This is a first in a series of articles about the 3 weeks a group of pilgrims from Ananda spent in India. For the sake of brevity, I won't make a special effort to describe the saints whose "lives" (vibration) we were seeking, but I will name them: Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952); Swami Sri Yukteswar (died 1936); Lahiri Mahasaya (died 1895); and the peerless Babaji (stats unknown). Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda, is the now-famous classic spiritual account of the lives of these great souls.
I suppose none of my readers would seriously question the spiritual value of pilgrimage. After all, seekers have gone on pilgrimage since time immemorial. In former times a pilgrim might walk for months, perhaps never to return home, in order to reach a sacred shrine or place.
Just as some people are more intelligent than others, and some places on earth exceedingly beautiful, so there are places on earth that hold spiritual "vibrations." Just as, to a degree, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," so also no specific pilgrimage site is going to inspire every seeker, even those of the same faith. It takes a certain sensitivity of consciousness and intention to tune into the "feeling" of a place, more so for spiritual vibrations. (The "feeling" or atmosphere of a nightclub, for example, although obvious, tangible and very specific in its allure and magnetism, takes little refinement of consciousness to experience.)
As there are people with spiritual power so there are places where their vibrations linger, sometimes having been bestowed purposely by them for the benefit of others. Paramhansa Yogananda said of his English language chants (a new form of chanting), "I spiritualized these chants by chanting each until I received a divine response." He did this so that devotees could extract from these chants spiritual blessings when chanted with a pure and open heart.
A saintly person may shop in the market and bump into you but without the consciousness of sanctity you will probably only be annoyed. It is, therefore, not merely a matter of expectations and desires on the part of the pilgrim, but a matter of sensitive awareness, also called "attunement."
Yes, it is true, that someone of a more emotional or imaginative nature may imagine he or she has felt some great spiritual power or had some deeply moving inner experience at a given shrine or in the presence of a saintly person. We can't help that. But the spiritual blessings of pilgrimage, real or imagined, has survived even the great age of skepticism in which we live. The other extreme is that sometimes a pilgrim is disappointed and even disillusioned when his (probably false) expectations of healing or upliftment are not met. This fact might not indicate a dearth of available blessings so much as a relative lack of purity of intention. A true pilgrim is not a thrill seeker nor yet a merchant who bargains and offers to exchange his effort in time and money and discomfort for spiritual highs.
A pilgrim receives blessings in proportion to the purity of his search and the intensity of his effort. These are tested by obstacles both before his journey as well as during. The pilgrim is expected to endure hardship and perhaps commit his life savings (well, ok, a chunk of dough!) and to do so with a humble faith in divine Providence. The journey will expose one to dangers, threats, thrills, insights, laughter, tears, and the entire panoply of birth, life, death and every type of person. Blessings must not be sought in consolation or experiences but in purification. If some spiritual grace is received, then it is treasured, usually silently. Transformation may come after one's return, or in the years that follow. One must have no expectations; one must set aside fear; and walk the dusty path to the mountain of Light that calls us. It is both a symbol and a journey of faith.
Let us, now, then, return to our pilgrimage. We called it, "In the footsteps of the Masters." It was perhaps a year ago that we announced our intention and began taking sign-ups. We were happily surprised to have most of the available positions accounted for by mid or late summer (about 33 seats) of 2012.
Tour leaders Keshava and Daya Taylor, based in Delhi at the Ananda Ashram there, have led many groups to these places which are held dear to devotees of Paramhansa Yogananda. In turn they work with a local Indian tour company for the logistics of travel, meals, transportation, and lodging. At a distance and using the SKYPE video phone service and countless emails, Padma and I honed the itinerary to accomplish our goals.
We arrived in Delhi, India in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, February 28 and departed in the early hours of March 22. So we were in India some twenty-two days, call it three weeks plus two days of travel.
Delhi, as other major cities in India, has a brand new airport which provides some measure of familiarity for the first time visitor from the West. Gone is the stifling hot, not very clean, extremely crowded terminal which stood in positive contrast to the scene one had to enter upon exiting the airport: a mob of eager porters and taxi cab drivers.
Instead we went efficiently through customs and baggage claim and were met calmly by our tour leader, Keshava, who then guided us serenely to an awaiting, very modern, air conditioned bus which took us immediately to the Southgate Hotel (in south Delhi). We were of course tired, but energized as well. With a minimum of fuss in the pre-dawn darkness we got our room keys and quickly scrambled to our rooms to sleep before bursting forth into Delhi upon our first day!
We were given the morning to rest (one could go downstairs to breakfast) and gathered together mid-day to bus a short distance to the Ananda Center and Ashram. Our hotel is in the Green Park district of south Delhi and is a thriving middle-class neighborhood comfortable to walk and shop. Now, when I say "comfortable" one has to understand that the traffic moves on the left side, not right side and there are sometimes no sidewalks. The streets are shared by pedestrians, cows, auto-rickshaws (3-wheeled taxi's fueled by natural gas), cars and trucks. But in this neighborhood the level of street intensity is positively calm compared to bigger city streets and most cities and highways in India.
The Ananda Center was recently acquired (rented) and is quite lovely: an oasis, in fact, with a vegetable garden, postage stamp lawn, and a lovely home and out building used for an office, small shop, and kitchen. There we were served lunch and had our first official "sharing" and gathering. Then off to a nearby craft market called Dilli Haat for our first adventure in bargaining and shopping for clothes, scarfs and fabrics. Daytime sun was hot but not too bad for Seattle-ites fresh from winter weather.
That evening we gathered at a nearby south Indian restaurant in Green Park and enjoyed a lovely and lively meal together. By meal's end, we were ready for bed! And here's another reason why...........
We were up by 3 a.m. to leave at 4:15 a.m. for the Delhi airport. There we boarded a plane heading southeast to Bhubaneswar: gateway to the seaside city of Puri, our destination. (Our time change was such that India was 13.5 hours earlier than Seattle. Our crazy schedule and the intense and new environment we entered masked the affects of jet lag to some degree.)
En route to Puri from the Bhubaneswar airport we encountered a more tropical landscape: lush, green, ponds with water buffalo, banana trees, plantations and lots of cheerful colors. We stopped in a small village to shop for local crafts, and then continued on to the Coco Palms Resort on the beach in Puri. This was an eye popper for many of us, who, at home, would never go to such a luxurious beach resort (well, some wouldn't, anyway). But, all things considered, I heard no complaints!
Hotel staff greeted us as we mounted the steps with marigold garlands and young coconuts with a straw to drink their delicious, natural refreshment from! From the registration lobby and patio, we were visually greeted by a beautiful, pure, clean, see-through and bluish large swimming pool in the center of the courtyard. The sound and sight of the crashing ocean surf came to us in the near distance past an expanse of friendly, welcoming beach. Palm trees ring the pool.
After getting settled and having lunch, we strolled up the beach toward the center of town. As you approach the center of town the beach becomes very crowded. Gaily decked camels patrol the beach looking for tourists brave enough to take a ride. Puri is a "temple city" for its claim to fame is the ancient Jagannath Temple. The Temple and grounds are quite large and throughout the city are numerous ashrams, monasteries, and other religious institutions. It is the seat of the one of the few authority figures central to orthodox Hinduism and is one of the seven holy cities of India (of which the first is Kashi, or Varanasi). But it is also simply a beach resort town, even for Indians!
For us, then, also it served both purposes: pleasure and piety! Its spiritual significance lay not in the grounds of the Jagannath Temple, but in the fact that Swami Sri Yukteswar established in 1903 what he called the Kararashram (Karar was his last name). Here Sri Yukteswar would take his young disciples, including of course Paramhansa Yogananda, for the summer. Yogananda told several stories in his famous "Autobiography of a Yogi" which took place there. Sri Yukteswar left his body, March 9, 1936, at his ashram. Yogananda rushed there (his only return visit to India after he left in 1920), arriving a day late, and then buried his guru (seated in lotus pose) in the Puri sands on the ashram grounds. Years later, American disciples funded the construction of a "samadhi mandir" (a shrine) over the top of Yukteswar's grave. I believe Yogananda's artist-brother, Sananda, designed the small building and it is quite lovely.
Unfortunately decades of lawsuits have clouded its ownership but fortunately devotees are still welcomed and so it was that after lunch we walked there to meditate. The hermitage is off limits to us and over the decades the growing seaside resort has completely eclipsed the ashram's former view of the sea and hemmed it in with apartments and other buildings. But despite the noises of the neighbors and their multifarious activities which pressed upon us, we chanted and meditated in the tiny shrine, on the covered portico around it, and in the surrounding gardens. As this was our first real spiritual experience, I think many of us were deeply touched. It was, however, also exceedingly hot at mid-day. One would meditate with perspiration silently pouring off one's body. At one point I choose a meditation seat in the shade under a tree in a dry water basin only to encounter seriously disturbed flies and mosquitoes. I surrendered back to them my seat. Still, I enjoyed the experience very much. I felt a deep stillness.
Later at the resort, a buffet dinner was served on the lawn after sunset. It was delightful and very relaxing.
The next day, Saturday, March 2, we energized and meditated on the beach at sunrise. It was wonderful. We were, however, surrounded by local spectators, even at that early hour. One simply had to ignore them. (I figured that we come with cameras and take photos of them; why can't they take photos of us?)
After breakfast we once again walked up the beach into town and back to the Kararashram for more meditation. We then walked further through the crowded and narrow lanes to an ashram established by a direct disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya (Sri Yukteswar's guru): that disciple's name was Bhupendra Nath Sanyal ("Sanyal Mahasaya"). There in a tiny shrine are contained some of Lahiri's ashes. We meditated before the shrine and also upstairs in the saint's bedroom. This, too, was very uplifting.
Those who were up for it then walked into the center of town and opposite the great Jagannath Temple where we had a delicious midday meal. (Non-Hindus are not allowed in the Temple: one of the few such restricted temples in India). After lunch, our Indian guide, Bijaya, gave a talk on the history of the temple. The temple grounds are enormous and contain many buildings. They have an huge kitchen that feeds thousands upon thousands everyday. Pilgrims enter and pay for the meals (for others). We were told that this temple, though holy, is managed with a somewhat commercial air.
I want to take a pause to explain that our own Ananda Seattle yoga teacher, Murali Venkatrao, who is from Bangalore, came and served in the capacity of what we teasingly called our "cultural attache." In this role he shined for he could explain things in our terms and yet with a true and accurate knowledge of the orthodox Hinduism in which he was raised. Speaking Hindi, inter alia, he helped us innumerable times with bargaining or understanding customs and behavior. He therefore visited the temple precincts and inner sanctum (where the "deities," statues, reside) and brought to us blessed food (small candies). The deities are Jagannath (in the form Krishna, Krishna's brother, and their sister). They are famous because their faces look like something out of Southpark cartoon (large eyes, pastel colors), though of course impossibly ancient. To westeners they look very strange but yet charming, too, as in innocent and archetypal. They are made from the wood of the neem tree and replaced at certain intervals.
As a beach town, I didn't notice any high rise buildings, whether commercial or residential. It is an ancient city. Its lanes are quite narrow, usually unpaved (and thus sandy). Like much of India it is a row after row of tiny shops facing the street and selling everything imaginable. Buildings are concrete or something like adobe and generally only one, or perhaps two, stories. Hotels and similar establishments might rise higher to get a beach view. But the city has a very authentic and genuine, which is to say, not too modern, feel to it. Several times a year, the biggest in July, it is crushed by pilgrims. Fortunately when we visited it was relatively quiet.
In groups of three or four, we motored by auto-rickshaw back to Coco Palms. It was an afternoon to relax on our own. I body-surfed but got creamed by a wave, face down in the sand. For four or five days I had a bright red nose and cuts on my elbows. I looked beat up but felt nothing at all! ? ! Badri lost a valuable arm bracelet with precious stones in it when a wave literally tore it off his arm! Others had a sunset yoga session on the beach!
Sunday, March 3 was even more laid-back. Morning yoga and meditation once again on the beach! Mid-morning meditation at the Kararashram again but the rest of the day free until sunset when we had a chanting (kirtan) session and meditation once again on the beach. Buffet dinner under the stars welcomed us silently into the night.
These relatively restful days were to prepare us for the more intense schedules to come. By now jet lag was past. Puri combines relaxation, fresh ocean air and surf, and sacredness in such a natural way that one feels easily at peace. Though in most respects the city is as bustling as any other Indian city, it also feels free and more relaxed: perhaps part of the divine blessings which one receives. It was easy to feel at home there and to day-dream of Ananda ashram in Puri to inspire and refresh pilgrims the world over! It was here that our personal connections began to build. Along the beach we shopped at stalls and in one we found pure, home-spun ready-made garments (ala Gandhi spinning wheel).
So, let's pause here before our early morning boarding of our train north to Kolkata, where the word "relax" doesn't exist.
"All aboard! Next stop, the famous Howrah Railway Station, Calcutta!"
Hriman
This blog's address: https://www.Hrimananda.org! I'd like to share thoughts on meditation and its application to daily life. On Facebook I can be found as Hriman Terry McGilloway and twitter @hriman. Your comments are welcome. Use the key word search feature to find articles you might be interested in. To subscribe write to me at jivanmukta@duck.com Blessings, Nayaswami Hriman
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
A Letter to a friend………What does it mean to be “spiritual?”
A Letter to a friend………What does it mean to be “spiritual?”
Dear Friend,
You are not alone in imagining that to be a spiritual person
means to be loving and kind. What else, after all, could it mean? How can being
spiritual be anything other than loving and kind?
You speak often of drawing inspiration from others more
spiritual than yourself, and of wanting to be around such persons, whether “in-person,”
or by reading or online. It is right to recognize the spiritual qualities of
others and to seek to draw from them such qualities by association, support,
respect, and service.
My concern for you (and others like yourself) in your admiration
for the better qualities of others is that you may be tempted to substitute your
admiration for the work you must do to acquire those qualities in yourself.
Further, such “looking at others” may provide a shield whereby you can judge people
without having to work on yourself. Anyone who, in your view, treats you with
what you deem to be unkindness or absent a loving attitude is simply dismissed
as “not spiritual.” Never mind that you might be attracting such treatment by
your own lack of kindness or love for others. Never mind, further, that those
whom you admire are either dead or at least nowhere near you. By contrast those
whom you dismiss for lack of spiritual qualities are rather too near, as it
were (though not too dear!).
Truth is: living with saints and those of higher
consciousness is never comfortable. Some saints are very strict but even those
who are known to be loving and gentle are experienced differently by followers
who live with and around them in close proximity. One doesn’t become a saint by
lack of will power, strength and commitment. A saint doesn’t have to scold: his
or her very life, vibration, consciousness, and presence is like a strong
spotlight that shows the flaws of nearby objects. Between the extremes of
strictness and gentleness is a wide range of spiritual people, on various
levels of Self-realization, who are very much human beings, both because of,
and in spite of, their spiritual realization.
My teacher, Swami Kriyananda, is a good example of this.
Most people see him, especially now at this final stage of life, filled with
bliss, joy, and love for all. In fact, he’s always been this way but in his
younger, work-building years, he had to be more engaged, executive,
administrative, guiding and training many, many people. It wasn’t feasible for him to
relax into the Spirit openly because he had a divine work to do. Nonetheless,
even in those years one could feel the power of divine love, human kindness,
and spiritual wisdom in his presence. But whether now in his “bliss years,” or
then, in his “barnstorming years,” it is never “easy” to be around him for more
than a mere visit or satsang. The very intensity of his consciousness precludes
familiarity or subconscious relaxation, mental, emotional or otherwise.
Mindfulness and Presence emanate from him and one becomes innately more self-aware
in speaking or acting. Time slows down. Few people can take that intensity for
very long. He doesn’t have to “judge you.” You feel the pangs of your own
conscience for any thoughts or attitudes that are less than uplifted and
expansive.
The love one feels from a saint is a power, not a mere sentiment. Divine love, we are told, has created us and has created this magnificent universe. What greater power can there be? It is this power, and its inseparable companion, joy, that makes a saint so magnetic. Be not like the earth which resists the gravitational pull of the sun by its own centrifugal force. As you yield, however, to the sun's magnetic power it will burn up and purify your attachments and ego: so ego beware! Sadhu, behold!
A true and mature devotee, therefore, doesn’t postpone his
or her spiritual growth by dismissing the “slings and arrows” of daily
interaction and misunderstandings. A devotee doesn’t avoid the spiritual “issue”
and opportunity for self-reflection by jumping into the mud puddle of judging
others whenever, to your view, another person, especially another devotee,
reprimands or otherwise behaves in ways not to your ego’s likings. To the
devotee, all people and especially one’s gurubhais, are no less than the “guru”
him (or her)-self speaking.
Dismissing those around you as “less than spiritual” is not
the way to develop the magnetism to attract a true guru into your life: whether
this current incarnation or a future one. Seeing God’s presence in everyone
around you, however, IS! (If the reader prefers to substitute “to grow
spiritually in” for “to attract a true guru into” it is good enough.)
It is the ego that rejects distasteful experiences or other
people as “unspiritual.” Moreover, it is a not very clever ruse to avoid the
issue of learning one’s own lessons. Sometimes that lesson is simply to learn
to not “dismiss.” More likely, however, there is something to learn in the “facts
of the case.”
Take more thoughtfully and less reactively, therefore, the
daily interactions of others as coming to you for your own spiritual growth.
Take from the saints and others and through your admiration for them, their
qualities and lessons into your own life. Be a saint, too! Don’t merely peer
through the pages of a book or the windows of a “church,” but enter in and make
those qualities, that saint, your very Self. For that, more than anything, is
the truth “that shall make you free.”
To be a Christ you must be the “Imitation of Christ” (a
famous book by Thomas a Kempis). The more you see the “Christ” in others, the
more of a “Christ” you will be.
It is my fondest wish for you to be free and if these thoughts
contribute even insignificantly to that, I will be satisfied.
Your very Self,
Nayaswami Hriman
(This “letter” was
neither written nor sent to any specific friend…………..there is no value,
therefore, in speculation, only introspection!)
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The "Law" of Love!
Love is the law!
In a week, 34 of us leave for India. We will visit places
where Paramhansa Yogananda lived, the holy city of Benares, a Himalayan cave,
the Taj Mahal, the Ananda center in Delhi, and Swami Kriyananda at the Ananda Community
in Pune.
Now we are full of eager anticipation but we hope to return in
late March with our hearts as full as our luggage! Pilgrimage is an ancient tradition. It is a
rite of purification and carries the hope of spiritual rebirth. Where God has
come to earth and shared our human drama through the souls of those who are
fully realized as His children, spiritual and purifying vibrations linger yet
still. They are activated by the loving hearts of His devotees and a channel of
grace thus remains open at such places through which divine blessings flow.
So too the life of Jesus though long ago remains fresh and
alive to those “with ears to hear” and hearts that love. The New Testament
portrays Jesus Christ as both compassionate and forgiving, but also sharp and
unforgiving toward the hypocrites and exploiters of others. “Be ye wise as
serpents but harmless as doves” he is quoted as saying.
Natural and moral law imposes upon the awakened conscience
of sensitive and intelligent humans relatively clear guidance as to how to live
and be healthy, happy and at peace with oneself. It’s not complicated, though,
given the temptations life affords, it’s also not necessarily easy.
With hard work you can get a good education, a decent job, attract
a satisfactory life partner and more or less, with some luck and a lot of “steel
on the wheel,” enjoy the “good life.” But it’s a narrow pathway and you’d best
not go overboard with any of life’s pleasures and indulgences and you’d be “better
be good, for goodness’ sake!”
You don’t need religion to feel in tune with the Golden Rule
and to be a basically good, hard working, unselfish, and decent person. But if
you depend only upon your own pluck and luck to keep it together, you’ll always
be looking over your shoulder lest the shadow of misfortune be pursuing you. You’ll
never know when the axe comes down on your comfortable life. And if it does,
where will you be then?
Jesus was criticized by those pesky ‘ol priestly Pharisees,
hypocrites and “white sepulcres” (whitewashed on the outside but nothing but a rotting
corpse on the inside!). He dined with the down and out and the sinners of his
time. A woman, a known “sinner,” hearing that he was at the house of a rich but
notorious villager, came and wept at his feet, anointing Jesus’ feet with
costly oil. Jesus explained that he came not to heal the healthy but those ill
with the disease of delusion. He said, simply, that “her sins, though many, are
forgiven, for she has loved much!”
I doubt the “loving” to which he referred to was in relation
to her “sinning.” No, her love was her recognition of her unworthiness in
relation to her recognition of his sacred and divine vibration as her only
salvation. In this she showed herself above Jesus’ host that evening who failed
to conduct even the most rudimentary gestures of honor and hospitality to
Jesus.
The poignant story of the centurion who, loving as he did so
greatly his own servant, and having an intuitive recognition of Jesus’
spiritual power and presence sent someone to ask that Jesus heal his servant.
The centurion knew that it was taboo for Jesus (a Jew) to enter the home of a
Roman and stated simply that “You need but say the Word, and my servant will be
healed!” Jesus was astonished at the faith of this Roman, when so few of his
countrymen could come close to doing the same.
And for the woman caught in adultery, Jesus asked the
gathering crowd (eager to stone her to death in accordance with the law), “He
who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” One by one they walked away.
When only she remained there with Jesus, he said, “Neither do I judge thee. Go
and sin no more.”
In his final hours before his crucifixion, he spoke to his
disciples as friends and commanded them to love one another as he had loved
them.
Jesus’ life displayed little regard for the niceties of rite
and rituals. He wasn’t against such things for he, too, went to the temple at
feast days. But he lived and roamed the countryside telling stories of God’s
love and forgiveness. But He was not merely a preacher. He was practical and
forgave not just “sins,” but illnesses and diseases, even, in a few instances,
the fatal disease of death.
Paramhansa Yogananda has come into this new and modern age
with a message and mission for a culture of people of greater sophistication,
education, opportunity and interests than those of Jesus’ time. But we are
frenzied and much burdened with restlessness. To us he brings the peace of
meditation; the comfort of God’s presence within ourselves. The antidote for
the confusion and complexity of our age is found in the temple of silence
within. There, in the only true temple there is, we can commune in peace and
love with our God.
True “communion” is an act of love. Yogananda said “You must
make love to God!” And when the time came for him to leave this earth he gave
this counsel: “Only love can take my place.”
The only true love we can have for one another is the love
of God. For it arises not from desire or attachment but from the wellspring of
divine and unconditional love within.
Our is a democratic age. Cooperation and friendship are the
way to find fulfillment and to stave off the ill effects of ruthless competition
and destructive nationalism. This cannot be merely the behavior of a merchant,
seeking a mutual benefit society. To be lasting and to be satisfying, it must
arise from the natural love of the heart. God, in our age, will be seen not so
much as Lord and Savior, but as our divine friend. By extension, therefore, we
would do well to see all people as our divine friends.
Swami Kriyananda has commented that the primary reason to
love is because by loving we find greater happiness than by hating, resenting,
or refusing to forgive. But we cannot love everyone in a merely human way, for
we find a natural affinity to some and a spontaneous antipathy towards others.
Divine love expressed outwardly will often be seen more as respect, fairness,
forbearance, and cooperation. It is not merely an act of will but an outpouring
from within.
“If ye be my disciples, love one another!”
Let us take these words of Jesus to heart.
Blessings,
Nayaswami Hriman
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
Monday, February 4, 2013
Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
India’s most beloved scripture consists of one chapter of
the world’s longest epic story, the Mahabharata.
This chapter of some seven hundred verses is composed as a dialogue between
Lord Krishna and his disciple, Prince Arjuna. It takes place as they are sitting
in Arjuna’s chariot surveying the opposing armies: theirs, the Pandavas (think,
“good guys in white helmets”) and the Kauravas, (the quintessential “bad guys”).
Of course the scene is allegorical although the battle of
Kurukshetra is considered a historical one. The exhortation to do battle is a metaphor for the battle of life to which the soul is called in its mission
to seek freedom through reuniting its consciousness with that of its Creator.
As each culture is divinely guided to its highest potential,
it is curious to contemplate that the Hindu “Bible” is a call to war while the
Christian bible (New Testament) is a call to “turn the other cheek.” East and
West, respectively, embody certain attitudes that would do well to seek balance:
the one, perhaps too passive; the other, too aggressive.
The are many great themes in this wonderful scripture for the instruction of souls
in all times and places . Among
the themes in the Gita (that I will explore in a 3-week class series—see below)
are the soul’s very first encounter with suffering and good and evil. Arjuna,
seeing that the opposing forces consist of his very own cousins with whom he
was raised, questions the rightness of killing them in battle. Are they not,
his very own?
Did not Jesus ask, “Who are my family but those who walk the
path toward God with me?” The "family" may be taken literally as one’s birth family who
typically resists the effort to dedicate oneself to the search for God. Or, more deeply and more importantly, the "family" is our own subconscious material desires. The soul, upon reaching
adolescence or early adulthood, comes face to face with the need to separate
himself from his past in order to begin his spiritual journey aligning the conscious mind towards the guidance of superconscious (guru) mind. And yet, this past, these familiar traits, are my “family!”
Krishna eschews all sentimentality and urges his devotee to
take up his “bow” and fight in this just and noble cause -- the very purpose of our creation. All habits and traits which are of
the ego are never killed but their energies transmuted and sublimated into
higher forms, just as in the teaching of the law of karma and reincarnation,
the soul never dies but is simply reborn into new forms. In the wilderness and
silence of meditation, we don’t “die” but in fact are reborn into the kingdom
of the soul’s consciousness.
Our fears are groundless -- that without our past, subconscious or ego affirming traits there is no "I." But everyone must
confront this existential dilemma face-to-face.
What, then, Arjuna asks, is right action? How can you
know what is right or wrong? Outwardly it is difficult, Krishna admits, but
that action which is not in pursuit of ego-motivated results, which is offered to God in self-offering and devotion and with no thought of personal gain, will guide us to
the heights of Self-realization more surely than any other.
The grace of God and guru, the preceptor, must be sought in
silent, inner communion and in righteous outward action. In attunement with the silent flow of grace and wisdom, which like the quiet sound of oil pouring from a drum, guides our thoughts,
feelings, and actions, we will sail our raft of life toward the seemingly distant shores of freedom.
The greatest wisdom is found through the practice of yoga:
silence of mind and body in contemplation of the divine Presence. The greatest
action is that which is offered without thought of self in devotion at the feet of Infinity. The greatest
feeling is love for God and for God in all, given without condition and expressed in daily life with humility, compassion,
and the wisdom of the soul.
Krishna gives Arjuna a taste of his overarching, infinite
consciousness as Spirit but the experience proves so overwhelming that Arjuna
at last asks to see his beloved friend, Krishna, again! Thus it is that we do
best if we approach God in form: as the preceptor, or in the impersonal forms
of love, light, sound, peace, etc., or in the form of a beloved deity. The abstract thought of infinity is too much for the human mind and heart to bear, much less to love.
Much, much more wisdom is shared in the Gita: the qualities
of nature and consciousness and how to distinguish the higher from the lower,
whether in religion or in daily life.
Tuesday night, at the East West Bookshop, 7:30 p.m.,
February 5 (12, & 19th), I will share these beloved teachings
with friends. My text is Swami Kriyananda’s most inspired work, based on the
wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda, Essence
of the Bhagavad Gita, (Crystal Clarity Publishers, Nevada City). We will
film the series and the hope is to make it available online at a future date.
Blessings to you,
Nayaswami Hriman
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Is Atheism Practical? Unsound?
Is Atheism Practical? Unsound?
[[ERRATA]] : My apologies: I mixed two quotes from Martin Luther King in my original blog. It was violence that he described as "immoral." In a paper he wrote in 1950 he described atheism as shown below.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described atheism as both “philosophically unsound and impractical.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described atheism as both “philosophically unsound and impractical.”
Agnosticism I can relate to, at least on the basis that an
honest (if simplistic) assessment of human realities can find no sensory evidence
of the Deity. To say, therefore, “I don’t know” is to leave open the
possibility rather than to join the ranks of dogmatists, both atheists and religionists
in hotly declaring a belief or nonbelief in a reality that neither can prove
nor disprove to the other.
My impression of at least some self-declared atheists is
that they object to the depiction of a personal and vindictive God foisted on
us by dyed-in-the-wool believers. If you can re-direct the atheist’s attention to
the beauties of nature, the vastness and awe-inspiring complexities and antiquity
of creation, the gift of human love, charity, and self-sacrifice, you will
sometimes find a closet deist who worships the Unseen Hand by another name or
form. I don’t mean to paint all atheists with the same brush, but in my
experience this depiction describes some, perhaps many — those aghast or
traumatized by the atrocities or hypocrisy of orthodox religionists.
Science may be devoid of faith or feeling but scientists are
not. Too many are the Deist reflections of Albert Einstein, for example, for
anyone to insist that the greatest scientists lack feeling, reverence or awe in
contemplation of the mysteries of life and the natural world.
Paramhansa Yogananda, renowned author of “Autobiography of a
Yogi,” came to live in the United States from India in 1920. He admired the material
progress, genius, and good works of western scientists and, as if applying
their methods to solving the riddle of human existence, asked for what purpose
are we impelled to survive? That we seek to survive is far too obvious to
question. But why? What is it we seek? And by what means do we find success and
by what means do we fail? His inquiry into the mystery of our existence
proceeded, like that of men and women of science, from observation and
measurement, not from a priori
declarations of absolute or revealed truth.
The ancient Greek sages averred that man’s highest duty is “To
know thyself.” One such sage, Protagoras, shocked his contemporaries with the
statement that “Man is the measure of all things.” In modern times the well
known Indian sage of Arunachala hill, Ramana Maharshi, advised seekers to ask, “Who
am I?”
If science teaches us that the universe is both
incomprehensibly vast and yet without any known center or direction, we have
seemingly two choices for humanity: we are either nothing (and life therefore
is without meaning), or, we are, indeed, the “measure of all things.” This
latter direction has, itself, two directions: I can join with the ranks of
twentieth century existentialists in declaring that my ego is the center of the
universe and my desires and impulses are the sole measure of truth for me; or,
I can go in the direction of Jesus Christ and the Yogi-Christs of India when
Jesus declared, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.”
At this point in human history we’ve yet to find life forms
such as ourselves from other planets but given the estimate of 200 billion
galaxies, I must supposed that the odds are greater than 100% that they must
exist.
But inasmuch as that inquiry must remain, for now, only speculative, let
us turn to the human experience, then, for our inquiry.
The ancient scriptures of India admit that “God cannot be
proved.” So, let us also take from them this admission and follow Jesus’ advice
and Yogananda’s line of inquiry for the Holy Grail.
Yogananda started with the observation that what all men
seek is happiness. Pleasure, yes, too, but that is easily experienced as
fleeting and even counterproductive to lasting happiness as sensory indulgence,
unless held in check, can destroy health and happiness. Held even in check,
pleasure, moreover, is fleeting and even in its midst a reflective person feels
its unreality (because based in perception and anticipation) and its limited
span of fulfillment. Observation of human pleasure reveals that its pursuit can
be addictive and overtake the good judgment, common sense, and human values of
its votaries. Disease, harmful emotions, and premature aging await those who
fall victim to the pursuit of pleasure as the summum bonum of life’s existence.
Human happiness is usually sought and seen in human love, cherished
family ties, financial success and security, prestige, position, fame, talent,
or beauty. But these are like prostitutes: loyal to no one. Observation of the
facts easily discloses that those who achieve one or more such pinnacles of
human happiness too often find the summit to be cold, windy, desolate, dull,
fleeting or elusive. At the top there is nowhere to go but down and furiously
scrambling up the mountain sides just below you are hordes of competitors and unseen
snipers of death, disease, or betrayal lurking
in the shadows below.
None of these easily observable realities and shortcomings of
pleasure or human happiness seem to deter the billions of human beings on this
planet from seeking their elusive gains. Perhaps it is lack of wisdom, lack of
refinement of feeling, lack of the knowledge of a viable alternative or the
hypnosis of the allure of these achievements that blind mankind to our own
greater potential for true happiness.
Never mind the question of how did this all come about and
why. Never mind the fact that the created universe veritably shouts the
existence of an overarching Intelligence and Purpose and that the odds of all
of this coming into existence randomly is patently absurd, or that the question
of the existence of Consciousness belies our very inquiry into it.
Each person can experiment as scientifically as the armies
of white lab-coated technicians and their test tubes on what brings them true,
lasting and satisfying happiness and contentment. Never mind the cosmos, for
now. It seems to get along fine without us.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the
brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law but that of
physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law — to the
strength of the spirit.”
It is not difficult
to discover for oneself that a selfish life is shortsighted and brings
unhappiness and pain. An unselfish life, applied with common sense and balance,
brings harmony and satisfaction. Heroes show themselves willing to give their
lives that others may live free. Humanitarians, great leaders and reformers,
and saints in all lands show that the way to inner peace and contentment is to
live for high ideals and for the greatest good of all. The calm, inward gaze away
from material objects and toward the intangible but life sustaining gifts of
wisdom, compassion, creativity, selflessness, and devotion to the Creator are
proof positive against the ceaseless flux of changing customs, conquerors,
disease, war, and hatred.
Life goes on, as
Gandhi and King would often put it, and proves that death, disease, and
destruction cannot prevail.
How do these
self-discoveries relate, then, to the existence of God? Take the journey and
see for yourself.
But along the way consider those whose lives you are
following in your experiments with truth (living an unselfish life). What do
these heroes and heroines say?
If what the great
ones teach us is so obvious, why do so few take the higher path? The higher
path requires climbing the mountain and going through the brambles of habit,
upbringing, and the ego’s insistence that the body and personality must be
satisfied first lest by unselfishness they suffer. And suffer they will, if we listen
to them.
Moreover, the
selfish life also calls to us, both from our dark past and from the sheer
magnetism and allure of its fleeting or dark satisfactions. The great scourge
of human happiness is addiction to sense satisfactions, enabled and empowered
especially by the power of wealth, possessions, and influence.
The take up of the
high road requires the give up of the easy, but descending path, toward the
jungle of survival of the fittest ego and towards the swamp of mortal death,
disease, and old age. To one whose gaze is fixed upon the greater reality and
good of all life, the mortality and frailty of the human body and insecure ego
are but universal realities that we are
challenged to “get over it.”
To paraphrase Paramhansa
Yogananda and a vision he had of Divine Mother, “Dance of life and dance of
death, know that these come from Me.” Fear not for they have no lasting reality
for Spirit to Spirit goes, unfettered by matter’s ceaseless flux from form to
energy and energy back to form.
Let us return then
to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his labeling of atheism as unsound and
impractical. I cannot claim to know his thoughts in this statement, but I
believe his thoughts derive from the loss of the polestar of higher Self
from which to guide one’s life. During his brief life (‘50’s and ‘60’s)
post-war materialism and atheism (and the power and threat of communism based
upon both), existentialism, together with amateurish interpretations of
scientific discoveries and speculations such as chaos theory and relativity, were
associated with what would be seen as the breakdown of morality and the rise of
atheism and belief in the meaninglessness of life.
Atheism as a
rejection of religious dogmas was not yet widely understood. King lived in a
time of rebellion, both positive and negative. Thus Martin Luther King, Jr.
both devout and deeply religious (in a nonsectarian way) and a deep thinker
concerned with the trends of modern culture, would describe atheism as unsound.
Atheism would be seen as impractical in contrast to how he saw his crusades for
social justice as eminently practical in their methods but as justified in the
perception of all men as children of God. That an agnostic or atheist might be
a humanist, a proponent of an enlightened self-interest, or a pragmatist taking
his cue from the scientific establishment of the interdependency of all living
things and upon what might be called traditional Stoicism (a morality based on
human values including moderation and self-sacrifice) would not have occurred
to King or his religious contemporaries. (A Stoic sees that life brings both
pleasure and pain, life and death, and taking the long view steps back from the
pursuit of false and fleeting experiences to remain calm, dignified, and
self-sacrificing, following what we might call the Golden Rule.)
It may well be that
an atheist turns to the enlightenment of reason but as there are “no atheists
in fox holes,” an atheist who holds fast and true to humanist ideals in the
face of personal suffering, conflict, betrayal, humiliation or self-sacrifice is
something much more than a mere atheist. Such virtue would not, in my opinion,
derive from atheism but from a deeper and intuitive sense of justice and
righteousness that no mere non-belief in a deity could suffice to sustain. Well,
that’s my opinion. Taking this further, then, loss of moral judgment would not
be a far step from one whose only anchor was this lack of a belief.
As studies have
shown that those with a strong and abiding faith heal from surgery or illness faster,
and cope with dying with greater aplomb, faith in God is already showing itself
(using scientific methods of observation) to be practical. Faith-based
communities, too, often show themselves effectively serving the ideals and good
of society in ways no legislation or taxation could possibly achieve.
None of this is for
the purpose of convincing a self-described atheist or agnostic to “come over to
the other side.” Such a journey is like a river that runs silent and runs deep.
But the impracticality of such a position, and its potential to lead to selfish behavior, productive of unhappiness, is surely
worthy of consideration. The words of Martin Luther King, Jr. are certainly
worth pondering.
Blessings,
Nayaswami Hriman
P.S. For an inspired and insightful explanation for Yogananda's "thesis" and modern thought, I direct your attention to two works by J. Donald Walters (aka Swami Kriyananda): "Out of the Labyrinth" and "Hope for a Better World." (Crystal Clarity Publishers, Nevada City, CA)
P.S. For an inspired and insightful explanation for Yogananda's "thesis" and modern thought, I direct your attention to two works by J. Donald Walters (aka Swami Kriyananda): "Out of the Labyrinth" and "Hope for a Better World." (Crystal Clarity Publishers, Nevada City, CA)
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. & Mahatma Gandhi
Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. & Mahatma Gandhi
How to have courage, calmness & confidence
January 21, 2013 is the thirteenth year that Ananda in
Seattle has presented a tribute to these two great men. We combine excerpts from
their talks, writings, and biographies with the music of Ananda (written by
Ananda’s founder, Swami Kriyananda). This program is free and begins at 7 p.m. at
the East West Bookshop in Seattle (www.eastwestbookshop.com).
We are planning to stream it live at www.ustream.com
(search on AnandaSeattle on or around 7 p.m., Monday night).
Most people are generally familiar with their lives. This
tribute to King and Gandhi emphasizes not so much their biographical facts or
accomplishments but the spiritual foundation for their courage and inspiration.
This aspect is often ignored or only given passing acknowledgement in community
programs, books and documentaries.
The public inauguration of President Obama takes place on
the day set aside for commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. and the President
has announced that he will take the oath placing his left hand upon two Bibles:
one owned by Abraham Lincoln and the other owned by Martin Luther King,
Jr. This year our tribute includes a
segment of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural address, a short time before his
assassination. I would like, therefore, to include Lincoln in my thoughts here.
There are many books on Abraham Lincoln but one of
particular interest to me is Elton Trueblood’s, “Abraham Lincoln: Lessons in
Spiritual Leadership.” This book seeks
to reveal the spiritual life of a man otherwise an enigma even to his closest
associates. But it is clear from this book, and so many others, that Lincoln wrapped
his deep and personal relationship to God in a combination of humor and
humility. The courageous acts he took were not born of pride or bluster but were
weighed in the crucible of intense self-examination, painstaking attention to
their impacts upon others, the highest interests of the nation as a whole, the
framework of the U.S. Constitution, the duties of the presidency and the
highest standards of ethics and idealism. All of these facets he looked to as indicators
of God’s will. He offered up his deliberations for Divine guidance in the inner
silence of his meditations. Lincoln trembled at the prospect of his own
vulnerability to pride or ego and to the ease with which one could mistake
guidance with desire, or subconscious prejudices.
Abraham Lincoln’s life of faith was rooted in humility and
openness to a wisdom far greater than any man might hope to possess or
confidently express. But this is precisely the entry fee for intuitive, divine
guidance. The evolution of Lincoln’s decisions and policies during the Civil
War reveal, in retrospect, the unfoldment of inspiration, calmness, and courage
given to him as a divine grace and born of inner guidance. True prophets are
keenly aware of their human shortcomings and their potential for self-delusion,
more so in the glare of public acclaim or condemnation and more so on the cusp of
decisions that can affect the lives of millions and change the course of
history. Such examples, then, teach us that from caution and calmness spring
the full measure of confidence and courage if born of true, spiritual insight
and wisdom.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was thrown into his first civil
rights campaign in Montgomery, Alabama by what could only be described as
casual circumstances, aka divine destiny. In the mix of those who responded to
the black community’s response to the arrest of Rosa Parks, people turned to
King on the spot, with no prior background or planning. King showed that inner
tentativeness and self-questioning which is like fertile soil from whence a
seed sprouts and grows to a magnificent tree. This fertile soil knows that it
must wait for the rain of divine guidance to prompt its emergence.
King, like Gandhi, held strictly to the call of divine love
even while also fighting his self-styled enemies with cunning, with courage,
and with intelligent strategic purpose. Both King and Gandhi were highly
educated, extremely intelligent and deeply compassionate. They were
unquestionably chosen by, and in time acknowledged, a higher Power to serve as
an instrument of a higher Purpose. Each accepted their role but only as it
unfolded. Often they would hesitate to act or speak if that inner guidance and
inspiration failed to materialize.
The actions of prophets always confound supporters and
enemies alike. King’s seemingly sudden interest in and opposition to the
Vietnam War, for example, caused consternation among his peers and followers
and earned the antipathy and opprobrium of the Johnson administration. Gandhi’s
efforts to reassure the Moslem people of India of their place in the rising sun
of a new Indian nation outraged Indian nationalists and ultimately was the
cause of his assassination.
At the same time
there exists the paradox that the realization by the prophet of his God-given
role and responsibility clashes with his frail humanity and causes feelings of
burdensomeness and even periods of discouragement and depression. In each of
these three men: this “melancholy” is evident in their lives. A more
ego-affirming person (image a dictator) would revel in his power and only his
subconscious would undermine his egotism in an effort to balance him out.
At the end of their lives, especially Gandhi and King, this
discouragement and loss of clarity of direction is evident. For Gandhi the
communal violence that attended India’s independence and partitioning was, to
him, a sign of the failure of his efforts. For King, the impatience of young
blacks and their increasing interest in choosing violence over nonviolence,
together with fractious in-fighting among civil rights leaders, added to
government distrust of King, and lack of progress in his selected campaigns,
caused King to doubt himself deeply. Lincoln’s agonies, by contrast, peaked during
the losses and setbacks of the civil war. But by the time he was assassinated,
he had just won reelection and General Lee had just surrendered. For the first
time he felt a quiet sense of contentment. But the work of reconstruction was,
he knew, going to be as difficult and, indeed, more complex than the war
itself. Moreover, Lincoln had a premonition of his impending death. Nor was it in
his nature to revel in victory.
Another characteristic of these three great men was the
universality of their religious faith. Of the three Lincoln kept his distance
from orthodoxy even as he was notably a man of deep and earnest faith and
prayer. King and Gandhi were more aligned with specific faiths but each had a
view of religion that we, today, would call true spirituality, unfettered by
sectarianism.
All three men viewed their efforts in two important and
expansive ways: as benefiting their entire nation, not just the group of people
for whose rights or upon whose side they struggled; and, each saw the benefit
of their goals and victories as benefiting all peoples, far beyond their own
nation’s borders. Each of them had the vision far into the future of the
importance of their ideals and their methods.
Though each struggled against foes and self-styled enemies,
each courageously expressed respect, friendship, love, and concern for them,
whether as individuals or as a group. Lincoln was famous for bringing into his
cabinet, administration, and military leadership his competitors.
Lincoln had an abiding faith and vision in the destiny of
the United States to be an instrument of God’s will in championing a new way of
life, liberty and pursuit of freedom and happiness. Mahatma Gandhi saw his work
as an a new model for helping oppressed people find the means to effect freedom
and justice without violence. King, similarly, saw that Lincoln’s work was not
yet finished and that the well-being and destiny of the United States
necessitated that the eradication of prejudice of race be overcome. He saw in
the example of Christ, the unfailing power of love and the redemptive power of
self-sacrifice. He, too, saw the importance for the United States to serve as
an example to all nations and all peoples and understood that this required
that the nation help black Americans be “free at last.”
The lives of these three great men are inextricably linked.
King, as stated above, saw the civil rights movement as an extension of
Lincoln’s emancipation of slavery and preservation of the Union. King was
deeply inspired by the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi. King travelled to
India in 1959 and received a hero’s welcome and a reception worthy of a head of
state. People of color throughout the world followed King’s work eagerly. King
quipped that he thought the Indian press gave more attention to his campaigns than
did the white, American press.
King saw that Gandhi gave his beliefs the tools and means to
elevate love for one’s enemies to a broader level than one to one. Lincoln held
national days of prayer and fasting, asking the nation to acknowledge its
errors and to make penance to atone for the evils of slavery and war. Although
no writer than I know of viewed Lincoln as an advocate of non-violence in the
Gandhian sense of this, it is clear from the testimony both of Lincoln and his
biographers that he was deeply pained by the necessity to conduct an unwanted
but necessary war.
There are connections, too, to the work of Ananda and to the
life of our preceptor, Paramhansa Yogananda. In the practice of yoga, nonviolence
is one of the core precepts that comprise the foundation for meditation and
spiritual path and practice of yoga. In addition, Paramhansa Yogananda
initiated Mahatma Gandhi into Kriya Yoga and thus created and established a deep
and abiding spiritual connection between their two works. Yogananda, when a
young man and before coming to the United States in 1920, was approached by
Indian revolutionaries to lead them in their fight against the British.
Yogananda declined, saying that this was not his work but predicting that India
would find freedom through nonviolence during his lifetime. When coming to
America in 1920 and becoming a resident (and later a citizen), Yogananda faced
numerous instances of racial prejudice as a “colored” man. He spoke
passionately about the colonial exploitations of the nations of Asia and
Africa, people of color. He viewed World War II as a just war that would be the
divine means of throwing off the yoke of colonialism.
The power by which these three changed the course of history
has its roots in prayer and dedication to doing the will of God, as best as they
could perceive it and doing so with faith and humility.
Courage, calmness and confidence derive not from
ego-affirmation (for the ego is brittle and shallow, for self-involved and
easily shattered by life’s many opposing egos) but from aligning one’s self
with the Divine Will. Through prayer, meditation and right action, and by the
habit of asking and praying deeply for divine guidance, we find the still,
silent voice of God guiding us in all that we do. In this we feel divine
strength, power and wisdom but at the same time we know that it isn’t ours and
that we must “remain awake” at all times. Divine consciousness is eternally
awake, omnipresent and omnipotent. Our consciousness, then, must approach the
Infinite if we are to partake in the life and spirit of God.
This is a tall order but we begin right where we are.
Lincoln studied the Bible from an early age and read it daily. King and Gandhi were
intimately familiar with the words of their respective scriptures (Bible and
Bhagavad Gita) as guidelines for daily life and right action. But it was the
habit of meditation that brought each into the Divine Presence. This we, too,
can do each and every day.
The testimony of the scriptures of east and west affirm that
God is present and actively guiding the course of history through those who
willing offer their lives to His guidance and will. Our world is changing at an
increasingly rapid pace with dangers to life, liberty and health at every turn.
God needs willing instruments. Gandhi termed the life he offered to such people
Satyagrahis (expressing Satyagraha: dedication to Truth and Purity).
Those who are part of the worldwide work of Ananda see this
living example in the life of Swami Kriyananda. He has been a spiritual warrior,
standing calmly amidst calumny, physical suffering, opposition and seemingly
impossible obstacles. His life of dedication to the work of Paramhansa
Yogananda has earned for him a state of bliss — the grace bestowed upon those
who live for God alone.
We don’t start by wanting to be heroes in the eyes of
others. We begin, rather with humility and openness to God’s presence and
guidance, taking life step-by-step, day-by-day. Meditation, selfless service,
and fellowship with others of like mind are essential. Truth is not complex.
Let us then be Lightbearers in this world of change, danger,
confusion, chaos, and ignorance.
See you Monday night at East West Bookshop!
Nayaswami Hriman
Friday, January 4, 2013
Who is Paramhansa Yogananda?
Who is Paramhansa Yogananda?
Happy birthday, Sri Yogananda: January 5, 1893!
Tomorrow, January 5, 2013, students, members, friends, and disciples will commemorate the life and teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952). Best known for his life story, "Autobiography of a Yogi," Yogananda came to America in 1920 and except for a tour of Europe, the near East, and a visit back to his homeland of India, remained in America (and became a U.S. citizen) until his passing in 1952. He is also known for having introduced Kriya Yoga (a meditation technique) to the West.
Throughout the world, there will be meditations and public programs to celebrate this great yogi and world teacher. At Ananda Meditation Temple in Bothell, we will conduct a meditation followed by a public program, and, the next day, Sunday, January 6, a family service (with skits taken from his life) and catered (Indian) banquet at the nearby Ananda Community in Lynnwood. For more information on these events, call the Temple at 425 806 3700 or check the website at www.AnandaWA.org.
While Yogananda's autobiography is a must-read, there's also Swami Kriyananda's recent book: Paramhansa Yogananda: a Biography. But my interest here today is not biographical. My thoughts are those of a disciple and student of Yogananda's life and teachings. Nor am I making any effort to compare his life with that of other teachers or gurus. Certain qualities of his personality and aspects of his teachings are what I wish to make note of today.
Paramhansa Yogananda came to America as a young man, age 27. His popularity as a speaker and celebrity rose steadily and a time came when his lectures in large and famous halls (like Carnegie Hall) were filled to overflowing. He was dynamic, spontaneous, accessible, youthful, exuberant, witty, child-like, and even a bit of a showman. He expressed both playfulness and deep devotion. He was everyone's friend, yet candid and bold at times.
Though he was to become a respected and renowned spiritual teacher, he was not pompous, aloof, overly-intellectual or grave. As a guru, he was one’s friend and intimate. He promoted all things Indian even as he lavishly praised all things American. ("All" is of course a slight, however appropriate, exaggeration!) He wore his wisdom as a comfortable old coat, easily removed, and lightly donned.
But no intimacy or lightness could disguise the depth of his message, and its radical and revolutionary nature. Declaring his line of gurus and India's rishis of old to be equal in spiritual stature to Jesus Christ should have got him lynched or deported during those times in American history. But his demeanor and vibration conveyed truth and spiritual power and he could hold and inspire a crowd as easily as a soul.
He effortlessly combined devotion with deep philosophy, and practical wisdom with creative action. In consequence, he inspired such responses from others. He reconciled centuries old theological debates in a few sentences. For example, instead of contrasting and condemning the material world in favor of God in His heaven, Paramhansa Yogananda described this world as a "dream" of the Creator, a dream made to seem real by the principle of power of illusion, the ceaseless motion between opposites (duality).
In the long running debate in Christianity as to whether Jesus was a man or God, Yogananda Jesus as a soul who, through many lives and achieved in a past life, the expansion of the limited ego consciousness (identified with the body) into divine consciousness (beyond all form). Jesus becomes not a divine creation but a soul, like you and I. His soul had awakened from the dream that this creation and the ego are real into the full realization of the underlying divine consciousness as the sole reality in and beyond creation. There is no difference, then, between Jesus Christ and us, only a difference of the degree of awakening.
Is God "wholly other" or is God immanent in His creation? In “becoming” the creation, God, being infinite, is both transcendent and immanent in creation. As the wave is but a part of the great ocean, so our soul is a wave upon the ocean of God's infinite consciousness. We, too, possess the divinely rooted impulse to create and to share. Looking outward into form and into matter, however, the soul begins to lose contact with its infinite Self and becomes identified with its limited self. The guru, or savior, having become fully awakened, comes to awaken the sleeping memory of our divine nature and to guide that awakening towards its goal in Self-realization.
In the debate between monotheism and polytheism, Yogananda explained that God is One because God IS the creation. There is no other reality than God: thus the ONE became MANY but the many is but an illusion.
Buddha refused to speak of God not because he was an atheist but because his mission was to help people understand what they, themselves, must do to achieve liberation from suffering.
Yogananda, as the rishis before him, used the human experience of sleep to describe the process of meditation and the state of superconsciousness. Sleep is something anyone can understand (and appreciate!). In sleep, the sense organs are turned off. In deepest sleep, the mind is quiescent but blissful. We always know how we slept upon waking. Sleep is necessary for life itself to go on. Meditation is the process of conscious sleep and superconsciousness is a state of feeling beyond thought but in a higher octave of intensity of awareness that is deeply rejuvenating. Meditation nourishes our creativity, sharpens our intuition, enriches our capacity for deep feeling, while it graces us with well-being and a sense of connection to others and to all life.
Paramhansa Yogananda taught the core precepts and techniques known to adepts and yogis in India since ancient times which he called “raja yoga.” The essence of the yoga techniques of breath awareness and life force control is distilled into the science of kriya yoga. Kriya is both a technique and a body of techniques and teachings designed to still the turbulence of the mind. This turbulence brought upon by the ceaseless play of the senses, thoughts and feelings creates a veil of delusion that prevents us from “seeing” God as our own, true Self. This science of breath and mind is one of God’s greatest gifts that Yogananda was commissioned to bring to the West and to the world. Kriya Yoga is for every true and sincere seeker, regardless of outward religious affiliation.
Yogananda wrote commentaries on the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, and the Rubaiyat to show that all great spiritual teaching points to the promise of soul immortality through union with God, the sole reality, both transcendent and immanent.
All true religions can lead us to God because each reflects various aspects of human nature. We use our thought, feeling, will, and action as “organs” which express our intention and consciousness. Thus the different practices of religion reflect these aspects of human nature: devotion, ritual, prayer, self-improvement, and good works. But the goal of religion is union with God, or Self-realization of our divine nature.
This occurs most directly through consciousness itself. To know God we must lift our consciousness towards perfect stillness, towards His Infinite consciousness. The inner path of meditation works with and upon our consciousness, utilizing our God-given and nature-made subtle life force pathways to Oneness. Combining the inner path with the outer practices to purifies our consciousness and makes us fit to “receive Him.”
Yogananda predicted that "Self-realization" would become the religion of the future. By this statement he was not referring to any particular theology or practice but to the understanding among devotees worldwide, regardless of religious affiliation, that our personal connection with God and its practical expression in daily life are the essence of the religious impulse and purpose.
He saw in individual creativity, initiative and responsibility the solution to the challenges of globalism. He sowed into the “ether” the seeds for the establishment of independent, intentional, self-sustaining communities around the world by people of high ideals living simply, modestly and cooperatively. Imagine! This lifestyle alone can potentially solve all of the key issues that we face today: global warming, pollution of soil, air, and water, destruction of habitat and species, alarming rates of population growth ("simplicity" encourages family planning, quality over quantity), domestic violence (by sustainable, appropriate and committed relationships), ruthless competition (replaced by intelligent cooperation) and inequity of race, class, or cultures (with all types living in harmony). He did not envision that everyone would live in such communities. Rather, he saw that such would serve as examples of “how-to-live” for everyone.
Already in his time, he promoted vegetarianism (ovo-lacto) and encouraged others to reduce intake of red meat or pork, substituting fish, chicken, lamb, and emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables. This counsel is already accepted and promoted by health “gurus” and government officials.
He taught the principles of success in business, harmony in relationships, health of the body and mind, raising whole and happy children, and the importance of spiritual seeking as the centerpiece for finding true happiness.
The core of his teaching can be summed up in the words of Jesus: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God.....and all these things shall be added unto you." He identified that all beings seek happiness and that the path to happiness lies in seeking God through expansion of consciousness and sympathies through right understanding, meditation, and selfless action. Pleasure and human happiness based on outward conditions cannot bring to us lasting peace and joy. God is joy. Seeking God brings to us ever-increasing, ever-new joy, for God is infinite, omniscient, omnipresent Bliss. This is our nature and it is fulfilled in God alone!
Could this teaching be anything but “hope for a better world?” Could this teacher by anything less than a world teacher for this age?
Blessings to you, and "Happy Birthday, Master!"
Nayaswami Hriman
Happy birthday, Sri Yogananda: January 5, 1893!
Tomorrow, January 5, 2013, students, members, friends, and disciples will commemorate the life and teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952). Best known for his life story, "Autobiography of a Yogi," Yogananda came to America in 1920 and except for a tour of Europe, the near East, and a visit back to his homeland of India, remained in America (and became a U.S. citizen) until his passing in 1952. He is also known for having introduced Kriya Yoga (a meditation technique) to the West.
Throughout the world, there will be meditations and public programs to celebrate this great yogi and world teacher. At Ananda Meditation Temple in Bothell, we will conduct a meditation followed by a public program, and, the next day, Sunday, January 6, a family service (with skits taken from his life) and catered (Indian) banquet at the nearby Ananda Community in Lynnwood. For more information on these events, call the Temple at 425 806 3700 or check the website at www.AnandaWA.org.
While Yogananda's autobiography is a must-read, there's also Swami Kriyananda's recent book: Paramhansa Yogananda: a Biography. But my interest here today is not biographical. My thoughts are those of a disciple and student of Yogananda's life and teachings. Nor am I making any effort to compare his life with that of other teachers or gurus. Certain qualities of his personality and aspects of his teachings are what I wish to make note of today.
Paramhansa Yogananda came to America as a young man, age 27. His popularity as a speaker and celebrity rose steadily and a time came when his lectures in large and famous halls (like Carnegie Hall) were filled to overflowing. He was dynamic, spontaneous, accessible, youthful, exuberant, witty, child-like, and even a bit of a showman. He expressed both playfulness and deep devotion. He was everyone's friend, yet candid and bold at times.
Though he was to become a respected and renowned spiritual teacher, he was not pompous, aloof, overly-intellectual or grave. As a guru, he was one’s friend and intimate. He promoted all things Indian even as he lavishly praised all things American. ("All" is of course a slight, however appropriate, exaggeration!) He wore his wisdom as a comfortable old coat, easily removed, and lightly donned.
But no intimacy or lightness could disguise the depth of his message, and its radical and revolutionary nature. Declaring his line of gurus and India's rishis of old to be equal in spiritual stature to Jesus Christ should have got him lynched or deported during those times in American history. But his demeanor and vibration conveyed truth and spiritual power and he could hold and inspire a crowd as easily as a soul.
He effortlessly combined devotion with deep philosophy, and practical wisdom with creative action. In consequence, he inspired such responses from others. He reconciled centuries old theological debates in a few sentences. For example, instead of contrasting and condemning the material world in favor of God in His heaven, Paramhansa Yogananda described this world as a "dream" of the Creator, a dream made to seem real by the principle of power of illusion, the ceaseless motion between opposites (duality).
In the long running debate in Christianity as to whether Jesus was a man or God, Yogananda Jesus as a soul who, through many lives and achieved in a past life, the expansion of the limited ego consciousness (identified with the body) into divine consciousness (beyond all form). Jesus becomes not a divine creation but a soul, like you and I. His soul had awakened from the dream that this creation and the ego are real into the full realization of the underlying divine consciousness as the sole reality in and beyond creation. There is no difference, then, between Jesus Christ and us, only a difference of the degree of awakening.
Is God "wholly other" or is God immanent in His creation? In “becoming” the creation, God, being infinite, is both transcendent and immanent in creation. As the wave is but a part of the great ocean, so our soul is a wave upon the ocean of God's infinite consciousness. We, too, possess the divinely rooted impulse to create and to share. Looking outward into form and into matter, however, the soul begins to lose contact with its infinite Self and becomes identified with its limited self. The guru, or savior, having become fully awakened, comes to awaken the sleeping memory of our divine nature and to guide that awakening towards its goal in Self-realization.
In the debate between monotheism and polytheism, Yogananda explained that God is One because God IS the creation. There is no other reality than God: thus the ONE became MANY but the many is but an illusion.
Buddha refused to speak of God not because he was an atheist but because his mission was to help people understand what they, themselves, must do to achieve liberation from suffering.
Yogananda, as the rishis before him, used the human experience of sleep to describe the process of meditation and the state of superconsciousness. Sleep is something anyone can understand (and appreciate!). In sleep, the sense organs are turned off. In deepest sleep, the mind is quiescent but blissful. We always know how we slept upon waking. Sleep is necessary for life itself to go on. Meditation is the process of conscious sleep and superconsciousness is a state of feeling beyond thought but in a higher octave of intensity of awareness that is deeply rejuvenating. Meditation nourishes our creativity, sharpens our intuition, enriches our capacity for deep feeling, while it graces us with well-being and a sense of connection to others and to all life.
Paramhansa Yogananda taught the core precepts and techniques known to adepts and yogis in India since ancient times which he called “raja yoga.” The essence of the yoga techniques of breath awareness and life force control is distilled into the science of kriya yoga. Kriya is both a technique and a body of techniques and teachings designed to still the turbulence of the mind. This turbulence brought upon by the ceaseless play of the senses, thoughts and feelings creates a veil of delusion that prevents us from “seeing” God as our own, true Self. This science of breath and mind is one of God’s greatest gifts that Yogananda was commissioned to bring to the West and to the world. Kriya Yoga is for every true and sincere seeker, regardless of outward religious affiliation.
Yogananda wrote commentaries on the Bible, Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, and the Rubaiyat to show that all great spiritual teaching points to the promise of soul immortality through union with God, the sole reality, both transcendent and immanent.
All true religions can lead us to God because each reflects various aspects of human nature. We use our thought, feeling, will, and action as “organs” which express our intention and consciousness. Thus the different practices of religion reflect these aspects of human nature: devotion, ritual, prayer, self-improvement, and good works. But the goal of religion is union with God, or Self-realization of our divine nature.
This occurs most directly through consciousness itself. To know God we must lift our consciousness towards perfect stillness, towards His Infinite consciousness. The inner path of meditation works with and upon our consciousness, utilizing our God-given and nature-made subtle life force pathways to Oneness. Combining the inner path with the outer practices to purifies our consciousness and makes us fit to “receive Him.”
Yogananda predicted that "Self-realization" would become the religion of the future. By this statement he was not referring to any particular theology or practice but to the understanding among devotees worldwide, regardless of religious affiliation, that our personal connection with God and its practical expression in daily life are the essence of the religious impulse and purpose.
He saw in individual creativity, initiative and responsibility the solution to the challenges of globalism. He sowed into the “ether” the seeds for the establishment of independent, intentional, self-sustaining communities around the world by people of high ideals living simply, modestly and cooperatively. Imagine! This lifestyle alone can potentially solve all of the key issues that we face today: global warming, pollution of soil, air, and water, destruction of habitat and species, alarming rates of population growth ("simplicity" encourages family planning, quality over quantity), domestic violence (by sustainable, appropriate and committed relationships), ruthless competition (replaced by intelligent cooperation) and inequity of race, class, or cultures (with all types living in harmony). He did not envision that everyone would live in such communities. Rather, he saw that such would serve as examples of “how-to-live” for everyone.
Already in his time, he promoted vegetarianism (ovo-lacto) and encouraged others to reduce intake of red meat or pork, substituting fish, chicken, lamb, and emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables. This counsel is already accepted and promoted by health “gurus” and government officials.
He taught the principles of success in business, harmony in relationships, health of the body and mind, raising whole and happy children, and the importance of spiritual seeking as the centerpiece for finding true happiness.
The core of his teaching can be summed up in the words of Jesus: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God.....and all these things shall be added unto you." He identified that all beings seek happiness and that the path to happiness lies in seeking God through expansion of consciousness and sympathies through right understanding, meditation, and selfless action. Pleasure and human happiness based on outward conditions cannot bring to us lasting peace and joy. God is joy. Seeking God brings to us ever-increasing, ever-new joy, for God is infinite, omniscient, omnipresent Bliss. This is our nature and it is fulfilled in God alone!
Could this teaching be anything but “hope for a better world?” Could this teacher by anything less than a world teacher for this age?
Blessings to you, and "Happy Birthday, Master!"
Nayaswami Hriman
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