Vidya and Avidya

1
Vidya and Avidya

• From the discourse of
• Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

2
Nucleus

• Babas discourse in 1966
• Purusottama (Supreme Consciousness) is the
  nucleus
• Kendratiga centrifugal - avidya
• Kendranuga centripetal - vidya

3
Forces of ignorance - Avidya

• Force of ignorance - a centrifugal or eccentric
  force.
• Takes the mind from subtle to crude.
• Consisting of
• spirituo-psychic distraction
• drifting away from the spiritual
• delusion by mundane mental propensities
• psycho-physical distraction
• unwilling to see the spiritual
• delusion like a black curtain cover

4
Forces of knowledge - Vidya

• Force of knowledge a centripetal or concentric
  force.
• Takes the mind from crude to subtle.
• Consisting of
• physico-psychic attraction
• moving from physicality towards the higher mental
  realm
• creates an urge to do something noble for a
  higher purpose
• psycho-spiritual attraction
• propels human beings towards the sublime realm of
  absolute peace or supreme beatitude
• inspires people to do intuitional or spiritual
  practice

5
Sanskrit equivalents

• avidya' shakti - centrifugal or eccentric force
• viks'epa shakti - spirituo-psychic distraction
• a'varan'ii shakti - psycho-physical distraction
• vidya' shakti - centripetal or concentric force
• samvit shakti - physico-psychic attraction
• hla'dinii shakti - psycho-spiritual attraction

6
Avidya

• Two aspects
• viks'epa shakti
• a'varan'ii shakti.
• When a microcosm is influenced by avidya' shakti,
  it always tries to go away from the Hub (Nucleus).

7
Avidya

• Due to viks'epa shakti it moves away from its
  Lord.
• Due to a'varan'ii shakti it cannot see its Lord.

8
Vidya

• Two aspects
• Samvita Shakti
• Hladini or Radhika Shakti
• When a microcosm is influenced by vidya' shakti,
  it always moves towards the Hub (Nucleus).

9
Vidya

• Samvita Shakti
• "I should do something. I have a human structure.
  I am a human being. I should do something. I
  should act like a human being. I should try to
  goad myself to the realm of divinity, it is my
  dharma. I should follow dharma, I should strictly
  adhere to the code of dharma."

10
Vidya

• Hladini or Radhika Shakti
• "I should do something practical. Theory won't
  help me I should do something concrete, I should
  do something practical."

11
From crude to subtle

• Progressive movement of mind is from crude to
  subtle
• mind ideates on the sublime.
• Regressive movement of mind is from subtle to
  crude
• mind ideates on matter.
• When mind moves from matter to Cosmic
  Consciousness (sublime), the thought waves of
  human beings are more of a spiritual nature.

12
How to get Krpa

• Kr to do
• Pa to get
• Sadhana (spiritual practices meditation) should
  be done
• Devotion is very important

13
From discourse of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti - 9
December 1964, Salemfrom BRAHMA CAKRA in
A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 33

• Now regarding the vidya' shakti, the concentric
  force, the centripetal force, the force moving
  towards the hub of the wave A man following the
  path of vidya' shakti naturally will be
  decreasing the length of his radius, the radius
  of this Brahma Cakra (Cosmic Cycle). The radius
  will go on decreasing in length. But this vidya'
  shakti has also got two influences on the minds
  of individuals, on microcosms.

14
Discourse (continued)

• Of these two expressions, the first one is called
  samvit shakti. Samvit means spiritual
  consciousness, spiritual awakening. A man engaged
  in bad things all of a sudden feels that "No, I
  shouldn't do all these things. No, I should be a
  good man henceforward." Such an idea all of a
  sudden comes in his mind. And this thing, this
  change of mental tendency, is brought about by
  samvit shakti of Vidya'ma'ya'. Do you follow?
  This is what is called samvit shakti. "No,
  henceforward I must be a good man. No,
  henceforward I must be a spiritualist. I must not
  encourage any depraving idea." Samvit shakti.

15
Discourse (continued)

• And the second expression of Vidya'ma'ya' is
  hla'dinii shakti. After a man decides that
  "Henceforward I will be a good man, henceforward
  I will be a sa'dhaka spiritual practitioner,"
  he gets the krpa' of that Almighty Lord.
  (Regarding krpa' I will say something
  afterwards.) And after getting His krpa' through
  some medium he gets initiation. After being
  initiated he is to move along that spiritual
  path. That movement along the spiritual path is
  brought about by hla'dinii shakti.

16
Discourse (continued)

• This hla'dinii shakti is also known as Ra'dhika'
  shakti in Sanskrit. "Ra'dha'" means spiritual
  aspirant, "one who is engaged in a'ra'dhana'".
  One who is engaged in a'ra'dhana' is called
  "Ra'dha'" in Vaes'n'ava Vaishnavite philosophy.
  And Purus'ottama is called Krs'n'a. Ra'dha'
  moving towards Krs'n'a. So that hla'dinii shakti
  is called Ra'dhika' shakti. Clear?

17
Verse (in the discourse)

• Now in a particular shloka couplet it has been
  said
• Sarva'jiive sarvasam'sthe brhante tasmin ham'so
  bhra'myate Brahmacakre
• Prthaga'tma'nam' prerita'rainca matva'
  jus't'astataste-na'mrtatvameti.
• All unit entities, all unit structures, revolve
  around the Nucleus Consciousness in the Cosmic
  Cycle of creation. This rotation of theirs will
  continue as long as they think that they are
  separate from their Creator. When they become one
  with the Nucleus, they will attain immortality.

18
Verse explained in the discourse

• Sarva'jiive sarvasam'sthe
• "With different structures and with different
  mental longings", so many creatures are hovering
  around that Purus'ottama (Cosmic Nucleus).
• Tasmin ham'so bhra'myate Brahmacakre
• Ham'so means jiiva (unit consciousness).

19
Verse explained in the discourse (continued)

• And Prthaga'tma'nam' prerita'rainca matva'
• "This rotation of theirs will continue as long
  as they think that they are separate from their
  Creator."
• Why do they hover round that Purus'ottama?
  Because in their minds there is a sense of
  separateness, sense of separation, from their
  Cosmic Lord. They think that they are separate
  entities from Purus'ottama. They do not feel
  their unison with Purus'ottama, that's why they
  hover round that Nucleus. And when they come to
  think that they are not separate entities from
  that Hub of the wheel, all of a sudden that
  radius will cease to exist, and with the help of
  Vidya'ma'ya' the merger will take place. And that
  merger is the unison of Ra'dha' and Krs'n'a. Do
  you follow?
• So, Prthaga'tma'nam' prerita'rainca matva'
• "They feel that they are separate entities from
  that Hub, and that's why they are hovering
  round."

20
Verse explained in the discourse (continued)

• Jus't'astatastena'mrtatvameti
• "When they become one with the Nucleus, they
  will attain immortality."
• Just now I said that by His krpa', that samvit
  shakti is awakened. Now, what is krpa'? Here the
  rs'i sage who composed the shloka says that
  "being benefited by Him, he becomes one with his
  Nucleus" -- the merger takes place, and he
  attains immortality.

21
From discourse of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti -
November 1966, Ernakulamfrom RADHIKA SHAKTI in
A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 23

• Your progress in the realm of spirituality, in
  the realm of intuitionality, depends on His
  divine grace -- just say His special divine
  grace. The Vedas say that it depends on divine
  grace, Guru krpa'.
• What is krpa'? You know, Ramakrishna Paramahansa
  was not a learned man in the mundane sense. Once
  upon a time a very learned man said, "Oh,
  Ramakrishna, people say everything depends on His
  krpa'." (What is the local pronunciation? Krpa'?
  Krpa'? Krpa'?" pronounced in three ways) "So,
  what is the meaning of krpa' ?"

22
Discourse (continued)

• Ramakrishna said, "You know, I am an illiterate
  fellow, but according to my view, krpa' is made
  of two syllables, kr and pa'. Kr means Karo,
  karo, karo -- 'Do, do, do -- Do your sa'dhana',
  do your sa'dhana', do your sa'dhana'.' And pa'
  means Pa'o -- 'Get'. 'Get it, get it, get it, get
  it.' That is, 'Get it by doing sa'dhana'
  Kr-pa'.'"

23
Discourse (continued)

• And I say, that divine bliss, that divine krpa',
  that divine compassion, is always being showered
  upon you, on each and every living being, on each
  and every animate and inanimate object -- but you
  do not feel it, you are not being drenched by
  that divine water, you are not being drenched by
  that divine shower, because you are holding the
  umbrella of vanity upon your head. If you want to
  be drenched by that divine shower of krpa', you
  have to remove the umbrella of vanity from your
  head just remove it and be drenched. And what is
  sa'dhana' ? Sa'dhana' is just the action of
  removing this umbrella from upon my head.

24
BABA NAM KEVALAM

• Only the name of the Lord.
• Baba - the nearest and dearest, the beloved
• Nam name, repetition of the name of God or
  kiirtan
• Kevalam - only.
• Only the name of the Beloved.