There are two ideas about God described in Shastras - the idea that He is cognisable as having attributes and the idea that He is free from all attributes and so cannot be described as thus and thus, that is to say, the Saguna aspect and the Nirguna aspect. (B.P.V. - p. 94)

The Sruti has been telling us the different names of Ida, Saraswati and Bharati. In the very first stage of vasu, Ida grants us grace. It also lays down the commandments. As Saraswati it teaches us. And finally as Bharati it confers the boon of self-realisation.

While Ida and Saraswati give the first two steps, the end result is granted by Bharati. The final result of self-realisation is an outcome of the commandment of Ida and the path laid down by Saraswati.

Since Ida is the place where the command is originating, it is also associated with the place of the heart by the Sruti. When we talk of the heart here, it does not represent the physical heart but it represents a place a little below the physical heart that is the spiritual heart. It is in accordance with the commandment that the heart begins to involve itself in a thinking process.

Without accepting the preaching of Saraswati that is being given to you, you cannot move on to the next stage of realisation. Sometimes the head undertakes to decide about the destination even before Ida lays down the commandment. Whenever any person takes to the path decided by the head before he gets the command from the place of Ida, he will realise that the path he has chosen is not the right one and he will regret for the same at a later date.

In this context it is necessary for you to examine whether the thought generated in your head is proper and whether the action is in keeping with the command of the Ida. You must take sufficient time and make sure that the command comes from the place of your heart and only then think with your head, and finally get into action. Thus, it is necessary to give sufficient attention to the place of the heart, Ida and the commandments that come from it. Sometimes it is possible that you are guided by your excitement and emotion and undertake to read some books or do something, although the commandment is not coming from your Ida. This is not right. When you want to read a book or involve yourself in a sadhana, it is better to take some time and let the decision come from the Ida rather than make the decision in haste.

There is a small example for this. For several years many people have been reciting the shlokas in the Bhagavad Gita or a particular chapter of Ramayana as a matter of routine without giving any thought to the basis or the place from where they are getting the orders to undertake these activities. Such sadhakas sometimes go to elders and seek an upadesa. Truly, an individual who has been reciting Bhagavad Gita or Ramayana for fifteen years does not need any message or upadesa from another person. If you enquire this individual who is the author of the Bhagavad Gita he will unhesitatingly reply that Lord Krishna directly gave it to Arjuna in the battlefield. If he really had faith in the Bhagavad Gita, which came from the Lord himself, then where is the need for him to go to a third person and ask for an upadesa? If he has no faith in what he knows to be the words of Lord Krishna, where is the guarantee that he will have any faith in the words of any other guru? If the very words uttered by Krishna and which he was reciting for the past several years have not created any faith in him, the words which a guru gives are sure to be forgotten in less than fifteen seconds.

Such situations will come for people who are unable to perceive and comprehend the orders that come from Ida. What is coming from the place of Ida is not being taken seriously by such people and they want to go directly to the third step of Aditya and experience the aspect of Bharata without starting from the orders of Ida. It is absolutely necessary for every individual to search his conscience. It is in this context it is said that one should essentially have faith in one’s own Atma or have self-confidence. Only when one develops self-confidence will he be able to develop peace of mind and experience the satisfaction or Ananda of the Atma; and then he will sacrifice everything else.

Experiencing Ananda and removal of sorrow are simultaneous events. Just as darkness automatically and simultaneously disappears as soon as you put on a light, sorrow disappears when Ananda comes, without any further attempt. Light and darkness are like the obverse and reverse of the same coin. These are one and the same and in fact two aspects of the same thing. In the same manner, Ida and Saraswati are one and the same thing. They are different aspects of the same thing. If we follow the commandments of Ida, we can realise Saraswati. In realising the aspects of Ida, Saraswati and Bharati the first step is to realise the importance of Ida and then, develop self-confidence. Such an effort will surely produce results.

In this sadhana marga are involved two steps, viz., the Vidhvamsaka or the removal of something, and the Vidhayaka, or the conscious effort of developing something. If a farmer wants to sow some seed in his land and get produce, the first thing he will have to do is to remove all the unwanted bushes and weeds, in the land. Thus, the first step is Vidhvamsaka or destroying the unwanted things. Then he would plough and water the land and make it ready for sowing the seeds. The land here is the kshetra which also stands for our heart. This heart is comparable to a land and the first thing that you have to do is to cleanse it and remove the impure thoughts which are already there. You must then plough that land with compassion and kindness and then fill it up with the waters of prema. Only after filling it with prema, you can sow the seed of the Lord’s name. If you sow the seed in such a clean place which is well prepared, it will sprout easily. Thus cleaning your heart is the first step and sowing the seed of the Lord’s name is the second step. Then, you can reap a good harvest.

It is in this context that the Gopikas prayed that the rain of prema should come down on the land and out of this rain of prema rivers of prema should flow. If our heart is devoid of prema, then the land is like a desert land. In such a land whatever seed you sow will not sprout at all. Therefore, the first step in your sadhana is to fill your heart with prema. Then, the world will appear as the embodiment of Brahman. The result of whatever sadhana man does is contained in one single word Bharata. This Bharata is in the form of Aditya. The Aditya or the sun of Bharata is moving in the sky of your heart. It would be very dark in the sky of your heart if this effulgence of Aditya is not there.

In fact, when we say Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, we are praying that this effulgent Aditya should lead us from darkness to light. The prayer Asato maa sad gamaya has for its basis, the Ida. We are praying that the thoughts generated in our head should not be allowed to go unchecked and they should be guided by Ida to go in the proper direction. In the prayer Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, it is Aditya that is present as the presiding deity and in the prayer Mrtyor maa amrutam gamaya, which means that we should be led from death to immortality, we have Saraswati as the presiding deity.

In this context, we have to examine what really death is. Normally, the process of breathing coming to a halt is regarded as death. There is, however, some deeper meaning here. Saraswati has, for her carrier, the hamsa or the breath and the stoppage of breath would mean the absence of Saraswati and thus Saraswati is regarded as one who can lead you on from death to immortality. The significance of addressing this prayer to Saraswati is that you are praying to Saraswati (who is present in your body in the form of Hamsavahini presiding over

the process of breathing) that such breath should not enter another human body and again create the same trouble of being reborn. Thus, you are praying to Saraswati to lead you on from death to immortality. (SSB 1974 Part II, pp. 187-192)