(Dec. 22, 1937) Now, I will give you some very new facts concerning sanskaras; truly, no philosophical books explain the term properly. Sanskaras are impressions of duality which make the soul go through the process of duality to attain unity with God. The soul cannot attain unity consciously unless it goes through conscious experiences of duality, and these experiences of duality cannot be had but by impressions of duality.
Sanskaras in general are called prarabdha sanskaras. Prarabdha literally means of destiny. These are applied to the whole universe in evolution from the state of a minute atom to the state of God-Realization. Prarabdha sanskaras are those that help the soul gain consciousness in order to go through evolution – from the very beginning to the very end – to attain unity.
For the Realized soul who does not return to normal consciousness, there are no sanskaras. But the soul who, after God-Realization, returns to normal consciousness automatically gets a universal mind and, to be able to work through duality, gets superfluous unbinding sanskaras that are called yogayoga sanskaras. The literal meaning of yogayoga is automatic. Very few perfected souls have these yogayoga sanskaras because very few of the God-Realized return to normal consciousness – to phenomenal consciousness. (1)
Now, the Avatar, being one always and having his circle of one hundred and twenty always – the same each time – this Avatar gives to his circle the vidnyani sanskaras. Vidnyani literally means “the threshold to unity.” The Avatar, when taking form for himself and the circle, gives himself and the circle the vidnyani sanskaras before birth. It is similar to a veil being drawn, and exactly at the time appointed by himself, the Avatar experiences his original divinity and then works with the vidnyani sanskaras.
The circle, until they are Realized, are under this veil of vidnyani sanskaras, having all the ordinary signs of the ordinary sanskaras of duality. When the time comes, the Avatar gives the circle Realization. However, until then the vidnyani sanskaras, though they remain with the person, are only an instrument for Universal work, just as his have been.
Much of Christ’s teaching in the New Testament is symbolic, if rightly understood. Christ talked of evolution, impressions, reincarnation, exactly as in Vedanta.
The prarabdha impressions which govern the whole universe of duality are of greed and its opposite; of anger and its opposite; of all bad and of all good thoughts, words and deeds. Good sanskaras, bad sanskaras – both are prarabdha.
To be free from prarabdha sanskaras, either the good sanskaras must overlap the bad sanskaras, the individual ego must be annihilated by service, or the limited self must merge in love. Good sanskaras and bad sanskaras are impressions and both bind. Due to the evolutionary process, the soul gathers all sanskaras throughout, up to the human form – animal sanskaras, as they are called. Therefore in human form, where the soul is fully conscious, the bad sanskaras already overlap the good ones. If now the good sanskaras were to overlap the bad ones, what would happen is that both would disappear. Like the dream example I once gave.
If you see yourself in a dream in which you enjoy becoming the queen, it continues for a long time, and if, all of a sudden, you see in the dream a snake attacking you, you wake up – both the good and bad dreams disappear. Here it was good at first – of enjoying becoming queen, and then the bad – of a snake attacking you. This is bad overlapping good. Both disappear on waking; so either the bad must overlap the good, or the good overlap the bad. But if already the soul has gathered impressions of greed, of anger, of lust – now they must be overlapped by their opposites – generosity, love, peace.
In the second instance, of service: when you think not of yourself, but of others, the thought about your own ego is replaced by thinking of others and gradually you forget yourself in serving others.
In the third instance, love: when the lover loves the Beloved to the extent of losing the self in the Beloved, then only the Beloved remains. So, naturally impressions then disappear.
It is so easy to do bad and so difficult to do good. Why? Because bad is already there.
Returning to the first point, I will give you two examples: of good overlapping the bad, of bad overlapping the good, and how both disappear. A dish is dirty. You take soap and water and overlap the dirt with soap; then in washing it – both disappear. Here the water is you. You are always present in the process of overlapping. The Indian way of cleaning a dish full of grease is with mud. Without water it will come clean. Both grease and mud disappear. In the overlapping of opposites – mud is the most greaseless thing, therefore opposite. The object is for both to disappear and attain a clean dish.
When good sanskaras overlap the bad, and bad sanskaras overlap the good, then both disappear and your mind is a clean slate with nothing written on it. All is wiped off.
Nothing is ever written on you – but on your mind. You, the soul, remain untarnished. Good and bad, everything is written on your mind. When the impressions go, then all is wiped out. Mind sees the soul – this is illumination. When good and bad are written off the mind, mind sees the soul. Mind then tries to become one with the soul – this is Realization.
Mind seeing the soul means you seeing God. But mind does not become you, you being God; mind must merge in the soul for you to become God. When mind merges in soul, then you are God-Realized.
(1) In the original transcription, probably by Chanji, the term written was “yogayog” but Baba later corrected it to yogayoga sanskaras.
Lord Meher, Original ed., Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 7, 2250 – 2252.