Theos-Talk Archives (January 2003 Message tt00684)

I was reading quite amused the recent discussions on the list. I think this
little article answers quite well most of the issues, I would advise Mr. BAG
to find a real Master who would teach him what real Bhakti means - a gift
that only a true Master can give. Etzion




God manifests his presence when and where lust, greed, anger, jealousy,
hatred, back-biting and selfish desires are totally absent. But, as they are
the outcome of impressions (sanskaras) of past lives, and must necessarily
be expressed, getting rid of them is ordinarily impossible. It would be like
a rock trying to lift itself.
Nevertheless, past impressions must be expressed to be got rid of. But at
the same time that these past impressions are being expressed and spent, new
ones are forged, because of the presence and assertion of the lower self. If
one is to be free of the endless chain of impressions, past and present,
this assertive lower self must be abolished. Only when one's assertive
(lower) self is removed can the impressions be automatically spent without
incurring the binding of fresh sanskaras. One who has achieved this can
never be bound by, or held responsible any more, for his actions, good or
bad, which are the expression of his past impressions of virtue, patience,
lust, anger, etc. Thus, with the cessation of new sanskaras, all past
impressions naturally unwind to the finish, and one is free of all
impressions.
To follow the path of the true yogas - karma yoga, dnyan yoga, raj yoga,
bhakti yoga - is the remedy for the uprooting of this heritage of evils
derived from past impressions, expressed by constant actions, and sustained
by the continual formation of new ones.
In karma yoga, one tries to lose one's self in selfless service for others.
In dnyan yoga one tries to lose one's self in contemplation and meditation.
In raj yoga one tries to lose one's identity with the individual self, and
establish identity with the universal self by aiming, through constant
mental poise and non-attachment, to be in the world and yet not of it. In
bhakti yoga one tries to lose one's self in devotion to God. Even in these
yogas, only when the zenith is reached can the individuality of the lower
self be lost, yet consciousness remain.

But the easiest and safest way to lose one's self is by completely
surrendering to the Perfect Master. Then the past, present and future of the
one who has surrendered are drowned in the Master, and he is no longer
either bound by, or responsible for, any of his actions, whether good or
bad, expressed during his implicit obedience to the Master. Thus complete
surrenderance to the Perfect Master is, in itself, freedom.

Meher Baba, February or March 1954,
Glow International Magazine Feb. 1978 p24