Question 6

QUESTIONER: YOU EXPLAINED TO US CHAITANYA AND HIS PRINCIPLE OF THE UNTHINKABLE TOGETHERNESS AND SEPARATENESS. YOU SPOKE ABOUT GINSBERG AND HIS IRRATIONALITY. EARLIER YOU DEALT WITH THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORDS BECOMING MANTRAS AND ALSO WITH THE CHANGING OF NAMES. YOU HAVE ALSO SAID THAT WORDS GIVE RISE TO DUALISM. BUT KRISHNA SAYS WITH AUTHORITY THAT ONE WHO UTTERS "AUM" AND MEDITATES ON GOD WITH AWARENESS AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH ATTAINS TO MOKSHA, THE HIGHEST STATE OF BEING. IT MEANS THAT THERE IS A WORD -- "AUM" -- THAT CAN LEAD TO NON-DUALISM. HOW DO YOU LOOK AT "AUM"? IS IT RATIONAL OR IRRATIONAL? AND WHAT DIFFICULTIES CAME IN YOUR WAY OF GIVING "AUM" A PLACE IN YOUR DYNAMIC MEDITATION?

Words are not the truth. Not even the word truth is truth.

Truth is found in a state of wordlessness, in utter silence. Even if one has to express truth, words cannot do it. Truth is best expressed through silence. Silence, not word, is the language of truth. As I said this morning, silence is the voice of truth.

If it is so then a question arises how a word, as I say, can serve as a seed and a basis for spiritual discipline. There is no contradiction in the two statements; in fact, they are just different dimensions of approaching the same thing. I said this morning that words are not the truth, but if those surrounded by untruth want to attain to truth they will have to take the help of untruth, there is no other way. Of course, if they can make a leap, they can go straightaway from word to silence. But in case they lack the courage to make a leap, they will have to get rid of words gradually, step by step.

When one is given a seed word, it means with the help of this single word he has to drop all other words which infest his mind. If one does not have the courage to drop all words together, once and for all, he is asked to hold on to a seed word, and to get rid of all other words with its help. But ultimately he will have to get rid of the seed word as well. The seed word cannot take him to the truth, but it can certainly take him to the gate of the temple of truth. At the gate you will have to leave this word, just as you leave your shoes there. You cannot take it into the temple's inner sanctuary. Even the seed word will impede your entrance into the temple, because however tiny, it is after all a part of noise. All words are noisy, and a seed word is no exception.

Even those who stress the importance of seed words say that in the final stage of their practice the seekers themselves disappear; this is the measure of their fulfillment. From japa or chanting one has to go to ajapa or no-chanting -- wordless chanting. A moment comes in their discipline when even japa drops and ajapa, silence, enters. It is the same whether you drop words at the very first or the last moment. All words have to go, so that silence happens. Silence is the ultimate, there is nothing higher than silence. A courageous person will give up all words together, but one who cannot should for the time being hold on to a seed word. dropping all others. But in the end even this last word will have to go.

As far as I am concerned, I am in favor of a complete jump from word to silence. As far as possible a seeker should avoid getting involved in things like japa, because they are likely to turn into an impediment in the last stage. It really happened with Ramakrishna, and it would be good to understand it.

Ramakrishna's spiritual journey begins with remembrance -- the chanting of the Mother's name. He has been worshipping God in the form of divine Mother Kali, and a moment comes while chanting the Mother's name when he reaches the final stage of the journey -- the name has to be dropped. Beyond this stage there is no way to go on with the name; now he can enter the sanctum sanctorum all alone. Mother Kali serves him well traveling the path, but when he reaches the temple itself, Ramakrishna must face the problem of parting with the Mother. It becomes the biggest problem of his spiritual life. For years he has given all his love and devotion to Kali; he has grown with her, he has danced and laughed and cried with her, so much that she has entered into his blood and bones, has become his very heartbeat. And when he is asked to drop her altogether, he finds himself in a terrible dilemma.

At this stage, Ramakrishna is under the guidance of a non-dualist yogi named Totapuri, who insists that he give up the name, part with the Mother. According to Totapuri, a name, a seed word, a symbol has no meaning whatsoever for a seeker who wants to attain the non-dualist state, the one, the absolute. Ramakrishna closes his eyes again and again and tells Totapuri that he cannot give up Kali; he can easily give himself up but he cannot part with his Mother. His Master persuades him to try again and again -- because if he gives himself up and not the Mother, he will be left on the doorstep of the temple the Mother will be inside it. It will do him no good. If one is to attain to the non-dualist state, nothing short of absolute aloneness will do. Two are not allowed to enter its inner sanctum -- the passage is utterly narrow. Ramakrishna tries again and again for three days, but fails and declares his helplessness.

Totapuri now threatens to leave Ramakrishna, he is not going to waste his efforts on him. Ramakrishna begs for another opportunity; he is aware of his thirst for the unknown, the ultimate reality. His life cannot be fulfilled without knowing it.

Totapuri comes to Ramakrishna the next day and brings with him a sharp-edged glass. Ramakrishna sits before him with closed eyes and his Master says, "With this glass I am going to make a cut on your forehead exactly above the seat of the third eye, the ajnachakra. The moment you feel the pain of it you take up a sword and cut your mother in two."

Ramakrishna is startled. He protests, "What do you say? How can I behead my Mother with a sword? It is impossible. I can behead myself if you ask me to do so, but how can I raise a sword at Mother? And then where am I going to find a sword?"

Then Totapuri says to Ramakrishna, "You are crazy. You have to find a sword from the same source where you discovered the Mother who is not. If your imagination, your will can materialize a non-existent Mother, it can also materialize a sword. It is not that difficult. I know you are skilled in this art. It needs an imaginary sword, a false sword to kill a false Mother. She was never real."

Ramakrishna is still hesitant, but he knows Totapuri will leave him if he does not listen to his instructions. He is aware that this Master does not believe in gradual progress, he stands for a headlong leap, for sudden enlightenment. He closes his eyes again, hut he still feels reluctant. Then Totapuri says reproachfully, "Shame on you!" and cuts his forehead with the edge of the glass.

As soon as Ramakrishna feels the hurt he gathers courage to take up a sword and behead the Mother And as soon as the Mother's image vanishes, he enters the state of samadhi -- the supreme state. And on his return from this state he exclaims, "The last barrier is down."

The seed word, the mantra is going to be the last barrier for all those who use it as their spiritual discipline. And like Ramakrishna, one day they will have to take up swords to finish it too. And it is going to be a painful process. That is why I don't recommend it, because I am aware that both you and I will have to work hard at the end. It is better to be finished with it from the beginning.

You also want to know if aum is a word or something else. You quote Krishna as saying, "If someone can remember me in my aum form and live in aum at the time of his death, he will attain to the ultimate, the eternal."

This aum is an extraordinary word, a rare word. It is extraordinary just because it has no meaning whatsoever. Every word has some meaning, this aum has none. For this reason this word cannot be translated into any other language of the world, there is no way. If it had a meaning, it would be easy to find an equivalent word with the same meaning in any language, but being meaningless this aum is beyond translation. This is perhaps the only word on earth which has no meaning whatsoever.

People who discovered aum were in search of something which could be a bridge, a link between the word and silence. While the word has a meaning, silence is neither meaningful nor meaningless; it is beyond both, it is the beyond. Really aum came as a bridge between the word and silence. It is constituted with the help of three basic sound forms: a, u, and m. A, u, and m are the basic sounds of the science of phonetics: all other letters of the alphabet are their extensions and combinations. And the same a, u, and m constitute the word aum, although it was not written as a word; it remains a distinct and distinguished symbol. Aum in its original form is available in Sanskrit, where it is a pictorial representation of aum; it is neither a word nor a letter. Aum is not a word but a picture. And it represents the space where the finite world of the word -- of sound -- ends, and the infinite world of silence begins. It forms the fron-tier, the borderline between the word and the wordless; there is no word beyond aum.

Therefore. Krishna says if someone can think of him in his aum form -- which is beyond word and meaning -- at the moment of his death, he will attain to reality, to truth. Because aum is at the boundary line of the world and the beyond, one who can re member it at the time of his departure from the world is destined to be carried to the beyond.

India's genius has packed this word aum with far-reaching  meanings and immense significance. Aum became tremendously meaningful -- so much so that it has no more any meaning. And its significance is limitless, infinite.

But aum is not meant to be uttered and chanted; it has to be really heard and experienced. When you go deep into meditation, when all words disappear, the sound of aum will begin to vibrate. You don't have to say it; if you say it you can have the illusion while meditating that you are hearing it. Then you will miss the authentic aum. For this reason I have not included aum in the Dynamic Meditation. If you chant it during meditation you can miss the real music of aum, which is very subtle.

This real aum is heard when all words disappear, all noises cease. When mind and intellect, thought and word all come to an end and silence begins, then an extraordinarily subtle vibration remains, which this country has interpreted as aum. It can be interpreted in other ways too, but they all will be our interpretations. It is like you are traveling in a railway coach and you hear whatever you want to hear in the rattling noise of the moving wheels of the train. The wheels are not making noise for you, nor do they have any message for you, but you hear whatever you want to hear. It is all your projection, your construction imposed on the sound of the wheels.

When the immense emptiness comes into being, it has its own sound, its own music. It is called the sound of the cosmic silence, it is called the anahat, the unstruck, the uncaused sound. It is not caused by anything. It is the aum. When you clap your hands, the sound of clapping is created by striking one hand against the other. This sound is caused; so is the sound of a drum which you beat with your hands. But meditation is a journey into silence; when all sounds disappear, when there is no duality, when you are utterly alone, then the causeless sound comes into being. India's sages have called it aum.

Variants of aum are found in other lands and languages. Christians use a word "amen" which is a variation of aum. Mohammedans also say "amin" which is the same. Every invocation of the Upanishads begins with aum and ends with "Aum shantih, shantih, shantih." A Mohammedan ends his prayer with the word Amin. This amin is also meaningless; it is the same sound of cosmic silence.

The English language has three words: omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent -- all of which are constituted with the word aum. Philologists may not be aware that omniscient means that one who has known the aum, omnipresent means the one who is present in the aum, and omnipotent means the one who has become as powerful as the aum.

The aum has been found in many forms all the world over. It is available in both the ancient sources of religion -- Hinduism and Judaism. If there is anything common between Hinduism and Jainism it is the aum. Aum occupies the same exalted place in Buddhism as in Jainism. It is the one universal word. Amin and aum are words that are not manmade; they have been heard in the depth of meditation. It is difficult to say which of the two, amin and aum, is the more authentic, but one thing is certain that they are one and the same. It is the ultimate sound. When all caused sounds disappear the uncaused aum comes into being. It is the cosmic sound.

Zen sages ask their disciples to go and find out the sound of one hand clapping. The sound of one hand clapping is something unheard of! This is Zen's own way of saying the same thing -- the anahat, the unstruck sound. So Zen Masters direct seekers to go in search of one hand clapping -- which really means the uncaused sound. Clapping with two hands make for sound, and one hand clapping is aum or amin.

Knowingly I did not give aum a place in our meditations. It is deliberate, because if you utter aum it is caused by you, it cannot be the uncaused aum. I wait for that real aum which will appear when you completely disappear. This aum will arise from your inmost depths, but it will not be caused by you: And Krishna is right in saying that if one comes to know aum rightly and lives aum with awareness till his last breath, he will attain to the ultimate. But this is not the aum that you will utter with your mouth; it will be a waste of efforts if you keep chanting aum at the time of your death. Then you will not even die peacefully.

The real aum is an explosion; it emerges from the depths of your innermost being. And it happens.

Let us now sit for meditation. And I hope you will now begin your journey to the real aum.

Don't talk, and sit at some distance from one another. Stop talking altogether, and leave some space between you and the other persons sitting next to you... Those who are just spectators should leave the compound and watch, if they want to, from the outside. Spectators should not remain inside the enclosure. Please move out.

I want you to sit at some distance from one another so that if someone falls down on the ground in the course of his meditation, he does not disturb his neighbors. There is enough space here, so you need not be miserly. Please spread out all over the place. Friends may fall down, and many are going to fall down, so make room for them. And don't think others will move, other's don't move. Each one of you has to move and make room for others.

Spectators are requested not to talk; they should remain completely silent so they don't cause any disturbance in meditation.

Before you begin please understand a few things rightly. You have to meditate in a sitting posture. This will be very useful and good.

For the first ten minutes we will breathe deeply. After ten minutes deep breathing your body will begin to shake; then allow it to shake freely. Someone will feel like shouting and screaming, another will feel like crying, Allow yourself to yell and cry without inhibition. After ten minutes, begin to ask yourself, "Who am l?n "Who am l?" This will continue for another ten minutes -- with the difference that you will do so sitting. If someone falls in the meantime, he should not worry about it, he should just fall down.

Inside the compound no one will keep his eyes open.

Now, fold your two palms together and utter this pledge, this resolve. "I resolve with God as my witness that I will bring all my energy to meditation."

"I resolve, with God as my witness, that I will bring all my energy to meditation."

"I resolve, with God as my witness, that I will bring all my energy to meditation."

Now, constantly remember your resolve, and remember that God remembers it.

For ten minutes breathe deeply. Deep breathing will stimulate and arouse a great deal of energy, a lot more than when you breathe standing... With the stroke of breaths the energy is bound to rise... and it will run through your body... electricity will run through the whole length of your body... Breathe with energy... Don't withhold yourselves. If the body shakes let it shake, let it tremble.

Breathe deeply and energetically. Energy is beginning to rise, let it. Breathe deeply and let energy rise. It is going well, very well. Let each one of you do his best, no one should lag behind... Energy is rising, allow it. Let the body do what it wants to do, but keep sitting.

Deep breathing, more deep breathing, still more deep breathing. Cooperate with your rising energy. Don't withhold yourselves. Breathe deeply.

Breathe deeply, breathe deeply, breathe very deeply. It is going well. More and more friends are being energized. Let your energy rise freely, don't hinder it. Let go of you. Hit your energy with deep breathing, deeper and deeper breathing.

Be blissful, be filled with joy and bliss... Breathe deeply and joyously... Breathe deeply and be blissful. Breathe deeply. more deeply, still more deeply. And rejoice.

Your bodies are getting electrified. Cooperate with your bodies... Breathe deeply and joyously. Be filled with bliss and breathe... breathe deeply.

Intensify breathing and bring greater and greater joy... Be joyous and breathe more deeply, still more deeply. Bring all your energy to breathing... Don't withhold. Be totally into it. Then we will enter the second stage. There are four minutes to go; put all your strength into it.

It is gaining momentum; cooperate with it fully. Exert your best. Sometimes one misses it just by a fraction of an inch, so bring all your energy into deep breathing. And breathe joyously, blissfully.

There are three minutes to go... Go ahead and ahead. Bring all your strength together and breathe deeply and joyously. Go inside your being, enter your interiority, and breathe deeply.

Energy is rising. Let go of you. Your bodies will shake and dance. Keep sitting and dance if you feel like dancing. You will feel as if you are not your body. Let it shake, let it tremble, let it dance. Don't hinder... Don't withhold... Breathe deeply and more deeply... Everything is going well... Keep breathing deeply. Let the body shake.

It is getting into the right momentum, bring all your energy with great joy and bliss. Only two minutes are left, breathe deeply... Breathe deeply and more deeply... When I say one, two, three, then put all your energy, every bit of your energy into it. Be filled with joy... Rejoice... breathe deeply and let the body shake.