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The Final Door to Spirituality

V.A.P. SHARAVANAN - 99942 05880

Dr. N. KAILASAM - 94432 90559

K.S. JEEVAMANI - 97891 65555

www. sribagavathmission.org

www.sribagavath.org

E-mail : [email protected]

Cell : 90926 46260, 98651 34075

SRI ESPARI GRAPHICS, Salem-3.

This book Designed by

31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem - 636 003. Tamilnadu India

Book Inside

The scriptures say, “All the spiritual practices will take you only up to the last door of spirituality. But they cannot open the last door of Absolute reality. Enquiry alone can open the final door to the Absolute reality”.

The enquiry which reveals the truth “managing the psychological emotions alone is wrong” is the real enquiry.This finding is Enlightenment. This is the final door to spirituality.

-Sri Bagavath

English

Greetings to all the Family members of Sri Bagavath

Mission.

Stocks of the following books of Sri Bagavath have

exhausted:

1) Smash Your Sorrows.

2) Is terrorism necessary?

3) Practical realities of Enlightened Life.

We have planned to release these books in a fresh look

and feel by adding some more chapters in these books.

However printing of these books has been delayed due

to shortage of funds. Benevolent hearted friends, who

can afford to donate funds towards this mission, can

offer donations. It will be very useful to spread the

ideologies of Sri Bagavath.

We appeal to all those friends who can afford

donations, to support us by sending donations the

following Bank Account:

HDFC Bank, Sri Bagavath Mission,

A/c No: 15907620000075, by

NEFT IFSC: HDFC0001590,

Car Street Branch, Salem.

With Love,

Sri Bagavath Mission.

Appeal

The Final Door to Spirituality 3

5 Days Special Retreate on Enlightenment at Yercaud 6

Editor’s Voice 7

Question & Answer 8

Gallery 10

Schedule of workshop on Enlightenment conducted by Sri Bagavath Ayya 11

Zen Story - Light of the Lamp 12

It was the time when I was involving in various spiritual practices.

There was a temple called Athri Maharishi Thabhovan in the mountain range of Podhigai Hills in India. I was staying there with one of my friends for the spiritual practices.

On the path way to the temple, there was a cave. People belonging to the Islam religion used to treat that cave as their Mosque and were offering prayers there. They said that a Muslim hermit would come to that Mosque for penance. I was thinking of meeting him.

On the very same night, the Muslim Hermit himself came to meet me at the temple. We were chatting.

“What time you go to sleep at night?” – He asked me.

During those days, I used to go to sleep at 9'o clock in the night.

I told him about that.

He was four-five years elder to me in those days.

He looked at me smiling and said to me with a brotherly approach, “Oh no! You should not sleep like that at night. It is only the night that belongs to us. We should not sleep in the night.We should do all our spiritual practices only at night”.

He then took leave of us and went to the cave.

After he had left, I tried to remain awake . However, my eye lids were very tired and fatigued wanting sleep.

Similarly, a person was once introduced to Ramana Maharishi. They spoke high of this person saying, “This person regularly practices meditation in the morning and evening without fail”.

Ramana Maharishi smilingly said, “Is Enlightenment something like an eggplant that you buy in the market? Can one attain Enlightenment by keeping a timetable? One has to practice Ahoraathram . 'Ahoraathram' means working hard day and night'.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is another saint who would immerse us into the water itself .He would say, “Drowning person will suffocate for breath .You must have such kind of intensity .That alone will bring you the vision of divinity.”

What are these saints saying?

By saying, “Run and Run towards spirituality”, they make us run forever.

The spiritual scriptures throw another bomb to the shock of those who are running and struggling to be spiritual.

What is that bomb that these scriptures have dropped?

The scriptures say, “All the spiritual practices will take you only up to the last door of spirituality. But they cannot open the last door of Absolute reality. Enquiry alone can open the final door to the Absolute reality”.

Enquiry means investigation. It is not a practice. Enquiry is nothing but going beyond all these spiritual practices.

March 2019 -3-

The Final Door to Spirituality

- Sri Bagavath

What is there to investigate? How to investigate?

What is there in this investigation, so to say that it is greater than the spiritual practices?

How long should this investigation be carried out?

Spiritual practices may be executed 'Ahorathram'- something that needs to be practiced day and night.

Then how to ca r r y ou t t h i s investigation?

Day and night?

How long?

In another article, I have already talked about a monk who was conducting rituals in a temple.

It happened 30 years ago. I was about 40 years old then. A Samaadhi temple-(where a saint was buried) at the Thiruchendur beach was under my custody.

The monk performing the rituals was temporarily doing so as the regular priest was on leave.

The monk described his story:

“When I was of sixteen years old, I came out of my home in search of Enlightenment. I visited many ashrams. I carried out many kinds of meditations and practices of penance. Now I have turned 80 years old. I have not yet attained that Enlightenment. I am still searching for that”.

Tears rolled down his eyes because of his helplessness.

I did not feel sympathetic towards him. I was only afraid of him.

What is the reason for my fear?

I was wondering, “He has been in seeking since he was sixteen years old. I have been seeking since I was eighteen years old. He has not attained anything even after he has turned 80. I am only 40 years old now. I am already worried about not having attained Enlightenment. In this situation, how long should I be wandering like this?” Hence, I was afraid.

Should I still start the second milestone

of practices called 'enquiry', even after all these prolonged spiritual practices?

Let us suppose you are in India and you need to go to the United state of America, which is thousands of miles away.

You have to plan your travel first. Then you have to execute the plan.

You need time for this. You need a journey.

Let us look at this example in another outlook.

In this example also you have to go to the USA.

Where are you now? Where from you have to start to go to the USA?

Let us suppose that you are already in the USA itself.

What kind of effort do you need to put in, for this to go to the USA? Which vehicle are you going to travel by?

To go to a place where you are already there, do you need a vehicle? Do you need a journey?

You do not need a journey.

All that you need to understand is that you are already in the USA.

Being in the USA, if you have not understood that you are in USA, then you have to understand by enquiring where you are .

Understanding your actuality is called 'enquiry'.

In that case, are we already in a state that we need to attain?

If we have attained that state which we wanted to attain, then why do we not have that feeling of contentment?

What are we going to learn by our enquiry?

The highest state of spirituality is not Enlightenment. Liberation alone is considered as the highest state. That highest state is known by many terms such as Mukti, Moksha,awakening and Liberation.

Considering ourselves to be somebody made up of the body and the mind is Maya-illusion. Thus says the scriptures.

-4-March 2019

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They explain that our real form is not a combination of body and mind, but is Atma – the spirit. They explain that Enlightenment is nothing but the understating of this.

As we know our real form is not a combination of body and mind, but is Atma – soul, we get liberated from the bonding of the mind and the body. This is called Liberation - Mukti.

But all the experiences that arise are because of our body and mind. All these experiences are temporary. They appear and disappear.

We like to hold on to the experiences of our liking and drive away the experiences of our dislike.

Our lifetime is spent only on managing these experiences.

We see a tree.

The image of the tree reflects in our eyes. We know the tree. Then we turn our eyes towards a cow standing under the tree. Now the image of the tree disappears from our eyes and the image of the cow enter into our eyes.

A bird is chirping with its melodious voice. The chirping noise reflects in our ears. As the bird stops chirping, the sound also vanishes from our ears.

All our senses function like this.

The experiences that come about in our senses change from moment to moment. As far as sensory experience are concerned there cannot be any old experience.

Our mind is also a different kind of sensory organ. Our mind is also reflecting something new moment to moment.

But our mind has one different aspect that is not there in any other sensory organs. That is nothing but the storage called Memory.

It is this memory that prevents the psychological experiences from occurring and vanishing freely.

It selects some experiences and clings to them. It struggles to drive away some experiences.

Reflection is a natural function of the

mind. But reflection through the memory is not the natural function of our mind.

We can use the memory for our external activities.

All the sensory perceptions take place on their own, without any effort from ourselves.

There is freedom in all the sensory perceptions. They are innovative and innocent.

They do not stagnate.

Our mind also possess the same quality naturally.

Because of its memory, it looses its innocent state and tries to select something.

M a n a g i n g t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l experiences alone is called Maya or bondage. It is against Liberation-Mukti.

It is mandatory for us to manage our external activities with the use of our memory.

The enquiry which reveals the truth “managing the psychological emotions alone is wrong” is the real enquiry.

This finding is Enlightenment.

In the event of attaining this En l i gh tenmen t , one g i ves up h i s psychological emotions freely on their own.

That psychological functioning gets liberated and functions freely as other sensory organs.

What should we do for this Liberation?

It is just sufficient to come to a clarity of the simple understanding that we do not need to do anything related to the natural function of the mind.

This is the final door to spirituality.

In fact, there is not at all a door .

Stories have been cooked up saying that there are many steps and doors, just to ensure that the seekers of spirituality should not get dejected.

Our mind should freely function the way other sensory organs function, getting rid of all these blocks and functioning like a freely flowing stream .

This is Liberation-Mukti.

March 2019

Venue: House of Peace (Glass House), Yercaud.

Date: 1-5-2019 Wednesday Evening 4.00 p.m to 5-5-2019 Sunday Evening 3.00 p.m

Language in

Tamil

Topics:

1. Clarity on Enlightenment

2. Psychological and Physical Problems

3. Who am I?

4. Thought and Thinking

5. Manolaya & Manonasa

6. Karma – Fate

7. Confirmation on Enlightenment.

?Yercaud is a wonderful Hill station. Participate with family in the exclusive summer retreat and enjoy.

?Separate accommodation and bedding facility for men and women are available. Rooms are available for families only – 10 rooms (on priority basis).

?The sharing expenses for food and accommodation is Rs.6000 per person.

?It is necessary to register in advance before 31st March 2019 as we have accommodation only for 90 persons.

Sri Bagavath Mission31, Ramalingasamy Street,

Ammapet, Salem – 3Mobile: 9994205880, 9789165555

Methods of Registration:

1. M.O, D.D or Cheque can be drawn in the name of Sri Bagavath Mission payable at Salem

2. Direct Payment: Do Money Transfer to: Sri Bagavath Mission, HDFC A/c No. : 15907620000075, NEFT IFSC: HDFC001590 and inform us.

3. Online Registration: visit www.sribagavathmission.org and register through Credit or Debit Card.

5 Days Special Retreat on Enlightenment at

YercaudBy Living Master Sri Bagavath

-6-March 2019

Greetings to all the Bagavath Path travellers from your co-traveller.

“What i s the purpose o f a t ta in ing Enl ightenment? What is the necessi ty of Enlightenment, when there is struggle in life to find solutions to some of the basic challenges that are faced in life? In the present conditions, we all are facing challenges in many ways. Problems in family relationships, problems in profession, problems in financial situations – amidst all these problems, do we really need Enlightenment?” – it is very natural for a common man to get this question.

This question will appear to be very ordinary in the eyes of those who do not know what Enlightenment is. But one will understand its significance in life when the truth is understood.

In fact we all feel our problems only through our mind. We understand the problem the way the mind directs it. The problem that we face externally causes distress or worry in our mind. It gives a pain in the mind. Hence we hate the distress it causes. We try to get rid of the distress.

Now we have to face two different kinds of issues. One is the problem in the outer world and the other in the inner world. It is the mind that shows the problem in the outer world. Hence there will be an inner problem as long as there is a problem in the outer world. Many a times, the inner problem does not go away even after the outer problem is resolved. We worry about the past events unnecessarily thinking “this should not have happened to me”.

Those who are unable to face these problems in the inner world, do not handle their emotions well and indulge in crimes and sinful deeds.

The struggle to handle the inner problems properly is the reason behind the sinful deeds caused in the outer world.

Liberation from the inner problems and the worries is the true Liberation.

It will be very easy for the mind, to face the problems of the outer world, if the mind functions with utmost liberation inside.

In reality, Liberation is the natural state of mind. When it is the natural state of mind, there is no necessity to attain it. When the intellect, which conflicts with that natural phenomenon, becomes clear, it will let go what need to go. We call this clarity as

-7-

Enlightenment.

It is only this Enlightenment that will give the power to face all the problems of life easily.

Hence Enlightenment is something that is a basic necessity for mankind. Whatever problems we have in the outer world, we can find solutions to all those problems, when we approach them with inner liberation.

Attaining Enlightenment is not an extra ordinary qualification. It is the basic qualification to lead life as a human.

Spiritual masters, so far, have exaggerated this Enlightenment, kept at an unattainable height and made it something very rare. Sri Bagavath Ayya has simplified Enlightenment and offering it in a scientific manner.So that it is very easy for all to understand and attain and lead the life fruitfully.

In that context, all those who participate in the Enlightenment Retreats get a definitive mental clarity and have been living with inner liberation to face all the outer world problems easily.

There have been many in this world who struggle with the psychological emotions towards attaining Enlightenment. It is our intention that we convey this to all those seekers so that they all get benefited.

It is only we who should do this work of conveying to the entire world. For this, we readily have Flex Boards of size 2.5' x 3' with us. Volunteers can get these boards from us and display them in prominent places so that all would see and get benefited. Moreover you can help us by receiving the soft copies of these (JPEG file) from us and printing them at your cost.

This will be of great help to people to overcome their distress.

Moreover, a four-day Enlightenment Retreat th th

has been going on from the 7 to 10 March 2019 at Salem Sri Bagavath Mission.

There is one more Enlightenment Retreat that will st th

happen in Yercaud, Salem, from 1 May to 5 May 2019. We invite all seekers to come and attend this retreat. In this edition, we have also published the dates of Enlightenment Retreats that will happen in June, July and August 2019. We appeal to all our friends to get benefited and inform others so that they will also attend and get benefited.

K.S. JEEVAMANI, Cell: 97891 65555Editor's Voice

March 2019

We have two kinds of functioning. One is our physical functioning and the other, the p s y c h o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n i n g . T h e psychological functioning is completely different from the physical functioning.

W e c a n n o t w o r k w i t h t h e psychological functioning the same way we do with the physical functioning. Your attempt and hardwork towards reducing

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Question & AnswerV.A.P. SARAVANANCell: 99942 05880

your body weight was a possible one. You cannot use this same approach to strengthen or set right your mind. The body functions in a completely different way from the mind.

Hence let us think about how to face the mind. For example, let us take our body as a solid form and mind as a liquid form.

The body gets healthier and stronger

Can we strengthen our mind the way we strengthen our body?

Question : I am a Computer Hardware Engineer. I am 36 years old. I am married with two children. I have not done any kind of physical exercise since my childhood. Due to this, my body weight went upto 104 kg. I had many physical ailments. In a state of not being able to do anything else, I came to know from my friends that mountaineering would give a good physical health. I started acting on that. There is a mountain 3 kms away from my house.

I started waking up at 4 am in the morning every day and started the mountaineering exercise. Initially for about two months, it was challenging for me. In about four months, I observed a drastic change in my physical appearance and my body weight.

Now I weigh 77 kgs. In addition to this I did regular exercise and my body attained a natural six-pack shape. I have been continuing my regular exercise. There was a great improvement as far as my physical body was concerned. I get very good sleep now. I wake up at 4 am and finish all my exercise before 7 am daily.

I feel that my body is now very strong and is in very good Health. But there is a problem. When I drive my car myself, I do not have any problem. I can drive for hours without any problem.

There is absolutely no disturbance. But when I sit in the rear seat or sit near the driver, I am not able to travel even 20 kms. I do not use the air conditioning inside the car. I pull down all the windows. My mind becomes anxious as if I do not get sufficient air to breathe.

Immediately I become giddy and anxious and I start vomiting also. I become uneasy and get down from the car. Due to this, I am unable to travel in any car or bus. Most of the times I travel only by train. While I have succeeded in obtaining a good physical health by rigorous exercise, I have not been successful in tackling my travel problem. I have been trying my best in many ways to strengthen my mind the way I did for my body. I am not able to bring about any change in my mind as I could do for my body. Why is it so? What is it wrong that I am committing here?

How to get rid of this?

March 2019

as it is worked upon more and more. Whenever you try to work upon the mind which is a liquid form, there will only be a small movement. It will not be possible to create a state of equilibrium there. Similarly when you try to work in your mind more and more, there will only be a psychological battle, but never be peace. Let us understand the physical and psychological functioning through a simple example.

Suppose that we are pouring 5kgs of grains in a vessel. The poured grain takes a conical shape. What should we do to make it flat? Just by shaking the vessel up and down, the grains take a flat form in the vessel. The body functions in a similar manner.

Through a physical functioning called the body movement, it is possible to bring the body to a state of equilibrium. To a state of health. Likewise, let us suppose that we pour 5 litres of water in a vessel. Water never takes the shape of a cone like the grains took. The water movement gradually diminishes and reaches the state of equilibrium. We cannot attempt to bring the water to the state of equilibrium. You will not only be able to do it, but there is no need to do it.

The attempt that we carry out towards streamlining the water only spoils the state of equilibrium in the water. Whenever we give up the attempt, the water attains equilibrium on its own. The mind also functions in a similar way.

You have strengthened your physical functioning with your attempts. It was wrong for you to have used the same approach for your mind. The emotion of fear that you get while travelling in a car is associated with the psychological functioning.

If you attempt to set it right, then it reaches the next stage of giddiness, mental anxiety and vomiting sensation. What we should understand from this is that there is no need of anything to be done as far as the psychological functioning is concerned.

We face all problems only because we try to set right our psychological functioning. It is very important to abandon all the attempts towards setting right the psychological functioning.

In that case, how should I handle the fear that I get while traveling in a car? There is only one way out there. That is to accept the fear and accept the fact that there is no other way out.

The nature of the psychological functioning is that it appears and disappears from moment to moment. The life of the psychological emotions is just half a second only. Only when we fight against it, it gets strengthened and extended.

As it prolongs for a period, it causes unnecessary chemical reactions in the body and affects the body. One should understand that the source of physical functioning is the psychological functioning only. Just because we are accepting the feeling of fear without interfering in its free functioning, it does not mean that the emotion will prolong.

The very nature of that functioning is that it disappears the way it appeared.

Only when we do not interfere, the impact diminishes day by day and finally goes off completely.

The Body gets strengthened when it is worked upon. The mind gets strengthened as long as you do not interfere in the freedom of its

-9-March 2019

Gallery

Devotees with Sri Bagavath Ayya at Arunchunai Ayyanar koil at Kayamozhi (Sri Bagavath's Native place)

Sri Bagavath Ayya with his Grandson Abhinav

Books of Sri Bagavath handed over to Dr.Iraianbu by Mr.Ravichandran, President Chennai Center.

Sri Bagavath with Mrs.Prabha Murali, who translates Tamil Bagavath Pathai to English Version.

Sri Bagavath with Seekers at Kayamozhi.

Bagavath Ayya relaxing

at Kayamozhi.

Sri Bavagath with seekers from Chennai & Tirucengodu at

Tiruchendur beach.

March 2019 -10-

For Advanced RegistrationSri Bagavath Mission : 31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapettai, Salem – 3

79041 18421, 99942 05880, 97891 65555

SCHEDULE OF WORKSHOP ON ENLIGHTENMENT CONDUCTED by Sri Bagavath Ayya

Date Details Expense Sharing

1.06.2019 Morning 11.am to

4.06.2019 Evening 3.00 pm

4 Days Retreat on Enlightenment

Place : Sri Bagavath Bhavan, Salem


18.08.2019 Evening 3.00 pm



Rs. 3000/-

Rs. 3000/-

Rs. 1000/-


16.06.2019 Evening 3.00 pm

Enlightenment Confirmation Camp(This camp is for seekers who have

already attended Workshop on Enlightenment)


Donations are Welcome.


7.07.2019 Evening 3.00 pm

Life Retreat for StudentsPlace:

Sri Bagavath Bhavan, Salem

Rs. 3000/-


14.07.2019 Evening 3.00 pm



Rs. 1000/-


4.08.2019 Evening 3.00 pm

Enlightenment Confirmation CampThis camp is for seekers who have

already attended Workshop on Enlightenment)


March 2019 -11-

A spiritual seeker had concluded that attaining Liberation was the ultimate aim of his life. He involved himself in intensive meditative practices to attain Truth. He was studying Upanishads, Scriptures and books on seeking spirituality. Days passed. Practices increased. However, he did not feel that he had attained the Enlightenment. Somewhere he read, “The last door of Enlightenment will not open without seeking and enquiring”. This pushed him to meet a Living Enlightened Master.

Let us look at his enquiries now:

He explained to the Master about his attempts and practices that he had carried out so far, and said, “Only you should help me to attain Liberation”.

The Master looked at him carefully and said, “You are already in Liberation.

The seeker said, “I do not understand this Master. I am always having the feeling of 'I'. Is it not true that one can attain Liberation only if the feeling of 'I' melts down?”

The Master said, “It is only the absolute reality that exists. The aspect of 'I' is also a state of an expressed truth. This aspect of 'I' evolves from absolute reality and melts in it. It is only the absolute reality that exists forever. The aspect of 'I' continuously appears and disappears in that absolute reality now and then.”

The seeker then asked the Master, “But I have a feeling that I always have the 'I' aspect. How can I understand that I have attained Liberation?'

The Master replied, “Absolute Reality is something that can neither be attained nor be perceived. There is nothing to discriminate and know there. The feeling of 'I' is nothing but an expression of the Absolute Reality”.

The seeker asked, “In that case, is there no need to attempt something towards attaining the Liberation?”

The Master replied, “As long as you continue the practices towards attaining the Absolute reality, you will never be able to attain that. The 'I' that understands the aspect of the 'I', is also an expression of the absolute truth. All the emotions that we feel and all the images that we see are all expressions of the absolute truth”.

The seeker then requested the Master, “How to understand what expressed truth is? Please cite some examples.”

“If there is a Lamp that is lit, it means that the light that emanates from the lamp continuously appears and disappears. The light does not reach its source. There is no need for that light to reach its source. The term lamp includes the light that emanates from it and the lamp itself. Similarly, the aspect of 'I' is already an expression of the absolute reality-truth. Then where is the question of attaining the absolute reality?” the Master asked.

“In that case is everything that we see is the expression of the Truth?” the seeker asked.

“The stars, the planets and the galaxies that you see in this Universe are continuously floating, rolling and rotating in space. All these are expression of the absolute reality and nothing else. Similarly, the entire inner functioning and the psychological functioning that goes on from your birth to death is an expression of the Absolute Truth only”, the Master replied.

The seeker got a flash of understanding like a strike of a lightning. Actually the 'I' aspect that was searching for the Truth in him, had lost its energy and hence he was not aware that he was a part of the Truth.

“Light of the Lamp”

Registration Number of the Registered Date of publication : First Week of Every Month Posted at Salem HOP 636001. On 10th of every month.

News Paper TNTAM/2014/57698 | Postel Registration Number : TN/WR/SL(E)/22/2018-2020|

Published by Shri. V.A.P. Sharavanan on behalf of the Sri Bagavath Mission, 31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem-636 003. Tamilnadu. India.Printed by Shri. R. Jayavel at Sree Jayavel Press, 08/11, Gandhi Maidanam, Ammapettai, Salem-636 003. Editor : Shri. K.S. Jeevamani Cell : 97891 65555

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