Vijay is victory. According to the Hindus, today is the day of victory. For us, we hope you will have a victory in your meditation. It is also the tenth day of the moon, Dasmi. Today Rama returned to Ayodhya victorious, therefore Vijay Dasmi. The tenth here, also signifies the tenth door, or the opening at the top of the head, which when it opens liberates you, brings you to liberation in the Supreme – therefore the victory.

There are nine openings besides this tenth; those nine keep you in the world here, but when the tenth opens, it takes you beyond, to liberation in the Supreme, Nirvana, Brahman. Hence Vijay Dasmi, the day of victory, victory over all things ephemeral. The nine openings are the anus, the genital, the mouth, the two nostrils, the two eyes and the two ears – and the tenth is the top of the head. So when the kundalini rises passing through all the various levels and regions of the consciousness and becomes one with her consort and paramour, Shiva, at the top of the head, at the Sahasrar, then you have Vijay Dasmi, the day of victory. That is when you have the highest experience, the supreme experience of Transcendence, transcendence of all things ephemeral.

So, today, the Hindus celebrate this victory. Previous to this day, they spend nine days worshipping the Devi, the Goddess, synonymous with the Kundalini which they call Jagran, Awakening, to awaken the force, the kundalini, at the base, so that on this day, the day of victory, she may arise and become one with her consort, Siva. And in that is the supreme experience, the liberation in the Supreme.

The nine days are spent in worship, in meditation and in japa. Of course, when the kundalini awakens, she raises up a lot of dust and storm. She activates all the various regions and centers – therefore Ravana. And Rama is the one who defeats Ravana, by facing and going beyond Ravana. And when he does so, he finally arrives at the day of victory, at Ayodhya,[1] where there is no more any conflict, no more any battle. And yesterday was Ramnavmi, the ninth day, the day of such a one, Rama. He vanquishes all that dust and storm, Ravana; he moves from one region to another, and rises to the ultimate experience. And then there is liberation, Vijay, the day of victory.

No conflict, no bother, no more any need for meditation, no more the struggle – you have arrived. The force in you is awake and the path upwards is all clear; there is no resistance, there are no obstructions. All the centers have unfolded, flowered: they are like lotuses, and all the petals open out. At every level you are a Master – that is Rama.

Rama comes from the Sanskrit root meaning ‘to play, to sport, to rejoice, to celebrate’. Such a one is Rama, and he lives in Ayodhya, where there is no more any battle, no more any conflict. Then you have Ramayana, the epic, his story, his life. He is in full bloom in all situations. There may be a crisis outside, but he is free within, for he has opened out – he is truly liberated at all times, in all situations. Such a one has won the battle and is victorious.

So for nine days the Force, the Devi, the Goddess in you is worshipped, so that it may lead you upward to the final victory. And each day an offering is made – that offering is yourself. Outwardly, you build a fire and then offer various fragrant ingredients, but inwardly you are offering yourself into the fire of meditation, into the fire of Yoga. That is what it all signifies.  Each time, as you offer yourself within, you reach to quietness inside, when there has been a complete surrender.

The culmination of offering is to reach you to a complete contentment in yourself, which brings about the awakening of the Force. Each time, as it brings up something or other within, you go beyond, and you come to rest in this quietness within. When you have gone beyond every movement within you, you will come to the ultimate quietness, and the silence of your soul. In that silence is the Awakening. That Awakening will bring a revolution in your life, a tremendous change.

So each time reach within yourself to that inner quietness, come to a rest within, come to contentment within. This requires great patience, it requires sadhana, practice. Through time beyond time: you have to work with yourself in time, that you may go beyond time, and reach to that eternal space within you wherein is the ultimate celebration.  But of course before all that, before you can arrive at celebration, there is all that work to be done – you have to face Ravana.

Pb: Do we have no Hanuman here?

He too is present. When there is integrity and sincerity Hanumans arrive to help you on the journey.  He may arrive in the form of the Master, the guide, who, like Hanuman, will make a bridge for you over the ocean of life, through his own awakened Force.  He will walk with you, he will struggle with you, and he will keep you in his consciousness.  He will feel your pain; he will also share your joys, until you arrive at your own Ayodhya.  So if you have found a Hanuman, be happy, you are getting there – and yet the intensity of your practice must continue to be.

You know what Hanuman means: one who is always on the knees, one who has completely surrendered. That is why you see Hanuman kneeling in the picture with Rama. He is always on his knees, and yet one leg is up as if he is always alert, ready for anything, ready for action, totally surrendered. He is completely surrendered to the Ultimate, which is Rama, to do his will.

So whatever you do, turn it into sadhana, turn it into meditation – whether it be work, or sitting quietly by yourself, whether you spend time in solitude all by yourself, or spend time with the crowd, one among the many.  Each time you are surrendering yourself, each moment is an offering, a conscious offering to the Ultimate in yourself, to the Ultimate in the other.  Even so in work – be spontaneous, let each and every moment be a moment of inspiration. Then you will find your Hanuman, you will find your Rama. Then truly will there be the chant, ‘Jay Sri Ram’: victory unto Rama!  So today is ‘Vijaydasmi’, the tenth day of the moon, and the day of victory.

In all your acts go beyond the act, within yourself.  When you speak, go beyond what you speak – in yourself.  When you work, go beyond work – in yourself.  And when you sit for meditation, go beyond yourself: that is when you will arrive at meditation.  All that you need to find is within you.  What is without is within, and what is within is without. The Kingdom begins in the heart and ends everywhere – endless creation, endless discovery of an unfolding infinity.  The magic of your Self is in the heart.

For this offering there is a very nice verse in the Gita.
Brahma arpanam, Brahma havihi, Brahma agnau, Brahmana hutam.

Brahma arpanam – the giving and the means of offering is Brahman.  Brahma havihi – that, which you offer, the food, is also Brahman.  Brahma agnau – agnau, agni, the fire, in which you make the offering, the fire in the belly, is also Brahman.  Brahmana hutam – hutam, the one who makes the offering, the soul that is making the offering is also Brahman. Brahmaiva tena gantavyam – to Brahman alone you will repair, arrive, when you start perceiving in such a manner.  Brahma karma samadhina – the very act of offering is also Brahman – it is all Brahman.

Brahma arpanam, Brahma havihi, Brahma agnau, Brahmana hutam,

Brahmaiva tena gantavyam, Brahma karma samadhina.

Then you arrive at Samadhi in Brahman. Whether you are moving about, whether you are sitting, whether you are eating, whether you are speaking, whether you are silent, you are in Brahman: you see everything as Brahman, this is Samadhi. Even your enemy is Brahman, your friend is Brahman: they are different faces of the same Brahman. So we leave you, Brahma arpanam, Brahma havihi, Brahma agnau, that you may offer Brahman into the fire which is Brahman, in the belly which is Brahman. And I am sure you will enjoy – which is also Brahman.

Pb: Is it time for Brahman to have breakfast?

Breakfast is Brahman.  Restlessness is Brahman, quietness is Brahman; agitation is Brahman, peace is Brahman.  All that you see is Brahman; all that you do not see is Brahman. Brahman is emptiness, Brahman is fullness. Brahman is Manifestation, Brahman is the Unmanifest.  Brahman is that which you can conceive, Brahman is that which is beyond all conceptions.  Brahman is sound, Brahman is silence.  It is Brahman that is darkness; it is Brahman that is light.  It is Brahman that is ignorance; it is Brahman that is knowledge.

There is nothing that is outside Brahman.  It is Brahman that is motion and rest.  It is Brahman that is mutation; it is Brahman that is the immutable.  It is Brahman that is the man; it is Brahman that is the woman.  The Guru, the Master is Brahman; the disciple, the follower is Brahman.  The one who leads is Brahman; the one who follows is Brahman.  But until such time that you can actually perceive it, experience it, nothing is Brahman!  Even not-perceiving is Brahman – therefore Brahman is also ignorance.  So Jay Sri Brahman, victory unto Brahman!  So enjoy your breakfast which is Brahman.

Brahman is unity, Brahman is diversity.  Brahman is the one in the many; Brahman is the many in the one.  Brahman is the contained, Brahman is the container.  Brahman is the receiver, Brahman is the giver.  So seek for Brahman, and the seeking is also Brahman. Brahman is that which is difference, Brahman is that which is non-difference.

Brahman is high, Brahman is low.  It is to Brahman that we offer our pranams, and it is Brahman that is the pranam offered by Brahman.

Arya Vihar

9 March 1996

[1] Ayodhya: A-yodhya. Yodhya means conflict, battle. A-yodhya therefore means where there is no conflict, no battle: beyond conflict, beyond battle.