The Dice (of Life) are Loaded!

The Dice (of Life) are Loaded!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

This quote comes from a nighttime conversation with Jesus by a man called Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a scholarly Pharisee and a member of the ruling council in Jerusalem called the Sanhedrin. He came at night because he didn’t want to be seen with Jesus during the day but he was very drawn to get to know Jesus and his teachings.

Naturally this quote seems to be a reference to Jesus himself being sent into the world. But there is a deeper meaning revealed by Paramhansa Yogananda. And it fits into the conversation with Nicodemus because Nicodemus came seeking the deeper teachings. Jesus didn’t identify himself, personally, in that quote. He used the phrase “only begotten Son.”

Jesus, like other great teachers called avatars, have realized their oneness with God. This achievement is the destiny of all souls through time and space when at last the soul makes the choice to seek freedom in God. For Jesus the use of the personal pronoun “I” has a much deeper meaning and context than Jesus a man who lived in time and space.

God’s presence in the world, Yogananda taught, is manifested in two ways: first, in the innate, indwelling silent intelligent bliss of the soul. This presence has many names but Yogananda mostly used the term Christ-Consciousness (or, at times, Krishna consciousness). The second, is the Holy Spirit, the primordial, vibration out of which all forms appear and are sustained (and withdrawn). This Holy Spirit is viewed as feminine in India and is depicted in the various forms of the goddesses. Viewed impersonally as the foundation of the creation itself, It is the “Amen,” the “Aum,” the “Amin” chanted by devotees around the world. In the form of Jesus the man who had achieved complete identity with God’s immanent presence in creation, It is the “Word” that was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.

In manifesting the universe it was essential that distinguishable objects, energies, thoughts and feelings be created. God, being ONE, had to separate thought from feeling, idea from form, subjective from objective. It is in this projection from God who is One and beyond creation into manifesting the infinity of diverse forms in creation that is the primordial act of love of God sending his offspring, his consciousness, or son, both into and as the world: having as it were two distinguishable manifestations.

This expression of God’s love, His love being the primordial intention and feeling is the macrocosm of creation. Jesus had achieved union with both the indwelling consciousness and the creation itself in addition to union with God beyond creation, in short the Trinity, in a prior incarnation.

The creation is itself an act of love: God seeking to share His love with all; God giving to us the freedom to love or reject Him. His love is literally the heart of all created things and Beings. God’s love is unconditional for it demands nothing in return and gives us the freedom to return or to reject that love. We see in human that a man and woman uniting in love create another human being. Love is the intention, the impulse that creates.

All of this philosophy is a complex way of saying THE DICE ARE LOADED. God gives to each soul the choice to choose freedom or to remain seeking fulfillment in the creation. In a meaningful way, however, the dice are loaded toward seeking God because there is no other reality to be found. God IS the creation; God IS the intelligent perception with which we view it; God IS the feeling we have of our own existence and, by extension, God is the identifications, attachments, and emotions we project upon the world around us. It’s not that we don’t have the choice but at some point we have the realization that there is a better choice! We realize that there is a way out of disappointment, boredom, endless change and the existential suffering inherent in our separation from life and from God.

About once or twice a year I visit a prison south of Aberdeen along the southern coast of WA. I have several inmates there that I correspond with by email, phone and video. I was invited to be a “visitor” to an annual religious event sponsored by a local Zen Buddhist teacher. Each recognized faith tradition is allowed to do this but the WA Department of Corrections doesn’t (yet) recognize Self-realization as a separate faith. As an approved visitor I am not allowed to also have the role of an outside religious teacher or minister. But a friend of ours, a fellow Nayaswami, lives in Elma not far from the prison and he has submitted a proposal to offer a six week meditation class to get something started. Later perhaps we can file for separate religious recognition.

Speaking of the “dice are loaded” it was inspiring to see that among the 50 or so inmates who applied to attend the Zen Buddhist program, there were many who are very sincere. Sometimes the extremes of life make the choices we have very clear. I suppose this is one reason it is difficult to advance spiritually after death in the astral world where, for a person of goodness, it’s like going on vacation to Hawaii. We need the contrast to help us to see the consequences of our choices and to have the incentive to make a disciplined effort. “There but for the grace of God go I”

Consistently throughout the Old Testament of the Christian Bible you see the prophets giving dire warnings to the Israelites against their faithlessness. And yet in each case, the prophet also gives the hope, promise and means of redemption. No matter how far the Israelites, meaning you and me, fall, mercy and the way out is also extended to us.

This promise is repeatedly given also in the gospel of Luke, as, for example in the story of the Prodigal Son; and, the story of the lost sheep; even the story of a lost coin.

Here’s the thing though. We have the choice. As the commentaries on Sankha Darsana aver, God cannot be proved. Only intuited.

Thus most people on the planet in this age of Energy and Self-interest (Dvapara Yuga) are busy with making money, gaining status, finding satisfaction or self-improvement. The realization of the divine presence comes only to those whose souls have awakened to a certain point.

This is the function of the sat guru, the savior, the avatar. Yet even the saints and lesser teachers, too, serve the role of pointing a finger to the moon: the “moon of my delight who knowest no wane: the soul.” (Quatrain 74 of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam)

Most people are so busy with sense impressions of sight, sound, etc and thoughts, emotions, imagination, and memories that they don’t notice that all of these things are invisible. They are mental impressions, images and silent words in our minds; and, importantly, our response to them!

This is why mindfulness is the beginning of our awakening. We begin to realize that the world is in our head, not objectively, but subjectively. Our world revolves primarily around what we think and feel. Of course outward circumstances play a part, yes, but mostly their impact depends on our mental and emotional response to them.

This is the very definition of our soul’s freedom: “yogas chitta vritti nirodha.”  Yoga is the neutralization of the reactive waves of likes and dislikes.”

This invisible world is the gateway to world of Spirit. In the next higher age (4000 AD or so), the third age called Treta, humanity at large will gain awareness of the invisible world of conscious energies and Beings whose influence and magnetism dictate more than anything else our experience of life. For now, however, we are not generally there.

For us, we need to develop our will power, refine our devotion even if we only dimly perceive God, the gurus or saints; we need to craft our self-discipline using the tools of yoga. These tools are the four paths of yoga: action, thought, feeling and meditation. These paths are not limited to those practicing yoga but are for all people in all faith traditions. (For others, prayer is the substitute for what we call meditation. Deep prayer leads naturally to meditation.)

For us in this age, our invisible influences are incarnate in the form of our friends and fellow truth-seekers. These are what guide us the most. This is why having fellowship, a church, an ashram, a community is so important. Paramhansa Yogananda said that our “environment is stronger than will.” As our mothers noticed when we were in grade school, the kids we hung out with were a greater influence on our behavior than parents or teachers.

This is where today’s affirmation on calmness fits in. The path to God begins with awareness and awareness flourishes in the ocean of calmness. With calmness the fog of mental distraction lifts and reveals the sunshine of God’s presence. This is why meditation holds the central place on the path of Self-realization.

As we are fond of quoting our founder and teacher, Swami Kriyananda, “It’s not WHAT you do, it’s HOW you do it.” Meaning the awareness and calmness and intention behind your actions, your thoughts and feelings is what counts. This is what is meant when Jesus said “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” (Matt 24:40). Two people can do the exact same task, even two ministers of the Lord, but one will be uplifted into grace while the other merely goes through the motions.

This too is the source for Jesus’ inexplicable remark that “the poor ye shall have always with you but not me.” It is true communion, awareness of the Spirit within us, awareness of the touch of transcendence, that we seek. It is not common and should be sought with calm even mindedness, expected with the joy of the soul, and cherished in our heart. Jesus of course taught and touched the poor, so his remark has to be understood in its proper context.

When the soul has “ears to hear” and “eyes to see” the invisible world of Spirit, the guru-savior comes to stimulate that memory and inflame our resolution to seek the “pearl of great price.” When that Christ-child is born in the humble manger of our hearts, he sends the Holy Spirit, the intelligent energy of Divine Mother, to re-arrange circumstances to support our resolution.

I am reminded of the strange story of Sasi, a college friend of Yogananda’s who spent weekends at Master’s ashram. Sri Yukteswar warned the young man that his life was disorderly and wild and that unless he reformed he would be dangerously ill. Sri Yukteswar encouraged Sasi to wear a gemstone bracelet but Sasi objected saying he had no money and he preferred to depend on Sri Yukteswar’s grace! Swami Sri Yukteswar predicted that in one year hence Sasi would bring to him three sapphires but it would be too late.

Sure enough a year later, Sasi was ill to the point of death; and, as predicted, he came desperately to Swami Sri Yukteswar with three sapphires. Swami Sri Yukteswar informed Sasi that the gemstones were of no use. Swami Sri Yukteswar entered into meditation and when finished Swami Sri Yukteswar told Sasi to wear an astrological bangle and in a few weeks would be well.

In a few weeks Sasi was on his deathbed agsin but despite Yogananda’s concerns and listening to Swami Sri Yukteswar’s original reassurance, Sasi suddenly recovered having felt Swami Sri Yukteswar’s presence. Sadly, Sasi ceased to did not continue his relationship with Swami Sri Yukteswar. Surely Swami Sri Yukteswar knew that in advance but felt the guidance to respond to Sasi’ s unfailing faith and thus cured the boy that he would live a full life notwithstanding his absence.

THE DICE ARE LOADED. This is the gospel, the good news. Rejoice. To even WANT to be free means your soul has awakened and the time for knowing God has come to you!

How to Outwit Bad Karma!

 How to Outwit Bad Karma! 

 

There is a way out of bad karma, but the “way” is narrow and straight and “you” get left behind. You want to hear more? 

What is karma? Karma is the self-balancing after-effects of previous actions, including thoughts and emotions, not just physical deeds. Thus, the term “karma” includes what is ordinarily considered “good” karma as well as “bad.” However, most casual uses of the term “karma” tend to assume “bad” karma.  

What, then is “bad” karma? Bad karma is the unwanted boomerang effects of your previous not-so-laudable actions. If you purposely hurt someone (physically or emotionally) you might expect the law of karma to dictate that you will be hurt in return (whether by the person you hurt or another person). Good karma would be the kindness that returns to you for having been kind to others.  

The law of karma can be seen in the law of physics that states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In nature, we would refer to the law of karma as the principle of cause and effect. Whether in science or human behavior, our expectations assume the law of causation even though we often cannot see the chain of causes that lead to a specific effect. We would go crazy if our world was not so governed. Life would not be worth living if we could not reasonably expect to exchange good habits for bad habits; if we could not improve our skills, our health, or our relationships. Science wouldn’t exist to improve our lives if experiments could not be duplicated dependably.  

This fundamentally important aspect of human life is akin to the law of gravity. Our lives would be in disarray if gravity did not hold sway on our planet. 

The justice system metes out greater punishment to evil deeds that are done intentionally as compared to accidental misdeeds. This recognizes the importance of intention. Intention reflects consciousness and the implicit participation of doership. Thus, karma is tied to the degree of conscious intention and awareness.  

Doership therefore holds the key to karma: good or bad. Accidents that I cause generate karma (effects) that cannot be changed but their boomerang impact on me sometime in the future is lessened for not having caused the accident intentionally. If I accidentally kill a pedestrian with my car on a dark and rainy night, I certainly incur karma but it is not the same as my committing “first-degree” murder.  

So how to beat my “bad” karma? There are several stages each of which relates to the degree of my ego involvement. 

Stage One: Practice Stoicism Practicing “stoicism” or non-attachment and non-reactivity reduces the tendency to ADD more karma while, at the same time, mitigates the impact of “incoming” or “ripening” karma. Stage One is therefore very efficient.  

Whether “good” or “bad” karma, the solution is the same. I’ll explain why we want to address “good” karma and not just “bad” karma. 

For my purposes, Stoicism is synonymous with non-attachment. One of the most famous aphorisms of the Yoga Sutras is stanza two which defines enlightenment as the neutralization of the mental reactive process to circumstances, thoughts, emotions, memories, and imagination.  This does not imply one becomes an automaton. Rather, to be non-reactive means to be calm and non-attached. There are countless layers of this state, but in the yoga tradition deep meditation is the key. But as the philosophers of Stoicism counsel us, it can begin with seeing life philosophically, meaning, from the God’s-eye point of view. 

Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the now-famous life story, “Autobiography of a Yogi,” gave this advice: “What comes of itself, let it come. Conditions are always neutral; they may seem happy or sad owing only to the attitudes of the mind.” 

Calmness and non-attachment are not the same as apathy, however. Apathy dulls the mind and awareness, and, to a degree, apathy steals from us the power of self-control. It thus undermines our ability to act calmly. Calmness and non-attachment require presence of mind to uphold their power when circumstances become intense, whether with success, failure, pleasure or pain. Presence of mind requires willpower and centeredness.  

Using will power and the power of habit to remain neutral is easy for the small things but close to impossible for most people when the big tests come.  

Meditation is a far more effective practice for developing consistency in achieving non-attachment. There are, however, many degrees and types of meditation. Meditation that is practiced devoid of spiritual attitudes and wisdom is far less effective than when practiced in its traditional context of devotion, selflessness, self-control, and openness to wise counsel. 

The reason I include “good” karma is that “every coin has two sides.” How can we achieve even-mindedness if we get excited over good fortune but pretend to remain even-minded in misfortune? You will find that the practice of non-attachment will impact your response to both good and bad circumstances. Non-attachment is the steady development of calmness under all circumstances. There is a deeper reason for this equality, however.  

The deeper purpose and power of Stage One is that it prepares us to detach the sense of doership from all actions: both good and bad. While intentional calmness can take us to the brink of what I will call Stage Two, it cannot by itself, cannot carry us over the finish line. 

Stage Two: Soul Consciousness. Human beings have the power to withdraw beyond the realm of causation, away from the play of opposites and boomerangs! The soul is forever free of karma for it is made in the image of God. As we accept divine guidance from within, we achieve freedom from karma. Daily meditation and inner communion with God, attuning one’s human will to the silent voice of intuition is the way out from the soul-degrading serfdom to habits and the reactive process. 

Moral reasoning; scriptural interpretations; pleading emotions; these are rooted in ego consciousness and ego consciousness is the problem. When the ego is transcended in soul-consciousness, the law of karma is transcended also. When there’s no whirling vortex of “I” and “mine” the chain of causation is cut. Our actions, guided by the divine will, accrue to the benefit of others. 

God who created the law of karma suspends the sentence of judgment for those souls who are united to Him. The way to escape the decrees of cosmic law is to live in divine consciousness.  

No matter how busy we are, we should strive in the inner silence to attune ourselves with God. By silent devotion we can deepen our awareness of divine love and wisdom. God is above the law. 

(Note the text above includes excerpts from the Wisdom of Yogananda: Karma and Reincarnation. Published by CrystalClarity.com) 

Joy to you! 

Swami Hrimananda 

 

  

Who Do Men Say I AM?

Sages far wiser than most of us have long concurred that “Who am I” is the most important question we can and should ask ourselves. In “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramhansa Yogananda, he quotes a great sage:

“Outward ritual cannot destroy ignorance, because they are not mutually contradictory,” wrote Shankara in his famous Century of Verses. “Realized knowledge alone destroys ignorance.…Knowledge cannot spring up by any other means than inquiry. ‘Who am I? How was this universe born? Who is its maker? What is its material cause?’ This is the kind of inquiry referred to.” The intellect has no answer for these questions; hence the rishis evolved yoga as the technique of spiritual inquiry.1

Thus, the inquiry—essential as it is said to be—cannot be fathomed by the intellect alone but by actual experience.

Also, in “Autobiography” in a footnote to Chapter 1, Yogananda recounts: 

The poet Tennyson has left us, in his Memoirs, an account of his repetitious device for passing beyond the conscious mind into superconsciousness: “A kind of waking trance — this for lack of a better word — I have frequently had, quite up from boyhood, when I have been all alone,” Tennyson wrote. “This has come upon me through repeating my own name to myself silently, till all at once, as it were out of the intensity of the consciousness of individuality, individuality itself seemed to dissolve and fade away into boundless being, and this not a confused state but the clearest, the surest of the surest, utterly beyond words — where death was an almost laughable impossibility — the loss of personality (if so it were) seeming no extinction, but the only true life.” He wrote further: “It is no nebulous ecstasy, but a state of transcendent wonder, associated with absolute clearness of mind.” 2 

Jesus Christ famously asked his disciples, “Who do men say I am?” This question and the disciple Peter’s response has gone down in history, however, controversially. Catholic theologians claim that Jesus’ response established for all time his “church” and its authority through the papacy. Protestants claim, by contrast, that Peter’s “confession” that Jesus is the Messiah is the “rock” upon which the church is built (rather than Peter and the succession of prelates that followed him). Either way, the question and the answer are fundamentally profound for all time: not just for identifying the divinity of Jesus Christ, but, by extension, the innate divinity of all souls and our potential for Self-realization. 

The “I” principle waxes and wanes throughout our day and our lives. An infant makes little distinction between himself and the mother (or anyone else for that matter). But it isn’t long before the infant learns that the mother is not the same as himself nor omnipresent. “Separation anxiety” soon sets in.

During childhood—if family security and love prevail—the child has only bouts of aggression, selfishness or personal anxiety but otherwise is connected to the family scene. At puberty, separation begins in earnest, expressing itself in rebelliousness and intense ego-awareness. 

In marriage we find a repeat of the pattern. The couple meets and experiences unity but in time the frequency of experiences of differences grows and in time harmony can only prevail if recognition of those differences is accepted.

In our unreflective persona, we are wholly identified with life around us including and especially life as we mentally imagine, desire or fear it. Most “things” around us are generally prosaic and taken for granted. It is primarily our thoughts and feelings about the world (things, people, our opinions) that constitute the cocoon of self that we live in, happily or otherwise. Upon reflection, however (and only a little would suffice), we can know that the objects in this cocoon are ephemeral and often changing. The question can become—at least for a few— “Who am I (really)?”

As the Adi Shankacharya suggests, only by interior inquiry can we experience the “I” in its immutable nature of Self. We may crave endless change, but we do so from an assumed center of changelessness: continuity of existence and self-awareness held in the hope and expectation of satisfaction.

When one begins in earnest to explore “Who am I” we confront the initial reality that I am separate from you. This is true whether in therapy or in meditation. In therapy the “you” are all others (your parents, your spouse, children, co-workers) while in meditation one could say the “you” is whatever is your goal: God, guru, peace, bliss, samadhi, moksha, etc.

In the outer world, we can never pass beyond separateness: we can only reconcile to it. In the inner world of the self, we strive to rise above conditional awareness and self-definitions to achieve union with consciousness alone, as consciousness (however defined, named or not named).

This union of self with Self is not easily achieved. In the teachings of yoga, this process usually takes many lifetimes of effort and requires the help of a Self-realized Self to guide us out of the labyrinth of the mind. The mind, indeed the brain, too, takes input from the senses and creates a world of its own: likes, dislikes, desires, fear, opinions, emotions, tendencies, attitudes, and inclinations. Dissolving the intermediary of the mind to have direct perception is one of the ways to describe enlightenment. It must be said, however, that in the world of the mind and intellect the ways of describing the ultimate state are innumerable given the very nature of the mind and intellect! Do you see the conundrum, then?

“It takes a thorn to remove a thorn.” Our mind’s tendency to extract, reconstruct and redefine experiences in its own terms is obviously a hindrance but it is also a tool. “Work with things (and people) as they are” is good, solid, practical advice for all of us. Saints, sages and yogis are obviously practical people.

Redirecting our thoughts and goals to higher, less self-involved purposes is the first step. Looking to people more highly evolved in this pursuit becomes part of this first step. Refining our self-definition towards that of enlightened persons is very helpful. Yogananda tells the story of a yogi-saint who one day while meditating upon his chosen deity suddenly merged with the object of devotion and proclaimed aloud “I’ve been showering the murti (idol-image) with flowers and now I see that I AM THAT and now shower those petals upon my head as well.” The experience of oneness is not easily won, however.

Better it is, Krishna advises in the Bhagavad Gita, to approach God in the I-Thou relationship rather than to only seek the Absolute. For as long as we are encased in a human body and suffer the indignities of requiring air, water, food, shelter and sunlight, best it is to seek God-enlightenment as separate from us (for the time being until released by grace).

It is probably not useful to dwell endlessly upon transcending I-Thou. Let oneness be the gift of the One. The One has become many and it is not wrong to say that, in essence, the One IS the many. Why quibble over the distinction as if One is better than the Other? As my teacher, Swami Kriyananda would put it, “God is as much with you RIGHT NOW as He will ever be.” And as Yogananda put it, to achieve “Self-realization” you need only “improve your knowing.”

In the Eight-Limbed path of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the final three stages of samyama reflect the steps to enlightenment as “I am experiencing peace,” to “Peace IS” to “I AM.”

Some practical applications of this process can include the experience of gazing out a window onto a landscape: all mental narrative vanishes, and no barrier of mind separates you from the experience. Gazing in this way is a kind of meditative exercise that can be deployed during the day. Taking breaks to observe the flow of your breath is another simple but effective exercise. More subtle but very powerful when well-developed is the focusing of attention in the forehead, especially at the point between the eyebrows from time to time during the day (and almost always during meditation itself). Lastly, lifting your gaze upward as if thinking about something but not actually thinking of anything is also very calming.

Practice listening intently to sounds or another person’s words. Don’t run a parallel narrative while listening but simply listen as if the sound wasn’t so much coming in through your ears as in through your heart (not physical heart but in the center line of your body near the physical heart).

For those whose energy is strongly outward and for whom (or at times when) these practices (above) are too contemplative, practice radiating heart energy outward into your space, environment, workplace, or neighborhood from wherever you are, including while moving through space in a car, plane, or train. You can “color” the radiation with peace or love or kindness if you feel to do so. No one can see nor need to know that you are silently blessing them.

Like the yogi’s response to the hot dog vendor’s question about which condiments to add, “Make me One with everything!” Finding that cosmic vendor will require practice, patience, and determination!

 Joy to you, 

Swami Hrimananda

footnotes:

 1)

Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter 26: The Science of Kriya Yoga

2) Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter 1: My Parents and Early Life, footnote 11