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Sublimation of Object-Consciousness
Spiritual Message for the Day – Sublimation of Object-Consciousness by Sri Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 4 May 2015 16.14 EST | New York Edition** |
Sublimation of Object-Consciousness
Divine Life Society Publication: The Study and Practice of Yoga by Swami Krishnananda
The knowledge of the purusha is the knowledge of the Absolute. This comes by meditation on the purusha as the Ultimate Principle. No other kind of meditation can lead to liberation, though it can lead to various experiences, or powers. Also, it is the most difficult type of meditation because it requires qualifications not merely of the will or the thought, but also of the moral consciousness and the emotions.
There is a total disparity of character between the pure state of the purusha and the conditions of ordinary perception through the mind. In other words, there is a great difference between the status of consciousness in the state of the pure purusha and the condition of consciousness in ordinary world awareness.
Spiritual consciousness is different from world perception, but many people do not understand this. They are, again and again, brought to the wrong conviction by the habits of the mind that, somehow or other, the conditions of world experience will persist even in God-consciousness. World experience is different in character from spiritual experience, and those conditions which are necessary to rouse a spiritual experience in oneself are to be acquired before a meditation in this direction can be attempted.
All that we see here with our eyes and sense with our senses is the only reality for us. That is why we cling to the things of the world so much. Therefore, it is a herculean task, indeed, to bring the mind round to a new type of conviction, which is what is called viveka – right appreciation and a perception of the character of Reality.
Sattva and the purusha – namely, the mind and the ultimate consciousness, purusha – are opposed to each other in their characters. The purusha is infinite, whereas the mind is externalised. This is the primary distinction. The mind cannot have infinite awareness. It is always projected outwardly through the senses, whereas the purusha is eternally aware of an infinitude of being. This is a great difference indeed.
Externality and eternity cannot go together; they are different intrinsically. Eternity is not externality. The externality that is the character of mind perception, or any kind of world perception, is involved in a time process, which is what is called duration – a passage or a movement of time – whereas there is no such passage or duration in eternity. It is an eternal ‘now’, a word with which we are familiar but which meaning is not clear to us.
There is no such thing as past, present and future for the purusha, but there is such a thing as past, present and future for the mind. There is a sudden awareness of a totality of existence and, therefore, there is an abolition of all duration and time-consciousness. There is an extinction of the difference created by the time process, as well as the difference created by the interference of space between objects. The mind cannot comprehend everything at one stroke.
For the mind there is successive perception but not simultaneous perception, whereas in the purusha there is simultaneous perception – an awareness which is the grasping of everything at one stroke. Therefore, the purusha and the mind are different. The inability to grasp the difference between these two is called bhoga – enjoyment, experience. All the processes which the mind undergoes are called bhoga. And we are all fond of bhoga only. That is why we cling to the world so much. There is a fear that when the mind is freed from conditions which bring about bhoga, there will be no joy. We identify contactual experience with pleasure; this is a habit of the mind. Therefore, it is not easy to wean the mind from this habit. It is difficult for the mind to believe that there can be pleasure in the purusha, because what pleasure can be there in a condition in which we are severed from all contacts?
This is what the mind will think, and what it does think. With great effort of intellectual understanding, sometimes we are convinced of the possibility of bliss even in the purusha. Purusha jnana, or knowledge of the purusha, arises by svartha samyama – meditation on one’s own essential nature, or the purpose of the spirit. It is enough for the mind to understand and appreciate that the purusha is consciousness in nature. And consciousness has to be indivisible, by the very nature of it, which means that it is infinite, unconditioned by objects, space and time. Therefore, any experience in terms of space and time or objects is contrary to the nature of the purusha. Hence, there should be an effort exercised upon the mind to sublimate object awareness into spiritual awareness.
Spiritual contemplation is a process of sublimation of objectivity into universality. When this kind of meditation is practised, purusha jnana arises – knowledge of the purusha comes. But this is a hard task because the conception of the purusha is not provided to the mind usually, in ordinary world experience. The nature of the purusha does not mean the nature of the individual self. It is the nature of the Universal Self. Purusha is a name that we give to the Absolute itself – that which comprehends all things. A complete absence of taste for things which are seen as well as unseen has been described as vairagya. This meditation cannot come to a person who has a taste for things which are outside. It is not merely an absence of sense-contact; it is an absence of taste itself. ‘Vitrishnasya’ is the term used. A dislike arisen on account of the non-cognition of value in things which are external – this is called vairagya. And a persistent practice of this condition, the maintenance of this awareness, called vashikara samjna – that is called abhyasa.
When there is an acquisition of this understanding and an establishment of oneself in this status of meditation, one becomes the substratum of everything as a result of this. As the substratum of all things, there is no need for this consciousness to move towards objects, because it is the substratum of even the object. As the result of this, again, there is knowledge of everything. One who has become the substance itself, as the substratum of all things, naturally gets endowed with this knowledge. This knowledge is called taraka – that which takes one across the ocean of sorrow. This taraka knowledge is of such a nature that its object is everything, as different from the mental knowledge which is provided to us now, at present, which has only certain objects as its contents, and not all objects.
All knowledge, and knowledge of every condition of everything, every state through which one passed, through which one passes and through which one has to pass – all these will become contents of this awareness. ‘Simultaneous awareness of all things’ and ‘simultaneous awareness of every condition of all things’ is called sarva jnatritva (_omniscience). And this is designated by the term ‘_vivekajam jnanam’, knowledge born of discriminative understanding. It is also called taraka, the saving knowledge. This contemplation is the only technique, the only method, the only means of the salvation of the soul.
Kaivalya, or ultimate independence of the spirit, arises when there is equanimity of the structural character of sattva and the purusha. Sattva means the mind, or we may call it prakriti; purusha is the consciousness. When there is similarity established between the two, then the one does not remain as an object of the other, nor is one a subject in relation to the other. When the two become one on account of the intense purity of the experiencing consciousness, infinity enters into experience. This is kaivalya, this is moksha.
Vairagya and abhyasa, and tivra samvegatva – intense ardour of the aspiring spirit is required in order that success may become imminent.
The methods of Patanjali are savitarka, savichara, sananda and sasmita samadhis. These stages are the gradual sublimations of world-consciousness, or object-consciousness, by diminishing the distance between the subject and the object of meditation, which takes place automatically and for which there is no need for any special effort. The distance that separates the experiencing consciousness from its object becomes less and less as one advances more and more. S_amyama_ is the abolition of this distance itself. There is a complete transcendence of spatial awareness in samyama.
Excerpts from: Sublimation of Object-Consciousness - The Study and Practice of Yoga by Swami Krishnananda
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Culture The Thoughts And Become A Buddha
Spiritual Message for the Day – Culture The Thoughts And Become A Buddha by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 3 May 2015 12.07 EST | New York Edition** |
Culture The Thoughts And Become A Buddha
Divine Life Society Publication: Thought Power by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Drive away from your mind all unnecessary, useless and obnoxious thoughts. Useless thoughts impede your spiritual growth; obnoxious thoughts are stumbling blocks to spiritual advancement. You are away from God when you entertain useless thoughts. Substitute thoughts of God.
Entertain only thoughts that are helpful and useful. Useful thoughts are stepping-stones to spiritual growth and progress. Do not allow the mind to run into the old grooves and to have its own ways and habits. Be on the careful watch.
You must eradicate through introspection all sorts of mean thoughts, useless thoughts, unworthy thoughts, impure thoughts, all sexual thoughts, thoughts of jealousy, hatred and selfishness. You must annihilate all destructive thoughts of disharmony and discord. You must always develop pure, good, loving, sublime and divine thoughts. Every thought must be of a constructive nature. It must be strong, positive and definite.
The mental image must be of a clear-cut and well-defined thought; it must bring peace and solace to others. It should not bring even the least pain and unhappiness to anyone. Then you are a blessed soul on the earth. You are a mighty power on the earth. You can help many, heal thousands, spiritualize and elevate a large number of persons as did Jesus or Buddha.
Just as you grow jasmine, rose, lily, Honolulu flowers in a garden, so also you should cultivate the flowers of peaceful thoughts of love, mercy, kindness, purity in the vast garden of Antahkarana. Through introspection, you will have to water this garden of mind; with meditation and sublime thinking remove the weeds of vain, useless, discordant thoughts.
Excerpts from: Culture The Thoughts And Become A Buddha - Thought Power by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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Psychological Effect of Svadhyaya
Spiritual Message for the Day – Psychological Effect of Svadhyaya by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 2 May 2015 21.39 EST | New York Edition** |
Psychological Effect of Svadhyaya
Divine Life Society Publication: Guidelines to Illumination by Sri Swami Chidananda
The scriptures contain the revelations of sages who have communed with God, from whom they have derived a knowledge higher than the knowledge of physical things. This knowledge they have given in the form of scriptures. All the experiences and revelations and deep inner knowledge derived through meditation and superconscious state have been put down in the various scriptures—the Upanishads, etc. They contain the recorded experiences of the ancient sages who have established themselves in a higher spiritual realm through their determined effort, having tapped the Source Eternal of all knowledge. They are the books which reveal the knowledge of eternal verities. They are the texts whose declarations hold good for all times. They cannot be changed. They give us the wonderful knowledge of the ways of living in a divine way, so that we can transcend life in matter. They give us the secret of Sadachara (spiritual living). All these can never be found in any other books. How to awaken the divinity within us and how to progress higher towards spiritual development cannot be learnt from books of law, medicine, or books on business, etc. To work out the eternal destiny of your soul, you have to go to books other than the college texts and other than the books that fill the ordinary library. You have to go to the spiritual books and the lives of saints, which have within themselves the gems of the truths of life. And therefore, Svadhyaya (sacred study) is a golden key that opens for us the doors of the treasury of eternal wisdom, the treasury of spiritual knowledge which guides the aspirant in the path of perfection and immortal life.
Let us see what is the psychological value of Svadhyaya—scriptural study,—and also its practical value, what man can gain from Svadhyaya in his usual life. It has a very deep and intelligent reason. We know that every experience our mind comes to have at once takes in the impression of it and leaves a mark on itself. These marks become the seeds, and you know how the nature of the mind changes according to Vasanas (impressions) that it goes on acquiring. All these things were taken into account, and the sages said that if man is to progress at all and overcome unfavourable Vasanas, some methods should be devised to counter these Vasanas that are coming into his mind in his daily life. For countering these Vrittis (psychic impressions) they have given us Svadhyaya.
Svadhyaya works in somewhat this way. Supposing you drive a nail in a log of wood and you subsequently find that it is not wanted there. Instead of tugging it, you hold another nail and go on driving the second nail. The previous nail will come out and in the same process the second will have gone into the plank. Something like that,—instead of trying everyday to pull out and throw out every single Vasana which involves a lot of nervous energy, you do Svadhyaya. Every day in the morning and in the evening you try to contact the bygone personalities of different ages, sublime spiritual personalities, whose words have got a power, for they spring out of actual experience. They are transforming words. So you place yourself in direct contact with these masterminds whose living experiences fill the pages of these scriptures. When you read a scripture you forget the material world and you are in a world of ideas springing from experience, and the power of spiritual illumination is behind the words of the sages who have given out the scriptures.
Svadhyaya means, therefore, sitting before the authors of the scriptures—Valmiki, Vyasa, etc. It is a kind of Satsanga (company of the divine). You place yourself enraptured with the great ones who are illumined with the radiance of Self-realisation, when you sit in Svadhyaya. These personalities are not dead and gone. They are not extinct. They have become one with the eternal Spirit and therefore their personality is eternal. It does not perish. Their personality is not like the personality of ordinary men, which changes at death. Thus you establish contact with the sages who are present invisibly. You get the company of the illumined by reading their books.
Svadhyayanma pramadah—says the Upanishad. “Never disregard Svadhyaya”. The sages have given us this precious process of Svadhyaya, so that we may have contact with the greatest master-minds. As you go on doing Svadhyaya, if you deeply get merged in that particular book, your thoughts become completely fixed upon divinity. That itself is a sort of Savikalpa-Samadhi (superconscious state) with the feeling of awareness, for at that time all worldly ideas are shut off from the mind and there is absorption of the mind in the spiritual ideas. As you constantly do this Svadhyaya, what happens? These ideas you take into the mind; sentiment is created by these inspired ideas and your mind is filled with a whole wealth of spiritual ideas. Every day, in Svadhyaya, you take in enlightening, higher, inspiring spiritual ideas which give you courage during your moments of depression. Supposing you are depressed, Svadhyaya elevates you, invigorates and gives you every day the spiritual manna of the soul. It is the food which you take for the soul.
From morning till night, you are in a worldly atmosphere (Vyavahara). So many ideas and so many impressions are formed. So, in the evening you should do Svadhyaya which will drive out all secular impressions. They are never given a chance to stay. So the one practical utilitarian effect of Svadhyaya is the taking in of spiritual ideas, so that the worldly ideas may be overpowered by the latter. And, secondly it is a great help in concentration and meditation. How? I will give you an analogy. Now, our aim is to make our mind firmly established in a single spiritual idea. That is the idea in prayer and in all worship, so that the mind can ultimately get itself fixed in a single thought. But the mind always thinks about various undesirable things.
In ordinary unregenerate man, the mind is full of all kinds of sensual and carnal thoughts. All thinking is about objects of this world. He does not know whether anything exists beyond what he can smell, touch, etc. Suppose you begin to realise that these are not for your real progress and elevation, then, you try to think good thoughts and hold on to pure ideas. Sometimes good thoughts come in, and other times bad thoughts. The mind is like a fly which sometimes sits upon good objects and sometimes even upon spit. Thus your mind alternates between various things. But the honey-bee always sits upon flowers. It never sits upon dirt. So the mind has to be weaned away from the first stage of a fly and then it should be weaned away from the stage of a bee and finally established in a higher position. It is this that Svadhyaya does. It binds down the mind only to elevating thoughts. It does not give chance for the mind to entertain bad thoughts. The mind takes in only what is repeatedly presented to it. In the beginning, the mind will revolt. But later on, when you begin to get a taste, without Svadhyaya you would not like to take food. It becomes an essential part of man. It is food for the real being. When this habit is formed spiritual ideas only begin to dominate the field of our mental consciousness. That is the deep inner psychological working of Svadhyaya.
Excerpts from: Psychological Effect of Svadhyaya - Guidelines to Illumination by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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Parable Of The Boy Who Purchased One Brinjal For The Rupee
Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Parable Of The Boy Who Purchased One Brinjal For The Rupee by Sri Swami Sivananada
| **Baba Times Digest© | 1 May 2015 16.11 EST | New York Edition** |
Parable of The Boy Who Purchased One Brinjal For The Rupee
Divine Life Society Publication: Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda
A man had two sons. He gave them ten rupees each one day and said to them: “These ten rupees you can spend as you like. But please bring me some brinjals for tonight’s dinner.”
They both went away to the bazaar. The foolish boy produced the ten-rupee note to the vegetable seller and said: “Please give me ten brinjals for the whole amount; my father wants to give a good dinner tonight.” The vegetable-seller at once noticed the foolishness of the boy, gave him ten rotten brinjals and sent him away.
The wise boy went to the shop and produced a ten-rupee note and said: “Look, I want ten brinjals -the best ones at the cheapest rate. And, give me the balance.” He got the brinjals for four annas. With two rupees he did Puja in the local temple and took the Lord’s Prasad. He gave away five rupees in charity to poor boys who heartily blessed him and his family. For the balance he purchased the best spiritual books available in the book-shop.
They both returned to the father and produced what they had brought.
“Look, father what I have brought! Ten brinjals for ten rupees; they ought to be wonderful,” said the foolish boy, and produced the ten rotten brinjals. The father threw away the brinjals in great disgust, remarking: “You have not only lost the money, but purchased rotten brinjals which would spoil even other good dishes. What a fool you are!” Turning to the other boy, the father asked: “What have you brought?”
The wise boy lay before the father the good brinjals, the sacred Prasad from the temple, the spiritual books, and added: “Father, these cost me only five rupees. I distributed the other five rupees in charity. How happy the poor boys were! They sent up heart-felt prayers to the Lord to bless us all. Surely, the Lord is well pleased with us all.” The father warmly embraced the wise boy and appreciated his wisdom. “You are my own. I am well pleased with you. I hereby make you the sole heir to all that belongs to me. You and I are one.”
The Lord gives riches to people in order that they might utilise the same properly. Artha should be utilised in such a way that it satisfies the three other Purusharthas-_Dharma, Kama_ and Moksha-and not one (viz., Kama) alone.
The foolish man, however, spends all his wealth, all his energy and time, on the enjoyment of sensual pleasures. These pleasures that he purchases at such expense -are they really pleasures? No, they are all pain and rotten at the very core. They are useless.
The wise man, on the contrary, spends sparingly on the necessities of life, and lavishly on those items that enhance Dharma and earn Moksha for him. He does charity. He spends on Puja, etc. He obtains Jnana with the help of his wealth. (He feeds Mahatmas and Sadhus; looks after their bodily comforts, so that they could impart Jnana to him and look after his spiritual progress.)
The Lord is well pleased with the wise man. He embraces him. They become one. The man inherits divine Aisvaryas and shines as His Divine Heir-a great saint Siddha and Jivanmukta-on earth.
Excerpts from: Parable of The Boy Who Purchased One Brinjal For The Rupee - Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda
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Living Faith in the Existence of God
Spiritual Message for the Day – Living Faith in the Existence of God by Sri Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 30 April 2015 20.03 EST | New York Edition** |
Living Faith in the Existence of God and in His Capacity to Help
Divine Life Society Publication: Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
At the earliest stages of Yoga practice, if the student is sincere in his aspiration for Yoga, it is necessary that to the extent practicable under the conditions of his life, he should be away from such atmosphere which directly affects his peace of mind. Sometimes it will not be easy to apply this technique. Because a person who is working in an office, where he is subjected to severe harassment by his boss, may like to leave that place and go elsewhere. This is easily said and done. But then, while it is true that this gentleman can move away from the troublesome place of his office, it is quite possible that he may be moving from the frying pan into the fire. Because, even while he may gain something, he may lose something else. Circumstances of this type are galore in our life. We are not living under situations which are capable of compartmentalisation into airtight sections. Everything seeps into everything else. One thing seems to be connected with the other. And often it appears that we cannot take a bath in the ocean, after the waves subside. So, broadly speaking, these instructions are given to us that we may be away from things which are distracting and which are likely to cause emotional upheaval, create tension in the nerves and create social conflict. We should take this admonition that is given to us by the elders seriously because life is not a straight-line movement along a beaten track.
Oftentimes the movement called life is a winding process, with zigzag paths and blind alleys, various ups and downs, and with forces on the way which may directly oppose our further march. Difficult is life; it is not honey and milk. But, a sincerity in our heart, an honest longing to achieve the higher perfection in life, a love for God, we may say, has its own effect in spite of all the turmoils of life. Sincerity always pays and it never suffers. Where our heart is wedded solemnly to this noble practice, this sublime endeavour of Yoga, we are sure to receive blessings from the quarters of the world, from the angels in heaven, why, from God Himself.
The mind of man is sunk so deep in the forms of the objects of sense that it cannot awaken itself to a faith in the existence of God and the capacity of the angels in heaven to help man in his need. The whole world is a friend and it is a beautiful organisation of compassion and merciful forces. A good man never suffers, though often it is said that he only suffers. It looks as if it is so, but it is not so. There is, in the earlier stages, an appearance of the thriving of evil in the world, but it is an appearance only. In the long stretch of duration called eternity, these few years of our suffering are like the wisp of a second. So, we are likely to convert a mole into a mountain, and a little sorrow that has descended upon our heads, in the form of the powers of nature impinging upon ourselves, into a veritable hell. All our sufferings in life are, to a large extent, the repercussions produced by what we have done in the past. So, we should not be taken aback by these little sorrows of life. We should always remember that these are processes of purgation, of purification, and that we shall not be in this condition always. Finally, the world is very just and the law of the universe is exceptionally friendly.
That is why Patanjali mentions that one of the best means of training the mind, of controlling the Vrittis, is contemplation on Isvara, Japa of the Mantra with a connotation of God’s existence – Tajjapas tad-artha-bhavanam. But, apart from this inward affiliation of the seeking spirit with the higher powers of nature, a constant watch upon the disciple by a Guru is necessary. Our intellect may fail one day or the other if we try to stand on our own legs, because the world is too big for a little individual.
Excerpts from: Living Faith in the Existence of God and in His Capacity to Help - Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
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Taking the Aid of Viveka
Spiritual Message for the Day – Taking the Aid of Viveka by Sri Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 29 April 2015 11.29 EST | New York Edition** |
Taking the Aid of Viveka
Divine Life Society Publication: Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
There are things in this world which are not absolutely essential for our lives, and there are things which are unavoidable. The unavoidables follow us wherever we go, and it should not be very difficult for any seeker or student of Yoga to free himself from involvement in things which are not essential. The first and foremost thing that we have to do is to find out what are the essentials and the non-essentials in life. This is not an easy thing to do, though it may look very simple. Because the mind is a trickster, it is very cunning in its actions, and it knows how to manipulate its longings.
Every desire, every longing, every passion appears to be a necessary thing when it takes the upper hand. But, Viveka Sakti or the power of discrimination, when it is properly applied, will tell us what are the things that are really essential and most unavoidable. Those things that are even indirectly connected with our Yoga practice, and our minimum form of existence in the world, may be regarded as unavoidable. We cannot exist without them. Or, they are necessary in some way – socially, physically or psychologically – for helping us, aiding us for the time being, in the present state of affairs in our Yoga practices, though at a future date those so-called necessary things may become unnecessary. I may require a coat in winter. It does not mean that I require it always. Certain things are necessary under certain conditions and they are not necessary always. And we should not cling to them with greed.
Often, we cannot distinguish between a luxury and a necessity. Every luxury looks like a necessity, because of the peculiar proclivity of the mind that is saturated with greed and covetousness of various types. That is why we come back once again to the point of the need for a good guide in Yoga. Because, without such a guide or a Guru, an immature man cannot know what is a luxury and what is a necessity; and he cannot know where he is side-tracked and led along the wrong way and given a false instruction that the path is the right one.
Excerpts from: Taking the Aid of Viveka - Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
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The Nature of Samsara and the Working of Maya
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Nature of Samsara and the Working of Maya by Sri Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 28 April 2015 07.25 EST | New York Edition** |
The Nature of Samsara and the Working of Maya
Divine Life Society Publication: Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
The personality of the individual is distracted and weakened on account of the energy getting spent out by way of sensory perception and contact. When we lend out to various persons in the world the wealth that we have, we are left with very little for ourselves. The economic strength of ours is diminished, because of the fact that we have lent out all our money or property to other people. But, suppose we get the money back, the property or the wealth that was lent out is received back, then, again we are in our original status. The economic strength of ours is re-established in its pristine completeness. Something like this happens when we cognise objects through the mind, perceive through the senses, and lose ourselves in this oceanic distraction of sense-perception. There is a tearing up of personality, as it were, when there is too much of attachment to things of the world, attachment working through the sense-organs and propelled by the force of the desires. Man loses himself and becomes another in every form of attachment.
The whole principle of Yoga is this much – the return of the consciousness of the Purusha to its own self. The more the Purusha ramifies its rays towards objects or the forms of Prakriti externally, the less it remains as the Purusha and the more it appears to be the Prakriti, having imbibed the characteristics of Prakriti. Purusha becomes the Prakriti, as it were. The subject becomes the object. Consciousness becomes matter. This is the essence of what we call Samsara, the aberration or the movement of the Self, away from itself, in the direction of what it is not. How can one become what one is not? It is logically an indefensible position; yet this is what happens. That is why they call it Maya, a kind of delusive operation, an illusion that is cast before us, an appearance of that which cannot happen at all. Yet, this happens in some way. The whole thing is a mystery. This mystery is called Maya. How can the subject become the object? How can Purusha become Prakriti? How can consciousness become matter? How can one become another person? But it has happened. This should not happen, and the great art of the return of the Purusha to itself through the various stages of the entanglement of Purusha in Prakriti is the great Yoga.
When the mind is very much agitated, disturbed for any reason, it is difficult for anyone to exercise discrimination. The reason fails when the emotions become wild. And to say that reason has to be exercised at that moment will not work, because the emotions become turbulent only when the reason fails. The reason has already failed, and if at that time one says. “Exercise reason”, it is not possible. Patanjali mentions that some sort of a Kumbhaka (Pranayama) may be of advantage when we are too much upset or disturbed by emotions of any kind. The distractions of the mind can be checked temporarily by the expulsion of the breath and retention of the same outside after expulsion. The violent activity of the mind can be subdued – a procedure which one can experiment with in one’s own daily life. When the breath is expelled and held, the mind ceases to think for a few seconds. Tensions are not relieved, of course, but they are held in abeyance. Their further growth or movement is restrained, just as the forward movement of wild animals is to a large extent restrained when they are controlled by a set of reins, though the wildness of the animals is not remedied merely by a check exercised upon them.
Every type of Kumbhaka is a help in the control of the mind. Because, the retention of the breath in Kumbhaka has a direct impact upon the workings of the mind. Prana and mind are very intimately related to each other. That is why so much importance is given to Pranayama in the Yoga Sastra. Whenever we try to concentrate our mind on any important subject or theme or activity, we hold our breath unconsciously – because, the movement of the Prana and the movement of the mind are almost parallel, and they act like brothers born to a single parent. One is an internal mechanism of power, another is the external application of it in the direction of the objects outside. We have already observed that the control of the senses should not be attempted with any excessive application of the force of will upon the senses and the mind. The whole of Yoga is an educational process; and education is not a force that is applied upon the mind, but a gradual remedying procedure. It is a growth into a healthy state of mind, into perfection finally. Thus, the impulsion of the mind working through the Pranas and the senses has to be taken care of with great caution, by understanding and application of other methods, such as the study of scriptures and living with a group in an atmosphere which is comparatively free from unnecessary distractions.
Excerpts from: Pratyahara - Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
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Pratyahara
Spiritual Message for the Day – Pratyahara by Sri Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 27 April 2015 09.18 EST | New York Edition** |
Pratyahara
Divine Life Society Publication: Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
Sva-vishayasamprayoge chitta-svarurpanukara ivendriyanam pratyaharah: Such is the definition of Pratyahara given in a Sutra of Patanjali. Having detached themselves from their respective objects, and having assumed, as it were, the nature of the mind, when the senses stand in union with the psyche, it may be said that there is Pratyahara or an abstraction of the senses. The senses not only move towards their objects, but identify themselves with the same, assume the form of those objects, become the objects as it were, losing their own self-identity for the time being. The subject becomes the object for all practical purposes. A wrenching oneself away from this false identification with that which one is not and a return to one’s own self – for the time being, the mind – is the process of Pratyahara. Pratyahara means the opposite process.
“Yada panchavatishtante jnanani manasa saha, buddhischa na vicheshtati tamahuh paramam gatim”, says the Kathopanishad. The five senses and the intellect, together with the mind, stand steady, the intellect does not oscillate, and there is an integrated fixity of the total psyche, like the flame of a lamp which does not flicker in a windless place – such is the nature of this great achievement or attainment called Pratyahara.
Excerpts from: Pratyahara - Yoga as a Universal Science by Swami Krishnananda
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The Process of Creation
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Process of Creation by Sri Swami Krishnananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 26 April 2015 21.37 EST | New York Edition** |
The Process of Creation according to Sankhya and the Vedanta
Divine Life Society Publication: Everything About Spiritual Life by Swami Krishnananda
The process of the coming down of the categories of creation, both from the point of view of the Sankhya and the Vedanta. What does the Sankhya say? There is an infinite universal purusha consciousness all pervading. There is a prakriti or the potentiality for the manifestation of all the things of the world. In light of the Sankhya philosophy, this prakriti or the potentiality of creation is made up of three strands, as they call it, the properties sattva, rajas and tamas. The equilibrated condition of the prakriti is called sattva; the rajasic or distracting, dividing activity of prakriti is called rajas; and the inert, non-active, inactive condition is called tamas. When the purusha consciousness reflects itself in this equilibrated aspect of prakriti, it becomes a cosmic conscious potential creative force called Mahat. Sometimes this Mahat is identified with Brahma, the creator, about which we hear much in the Puranas and the epics. This Mahat is a cosmic generality of awareness of everything. In the case of purusha, we cannot say that it is aware of everything, because there is no question of space, time, or anything. So, purusha is just what it is. So, we cannot say purusha is cosmically conscious, etc. That designation is applicable only to Mahat, where the potentialities of space-time emerge, and there is a cosmic consciousness, potential omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. This cosmicality of Mahat becomes conscious of itself: “I am the all-pervading being.” This particular stage is called Ahamkara when the cosmic consciousness makes a cosmic affirmation of this otherwise-universal omnipresence and asserts itself as aham asmi – I am, I am what I am, I am that I am. Don’t mistake this Ahamkara with egoism of a human being. Egoism, as we understand in common parlance, is pride, assertiveness of a bodily individuality. This has to be distinguished completely from the word Ahamkara. Actually, the Sankhya could have used another word, instead of confusing this Ahamkara with that ahamkara. Anyway, this has been called Ahamkara – cosmic awareness of one’s being oneself only, and there is nothing external to oneself.
Here, we have a similarity with the Vedanta doctrine of the Absolute Parabrahman. There also the word prakriti is used. Sometimes, the word maya is used. They are practically the same thing, and the Vedanta also accepts the term prakriti, as we have it in the Mahabharata. The Manusmriti and the Bhagavadgita also accept the presence of a prakriti, though from another standpoint altogether. This prakriti has three strands, as I mentioned, three properties – sattva, rajas and tamas. When this cosmic enlightened condition, pure reflective capacity, receives the cosmic consciousness of the Mahat in its assertive, self-conscious form, it becomes Ahamkara. Thus, we have purusha, prakriti, Mahat, Ahamkara, the categories of descent.
Here, a threefold splitting of operation takes place. The adhyatma, adhibhuta, and adhidaiva stages are supposed to be the threefold ramifications of this central universal Self-consciousness of ‘I am’. What are these three categorisations or split forms? On the one hand, there is the individual observer of the world; on the other hand, there is the observed physical world; in the middle, there is the connecting link – the purusha, Supreme Brahman consciousness itself linking the subject with the object. The objects cannot be known to exist unless the senses are connected to the object through a third medium, which is invisible to the sense organs. That medium is called adhidaiva, a superintending divinity. So, three ramifications take place after the Ahamkara manifests itself – the individual perceiver, the world of objectivity or perception, and the invisible connecting link which is the devata, adhidaiva.
The rajasic aspect of prakriti has created this threefold ramification, and the sattva aspect gives the tinge of consciousness in the individual that cognises. We are aware that we are cognising or perceiving things; this awareness consciousness is a reflection of purusha, Brahma consciousness itself. The differentiation that we feel between ourselves and the object is due to the rajas. The tamas aspect has its own say; space, time, and causation is the first vibratory process in the tamas aspect of prakriti. That condenses itself into a grosser form of vibrations called potentials for the manifestations of the five elements earth, water, fire, air, ether. These potentials are called tanmatras; the pure potentialities of that which is to be manifested afterwards is called tat matra – the essence of the physical world. These are known as the potentiality for hearing, for seeing, for touching, for tasting, for smelling; in Sanskrit they are called sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa, gandha. They are not processes of the senses such as hearing; they are the potentialities which make it possible for us to see, or hear, or touch, etc. These potentialities get condensed in a particular form, called panchakarana. They become actual physical elements of earth, water, fire, air, ether; this is the world before us.
I have described the whole process of creation. Indriyebhyaḥ parā hy arth paraḥ_._ Of course, the senses are a reality for us, but the first step in yoga is knowing the objects which stand by themselves as pure primary qualities – with whom we have to think and with whom we have to be in harmony.
This is a very difficult subject. I am trying to purify your mind, and make you semi-divine at least, if not entirely divine. You will feel surprised that you are living in a different world altogether than what you are seeing with your eyes.
Mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ (Gita 9.17). In the Bhagavadgita Sri Krishna Bhagavan says, “I am the father, I am the mother, I am the grandfather, I am the protector, I am the refuge, I am everything for you. Come on, I shall take care of you.”
This happens when you stand with the things of the world. Never look at them as if they are to be exploited by your perception. These ideas of enjoying them, taking them, repelling them must go. So, I have told you only the first step in yoga – but it is such a tremendous step that it will revolutionise your whole life. You will digest your food better, you will speak nicely, you will become a friend of all people, and the whole world will protect you. Be happy. God bless you.
Excerpts from:** The Process of Creation According to Sankhya and the Vedanta -**Everything About Spiritual Life**by Swami Krishnananda**
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Essence of Vairagya
Spiritual Message for the Day – Essence of Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 25 April 2015 21.17 EST | New York Edition** |
Essence of Vairagya
Divine Life Society Publication: Essence of Vairagya by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
Vairagya is the opposite of Raga (attachment). Vairagya is dispassion. Vairagya is detachment. Vairagya is indifference to sensual enjoyment here and hereafter. It is the second item in Sadhana Chatushtaya—Viveka, Vairagya, Shadsampat and Mumukshutwa.
Vairagya is born of Viveka, or discrimination between Nitya and Anitya (Eternal and non-eternal), Sat and Asat (Real and unreal), Tattwa and Atattwa (Essence and non-essence). Viveka comes through selfless service done in several births and through Puja and Aradhana (worship and adoration of God), and through the Grace of the Lord. From Viveka is born Vairagya. It gives spiritual strength.
A man of Vairagya has no attraction for the material world. So Vairagya is a supreme, inexhaustible wealth for spiritual aspirants. Vairagya aids concentration of mind (Samadhana) and generates burning Mumukshutwa, or strong yearning for Liberation or Emancipation, or Release.
Raga is attachment to objects. Wherever there is a little pleasure, there is Raga. Wherever there is pain, there is dislike. Like and dislike are inter-related. Raga-Dwesha is also one of the important afflictions, according to Patanjali Maharshi. The five afflictions are Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga-Dwesha (like and dislike) and Abhinivesha (clinging to life). First, there is ignorance, the original Avidya. From this is born egoism, Asmita, and from Asmita is born Raga-Dwesha, and from Raga-Dwesha, Abhinivesha, or clinging to this life.
Types of Vairagya
Vairagya is of different types or degrees—Mridu, Madhyama and Teevra (mild, moderate and intense). Intense Vairagya only will help the aspirant to stick to the spiritual path. If it is of a dull type like Smasana Vairagya, the mind will simply be waiting to get back the objects that were renounced previously, and the aspirant will get a downfall. He will not be able to climb again to the heights he formerly reached. So, the aspirants should be careful. Even though their Vairagya is of a mild type, they should try to make it moderate and then intense.
Vairagya comes through looking into the defects of sensual life. Sensual pleasure is not real happiness. It is illusory, transient, impermanent. It is mixed with pain. So, again and again by looking into the defects of sensual life, Vairagya dawns. It should be strengthened through the study of spiritual books, Satsanga, Vichara (discrimination) and enquiry.
Need for Enquiry
Vairagya should be born of discrimination, enquiry and analysis. By these, the mind is weaned from sensual enjoyments and rendered thin like a thread (Tanumanasi) and only then is Vairagya lasting. Again and again you will have to make enquiry. Physical nudity and external penance do not constitute real Vairagya. Real Vairagya should come from enquiry, Vichara. All these material objects do not give us lasting happiness. They lead us unto pain and sorrow. Such deep enquiry, again and again persisted in for a very long time, produces lasting Vairagya.
Vairagya is the real wealth for an aspirant. It helps him to do real Sadhana. It makes the mind introvert. Vairagya puts a brake to the extrovert tendency of the mind. Even if the mind runs towards objects, at once Vairagya will point out that there is pain there, that sensual enjoyment is the cause for rebirth and intense suffering. So the mind is bridled, and gradually through intense practice, it is established in real, lasting, sustained, intense Vairagya.
Vairagya is of two grades: Para (supreme) Vairagya and Apara (relative) Vairagya. Para Vairagya comes after one attains Self-realisation. The whole world then appears like a straw. This gives intense spiritual strength.
An Essential Pre-Requisite
Without Vairagya there cannot be any real spiritual progress. In Vedanta it is the only vital, fundamental Sadhana. If you have Vairagya, all other virtues will come by themselves. Patanjali Maharshi says: Abhyasavairagyabhyam tannirodhah—”the mind is controlled by meditation or Sadhana and Vairagya.” They are the two wings of the aspirant to soar high into the realm of Immortal Abode. The same thing Lord Krishna also says:
Abhyasena tu Kaunteya, vairagyena cha grihyate—”the mind is controlled by practice and dispassion and intense detachment.” By Vairagya, the mind is detached. He who works in a detached way is not bound by Karma (action). So it is the aspirants’ duty to cultivate this one virtue, or Sadhana-anka-Vairagya.
Mental Disposition
Vairagya is, doubtless, a mental state whereby the mind does not run into sensual grooves. It moves towards Atman, towards God. Queen Chudalai ruled a kingdom, and yet she had absolute (Para) Vairagya. Even amidst the temptations of the world, she had mental Vairagya, through Vichara and wisdom. So she was not affected in the least by the attractive objects of the world, whereas her husband, Sikhidhwaja, went to the forest, renouncing his kingdom, and yet he was not established in Vairagya. He was attached to the body; he was attached to his Kamandalu (water-bowl). A man may get attached to any object.
You see a Vairagi, the common type one comes across. His whole body is smeared with ash, but he will fight for a rupee if he finds you giving a rupee to another Vairagi. This is his mental state. So by external appearance you cannot tell that one has Vairagya. Vairagya is a mental disposition. Sri Ramanuja does not belong to this extreme type of Vairagya—wearing only a rope loin cloth. He lived amidst luxurious things, but his mind was not polluted. He had that mental state of Vairagya, detachment, indifference, born of Viveka.
‘Golden Medium’
Lord Krishna says that He is not in favour of extreme asceticism: Karshayantah sareerastham bhootagramamachetasah, Mam chaivantahsareerastham tanvidhyasuranischayan—”They torture all the elements in the body and Me also who dwells in the body”. Lord Buddha also tortured his body in the beginning but later on he found out that there was not much spiritual progress, and then he came to the golden medium, the middle path. So we should go by the middle path always. The body is an instrument for attaining Self-realisation. So you should not torture the body. Whatever is needed for the body, you should have.
You should not expose the body to chill. God has given commonsense. So you should practise commonsense Sadhana. There is no harm in taking good, nutritious food, especially if the constitution requires it. You should use commonsense. If you are weak and if you cannot sit for a long time in one Asana, there is no harm in taking a little Chyavanaprash or some fruits.
Generally aspirants say, “I have given up umbrella,” “I take only one meal.” Their whole Sadhana is, “I have given up shirt, I have given up sweater, I have given up shoes, I live only on bread and dal.” Their Sadhana consists in “giving up”—give up this, give up that. Real spiritual life does not involve any giving up or taking. The only thing is that you should not give too much leniency to the mind. It will hurl you down. Always be watchful. Be eternally vigilant.
Excerpts from: ** **Essence of Vairagya** **by Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda
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