Wisdom Sparks

Many are learned, but few are wise. Libraries are replete with books. Pandits disgorge mouthfuls of quotations. In lecture halls, there is a plethora of polemic argumentation. All words! Words! Words! Where do we find the practice of precepts? How can we gain illumination from walking encyclopaedias and talking dictionaries? Who goes through the rigours of spiritual discipline and kills the brute in him? Who grips the cobra of desire and pulls out its fangs? Who vanquishes the ego and tramples upon it? If one does these, that one can thrill you with his words, can enlighten you with a look and elevate you with a thought. Each syllable that he utters is a spark of fire that can burn up all your foulness, littleness and pettiness. Lucky indeed are we to have one with in Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Ananda Kutir.

"Even as blazing fire burns wood to ashes, the fire of wisdom reduces to ashes all Karma, O Arjuna," says Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (Ch. IV-37). There we have a most assuring statement indeed. It gives us hope and confidence. Even the best of us have the lurking fear in our hearts that our past and present Karmas may wind round us and bind us for ever. But after this assurance from the Lord, we can breathe free and heave a sigh of relief. Yet, there rises up a doubt. Have we the blazing fire of wisdom in us to reduce our Karmas to ashes? Well, we need not bother. Our Swamiji has given us "Wisdom Sparks" now.

Have no fear, dear reader. If you are eager to have spiritual illumination, you can have it here and now. You have only to keep the cotton of your mind dry. Desiccate it by the warmth of your spiritual aspiration. Place "Wisdom Sparks" (now in your hand) on the cotton and blow upon it the breath of devotion to God and Guru. Then will arise the blazing flame of wisdom, which will burn up all your Karma and lead you to the land of Bliss Immortal.

Our Swamiji has the unique quality of seeing the Highest in everything. When he thinks of a babe in the cradle, he sings "Suddhosi, Buddhosi, O Papa, Nityosi, Niranjanosi, O Chella." (Thou art pure, Thou are Intelligence, O child; Thou art Eternal, Thou art Untainted, O dear one!) He is so full of the desire to instruct that when he looks at falling drops of water, he breaks into high philosophy.

"Light drops of water make the mighty ocean; little words of love, little acts of kindness, little good thoughts will make you a saint." When he sees someone churning curd, his thoughts rise high and he exclaims:-"The Jnana-Yogis churn with the rod of OM. They bring out the jewel of Atma during Nirvikalpa Samadhi." He casually sees a gunny bag with the name of 'Dalmia cement' on it. Suddenly his mind flies up to the Eternal and he bursts forth: "Harder than cement is Ego. Break this through Atma Vichar. Love is indeed the best cement, to cement broken hearts. Purchase this though it is dear, because it is the best." One who has eyes can see the soul of the Swamiji in this song. When he read 'cement' he reflected upon the hardness of the ego. That was his first perception. The 'evil' side of cement i.e., its hardness (as that of the ego) suggested itself first; but he is so intensely trained in perceiving only good in everything. He therefore quickly passed on to speak of love as the best cement. What for? To cement broken hearts. There you see the Swamiji as an embodiment of love. This thought being a good one, endures in his mind and he goes on:-"It is largely manufactured in the heart-mills of India's Rishis. The ingredients of this rare cement are Rati, Prem and Mahabhav."

The accuracy of Swamiji's observation can be judged from his poem ' The Language of a Smile'. "The smile from gall heart smells very pungent. The smile of a saint is radiant." His nature and inborn gentility is seen when he says "Sages do not laugh, they smile through their eyes. Rude people laugh. Guff, or giggle is silly. It is indecent too."

There are many more such 'sparks'. Gather them and garner them when you have the leisure. Ruminate over them and you will rise above your 'littlenesses.

About the Book

Spiritual knowledge is imparted with the best result not through the precision of logic and reason, but through image literature, art and beauty. It is the change of the feelings of heart and not the understandings of the brain that touches the being of the inner man. Adhyatma-Vidya is the science of the innermost essence of the universe and it cannot therefore, come under the intellectual categories of objective discernment. The teachings of the sages have all had the conspicuous characteristic of appealing to the whole nature of the human being,-not merely an aspect of him. The highest teachings are executed in the homely language, the language of the heart of man. The simple great declarations of the Upanishads serve as examples.

We have here the Wisdom Sparks, the materialization of the spontaneous flow out of the depth of Swami Sivananda. It is a book meant for children and adults, the young and the old, men and women alike. The human touch in him coupled with his deep sagacity and impervious knowledge have proved to be such a beautiful combination of the relative and the super physical characters that his writings are a joy to the sorrowful, a strength to the weak, an illumination to the ignorant. The blending of intelligence and feeling, a melting of the head and the heart, is a common feature found in these outflows of his blissful expressions. Human troubles are not alleviated through flowery speeches and subtle hairsplitting arguments, for the source of sorrow is rooted in the very make-up of the individual and not in his superficial coatings. The inner disease is not cured by washing the outer shirt. The root has to be dug out.

A study of these highly spiritual lines from the holy pen of the saint is meant to cheer up the weary aspirant in his journey towards the City of the Immortal.