Verses 17.14–17.19🔗

Kṛṣṇa defines austerity of deeds, words and thoughts. Tapas or penance is the austere, simple way of living, the mode of aparigraha (simplicity). It is based upon what one needs and not what one craves for. One who successfully practices this is a tapasvi. Kṛṣṇa explained earlier and repeats here that tapasya, austerity or penance, doesn’t mean inflicting pain or torturing oneself and others. This ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation 1221 includes not merely physical torture and pain, but also takes into account pain through words and thoughts. Penance undertaken in this manner is abusing oneself and the God who resides within, forgetting that the body is a temple of God. Penance performed out of foolishness and self-torture destroys or injures others.

Please understand, such acts are done out of ignorance. That’s what I explained earlier with regard to black magic. No black magic can be done. No evil spirit can be sent to you. No one but an Enlightened Master can curse, and an Enlightened Master cannot curse. He can only bless. Bhagavan Kṛṣṇa says that the people who are in rajas carry out sacrifices for the sake of respect, honor and worship. When they do penance or sacrifice in this manner, it is unstable. When people don’t respect them, they stop doing it. They do it as long as people fall at their feet. If the respect is lost, they stop their tapasyā.

Penance performed with the view of obtaining any result, even a noble ideal like Enlightenment is a result...is in the mode of rajas, aggression or passion. Only when it is in the nature of total surrender, with no expectation of any results, it is in satva and of spiritual value. When I talk about my tapas during my days of wandering all over India, I did difficult things. I realize now that many of these could have been dispensed with. I experimented with ten thousand keys before I found the key to unlock the door to Enlightenment. I tell my disciples that they do not need to go through that.

There is an easier, faster and simpler way! As long as I struggled towards Enlightenment in my spiritual practices, it eluded me. I was able to realize myself only when I threw away my rudrākśa (energy beads) and the photograph of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa that I had with me all those years, and sat down in meditation, with the feeling, ‘let what may happen, happen.’ Here, Kṛṣṇa uses the word Saumyatvaṁ beautifully. We have no exact English translation for this word Saumyatva; manaḥ prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ (17.16). Saumyatvaṁ refers to satisfaction and a feeling that is so comfortable. It refers to one whose presence makes you feel totally relaxed, complete and induces thoughts that calm and center the mind.

Please understand saumyatva and pleasing words are basic qualities to be practiced by a spiritual person. Some people become enlightened, yet they can’t enrich others. For example, I saw a great, enlightened Swami living in the Himalayas who spent the whole day smoking gañja. No doubt he was enlightened. He put a copper coin in the chillum pipe with which he smoked gañja. You will be surprised that when he emptied the chillum pipe, a gold coin fell out! I witnessed this happen many times. He sold that coin to buy more gañja. He lived in Uttarkashi (in Uttaranchal, North India). Of course, I had great respect for him because he was a tapasvi, and he never wore any clothes.

He was a nāga-sādhu. Nāga means a Sannyāsi who does not wear clothes. In that cold weather they lived without clothes. They are also called Paramahamsa. Paramahamsa Sannyāsis do not wear clothing except to go into the city to spread the Divine mission. Otherwise they are not supposed to wear clothes. Paramahamsas live like children. When this Swami, a great Paramahamsa, emptied his chillum, there would be a gold coin in it. I asked him, ‘Bābā, you are a great tapasvi, an atmajñāni (one who has attained Self-knowledge) and a brahmajñāni (knower of Brahman), why are you smoking gañja?’ He said, ‘A big elephant cannot be tied to a small hut.

We must make it a little dull and silent. Only then can the elephant stay in the small hut. After enlightenment, the soul cannot stay in this small body. I must bring it down and make it dull. Then it can stay in this body. To bring it down, I do these things.’ Of course, their smoking is different from an ordinary man’s smoking. ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation 1223 Someone asked me, ‘Swamiji, Swami Vivekananda and Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa used to smoke. Why can’t I smoke?’ I explained to him, ‘Swami Vivekananda became enlightened before he started smoking. Become enlightened and then you can smoke and do whatever you want. Without achieving what they achieved, doing what they did is wrong.’

Please understand that whatever Enlightened Masters do is totally different from what you are supposed to do. Actually, they do things opposite of what you are supposed to do. You must do things to elevate yourself. They must do things to bring themselves down! This nāga-sādhu in Uttarkashi is enlightened; however, he cannot enrich everybody. His type is such that he will not enrich people. He is a mystic. He will not teach anybody and he will not make anybody enlightened. He does not work with people. He is that type. On the other hand, some people who experience the truth share the truth with the world. Swami Vivekananda and Paramahamsa Yogananda were great souls who shared their experiences for the benefit of enriching others.

That was their mission. Their power was the space of completion they carried. Bhāgavatam says that people who explain or enrich others by sharing the Truth, such as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, are Incarnations. Incarnations still landing on planet Earth to make all of you enlightened is nothing but the Universe practicing responsibility. Even after so much torture and abuse by human beings, enlightened beings and Incarnations are continuing to enrich planet Earth; this is nothing but the cosmos deciding to do whatever it takes to enrich all of you. Listen, only my integrity and authenticitymakes me an Enlightened being. Only my commitment to taking responsibility and enriching all of you, makes me an Incarnation!

Sukha Brahma was the son of Vyāsa, the compiler of the Vedas and author of Bhāgavatam and Mahābhārat. Sukha Brahma Ṛṣi is an Enlightened Master who wore no clothes. Sukha Brahma was questioned, ‘What is the difference between Enlightened people and Avatārs or Incarnations?’ Sukha Brahma says beautifully: Soundaryatva, Tejavastva, Sārasvatya, and the power, lakṣmitva. Soundaryatva means that if we see them, we will automatically feel like sitting and listening to them. We will automatically feel like turning around once more to capture their grace! That which simply attracts our mind is soundaryatva. The next attribute is tejas, a sharp radiating energy and clarity. The third is sārasvatya. This means that no matter how difficult a concept or idea is, they can explain it in a simple way.

It merely flows from their tongue where Sarasvatī (goddess of knowledge) resides. Above all is Lakṣmītva. This means that just by their thought, wealth and work will happen. Everything happens according to how they want it to happen. When somebody radiates all four of these qualities, he is an Incarnation. Austerity of Body, Words and Mind Here, Kṛṣṇa says the same thing. Saumyatva... Please understand, even for Incarnations, Soundaryatva and Saumyatva are necessary qualities. Now surely we should imbibe these qualities in our lives. The penance that is supposed to be done by words, is speaking the truth and speaking pleasing words—satyaṁ priyahitaṁ ca yat (17.15). Please understand, creating a healing effect through words is important.

Creating a healing effect through our words is basic for a spiritual practitioner who is established in integrity. We should not utter words that hurt others—anuvega karaṁ vākyaṁ. Our presence should be healing and enriching others. Based on the words we utter, people can find out what kind of a space we are carrying. Always use pleasing words. Never use sharp or disturbing words. One more thing, sometimes we don’t understand how our words disturb others. We do not know how our words disrespect or emotionally disturb ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation 1225 other beings. We must bring integrity in the words we utter to ourselves and to others, and bring completion to our speech.

Kṛṣṇa calls this austerity of words, vān-mayaṁ tapa ucyate (17.15). Please be very clear, the words you utter are you. If you constantly utter the words, ‘I am this, I am this’, you will become that! Constantly utter right words about you, inside you and outside you. Please listen about the power of words. Unfortunately, we don’t harness the power of words. And as per the law, when we don’t use any power properly and play with it without the knowledge about it, it destroys us! It is like electricity, we can use electricity for the best things in our lives. But, if we don’t want to use it properly and misbehave with it, it destroys us.

It kills us straightaway! That is why I am saying that learn to harness every power available to you. Please understand, I am defining Integrity. Understand, aligning yourself more and more, deeper and deeper into your completion, aligning your words, internal and external, towards the space of completion is Integrity. When you start practicing integrity, you will harness the power of words. The words you utter will have so much power that just through the words you will be able to change your life and others’ life, for the better! Please understand, from the time I know myself I am doing this only. I am using the right words to transform people’s lives.

When we sit with somebody, that person should feel, ‘Can I sit for longer time with him? Can I meet him tomorrow? Will I see him again?’ We should create that healing feeling in the other person. People should wait for us rather than run away from us. Usually we create a negative effect. We create an uncomfortable feeling. People just run away from us. A simple, single word if used improperly, can destroy a whole relationship. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says a spiritual person should use pleasing words and not agitate others. When we do not agitate others, we will not be arrogant. See, this is not even a social morality.

This is a spiritual practice. As I explained the other day, the same words that we use to hurt others will hurt us as well. We will use these same words towards ourselves as well. This truth is embedded in the science of energy and vibration. So, we must be in integrity to harness the power of words. The ability to speak, the ability to utter words towards yourself, and the ability to utter words towards others—each one of us has this powerful ability. We can use it either to make our life or break our life. Right words that we utter in right time will make our life. Wrong words uttered in the wrong moment can break our life.

Especially, the words we are uttering towards our self and towards others. Kṛṣṇa says to study spiritual literature regularly. By regularly studying scriptural literature, these ideas go again and again into our brain. Consequently, we acquire the courage to experiment and live the truth. I ask you to take up any truth and practice it at least a few times. For example, yesterday I told you not to continuously function based on the idea ‘me, me, me.’ Instead try the idea ‘you, you, you.’ Try that at least ten times and see the effect in your life. If it does not work out, you throw can it away, it’s up to you, but at least try it out ten times.

You will get a glimpse of the truth expressed by Kṛṣṇa. Intellectuals have two weapons: words and logic. They can be helpful teaching tools if properly used or they can be frightening weapons. It is up to us to choose how to use them: whether in the mode of ignorance, aggression or goodness. Kṛṣṇa talks about austerity in action, śarīraṁ tapa as well. He speaks aboutthefiveconditionsthatarealsoinPatañjali’sAṣtāṇgaYogaasthefive disciplines of yama: satya, ahiṁsā, asteya, aparigṛha and brahmacarya. These mean truth in thoughts, words and deeds embodying nonviolence, non-covetousness, simplicity and living in reality with the focus on the Supreme as the ultimate in any kind of penance. Many feel that the truth must be told even if it hurts.

Please understand that if it hurts someone, it cannot be the truth. It is only our ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation 1227 perception of the truth. It is only a reflection of our ego presented by our minds as the truth. We are not in the truth if we perceive something with our senses and we draw conclusions with our limited knowledge based upon those perceptions, and then express these as our truth and hurt someone. If we do this, be very clear, we are in aggression and ignorance. We are not in the truth. We are not in goodness. Truth is a reflection of compassion. Truth is an expression of compassion. Truth and compassion always go together. For that reason, truth can never hurt. How To Give?