Miracle is You

Author(s): Chitrabhanu
Publisher: Jain Meditation International Centre
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/006981/1

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sUri nagara The Miracle Is You CHITRABHANU

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The Miracle Is You by Gurudev Shres CHITRABHANU Edited by RAKESH (RICHARD KLEIFGEN) JAIN MEDITATION INTERNATIONAL CENTER 401 East 86th Street, New York 1 0028 Tele : 212-534-6090

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CONTENTS Page 1 - 2 Editor's Introduction Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu The Purpose of Life The Teaching of Mahavira A Philosophy for Life The Miracle is You .3-5. 7 - 17 18-29 30-42 43-57

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Edition Second (c) Author 1980 By the same Author : 1 LOTUS BLOOM 2 FOUNTAIN OF INSPIRATION 3 INSPIRING ANECDOTES 4 BONDAGE AND FREEDOM 5 THE BEACON 6 TO THE CITIZENS OF TOMORROW 7 JAIN MASTER SPEAKS TO ONE WORLD 8 TEN DAYS JOURNEY INTO THE SELF 9 SENSE BEYOND THE SENSES 10 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOUL AND MATTER 11 DYNAMICS OF JAIN MEDITATION 12 MEDITATION ON THE SEVEN ENERGY CENTERS 13 JAIN PATH TO FREEDOM 14 A MAN WITH A VISION Published by : Jain Meditation International Center 244, Ansonia Station, New York, 10023. Printed in India by Deepak B. Shah PRINTEX, 59, Dadi Sheth Agiary Lane, Kuber bhuvan, 1st floor, Bombay - 400 002. Tel. : 252182.

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THE IMMORTAL SONG (1) May the sacred stream of amity flow forever in my heart, May the universe prosper, such is my cherished desire. (2) May my heart sing with ecstasy at the sight of the virtuous, And may my life be an offering at their feet. (3) May my heart bleed at the sight of the wretched, the cruel, and the poor, And may tears of compassion flow from my eyes. (4) May I always be there to show the path to the pathless wanderers of life. Yet if they should not hearken to me, may I bide patiently. (5) May the spirit of goodwill enter all our hearts, May we all sing together the immortal song of humanhood. Chitrabhanuji

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EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu is a unique individual who has been my teacher, spiritual guide and friend for the past six years. He is my guru in the sense that he helps me commune with my inner self. He does so by leading me and directing my practice of meditation so that I can remove the layers and coverings which keep me apart from my own inner source of health, strength, wisdom and life. " I am a very sceptical person and I examined carefully many teachers and teachings before "settling in' and accepting this man and his teaching as my path. Ultimately, I did choose him because I found that his life was an example of his teaching, especially in his lack of pomp and pretense. I have great respect for him because he has travelled much farther down the road than I have, but I feel a oneness with him because he advises and encourages me that our road is the same and we share the same ultimate end. Finally, I trust him because he teaches me that I am my own Master and my mission is to realize this for myself; no one, not even he can do it for me. It is because I have received benefits and guidance in making my life more calm, happy, and meaningful that I have compiled this volume as an introduction to Gurudev, Jainism and its teaching. The four articles contained herein were developed from talks Gurudev gave to various audiences over a three year period. "The Purpose of Life" appeared previously in pam

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phlet form and was a talk given in 1973. "The Teachings of Mahavira" was delivered at Haverford College in November, 1977, and "A Philosophy for Life'' at Fordham University in April, 1978. The final talk, "The Miracle Is You," was presented at the Jain Meditation International Center in New York City on May 25, 1978. It is in our quest for freedom that we are One and feel our unity with all life. It is in the diversity of our backgrounds and approaches to the present moment and the future, our various paths, that we are unique and individual. May these words speak to that within you and inspire you on your own journey. Rakesh (Richard Kleifgen) New York 1980

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GURUDEV SHREE CHITRABHANU "Every atom of our being is replete with the supreme strength of joy. To release this strength of joy is the ultimate aim of life." If one word could be chosen to represent the heart of Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu's teaching, it is oneness. Feeling one with living life wherever it may be - behind the forms of all living beings, in the pulsebeat of the universe, abiding in one's own soul, regardless of cultural, racial, or religious label -- This is the dream which Gurudev makes real for us all. He challenges us to question ourselves : "How can I make my life beautiful and meaningful?'' He would answer: "By smoothing all the rough edges of the human heart." Through his gentle yet vibrant manner, in talks, writings, and silences, by his very presence, he communicates his vision of unity in diversity, arousing us out of inertia and complacency, and inspiring us to use our energies for the benefit of all. Though no name can capture the innumerable qualities of a human being, Chitrabhanu, meaning "image of the sun" or "one who dares look straight at the sun" is a name which resounds the illuminating, animating, courageous qualities of this beloved man. Indira Gandhi has said of him that he "looked very much like what one would imagine Christ to be and gave me an impression of deep peace." His students agree that he has "the capacity to help a per

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son completely transform his or her life." At the age of 20, he became a Jain monk not for spiritual gains or to prove himself to anyone, but because he longed to understand the meaning of life. His guru told him: "Books and other people's answers will not be enough to enlighten you. You have to dive into yourself and experience." Gurudev's 29 years as a monk were spent meditating and bringing the universal message of compassion and reverence for all living beings to people of varying faiths. To him, "Jain" is not a religion or an identity; it is rooted in the Sanskrit verb "ji" meaning "to conquer." Those souls who have appeared in all nations, in different eras, from all traditions, who have overcome their "inner enemies" are revered. Through them, we are inspired to conquer our partial self in order to become unfragmented, to master the demands of our ego in order to experience selflessness. Gurudev founded many social welfare organizations which send volunteers and supplies to areas suffering from natural disasters and which distribute food, clothing, blankets, and medicines to the poor and needy throughout India. "Salvation," according to Gurudev, "comes when you forget about your own salvation and help others with loving compassion to alleviate them from their suffering and misery. When asked about relativity in thinking and nonviolence, he explains, "If you become dogmatic about your own thought without respecting others, violence is built in yourself. To be mentally, morally, and

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physically non-violent you must understand relativity; otherwise there is killing in the name of opinions and 'isms'." It was this flexibility of thought and deep feeling for life which he carried with him to take part in the Second and Third Spiritual Summit Conferences in 1970 and 1971, Geneva and Harvard Divinity School respectively, and to Europe and Africa on subsequent lecturing tours. As it became more and more evident that Westerners were thirsting for a non-sectarian universal message and a compassionate approach, Gurudev made the decision to renounce the Jain monastic life and his position of authority to accept the many invitations to teach in America. Consequently, he spoke at a wide variety of institutions of learning and human development such as Princeton, Sarah Lawrence, Cornell, the United Nations, Koinonia Foundation, Pendle Hill, Wainwright House, and others. He worked closely with the World Fellowship of Religions, the Temple of Understanding, and other global-minded organizations. Whether he is meeting with religious and governmental leaders or teaching in a classroom, Gurudev strives to break through the frictions and fictions dividing people from one another, for he has come to us to unite human being with human beings, the family of man with all forms of life, you with your soul. At present, he is spiritual advisor to the Jain Meditation Center in New York City as well as to other Centers in E. Africa, England, USA, Canada, Singapore, Hongkong, Japan, Switzerland, and West Germany - Brahmi (Clare Rosenfield). 5

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PURPOSE OF LIFE Dear Ones Today we will meditate on what is the purpose of human life and how do we fulfill that purpose? People involve themselves in many activities, read countless books, and work in varied directions. But what is the ultimate aim of this human life? The human is at that stage of evolution which is approaching perfection. To be human is to be capable of self-awareness; we have reached this stage. Now, from here, where do we go? There are two directions: one is angelic, the other, animal. From here we must either ascend or descend. We can neither stop, nor stay in the center of the road. Let us say your car stalls in the middle of the highway. The policeman comes and either pulls you over to the side or tows the car away. No one would allow you to leave your car in the middle of the highway blocking the traffic. So you must go either forward or backward, one or the other. In life, people go either on the animal level or on the angelic ascent. You will see that in people all around you. We meet here for one purpose and that is to take our life to the angelic stage. When Mahavir had completed his meditation, his disciple approached him, "You have meditated for so many years; will you tell me what is the purpose of all our human affairs?" Mahavir answered, "to realize peace, Life is God."

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** You see, he meditated for many years and the fruit of his meditation came in one small phrase, "to realize God in life." It is a very small phrase which you can memorize easily, but it is very, very difficult to realize it, to fulfill it, to experience and express it. You must ask yourself, "Do I see Life as God or Sin?''If you see God, then all things will be fulfilled. If you see other things and not God, then nothing is fulfilled because anything other than God is transient. Until now, day and night, we have been trying to get ephemeral things, forgetting the permanent. Once when I was a child, I was with my father and I caught sight of a beautiful toy camel. I started crying that I wanted this camel. My father asked, "Why do you want to spend so much money?" "I want it," I said, "I'm not going to come with you unless..." Ultimately, my father bought that camel. One day, about ten years later, we were talking together and I threw the camel away. "Now you are throwing it away," my father said, "but once you were crying for this camel." At that time it was my need to have the camel. In youth, we *God does not mean any outer force or creator. To me God means - G stands for generator of energy, one who lives in the flow of life and directs life's energy in a positive, creative way. O stands for organizer. A god is one who organizes or orders life, keeping a balance and feeling natural harmony in each moment. And D stands for destroyer, one who destroys inner enemies and weaknesses such as greed, fear, anger and hatred. Thus GOD is the person who fulfills life by living with vitality, balance and courage; he or she is a generator, organizer and destroyer.

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need certain things, but when we are mature, the need changes. All these needs are relevant to a certain stage. But there is something which is not periodical, which is not transient, but is permanent. In order to realize God in life, we have first to distinguish between the permanent and the ephemeral. For this we will need to use those gifts which are inherent in us. An aware person can use his gifts for this upliftment. However, if he is unaware, if he has no guide, if he keeps the wrong company, then his gifts may take him down instead. Watch what happens to a rich man's son. If he keeps the wrong company, then his friends, the society, he travels with will spoil his life; his money will take him down. But, if he has good guidance, with his money and time, he can lift himself and others as well. In the same way, you are blessed with your senses, a beautiful reasoning mind, and the enthusiasm to seek the truth. These are all gifts. You are well equipped; nothing is lacking in you. Whatever you need is stored in your laboratory. You have to just discover it. When an astronaut goes to the moon, everything is arranged for him in the space ship. You are like the space ship. Everything you need is there, you only have to know where it is. Don't doubt yourself. Don't say, "Nothing is in me." If you think that something is lacking, then your spiritual practice is not going to help you in any way; you have only to unfold what is there. Why do we have so much faith in a space ship and so little in ourselves? Nature

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has provided us with everything we need. So we must haye faith in ourselves--not in anything outside. If you have this kind of confidence, then all you need is a guide, someone who can point out that whatever you need is within you. Sometimes we make mistakes and need someone to help us. Once I came upon my great uncle who was exhausting himself searching the whole house for something. I asked him what he was looking for. He answered, "My glasses." I said, "It is on your forehead!" "Oh," he said, "I forgot." In life also you need someone to point toward the thing for which you are searching, to remind you that what you seek is within. Without the proper guidance, we might misuse our gifts and channel our energies downward. To focus our energy upward, it is essential to find a positive, enlightened, and sincere guide, someone without the smallest trace of negativity, one who does not believe in'anything destructive. His affirmative thinking, his balanced life and experience help his friends move in positive direction. When we get that kind of guidance, we are very fortunate. It is easy to adopt any teacher but very difficult to find a Master--a guide or guru who is enlightened. When we find one, we are truly a blessed disciple because there is no fear of failing or losing the track. The Master will always lift the student up again, help him to rethink, to come to the right thinking. This is important because the thought process which we use is an instrument for transcending. You see, you behave, you live according 10

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to your thought. You need positive, right thinking for what you want to become. Thought is not a cause for being, but it is instrumental to becoming. Many people say there is no need to think. They are confused rather, there are two phases to thinking. When you are in deep meditation, you leave your thoughts on the surface; but when you return to the surface, you use the energy and power of meditation to enlighten your thought. You throw a light on that thought so the thought will shine. You might have noticed on the highway a kind of paint which reflects the light of the headlights of passing cars. It is not actually light, it has no power of its own. It simply receives and reflects light. Our thoughts are like this paint. They don't have their own light but they need light. When you throw light on them, they reflect, they shine, they become bright. But when there is no light, they are in a guideless position. Meditation is a kind of power or light. Used properly, there is nothing you cannot touch, nothing you cannot solve. Meditation is a very precise way of using your thought to solve the problems of daily life. Without it, your thoughts will become fantasy or will jump from one subject to another. Like Hamlet, you will be unable to come to a decision. Many people pass their whole life in the process of "to be or not to be" and before they decide, their time is over. But through meditation, your thoughts will become stronger and stronger and you will have confidence in yourself. You need this 11

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confidence. If a surgeon is trembling while he is operating, he will kill the patient. If he has confidence in his ability, his hand does not tremble, and he ultimately helps the patient. With confidence, the artist can draw a straight line in a single stroke. If a singer has fear in his breath, there will be no music. A spiritual man, who harbors fear, negativity and uncertainty, will be unable to reach his highest potential. So you need confidence and to obtain this confidence, you must use your own energy. Whenever you have any problem, don't wallow in it. Sit in a relaxed position-select any position in which you feel comfortable; sitting in a chair or on the floor or lying down. Then say to yourself, "I am free from all tension." Easing yourself of all tension, you feel completely relaxed so that you forget your identity also. I mean the identity of name, of social class, of sex, of body, and you feel inwardly that you are floating. When you feel that the gravitation of your senses and body are no longer dragging you down, then you are able to enjoy the higher level of harmony and bliss. Now at this point there are two possibilities: you either soar or relax in a vacuum. You may find yourself soaring in the infinite where you are able to break the limitations. You go on and on and on without end; nothing binds you-you go into infinity. You have discarded all the influences of anger, greed, conflict, and negative energy because these things are not able 12

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to fly with you into the infinite. Just as the eagle does not fly with its nest, but leaves the nest behind and goes by itself, so our soul, in meditation breaks all limitations of sorrow and depression and goes above them. It will be such a freeing experience that you will be able to break the ice, the wall of limitations which leads so many people to psychosomatic disorders. You will be able to accomplish in one single moment what you could not do in five years with analysts To experience this moment, you have to work, for you will not have it without sincere effort and right guidance. All the preparation of life is for this moment. It is only one moment, but it turns the whole life into infinity. This is called Realization, Self Fulfilment, or sometimes, God Realization. It comes, not to everyone's life, but to the life of aspirants. If you are an aspirant, this moment will come in your life and will burn out all the negative things. For example, it may take an entire week to rake dry grass from one place to another, but a fire will burn the dry grass in five minutes. In the same way, the anger, the hangups which cling to us can be burned in this beautiful, inspiring moment. So one experience in meditation is this kind of soaring. Another experience is that of going into a state we call Nirvikalp or thoughtlessness. You see nothing and you feel you are not there. However, when you feel you are not there, then truly you ARE there. A painter is not able to create something unique and beautiful 13

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if he is aware of his body and his name while he is painting. When he is in tune with his whole idea, his work, the color, the brush, the canvas, his painting, he forgets himself. At that moment, he gives a touch to the painting and creates something exquisite. A little touch and a mystic smile appears on the lips of the subject. But if he is aware that I am Leonardo De Vincci drawing this picture, he will merely paint lips. He will be unable to portray that mysterious, unique smile. Many people see this quality in the smile of Mona Lisa. Can you recreate its mystery? It is a mere painting. With a ten dollar supply of paint, a fifteen dollar brush, and a thirty dollar canvas you can copy it, and many people have. What, then, makes the original so unique? In that single stroke of inspiration the artist captured through a smile that moment when the heart was in tune with the infinite. You seldom find such a smile on the lips of all the beautiful models. Yet, we can recognize that the artist unwittingly touched on something. Similarly, if a musician tells you that, "Ah, I am a musician and I am going to play you some enchanting piece of music, then, he is not going to give you anything. He must first be like sugar when it mingles with water. It loses its existence in the form of sugar and becomes sweetness. This is true of the scientist also. He is in tune with the infinite and the infinite reveals its heart and gives insight. So a scientist, a painter, a singer, a spiritual person or a realized person must be able to lose himself in Nirvikalp, into the 14

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infinite. There is no need for any psychological treatment if you are capable of losing yourself. On the contrary, you will be the psychologist. That kind of awareness and that kind of power will be there. You will be able to cross that narrow level on which most people are living. They live in the realm of mind and words and you are going beyond the limitations of both. This is the real experience felt in that moment of meditation. But for this experience, you are completely positive; that is the primary condition. No negative thinking. Many negative teachings exist; but once you are caught in these processes, you will have lost your track. It will be extremely difficult to find your way back again, to have the same thread in hand. It is like flying a kite. Once the cord is cut, no matter how often or how high you.jump, you will never be able to retrieve the kite. You have lost the thread and the kite is gone. Many people do not realize this danger. They experiment out of curiosity and ultimately become the victims of their experimentation because of their negative approaches. Once entangled, it is difficult to free themselves. In a way, it is similar to the experience of a pupil of mine in India. He was a member of a gang in Bombay. When I advised him to leave the gang, he replied that it would be impossible without leaving India. Convinced that he would threaten their security, the gangsters would track him down relentlessly and kill him. Even the protection of the police would not be sufficient. 15

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Nevertheless, he ultimately decided to write a letter to the leader explaining that he had found a new way of life and reassuring them that he meant no harm. For one year he lived safely outside the province before returning. In our spiritual path, the negative thoughts are gansters and when we try to leave them, they inevitably shadow us. So, as I have mentioned, the main thing to remember is to have right guidance, positive thinking, and the feeling of God in you. To fulfill God in life is the whole aim. And when you think of God, no devil, no Satan, nothing is going to work against you because there is light. Darkness has no power where there is light. It cannot exist where light is prevailing. When you see God in you, no negative force, not even sin will taint you. You may make a mistake, you may stumble, but the light within you will lift you as gently as if you were a child. We are actually children, however wise or intelligent or mature we are. When we realize that we are children with the moustache, with the beard, with grey hair, then we are humble and become aware. We know that we have stumbled, because the path is uneven. There is no need to write a hundred times that we are sorry. Don't waste time on such apologies, keep going. So friends, the first thing to do is meditate on the purpose, 'to realize your immaculate self" To do this, relax, completely relax until you no longer feel the pull of gravity. You lift yourself and begin to cross all the limitations until you feel you are nowhere or you are 16

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no more. And when you feel that you are not thinking of yourself, you are really with yourself. As you merge with the infinite you break the false ego, you break the gravitation of body, you break the gravitation of greed, you float and there the infinite embraces you. And when the infinite embraces you, you return with that touch of the infinite and throw its light on your thoughts. You will see that your thoughts become different. Weak, uncertain, or wavering thoughts will be strengthened, clarified, and transformed by the light of this infinite touch. It is like the light on painted lines on the highway. Then you will be able to use your clear thoughts to solve your problems and fulfill the purpose. 17

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"THE TEACHINGS OF MAHAVIRA" Friends, I am very happy to be with all of you to share some experiences and insights of the great teachers of Jainism. Like other world teachers who have enriched mankind with their insights, thoughts, and lives, they showed that we are rich if we have richness in our awareness and we are poor if we don't have insight into this living life. Jainism is a religion of reverence for life, a religion that does not emphasize dogma or rituals. It does not rely on any outside forces. It is an internal investigation and search Let us look at the word Jain. It comes from the sanskrit verb ji which means to conquer; one who has conquered himself or herself is known as a Jina. A jina has nothing to win and nothing to lose; he is the conqueror, inside and outside. Jina means one who has reached inner harmony, inner richness, where there is no conflict. The followers of a Jina are known as Jainas, and the philosophy which teaches how to bring an end to the fighting, how to create harmony and enrich oneself with the beauty of inner awareness is Jainism. According to the Jain tradition, the first man who found the inner peace, inner balance and reached the fullness of life is known as Adinath. This too is a sanskrit word-Adi and nath. Adi means the beginning and nath means lord. The Lord of the 18

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Beginning, not of the world but of inner awareness. He was the one to feel the inner awareness of peace, richness and completion of living and to experience the summit of life where there is no struggle, no war, no need to go anywhere, no desire even to search for anything because one realizes that all the wealth and treasure is within. He was prehistoric, so we don't know his date. Sometimes he may be called Adam. but he is the man who first found the inner wealth. There are 24 such Tirthankaras, and the first one was Adinath, thousands and thousands of years ago. The 22nd Tirthankara was known as Neminath. He was a cousin of Krishna. According to some Indian historians, they lived around 11,000 B.C. Another opinion is that they lived at about 5,000 B.C. Nemi felt compassion and left his home after seeing the agony of all the animals about to be butchered for his wedding feast and ceremony. When he saw the animals crying out in pain and fear, he thought, "All this misery and torture for a marriage feast? A joy for one causes pain to so many? For a few hours of pleasure? This is not fair. No, I do not want this marriage." So he turned his chariot around and went away to Mount Girnar. There he worked for inner peace. Then his beloved, Rajula, was told that the man who had planned to marry and live with her had seen the pain of the animals and had left the material world for enlightenment. She also felt Reverence for life and went along to work for enlightenment, and both found themselves and became enlightened in that life. 19

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In the series of Tirthankaras, Mahavira was the 24th and last one. His other name was Vardhaman, and he was a prince who was born 12 years before Buddha in 599 B.C. He lived for 30 years in the palace, but he saw the pain, sorrow and suffering of the world outside. And he thought, "What is the meaning of this worldly pleasures which has diminishing return, while mankind is suffering? Can I not use my life to bring light of enlightenment to show the cause of sorrow and suffering?" So he asked his brother Nandivardhan to give him permission to renounce the world, and then he left his home.* He went into the wilderness and for 12 years he remained in tune with three things--the body, the mind and the soul. To purify his body, he used fasting. To purify speech, he used silence, and to purify mind he used meditation. When these three means are complete, you reach what you want to reach, the freedom and experience of Self, the pure soul. In reality there is nothing to reach. We are not with ourselves, that is why we think we will "go" somewhere, that there is something to reach. But there is nothing to reach. All is here. All is now. All is you. Here is where it is. Now is when it is. You are what it is. All is completion in awareness. But our body always desires comfort and sensual pleasure and our mind is busy with innumerable objects. This creates *Mahavira's parents had already died, and so, according to tradition, he sought the permission of his elder brother before renouncing family life. . 20

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turmoil. And then our speech is not in tune with the body and mind, so it creates dichotomy. In this dichotomy we don't know what or why we are speaking, but the words keep popping out. Vardhaman worked with himself and he made life a laboratory. His whole philosophy is about the internal search. For 127/2 years he used this laboratory for inner research, and what he found is called kaivalya - pure knowledge. He became omniscient. He knew himself completely. Keval means complete, free from limitation. Nothing remained to be known. When we don't know ourself, we want to know many things, but when we know ourself, nothing is left to be known. His research of 121/2 years ultimately brought him to that state of completion where all his desire to know was fulfilled. He knew, "I am where I am. I am God, I am Divine. It is here." In that moment all the joy of spirit opened into fullness and he experienced the unlimited life. Mahavira fasted because it purifies the senses, clears away the dirt which is covering them. But fasting should not be used to reduce the body to nothingness; we have to fast with balance. If the strings of a sitar are very tight, the tone is harsh. If they are very loose, then you don't have any sweetness in the music. Our body is like a sitar, you have to tune it properly. If you fast too much, life becomes harsh and you become cranky. If a person uses sensual pleasure too much, his life is diluted and he or she becomes a house of disease. That is why one has to 21

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be balanced, one has to be in tune like the sitar. That is the art of fasting. By silence, we mean not only speech, but silence in thought also. Sometimes thoughts speak louder than language. They can create a riot inside. To bring silence in thoughts is the greatest art. And then meditation is used to reach that state in which you know who is dwelling in this body. Who is seeing through these eyes? Who hears with these ears? Who smells with this nose? Who tastes with this tongue? Who touches with hand? Who knows with these senses and this mind? To know who knows is meditation. Meditation is not a temporary comfort. It is to reach the last point-to know who knows. So from the age of 30 to 42 years Mahavira worked in this inner laboratory. And then after enlightenment for 30 years he shared his thoughts, his feelings, his experiences of reverence for life his insights, because that was his joy, the pure unpolluted bliss. In the world of the senses and all the possessions, we want to enjoy inner wealth, but when you have this wealth, you want to share it. There is no possessiveness. Reverence for Life Mahavira's first teaching was reverence for life. If you have reverence for the Indweller, you will have reverence for all life. Otherwise, for the sake of need and greed, man will fight, kill, and exploit. Ultimately 22

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man can be the worst butcher in all the world. Without awareness, he is more dangerous than any animal. Animals don't create mass slaughter, they only kill when they are hungry. Man kills without hunger. First you have to realize reverence for yourself; then you will appreciate life in others. Talking to a friend, you see something beautiful in her eyes. That beauty is the beauty of Inside Dweller. Your eyes become windows for your Inner Dweller; it sees the outside and the light inside. That person sees through your window what is inside you, in your body. In this way, two souls communicate, seeing each other inside and outside, with reverence for life. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel-Prize winning poet, was walking in the woods with a politician. He saw a flower blooming along the path and he was moved. The politician saw his moist eyes and wanted to know what was wrong. After awhile Tagore said, "The beauty of the flower. These tears came from joy, not from sorrow. I saw the small seed pulsating, blossoming, unfolding, opening, bringing forth beauty, color, gentleness and fragrance. What is this? It is life. I saw life. I felt life in a flower, and I felt that life in me. I got in touch with my gentleness, with my color and beauty. All this I saw in a flash of the moment in that flower. The flower and I were not two. Subject and object became one. There was a moment of experience when all duality ended. There was only the experience of life pulsating, feeling, moving. In that joy the tears came." 23

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When we experience this deep reverence for life, we realize life is worth living. With all its turmoil,all its demand, all its problem, all its frustration, life is worth living. We are here to experience that feeling of reverence for life and if we can have a few glimpses, a few moments of that, we have experienced life. What we call enlightenment is nothing but that experience. You are enlightening that area which was obscured or darkened. You realize life. That is the climax of living and our work is to experience that moment. It is like preparing a dinner. It takes four hours to prepare, and in 30 minutes we enjoy it and it is gone. So we are preparing for that moment. We may prepare with fasting or meditation, or in silence or service or prayer, or it may be through education. All education must lead to that experience. ** The Law of Karma Thus the first principle is reverence for life. But Mahavira saw that there is another obstacle in life. That which is called self is like a flame burning brightly. But the glass which surrounds the flame becomes dirty and so we don't see the brightness of the flame. The light is there but the chimney is covered with the particles of dirt and soot. If we wipe out the chimney we can again see the flame. In the same way, Mahavira saw that karmas come in our way. Karmas are the particles attracted by our greed, anger, 24

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ego, violence desires, and vagaries. These particles cover the chimney of our mind, and so the flame of our consciousness appears dull. We can't see the brilliance of the flame. Jain philosophy teaches that every moment we produce vibrations with our thoughts, our desires, our needs and greed. Karma means the particles which those vibrations magnetically attract. These particles are like atoms except that they are even most subtlest than the smallest particle yet discovered by modern science. As we draw them to us, or attract them with our vibrations, they cover our consciousness, and then they become a code for our life to come. According to the process, we are building our future life. This life is nothing but the result of our own thoughts and actions, our own desires and vagaries, awareness or unawareness If I think ill of some person, those vibrations attract similar particles from the universe. If I think the best thoughts for someone, that kind of particles will flow towards me. What you have thought has accumulated vibrational particles and they constitute a blue print for your life, your family, your nation, your personal relations, your chosen outcome. That was yesterday, But today you have a choice and a right to create what you want for tomorrow. So tomorrow will be determined by today. Tomorrow is not fixed-you are fixing it now. If you are aware in now-ness, you know what your future will be. This philosophy does not put life in the 25

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hands of any outside agency. It is you who will decide and make what you want to make of this life. The philosophy of karmas is the philosophy of atoms, and vibrations of your self reliance. Also your vibrations may go in harmony with those of another person, so they pick them up. Recently an experiment proved this theory. Some scientists took a small mouse from its mother and put it into a submarine at the bottom of the ocean. Then they tortured the baby mouse, and in that moment they measured the brain waves of the mother. They showed that she felt restlessness. This demonstrates how the vibrations, even from the bottom of the ocean, can reach another mouse. So our vibrations can hurt or help, and create karmas. This philosophy educates mankind to take charge of its thoughts and actions so that they make for harmony and order. Many-sidedness and the Divinity Within The third principle Mahavir gave in his teaching was that it is not necessary to fight with anybody because conflict is only a misunderstanding. Our mind is limited and it cannot have comprehensive understanding of all. What you understand is partial and what somebody speaks is also partial. In these two partial aspects, sometimes the whole may not come out. You think you are fighting for the whole, but you are fighting for one part without understanding another part. And life is not made of only one part. It is connected with many parts. The Sanskrit word 26

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for that is Anekant. Anekant means many aspects. As the diamond has many facets, so our experience, our truth, our reality has many facets. Following anekant, you try to understand another point of view instead of fighting or building a stand. Mahavira taught that if you want to stop karmas, you have to understand someone else's point of view. You have to put yourself in that position, you have to be there. That is why you should not deny anything unless you have understood the other aspects of expressions. We have a tendency to deny or disbelieve; we limit ourselves, denying before we have experienced. Language and expressions create much confusion. We are riding in a car and we say, "The campus has come." But the campus did not go or come, we arrived at the campus. Or somebody says, "see, the sun is rising." would you quarrel with him? That neither the sun rises nor sets but it is the earth that revolves around the sun! So all language is relative, and Anekant teaches us to appreciate many aspects of expressions and thoughts. As the fourth principle, Mahavira said, "Don't waste time worshipping outside without first understanding the inside dweller. If you don't find God inside, you will never know God outside." You cannot see God, you can become God. Becoming God, you experience God. But with the eyes and the mind which are limited, you cannot see what you are talking about. You say, "I want to see God." But how can you see 27

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God? How can you see light unless you have some light in your eyes? How can you love others without having some in your self? The mind is nothing but atoms and molecules, an accumulation of thoughts, an unbroken series of desires. With that mind will you be able to see God? So Mahavira said, "Work inside and that you will become." Thus the first principle, Ahimsa or reverence for life, has penetrated all Indian philosophies. The three main Indian teachings are Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, like the three beautiful rivers of India, the Ganga, Jamna and Saraswati. Because of these three rivers, the soil is rich and pulsating with life. So there is not any absolute compartment of Jainism, Buddhism, or Hinduism. Sometimes they are sweetly mingled with each other, and they join together at the ocean. But each has its own pathway or direction to reach the ocean of consciousness. Jainism emphasizes non-violence and reverence for all life. War is not the answer for anything in the World. Even Mahatma Gandhi practiced this principle in his political movement to free India, and he proved that this weapon of non-violence is the greatest weapon-it made all the military weapons outdated and obsolete. With this weapon, India became free from the tyranny of colonialism. This Ahimsa is the answer for today. Buddhism comes in the form of karuna or compassion It is also found in Hinduism. Jainism is a way of living and thinking, and so I hesitate to call it a religion. But if we look at the original 28

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meaning of religion, we find "re" means back and "ligere" means to join. To join back to ourselves, that is the purpose and meaning of religion. We go back to our own Self. And this is the essential meaning of the Jain teaching-to experience that wholeness and oneness which is the experience of our true nature, reality, the Self. 29

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"A PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE" (From a talk delivered by Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu April, 1978-Fordham University) Jainism is a school of philosophy, a religion and a way of life, but its main emphasis is on living. The word used in the scriptures to describe the aim of Jainism is darshan. Darshan is to see, and what is seen with the inner reality is called darshan. It is not only religion or philosophy it is not only thinking, it .. seeing. And when you see, you cannot help but practice, you live the principles. ? The foundation of the teaching is practice-how you conquer your inner enemies and follow only that person who has conquered herself or himself. Not one who only talks or explains or promises, but he or she who realised and lives the teaching. You can see from his life that he is living in a balanced state, in harmony with life. There are no fluctuations, no ups and downs. This Jain philosophy is very ancient. Many people think that it started with Mahavira, around 600 B.C., but that is not true. He was the last prophet of Jainism. Two hundred fifty years before Mahavira there was another Tirthankara named Parshvanath, who was Philosophy means love for thinking. Herman Hesse was also not happy with this word, so he coined a new word, philosia, which means love of seeing rather than love of thinking. Hesse's new coined world philosia came from darshana. 30

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born in Banaras. There is much more historical evidence about him. Also there were other Tirthankaras; some were prehistoric. It is difficult to give all the background, but one thing is certain to verify the antiquity of Jainism: Historians all agree that the oldest scriptures are the Vedas. According to Toynbee and other scholars, the Vedas are 5 to 6 thousand years old. And in the Vedas the names of the Jain Tirthankaras Rishabh Adinath, Bharata, Arishthanemi are mentioned. This shows that even in the times of the Vedas, Jainism was being practiced.? Jainism is realistic rather than idealistic. But its attitude of realism leads to idealism. It sees the world not as a dream, but as reality. You cannot say that the world is only maya, illusion, a dream, as one school of philosophy thinks. That philosophy is idealistic. Realism is complementary to that. Jainism says that this world is real and not a dream. It is tangible and expressible. In this sense Jainism emphasizes the reality of things-of the atoms of matter. It sees that the world is nothing but a construction of atoms. 2 The Sourcebook of Indian Philosophy. edited by Dr. Radhakrishnan and Moore, gives an excellent description of Jainism. (Princeton University Press) 31

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Soul and Matter Is this world only matter? Or is there more than matter? The seers see this world as a combination of both soul and matter. It is a partnership between soul and matter. They are together from time immemorial. There was no time when you can say that there was no world or there will be no world. Yes, there will be change, but that does not mean there will be no existance or there will be zero, no substance. This seer knows that for us there is always change. Every minute the form changes, and what we call destruction is nothing but a change. Change is not annihilation. The idea of annihilation is not cherished in Jainism. The world is going to remain and it will go on changing. Manhattan will never be the same as it was 300 years ago. It was different then; something else was here. And in 1,000 years this City will be different. The matter may remain but its form will change. The question arises-how do we distinguish the soul from the matter or the life from non-life? What are the criteria? The criterion of life is consciousness, and nonconsciousness is the criterion of matter. Wherever you see consciousness, you see growth. There the life is pulsating, but wherever there is stagnation or no growth, there is non-consciousness or matter. The fulfillment of life is evolution and completion. There is that in you which is ever-growing. That evolves and reaches a point which we call perfection. In this ultimate state of perfection there is no interference 32

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of matter. You have shed all the matter, emotions and desires, conflict between likes and dislikes, from your consciousness. Duality ends and unity is experienced. What remains is pure consciousness, and that pure consciousness is the pure state of perfection. Now we see that this state of perfection is the aim of all evolution, it is enlightenment or the path for enlightened beings. There is an example which the teachers give about the raw diamond. If you put a piece of raw diamond beside a piece of stone, you would not be able to distinguish between the two. If a jeweler comes and breaks the piece of diamond precisely, then from the broken piece you could see some sparks of light. If he removes all the coverings and polishes the diamond, then the radiance of the diamond shines out. A diamond in a raw state is the same substance as the piece of shining stone. The same thing is true of our consciousness. One's consciousness is like a raw stone-by polishing we are bringing out its hidden radiance. You do not depend on anything outside yourself. The radiance is already in you. What is a Guru? Then why do we need any help? Why do we need a teacher or guru? Why do we need books? Let us see the definition of a teacher. Gu means ignorance and ru means remover. He who removes the darkness of ignorance is called a guru. A guru removes, not gives. If you have something covered, he removes that which 33

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is covering your consciousness, but he does not give you anything from himself. What is given is borrowed and what is borrowed is not yours. Just as a man does not become rich with borrowed possessions, though he may appear to be, so you cannot become enlightened with borrowed gifts. Always you will remember, "I have received this gift, this grace. It is not mine." That feeling of obligation always remains with the borrowed gifts. No teacher can give you what you don't have. What he really does is uncover what is covered. He comes and takes off your layers of ignorance and says, "Here you are. It is yours, only it was covered." The Three Jewels The means by which this living energy evolves are three. They are right vision or seeing, (samyag darshana), right knowledge (samyag jnana), and right conduct (samyag charitra). These are known as the three jewels of Jain philosophy. With these three jewels we evolve and liberate ourselves. What is right vision? Right vision is not belief in a church or temple or anything outside, but see and believe in yourself. You believe that "I am consciousness, and the quality of consciousness is the state of perfection. This is my quality." From this understanding the whole philosophy starts. As long as a person does not have this vision or belief, so long she or he is working only outside, on the periphery 34

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and not in the center. But when you say, "I have light within me I have inherent live energy of conviction, I have the power to remove the revenge and bitterness of all the years in my realization; I can do it!", that is called samyag darshana. And when you are convinced of your awareness, you are able to do it. The mind seeks temporary relief and solutions to the problems. To get a permanent solution, to go to the root of all the problems, comes only from right understanding, right guidance, deep faith in oneself. To have faith in oneself is not easy. For that we must direct our energy inside, towards our self. And we are not accustomed to that. We are in the habit of directing our energy outside towards something or someone else. To work on ourself, we put faith in ourself, we come closer to ourself. We take responsibility for ourself to make what we want of this life. For that we need constant awareness. The experience of our center starts from here. From the moment this insight is experienced, one knows how to deal with the world of matter, the world at large. Then one knows not to cover the consciousness with anything which does not lead in the direction of evolution. When anything causes devolution, immediately the consciousness becomes aware of it, and stops this downward process. It recognizes that this is not the nature of consciousness. As soon as one knows the nature of Self, then one sees that reality does not go against that nature. In 35

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this state of right vision, one knows the nature of reality and knows the place of oneself in this reality. From this point of view, we can see that one's purpose is to know reality. From here you go to knowledge itself. Right knowledge opens your door. You no longer feel bombarded by people. You say, "All right. It is their nature, their habit, their tendency. They are as they are. I need not be like them." You do not imitate them. You keep yourself in your place. That is the purpose of learning. If a person acts in a silly way and then we respond to that in a like way, what is the purpose of our classes, our learning, our meditation? We are different. We have to be different. We have the power to change our response. When we see some benefit, we can do it. If you have a business client and he insults you, you do not argue; you accept it because you want the profit. You do not pay attention to the insult, you pay attention to the profit. This shows you have the power, but you don't use it with your relatives or friends or those close to you. Knowledge is useful when these moments come in life. It is not memorizing and remembering anything. Knowledge comes from experience and reminds us, "These are superficial things and I must change the person by being calm rather than angry." Samyag gnana is the knowledge to know oneself and not to identify with someone's adjective. You say, "This person does not know me. That is why she uses this 36

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word. There is no need for me to be upset or angry. I have nothing to do with this word." Samyag gnana is the knowledge which comes from understanding of atma, the power of soul; you believe in the power of atma. You feel that you are able to do, and you will do. Understanding soul and recognizing power of atma, we are able to do what we want to do and face any situation. Everywhere this principle works. It was not working before because you did not believe in it. Always there was weakness lurking, waiting behind and telling you, "You can say it, but you are not going to make it." Your doubt is your enemy, your setback, your prison. gnana means to know and darshan means this vision, this conviction, and with this conviction we break our prison. We are working on these three gems. These three are imperative for our growth, our living, our creativity, to make this life so beautiful that it becomes an example for others and for ourself also. *** Right Conduct From the right vision and right knowledge, we go to right conduct, conduct refraining from what is harmful and doing what is helpful. In short, it is what helps the self to get rid of those vibrations or karmas which lead to bondage and suffering. It is not a commandment imposed from outside which you have to do or you will be punished. That is not our approach. 37

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Conduct is comprised of principles which help you conduct your life, to go towards that awareness of selfexperience. Now from this awareness grows the feeling of reverence for life, ahimsa. Himsa means to kill, to cause pain to any life, or to separate life from the body. Any harm which is done with thoughts, words, or action is himsa. Ahimsa means no harm is done in thoughts, words or action. When one starts feeling this ahimsa, one starts living with life. When you watch in a tranquil state, you see that you do not want to be hurt. And then you know, "if I do not want to be hurt, no one wants to be hurt." So you do not want to cause any violence or himsa to yourself or to anyone else. But it starts from here; to avoid violence to yourself you don't do violence to others. What you see inside yourself, you see outside in all living forms. My father used to give the example of a match. A match must first burn itself in order to burn anything else. Violence is the same way. Before we do any harm to others, we do first harm to ourselves. So whenever we try to hurt any other form of life, in thought, word or deed, we will hurt ourselves first. Because we do not want to harm our consciousness, we work to avoid doing any harm to anyone else. Overcoming Anger Any time you become angry with somebody, watch yourself. You will realize this. "Becoming angry I have 38

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become upset with myself. Whether the other person becomes unhappy or not, I am already unhappy now. I want to be happy but I am taking the wrong approach." Somebody did something to upset you, but why are you doing more wrong to yourself by becoming angry? That person did harm, but you are doing double harm to yourself, and the hurt increases and deepens in your consciousness. When you are aware, you try to understand why it happened. You start using the energy to remove the cause of the hurt, that which has caused anger, rather than being angry, fighting outside, and losing connection with the cause. Here there is no suppression, but seeing the cause which made you unhappy and angry, you free yourself. Suppose a person spoke rudely to you. If you take that anger with you, then you will spoil your day. You have to deal with this rudeness, so you talk to the person and quietly and gently tell him what you are thinking. If this approach does not work, then you decide whether you want to keep your relation with that person or not. You think, "If this is the way he feels, then we cannot go a long way together. We are not going to help each other. So it is better to stop here." In this way, in each situation you stop to see yourself in the light of non-violence, rather than taking negative emotions inside which you have to work to rid yourself of later on. From here we go to the other four principles-nonstealing, non-lying, celibacy and not hoarding things. 39

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These are the subordinate principles of ahimsa. For example, if you steal somebody's things, then you are hurting somebody, and you are hurting yourself. When you steal you are always afraid, and you must hide from yourself and from the police. Also you may put yourself into a situation where violence is involved. So non-stealing is to protect the principle of nonviolence. Similarly if you tell a lie, somebody will be hurt and you will be in a state of fluctuation which does not allow for peace. The vow is not to lie. Whatsoever you say must be true. By telling the bitter or senseless truth you might hurt someone. If you go around telling the truth about everyone's life, then you hurt people and create a quarrel. If someone is blind do we address him. "Hello, Mr. Blind," because it is true. Now we come to celibacy. A person who uses his energy to chase the beauties and outer forms will be lost in that pursuit. The mind will go crazy and the person will not have any peace. All the time he or she will remain concentrated on the outer forms. Ultimately, in course of time, that sensual craving spoils one's internal peace and the person reaches a state of indecisiveness. So the suggestion is that you agree to limit yourself to one person; then that person's companionship helps you to take your energy towards growth, creativity and understanding. You build a sound companionship wherein you become complementary to each other's energy, and the whole relationship blossoms in love. 40

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So in this sense celibacy means restriction to one person and then from one person, slowly you move to your self. There are three stages according to the ancient teaching. As long as you are studying, you observe complete celibacy. You do not divert your energy anywhere but to your work, your reading, your studying, your meditation and your preparation. When you finish the studies, then you enter the marital life, sharing life with a companion, having children, communicating and understanding each other. Then when you reach the age of forty or fifty, both partners come to an understanding, like Mahatma Gandhi and his wife. They became friends and decided to use their energy in the service of living beings, because their children had grown up. Then the complete celibacy started. So there are two levels, one to share the life with the partner and then ultimately, to share the life with the higher self. Brahmacharya, is a compound word-brahma means higher and charya means to move. The whole word means move in your higher self. The fifth principle is non-acquisition. You make some limitations on your possessions so you do not deprive others. Tell yourself, "I can have this much and no more." Aparigraha or non-acquisition is one of the main commitments in Jainism. Parigraha means hoarding and aparigraha means not hoarding. You acquire what you need for your living, for your house, for rainy days, but not more than that. These are the five principles in Jainism, but the 41

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main principle is ahimsa. The other four are supportive to this main one. They are complimentary to reverence for life. These guide our conduct which help our life to grow to the higher self. In this way the whole Jain dharma is for freeing the self from the non-self, freeing the self from the desires, expectations, and poisons which we call anger, greed, jealousy and deceitfulness. Ultimately we reach the state of perfection which in this school is known as enlightenment, emancipation or Moksha. 42

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THE MIRACLE IS YOU Once a priest from the Western world went to the East and met a Master of meditation. This priest was eloquentin English as well as Oriental languages. When he went to see the Master, he told him that he would like to read some passages from the Sermon on the Mount, in order to make the Master aware of the teaching of Jesus Christ. The Master was very happy to listen, so the priest started translating. Then on the Master's face there came a glow, in his eyes there were tears. His whole being was thrilled with joy. The priest was very happy because he thought he was able to impress the Master, and convert him. But when the priest said, "I hope you enjoyed the words of Jesus," the Master said, "Jesus? These must be the words of Buddha! I have learned only the wisdom of Buddha, and I thought you had translated his words into Japanese. In your country you must be calling him Jesus, but he is the same--Jesus is Buddha, Buddha is Jesus. They are the same words; there is no difference." The experience, the truth, whether it comes from the word of Jesus or the word of Buddha or the mouth of Mahavira or Moses or you or me--what difference does it make? The main thing is the wisdom, the sweetness of the honey. If you cling to the name and fight for it, you forget the message. This is what often happens; the person who uncovers becomes more important than what is uncovered. Truth has always existed, before Mahavira, before 43

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Buddha, before Christ or Rama. Do you think truth was born with these Masters? If somebody opens the curtains at noon, you see the sun for the first time. But before the curtain was removed the sun was there. Instead of basking under the sun, do you cling to the person who removed the curtain? We have good feeling for this person; we say, "Thank you", but we care for the light, the warmth. Who is a Master? If we are not aware, our whole life passes without experiencing the warmth of this sun, the truth. Life goes by only reciting the names and we forget that they were Masters because they uncovered something which was covered. To be a Master does not mean to be the Master over you. A Master is he who Masters his own senses and mind. The senses over come by desires obscure the truth-the brightness, the brilliance, the light, and the mind clings to the words and forms. Jargon becomes more important to people than the truth, so they never catch a glimpse of that truth. When the rays of the truth penetrate, you are not the same person. Your sorrow is over. What is called Mastership is to overcome sorrow. Sorrow is created by your mind. In reality, there is no sorrow. You create sorrow when you cling to a thing; when things don't happen as you want, you become sad. You want something and you do not get it, so you are disap 44

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pointed and you make your face long and you cry. But if you say, "I am contended, I don't want it", where is sorrow? We must know the cause of our pain. We think we are going to get happiness clinging to somebody or something. But as soon as we cling, we have sown the seeds of sorrow. Only when we are empty we want something from someone else. But that person is not going to give us what we want because he or she does not have it. Once a man was going to the market to sell ghee, which is butter that has been purified in liquid form. This man filled his pot with water and put a little warm ghee on the top. When ghee is put on water it hardens, so it appeared that the pot was completely filled with ghee. Along the way, he met a man who said, 'What is in this pot of yours?" "it is ghee for sale," replied the first man. "Let me see," said the second. He looked in and saw the whole pot filled with ghee. So he said, "How would you like to make a bargain? I have two bracelets which are made of gold. I can give you the bracelets if you give me the ghee." The first man said, "Very good," knowing the pot was full of water. But the other man had brass bracelets with only a little glitter of gold. So he thought, "This is not a bad business to have so much ghee for some bracelets of brass." So they were both very happy. But when they reached home, they both discovered that they had played a trick on each other. Sometimes two empty 45

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people think that they have made a good bargain. They meet once or twice and think, "Oh, I have something good here," because the partner is handsome or wealthy. But when they discover the emptiness after two or three months, they say, "Oh, my God! Now how can I get rid of him?" Really it is difficult for us to understand, but if we don't understand, it will become more difficult for us to remove the pain. Masters are those souls who master their own mind. They don't want to master the people or collect followers. They know the futility of the ego. In ego you create something and then you suffer. You don't know when the mind of the disciple is going to turn crazy, and then you have to please them until you can correct the craziness. It is a headache! 46

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The Nature of the Mind The mind can turn against anything; it has a habit to revolt that which it does not understand. It attacks and in that way it can save itself. If it does not strike, it will not save itself. To save face it uses a device to strike out at what it does not grasp or cannot conquer. Sometimes when the mind does not understand the teacher or Master, it strikes out against him also. It happened to all the teachers in one way or another. So the wise man wants to conquer his mind and his senses and that is all. He says, "Those who are ready, let them understand. Those who are not ready, let them learn through suffering." There are those people, I tell you, who are not happy unless they become unhappy. They find some reason to have a discussion and create a fight, and they spoil their evening instead of sitting in silence, having peace and seeing beauty. That is why, if you are going away for the weekend with friends and you want to have a very pleasant time, better take some time for silence. Then you will enjoy nature. Otherwise you might come home with fighting, quarreling and disputing moods. It is very difficult to understand the nature of the mind and how it works against us. For example, it may say, "I will fight in the name of religion." The religion that comes to give peace to mankind becomes an instrument for war and cruelty. There were many crusades in the name of religion. People were butchered and massacred in the name of God. Religion is for peace, for love, for joy, for liberation. "Do what 47

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you want to do; let me do what I want to do." That is the motto of religion. Religion is not imposing something on somebody. A cult may do this, but not religion. Religion means to join back, not sever. But, we see severing and cutting in the name of religion. Separation is seen in the different divisions and denominations. This is the work of the ignorant mind. What is a Miracle ? Life is a miracle, but those who perform miracles are misleading you. They are blinding you, diverting you from real miracles. The biggest temptation, bigger than sex and more than money-is the temptation of miracles. Soon you know sex as sex and money as money, and you know they are not permanent. But miracles-Oh! You read about them in all the books and scriptures. Then you try to levitateto astral travel, you desire to go invisibly into somebody's room! Why? What is this curiosity? Are you not a living miracle? Some people read books of miracles and biographies, they say, "Oh, my God, this is what I want!" But they never get it, When you desire them, they don't happen to you. Then you feel frustration. I have found many people who have left the spiritual path because they did not reach those miracles. They say, "It's all phony. We practiced for ten or twelve years and we didn't find anything." It is a blind desire and the people don't understand. The books become temptations-some people read only to find miracles. But a person who is drawn to the path 48

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because of the miracles is not going to stay long. If the miracle does not happen, he or she will be disappointed. In reality this is a greedy desire and spirituality is to go beyond all greed. Those who speak of miracles and attract people with miracles are doing a lot of harm because eventually the followers are deceived. Ultimately the miracle is to know reality. Reality is a law of cause and effect. Sow the seed and reap the fruit. Love is miracle. Love reveals every thing and every one. When your heart knows love miracles happen. Buddha once came into a town. In that town one very famous learned lady had lost her grandson. She could not bear the sorrow. It was a painful blow to her in her old age, and she felt shattered. That evening somebody came to see her and said, "Do you know, Buddha has come to our town?" She exclaimed, "Buddha has come?" She felt some hope. "He will help me now! She rushed to see Buddha who was staying in a nearby garden. She bowed to him and said, "Sir, I can't bear the pain of this separation. I have lost my grandchild and you, a man of power, a man of wisdom, a living God, you have all the power to make him live again." Buddha sat calmly and said, "Yes, but there is one thing you have to do. Bring seven mung beans to me" She said, "Only seven mung beans?'' "Yes," he said, "but wait. You have to bring these seven mung beans from that house where no death has happened, the house where no one has died."'She said, 49

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"I will find it." " She left in a hurry, not pausing to think. She went from house to house and said, "Please give me seven mung beans." Generally people in India keep mung beans in their house and they are ready to part with them. Then she would ask, "Has anybody died in your house?" They would reply, "What a question! My father died". Another said, "my grandgather died." "Another would say, "my sister died and she was only a baby." It happened in each house until she got tired. She was so confused, attachment did not allow her to think properly. She was exhausted because everywhere she heard the same story. Finally, she came back and said, "Sir, there is not a single house where death has not occurred." Buddha said, "Now think of life and death. It is a change" It is leaving one body and going into another. It is changing clothes. When you wear clothes for a few days, they become dirty. They become full of odor. Then it is time to change. "Young and old is a time concept. Life is eternal, it is evolving. In eternity every life is a process of completion. And when that mission is completed, the person leaves the body as you leave the waking state and go to sleep. You leave the sleep and go to dream, you go from dream to sleep, from sleep to waking. It is all nothing but change. The lady was able to overcome her fear and sorrow when she realized that nothing in the world lasts, 50

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save eternal change. Death is a change which opens a door to the permanent. Behind all the changes there is changeless. There is pain only in our mind, there is no pain in death. It can be very peaceful and smooth, gentler than sleep. But we have horrifying thoughts because of attachment. Attachment creates more pain and disease than any pain from physical causes. In my experience, I have seen some people die in a way that makes sleep seem less peaceful. My own father's death is an example. It was my birthday, July 26, 1959. We celebrated in the morning, and in the evening he said, "I have a little pain in the heart." So he put his head in my lap, and began saying "Namo Arihantanum.* He closed his eyes, and with a little jerk he was gone. Before I could think, he was in a different world. A doctor who happend to be there saw my father and said, "It is over." I could not believe it, but it was the truth. He passed as gently as a ship moves on the water to another shore. But how can the mind conceive this idea? It is very difficult. This mind has so many attachments and so many plans. The problem is of the mind, not of death. That is why, once you know the secret, you will be *Namo Arihantanum is the most sanctified mantram in the Jain tradition. It means "I bow to those who have conquered their inner enemies." When one says these words, he or she shows deep respect for those who have attained enlightenment, in the past, present or future without regard to religion, race, nationality or any other such distinction. 51

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free of the fear of death. When you are free, you will not be afraid of death and you will not run away from it. When you know the nature of death, you will neither hide from it nor embrace it. Those who say, "Death, you are my beloved," are extreme, and those who call death a black frightening monster are at the other extreme. It is not a monster, it is not a beloved. It is a change, a way of life when the time comes. It does not happen until the time is right. People take sleeping pills to finish life and yet they do not die. Instead, somebody comes and gives medication-they vomit and are saved. People jump from a bridge and they do not die, but someone else yawns and dies. Another person goes to attend a concert and does not come back. If we avoid thinking about it, we will always remain in fear and we will never be able to understand what death is. It is a law, a way, a stage in life. As we experience childhood, adulthood, maturity and senior citizenship, so we experience death. They are all changes. One has to know the law. When you know the law, the fear which takes away your energy disappears, so you have energy to live. We are here with a mission, to fulfill necessary obligations and free from all binding Karmas. If you are aware, you live life and burn your Karmas and you are free from all the cycles. When your debts are over, there is no birth. When your account is closed, you will not receive a monthly statement from the bank. Now every month you get a state 52

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ment which comes from an account. Close the account and the bank will not send you a statement. Birth is a statement which comes from an account with somebody. So we are here to even all the accounts and not to build a new account. In life, if two people meet and understand that they are here to burn karmas, they will see that there is a beautiful harmony in life. There will be a new dimension in life because the fight for the things will be over and the growth for both of them will start. So say : "We are here to grow and that is why we met. You help me and I help you, and helping each other we will be free." ___ In the Tattvartha Sutra there is a verse : parasparopagraho gitaraty "We are all supported by one another." If one hand is not clean, we have to take the help of another hand, and rubbing both hands together, both become clean. "Where I do not understand, you tell me; where you do not understand, I tell you. Let us exchange the thoughts and wisdom. Sometimes I cannot see my face and I need a mirror, so you be my mirror. I can see your face and you can see my face." That way you can have friends, you can have a partner, you can be a family member, and all your relations will help you grow. But first we have to understand the law. The law is that all these things are changing and beyond all these changes, what remains is the miracle. This is called reality. To make a person aware of this reality is the greatest miracle, to convince the mind to accept this truth-that reality 53

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is going to remain for eternity. For that you have to meditate, and think again and again, "I am reality, I am soul, and soul will never die. As long as I have almission, I am going to live in this body with happiness, with peace and balance." Then you will see that the body will not be the subject of anxiety, the anxiety which breeds old age, wrinkles, tiredness, and fear. Anxiety increases your age, and fear sucks away your health. When you are in peace and in balance the blood flows smoothly and your face has a rosy look. And that is what the enlightened would say to this lady, "You have to learn something from this event. Your grandson came to give you a key of wisdom. You were attached. He had a few years to finish with you and that is why he came in your family. He fulfilled the obligations of all his karmas. He is free now. But if you don't understand the law, then you will have to take another birth because of your attachment."' Sometimes because of our attachment, we argue without even knowing what we are fighting for. The things we fight for disappear and still we go on fighting. One man was going through the desert with a heavy load. He hired a mule to carry the burden and the person who owned the mule came along with him. It was midsummer and soon these two were tired and perspiring. The man who hired the mule said, "Stop, let me sit in the mule's shadow and have some peace. I am tired and want to rest." The other man said, "No, you cannot sit in the shade of my mule. I own it and 54

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the shadow belongs to me, not to you. I have rented you only the mule, not the shadow." The first man then said, "The price I paid was for both the mule and the shadow." Then they began to argue. Soon a third man came along and said, "Why are you fighting?" They said, "About the shade." The newcomer said, "What shade?" They said, ''The shade of the mule." He said, "What mule?" What are you talking about?" Then they saw that the mule had gone away when they were fighting. It was tired and it could not bear the sun and the shouting, so it wandered away. Then the first man, cried, "All my load and luggage!" The other said, "'What about my mule!" So they both had to stop arguing and search for the mule. The same is true in life. You don't know what you are fighting for. You fight for trivial things that bring you nothing. And while you are doing that, you miss the truth. You are fighting for emotions, and the reality slips away. You think you don't have time. You don't take time unless a wise man comes and tells you: "Wait. Stop and think. What are you fighting for?'' When you go deeper into the experience of yourself, then you are able to experience reality. If anything happens, let it happen, but don't divert your attention. Go on in your journey within. If something new and revealing happens, say, "Oh, nice." Life itself is nothing but miracles. The bigger miracle is to find in one small sperm your bones, your eyes, your skull. Where were they? In one cell are kept all these big 55

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bones. Your big nose! Think of it. YOU ARE A MIRACLE! Even science has no answer. Scientists say it happens, but why it happens they don't know. Why one atom has so many particles, protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks: They say it has, but why? There is no answer. They know that all the potentialities are there in one sperm, but how they are there we don't know. That shows that life is a miracle. We are all miracles. This miracle is the miracle of the karmas. They are all coded in each sperm, all concise and compressed. All the vibrations that we are acquiring in this life are concise and compressed like the bits of information in a computer. It is this code which creates the code of the genes, the DNA and RNA molecules. The code of karma lies beneath the molecular code and the code for formation for all the cells of the body. When you know this whole theory of karma, the theory of vibrations, you are amazed; for you see that this is the law that explains the deepest questions of life. Then you know how to become your own master, your own creator. To change your lifestyle and to understand this wisdom is the real miracle. When we understand this wisdom, life transcends all the miracles. That is why we advise you not to allow your attention to be diverted when you see small things here and there in meditation. The awareness of reality should not be lost for these things. Slowly the mind diverts you, and once you are diverted it is difficult to come back. When any name, any religion, any form comes, you enjoy it. You 56

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do not deny anything, but you do not fight for anything either. I don't tell you to give up all traditions and truth and teachers. Don't give up, but don't become obsessed by them. To those who help you, you say, "Thank you, you have opened the window, you have removed the curtain. It is good that you have helped me see." But your attention must be on the sun, the truth. The truth existed before the curtain was removed. Now take time to meditate that "I AM WHAT I AM .and whatever comes to this IAM, I will not fear." When you don't have fear of old age or disease or death you will see that these changes will not come so fast. This disease of emotions, disease of the body, disease of the cells and disease of things which are always frightening mankind. Let us meditate on this state of Immortality. 57

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NOTES

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Shri Chitrabhanuji is no recluse, living in the vernal woods and meditating at a distance, on the fate of mankind. He has meditated and mediatated deeply, he is concerned with the fate of mankind, but in a much more active and personal way. He is not a prophet of doom, castigating his followers in a thundering voice and making them quake with the threat of the fire next time'' if they do not mend their ways. His approach is more human and one which is based on commonsense, and that is why he establishes such a imme liate and perfect rapport with his audie hat basically all human beings e.s directly to this essential goo WIU hur About his a es self says, "I do not want to to or any doctrine of religion. ! from their complacencies, to stir nein nearta, tu vivify their imagination, to bring them out from the little selves to the Higher, of which they are capable.'' - Jal Mistri