Ramayana_VOLUME V with index

Ramayana: A Divine Drama – Vol. V
object. The questions “How did it emerge” “Wherefrom did It originate”
are exactly on a par with the question, “How did the “serpent” appear on
the “rope” and cause the “terror” Only the rope exists there; the serpent
was imposed thereon, during dusk, by the defective intellect of the
onlooker. That is to say, on account of the illusion created by reasoning. In
other words, ignorance is the basis of the misapprehension.
Brahmam is the “rope”; Jagath is the “serpent” superimposed on it by
Reason afflicted by illusion. We cognise Brahmam as Jagath; we take one
thing as another, so long as this affliction holds sway. Therefore, it is best
to conclude that the Jagath is an object which originated in our own
Buddhi (Intellect) and emerged out of the same faulty faculty. An object
born of such a delusion and confirmed by only an infirm intellect can
never be true. When the delusion goes, when the infirmity disappears, the
Jagath so caused also disappears. (Sathya Sai Vahini p.161-162)
In the Yoga-Vashishta, Sage Vashishta says, “Oh Rama, the boundless
ocean can be drunk dry by man with great ease. The enormous Sumera
mountain can be plucked from the face of the earth, with great ease. The
flames of a huge conflagration can be swallowed with great ease. But
controlling the mind is far more difficult than all these.” Therefore, if one
succeeds in overwhelming the mind, one achieves the awareness of the
Atma. This success can result only when one undergoes many ordeals and
denials. The bliss that one earns afterwards is the highest kind of
happiness. As the fruition of all Sadhana one is established in the perfect
equanimity of unruffled consciousness (Nirvikalpa Samadhi) and the
Ananda that fills him is indescribable. It is ambrosial, equal to the nectar
of immortality. Nirvikalpa means the state of consciousness when it is
devoid of thought. This state can be reached through appropriate Sadhana.
It is of two natures: Non dual in full experience and the state of nonduality
when dual thought ends. The first takes man beyond the triune of
Knower, the Known and Knowledge; and he is aware only of the Cosmic
Intelligence of Brahman (This is Adwaitha Bhavana). The second stage is
reached when all the attributes ascribed to God and man merge in the ONE
which embraces the Cosmos and all its contents (This is Adwaitha Sthayi
or Adwaitha Avastha). (Vidya Vahini p.64)
Women can, by spiritual practice (sadhana), attain that unwavering
unequalled auspicious Brahman; this is made clear in the Yoga-Vashishta
and in the Puranas. (Dharma Vahini p.57)
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