by Sri Bimal Mohanty
VOL No. 47
January : 2005

THE DEBATE- FORM OR FORMLESS?

Part 4

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

Often sadhakas are plagued with serious mental confusion- a very practical and logical one at that – as to what is better? Should we meditate on a particular form of Brahman or on the spirit that is formless? Transcending beyond formlessness is even a more difficult proposition.

This is not really a problem if we think deeply about it. We must go back to our discussions as we began. For any sAdhaka the process of spiritual journey is essentially a journey of ascent. Every moment of our existence, whatever is happening to us is a step towards that ultimate goal of ours, and we are continuously on a path of ascent. Progress is our nature and is also part of the divine master plan. Ofcourse there are forward movements signifying spurts of achievements as well as retrograde motions to rectify any left out imperfections and mistakes. Such temporary setbacks are necessary as impurities can not be part of our character if purity is our desired goal. Once we have overcome these deficiencies, we are back to our path of progress. In the over all context, we are all a part of a progressive process.

These different stages at every level in our progress, is measured by the level of consciousness of our true self, the progressive awareness or the chetanA that the scriptures talk about.

The seat of this consciousness is our antahkarana or broadly speaking, our mind. Therefore, the level of consciousness again is dependent upon the capacity or the acquired development of the mind at that particular stage of our progress. Mind ofcourse is constantly enlarging itself, but it does so measure by measure. One can not force-feed the mind without first strengthening it to receive higher consciousness. What the mind can hold, it consumes it and uses it for its further enlargement and then accepts more, and further more, and the spiraling process goes on.

This nature of movement of the spiritual journey, goes to explain that we all move through different levels of consciousness, layers and layers of chetanA, throughout our journey, until the very last stage of our goal. The jiva, or the individual soul, no matter how enlightened one may be, is never at the end point of sAdhanA. No one can ever say that he has completed his sAdhanA. Even the greatest of our saints are sAdhaks like us and continue their sAdhanA all through out.

Since the mind keeps on moving between higher and lower levels of consciousness, sometimes, with its particular mental condition, meditation on a form of Brahman, becomes necessary to keep the mind on the track. At another time the mind is comfortable with the concept of formlessness.

It is a juvenile debate to question, which is better.

Both are equally important and essential for one sAdhaka to another. Adhering exclusively to one concept at the expense of the other is unwise. What does Isavasya Upanishad tells us?

Andham tamah pravisanti ye asambhutim upAsate.

Tatah bhuyah iva te tamah yah u sambhutyAm ratAh

Those obsessed with the manifested lose themselves in darkness. Those running after the formless only are no wiser and are even in greater ignorance. All these concepts are to be considered as assisting tools and should all be used as long as they make the mind comfortable in remaining on the right path.

As we had discussed earlier, between the state of ignorance which envelops us, and that exalted state of pure gnosis and satchidananda, we have layers and layers of imperfect knowledge. Meditation is the movement of mind through all these layers and our attempt to systematically remove or purify these layers so that absolute knowledge of truth shines through, is understood, and realized, and the bliss that flows from this becomes ours.

Each of these layers of imperfect understanding, are indeed a measure of our mental condition, which inter-alia represents the strength (or weakness) of the sAdhaks mind. This in turn, determines the comprehensive power of the developing mind at that stage.

As a growing child needs different kinds of supports at different stages of its development, so does the mind to hold on to. If at one level of its consciousness it needs to cling to a concept of a particular form of the Brahman and concentrate upon it, at another level it understands the futility of ascribing any form to Brahman. Both are necessary and both are important. One supports the other as the rungs of a ladder, which we use to climb higher. The third rung of the ladder is not less important than the fourth rung of the ladder. Without the third rung providing a foothold, one can not lift oneself up to the fourth. Similarly to rise to the fourth rung, one must also detach oneself from the third rung. Until a firm footing has been obtained, one keeps on alternating or oscillating between the two. That is the way meditation is.

In our puranas we have stories of great sages, who had glimpses of the absolute divine truth, and yet were devotees of a particular form of the Lord. One of the best contemporary examples we have is that of Sri Ramakrishna paramahansa. Even as a paramahansa, deeply immersed in chinmaybhAva and a Brahmanistha, his comfort factor with goddess Kali was total. The significance of this should be understood in the context of what we discussed above.

But then, one can not afford to rest on any specific concept and be happy with it for long. That is like putting a full stop to the evolutionary process. One must never forget that there lies ahead a higher and subtler sovereign knowledge of Brahman still to be acquired. In Lord Krishna’s words, it is the rajavidya and rajaguhya,- the over-riding knowledge and supreme secret. He says:

AvajanAnti mAm mudhA mAnushim tanumAsritam

ParambhAvam ajAnantah mama bhuta mahesvaram

Those who do not see my transcendental nature associated with my being the great Lord of all beings, and see me only in a human form are indeed unwise. That is how the Lord encourages us to go beyond and explore His higher nature that transcends ‘forms’