The Eternal Quest

by Swami Krishnananda

(Taken from The Divine Life Magazine 1951)

Siva has deified his work; or, to put it in another way, Siva has found his God in his work.

What is the Ultimate Conception of God? We know that Sages have characterised Him as the Infinite, the Beginning-less, the Endless, the Deathless, and That which is beyond the reach of mind and senses and therefore, That which cannot be got and possessed. The quest for God is ceaseless; and the quest ceases only when the seeker ceases to be. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, has defined the High State of a Sthithaprajna, and at the same time issued the warning that only he, who persists in this High State till the end, attains the Brahma-Nirvana.

Eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṃ prāpya vimuhyati,
sthitvāsyām antakālepi brahmanirvāṇam ṛcchati (B.G. II-72).

This is Siva's favourite theme, too. Whenever he instructs a Sadhaka on Vairagya, renunciation or intensity of Sadhana, he would not fail to warn him, "Till the very end, be vigilant". The human mind being so framed, it is ever "on the move". Man, therefore, either progresses or retrogresses; there is no static state. Siva would have us ever progress, ever to have our gaze upturned towards the Infinite; otherwise, when the man imagines that he has reached the Highest Pinnacle—and this 'imagination' is always a false notion and a delusion—he thinks he need no more gaze above and naturally gazes the other way! A man goes where he looks; and we know where this man would proceed to now.

This great principle, and this flaming caution of the Lord, has been the guiding light of Siva's life, too. By his own life, Siva has emphasised the need to bear the Lord's words ever in mind.

“Ceaseless, untiring, selfless, service” is a term synonymous with Siva, his precept and practice. Only these three adjectives can deify service. Such service is the highest worship of God.

Life's Mission

Those who have watched Siva's work in the field of dissemination of spiritual knowledge, would at once see how Siva has so "framed" his life's Mission, that it would ensure his ceaselessly serving humanity unceasingly and untiringly. Dissemination of spiritual knowledge is such a service that it can have no end. It is at once the most glorious of all services; for, it involves one's continuously dwelling upon the Supreme Truth, as well as service of the highest kind to humanity—no service can be greater than that which enables man to dispense with all services; no gift can be greater than that which releases man from thralldom to want. Such a gift is the gift of Knowledge; such a service is the dissemination of spiritual Knowledge. There can never be lack of opportunity for rendering service, so long as there is a single man who remains unenlightened, there is room for this service.

One may know all this, but, may not know how to perpetuate one's exertion. After giving out one's essential teachings, one may feel that there is not much else to be done than to get one's writings published over and over again and distributed. This would not satisfy our Siva. It does not come up to his "untiring" mark! And, again, such a cessation of exertion might result in spiritual stagnation.

Truth Simplified

How does Siva get over this practical difficulty? As Dr. R. Nagaraja Sarma has said in the course of a review of Siva's books, "Swami Sivananda seems to be fertile in his approach to the modern mind". The same theme Siva would put into different shapes and thus reach out to people with tastes of different kinds. Take for instance the Upanishads. Siva has commented upon the classical Upanishads in the usual way. But, he has also written 'Dialogues from the Upanishads', in which he has presented the Upanishadic truths without compelling the student to swallow the Sanskrit-pill. Again, people nowadays cannot somehow bring their mind up to the pitch of reading terse prose or verses, or a mere commentary on Upanishadic Utterances (however easy and lucid it may be). For their sake, Siva has enlivened the Upanishads and revivified the Upanishadic scenes, in his 'Upanishad Drama'. There are yet others who would like, but, cannot spare the time, to read the Upanishads themselves, to them Siva has offered his 'Upanishads for Busy People', into which he has poured the very essence of Upanishadic Truths. Referring to this aspect of Siva's writings, Sri C. Rajagopalachariar, then Governor-General of India, wrote—

"It gave me great pleasure to see your book 'Upanishad Drama'. Gold beaten into all sorts of shapes gives joy. So have you beaten the Upanishads into new and artistic shape. I am amazed at your energy." C. R.'s own untiring services to the cause of India's freedom is too well-known; Only he could truly understand what untiring and unceasing service actually is.

How such service helps the Sadhaka has been summed up in a few words by Yogiraj Sri Louis Brinkfort, who wrote, "In a struggling aspirant, the inspiration wears out very soon; the fire needs constant fanning; and I am glad that your Holiness has found the method to keep this flame bright by feeding it constantly with ever-new books and by presenting the truths in various patterns."

Yes! Siva is fertile in his approach to the aspirant's mind. But, this has its basis in his unique Mission, in his unique philosophy, and in his unique Sadhana. For him, Jnana Yajna is God; and at his magic touch Jnana Yajna has revealed itself to be God, endless, infinite, all-consuming, beyond the reach of the mind and senses, and therefore, the Object of man's Eternal Quest!