Wisdom of the Mystics: Vemana Ji

Rahul N Singh: 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Bearded Mystic Podcast, and I'm your host, Rahul N Singh. Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode. If you are really interested in supporting The Bearded Mystic Podcast, and you've found great benefit in listening or watching these episodes, then please do support this podcast on Patreon where you can get ad free and bonus episodes along with other benefits depending on the tier that you select. Your support means everything, and it really does help the podcast keep running efficiently and smoothly, and also widens the audience that this message can reach to. If you would like to know more about it, the details are in the show notes and video description below. On Saturdays at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time there is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and Q&A. If you're interested in meditating with us as a community, then you can find out the details in the show notes and video description below. Please do like, comment, and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube and if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast streaming app, then please do give this podcast a five star rating. It helps the podcast get up in the charts and allows the algorithm to bring this podcast to new listeners and also do review the podcast if you can and make sure you do follow or subscribe to keep getting future episodes. Today we will be continuing on with the series called Wisdom of the Mystics, and as you know in the last episode last month, we looked at the teachings of Tukaram ji, and today we will be moving on to another bhakti poet who is called Vemana ji. We'll look at a few of his quotes. He kind of did shlokas, he kind of did poetry. So we're going to look into those, explore them together, explore the ideas that he sets and why it's incredible how even in devotion, there is this aspect of understanding the underlying reality and understanding that the metaphor or the persona is there just to help us rather than actually be a hindrance to the path, which can be seen in bhakti so this is a way where we discover bhakti in a new manner, in a way where not a new manner but in a way where it can be correctly understood and not misguided because bhakti is one thing that can be misguided, it can be misused, it can be abused even because a lot of people may say just surrender. And if you notice from all the mystics that we've looked at, even though surrender may play a part, but if we understand clearly that it's important to have a basic understanding of the spiritual path beforehand. So this is very important. The first quote is: Know the mind is the universal cause. By viewing and meditating on this, a man shall himself become spirit, wherever he dwelleth all his days. Know well the truth of this Vema. Vemana ji used to call himself Vema. His first line is know that the mind is a universal cause. It's interesting because if you think about it, everything we perceive is processed by the mind. So all the senses, whatever it projects and then whatever it receives back, all of that is conceived by the mind. It's the mind with the aid of the intellect that processes that information. If we have a dull intellect, we end up not understanding reality as it is or what's being shown, if we have a sharp intellect, we'll be able to know that everything that is being seen is ultimately unreal but it has a relative existence, a relative truth to it and that's why it needs to be taken with some level of seriousness but that seriousness is with a grain of salt. This mind is what determines everything, even our feelings, so even if we're feeling down, that can have an impact on what our senses project back to us. If you feel happy, think about it, when you're elated, how you feel, how you see the world, it's a lot brighter, it's a lot more joyful, it's amazing. And then when you're feeling sad... You know, even people who are happy are annoying to you. And if you are happy, then if people are sad, you're like, why are you sad for? There's only one life. Enjoy your life. Be merry. And that can be the perception we have. So, the mind is everything. And that's why it's a universal cause. It's with the mind we're able to transcend even to higher truths. And if you want to transcend to higher truths, it's the mind that we have to utilize. It's the mind that we have to also transcend. So we have to use the mind to go beyond the mind. Then he says by viewing and meditating on this. Once we know that this is the universal cause, I'll take a step back and say, you know, if you look at analytical idealism that Bernardo Kastrup talks about, he kind of talks about that one mind, that cosmic mind or consciousness and that we all are emanating from that one mind. Basically that one mind is what we are. If we understand that to be true, then intuitively, we know that it's our awareness that is a universal cause. So know that the mind is a universal cause. So in this level, we can understand that it's awareness that is the universal cause. And that's why he says by viewing and meditating on this, so actually analyze it. Have a look, what happens when you are having a thought, when you are having an emotion. Where is it arising from? Inquire into every thought, every emotion, every sensation. Once you are able to do this, you will see what the mind is and how everything stems from this. Even your enlightenment, even your shackles, even your bondage, even your freedom, is all within the mind. And that's why in the Gurbani, Guru Nanak Dev Ji says,'man jeet, jag jeet', if you win the mind, you win the whole world, you win the whole universe. So he says, by viewing and meditating on this, don't necessarily just believe him, actually view it for yourself and meditate upon it. So, it's indirectly, once you start observing your mind, you naturally go into a meditation. It's not something you have to force upon yourself. And that's a unique aspect to it. So he says, by viewing and meditate on this, a man shall himself become spirit. What does that man realize? Well, I am that awareness of the mind. Whatever the mind is feeling, thinking, speculating, experiencing, I am the awareness behind that. That's what he means by a man shall himself become spirit. And obviously when he says man here or himself, he's talking about people in general, not just men, but males and females. And if he does that throughout the episode, in his quotes, that's what he means. And if I accidentally say it as well, just understand that I'm on about people in general, I'm on about human beings. This was translated many years ago, so do forgive us on that behalf. So he says, a man shall himself become a spirit, so he will become awareness himself, wherever he dwelleth all his days. This awareness doesn't disappear, we know this from our Bhagavad Gita sessions, where we know that awareness does not disappear. Awareness remains. If you attend our Saturday meditation classes, even there, we explore this together and we know that this awareness is with us 24x7. It doesn't disappear, it doesn't dissipate, it doesn't dissolve away. It's not like fog that clears away. It's always there. This awareness is constantly. within us and we are constantly aware of that awareness. And he says know well the truth of this Vema so he's telling himself, he's telling us obviously as seekers know this to be the truth that you are the awareness and this awareness dwells forever. This will last till the end of days so we don't have to worry about death. Death will be another thing to be aware of, another event to be aware of. Now, innately we all have that fear of death, but remember, become aware of the fear, and then you become aware of death itself. That's how simple this is. Then the second quote. The learned Brahmins who read all that is to be read, cannot yet attain heaven and the Brahman. If you remain still without moving thy lips, this shall thee within thy mind the glory of the perfected saint. I'll make that into more simple English in a minute. So the learned Brahmins, who read all that is to be read cannot yet attain heaven and the Brahman. So this is very interesting. We have Brahmins, people who are from the priestly class, or priests in general, or even I would say anyone that can do rituals, can be considered a brahmin, who reads a lot of scriptures. Reciting scriptures is one thing. We have a lot of people that do that in India and even here. Nice. But what's more? Does that person attain heaven? No, because we know heaven is attained by karma. So one has to commit to doing positive actions in order to get to heaven or Svarga Loka. And when it comes to Brahman... That can only happen from Gyana, not just by reading, but by understanding. Once we understand, then we can take things to another level. Hence, in Advaita Vedanta, we learn that we should have Shravana, Manana, Nidhidhyasana. Shravana may be just reading, right? You read the message. Manana means believing in the message, reflecting on the message. Seeing how to apply the message, then Nidhidhyasana is actively practicing those teachings, actively applying those teachings and making them your everyday life. That's Nidhidhyasana, when we are meditating, when we totally get absorbed by what we've known, by what we've heard. So that's what it means and that's how we get to Brahman. So it's not just about reading the Upanishads, it's not just about reading the Vedas, it's actually by absorbing the message, reflecting upon the message and then putting it into our life. Are we actually viewing Brahman in everything? Are we seeing it everywhere? Are we seeing it within everyone? Are we seeing it within every living being? Are we understanding that Brahman is that awareness that's within us? That's within everyone. That same consciousness within me is the same consciousness outside. Are we totally understanding this point? That's what Vemana Ji is talking about. The learned Brahmins is remember, just because you're a good bookworm and because you've read a lot of books, doesn't mean that you have spiritual wisdom. You can have knowledge for sure, it's good that you know things, but what's the wisdom when you apply it, when it becomes your very being, that's what that means. So then he says, if you remain still without moving thy lips, what does that really mean? So what happens here is, when you understand the teaching, you don't have to speak about it. If you know you're Brahman, you don't have to speak about it. You remain still without moving the lips. You do not need to move at all. You do not need to do anything. You don't need to react in a certain way. And then he says, this shall thee within my mind, that this shall bring this Brahman within our mind, the glory of the perfected saint, and that's what happens with the perfected saint, that's the glory of them, that they shall bring what's true into the mind. If you remain still without moving thy lips, this shall thee within my mind, this should put the truth in, in one's mind. This is very important to understand that this whole quote is really about understanding that the glory of a perfected saint is one that meditates and can be in pure stillness within the mind and be absolutely absorbed by the teachings of the saints and sages and the Vedas and Upanishads. Then third quote, Vemana opened not his mouth to say no to anyone's assertion. Thus, he seems like to a madman. He can explain every mystery of that Vedantam which destroys all distinctions and differences. From this knowledge, his apathy arises. It's a very interesting verse and a verse that we can discover together. So he says, Vemana opened, not his mouth, to say no to anyone's assertion. This is very interesting because in today's day and age, if you know somebody's wrong, we do, we have to react, right? I do a reaction video. We don't have to disagree with someone's assertion. So for example, even though I may disagree, say with ISKCON's philosophy, that doesn't mean I have to hate upon them. That doesn't mean that I have to force my opinion on them. I can suggest my opinion, I can educate, but I can't force someone to change. I can't say no, you're absolutely wrong. And you've got to believe in what I believe in. Advaita is the absolute truth. If I do that, then, we're making a mockery out of our dharma. That is not what dharma is about. And the power of dharma is not to convince, but to convey. And that conveying is what gives you the insight into the truth. And that's the power of it is that even though it doesn't touch you, it pervades everything and that's the power of Vedantam, as he would say. And then he says, thus he seems like to a madman. Obviously, it's crazy, if somebody is wrong, he obviously would assert that they are wrong but Vemana ji is not interested in that. And he would rather be like a madman, he would rather look silly, crazy. And these are very direct words. In fact... another way of looking at this is, although he may not open his mouth, but his life is speaking, so his life may be asserting how people are wrong. So for example, when somebody says, that accuses me, or anyone who's an Advaitin, and they say that, oh, you're mayavadi because you believe in that one Nirguna Brahman cool. But who's living in oneness? The one that says you're open to having your philosophy and that's fine? Or is it you that's saying whoever believes in this is not going to achieve anything spiritually? I find that in every philosophy you will achieve something spiritually. That's guaranteed, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to believe your philosophy, nobody has to believe me either. So that's why that person may seem like a madman, because they don't assert themselves, but they show it through their actions, they show it through their being, they show it through their nature, their personality. And he says he can explain every mystery of that Vedantam, which destroys all distinctions and differences. This is the most crucial aspect and the difficult thing that how can you destroy someone's distinctions and differences. We live in duality. We live in the world where we are constantly reminded about not only our own name and form but the name and form of others. So here it says that he can explain every mystery of that Vedantam which destroys all distinctions and differences. So what is it that it shows? It shows that which cannot be distinct and it shows that which doesn't have a difference, that doesn't differ in any way, that doesn't change in any way, that isn't separate in any way. What is that? That Vedanta means the absolute truth, the absolute reality, and that's what Vedanta offers, any Vedanta offers that, at least that somewhere, somehow, you will have to transcend your distinctions and differences because anything that changes is unreal. Then he says from this knowledge his apathy arises, so it's from this knowledge then that we look at sannyas, where we look to give up our assertions, where we give up our hope of trying to change someone's point of view, there's a lack of interest in doing so, so that person becomes indifferent and that arises because of this knowledge, this knowledge says that everyone is pure, everybody is correct, why should I disagree with anybody. Why should I have hatred towards anyone? Why should I try to prove another person wrong? What will I achieve from it? What will I get from it? I may get a bit of an applause maybe on TikTok or on on any other platform but what about internally? Am I completely convinced of the truth? Apathy is something that we should have towards our actions so if we act we have apathy towards the results of those actions. Then the 4th quote. He whom in this world knows wisdom to him, there was no next world, he as if in heaven. He shall not lose his soul even in the death of Brahma. In that he shall be absorbed in the Divine Mind. I guess when he talks about Divine Mind, he's on about Divine Consciousness. So I think what we can understand now is that he's talking about Consciousness. Now he says, he whom in this world knows wisdom to him. So whoever knows wisdom, whoever knows this reality, whoever has applied that knowledge, what can we know about them? They know that there is no next world. Because according to them, they're already in heaven. Heaven is a state of mind and therefore, what next world is there? Does he have to care about the next world? If you're literally living a life of spiritual illumination, then you're guaranteeing that there is no next world. And then he says, he shall not lose his soul even in the death of Brahma. They say that we live in one day of Brahma, we have the whole universe functioning, and then one night of Brahma is the whole universe in a void like state. Here what Vemana Ji is saying is that person will not even lose his soul, even if they're going into pralaya, even if, if they go into that state between the dawn and dusk of the universe or of Brahma. And he says in that he shall be absorbed in the divine mind. If you know this. If you know there is no death, what would happen? If you knew that your last day on earth was going to happen on such and such date, what would you do? Would you focus on your spirituality? Would you focus on your spiritual values? Would you focus on getting more money, getting a job? What would you do? That's what I'm asking right now, what would you do? How many of us would like to be absorbed in the Divine Mind? How many? How many? Write your comments. Let me know that if you want to be absorbed in the Divine Mind. How can we become absorbed in the Divine Mind? The only way is to fully accept that Brahman is everything. That Brahman is the only thing. And that once we know that Brahman is the only thing, we are absorbed automatically. That's what we need to understand. So, whoever knows wisdom truly, knows that being absorbed in the divine mind is absolutely real. Just becoming aware of awareness is enough, is more than enough. Then the fifth quote. Until he explores his own soul, a man acts or roams in ignorance of God or illusion caused by God or Maya. If by meditation you comprehend that God is a spirit by understanding the beatitude, shall be clearly manifested to thee, O Vemana. He says until he explores His own soul. One thing is we have to explore our own being. We have to explore our own awareness. Have a look at the origin of this awareness. Does it have a beginning? Does it have an end? Does it travel? Is it in all ten directions? Is it everywhere? Is it pervading everything? So first of all we need to explore our own soul. Then it says a man acts or roams in ignorance of God or illusion caused by God. We think this world is absolutely real and we treat it as absolutely real and that God may be a fictional idea or reality is a fictional idea. Or we think maya can be easily defeated. If there's one thing that cannot be defeated, it's maya because we have to live in it. Even while we have this body, we are always going to be in maya. To expect anything else is to be silly in spirituality and to hold yourself to such accounts that you will not be able to achieve what needs to be achieved. So we need to understand that. We act in the ignorance of God when we are not looking at our own soul, meaning we are not looking at our own Atma, and seeing where the Atma originates, what is the Atma, what is its properties, where does it arise from, what is it truly? Once we get rid of that ignorance, we are no longer going to be in the game of Maya, and we don't necessarily have to be in the body, but most likely we will remain in a body. So then he says, if by meditation you comprehend that God is a spirit, this is a very important, interesting line. And he says, by understanding the beatitude or the supreme blessedness or the ecstasy shall be clearly manifested to you, oh Vemana. So through meditation, if we can understand that this Formless is an awareness that it has no body and name, no name and form. Then we will understand the blessings that we are receiving. We will know of the ecstasy that we are receiving. We will know about the joy that we are experiencing. It will be clearly manifested to us, we will clearly be able to be in bliss. You know a lot of people think that bliss will come from an event. Bliss comes from your own sacredness. It doesn't arise from somebody. It doesn't arise from some other being or some other place. It arises right from your very heart. So that's why Vemana ji is very right, that this blessing, this... this ecstasy, this bliss, this grace, it will be manifested to you once you understand that this God is not a person to worship, not a being to worship, but is your very own self. And it's your own self that you must worship. It's your own self that you must investigate and be within. The sixth quote. Though he searches he cannot see the teacher of wisdom, or Vedanta, the Vedanta teacher. There is none in the world who can discover Truth. Even he be found, he will not look to any other object. This is very interesting, and again, it's cryptic, but it says everything. So whatever you need to hear, it is saying. Whatever needs to be told is being told. So it says, though he searches, he cannot see the teacher of wisdom. You know, if our mind is not ready for the truth, we will carry on searching. But we will never find the teacher of Vedanta. It's interesting because most of us, first of all, are born into our religions or spiritual organisations. And we find it very difficult to leave those places because they have... formulated a strong hold within their own lives. So even if we came across a teacher of wisdom, how would we approach them? How would we see them? How would we understand that that is the teacher we are looking for? So it says though, he searches, he cannot see the teacher of wisdom because one is blind, one is in maya, one is not ready for that truth. For example, I don't talk about all this that I talk about in the podcast to people in general. If I said to somebody, you are awareness, I would be like Vemana ji mentioned, the madman. I don't need to mention those things. It's by your own life and your own experience when you recognize that somebody's ready for this truth. Somebody wants to hear it. Somebody wants to know it. Though he searches, he cannot see the teacher of wisdom, of Vedanta. This is very true. Not many people are ready for Vedanta. Not many people really want to really understand Vedanta. Really get it. Really like absorb themselves in it. Really implement the messages. Not truly, it takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication. Imagine you have to understand the scriptures. You have to do a lot of reading. You have to read about the life of saints and mystics. All of this requires time, even though now we cannot say we cannot have the ability to, the internet has changed everything for us. The internet has allowed us to listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos, watch TikTok videos, Instagram reels, read articles, with the Kindle we have all of this spiritual books in our hands. There is limitless opportunities to read Vedanta, but to understand it, we need a teacher. To understand the search needs to end, we need a teacher. So he says, there is none in the world who can discover truth, even he be found, he will not look to any other object. Now this is a very deep line and very easy to misunderstand. It has to be intuitively understood here. So he says, there is none in the world who can discover truth. The moment you say you've discovered truth or I've discovered truth, who is this I? The body? The mind? Who? The jeev? Is it the separate entity that understands the truth? So, I still entertain duality that there's a truth and there's a me. And that's why Vemana ji says in the next line, even he be found, he will not look to any other object. Even if he finds the truth, what is there left? You just get absorbed in that awareness. You enter samadhi. You enter that state of pure knowledge, of pure being. That's what Vemana ji is talking about. So the teacher of wisdom doesn't teach you an object. Teaches who you truly are, your very own self. That's what the teacher invests in you. That's what the teacher teaches you. That's what the teacher guides you towards. Then the seventh quote, which will be the end of today's episode. When God ordered the world to proceed by means of death and birth, the name of teacher is attached to him; false is the teacher who knoweth not that his own death is certain. It's an interesting one to say. And you'll think, well, it must be obvious that a teacher must know that they are going to die. Well, we'll discover this in a minute together. But first he says, when God ordered the world to proceed by means of death and birth. Obviously here he is saying that the cause of everything is Ishvara and... Ishvara ordered the world to proceed by means of death and birth, basically to maintain life there has to be birth and death and he says when God ordered the world to proceed by means of death and birth, the name of teacher is attached to him. So who's the real teacher, God, the truth, reality, that's our teacher. The true master, the true teacher, is always going to be the highest. So whether you call the highest Brahman or God, that's up to you. But Brahman will be the highest. And therefore, that name is what will resonate towards us. And we become attached to that One. Then he says, and which is the most important line here. That false is the teacher who knoweth not that his own death is certain. Now why is this important? First of all, Brahman will not die, so therefore the true teacher never dies. And the true teacher, even if they have a limitation in terms of a body, will always openly declare to you, openly, that they are going to die one day. But it's interesting, because a lot of people live, especially gurus as well, that they're not going to die tomorrow. They think, oh yeah, I will live on, I will survive. They will amass so much wealth, but they don't understand that their death is imminent, it's on the way, it's certain. Whoever is born is going to die, whoever enters this world is going to die. This matter has to die. Why it happens, we don't know. That's the play of maya, but we know for sure death is certain, if there's a fact of life that we cannot change, it's death. Upload your so called consciousness into the cloud, it will never remain your consciousness, it is only the consciousness. And consciousness is vast, endless and deathless, it's eternal. So what Vemana ji is saying here is that... Yes, we live in a world of birth and death, a true teacher is God itself, is Ishvara itself, is Brahman itself, but whoever says to you that there is no death for them and they are living in this form, they are lying to you, they are untrue. And we must stay away from such people. And that is the end of today's episode on Vemana ji. Let me know your thoughts on what you thought about Vemana ji. Did you enjoy his teachings? Did you enjoy what he had to say? Is there anything you disagreed with or want more clarity about? Let me know and I will look to answer those questions very soon. And that is now the end of the episode, thank you very much for listening. If you liked what you heard and liked what you watched, please do share this podcast with your friends and family who may enjoy this content. Do follow me on social media to keep getting updates. Join the Bearded Mystic Podcast WhatsApp community group to continue the podcast discussion, details are in the show notes and video description below. If you would like to support the Bearded Mystic Podcast as we discussed earlier, do check out the podcast Patreon page. Your support means everything, and it helps this podcast keep running. Details are in the show notes and video description below. Please do rate this podcast five stars and do give a review either on your favorite podcast, streaming app or on our website. Details are in the show notes and video description below. Please do like and comment on this video and subscribe to this YouTube channel. Do follow or subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast streaming app. Thank you very much for listening to this episode. Let's end with the Shanti mantra and the Soham mantra. Soham Soham. I am That. I am That. Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum Peace Peace Peace Namaste.