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SRUTI - PAM's Encyclopedia

Waiting is also a sort of intense remembrance which is greatly beneficial to spirituality. A poet too has written, “The delight which I found in waiting for the beloved I could not have in the meeting.” (SS-294)

WAKE UP (AWAKEN)

It is owing to my profound attachment with humanity that I lay down the feelings of my heart to be bubbled up into the hearts of my fellow-beings, the very part and parcel of my own being, in order to make every heart over-flooded with peace and bliss. My heart remains connected with you all, here and elsewhere, giving impulse in unbroken silence to affect the hearts naturally in due course. But it is for every living soul to wake up to his spiritual needs for the realisation of the Ultimate. (SDG-136)

WARNINGS

It is a matter of pity that I find all my warnings going unheeded; few seem to be trying to develop that amount of capability in themselves. The whole atmosphere is surcharged with the strongest Divine force. Can liberation ever be so easy and cheap? It is definitely the time when everyone should give his entire attention to it, setting aside all other things and feelings. I do not thereby mean to induce you to give up your worldly living, discarding everything including your responsibilities and obligations, but only to give yourself up to your master in a spirit of surrender, availing of the time as best as you can. (SS-56)

WARP AND WOOF

The philosophy involved in it {Commandment 8} starts from materiality and ends in the final state we all have to arrive at. A happy disposition is a state which percolates its effect upon the lower layers and purifies them. This is a state which may aptly be taken as that next to the Divine. Fixing our thought on it means taking into account that which is our final goal. In other words, we begin from the point beyond which remains but That alone. This is the warp and woof which has been interwoven by Nature herself. We may call it as a material aspect of Nature, though materiality be only for name’s sake, which reveals the nature of the Real Being. The word materiality is used for it only because, after all, it comes into the human conception. Possibly men may misunderstand it as a veil of Maya but that would not be correct. This is in fact the state which pervades the entire sphere of Maya. (BWS-162)

WAYS AND MEANS

Please see MEANS, METHODS.

WEAKNESS

I have studied your inner condition as far as I could, and I find there the healthy signs of improvement. There are no doubt a few complexities there, but they shall be easily removed if you go on with your practice. If you happen to trace out any weakness in yourself please think it to be mine and be bold and go in with your practice. The responsibility shall thus be shifted to me and you shall be relieved of its effect. This is quite easy to do. Do it and watch the results. Usually the intricate methods applied for the purpose often make matters far worse and more complicated. Realisation is a very simple thing which can be attained only by simplest means. (SS-50,51)

WILL

It is an admitted fact that a boat cannot ply direct to the destination unless the helm is applied to it. Treating this human form as a boat and the space it is plying in as the ocean of spirituality, it is but essential to put up the helm in order to be able to ply through the storming ocean successfully. In the spiritual field the helm is our strong willpower which helps us to steer on to the destination. There may certainly be countless whirls at places, but the strength of our will and confidence helps us to overcome all of them and proceed on straight to the destination. Now since our eye is fixed upon spirituality, we take up the ideal which is the highest and which can be nothing but that associated directly with the Absolute. Thus to reach the Infinite Absolute is one of the primary duties of man. But so long as the goal is not fixed in one’s thought it is very difficult to complete the journey successfully. (BWS-145,146)

Generally people go hesitatingly towards God, thinking themselves to be too incapable and weak to achieve the real thing. A powerful will made at the very first step and maintained all through, shall never fail to achieve complete success. Half the distance is crossed if a man enters the field with a firm mind. Difficulties and dejections will melt away at a mere glance and the path of success will be made smooth. Indecisive attitude leads to half-hearted efforts and generally results in mere partial success or more often in failure. Our firm will enables us, automatically to draw in power from unknown sources, for the accomplishment of the task. A firm will supplemented by an ever-increasing impatience or yearning to achieve the object will enhance the force of our effort and we shall thereby remain in constant touch with the same real thing, catching every hint conducive to our spiritual well-being and progress. (BWS-206,207)

It is really surprising that some people consider themselves to be too weak for practice, while actually they are not so. An ordinary man has within him the same power and the same soul- force that a saint has. The only difference between them is that the sage has torn off the covering round his soul while the others is just like a silkworm in the cocoon. And if one resolves firmly to throw off these Coverings no power on earth can stop him. What is required for spiritual growth of man is only an iron will. When it is there, the goal is just in sight. If you have these two things there can be absolutely no chance of failure. A powerful will once made is enough for the sure attainment of the Real. Half the distance is crossed when a man enters the field with a firm will. Nothing can then stand in his way. So please give up dwelling upon the false notion that you cannot reach the goal. Be firm like a rock and success is sure to dawn by itself. Faith in the guide of course counts for much. (SS-49,50)

When we start practising, and are in quest of our ultimate goal, we fix upon that which seems helpful to us in our pursuit. We consequently begin to imagine that everything depends upon God's will, so that we may remain connected with it. It gradually develops into closeness and attachment, which in true sense, means the beginning of layavastha or merging. For that we practise love, devotion and all other means conducive to our purpose. We can as well say that our free will extends so far as our limited sphere goes, and God's will extends as far as His unlimited sphere goes. We cannot profess our will to be the same as that of God until we shatter our limitations and bondages. This is our real pursuit, and we do it in order to secure merging with Reality. This topic is dealt with in another book ‘Towards Infinity'. In it I have explained how, after losing his individuality, a man can become identical with Brahma. The relation between God's and man's will may be expressed in the way that when we look to the former (that is God's will) the greater thing begins to attract the lesser thing. We begin to dwell in a state of non-duality when we become one with Him, the Absolute, after shattering all our limitations. But we start from duality and after marching on finally come to non-duality automatically. (SS-245,246)

Will is connected with the mental plane because you begin to act mentally, thinking of the goal in view, and this continues till the end. It goes on getting new life in every region. It acts quickly to the extent it is pure and becomes free from doubts. That is, its potency goes on increasing. Now, its actions are effective in any of the worldly spheres called Mahamaya. Afterwards it is turned into the pure original form, a jewel indeed. Reaching this level, it becomes very easy for a man to transport any one from one spiritual plane to the other within no time. (SS-66,67)

One on the path of spirituality should necessarily be as light in mind and spirit as possible. He should be free from even the weight of the feeling of what he is after. This is in fact the real secret of a strong will which I disclose to you today. In such a case, whatever thought gets settled in shall have its action. Permanency in this state is an attainment of a high order. (SS-518,519)

Most of the brothers and sisters assembled here today have, in some way or the other, a lurking desire in their minds to achieve God or the Ultimate. When one has got a mind and a strong sincere desire to reach the state of Realisation, he will surely get the means to take him to the state of Realisation. The maxim goes `Where there is a will there is a way'. (SDG-64)

I may assure you that you can win laurels in the spiritual field if only you turn your attention towards God and proceed with will, faith, and confidence, no matter how adversely you may be placed in, surrounded by all the worries and miseries of a house-hold life. (SS-68)

WISDOM

For every grain of knowledge the wisdom required must be at least ten times greater. If that much of wisdom is there, the goal shall definitely be in our view and we shall be inspired more and more to proceed on into the sphere of Reality. (SDG-96)

Abhyasis should imitate with wisdom the good things or good actions of the trainers. (SS-21)

Much praise has been sung of a naked sword although its function is to cut. Now, it requires the brain to use it, so that it may strike the enemy and not the friend or self. (SS-244)

WONDER

Please see PHILOSOPHY.

WORKSHOP

The world is a living image of God in which his power is working all through. The huge workshop of Nature is fitted with all the necessary equipment needed for the work. The power is running from the centre to keep the machines in motion. There is a separate set of machines for each type of work. The power is rolling on but without any awareness of its intention, purpose or events, giving out finally the prescribed results in a routine way. It does not mind an intrusion, obstruction or accident that might happen to come in the way from any outside cause, or by the effect of defective working of any of its parts. For efficient working of the machinery it is therefore essential that all its parts are in order and that none of them is loose or defective. For this, there are subordinate functionaries at work in the capacity of maistris, supervisors and controllers. Their duty is to look to the proper regulation and adjustment of the activities of the individual parts. (SS-476,477)

WORLD IS UNREAL

The world is said to be unreal like a dream, and the learned teachers induce people to think like that. But a dream is never unreal to anyone so long as he is in the dream. In the same way, so long as we are in this dream-land of the world it can never appear unreal to us. A dream appears unreal to us only when we are awake, or, in other words, we are off from it. Similarly the world can appear unreal to us only when we have gone beyond the sphere of physical Consciousness. But this can never be attained by mere thinking, imagining, or by continuous repetition of the words like, ‘The world is unreal', ‘Every thing is maya or illusion'. Proper means are required for developing that condition. (SS-528)

For further reading please see EIGTH KNOT.

WORLD PEACE

World peace is the crying need of the day and those at the top are trying hard to bring it about. But the means adopted for the purpose do not so far seem to promise fruitful results. The efforts for the establishment of world peace do not seem to be very effective only for the reason that they are merely external, touching only the fringes of the problem. As a matter of fact world peace can never be possible unless we take into account the inner state of the individual mind. World peace is directly related with individual peace, for which the individual mind is to be brought up to the required level. If the individual mind is brought to a state of rest and peace, everything in the world will then appear to him in the same colour. It is, therefore, essential to find out means for developing within every individual a state of peace and contentment. Thus, all that we have to do for the attainment of world peace is to mould the mental tendencies of the people individually. That means the proper regulation of mind so as to introduce into it a state of moderation. That is the only way for bringing peace into the world. It is therefore essential for all of us to develop peace of mind within our individual self. But that being exclusively the scope of spirituality, one must necessarily resort to spiritual means for the purpose. (SS-181,182)

For further reading please see PEACE.

WORLD TEACHERS

You often come across mahatmas and sadhus who, though they preach about high ideas, are themselves inwardly puffed up with feelings of greatness and superiority, and try all means to pose themselves as world-teachers of Divine knowledge. What opinion will you form of them when you peep into their hearts to discover their real worth? For certain you will find in them nothing that can command your respect for them. The Hindi word maan (self importance) when reversed becomes naam (name), and with it their physical form at once comes to view. Thus they remain attached only to the physical form thereby creating for themselves more and more of attachments and entanglements. (SS-96,97)

WORRIES

None in the world is free from worries. The presence of afflictions is in fact a positive proof of the very existence of man. Worries are really the result of the unbalanced activity which had originally brought man into existence. This is the inter-play of the forces of Nature, causing expansions and contractions, by the effect of which layer after layer began to be formed. Now if one keeps his entire attention located on them thinking that thereby he may minimise their effect, it is almost impossible. Ages may be lost in the pursuit, not to speak of this one life; on the other hand, he will go on fabricating greater intricacies by his own actions. That is really the misutilisation of the powers bestowed on us by Nature. If we keep ourselves concerned with the clearing off of the limitations set up by the expansion and contraction of the forces, our purpose may be rightly served. It is therefore necessary for us to start from the level where Nature's forces begin to promote Consciousness in man. The reason why people are not able to undertake it is that they do not attach any importance to it, because they have no definite aim or purpose in view. An archer can never hit at the mark unless he fixes his keen attention on the object to be hit. (SS-422,423)

WORSHIP

Please see MEDITATION - FORM, CRAVING.

WRONG HABITS

People do not try to overcome their wrong habits because they would then have to put themselves to effort or a bit of inconvenience. Never mind, be it so. But if they only adopt the right course for the realisation of their object and are prompted by intense longing for it, none of these things shall then stand in their way, but shall drop down like dead leaves. (SS-65,66)

WRONG MAKING

We find ourselves all the time busy with the worldly things. If we are not doing anything, our thoughts seem to have wings in the leisure hours. We are always in tumult and disorder. Our individual mind has become used to such type of character, and thus we have made everything topsy-turvy. Our actions and thoughts count much in our wrong making. When we remain in contact with ideas and thoughts of different kinds, they leave impressions upon our emotional feelings and senses. All senses are spoiled and adopt a wrong course. When such practice continues for a long period, we make them worse. The marks we thus make upon the senses and indriyas turn them solid like a rock, having no bodh or wisdom.Soul is, no doubt, not acted upon, but we create such obstacles and coverings which keep it enwrapped all round like the cocoon of a silkworm. What happens then? We cannot even peep into the soul, what of realizing it. By the effect of our vicious thoughts and actions we spoil our sense of discrimination and right cognition. Those who have reached this state of solidity, as said above, do not like to come under the teaching of Raja Yoga. This is why people turn a deaf ear to what we say. (BWS-39,40)

The time has come that the man is awakened to the need of spirituality. The force of creation has created outward tendencies in man. That is why in course of time he has created several worlds which has resulted in making him complex. The present imperfect state of mind is the result of his own doings. (SDG-111)

WRONG METHODS

Unfortunately today we have people who, having accomplished nothing, come out into the world as gurus, prescribing methods and practices for others to follow. They also include those who belong to the so-called higher class of Hindu society.

So far as my personal experience goes, I find in most of them a rock-like solidity firmly settled in their hearts. They are generally those who adhere rigidly to the worship of idols and images. In certain cases I have discovered peculiar types of folds and creases in their hearts, which are mostly due to the effect of wrong methods of meditation or concentration practiced by them. The most appropriate points for meditation can only be those from where the current flows on either upwards or downwards. It can only be either the heart or the trikuti (centre between eyebrows). Meditation on the point of the navel has no spiritual value, except that it causes a tickling sensation which finally excites the mind and makes the passions all the more powerful. (SS-52,53)

Sruti

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