Making of a Yogi – Shree Muktabai Part V – Nityananda Baba of Ganeshpuri.

Part V – Transcend Spiritual Ego
(Stanza 4: Maya )

This is one of the most powerful and subtle stanzas in the entire composition. Muktabai now attacks one of the last fortresses of ego—the belief:

“I have understood. Others have not.”

This is the ego that survives even after spiritual knowledge arises.

The previous stanza described the qualities of a Saint. This stanza now warns us against becoming proud of those very qualities.

Stanza 5

Ekh Apan Sadhu Jhale, Yer Kon Vaya gele ||1||

Uthe Vikar Brahmi Mul, Awaghe Mayechi Ghabal ||2||

Maya Samul Nurve Jevhan, Vishwa Brahma Hohil Thewan ||3||

Aisa Umaj Adhi Ananti, Magh Sukhi Vhave Santi ||4||

Chinta Krodha Maghe Sara, Tati Ughda Jneshwara ||5||

Stanza 5

एक आपण साधु झाले । येर कोण वाया गेले ॥१॥

उठे विकार ब्रह्मी मूळ । अवघे मायेचे गबाळ ॥२॥

माया समूळ नुरे जेव्हा । विश्व ब्रह्म होईल तेव्हा ॥३॥

ऐसे उमज आदि अंती । मग सुखी व्हावे संती ॥४॥

चिंता क्रोध मागे सारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा ॥५॥

You attained wisdom, but did others waste away? Such thoughts are ripples that gather worldly storms in the mind. Rid your mind of illusions and see the world pure and simple. Let this truth accompany the beginning and end of every thought; then those who seek to find bliss eternal. Come, sweep away anger and anxiety and open the door, dear Brother!

Literal Meaning

Verse 1

एक आपण साधु झाले । येर कोण वाया गेले

“Have you alone become a saint, and have all others gone astray?”

Or:

“Do not imagine that you alone have attained while everyone else is lost.”

Muktabai immediately strikes at spiritual superiority.

Verse 2

उठे विकार ब्रह्मी मूळ । अवघे मायेचे गबाळ

“The moment such thoughts arise, they are distortions appearing in Brahman itself; they are merely the confused play of Maya.”

Or:

“These notions are impurities born of ignorance and belong entirely to Maya.”

Verse 3

माया समूळ नुरे जेव्हा । विश्व ब्रह्म होईल तेव्हा

“When Maya is completely dissolved, then the entire universe is seen as Brahman.”

This is pure Advaita.

Verse 4

ऐसे उमज आदि अंती । मग सुखी व्हावे संती

“When this truth is understood from beginning to end, then the saint abides in true happiness.”

Verse 5

चिंता क्रोध मागे सारा । ताटी उघडा ज्ञानेश्वरा

“Leave behind anxiety and anger. Open the Door, O Jnaneshwara.”

Literal Meaning

Muktabai is addressing a subtle spiritual arrogance.

A seeker begins to think:

I understand.
Others do not.
I am progressing.
Others are worldly.

Muktabai says:

This itself is Maya. As long as one sees oneself as superior to others, true understanding has not yet dawned. When Maya disappears, one sees Brahman everywhere. Then peace naturally follows.

The Spiritual Quality Being Described

The central quality here is:

Humility born of Oneness

Not artificial humility. Not saying “I am nobody.” Not displaying modesty. But genuinely perceiving:

The same Self shines in all.

The ego says:

I have progressed.

Wisdom says:

There is only Brahman appearing as many.

Relation to Sudha Bhavana and Bhagavan Nityananda

This stanza is perhaps one of the clearest expressions of Sudha Bhavana.

Bhagavan repeatedly taught:

Vishal Maan

Nirmal Maan

Sabh Mithi

What prevents Vishal Maan?

The feeling:

“I am different.”

“I am superior.”

“I am more spiritual,”

Muktabai says these thoughts themselves are Maya.

Bhagavan’s Sudha Bhavana does not merely see goodness in others.

It sees:

The One Reality expressing itself through countless forms.

This is why Bhagavan served:

saints,
sinners,
rich,
poor,
humans,
animals,

with the same vision.

Foundation in Vivekachudamani

This stanza resonates deeply with the verses from 254 onwards.

Shankaracharya repeatedly teaches:

The seeker must dissolve:

Ahankara (ego)
Mamakara (mine-ness)
Bheda Buddhi (sense of separation)

Until:

Brahman alone remains. Particularly relevant is the teaching:

The world appears separate because of Adhyasa (superimposition).

When ignorance disappears:

The world is not destroyed. The illusion of separateness is destroyed.

This is exactly Muktabai’s:

विश्व ब्रह्म होईल तेव्हा

“When the entire universe is seen as Brahman.”

The Heart (Hridaya) and This Stanza

In Vivekachudamani, we learn:

Buddhi gives Dnyana.
Manas gives Bhakti.
Their union becomes Bhavana.
Bhavana matures in the Heart.

This stanza describes what happens when the Heart becomes pure.

The impure heart says:

I am better.

The pure heart says:

I am part of the Whole.

The purified Heart sees:

There is only the Whole.

Application for the Modern Seeker

This stanza is perhaps more relevant today than ever.

Today, spiritual pride appears in many forms:

I know more scriptures.
I meditate more.
My Guru is greater.
My path is superior.
My tradition alone is correct.

Muktabai demolishes all such notions.

She asks:

Have you alone become a saint?

The modern seeker should periodically examine:

Do I secretly feel superior?
Do I judge others’ spirituality?
Do I measure people by external practices?
Do I compare my progress with others?

Whenever such thoughts arise:

उठे विकार…

A distortion has arisen.

The Deeper Advaitic Vision

The most profound line is:

माया समूळ नुरे जेव्हा । विश्व ब्रह्म होईल तेव्हा

“When Maya is completely destroyed, the universe itself is seen as Brahman.”

This is the culmination of everything we have studied:

Stanza 1

Purify the Mind.

Stanza 2

Expand the Vision.

Stanza 3

Remove Pretence.

Stanza 4

Cultivate Saintly Qualities.

Stanza 5

Transcend Spiritual Ego.

Now Muktabai begins leading the seeker from being a good person to being a saint, and from being a saint to becoming established in the non-dual vision of Brahman.

Essence of Stanza 5

Muktabai’s message is:

Do not imagine that spirituality makes you special. The moment you feel superior, Maya has returned. See Brahman equally in all. Abandon anxiety and anger. Let humility mature into Oneness.

Then the Door will open.

In Bhagavan Nityananda’s language, this is the flowering of Vishal Maan into Sudha Bhavana, where the seeker no longer sees “I” and “others,” but begins to perceive the entire universe as the play of the One Reality in the boundless Chidakasha.