Sharanagati

(from a talk on man’s roles with Swami Tirtha, 13.08.2018, Ludashto)

(continues from the previous Friday)

A general advice concerning all the different topics of relationships, whether this is husband and wife, friends, partners, whatever… a general rule is: don’t try to dominate, try to serve! I think it’s a nice piece of advice, but very difficult to practice when somebody wants to dominate over us. ‘Alright, I don’t try to dominate over others, but others want to dominate over me, so I resist.’ And then the fight begins. Then all the conflicts will manifest. When you are sitting alone in your armchair and you are a very elevated armchair philosopher, you will have no problems. But as soon as somebody enters your room, he will disturb your highest meditation. So if you expose yourself to relationships, if you have to tolerate others, then you are really put to a test.

I think life is an experience of meetings. Life is a meeting of people. And as we, individual beings, are constructed from different elements, you can meet people on different platforms. Tell me some layers, some levels of meeting.

Ramvijay: So, body relationship, mind, feelings, emotions, desires, ambitions.

Swami Tirtha: If we want to sum up these different layers of our existence, there are basically three types of association: when the egos meet; when the bodies meet; and when the hearts meet. What happens if the egos meet? If the egos meet, then it is a fight. So, the result of the meeting of the egos is conflict. What happens if the bodies meet?

Ramvijay: Expansion. Multiplication.

Another devotee: Yin energy and yan energy, balance, harmony, spiritual development.

Swami Tirtha: The balance comes later. The basic result when bodies meet is pleasure. What happens if the hearts meet? What is the result?

Answers: Love. Friendship. The sound OM. Timelessness. Fulfilment. Service.

Swami Tirtha: So when the hearts meet, basically there is an emotional contact, there is a feeling of union. How do you say that in Sanskrit?

Ramvijay: Yoga.

Swami Tirtha: Correct, if the hearts meet, this is yoga. How you say ‘pleasure’ in Sanskrit?

Devotee: Bhoga.

Swami Tirtha: Correct – bhoga. And what happens if the egos meet? How you say that loss of energy? That’s a diseased state of being. Disease, what is disease?

Ramvijay: Roga.

Swami Tirtha: Roga – disease. So, if in any relationship the egos meet, the result is roga. This is a diseased state of relationship and brings a loss of energy. Then all the shortcomings, all the mistakes, all the frictions are there. It’s a loss of energy, therefore we say it’s a diseased state of consciousness. If the bodies meet, the result is bhoga – enjoyment. In this way, if you unite the bodies, you can achieve enjoyment. But you have to turn bhoga into prasadam. And when the hearts meet, the result is yoga – harmonious connection that will uplift you. Have you been in love really? When you feel like flying?

Baladev: That’s not love!

Swami Tirtha: That’s an illusion, yeah, we know.

Baladev: This is like falling in love.

Swami Tirtha: Alright, alright. Don’t kill my dreams… So, that uplifts you, gives you the feeling of elevation. We know this is an illusion and the optimists, they say ‘Oh, it’s very short, it lasts only a few years’. The pessimists will say ‘It lasts a few months’. And the realists will say ‘A few days, a few weeks’. But that’s not so important. So roga, bhoga, yoga; disease, enjoyment or real connection – you have to decide what you want. Is there anything beyond?

Devotee:  There is the eternal spirit.

Swami Tirtha: Correct! So – if the souls meet. What is the result if the souls meet, if you find your soulmate? If you associate on the spiritual plane with your partner? This is prema, divine love.

Baladev: And that’s love.

Swami Tirtha: Yes! Spiritual association is for this purpose. So that we can appreciate and help each other, improve and come closer to this utmost spiritual ideal.

(to be continued)