Have a clear mind and don’t allow yourself to be distracted

We generally say, “Oh, it removes the impressions.” It is correct, but what is the result of the removal of these impressions? It creates a void; it creates that state of nothingness.

Nothingness can be understood well when you split the word into ‘no thingness’. There is no desire left in you. It is not that you become devoid of any worthwhile worldly approaches. No. It has nothing to do with all that. Nothingness culminates into the absence of ‘I’, where you don’t even exist for yourself, in that state of total saranagati (surrender).

Saranagati is not a defeatist attitude. It is not something that you have lost. No, actually you have won someone’s heart so much that both the Master as well as the disciple remain in remembrance of each other. Arriving at that saranagati towards each other, the Guru has also taken saranagati at the feet of the disciple. The same time disciple has taken saranagati at the feet of his Guru. It is a mutual thing. You may adopt this attitude of saranagati with the Master, but what if the Master runs away from you, because your saranagati has motivations? Motivations of attaining this or that; so many attractions to be fulfilled. Then this sort of saranagati, this sort of bhakti, will not help.

Emphasising the importance of cleaning, there is a beautiful story on Lord Krishna and Radha. Radha is very jealous of Lord Krishna keeping his flute always around his lips, playing music. She feels jealous. She tries to break the flute.

But then Lord Krishna says, “Why don’t you have a look in this? You can see it for yourself.”

Radha says, when she looks into it, “There is nothing in this flute that one can be jealous of. It is total emptiness.”

And it is because of this total emptiness that he is able to create beautiful music. Had there been something, even a hair, it would twist the music; it will not be beautiful music.

The same thing is with ourselves. In the heart, if there is some desire left, even for liberation, even for entering the central region, even for identicality or merger, then such a desire will deviate us.

To be continued

(Excerpts from a talk given at Kanha Ashram,Hyderabad)