God: personal or impersonal?

This week is “Holy Week” in the Christian calendar. Coincident as both Easter and Passover is to the beginning of Spring, these religious celebrations express the Spring themes of hope and renewal.

My topic today would seem unrelated to Holy Week but the renewal promised by the great saints and scriptures, and echoed by Mother Nature in springtime, is a renewal of and in the Spirit. The question of whether to approach God as Spirit (impersonal) or as incarnate (personal) is raised in every tradition, every generation, every faith and in every soul seeking inner communion and inner renewal.

Great debates have raged through the millennia on this issue: some sects espousing the impersonal, others the personal. Swami Kriyananda, direct disciple of the renowned yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda (author of “Autobiography of a Yogi”), and my teacher (and founder of the worldwide network of Ananda communities) has taught that “infinity includes infinitesimal.”

“Why, then,” he is effectively saying, “should there a conflict?” God is the essence of everything and everybody! Armed with the expansive vista given to us by science and confronted with the narrowness of view of sectarian faiths, many educated people reject all religion and specifically any expression of devotion towards a person, alive or otherwise. Who can blame them?  “Idolatry,” Swami Kriyananda writes in his classic text, “Art and Science of Raja Yoga,” “is the bane of religion.”

And then there are those who worship God in the form of their “guru,” such as Jesus Christ, Krishna, Buddha, Rama and so many others. Such devotees may scoff at those pretentious enough to imagine they can approach the Infinite Spirit on their own terms, which is to say, from the insignificant soap box of the human ego. There are those who reject any form and insist that God is Spirit and no representation whatsoever can be made.

We humans all too often mistake the form for the spirit behind the form. We are hypnotized by our reaction to what we feel is the attractiveness (or repulsiveness) of external objects, including mental constructs such as theology or philosophy. We miss the point, in other words. We also cling desperately to our own ideas of what is right. Our insistence betrays only our uncertainty, however.

To the woman at the well in Samaria, Jesus taught that “God is Spirit and seeketh those to worship Him in spirit and in truth.” To worship God in spirit is to commune with the divine Presence in inner silence. To worship God in truth is to seek true wisdom and to walk the path of righteousness (dharma) in daily life.

Try these experiments in prayer and meditation  for yourself. First: sit in meditation and visualize the image of one of the great saints or masters, such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, Yogananda, or any other. For as long as you can calmly concentrate and while dismissing as often as necessary passing thoughts, hold that image behind closed eyes. As you do so feel that your heart is open. You may wish to visualize your heart as an open lotus, rose, or an upturned chalice. The fragrance of the flowers waft upward in adoration, or, in the latter image, let the crystal clear waters of peace flowing from the “master” fill your cup. When you feel complete, then sit still, in the silence and absorb the after-effects of your visualization.

As a second experiment, visualize a golden light behind closed eyes. See that light entering the brain and flowing down into the body and then encircling the body in a halo or sphere of Light. Rest in the gentle but vibrant healing balm of that Light. Now, expand that Light outward in all directions: to your home, your family, your neighbors, your city, country and encircling the earth, bathing all life in the peace-light of your heart. Now send this Light out into the universe and feel this Light is the great Light of God, your Father. Mentally affirm, “I and my Father are One!” When finished sit in the silence and just BE STILL and KNOW that I AM.

You can combine both of these starting from the personal and moving to the impersonal. St. John the evangelist describes Jesus as that Light that cometh into the world, that lighteth every man, and which is God and has created all things since the beginning of time. “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Paramhansa Yogananda taught that Jesus as a person wasn’t a divine creation so much as Jesus, the unique soul, had become wholly identified with the Father-Spirit. The difference between a Jesus Christ and most people isn’t one of kind, but of degree. We need only to come to the same Self-realization that the great masters have achieved through the combination of self-effort and divine grace.

Think, then, of yourself as a spark of that great Light. There is no conflict between you and the great Light of God. So long as we hold the candlelight of our own ego close to our eyes we do not notice the great Light that surrounds us. It’s a matter of attention and direction of our focus. God has descended into flesh to become the creation, and to become YOU. But as the wave cannot call itself the entire ocean, so we must shift our attention from the particular form Spirit has taken (in ourselves, others, and in the creation) to the formless, nameless overarching Spirit which is found in the vibrationless sphere of inner silence. This doesn’t happen in a day, but as Krishna promises in the “Bhagavad Gita,” “Even a little practice (of this) will free you.....”

A blessed and holy celebration of the great Light that rises in the East(er).

Nayaswami Hriman

Yoga, Sex, & Spiritual Teachers

It is disappointing to read of esteemed yoga teachers having sex with their students, to hear of titillating nude yoga videos and calendars, and even to see the photos of sexy yoga teachers, both male and female, selling everything from themselves to cars. Fame, fortune and beauty, promoted by yoga magazines and advertisers and enjoyed by their readers, infiltrate even the rarified pure heights of yoga.

For clarity purposes, let me begin by explaining that I use the term “yoga” not just to refer to the physical postures known as “hatha yoga,” but to yoga’s true and original reference (which has a double meaning): first, to those disciplines of body and mind intended to refine and elevate one’s consciousness above identification with body and personality, and second, to the state of oneness with pure Consciousness which is the goal of such practices.

To those who share spiritual-truth teachings, including the ancient and sacred art and science of yoga, Jesus Christ gave this warning: (paraphrasing) “all those who go before me are thieves and robbers.” Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the now classic, Autobiography of a Yogi) explained that Jesus’ words refer to those teachers who draw the attention of their students to themselves – rather than to the pursuit of Self-realization.

In one book review I scanned, the author claimed that the origins of hatha yoga came from certain sexual tantric practices. I am not versed enough in the history of hatha yoga to offer any factual rebuttal except to respond with dismay and disdain. That author’s analysis is as shallow and transparent as his motivation seems to be, but his assertion, however ignorant, poses a question that I feel ought to be addressed squarely: is there some hidden or intrinsic connection between the practice of yoga and sexual stimulation?

According to both modern research and local tradition, yoga practice (whether physical or mental) comes to us from at least five thousand years ago. It is widely believed that yoga precepts and disciplines originated in an age of higher consciousness. That some debase these practices (indeed any and all spiritual practices, not just yoga) for ego gratification is not a new story — this has happened in religion and spirituality since time immemorial. History provides ample proof that a religious vocation as teacher or priest is no guarantee of freedom from sexual desire or temptation. In most traditional and orthodox religious practices, the taboo barring sexual contact between teachers (including priests etc.) and students (members, parishioners, etc.) is fixed and absolute. Given human shortcomings, it is no wonder that some renunciates resort to suppression, and no wonder, as we know all too well, that sometimes even tragic consequences can result.

Yoga, by contrast, is, in certain respects, just the opposite. Rather than reject the body and the material world, yoga guides us toward greater awareness of the powerful and intelligent energies of the body. The purpose of this stimulation, however, is not sensual indulgence. The risk of temptation to do so, however, is the nub of the issue here today.

Yoga has, since ancient times, affirmed a truth that modern science has only recently validated: that matter is a form of energy. Yogis go further to say that energy, in its turn, is a manifestation of consciousness. The deeper purpose of yoga is to redirect our identification with the physical body (and its senses) into, first, an awareness of and identification with the energy of life force that animates the body, and, then, more deeply still, into an awareness and self-identity with the consciousness that intelligently guides that energy.

This process, admittedly esoteric for most westerners, is the explanation for the process through which the soul rediscovers its innate divinity, its true nature as a child of God. The ultimate goal of this realization of our higher and true Self is to achieve Oneness with the Godhead.

People are drawn to yoga for its many benefits: physical, mental, and spiritual. In the physical practices of hatha yoga the body is, superficially, the object of one’s interest and attention. In modern yoga classes, men and women mix together and the clothing worn during such classes for the practice of hatha yoga generally tends to reveal male and female physiques. While this might be distracting, for most students it is of no more than a passing interest.

As the yoga student progresses, he or she becomes more inwardly self-aware, and discovers the innate intelligence, joyful vitality, and latent powers which animate the physical body and its senses. In time (or for some even initially), the focus may shift from physical health to the goal of achieving lasting and consistent contact with the suprasensory states of higher (and blissful) consciousness.

In yogic terminology, one learns how to withdraw his consciousness from the physical senses inward to the “tree (or river) of life” (one’s “center”) where the fruits of the (Holy) Spirit are tasted: joy, calmness, peace, love, and healing vitality, to name a few. In time and with deeper practice the yogi offers his energies, consciousness, and life upward to God in the spirit of devotion and self-offering.

Not surprisingly, therefore, wise yoga teachers warn us that yogic practices will enhance the power of the senses and one must be careful to not lose sight of the longer-term goal. Yoga devotees are schooled in the need for devotion and humility and are taught that self-effort alone is not enough to achieve salvation. Grace, too, is needed. The liberating power of divine grace comes in response to the intensity of our effort and the purity of our intention. (Some fundamentalist Christians, in fact, accuse yoga as denying the power of grace, relying, instead, upon ego-motivated self-will. But this is not a correct understanding of yoga.)

There is yet another spiritual trap that awaits the aspiring yogi: one that is even more deeply embedded into our psyche: the ego! The ego is necessarily energized as our intelligent life force ascends through yoga practice towards the brain on its journey to the highest spiritual energy center at the point between the eyebrows. It would be a detour to launch into further explanation of these energy centers (known as “chakras”). Suffice to say that the gift of free will and individual self-awareness is ours to keep lifetime after lifetime until we willingly offer ourselves into the transforming and liberating power of the divinity. In the end we give up nothing and in return we gain infinity itself. But the long-entrenched vitality of our mortal delusion resists mightily, fearing its own dissolution.

Advanced stages of yoga practice bring with them both expanded consciousness and powers even over objective reality. Patanjali , the Indian sage who wrote the “bible” of yoga (the Yoga Sutras), enumerates these powers that come as the soul advances toward freedom, and, by implication, the temptations. As Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan with dominion over all creation, so, too, Patanjali warns us, will we when we, too, stand on the brink of Infinity. Do we not face a similar choice every day, when we are tempted to act selfishly instead of nobly?

As “pride goeth before the fall,” ego is the first and last hurdle of the soul to overcome. Greater than sensory temptation is this foe who is also our greatest friend on our prodigal soul’s journey back to God.

Not surprisingly, and not unlike spiritual and religious traditions everywhere, celibacy (or at least moderation) and ethical behavior are among the prerequisites for receiving the knowledge of the yoga science. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Patanjali details the “rules” in his description of the Eight-Fold Path in its first two steps: the “yamas” and “niyamas.”

Unfortunately, the practice of yoga in the West is too often presented on the basis of health (which is easily turned in the direction of bodily glorification) and thus finds itself stripped of its foundation in devotion, self-control, and openness to the transforming power of divine grace.

Further, we in the West emphasize self-effort and personal liberties. We expect, perhaps even demand, that all knowledge should be ours with the only barrier to it being, at most, a monetary one. Viewing yoga as health culture, we aren’t inclined to consider the importance of right spiritual attitudes.

We in the west still think of our bodies as mechanisms. The successes of allopathic medicine in fact derive in part from the detailed analysis of illness using a mechanistic model. Thus much of hatha yoga practice centers on physical safety, spinal alignment and strength. Our culture is only beginning to see the connection between health and consciousness, between body and mind. (Thus Ananda Yoga employs the use of affirmations to help direct a student’s awareness towards higher consciousness.)

Traditionally the relationship between teacher and student was formal and conducted with reverence, respect, and openness. By contrast, our society treats teachers as equals and inclines towards familiarity between teacher and student. (As a child, I could never have addressed my grade school teacher by her first name; to encounter her in the grocery store as a normal human being would have been almost traumatic. How much our culture has changed!) While the American attitude in this regard has its refreshing side, it also removes a veil of protection from the teacher and student relationship.

Western culture, moreover, is bereft of any philosophical or cultural handle for the concept of enlightenment. We imagine that a teacher who is articulate, magnetic, attractive, charming and popular must be spiritually advanced.  My teacher, Swami Kriyananda, once visited a temple in India and was approached by a “sadhu” (so called holy man) dressed in orange robes, long beard, and looking like something out of picture book. This man said said to Swamiji, “Picture? Five rupees!”

With our genius for organization we tend to equate leadership in an organization with wisdom. How often has the wearing of a robe or clerical collar proved itself no protection from egotism, anger, or lust.

We in the west do not realize how few spiritual teachers are God-realized. Claiming to be enlightened does not make it so. I don’t mean to denigrate those who are both sincere and wise. But only one who is Self-realized can truthfully recognize another. Millions of followers do not a true guru make! When Jesus asked, “Who do men say I am?” only Peter drew upon soul-inspired intuition to recognize Jesus as a true christ and master, more than a charismatic teacher with spiritual powers. By the end of Jesus’ ministry, “many walked with him no more.”

Because our Christian heritage is ignorant or in denial of the concept of reincarnation, we have yet to adjust our vision of the purpose and journey of human life to the vast span of time it takes for the soul to achieve freedom in God. A soul can be saintly but not yet free. A powerful intellect, magnetism, or wisdom can be used in the service of God and humanity, but are no guarantee of inner freedom. Until the soul achieves permanent emancipation in God-consciousness, it can still fall spiritually.

The road is long and the temptations and pitfalls remain until the end. Therefore, condemn no one and be, as Jesus counseled us, “Wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” If I have no personal knowledge of the facts of another person’s sexual misdeeds, I try to remain apart from the chorus of outraged voices. Walk the spiritual path yourself first and long enough and be sure, as Jesus said (paraphrasing) that you are without sin before you throw the first stone.

Allegations of sexual misconduct are notoriously difficult to prove, being, by nature, intimate and apt to incite intense emotions. Such cases sell newspapers and make for sensationalist courtroom drama. Some continue to claim that Jesus Christ had an affair or marriage with Mary Magdalene. It’s not my business and I wouldn’t condemn him if he did. Without the intuition of a Peter, how would I know?

The power of sex force is second only to self-preservation. It is essential to life in countless ways. It brings to us vitality and creativity. It is sacred, for it is life itself. It shouldn’t be condemned, nor, of course misused. The ego, and indeed our present society at large, revels in celebrating sex for its pleasure alone and, not surprisingly — to balance the psychological scales — is quick to condemn those who fall for its false allure!

The same life force that gives us sexual energy can also be redirected into serving a greater good. In yoga and in ancient tradition we are taught how to transmute sex force through exercise, right diet, noble deeds, creative pursuits, meditation, and devotion. It is not to be suppressed but offered upward into a higher octave of egoless, unconditional love and service. This force has given us life itself and is therefore the basis of energy for our spiritual salvation if we use it rightly. The fact that yoga can be helpful in this effort doesn’t diminish the hold sex and romance possesses upon human consciousness. (Yogananda added his testimony to that of the ages when he commented that the three great ills of humanity are misuse of “sex, wine, and money.” Their magnetism and power holds in delusion and suffering a significant percentage of humanity.)

Unfortunately the profound and sacred reality of the creative life force is too often mistaken for permission to pretend that sexual indulgence is somehow a path to enlightenment. This convenient dogma will persist through the centuries for the simple fact that the ego is so clever in its delusion. Books, workshops and videos abound promising enlightenment through enjoyment of sex. This false teaching will always be with us and its devotees will, no doubt, protest indignantly at my effrontery.

But for those who are sincerely seeking enlightenment yet while also in a committed love relationship, it is, nonetheless, spiritually right to bring sacredness and mindfulness into the expression of love through sexuality. Yogis even teach couples how to prepare themselves to conceive a spiritually minded child.

But until the soul achieves final liberation, this life force can and will tempt us. St. Francis once warned a woman disciple (who was getting too attached to him personally), “I can still father children!” Lord Buddha was tempted by sexually alluring female forms at the very moment of his liberation at which point, free from temptation, he cried: “Mara, Mara, I have conquered thee!” Jesus, when tempted with dominion over all nature commanded: “Satan, get thee behind me!”

This is not to lay fault at the feet of the woman student who has had an affair or inappropriate contact with her teacher. We are souls first; bodies only temporarily. The woman may have indeed been betrayed by the teacher who used his position and magnetism for selfish ends. But she too betrays her higher Self in yielding to the lure of any number of human desires and dead-end delusions. The Lord’s prayer which says “Lead us not into temptation” suggests that while we may be “led” it is we who consent.

What may have begun with admiration and inspiration was perhaps sidetracked into a moral and egoic cul-de-sac by forces as old as Adam and Eve. I add my belief to that of many others who view the rising influence of women in the world as the hope for a better world. In the Ananda communities where I live and serve, it has been customary for couples to share the spiritual leadership. This has worked well, spiritually, both for them and for the communities they serve.

And let us not forget that men and women, serving together, can accomplish great things. In business, science, the arts, academia, humanitarianism, in public service, and in spirituality, men and women can and do inspire in one another creativity, high energy, and the practical manifestation of high ideals. Is not friendship and mutual service the ideal to which even marriage should aspire?

And what of the teacher? In this society of ours where intimate relationships are easy and common, are men not vulnerable, too? Have you never observed even small boys responding brightly to the presence of a pretty teenage girl? In my counseling of men, many admit being bothered by the compulsion to gaze longingly at attractive women. (Are women any different, this way? I doubt it!) What more magnetic power is there between a man and a woman than she who admires his success, and he who is attracted by her winsome intelligence?

For a teacher “caught in the act,” maybe it’s time to take a break, or, even, a hike! Either way, one who is sincere should strengthen his resolve, make amends as he can, and find the support he needs for protection and for self-discipline. (There are of course legal and organizational considerations. These are, however, outside the scope of my own interest.)

From the soul’s perspective our failings are fertile ground for introspection and growth. From the standpoint of karma and reincarnation what yogi wouldn’t opine that the teacher and student must have had some “karma to work out?” Our spiritual lessons are never easy but always potentially liberating if we will remain even-minded, calm, compassionate, forgiving, and always seeking the divine will and lesson. Blaming others and claiming to be a victim are not the hallmarks of a refined consciousness, certainly not those of a true yogi.

Ultimately, it is God alone, speaking through our refined and sensitive conscience, who must be satisfied, not the dictates of the fickle mob crying, “Crucify him!” For one who is seeking soul freedom, whether teacher or student, the ultimate “foe” is ego. The temptation of sex, the allure of popularity, money, possessions, and fame are ultimately secondary manifestations of ego affirmation. From the point of view of the soul, is it any greater “sin” to have not yet overcome sexual desire than to seek popularity or approval, or money and influence through one’s successful teaching of yoga?

One could argue that sex, at least, represents the impulse to love and be loved; it is compelled by the desire for companionship and intimacy. Do not some saints seek God as their Beloved? Indian scriptures say that God created this universe that “He might share his Bliss with many.” The Bible says “God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son” that we might see Spirit everywhere and in everyone. Sex is closer to our existential consciousness and essential feeling nature than money or fame, which are, by comparison, sterile because abstract.

We live in a fish bowl where celebrities are concerned. We expect to know every intimate detail of their lives. We see leadership as power over others rather than an opportunity to serve them. We don’t see the personal sacrifice that is required and too often view leadership as an opportunity for self-indulgence. No wonder we are quick to judge, for wouldn’t this justify our own lack of dedication to serving a greater good?

Yoga practice brings rewards and risks, no doubt about it. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna warns his disciple Arjuna that “suppression avails nothing. Even sages must act according to their nature.” Yoga is a form of universal and scientific spiritual awakening. It is powerful and effective. Patanjali describes the great powers that come on the spiritual path but warns against seeking (and misusing) those powers.

So, yes, yoga teachers, on the path to freedom, will be tempted and will slip. But yoga affirms our true Self as the only reality. It therefore emphasizes directional progress rather than condemnation. Yoga precepts acknowledge the power of delusion as the very fabric of the universe. Thus the soul, as described in the Bhagavad Gita must, as a warrior-devotee, do battle with the powerful energies which rise, like demons, as we advance towards transcendence.

My teacher, Swami Kriyananda (direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and founder of the worldwide network of Ananda communities) experienced the trials and tribulations of such accusations. To his credit, he did not deny his actions. Instead, he courageously disclosed the facts heedless of the consequences. Ananda members and communities, knowing his true nature, did not turn away from him but offered to him the support and loyalty due to one who, with divine attunement and deep sincerity, has shared and lived wisdom through self-sacrifice and divine grace. By so doing, we affirmed and lived the truth of our own higher Self, as well. As Paramhansa Yogananda put it, “it is a sin to call yourself a sinner. A saint is a sinner who never gave up!” To be a true “swami” is to live sincerely and courageously, walking one’s path toward perfection in the Self (“Swa”).

For the soul, there is no eternal hellfire and there are no victims, only opportunities to learn and grow. This isn’t to say that one should necessarily remain silent in the face of wrong doing. Helping others is part of helping our Self. Our motto should always be the second stanza (and the most important) of the Yoga Sutras: “yoga comes from the steadfast poise of even-mindedness and centeredness in the Self within.” 

Avoid the intensity of emotions such as condemnation, pride, self-loathing or shame, for a slip is not a fall.

Bless all those who have ever harmed you that they too find their way to freedom. Be free in yourself. Let us walk the path of yoga with our eyes clear, our hearts open, and our posture strong and tall.

Blessings,

Nayaswami Hriman

How to be an Intuitive person?

Our western culture cannot agree on the use of the term "intuition." Many use it disparagingly, thinking it to be an overactive imagination. Others dismiss it on the basis of random and therefore unreliable hunches. Certainly it is unscientific and should be excluded from the use of our highest gift: reason. St. Thomas Aquinas defined man as a "rational animal." As definitions go, it has its uses, for sure. But it is limited.

Evidence -- both anecdotal and also scientific -- abounds for the existence of telepathy and other psychic powers. But culturally as well as scientifically we've yet to seriously explore the realm of knowledge and the process of knowing to which the term "intuition" refers.

Science shows us that the bandwidth of frequencies which each of the five human senses detects is very limited. Many animals have more sensitivity to wider frequencies than humans. Humans have obviously not topped the proverbial food chain on brute strength or instinct alone.

Intuition is the sixth sense. It differs from the other five not by its nature but by degrees. The five senses work in the limited time and space of the physical body. The sixth sense scans bandwidths of psychic frequencies that are not limited by time or space. But it does act as a scanner. As olfactory nerves scan frequencies related to smell, the sixth sense scans frequencies related to thought and levels of consciousness.

As a criminal upon entering a city quickly finds criminals, and a banker, bankers, and so the sixth sense tunes into those frequencies of thought and consciousness that emanate from our mind and consciousness. As I am not a sculptor, I do not receive ideas and inspirations about a new piece to sculpt. Poets "receive" poetry; inventors, inventions, mothers, knowledge about their children, and so on.

Our society may not have the language that acknowledges the vital and useful role of intuition in our lives but that doesn't stop us from using it all the time. Let me make a minor distinction for the sake of clarity: the facility of memory (as in, "Oh, golly, where did I put my car keys down THIS time?") differs from intuition in that intuition gives us access to something we would have no "reason" to know beforehand. I may have put my car keys down in a new spot but I have every "reason" to have remembered and to have noticed, even if but subconsciously.

But a new idea for a book comes from a different realm, at least in theory. The idea for a new book that just popped into my head may, in fact, be partly traceable to a story someone told me, or some experience from my past. Either facts may have been re-arranged into something new and different but based, nonetheless, on the initial facts. Here, then, we could say that my intuition reached down into my subconscious and re-worked the material (when I wasn't looking), and handed me this new idea. Einstein didn't hear a symphony either. He received a solution to something he had opened his cosmos-searching mind to. The fact that parts of our past and our memory re-surface does not lessen the value or power of the intuition. It simply makes it personally relevant and eminently practical: just what I needed!

Many people can beat the morning alarm clock's harsh buzzer by hair's breadth of a nanosecond: smashing the snooze button right in time. Now, tell me, if you were sleeping, who was watching the clock?

Paramhansa Yogananda defined intuition as the "soul's power of knowing God." In this he pointed to intuition's highest potential and most noble purpose. But this doesn't limit its scope. God, after all, is everything and contains all things and beyond. So why can't intuition be the means by which Einstein felt the solution to relativity, or Beethoven heard his ninth symphony in his head in an instant.

Our age is only beginning to explore the mind's potential and its processes of knowing. Sages have long said that the greatest question of all times is "Who am I?" The Temple of Apollo in ancient Greece counseled all who came to "Know Thyself," even as Shakespeare warned us "To Thyself be true." When Jesus Christ asked his disciples, "Who do men say I am?" they replied that some were of the opinion that Jesus was one of the prophets, or even John the Baptist. Only Simon Peter articulated aloud what the others must have intuited already: Jesus was more than an ordinary mortal, he was attuned with the Cosmic Father, a true incarnate son of the living God.

Nothing develops the muscle of our sixth sense more effectively and scientifically than the daily practice of meditation. While this is yet to be validated by scientific testing, I have no doubt that in time it will be. I, for one, started my adult life with the thought that I was not a creative person. I'm no Leonardo di Vinci but every day brings fresh insights into the small world of my daily tasks. Many a time have I sat before this computer wondering what I was to write. After a moment's quiet reflection coupled with a silent prayer offered with faith and affirmation, drawing down, as it were, the grace from above, I have been rewarded with what seemed right to me to say and which has very often been corroborated by independent testimony of readers.

That part of meditation during which, after various practices such as breath control, devotion, energy work, or creative visualization, we are completely still and silent, communing inwardly with the peaceful Presence of Mind -- this is the muscle building segment of building intuitive strength. 

We mimic this instinctively when, during the day, confronted with the need for a solution, we pause, perhaps look up, or slightly up and to the side, and, "Lo," the answer comes. Scientific studies of creativity valid the common experience that it might help to "sleep on it," take a shower, go for a run......another words, step back from the intensity of focusing on the problem and the need for a solution, and let the solution flow into your mind like the soundless flow of oil into a drum.

Yes, we can say "I had an idea." But I didn't "create" the idea. I received it. It would be truer, therefore, to say, "I received an idea!" Once, Paramhansa Yogananda, was asked whether creativity could be under the control of the will. He responded, while preparing to leave for a lecture commitment, "Yes, take this down." He immediately dictated a poem which, when later published in a book of poems, was singled out by a reviewer as an example of one of the best poems in the book!

Intuition comes from listening: not just with our auditory faculties, but with our heart, our mind, and our whole being. It's like using the body and mind as a crystal radio set receiving unseen signals and transmissions. To do this requires a quietness of mind that only comes from not being so reactive to our ceaseless conscious and subconscious thoughts and the unending chatter of the five senses, jangling like telephones competing for our attention. 

We must test our intuition by being cautious and practical, rather than boastful and insensitively plowing ahead where "angels fear to tread." Thus an intuitive person is calm, sensitive, and humble (in the sense of not being preoccupied by his ego's needs for attention and self-assertiveness). The word faith can be substituted for intuition even if we apply that word more to the realm of our spiritual life than to creativity and problem solving. "God's adequate response to our every need" is proof of His existence, together with the joy found in meditation. This counsel was given to Paramhansa Yogananda by his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, and reported in Yogananda's now famous life story, "Autobiography of a Yogi."

"Stop, look, and listen" say the old-fashion railroad crossing signs. This is the mantra of the intuitive person. A once popular modern expression was "Think outside the box." Well, don't so much think, as look outside the box and see. A person of intuition is a "seer" in the classic sense of that term. Through intuition we see things that others, more attached and bound to the five senses, cannot see.

Some feel intuitions in the heart; others in the prefrontal lobes (forehead); others in the body or in the mind itself. Some "hear" words; others "see" images; others, still, move their body (like a painter) or speak (like a lecturer), or counsel and so on. Intuition is ever-new and ever-fresh and ever-creatively self-expressive.

A key to becoming intuitive is to gradually lessen your reactions: you might react to someone well dressed or attractive in a certain way but this superficial response may blind you to their, perhaps, less than noble intentions. Or you may respond to someone young, or poor or of a different race or religion in some formulaic way based on your own prejudices. This will blind you to who they really are or what they have to offer you. "Who do men say I am?"

I am more than a body; a personality; a man or woman; smart or dumb. I am not who you think I am, nor yet who I think I am.

My teacher, Swami Kriyananda is founder of the worldwide network of Ananda communities, and is direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. His life of public service has been one of intense service and meditation. He has written well over one hundred books and composed hundreds of pieces of music which vary widely in style and composition. His blending of art, devotion, will power, concentration, administrative and executive abilities is unmatched by any in my experience of life. Creativity with divine attunement has been the doorway to soul freedom and an example and inspiration to all who have been privileged to know him.

A life of self-sacrifice with devotion brings faith and intuition and a comfort and joy no riches, no fame could ever bestow.

Joy to you,

Nayaswami Hriman

How to Love Another without Attachment

Last week at each (separate) session of the Raja Yoga Intensive that I teach, I was asked “What does it mean to love another person ‘without attachment’?”

A very good question, indeed. For the record, we’ve been studying the first two stages on the 8-Fold Path toward enlightenment (as described in the famous Yoga Sutras by the sage Patanjali). The first two stages outline something often described in short-hand form with the phrase, the “do’s and the don’t’s.”

The question cited above was not specific to any of the yamas or niyamas (the names of the first two stages: each has five aspects of what to avoid and what to do). But the combination of discussing the need for self-control and moderation in sexual matters with the goal of seeing all as the divine, and striving for transcendence through devotion and non-attachment: all of these aspects conjoined in a kind of “OMG!” (“O my God!”)

Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi and the guru whose teachings I am privileged to share, stated in his own life story that he was, as a young boy, disconsolate at the unexpected and premature death of his (very holy) mother. Later in life, it was known that he had to absent himself from the presence of those close to him who were dying (in order that they might be “allowed to go”).

Was he, therefore, “attached” even though his disciples, such as myself, consider him to be the avatar (God-realized master) of this “new” age? Was he just faking it so we could relate to him as a human being, like ourselves?

To plumb of the depths of understanding of the human and divine nature of an avatar has puzzled devotees down through the ages. Did not Jesus Christ cry out from the cross, “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” And, knowing of his fate that night in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Let this cup pass from me?”

We will return to the avatars in a minute. Let us, however, return to the ground zero of our own, everyday lives.

I’ve frequently thought to myself that the only perfect marriage on earth is one between two people who don’t need to be married at all! (Ok, so that’s partly a joke!) But my point, I think, you see clearly: marriage plays upon and preys upon the strengths and weaknesses, and the attraction and repulsion inherent between, two different individuals.  An unhealthy relationship is a co-dependent one. I’m no therapist and I wouldn’t want to pretend to define co-dependency, but from where I sit (on the sidelines), an unhealthy relationship is one where the boundaries are more than fuzzy between two people and where two people are consistently projecting their issues, their insecurities, and their needs onto one another. Put another way, we are speaking of two people who are not yet quite mature and not yet centered in their own self (Self).

Returning then to the question of non-attachment vs. love I think of what my own spiritual teacher, Swami Kriyananda, has said from time to time: (I paraphrase) “Impersonal love is impersonal with respect to my own desires; it is not cold or insensitive to the needs and well-being of others.”

So what this means is that I “love” another person not for what I get from him/her but for what I find in that person to be admirable, inspiring, worth emulating and worthy of consideration and practical service (without thought or expectation of personal return, acknowledgement or another other “quid pro quo”).

Is this TOO perfect? To, to…..as it were? Well, sure it is. Most love and family relationships are contractual: you do this; I do that. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. We are merchants, in other words. And, society calls this “love?” Well society calls unabashed and uninhibited lust love too. So there!

Helicopter parents are generally considered to be loving and doting parents. But are they not perhaps simply projecting their own desires and insecurities onto their hapless children?

Would a parent not be a better parent by trying to objectively “tune-into” the child’s own nature, tendencies, and life directions without regard to his/her own? A highly educated and articulate parent might end up with an autistic child. Is this not all too common these days? Is not the spiritual purpose of this, at least in some small measure, perhaps, to help the parent to open his/her heart and serve this needful child unselfishly devoid of the usual hope and expectation that the child will “be a chip off the old block?”

Does not the typical teacher prefer the child who is attentive and obedient? Are not the rebellious or restless ones a tad bit too creative and troublesome? The files of school history are crammed with the stories of geniuses who were only recognized as such later in life (perhaps after overcoming whatever setbacks their education imposed upon them).

Are not the weekly tabloids which feature the marriages of the rich and famous strewn with the beautiful bodies of those who had great sex but a lousy marriage? Drug addiction, alcoholism, infidelity: are these not the fruits of such glamorous unions?

Well, for all of that, who can stem the tide of attraction between, say, men and women? Why bother to fight City Hall? We each have the right to learn our lessons our way: that is, the hard way! None of that, and indeed, all of that suggests that true love exists on a higher plane, even if it need not deny the magnetism of the lower.

Rather as marriage is a union of people, and as Self-realization is the union of body, mind and soul, so too a spiritual marriage can unite as parts of body, mind and soul. We just have to know what we are looking for and what actually works (brings greater fulfillment).

But, no matter how successful our marriage is or our relationship with our children, no relationship can fulfill the nature of the soul’s longing for omnipresence and onenesss. So long as our love is based upon differences we will be forced to play the part of the yo-yo, which is to say, the fool. As we love, so we suffer.

Interestingly, however, there is no way out EXCEPT to love. Jesus forgave a woman her sins and said, “For her sins, which are many, she is forgiven for she has loved much.”

We cannot find God by rejecting our brothers and sisters. Rather we must strive to perfect our love until it “becomes the perfect love of God.”[1]

That perfection includes seeing in all, seeing in the “other,” the Divine presence. It means loving that unique expression of God without condition, without contractual expectation. A tall order, of course. Jesus said, hanging from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

We, who are far less than perfect as Jesus was, have plenty of reasons to “hang” without anyone crucifying us without cause! Yet, therefore, can we not forgive? Accept? Love without condition? Infidelity? Rebelliousness? Lack of charity? Rejection?

Do you see, now, perhaps, even a little more clearly, what we speak of? Yogananda grieved at the loss of his mother, for he was, at that point, a child. He didn’t pretend or need to pretend he was anything less. But in his overarching nature, to the degree he contacted it, he was free, in Bliss. The same holds true, at least potentially, for you and me.

Jesus suffered not for himself or his body but for those who lashed out at him and would suffer themselves on account of it.

We only need to try. Just like meditation. Just like the spiritual path at large. Non-attachment doesn’t mean to be impervious to pain, it means to strive to realize the Self which is beyond pain. It means to unite in one seamless experience both pain and transcendence, denying neither. The one is now, the other, eternally NOW. They co-exist only to the degree that they Co-Exist in our consciousness.

As Krishna says to Arjuna, his disciple, in the Bhagavad Gita, “Even a little bit of this practice, will save you from dire fires and colossal sufferings.”

Give your Self to God, to your Cosmic Beloved. See in all whom you love, the shining Face and perfection of your own true Self.

Blessings and joy to you,

Nayaswami Hriman

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[1] This phrase is taken from the marriage ceremony written by Swami Kriyananda.

Yoga Sutras: a guide to meditation: Book 2 – Kriya Yoga

In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras the first book, Samadhi Pada, focuses upon the state of Oneness born of meditative concentration. We turn now to Book Two, Sadhana Pada. It focuses on those actions and attitudes necessary to achieve samadhi.

In this blog series which attempts to explore practical aspects for meditation inspired by the Yoga Sutras, we find in the first stanza of book two the term “kriya yoga.” This term has been made famous through Paramhansa Yogananda’s life story, “Autobiography of a Yogi.” In it, he uses the term kriya yoga in reference to a specific meditation technique that characterizes his teachings and lineage. I have practiced kriya yoga for several decades and can attest to its transformative spiritual power.

However, the yoga sutras are not, per se, a book on how to meditate. Therefore a technique such as Kriya Yoga (as taught by Yogananda) is not going to be described and taught in such a “scripture.” In India we find the term “kriya” applying to a great many practices and techniques. Even in the kriya yoga lineage of Yogananda and the masters of Self-realization (Babaji, Lahiri Mahasay, and Swami Sri Yukteswar) we have navi kriya and talabia kriya, offshoot techniques supportive of the main technique of kriya.

The term “kriya” moreover is so generic that it could be translated to mean any “technique.” This is in contradistinction to the so-called paths of yoga such as Bhakti yoga (devotion), karma yoga (selfless service) and gyana yoga (study of self, of scripture, and concentration of the mind). Some might even say that the practice of any set of breath control techniques are the practice of “kriya yoga.” Hence the term, once removed from Yogananda’s lineage, can be a bit confusing.

Returning now to Stanza 1 of Book Two, we find that Patanjali describes the path of yoga (generally) as based upon purification, study, and giving the fruits of all action in devotion to God. This is strikingly similar to much of the message of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

From our point of view in this series, what I find in this is the admonition to understand the value of a definite “sadhana.” By this is meant a method of meditation and consistency of meditation undertaken in a spirit of self-offering and purification of desires and attachments. Patanjali identifies that egoity, attachment, aversion and “clinging to life” are impediments to the release of our identity from objects of the senses and mental imagery that is necessary to achieve samadhi.

Many spiritually minded people rest content with good fellow feelings, and high ideals. This might include enjoying spiritual music (chanting, bhajans, mantras) or spiritual ritual or dance, or service in humanitarian causes, or intensive study and debate of fine scriptural or metaphysical points. Good works produce good karma. Good karma can balance out “bad” karma but even if it does it brings us to zero. Unless we use the zero point to transcend the dualities of the opposites and the dual qualities of nature, we will be drawn back into the maelstrom.

Unless we perceive that our ego cannot by itself release us from the ceaseless flux of the opposites and thereby we offer ourselves into a greater Power and Presence, we will not find release. Our peace meditative experiences will only relieve us of tedium or stress but will not free us.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” it has been well said. I have met or learned of many good, fine, virtuous and noble people. I have met many devotees who could be real “schmucks.” But virtue alone will not free us from the wheel of suffering and rebirth. To paraphrase Jesus, “She has loved much and her sins, though many, are forgiven.”

There must come a point when we actively, intensively, and “scientifically,” seek freedom from delusion. To do that we naturally seek the grace and power of God. This comes not in some vague way, as if calling the White House will connect us to the President, but through the agency of those incarnate souls who come to earth to help others and who are, themselves, already free. They thus know “the way” and have the power.

Such souls are few, relatively to the plethora of spiritual leaders and teachers. We ascend step by step by our own sincerity and self-purification to attract to ourselves, progressively, more advanced souls who can empower our journey.

Therefore, meditate with the desire for freedom; meditate seeking divine grace, power, and presence; meditate with surrender to the Infinite Power which, by whatever name or form, no name or form, we are inspired to address.

We need a specific, proven technique of meditation; we need an understanding of the meaning and goal of life that inspires us and is true; we need a teacher who is above the obstructing qualities of nature.

As Jesus Christ said it so well: “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and its righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Never miss your daily appointment with the Divine within you and never fail to see that presence in all forms and circumstances, both agreeable and challenging.

Blessings to you,

Nayaswami Hriman