Silence, Sameness and Serenity

The real issue here is how to win over anya. Anya in Sanskrit means the tendency of proliferating otherness. We are disturbed only because of this anya, this otherness. Wherever otherness comes it interacts (reacts) with the 'I' in us, affecting our balance. If the 'other' is not there, our 'I' has nothing to fight with. The cancellation of the 'other' and the ego brings peace.

And how can we cancel out the effect of the 'other'? The 'I' and the 'other' must be unified. By knowing that what constitutes the 'I' is the same reality as that which constitutes the 'other' brings unification. We can also know that this 'I' is a fantasized modification of consciousness and the 'other' is a fantasized projection of consciousness. Both are false. Once we know (or see) that neither the 'I' nor the 'other' exist, there is no trouble. But it is not as easy as it sounds.

The ultimate thing is to become saumya, which means finding the quietness within you. It is by attaining sama, sameness, that you become quiet inside. This is to be cultivated throughout. Each day begins a new series of encounters. Each encounter is to be taken as a challenge to reestablish your inner serenity, inner quietness, inner sense of sameness through an act of adoration, an attitude of worship and a sense of the sublime.

There is no need for you to win all the time. Your greater victory lies in your acceptance of defeat, allowing the other to win. You may be in an argument. What does it matter if you win or not? Give the other person the chance to win. Even if he uses some falsehood, when you allow him to win he rethinks the situation. In his heart of hearts he knows he did not deserve the victory. He knows the truth of your silence. You do not become egoistic and you don't make the other person egoistic either. It will chastise him as well as purify him.

Thus, through the cultivation of silence, sameness and serenity, you come to a unitive understanding from within. This brings peace and harmony. Where there is peace and harmony, love spontaneously comes. When you give yourself into the hands of grace, the hands of the Divine, things which are difficult to attain become abundantly possible. Then you can say you have attained the discrimination of the unbroken, by which every 'this' is brought under the spell of the universal sameness.

From Atmopadesa Satakam, by Narayana & Nitya Chaitanya Yati Vs 37, in Gurukulam magazine, Spring 2009.