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Part 1: The Journey of Consciousness: From Sleep to the Self May all be happy, may all be free from illness, may all see what is auspicious, may no one suffer pain. May all be happy, may all be free from illness, may all see what is auspicious, may no one suffer pain. It is of great value to know the foundation of this jīvātman which has received human life. The infinite brahmāṇḍa, the domain of a thousand suns—the ṛṣis and munis say that this brahmāṇḍa, which appears as the sky, is infinite and boundless, while we are limited. Yet, our limited knowledge can become boundless. How to attain this is not a trivial matter. The ṛṣis and munis of our India, through yog sādhana and yog vidyā, have traveled the entire brahmāṇḍa from the subtle body. The subtle body requires oxygen, does it not? It does not, because this physical body does, but the subtle body exists only within the element of ākāśa; it does not require oxygen. The journey of the subtle body has been described by our ṛṣis, munis, and yogīs, who have explained the states of our ordinary consciousness—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. When you are in deep sleep, that is the state of suṣupti. In the dream state, you might be sleeping here in Jaipur, in your home. Then you go and greet the paṇḍitjī and the mahantjī there, offer praśād and gifts. The mahantjī then tells you, "Brother, take this praśād and give it to everyone at home." He gives praśād and you set off, coming home. The one who practices yoga, within that practice, seeks to attain the consciousness that is within us, to understand the different states of our consciousness and to refine them. Only by purifying consciousness can we move forward. The states of jāḍa (inert), ardha-cetana (partially conscious), cetana (conscious), param-cetana (supremely conscious), and mahā-cetana (greatly conscious) describe our condition along with their distinct roles. These are different: subconscious, unconscious, conscious, super-conscious, higher-conscious, and cosmic consciousness. Within all these realms of consciousness, we engage in sādhanā. Through mantras, through satsaṅga, through pūjā, through yajña—however it may be—until we purify ourselves, we cannot move forward. In yoga, there is a sādhanā for this, not too elaborate. Once, Pārvatījī said to Bhagavān Śiva, "O Lord, in what manner... what practices are you describing? It is yoga, it is yantra, it is tantra, it is śāstra, it is vidyā. What all should we do? To see the Lord, do not apply dirt to the eyes, perform bhrāmarī kumbhaka, then apply bhrāmarī bāndha, then perform bandha again, then do yantra, then practice svāsa. And what else?" Pārvatījī says, "Where should I go? O Lord, You have shown me the true reality; I closed my eyes and reflected deeply." Then Bhagavān Śiva says, "Shall I speak of my own experience? Devotion to Hari is the only truth; the entire world is but a dream. Only devotion to Bhagavān is true, and all this worldly illusion is untrue. Devote yourselves with awareness, becoming conscious. This train is coming, it is going—be conscious, O traveler, the train is coming—awareness." In the practice of yoga, the primary focus is on the bhajana of Hari. Those who do not have the guru mantra, all their practices are fruitless. The idols may be beautifully made, but it is very difficult to truly practice the jīva within. You may be making efforts, but without the gift and blessing mantra of Gurudev, your practice cannot be successful. Without Gurudev, no task is accomplished, no matter how many millions of methods one tries; no one can cross the ocean of worldly existence without Gurudev. So, the first state is that the seeker, a brahmaniṣṭha and a śrotriya, goes to the refuge of Gurudev, obtains satsaṅg, and then their intellect, their discrimination, and their heart—all three—begin to... By saying "He Samayanamahe," I declare that I consider him my guru. Sanātana Dharma is a living dharma because within Sanātana Dharma there is the guru-śiṣya paramparā, and it grants such freedom that anyone can make whomever they wish their guru. This is because the guru does not see the physical body; you do not believe in the physical body, nor do you inquire about it. Our Bhagavān Dattātreya has made many gurus; whoever we can learn something from becomes our guru. All those who are here, aged fifty, seventy, sixty, eighty years, they still regard and respect the teachers and masters from their school days as their gurus. They honor them, consider them as gurus, and touch their feet. Nowadays, it is all about survival; the military and police are everywhere. Praparśa Sāhab came and said that in the room, they kept him to repair things—one leg broken, one leg torn, cut and thrown away, made to work. Where is the devotion to the Guru? This is why people are wandering aimlessly, because everyone is doing everything just for the sake of the stomach, nothing for the soul. Do not do it; they are indulgent, they are possessive, but knowledge is meant to make human life successful. When our mind agrees, then even what is, is free. A boy and girl marry by liking each other themselves, and the parents also take great care by consulting them. They arrange marriages by matching the planets and so on, according to astrology. According to a good expert, when they see the planets separately, they say that the couple will live happily together with love in this life. One is called a marriage, and the other is called a love marriage. Love marriage is a temporary thing, like taking a bath. Those soap bubbles that form on water are like love marriages, but marriage, as they say, means merging into oneness; there is no duality in it. Love marriage is a very dangerous system in society. It will confuse and destroy the entire law of the societies. The dharma, rules, and duties that exist in our society have been established by the ṛṣis and munis for living a happy life. Nowadays, there is a trend of love marriage, and for that, I feel very sorry. What can I do? What prayer should I offer to Bhagavān? How should it be, for our young ones... They are young people, and it is not their fault even in the slightest. Don’t blame the youth, never place the fault on the children. The fault lies with the parents, that they did not have that strength within themselves. Your children do not need money; your children need your wisdom. Your children do not need your feeding; your children need your love. Nowadays, there is another device that we call a laptop—where exactly is this laptop? Is it a lap? An immense lap, an infinite lap—where is that? So, whose lap is it for? For a child, the father holds the child in his lap. When the child runs home from school, he calls out, "Father, father!" The father says, "There is only one Pāpī—the Paramātmā—and then there is the ātman. When the ātman takes birth, if it does good deeds, it becomes dharmātmā; if it cheats and deceives, then it is called pāpī." As soon as one wakes up, they call out "Papa, Papa," but the soul does not find refuge in hell by waking up. Why do you say "Rām Rām" only during festivals? Wake up, Papa, Papa, your father gave you birth, so do not do wrong. Yes, that is the point—blackmailing. If you do not understand a single word of Hindi, and then someone says this to you, then fine, without thinking or understanding... We use such words, what would their meaning be, the meaning becomes endless. Today, as I was going, I wrote in Hindi, that... In front of "ḍāk" is written "ḍāk kāj," right? Now, if you remove the "kā" from inside it, what will happen? It becomes "Indian ḍākū." Now, the pronunciation is not the same. They say "Gurujī kī kuṭṭiyā," and those snakes sitting here will translate it as... Nāda rūpa para Brahma, Nāda rūpa para Brahma... para Brahma para Brahma... A drop is in your hand, and you are standing inside the ocean of water. That drop will fall into the ocean and become one with it. No matter how much effort you put in, you cannot take that drop out as it is. This drop is the jīva, and the ocean is Śiva. So when this jīva, this drop, merges into that ocean, the jīva becomes Śiva. Through sādhanā, yogīs say that if anyone now has the desire to journey through the subtle body, then sādhanā is taught; it does not cost money, it is work. Certainly, and if it doesn’t stick even a bit, it’s alright; if it does, that’s good, otherwise, it will just be a mark. The first sādhanā is that when you go to sleep, listen carefully, this is a very subtle matter. Where was Bābājī? He used to say, "When I go to bed, I sit down on the pillow." No one keeps a pillow, some do, whatever it may be, now you... You should know at which minute and second, and in what way your consciousness, your wakefulness, moves into the state of sleep. In just so many seconds, I entered the state of suṣupti. This is the first sādhanā, whether it takes you one day, one year, or however long it may take—the first sādhanā is how you move from consciousness to suṣupti. How long did it take to enter that state, just a second or so? And at that moment, afterwards, this realization matures—that my consciousness, so vast, merged into this physical world in my dormant state. See, what is the condition of the jīvātman then? There is no suffering, no kind of tension; tension ceases, and there is bliss. What takes the form of kā is what we call ānanda, but the ānanda attained through meditation and the bhajana of Bhagavān is what we call paramānanda. Yet, even then, the jīva only attains limited ānanda. Therefore, Bhagavān, out of supreme grace, has created the state of nidrā. It is said that nidrā comes to the one in whom there is no devotion to Hari. So that person will definitely go mad, become schizophrenic—Day, night, day, night, working day and night, some become workaholics, some become alcoholics, there are also such workaholics. Due to tension, brain hemorrhage can occur, many things can happen. That is why in our language it is said "sonā," meaning now go to sleep, sleep well. And for the development of the brain, children should be put to sleep as early as possible. The disturbances within the brain, the mental pollution, will gradually decrease even during sleep, and if you practice dhyāna or meditation, it will reduce further. It depends on your dhāraṇā, your concentration, how you manage it. There is one point in this. There is danger, this is the danger, that if you say, "I want to know, I want to know," then sleep will not come. Then you turn here, then you turn there, then you turn on your stomach. Once, a Bābājī went to a village for satsaṅg, and nearby there was a farmer’s hut, and one... So he said, "Bābājī, set up the bed in your hut." "Set it up, Mahārāj." Then the satsaṅg was held. After ten days, Mahārāj stayed there. Mahārāj went to the room and lay down on the bed, but early in the morning, he was told to leave. Now, whether it was a villager or a farmer, Bābāī said, "Who has come now? Come lie down on the bed, and leave early in the morning." Havāratī said, "Mārāj, you go to get the pair of jūṛī jhaṛḍā because at night, whom were you going to call? The one who comes daily, why call her? She comes daily and stays right here with me. So who is she? That sleep—when sleep comes, it is complete. So when your sleep comes and matures, then you..." Just sit down, sit and chant the mālā of Gurudev’s name. That itself is the best meditation. Neither will there be criticism nor drowsiness. As soon as we move from our conscious state to the suṣupti state, for some time the jīvātman becomes a form of bliss. But within that bliss lies the danger of returning to saṃskāras, our... The saṃskāra, which is our karma, the knowledge accumulated through the indriyas—visible actions and deeds—begins to sprout, whether from past lives, this life, or the future. From there, the jīva awakens; the body may be asleep, the physical body lying there, yet a transaction of consciousness takes place. It moves from deep sleep to the dream state. Now you have to observe what time it is, how, and where this consciousness exits the body. Imagine a football field with 22 players standing. Now, each one has the football, and the football does not say that it will not be kicked by me. So, all of you are present, seated. You do your practice; this is entirely in your hands. If you want to do it, then do it. Part 2: The Path to Immortality: From Dream to Divine Knowledge Therefore, it is advised that one should not sleep lying flat on the back. If you sleep in this manner, do not keep your hand on your chest. It is said a false, deceptive dream will arise. If you sleep like this, such a dream will come that you will be drenched in sweat. They bring you into obstruction—this is the second stage, and then what happens afterward? Because your dream is your power; you can dream everything. But in the dream, you can dream because there your record will be open. After this, I again saw a dream, and the next day I continued with the same dream. Then, while seeing the dream, I would get up, go to the bathroom, come back, and start it again. By practicing these auspicious signs of yoga, we reach samādhi, and then, becoming conscious, we will affirm the breath. Otherwise, this life is a journey, not the destination. So this is the journey, but you have not yet reached the destination. Within the eighty-four lakh jīvas, human life has been granted to reach that destination. If you take the final step forward, you will reach Svarga; you will go there to the destination. And if you place one foot back, then you return to the eighty-four lakh. In this way, Bhagavān Śiva says to Pārvatī jī, “O Umā, let me share my own experience: devotion to Hari is the only truth, the whole world is but a dream.” Śiva explained this to Pārvatī. Pārvatī jī said, “I will do it,” but Śiva wondered if some other desire might arise in her mind. She insisted, “No, no, I will do it.” One day, Bhagavān Śiva was on Kailāśa. On the mountain, Pārvatī was seated while Śiva was present; the glaciers of the snow—what you call glaciers—were there. Bhagavān Śiva had gone somewhere for a stroll. It was around two or three o’clock. Pārvatī was sitting when suddenly a mischievous… Nārāya Nārāya, Śiva Hari Śiva Hari. Greetings to Mother, Pārvatī. Pārvatī says, "O Nārada, come, Ṛṣi Nārada, come." "Where should I go? How should I come? Is it not so, Mother?" "Mother, I was going somewhere, and I had your darśana, so I offered my obeisance and came." "Well done, sit down." But inside that, there is something—what do they call it? It is a matter of Pārvatī. They ask why Nārada said that, but perhaps Mahāprabhujī did not intend it that way. However, since it has come to mind, I will say it: tell me, why is Bhagavān Śiva also called Bhūtanātha? Look, there is this skull garland around His neck—is it lacking or not? It is not lacking. So ask, you ask why Bhagavān wears this skull garland? You chant, Nārāyaṇa Nārāyaṇa, everything will be fine, I am just going, gone quickly, quickly before Śiva arrives. Bhagavān Śiva has come, Pārvatī’s Pārvatī—there is a very profound secret behind this. Don’t ask this, no no, I want to go, Pārvatī don’t ask, you won’t understand. So why is there a deficiency? There is an empty space inside, that… If even Pārvatī were to be fulfilled someday, now Pārvatī had the strength to go the other day, so I said, "Do not go, your paternal ritual is taking place, do not go," but you insisted, "I will go," did not listen to me, and there you had to leave your prāṇa. So Pārvatī became anxious, thinking, "What is the condition of this? I am just a little…" So what does this mean? What are you saying? Bhagavān Śiva says that Pārvatī, Śiva and Pārvatī are an immortal pair, which has been together since eternity and will remain so till infinity. What are you talking about, Prabhu? Pārvatī, all these skulls that form the garland around my head—so many times you have taken birth and so many times you have left the body. So, Pārvatī, I love you so much because you are my ardhanginī, my other half. I am your skull, which I hang around my neck and keep with me. Just as a leaf should have that much devotion and love for another leaf. Then Pārvatī asks, "O Prabhu, I die so many times… My body has departed so many times; then why hasn’t yours? Should you also give Kishor?" Bhagavān Śiva says that I am Śiva, the immortal principle, and I have attained immortality. So if you break that matter in the middle, then he says, no, you do not want to give it, right? That is why you create such things. Give me the knowledge of the immortal principle so that I too can remain immortal with you forever. Bhagavān Śiva says, if Pārvatī desires this, then I… I will give you the knowledge of the immortal principle, but if not here, then where? The Lord wishes to go somewhere where no other creature exists, because this kind of knowledge—everyone wants to become immortal, all beings desire immortality. These demonic sciences have become immortal, so then… Destruction will always remain forever, so when imparting such knowledge, we must think carefully. Devī, so think—Mahāprabhujī searched the depths of the entire Himalayas and found a place where Bhagavān Śiva was present, a place with beautiful caves and ice-covered rocks. What was the name of that place? Amarnāth, because the goddess is immortal, immortality comes from that very knowledge. One who becomes immortal, like a sweet that is eaten, should be such; and should dispel the bitterness of the mind’s desires. Let us go there and see what sacrifices Bhagavān Śiva made for Pārvatī. First of all, Bhagavān Śiva chanted Amarnād before going up to the cave. The crescent moon that was shining on their forehead, that half-moon, now you go—your people will worship it. Śiva’s form is mine, and your form is the moon. The new moon of the second day is called the moon of the second day, and seeing the moon of the second day means seeing Bhagavān Śiva. Everyone asks about the moon on the second day because it is the form of Śiva. On that day, Bhagavān Śiva told the moon, "Go, I have created a permanent place for you in the cosmos. On the day of the second, my darśana will be there. You should look carefully at that moon." See, the crescent moon appears as the corpse form of your Śiva. The nāga deities were told, "Go, now you stay here and enjoy," so the nāga pond is there. Before we go, there is the nāga pond. Then where Nandī was walking along, because Śiva had said that no living being should be there, while Nandī is so devoted to Bhagavān… How much trust should we place in someone, and when someone says to us, "I am yours, I am yours," we do not know when our trust in them might change, because what is their true intention? What is the purpose of their love? That is why Tulsīdāsa Jī said: Dharma, patience, friends, and women—these four are tested in times of adversity. Our beloved counterparts will also have unwavering faith that such a situation will arise, and even in that situation, they are ready to give up their prāṇa for us. Nandī is called Bhagavān Śiva, who says, "Nandī Mahārāj, you remain here." That place is called Bailtāl, and even now it is said to be Bailtāl, where Nandī Jī resides. And Balatāl, further ahead, is associated with Bhagavān. When the Mother is present, they say to Pārvatī Jī, "Pārvatī Jī, your three eyes will open," and I give you the immortal knowledge of wisdom—listen carefully. In that, Bhagavān Śiva also gave teachings to Pārvatī Jī in the Guru Gītā and said, "Pārvatī, whatever I say, listen attentively and keep chanting continuously." Yes, yes,… Do not sleep; if sleep takes over, then what can I say about your ward, it will be a disaster. Because right now, in this age, I am imparting the immortal tattva knowledge, and if you fall asleep, it will all go in vain. I mean, to protect from the cold, I never go out during the day to peck at something and come back; otherwise, I just sit there, shivering through the cold winter. Once there was a parrot sitting on a tree, and it was listening attentively. The parrot was very bright and beautiful, whereas the pigeon was a dull creature. The parrot said, "If Mother Pārvatī is neglected and Bhagavān leaves this knowledge incomplete, then I too will have incomplete knowledge. Incomplete knowledge is dangerous; it is unreliable. What is complete is half asleep, and what is asleep is half dead." The donkey is not hungry, and the hungry one is a sleeping donkey—half knowledge is dangerous. Jiyo Pārvatī Jī, this is what happened: Bhagavān Śiva was there, and the parrot was speaking. It is also called a suā, and suā is also said, which is why it is said that the parrot begins to understand human language. When Śaṅkarācārya Jī was called for debate, where was Maṇḍana Miśra’s house? So Paniyariyē says that at whose door two parrots are sitting, and there is a discussion on Vedānta between them—what Vedānta is—that is the house of Maṇḍana Miśra. See, even his animal is debating Vedānta through the scriptures. So that is the nature of Maṇḍana Miśra. And it was seen that Pārvatī heard that she was sleeping. What did you hear? Meanwhile, the parrot said, "Yes, I heard," chirped, and flew away. The parrot flew away, the parakeet flew away. Bhagavān Śiva saw that my knowledge was being stolen and taken away. He took a broom and was chasing the parrot. The parrot tried its best to save the entire place, but Śiva kept going. It is said that Ṛṣi Vyāsa, Bhagavān Vyāsa… Somewhere he was wandering, and Vyāsa’s wife was waiting there, thinking the ṛṣi would come soon. While waiting, she thought, if I go near him, there is no safer place than this. That embodiment of knowledge, that wisdom, entered her womb. Śiva saw this and began to throw his triśūla, saying, “I will destroy this.” At that moment, Vedavyāsa stepped forward and said, "O Lord of the three worlds, O Svāmījī, O embodiment of compassion, what are you doing? That parrot has stolen my knowledge and taken it away. What will you do? Kill it? Burning it in the fire of pride is a great and terrible sin, O Lord." First of all, you yourselves say that one should never raise a hand against a woman, and causing a miscarriage is the most heinous sin; killing a fetus is the greatest sin. Do not do it. Let it be, even if Lord Śiva has departed, that soul does not want to return inside the womb because it has attained amṛta jñāna, the essence of amṛta, from this world. Once I took birth, I would have to come again into māyā. A lot of time passed, and Vedavyāsa’s wife, the ṛṣi’s wife, was suffering, but he did not want to come back again. Then Vedavyāsajī prayed to Brahmā, to Viṣṇu, and to Śiva, and they said, “Ajad, you must come again.” I do not fear Śiva; I have said that I have no fear of Śiva. What I fear is Māyā. That is why Kabīrdāsa Jī said: Māyā maṭhaganī ham jānī re, triguṇa phāsaliyā karaḍole bolata madhurī bānī re… The queen sits in the king’s house, the brother is in the water, O friend, I know the illusion of the world. The idol sits in the house of the scholar, and the yogi’s brother is the disciple, O friend, I know the illusion of the world. Viṣṇu Bhagavān says to Brahmā Jī, “End this illusion from this universe.” To which he replies, “No, no, Lord, You have told me that this creation is ongoing, this creation…” If it does not close and māyā remains within, then for some time complete the work of Brahmājī so that the poor ṛṣi’s wife may find peace. Then Brahmājī said, "Heyb, Hesua, we have ended all greed, attachment, desire, and anger from the world." There is no covering, no māyā; come beyond the world, then that barrier disappears. For some time, lasting years, this māyā remained hidden, then it manifested again. That same ṛṣi’s son, Śukadeva Muni, saw that māyā had returned. Brahmā said, "My immortality, which is within your consciousness, but you have again taken on a physical body." Therefore, you will attain immortality only through the essence of the Guru. Seek such a Brahma-niṣṭha, śrotriya, true Guru. When Śukadeva goes, he indeed finds such a Guru, whom we call—who was Śukadeva’s Guru? It was Janaka Vidhi, Sītā’s father, Śrī Janaka Vidhi. That was Śukadeva’s Guru. When Śukadeva Muni comes to the door of Janaka to become a guru, there is so much testing involved; he will tell you about that tomorrow. Today, let us pause the discourse. Nārāyaṇa Nārā Jan Śrīman Nārāyaṇa Nārāyaṇa Nārā Saccidānanda Bhagavān kī Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī Deveśvara Mahādeva kī Sat Guru Svāmījī Mādhvananjī Bhagavān kī Om Śānti Śānti… Adhiyo