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Q. Well, those who do tapasya and who have acquired punya (merit), find the way to their salvation through their own sadhanA.They have no anxiety for their future. But please tell me how can salvation come to a man like myself who is lowly and is a sinner and who is bereft of all sadhana which can lead to salvation. I am lower than the lowliest, I am without any means of salvation.
A. Alright, please listen to me. To whatever depth you may have fallen, you need not fear; you still have a way of escape. Hear what the rishis have said:
— If a person is bereft of all means of salvation, if he is completely under the power of his senses, if he habitually gives trouble to others, if he has no knowledge of the shastras and has no vairagya, if he does not observe Brahmacharya and if he has discarded all religions, even then if he simply meditates on Sri Bhagwan’s Naam, he acquires such gati (final state) which even pious men do not get.
Q. I cannot follow you. How does a singer of Naam rise to a higher state than the virtuous man?
A.A man’s success has four aspects — Dharma, Artha (money and prosperity), Kama (desire) and Moksha (liberation). The virtuous follow the path of dharma and go to heaven. The heaven is also of different types. If he has done good Punya, he goes to a good heaven. If he has done merit of a second class only, he goes to the heaven of a second class and if has done small Punya, he goes to a heaven of the lower order. But when his Punya ends, he has to be reborn on this earth and has to undergo suffering from one generation to another. But the singer of Naam sacrifices both sin and merit. By hearing Naam constantly, Mother (Kundalini) awakes. Then she starts singing and dancing, emanating light both in the inside and the outside of the singer. (She comes in form of Nada.) The singer of Naam then goes on hearing this spontaneous singing by Mother. In the brilliant light of Mother’s body, the singer sees the Devajana — the road to Vaikunth A.At the time of departing from this life, he discards his outer frame by the outlet of Brahma Randhra and this liberated soul goes along the Devajana where he is worshipped by the gods and finally arrives at Vaikuntha, at the feet of Sri Bhagwan. Bhagwan then lifts him up and endears him. Therefore, the virtuous person and the singer of Naam do not have the same gati (or end).
Q. Does it mean that the bhakta can shed all his anxiety once he has been able to arouse Mother Shakti by singing Naam?
A.Yes; once that happens, the rest follows automatically.
— When a yogi’s shakti (Kundalini) has been awakened and all his work has ended, his mukta state follows without any effort on his part.
Q. Suppose a person’s Shakti has been awakened, but still his mind and sight remain unsteady, will, in his case, the awakening of the Kundalini be of no use?
A.No, why should it be useless?
— Even if the mind strays to other objects and the sight goes to other directions, the yoga of the yogis goes on in an unbroken way.
Q. These are all descriptions of yoga. But the pure bhakta does not want them.
A.He gets them even if he does not want to. But who is not a yogi? Bhagawan Shankara, Devarshi Narada, Bhagawan Brahma, Ananta, Munis like Sanaka, Sunanda etc. Vasishtha, Vyasa, Shuka, Kapila, Manu, Prahlada, Janaka, Bhishma, Yama etc. who had the knowledge of bhagwata dharma and who were all bhaktas were all yogis as well.
Q. Then what is the distinction between the pure bhakta and the yogi?
A.According to common parlance, the word yogi is used to signify a person who practices Ashtanga Yoga. But in reality, every sadhaka is a yogi. When the sadhaka crosses the barrier of Vaikhari and stays steady in Madhyama, he is entitled to be called a yogi.
— By keeping a watchful eye on your unsteady mind with the help of your purified mind, always be immersed in yoga. If you watch your mind by your purified mind, you will gradually see all the ten Pratyayas (variations).
Q. What are ten Pratyayas?
A. ‘Bindu’, ‘Nada’, ‘Jyoti’ etc. are of different varieties. There is common ‘Jyoti’, then sun–like ‘Jyoti’, then moon-like ‘Jyoti’, Dhruva star-like ‘Jyoti’, then the tranquil pure sky and beyond that is ‘Para Brahma’.
Q. Many people see these. Are they all Jogishwara?
A.Sometimes the Jyoti comes in bits and then disappears. Those who are overwhelmed with pleasure at seeing such Jyoti and go about talking to others, lose the real benefit of Jyoti. The aim is to attain steady Jyoti. One who has seen the ten Pratyayas and stays steady in these can be called a Jogishwara.
Q. All these are matters of yoga, which is far to reach. Who is called the pure bhakta?
A.Those who are engaged only in hearing and singing Naam are pure bhaktas.
— He, who always hears and sings Hari Leela with devotion, is a Maha-Bhagwat, is a purifier of other people and he is a Maha Purusha (great man) who leads others to salvation.
Q. What is that bhakti called which grows from hearing and singing Naam?
A.It is Prema-mayi bhakti (i.e., bhakti full of love).
— If one gives up enjoyment of material pleasures and other attachments too and spends his time always in hearing about and singing Hari-Leela, then the bhakti that grows out of it is Premamayi and is the best of all kinds of bhakti.
Q. Does a bhakta, through hearing and singing Naam, achieve the same perception as a yogi does through his Ashtanga Yoga?
A.There are different types of yogis. Those who think of God in order to attain Asmprajta Samadhi, God gives them that type of samadhi. But in case of those who do Ashtanga Yoga in order to get Him, the loving God makes them one with Him. They become full of love. But there are others who only hear and sing Naam and start getting sattvika perceptions. Then they attain premamayi bhakti and become Sri Hari’s own.
Q. Then the person who sings Naam gradually becomes Param Prema –yogi?
A.Yes. He, who sings Naam loudly in vaikhari, is a Kirtan-yogi. He, who does japa of the mantra in madhyama, is a Mantra-yogi. When in the course of japa, Jyoti appears, then the person who concentrates on the Jyoti becomes a Hatha-yogi; when Nada and Bindu come to him, he becomes a Laya-yogi. He who wants Nirvana can become Raja-yogi by holding steadily on to Nada. But in case of a person who wants to get the Premamaya God himself, He comes out from the Jyoti playing on His flute and lifts him up to His chest. That person becomes a Prema-yogi.
Q. In Jyoti, does a person see God in the same way as he sees another person face to face? Does God talk to him?
A.Yes; one can see God in the same way and he speaks in the same way.
Q. Does one have to imagine this or is it real?
A.No, one does not have to imagine anything. That place is beyond the mind and the mind cannot travel there. He comes Himself and gives darshan and blessings.
Q. May I ask again if He gives darshan to even those who engage themselves only in hearing and singing Naam?
A.I swear to you that He gives darshan to such people also. I repeat this with all emphasis. He does give darshan.
Sing Naam, Sing Naam —
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
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