Fairleigh Dickinson University; Teaneck, New Jersey, USA

30 November 1971

Nalpe sukham asti bhumaiva sukham
In the finite there is no happiness.
The Infinite alone is happiness.
Anything that is finite cannot embody happiness, not to speak of lasting Delight.
The finite embodies pleasure, which is not true happiness. The Infinite embodies
true, divine happiness in infinite measure and, at the same time, it reveals and
offers to the world at large its own Truth, its own Wealth.
The Infinite expresses itself in infinite forms and infinite shapes here in the
world of multiplicity; and again this Infinite enjoys itself in a divine and supreme
manner in the highest Transcendental Plane of its own Consciousness. The
Infinite here in the world of multiplicity expresses itself in three major forms:
Creation is the first aspect of the Infinite. The second aspect is preservation. The
third aspect is dissolution or destruction.
These terms—‘creation’, ‘preservation’ and ‘destruction’—are philosophical
and religious terms. From the spiritual point of view, creation existed, does exist,
and is being preserved. When we use the term ‘destruction’, we have to be very
careful. There is no such thing as destruction in the Supreme’s inner Vision—it
is nothing but transformation. When we lose our desires, we feel that they have
been destroyed; but they have not been destroyed—they have only been transformed
into a larger vision which is aspiration. We started our journey with
desire, but when we launched into the spiritual path, desire gave way to
aspiration. The unlit consciousness, which we see in the form of desire, can be
transformed and will be transformed by the aspiration within us. What, with our
limited knowledge and vision, we call destruction, from the spiritual point of
view is the transformation of our unlit, impure, obscure nature.
Ekam evadvitiyam
Only the One, without a second.
From this One we came into existence and, at the end of our journey’s close,
we have to return to the Absolute One. This is the soul’s journey. If we take it as
an outer journey, then we are mistaken. In our outer journey we have a starting
point and a final destination. It may take a few years or many years for us to
reach our destined goal, but the starting point is at one place and the destination
is somewhere else. But the inner journey is not a journey as such, with the origin
here and the Goal elsewhere. In our inner journey we go deep within and
discover our own Reality, our own forgotten Self.
How do we discover our forgotten Self? We do it through meditation. There
are various types of meditation: simple meditation, which everybody knows; deep
meditation, which the spiritual seeker knows; and higher or highest meditation,
which is the meditation of the soul, in the soul, with the soul, for the entire being.
When an ordinary seeker meditates, he meditates in the mind. If he is a little
advanced, he meditates in the heart. If he is far advanced in the spiritual life, he
can meditate in the soul and with the help of the soul for the manifestation of
Divinity in humanity.
Spiritual Masters meditate in the physical, in the vital, in the mind, in the
heart and in the souls of their disciples. These Masters also meditate all at once
on the Infinite, the Eternal and the Immortal. These are not vague terms to the
real spiritual Masters. They are dynamic Realities, for in their inner consciousness
real spiritual Masters swim in the sea of Infinity, Eternity and
Immortality. They can easily concentrate, meditate and contemplate on these
three divine Realities which represent the Absolute.
The Upanishads have come into existence from four Vedas: the Rig Veda, the
Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. Each Veda has something
unique to offer to mankind. The first and most famous Veda is the Rig Veda. It
starts with a Cosmic God, Agni, the Fire God. Fire means aspiration. Aspiration
and the message of the Vedas are inseparable. This fire is the fire of inner
awakening and inner mounting flame. It has no smoke in it. This fire does not
burn anything; it only illumines and elevates our consciousness. The Fire God is
the only Cosmic God who is a Brahmin.
Agni, fire, expresses itself in seven forms and it has seven significant inner
names: Kali the black; Karali the terrible, Manojava, thought-swift; Sulohita
blood-red; Sudhumravarna, smoke-hued; Sphulingini, scattering sparks; Visvaruci,
the all-beautiful.
Kali, the black, is not actually black. Kali is the divine force or fire within us
which fights against undivine hostile forces. Mother Kali fights against demons
in the battlefield of life. In the vital plane we see Her as a dark, tenebrous
Goddess but, in the highest plane of consciousness, She is golden. We see Her
terrible form when She fights against hostile forces, but She is the Mother of
Compassion. We misunderstand Her dynamic qualities—we take them as aggressive
qualities. Mother Kali has compassion in boundless measure but, at the
same time, she will not tolerate any sloth, imperfection, ignorance or lethargy in
the seeker. Finally, Mother Kali is beauty unparalleled. This beauty is not
physical beauty. This beauty is inner beauty, which elevates human consciousness
to the highest plane of Delight.
The Sama Veda offers us God’s music, the soul’s music. In addition, it offers
India’s religion, India’s philosophy and India’s politics. All these striking
achievements of India have come from the Sama Veda. Music is of paramount
importance in the Sama Veda. It is not at all like modern music; it is the real,
soul-stirring music. The greatest sage of the past, Yajñavalkya, said, “The abode
of music is Heaven.” It is the Sama Veda which holds this Heavenly music—the
soul-stirring, life-energising music.
Most of you have read the Bhagavad Gita, the Song Celestial of Lord Krishna.
There Lord Krishna says, “I am the Sama Veda.” He does not say that he is the
Rig Veda or the Yajur Veda or the Atharva Veda. No, he says that he is the Sama
Veda. Why? Because in the Sama Veda Lord Krishna found the soul’s music,
which is his very own. A great Indian philosopher-saint, Patañjali, begins his
philosophy with the Sama Veda precisely because of its inner music. If music is
taken away from God’s Creation, then it will be an empty Creation. God the
Creator is the Supreme Musician, and His Creation is His only Delight. It is in
His music that God feels Delight, and it is through music that He offers Himself
to His aspiring and unaspiring children.
From the Sama Veda we get the most significant Upanishad, the Chandogya
Upanishad. This Upanishad is equal to the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. It is by far
the largest in size and, according to many, it is not only the largest but also the
- best. Again, there are those who are of the opinion that the Isa Upanishad, which
is tiny, very tiny, is the best—not because of its size, but because of its depth.
Some will say the Svetasvatara or Katha or Kena Upanishad is the best. Each one
has to express his sincere feeling about the essence of a particular Upanishad.
The Chandogya Upanishad, which derives from the Sama Veda, says something
most significant to the sincere seekers. One question which spiritual
Teachers are very often asked is, “Why do we need a Teacher? Can we not realise
God by ourselves?” In the Chandogya Upanishad there is a specific way of
convincing the doubters and the unaspiring human beings who argue for the sake
of argument.
The Chandogya Upanishad says: Think of yourself as a traveller. You have
lost your way, and a robber attacks you. He takes away all your wealth, and binds
your eyes. Then he takes you to a faraway place and leaves you there. Originally
you had vision, and you were able to move around, but now your fate is
deplorable. You cannot see, you cannot walk, you are crying like a helpless child,
but there is no rescue.
Now suppose someone comes and unties your eyes and goes away. You will
then be able to see the paths all around you, but you will not know which one is
the right one for you and, even if you did, you would not be able to walk on it
because your legs and arms are still bound. This is the condition of the seeker
who wants to realise God by himself. Now suppose someone comes, unties you
completely, and shows you which path will take you home. This person has really
done you a favour. If you have faith in him and confidence in yourself, then you
will reach your Destination swiftly and surely. If you have faith in him, but do
not have confidence in your own capacity to reach the Goal, then he will go along
to help you. The same Teacher who freed you from blindness and showed you the
path will go with you, inside you, to inspire you. He will act as your own
aspiration to lead you towards your Destined Goal.
If you get this kind of help from a spiritual Master, then your life can be of
significance, your life can bear fruit, and you can run the fastest towards the
Goal. Otherwise, you will walk today on this path, tomorrow on that path, and
the following day on some other path. You may have the capacity to walk, but you
will come back again and again to your starting point, frustrated and disappointed.
Along with capacity, if you know the right path and have a true
Master to help you, who can prevent you from reaching your Destined Goal?
Once you reach your Destined Goal, you reach God’s Heights and start mani-
festing God’s Light here on earth. You are fulfilled—fulfilled multiplicity in
Unity’s embrace.