Swami Krishnananda Shashtyabdapurti Mahotsava Commemoration Volume
A Souvenir released on Swami Krishnananda's 60th Birthday
On Violence and Love
by Swami Hridayananda
Since joining the Ashram in 1956, I have had the privilege of knowing and learning from Sri Krishnananda Swamiji and have always held a high regard for his character. He is a shining light and example for those who come into contact with him and is a great expounder, teacher and writer of every aspect of Yoga and philosophy.
On this, his 61st birthday, one remembers especially to pay homage to a great soul. Swamiji serves Gurudev and the Divine Life Society, in thought, word and deed in spite of his indifferent health and in adverse circumstances. Swamiji is admired for his integrity, honesty and intellectual ability. He lives his life in the true Yogic spirit.
The other day there was a heated discussion going on over the question of violence and how to put an end to violence.
As I was hearing this discussion, I was thinking to myself, "But who is asking these questions ?". Is it possible, without understanding who you are, to decide what you should do? Each one was asking a question—yet, if I had asked them, "Who are you?", they would have answered, "I am Mr X, or Mrs Y." But, who is that "I" who is agitated all day, who is trying to decide if he should do this or that? How do you put an end to this daily conflict within yourself?
You have a clue in your daily lives. Once you go into the deep sleep state, are you worried about any of these things? You are the very same person who was arguing so much during the day, who was wanting to do so much for the others. But, once you enter the deep sleep state, even though you are still alive, you are still there, are you concerned about what went on in the day? No, you are absolutely peaceful. So, what is the change that has taken place in you? Why are you not worried in that state? What is the change that has taken place in you? You have the same body and sense organs, but it is your mind that has stopped functioning. The "I" which you call yourself during the day disappears in deep sleep. It is this changeable factor, which you call “I” throughout the day, that can have one opinion today and another opinion tomorrow and can make different decisions at different times.
The mind, your mind, which you call "I", has so many layers to it—the conscious, the sub-conscious and the un-conscious layers. In each of these layers there are innumerable impressions. When you act, it is one of these impressions, from one of these layers, which gets stimulate. Therefore, it is with a conditioned mind that you are acting. So, it is this conditioned mind that has decided to put an end to all the violence in the world. But how can this mind, which is changeable, make a correct decision?
We are born in certain conditionings and cultures, our education is superficial and teaches us nothing about ourselves, so everyone is a selfish entity—unaware of the truth. The truth is that we are all connected by a certain consciousness. From our childhood, however, all our conditioning works contrary to this truth. We are taught to act for our own benefit. Of course, it is in different degrees in different people, but when we decide to put an end to violence and improve the world, we are doing it from our conditioned level, and therefore, we can only succeed in creating more conflict, trouble and violence; because is the basis of our subconscious impressions. And violence can only breed more violence; it has never brought peace. When we bring peace, it is only superficial and temporary and the violence verse out later. It can never bring permanent peace. With this violence as the foundation, it is a waste of energy to try and bring about peace in this world.
If a man is really interested in helping others, and improving the world, he must discover himself. Man does not know who he is. He thinks he is just the mind, body and intellect. But these are his changeable and perishable factors. There is a deeper consciousness in every man and that is permanent and unchangeable.
The individual intellect is only a part of the Cosmic Intellect, which is concerned with harmony. The individual intellect, however,, is caused by the whirlpools we create by our own thought-waves; it is these constant oscillations which are preventing us from using that beautiful, pure and harmonious Cosmic Intellect.
The first thing is to discover what is beyond the mind and find what you are in reality. Then you will not argue, you will just act. There will be no doubt or conflict in your mind. You will have the inner spiritual strength to just act. You no longer doubt whether it is right or wrong— you do not ask anyone else's opinion— because you are convinced that it is right. This is the Yoga which is taught in the Bhagavad and Gita.
The conditioned mind has accumulated all sorts of impressions in the subconscious mind, and each time we try to make a decision, it is this subconscious which gets stimulated and gives the answer. So, we have to uncondition the mind and find ways to exhaust these impressions and go beyond the mind-layers to the truth, the connecting, absolute consciousness.
People say they love someone—they really think they do—but it is not pure love. Love based on desire or on intellectual understanding is not love. True love can only happen by going beyond the individual intellect and back to truth or absolute consciousness. True love was seen in the lives of Gandhiji and Christ. Even imminent death did not perturb them, because they were convinced that what they were doing was correct and they had gone deep into themselves and reached the cosmic, connecting consciousness and realised the body's worthlessness.
Instead of arguing the whys and wherefores of violence, let us rather learn to go deep within ourselves and see the cosmic, connecting consciousness and act from that level.
So by Swamiji's example and by reading deeply into Swamiji's books, and watching the way he lives his day-to-day life, let us aim to live this true Yogic way of life—remaining balanced at all times—and so will the love flow from us to all who come within our aura.
I pray that Swamiji will have good health so that he can continue to radiate his purity and love for many more years upon this earth-plane.