Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 06.01.2019 evening, Sofia)

Welcome everybody! Although I am a guest, I would like to greet all of you. And first of all I have to excuse myself, because although I have been visiting your country for quite some time, I don’t really speak your language. But beware, I understand a lot. I have learned something, which will sound familiar to you: ‘Крушата не пада по-далече от дървото’. Maybe my pronunciation is very funny. But you know, proverbs have a deep meaning. Because we are all spiritual practitioners, right? And we are like fallen pears in this world. We are somehow separated from our real origin, from our real home. But fortunately, we are not very far from the original tree. We can say that perfection is much closer than what we would expect. 

And actually in Hungary, because I come from Hungary, we have the same proverb, but in a little different version: ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’. And usually, when a baby is born, in the old times they planted a tree. For a boy they planted an apple tree and for a girl they planted a pear tree. And in that sense you are more advanced, because actually the soul is female. It’s a pear. But there was a third option as well – if the parents wanted to bring up their child as a monk, then they planted a walnut tree. 

Тhis is, you know, like a folk tradition. Nevertheless, for us, it can tell a story. Because I consider a person spiritual if he can understand, explain and relate everything to the Spirit. And spiritual success in my opinion is a question of consciousness, not of any other external conditions. Therefore, we need to develop our consciousness. And in that sense, we all need our walnut trees. Because if you crack this hard walnut, inside you find a replica of the brain. So again, that will tell us: develop your consciousness. 

That much about my fluent Bulgarian. And I feel very honored to be here with you. And I’m sure that for many years this place will serve the real satisfaction of the heart and soul, santosha. 

In this beautiful Indian tradition, if in a philosophical debate you have to prove something, you have to refer to three authorities. One is the evidence of the revealed scriptures, to the Upanishads, the secret teachings. This is called the shruti-prasthana. Shruti is ‘the revealed scriptures’, prasthana is ‘the reference’.

The second authority that you have to refer to is the Bhagavad Gita. This is practically the most important and most well-known scripture from India – let’s say, the Bible of the Hindus; everything that is necessary for our spiritual development is included there. And as it is a part of the Mahabharata, therefore it is called the smriti-prasthana, or ‘the reference of the sacred tradition’. 

And also, there is another, a third reference, because if you are in a philosophical conversation or a debate, you must apply your logic. So, the third one is a logical reference, a reference of logic. And this third source of information is the Vedanta Sutra. One is more important than the other. The reference from the revealed scriptures, the reference from the sacred tradition and the reference from logical analysis – all should support your point, and then you win the debate. 

(to be continued)