Silence: The Beginning and the End

 Silence: The Beginning and the End 

I was reflecting that the day ends in the silence of sleep; life ends in the silence of death. This is not morbid; this is simply an acknowledgement that like night and day, life oscillates between activity and rest, sound and silence. 

The recognition that life is a constant rotation between opposites is natural to the Eastern mind whose roots are buried deep into the distant past; but in the West, like teenagers, we look towards the ever-progressively unfolding future.  

I sometimes ask myself: "Where did I come from? Where will I go after death?" I have my beliefs, of course, but only rare souls can answer these questions from actual knowledge. 

Sunday Service at Ananda includes the “Festival of Light” ceremony. One of the songs in that ceremony is called the “Thunder of Aum” and the opening line is “Out of the silence came the song of creation; out of the darkness came the light.” This is an ancient voice; a dim memory for most of us. 

We begin each day from a point of rest, and we end the day returning to rest. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated in the essay, “The Over-Soul,” that “men descend to meet.” This reflects the intuitive recognition that inwardly we are a greater Soul than is evident by our words and actions. (Ever "listen" to your own voice; your words? Too often they seem so small compared to the real "you.") 

In the teachings of the Orient there is a greater recognition that there exists a Self, an awareness, that can stand apart and observe the activities of the ego-mind and body. Called by various names such as Atman, which is itself in turn a reflection of the over-arching universal consciousness called “Brahman” (more or less akin to “God”), the idea here is that the true Self is separate from the mind and separate from the personality, ego and the body. 

This is distinct from Descartes' statement “I think, therefore, I AM.” But how can one “think” unless one already exists? It may be truer to say: “I AM, and in addition, I can think.”  

In the West we assume that what we feel, experience and think is the “I”. And of course, that seems an obvious fact until one learns to stand apart from one’s own thoughts and emotions. In the Abrahamic faiths, there is no obvious distinction between the ego and the soul. More than this is the teaching that at the final judgement one's physical body is resurrected. Thus, in that tradition the body, the ego, and the soul are essentially one and the same. The Western analysis that separates the subconscious from the conscious mind is a modern insight. On the evolving fringe of that analysis are various speculations around some kind of higher mind. This seems to have started with Carl Jung's theory of the "Collective Unconscious."  

Much speculation in the West surrounds the "hard problem of consciousness." This is the debate on whether consciousness is the source of matter, or matter, the source of consciousness. In the East that isn't even a question as Consciousness (aka Brahman, or God, etc.) is accepted as the creator and source of the universe.  

Some explain the difference between East and West as a difference between Western orientation towards extraversion and Eastern orientation towards introversion. But this distinction, itself only a general statement, is being dissolved by the fusion of East and West that is underway. 

Irrespective of theory, the practice of mindfulness can help us experience that there is an “I” separate and apart from sense-impressions, thoughts, and emotions. This demonstration is one of the benefits of daily meditation practice.  

Thus, we see that the practice of meditation is now integrated into the busy, outward pace of twenty-first century life. Meditation and the active lifestyle are potentially complementary from the point of view that meditation brings mindfulness to our busyness and our busyness brings energy and commitment to our meditation. 

Otherwise, what may too easily happen is that peacefulness can dissolve into lazy indifference while busyness can exaggerate restlessness and greed. True peace—inward or outward—requires energetic commitment to high ideals. True success—spiritual or material—also requires an energetic commitment to high ideals.  

Spiritual success means to see oneself part of and cooperating creatively with a greater reality than one's own. Material success is to understand that success is the result of cooperation with others for the good of all.  

Silence as the beginning and the end of all striving shows us that the beginning of all things lies in the Over-Soul of God-consciousness while the goal of all striving should be inclusivity that leads to Self-expansion towards the Spirit. Thus, a return to Silence. 

As the Spirit made the choice to create so we, as part of God, are blessed with the choice to either encase ourselves into identification with form, or, to expand beyond form back to Spirit. Does this imply a rejection of form?  

The road back to silence begins with the understanding that the human challenge is the hypnosis of our encasement in human form. Nonetheless, our indwelling Spirit can, if we are listening to its whispers, remind us that the real "We" has no form and no boundaries. But rather than reject form, however, we can learn to fulfill the duties imposed by our forms while also identifying increasingly with the indwelling Spirit of the Self. Seeing the transcendent in the ever-changing forms is the solution. This has been called the BOTH-AND solution. 

Ultimately, mindfulness represents the co-existence of transcendent Self-awareness (silence) with form (movement and sound) even as each presents a different face and experience when taken alone. 

Meditation cannot be successful unless its gift of mindfulness permeates activity. And meditation cannot be successful unless the discipline and focus required of outward success is applied to meditation. 

We have entered the new age of BOTH-AND. It is an age of inclusiveness, of co-existence, and cooperation in the light of the greater realization of the Self. 

Nayaswami Hriman is co-spiritual director with his wife, Nayaswami Padma, at Ananda Washington, located near Seattle WA. www.AnandaWA.org. Ananda shares the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of “Autobiography of a Yogi,” and those of its founder, Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple commissioned by Yogananda. 

 

July 4th - Ananda Worldwide

 

July 4 – Ananda Worldwide

July 4, 1969 the papers were signed for the purchase of the first parcels of land that were to become Ananda World Brotherhood Village in northern California. This was the first and it remains the largest of the Ananda communities worldwide. (www.Ananda.org)

July 4, 1992 the papers were signed for the purchase of the Ananda Community apartment complex in Lynnwood, WA. (www.AnandaWA.org)

We all know that July 4, 1776 was the date the Declaration of Independence was signed by the thirteen colonies declaring their separation from British rule and 2026 is the 250^th anniversary of that date!

Only a week ago Ananda members from around the world came together in the largest such gathering ever to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Swami Kriyananda, Ananda’s founder and a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda (whose teachings we seek to live and share as his disciples).

This time of year just happens also to be the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

Coincidences, all? Of course, not! The summer solstice is the apex of light and energy coming to our part of the world. It bespokes joy, creativity, and freedom from the bondage of darkness.

While America has been a beacon of hope and freedom to all the peoples of the world for these past two hundred and fifty years, and while many feel that this beacon has dimmed substantially at this time, it will not go out entirely. It is being tested. Fear and uncertainty always invite people to seek security at the expense of freedom but there exist millions of others like ourselves who yet wave the flag of freedom, high ideals, and hope in our daily lives and actions.

If one views Ananda as a race or nation of people, spread Dwapara style throughout the world, that nation asserted its aspirations, influence, and role in this world in the gathering of souls held last week, June 21-28, 2026. Never have so many members from so many countries been together at the original community founded by Swami Kriyananda. Never has the joy and confidence in serving the work of Self-realization, Kriya Yoga, intentional communities, high ideals, discipleship and simple living ever been so powerfully and clearly expressed and felt.

This celebration is the solstice of Ananda’s self-identity. Looking back a hundred years with reverence and gratitude, but also looking forward into the future, a new generation is rising to carry on the “great work” given to Swami Kriyananda by Paramhansa Yogananda. A renewed bond of identity, cooperation, and connection has been firmly established among the far-flung “colonies” of Ananda. The work will never be the same: enabled by technology but bonded by our discipleship, differences in geography, language, or culture have dissolved in the light of divine friendship and attunement.

Returning now to July 4, I sense that Ananda’s celebration is but a microcosm of the beginning of what I hope to be a shift in the cultural climate of America, and, by extension, those countries of the world that share America’s basic, founding ideals: a shift away from selfish protectiveness and returning to cooperation and shared ideals.

With this hope, I can say “God bless America.” I pray, too, that disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda serving the work of Ananda will, as we were exhorted to do during the week-long celebrations, re-dedicate ourselves to this our guru’s great work. We share with the founders of America the embrace of high ideals and have faith in divine Providence guiding our lives.     

 

 

The Dice (of Life) are Loaded!

The Dice (of Life) are Loaded!

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

John 3:16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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