Is God Dead? Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I’ve been studying the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: the Lutheran theologian and pastor who opposed Hitler and who was executed by the SS two weeks before the concentration camp where he was interred was liberated by Allied troops.[1]

As a young Catholic, raised in the ‘50’s bubble of the west coast version of the “Bells of St. Mary’s, the surging debates and trends of Protestantism were unknown to me, though modernism in religion was. By modernism or what is sometimes referred to as liberalism, Christianity is reinterpreted socially and generally with little, no or minimal regard to dogma, saints, miracles or transcendental realities.

The impact of rationalism and the scientific method are well known to us. The 20^th century saw the explosion of materialism even into the sanctuaries of religion. Frank Laubach, a well known pastor in the first half of the 20^th century, campaigned to remind ministers to mention God and Christ in their sermons.[2] I used to think this was probably an exaggeration until I began reading about Bonhoeffer’s life. While there were (are?) many variations in the forms of religious liberalism, it was at the heart of the famous 1966 Time Magazine cover that asked, “Is God Dead?” The “dead” part essentially meant, “Is God irrelevant to modern life?” How many, even religionists of the 20^th century, held high hopes for the unrelenting march of scientific and economic progress? The hope was that all there could be left to affirm were basic human virtues and Christian ethics. There surely was no need for belief in unprovable dogmas that bore little relevance to the vicissitudes and demands of modern, daily life! The liberals championed progress as the solution to the ills of society and saw ethical and social idealism as the real mission of religion for the modern age. Modernist religion, taking its cue from scientific and social materialism, essentially agreed with Karl Marx and atheists everywhere in saying that the most important thing in life is food, shelter, and security, oh, and, sure, maybe beseeching God for the good things of life. Indeed a part of this “theology” equates material prosperity with Divine favor.

Ah, but does not the slaughter of perhaps two hundred million people in the name of this glorious age of reason, equality, prosperity and the greatest good for the greatest number surely shows the lie of this philosophy? For all the knowledge and education today, are we happier? Are we no less prone to the demons of abuse, addiction and violence? Has reason produced the Nietzschean super race?  

Bonhoeffer was an impressive thinker and theologian who became a martyr and, in his own way, a saintly man, given to doing the will of God at all costs. In the strictest forms of religious liberalism during Bonhoeffer’s higher education, belief even in God was subject to question because unprovable. That left all other Christian “traditionalist” beliefs pretty much hanging in mid-air. Bonhoeffer struggled against that heartless, devotionless trend that relegated God to outward shows of socially acceptable piety and dry, empty rituals. When the mainline German churches succumbed to Hitler’s authority and accepted Nazi revisionist thinking, Bonhoeffer declared religion the enemy of spirituality. He vainly attempted to persuade fellow church leaders that it was the German church’s obligation to oppose Nazi segregation and persecution of the Jews and, going further, to actively oppose the Nazi regime.

Another impressive fact of his life was that Bonhoeffer had an abiding desire to go to India to meet Mahatma Gandhi. Twice he attempted the trip and in both cases his efforts were thwarted by either circumstances or his own conscience calling him back to Germany. Clearly, however, he was wanting to find an alternative to the spirit of conquest and superiority his own so-called Christian culture had forged as heirs to Christ.

While in America, he was put off by the American church which embraced religious liberalism uncritically even while viciously attacking fundamentalism (which naturally paid the return compliment).

On the other hand, he was deeply moved by his encounter with the negro churches, both their music and the deep and heartfelt devotion he felt there. The experience changed his life. The contrast between America’s founding ideals and the ugliness of its de facto racism put the aristocratic Bonhoeffer firmly on the road to appreciating and, by degrees, exploring the relationship of suffering to the integrity of one’s spiritual search.

When Paramhansa Yogananda came to America in 1920 the battle between religious liberals and fundamentals was in full swing, with the fundamentalists in retreat (at least in the northern cities among so-called intellectuals). It was therefore in the divine plan, answering the call of sensitive souls for God to show himself, as it were, that such a one as Paramhansa Yogananda was sent. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita “that whenever virtue declines and vice predominates, I incarnate to combat evil.”

The seemingly irreconcilable struggle between spirit and nature, between science and religion, between belief and rationalism could not be resolved by debate nor by the intellect. It could only be resolved by one “who has seen Him.” It reminds me of the story of St. Anthony of the desert who helped resolve the first great challenge in early Christianity[3] when, being called out from his self-imposed desert seclusion, declared in front of hundreds, “I have seen Him.”

Therese Neumann, a Bavarian woman, who lived during Nazi Germany, had the wounds of Christ and ate neither food nor water except in taking the communion host on Fridays while in a trance reliving the crucifixion of Christ.[4] She was examined by medical doctors and even by one doctor who set out to prove her a fraud but who converted to her defense. Paramhansa Yogananda met her and explained that the purpose of her life was to be a living testimony to “I have seen him.” Yogananda, in his visit to Germany in 1935, attempted to have an interview with de Fuhrer in hopes of stimulating Hitler’s latent interest in eastern philosophy—but, to no avail!

Paramhansa Yogananda came to America to teach the “science of religion.” His mission was to show that all men are seeking happiness and seeking to avoid suffering. By trial and error and experiment, he encouraged Americans, whom, he said, “loved to experiment,” to see what attitudes and lifestyle brought lasting satisfaction and which proved empty, despite their promises. An unselfish life will bring you lasting happiness while selfish, merely sensual, or materialistic behavior would disappoint you, if not immediately, then soon enough.

He brought yoga and meditation techniques to show how to be healthy, focused, creative, and connected with one’s own superconscious mind. He urged students to put aside “installment plan” living (by which he referred to the superstition that “If only I had more possessions, kept up with the Joneses, a bigger bank account, and a larger income, I’d be happy.”) “It is all right to have possessions, but don’t let them possess you!” he counseled.

In his orations, Paramhansa Yogananda thundered: “The time for knowing God has come.” Through meditation, and especially kriya yoga, the most advanced technique for this modern age, we can have a direct perception of divinity as our own Self, hidden in the silent cave of meditation, in the bubble of joy that is our heart’s natural love, and in the perception of God as sound or as light. The experience of peace or joy in meditation is living proof of the existence of God within you. By experimenting with right attitudes, as described above, he said you could prove in yourself your connection with all life.

Returning, then, to the debate of whether “God is dead,” Yogananda saw in the teaching of the triune nature of God (the Trinity) a resolution for what modernists insisted was God’s absence in the world. The concept of the Trinity has been taught in India since ancient times. It offers a way to bridge the otherwise unconquerable chasm between the human experience and infinity.

Yes, it’s true that God, as transcendent and as infinite bliss, exists beyond and untouched by his creation, even though He is its sustaining source. He accomplishes the manifestation of the universe by becoming it. To do this, he uses a trick: an illusion of movement in opposite directions from a point of rest which is His center. His “son” is His reflection in creation. His reflection is the silent and invisible intelligence and intention that rests at the heart of every atom and in every soul, endowing even the atoms with individuality. This illusory trick of motion, of vibration, in opposite directions is His Ghost;[5] it is his “consort,” the mother of creation into whose womb the seed of his reflection is sown. This movement gives rise to the illusion of separate objects just as the spinning blades of a fan or the spokes of wheel give the illusion of solidity. This illusory movement is thus the mother of creation. It produces a sound, called, Aum, the Word, the Amen, the voice of God and the true and faithful witness to God’s immanence in creation. The Word produces Light, the face of God.

And the “Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.” Those souls, sent to return to the world, in whom God’s reflection and vibration is fully realized are his messengers and his sons. As St. John the Evangelist in the first chapter of his gospel wrote, “And as many as received Him, give he the power to become the sons of God.” Jesus, and others like him, come in every age to awaken all those in tune with him and to him “by my Father.” Jesus is not essentially different than you or I, but he, and others like him down through the ages, has awakened to his sonship in God.

Towards the end of Jesus’ life, the bible tells us "And many walked with him no more.” For he challenged their credulity and their intuitive attunement with him when he said, “Eat my body and drink my blood!” In so doing, however, he spoke of the teaching of the Trinity. His body, which is sustaining “meat” is the “Christ consciousness,” which is to say, the only begotten reflection of the Father which is immanent in creation. His blood, which is the vibrating Life Force (known as “prana” in its individual form) of Aum which creates, sustains, and withdraws all atoms in the creation.

To eat the flesh of Christ is to become attuned to the divine presence within us and in silence. To drink the blood of Christ is to attune ourselves to the cosmic divine life that flows within us and within all. We are One in creation and One beyond creation and One in infinite Bliss. "Christ" is a title and a code word for divine consciousness immanent in creation.

All of the various and sundry distinctions of race, religion, gender, social status, and nation dissolve in the unifying light of God as the sole reality within and beyond creation. This experience comes in deep meditation and by meditation (and grace), God’s presence in the world can be known. This is the eternal promise and it has come again in special dispensation with meditation and kriya yoga into this world of disbelief.

Jesus taught, “I am the vine and ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me, ye can do nothing.” To become attuned to the wisdom presence of God and to the power of God which gives us life is to have life “more abundantly.” A further understanding of the vine and branches is that God, which is infinity and bliss, is far to powerful to be known directly, at least not without the enlargement of consciousness that is the attribute of high spiritual advancement. Instead, God's presence comes through living instruments. Not only, as explained above, in the latent state and center of each atom, but in its Self-realized state in those living instruments whom he sends. In sending his “son” as Jesus Christ or any of the great masters, he sets into motion the means by which souls are to be freed: through others! So “Me” refers both to the impersonal presence of God and also the divine presence in the true guru.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer dedicated his life and sacrificed his life for those who “had ears to hear” that Christ’s teachings would become a living reality. Few are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice that Bonhoeffer made, but, as Jesus put it, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil (the challenges) thereof.”

Yogananda brought to the West the means by which we can contact this living, divine reality within us, and within all.

Joy to you,

Swami Hrimananda! (aka Hriman)

---

[1] “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,” Eric Metaxas, Thomas Nelson Press.

[2] “Letters by a Modern Mystic,” by Frank C. Laubach.

[3] The so-called Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.

[4] Áutobiography of a Yogi,” by Paramhansa Yogananda, Chapter 39.

[5][5] Old English: his spirit, soul or breath.

The Inner Squirrel - How not to go Nuts!

The path of meditation is very much focused on the interaction of meditation practice and meditative consciousness, the former leading one to the latter. From the intellectual point of view, the purpose of meditation is to answer the ages old question, "Who am I?"

But as we are in the midst of a glorious summer and hopefully able to spend more time in nature (as we here in the northwest are blessed to have so close and so abundantly at hand), we might find ourselves sitting by a stream watching the squirrels intent upon their summer program of gathering nuts for the upcoming winter.

Does the squirrel ask, "Who am I?" If he does, his wife will no doubt interrupt, saying, "What a nutty question! Get back to work!" But, gee, whiz, don't most of the six or more billion humans on this earth do pretty much what the squirrel does? We Americans, when greeting a friend we haven't seen in a while, might ask, "How ya doin'? Keepin' busy?"

You get up in the morning and immediately most people embark upon their chores, busy about their lives, sometimes frantic, occasionally with a moment of rest over a meal or a cup of tea, but only briefly, for as we sit, thoughts of un-ease stir as the "what-if's" and the "to-do's" rise like phantoms from the recesses of our subconscious. It may well be that we humans spend more time obsessing nervously about our tasks than the squirrel, who seems more intent on getting his job done than fussing over the odds of success or failure. But, still, in his intensity doesn't the squirrel, too, betray a certain anxiousness? Besides, you can't say he isn't muttering under his breath, occasionally his eyes glancing up at the sky to see if the winter storm clouds, aren't all ready gathering.

Aren't we humans busy little beavers and bees, squirrels and ants, too? I've heard it said that a study showed that most humans have little, if any, abstract thoughts about life at all. That's hard for me to imagine. My dear old mother, God rest her soul, used to regale family members about how I, as a child, would harangue her with the "big" questions of life. (I don't have a specific recollection but I was a bit serious, not a bit like a squirrel in those days. I had to grow up to become a squirrel. Instead, I started life puzzled about its meaning.)

I doubt many people find happiness the result of puzzling relentlessly over the question, "Who am I?" For most it would seem more fun just to, well, go out and have fun, for heavens sake! So what gives with this never-ending "pop up" on the screen of human history--this existential inquiry about "self?"

It may be that the squirrel's worries extend only to the upcoming threat of winter and not beyond, and it may well be that few squirrels have pondered or held committee meetings or raised funds for a new IPO on the question of how to improve the efficiency of their nut gathering techniques or nut storage facilities, but we humans have a long memory for past hurts and failures. We get knocked about enough and we begin looking for how to grow bigger, better nuggets of success and happiness. Well, ok, some of the 'we's' might do that. There are others who are more in the squirrel line of living, for sure.

The inquiry into "Who am I" is proportional to the length of our memory. (I could, at this juncture, shift to the subject of elephants. But let's save that for another time.) There we are enjoying a whole handful of peanuts when the thought arises, "Gee, these are fattening. All this salt is bad for me. Will I find these high-quality peanuts ever again at Costco?" You see, we are of two minds, sometimes :-). There are some who permanently have two minds! (But that's a different subject, so, don't ask, and I won't tell.)

There are some who know, even in the midst of their pleasures, that the ax is going to fall, not only due to the inevitability of the perverseness of life, but in direct proportion to the intensity of their pleasure or happiness. Where, or where, does this seemingly illogical and perverse fear come from? Yup, long memory!

The great sage and exponent of human consciousness, the world's first and foremost psychotherapist, Patanjali, compiled the insights of his forebears -- great rishis of India's ancient golden age -- and taught that it is memory ("smriti') that cracks the cosmic nut of happiness. Memory? I hardly think so. Most elders, obsessed with their lifetime memories, are a bit dour!

No, not that memory, silly. He is not referring to the memory of facts, circumstances, pleasures and sorrows! Rather, Patanjali refers to the memory of the "Who" who is watching; the "Who" that observes these passing pleasures and sorrows. He is referring to the perception of the Perceiver behind the sense impressions, thoughts, reactions, emotions that flit by and appear briefly upon the screen of experiences. As "Horton hears a Who," Patanjali sees the You: the real You. This You remains whether appearing as a child, a vital youth, a  busy squirrel with furrowed middle-aged brow, a pleasure seeker, or an aging or dying elder. Always this You is there watching. This Who, this You, is untouched by life's passing show and drama.

Most people you get to know well, well, they tend to shrink in your esteem. But this Who, this You, only grows in size: grows in your esteem, your reverence, your awe. Because contacting the Who, the You, is at first only as fleeting as your sense impressions are upon your mind, you cannot yet claim that the Who is You. Those who do think of Who as You risk falling into the pit of solipsism, self-involvement, and increasing egotism.

It is safer to see the Who as not You, but as Thee until such time, as the Who and You are so continuously interlocked that Who are We. Another strange thing happens, two: in perceving the Who, who has no name or form, you begin to sense the Who is all a-Round and the wall begins to fall between You and Who and We. By this time you are either nuts or enlightened.

You are nuts if your mind, having seen the Who as You, insists on analyzing the Who as You. You are enlightened if you let it go, saying Nuts to You.

A happy, joyful and in-lightened summer fun in the sun,

Nayaswami Hriman, aka Swami Hrimananda!

Do I Need A Guru?

I grew up along the coast in central California where snow was unseen (except once and it produced great excitement among children and adults alike). In later years, living at Ananda Village in the Sierra Nevadas northeast of Sacramento, CA, it most certainly did snow a few times each winter. I would eagerly look forward to the possibility (at least if I was home snug before the wood stove). I learned that if you have to ask yourself, "Is it snowing?" then the odds are it is not snowing. When snow falls, you see it, and like "good" art, you know it when you see it!

Many of us who are teachers for Ananda's spiritual work (worldwide) quote our founder, Swami Kriyananda, when he was once asked this question, "Do I need a guru," in replying "No, not unless you want to know God."

How many meditators, and would-be meditators, have attempted to meditate on our own, with no instruction? Such people, which included myself long ago, fill our classes at Ananda. Meditation isn't all that complicated, yet almost no one who tries it on his own sticks with it or finds it satisfactory. Many will at least read a book or, these days, go on the internet to learn. But even such sources all too often prove ineffective. If they were effective, our meditation classes would have dried up years ago.

You see, it is inescapable that even for the most routine tasks we instinctively seek human counsel if the task requires even the slightest bit of finesse or art to it. This ranges from cooking and laundry to musical composition to scientific inventiveness and research.

How much more so, then, for the art of examining one's own, inner human consciousness? I think that because introspection requires no set of monkey wrenches nor yet an advanced doctorate degree, we are lulled into thinking "I can do it myself." But the seeds of our ignorance and the filters of our biases are embedded in the very looking glass of introspection through which we peer.

There's something and someone for everyone. My wife, Padma, is from South America where, growing up, they had a saying, "Every pot has its lid." In examining both marriages and gurus, one can see that there is indeed someone for everyone, ignorant or wise. Put another way, we get what we deserve. Ignorant seekers, eager for a shortcut, find self-serving, ambitious teachers. Through their experiences, however painful, such seekers have the opportunity to learn and grow, or merely blame and sow more seeds of confusion in themselves.

Why not consider the possibility, rather likely considered from the big, broad point of view of the human experience, that this world was created intentionally and that the intention and purpose behind its creation is benign, indeed, essentially imbued with goodness, wisdom and love?

If we have questions about life, why not consider the possibility that someone else, other than our self, has found the answer? Yes, we must be true to ourselves but in seeking truth, which presumably exists whether we discover it or not, what harm is there is seeking counsel from one who has discovered it already? Why waste time or follow unnecessary or even harmful detours? Why not use our reason as a starting point?

In my early adult life of spiritual seeking I never doubted that I didn't have all the answers. That didn't stop me from having my early, male adult phase of being the world's greatest "Know-it-all," but even as I reserved the right to pronounce judgement upon all the other fools in the truth parade, I was, for all that, still reading and seeking as voraciously as I was augmentative and inclined toward self-conceit.

I was fortunate, I believe, in being guided at a young age (26) to Paramhansa Yogananda's teachings and to his most accessible direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda. Neither Yogananda's nor Kriyananda's influence at any point suffused my own right to think for myself, for even then I was not inclined to fall head over heels for anything or anyone. Rather, what they offered (the one in his writing and vibration, the other in his example as well as his writing and counsel) resonated with me on a deep, calm level that satisfied heart and mind in a balanced way. Perhaps because I was born under the sun sign of Libra, I have little of the fanatic in me. Passion and commitment, yes, fanaticism, no. So, yes, I count my blessings in this lifetime and pray that in the next I waste not my youth and years upon frivolity or worse and that I find my path to freedom as early in life as I may be blessed to do.

I have seen others fall, by their emotional temperament, into the romance of religion: the guru who hugs people; the guru who looks like the poster boy sage; the teacher with the commanding presence and charisma; the teacher who has millions of followers; the teacher who promises powers or blessings at their mere touch (perhaps for a few dollars or with a simple, almost effortless technique); the teacher who proclaims himself the world teacher, superior to all who have gone before him! Yes, I've seen it all.

There will always be followers for such people. And they are certainly not all "bad," for they, too, are working out their karma towards salvation! We are all, so we are told, inextricably linked. Buddha said that the main reason to love everyone is that we have had a relationship with everyone at some point! Egads! Yuk!

While using common sense and calm feeling, don't pretend to be able to judge the spiritual realization of a spiritual teacher. Simply go by what resonates with you deeply, and take ownership for your decisions, being grateful for what you've received, and loyal to those who have helped you, even as you may be guided in new directions. Can the soul go wrong in its sincere seeking? I doubt it!

A true teacher should reflect teachings that don't, in their essence, contradict universal truth teachings. A teacher who encourages sensuality as a doorway to spiritual freedom runs counter to well established spiritual guidance as well as accepted human values. Teachings that are "too good to be true" (because they satisfy the ego's limited longings) are just that, too good to be true. Indeed, truth teachings really aren't all that different, no matter what garb they wear.

The more important thing is that this teacher, his or her teachings, and the techniques and practices given should feel like "mine." You honor and love your mother and father (hopefully!), and yet in doing so, do not disdain others, so too, your spiritual path is that which feeds your soul's hunger, not that which is somehow the best, like products in the marketplace. You may indeed, in fact most certainly will or have been in past lives, guided to lesser paths or teachers as part of your journey. Get over it, but be real and be authentic to yourself. Maybe you need that teacher who promises pleasure as the door to truth because you need to learn that lesson! If so, when you wake up to a higher truth, don't only blame that teacher, but accept your lessons and move on.

Swami Kriyananda's autobiography, the New Path, chronicles his life with Paramhansa Yogananda, who has long been accepted internationally as a true teacher with a world teaching (Kriya Yoga and practical yogic teachings for everyone). It is rare for one to find a teacher who has achieved spiritual freedom (however defined: avatar, Self-realized, enlightened, etc.). Most teachers, even the most popular ones, are, well, works in progress, no matter what they or their followers may claim.

Thus Swami's life story is worth reading by anyone because it gives a modern day example of what life with a true teacher is like. Most of us are not ready for such a relationship because we are, as yet, still too ego and self-directed. But reading stories such as this will help attune ourselves to right attitudes and expectations around a true guru for when we reach the stage of the adage, "When the disciple is ready, the guru appears."

I recently completed listening to this book (the New Path) "on tape" (actually my IPOD) and, because it is Swami's voice, it was far more inspiring than merely reading the pages of his book. (We sell these things at Ananda and at our publisher's website, www.crystalclarity.com.)

If God exists, then God must encompass and be the source of all that is. If infinity exists, then there is nothing outside of it. To know God must be to achieve infinite consciousness. Can you honestly imagine that? Can you honestly imagine achieving a relationship with infinity?

We must begin where we are and not have false imaginings of what the ultimate end-game is. Thus it is that the universal teaching is and always has been that God sends his "prophets" to instruct humankind. Why is that such a threat? Well, because it is a threat to the domain of our ego.

But there's a further point: if God is the underlying reality of all that is, whether manifested or transcendent, then why should we reject the possibility that the soul can know God, even if in some necessarily limited way? Why should we have to discard the physical form, in what we call "death," simply to achieve God-realization? Why should we view the creation as something delusive and to be discarded, rather than something God called "good.?"

Therefore, why can there not be some souls who come to earth having previously achieved Oneness with God and who have the power to help others to be, as St. John in the the first chapter of his gospel stated, "the sons of God." If we are made in the image of God, we may indeed have been created to realize this truth and to reclaim our birthright, even in human form. Thus, at least, has been the teaching since time immemorial, stated in a variety of languages, forms, and symbols down through the ages. Don't reject this teaching out of hand, in other words.

You cannot perceive the divinity within until you accept the possibility of divinity without (in another, that is). Do not reject those sent by God to free you. Study their lives, their teachings, and their greatest disciples. It is too bad that our culture no longer treasures the lives and examples of the saints (in favor of sports stars and movie celebrities). If you want to know God, get to know those who know Him (Her) already. Serve them, study their lives, open yourself to them with intelligence, honor, and self-effort.

"Knock, and the door shall be opened. Ask, and it shall be received."

Blessings to you,

Swami Hrimananda

Life as a See-Saw: the All-Seeing-I sees All!

"May he rest in peace!" Is the grave the only way we might achieve peace? Much of the time and for most people it certainly seems so. Take diet: we want to eat healthy foods, but, gee whiz, I'm hungry and I don't have time and those potato chips are yummy and look, they are right there on the counter! "I'll just eat one."

You'd think most people were born in the June astrological sun sign of Gemini: being of two minds! I want to make changes in my life but I don't have the will power, or I'm not sure how to do it,, or I'm just too busy, or, or or.....

Sometimes we cling tenaciously to our daily routine, reveling in its quiet stability, until, well, it becomes so boring that we are desperate for some excitement! Maybe we are fortunate enough to go on a vacation but then we find we can't relax and enjoy it and by the time it's over we're actually looking forward to being home in our routine!

I remember as a kid looking forward to my summer vacation. But I also remember that by the time August was on the wane I was secretly looking forward to school.

How many people complain about how hard they work but if their boss makes noises like she's going to shift your work to someone else, how quickly we defend our turf. We complain about present circumstances but then we resist change, especially when it comes from outside ourselves.

Can't we make up our mind? Are we crazy, or what? Will we ever find contentment in our life?

This world is a see-saw, you see. There is my idea of reality, and then there is the truth about reality. Consciousness has no form or condition, no definition, no limitation. Yet, poured into the human body like an invisible fuel into a tight fitting otherwise inert form, it not only roars to life but it rapidly enters into the act of becoming........a man, a woman, an artist, a businessman, et cetera, et cetera.

So this Spirit, in taking on form, becomes that form and all too quickly the memory of itself as limitless Spirit becomes like the bathroom mirror fogged by the shower you just took. But it can't do this entirely because Spirit gives the form life and being Spirit it retains, even if randomly and fleetingly, an awareness of itself.

And so we go: back and forth, between thought and potential and matter and actuality. The world is like a see-saw. Now I see matter, but a moment ago I saw Spirit.

If it were that simple, I doubt we would take so long to unravel the puzzle of our discontentment. For, you see, what happens is that the world of our thought perception is not so much preoccupied with the unconditional experience of Spirit but with the reconstruction of the world of matter according to what matters to us. In short, this Spirit, being all but wholly identified with the body it inhabits, is keen on defending or promoting its new identity.

So, in relation to what pleases or displeases us, we begin to construct our own new reality with our thoughts  out of our perceptions of what we think "matters" in the so-called objective world around us. Thus, for example, if I conclude that so-and-so doesn't like me, I begin building my case for why this person is not likable. Everything she says is self-serving or petty or simply incorrect. Never mind that everyone else around me thinks she is a wonderful soul. To me (because she doesn't like me), she's bad news.

So we construct this world of ideas to protect, defend or promote ourselves. After a time we don't relate to others as they are but as we perceive them to be. If we hate cold weather, than it makes us grumpy. Some people enjoy the rain and find it soothing. Never mind, them!

Can this be solved? Should we enter a catatonic state and never have a thought about anything, or anybody? Never responding except dully to anything that happens? Should we just give up and say, Gee, what do I know? Maybe? Sure, whatever!

Should we simply assert our reality over others like a so-called Type A personality: a bull in a china closet?

Behind the see-saw between perception and reality is TRUTH. It simply is. That truth is the perceiving consciousness of Self. It is neither dull nor stupid. It is innately Self-content and the wellspring of creativity, willingness, wisdom and compassion. It is the Clear Mind that has no compelling identification with the body. It has no need to defend or promote that ego-body.

It is the degree to which we retain contact with this All-Seeing-I  that life begins to come into focus. There are times to defend; times to promote; times to stand tall; times to roll-over. A time to sleep; a time to get up. Well, you know the Biblical quote from Ecclesiastes, "There is a time for everything under the sun."

This Eternal Now, this All-Seeing-I, doesn't need to struggle over decisions. Knowing simply IS.

Befriending this Friend of Friend can take some practice. It doesn't take time because it is always with you and IS YOU. "Be still and know that I AM God." (Is it "you are God?" The syntax doesn't really definitively say.) But it does take practice and practice usually takes time. But that's only because we keep slipping back owing to entrenched habit of ego identification.

By now you've guessed that regular meditation practice is the one, definitive tool by which we perceive the Self! Yes, you are right. Calming the turbulence of the ego mind is not an easy task. Nature has given us well honed incentives to defend and to promote. But even these instincts have their origin in the Mind. For the Self can never die and the Self is the Self of all. Immortality and Infinity is all there IS. As such it is complete fulfillment. Indeed, we can say that Immortality and Infinity equal Bliss. True, Einstein didn't say that but some One does.

We cannot eliminate paradox, nor struggles, nor hardship, nor hurt. But we can live with realization and contact with this untouchable Self which is immortal, self-aware, and ever joyful. When saints and gurus speak of immortality they do not mean the body. They refer to this Self. We will lose our body to death eventually but we don't lose our "mind." I don't mind. And by mind, I don't mean mine. I mean this Self which is your Self. Do you see it, too? I just saw it go by, too.

And to you, blessings from your own Self.

Hriman

Life Force - God Incarnate & Healer Universal!

The ancient metaphysical teachings of East and West, through the voice of the masters, have averred since time immemorial that the creation, the cosmos, and you and I are manifestations of the One Light of the Supreme Spirit. A further extension of this precept, discovered through intuition and proven by the methods of modern science by Albert Einstein, goes further to say that energy is the underlying and unifying force of all creation.

From the view point of the spiritual teachings of Vedanta, Yoga, and Shankhya (the core of the so-called "Indian philosophy") the link between Spirit (consciousness or mind) and matter is this energy. It is called "prana" in Sanskrit, and Chi, in the far East. The spiritual teaching is that this innate, intelligent, and divine Life Force takes the form of the subtle ("astral") body and is the repository of the matrix of our individual karma (ego, tendencies, life patterns). But, being in essence our higher Self, or soul, it is divine. It holds the key to our spiritual growth. By becoming increasingly aware of and sensitive to this Life Force, one grows in wisdom, peace, self-acceptance and all the other attributes of Life Force and our soul. This awareness begins with physical, mental and emotional relaxation from the distraction and hypnosis of body and ego consciousness. Specific Life Force control techniques, known as pranayama, form the heart of yoga disciplines.

This Life Force has its residence in the subtle, astral spine. This astral spine is analogous to and the subtle prototype for the physical spine and vertebrae. Advanced yogic techniques have for their focus concentration upon the astral spine. The astral spine includes along its length the "doorways" known as the chakras. Through these doors, Life Force goes out into the physical body and returns inward to its "source" or home in the subtle spine.

Thus it is that the science of yoga uses Life Force control for spiritual growth towards Self-realization. But it is also true that this very same Life Force control is the key to health and well being! The Spirit has descended into human form through the agency of prana, thus giving us birth, life, energy, intelligence and physical form. Retracing our steps through and with prana back to Spirit is the "anatomical" essence of spiritual growth. This knowledge can accelerate our spiritual awakening and is the unique contribution of yoga science to the sincere efforts of spiritual seekers regardless of religious affiliation.

Nonetheless, Paramhansa Yogananda, and his disciple and founder of Ananda (worldwide), Swami Kriyananda, dedicated much of their teachings and public service to helping people use these precepts and techniques for self-improvement, success, better relationships and, of course, health. A healthy body and ego are essential or at least greatly helpful for spiritual growth.

The now popular yoga and meditation therapy techniques are a direct result of the intuitive and experimental knowledge of Life Force as the essential element in all life and in all healing. It has become increasingly sophisticated and works in tandem with modern medical science to assist in healing body and mind. The effectiveness of allopathic medicine depends upon the degree to which modern drugs and methods stimulate the healing power of Life Force. Western medicine acknowledges, too, that patient attitude and faith has a direct and measurable effect upon healing. Nonetheless, stopping short of working with physical or mental disease (a task which requires proper medical training and teamwork with medical professionals), yoga and meditation techniques can be offered and used by anyone for personal self-improvement and general health and well-being.

It is our hope, therefore, at Ananda in the Seattle area ("Ananda Meditation Temple in Bothell, WA www.AnandaWA.org) to move in the direction of developing courses in yoga and meditation designed specifically to apply the precepts and techniques of yoga and meditation for the general health and well-being.

Beyond the obvious physical health culture is the more subtle mental culture. By improving our mental well-being -- calmness, intuition, self-awareness, concentration, positive attitudes, and creativity -- we can improve our success in business or career; in relationships; and in our ability to change habits in eating, sleeping, and behavior.

This opens the doors to courses in bringing yoga principles and techniques into business, learning the superior merits of cooperation over competition; of integrity and servicefulness over short-term profits; to understandings that true success brings greater happiness, not more tension and stress.

In dietary matters, Life Force control teaches the how and why prana-filled foods bring more energy and well-being to both body and mind; why a vegetarian diet is generally better for most people. In human relations and mental well-being, calmness and self-awareness and movement of Life Force upward in the subtle spine can help us transmute harmful emotions; to love without fear; to become more expansive, joyful and creative. Even sustainable food growing represents Life Force awareness (in nature). There is so much that can be shared and applied in practical ways for a better life.

In 2007 we created the Institute of Living Yoga - "where yoga comes to life!." At present, the Institute sponsors only the yoga teacher training and the meditation teacher training. Now we would like begin developing new courses and this new direction of using yoga (and meditation) for health of body and mind.

None of this is new to yoga; none of this is new to the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda or Swami Kriyananda (and, by extension, Ananda worldwide). But clarity of emphasis and focus can take one deeper in any direction or activity. While Ananda represents the teachings of Yogananda, this does not make the techniques themselves sectarian or narrow. The ancient yogic science is for everyone and it is universal. Nor is there any need for us to survey and represent the many excellent and varied yoga lineages in order to help others. The essence - Life Force awareness and control - is the same.

So I ask for your blessings and support for this new emphasis. It won't happen overnight and we will need help with web development, content and curriculum, and teacher development along with the tools of web supported sharing. Any sincere interest and support is welcome.

Blessings to all,

Swami Hrimananda
aka Hriman

Meditation: Empty or Full?

One of the keen minds I enjoy chatting with the other day, queried: "I sometimes get confused whether in meditation I should be striving to be "empty" or whether I should "worship" my guru or God in some other form or abstract visualization (such as Light or Sound)? Isn't "worship" but a mental projection? I don't want to deceive myself! Which is correct?"

Hmmmm: maybe both? Paramhansa Yogananda, and his disciple, my teacher, Swami Kriyananda, taught that the concept of "nirvana" (emptiness) is all too often misunderstood. Kriyananda asks, tongue firmly in cheek, "Why would anyone want to aspire toward self-extinguishment? No wonder the Buddhist boddhisattvas decide to return to incarnations to help others: they took a "rain check" on spiritual suicide!"

We weren't created with this deeply rooted impulse to survive only to kill it, and by extension, ourselves! (Nor are we given the impulse to create, procreate, to love and to expand only to suppress it!)

Patanjali describes spiritual evolution and the desire to grow in truth and realization as smriti, or memory. The great teacher, the 19th century avatar Ramakrishna, described spiritual growth akin to peeling an onion: each layer of our delusions are peeled off until "no-thing" remains.

The process of emptying ourselves of false self-definitions and self-limiting desires, memories, and opinions is a necessary part of smriti. Ego transcendence has always been an essential element of the spiritual path in every tradition. So, YES: NIRVANA, a state where the ego is dissolved, is a true goal and a true state of consciousness.

St. John of the Cross, the great Christian mystic and contemporary of St. Teresa of Avila (being to him what St. Clare was to St. Francis, a spiritual companion on the path), spoke of this need. He wrote, now so famously:

In order to arrive at having pleasure in everything,

Desire pleasure in nothing.

In order to arrive at possessing everything,

Desire to possess nothing.

In order to arrive at being everything,

Desire to be nothing.

In order to arrive at the knowledge of everything,

Desire to know nothing.

But the question remains: is emptiness the end of all spiritual growth and seeking? Is God, as the Supreme Spirit, simply No-thing? Well, yes, as Pure Consciousness and as "thing" represents material objects, truly God might be described as "No Thing." But here the intellect, striving to reach beyond its own context of "subject-verb-object," fails to reach its goal. The intellect can describe the orange--its shape, color and sweetness and various biological attributes--but it cannot give to us the taste of the orange!

We live that we might live forever; we live that we might be conscious of life and ourselves; we live that we might enjoy Life and find unending satisfaction. To insist that we must kill our own consciousness to achieve, ah, what, exactly? This is absurd.

The great teacher, Swami Shankyacharya (the "adi" or first great teacher, or acharya, in the Indian monastic tradition) described God and the purpose and goal of God's creation and our own, human life, as one and the same: Satchidananadam: immortality, self-awareness, and joy. Or, as Paramhansa Yogananda rendered it: "ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy!" This is what our hearts seek through many lives and in an infinity of forms and experiences. No outer accomplishment, pleasure, or state, conditioned upon the ceaseless flux of outward conditions, can ever satisfy this eternal, God-knowing impulse.

But first we must empty ourselves of our own desires and ego self-affirmation. Our separateness, personified in the Goddess Kundalini and in her power to delude or to enlighten, is the "entrenched vitality of our mortal delusion" (quoting Swami Kriyananda from his classic text: Art and Science of Raja Yoga).

The reward of our emptying ourselves of all delusion and material desire and ego affirmation is the steady tsunami-like rise of the ocean of bliss into our consciousness. It starts as a little bubble of joy, born of meditation and right attitude in daily life. (Right attitude is self-giving and self-offering, inter alia.)

Thus meditation is both empty and full. Emptiness, as quietude and stillness experienced during meditation, is in fact felt as very dynamic, very full. There are times, however, when our emptiness is simply that: devoid of the little self and of all fluctuations. Indeed, Patanjali not only describes the spiritual path as a process of soul recollectedness (smirit-memory) but as the gradual subsiding of our energetic commitment to our likes, dislikes, desires, memories, and all self-involvement. His most famous sutra, well, second to the aphorism in which he lists the now famous eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga, is Yogas chitta vritti nirodha. Sometimes clumsily translated as "Yoga (state of Oneness) is the neutralization of the waves of mind-stuff!" (A singularly useless translation, I might add. Giving rise to more questions than answers.) But seen as the dissolution of ego involvement, it makes perfect sense.

Nor is the process and experience of meditation a linear one: first empty, then full---like doing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen or the workshop or your desk before beginning a new project. Yes it is that in the big picture but in sitting down, sometimes we are filled with devotion and longing for God; other times we are crushed by grief or disillusionment. The yin and yang of empty and full course through our psychic veins like the tides, or wind in the trees, or clouds scudding across the sky of our mind.

So, yes, friend, it is, once again,  BOTH-AND reality. God is Infinity and more! Thus no thought, no definition can contain Him. The journey, while in essence the same for all, is, in its manifestation in time and space, uniquely our own.

Blessings,

Swami Hrimananda aka Hriman!

How to Work with a Spiritual Teacher

The New Spirit Journal published an article I wrote about my life and lessons learned with my spiritual teacher, Swami Kriyananda.

I refer you to the June 2013 print edition or the online edition at http://issuu.com/newspiritjournal/docs/nsj_june_2013_issuu/1?e=1451184/2812712

The article is on pages 8 and 9.

In joy,

Swami Hrimananda!

Practicing the Presence: present tense? or mind full?

Is the Present tense? Or is the mind full?

"You have to be present to win!"

I had lunch with a friend the other day. I don’t see him often because of he lives at a distance. He works for Boeing in a repair consulting role that fields calls from airline maintenance crews worldwide.

Like firemen who work long shifts with days off in between, my friend has to be on hand for these calls and the long shift days makes meditation time difficult. He has to get up quite early and gets home very late. Consequently, the goal of meditating twice a day is, well, honored “in the breach.” When the days off finally come, he needs rest and, in addition, may have to drive several hours to his first home where his wife is. She’s not a meditator.

I suggested to him that he accept what he can do in re meditation and be grateful for the time he can profitably take. Put aside the “ought” and embrace the reality he’s got. Hopefully by greater appreciation of the time he can take for meditation, he will have a deeper and more satisfying meditation than fussing over what he didn’t and can’t do!

But this brought up the subject of “how to be mindful, and practice the presence of God” during those long shift days. He reported, as do most meditators, that his mind is restless (not just in meditation but during the day), and with the kind of work he does (sitting by the phone waiting for emergency repair calls!), he is lured into daydreaming or otherwise drifting off, as it were.

The mind is a terrific foe even as it can be our guide and mentor. But we must learn to rein it in by focusing it upon interests that feed our ideals, our rightful preoccupations, and our higher aspirations. This takes patience. Did I say “patience?” If not, let me repeat that: it takes PATIENCE!

A couple of points came to the fore spontaneously in our conversation:

1. The basis of mindfulness is calmness and concentration. These attributes of the mind are most effectively developed through meditation. Thus meditation is essential to mindfulness during activity. In fact, practicing the presence is a form of meditation and an extension of meditation from sitting into activity. The more of the one, the easier for the other, and vice versa!
2. In coming out of meditation, make it a practice to extend the quiet mind born of meditation into the minutes, and with practice, the hours that follow. Move deliberately, even slowly. Think deliberately, even slowly. Do one thing at a time. As you shower or have breakfast after rising from sleep and meditating, do so in a calm, focused meditative mood.
3. During the day, return to this space as often as it returns to your mind to do so. Alternatively, using a watch or a smartphone, get a timer (try www.InsightTimer.com), and set a soothing chime sound on the hour to bring you back to that space.
4. Mindfulness should be practiced a little bit at a time. Calmly, carefully, and patiently. Let it grow organically from the spiritual pleasure and well-being it brings.
5. “Chanting is half the battle,” to quote Paramhansa Yogananda. Chanting throughout the day, or whenever you can remember, is very powerful and enjoyable. You can use mantras, mantra put to melody, mantra chanted rhythmically, affirmations, or, as we do at Ananda, chants with English words such as the entire collection given to the world by Paramhansa Yogananda or Swami Kriyananda. Or, you can chant your favorite Indian bhajan.
6. You can chant silently to yourself, or “under your breath,” or, in some cases (like in the car or walking down a noisy city street), aloud!
7. Mantras to choose from are endless but begin and end, literally, and otherwise, with the mother of all mantras: AUM. Aum can be surreptitiously chanted by simply humming softly wherever you are. For energy and spiritual strength, try Aum namoh Shivaya. For dharma and right action, Sri Ram, jai Ram. For devotion try either the Mahamantra (Hare, hare, Krishna, hare, hare; hare, hare Rama, hare Rama) or Om namoh Bhagavate Vasudeva. Or, simply, Aum guru.
8. Word phrases, affirmations, or chant words should be simple, especially if your activities require mental engagement. “I am Thine; be Thou mine.” “Lord I am Thine, Be Thou mine.” “I want only Thee, Lord; Thee, only Thee.” “Door of my heart, open wide I keep for Thee.” “I am strong in myself, I am free.” These are just some examples.
9. Don’t begin by expecting you can do this all day. Start with one minute and build your mental strength from there.
10. Avoid lapsing into a mechanical repetition, however. It’s not only ok, but perhaps better, to practice for X number of minutes; pause for a bit and absorb the effect.
11. Forms of mindfulness are also numerous but for those who are not devotionally inclined and who seek to be more present and conscious during activity consider the following:
12. At natural pauses between activities (closing a file or case or project; finishing a phone call or a meeting, e.g.), do some conscious breathing. Breath techniques abound but what we at Ananda call the “double breath” (tensing the whole body, while standing or seated, while holding the breath after a vigorous inhalation) is great for energy. Long, slow diaphragmatic breathing is good for calmness and presence of mind; alternate breathing, for balance.
13. Do a mini-meditation: BEE: B reathe;  E nergize; E njoy. Take a couple of deep breaths (of your choice, e.g., see #12 above); internalize your awareness and feel the energy of the body; and then be still for a moment and enjoy the experience. Time lapse 30 seconds to 2 minutes!

Am I losing my mind?

A few words on losing your mind. (Huh?) There is a distinct pleasure and satisfaction from “losing yourself” in your activity. It can even be relaxing and refreshing. So what I am saying is that there are two ways to go: set a part of your mind apart from your activity into the watchful state; or, immerse yourself in what you are doing. Thus far in this article I have addressed only the former, not the latter. It comes to me now as an after-thought. But this losing your mind thing needs some clarification.

There are, in turn, two ways to lose your mind. One is to do so frantically, being anxious for the result or engrossing oneself into the experience and descending into subconsciousness. Becoming frantic and anxious and upset is hardly a satisfying experience. Descending into the subconscious mind is what happens when you tuck into your favorite tub of ice cream (when no one is looking) and fifteen minutes later you come up for air realizing that “I ate the whole thing.”

These two examples above of losing your mind are NOT what I am talking about.  Here’s what I mean:

Start with calmness and a quiet confidence as you approach the task at hand. If you are devotionally inclined, silently ask for divine guidance in what you are about to do. Silently offer your forthcoming action to God in whatever form you hold dear. Otherwise, simply mentally state your intention and how it fulfills your duty or ideal and fits into your priorities.

Then, as you go about your task, do so with a quiet mind, with calm concentration, and quiet sense of competency and confidence. Don’t be like most people who are of two minds when a difficult or troublesome (or boring) task must be done and can no longer be avoided. Enter fully into what must be done. Palpable enthusiasm is very helpful but sometimes you are simply doing what must be done. Either way do so with your entire BEING.

When you are finished you will find that refreshing sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from doing what is right. Resist the temptation to congratulate yourself: you simply did what was needed. If you are devotional by temperament, thank God for the opportunity and offer the results to God, thus freeing your ego from attachment. In any case, once finished, relax or move on and give it no more thought. Be free of whatever action you engage in once you are finished.

Well, that’s all my mind wants to say today! Remember:

You have to be present to win!

Blessings,

Swami Hrimananda!