Darshan On (Laghu) Shyness Or Hesitation When We Do Something Wrong

Darshan On (Laghu) Shyness Or Hesitation When We Do Something Wrong

August 18, 1977

[Bapuji translated by Gurudev]

[Bapuji chants Ram dhun]

BAPUJI: Beloved brothers, sisters, lovers of God and Guru. I will discuss about one of the niyamas called laghu [sp] [Discussions between Bapuji and Gurudev]. Laghu is just the feeling shyness or feeling some hesitation when we do something wrong. It will become clarified as Bapuji describes.

In the society and in the religion, there are certain limitations. The limitations of the society are just social limitations or the limitations of this external life. The religious limitations are the limitations of the medical nature, or of the religious nature. In a sadhak’s life, knowingly and unknowingly, situations arise where we go beyond the limits that are necessary in our life.

And when we go beyond those limits, the hesitation that arises in our consciousness is called laghu, or shame. This shyness does not arise in everyone, but only in the sadhaks, those who are putting their efforts in growing spiritually. As long as the sadhak has not reached to the highest, he has to accept the limitations of the society and also of the religion.

GURUDEV: Now I think the last sentence makes a little clearer, until then it wasn’t.

BAPUJI: The sadhak by nature is gentle. Because of his good character, when he sees his fault as a fault, then this shyness arises. Shame arises, that is better word. In whose ever consciousness this shame arises, it could be said that his ability to see the good qualities is now growing. In such a sadhak who is also doing self-analysis, and because of this, he is able to see his own faults. It is not possible not to have any mistakes in life. Some difficult situations are such that it makes the sadhak helpless. And knowingly or unknowingly, he makes mistakes.

A sadhak who is awake, he sees the difficult situations. When he makes mistake, he becomes unhappy. And in order to remove his unhappiness, he takes proper steps. Within the yamas and niyamas, entire good character is included. If this person, any person who is practicing yam/niyam, even if he is not practicing yog, he would become worthy to be worshipped in this society. This is why yam/niyam are considered universal disciplines. And that builds the character of the society.

If I use one anecdote, it will make it much clearer, of the subject. One of the principles of ancient India is to consider the husband to be deva. You need to reflect very deeply on this particular matter. Just as a devotee establishes the presence of God, or invokes the presence of God in the statue of stone or metal, or in the picture, similarly the wife has to establish the presence of God in the wife or husband.

One has to know that, that in entering into this experiment, the wife is never hurt in any form at all. Such a woman is called sati. The word ‘sant’, means saint, is male; and ‘sati’ is female, means female saint. When the wife completely and fully adheres to the wishes of her husband, and when husband’s mind becomes her mind, then she becomes sati. Her interests are in those things that pleases the husband. Through this, her character becomes of supreme kind. Another important aspect of this that in her heart or in her mind, there should be no other man.

In India, there are innumerable experiments of this nature happening, already done. Any sati, means the female saint, her husband may be the worst kind of a person, and yet her word has never failed. Such satis in India have been worshipped and they have been considered to be as high as saint themselves. Among the most famous satis of India, one is called Ahalyadevi [sp]. Ahalyadevi was rishi’s wife. She was very beautiful. She worshipped her husband, considering him to be a deva. Her husband’s name was Gautamrishi. He’s also considered to be one of the most well known rishis of India. He has also written one of the scriptures called Darshans.

Both were young and lived in the secluded life in the woods. Rishi was a yogi so he was always engrossed in his sadhana. And his wife Ahalyadevi was also yogini, so she completely cooperated in her husband’s path. One time Maharishi Gautam left his ashram for some other place, to visit some other place. At that time, Indra, the king of the Heavens, the devas, his plane was passing over the ashram.

This is true, it is written in India that there used to be planes. This Indra saw Ahalyadevi. In the assembly of Indra, there are innumerable beautiful females, apsara it is called. Those apsaras, they dance and also sing well. The beauty of this Ahalya, of this earth is more beautiful than any other [that] appears in the heaven. So he landed his plane nearby.

It is not necessary, but I’ll still tell you that in those ancient planes, there was one specialty. For this plane to land, it takes a big vast place. And that plane could land anywhere at any place. It didn’t have to go around or anything. It could just land right there. This feels from description like helicopter, I guess. [laughter]. That looks bit like that.

Indra, the king of the devas, he descended from his plane. Really the ashram of Gautamrishi was very beautiful. All around ashram, there were beautiful trees. On one side there was a lake. And there was a beautiful garden next to the ashram. At that time Ahalyadevi was watering the plant. Indra saw her from a distance and was greatly enchanted. Ahalya was a sati, so it was not possible for him to be accepted, even if he went as an Indra. Then Indra thought, “What should I do?”

So with his siddhi, he took the form of Gautamrishi, her husband. She was lovingly watering the garden and also remembering the name of her husband. Really her husband was worth remembering. He was a great yogi, mahayogi. So it was natural that his memories may stay in her heart, naturally.

BAPUJI: Taking the form of Gautamrishi, Indra came very close to Ahalya. She was so much deeply in the memory of her husband, that she could not distinguish the form of Indra as a Gautam. Satis are yoginis. Nobody can hide their form and cheat them. Because she was so deep and filled with love, she saw her husband. She felt that was her husband.

She got up from her place and welcomed him with love. She was greatly pleased by the expressions of her husband. Both of them entered the ashram building. Indra started talking so many beautiful things that they could not remember the normal conditions. Gautam was rishi, greatly disciplined. Gautamrishi was greatly self-disciplined, and yet when Indra started showing the character or the behavior contrary to that, Ahalya became very alerted.

And in a very short time, she remembered and her eyes became big. “Who are you?” she asked. Indra got shook up. [laughter] He revealed his original form. Deviahalya was greatly pained. That some other male has touched my body. She was trying very hard to control her anger. “You evil, go away from here!”

Even though Indra was the king of the devas, he had no power to say anything against her. So he left the ashram. At that time, Gautamrishi also entered the ashram. When Gautamrishi saw Indra coming out from his ashram, Gautamrishi thought, “Why did he go in my ashram?” He also suffered a lot. He entered the ashram. Deviahalya was greatly suffering, holding her head with the two hands.

There was nothing that had happened. Indra had just touched her body. And yet she could not bear that hand which was filled with malice. As the husband came and stood right in front of her, suddenly she opened her eyes and looked at him. Husband saw her painful, sorrowful face. Deviahalya did not defend herself and just openly said, “I have committed a crime. This evil Indra has touched my body with evil intention.”

Maharishi Gautam also became disturbed. Gautamrishi said that, “You are a great sati,” means great saint “How come you didn’t recognize him by your first glance?” Mahasati said, “At that time I was deeply thinking of you.” “No, no, you should have recognized his form as soon as you saw him. That is the lack of your purity. Now you become the stone.”

At that very moment, Ahalyadevi, she became the form of a large stone. ‘Shila’ means stone and ‘Shil’ means purity. In Sanskrit, there is very little difference in writing them. This stone was the stone and also the purity. In the time of Ramatar, the time that Rama was born, and walking in the woods when he came in this ashram, into this ashram, so by the touch of this foot, the stone again turned into Ahalya, original form.

Now she was considered to be the purest one. And she paid her respects to her husband. If we examine this entire story, we would see that in the mind or the heart of Ahalya, in any corner of her heart or mind there was no desire or thought, or lust. She was simply cheated by seeing her husband’s form. And yet it was considered to be her fault.

That is what put her to shame. She believed that she had broken the limits of the Shastra and also the society. She was pure. Simply Indra had just touched her body, and as soon as she was touched, she became very alert and knew that this wasn’t the touch of her husband. The intellect of a sadhak should also be like Ahalyadevi. Then only he can travel on the path of sadhana for a long time. Time is over so I will conclude the lecture.

[Bapuji chants Ram ]