Day 17 - Sep 20, Tue

Chapter 17 - Sincerity – the straight way to Liberation

In this chapter of Gita, Krishna gives the technique to imbibe and digest the teachings that He has given in the previous chapters. ‘Shraddha’ does not mean faith as it is usually translated. Shraddha actually means faith plus the courage to experiment with what you believe. With sincerity and shraddha, there is no chance of missing the Truth. Why does Krishna devote an entire chapter to this concept of shraddha? Because invariably it is the one thing that causes us to miss Enlightenment. The problem is not that we don't know. We know too much and we can’t digest it.

Vivekananda says beautifully, “Instead of having a whole library in your head, just know five concepts in your heart.”

Whatever you believe, even if it is atheism, if you add shraddha to that concept, you will achieve Enlightenment. Buddha, Krishnamurti and Gurdijeff, all never spoke of God, yet they are all great Enlightened Masters who have enlightened so many others. What you believe is not important. It is how intensely you believe that is essential.

Sincerity is experimenting, executing; not just knowing and hearing about spiritual Truths; it is having the courage to execute. Meditation and gambling both need courage. Meditation is the ultimate gamble. With meditation, you gamble with your whole Being, with your ego. It is the only game where losers win. When you put your ego at stake, you win it all. We need courage to experiment with spiritual Truths.

There are some books, which need to be more than just read. They need to be experimented with. The Gita is one such book. Unless we have the sincerity and courage to experiment with these Truths, it is dangerous. We have all these Truths and we start hallucinating that we know. Knowing without knowing is dangerous. We don't even know that we don't know.

A small story: This story is from the life of Dakshinamurti Swamigal, who lived in Tamil Nadu. When he was alive, one poet was inspired by his presence to write a song called ‘Bharani’. This is normally written for someone who has killed one thousand elephants in war. This poet wrote one thousand songs in bharani style. The king of the city was also considered to be a bharani. Someone sang bharani on him too. His ego was deeply hurt and he said, “I am the only bharani in this kingdom. How could a beggar be a bharani?” He summoned the poet. The king ordered the poet to be killed, as that was the trend at that time. Of course, only unintelligent beings resort to violence, because they don't have the intelligence or clarity to consider, or be open to the truth. The poet said, “I have no problem with the death sentence; I am ready to die; I have experienced the truth. But you have to do this one thing: You have to go and see this bharani. You must experience him.”

The king thinks about this. He goes to see Dakshinamurthy Swamigal with his whole army. He finds him sitting under a banyan tree without even any clothes. The king has all his paraphernalia with him. Kings always need this, otherwise they lose their identity easily. Masters don't have any social identity to maintain, so there is no need for such things.

Swamigal just sits there totally lost in Existence, in that intense silence and peace that penetrates other Beings. The king comes close to the Master. The Master doesn’t do anything. He simply opens his eyes and looks into the king’s eyes directy. It is the first time anyone has ever looked so directly into the king’s eyes. Normally the king will look into someone’s eyes and then they will look away. This time the king looks down. The Master doesn’t say anything, but with just an expression on his face he bids him to sit. The king simply sits. His entire army drops their weapons and sits.

They sit for one hour, then two, in complete silence; no words, no instructions. It becomes one day, then two. After the third day, the Master says, “You can go.” The king prostrated before him and left.

The king had killed ten thousand elephants. Killing ten thousand elephants is not a great accomplishment. Killing your mind is. This takes real courage.

Sincerity to one single Truth is enough. You don't have to do big things. What we do is not important. It is how we do it that counts. One great saint would simply just pluck flowers for a garland every day to offer to Vishnu. He became Enlightened simply from doing just this.

A Buddhist Monk was secretly deeply devoted to Shiva. He would go every day to a small Shiva linga under a tree and throw a stone at the linga from a distance, pretending it is a flower. An old man happened to notice and asked what he was doing. The monk told him, he was just throwing stones at Shiva. The old man said, “Your devotion to Shiva is apparent. The way you throw the stones shows your devotion.” The monk confessed that he showed his devotion to Shiva every day in this way. The old man gave him darshan as Shiva, and the monk became Enlightened.

In Tamil, they have three words for the Truth: vaimai, unmai and maimai. The first means - speaking the Truth through the mouth. Most of us manage this one. The second, unmai, means - speaking the Truth through the mind and heart. The last, maimai - means living the Truth though the body. We all miss the boat at this point. Yet, this honesty and sincerity to what we believe, is the ultimate step to Enlightenment.

Krishna gives three categories of sincerity based on our ideal. Tamas includes people who are negative and full of doubt, those who are prejudiced. Rajas includes those who believe but do not practice. And the third guna or virtue - Sattva includes those who believe and practice sincerely. Krishna gives the technology of how to raise ourselves to the sattvic type of sincerity from wherever we are.

We always have this loophole of practicality. Yet, if we are not able to put whatever we believe as the truth into practice, we make it a lie. Whether it is a lie or truth is only decided based on your Consciousness. All you have to do is, take one concept and practice it for a few days; just live it sincerely. To just have the courage to experiment with it for two days and that is enough. Let these words penetrate you. Experiment with the truth.

Just take one single concept and imbibe it to the core. Let your whole Being vibrate with that one idea. You cannot lose from trying. If you practice it with sincerity and it doesn’t work, then you can search somewhere else. If it works, then you are Enlightened and blissful. All you need is courage to try. Be sure to understand the spirit of the words.

A small story: A monk was sent to Alaska to spread God’s words. Before going, the father called him and said, “Your rosary and wine will take care of you.” After a year, the father decides to go and see how the mission is coming on. The monk says, “You were so right. The rosary and the wine have kept me going. Otherwise I would have died a long time ago. Father, would you like a cup of wine?” He turns and calls into the kitchen, “Rosary, bring a cup of wine.”

Words can be easily misunderstood. We don't have the mental setup of receiving the Truth and practicing it. We usually receive it, understand it intellectually and then don't have enough courage to practice it. Be very clear: if you aren’t going to practice it, simply decide that it is not true and not for you.

Sincerity is a basic spiritual virtue. Scientists have the courage to go after outer truth. We have to be an inner scientist to have the courage to live the Truth.

One Enlightened Zen Master and his disciple go to the river. The disciple falls into the river and starts drowning. He calls to the Master to save him. The Master says, “You are atman, save yourself.” The disciple says, “Save me first and then teach me your philosophy.” The Master shouts, “Stand up and save yourself.” The disciple cries, “Please save me!” The Master shouts, “Fool! Stand up! Save yourself!” The disciple is shaken and just stands up. The water is only up to his knees.

We just need the courage to stand up. Nothing can be lost. If something can be lost by practicing the Truth, then better to lose it now! Whatever can’t stand, let it be washed away. It is better for your Being that it be lost as early as possible. It is your sincerity that plays a role. If you are not sincere, even God cannot help you. God always responds in the way we need. Sometimes it is what we want, sometimes it is not. Making your dreams become reality is shakti or power. Making you understand that reality is a dream itself, is buddhi or intelligence. When you have sincerity and faith, Parashakti, God, comes through the Enlightened Master. Sincerity is the straight way to liberation.