The Bearded Mystic Podcast
Rahul N Singh host of The Bearded Mystic Podcast explores the Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta or Nonduality in a very simple, direct and practical way.
Episodes include discussions into eastern scriptures like The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads etc and discussions about everyday spirituality.
Rahul has been on the spiritual path for over 20 years and has an open-minded approach to spirituality and finds that there is no one size fits all approach.
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The Bearded Mystic Podcast
God Isn't Gone: The Surprising Case for Devotion in Non-dual Spirituality
Abandoning the concept of God in spirituality can lead to a dead end, but understanding Ishvara as the bridge between duality and non-duality creates a clear path to self-realization. This episode explores why the personal God remains essential in Advaita Vedanta, even as we progress toward recognizing Brahman as our ultimate reality.
• Ishvara serves as an intermediary reality helping us cross from apparent duality to non-duality
• Bhakti (devotion) purifies the mind, making it receptive to higher knowledge
• Surrendering to Ishvara naturally dissolves the ego and sense of doership
• The personal God provides emotional, psychological, and spiritual support during challenges
• Even realized masters maintain reverence toward Ishvara out of gratitude, not ignorance
• Devotion and self-inquiry are complementary paths, not contradictory approaches
• Ishvara is the conscious administrator of karma, bringing moral significance to our actions
• Without devotion, non-duality risks becoming dry, abstract, and misinterpreted as nihilism
• Logic alone doesn't transform the seeker – grace flowing through Ishvara does
• Seeing your guru as the embodiment of Ishvara can accelerate spiritual growth
If you're feeling stuck in your spiritual practice or facing obstacles on your path to self-realization, may Ishvara deal with those obstacles and provide you the guidance to move forward.
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Hello and welcome to the Bearded Mystic Podcast, and I am your host, rahul N Singh. Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode. If you're listening to this for the first time or you are here again, just remember to like, comment and subscribe and that this channel is all about understanding Advaita Vedanta, all about understanding non-duality as our fundamental truth and fundamental true nature as well. So today I wanted to talk about and it's been something that's been playing on my mind quite a bit, because it's very easy for us to, and and this has been a learning curve for me as well where we can abandon God in spirituality. And is there a need or a point in abandoning God in spirituality? Is there a reason for this? Does it need to happen? God in spirituality Is there a reason for this? Does it need to happen? So I wanted to approach it in a different way on why the personal God, why Ishvara is necessary now and why Advaita Vedanta speaks about it. One thing I'm going to mention is that with Ishvara, it's very different to Nirakar. So this is fundamental to understanding in Vedanta. Ishvara and Nirakar or Brahman are two different things, and I will say that, and we'll go into this, because I'm going to go into why it's necessary, and then I'm going to look at the possible questions that come about, because I think people think there is no God. But you know, it's not about whether there is a God or not. It's about understanding, when we're studying Vedanta, what actually helps us go further, and Ishvara can be beneficial as a concept to help us go further. Now, yes, the truth has no concept. I understand that, but at the end of the day, we have a mind. Our mind has to understand this truth in order to even entertain abandoning its incessant chatter. So let's understand that also. But anyway, why is Ishvara important? Why is it necessary? Why is it compatible?
Speaker 1:Actually, in Advaita Vedanta and I think if you go without God in Advaita Vedanta, I think you miss out a lot, and this is sometimes not discussed enough. Hence I'm discussing it, and it's an important part of my course as well. So whatever I'm saying today is literally a snippet of what the course is going to be dealing with when it comes to Ishvara. And yes, ishvara is a massive part to play in the course, and that's why it's easier to rest in formless awareness, because we deal with Ishvara and we deal with the Jiva and we deal with all those things. So, yes, we must look at our sadhana, our spiritual practice.
Speaker 1:Now a lot of people question me or ask questions that you know, how can I improve my sadhana, how can I improve my spiritual practice? I'm stuck. What can I do? Is there anything that can help me? And in my opinion, the answer always comes to bhakti. I don't know why, but I feel bhakti is the answer always, and that's because bhakti utilizes the mind and limits the ego, and that's good.
Speaker 1:Now what can happen if you just go on the jnana aspect, the knowledge aspect? One can get knowledge, but it can be very dry. One, two, it will have no output, for example, a dead end. But it's not really the dead end, it's the end of the, the path that after that is pathless. But we don't know what to do with a pathless path. We don't know. We do not know what to do in uncharted territory. We do not know what to do when we've been limited and bound by some way with the knowledge, how we can go boundless and limitless. So these fundamental things are only understood once we kind of deal a lot with the background information that's required.
Speaker 1:So, without further ado, that was a long introduction, um, but here we go. So Ishvara is the bridge between duality and non-duality. It's interesting, right, it's a bridge. Now, yes, advaita completely believes Brahman is non-dual, it alone is real, it's only present, it's the only one present here, absolutely true. But the mind cannot grasp this truth directly and I and I really hesitate sometimes to speak about the direct truth, because I understand that only a few people can get it, and I want my message to reach out to more and more people because when they come across the direct truth, it's not uncharted territory then it's something they recognize and that's what background work does. It actually addresses that uncharted territory that you're like oh, I've been here before and you didn't even know you were there, and that's the whole point. But if you, just, if I just say, well, there's only just this here and I just end it there, you know it's good, but it's not going to get you anywhere, you know you're going to be like swimming in a vast ocean without any equipment of survival, and we need to survive when we're in this territory. So, anyway, the mind cannot grasp this truth directly.
Speaker 1:But Ishvara, the personal God, if we utilize this, then it functions as an intermediary reality, like a reality in between. That can just kind of help. So we know it's not the ultimate, but we know it's not unreal either, because for something to be unreal means that it's non-existent and it's constantly changing. Ishvara does not change, so it's a necessary stepping stone for the aspirant to cross the apparent duality to non-duality. So Ishvara, it has attributes. It's also formless, which helps. So because it's formlessless, we know that we don't have to put an image on it, we don't have to create it as a man up in the sky, it's, it's in this reality itself. But we use this personal god, we utilize ishwara just to kind of get us to non-duality. So it's a stepping stone, not a place to stay, so it's not a destination.
Speaker 1:Yeah, ishvara is not a destination. Brahman is a destination, but, uh, you could say a service stop or or you know, in England they call it a service station. I don't know what they call it here in in the US, but a rest area. Uh, that's what Ishwara is, you know. It's just a way to help you get to your destination, to get recharged.
Speaker 1:So now, as I mentioned bhakti here, devotion helps in purifying the mind, and if you look at my previous episode not previous, but a few episodes I've discussed the pitfalls of bhakti. That's to help us on the non-dual path, to keep our focus on Brahman, focus on the ultimate destination. But here bhakti definitely purifies the mind, and a pure mind when we do citta shuddhi this again is a big part of my course. It's a precondition for Gyan. If our mind is not pure, it's not actually going to grasp the knowledge. Now, yes, it itself, brahman, is pure, and if you fully align to this Brahman, this Nirakar, this non-dual reality, yes, your mind will be pure as a result, by default. However, what ultimately happens is that we see the direct truth, but if the mind isn't pure, it will somehow utilize that pure seeing as an egoic thing, and that's what we got to avoid doing that. If you have that feeling that, oh, I'm enlightened and I'm better, then you know it's it's not. You know you haven't got a purified mind, in my opinion.
Speaker 1:So remember, it's a precondition for Gyan and bhakti to Ishvara, bhakti in general. It helps dissolve the ego massively. I mean, imagine that you're saying Ishvara, you're everything, I am nothing To do. That takes incredible guts. And you don't do it because of an inferiority complex, you do it because you're humbled, not because of inferiority. Complex. There's a slight difference. If you say I am nothing, you're not saying it because of you feel that you have attributes of nothing. You have no attributes. No, what you realize, your attributes are there because of Ishvara. So there's a difference. And therefore, if you have attachments, well you know, Ishvara helps in that too.
Speaker 1:If you have a problem, if you have, if you're going through grief because you lost a loved one, ishvara helps because you can ask for strength. Maybe you find that right now you do not have the strength to deal with that loss. So you ask Ishvara, you ask God, and you say come on, can you give me some help, guidance, strength to deal with this? And I have found this in my own practice. Yes, it does help, it does give you strength. And that strength is there because Ishvara is present within you. And we only realize that it is the Andriyami, we only realize that when we ask, and then we are open to that strength being unleashed.
Speaker 1:So before, if we just use our mind, it's limited, but when we use Ishvara, it becomes limitless, it becomes very vast, and that's why we utilize Ishvara's help in these things. And then we have Rajasic and Damsic tendencies. You know, we may feel lazy some days. Sometimes I feel it too like I don't want to do a video. But I end up doing it because I ask Ishvara for help. I want to do, I want to deal with, I want to actually create a video and or, you know, one can get hyper about certain things. That can happen. So to avoid those tendencies or to deal with those tendencies effectively, you can ask Ishwara to help that you. You know there's this hyperactivity in the mind. The mind's going crazy, it's feeling anxious. Can you calm it down and Ishwara will calm it down.
Speaker 1:And if you're feeling lazy and you're procrastinating, ishwara will help to motivate you to go further, especially if you're on the spiritual path. Yeah, we've got to be inspired To do Anything on the spiritual path. If we're not doing anything for spirituality, if our spirituality is just conditioned To watching YouTube videos but not Implementing it into our own life, then we are full of dhamsik energy. Yeah, if that's procrastination, that's laziness. But if we are In sattvic, yeah, if that's procrastination, that's laziness. But if we are in sattvic, then we are always looking for a way to see something as spiritual practice. So you know, and Shankaracharya and maybe his disciples most likely. They composed devotional hymns, whether that was to Shiva, to Vishnu, to Devi, for sadhikas. There's a reason why that was entertained. This just helps bring about a feeling of emotion and it inspires you to be more spiritual. So, yes, that's very important to understand.
Speaker 1:Then, saguna Brahman or Ishvara, you know, brahman with attributes is necessary for Upasana, for meditation and worship. One thing I will say you know you cannot meditate on the unmanifest, the attributeless Nirguna Brahman. You can't meditate upon it. Yeah, if you meditate upon it, it becomes a meditation. It can never be meditated upon as an object because it is the one meditating. Nirguna Brahman will always be the one meditating and it becomes meditation. But you cannot meditate upon it. You can only be it and because you are it. So that's essentially understood.
Speaker 1:So our mind will need a form, it will need a name, it will need a relationship, you'll need some attribute, and that's why you know Ishvara, as Soguna Brahman provides that focus. So we can utilize anyone as our Ishtiv. That can be Shri Ram, that can be Shri Krishna, that can be Shiva, that can be any personal deity, that can be a guru as well, because even in the Gita it's mentioned, how you know, if one had to meditate on the formless, on the absolute, on the unmanifest, it's very difficult. If you live, if you're fully invested in this body and mind, so to deal with the body and mind, you give it a name and a form to focus on that is higher than it. Once that person is able to deal with, once that person meditates upon the higher being, then the door for Nirguna Brahman opens up of that realization that that is what it is. Otherwise, it will remain stuck on body and mind, and that's why a guru is necessary on these steps. It's not because the guru just teaches you. The guru then guides you, helps you go from one step to another, and that's what's very important. A guru is not there just to give a blanket discourse and then go. A guru is there to help you On each step of the way, so you can become what you really are, sorry, so you can be what you really are Not become. You already are it. See, this is what language does.
Speaker 1:Now, ishvara is also the dispenser of karma. This is very important. You know, it's the one that gives out karma and the number one thing that we're dealing in life is our karma right. So when we look at karma the law of cause and effect you know we need a conscious administrator. We need someone that can administrate our karma, and that's what Ishvara does and that's why we ask Ishvara for guidance on how to transcend karma.
Speaker 1:So without belief in Ishvara, our karma becomes mechanical. So we just do action for the sake of doing action and it's devoid of any moral or spiritual significance. So when we believe in Ishvara, so what happens? Then we have a divine purpose. Once we have that divine purpose, then you know what. Every action we do is divine. Every action we want to do for ourselves and even for others is divine. It's a spiritual practice. You know you're seeing Ishvara in all and that's important. We need to do that. Then it becomes karma yog. Otherwise we're just doing actions for the sake of it and those actions will cause either more harm or they will accumulate some sort of gift for the future. But we want to go beyond that. So that's why Ishvara is a good helping tool for us to do good karma by understanding that it is doing everything, not us.
Speaker 1:So if Ishvara gives the results of action, that means it sets up the moral fabric of the universe. So if you see how the universe gets together and does things, it's all because of Ishvara, all because of this Brahman. Well, because of Ishvara. So then it leads to surrender to Ishvara, leads to inner freedom. You know this is also important Surrendering.
Speaker 1:So if you know the eight limbs to Patanjali's yoga, you know that one of the niyamas in yoga is Ishvara Pranidhana. So that means surrendering to Ishvara and this is emphasized also in Advaita. Surrendering to Ishvara helps us and it's through surrender this individual ego of ours weakens, it dissolves and it becomes more receptive to the ultimate truth, to jnana. It makes us ready for brahmjnana. So when we surrender to Ishvara, yes, it may seem like we're surrendering to a formless reality that has attributes.
Speaker 1:Whatever negativities, whatever obstacles, ishvara will deal with them. Ishvara will be the one that acts within us. So what we say is that whatever you do, ishvara, that will be done. And that's not duality, that's not dualistic thinking, it's a matter, actually it's a method For dissolving the doership, the karta bhav. You know we have the karta bhav, that I am the doer. But when we say you are the doer and whatever you do will be done, then not only do we dissolve the karta bhav, the doer aspect. That means we don't accumulate karma.
Speaker 1:Second positive. Third positive everything we do has a spiritual significance and therefore is divine action and that's what we should aim to do. So once we do that, then we are even the surrendering. We say you are the one that provides the strength to surrender. How can I surrender? This ego is too feeble to surrender. But you provide that strength for the ego to dissolve. There's a way of being, and just simply doing this can take us so far in a spiritual journey. And for years I used to say there's no personal God, but in the last few years I've kind of become open to it, as necessary and if it's described in the right manner, yeah. So, if you notice, there's not a doctrine to be made out of this, because it's about you can't stay stuck on this Ishvara aspect. You have to go to Nirguna Brahman. So anyway, let's carry on.
Speaker 1:So we have a guru as Ishvara. So we know that. You know, in traditional Advaita the guru is not just a teacher, but they're the living embodiment of Ishvara. They hold all the blessings, they provide that grace and you know, in my own life my guru has been very helpful and, yes, they are an embodiment of Ishvara. I see them as that and I see them as the ultimate. So when we see the Guru as Ishvara, it helps us dissolve our ego very easily. You know who am I. You know my Guru has given me everything. Everything I have attained is because of my Guru, and this opens one up to grace, because we are not the one doing the effort, it's our Guru that is giving us, that is doing the effort for us. It's an interesting way of seeing things, and the Guru has always been praised. There's a whole Guru Gita Adi Shankaraji did the Guru Ashtakam. We can even go through that one day.
Speaker 1:Right now I'm actually reading a book on Sri Narayana Guru, and actually I know of him only because of one of my listeners, dilanji. He is the one that told me about Sri Narayana Guru, and actually I know of him only because of one of my listeners, dylanji. He is the one that told me about Sri Narayana Guru and Guruji, and because of him. He was a master, I think in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and now people are looking into him. Not only was he a good proponent of Advaita, but he also brought it into the social fabric, so he would speak heavily against the caste system, while being a great Advaitin practitioner or teacher or guru.
Speaker 1:So right now I'm reading that and it's true, and in there, you know, uh, I just read in there about the guru, ashtakam and how he speaks on that, and we should, you know, praise the guru for everything the guru does for us. Uh, and if there's, if we're on the path of spirituality, it's all because of the guru. Yeah, we've been inspired by someone, that that inspiration, whoever it may be, is worthy of our worship. Now, even if the world says your guru is fake, even then, like, if that guru has helped you, that guru has helped you. You can't take that away. Nobody can take that away from you and nobody should take that away from you. Not even the guru can take that away from you. Yeah, that's the interesting thing. So just remember that. But yes, that's another aspect, you know.
Speaker 1:So Ishvara is not to be denied. So it's not like, oh, once you know what Nirguna Brahman is, then you deny Ishvara, and this is what I did for many years and I'm warning you against it. Don't do it, it's not worth it. There's there's one thing about understanding Nirguna Brahman and understanding how Nirguna Brahman functions in the universe and through Ishvara. Once that missing link was open for me, a lot of things made sense. Otherwise, what was happening was there was a conflict within me, but the Ishvara aspect has actually abolished all those conflicts that I had of knowledge.
Speaker 1:So, yes, the final teaching of Advaita is Ishvara and the Jiva are both resolved into Brahman, brahmasatyam, cakatmitya, jiva-bhamevana-apara. So this realization only comes after one has matured through a relationship with Ishvara, and hence Ishvara is discussed in my course, because it's really important for us to understand the power that Ishvara has on our Jiv. When the Jiv is associated to the body and mind, it links itself to the body and mind. How can it transcend it? That's the whole point why Ishvara is used, because once the Jiv can relate to something, ishvara is able to deal with it. And so it's kind of like, you know, when you have a splinter in your finger and you use another, you use a needle or you use another kind of small piece of wood to take that splinter out. Once you take that splinter out, or say a thorn, you throw both away the splinter or the thorn inside your finger and the thorn that was used to take that thorn out. Just like, but remember, but that's one way. That's like the full dissolution, right, but actually Ishwara should be seen as not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, that's saying.
Speaker 1:But a better example would be this that you know, say you utilize a ladder because you have to reach the roof and clean the roof, or you have to fix something on the roof. Maybe you want to put christmas lights on the roof. So you use a ladder to you know, reach the top of the rooftop. But in order to come you will need the ladder still. So you don't drop the ladder, you don't stay on the ladder, you go onto the roof, but you never remove the ladder because it may be needed in the future. You never know what can happen. So just remember that you may still need that ladder.
Speaker 1:So, same way, even though you may get to understand what Brahman is intellectually, don't throw that ladder away until you are fully resting in and as formless awareness. Yeah, only then. When you understand that you are fully this nirguna Brahman, then there's no need to even think of the ladder. You don't have to drop the ladder, you don't have to think about it. Then you can transcend it. Everything remains as it is. But if you are still not entirely sure you think this may be it, you think you may have got to Atma board, then still keep the concept of Ishvara and Jeeva to help you.
Speaker 1:So one thing I've mentioned, and when it comes to the psychological and emotional support that Ishvara can bring you know humans themselves. We need meaning, we need guidance and we need emotional connection. If we don't have, say, a physical satsang to go where we are learning about the divine and we are contemplating upon the divine, it's important to have that meaning, have that guidance and emotional connection that a community normally brings, but say you don't have a community near you or the community that you go to is not providing you that, then we need meaning, yeah, we need support. So Ishvara gives the seeker that refuge. Ishvara is someone that we can pray to, we can lean on and we can love. Even as we move more towards the gyan, more towards atma board, more towards self-realization and it's absolutely fine. You know you can seek refuge in ishwara, that you know. Please bless me, please keep me in your shelter or you're going through a tough time ishwara can be there for you to rely on and remember Ishvara contains all the energy of this universe, because the universe is in motion because of Ishvara, the laws of Ishvara, the karma that comes is from Ishvara. So remember it is the administrator of karma. So you can pray to this, you can lean on Ishvara for support in your spiritual practice and you can love Ishvara.
Speaker 1:Most important thing, and that love is unconditional. Ishvara is not loving you because of a reason. Ishvara is love. Therefore, love is unconditional here and that is a good thing for us to emulate, to having that unconditional love. So you can utilize this as you are moving more towards the divine. And you see, without this, as I mentioned before before, non-duality becomes really dry, abstract and easy to misinterpret as nihilism or apathy or, you know, constantly we see this with the neo-advitants. And this way, you know, we are utilizing this mind in a positive manner. You know, by having ourselves surrender to Ishvara. It's a positive thing.
Speaker 1:So, as we know and this is backed by the Gita as well, and we know that, sri Krishna, you know which is an advising. You know. Let me make this one clear the bhagavad-gita is a text of advaita vidanta. To see it as anything else is not to fully understand the message of sri krishna. So what we learn in the bhagavad Gita is how to balance devotion to Krishna with the knowledge of the Self.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so when we see the Virat group of Sri Krishna, that's Ishvara that's being presented, yeah, that's Ishvara. So, and we know that the Atma, that does not get cut, that does not get burnt, that does not get wet, that does not get cut, that does not get burned, that does not get wet, that does not get dried, that is the Self, that is the ultimate reality, that is Nirguna Brahman. But the Viradhra, where Sri Krishna shows the vastness of what he is to Arjuna, that is Ishvara. So we can balance both. So remember that this universe that is seen is an embodiment of Ishvara. Yeah, that's all we need to consider. So, and you know, that's why Sri Krishna says that. You know, after many births, you know, the wise seek refuge in me, they look for me, they want my shelter and they're knowing me as all that is. You know. And he's talking to himself as, yes, as Ishvara, but we ultimately know he's also talking from the aspect of Nirguna Brahman. But for those of us on the journey who are struggling in our spiritual path, we can utilize the form of Sri Krishna as Ishvara to help us, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1:And one of the final points is that Ishvara is the waking dreams organizer. I like that definition. You know, just like we have a dream character to explain things within a dream, you know there's another character that explains what's happening, or there's a narrator in the dream. We also need, like a personal God, a personal narrator within this projection of Maya, of this apparent world. And you know, ishwara is the law and order of this universe, of this projection, and that allows us to have discipline, to have structure and a coherent spiritual journey.
Speaker 1:One thing that I always say, you know people will say to me that you, you know, I find this boring in spirituality. I find that boring in spirituality. Whether something is boring or not, one should have the discipline to transcend boring and interesting. If one is still chasing only interesting things, that's ragandvish. We're going through our likes and dislikes, we're in the pair of opposites always, but discipline will be this when we have that faith in Ishvara. We say you know what, all this that is presented is Ishvara's will. Whatever is presented to me today is Ishvara. We say you know what, all this that is presented is Ishvara as well. Whatever is presented to me today is Ishvara as well. Okay, let me be at peace. And yes, that's not acknowledging that, yes, it may be boring and you can even say that, okay, this is boring, but I'm going to sit through it and I'm going to take in what is being said. You know, maybe it's not interesting my mind right now, but I am beyond the mind. Ishvara helped me to transcend the mind, so this is how Ishvara can help us. So that's why Ishvara is necessary in the path of Advaita.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the most important things that I want to discuss, and that is what, if we have people who are skeptical of this? So you know. So one argument that people have, and it's one that is kind of common If Brahman is the only reality, this Nirmala Brahman, so why do we bother with the personal God, isn't it just, you know, reinforcing duality? I can see that point. But Advaita Vedanta would say yes, say yes, brahman alone is real Brahmasatyam. But let's be honest, not every seeker is living from that realisation yet. We're not. And if we're not, we best be honest about it.
Speaker 1:Just because we say Brahmasatyam doesn't mean that we actually fully realise that Brahman is Satyam. Brahman is the absolute truth, the absolute reality. So therefore, the personal God or Ishvara is not a lie, fully realize that Brahman is Satyam. Brahman is the absolute truth, the absolute reality. So therefore, the personal God or Ishvara is not a lie, because Ishvara is Brahman, reflected through Maya, just as the Jeeva is.
Speaker 1:We think we are an embodied person and you can use Ishvara as a cosmic being that can help us transcend this embodied, limited being that we have. So until the mind is prepared and the ego is dissolved, one must begin from where one stands, and that is in the apparent duality. We think duality is real. We live in the pair of opposites. We are constantly in conflict within our own self. So until we address the duality, we can never get to Nirgun Brahman or understand that Brahma, satyam. You know this. Brahman alone is real, brahman alone is real. So I would even go further to say that the very idea that you can intellectually bypass devotion to go straight to non-duality is itself a function of the ego, because you're kind of saying well, ishvara is below me, I want to go straight to nidigun Brahman, and that can be more harmful than beneficial. It's great, it shows passion that you want to get there, but at the same time it's bypassing an important element.
Speaker 1:Another argument can be that well, isn't devotion to god just an emotional feeling or a superstition? Why not just go straight to formless meditation? Why not go straight to formless awareness? And the response is simple. Emotions aren't obstacles, you know. We have them for a reason, but they are energies that can be kind of transformed into a spiritual force and that's called bhakti shakti. That's when we are able to transform our emotions for a positive.
Speaker 1:When we may have anger, we can say you know what, let's transform that energy into divine worship. Instead of being angry, let me use this energy instead to meditate, to sing the praises of Ishvara, to sing the praises of the deity that I worship. This would just help us. When we are happy, sing the praises of the Lord. When we are angry, sing the praises of the Lord. When we are disturbed, sing the praises of the Lord. Basically, the solution is praises of the Lord. Basically, the solution is praises to the Lord.
Speaker 1:Worshipping the Lord, meaning worshipping that which you consider higher. That can be your Guru, that can be Ishwara, that can be any of the deities. So, meditation on the formless, that nirgun aspect, it is prescribed, it is necessary. That is atma vichara, it's needed. But remember, a significant purification and concentration is necessary first. So to prepare us, this will help. You know, if you find ourselves stuck right now, maybe we could meditate on the formulas very easily before, but now we're finding it difficult. This can actually help us Focus on Ishvara, focus on the Ishdevta and utilize their support to transcend whatever's blocking us. So that's important.
Speaker 1:And devotion to Ishvara is not escapism either. You're not escaping reality, you're not avoiding anything. In fact, it's a sacred discipline to surrender the ego and prepare for. So when you devote, have devotion to Ishvara it's actually there to help you. You're dealing with your emotions. You're saying you know, I acknowledge that I'm angry, but I'm not going to show this anger, I'm not going to transfer that anger into something to show more anger, I'm going to transform the anger into something positive. That's all you know. That's what we do.
Speaker 1:So and again, if people want to say that, uh, oh, well, devotion is not something that I am beyond, well, you know, we know that shankaracharya, or is uh, said that he wrote devotional hymns. I was talking about sri narayana guruji. He wrote devotional hymns to Shri Ramana Maharishi. He also wrote devotional hymns to Arunachala, the mountain. So remember that having devotion does not show emotional immaturity. In fact, it shows that you understand that emotional maturity supports spiritual maturity. So you're using that emotion for devotion, that's all, and it's really important that we do that.
Speaker 1:Then someone can say and so I don't know why my nose is feeling itchy, I think it's sometimes nerves, ishvara, help me. So someone can even say why personalize the infinite? Why reduce Brahman that is nirguna, that is attributeless, that is formless, into a being with attributes, decent, right? Yeah, some of us may have thought that I certainly did. But you know, know, I realised that Brahman is not reduced at all, nirkan. Brahman stays as it is, that can never be reduced.
Speaker 1:To say that we view Brahman as less Is to show that we do not understand what Brahman is. Brahman cannot change. Brahman is the ultimate, the attributeless, the formless, the changeless, the infinite. Now Remember, ishvara is just Brahman, appearing through Maya. So, to deal with Maya, ishvara is the one that helps us, that's all. Brahman is appearing as Ishvara Through Maya, yeah, so With the attributes that serve the seeker. So Ishvara can give us Unconditional love, it can give us Unconditional strength, it can give us Unconditional hope, unconditional positivity, and that's what we need when we are going through Tough times in life. Ishvara can be that support, and so we ask for the energy Of support. And that's what we need when we're going through tough times in life. Ishvara can be that support, and so we ask for the energy of support.
Speaker 1:Now some people may turn around and say, well, nirguna Brahman doesn't have energy. But in Maya, nirguna Brahman has energy and that's seen through Ishvara. Ishvara provides that energy and utilize that energy. Why not? If you say that energy is not real, then frankly, if you're stuck in spirituality, you're going to stay stuck Because there's only so much Nirguna Brahman will be able to show you. When you're stuck, you need to flow, and with flow, you need motion, and with motion, you need emotion. And if you have emotion, why not have it positive? Why not have it divine? Why not have it spiritual?
Speaker 1:Okay, so a good example to use here is and I remember seeing this in the church that I went to when I was younger because they have stained glass windows there and, uh, it's like sunlight that's passing through them. Now, the light is one, but when you see the stained glass window, it looks so beautiful, magnificent, and the form the stained glass window helps the viewer to grasp it. You need that sunlight. So we don't limit Brahman. We engage with Brahman through a provisional form, a temporary form to dissolve our own limitations. So don't think of Ishvara as less form, a temporary form to dissolve our own limitations, yeah. So don't think of Ishvara as less. It's there to help us dissolve our own limitations. It's there to help us. It's there to help us. You know, be there as an interim. You know, when something is an interim form, we know it's not going to last.
Speaker 1:Upon self-realization, ishvara will also be seen for what it is. Does Ishvara disappear after self-realization? No, ishvara and the Jiv still remain. But you understand what they are. They're none other than your true self, this Brahman, that's all. They don't disappear. This world of multiplicity stays. You're telling me, self-realised people Just don't see the world. So what are they doing on YouTube? What are they doing in their ashrams? What are they doing in their Monhrams? What they're doing in their monasteries, in their temples? What they're doing even in the cave, in the Himalayas, in the forest? Yeah, basic common sense. So we don't limit Brahman by utilizing Ishvara. We engage with Brahman through this interim form of Ishvara, just to help us dissolve our own limitations, to help us dissolve our ego.
Speaker 1:Another argument could be that the concept of Ishvara is just another religious construct, another religious doctrine. Why not just be spiritual but not religious? And Advaita Vedanta would say fool. What are you doing? Ishvara is not a dogmatic figure. It's the intelligent order of the universe, the very power of Maya. This is important to understand.
Speaker 1:So the idea of Ishvara is not about belief. We're not telling you to believe in Ishvara. There's nobody. I'm not telling you to believe in him or to believe in it. But what I am saying is why don't you recognize the cosmic intelligence, this universal intelligence that's operating both within and without? That's all.
Speaker 1:So if we are rejecting Ishvara, that often reflects a rejection of traditional structures, which is understandable. But spirituality is about understanding that. You know what? If we mature in spirituality, we will say you know, I understand the reason why there's time-tested methods. There must be a reason why Ishvara was understood to be utilized by Adi Shankaraji, and that requires humility. And that's another attribute we can gain from Ishvara humility. Despite not being seen, it operates Maya, it powers Maya. It doesn't say oh look, I'm doing this. We can learn from that. So, yes, the idea of Ishvara Is not about belief. We need to understand that it's that universal intelligence that's operating both within and without. It's the very power of Maya. That's one thing we can understand. So I hinted towards this before.
Speaker 1:But you know, is ishvara? Isn't ishvara unnecessary once you realize the self? I know, I know brahman. Now I know nirguna brahman. I'm resting in formless awareness. Why do I need ishvara? Why keep the idea around? What's the need for that concept?
Speaker 1:For the Jnani, yes, ishvara and the Jeeva, they are both seen as appearances in the Atman, in Brahman, in the self. But for society, for sadhikas, for people who are on this path of spirituality, and for Dharma, ishvara remains profoundly relevant, absolutely, and that's why it's in the Upanishads. By the way, ishvara is not something constructed afterwards, it's in the Upanishads, if we. You know, if you look at the Isha Upanishad, it's referring a lot to Ishvara. You know, if you look at the Ishopanishad, it's referring a lot to Ishvara. Now, ishvara is still relevant.
Speaker 1:Think about it. If somebody's on the journey and they've not realized the self, yes, you may have realized the self, but they haven't. By saying Ishvara does not exist, it's not going to help them actually. It's going to actually be worse for them, because they will not have something to stand upon. You benefited from it. Then you say you know what, I do not want you to benefit from it. And this is what we've seen in the world. For example, I know so many people that are immigrants. And he'll be like we don't want immigrants in this country. And it's the same concept you benefited from immigration, but you don't want other people to benefit from it. It's selfishness. Same thing can happen in spirituality you benefit from it, but you don't want others to benefit from it.
Speaker 1:So, even realized beings so and I can, I can vouch for this one there's a maintenance of reverence towards Ishvara because out of gratitude, not because of ignorance. And just remember, if you think that you are a pure Gyani and you're the best gyani in the world, you realize the self. There's no one above you. But just remember that Ramana Maharishi used to bow in front of Arunachala. And if you think you're beyond Ramana Maharishi, beyond Ramana Maharishi, well, I hope nobody follows you. That's all I can say. You know, nisargadatta Maharaj used to visit the samadhi place of his guru and he always used to say that he followed Whatever his Guru said and that's why he achieved what he achieved. That you never. That gratitude remains. One does not say Ishvara is not needed. Now One says you know what have full on gratitude For Ishvara is not needed. Now One says you know what have full on gratitude for Ishvara and remain in formless awareness.
Speaker 1:So another one that this is one that I hear quite a bit, well, you know, isn't devotion a distraction from self-inquiry? Well, if it's true devotion, real devotion, then bhakti and jnana are never in conflict. If you think jnana is in conflict with bhakti or bhakti is in conflict with jnana, then you understand neither of them. They are complementary, they support each other beautifully. And in fact, bhadabhakti, as Swami Vivekananda ji talked about supreme devotion, is identical to self-realization, and that's why we have texts like the Bhagavad Gita, to be understood properly, and Vivekananda ji. These texts are there to show us that supreme devotion is absolutely aligned to the scriptures and self-inquiry when it's done with, when it's done without humility and you know, devotion brings out a natural humility. Actually, if we don't do it without, if we do self-inquiry without humility, then it becomes very dry, it becomes very self-centered, it becomes very like individual and therefore our heart remains closed. But with bhakti it keeps our heart open. So imagine doing bhakti with self-inquiry, what it can take you towards the last one, and this is probably more relevant today than to any other time in history, probably, but who knows?
Speaker 1:Well, isn't it more logical to say that consciousness just is, rather than adding a deity to the picture? And you know, I used to think that way. Everything I'm talking about today, everything that I'm referring to today, is literally where I have been and where it has kind of harmed me on the spiritual journey. So, yes, from the absolute reality perspective, from that paramatika level, the absolute standpoint, yes, it's absolutely logical to say consciousness just is, we don't need to add anything else. Yes, how many people have reached that point that I know of? I don't know. I don't think I know anyone where I can say you know, this applies to them.
Speaker 1:But remember also that, and although it's logical to say that consciousness just is and you don't need another deity, but logic alone doesn't transform the seeker. Nobody has become transformed due to logic. Logic helps. Nobody has become transformed due to logic. Logic helps, but logic also needs to be transcended. And, most importantly, in spirituality it is grace that is necessary, not logic. Logic is helpful but not necessary. Grace is necessary and logical and helpful, and that grace flows really well through Ishvara, or what we consider to be Ishvara. So that is really important.
Speaker 1:So, and remember, the deity is not added. You know people seem to think that we add a deity. No, deity is not added. You know people seem to think that we add a deity. No, deity is not added. The deity is how consciousness appears when we view it from the standpoint of the world. So there's the paramatika level, then there's the vahavadika level. So from the vahavadika level, we, the deity is there, already present. This is Ishvara is already present from the standpoint of that world, and to help us navigate this world, to transcend this world, ishvara is used. We ask for the grace of Ishvara to transcend so we can get to the Paramatika level and that's where we all will go to, hopefully.
Speaker 1:So, as you've seen from this episode, it's been a long episode it's nearly an hour and I've really enjoyed um recording this and talking about it, because it's been one that's very important for me where I have felt that sometimes I could have done more with allowing Ishwara to flow through than being against it.
Speaker 1:And so, yes, people who've started with me from the very beginning of my time on the podcast to today have probably seen this transformation live where I've brought Ishvara back in the Ishtavda back in. In fact, it wasn't that they've come back in, I've realized they've always been here and it's best to be utilized. So I hope that this episode has helped you. If it has, please tell me. Please like this, please share it with people that you know who are going through the same thing or who you feel are stuck in spirituality. Trust me, if you're stuck in spirituality, ishvara will help, and I pray that whatever is keeping you away from self-realization, whatever is blocking you, whatever obstacles you have, may Ishvara deal with them and give you the right guidance so you can move forward in your spiritual path. Take care everyone, stay safe and I shall see you in the next episode. Namaste Bye.
