Hello and welcome to episode 144 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about the greatest cheater and liar in this world according to Krishna.
Today’s question comes from Renna and she says “during my meditation, what are the most important aspects I should focus on?”
That’s a great question. Very few people ask this question as people are usually more interested in the mechanics of mediation and how to actually do it.
Krishna says “the earth, the air, the fire, the space, the water, the ego, the mind, the intellect. Know that to be my eight fold distinctive nature. That is my lower nature. My higher nature-know it to be other than that.”
So the world is made up from those elements and the ego comes from the three gunas. They are the lower nature because they are the container. These are all maya. The higher nature is the consciousness.
Where is maya?
So the most important question you need to as when meditating is where is maya? When you ask where it is you are immediately acknowledging its existence. The maya is the container and the maya is in your eyes and ears. If you see or hear something twice you will form an attachment to it and it will become maya.
Krishna says “attachment to objects develop when the mind ponders over it. Out of attachment develops craving, out of craving wrath and out of wrath delusion. When this happens memory fails intelligence perishes and destruction reigns.”
This means the moment your eyes see something twice they will develop an attachment and you will believe it to real. This is the result of putting the mind out. This is why we must be aware and draw the mind in from the nature of the world. The great ones only see once and then they withdraw.
Cheat and lie
Maya cheats you every day. It is the greatest liar and cheater in this world. If you are not aware of it your eyes and ears will be the biggest cheaters in your life. You will only want to listen and see what you think is real. Not what the truth is. We all come from animals so we find it very hard to ignore these instincts and attachments. You can help them to disappear by focusing on higher things. Now this does not mean that you should not do things that you enjoy. You must be aware of why you are doing things and not let your mind become attached.
We do these things because of the gunas. It is the gunas that cheats us. That lies to our eyes and ear and mouth. Here is the thing. How many people have the power to remove their eyes from something attractive after seeing it once? Only a very small handful. Most people cannot withdraw the gunas after one glance because they don’t understand that they can form attachments because of the gunas. They make you see and hear.
Likes and dislikes
People are involved in a world of likes and dislikes. If someone likes to drink they go and drink. If they want to shop they go and shop. We are driven by our likes and this is why we are deluded by the gunas. The great ones live in a world of real and unreal. They discriminate. The first step is coming back to the shore. This will help you to destroy thinking and manifest the karma.
People don’t know how to get to the shore because they have never been there. When you get there the gunas will be destroyed along with the gunas. In this world indulgence will not reduce your appetite for something and neither will avoiding it. The only thing that will erase the desire is destroying the gunas. Indulgence and suppression through the senses will not destroy the gunas. The only way is to go back to the consciousness because this is the only thing that is real. This is the secret.
God does not create
Many people will say that God gave us eyes, ears and a mouth to use but that is wrong, really wrong. Krishna says “the lord neither creates objects of the world nor the agents nor contact with them. Rather the nature of the thing operates.”
Most people will not accept this verse but it’s true. God did not create anything of this world including the gunas. God only created the consciousness and everything else is our creation. Desires are created by us through the gunas by action and reaction. This is why we say these things are unreal and all that remains in the end is the consciousness.
People want to indulge in things that involve touching, hearing and seeing because they think God give them these things for that purpose but that is so wrong. We do these things because we live in a world of likes and dislikes that are driven by the gunas and not our consciousness. It is the nature of our minds to become detached and put it out. This is our lower nature and our higher nature is the consciousness.
The shore
The only way to be truly free of desires is to come back to the shore. When you do this the gunas will be withdrawn and all those desires and urges. If there are no urges you will never get these bad thoughts. People don’t want to do this. They try to cover up the urge so they won’t have to take any responsibility for it. Then to feel better they try to help the world instead of helping themselves.
It might not happen instantly. It takes time and it takes practice. All good things take time though and it if it takes a year or two years then so be it. That shouldn’t really matter. The only thing that should matter is withdrawing the gunas and getting back to the shore no matter how long it takes.
I want to give you an exercise. Let’s say you are taking a dog outside with you. You put a collar and lead on it so you have control over so it won’t run away. The same thing needs to be done with the gunas. When your mind is at the shore there is no danger but when your mind is out you need to put a collar and lead on it and have control it. Krishna says “with the senses controlled, mind controlled he who commences the yoga of action with the organs of action wins serenity.”
So when you come back to the shore first and destroy thinking you will then have better control over your mind when it does go out. Do this and you will be so much happier.
I hope I answered your questions. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
