Flame Waves from the Upanishad-Sea, part I
by Sri Chinmoy
at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Transliteration:
"Aum bhur bhuvah svah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah pracodayat."
Translation:
We meditate on the transcendental glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky, and inside the soul of the heaven. May He stimulate and illumine our minds.
Comment:
Illumination needed; here is the answer. Transcendental illumination transforms the animal in us, liberates the human in us, and manifests the Divine in us.
Transliteration:
"Purnam adah, purnam idam, purnat purnam udacyate.
Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate."
Translation:
Infinity is that.
Infinity is this.
From Infinity, Infinity has come into existence.
From Infinity, when Infinity is taken away, Infinity remains.
Comment:
Infinity is the concealed Breath of the Pilot Supreme.
Infinity is the revealed Life of the Supreme’s Boat.
Infinity is the fulfilled Body of the Goal Supreme.
Transliteration:
"Asato ma sad gamaya
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
Mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya."
Translation:
Lead me from the unreal to the Real.
Lead me from darkness to Light.
Lead me from death to Immortality.
Comment:
The unreal in us desires the pleasure-life of the finite. The Real in us aspires for the God-Life of the Infinite.
Darkness is the discoverer of the doubting and frustrated mind. Light is the discoverer of the aspiring and dedicated heart.
Death — where is the cat? Miaowing nowhere. Immortality — where is the lion? Roaring all-where.
Transliteration
Anor aniyam mahato mahiyan
Atmasya jantor nihito guhayam.
Translation
Smaller than the smallest life, larger than the infinite Vast,
The soul breathes in the secret heart of man.
Comment
The soul is God’s eternal child and man’s great-grandfather.
As God’s eternal child the soul unceasingly plays.
As man’s eternal grandfather the soul perpetually enjoys rest.
Transliteration
"Vedaham etam purusam mahantam
Aditya-varnam tamasah parastat."
Translation
I have known this Great Being, effulgent as the sun beyond the boundaries of tenebrous gloom.
Comment
Before our realisation this Great Being quenched our heart’s thirst.
After our realisation we feed the soul’s hunger of this Great Being.
Transliteration
Satyam eva jayate.
Translation
Truth alone triumphs.
Comment
Truth is God’s Crown offered to God by God Himself.
Truth realised, God is forever caught.
Transliteration
"Devebhyah kam avrnita mrtyum
Prajayai kam amrtam navrnita."
Translation
For the sake of the gods, he (Brihaspati) chose death.
He chose not Immortality for the sake of man.
Comment
Brihaspati houses the flowing life of the gods and treasures the glowing love of man.
Transliteration
"Uru nastanve tan
Uru ksayaya naskrdhi
Uru no yandhi jivase"
Translation
For our body give us freedom.
For our dwelling give us freedom.
For our life give us freedom.
Comment
God’s Compassion is the freedom of our body. God’s Concern is the freedom of our dwelling. God’s Love is the freedom of our life.
Transliteration
"Agnir jyotir jyotir Agnir
Indro jyotir jyotir Indrah
Surye jyotir jyotih Suryah."
Translation
Agni is Light and the Light is Agni.
Indra is Light and the Light is Indra.
Surya is Light and the Light is Surya.
Comment
Light is Love revealed.
Light is Life manifested.
Light is God fulfilled.
Transliteration
Anandadd hy eva khalv imani bhutani jayante Anandena jatani jivantiAnandam prayantyabhisam visanti
Translation
From Delight we came into existence.
In Delight we grow.
At the end of our journey’s close, into Delight we retire.
Comment
God has written an open letter to His human children. His letter runs: “My sweetest children, you are the only delight of My universal Existence.”
Transliteration
"Hiranmayena patrena satyasyapihitam mukham;
Tat tvam, pusan, apavrnu, satya-dharmaya drstaye."
Translation
The Face of Truth is covered with a brilliant golden orb. Remove it, O Sun, so that I who am devoted to the Truth may behold the Truth.
Comment
The Face of Truth awakens us.
The Eye of Truth feeds us.
The Heart of Truth builds us.
Transliteration
"Saha nau avatu, saha nau bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai."
Translation
May He protect us together.
May He own us together.
May He make unto us vigour and virility.
Comment
God, Guru, and disciple:
God is Compassion and Protection;
Guru is Concern;
The disciple is dedication.
When these three work together, perfect Perfection shines, and it will shine through eternity.
Transliteration
"Yenaham namrta syam
Kim aham tena kuryam"
Translation
What shall I do with the things that cannot make me immortal?
Comment
God is eternally proud of man because he embodies God’s Immortality.
Transliteration
Madhuman me parayanam Madhumat punarayanam.
Translation
Sweet be my departure from home.
Sweet be my return.
Comment
My sweet departure from my eternal home has made me feel how brave I am.
My sweet return to my eternal home shall make me feel how fortunate I am.
Published in The Upanishads: The Crown of India's Soul
Love Human, Love Divine, Love Supreme
A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at the State University of New York, at Purchase
Dear seekers, dear sisters and brothers, I wish to give a short talk on love. Love is most significant in our human life, in our earthly existence. Love is life, life is love.
Love human, love divine and love supreme. Human love wants to possess and be possessed by the world. Divine love wants to establish its inseparable oneness with the world and then it wants to divinely enjoy this oneness. Supreme Love transforms human love into divine love and blesses divine love with boundless joy and divine pride.
Fear and doubt quite often torture human love. Cheerfulness and confidence increase and support divine love. Perfection and satisfaction fulfil Supreme Love. This perfection is continuous progress and continuous self-transcendence. This satisfaction is something that each individual needs in his eternal journey towards the ever-transcending Reality-Height.
Human love is nothing but incapacity. If we dive deep within human love, then we see clearly that it is weak and impotent. Divine love is capacity. Slowly and steadily it wins the race. There comes a time when human love becomes transformed into divine love. When divine love wins the race, it is not filled with pride. It shares its success cheerfully and soulfully with the transformed human love. Supreme Love, out of its infinite bounty, grants divine love the boon of transforming humanity and, at the same time, living in the boundless immortal Consciousness. Supreme Love is the endless Reality which always transcends and the immortal Vision which always illumines the earth-consciousness and Heaven-consciousness.
Human love craves for a satisfactory result. Then, when it does not get a satisfactory result, it is doomed to disappointment. It sinks into a chasm where it finds something quite unknown, a stranger: despair. Despair soon is devoured by frustration and this frustration eventually devours human love itself.
Divine love makes a soulful attempt at reaching the goal. It does not pray for or long for the result as such. Its aim is to make a soulful attempt and then it leaves everything in the blessingful care of the Supreme Pilot. It says to the Inner Pilot, “It is up to You to give me success or failure, which is only an experience. I wish to please You, O Supreme, in Your own Way.” This is divine love.
Supreme Love unconditionally gives and gives. What does it give? Compassion in infinite measure, Love in infinite measure, Peace in infinite measure. It depends on the individual to receive its boundless Compassion, Light, Peace and Bliss according to his soul’s receptivity. According to his life’s progress, the individual receives these immortal treasures from above.
Human love says to the world, “I love you; therefore I have the supreme authority to strike you and punish you if and when necessity demands.” Divine love says to the world, “I love you; therefore I feel that it is my bounden duty to perfect you so that you can become a perfect instrument of the Supreme Pilot.” Supreme Love says to the world, “I love you; therefore I feel at every moment a constant necessity in My cosmic Vision and in My cosmic Reality to claim you as My own, very own. I also wish for you, too, to claim Me as your own, very own, at every moment here on earth and there in Heaven.”
Slowly, steadily and gradually human love decreases; and finally it dies. Slowly, steadily and unerringly divine love increases in the aspiring humanity; and then it flies. Compassionately, ceaselessly and unconditionally Supreme Love always remains the boundless sky. From there it guides and illumines the aspiring humanity and illumining divinity.
A doubtful mind, a suspicious mind, an insecure mind is quite often visible in human love. A soulful heart, a climbing heart, a glowing heart is always visible in divine love. A fruitful life, within and without, is eternally visible in Supreme Love.
Imagination reigns supreme in human love. With imagination human love starts its journey and at its journey’s end again it sees imagination. It sees the soul, the body, the vital, the mind, even the goal itself as imagination.
Conviction paramount, conviction illumining, conviction fulfilling always reigns supreme in divine love. This conviction is the soul’s Reality-Light that illumines the entire world. It is this conviction that divine love offers to the seekers of the absolute Truth. This conviction is the treasure-reality which, at the beginning, belongs to the Ultimate Source and which the Ultimate Source offers to the soul to share with aspiring mankind.
Compassion eternal reigns supreme in Supreme Love. This Compassion is the Supreme’s highest Power, deepest Peace and brightest Light. He offers His infinite and immortal Reality to us unconditionally and we receive it according to our inner capacity and our outer receptivity.
Love of the limited self, the very limited self, is another name for human love. Love of the entire world is another name for divine love. A cheerful, beckoning Hand the Supreme offers to divine love for earth’s illumination, salvation and perfection. Love of the limited, unaspiring, desiring, binding and blinding human in us and the unlimited, eternally aspiring, self-giving divine in us is another name for Supreme Love.
In the process of evolution, each individual starts with animal love, love that destroys. Gradually this animal love makes progress. It receives an iota of light and changes its consciousness. Then it goes into human love, which is the song of possession, the song of doubt and insecurity. Eventually this doubtful existence is transformed into faithful existence; this life of insecurity becomes a life of security and confidence. For human love grows into divine love, which feels its identification and oneness with God’s entire creation. Divine love is finally transformed or given the golden opportunity to grow into Supreme Love, which is Infinity’s Perfection and Eternity’s Satisfaction. This is how each individual walks along Eternity’s road to reach the ever-transcending and ever-fulfilling Goal.
Published in Sri Chinmoy Speaks, part 4