Salvation in Kali Yuga. Swami Vankhandi Maharaj: Interviews, Satsangs, Teachings, Parables
a person can become anything they want.
As Tulsidas wrote in a chaupai in the «Ramcharitmanas,» the jiva cannot exist without a body, but Atma is free. There are many jivas, but our God is one. The jiva has only one path to break free – to turn to Atma and realize oneself as Atma. And then the jiva will become free even while in a living body. It will become independent of the body in which it lives. It can freely change its form and live through the body of an animal, bird, plant; it’s no longer necessary to be bound only to a human body. It is already independent of the five elements of the physical world and is free to exist in any body and any form it desires. It can take the body of a child, an old person, woman or man. It’s easy for it to do this because it becomes omnipresent.
But when the jiva considers itself a jiva and relates to itself as a jiva, it is bound to the specific body with which it identifies. It cannot break free beyond this body. But Atma is omnipresent, it has no barriers. It is indivisible, boundless, beyond time and pervades the entire Universe.
The most important thing is chintan, concentration of consciousness on Atma. If you constantly practice concentration of consciousness, there comes a moment when you approach the realization that you are Atma. You separate from the sensation of the body. There is a beetle, called bhringi in Hindi. It has an interesting characteristic. It doesn’t lay larvae itself. It picks up larvae of other beetle species, seals it completely in an earthen burrow, and sits on the surface nearby buzzing. All the «attention» of this captive larva ultimately becomes focused on this buzzing. Out of fear, it can’t concentrate on anything else. Under the influence of the sounds this beetle makes, the larva as it matures becomes an exact copy of the beetle and takes on the form of its species. When it grows wings, it emerges and flies away.
A person who is completely immersed in attention to the Divine gradually merges with the Divine, changes their appearance, acquires His features. You become what you constantly think about, what your attention is focused on.
There’s another story. This happened in Meerut. About 40—50 years ago. There lived a man, without father or mother. He earned his living by herding cows in nearby villages. Local residents would feed him. Once, while with the cows, he wandered deep into the forest and saw a rich ashram. Flowers grew in the ashram, and there was complete abundance. Seeing such prosperity, the poor man asked the head: «Babaji, tell me, what’s the secret of your wellbeing?» He replied: «God gives me everything.» The shepherd asked: «And how do you achieve this? Teach me, I’ll do the same.» Baba7 replied: «Just pray and think about God. It is God who fulfills all my desires.» Then this man stayed in the ashram and began to pray and meditate diligently. One day Swami asked: «Well, how are you doing, is your meditation working?» The man replied: «Babaji, as soon as I start meditating, the image of a cow appears before my eyes.» Babaji told him: «Well, that’s fine. Then meditate on the cow.» After a few days, the head inquired again: «Well, how is your meditation going?» And the poor man answers: «Babaji, everything is wonderful.» Then Swami says: «Well, if that’s so, enough sitting, come outside.» And the man replies: «I’d love to, but how can I get out? My horns get stuck in the doorway.»
This man merged with the object of his meditation and began to identify himself with the cow he was meditating on. What you think about, you become. Therefore, it’s important everywhere and always – sitting, standing, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing – to concentrate consciousness on Atma or on God’s Name, which is the same thing. A certain time will pass and a moment will come when you won’t say a word, but you’ll hear a voice – that very Name you’ve been repeating all this time will sound in your head. The object of your concentration, what you concentrate on, whose Name you focus your consciousness on, will answer you, will enter into interaction with you. You’ll only need to listen.
On the banks of the Narmada River, there once was an ashram. Everyone in the ashram lived by a strict schedule and always woke up at four in the morning. Once, some wandering sadhu settled in this ashram. He disregarded all rules and allowed himself to sleep until late. Soon all the disciples became indignant. They approached Swami: «Look, this man sleeps as much as he wants, does nothing, doesn’t practice and doesn’t follow our rules.»
Swami took a stick, woke up the sadhu and said:
«Why are you breaking the rules? Why are you still sleeping?»
«I’m not sleeping at all. It seems you’re the one who hasn’t woken up yet.»
«What do you mean not sleeping? How should we understand this?»
«I never sleep because I continuously practice japa. Here, listen.»
And he extended his palm. Swami listened, and the palm sang to him the Divine Name: «Ram-Ram.» The sadhu threw him the blanket he was covered with, and it was saturated with the same sound – Ram-Ram. This is how the great power of repeating God’s name manifests.
The energy of what you concentrate on will begin to emanate from you and from the objects you use, from the clothes you wear, even from the blanket you cover yourself with. Everything becomes filled with effulgence of this Name.
Ram Paramahansa could change the color of roses through the power of chintan, his focus on the Name. After his touch, any rose would become white.
Siddharth: Can we say that the meaning of human existence as jiva is to rid oneself of identification with the body?
Maharaj: Yes. Ideally, jiva should merge with Atma, identify with Atma and become jivatma. A jiva that concentrates all its attention on Atma becomes Atma. It becomes jivatma while still alive. And then – whether it remains in this body or manifests in another form – it will no longer be attached to this form. This is jivanmukti – liberated while alive. Jivanmukti is not attached to anything. No desires or attachments remain in them. They experience no lack because they no longer need anything. The jiva is like quenching its thirst and becomes blissful Tripta-Atma (completely self-sufficient Atma). When you drink your fill of water after exhausting thirst, you no longer want to drink more, and you experience complete satisfaction. Similarly, the jiva becomes saturated with the power of Atma and experiences complete satisfaction. It no longer needs anything else. There are no desires. One who dedicates themselves to sadhana, concentrating consciousness on the Divine Name, begins to change and ultimately will acquire the features of the Divine Name on which they concentrate. The crawling larva spreads its wings and flies out of captivity. Completely transformed. And all thanks to chintan, concentration of consciousness.
There’s nothing impossible here. The seeing one shall see. It’s like a mirror – put it in front of yourself – you’ll see your reflection. Turn it to the back side – you won’t see yourself. So it is here: one who doesn’t see themself, sees nothing. Know yourself, and you’ll know everything else.
Second Conversation: Chintan, Seva, Shaktipat
Organizing this second interview proved to be quite challenging. Maharaj was always busy with something – either household work, or conversations with devotees who had come from Delhi for a day to see him… or with something completely unfathomable – sitting before an open fire in his room. It seemed that he had no desire at all to impart any teaching and that he considered this kind of knowledge transmission ineffective. And why? Through the very power of his presence and the precision and refinement of actions flowing from this power, this sage transmits the necessary knowledge without words to all those who are capable of receiving it. Through every movement and manifestation – through gaze, action, word (even if it concerns something completely mundane). He teaches unintentionally. (In many spiritual traditions, it is considered important not so much to talk as to simply be in the presence of saints – the mind becomes infected, saturated with their light and thus purified from accumulated «darkness». Moreover, «being in the presence of a saint» doesn’t necessarily mean «meditating in the presence of a saint.» It rather means simply being nearby, serving