Death Is Divine
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Death is Divine Talks given from 1/10/78 to 10/10/78 Original in Hindi 10 Chapters Year published: 1994 Translation of "Maram Hey Yogi Maram" Hindi series. Death is Divine Chapter #1 Chapter title: Die O yogi die 1 October 1978 am in Buddha Hall Archive code: 7810010 ShortTitle: DEATH01 Audio: Yes Video: No [Note: This is a translation from the Hindi Maran Hey Jogi Maram, which is in the process of being edited. It is for research only.] NEITHER ISNESS NOR NO-ISNESS, NEITHER EMPTINESS NOR FULLNESS, SO UNFATHOMABLE, BEYOND THE SENSES. WITHIN THE CROWN OF THE HEAD A CHILD SPEAKS, HOW SHALL HE BE NAMED? LAUGHING, PLAYING, THE KNACK OF MEDITATION, DAY AND NIGHT SHARING DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. HE LAUGHS, PLAYS, KEEPS MIND UNTROUBLED SUCH UNWAVERING ONE IS ALWAYS WITH GOD. DAY AND NIGHT DISSOLVING MIND IN NO-MIND, DROPPING FATHOMABLE TALKING THE UNFATHOMABLE. DROPPING HOPE REMAINING HOPELESS: BRAHMA THE CREATOR SAYS, "I AM YOUR SERVANT." WHAT FLOWS DOWN, HE CHANNELS UP, A YOGI BURNS UP HIS SEX. HE RELEASES HIS EMBRACE, SHATTERS ILLUSION: VISHNU THE SUSTAINER WASHES HIS FEET. DIE, O YOGI, DIE! DIE, SWEET IS DYING. DIE THAT DEATH GORAKH DIED AND SAW. The great Hindi poet, Sumitranandan Pant, once asked me: who in the vast sky of Indian religion are the twelve people, who in my opinion are the brightest shining stars? I gave him this list: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira, Nagarjuna, Shankara, Gorakh, Kabir, Nanak, Meera, Ramakrishna and Krishnamurti. Sumitranandan Pant closed his eyes and slipped into thought..... Making a list is not easy , because the Indian sky is filled with so many stars! Who to cut, who to include?... Sumitranandan was a lovely man -- extremely soft, extremely sweet -- feminine. Even in old age a freshness remained on his face -- just as it should remain -- he had become more and more beautiful. I began to read the expressions appearing and disappearing on his face: it was difficult for him too. Some names, which should naturally be included, were not there. Rama's name was missing! He opened his eyes and said to me: "You have excluded Rama!" I said: "If I am allowed to choose only twelve; many names will have to be cut. So I have chosen those twelve people who have made some original contribution. Rama has made no original contribution, Krishna has. This is why Hindus call Krishna a complete incarnation, but not Rama." He asked me further, "Next, could you give me seven names?" Now the question had become more difficult! I gave him seven names: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira, Shankara, Gorakh and Kabir. He said: "The five you have deleted, on what basis did you drop them?" I said: "Nagarjuna is contained in Buddha. That which was a seed in Buddha, manifested itself in Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna can be dropped when it is a question of saving, trees can be dropped, but not seeds, because seeds will again become trees. They will become new trees. When Buddha is born, hundreds of Nagarjunas will soon be born, but no Nagarjuna can give birth to Buddha. Buddha is the headwater of the Ganges. Nagarjuna is just a place of pilgrimage that appears along the course of the Ganges. Lovely, but if cutting is needed, then the place of pilgrimage can be dropped, not the source of the Ganges. "Similarly Krishnamurti is included in Buddha. Krishnamurti is Buddha's newest edition -- the freshest; in today's language. But the difference is only of language. Krishnamurti is just an elaboration of Buddha's final sutra 'appa dipo bhau' -- be a light unto yourself.' A commentary on one sutra -- deep, profound, tremendously vast, immensely significant! But he's just a commentary on 'Be a light unto yourself: appa dipo bhau'. These were Buddha's last words on this earth. Before leaving his body, he had given this essential sutra... As if the treasure of his whole life, his whole life's experience was concentrated into this small sutra. "Ramakrishna can easily be included in Krishna. "Meera and Nanak can be dissolved into Kabir. They are like branches of Kabir. As if half of what came together in Kabir has manifested in Nanak and half has manifested in Meera. In Nanak the male aspect of Kabir has manifested, so it is not surprising that Sikhism became a warrior's religion, a religion of the soldier. In Meera, Kabir's feminine aspect is manifested -- hence his entire sweetness, his entire fragrance, his entire music resound from the bells on Meera's ankles. The woman in Kabir has sung on the one string of Meera's ektara. In Nanak the man in Kabir has spoken. Both are contained in Kabir. "This is how" I said, "I made the list seven." Now his curiosity had become tremendously aroused. He said, "And if you had to make a list of five?" I said, "Then it will be even more difficult for me." I gave him this list: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira, Gorakh. ... because Kabir is merged into Gorakh. Gorakh is the root. Gorakh cannot be left out. And Shankara easily merges into Krishna. He is the exposition of one part of Krishna, the philosophic interpretation of just one aspect of Krishna. Then he said: "One more time... if only four are to be kept?" Then I listed for him: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Gorakh... because Mahavira is not very different from Buddha. Just a tiny difference and that too only a difference in expression. Mahavira's greatness can be encompassed in the greatness of Buddha. He started, saying: "Just one more time... please choose three persons." I said: "Now it is impossible. I can not drop any of these four." Then I told him: "These four individualities are like the four directions. These four dimensions are like the four dimensions of time and space. These four arms are like the four armed conception of god. In fact there is only one, but that one has four arms. To leave out any one would be like cutting off an arm. I cannot do that. Until now I've been going along with you. I was continuing to decrease the number, because until now the one's that had to be put aside were clothes. Now limbs would have to be broken, I cannot fracture limbs. Please don't insist on such violence." He said: "Some questions have arisen, one is: you can drop Mahavira, but not Gorakh?" Gorakh cannot be dropped, because Gorakh became a new beginning for this country. No new beginning came from Mahavira. He was a rare man; but for centuries the first twenty three Jaina tirthankaras had already said what he was saying. He was just their repetition. He is not the beginning of a new journey. He is not the first link in a new chain, rather the last link. Gorakh is the first link of a chain. Through him a new type of religion was born. Without Gorakh, there could be no Kabir, no Nanak, no Dadu, no Vajid, no Farid, no Meera -- without Gorakh none of these are possible. The basic root of all of them is in Gorakh. Since then the temple has been built high. On this temple many golden spires have been raised... but the foundation stone is the foundation stone. Though the golden spires may be seen from afar, they cannot be more important than the foundation stone. And the foundation is not visible to anyone, but on this very stone stands the whole structure, all the walls, all the high peaks... The peaks are worshipped. People simply forget about the foundation. Gorakh has been similarly forgotten. But India's whole 'sant' tradition -- those innumerable devotees of love -- is indebted to Gorakh. Just as without Patanjali there would be no possibility of yoga in India; as without Buddha the foundation stone of meditation would be uprooted; just as without Krishna the path of love would not find expression -- similarly, without Gorakh the search that began for methods and techniques of sadhana, of spiritual practice to attain the ultimate truth would not have been possible. Gorakh made many discoveries within man for the inner search, more perhaps than anyone else has made. He has given so many methods, that in terms of methods Gorakh is the greatest inventor. He pushed open so many doors for going into man's inner being, he created so many doors that people got caught in them. Hence we have one word that remains with us -- people have forgotten Gorakh -- but not the word Gorakhdhandha, this word for maze remains. He gave so many methods, that people were confused, which method is right, which is wrong, which to do, which to drop? He gave so many methods that people became absolutely dumbfounded, hence the word Gorakhdhandha, maze. Now if somebody is entangled in something, we say, "What Gorakhdhandha have you gotten into?" Gorakh had a rare individuality, similar to Einstein. Einstein gave such penetrating methods for investigating the truth of the universe, as no one before him had given. Yes, now they can be further developed, now a finer edge can be put on them. But Einstein has done the primary work. Those who follow will be secondary. Now they cannot be first. The road was first broken by Einstein. Many will come who improve this road: ones who build it up, ones who place the milestones, ones who beautify it and make it comfortable. Many people will come, but no one can take Einstein's place. In the inner world the same situation exists with Gorakh.