Fighting in Ukraine: Russia vs the West? Sarajevo, 1914. One hundred years ago, the assassination of the Archduke, heir to the Hapsburg throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, triggered the outbreak of World War I, the war "to end all wars" among the competing trigger-happy, imperialist western powers. The first fifty years of the twentieth century saw violence and killing on a scale unprecedented in human history. The result has been the collapse of imperialist dynasties and empires. The residue, like acidic ashes, gave rise to the Soviet Union and to America as opposing imperialist forces. Each, though on different timelines, have been steadily weakened. Are they back at it? Will we never learn to be cooperative partners and equals with the rest of the world, especially its emerging nations and cultures? Must we always attempt to dominate?
Now, 2014, one hundred years later, a minor political flare-up in a small state resting on the fault line of east and west threatens to ignite Cold War and maybe Hot War tensions once again.
There exists a fault line through the Asia-European imaginary continental boundary that is not so imaginary and where tectonic cultural plates meet and all too often clash and thrash about for supremacy. Up through the near east (Egypt, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and right up the line to Scandinavia exists this (I wish it were) imaginary "fault."
The east in its higher values is expansive: Indian cultures inclines towards the impersonal, abstract and cosmic; China inclines to social ethics and responsibilities and harmony. In its darker side it inclines toward ruthlessness and an absence of value upon individual human lives.
The west in its higher values inclines toward individuality, personal liberty of thought and action, exploration of the material world, of nature through science and reason. The west in its darker side is domineering, arrogant, godless, prejudicial and exploitative.
(If I omit the southern hemisphere continents, well, they speak, or don't, for themselves. For whatever reason if any, the southern hemisphere has played a relatively small, perhaps insignificant, role in human history and culture in the few thousand years. Sorry to say this, but it seems self evident. If its a western prejudicial bias, well, there you have it, then!)
In the book, "The Yugas," by Joseph Selbie and David Steinmetz, (www.crystalclarity.com), the authors elaborate on a revolutionary view of history given to us by ancient cultures and specifically the culture of India as this view of history was modified, updated, clarified and corrected by a modern mystic and astrologer, Swami Sri Yukteswar (1855-1936), in the foreward to his one and only book, "The Holy Science."
According to this fascinating view of history, the planet earth and its human inhabitants are on a 12,000 year upward cycle of expanding awareness. The age we are currently in is not terribly enlightened but it is very energetic, rational, and technological. It is lacking, however, in wisdom. According to this account, the age we are in (which will last over two thousand more years before the appearance of a yet higher age), which they call Dwapara Yuga ("The Second Age"), warfare and insecurity (economic, planetary, weather, disease, political, etc.) will be unceasing. There may be periods, even some lasting a century or two, later on in this upward cycle, where peace will be experienced, but overall it is an age of energetic instability.
Well, who knows, eh? What we can see for ourselves, right now, is that on every continent, struggles by the have-nots against those in power and struggles between competing powers, parties, groups, nations, and tribes is unending. Armed now as we are with weapons of mass destruction (from automatic, rapid-fire guns to atomic bombs and everything in between), the causalities are shockingly high and shockingly inhumane.
Why would we expect such troubles to end anytime soon? People like you and I (why else would you be reading this blog), want it to be otherwise. Our own consciousness is peaceful and violence seems foreign to us. That fact, which is not unimportant, does not change the other and much larger fact of global violence and conflict.
Maybe we are still young adults and can still entertain roseate expectations, or not. So, shall we collapse in apathy and immerse ourselves in self-indulgence? Many have and many will continue to go this route. It leads to personal violence against our own health, happiness and well-being. So, in choosing that route, one is saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
But if you are reading this I would guess that's not the route you've chosen. We can give "Peace a chance" (John Lennon's song) by becoming "the change we seek" (Mahatma Gandhi). The odds of any one of us bringing the world to a state of peace by our own efforts is, well......I won't say it.
Our contribution and consciousness unites western individuality (sense of personal responsibility) with eastern expansiveness and cosmic view. As vibrant, conscious, living sparks of a higher intelligence, like points of light, we can reflect the light of wisdom and the healing rays of peace: first in our calm, centered, peace-filled heart; then, in the respect we show others; in the attentiveness, integrity, harmony, and excellence of our actions, no matter how mundane; and finally, in attunement with the great Will and Love of Life, the Spirit behind all seeming, we, as individuals, can know how we can be free from all violence.
Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952), author of "Autobiography of a Yogi," predicted that east and west (specifically, America and India) would work together to bring a higher consciousness into being during this energetic age. What he meant by "working together" wasn't explained but I suppose it ranges from the change of individual consciousness all the way "to the top" of international cooperation and exchange.
The tiny worldwide network of Ananda Communities and centers exists as a result of the efforts and dedications of thousands of individual souls. Our efforts provide a model and an example of how people who are otherwise from a wide range of backgrounds, can live together in harmony, serving creatively and being engaged, while yet retaining and refining our individuality towards our highest potential beyond mere ego consciousness.
It is a small step and it won't necessarily bring peace to Ukraine; or, will it? We may not know the consequences of our own consciousness and commitment to expressing it in outward effect, but we can make the effort and if we make no tangible contribution to the world around us, it will not be for lack of interest, but we will be changed for the better by the attempt.
Give a peace a chance!
Nayaswami Hriman
This blog's address: https://www.Hrimananda.org! I'd like to share thoughts on meditation and its application to daily life. On Facebook I can be found as Hriman Terry McGilloway and twitter @hriman. Your comments are welcome. Use the key word search feature to find articles you might be interested in. To subscribe write to me at jivanmukta@duck.com Blessings, Nayaswami Hriman
Showing posts with label Autobiography of a Yogi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autobiography of a Yogi. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2014
Give Peace a Chance?
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Saturday, November 2, 2013
The All Seeing " I " or "not"? What is Mind-full-ness?
A fellow meditation teacher commented that in the midst of a recent class that he was teaching, he suddenly became self-conscious and found that the flow of inspiration stopped. Being also a professional artist with a very creative and visual way of self-expression, he described it this way when I asked him to write it up:
As I have no issue with or need to add further to the comment "the ego is empty and has nothing (of its own)," I feel the subject worth here pursuing is "What is mindfulness?" We hear the term often in articles and books and conversations on meditation. It's more likely to be associated with Buddhist forms of meditation than with yoga lineages. For example, in the tradition that I represent (Kriya Yoga as taught by Paramhansa Yogananda), that term is used only occasionally.
So what IS mindfulness?
Did my friend, in mid-sentence, suddenly become mindful? Shouldn't mindfulness bring greater calm and sense of connection? For him, his experience emptied his words of both meaning and feeling. He suddenly felt disconnected from himself. In a flash he had a kind of existential crises of meaning. No doubt some self-described intellectual would laud that experience as an authentic encounter. But my friend didn't see it that way, and I trust his "take" on it.
There are two kinds of mindfulness, just as there are two kinds of flow. In ego consciousness, mindfulness inclines to becoming self-conscious and, as my friend noted above, being self-conscious is when you "freeze-up," so to speak, and no more words come out (or they stumble out like drunks at 2 a.m.). The other kind of mindfulness is of the Self-aware variety which produces the calm out of which words (or actions) flow, to quote Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras," like oil from a drum.
The flow of action similarly can be either "mind-less" as when we get all caught up, avidly or in a panic, in the moment and lose Self-awareness entirely, or, there is a unitive energy flow in which the present Self is fully engaged, as in "one with," the action. A downhill skier or ice skater (or that type of action) would be a typical example where intensity of attention reflects both being "in control" (Self-aware) while the art, grace and responsive skill reflect the flow aspect. BOTH-AND!
As you can "see," the higher mindfulness in both cases is essentially the same. And, I might add, that should be no surprise because "oneness" has no "other."
Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita that one cannot achieve the "actionless state" of Oneness by not acting (or by refusing to engage with life's demands, one's "karma," or one's legitimate duties). Stillness is the precursor to oneness. But stillness is not merely or not only the cessation of motion. It also includes the elimination of the ego principle, or to say it differently, the sense of "doer-ship" and the sense of separateness from the act (of perception) itself.
Just as playing a video game of race cars doesn't make the race cars real, so too our bodies and personalities are like vehicles which our higher Self uses to drive our Car-ma (Karma) around to complete the errands and lessons for which we incarnated. Just as too many car crashes in the video game will make the game end too soon and we a "loser" because of our lack of skill, so too must we learn how to drive our vehicle with precision and skill so we can complete the tasks we've been given as we grow towards enlightenment and freedom.
The regular practice of scientific meditation techniques which can take us to a deep and calm inner awareness are the most effective way to gradually transform ordinary "fight or fright" ego self-involvement into the state of calm confidence from which we can flow through daily life (including meditation) with greater and greater ease, naturalness, and harmony.
With practice we become aware that this state is not merely our own, but something greater. But trying to describe this in words is where experience ends and philosophy or belief enters. Both belief and philosophy are helpful, but neither should substitute for the only thing that really counts: the actual realization of this harmonic state of Being.
Thus, now, we return to the subject of mindfulness. Is it empty or is it full? To quote the woman saint, Ananda Moyi Ma (see "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda), "It IS; and yet, it ISN'T." In fact, there are times when it feels empty and times when emptiness is dynamic with latent potentiality; and, everything in between. "No-thing," sometimes described as Infinity, has neither form nor beginning nor an end, you see?
In many meditation traditions, the techniques taught involve various objects of contemplation, concentration, and meditation. Emptying the mind is just one of many techniques or goals of meditation. Stilling the conscious and subconscious flow of thoughts, mental images, and feelings is best accomplished, for many (if not most of us), by having an alternative focus rather than forcing by will or by relaxation the restless mind from doing what the ego and body-bound mind does best (which is to affirm and protect its separate identity).
It is no coincidence nor a mere mental trick that the usual "objects" of meditative concentration have their own attraction and often possess an innate psycho-physiological or vibrational power of their own. Examples include watching the breath, feeling the energy within the body, focusing on a mental image either abstract (light or sound) or personal (the guru or a deity), or, a mental repetition of a mantra, affirmation or prayer.
Here, then, we see yet another example of Krishna's advice: how the "action" of concentrating inwardly (combining intention and will with reverence and devotion) leads to the actionless, non-dual state of oneness. Merely "trying" to empty the mind, while certainly possessing worthwhile aspects, is more difficult for our over-stimulated, often toxic, stressed, and electrified (cell phones, computers, EMF's of all kinds) state of mind and body. We are accustomed to acting towards a goal and even if it must be admitted that the meditative state is not the kind of goal that is outside our self, like winning a promotion. Indeed, the state of oneness, sometimes called superconsciousness, is a state "realized" as always present at the still center of the the merry-go-round of ego involvement. Thus, Krishna's counsel remains as practical today as it was 3,ooo years ago.
Blessings and joy to you who is not, but simply IS I AM,
:-) Swami Hrimananda
....everything was going fine, until the eyeball turned around and looked at me. Then I found my mouth talking words but now without meaning. Empty words....A little later, this happened a second time, the eyeball turned around to look at me. The words again became empty, words without anything behind them. I knew what to do this time. Just turn the eyeball back around. It was the ego. It's empty. It has nothing. In trying to do the words, it had nothing to say....So, the the flow needs to be towards others, for others...."
So what IS mindfulness?
Did my friend, in mid-sentence, suddenly become mindful? Shouldn't mindfulness bring greater calm and sense of connection? For him, his experience emptied his words of both meaning and feeling. He suddenly felt disconnected from himself. In a flash he had a kind of existential crises of meaning. No doubt some self-described intellectual would laud that experience as an authentic encounter. But my friend didn't see it that way, and I trust his "take" on it.
There are two kinds of mindfulness, just as there are two kinds of flow. In ego consciousness, mindfulness inclines to becoming self-conscious and, as my friend noted above, being self-conscious is when you "freeze-up," so to speak, and no more words come out (or they stumble out like drunks at 2 a.m.). The other kind of mindfulness is of the Self-aware variety which produces the calm out of which words (or actions) flow, to quote Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras," like oil from a drum.
The flow of action similarly can be either "mind-less" as when we get all caught up, avidly or in a panic, in the moment and lose Self-awareness entirely, or, there is a unitive energy flow in which the present Self is fully engaged, as in "one with," the action. A downhill skier or ice skater (or that type of action) would be a typical example where intensity of attention reflects both being "in control" (Self-aware) while the art, grace and responsive skill reflect the flow aspect. BOTH-AND!
As you can "see," the higher mindfulness in both cases is essentially the same. And, I might add, that should be no surprise because "oneness" has no "other."
Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita that one cannot achieve the "actionless state" of Oneness by not acting (or by refusing to engage with life's demands, one's "karma," or one's legitimate duties). Stillness is the precursor to oneness. But stillness is not merely or not only the cessation of motion. It also includes the elimination of the ego principle, or to say it differently, the sense of "doer-ship" and the sense of separateness from the act (of perception) itself.
Just as playing a video game of race cars doesn't make the race cars real, so too our bodies and personalities are like vehicles which our higher Self uses to drive our Car-ma (Karma) around to complete the errands and lessons for which we incarnated. Just as too many car crashes in the video game will make the game end too soon and we a "loser" because of our lack of skill, so too must we learn how to drive our vehicle with precision and skill so we can complete the tasks we've been given as we grow towards enlightenment and freedom.
The regular practice of scientific meditation techniques which can take us to a deep and calm inner awareness are the most effective way to gradually transform ordinary "fight or fright" ego self-involvement into the state of calm confidence from which we can flow through daily life (including meditation) with greater and greater ease, naturalness, and harmony.
With practice we become aware that this state is not merely our own, but something greater. But trying to describe this in words is where experience ends and philosophy or belief enters. Both belief and philosophy are helpful, but neither should substitute for the only thing that really counts: the actual realization of this harmonic state of Being.
Thus, now, we return to the subject of mindfulness. Is it empty or is it full? To quote the woman saint, Ananda Moyi Ma (see "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda), "It IS; and yet, it ISN'T." In fact, there are times when it feels empty and times when emptiness is dynamic with latent potentiality; and, everything in between. "No-thing," sometimes described as Infinity, has neither form nor beginning nor an end, you see?
In many meditation traditions, the techniques taught involve various objects of contemplation, concentration, and meditation. Emptying the mind is just one of many techniques or goals of meditation. Stilling the conscious and subconscious flow of thoughts, mental images, and feelings is best accomplished, for many (if not most of us), by having an alternative focus rather than forcing by will or by relaxation the restless mind from doing what the ego and body-bound mind does best (which is to affirm and protect its separate identity).
It is no coincidence nor a mere mental trick that the usual "objects" of meditative concentration have their own attraction and often possess an innate psycho-physiological or vibrational power of their own. Examples include watching the breath, feeling the energy within the body, focusing on a mental image either abstract (light or sound) or personal (the guru or a deity), or, a mental repetition of a mantra, affirmation or prayer.
The purpose of one-pointed
concentration is to, ultimately, go beyond and merge into and beyond that
object into the state of oneness. (Patanjali enumerates some of the stages and
aspects of this progression.)
Here, then, we see yet another example of Krishna's advice: how the "action" of concentrating inwardly (combining intention and will with reverence and devotion) leads to the actionless, non-dual state of oneness. Merely "trying" to empty the mind, while certainly possessing worthwhile aspects, is more difficult for our over-stimulated, often toxic, stressed, and electrified (cell phones, computers, EMF's of all kinds) state of mind and body. We are accustomed to acting towards a goal and even if it must be admitted that the meditative state is not the kind of goal that is outside our self, like winning a promotion. Indeed, the state of oneness, sometimes called superconsciousness, is a state "realized" as always present at the still center of the the merry-go-round of ego involvement. Thus, Krishna's counsel remains as practical today as it was 3,ooo years ago.
Blessings and joy to you who is not, but simply IS I AM,
:-) Swami Hrimananda
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Why does God permit suffering?
As part of a team of members who respond to questions from all over the world on behalf of the Ananda Worldwide Ministry, some questions get directed to me for a response. Today there came a classic question, "Why does God permit suffering." We are here in human form to discover the mysteries of our existence. Some who have gone before us have solved the riddles of life. Great souls such as Buddha, Krishna, and, in our time, Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the worldwide classic, "Autobiography of a Yogi").
When I first saw this question this afternoon, I thought, "Oh heavens, how am I supposed to say anything meaningful on so deep a question?" Often those who ask have suffered greatly: directly or through the loss of loved ones. There was no hint in the question that the person who wrote in to the website was especially or deeply hurt personally, but it is often the case when this question is asked.
So I penned below a response as best I could. Much more could be added but it is such a universal and important question, I thought to share the response with others:
RESPONSE (later "enhanced"):
Dear Friend,
You have asked the ages-old paradox that all compassionate and thoughtful people must ask: "Why does God (who is all Good), permit suffering?"
Is a parent negligent who permits his child to go to school where he may encounter bullies or simply other students who might harangue, insult or even fight with him? Is a parent negligent who permits his son to go to war, perhaps to return crippled for life, or to never return?
God is not the cause of suffering. Whatever else God is, we must do what we can to deal responsibly with our suffering, our grief, or the travails of others. Why should we imagine, especially in our grief and pain, that we can understand the mind of God? This universe is vast and we are complex creatures. Let us not look afar to cast blame but be practical and do what we can to improve our or others' situation.
A God's eye view of humanity reveals that we humans only think of God when we are in need. Left to our own, we prefer to revel in the the gifts and pleasures of His creation rather than to see these as but His gifts. Few receive His gifts with gratitude and love for the Giver. Fewer still can receive life's hardships as HIs gifts, given to purify our attachments or teach us valuable soul lessons.
Instead, if we have too little, we want more; if we have much, we want more. We are never satisfied even when sated. We burn with disquietude, wondering all along "What's wrong with this picture?" "Who is to blame?" 99.9% of humanity is too busy chasing pleasure, happiness, security, recognition (or avoiding or getting over their opposites).
Still, I must concede that those who suffer all too often and all too much are the innocent. But among life's many questions, can we ever really answer the questions that start with "Why?" Why was I born poor, rich, healthy, ill, luck or unfortunate? As suffering obviously happens and too often to those who do not deserve it, we cannot help but ask "Why" and wonder "Who is to blame."
Our instincts are well placed, however: someone indeed has to be blamed! For if there is not cosmic justice, no inexorable law of cause and effect, our universe, both outward (material) and inward (moral), will go up in flames of chaos, anger, violence and rebellion.
The questioner also asked whether, given the suffering in the world, "Why does He destroy the whole thing?"
Yes, God could dissolve this creation; some say, in fact, that he does every 4 billion years or so (like night and day cycles). But then it just continues later. Let us step back, however, towards the "big picture."
God is the novelist, the playwright, who sets into motion a grand drama whose purpose is to entertain and to play the divine romance of "hide 'n seek." He doesn't want us to suffer but if the show is to go on He can't simply make us puppets and pull all the strings. The show would be a sham. He is hoping his children will wake up and seek Him behind the curtain of maya but the show won't work unless he gives us both the freedom to choose, and at the same time, makes the drama of life real and enticing enough to make it unique and dramatic. As a result, He knows that it is difficult to "find Him."
We think of life in terms of our physical body. It lives a mere 80 years. Yet this universe has existed for untold billions of years and consists, we are told, of an estimated 200 billion galaxies. Maybe, therefore, we need to take a longer view. If there is no known center of the universe (and even if there were, what difference would it make to me), maybe the real center is, as Jesus said it is, "within you?"
Maybe as the great sages have averred and as thousands of lives have offered tangible proof or hints of, we have lived for many lives: indeed, many more lives than we can even imagine. We can't imagine 200 billion galaxies, so of course it would be extremely difficult to imagine thousands, even billions, of lives. It is taught that we have come up through the stages of evolution. Paramhansa Yogananda even said he could recall an incarnation as a diamond!
So could the cause for suffering, even for those who otherwise appear (in this lifetime) as innocent, be traced to a distant past? With so many lives, who can imagine we've been "saints" the whole time? "There but for the grace of God, go I!" Can you not imagine being a criminal? A murderer?
In the Old Testament Book of Job, Job was a righteous man. But Satan made a bet (imagine!) with God, that deprived of his health, family, wealth, and respect, he would denounce God.......just like so many people do when suffering. Job passed the test and remained faithful to God. This story, weird as it may seem, suggests to us that some of our tests may be permitted in order to test and purify our love for God. These reflect our relationship with God and are as much God's grace as His consolation and inner peace, or other many gifts of the Spirit, are.
Paramhansa Yogananda taught that "all conditions are neutral; it is our reaction to them that determines our happiness, our wisdom, and our peace of mind." Remaining in the God's eye view of this drama, we find ourselves increasingly untouched by what he called "the crash of breaking worlds."
I agree, however, that no explanation can satisfy the sense that it's bad deal for us. Paramhansa Yogananda said he used to "argue with God" that as He made this mess, he has to clean it up. But, to no avail. Yogananda said he knows why but nonetheless he also knows we suffer so. The deep compassion of the avatars for us impels them to return lifetime after lifetime, forgoing the bliss of union with God, to endure the "slings and arrows" of ignorance and persecution and troubles to uplift humanity and free disciples.
Suffering gives thoughtful people more than cause for anger or puzzlement; it also gives us an incentive to seek the answer to life's riddle. For we know perfectly well that life is a gift and the gift is good! But then there's pesky thing called suffering!
The real question isn't so much "Why does God permit suffering" but the more practical one: "What do I do about it?" We have the freedom and therefore we have the opportunity (and responsibility) to solve the riddle of life by our own efforts. When we unite those efforts and direct those questions to God (being willing to pay whatever price the great pearl of truth may cost us), then He responds.
Indeed, one of the great themes of Krishna's discourse in the Bhagavad Gita is that we must act in this world. In other words, we must take responsibility for the conditions in which we find ourselves. We don't need to know the "why." A soldier on the battlefield cannot focus on the reasons for the war or even the overall strategy for the battle. He must fight to defend himself and defeat the foe right in front of him.
No great scripture or teacher fails to counsel us to adhere to righteous action. Right attitude and action are like levers that trigger the divine response in the form and the power of grace. When we are uplifted and protected we know, in that state, that this power doesn't come from us. Yet, we had to initialize the relationship and the flow of energy toward superconsciousness (God-consciousness).
At first we read books, talk to people, go to teachers. But in time as our ardor blossoms into the flower of faithful devotion, He sends us a true guru: one who can help us achieve freedom from endless rounds of birth and death (and suffering).
Make each day an effort to know, love and serve God in the silence of your soul and in the hands of your daily service, guided by wisdom and compassion.
"God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son to redeem it." That son is, at first the guru, but in time it is the our very own soul, a child of God, for this is who and what we are. God knows that we suffer and wants to help us but most people are too busy with the playthings and troubles of this world to seek Him, not for making our mud puddle nicer, but for His love alone.
May the LIght of Truth and the Moon of Divine Love guide your footsteps to His bliss,
Nayaswami Hriman
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Law of Success
For a tree
to grow strong and bear good fruit, it needs sunlight, water, and good soil. No
success is ever achieved in a vacuum. While success can mean achieving any goal
one has chosen, true success is that which brings lasting satisfaction of body,
mind, and soul. To achieve name and fame or wealth at the expense of others by
greed, lies, or exploitation is a one-sided and a fragile kind of success. It
is not true success and whatever satisfaction it may bring is hollow.
Success
requires a sensitive balance and dance between self-will and harmonious
cooperation with other people, environment and circumstances. The sapling tree
can be killed by too much water or not enough water; too intense of sunlight or
insufficient sunlight. Scientists opine that the chemical and other
combinations of ingredients that makes planet Earth habitable for humans is
both complex and very delicate. We’ve yet to find another planet such as ours.
Success
comes by creating friendships. When Paramhansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogi) came to America
in 1920, he made friends everywhere he went because he was friendly. He
addressed people’s needs, from cooking a meal for them to giving them wisdom
and practical teachings. He never used people but saw others equally as God
manifesting in specific forms. He thus served God in others and did not think
of himself.
Success also
requires concentration upon the goal and the means to the goal, sometimes to
the exclusion of all else but always by keeping one’s priorities clearly in
view. Meditation serves one superbly to open the floodgates to a flow of
intuition onto a field of calm sensitive awareness guiding that rive-like flow,
laser-like, in the direction of one’s goal.
I have lived
in an Ananda Community for over thirty-five years and have seen the power that
comes from the combination of high ideals, practicality, and “the many hands
that can a miracle.” Unless you happen to be an Albert Einstein, most of us
would do well to understand that success comes when we work with and through
and for others. At your workplace, be helpful. Think of the needs of your
co-workers, your supervisor, and the legitimate goals of the company or
organization. Do your best with excellence, creativity, and enthusiasm.
After a
forest fire destroyed most of the first Ananda Community (Ananda Village, near
Nevada City, CA), we banded together (eschewing the opportunity to sue the
local county — a faulty spark arrestor on a county vehicle caused the fire) to
find new ways to raise the money we needed to rebuild. Yes, some donations came
in but most of it came through old fashioned hard work. But we were relatively
inexperienced and without financial resources. We studied business methods,
financing, and marketing, and we encouraged one another and our businesses to
tithe and to use affirmations and prayers. We started a health food store, a
café, a print shop, a gift shop and a clothing store. Each of the these
enterprises struggled greatly but bit by bit they came up and our member-employees
found viable, if simple, means of support.
In time, the
Community rose from the ashes and today when one visits you see a beautiful
Village nestled in the hills, forests, and meadows of the Sierra Mountains. Homes
of many types, shapes and sizes house families, monks, and singles in a
charming and harmonious life of creativity, service, and devotion. A retreat
center, office complex, grocery store, farm, dairy and community center serve
the needs of both residents and neighbors alike.
Our local
East West Bookshop in Seattle, too, is a testimony to the efforts of many
individuals serving high ideals and attracting the grace to be successful.
While the independent bookstore industry has been decimated this store has
survived and flourished. It is the largest and most successful bookstore of its
kind in Washington State. It is a resource center for new thought truth seekers
and offers classes, books, gifts and, perhaps most of all, an uplifted
environment staffed with devotees who see customers as their friends.
Here in the
Seattle area we are engaged in purchasing a rural area farm. Some twenty
individuals have pooled their resources. Small scale, organic farming is a
tricky and risky business if seen from the standpoint of profits. But with the
many hands and resources of a committed group of people which includes the
talent and skills of a few who can guide the fledgling farm, we can create a
success because we understand success is sharing and serving. In our case we
are committed to principles and practices of sustainability and stewardship,
serving God through our fellow man and in harmony with the earth and all
creatures.
So it takes the
initiative, courage and faith of individuals combined with the cooperation and support
of others of like mind — God helping God — to achieve true success. This is an
unbeatable combination, not only to achieve success but to achieve the success
of weathering and resurrecting from in the inevitable setbacks, failures, and
disasters which life can dish out.
The key,
spiritually, is to offer the self to the Self of all. “I will reason, I will
will, I will act, but guide Thou my reason, will and activity to the right step
in all that I do.”
In the life
of Ananda’s founder, Swami Kriyananda, now age 86, but still outpacing his
staff and members in the worldwide network of Ananda Communities in the
unceasing flow of writings, lectures, radio and TV shows, guidance, and
inspiration, we see in real life the power of grace that comes from
discipleship to life and to truth. “What’s trying to happen here” is the
question he has taught us to ask in all things. Yet for all of his creativity,
intelligence and talent, it is now primarily the outpouring of divine Bliss
that one experiences in his presence. For a lifetime of living for God has
brought to him the peace and lasting fulfillment that the soul was created to
re-discover.
Initially
the effort to view oneself as part of a greater reality and to cooperate with
grace is an effort of will. As I have seen in recent Facebook postings, “Life
begins outside your comfort zone!” But in time and as seen in Swami Kriyananda,
that dance of Spirit and Nature becomes a powerful flow of Light and Joy.
When I first
came to live at Ananda Village (just after the 1976 forest fire), it was
definitely outside my comfort zone. But just having returned from over a year
of travel in Europe, near East and India, I understood the value of stepping
outside that zone to find the truth that “could make me free.” I never
hesitated though I could not then know where it would lead.
In a more
cosmic or Vedantic sense, rishis (both ancient and modern, like Paramhansa
Yogananda) have taught that this universe is a manifestation of God. God is
dreaming this material world and we, as sparks of His intelligence and joy, are
co-creators. Yogananda used the analogy of the movies. You sit in the theatre
and become engrossed in the movie, laughing and crying. You forget that the
whole movie is a projection of light from the booth behind you (unseen). A beam
of white light, merely, projecting the true-to- life sound and sight pictures
of the movie. We need only turn our heads to the back (turn within, that is),
and follow the beam of light to its source in Oneness if we would awaken from
the movie-dream of life.
The other
day, puttering in the kitchen at home, I suddenly had this intense feeling-experience
of that flow of cosmic energy oscillating and vibrating all the objects around
and I felt on the precipice of having it all disappear, just as would happen if
the electricity in the movie theatre were suddenly to go out. It was both
unnerving and thrilling at the same time. It was also brief!
The more we
see ourselves as energy, and behind that energy, the Bliss of God oscillating
all the forms and actions of life, the less we need to be always thinking about
ourselves and the more we enter that flow that brings to us the true happiness
(Bliss) that we seek. This, ultimately, is success and the law of success.
Bliss-ings
to you,
Nayaswami
Hriman
Monday, February 20, 2012
Yoga Sutras: a guide to meditation: What is concentration?
Book 1 of the Yoga Sutras is titled “Samadhi Pada” or an
exposition of the state of meditative concentration which constitutes true
meditation. We saw in an earlier blog article (on Stanza 2) that Patanjali,
author of the Yoga Sutras, describes the state of yoga concentration (or
meditation) as resulting from the cessation of the mind’s identification with,
interest in, and feeling (like or dislike) response to its perceptions (whether
in memory form, through current sense impressions, desires or imagination).
In this first book Patanjali is describing both the positive
aspects of meditative concentration and the obstacles to that concentration. Meditation
requires one to continually strive to disengage from thoughts and our emotional
interest and response to these thoughts (here, thoughts include signals from
the five senses and our response to them). Patanjali says success comes from
“long and constant efforts with great love and desire for the goal.”
First we focus on detaching our response and interest in
objects (called to our mind by desire, memory, etc.); then comes
non-identification with the feeling states associated with objects (happiness,
sadness, boredom, sleep).
We then go through various stages of meditation starting
with interiorized contemplation which contains a mixture of intuition, reason,
questioning and inner dialogue. This can reveal insights about objects, people,
and of course ourselves and the very nature of cognition.
We proceed to the next level which is more purely intuitive
and knowing. When we ascend beyond this stage we experience joy which is
subtler because there’s no object under contemplation. Beyond joy, though
without necessarily leaving it, is pure sense of Self, or I-ness.
These stages have yet higher octaves such as the experience
of wonder and reverence; contemplation of God (or Higher Consciousness); pure
Bliss; expansion of awareness beyond the body into space beyond the body.
The highest of such states, called Samadhi, merge the act of
cognition with the object and the subject (Self). Called many things and
described in countless ways down through the ages, this state goes beyond the
intellect’s (and this writer’s) comprehension and ability to describe. I
reference the reader to Paramhansa Yogananda’s poem, “Samadhi.” (It can be
found in the original edition of his life story, “Autobiography of a Yogi.”)
Returning now to the process of concentration, Patanjali includes
devotion to God (Iswara) as meditation
and especially meditation upon the “word” that manifests God, OM. Repetition
(mental chanting) of OM, and meditation upon OM (heard in meditation) are
particularly important forms of meditation.
Patanjali recommends meditation upon one object as the way
to calm the breath and emotional disturbances which hinder meditation. Breath
control techniques can speedily bring the mind under control.
Any form of meditation that accelerates or reveals the
subtle astral senses can greatly help as well. Meditating on the inner light
(seen in the forehead), meditation upon the heart center, meditation upon peace
or pure happiness, or indeed “anything that appeals to one as good” — these are
all forms of meditative concentration which will yield the progressive stages
which lead to samadhi.
In essence and in conclusion, Patanjali is recommending that the meditator find a positive focus for meditation rather than only work on “fighting off” all distractions. Instruction in the methods is given by one’s teacher and especially one who is or represents a true teacher, or guru: one who, has himself, achieved the highest state of samadhi.
In essence and in conclusion, Patanjali is recommending that the meditator find a positive focus for meditation rather than only work on “fighting off” all distractions. Instruction in the methods is given by one’s teacher and especially one who is or represents a true teacher, or guru: one who, has himself, achieved the highest state of samadhi.
Blessings to you,
Nayaswami Hriman
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Yoga Sutras Blog Post # 6! Samadhi at Last!
Yoga Sutras – Blog Article # 6 - Book 3 – Vibhuti Pada
We now arrive, at last, at Book 3 – Vibhuti Pada. Without
attempting to be scholarly on the subject, there are two meanings of the term “vibhuti”
that I am familiar with: one, is that the word refers to the sacred ash that
remains after a fire ceremony. I recall that it also refers to divine aspects
or “shining attributes.” Both terms apply here because Patanjali essentially
reveals in Book 3 those attributes, born of superconsciousness, that arise to
the yogi who has achieved the higher states of consciousness. Sacred ash works,
too, because these attributes are what are left over from the self-offering of
ego into the soul. (Ash may sound negative but the negative part is the ego and
the positive part is what is sacred.)
But first Patanjali must describe to us the last three
stages: dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (oneness). As
usual his statements are pithy and clinical. To truly understand these sutras
one must have a true (Self-realized) guru to unlock their secrets. Using resources
that include Yogananda’s lecture notes from his talks on Patanjali and translations
of commentaries written by disciples (both direct and subsequent) of Lahiri
Mahasaya, and from my teacher, Swami Kriyananda (direct disciple of Paramhansa
Yogananda), and what little might occur to me in this effort, I would like to
proceed with great caution. I feel as if I am driving into a tunnel with dim
headlights and the expectation of many diversions and obstacles.
The first five stages of the 8-Fold Path are considered
“external.” Now that’s not easy to understand, looking back at the prior blog
articles, but relative to the land beyond our dreams into which we will go in
the final 3 stages, it can make some sense. That last word, sense, is purposeful
and a pun, here. Because one way or another the first five stages have
something to do with our relationship to the body and senses, even the subtle
senses.
The first of the three (last) stages is called dharana. It
is often translated simply as “concentration.” Dharana is the stage of
consciousness where, in meditation, we can hold the mind steady and focused. If
you are a meditator, try this experiment: using a timer, see how long you hold
your mind without the intrusion of a single thought! (No need to report back!) Well,
advanced yogis can do that for long periods of time. Yogananda offered that we
would have to achieve one hour before we could say we’ve made any substantial
progress in meditation. Well, you can pretend you didn’t hear that from me.
In the stage, now, of dharana our mind is focused and we
experience what are called “thought waves.” Notice how when you meditate and
gaze upwards behind closed eyes towards the sixth chakra (the Kutastha), that
everything seems to be in motion. We aren’t aware of it but all physical sense
stimuli come to us in repeated waves. Take for example the sense of touch. We
must constantly move our hand over the object we are touching in order to
continue to feel it. Same with smell, we must periodically sniff, as it were.
If we were to stare fixedly at a candle in time the image would vanish. All
material objects are pulsing with electromagnetic waves and the result, at
least to our senses, is more or less that these objects are fixed in time and
space, when, in fact, they are constantly moving, being held in their orbit by
electromagnetic radiation.
And so it is, also, with our perceptive faculties. So long
as the “I” is present and witnessing itself and the object under its
microscope, we experience a constant sense of wave motion. It’s difficult,
isn’t it, to even hold one thought in clear and unbroken focus. This is because
even subtle objects such as mental images or perceptions of subtle sight and
sound, wash over and toward us in pulses. It is like the refresh rate on your
computer monitor or TV screen: the electrons are being fired rapidly and repeatedly
in order to hold in steady focus the image on your screen. It happens too fast,
usually, for us to notice unless we, perhaps, look away or to the side and then
we might notice the fluctuation.s. One of the reasons for this is that nothing “outside”
of ourselves is real. All is ultimately thought-waves. When at last these waves
subside we have at least a taste of Stanza 2: “yogas chitta vrittis nirodha”
(The state of Oneness is achieved when all thought-waves subside into the
Eternal now!)
In meditation we concentrate on various things, but let us
say, for illustration, we are focused on the heart chakra. It takes effort and
concentration (achieved, ironically, only by deep relaxation and focused
attention) to hold our awareness in the area of the heart, or anahat, chakra. But
as we progress in meditation, a steady and prolonged concentration on any
object will produce a state of breathlessness. This state of steady perception
is the state of dharana. It is the gateway to the highest states of
consciousness. Achieving it is the price of entry. It is your “ticket to ride!”
It is interesting that dharana is associated with the
negative pole of the sixth chakra. This center resides at the base of the
brain, near the medulla oblongata. It is the seat of ego consciousness. In
dharana the sense of “I” perceiving or concentrating upon something remains.
(See my blog articles on the 8-Fold Path, including dharana.)
In the next stage, dhyana (translated, simply, as
meditation), the object yields up its wisdom as the “I” principle merges into
the object. In one translation that I have the verse (no. 2) describes the
knowledge that flows as “about the object” whereas in another translation it
says an unbroken flow of thoughts towards the object. It is a curious and
seemingly important distinction until you realize that “you” have disappeared
and that the difference in verbs, so to speak, has no real meaning. The
important point is that you have become that object. No words, which are but
symbols, are confined to the world of distinctions, or duality and there is a
point, and it is here, where words simply cannot go.
In an effort to be less mental about it, let’s say you are
experiencing a deep state of inner peace. In the stage of dharana you
experience this peace even as you witness it and yourself witnessing it. As
your consciousness relaxes and expands and joyfully offers itself into this
living Presence what results is, simply, Peace. The “I” which watches has
become that state of peace. That’s as far as I can go with words.
To return to the correlation with the chakras, in dharana we
gaze, as it were from the base of the brain up and into the third eye (the
positive pole of the sixth chakra; known as the Kutastha). As our consciousness
expands upward toward the object or experience our center of gravity moves up
and into the forehead (well, kinda). Hence dhyana is associated with the
Kutastha center (point between the eyebrows).
Finally, Samadhi results when even the object, as an object
(or state of consciousness), vanishes and we become whatever “meaning” or essential
consciousness underlies the object. This is even harder to describe. It is a
state of complete absorption and while I don’t want to stumble on terminology
here let me say that the sutra itself speaks in terms of a state of oneness
with specific objects, or states of consciousness. I will be so bold as to
describe this as the final stage of superconsciousness, as it relates to the
soul as an individual spark of Divinity (not, therefore, in the sense of cosmic
consciousness which comes later). In dharana, we see the promised land; in
dhyana we enter the promised land; in samadhi we ARE the promised land. (Hey,
I’m trying, can’t you see?)
From Lahiri Mahasaya comes the description that Samadhi
takes place when the mind (dhyata), the goal (Brahman), and meditation (dhyana)
are undifferentiated, the true nature of the object shines forth. I take this
to mean, restated at least, that when the “I” principle (the mind), the soul
principle (Brahman), and the process of meditation (act of contemplation) are
One in relation to an object, then what remains is the essence (consciousness)
of the object. Now you may ask, “define object.”
In these higher states we might meditate on the guru, we
might encounter astral beings (angels), we might be receiving a flow of knowledge
and wisdom, hearing an astral sound or music, or otherwise be meditating on an
infinity of states or internal objects of astral sense. We might be working out
past karma from the subconscious mind, even possibly working on present day
problems in the material world. At this point (for me at least), and
contemplating the sutras in their entirety, I cannot see any end or any limit to
what Patanjali means by “object.”
Like the candle that vanishes as we gaze fixedly at it, but
in reverse, it’s not the candle that vanishes, WE vanish. Imagine staring out
of a window. At first you are daydreaming. Then after a time, the daydream
vanishes and you are left in the void, as it were. But again, in these higher
stages our fixed concentration upon so called objects results in OUR vanishing.
This does not mean, as opposed to daydreaming, that we lose consciousness. No, no,
no & far, far from it. As the entire
universe, whether objects of thought, emotions, or material objects are a dream
of the cosmic Dreamer and are in their essence consciousness and thought, so
we, by deep concentration, enter into and become that consciousness. There is
nothing else, for we, too, are but a thought and have no essential reality
beyond the Dreamer. Just as at night in our dreams we may or may not be conscious
of our own role in the dream, and we might not recall or play the role dictated
by our body’s current age or gender, so too we can enter into any other
reality, even if but temporarily.
When we experience these three stages of dharana, dhyana,
and samadhi in our contemplation of objects, Patanjali calls the combined
process samyama. “Sam” is possibly the root for our word, same and is the root
for samadhi and for samprajnata etc. Yama means control as we saw in relation
to this term used to describe the first stage of the 8-Fold Path. This is
important to most of the rest of book 3 wherein he describes the consequences
of the three stage process of concentration when applied to various objects.
Shall we move on?
In verse 8, Patanjali cautions us that samyama is still
external to the seedless or final and true state of samadhi (nirbikalpa).
Samyama by itself is not necessarily productive of nirbikalpa. One must
meditate on OM and approach samadhi through the stages of Om samadhi and
Kutastha samadhi (astral and causal planes through the spiritual eye as
Yogananda taught in his lessons). Samyama should be practiced in the order of
the stages as given. Samyama is more direct than focusing on the first five
stages of the 8-Fold Path (so here we see a direct reference to the stages as
not being strictly linear).
Verse 9 is especially oblique. As I understand it, Patanjali
is saying that to reach nirbikalpa samadhi one must set aside the impressions
and knowledge one has received through the practice and experience of samyama.
The chitta (energy and waves of thought) will alternate between this setting
aside (he uses the term “suppression”) and the spontaneous emergence of chitta.
(This is a subtle expression of the flux, or thought pulsations, that are the
creative engine of the universe.) This stage or state he calls nirodha
parinama.
In time and with depth of practice the chitta is at last
pacified and calmed. The thought waves have subsided and we experience, at
first, the void, or nirvana (no-thing-ness). As water fills a glass from above,
or as a boat out at sea comes towards the shore, so at last, we begin to hear
the booming shores of Bliss as we enter cosmic consciousness beyond the three
worlds into the Infinite Bliss of Spirit.
As verse 10 points out, all past impressions may be now cleared
out and neutralized. I take it to mean that the subconscious mind has become en-lightened.
To achieve samadhi we must learn to redirect the restless thought waves which
go constantly towards objects of desire into a uniform thought wave which is
the true nature of chitta (consciousness). This nature is called Ekagrata and
achieving this state leads to samadhi. The mind remains calm even when
impressions of this calm state arise. This state is called Ekagrata Parinama.
Now that we have reached Samadhi, we are ready to hear from
Patanjali how samyama can reveal the nature of the creation. Stay tuned for the
next blog!
Blessings,
Labels:
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Vibhuti
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Yoga Sutras – Part 6 – 8-Fold Path
At last we arrive at the best known stanza of the Yoga Sutras!
Stanza 29 of Book 2 (Sadhana Pada) of Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras is the famous list of the eight stages of the universal and nonsectarian
awakening and ascension of the individual soul back to its Creator. I have
previously written blog posts on each of these stages and refer readers to
those for more details. However in those blog posts my references were not
directly to the sutras but to the classic text by Swami Kriyananda, The Art
& Science of Raja Yoga. I have been privileged to teach this course for
some sixteen years at Ananda in the Seattle area.
Ashtanga Yoga
The term, Ashtanga Yoga, is commonly translated as 8-Limbed
Yoga. Patanjali was not intending to start a yoga studio or yoga movement
called “Ashtanga Yoga.” His is a clinical description of the psycho-physiological
and spiritual attributes of the universal path toward enlightenment. The stages
he describes have several meanings, and here are just a few:
·
First, they do represent steps (as in a ladder)
that the aspirant is encouraged to take on his path to soul freedom. But this
is a linear approach and a transactional interpretation. For example, the
fourth stage, pranayama, may be interpreted to suggest that the one practice
breath control techniques.
·
Second, as “limbs” in a tree, they are more like
facets of the diamond of truth rather than steps. Each stage is somewhat
holographic, for it contains within its perfection some aspect of all the
others. Perfection of the consciousness of non-violence (ahimsa) brings with it
or opens the door, at least, to the highest stage, Samadhi.
·
Third, the stages represent states of
consciousness and degrees of mastery over life force and consciousness.
Pranayama, therefore, refers not only to the techniques of controlling life
force (starting with awareness and control of the breath) but refers also to
the goal of said practices: the state of breathlessness.
·
Fourth, each stage brings with it appropriate
attitudes and levels of mastery over objective nature. Continuing with the
fourth stage as my example, pranayama relates to the heart center and great
devotion and pure (unselfish) feeling is awakened and, at the same time, such
qualities are necessary for the realization of pranayama. Although it is not
clear from the sutras themselves, mastery of prana (pranayama), would possibly
bring to the yogi great healing powers, whether of self or others. By stopping
the heart pump and breath, human life is prolonged and the effects of aging and
disease can be reversed. It is important to note that one can perfect an
attitude but cannot perfect its outer expression. For example, perfect
nonviolence cannot be achieved insofar as the very act of eating and travelling
involves the “killing” of other life forms. (Even a cabbage is a living being.)
But no such actions require us to hate or purposely inflict harm. And there are
times when one ideal appears to conflict with another. For example,
self-defense might seem to place non-violence at odds to the value and
protection of human life. In such a case the higher ideal must suffice. Yogananda
taught that human life is to be valued, spiritually speaking, and the
protection of human life from disease and death is the higher duty where it
might involve such policies as mosquito abatement, for example.
·
Fifth, Patanjali is describing “yoga” as 8-Limbed.
Yoga means, inter alia, “union,” and refers to Oneness or union of soul with
the Infinite Power, or Spirit. From Vedanta (the view of reality from the God’s
eye), this state has 8-limbs, or eight manifestations. Thus the ladder goes
both up and down, and, well, all around! The description of this reality
includes the physical body (and macrocosm of the cosmos); the subtle (or
astral, or energy) body (and cosmos), the causal body (and cosmos, of ideas and
thoughts), and the transcendent realm of Bliss beyond creation (and the various
levels of creation in between, as well).
So leaving most interpretation and analysis to my prior blog
articles, let us examine the sutras and the remainder of Book 2, which describe
the first five stages of the 8-Fold Path:
1.
8-Stages
Verse 29 lists the eight as yama, niyama, asana,
pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and Samadhi. These eight have a special
correlation with the seven chakras (which become eight by the positive and
negative polarity of the sixth chakra: the negative pole being located at the
medulla oblongata, and the positive pole being the point between the eyebrows.
Because these stages exist on all three levels of our Being (physical, astral,
and ideational), the correlation between the eight stages and the chakras is
only approximate. There is also an approximate correlation of the chakras with
the eight facets, or aspects, of the attributes of the soul: peace, wisdom,
energy, love, calmness, sound, light, and bliss.
2.
Yama
Verse 30 lists the sub-aspects of yama (“control”)
as non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non-attachment.
When these are observed under all circumstances we have achieved realization of
yama. (Verse 31) When tempted to violate these “great vows,” one should employ
positive thoughts, Patanjali advises (in Verse 33). Violations may occur by
omission, commission, by indirect means (including ignorance) and may be minor,
“middling,” or great in consequence or intensity (Verse 34). Obstacles include
greed, anger, and selfishness (V32). One must remember, always, the suffering
that such lapses cause. I find it interesting how simply Patanjali states that
one should substitute positive thoughts in place of negative one. I have seen
this principle employed very frequently in the teachings of Paramhansa
Yogananda.
3.
Angry or violent tendencies in others cease in
one’s presence when non-violence is established in one’s consciousness. From
truthfulness one acquires the power of attaining for oneself and for others the
results of efforts without have to exert the effort (one’s mere word is
sufficient). From non-stealing all one’s material needs are attracted to you
without additional or strenuous effort. From celibacy there comes great health,
vitality, and memory. From non-attachment (to one’s body and possessions) comes
the knowledge of one’s past lives. (V35-39)
4.
Niyama
The second stage, niyama (“non-control,” or the
“do’s”), consists also of five precepts, or sub-aspects: internal and external
purification, contentment, mortification, study, and worship of God.
5.
With realization of purification (cleanliness)
comes indifference (non-attachment) to the demands and needs of the body and
senses, and a disinclination for bodily contact with others. Cleanliness (of
body, internal and external, and mind) lead to purity of heart, cheerfulness,
concentration, control of passions, and awareness of the soul. Contentment
yields supreme happiness and joyful peace. Mortification, called in Sanskrit,
tapasya, refers to both self-control and even-mindedness under all conditions.
The specific instructions regarding mortification should come from one’s
preceptor (guru) and the result is the purification of karma. Tapasya leads to
the manifestation of psychic powers related to the sense organs (discussed in
Book 3, Vibhuti Pada). By remaining focused at the point between the eyebrows
(an instruction given by the guru and considered tapasya), the mind becomes
pure. By perfection of Self-study (swadhyaya) as a result of meditating and
chanting OM, one’s chosen ideal of God appears and higher Beings (devas,
rishis, and siddhas) appear before one’s inner sight. With devotion to God
while focused at the spiritual eye, Samadhi and attendant siddhis (psychic
powers) are achieved. Knowledge of time and space is attained. (V40-45)
6.
The third stage is asana. It means, simply,
posture. It is to be found by sitting relaxed with a straight spine. This is
achieved by awareness and control of the body and by deep meditation on the
Infinite. By perfection of asana one is no longer troubled by the ebb and flow
of the senses. (V46-48)
7.
Pranayam is the fourth stage and consists of
controlling the breath (inhalation, exhalation, and cessation). The external
breath is the air moving in the lungs; internal breath is the prana in the
astral body; cessation is breathlessness. Cessation is momentary when the
breath is held in, or out, but prolonged when it ceases all together in higher
stages of meditation. One practices pranayama according to the instructions of
the preceptor. Many variations exist and relate to timing, placement of the
breath, number of breaths performed, long or short, and so on. Another pranayam
is that which results from concentration upon an object, either external or
internal. Watching the breath, for example causes the breath to become quiet
and even to stop all together. By these four stages the inner light is revealed
and obstacles are overcome. (V49-52)
8.
With the stage of pratyahara, the prana flowing
to the sense organs is reversed and the energy released can be used and
focused. The result is a great power of interiorized concentration. Then is
complete mastery of the senses achieved. (V53-55).
Thus ends Book 2, Sadhana Pada! The last
three stages of the 8-Fold Path, Patanjali consigns to Book 3, Vibhuti Pada, as
they are qualitatively on a different level than the first five stages. The
five stages (and chakras) relate to the soul’s piercing the veil of maya,
especially on the material plane. The three highest stages are, by degrees,
stages of contemplation and progressively deeper identification with higher,
and finally transcendent, realities.
Thus ends this blog article!
Nayaswami Hriman
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
THE HOLY SCIENCE - PART 4 - THE PROCEDURE
We come now to Chapter 3 - The Procedure in our overview of Swami Sri Yukteswar's (only) book, THE HOLY SCIENCE. Swami Sri Yukteswar is best known as the guru of Paramhansa Yogananda who is the author of the world famous spiritual classic, "Autobiography of a Yogi."
Sri Yukteswar's (SY) book was written at the behest of the deathless avatar, Babaji and it shows the underlying universal themes of spirituality especially as between the Christian bible and the teachings of Sanaatan Dharma (the revelations of the rishis of India). Throughout the text he proffers quotations from the Old and New Testaments in juxtaposition to the sutras that he quotes.
In Chapter 3 (this is our fourth blog article), SY gives the necessary attitudes and practices that lead to the goal (see prior blog article). In sutras 1 - 4, SY enumerates the basics: even-mindedness under all circumstances, the study and intuitive contemplation of truth, and inner communion with the Holy Spirit in the form of the AUM vibration.
In sutras 5 and 6, SY states that Aum is heard through the cultivation of the heart's natural love. (There are specific meditation techniques that can hasten and deepen one's experience of Aum.) To commune with Aum takes courage, concentration, and devotion (and self-offering: an aspect of devotion).
It is most curious that a sage of "cold, calculating" wisdom would aver that the heart's natural love is the "principal requisite" to salvation. This divine and unconditional state of consciousness removes the fluctuations of desire and emotions, including giving strength and vitality, and expelling germs and viruses! The heart's natural love allows one to achieve true understanding and, most importantly, it magnetically draws to one the Godlike company of "divine personages."
Without the heart's natural love, one cannot live in harmony with nature or with God, SY counsels. This love gives to us courage to follow the directives and counsel of the "sat" (or true) guru. We can recognize, honor, cherish, and love those who dispel our doubts and avoid those who increase our doubts.
While others seek God in images, stones, in the heavens above, or in nature below, the Yogi seeks God within his own Self. To keep company with a true guru goes beyond physical proximity. More important is to hold the guru's presence in one's heart.
Moral courage is also strengthen by observances of the do's and don'ts of spirituality (taught by Patanjali as the "yamas" and the "niyamas").
SY then launches into a discussion of "What is Natural Living?" In this analysis he examines the teeth of humans and concludes that man is a frugivor, or fruit-eating species. This is confirmed by the relationship of the length of human bowels in relation to the length of the human body (as measured from mouth to anus). Frugivor includes vegetables, nuts, and grains.
He writes then of the calming lifestyle that brings the power of sexual desire into natural balance, and which then engenders, in turn, vitality and health. He speaks of the health value and natural instinct for fresh air in our dwelling places.
SY moves then to Sutras 12-18 in which he describes the eight bondages, or meannesses, of the heart. He lists them as hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race prejudice, pride of family, and smugness. Their removal leads, he writes, to "magnanimity of heart." This allows one to move to the next stages of the 8-Fold Path (of Patanjali): asana, pranayama, and pratyahara.
Asana is that pleasant and health filled state of the body induced by good posture and that, as a result, we can feel and think clearly.
Pranayama is described in way that far transcends the usual descriptions given in raja yoga: control over death. When we can consciously rest the involuntary nerves we can stop the decay of the material body (heart, lungs etc.).
In Pratyahara, SY describes how sense fulfillment never satisfies us. We are left hungry for more. By contrast, when we withdraw our attention from the senses inward toward the Self, we satisfy the heart's natural inclinations immediately.
SY goes on to address the 3 highest stages of the 8-Fold Path which, together, are described by Patanjali as "Samyama." By this latter term, SY means "restraint" or overcoming the egoistic self and the exchange of individuality for universality. This process includes the intuition of the heart to perceive truth, the steady concentration which results in merging with the object of contemplation and the inner communion with God as the Word (or Aum). He calls the latter "baptism" and "Bhakti yoga."
Next is described the castes, or different states of consciousness, of humankind. The dark heart, or sudra (servant) class, thinks the physical world is the only reality. This state is expressed in the evolution of human consciousness in the Kali Yuga (or dark) cycle of evolution. Interestingly, SY skips now to the Kshatriya (or warrior) class as the stage in which man struggles to know the truth and in which he is caught between the higher and lower states.
Next SY describes the states of consciousness prevalent during each of the four cycles of the yugas (described in his Introduction and in an earlier blog). He says that the consciousness of the second age, Dwapara Yuga, includes an appreciation of the finer, subtler forces of creation. In the Dwapara state the heart becomes steady and devoted to the inner world of these finer forces.
In Treta Yuga, the third age, we can comprehend magnetism and the heart, or Chitta. Man is said then to belong to the Vipra, or nearly perfect, class or Treta. Lastly we reach the "great world," or Maharloka, where the heart is clean and we become "knowers of Brahma" or Brahmans in the age of Satya (truth) Yuga.
SY concludes his third chapter (The Procedure) with a description of the 3 highest spheres of consciousness and the achievement of final release, or Kaivalya.
Thus is described the universal path to freedom in God.
Don't forget: our 4-part class in the Holy Science begins Wednesday, September 7, 7:30 p.m. at the Ananda Meditation Temple Register online for a 10% discount at www.AnandaSeattle.org. We are still working on streaming that class for those at a distance. If you are interested in the latter possibility, please contact us.
Blessings,
Hriman
Sri Yukteswar's (SY) book was written at the behest of the deathless avatar, Babaji and it shows the underlying universal themes of spirituality especially as between the Christian bible and the teachings of Sanaatan Dharma (the revelations of the rishis of India). Throughout the text he proffers quotations from the Old and New Testaments in juxtaposition to the sutras that he quotes.
In Chapter 3 (this is our fourth blog article), SY gives the necessary attitudes and practices that lead to the goal (see prior blog article). In sutras 1 - 4, SY enumerates the basics: even-mindedness under all circumstances, the study and intuitive contemplation of truth, and inner communion with the Holy Spirit in the form of the AUM vibration.
In sutras 5 and 6, SY states that Aum is heard through the cultivation of the heart's natural love. (There are specific meditation techniques that can hasten and deepen one's experience of Aum.) To commune with Aum takes courage, concentration, and devotion (and self-offering: an aspect of devotion).
It is most curious that a sage of "cold, calculating" wisdom would aver that the heart's natural love is the "principal requisite" to salvation. This divine and unconditional state of consciousness removes the fluctuations of desire and emotions, including giving strength and vitality, and expelling germs and viruses! The heart's natural love allows one to achieve true understanding and, most importantly, it magnetically draws to one the Godlike company of "divine personages."
Without the heart's natural love, one cannot live in harmony with nature or with God, SY counsels. This love gives to us courage to follow the directives and counsel of the "sat" (or true) guru. We can recognize, honor, cherish, and love those who dispel our doubts and avoid those who increase our doubts.
While others seek God in images, stones, in the heavens above, or in nature below, the Yogi seeks God within his own Self. To keep company with a true guru goes beyond physical proximity. More important is to hold the guru's presence in one's heart.
Moral courage is also strengthen by observances of the do's and don'ts of spirituality (taught by Patanjali as the "yamas" and the "niyamas").
SY then launches into a discussion of "What is Natural Living?" In this analysis he examines the teeth of humans and concludes that man is a frugivor, or fruit-eating species. This is confirmed by the relationship of the length of human bowels in relation to the length of the human body (as measured from mouth to anus). Frugivor includes vegetables, nuts, and grains.
He writes then of the calming lifestyle that brings the power of sexual desire into natural balance, and which then engenders, in turn, vitality and health. He speaks of the health value and natural instinct for fresh air in our dwelling places.
SY moves then to Sutras 12-18 in which he describes the eight bondages, or meannesses, of the heart. He lists them as hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race prejudice, pride of family, and smugness. Their removal leads, he writes, to "magnanimity of heart." This allows one to move to the next stages of the 8-Fold Path (of Patanjali): asana, pranayama, and pratyahara.
Asana is that pleasant and health filled state of the body induced by good posture and that, as a result, we can feel and think clearly.
Pranayama is described in way that far transcends the usual descriptions given in raja yoga: control over death. When we can consciously rest the involuntary nerves we can stop the decay of the material body (heart, lungs etc.).
In Pratyahara, SY describes how sense fulfillment never satisfies us. We are left hungry for more. By contrast, when we withdraw our attention from the senses inward toward the Self, we satisfy the heart's natural inclinations immediately.
SY goes on to address the 3 highest stages of the 8-Fold Path which, together, are described by Patanjali as "Samyama." By this latter term, SY means "restraint" or overcoming the egoistic self and the exchange of individuality for universality. This process includes the intuition of the heart to perceive truth, the steady concentration which results in merging with the object of contemplation and the inner communion with God as the Word (or Aum). He calls the latter "baptism" and "Bhakti yoga."
Next is described the castes, or different states of consciousness, of humankind. The dark heart, or sudra (servant) class, thinks the physical world is the only reality. This state is expressed in the evolution of human consciousness in the Kali Yuga (or dark) cycle of evolution. Interestingly, SY skips now to the Kshatriya (or warrior) class as the stage in which man struggles to know the truth and in which he is caught between the higher and lower states.
Next SY describes the states of consciousness prevalent during each of the four cycles of the yugas (described in his Introduction and in an earlier blog). He says that the consciousness of the second age, Dwapara Yuga, includes an appreciation of the finer, subtler forces of creation. In the Dwapara state the heart becomes steady and devoted to the inner world of these finer forces.
In Treta Yuga, the third age, we can comprehend magnetism and the heart, or Chitta. Man is said then to belong to the Vipra, or nearly perfect, class or Treta. Lastly we reach the "great world," or Maharloka, where the heart is clean and we become "knowers of Brahma" or Brahmans in the age of Satya (truth) Yuga.
SY concludes his third chapter (The Procedure) with a description of the 3 highest spheres of consciousness and the achievement of final release, or Kaivalya.
Thus is described the universal path to freedom in God.
Don't forget: our 4-part class in the Holy Science begins Wednesday, September 7, 7:30 p.m. at the Ananda Meditation Temple Register online for a 10% discount at www.AnandaSeattle.org. We are still working on streaming that class for those at a distance. If you are interested in the latter possibility, please contact us.
Blessings,
Hriman
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