Darshan of Swami Krishnananda in 1998

by Swami Krishnananda

36. Your Spiritual Nature

(Darshan given in October 1998)

Swamiji: ...because mere humanism will be empty without the soul that is inside it. The soul is the immanent God element which pervades everything in the universe. But, unfortunately, you cannot see God; and therefore, you are likely to forget that it exists at all. Pure existence cannot be seen with the eyes. Only particularised existences can be seen with the eyes. Divided objects can be seen; all-pervading thing cannot be seen.

Even space cannot be seen properly. You have only to conceive that there is something called space. You cannot take a photograph of space. It is not an object, in spite of the fact the whole universe has come about by the potentials present in the space principle. Space condenses into vibration, and vibration further becomes more and more dense, and this density reaches up to the earth level. Space, air, heat, liquid, water, then solid earth – we are all made up of these principles only, which means to say we are made up of cosmic substance. We are not made up of some tinsels.

Nobody thinks like this. We are little individuals moving from place to place, coming from one country to another country. This is a poor definition of our own selves. There are no countries, etc., just as a human being is not merely the fingers, the hands and the feet. Hands, feet, etc., are the countries of this body, you may say. The entire body is the total nationality of the universe. You have got so many countries, so many nationalities; they are just like fingers and hands and ears and noses of the body. But you don't feel that there are many limbs in your body. When you come from somewhere into this room, you don't say, “Many limbs are coming.” You don't say that. “I am coming,” you say. In a similar manner, the division of the consciousness of nationality into particular locations like countries is only a pragmatic step human beings have taken for getting on in the world. But truly, it is something more.

The cosmic substance is scintillating through our body. Even the sun is determining our courses. Nobody knows how the sun determines. Even our breath is regulated by the sun's movement. Sun, moon, stars – even the longest distance of stars, they are all controlling us without our knowing what is happening. You may say that the stars are very far away, but there is no distance in the cosmos. It is one integrated being, so you should not say that the stars are so many kilometres away. They are not. It is just like saying the feet are far away from the head, the head is far away from the legs. But what does it matter? You don't say, “Oh, the leg is very far away from my brain.” Nobody talks like that. This distance is an illusion. There is no distance anywhere in the universe. So in this distanceless universe you are existing as an integral part of this Cosmic Being.

This is a brief introduction I am giving to your spiritual nature. If you are able to conceive the integrality of your existence as coextensive with the whole creation, you become a cosmic individual. You are not a citizen of one country or another country; you are a citizen of the cosmos. Then blessings will pour on you from everywhere. You don't require a blessing from this person, that person. The entire universe will flood you with blessing because you are a citizen of the whole cosmos. A citizen is to be protected by the country of which he is a citizen, and the country protects every citizen of that country. Now you are a citizen of the universe, so the universe has to protect you. So you are free from fear. Then there is an immense love pervading everywhere. You are not loving something. You are loving your own cosmic self. It is impossible to think it ordinarily.

A visitor: How do I end the separation between myself and my fellow men?

Swamiji: By meditation. Your consciousness, which is called your soul, has to intensely contemplate the soul that is in every other being also. Then consciousness, being indivisible, cannot have one consciousness here, one consciousness there. It is a ubiquitous, all-pervading ocean of existence. That is consciousness.

Every day you sit quiet for some time and close your eyes: I am pure consciousness. Everybody is pure consciousness. There is nothing which is not, at its background, pure consciousness. So what remains? Neither I am existing as an individualised person, nor is anybody, not even the trees and plants and mountains and rivers. They are all condensations of this consciousness. By degrees of condensation from the cosmic substance, as I mentioned to you, they have become hard earth, etc. But originally this earth can evaporate into the ultimate consciousness. Earth can melt into water, water can be dried up by heat, heat can be controlled by air, and air will vanish into space. Then space can merge into the universal consciousness.

This is a conscious evolutionary process, which is called the highest form of meditation, by which you become one with the whole universe of God, which is another way of saying you are one with God Himself. And God is seeing you. It is not that God is in heaven, and all that. There is no heaven. Everywhere it is heaven only. It is said the kingdom of God is within you. 'It is within you' means what are you carrying with you? How a kingdom can be inside? A kingdom is so big and your heart is so small. But this is not a kingdom which is made of earth, plants and trees. It is a universal sweep of consciousness, of which a little spark is operating through you.

You must close your eyes at least one hour a day and sit like this. The sea of consciousness is dashing through its waves in the form of individualities. There are no individualities. If hundreds of waves dash one upon the other, there are no hundreds of waves, really speaking. It is a hundred ways of the ocean itself working. If a huge wave subdues the small wave, it is not a war taking place. It is a majesty of the ocean itself. If the smaller wave is swallowed up by the higher wave that is coming up, do you think that then a war is taking place?

The consciousness does not wage wars because it alone exists everywhere; and this kind of ubiquitous thought, integral thought, universal thought, where everything is merged into one being, which is called the being of God, on that you meditate. There are no particularities, there are no individualities, there is no division of one with the other. We are not far away even from the stars. That idea must go. The distance between us and something else is an illusion created by our perceptional process. There is no distance. Distanceless, integral being is what you call God, and you cannot stand outside it. So you yourself are a majestic, blessed soul, a spark of the Universal Being.

“I am most blessed,” tell yourself. “I am not a wretched individual. I am not a poor person.” Ask, and it shall be given unto you, it is said. Knock, and it shall be opened. Why are you crying as if you are a poverty-stricken person? The resources of the universe are at your hand. Ask and it shall be given, whatever it is. You must have a little faith. Christ has said, “Oh ye of little faith, if you have as much faith as a mustard seed, tell the mountain to move, and it shall move.” But that faith is lacking. “Oh, how it is possible?” you will think.

You should not condemn yourself as a poor little nothing. You should not say like that. You are not a poor little nothing. You are a very mighty thing. A little atom has such force, it can blow up the whole thing. And how many atoms are there in your body? If they all blow up, what will happen? Can you imagine how much strength you have got? But they are buried. They are not expressed outside. If all the atoms in your body express themselves in the might of the atom bomb, what you are, nobody can say. You are not a human being anymore. You are the centre of the universal force. Nobody can stand before you. There is nobody there. All is yourself only.

This is a direct way of spiritual meditation. Never condemn yourself, never criticise yourself, never say that you are a poor person. You are not that. If you have come from God, you are a child of God. Will a child of God suffer? Why should you criticise yourself: “I am a poor nothing”? The resources of the universe are at your hand. Ask and it shall be given. But your soul should ask, not only moving the lips and praying a little. You chant some mantras, but that will not work. Your soul should have its own mantra: “Come God, I want you!” The soul should burst forth, and then some miracle will take place.

This is the ultimate teaching of what you call Hinduism, but you don't know what Hinduism is. We are seeing only temples and churches and priests, pujas, worships, and all that. This is not Hinduism. These are external rituals, gestures of the seeking consciousness which attempts to outgrow these gestures.

You see, when you come, “Please sit down.” [Swamiji gestures] “May I speak to you?” This gesture of my hand is not necessary. I can inwardly love you, but I have to express it; then only you feel it. So even that technique is adopted here, in worships. We wave a holy light, put a candle, and then utter words of praise of God though these words, and external gestures are not necessary. You can just think, “I love God. Thou art not only mine, Thou art me.” Don't say, “Thou art mine.” “Thou art me only.” Then the flare of God's blessing will burst forth.

In one minute you can become a saint if your heart jumps up for this. You need not have to undergo so many austerities. Physical austerities and fasting – nothing is necessary. Your heart should rise up. Your heart is the saint. The saint is not the body or any kind of dress. God does not want dress; He doesn't care for that. Your soul should open up like a flower blossoming forth, and in a spaceless manner it should rise rocket-like up to the all-pervading Being.

You will be shuddering at that time. You cannot contain God within you, like an elephant entering into a thatched hut, as they say. The thatched hut cannot contain an elephant. Such a powerful thing! If it enters into you, you become mystically mad, as people generally call it. It is not madness. It is a super experience where God possesses you. There are no words for these experiences. People say it is God-mad. Great mystics are called God-mad. It is a poor word, 'mad'. You should not use the word 'mad', actually. It is an extempore bursting forth of individuality to the cosmic level. It is only to be experienced. Any amount of description by words and style of speaking won't explain it.

This is the goal of what you call true Hinduism, which is at the root of all these external gestures of temples, pujas, and rivers, baths, and all that. These are all unnecessary, finally. You will bathe in the love of God Himself. You need not have to go to rivers.

It is a very terrible thing for the human ego to hear this. The ego asserts itself: I am here. Why are you talking? The ego is the Lucifer which rebelled against God, and we are doing that. We keep God far away: I will stay in my own house independently. The story of Lucifer is applicable to every human being. We suffer due to the isolation from God. Now it is up to you to retrace your steps by prayer, meditation to that Almighty who will take you back as the prodigal son, and He is the most compassionate being. Even a ray of that Being... His compassion on you is indescribable. As a ray of the sun merges into the sun, so you will get absorbed into God, and then you will lack nothing.

The only thing is, you should not have doubt in your mind: Is it possible or not? Doubts are our traitors, as people say. If there are any traitors in the world, the doubt is the traitor. “Solitude, no! It is not for you.” Some voice will tell, “This is not for you. Get up!” All saints had this difficulty. This was told to Christ, it was told to Buddha. They all said, “No, why are you wasting your time? This is no good.” That voice must be rejected, and you will say, “Yes, it is possible for me. If one could achieve it, another also could achieve it.” So this blessing may be ours. Hari Om Tat Sat. God bless you.

I have told you a mouthful, and you can think deeply about these matters.