Chapter (অধ্যায়): DISCUSSION PAGE-300Page: 300 of 537
Q.-Does the Personal God belong to Maya?
A.-Yes; but the Personal God is the same Absolute seen through Maya. That Absolute under the control of nature is what is called the human soul; and that which is controlling nature is Ishvara, or the Personal God. If a man starts from here to see the sun, he will see at first a little sun; but as he proceeds he will see it bigger and bigger, until he reaches the real one. At each stage of his progress he was seeing apparently a different sun; yet we are sure it was the same sun he was seeing. So all these things are but visions of the Absolute, and as such they are true. Not one is a false vision, but we can only say they were lower stages.
Q.-What is the special process by which one will come to know the Absolute?
A.-We say there are two processes. One is the positive, and the other, the negative. The positive is that through which the whole universe is going-that of love. If this circle of love is increased indefinitely, we reach the one universal love. The other is the "Neti", "Neti"-"not this", "not this"-stopping every wave in the mind which tries to draw it out; and at last the mind dies, as it were, and the Real discloses Itself. We call that Samadhi, or superconsciousness.
Q.-That would be, then, merging the subject in the object!
A.-Merging the object in the subject, not merging the subject in the object. Really this world dies, and I remain. I am the only one that remains.
Q.-Some of our philosophers in Germany have thought that the whole doctrine of Bhakti (Love for the Divine) in India was very likely the result of occidental influence.
A.-I do not take any stock in that-the assumption was ephemeral. The Bhakti of India is not like the Western Bhakti. The central idea of ours is that there