Commentary on the Text “Vedic Teachers”
Qualities of a Practitioner
I will comment on several texts by Advaita Vedanta saints. The first text is called “Dasha Divya Ratna”—“Ten Divine Instructions.” It is a text by Chandra Saraswati, the 68th head of the Kanchi monastery. This saint assumed the title of Shankaracharya in 1907 in the Saraswati order founded by Shankara. We belong to the Juna Akhara order founded by Shankara, while this is another order—the Saraswati order.
These instructions, these precepts of Vedanta, are guidelines for conduct common to all sadhus and all saints, and they resonate with the truths of Advaita. Advaita is now coming to Western Europe and Russia as a philosophical view—this is the first wave: translations of texts, masters, and the Advaita view itself. The teaching of Laya Yoga is the second wave of Advaita, providing both contemplation and conduct. When Advaita takes root in Russia, after a hundred or two hundred years, its own local culture and lineages will emerge, and it will descend into culture, conduct, society, and the mentality of sadhus. The presence of view, meditation, and conduct is a sign that the Teaching has been fully assimilated.
Thus, the instructions are as follows:
A human being is born to serve; beginning with service to people and not hiding from the jnana that will be revealed to you, you will come to know True Service.
True Service and the Divine Will
True Service is the implementation of the Divine Will. True Service is not inherent in humans and beings of the lower worlds, because they do not conduct the Divine Will—they are either semiconductors or resistors. Their ego is structured in such a way that it carries out its own will. Saints, siddhas, beings of the higher worlds, and gods are all conduits of the Divine Will. There is not one among them who acts on their own.
The popular notion of avadhutas and siddhas as some kind of eccentric beings who entertain everyone with their miracles and wander about on their own is a layperson’s notion. All saints are conduits of the Divine Will. Why? Because their ego has dissolved into the Absolute, and their will has merged with the Divine Will. Whose will, then, should they be conduits of? The Divine Will, of course. Angels, devas, gods, and siddhas all take part in this great Divine play, and each has their own place in the Universe. Such is the culture of higher Divine beings.
As our freedom and wisdom grow, so does the measure of our responsibility. Each saint undertakes a particular mission—to conduct the Divine Will:
- some conduct it through the power of silence and meditation,
- some through their siddhis,
- some through the powers of creation in the subtle worlds,
- some manifest sacred Teachings and transmit Anugraha Shakti,
- some assume responsibility for preserving the Teaching in the human world,
- some guide the souls of the deceased through the Bardo (the intermediate state).
All this depends on the inclinations of each living soul. There is no single rigid directive: “Here is the Divine Will, and you are to carry it out.” All of this is perceived in the depths of the soul, intuitively, in the process of natural contemplation.
“Dasha Divya Ratna”: Ten Divine Instructions
Chandra Saraswati then goes on to say:
You yourself have not created even a blade of grass. Show gratitude to creation by offering the best of what you have been endowed with to the hidden Creator of all this.
Remember that a life without love is in vain. Prema is the one thing that gives meaning to embodied existence: sincere love for every manifestation of the One, filled with life and spirit.
Your contemplative practice, your meditation, and mantra sadhana must inevitably lead to the growth of your pure vision, compassion, and love. This is the criterion: your inner wholeness and inner harmony increase. This is the criterion that shows you are moving in the right direction.
All that has been accumulated will be squandered in vain, but every gift will return to you as a blessing.
Spiritual success is dissipated by words of admiration and exaltation. Fear the approval of others and your own boasting above all else. By taking upon yourself the burden of fame, you will turn it into the burden of sin.
Learn to discern between delusion and truth, between a step aside and a step toward the true goal. It is fruitless to grieve over past mistakes.
Do not waste time preparing and waiting. Every moment of life should be filled with service to others, so that it does not become yet another opportunity for self-indulgence.
Dharma and moksha, your purpose in life and love for God, must come together within you. There can be no contradiction between what must be fulfilled and the aspiration for Liberation.
These are important words. “There can be no contradiction between what must be fulfilled and the aspiration for Liberation”—we say that there is no contradiction between the view and conduct. If you follow the path of a monk, there are certain things you must fulfill. There is a particular path for a monk, a particular duty for a monk. If you follow the path of a brahmachari, there are also certain things you must fulfill. If a person follows karma sannyasa, there are also certain things they must fulfill—this is their prarabdha karma. It is sadhana, the accumulation of merit, following Dharma, and service. It is a certain layer of energy in the subtle body that must be transformed in the process of fulfillment.
And if we fulfill our duty while practicing contemplation, uniting the view with conduct, our karmic debt gradually dissipates. If we fulfill it properly—in samyoga, in contemplation—it leads to somarasa, to the “single taste.” One who cannot manage to unite the view and conduct, the path of Liberation and the fulfillment of their duty, is in a state of inner contradiction. But this contradiction arises because they approach everything from the standpoint of the mind and ego rather than from the standpoint of non-conceptual presence, rather than from the standpoint of the view. In other words, the contradiction does exist, but it is in the mind—it exists neither in the Absolute nor in contemplative presence. Such a person lacks skill and experience.
Without deviating in the slightest from the responsibility God has placed upon you in this life, you will be able to find the path ordained for you and attain the goal.
Strange, isn’t it? Shankaracharya, the founder and one of the heads of the Advaita order, speaks of responsibility. The word “responsibility” is actually unpopular among Western seekers of Neo-Advaita. In their view, the path is nothing but freedom, leaps into infinity, and various games on some green meadows of Enlightenment, with butterflies of mystical experiences. What responsibility? “I am Brahman—and that’s all!” But the saints say something else: “Do not shirk that responsibility. You will be able to find your path and attain the goal.” Because the dream of every ego is to receive everything without having to pay any price for it.
There is a toast popular among criminally inclined groups and oligarchs: “May we have everything and never have to pay for any of it.” This is the symbol of the ego. The ego says: “I want to have every pleasure and never have to pay for any of it—no sins, no karma, no consequences.” This is its idea of freedom. The ego does not like responsibility; it fears it and feels that it is a burden, a limitation, while it strives for complete freedom. But, ironically, it never finds it. Freedom comes at the very moment when you are able to accept responsibility for serving the Divine Will.
And each of us is destined to have our own role and our own measure of responsibility in this life. We are not required to create new universes, as Brahma does, nor are we required to maintain the motion of the stars, galaxies, and planets—we are far too small for that. Nor are we required to direct the evolution of human civilization—that is still beyond our capacity. As human beings with this prarabdha, what is required of us is to accept responsibility for the small domain of our karma, our karma yoga, in which we find ourselves. To accept responsibility means to approach it consciously, to become involved, to remain aware in action, not to be unconscious or selfish, and to begin thinking more about others than about ourselves.
Jnana alone will resolve all doubts and enable you to pass through every trial.
Jnana and Pure Vision
One way or another, a person is deluded, dissatisfied, or searching because they lack jnana. They are subject to desires because of ajnana—the absence of jnana. Whatever the case may be, it all comes down to either the presence or absence of jnana, both in the relative and the absolute sense.
In the relative sense, the absence of jnana makes it difficult to communicate with people: I do not see the other as Brahman, in pure vision; I see a person. I myself do not remember that I am Brahman, and as a person I communicate with another person. And then two karmas interact: my prarabdha interacts with the other person's prarabdha, and these prarabdhas cannot come to terms because they have owed each other something since a past life. But if I feel myself to be Brahman—that is, if I abide in contemplation, in the View—and see the other in pure vision as Brahman, then two emptinesses are at play, with no prarabdha at all. Two emptinesses play, and from their lilas beautiful mandalas arise for service and for helping others, with no conflict whatsoever. I am free of conflict, the other is free of conflict, and the relationship is pure and harmonious—jnana is present.
Jnanis never quarrel with one another. You will never see jnanis come into conflict, compete, call one another names, or think badly of one another—it is inconceivable; it cannot exist in nature. Even if it appears outwardly, these are subtle lilas inaccessible to ordinary mortals. Jnanis only play—they are completely whole and harmonious.
The Teachings of Sridhar Swami
A saint and devotee of Rama named Samartha Ramdas was born in 1608 and died in 1681. He wrote a number of texts and is known as the author of spiritual teachings: “Dash Both,” “Mana Both,” “Manuti Shlok,” and “Atma Ram.” Another saint, Sridhar Swami, continued his tradition in the nineteenth century.
In his early adolescence, after the deaths of his brothers and sisters, he received the blessing of his dying mother to spend his life renouncing worldly benefits and pursuing the spiritual quest. Having completed his education, he gave all his possessions to those in need and, living on alms, set out on foot for Samartha's shrine at Satjananda, where he was accepted as a permanent resident. For three years, he astonished visitors and priests by ceaselessly performing the most arduous tasks, continuously repeating the name of Rama, maintaining ascetic disregard for the body, and remaining impervious to the humiliation and insults that befell him.
Rama-japa, self-renunciation, and concentration on service purified him. Sridhar received a vision of Guru Samartha—the ancient saint and devotee of Rama, Samartha Ramdas, blessed him with a vision and told him to journey to southern India to preach and continue his ascetic practice. Numerous miracles occurred in his life. He spent a long time in seclusion in a cave and left this world in 1973. He founded the Dharma-bhaja Society and an ashram in Uratpur, Karnataka.
He left his disciples precious teachings, which they revere as the Ten Commandments of Vedanta:
- Always seek the truth and strive to know everything as it truly is.
- Constantly remember the Guru and his teachings.
- Cut off all desires and every form of lust.
- Set aside time each day for the practice of yoga and pranayama.
- Entrust yourself completely to God in all things, always relying solely on His grace.
- Pay no attention to bodily discomfort or emotional fluctuations.
- Whatever happens around you or within you, remain unwaveringly in the bliss engendered by devotion to God and the Guru.
- Perform service before the altar with love, casting your mind at the feet of God and the Guru.
- Allow no movements of the mind except thoughts directed toward perfecting sadhana and helping people.
- Knowing that God is unlimited by anything, see God in all beings, always and everywhere.
The Teachings of Saint Ramalinga
The teachings of Saint Ramalinga, whom we all know, respect, and revere, are formulated as seven commandments:
- Treat every person as your neighbor, brother, or sister.
- Realize the equality of all souls, their equality in the Absolute.
- Be attentive to self-discipline, self-control, and understanding your own motivations.
- Realize God as the Lord of all living beings; worship Him as the boundless and gracious Light.
- Refrain from anger and from killing living beings.
- Refrain from consuming the flesh of slaughtered animals and from poisoning yourself with harmful chemicals and drugs of various origins.
- Jiva-karmya means compassion for all who are hungry, needy, or suffering. Help meet their needs.
Note: none of the saints confuses view with conduct. The saints’ instructions on conduct are clear, precise, and very specific.
If we follow the saints’ instructions on conduct found in various sources, this will undoubtedly have a beneficial effect on our meditation, our contemplation, and our jnana—our view.
