I was re-listening to a recorded talk by Paramhansa Yogananda today while jogging, and he reminded his audience how easy it is to be "out of tune with God" while meditating. It was an odd way to put it and he may have meant more than I could glean from it, but the basic interpretation is one I can relate to: "I can meditate" and that's all I am doing. Let me try that again:
Over the years as I've been in the position to teach meditation, I've reminded folks to not mistake the "path for the goal." I think this is basically what Yogananda was saying. Patanjali (think Yoga Sutras) described "missing the point" as one of the yogi's spiritual traps. It is very easy for those who meditate to focus on the techniques of meditation and never get beyond their own thoughts and preoccupations.
Now this subject is going to take a little work on my part. So let's sit back, take a deep breath and be still.
First: many meditation teachers and students approach meditation as a mindfulness exercise involving just "me" and not "Thee." This is as far as millions of people even intend to go when they meditate. So these folks aren't really in the "game" of this article at all! To paraphrase a Sixties song, "It's my mind and I can do what I want to." (Leslie Gore) So, fine....to quote another Sixties song, "Is that all there is?" (Sinatra) This use of meditation (probably the most common use) is like flossing between the ears. Good mental hygiene with many medical and psychological benefits. End of my article? (You wish!)
This psychological approach may be healthy but I suspect it is difficult to sustain unless the meditator achieves sufficient depth often enough to be desirous of continuing. The simple fact is that meditation takes self-discipline; self-discipline takes motivation; motivation requires necessity. So either one's life is intensely stressful and meditation is a life saver, or, you're likely to be distracted by surfing the net or answering emails or writing blogs, or simply going to bed on time.
Second: traditional use of meditation as a spiritual exercise, including a form of prayer, might be wholly centered on God, Christ, Buddha, Krishna or one of an infinite number of deities or one's teacher. I say "traditional" but I don't say that with complete confidence. Let's simply say, perhaps instead, that when meditation takes a more strictly or more focused devotional form it would be something like that. In this case, too, but for opposite reason, there's no question about "Who's who in meditation." In devotional forms the issue that arises is "When will you come to me?"
The counsel that wise teachers (which includes Yogananda and my own teacher, his direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda) give is that one should be non-attached in meditation and not engage in merchant consciousness, expecting results ("Or, I'll take my cushion and go home!") There's a lovely song, "Keep Calling Him" inspiring the devotee to be steadfast in his devotions whether it takes lifetimes. There's also the thought of "divine impatience" countered by "Patience is the shortest route to God." Now are we getting fuzzy (warm, too?) here?
By impatience we mean that the sense of energy, commitment, zeal and wakefulness of a sort that never gives up is essential. By patience we mean the depth of intuitive knowing that God is always with us and we are ever content in our Self. Yogananda would tell the story of St. Anthony of the Desert. After years of intense prayer and meditation and right on the cusp of his being destroyed by Satan and his minions and calling to Jesus Christ, Jesus finally appears and drives Satan away. Anthony is grateful but chides his Lord asking, "Ahemmm, and, Where were you all this time?" Yogananda would quote Jesus as saying, "Anthony (in a mildly rebuking tone), "I was always with you!" When we meditate with the thought of God's eternal presence we find blissful contentment and waves of grace flowing over us!
Nonetheless, the prayerful and meditating devotee can get discouraged if her entire focus is upon her Lord and he remains ever silent. How many lovers can sustain their love only in silence? In this case the I-Thou becomes one-sided: focused on Thou but Thou art AWOL! Certainly extraordinary bhaktis (lovers of God) will carry on for an eternity, but such devotees are in short supply at this time (of Dwapara Yuga, the age of energy and egoic self-interest).
So, the rest of us are somewhere in between. I assume that many of today's "modern" meditators would identify themselves with the motto, "Spiritual but not religious." Spirituality among this group is somewhat vague and fuzzy, ranging between "feel good" and "feel God," where the emphasis is on "feel." But even among my friends who, like me, are disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda and practitioners of Kriya Yoga, we find the range of intellectual, active, and feeling types.
For example, for years, considering myself more mental than devotional, my emphasis was on my practices (i.e. Kriya Yoga) and the uplifting, calming, and expansive effect meditation had upon me. With steady practice of devotion, including chanting which I love, I gradually became more steady and deep in my comfort with and feeling of and for Yogananda's presence during meditation (and during activity). I discovered from time to time that even with a great meditation, it could be all about having a great meditation and nothing more (devotional, that is)!
Meditation, in other words, can become self-preoccupying. I have often had the sense that some meditators around me (I spend many hours per week in group meditations) are simply sitting there quietly; perhaps contentedly; but essentially "doing nothing": neither striving for depth in meditation, nor offering themselves devotionally to God or guru, nor transcendent of passing thoughts having achieved (or even seeking) a deep state of inner stillness.
In meditation, then, there are several stages: 1) Withdrawal from outer activity; 2) Relaxation, mental as well as physical; 3) Internalization of mental focus; 4) Practice of and concentration upon one's chosen image, state or technique; 5) Having the desire to use one's technique to go beyond it; 6) Achieving a quiescent, inner state of awareness ; and, 7) Achieving upliftment into a higher state of being (than passive quietness).
The active or feeling types all have the same trap: engaging in their respective practices without going beyond them into the very state they are focusing on.
I have concluded after years of practice and teaching that a meditator needs to remind himself to go beyond himself. It's like being "Beside myself" except really, really different, as in "Being inside my Self." When therefore you sit to meditate remind your Self of the difference between your practices and their goal. Always desire and intend to reach your goal, "making haste slowly." Practice with infinite patience and with unstoppable determination. Attempt in every meditation to quiet the heart and breath and achieve a true moment (a moment can be infinite and eternally NOW) of perfect stillness and spiritual wakefulness.
We need the Thou (whether Thou is your practice or Thou is your "God") to replace the "i" and we need to replace the Thou with the I. The one seeks the Other and in the seeking we become ONE.
Are U Won, yet?
Ascending now, au revoir,
Nayaswami Hari-man
Showing posts with label Buddha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buddha. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Monday, December 23, 2013
That Night When Christ was Born!
What a wonderful story the birth of Jesus is! Did you know, however, that the custom of erecting a nativity scene in honor of Jesus' birth did not begin for a thousand years and was started by St. Francis near Assisi, Italy?
Now, two thousand years later, how relevant is it to assert or deny the virgin birth? Or, the appearance of the heavenly hosts? Or, the presentation of the Three Wise Men from the East?
Joseph Campbell, the famous "mythologist," has helped modern Americans reconnect with the reality that a story can be meaningful and true with or without being a fact. The Bible stories, the Hindu Ramayana and Mahabharata, creation myths and on on show us that "truth is greater and more true than mere facts."
The power of the nativity lies in its hidden message. Like art, including music, it affirms a reality that our intellect is too dull (or distracted) to comprehend (or notice) but which our heart and soul knows, embraces and celebrates.
Orthodox Christians, viewing the nativity story from the point of view of theology and belief, limit their understanding to a literal interpretation of what they believe are the facts of Jesus' birth. I don't have a problem with that but it doesn't address the real issue: the power of this story to uplift generations for centuries in the embrace of its power, love, and light.
Really, after all: millions go to Christmas Eve Services and many don't normally go to church or have an orthodox religious life at all. Is their attendance merely a well worn habit? For some, yes. But for all? No, I don't think so. Millions, some not even Christians, surely feel a special grace or blessing of kinship with all during the Christmas season. There is a famous story from World War I when the close-by but opposing armies in the trenches came out to celebrate with one another one dark and cold Christmas Eve. Stories of spontaneous generosity are so omnipresent during Christmas that it makes no special point to remember any of them!
It is true that babies always attract a fair amount of ooohing and aaahing but Gee Whiz, two thousand years ago? We wax wistful and brotherly (sisterly) at the sight or thought of this child -- his birth, his life, his death, and resurrection. We know this child has for us a message that is true. It is a message of hope, of reassurance, of safety, of security, of love without condition and without end.
The hidden message is, at least in part, said plainly in Sanskrit, from India, from the Chandogya Upanishad: Tat Twam Asi. This "grand pronouncement" of the eternal teaching (Sanaatan Dharma) means, simply, "Thou art That."
We recognize ourselves in that child for we, too, are eternal and "Before Abraham, I AM." (John 8:15) Further, Psalm 82:6 reminds us that "I have said, ye are gods, and all of you are children of the most high."
None of this denies the divinity of Jesus, the Christ (the annointed). The Star of Bethlehem, "His star," presages and symbolizes that this one is a true "son of God" and "one with the Father." So, too, the meaning of the virgin birth. But the difference between Jesus' spiritual realization and our own is matter of degree not kind. We have yet to awaken fully to our sonship in God. And that awakening was the purpose of his birth, and the incarnation of every such son of God whether it be Buddha, Krishna, or any number of world teachers, avatars, who come fully awakened in God. They come for but one purpose: to bring prodigal souls, souls thirsty and hungry for truth and God-realization, back to their home in God consciousness.
This is the hidden message of the nativity. It follows, though more by deduction, than intuition, that the birth of the hidden Christ within us requires action on our part. We must imitate His birth in the meaning of the symbols of his birth: the manger which was but a stable represents humility. Humility is the first condition of our spiritual awakening. Humility does not mean self-deprecation but realization of the wonder of creation, the smallness of our ego, and our need for and desire to love God, that Being of Love who is Infinite and the essence of all Life. To have this realization is the perspective of Infinity and it must needs be a form of humility for the ego.
The quietness of the animals in the stable means that our animal appetites must lie down and render service to this inner Christ. We have need of food, for example, but only in the context of nourishment not food greed, and to keep the body fit as a temple of our God!
The shepherds who watch over the flocks are our thoughts which herd (direct) our actions. These shepherds must come and worship this Christ and in so doing become protectors of our thoughts and actions directed toward selflessness, toward nobility, and toward devotion.
The Three Wise Men who come to worship the Christ child reveal to us that to our aid will come, if we seek and let them, wise teachers, both living and now gone, whose teachings can assist us to develop wisdom, devotion, and self-control.
King Herod, or King Ego, stands ready to massacre this child, and indeed, this child as it is born in others around us. We must flee to Egypt until he dies. Egypt here means we must seek the company of other truth seekers and avoid the soul-killing company of worldly people and circumstances. Until the ego has died (at least sufficiently to no longer challenge Christ the (inner) King), we must remain in the protection of the like-minded. Indeed, spiritually speaking, only highly advanced souls can afford to live apart from society or, in any case, without the ongoing support of other spiritually mind people.
As any newborn child, this inner Christ will need protection and nurturing until he can be "about my Father's business!" We must have daily prayer and meditation, and develop right attitudes of servicefulness, devotion, and right living: compassionate and kindly.
This is the good news of Jesus' birth. What it does mean to be good news because we are "saved?" The appearance of divinity in human form and in one who has achieved oneness with the Father through many incarnations is good news because it means we can do it too. It's also good news because (the bad news is) we can't do it by ourselves alone. It is the ego that awakens to the possibility of soul freedom but it is already trapped. A true savior, or guru-preceptor, has the spiritual power to "lift up the serpent in the wilderness" and thus to lift the serpent of delusion up in the wilderness of spiritual purification, prayer, meditation and self-offering, and, to transform the base metal of ego consciousness into the gold (brass) of the soul.
The good news of the birth of such a one is therefore two-fold: one, "we can do it, too," and two, " And, He is here to help us." Some are more attracted and in tune with other such avatars, like Buddha, Krishna, and in our times Paramhansa Yogananda, or others like Paramhansa Ramakrishna, and even great saints who, while not entirely free, serve to help others spiritually. The realization of others is not our concern. We must walk the path to freedom according to our heart's direction: to Jesus, or to others. Thousands were disciples of St. Francis but he was, in turn, a disciple of Jesus and one of the greatest (and the first to receive the stigmata, the wounds of Christ on his own body).
Let us both celebrate and get to work on achieving soul freedom. "The time for knowing God has come" Paramhansa Yogananda declared. Meditation, including Kriya Yoga, is for everyone and is the greatest single aid to soul freedom through self-effort.
A blessed and bliss-ed Christmas and New Year to all,
Swami Hrimananda aka Hriman
Now, two thousand years later, how relevant is it to assert or deny the virgin birth? Or, the appearance of the heavenly hosts? Or, the presentation of the Three Wise Men from the East?
Joseph Campbell, the famous "mythologist," has helped modern Americans reconnect with the reality that a story can be meaningful and true with or without being a fact. The Bible stories, the Hindu Ramayana and Mahabharata, creation myths and on on show us that "truth is greater and more true than mere facts."
The power of the nativity lies in its hidden message. Like art, including music, it affirms a reality that our intellect is too dull (or distracted) to comprehend (or notice) but which our heart and soul knows, embraces and celebrates.
Orthodox Christians, viewing the nativity story from the point of view of theology and belief, limit their understanding to a literal interpretation of what they believe are the facts of Jesus' birth. I don't have a problem with that but it doesn't address the real issue: the power of this story to uplift generations for centuries in the embrace of its power, love, and light.
Really, after all: millions go to Christmas Eve Services and many don't normally go to church or have an orthodox religious life at all. Is their attendance merely a well worn habit? For some, yes. But for all? No, I don't think so. Millions, some not even Christians, surely feel a special grace or blessing of kinship with all during the Christmas season. There is a famous story from World War I when the close-by but opposing armies in the trenches came out to celebrate with one another one dark and cold Christmas Eve. Stories of spontaneous generosity are so omnipresent during Christmas that it makes no special point to remember any of them!
It is true that babies always attract a fair amount of ooohing and aaahing but Gee Whiz, two thousand years ago? We wax wistful and brotherly (sisterly) at the sight or thought of this child -- his birth, his life, his death, and resurrection. We know this child has for us a message that is true. It is a message of hope, of reassurance, of safety, of security, of love without condition and without end.
The hidden message is, at least in part, said plainly in Sanskrit, from India, from the Chandogya Upanishad: Tat Twam Asi. This "grand pronouncement" of the eternal teaching (Sanaatan Dharma) means, simply, "Thou art That."
We recognize ourselves in that child for we, too, are eternal and "Before Abraham, I AM." (John 8:15) Further, Psalm 82:6 reminds us that "I have said, ye are gods, and all of you are children of the most high."
None of this denies the divinity of Jesus, the Christ (the annointed). The Star of Bethlehem, "His star," presages and symbolizes that this one is a true "son of God" and "one with the Father." So, too, the meaning of the virgin birth. But the difference between Jesus' spiritual realization and our own is matter of degree not kind. We have yet to awaken fully to our sonship in God. And that awakening was the purpose of his birth, and the incarnation of every such son of God whether it be Buddha, Krishna, or any number of world teachers, avatars, who come fully awakened in God. They come for but one purpose: to bring prodigal souls, souls thirsty and hungry for truth and God-realization, back to their home in God consciousness.
This is the hidden message of the nativity. It follows, though more by deduction, than intuition, that the birth of the hidden Christ within us requires action on our part. We must imitate His birth in the meaning of the symbols of his birth: the manger which was but a stable represents humility. Humility is the first condition of our spiritual awakening. Humility does not mean self-deprecation but realization of the wonder of creation, the smallness of our ego, and our need for and desire to love God, that Being of Love who is Infinite and the essence of all Life. To have this realization is the perspective of Infinity and it must needs be a form of humility for the ego.
The quietness of the animals in the stable means that our animal appetites must lie down and render service to this inner Christ. We have need of food, for example, but only in the context of nourishment not food greed, and to keep the body fit as a temple of our God!
The shepherds who watch over the flocks are our thoughts which herd (direct) our actions. These shepherds must come and worship this Christ and in so doing become protectors of our thoughts and actions directed toward selflessness, toward nobility, and toward devotion.
The Three Wise Men who come to worship the Christ child reveal to us that to our aid will come, if we seek and let them, wise teachers, both living and now gone, whose teachings can assist us to develop wisdom, devotion, and self-control.
King Herod, or King Ego, stands ready to massacre this child, and indeed, this child as it is born in others around us. We must flee to Egypt until he dies. Egypt here means we must seek the company of other truth seekers and avoid the soul-killing company of worldly people and circumstances. Until the ego has died (at least sufficiently to no longer challenge Christ the (inner) King), we must remain in the protection of the like-minded. Indeed, spiritually speaking, only highly advanced souls can afford to live apart from society or, in any case, without the ongoing support of other spiritually mind people.
As any newborn child, this inner Christ will need protection and nurturing until he can be "about my Father's business!" We must have daily prayer and meditation, and develop right attitudes of servicefulness, devotion, and right living: compassionate and kindly.
This is the good news of Jesus' birth. What it does mean to be good news because we are "saved?" The appearance of divinity in human form and in one who has achieved oneness with the Father through many incarnations is good news because it means we can do it too. It's also good news because (the bad news is) we can't do it by ourselves alone. It is the ego that awakens to the possibility of soul freedom but it is already trapped. A true savior, or guru-preceptor, has the spiritual power to "lift up the serpent in the wilderness" and thus to lift the serpent of delusion up in the wilderness of spiritual purification, prayer, meditation and self-offering, and, to transform the base metal of ego consciousness into the gold (brass) of the soul.
The good news of the birth of such a one is therefore two-fold: one, "we can do it, too," and two, " And, He is here to help us." Some are more attracted and in tune with other such avatars, like Buddha, Krishna, and in our times Paramhansa Yogananda, or others like Paramhansa Ramakrishna, and even great saints who, while not entirely free, serve to help others spiritually. The realization of others is not our concern. We must walk the path to freedom according to our heart's direction: to Jesus, or to others. Thousands were disciples of St. Francis but he was, in turn, a disciple of Jesus and one of the greatest (and the first to receive the stigmata, the wounds of Christ on his own body).
Let us both celebrate and get to work on achieving soul freedom. "The time for knowing God has come" Paramhansa Yogananda declared. Meditation, including Kriya Yoga, is for everyone and is the greatest single aid to soul freedom through self-effort.
A blessed and bliss-ed Christmas and New Year to all,
Swami Hrimananda aka Hriman
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Spiritual Teachings in the Marketplace - for all? for the elite? free, or costly?
Originally published in 1925, Bruce Barton, one of the founding members of the advertising agency Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborne (known today as BBDO worldwide), presents Jesus Christ as a leader, role model, and a successful salesman. Paramhansa Yogananda, who came to America in 1920 from India, to bring the teachings of Vedanta and the practice of Raja Yoga (including the now popular Kriya Yoga meditation technique), intersected and endorsed Bruce Barton's book as he, Yogananda, who was frequently compared to a modern Jesus Christ, struggled to present his teachings to the dynamic, creative, diverse and all-too materialistic American culture.
Yogananda delighted in the fresh and dynamic portrayal of Jesus by Barton. It contrasted sharply with the depiction of Jesus as dour and "acquainted with grief," and as one who was crucified for our sins and perpetually carrying his cross on our behalf. Jesus was, after all, a young man who hiked up and down ancient Palestine with a band of brothers. Why would hundreds, even thousands, of his fellow countrymen be attracted to this young man if his message was one that reminded them (as if they needed reminding) of the need for suffering? Of course not! He and his band had to have been vibrant, joyful, and enthusiastically learning, practicing and sharing the "good news" of our soul's eternal birthright in God's joy and love.
Yogananda, author of his world renowned life story, "Autobiography of a Yogi," came from India, he said, at the behest of Jesus Christ who, in cooperation with the deathless and great (maha) avatar, Babaji, were guiding the evolution of consciousness here on earth by resurrecting the previously hidden scientific techniques of God communion through yoga practice. Babaji was asked to train and send someone to the West to help bring together the best of the east and the best of west -- the material efficiency of the west with the spiritual efficiency of India's timeless science of yoga introspection and concentration. As the west was uncovering the secrets of Mother Nature ("Prakriti") through observation and measurement, so too have the yogis of India, since ancient times, uncovered the secrets of consciousness ("Purusha") through yoga concentration and observation.
The parallels between Yogananda's life in establishing himself and his teachings in America and Jesus Christ bringing his "new testament" to the Jews are interesting. Each had no choice (because possessing no institution or other network or orthodox endorsement) but to traipse across their respective countries, speaking to those with "ears to hear and eyes to see." We don't know how Jesus' travels and ministry were supported but we do know that Judas "kept the purse." So, presumably, some of his wealthier students and disciples were helping. Perhaps even Matthew, the tax collector (one who would presumably have had some accumulated wealth), had helped sweeten the pot.
According to Phillip Goldberg (author of "American Veda") who has studied the various Vedantic teachers who have come to the West with yoga, Yogananda made a major innovation when he instituted his printed lessons in Vedanta and Yoga and sent them through the mail. Goldberg compares this innovation to the landmark invention by Sears and Roebuck of their catalog some decades before. They were the equivalent in their time to online classes of our age of the internet.
Yogananda's printed lessons allowed him to come to a city, stay and give classes for a week or several weeks, and enroll students in his lessons which would then be sent bi-weekly from his headquarters in Los Angeles. The lessons at the time (say, 1930) cost $25.00 which according to www.davemanuel.com is worth $352 in today's dollars! Yogananda printed photos of himself which he sold at his lectures and even had billboards with his photo to advertise his classes and lectures. It would hardly surprise anyone that he encountered no small amount of criticism, and not just from Christian fundamentalists, but even more so from fellow Vedantins.
Yogananda stated that "If Mr. Wrigley could sell chewing gum with billboards than I can use the same to sell good ideas for people to chew on." Quoting, in effect, Barton's very popular book, Yogananda declared that "if Jesus Christ were to come today he would employ modern advertising methods to share his message." Indeed! He made the distinction that to use business methods for God's work was right and proper but to use God's work to get rich was not. It is, thus, the intention and consequence of one's efforts that form the basis for assessing their righteousness before God and conscience.
In his autobiography he relates how Lahiri Mahasaya, upon being initiated in kriya yoga and empowered to teach it to others, requested from his guru, Babaji, that the ancient requirements of monasticism and renunciation be lifted so that oppressed and stressed householders might also benefit. Babaji endorsed this request as an expression of the divine will and empowered Lahiri to give to those disciples who were sincere the kriya "keys" to "heaven." On the first page of the same chapter (Chapter 26), however, Yogananda states that owing to "ancient injunctions," he could not reveal the technique in the pages of a book for the general public. (He taught the techniques in his lessons, however.) He explained that the technique must be learned from someone who knows the technique (correctly, presumably!). In his own organization and training of kriya ministers ("kriyacharyas"), Yogananda had developed a system whereby the initiate was taught a series of progressive yoga techniques in preparation for learning the kriya technique.
Jesus, famously, remonstrated to his disciples not to throw that which is holy to dogs, or pearls before swine. The New Testament reveals that Judas was less concerned about the poor (when he objected to the costly ointment used to bathe Jesus' feet) than his own attachment to money and to the good opinion of religious authorities.
Yogananda's spiritual heir and most advanced disciple, James J. Lynn, to whom Yogananda gave the spiritual title and name of "Rajarsi Janakananda," endowed Yogananda's work, through the organization he founded (Self-Realization Fellows) on the basis of Lynn's spectacular rise from poverty to wealth through business. He was, in short, a self-made millionaire (when that was a lot of money). Letters from Yogananda and the testimony of close disciples reveal that Yogananda was persistent in his urging of Rajarsi to make contributions to the work and that Yogananda expressed concern that satanic forces would find ways to defeat this endeavor for which Rajarsi was incarnated to accomplish in service to the new dispensation which Yogananda declared was his mission in the West.
Ours is an age of freedom, individual liberties, universal education, and free exchange of ideas and information. The internet is the most obvious and dynamic engine of this free exchange. Notwithstanding Yogananda's refusal to publish the details of the kriya technique publicly, others, primarily from lineages other than his own (Lahiri Mahasaya's, principally), have reportedly done so. Some people, as if to fulfill ancient patterns of religious and commercial rivalry and competition, will claim that their revelations are of the "original" or correct technique, implying or stating that Yogananda changed or diluted Lahiri Mahasaya's actual instructions and techniques!
Human nature doesn't change much, does it? So which is right: public and free dissemination, or, training, discipline and paying (a modern day symbol of giving back in gratitude and recognition).
According to Yogananda, his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, made a major revelation and calendar correction that essentially asserted that which we, in the west, readily accept as self-evident: the human race has entered a new age of information and globalization based on rapid advances in technology and new and inexpensive sources of energy. This revelation, however, isn't confined to science but includes the evolution of consciousness.
Fundamentalists of all religions more or less disagree, for they see the breakdown of their religious hegemony over their adherents in the light of moral disintegration--hardly a sign, they say, of upward evolution! But to Yogananda's followers, and many others besides, this disintegration has been the necessary accompaniment to the dissolution of institutional authority (especially religious) in favor of the a resurgence of spirituality independent of traditional religions.
Yogananda's essential and original message was to teach the "Science of Religion" which would free sincere seekers from the rigid enclosure of religion and bestow the blessing of direct, intuitive and personal perception of God who is, as Jesus himself taught, "within you."
Thus in this new age (called the Second, or "Dwa-para"), humankind would rediscover universal (and therefor nonsectarian) ethical and moral values on the basis of their harmonizing effects upon consciousness and, by extension, upon society. It would be through meditation that this social upliftment would occur -- person by person, soul to soul -- as the Self of all becomes realized within. Hence, Yogananda termed this movement "Self-realization." Yogananda's essential message linked meditation through kriya yoga with the universal search for true and lasting happiness--that soul impelled impulse that unites us all.
He said that it would encircle the globe and, in time, refresh and reinvigorate faith among all peoples. It would also help rejuvenate orthodox religions towards a fresh and new life for those still attracted to them. He said that "Self-realization" would become the religion of Dwapara Yuga. (Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple and founder of Ananda's worldwide work, insisted that this did not mean a prediction of a new "Catholic" church but that this statement had to be understood on a personal and individual level.)
How, then, after this long and windy tome from me, do we reconcile Jesus' not throwing pearls before swine with the age of the internet and the free dissemination of yoga techniques? Between Yogananda's own method of training disciples in Kriya (over a period of months up to a year or more) and those who have published what they claim are kriya methods in books, in weekend workshops or in person on the spot?
For starters, we can't. That is we must accept this new age of Dwapara as it is an age of relative chaos that includes both freedoms and license. The true races of humankind are not based on color or class but on levels of consciousness. The merchants of the world of spiritual seekers will simply buy or get what they want. The sincere devotees whose refinement of consciousness intuit a need for more than facts and methods but of spiritual (cosmic) consciousness itself will seek others who they perceive can bestow what they really seek.
Many meditation and other techniques can help one advance spiritually. This includes serving humanity and loving God with body, mind, strength and heart. Each according to his need, in other words. There isn't one "best" technique or "best" teacher, certainly not, at least, as it relates to the individual soul. The basic meditation technique of watching the breath has been given by some true teachers as the sole technique. In Yogananda's kriya yoga system it is but the basic technique. Yet he himself acknowledged that one could find God through the basic breath technique which he called "Hong Sau."
Not only does personal instruction and specific, focused training help preserve the correctness of a given technique and help ensure its accuracy down through the generations, but it fulfills the ancient and intuitive principle of "transmission." Universities, professional and trade accreditation boards, and governmental authority procedures are everyday examples of transmission by proper authority. Religion (think Pope, bishops, priests and its institutional arm, the curia and the Holy See), too, contains the symbols of ordination and transmission. Whether in monarchies or democracies the legitimate transfer and recognition of authority has supreme value and importance in human affairs.
It is true that great prophets, including Jesus Christ, might be said or might appear to have sprung to life free from transmission, but for the most part, any such examples are the exception. Jesus received several endorsements: at birth, the Three Wise Men (from the East---gee, could that have been, well, like, INDIA?), and from John the Baptist. While neither had the imprimatur of Jewish orthodoxy, each, at least according to the New Testament, had the direct recognition of such other sources as the Star of Bethlehem, the angelic hosts, and the appearance in vision and form of the archangel (Joseph, Zacharia, Mary, & the shepherds).
The same is true for the birth of Buddha, Moses and many others. Divine transmission and recognition figure prominently, in other words, in all important aspects of authority, both temporal and spiritual.
Our age of liberty, life and pursuit of happiness is of course testing the limits of such ancient and universal truths. Self-appointed spiritual teachers spring up like weeds in May, often claiming some hidden or personal inspiration and transmission. "Buyer beware!" In respect to life and to the internet, the truth isn't "out there." Jesus said to Peter, after Peter, and only Peter, correctly hailed Jesus as the Messiah that "upon this rock" (of inner, intuitive, direct, personal perception of truth) will "I build my church" (of cosmic consciousness).
Thus, in the end, each one of us are free to and required to make our own choice regarding our spiritual path. Those (the "merchants" or "Vaishyas") who want things free and cheap will get them: free and cheap. Those (the "warriors" or "Kshatrias") willing to give their lives in service, devotion, and meditation, even at great personal cost, will get their reward in the heaven of Self-realization born of ego transcendence. The "peasants" ("Sudras") will get little to nothing because they don't want to put out energy. They come to lectures, workshops and classes but make little to no effort to change from within. They (the "priests" or "Brahmins") who know, know. Those who say they know, don't. Those who say they don't, don't.
Joy and blessings to you and apologies for the length of this.........I write only by inspiration, not by demand or popularity or conformance with any one else's standards.
Like you, I AM THAT I AM.
Swami Hrimananda (aka Hriman)
"Religion and the New Age," by Swami Kriyananda. Available at Ananda, or the East West Bookshop nearest you, or from the publisher: www.Crystalclarity.com
Yogananda delighted in the fresh and dynamic portrayal of Jesus by Barton. It contrasted sharply with the depiction of Jesus as dour and "acquainted with grief," and as one who was crucified for our sins and perpetually carrying his cross on our behalf. Jesus was, after all, a young man who hiked up and down ancient Palestine with a band of brothers. Why would hundreds, even thousands, of his fellow countrymen be attracted to this young man if his message was one that reminded them (as if they needed reminding) of the need for suffering? Of course not! He and his band had to have been vibrant, joyful, and enthusiastically learning, practicing and sharing the "good news" of our soul's eternal birthright in God's joy and love.
Yogananda, author of his world renowned life story, "Autobiography of a Yogi," came from India, he said, at the behest of Jesus Christ who, in cooperation with the deathless and great (maha) avatar, Babaji, were guiding the evolution of consciousness here on earth by resurrecting the previously hidden scientific techniques of God communion through yoga practice. Babaji was asked to train and send someone to the West to help bring together the best of the east and the best of west -- the material efficiency of the west with the spiritual efficiency of India's timeless science of yoga introspection and concentration. As the west was uncovering the secrets of Mother Nature ("Prakriti") through observation and measurement, so too have the yogis of India, since ancient times, uncovered the secrets of consciousness ("Purusha") through yoga concentration and observation.
The parallels between Yogananda's life in establishing himself and his teachings in America and Jesus Christ bringing his "new testament" to the Jews are interesting. Each had no choice (because possessing no institution or other network or orthodox endorsement) but to traipse across their respective countries, speaking to those with "ears to hear and eyes to see." We don't know how Jesus' travels and ministry were supported but we do know that Judas "kept the purse." So, presumably, some of his wealthier students and disciples were helping. Perhaps even Matthew, the tax collector (one who would presumably have had some accumulated wealth), had helped sweeten the pot.
According to Phillip Goldberg (author of "American Veda") who has studied the various Vedantic teachers who have come to the West with yoga, Yogananda made a major innovation when he instituted his printed lessons in Vedanta and Yoga and sent them through the mail. Goldberg compares this innovation to the landmark invention by Sears and Roebuck of their catalog some decades before. They were the equivalent in their time to online classes of our age of the internet.
Yogananda's printed lessons allowed him to come to a city, stay and give classes for a week or several weeks, and enroll students in his lessons which would then be sent bi-weekly from his headquarters in Los Angeles. The lessons at the time (say, 1930) cost $25.00 which according to www.davemanuel.com is worth $352 in today's dollars! Yogananda printed photos of himself which he sold at his lectures and even had billboards with his photo to advertise his classes and lectures. It would hardly surprise anyone that he encountered no small amount of criticism, and not just from Christian fundamentalists, but even more so from fellow Vedantins.
Yogananda stated that "If Mr. Wrigley could sell chewing gum with billboards than I can use the same to sell good ideas for people to chew on." Quoting, in effect, Barton's very popular book, Yogananda declared that "if Jesus Christ were to come today he would employ modern advertising methods to share his message." Indeed! He made the distinction that to use business methods for God's work was right and proper but to use God's work to get rich was not. It is, thus, the intention and consequence of one's efforts that form the basis for assessing their righteousness before God and conscience.
In his autobiography he relates how Lahiri Mahasaya, upon being initiated in kriya yoga and empowered to teach it to others, requested from his guru, Babaji, that the ancient requirements of monasticism and renunciation be lifted so that oppressed and stressed householders might also benefit. Babaji endorsed this request as an expression of the divine will and empowered Lahiri to give to those disciples who were sincere the kriya "keys" to "heaven." On the first page of the same chapter (Chapter 26), however, Yogananda states that owing to "ancient injunctions," he could not reveal the technique in the pages of a book for the general public. (He taught the techniques in his lessons, however.) He explained that the technique must be learned from someone who knows the technique (correctly, presumably!). In his own organization and training of kriya ministers ("kriyacharyas"), Yogananda had developed a system whereby the initiate was taught a series of progressive yoga techniques in preparation for learning the kriya technique.
Jesus, famously, remonstrated to his disciples not to throw that which is holy to dogs, or pearls before swine. The New Testament reveals that Judas was less concerned about the poor (when he objected to the costly ointment used to bathe Jesus' feet) than his own attachment to money and to the good opinion of religious authorities.
Yogananda's spiritual heir and most advanced disciple, James J. Lynn, to whom Yogananda gave the spiritual title and name of "Rajarsi Janakananda," endowed Yogananda's work, through the organization he founded (Self-Realization Fellows) on the basis of Lynn's spectacular rise from poverty to wealth through business. He was, in short, a self-made millionaire (when that was a lot of money). Letters from Yogananda and the testimony of close disciples reveal that Yogananda was persistent in his urging of Rajarsi to make contributions to the work and that Yogananda expressed concern that satanic forces would find ways to defeat this endeavor for which Rajarsi was incarnated to accomplish in service to the new dispensation which Yogananda declared was his mission in the West.
Ours is an age of freedom, individual liberties, universal education, and free exchange of ideas and information. The internet is the most obvious and dynamic engine of this free exchange. Notwithstanding Yogananda's refusal to publish the details of the kriya technique publicly, others, primarily from lineages other than his own (Lahiri Mahasaya's, principally), have reportedly done so. Some people, as if to fulfill ancient patterns of religious and commercial rivalry and competition, will claim that their revelations are of the "original" or correct technique, implying or stating that Yogananda changed or diluted Lahiri Mahasaya's actual instructions and techniques!
Human nature doesn't change much, does it? So which is right: public and free dissemination, or, training, discipline and paying (a modern day symbol of giving back in gratitude and recognition).
According to Yogananda, his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, made a major revelation and calendar correction that essentially asserted that which we, in the west, readily accept as self-evident: the human race has entered a new age of information and globalization based on rapid advances in technology and new and inexpensive sources of energy. This revelation, however, isn't confined to science but includes the evolution of consciousness.
Fundamentalists of all religions more or less disagree, for they see the breakdown of their religious hegemony over their adherents in the light of moral disintegration--hardly a sign, they say, of upward evolution! But to Yogananda's followers, and many others besides, this disintegration has been the necessary accompaniment to the dissolution of institutional authority (especially religious) in favor of the a resurgence of spirituality independent of traditional religions.
Yogananda's essential and original message was to teach the "Science of Religion" which would free sincere seekers from the rigid enclosure of religion and bestow the blessing of direct, intuitive and personal perception of God who is, as Jesus himself taught, "within you."
Thus in this new age (called the Second, or "Dwa-para"), humankind would rediscover universal (and therefor nonsectarian) ethical and moral values on the basis of their harmonizing effects upon consciousness and, by extension, upon society. It would be through meditation that this social upliftment would occur -- person by person, soul to soul -- as the Self of all becomes realized within. Hence, Yogananda termed this movement "Self-realization." Yogananda's essential message linked meditation through kriya yoga with the universal search for true and lasting happiness--that soul impelled impulse that unites us all.
He said that it would encircle the globe and, in time, refresh and reinvigorate faith among all peoples. It would also help rejuvenate orthodox religions towards a fresh and new life for those still attracted to them. He said that "Self-realization" would become the religion of Dwapara Yuga. (Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple and founder of Ananda's worldwide work, insisted that this did not mean a prediction of a new "Catholic" church but that this statement had to be understood on a personal and individual level.)
How, then, after this long and windy tome from me, do we reconcile Jesus' not throwing pearls before swine with the age of the internet and the free dissemination of yoga techniques? Between Yogananda's own method of training disciples in Kriya (over a period of months up to a year or more) and those who have published what they claim are kriya methods in books, in weekend workshops or in person on the spot?
For starters, we can't. That is we must accept this new age of Dwapara as it is an age of relative chaos that includes both freedoms and license. The true races of humankind are not based on color or class but on levels of consciousness. The merchants of the world of spiritual seekers will simply buy or get what they want. The sincere devotees whose refinement of consciousness intuit a need for more than facts and methods but of spiritual (cosmic) consciousness itself will seek others who they perceive can bestow what they really seek.
Many meditation and other techniques can help one advance spiritually. This includes serving humanity and loving God with body, mind, strength and heart. Each according to his need, in other words. There isn't one "best" technique or "best" teacher, certainly not, at least, as it relates to the individual soul. The basic meditation technique of watching the breath has been given by some true teachers as the sole technique. In Yogananda's kriya yoga system it is but the basic technique. Yet he himself acknowledged that one could find God through the basic breath technique which he called "Hong Sau."
Not only does personal instruction and specific, focused training help preserve the correctness of a given technique and help ensure its accuracy down through the generations, but it fulfills the ancient and intuitive principle of "transmission." Universities, professional and trade accreditation boards, and governmental authority procedures are everyday examples of transmission by proper authority. Religion (think Pope, bishops, priests and its institutional arm, the curia and the Holy See), too, contains the symbols of ordination and transmission. Whether in monarchies or democracies the legitimate transfer and recognition of authority has supreme value and importance in human affairs.
It is true that great prophets, including Jesus Christ, might be said or might appear to have sprung to life free from transmission, but for the most part, any such examples are the exception. Jesus received several endorsements: at birth, the Three Wise Men (from the East---gee, could that have been, well, like, INDIA?), and from John the Baptist. While neither had the imprimatur of Jewish orthodoxy, each, at least according to the New Testament, had the direct recognition of such other sources as the Star of Bethlehem, the angelic hosts, and the appearance in vision and form of the archangel (Joseph, Zacharia, Mary, & the shepherds).
The same is true for the birth of Buddha, Moses and many others. Divine transmission and recognition figure prominently, in other words, in all important aspects of authority, both temporal and spiritual.
Our age of liberty, life and pursuit of happiness is of course testing the limits of such ancient and universal truths. Self-appointed spiritual teachers spring up like weeds in May, often claiming some hidden or personal inspiration and transmission. "Buyer beware!" In respect to life and to the internet, the truth isn't "out there." Jesus said to Peter, after Peter, and only Peter, correctly hailed Jesus as the Messiah that "upon this rock" (of inner, intuitive, direct, personal perception of truth) will "I build my church" (of cosmic consciousness).
Thus, in the end, each one of us are free to and required to make our own choice regarding our spiritual path. Those (the "merchants" or "Vaishyas") who want things free and cheap will get them: free and cheap. Those (the "warriors" or "Kshatrias") willing to give their lives in service, devotion, and meditation, even at great personal cost, will get their reward in the heaven of Self-realization born of ego transcendence. The "peasants" ("Sudras") will get little to nothing because they don't want to put out energy. They come to lectures, workshops and classes but make little to no effort to change from within. They (the "priests" or "Brahmins") who know, know. Those who say they know, don't. Those who say they don't, don't.
Joy and blessings to you and apologies for the length of this.........I write only by inspiration, not by demand or popularity or conformance with any one else's standards.
Like you, I AM THAT I AM.
Swami Hrimananda (aka Hriman)
"Religion and the New Age," by Swami Kriyananda. Available at Ananda, or the East West Bookshop nearest you, or from the publisher: www.Crystalclarity.com
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
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