Sharanagati

Collected words from talks of Swami Tirtha




(continues from the previous issue)

Buddhi-yoga, connection with intelligence – sounds weird! We feel that it is not enough. We need a special type of understanding and the special type of understanding is surcharged with this loving mood. There are two ways to understand, for example, a human being, to know a person. Which are these two ways?

Premananda: Through intelligence and through feelings. Through analysis, intelligence, observing or through feelings, through love.

Tirtha Maharaj: We can agree that there is this analytic process and the other is emotional process. Which is higher?

Manohari: I think the feelings.

Tirtha Maharaj: Yes. But feelings include two types of feelings. One is positive and the other is negative: through love and through hate you can understand a person. Just try to remember when you really hated someone so much that he was on your mind all the time. And you started to see very special features of that person. All mistakes you could recognize and identify. Even something beyond his qualities, right? You gave some new qualities to the person. It is a very intensive way to understand something – hate. Is that objective? Not so much. The picture might be precise, but little false. Let’s take the other way – love. You start to know the person – and again you will give some new features, extra features which don’t exist in him or in her. Is that objective? Again not. This loving picture is also not objective. Still which one we are more ready to accept? Picture distorted by love. There is no objectivity.

And here it is also included. “I give them such an intelligence, which is distorted by love.” Because “if those, who are connected to Me and who worship Me – if they will understand that I am God Supreme – how can they come to Me?” This connection is very far. Once someone expressed his gratitude to Sadhu Maharaj. And he said: “O baba! Why you put me so very far away from you?” To say “thanks” that means a distance. That means a respectful connection. It is objective. Because objectively observing one is superior, the other is more insignificant. But if our buddhi, our intelligence is surcharged with love, then we are ready to forget about the greatness. Because it is said: in order to come closer to Krishna we have to forget that He is God. At the first steps, of course, we have to learn, we have to understand that He is God. Second step – forget about it. Understanding of majesty is called aishvarya-gyata. But it is distant. Yet this distorted by love, more affectionate vision will bring you closer. Yena mam upayanti te – “they will come to Me, through this they will come to Me.”

Sometimes Krishna speaks officially, like God: “Everything comes from Me, I am the ultimate source…” But sometimes He forgets about His role. “Mam – they will come to Me.” Not to the Brahman, not to the Supreme, but “they will come to Me as a cowherd boy.” Not to general God conception, not to the Creator, but you can come to the Lover. So from the general conception we come to the specific, personal concept of God.  And this shows that there is only one way to Krishna and this is any type of way, but surcharged with divine love.

Yet again, how is it that someone who is always connected, satata-yuktanam, he “will come to Me”? How is that possible? If someone is already connected, how will they “come to Me”? It shows another grade of connection. More intensity is manifested there. You can be conscious of Krishna and you can love Him. Therefore this special element in this verse, which is higher than the previous ones, is this priti-purvakam – surcharged with emotion. If we practice bhakti then we can come very close to Krishna. This is not only a meditation, but this is a loving embrace. These are not simply thoughts, but this is hankering. This is unity and separation, meeting and separation. All right, meeting we can understand. Some buddhi  is also included, but basically you can meet with priti, with your affection. Yet how can you tolerate separation? Separation you cannot explain emotionally. To tolerate it, not to die on the spot, you have to step back from the plane of emotions and you have to come down to intelligence. So a little buddhi-yoga is necessary to tolerate separation. Then again you come with some explanations – at least to satisfy your thunderous heart and soul. That means: without pain you cannot attain. The sweet part comes from priti and the composed, controlled part comes from buddhi.

But anyway, whatever you offer to Krishna it should be with some decent taste. We should use both: feelings and intelligence. Feelings to approach and intelligence to be separated; or to explain, to tolerate being separated. So without pain we cannot attain.



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