards. Unasked, unexpected blessings will be poured on you, though He won't give an indication that He is going to give anything. This is how God works, and how the universe works also.

It is a very great mystery, but if you trust it and you are one with it, if you love the universe, the universe will love you. If you love God Almighty, He will love you, and if the whole universe starts loving you, then what do you lack afterwards? Blessings will pour from all sides, unthinkable though. Everybody will be wondering what kind of thing it is: Can I be a friend of the whole universe? Can I shake hands with everything in the universe as my dear friend? These are all unthinkable things. Nobody can imagine what it is to be a friend of the whole universe. How is it possible?

You have to be united with the structure of everything in the universe, and then they will get united with you. Then you cannot say what miracle will take place. The whole world will start operating through you, and you become a super man, as they call it, or a God-man himself, whatever it is.

Swamiji: Why don't we remove the ego? What is the harm?

Ashramite: Is it there, Swamiji? Is it there?

Swamiji: Ego is only a name for a repelling force in our personality. It is not a thing sitting inside. It is an activity which repels everything. It won't receive anything – nothing. The personality refuses to receive; it only repels. That is called the ego. It is a kind of counter-activity taking place in the entire personality. There is no ego like a ball sitting. Nothing of the kind. It is a magnetic action taking place which throws out everything that comes near. It throws out even God Himself. It won't allow anything to enter.

Great meditation is necessary for this. To counteract this repelling activity inside and make it a receptive centre, great meditation is necessary every day. You must cry and weep also, sometimes. We are in a state of tragedy, that's all. Unnecessarily we are patting ourselves on the back. No use. The universe is ready to serve us, if we can serve it. But if we are masters of our own selves, then it says, “You mind your business, that's all.”

Counter-activity you must make. Place yourself in the centre of the whole universe, and then feel energy flows from the universe, and this individuality is kicked out. It will go automatically. That is the secret of meditation. The person who meditates is not you or me or anybody. That kind of meditation has no meaning because the ego is meditating; what is the good of it? Ravana meditated, Kumbhakarna meditated, Hiranyakashipu meditated – what is the purpose? That kind of meditation has no meaning. Everybody can meditate, but for destruction only.

You must transfer yourself to the cosmic centre, and then you won't exist afterwards. Only that will be there. You will get absorbed into the cosmos. That is the meditation, really. Every day you must think only this. You have no other duty in the world. Day and night you must think – when you eat, when you walk and sleep and write, anything. Whatever you do, it is a cosmic activity taking place. Cosmos is eating the food. Cosmos is talking. It is not a joke. It is not a theory. It is a fact which is actually taking place. Every movement of even a leaf is cosmic activity, even one leaf. There is nobody existing except that.

Anything you can do. All activity is internal; it is not external. But we do external activity; that is what we feel. In the cosmic set up, activity is internal only, and you are also included in it. So it is an impulsion of the universe that is making you move in one direction. But you must be sure that it is impelling, it is doing, not you. That is meditation. Meditation is not sitting in a corner somewhere in a temple. Whole day you must think only this. You will say, “I have no time. I have got a lot of work.” That work is a part of this meditation. You should not say, “I have no time for meditation because I am hard-working.” The hard work is a part of the meditation. Meditation takes the form of work also. It can take the form of walking on the road. It can take the form of purchase of vegetables. It is not another thing taking place. There is no 'another thing' in the universe. The idea of another thing must go away. Then you are perpetually in meditation, day and night.