The Window of Wisdom: Makaraksha, the Web and the Gracious Face
In the morning satsanga of November 1, 2026, Swami Jyotirmayananda read the demon Makaraksha as a web-based vision, set it beside jnana gavaksha, the window of wisdom through which the glory of Brahman is seen, and taught that real victory is how gracious you are.
After the invocation to Lord Rama and the Hare Rama mantra, Swamiji read a poem, Lamp of Divine Beauty. The lamp of beauty "Lights up my heart." The seeker looks far for that light, "Above the silvery clouds and high," "Beyond the rainbows in the sky," "Beneath the shimmering waves of the sea," and perceives the light of eternity shining within his very heart. Enfolded in the expansion of the whole, "My life flows on, unimpeded."
A Festivity of Light
Swamiji then turned the satsanga toward the festivity of light that is approaching. It celebrates the victory of the Devi, as Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati, over the forces of darkness. It is the "Victory of Rama over Ravana." It is the "Victory of Dharma over Adharma," led by Lord Krishna. That victory is enjoyed by all the sages, and it awaits every soul, because the real victory is Self-realization. "Prepare for that victory."
The Gracious Face, Briefly
Swamiji repeated an insight given before. As long as one lacks spiritual strength, the face expresses Ravana's strength, the strength of ignorance, and every job done with it only deepens the demoniac face, durmukha. When Hanuman shakti enters, every victory reveals the power of grace instead. "Real victory is how gracious you are." The test is the hardest moment: enemies come with great terror, and you face them "With a smiling face." That smile gives the biggest blow to the demoniac forces, and they become sublimated.
Makaraksha: The Web
The story moved to the battle of Rama and the demon Makaraksha, and Swamiji called the name very profound. In it he heard the web: websites, and the net a spider creates, a very artistic engineering. So much of the wisdom we receive now comes as information over the computer, and from morning till night hardly anything is done without a website. That is a web-based vision. It is not the real vision.
Through websites you can gather every lesson, Swamiji said, "But you can't depend upon it." In the end all that we have learned through them is let go, and we come to a state in which we know: "I'm neither body nor mind." Not the senses. All bondage and release is illusory. "I'm ever free."
Jnana Gavaksha: The Window of Wisdom
Against Makaraksha Swamiji set jnana gavaksha, the divine window that reveals the glory of Brahman. When it opens, guidance no longer depends on intellectual direction arriving through a website. It comes spontaneously: your conscience lights up, your heart lights up. You live in the world to light up the heart and kindle the lights of wisdom in every heart. Opening that window stops people from being controlled by websites. Without it, one is caught by mythology, by stories that entertain the mind, and every worldly victory and attainment remains a myth.
Then the image turned. "All the Upanishads are cows." The whole essence of all the Upanishads is a spiritual tonic that opens your eye. When the eye opens on Upanishadic knowledge, that knowledge becomes your spiritual website. The mind goes into the profound glory of God, and the wisdom-based vision sees the glory of God everywhere. "Hari Ananta, Hari Katha Ananta." God is endless, and the stories of God are endless; you enter into countless divine stories.
In the Ramayana, Swamiji explained, Makaraksha is transcended by Rama, yet Rama still has to fight. In the same way the seeker allows jnana gavaksha to win over Makaraksha. Rama sublimates the demon, and what Rama gives is a gracious face.
Prayer for Grace
The satsanga closed with a prayer for the shower of divine grace, the grace that removes Makaraksha, opens the window of wisdom, and blesses the seeker with shakti and bhakti, and with a prayer for the well-being of all.
Terms in This Satsanga
- Makaraksha — a demon in Rama's battle; read by Swamiji as the web-based vision of information.
- jnana gavaksha — the window of wisdom, through which the glory of Brahman is seen.
- durmukha — the demoniac face, sublimated into a gracious one.
- Hanuman shakti — the strength of Hanuman, which turns every victory into a revelation of grace.
- Hari ananta, Hari katha ananta — God is endless; the stories of God are endless.
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