SWAMI MHANE.

BE A GENTLEMAN, AND GOD IS YOURS FOR SURE !!

" Looking at Thy Feet, playing with Thy Poetry, living in Thy Kingdom, O Mother, I am happy.

Writing through Thy Hand, thinking through Thy mind, Feeling through Thy Heart O Mother, I am free!

Nourished by the nectar of Thy Knowledge, clad in the robe of Thy Love,

Before Thee I dance, O Mother, in the Temple of Eternity." (Amritdhara-P-66-67)

The couplets quoted above are from "Amritdhara" a compilation of 162 verses in SAKI meter, by Swami Swaroopanand of Pawas (Ratnagiri) written in his awakened state, after he experienced, dark night of the soul, on the intervening night of 20/21 July 1934,

("Shukla paksha bhrugu vasar ratrau Ashadhinchi Navami, Attharashe Chappan Shakabdi mrutu pawalo amhi.")(Amritdhara P-18, Saki-27), He proverbially, shed the shackles of the mortal body, getting rid off the attachments and the ego. Reading between the lines, nay, indicates state of his mind. The state, that opened him, the timeless flow of Divine Consciousness, the Temple of Eternity, shattering his total ego system, unfolding to him the deepest understanding of true self; the gift of illumination in higher consciousness. He was no more operating of his own volition but was acting at the will of Mother Goddess. No wonder then, that, he has dedicated this compilation to the Mother Goddess.

That fateful night marked end of persona of Ramachandra Vishnu Godbole, his worldly ties, mundane conditioning, the entire 'Godbole' identity. What remained was his gross body, in the garb of Swami Swaroopanand. The experience was a tug of war between two worlds. He went through the turmoil & torment and came out winner. It was a process of unlearning to learning, unknowing to knowledge, journey from darkness to the light, total transition, a new orientation; metamorphosis of sort.

The concept of dark night of the soul, is found in Oriental, as well as in Western philosophical literature. Dr. R.D.(Gurudev) Ranade has mentioned about it in two of his books.(Pathway to God- Hindi Literature, P-181 & Mysticism In Maharashtra-preface pages-17-18). According to him almost all enlightened souls in different ages and different parts of Eastern/Western world experienced it in one form or the other. Gurudev, however, categorically mentions exception of Saint Dnyaneshwar to any such experience. This fortifies the common belief, that, Saint Dnyaneshwar was the Incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and hence we say "Dnyanesho Bhagwan Vishnu".

For next almost 12 years, Swamijee walked the walk before he talked. Swamijee spent all these years in deep meditation, contemplating on the philosophy of "Geeta" and Saint Dnyaneshwar's magnum opus, called "Bhawarth-Deepika"( Treatise on Geeta), popularly known as "Dnyaneshwari". When Swamijee got intuition to spread the message contained therein, he wrote "Bhawartha-Geeta". It is "Geeta", in lyrical form, in present day simple Marathi, in Saki meter and has "Dnyaneshwari" influence. His language is very simple and choice of words so apt that it grips the mind of the reader leaving no doubt about the message it conveys. His words carry weight and sound authentic as he guides us on the path which he followed. The reader gets dual benefit as he gathers the gist of "Geeta" as well as "Dnyaneshwari" by reading "Bhawarthgeeta"

I have reproduced, 12th and 2nd Chapters from "Bhawarthgeeta", in the month of July and August respectively, under the same blog. In his commentary on stanza 8 of 12th Chapter, Swamijee says, " It is the ego of a person, which, with the help of his mind and intellect, put him through the cycle of birth and death showing him the mirage of life. It dissolves automatically, in the same way as the organs render useless after death, should he surrender me( the Almighty) with heart & soul. ( Sakees 26 & 27).

However, pride should not be mistaken for ego. In US, everyone, right from a top professional/ politician to one who may be flipping burgers takes pride in whatever he does. I feel sincerity of purpose and good workmanship are result of taking pride in whatever one does. This also, seems to be a major factor, for the phenomenal and mesmerizing progress made by US in almost all fields, be it technological, or in the field of construction, science, medical education/research, surface communications, atomic/nuclear power. Empire State, Washington Monument, network of underground metros/subways, are some of the few glaringly spectacular examples of these.

However, it must be remembered, that material development is not everything. Whatever be your achievements or acquisitions, at the end of the day, it is all aimed to gain happiness in life. There is no gainsaying the fact, that, happiness does depend on how well placed/comfortable a person is and the quality of life he/she enjoys. A person like weaver saint Kabeer or his peers only can say, "Saain utana deejiye jisme kutumb samay, main bhi bhukha na rahun, sadh bhi bhukha na jaya". Which means, " Oh Lord, that much is good enough, in which the family can survive and the guest does not return hungry". Of course one has to draw own line to decide, as to how much is enough. Times have changed the picture. Now every other person is possessed with megalomania and narcissist tendencies. It is a rats race of one up man ship. With innumerable and variety of items of comfort and luxury, happiness is scarcely to be seen and there is no let up in tension and stress which on the contrary, is mounting.

Words of Socrates, where he says " Contentment is natural wealth and luxury an artificial poverty", therefore, sound Universally relevant at all times . Necessity and luxury, no doubt are relative terms. What may be a luxury for one may be a necessity for the other. Everyone will, however agree, that, happiness is a state of mind.

Here I would like to quote a story from one of the many books,(Ninety nine, i suppose) of a great French philosopher Voltaire, from his book 'Romances';

He tells a story of, " The good Brahmin", who says, " I wish I had never been born! ". "Why so ?" said I. "Because ", he replied, "I have been studying these forty years, and I find that it has been so much time lost ..... I believe that I am composed of matter, but I have never been able to satisfy myself what it is that produces thought. I am even ignorant whether my understanding is a simple faculty like that of walking or digesting, or if I think with my head in the same manner as I take hold of a thing with my hands.... . I talk a great deal, and when I have done speaking I remain confounded and ashamed of what I have said." The same day I had a conversation with an old woman, his neighbor. I asked her if she had ever been unhappy for not understanding how her soul was made? She did not even comprehend my question. She had not , for the briefest moment in her life had a thought about these subjects with which the good brahmin had so tormented himself. She believed in the bottom of her heart in the metamorphosis of Vishnu and provided she could get some of the sacred water of the Ganges in which to make her ablutions, she thought herself the happiest of women. Struck with the happiness of this poor creature, I returned to my philosopher whom I thus addressed :

- " Are you not ashamed to be thus miserable when, not fifty yards from you, there is an old automaton who thinks of nothing and lives contented?". " You are right," he replied, " I have said to myself a thousand times that I should be happy if I were but as ignorant as my old neighbor; and yet it is happiness which i do not desire."

This reply of the brahmin made a greater impression on me than anything that had passed;Unquote, says Voltaire in the end.
The crux of the story is, that, we often keep brooding over unnecessary things which we can be avoided. If we learn to live here & now we will be far more happier. Most of the times we spend thinking about the past with a hind sight thinking how wonderful it would have been had we acted in a different manner or worrying about the future, fully knowing that we are not Masters of the future. With slight change in one of the maxims I would say; past is a history, future is a mystery, this moment is a gift from the God, that is why we call it PRESENT. We should learn to enjoy the present,the wonderful PRESENT from the Almighty. Talking in present day terms, "Don't worry,be happy" song, written by Bobby Mcferrin, which won 1989 Grammy Awards for the best song of that year is the secret of happy life. Happiness is the key to longer life.

Bottom line of Swamijee's teaching lies in what he often used to say, " Spiritualism does not per se shower happiness, it teaches you the art of remaining happy under any circumstances/situaion."
This is the art of living, nay, ART OF HAPPY LIVING.

It is no doubt essential, that, one must plan, should be ambitious, and aim to be at the top in whatever he does, but while doing so he must not keep brooding over the fruit. In his commentary on the 10th Stanza of Chapter 12 from B. Geeta, Swamijee says, " Perform all your duties in the same way, as the water, which quietly follows the course marked by the gardener". What it conveys is the feeling of you being the doer (THE EGO) has to be eliminated. Whatever we see, from microscopic to microcosmic is all manifestation of that all pervasive cosmic energy. Our existence, is dependent on the will of that unknown controller. We are alive till we breathe. We should therefore, gratefully remember the Almighty, at each fresh breath, for his grace. This is all what is meditation about. How we remember HIM is immaterial, what is important is constant awareness of that total ( Universal ) consciousness (Vishwachaitanya) and HE being the doer. What name we give to that SUPER POWER and how we recognize it,is immaterial.

In his commentary on stanza 11 of chapter 12 of B.Geeta, Swamijee says, " All the ways, for attaining self realization aim at eliminating ego, which will automatically make one aware of the all pervasive/omnipotent." It is a theosophic journey from me, my, mine... to.. thee, thy thine. One has to come out of the cocoon of one's egocentric attitude and widen his perspective. Life is too short for hatred, jealousy, anger or animosity, therefore fill it with love, love for all beings, and earlier the better.

In one of his Sakis (stanza) in " Amritdhara " Swamijee says:-
( Suhasya wadan, prasanna darshan, nirmal antashkaran, mita madhu bhashan, shuddha mana tathta, sadaiwa satyacharan,
ewam shadwidh sajjan lakshan, angi banata poorna hoto vasha paramesh wahato jagadambechi aan.)

meaning

" Keep smiling , be cheerful, have clean mind & clear heart,
follow the path of truth & talk sweet & short,
Imbibe these six gentlemanly virtues,
And Almighty is yours Swami swears.