Swadhyay: Guidance from the masters living in the sea

In the past post, "Swadhyaya: A ray of light in the well", we discussed some of the books that work as a ray of light in our well of ignorance. Further in the post "Swadhyay: The books showing limitation of the well", we discussed the books that show us the limitations of our knowledge and understanding of the nature and human body. In the post "Swadhyay:  Astrology, definite proof of the sea", we discussed how the study of Astrology provides us with definite proof of the existence of the sea of possibilities. In this post, we will discuss the books written by the masters living in the sea. Such books provide us clear guidance about the ways and mean to come out of our well of ignorance and explore the sea full of possibilities. 

While staying at the National Academy of Direct Taxes, I had the privilege of having access to one of the best libraries in India. I read some of the books written by J Krishnamurty at that time. They did not make much sense to me at that time till I came in contact with J Krishnamurti Foundation during my Banaras Vist sometime around 2017. Since then I came in touch with JKF and keep going for regular discussions there. After coming in to touch with Vijay sir there, the words of K (as they call J Krishnamurty) started making sense to me. I read many of his books including "commentaries on living". I listened to many of his videos such as discussions with David Bohm which were really exciting. 

During NADT's stay, I also read some of the books written by Osho. Books written by Osho make a lot of sense to me. However, I was not really much convinced by the accumulation of wealth and the lifestyle he followed. In fact, sometime around 2018, I read the book "Man and Divine" written by psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakkar and I could logically understand a lot of things. I also read the book The Analyst and the Mysic" written by Mr. Kakkar about the mystic sadhana of Ramakrishna Paramahansa. He tried to distinguish mystical experiences from hallucinations. That was a really engrossing book that I read. 

One of the books in NADT days that I really liked was "Mahasamar" by Narendra Kohli. Kohli ji has explained Mahabharata in 7-8 volumes and it's a mind-boggling analysis of the characters of Mahabharata. I also read his "Todo Kara Todo" on Swami Vivekananda. These two books formed my real interest to explore the world of possibilities. 

In Mumbai, I read books written by the masters like Ramesh Balsekar. He was a disciple of Nisargdatta Maharaj, who has a famous book titled "I am that". One of the first books by Ramesh Balsekar, I read, was "Your Head in Tiger's Mouth" and actually I felt as if my head is in a tiger's mouth after that. That is such a powerful book to feel the power of the sea. Later I read many of his books like "Consciousness Speaks", "Peace and Harmony in Daily Living" and "Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj". His books laid the foundation of my journey. 

In the meantime, I read the commentary on Bhagwad Geeta by Sri Aurobindo. I remember that book had a very long-lasting impact on me. After coming to Delhi, on transfer, I came into contact with Ramakrishna Mission and started regular interactions with a few monks. I read "Ramakrishna Vachanamrita" and "Ramakrishna Kathamruta" by Mahendra Gupta. These two books are one of the most powerful books I have read so far. They contain the entire life of Ramakrishna and his experiences from somebody who experienced them very closely. They also contain the talks of Ramakrishna with his disciples. These two books alone have the power to show the sea of possibilities directly to anybody.

After that, I also read "God Speaks to Arjuna" written by Paramhansa Yogananda, and "Autobiography of a Yogi", for the second time. These two books were so powerful to wake me up each day at 4 o'clock in the morning to read these books. While Autobiography of a Yogi is the autobiography of Yogananda ji, "God Speaks to Arjuna" is the commentary on Bhagwad Geeta from a very different angle. It explains as if the battle of Kurukshetra is happening inside us and it provides clear guidance on how to live life.

Later I read some of the books written by Sri Aurobindo like "Life Divine" and "Letters on Yoga". Sri Aurobindo has a very different style of writing. I think, among the contemporary guides, he is the only one who gives a complete understanding of the subject from the evolution of the cosmos to the functioning of the brain. He tells clearly that spirituality is not about knowing something, but it is all about living life.

I read many books written by Swami Sivananda such as "Mind, it's mysteries and Control" and Swami Satyananda as published by Bihar School of Yoga. I found the book "Yoga and Kriya" to be quite comprehensive on the subject. 

All these books are written by different masters after having experienced the wideness and vastness of the sea. Since the sea is too vast, it is difficult for anybody to write much about it. Any of these books will contain only a partial glimpse of the sea, But even that small glimpse is so powerful that it may take us out of the well of ignorance. The more one reads these books and the more his reason understands its limitations and the more one appreciates the vastness of the scale at which nature operates. These books definitely motivate us to come out of the well of ignorance to live life in the vast sea. They help the rational mind to realign to the vastness and to come out of the narrow well of ignorance and ignorance-driven fixations and obsessions.