FRUITS OF THE TREE

[Pravin Kumar]

APPLYING THE KNOWLEDGE:
As I become aware of myself as a soul, and understand the entire story of creation I begin to experience the practical benefits of this understanding. Baba teaches us that the gain that we will experience at this moment must only be that of spiritual progress; knowing that I have come closer to my final goal of perfection. If, after effort, I seek the fruit of this effort in the form of praise or reward — or indeed any other physical gain, then the Supreme Father, Baba, tells us that this is like eating unripe fruit. There can be no sweetness in eating unripe fruit, only indigestion, so I must recognize that this is the time for sowing and not for taking.


SEEING THE HIGHEST QUALITIES:
Baba teaches us balance; to appreciate the qualities of both the lion and the lamb. For example, when I see a lion, I appreciate the quality of courage and fearlessness. In such a person, I can see the sanskaras of the ruler, and appreciate the positive side of this knowing that such an individual has already taken power from Baba to remove the negative side of this particular trait — arrogance. So, first and foremost, as I see those with one or other of these personalities, I will be able to appreciate the positive aspects in both and will therefore be able to co-operate; and the lion and the lamb will both be able to take power from Baba, reinforce the positive and erase that which was negative in their characters previously. In this way there is complete development.


SEEING THE EFFECTS OF PURE VIBRATION:
Another very powerful inspiration that is taken from this particular description of Paradise is that the vibrations radiating from human beings determine the mental state of animals too. The vibrations of the human soul even affects the vibrations of nature, so that if humans are totally pure and non-violent and if there is sweetness with every thought and word, this vibration of purity reaches out and takes away violence.


INSPIRATION TO GO BEYOND DESIRE:
The idea of rivers flowing with milk and honey represents a world where there is a plentiful supply of all things, a world in which nature serves man. But, if I am a slave to my physical senses/desires, if I am pulled by physical attractions, nature and the physical elements trap me and I run after physical possession? However, if I reach a stage in which I have conquered all these different pulls, then nature will automatically come to serve me.


SEEING THE VALUE OF SUPREME LAW:
Let us look further at the Kingdom of the Golden Age. It is the Kingdom of God although God Himself will not be on earth to enjoy the fruits of that kingdom. It is the kingdom ruled by the laws established by God. If I wish to be part of that kingdom in the future I must prove myself worthy by observing all those laws that God teaches me here today. As I observe the highest code of conduct taught by Him I am able to be in the kingdom that is ruled by His wisdom and His laws. The status in that kingdom also depends on the understanding, wisdom and love that I absorb within myself today, for the rulers of that world are not chosen by election.

In order to prepare for that future world I must move my mind away from its own dictates and the dictates of past sanskaras. I allow myself to come under the influence of the One Supreme Guidance. Thus, as I remember my own highest Deity stage I re-emerge my Deity sanskaras of purity, love and sweetness.


SEEING WHICH IS THE SEED OF TRUTH & THE OBJECT OF MY YOGA:
As we progress through the tree and see the branches, there is appreciation of the role of each of the Prophet souls, yet there is also the awareness that although each one brought a message that helped souls at that time, still the tree continued to decay and the tree was not able to be rejuvenated . . .

So now, if I want to go to the Golden Age, let my attention move away from all the branches, and let my vision focus once more on the Seed, because now I recognize that although the teachings of each of the branches are true, they are only part of the whole truth. But now as I see the whole tree I do not just see the branches but also the seed. I am able to appreciate each facet of the whole diamond of truth with its own beauty.


EXPERIENCING CONTENTMENT FROM SEEING VARIETY:
As well as seeing the branches, I begin to see all different leaves of the Tree. Although the leaves appear the same, no two are identical. But how beautiful the tree is with its variety of leaves. In precisely the same way as I look at the human world tree, if I look at the faces or even the features of the individual leaves, the humans, I see how no two faces are identical. Superficially there may be similarity, but there is never anything identical, and as we see different features we appreciate the variety and the beauty of this. Surely the same applies to the personality behind the features? No two souls are identical, no two personalities are identical. But if this is so, surely I can never expect others to think in the same way that I do, so that if someone else's ideas do not match mine, that is only natural, only to be expected. Let me see the beauty of each and every soul, of each and every leaf? Why? Because although this variety exists, still it is the same family, the same tree emerging from one seed.


SEEING THE SOURCE OF NOURISHMENT:
Another powerful inspiration received from this image of the Whole Truth is the awareness that sustenance cannot come from another leaf. It cannot even come from a branch, but only from the seed. If my connection is with the Seed then I will have further nourishment and strength. If I seek co-operation from other leaves, how much effort and time would be needed to contact leaves individually? And even then there may not be success so, rather than this, let my connection be with the Seed and co-operation from the entire tree will automatically follow. Then I do not need to go to any of the leaves individually, I need only to turn to the Seed in order to take all that the Seed offers, and through the Seed there is automatically the right connection, the accurate connection with all the different branches and leaves.


BEING ABLE TO COMPARE TODAY AND TOMORROW:
As I understand the tree, I see that it has now reached its point of decay, and all the souls of the tree are in a stage of bondage. Let me experience what it is to be free of that bondage. Three stages have been described: bondage, liberation and liberation in life. Liberation in life, or "jeevan mukti", does not only belong to the future. If today there are the sanskaras of jeevan mukti, then these sanskaras will lead me to a situation where there is a life of liberation. What are the bondages I find myself tied in today? It is not other humans who have created bondages for me, but my own actions based on impurity have created these bondages. These bondages are expressed in different ways. One manifestation is the limitation of my own body. Because of its gender, maybe, or its age, its size, its strength or weakness, I am not able to do the things I seek to do. I find myself in bondage to bodily beings. My karmic accounts are such that those who are closest to me, instead of providing happiness are a bondage and create all sorts of barriers for the soul. I find that circumstances become a bondage and, most of all, I find that my own personality holds me in bondage. Even with the realization of what I would like, what I want, still my personality limits me and prevents me from reaching that stage. As a result of all these different bondages there is sorrow and distress. The experience of jeevan mukti is of freedom from everything negative; there is the experience of purity, freedom from sorrow, and great happiness. Freedom from all the different factors which cause instability, which means there is absolute peace within the soul. The teachings of Raja Yoga, as explained by Baba, God the Supreme, enable the soul to break away from all bondages here and now, and take the gift of liberation, mukti", and enjoy the fruits of "jeevan mukti". As we come to understand the significance of the kalpa tree, with knowledge in the intellect, and in intense meditation (tapasya), we experience the sweetness of all the fruits even now.


HELPFUL METHODS FOR TODAY:
Vision — Change the world and you change yourself. In other words, by changing your vision or viewpoint of the world, you yourself will change. Traveling like a rocket away from the world, you, the tiny soul, see the world now passing through time — now the Iron Age of sorrow is ending — now as you watch, the Golden Age of happiness is beginning. If the soul spends the day experiencing the world changing like this, you will find yourself also changing into a divine being of the Golden Age.