Spiritual Practice
My Initiation and Naming
07/09/2010 01:23 PM
Introduction
I am writing this because I often think of this experience and relate it to people about my own gradual process of spiritual awakening.Moving In
When I moved into the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in August 2005, I lived in a small ‘Tuff Shed’ (basically a garden shed) next to the Durga Temple. In this shed I lived for the majority of the time was at the ashram, excepting the time I was recovering from knee surgery. It had no electricity and no heat. I was told that I was to be ‘The Guardian’ of the eight-sided Durga Temple and I would go and sweep it out, spray off the leaves, pray, meditate and generally maintain the Durga statue (murti) which was installed there by Swami Vishnu-devananda 30 years earlier.Apprehension
My initiation was to take place very soon after I arrived, on what was considered an auspicious day. What I remember most about this whole process of moving in and the initiation, learning about what the deities were (it’s all so confusing!) and so on was just how simultaneously open I was to everything going on then, and at the same time how overwhelming it was. As you can imagine, connecting to a vision of God was a challenge when my chosen form of God wasn’t very familiar to me then. 10-armed goddesses aren’t all that common in the Western World, and so it felt very foreign for me to consider my initiation properly.In the West, we are raised on a steady diet of science and disdain for the myths we frankly don’t understand or grasp the depths of, and I, like many Westerners, therefore dismissed myth by turning it into some sort of simplistic “idol worship”. Still, I could feel my heart drawn toward this more complete and embracing vision of God, and I spent a lot of time at that Durga temple in quiet contemplation of my newfound deity.
Names and Forms
Swami Sita spent a lot of time informing me about the nature of each of the chosen forms, and I had a strong affiliation also (and this continues to this day) to Rama. I understand now that she considered Rama always in the context of a perfect marriage with Sita, and so I think she discouraged me from this path for that reason.So, in the end, my spiritual name was to be Durgadas. Durga being my chosen form of God- or in this case ‘Goddess’- and ‘das’ indicating my relationship to her as a servant. During my many talks with Swami Sita about my name, she indicated that you could indeed have many relationships with God- mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, lover, servant and so on. I tried to consider which relationship I had with my newly expanded understandings and nothing seemed to fit quite right until I thought about the nature of service and soon it became clear to me.
My birth name is Regis, and at that time in my life, I have always felt somehow in a ‘kingly’ sort of position. As an antidote to this, I wanted to be given a more humbling status in the service of God. Therefore I asked to be given this name as a constant reminder of my status and position as a spiritual being.
The Lineage
What I didn’t understand during the period before and even after my initiation was the importance of having a lineage. Subsequently, I have found this same lack of understanding in most Western spiritual aspirants also. It’s a distinctly Western mentality to apply the ‘tyranny of choice’ that is placed upon us throughout our lives to a spiritual teacher, guru or spirituality in general, and I was VERY happy to leave that idea behind. Even though I later left the spiritual teacher who had initiated me, I still carry that experience with me inside. It was a truly special and unique experience as well as amazingly auspicious, but I get ahead of myself.The Saraswati lineage was one of the ten monastic orders founded by Adi Sankara, the great Vedantic philosopher. Swami Sivananda is the main figure in this lineage in modern times, and I can find little on the internet regarding this lineage further back from him.
The Stress of ‘The Night Before’
So, all this confusion led to a really anxious feeling within myself. People kept talking to me about how great the initiation would be, and Swami Sita had spent so much time talking to me about it, and overall it seemed Very Important to everyone I met in my newly minted spiritual life. It was causing all this stress inside me, and I began to question why. Additionally, each night I was walking home in the dark in a strange place out in the country where I was surrounded by more wildlife, deer and while walking each night I imagined other more dangerous things. Spiritual life is a lonely life and I had been quite unsure of myself following my first spiritual teacher’s verbal abuse. That fear stayed with me while moving into this new place also. I was unsure if this rather unusual lifestyle choice was right for me or not. I had no cultural references other than hippies in the 60’s and 70’s who were often exploited or used to some selfish ends by their so-called ‘gurus’. All this left me with quite a bit of stress and uncertainty.Plus, I was really connecting to the energy of Durga- who rides on a tiger, and there was some overheard talk of mountain lions seen in the area recently. The more I thought of Durga each night the more scared I became of attracting her energy and thus, I imagined, I would surely be eaten by a mountain lion on my walk back up to the shed, right?!
The Question Is Answered
Finally, I’d had enough. Halfway up my dark, lonely and scary walk to my new residence, I stopped right in the road, turned my head up to the sky and shouted, out loud:“OK! I’ve had enough!”
“I want to know if this is the right choice for me to make or not!”, I demanded of the starry blackness.
“If it is, then you will show me something right this very second!”
And, just as sure as you get a response from someone you’re speaking with and know well, I GOT my answer.
A small meteorite flew right into the precise area I was looking- very clearly intended for me and exactly on time. Far from being amazed, I was still quite angry and stressed, so I just yelled “OK then!” and began stubbornly walking back up to my little hut. From that moment, I have never questioned my spiritual path, my choice of Durga as my ishta-devata (chosen form of God) or my preference for the yogic lifestyle.
Having set up all my gifts to the deity, emptied my bank account and repo’ed my car, I was fully committed. There was no going back.
The Auspicious Omens Begin
I woke the next morning very early and walked down to the ashram proper to shower, dress and retrieve my gift plate of flowers, money, etc. Another woman was to be initiated also- a daughter of another full-time devotee like myself, and her spiritual name was to be Krishnaprem, The Cosmic Lover of Krishna. Her initiation came first, and I was lucky enough to have the priest there with us, Krishnan Namboodiri. He explained why.His appearance, he said, was quite auspicious and unexpected from the first moment he awoke- everything from his early wakening to the ability to get a car to bring up all the puja items he’d need to conduct the ceremony and so on. All this happened without him planning to attend in the first place. I sat amazed at all of it and trying to tune into the energy of the whole scene, but still feeling the same pensive feeling.
My awareness gradually expanded as I watched the fire ceremony unfold in front of me. I sat back far enough to see a gathering of blue damselflies appear more and more on the roof of the Durga Temple. I knew also that blue was the color of Krishna himself, so I was thinking that these were beautiful omens.
As I watched, I noticed a gap in the red-painted boards where a mouse came out, watched the ceremony for a few minutes, looked at me, and then we went away again. This happened several times throughout the initiation of Krishnaprem. Lord Ganesha’s ‘vehicle’ is a mouse, which is a very auspicious omen also and when I noted this to the priest, he became very serious.
What I was amazed about, truly, was that at the very moment of Krishnaprem’s receiving the kumkum powder on her ajna chakra (between the eyebrows), all the damselflies I had been watching gather descended upon her right arm and clung to her. She was so focused, she didn’t notice them, but I sure did!
Later, the priest and Swami Sita would discuss at some length the remarkable set of omens that presented themselves during this initiation.
The Initiation Itself
So, I had been listening to 3 hours of chants done by the priest, and I went through my ceremony, presenting the gifts and money, prostrating and so on before the Durga statue, and my mind had been fixed on her form throughout the process of Krishnaprem’s initiation. I felt very in tune with her and with my surroundings, but I was still feeling my apprehension! I was still worried that I hadn’t really felt like I thought I ‘should’ feel up to this point and even during the ceremony, something inside me was still holding back.When it finally came time to get my spiritual name, it was what I had been told to expect (you don’t really CHOOSE your own spiritual name, although Swami Sita had been very good about letting me believe I was able to do so), and I inclined my head forward to receive the kumkum powder. Right at this moment of contact, which lingered for a moment, I experienced a feeling like cold water being poured suddenly over my head. From the top of my head to my feet this feeling went through me, and indeed I felt transformed- something special had happened, yet I had little idea of how to put it into context.
We were encouraged to spend a couple of hours without speaking to anyone and to think about what had happened. I did so, but afterward I still had little concept of what I had begun.
My Real Lineage Experience
Only later, after visiting the Sivananda Headquarters in Val Morin Canada, did I REALLY understand the nature of what ‘having a lineage’ meant. What happened was that I had a vision, while doing pranayama, of Swami Vishnu-devananda and Swami Sivananda as conduits for the spiritual energy contained in the thread that connects us. That thread, it seemed to me, was the lineage itself, and in a greater context, a connection to all. I could see and feel Swami Vishnu-devananda and Swami Sivananda flowing within me, and I could feel their nature as being vehicles that serve the spiritual fulfillment of everyone who they met and initiated.So, my REAL initiation, in my mind, took place much later in a yoga hall in Val Morin, where Swami Vishnu-devananda’s energy remains to this day a a palpable experience to the devotee.
Throughout my experiences with initiation and the lineage, I have always run counter to the popular myth that in order to have a guru you have to ‘give up’ some part of yourself. Anyone who says that this is the case doesn’t really understand the energy of a lineage, spiritual apprenticeship or of initiation. It is not a limitation but rather you gain by taking on a teacher- in fact you gain a great deal.
There is nothing the REAL you has to give up at all. However, your ego has much to lose, and doesn’t like it when it’s told something that runs counter to it’s own self-arrogation.
Comments
The In Between
04/20/2010 11:09 AM
Not everyone can drop all life and go live a purely spiritual life in an ashram or a monastery as I did for some years. If you are like me, even though that life has it’s appeal and the lifestyle in general is amazing, it is a stiff board in which to sleep and constantly uncomfortable for one main reason- celibacy (and lack of sleep, haha). The householder life is another spiritual practice, and no less stiff, but for different reasons, in different seasons. All life is negotiating your responses to suffering. How happy you are is an indicator of your success in doing so. Successful or not, it’s still on you. This is true whether you accept it or not. If you opt out, and choose the form of that that looks a great deal like the same thing, it’s still a form of change, and that challenge you put off today waits for your face in the mirror tomorrow.
We all wear a mask: wife, husband, father, mother, son or daughter roles all have their dharma to find. Step out of your family, another role, another dharma awaits. Dharma being defined loosely by me now as that which is the best and least violent path between the challenges of life. Deserve your challenges through your responses to them. This is spiritual life, this is your sadhana. If you find you cannot change your mind enough to endure your karma (fructified actions), find someone who can help you while forcing you to become responsible for your own present and future karma. Karma is a patient Master. It’s job is to administer the suffering you yourself have created.
Do not seek to change circumstances, change the eyes with which you see them, and they will transform like a magic trick before your eyes. Its possible to do this. You will find the resolution to all your paradoxes: The Third Alternative is right next to you right now in between the only two options you see before you.
This poem is an excellent example from an old spiritual tradition that can give heart to those in “regular” householder life and are looking for a way to see that ‘same old same old’ as something different. Please understand that one could easily switch the role of husband or wife here, and that it’s NOT communicating that women are wretched! Unfortunately, most spiritual stories are told in the frame of mind that the male aspect is always the spiritual seeker, but we all know this is not true, so current P.C. false affront is not appropriate as a response to a story such as this.
Sheikh Kharraqani and his Wretched Wife
Don’t look at me.
Fall into the safety of God.
I'm already drowned.
Do I have beard?
I cant remember.
Rescue this man from his mustache,
curling so proudly, while inside he tears
his hair. Married to God, married
to God, but pretending not!
We see distinctly what this imposture
becomes in a hundred years. A sheikh
looks into a chunk of iron like it's a mirror.
What this bushy-bearded man does not discover in his house
a boy could find so easily.
Dive into the ocean.
You're caught in your own pretentious beard
like something you didn't eat.
You're not garbage! Pearls want to be
like you. You should be with them
where waves and fish and pearls and seaweed and wind
are all one. No linking, no hierarchy,
no distinctions, no perplexed wondering, no speech.
Beyond describing.
Either stay here and talk or be there and be silent.
Or do both, by turns.
With those who see double, talk double-talk.
Make noise, beat a drum, think of metaphors!
With friends, say only mystery.
Near roses, sing.
With deceptive people, cover the jar, and shield it.
But be calm with those in duality,
Speak sweetly and reasonably.
Patience polishes and purifies.
Here's the story of a man looking for Sheikh Kharraqani.
A certain dervish goes out from Talaquan, over the mountains
and through a long valley. the injuries and troubles he suffered
deserve mention, but I'll make it short. The young man
arrives at the sheikh's house and knocks.
The sheikh's wife sticks her head out, "What do you want?"
"I come with the intention of seeing the sheikh."
"Oho," laughs the wife, "look at His Reverence! Was there
nothing to do where you live that you came on such an idle
sight-seeing expedition? Do you hate your hometown? Or maybe
Satan led you here by the nose?" I won't tell you all she said.
"Still, I would like to see the sheikh."
"Better you should turn around and go home.
Hundreds of your kind have come like Israelites
to rub their hands on this arrogant gold calf,
parasite, licker-of-platters-on-the-floor,
heavy-slumbering good-for-nothing.
They say, O, this is ecstasy, O.
They forget any real religious ceremony
and ritual prayers."
The young man could stand it no more.
"What is this? Ive been ambushed by a night patrol
in full daylight! Your blitherings try to keep me
from the presence of a holy man,
but I know what light led me here, the same
that turned the golden calf into words in a sacred story.
A saint is a theater where the qualities of God can be seen.
Don't try to keep me out. Puff on this candle,
and your face will get burned! Rather try blowing
out the sun, or fitting a muzzle on the sea!
Old bats, like you dream that their cave-dark
is everywhere, but it's not.
My determination to be in that presence is quick and constant.
You won't stop or slow me.
A revealer of mystery and that which is revealed
are the same. Seed, sowing, growing, harvest, one presence.
The husk, old hag of nagging world,
should bow to that.
Hallaj said, I am God, and lived it out.
What happens when the I disappears?
What's left after not?
Whoever scoffs at these questions and the experiences
they point to, his arrogant spit comes back in his face.
There is no spitting on the way we're on.
Rain itself turns to spit on those who mock
and casually show disrespect to saints."
With that he left the doorway and walked about
asking in the town. Finally someone said, "The qutb
is in the forest collecting wood." The young dervish
ran toward the forest but with a doubt,
"Why should such a sheikh have such a woman
for a wife, such an opposite, such a neanderthal!
God forgive my impugning. Who am I
to judge?" But the question remained.
How could a teacher lie with that woman!
Can a guide agree with a thief?
Suddenly Sheikh Kharraquani appears, riding a lion,
firewood stacked behind him. His whip,
a live serpent. Every Sheikh rides a fierce lion,
whether you see it or not. Know this
with your other eyes: There are thousands of lions
under your teacher's thighs and all of them
stacked with wood!
Kharraqani knew the problem and immediately began to answer,
"Well it's not out of desire that I put up with her!
Don't think that. It's not her perfume
or bright-colored clothes. Enduring her
public disdain has made me strong and patient.
She is my practice. Nothing can be clear
without a polar opposite present. Two banners,
one black, one white, and between them
something gets settled. Between Pharaoh
and Moses, the Red Sea.
You consider issues, but not deeply enough.
Your spring is frozen. Faith is flowing.
Don't try to forge cold iron.
Study David, the ironsmith, and dancer, and musician.
Move into the sun. You're wrapped in fantasy
and inner mumbling. When spirit enters,
a man begins to wander freely,
escaped and overrunning through the garden plants,
spontaneous and soaking in."
We all wear a mask: wife, husband, father, mother, son or daughter roles all have their dharma to find. Step out of your family, another role, another dharma awaits. Dharma being defined loosely by me now as that which is the best and least violent path between the challenges of life. Deserve your challenges through your responses to them. This is spiritual life, this is your sadhana. If you find you cannot change your mind enough to endure your karma (fructified actions), find someone who can help you while forcing you to become responsible for your own present and future karma. Karma is a patient Master. It’s job is to administer the suffering you yourself have created.
Do not seek to change circumstances, change the eyes with which you see them, and they will transform like a magic trick before your eyes. Its possible to do this. You will find the resolution to all your paradoxes: The Third Alternative is right next to you right now in between the only two options you see before you.
This poem is an excellent example from an old spiritual tradition that can give heart to those in “regular” householder life and are looking for a way to see that ‘same old same old’ as something different. Please understand that one could easily switch the role of husband or wife here, and that it’s NOT communicating that women are wretched! Unfortunately, most spiritual stories are told in the frame of mind that the male aspect is always the spiritual seeker, but we all know this is not true, so current P.C. false affront is not appropriate as a response to a story such as this.
Sheikh Kharraqani and his Wretched Wife
Don’t look at me.
Fall into the safety of God.
I'm already drowned.
Do I have beard?
I cant remember.
Rescue this man from his mustache,
curling so proudly, while inside he tears
his hair. Married to God, married
to God, but pretending not!
We see distinctly what this imposture
becomes in a hundred years. A sheikh
looks into a chunk of iron like it's a mirror.
What this bushy-bearded man does not discover in his house
a boy could find so easily.
Dive into the ocean.
You're caught in your own pretentious beard
like something you didn't eat.
You're not garbage! Pearls want to be
like you. You should be with them
where waves and fish and pearls and seaweed and wind
are all one. No linking, no hierarchy,
no distinctions, no perplexed wondering, no speech.
Beyond describing.
Either stay here and talk or be there and be silent.
Or do both, by turns.
With those who see double, talk double-talk.
Make noise, beat a drum, think of metaphors!
With friends, say only mystery.
Near roses, sing.
With deceptive people, cover the jar, and shield it.
But be calm with those in duality,
Speak sweetly and reasonably.
Patience polishes and purifies.
Here's the story of a man looking for Sheikh Kharraqani.
A certain dervish goes out from Talaquan, over the mountains
and through a long valley. the injuries and troubles he suffered
deserve mention, but I'll make it short. The young man
arrives at the sheikh's house and knocks.
The sheikh's wife sticks her head out, "What do you want?"
"I come with the intention of seeing the sheikh."
"Oho," laughs the wife, "look at His Reverence! Was there
nothing to do where you live that you came on such an idle
sight-seeing expedition? Do you hate your hometown? Or maybe
Satan led you here by the nose?" I won't tell you all she said.
"Still, I would like to see the sheikh."
"Better you should turn around and go home.
Hundreds of your kind have come like Israelites
to rub their hands on this arrogant gold calf,
parasite, licker-of-platters-on-the-floor,
heavy-slumbering good-for-nothing.
They say, O, this is ecstasy, O.
They forget any real religious ceremony
and ritual prayers."
The young man could stand it no more.
"What is this? Ive been ambushed by a night patrol
in full daylight! Your blitherings try to keep me
from the presence of a holy man,
but I know what light led me here, the same
that turned the golden calf into words in a sacred story.
A saint is a theater where the qualities of God can be seen.
Don't try to keep me out. Puff on this candle,
and your face will get burned! Rather try blowing
out the sun, or fitting a muzzle on the sea!
Old bats, like you dream that their cave-dark
is everywhere, but it's not.
My determination to be in that presence is quick and constant.
You won't stop or slow me.
A revealer of mystery and that which is revealed
are the same. Seed, sowing, growing, harvest, one presence.
The husk, old hag of nagging world,
should bow to that.
Hallaj said, I am God, and lived it out.
What happens when the I disappears?
What's left after not?
Whoever scoffs at these questions and the experiences
they point to, his arrogant spit comes back in his face.
There is no spitting on the way we're on.
Rain itself turns to spit on those who mock
and casually show disrespect to saints."
With that he left the doorway and walked about
asking in the town. Finally someone said, "The qutb
is in the forest collecting wood." The young dervish
ran toward the forest but with a doubt,
"Why should such a sheikh have such a woman
for a wife, such an opposite, such a neanderthal!
God forgive my impugning. Who am I
to judge?" But the question remained.
How could a teacher lie with that woman!
Can a guide agree with a thief?
Suddenly Sheikh Kharraquani appears, riding a lion,
firewood stacked behind him. His whip,
a live serpent. Every Sheikh rides a fierce lion,
whether you see it or not. Know this
with your other eyes: There are thousands of lions
under your teacher's thighs and all of them
stacked with wood!
Kharraqani knew the problem and immediately began to answer,
"Well it's not out of desire that I put up with her!
Don't think that. It's not her perfume
or bright-colored clothes. Enduring her
public disdain has made me strong and patient.
She is my practice. Nothing can be clear
without a polar opposite present. Two banners,
one black, one white, and between them
something gets settled. Between Pharaoh
and Moses, the Red Sea.
You consider issues, but not deeply enough.
Your spring is frozen. Faith is flowing.
Don't try to forge cold iron.
Study David, the ironsmith, and dancer, and musician.
Move into the sun. You're wrapped in fantasy
and inner mumbling. When spirit enters,
a man begins to wander freely,
escaped and overrunning through the garden plants,
spontaneous and soaking in."
Hinduism by Sri Aurobindo
02/01/2010 02:02 PM
"Hinduism.....gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up no single narrow path or gate of salvation; it was less a creed or cult than a continuously enlarging tradition of the God ward endeavor of the human spirit. An immense many-sided and many staged provision for a spiritual self-building and self-finding, it had some right to speak of itself by the only name it knew, the eternal religion, Santana Dharma...."
- Sri Aurobindo
- Sri Aurobindo
Swami Sivananda Quotes
03/01/2009 04:21 PM
ESSENTIALS ARE SAME
The essentials or fundamentals of all religions are the same. Only
non-essentials differ. `The Noble Eightfold Path' corresponds to `The
Sermon on the Mount' of Lord Jesus, and to the practice of sadacara
(right conduct) of the Hindus. Every religion shows the correct path
to God-realisation.
Every religion emphatically declares: "One can attain eternal bliss,
immortality (God-realisation) . To do this one must speak the truth,
observe purity or self-restraint, love others, and practise
concentration and meditation."
An intolerant man cannot attain God-realisation. As his intellect
becomes clouded on account of intolerance, he cannot grasp the truth.
All prophets are the messengers of God. They are great yogis who have
divine intuitive perception of God. Their words are infallible and
sacred.
Had it not been for these prophets and their writings, there would be
no hope for the salvation and betterment of man. Each prophet helped
mankind by the dissemination of knowledge and the founding of the
religion which would be most suited to the people amongst whom they
flourished. Glory to these prophets and their writings. May their
blessings be upon you all!
Beloved Friends! Behold the unity or oneness of all religions. He who
knows the truth, who has grasped the essence of all religions, will
never again enter into heated debates.
Realise your identity and intimate relationship with all beings -
with ants and dogs, with elephants and tigers, with Muslims and Jews,
with Hindus and Christians. There is only a degree of difference in
manifestation or expression. All forms belong to God or Saguna
Brahman.
May you all live happily, with one heart! May you all understand the
essential unity of all religions! May the blessings of all the
founders of all the religions be upon you! May you all attain God-
realisation in this very life!
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
The essentials or fundamentals of all religions are the same. Only
non-essentials differ. `The Noble Eightfold Path' corresponds to `The
Sermon on the Mount' of Lord Jesus, and to the practice of sadacara
(right conduct) of the Hindus. Every religion shows the correct path
to God-realisation.
Every religion emphatically declares: "One can attain eternal bliss,
immortality (God-realisation) . To do this one must speak the truth,
observe purity or self-restraint, love others, and practise
concentration and meditation."
An intolerant man cannot attain God-realisation. As his intellect
becomes clouded on account of intolerance, he cannot grasp the truth.
All prophets are the messengers of God. They are great yogis who have
divine intuitive perception of God. Their words are infallible and
sacred.
Had it not been for these prophets and their writings, there would be
no hope for the salvation and betterment of man. Each prophet helped
mankind by the dissemination of knowledge and the founding of the
religion which would be most suited to the people amongst whom they
flourished. Glory to these prophets and their writings. May their
blessings be upon you all!
Beloved Friends! Behold the unity or oneness of all religions. He who
knows the truth, who has grasped the essence of all religions, will
never again enter into heated debates.
Realise your identity and intimate relationship with all beings -
with ants and dogs, with elephants and tigers, with Muslims and Jews,
with Hindus and Christians. There is only a degree of difference in
manifestation or expression. All forms belong to God or Saguna
Brahman.
May you all live happily, with one heart! May you all understand the
essential unity of all religions! May the blessings of all the
founders of all the religions be upon you! May you all attain God-
realisation in this very life!
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
Swami Sivananda Quotes
02/28/2009 08:58 AM
LIFE AND DEATH
Death is only a process by which life is continued. Death is not
annihilation of the self. Hence do not be afraid of death. Death is
for the better; it is a blessing. Therefore grieve not. Life is
impossible without death. Death is just another aspect of life. Until
the proper time comes, one's death does not take place, however
serious the disease or accident may seem. When the right time comes,
then one can die by the edge of a straw!
Life is a lightning flash of breath. Time is but a thunder-clap of
death. The doctrine of reincarnation is indeed a great solace to
humanity in so far as it shows a way out from eternal damnation in
hell.
When the lust for life ceases, no further rebirth will take place.
One power works through all hands, sees through all eyes and hears
through all ears. All humanity is one in substance. The same flesh
and the same blood form the body of an American, an Englishman, an
African and an Indian. The instincts and longings are common to all
creatures. This indicates the oneness of all forms of life.
Experiments have revealed life in stone, in wood and in minerals.
They have established the unity of consciousness or the unity of all
life. Prana (energy) is the driving power of the world. Force is
energy. Spiritual force is the saving power. It is the greatest of
all forces. It can control all physical and mental forces.
Physical science is objective and hence cannot lead to absolute
truth. There is a soul behind mind and nature and will. Soul is the
divine essence. The conception of the unity of God is the pivot
around which all other doctrines revolve. No religion, no nation, no
scheme or reform, nor plan for the future of the world, will endure
if it is not based on genuine faith in God. We all belong to one and
the same family, to one and the same house, that of the Supreme Lord -
the creator, the nourisher and the sustainer.
When you look at a tree or a shrub, a Sikh or a Muslim, endeavour to
behold, behind the veil of form, the real hidden consciousness. If
you do this for some time, you will feel inexpressible joy. All
hatred will cease. You will develop cosmic love, or unity of
consciousness. This will be a magnanimous experience.
-Sivananda
Death is only a process by which life is continued. Death is not
annihilation of the self. Hence do not be afraid of death. Death is
for the better; it is a blessing. Therefore grieve not. Life is
impossible without death. Death is just another aspect of life. Until
the proper time comes, one's death does not take place, however
serious the disease or accident may seem. When the right time comes,
then one can die by the edge of a straw!
Life is a lightning flash of breath. Time is but a thunder-clap of
death. The doctrine of reincarnation is indeed a great solace to
humanity in so far as it shows a way out from eternal damnation in
hell.
When the lust for life ceases, no further rebirth will take place.
One power works through all hands, sees through all eyes and hears
through all ears. All humanity is one in substance. The same flesh
and the same blood form the body of an American, an Englishman, an
African and an Indian. The instincts and longings are common to all
creatures. This indicates the oneness of all forms of life.
Experiments have revealed life in stone, in wood and in minerals.
They have established the unity of consciousness or the unity of all
life. Prana (energy) is the driving power of the world. Force is
energy. Spiritual force is the saving power. It is the greatest of
all forces. It can control all physical and mental forces.
Physical science is objective and hence cannot lead to absolute
truth. There is a soul behind mind and nature and will. Soul is the
divine essence. The conception of the unity of God is the pivot
around which all other doctrines revolve. No religion, no nation, no
scheme or reform, nor plan for the future of the world, will endure
if it is not based on genuine faith in God. We all belong to one and
the same family, to one and the same house, that of the Supreme Lord -
the creator, the nourisher and the sustainer.
When you look at a tree or a shrub, a Sikh or a Muslim, endeavour to
behold, behind the veil of form, the real hidden consciousness. If
you do this for some time, you will feel inexpressible joy. All
hatred will cease. You will develop cosmic love, or unity of
consciousness. This will be a magnanimous experience.
-Sivananda
Swami Sivananda Quotes
02/28/2009 08:57 AM
RENOUNCE
Go wherever you like. Go to Kashmir, to Darjeeling, to Vienna or the
Alps, you will not find any real rest.
The charming scenery may soothe the retina for a few seconds but raga
(attraction) , dvesha (aversion), jealousy, passion and greed are
everywhere. You will find the same earth, the same sky, the same air,
the same water everywhere. You carry the same mind with you
everywhere. Imagination and change of place have deceived many
people. Be contented. Live wherever you like - but discipline the
mind and the senses ceaselessly. Meditate on the inner self (antar-
atman) ceaselessly. Here you will find everlasting peace. The mind
will stop deceiving you now.
If you do not have sustained vairagya (dispassion) , you will find no
improvement or progress in spirituality. Vows, austerities, energy
and meditation will leak out like water from a cracked pot.
You have spent eight hours in sleep and the rest in idle gossiping,
telling lies, deceiving others, in selfish activities and in gaining
money. How do you expect any spiritual good?
How do you expect immortality if you do not spend even half an hour
in the service of God, in singing His name and in divine
contemplation? Is there pain or is there pleasure in this world? If
there is pleasure, why do young educated men retire to the forests?
If there is pain, why do young men run after wealth, position and
women?
Ah! Mysterious is maya (illusion). Mysterious is moha (delusion)! Try
to understand the riddle of life and the riddle of the universe.
Acquire viveka (wisdom). Have satsang (holy company). Enquire into
the nature of the atman.
Study the Yoga Vasishta and the Upanishads. Then you will have a
comprehensive understanding of the problems of life. There is not one
iota of happiness in this world.
Renounce this world. Renounce the desire for moksa (liberation) .
Renounce renunciation itself. Then you will become that.
Go wherever you like. Go to Kashmir, to Darjeeling, to Vienna or the
Alps, you will not find any real rest.
The charming scenery may soothe the retina for a few seconds but raga
(attraction) , dvesha (aversion), jealousy, passion and greed are
everywhere. You will find the same earth, the same sky, the same air,
the same water everywhere. You carry the same mind with you
everywhere. Imagination and change of place have deceived many
people. Be contented. Live wherever you like - but discipline the
mind and the senses ceaselessly. Meditate on the inner self (antar-
atman) ceaselessly. Here you will find everlasting peace. The mind
will stop deceiving you now.
If you do not have sustained vairagya (dispassion) , you will find no
improvement or progress in spirituality. Vows, austerities, energy
and meditation will leak out like water from a cracked pot.
You have spent eight hours in sleep and the rest in idle gossiping,
telling lies, deceiving others, in selfish activities and in gaining
money. How do you expect any spiritual good?
How do you expect immortality if you do not spend even half an hour
in the service of God, in singing His name and in divine
contemplation? Is there pain or is there pleasure in this world? If
there is pleasure, why do young educated men retire to the forests?
If there is pain, why do young men run after wealth, position and
women?
Ah! Mysterious is maya (illusion). Mysterious is moha (delusion)! Try
to understand the riddle of life and the riddle of the universe.
Acquire viveka (wisdom). Have satsang (holy company). Enquire into
the nature of the atman.
Study the Yoga Vasishta and the Upanishads. Then you will have a
comprehensive understanding of the problems of life. There is not one
iota of happiness in this world.
Renounce this world. Renounce the desire for moksa (liberation) .
Renounce renunciation itself. Then you will become that.
Swami Sivananda Quotes
02/28/2009 08:36 AM
THIS IS THE WAY TO SPIRITUALISE ALL YOUR ACTIONS
What is divine life? To shed the animal in man and to sublimate the
human in him to the divine; to express the sublimation in his daily
life, in his hourly life, in thought, word and deed. That is divine
life.
To pray, to do japa (repetition of God's name), to sing His glory, to
do kirtan (chanting), to meditate on the Lord, is divine life.
Treat all kinds of work, domestic, official, etc., as service of God.
Surrender all your actions and their fruits to the Lord. Give up
agency. Feel you are an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Actions
will not bind you. Your heart will be purified. The grace and light
of God will descend on you.
THIS IS THE WAY TO SPIRITUALISE ALL YOUR ACTIONS
See God in all beings and things. See the world as a manifestation of
God. It is not necessary to abandon the world in order to have a
vision of God, because the world itself is a manifestation of God.
Listen! Wake up now. Develop dispassion. Do sadhana (spiritual
practice). Beware of the senses. Become desireless.
Understand life. Live divinely. Seek good company. Fear not. Waste
not time. Depend on God.
Spiritual discipline is the key to God-realisation. Discipline the
body and the senses and the mind.
May you attain God-realisation now and here.
Be regular in keeping your spiritual diary. Spiritual progress will
be greatly quickened. Kindly be regular in sending me a copy of your
diary at the end of each month for review and further instructions. I
am immensely pleased to note your regularity in sadhana.
Go to bed early (10 p.m.) and get up early (4 a.m.). The early
morning hours are most favourable for meditation.
Understand life's supreme purpose. Seek the eternal. Realise the
underlying essence.
Have intense thirst for liberation. Die to live. Discipline the mind.
Have self-control.
Learn to be wise. Make the best use of this human birth. Realise the
oneness of existence.
-Sivananda
Religion & Spirituality
02/13/2009 09:06 PM
This Holy Moment
It’s taken an entire life’s practice, much pain and causing of pain throughout. These are the experiences that have stripped me of my pretenses and my self-sabotages. I have gotten in greater touch with the real person who is myself behind the shaming voices of my parents, the culture, and my peers who I see are often as lost as I felt for many years. I would like to be here with you in this recorded moment of writing to honor that in yourself also. Choosing to be here at this precious moment is what is important for me now. At this point in my development, it’s still important for me to share my past as a tool to understand my present. I hope you will join me, here and now.
Scared of Religion
As a 2 year-old child, I was baptized Catholic, and we went often to a Southern Baptist Church; YES, they are as loud as they are reputed to be. When I was two years old- and I think this is my earliest memory- I got scared in a Southern Baptist Church by a man standing up and shouting at the top of his lungs- PRAISE JESUS!!
We lived in a house near a row of Churches in that part of town- maybe a mile or so away. They even had a Campus Life building there at one time, and a man-made pond we used to swim in. Me and my best friend Billy did everything together in that circular neighborhood. I learned to climb trees (and jump off the top of our house), throw a Frisbee, and ride a bicycle at this house. All the houses had a 10 foot grass border around them so you could go anywhere using that, as a kid.
What is amazing is that I still remember the address quite clearly, even though I lived there only the first 3-4 years of my life:
So, we were about a mile away from this house, and I got frightened by this man screaming, so I went home.
Unbeknownst to me, this left the entire congregation looking for me for some hours! According to my mom, they looked for me for quite a long time, and she finally went home to find me there petting the dog, much to her relief. I apparently had no time for her concern.
She says that I apparently looked up at her, serious as anything, and said “Never take me back there.”
It’s very interesting to me that I am so interested in spiritual life and religion as we all feel it was meant to be. I am greatly saddened by the power and control games played by those who are entrusted with our spiritual guidance. At this point in the history of man, it’s unclear which has caused more sadness in the world- religion or political dictators of various sorts.
Freedom
True Religion is about freedom. This is the religion of Swami Sivananda- “I am a true Hindu, a true Sikh, a true Christian, a true Parsee....”
This freedom is won through a cessation of the modifications of the mind, not through repetitions of dogma nor beliefs of various kinds, even though I have them too ingrained in my mind from years in Western culture.
Understanding Ourselves Through Astronomy
It seems clear enough, from factual evidence that much of what we base our religions on is based in seasons, timekeeping, astronomy and eventually astrology. Various political movements, of which Christianity is most popular in the West at the moment, have co-opted the festivals of the pagan religions at the time, and this allowed the acceptance of Catholicism in the Mediterranean countries in power at the time.
Even the story of Jesus has been created from astronomical stories, which are almost universal in nature. In this, the evidence is overwhelming: the birthdate that falls during previously mentioned festivities (aka Winter Solstice), and ‘the three wise men’ (aka the belt of Orion)
and the ‘story’ of the cross (aka: The Northern Cross)
and other such evidence that finds this mythology (derived from astronomy and subsequently astrology) to be almost identical throughout specifically Northern Hemisphere cultures, regardless of origin or influence from outside cultures- Krishna, etc. all have similar birth stories, reincarnation, etc. For a lot of information about the cultural stories about this, just look on the internet. This information is everywhere, like here and here, for example, in far more detail than I could go into here. Many qualified people comment and, I think correctly, rationally examine these questions.
Many myth-busting websites and go into this, and some of the carry on with compelling conspiracy theories of various kinds, and certainly many large and bad things have happened for many, many years under the name of religion. I am not so sure we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and abandon the extraordinary aspects of mystical traditions that are founded on direct experience, rather than any external reflection of stars on our minds or what have you.
Contrarian Religion
However, this is not MY conception of religion, nor is it the context upon which anything on this site would comment. Those with triggers around religion- either for it or against it, will find in these words a decidedly contrarian version of religious life. Religion suffers in the popular conception- as does it’s collary aspects:
It is my perspective that any root level spiritual experience MUST be carried on the living backs of monks of every faith and creed, regardless of the factual basis of their beliefs- be it in Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, or Krishna- or less popular or widespread beliefs.
I believe this way because I believe in mystical traditions that put discipline into turning one’s energy INWARD. This is key. No star or planet can inform one’s mind about the freedom needed for real spiritual progress without turning one’s energy inward. In this discipline, we discover our own freedom. Religion serves us mainly to give us tools to understand the divine in others and therefore ourselves- in our own unique way and to help us turn inward.
“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise men of old. Seek what they sought.” - Matsuo Munefusa (”Basho”)
"No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."
— Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet)
Again and again we are cautioned in this regard, and yet we are lulled by religiosity and righteousness of those who would control us.
Spirituality and religion are meant to teach us one thing:
How To Control Ourselves.
The Four Paths
There are four fundamental paths to work within, one leading to the other:
Mystic traditions include (and often emphasize) the third and fourth, while often most Western traditions do not, with some minor populations inside the Jewish faith that embrace meditation and mysticism. Notice how we remove in Western culture anything but the pragmatic aspects of the third, however, and turn asanas into mere exercise.
The Unknown Third Level: Meditation
Notably, I have observed the common religious experience among Westerners to be mostly of the first and second aspects, and mostly the next stages are denied, or suppressed in their expression. These first two aspects are often coupled with a judgmental attitude toward someone who cannot embrace selfless service or the prioritization of God over one’s self.
These selfless and devoted attitudes are important, yet one must have tools to overcome the mind’s conditioned insistence on left-brained factual aspects to be able to get to it. Mental silence IS the right brain.
Meditation and it’s precedents- yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), pratjahara (withdrawal of the senses), and dharana (concentration), can all give this feeling of connected-ness that is more vast than can be explained in words. It is in this unknown (by most) experience that we find out why true religion and it’s traditions points us to this direction.
This is often experienced as a deep pain and aversion toward ANYTHING religious or even too formal or rigid. Again the pervasiveness of media greatly contributes to this, as you can read in Neil Postman’s work: Teaching as a Conserving Activity.
Christianity in particular seems to place a huge emphasis on “I am nothing, Jesus is everything” and “not my will but thy will, My Lord...” attitudes in their devotees. This emphasis can lead to a system of control easily. If one just does actions in service, one’s service can be taken for granted or misused- like in the case of the military, where enormous discipline is applied to turn one into a tool for killing when ordered to do so.
Far from being subordinate attitudes, these second level attitudes are in fact, the easiest way to reach God-understanding in this age we live in. There is not a lot of thinking involved. Consider the case of Brother Lawrence, for example. Yet, over-emphasize it, or speak to a person without a devotional mindset and we have a recipe for someone to leave religion entirely because of the enormous psychic pressure applied.
Speaking for myself, I didn’t have an easy time (as you can tell from my example of my 2 year old mind’s response!) with the Devotion aspect. Those I teach spirituality to often have a similar problem embracing that type of experience. It take a real humility to accomplish, so one must serve selflessly first to begin to shrink the influence of the ego.
Once I found the third level- path of meditation- I knew it was much more appropriate for me, and it gave me enough tools to manage my emotional chaos so I could clearly see my way to serve and be devoted in a way I hadn’t grasped previously.
Of course, there are negative or dark aspects to all four paths, and one must be cautious not to ‘go to the dark side’ with them. Still, if one can train the body and the mind- in the third level- many other benefits that you may have skipped in a reluctance to embrace the first two can begin to reveal aspects of the mind previously hidden to you.
Since many of us by default and cultural misunderstanding find ourselves in the third level by doing physical asanas, it’s important to grasp what context this is in. Raja yoga is the royal road to liberation from the cycle of birth and death- I encourage you- do not bandy this kingly science about lightly or use these skills for trivial ends or selfish means. Religion is designed to provide a context, and a spiritual teacher’s main job is provide context.
The Misunderstood Fourth Level:
Knowledge
From the dictionary:
1. The state or fact of knowing.
2. Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study.
3. The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned.
4. Learning; erudition: teachers of great knowledge.
5. Specific information about something.
In Yoga, one is more specific about what one ‘knows’ than in a dictionary. It is expected that one deduces from one’s own experience answers to life’s questions. In yoga, however, knowledge also comes from the study of scriptures and applying what you learn to your life. ONLY then does the experience transform you, and only then can knowledge be truly transmitted. It’s the energy behind your decisions, thoughts, actions and words that is transmitted to people.
Context:
1. The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.
2. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.
Many in modern life make a mistake to take merely the words of a person- and, thanks to pervasive media influence- often out of context. Anything taken out of context divides us from each other and from ourselves.
Contextualization is the very heart of knowing itself. Only the energy of putting things in context and perspective can transmit learning to someone else. Hardly ever do we talk about teaching and learning as a method of bracketing experience into a context. In this way, if things are taken out of context for a long time, then it becomes merely book knowledge. Often people with a great grasp of the context of things write books that do not impart this kind of knowing unto others, and as a result, their subject is dry and tasteless. Life is not like that- it’s moist and soft, difficult and agonizing. It’s emotional as well as technical where feelings and needs accompany factual information.
It’s often assumed that factual knowledge feeds needs, yet in our method of schooling and interacting these feelings and needs are stripped from what is said or communicated. This is another great reason why ‘knowledge’ is felt often to be so dry.
Looking into the dictionary definition further, I find context to be an amazing word to describe my point. Consider the first part of the definition: “The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.”
So, if we imagine the fact of modern life being really determined by it’s expression. Through it’s modes of expression we get how we think and feel about ourselves. These thoughts, feelings and needs then get expressed according to our competence at communicating them. If we have been schooled to constantly think of communicating dryly, as I believe we have, through rote memorization and factual regurgitation, we will come to value what has been valued about us- our ability at those things. Punishment and rewards around those dry factual communications will take over our mentality, as I believe it has, and then we will suffer from a lack of connection and a lack of meaning. We will feel separate from ourselves and thus begins a pattern I have talked about before.
Knowing in the context of yoga is far different. It explicitly singles out context and challenges you to find your own context as well. Compassionate Communication helps get us across the gulf between each other to express what is alive in us. What is alive in us is not factual. Any context that doesn’t address the context leaves out a large part of us, and in time we can experience a confusion with how we are being reinforced and how we are feeling and what are needs are.
Religion’s aim is to provide a context for living in connection with one’s True Self. All major religions have at their root an understanding of the human mind designed to relieve the three stresses of life: physical stress, mental stress and spiritual stress. Putting things in context allows one to grasp one’s own way home.
A Child’s Mind
I had no way of understanding this as a child- all I knew was that I was scared. I spent a majority of my life as an atheist. My father would caution me against atheism, saying “you have no way of knowing if there is a God, and therefore, cannot be an atheist.” I took his point to mean that I didn’t recognize a God- in myself or others- and therefore must call myself an agnostic. This was agreeable to me for a time, until I needed a perspective that wasn’t founded in a negative. With this, I began to spend time around people who had a connection to themselves and to others in a profoundly different way.
I had found spiritual life and religion, as I took time to find myself inward. Again, I am using religion in a positive way here. To be clear, ‘Spirituality’ is merely a politically correct term for non-judgemental religious belief. Religion is now clouded in feelings of judgement and ‘the hell that awaits’. Heaven is here and now, no where else. Hell is here and now or not at all. There is no future nor a past, there is only now.
Finding Now
There is a lovely story of a man studying the Hopi language:
Link to the full interview here. Again, in this interview, it’s context that matters.
When one finds now, one finds real religion, real spiritual life, and the source and experience of the mystical traditions stretching back to the beginning of time. What we need is not positive thinking, but right thinking. We need a shift in ourselves to re-contexualize our existence, and meaning automatically follows from it. Living inside meaning is a way I like to describe the feeling I have in my ongoing present.
While some looked outward, many others looked inward. To bridge the gap, many have labored to bring back and preserve much of what was said, observed and experienced by those who lived the calmness of life in true religion. I have gone there later in my life and I can now see clearly the path I took to get here. I enjoy talking about this more than anything else in life, yet I cannot give you my understanding of it. You must find your own.
Stick To It
Be cautious of the internal impulse that allows one to meld every possible spiritual tradition into one- and therefore in practical terms- none. I did this for some time, seeking, seeking, seeking for something that would grab me and allow me to evaluate it according to a list I developed in my logical head about what it “should” look like. This is typically a way to avoid the needed discipline employed by the ego.
Here is a good Q&A from Swami Sivananda about this tendency, couched in a discussion about mantras, but could also be easily applied to any other area of life:
“I know that one should not change one's Mantra, but I have been initiated into a Mantra and since then, I have developed more devotion to a different deity and I feel the vibration of its corresponding Mantra more powerfully. Should I switch anyway?
You are right. One should not switch Mantras. Many meditators share the experience described above. And yet it would be a major mistake to switch Mantras. It is a common mental pattern to get bored with something we have been doing over a long period of time. Everything else seems very new and refreshing in comparison. However, regularity is essential in order to go deeper and deeper in meditation. Switching Mantras every few years or months has been compared to the man who wanted to dig a well in his backyard and kept on digging a new hole, every time it became too hard. At the end the backyard was full of holes and none of the "wells" were deep enough to reach the water.”
This tendency also keeps one separate. I have seen many who do this and turn back at any hint of religious feeling, as the grip of fear is triggered. Look deeper. One must have substantial courage to engage in a religious or spiritual life. To put all one’s moments into a spiritual context is difficult, yet rewarding in ways I hadn’t imagined as a child.
To do so, one must risk being wrong and choose a tradition and stick with it. Develop discrimination about where your fears originate, rather than reflexively ascribing them to your teacher or your chosen tradition.
This is more important than I can express and it’s a first real symptom of one’s ability to control one’s mind. Once this success is with you, it powers many other smaller ones along with it.
There is a tension between controlling one’s Self and being controlled. To walk this fine line takes a keen mind and a patient heart, with a lot of love and support from teachers and people who value religious and spiritual life. Look for this support and you will find it, as I did.
Thanks for your kind attention.
DurgaDas
It’s taken an entire life’s practice, much pain and causing of pain throughout. These are the experiences that have stripped me of my pretenses and my self-sabotages. I have gotten in greater touch with the real person who is myself behind the shaming voices of my parents, the culture, and my peers who I see are often as lost as I felt for many years. I would like to be here with you in this recorded moment of writing to honor that in yourself also. Choosing to be here at this precious moment is what is important for me now. At this point in my development, it’s still important for me to share my past as a tool to understand my present. I hope you will join me, here and now.
Scared of Religion
As a 2 year-old child, I was baptized Catholic, and we went often to a Southern Baptist Church; YES, they are as loud as they are reputed to be. When I was two years old- and I think this is my earliest memory- I got scared in a Southern Baptist Church by a man standing up and shouting at the top of his lungs- PRAISE JESUS!!
We lived in a house near a row of Churches in that part of town- maybe a mile or so away. They even had a Campus Life building there at one time, and a man-made pond we used to swim in. Me and my best friend Billy did everything together in that circular neighborhood. I learned to climb trees (and jump off the top of our house), throw a Frisbee, and ride a bicycle at this house. All the houses had a 10 foot grass border around them so you could go anywhere using that, as a kid.
What is amazing is that I still remember the address quite clearly, even though I lived there only the first 3-4 years of my life:
So, we were about a mile away from this house, and I got frightened by this man screaming, so I went home.
Unbeknownst to me, this left the entire congregation looking for me for some hours! According to my mom, they looked for me for quite a long time, and she finally went home to find me there petting the dog, much to her relief. I apparently had no time for her concern.
She says that I apparently looked up at her, serious as anything, and said “Never take me back there.”
It’s very interesting to me that I am so interested in spiritual life and religion as we all feel it was meant to be. I am greatly saddened by the power and control games played by those who are entrusted with our spiritual guidance. At this point in the history of man, it’s unclear which has caused more sadness in the world- religion or political dictators of various sorts.
Freedom
True Religion is about freedom. This is the religion of Swami Sivananda- “I am a true Hindu, a true Sikh, a true Christian, a true Parsee....”
This freedom is won through a cessation of the modifications of the mind, not through repetitions of dogma nor beliefs of various kinds, even though I have them too ingrained in my mind from years in Western culture.
Understanding Ourselves Through Astronomy
It seems clear enough, from factual evidence that much of what we base our religions on is based in seasons, timekeeping, astronomy and eventually astrology. Various political movements, of which Christianity is most popular in the West at the moment, have co-opted the festivals of the pagan religions at the time, and this allowed the acceptance of Catholicism in the Mediterranean countries in power at the time.
Even the story of Jesus has been created from astronomical stories, which are almost universal in nature. In this, the evidence is overwhelming: the birthdate that falls during previously mentioned festivities (aka Winter Solstice), and ‘the three wise men’ (aka the belt of Orion)
and the ‘story’ of the cross (aka: The Northern Cross)
and other such evidence that finds this mythology (derived from astronomy and subsequently astrology) to be almost identical throughout specifically Northern Hemisphere cultures, regardless of origin or influence from outside cultures- Krishna, etc. all have similar birth stories, reincarnation, etc. For a lot of information about the cultural stories about this, just look on the internet. This information is everywhere, like here and here, for example, in far more detail than I could go into here. Many qualified people comment and, I think correctly, rationally examine these questions.
Many myth-busting websites and go into this, and some of the carry on with compelling conspiracy theories of various kinds, and certainly many large and bad things have happened for many, many years under the name of religion. I am not so sure we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and abandon the extraordinary aspects of mystical traditions that are founded on direct experience, rather than any external reflection of stars on our minds or what have you.
Contrarian Religion
However, this is not MY conception of religion, nor is it the context upon which anything on this site would comment. Those with triggers around religion- either for it or against it, will find in these words a decidedly contrarian version of religious life. Religion suffers in the popular conception- as does it’s collary aspects:
- the value of monastic life
- the quality of monastic devotees (both current and former)
- the mentality of monastic devotees (both current and former)
- the relevance of monastic devotees (their perspective is dated)
It is my perspective that any root level spiritual experience MUST be carried on the living backs of monks of every faith and creed, regardless of the factual basis of their beliefs- be it in Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, or Krishna- or less popular or widespread beliefs.
I believe this way because I believe in mystical traditions that put discipline into turning one’s energy INWARD. This is key. No star or planet can inform one’s mind about the freedom needed for real spiritual progress without turning one’s energy inward. In this discipline, we discover our own freedom. Religion serves us mainly to give us tools to understand the divine in others and therefore ourselves- in our own unique way and to help us turn inward.
“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise men of old. Seek what they sought.” - Matsuo Munefusa (”Basho”)
"No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."
— Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet)
Again and again we are cautioned in this regard, and yet we are lulled by religiosity and righteousness of those who would control us.
Spirituality and religion are meant to teach us one thing:
How To Control Ourselves.
The Four Paths
There are four fundamental paths to work within, one leading to the other:
- Karma (Action)- Selfless Service
- Bhakti- Devotion
- Raja- Meditation
- Jnana- Knowledge
Mystic traditions include (and often emphasize) the third and fourth, while often most Western traditions do not, with some minor populations inside the Jewish faith that embrace meditation and mysticism. Notice how we remove in Western culture anything but the pragmatic aspects of the third, however, and turn asanas into mere exercise.
The Unknown Third Level: Meditation
Notably, I have observed the common religious experience among Westerners to be mostly of the first and second aspects, and mostly the next stages are denied, or suppressed in their expression. These first two aspects are often coupled with a judgmental attitude toward someone who cannot embrace selfless service or the prioritization of God over one’s self.
These selfless and devoted attitudes are important, yet one must have tools to overcome the mind’s conditioned insistence on left-brained factual aspects to be able to get to it. Mental silence IS the right brain.
Meditation and it’s precedents- yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), pratjahara (withdrawal of the senses), and dharana (concentration), can all give this feeling of connected-ness that is more vast than can be explained in words. It is in this unknown (by most) experience that we find out why true religion and it’s traditions points us to this direction.
This is often experienced as a deep pain and aversion toward ANYTHING religious or even too formal or rigid. Again the pervasiveness of media greatly contributes to this, as you can read in Neil Postman’s work: Teaching as a Conserving Activity.
Christianity in particular seems to place a huge emphasis on “I am nothing, Jesus is everything” and “not my will but thy will, My Lord...” attitudes in their devotees. This emphasis can lead to a system of control easily. If one just does actions in service, one’s service can be taken for granted or misused- like in the case of the military, where enormous discipline is applied to turn one into a tool for killing when ordered to do so.
Far from being subordinate attitudes, these second level attitudes are in fact, the easiest way to reach God-understanding in this age we live in. There is not a lot of thinking involved. Consider the case of Brother Lawrence, for example. Yet, over-emphasize it, or speak to a person without a devotional mindset and we have a recipe for someone to leave religion entirely because of the enormous psychic pressure applied.
Speaking for myself, I didn’t have an easy time (as you can tell from my example of my 2 year old mind’s response!) with the Devotion aspect. Those I teach spirituality to often have a similar problem embracing that type of experience. It take a real humility to accomplish, so one must serve selflessly first to begin to shrink the influence of the ego.
Once I found the third level- path of meditation- I knew it was much more appropriate for me, and it gave me enough tools to manage my emotional chaos so I could clearly see my way to serve and be devoted in a way I hadn’t grasped previously.
Of course, there are negative or dark aspects to all four paths, and one must be cautious not to ‘go to the dark side’ with them. Still, if one can train the body and the mind- in the third level- many other benefits that you may have skipped in a reluctance to embrace the first two can begin to reveal aspects of the mind previously hidden to you.
Since many of us by default and cultural misunderstanding find ourselves in the third level by doing physical asanas, it’s important to grasp what context this is in. Raja yoga is the royal road to liberation from the cycle of birth and death- I encourage you- do not bandy this kingly science about lightly or use these skills for trivial ends or selfish means. Religion is designed to provide a context, and a spiritual teacher’s main job is provide context.
The Misunderstood Fourth Level:
Knowledge
From the dictionary:
1. The state or fact of knowing.
2. Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study.
3. The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned.
4. Learning; erudition: teachers of great knowledge.
5. Specific information about something.
In Yoga, one is more specific about what one ‘knows’ than in a dictionary. It is expected that one deduces from one’s own experience answers to life’s questions. In yoga, however, knowledge also comes from the study of scriptures and applying what you learn to your life. ONLY then does the experience transform you, and only then can knowledge be truly transmitted. It’s the energy behind your decisions, thoughts, actions and words that is transmitted to people.
Context:
1. The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.
2. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.
Many in modern life make a mistake to take merely the words of a person- and, thanks to pervasive media influence- often out of context. Anything taken out of context divides us from each other and from ourselves.
Contextualization is the very heart of knowing itself. Only the energy of putting things in context and perspective can transmit learning to someone else. Hardly ever do we talk about teaching and learning as a method of bracketing experience into a context. In this way, if things are taken out of context for a long time, then it becomes merely book knowledge. Often people with a great grasp of the context of things write books that do not impart this kind of knowing unto others, and as a result, their subject is dry and tasteless. Life is not like that- it’s moist and soft, difficult and agonizing. It’s emotional as well as technical where feelings and needs accompany factual information.
It’s often assumed that factual knowledge feeds needs, yet in our method of schooling and interacting these feelings and needs are stripped from what is said or communicated. This is another great reason why ‘knowledge’ is felt often to be so dry.
Looking into the dictionary definition further, I find context to be an amazing word to describe my point. Consider the first part of the definition: “The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.”
So, if we imagine the fact of modern life being really determined by it’s expression. Through it’s modes of expression we get how we think and feel about ourselves. These thoughts, feelings and needs then get expressed according to our competence at communicating them. If we have been schooled to constantly think of communicating dryly, as I believe we have, through rote memorization and factual regurgitation, we will come to value what has been valued about us- our ability at those things. Punishment and rewards around those dry factual communications will take over our mentality, as I believe it has, and then we will suffer from a lack of connection and a lack of meaning. We will feel separate from ourselves and thus begins a pattern I have talked about before.
Knowing in the context of yoga is far different. It explicitly singles out context and challenges you to find your own context as well. Compassionate Communication helps get us across the gulf between each other to express what is alive in us. What is alive in us is not factual. Any context that doesn’t address the context leaves out a large part of us, and in time we can experience a confusion with how we are being reinforced and how we are feeling and what are needs are.
Religion’s aim is to provide a context for living in connection with one’s True Self. All major religions have at their root an understanding of the human mind designed to relieve the three stresses of life: physical stress, mental stress and spiritual stress. Putting things in context allows one to grasp one’s own way home.
A Child’s Mind
I had no way of understanding this as a child- all I knew was that I was scared. I spent a majority of my life as an atheist. My father would caution me against atheism, saying “you have no way of knowing if there is a God, and therefore, cannot be an atheist.” I took his point to mean that I didn’t recognize a God- in myself or others- and therefore must call myself an agnostic. This was agreeable to me for a time, until I needed a perspective that wasn’t founded in a negative. With this, I began to spend time around people who had a connection to themselves and to others in a profoundly different way.
I had found spiritual life and religion, as I took time to find myself inward. Again, I am using religion in a positive way here. To be clear, ‘Spirituality’ is merely a politically correct term for non-judgemental religious belief. Religion is now clouded in feelings of judgement and ‘the hell that awaits’. Heaven is here and now, no where else. Hell is here and now or not at all. There is no future nor a past, there is only now.
Finding Now
There is a lovely story of a man studying the Hopi language:
Link to the full interview here. Again, in this interview, it’s context that matters.
When one finds now, one finds real religion, real spiritual life, and the source and experience of the mystical traditions stretching back to the beginning of time. What we need is not positive thinking, but right thinking. We need a shift in ourselves to re-contexualize our existence, and meaning automatically follows from it. Living inside meaning is a way I like to describe the feeling I have in my ongoing present.
While some looked outward, many others looked inward. To bridge the gap, many have labored to bring back and preserve much of what was said, observed and experienced by those who lived the calmness of life in true religion. I have gone there later in my life and I can now see clearly the path I took to get here. I enjoy talking about this more than anything else in life, yet I cannot give you my understanding of it. You must find your own.
Stick To It
Be cautious of the internal impulse that allows one to meld every possible spiritual tradition into one- and therefore in practical terms- none. I did this for some time, seeking, seeking, seeking for something that would grab me and allow me to evaluate it according to a list I developed in my logical head about what it “should” look like. This is typically a way to avoid the needed discipline employed by the ego.
Here is a good Q&A from Swami Sivananda about this tendency, couched in a discussion about mantras, but could also be easily applied to any other area of life:
“I know that one should not change one's Mantra, but I have been initiated into a Mantra and since then, I have developed more devotion to a different deity and I feel the vibration of its corresponding Mantra more powerfully. Should I switch anyway?
You are right. One should not switch Mantras. Many meditators share the experience described above. And yet it would be a major mistake to switch Mantras. It is a common mental pattern to get bored with something we have been doing over a long period of time. Everything else seems very new and refreshing in comparison. However, regularity is essential in order to go deeper and deeper in meditation. Switching Mantras every few years or months has been compared to the man who wanted to dig a well in his backyard and kept on digging a new hole, every time it became too hard. At the end the backyard was full of holes and none of the "wells" were deep enough to reach the water.”
This tendency also keeps one separate. I have seen many who do this and turn back at any hint of religious feeling, as the grip of fear is triggered. Look deeper. One must have substantial courage to engage in a religious or spiritual life. To put all one’s moments into a spiritual context is difficult, yet rewarding in ways I hadn’t imagined as a child.
To do so, one must risk being wrong and choose a tradition and stick with it. Develop discrimination about where your fears originate, rather than reflexively ascribing them to your teacher or your chosen tradition.
This is more important than I can express and it’s a first real symptom of one’s ability to control one’s mind. Once this success is with you, it powers many other smaller ones along with it.
There is a tension between controlling one’s Self and being controlled. To walk this fine line takes a keen mind and a patient heart, with a lot of love and support from teachers and people who value religious and spiritual life. Look for this support and you will find it, as I did.
Thanks for your kind attention.
DurgaDas
Spiritual Teaching, Training and Coaching
01/28/2009 06:44 PM
In this post, I would like to talk about a subject I have studied at some depth. This is the subject of spiritual training, teaching and coaching: my view of it, of what does it consist, and traps that teachers and students often fall into while doing so. In order to talk about what traps can be fallen into, I would refer you to an excellent article by Swami Venkatesananda, in our Articles page.
Much of the reason I studied this topic was because of the difficulty I have personally experienced in dealing with coaches, spiritual teachers and experiencing myself as a student of these very strong personalities. What I say here is also informed by my own teaching, training and coaching experience in athletic and in spiritual matters for many years.
Then said a teacher, "Speak to us of Teaching."
And he said:
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.
The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding.
The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.
And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.
And even as each one of you stands alone in God’s knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
There are many ways of defining teaching, especially if you look on the internet. For my discussion here, we will assume we have a willing spiritual aspirant or student, for the most part. Given that wIlling-ness is highly variable in students, especially in the Western mentality, I will speak in general rather than specifically, as each approach is tailored to the individual aspirant or student.
Much of the writing on the internet speaks in regard to teaching in public school systems, but this is not what we are talking about here. That tends to follow a British method of instruction, which is fine for left-brained thinking, and often doesn’t help when it comes to right brain thinking, situational awareness, emotional competence or artistic expression. Never mind that the British system has essentially zero recognition of the spiritual life of the person- except maybe that they hold firm in believing whatever is the prevalent ideological ‘religion’ (in the bad sense) of the times.
Difference Between Teaching, Training and Coaching
It’s helpful to speak now about the difference between teaching, training and coaching. The main difference between them is where the expertise resides in the people co-creating the process. If the expertise resides mainly in the person instructing, giving direction, or standing on the stage- AND the student lacks any knowledge of the topic being outlined or shown, then teaching is going on. From the student’s perspective then, teaching ends where experience begins, and training then takes over from teaching, given the student’s increasing body of experience. Training then ends where competence begins in the trainee. Once competence has taken over only coaching can exist between the instructor and student.
Whole, Resourceful, Creative
It is my hope in speaking about these three aspects that it can be explicitly said that these conceptions inherently recognize the fundamental wholeness, resourcefulness, and creativity in people. There ARE Western schools that recognize these traits- like Steiner, Waldorf, Montessori, and newer methods that tend to fall outside public education. If you read the works of such as these, you can find almost verbatim yoga philosophy expressed in these educational standout’s personal world view, teaching method and so on.
Two Views of the Same
The Hindu:
I Am, therefore I am Not, therefore I Am
The Buddhist:
I am Not, therefore I Am, therefore I am Not
Yet, the Dalai Lama himself has said that both views are the same. This viewpoint is true of all real Sadhana (spiritual practice) and follow near-identical principles the world over.
Adult Holistic Learning
So, what does one do if one cannot go back to grade school and learn about how to deal with one’s Self in a holistic way? One can do Classical Yoga practices, of which asanas is merely a part. Yet, in this is a very large shift in perspective that is needed.
When I went into the ashram, it was VERY clear that one key aspect of my approach would need to be behaving as though I was a child again. I needed to be able to accept a radically different perspective on life than I had been presented with up to then. I remember before I went, having a real trouble ‘being a student’. As a coach of elite athletes, I always needed to be in a ‘high’ position, a uniquely ‘special’ quality had to exist about my relating to others, my expectations of people and situations, or I couldn’t handle it. I made many specific and special demands of everyone who would instruct me. Every endeavor I went into required a custom solution especially for me. Suddenly in the mindframe of being a child, then, I had some difficulty with these left-over thoughts from my previous life. I knew my narrow and “ME” centered approach wasn’t allowing me to feel whole any longer, and yet I had a REAL trouble putting myself to service, being humble, not speaking when I knew something and so on. I speak more about these difficulties of Westerners in Eastern spiritual practice here.
So, when I wrote earlier that we were assuming a willing student- this is HUGE ASSUMPTION.
Since at this point, my practice is mainly dealing with adults, I am focused on what it takes to gain some perspective, given a long history of doing things “our way”. The Frank Sinatra song “My Way” is almost a National Anthem in Western cultures, America especially.
What Teaching/Training/Coaching Is NOT
To introduce the student to his/her own mind, then with that mind form words, and speak and sing with the voice that the ages have gifted to that individual, this is the beginning of the real growth and dispensation of the student’s trash and unneeded baggage.
A good teacher, as the quote from ‘The Prophet’ above illustrates, knows what he cannot do. He cannot impart his understanding upon his student. He can only model his understanding. It is where a teacher attempts to impart understanding that teaching often fails. This is why the approach of the British system fails. It simply cannot work. The teacher cannot feel the student’s feelings for them also. If a teacher tries to do this, this then becomes a mechanism of control, and therefore fails both student and teacher.
Rote memorization is needed in some areas, yet it cannot serve as a teaching philosophy. Every student has his/her own voice. It is the job of the teacher to speak to the student in a way that lets the student know that the teacher hears the student’s unique voice. Encouragement or discipline from the teacher inform the voice and bracket it so that it does not slow, tire, or strain itself beyond it’s own growth.
Take Things Out
Spiritual practice is a set of practices that allow for the removal of modifications of the mind. If it serves another purpose, it is not spiritual training.
Thus, it is also easy to notice when one is making progress or not. When one is not making progress, and one is still in practice, it’s often that a larger issue is rising to the surface, ready to become conscious after a period of gestation.
Spiritualizing life is a process of freeing one’s self from coverings, limits, veils of understanding, and all other impediments of perception and conditioning. Any conditioning that is placed upon the person by a teacher is aimed to serve to the purpose of showing a student, in a layered fashion, the nature of reality. The reality is free of all qualities, in any case. While these things can often come all at once- like for someone like Jill Bolte-Taylor, or as a result of many lifetime’s experiences culminating in a chance for this wholesale dropping of one’s illusions- it usually doesn’t work in this way.
Once uncovered, your true nature functions beautifully on it’s own. A teacher has no need to guide a person whose mind is free- they feel and behave in a way that’s peaceful, calm and centered. Such a student navigates even life’s more difficult moments without assistance.
Professional Ego Crushers
Spiritual teachers then, are professional ego crushers. Depending on the style of the teacher, one could be insulted into Self-realization, loved through it, treated with kid gloves or man-handled through it. One teacher may tickle your funny bone, or challenge your intellectual nature.
One teacher may kindly ask you a thousand times the same question, or give you a riddle to work on until it’s grasped before even taking you as a student. Another teacher may not speak to the student at all for a long period even after taking on a new charge, or use stories, art, or any other means to appeal to the student’s mind. Still, their main goal is the attenuation of the ego.
One may use the intellect, another hard physical work. One student may be kept in a small room by himself, and in another situation never given privacy. One teacher may change his approach constantly or teach only one apparently small skill for many many years.
The problem with this from a teacher’s perspective is how to handle this problem of pain for each student. If one is to teach spiritual life, then one MUST accept that it’s painful for the students. No question about it and there is no avoiding it. It’s the very nature of the role. If the guru or teacher is to wash the mind of the student, then detergent is applied and many agitation and spin cycles must be done so that the student becomes clean. Then, with the student’s maturity, the teacher dries out the student on the line, or with further heat to temper his tendencies and allow him/her to move out on his/her own.
Teaching Alchemy
The other challenge is that often the student feels themselves to be something other than they truly are. Their habits and habitual conduct tend toward a specific run of things, and they may feel extreme identification with those habits or lifestyle. To use further our washing machine metaphor, the process of washing often results in the student realizing that they are a silk shirt, not a cotton one. From the student’s view, some sort of alchemy has taken place in the end- lead is transformed into apparent gold. Therefore, a good teacher will adjust his teaching to meet the specific requirement of the fabric washed.
This difficulty is often felt by students in some interesting ways. I myself have experienced a perpetual feeling of being misunderstood. Since I was gold to start with, being treated as such often feels wrong or inappropriate, yet in other, subtle ways is really correct. When the ego struggles to manage the pain of it’s washing and rinsing cycles- they can often feel quite violent, even though it’s only through the clinging of the dirt this pain is felt.
Teaching In Flux
The other aspect is that as the student moves along a holistic growth, different styles must be applied to deal with situations as they come up. For example, the student may not lack discipline in physical postures or mental acuity and attentiveness, yet is very immature emotionally. Therefore, teaching would be appropriate in an emotional way, whereas training or coaching is more appropriate in physical and mental aspects- for the same student.
There are also dependencies- one area a student deals with opens up for them a wholly different area to explore and these explorations have their own life cycles and internal ups and downs. A teacher must be able to read and see these aspects as they arise- not always for the better- and allow the student the space and bracketing (support in a loving, flexible framework) to have problems, even large ones, that eventually resolve in the context of the continuous teaching he/she is given.
Additionally, there is a self-effort that is looked for by the teacher, especially at the start, on the part of the student. There must be a curiosity about the nature of the process the teacher is leading one through, and a faith in the teacher themselves. Just the realization of what the process that the teacher is taking one through is a quite bonding thing for a student. It enables one to take a longer perspective on one’s own development and have faith in the process.
It is quite integrated and assumed therefore that some aspects of what the student will come to realize consciously later be given by the teacher- lovingness, faith, kindness of speech, honesty and compassion throughout the interactions between the two, starting from the beginning. These aspects must come from the heart of the teacher to the student as a result of the teacher’s own practice or integration of the principles taught. This is something the student can feel, not necessarily understand, at first, with the mind. This aspect itself on the part of the teacher leads the growth of the student into the second phase.
Round Rocks in a River
The teacher drops us into this river so that we may learn.
Caressed by the water, we shift a little, this way and that.
It pushes us onto each other, that we may remove a piece of each.
Soon we are all round.
Our forgotten fragments form the salt of this satellite.
Different colors, we abide in this foundation.
In time, we do not hurt each other, and we look much the same.
The round rock is the strongest.
We support each other and the river itself.
Our daily life is the river.
A Second Phase
Now I will change my metaphor to suit the intermediate stages of a student’s development. The washing machine metaphor works at the start of practice, yet after some trials and struggles, the student will mature. Then a teacher must shift the approach. Yet, this decision is NOT for the student to make. Only the teacher can see the student fully, at least until the student is a fair way into their maturity- then they often see it.
Now the washing machine analogy doesn’t work because it’s really the case that the cotton shirt doesn’t change from cotton to silk, but rather transforms from a cotton shirt into a cotton plant- alive and whole unto itself. Gradually, the student begins to shift identification with his former shirt-like self into a larger, holistic and comprehensive definition.
What is True Religion? by Swami Sivananda
01/03/2009 03:13 PM
Thanks to Ganesha on Facebook for this one;
by H.H. Swami Sivananda, pictured below:
Not by mere argument or discussion can religion be taught. Not by precepts or moral canons alone can you convert a person to be religious. Not by point to your loads of sacred literature or miracles of your Chief can an aspirant be won over. Practise religion and live up to its teachings if you want to evolve and attain the Goal of Life. Whatever be your religion, whosoever your prophet, whichever be your language and country, whatever be your age or sex, you can easily grow if you know the way to crush the ego, to destroy the lower nature of the mind and to have mastery over your body, senses and mind. This is what I have found out to be the way for real Peace and bliss eternal. Therefore I do not try to convince people by heated debates and arguments.
Real Religion is Religion of the heart. The heart must be purified first. Truth, love and purity are the basis of real religion. Conquest of the lower nature of man, control of the mind, cultivation of virtues, service of humanity, goodwill, fellowship and mutual amity, constitute the fundamentals of true religion. These ideals are included in the mottoes of the Divine Life Society. I am very particular in propagating these ideals on a wide scale. I do not waste time in finding out suitable authoritative statements from scriptures to satisfy the curiosity of aspirants. I lead a practical life and try to be an example to the students for moulding their lives. Know that true religion begins when you go above body-conciousness. The essence of the teachings of all sages and saints, the fundamentals of all religions and cults, are the same. People needlessly fight over non-essentials and miss the Goal.
May the Divine Life Movement, the harbinger of peace, harmony and exalted life shed its lustre and glory throughout the world.
Om Shanti,
DurgaDas
by H.H. Swami Sivananda, pictured below:
Not by mere argument or discussion can religion be taught. Not by precepts or moral canons alone can you convert a person to be religious. Not by point to your loads of sacred literature or miracles of your Chief can an aspirant be won over. Practise religion and live up to its teachings if you want to evolve and attain the Goal of Life. Whatever be your religion, whosoever your prophet, whichever be your language and country, whatever be your age or sex, you can easily grow if you know the way to crush the ego, to destroy the lower nature of the mind and to have mastery over your body, senses and mind. This is what I have found out to be the way for real Peace and bliss eternal. Therefore I do not try to convince people by heated debates and arguments.
Real Religion is Religion of the heart. The heart must be purified first. Truth, love and purity are the basis of real religion. Conquest of the lower nature of man, control of the mind, cultivation of virtues, service of humanity, goodwill, fellowship and mutual amity, constitute the fundamentals of true religion. These ideals are included in the mottoes of the Divine Life Society. I am very particular in propagating these ideals on a wide scale. I do not waste time in finding out suitable authoritative statements from scriptures to satisfy the curiosity of aspirants. I lead a practical life and try to be an example to the students for moulding their lives. Know that true religion begins when you go above body-conciousness. The essence of the teachings of all sages and saints, the fundamentals of all religions and cults, are the same. People needlessly fight over non-essentials and miss the Goal.
May the Divine Life Movement, the harbinger of peace, harmony and exalted life shed its lustre and glory throughout the world.
Om Shanti,
DurgaDas
New Year's Resolutions
12/29/2008 11:10 AM
We all spend some part of the late half of the wintertime recovering from our holidays and during New Year’s it seems our minds turn toward New Year’s Resolutions. This is a tempting thing to do, given our yearly clock cycle programmed into us by living on this Earth with it’s particular rhythms.
New Year’s Resolutions tempt us to think in terms of urgency, and I agree with that portion of it, yet it can also produce a feeling of overwhelm and passion that fades quickly.
One thing that greatly appeals to me about Yoga as a way of living daily life is that it takes The Ultimate Perspective into account in daily life. Gaining perspective and practicing it in all situations that arise in life is an extremely valuable mental and life tool. All serious forms of spiritual practice take this into account.
I would like to suggest to the readers that we take this long view with us around in our daily lives. Making ‘taking perspective’ practice a habit one can and rightly ought to feel urgency about. Adopting a quick fix in lieu of one’s previously poor habits is not commendable.
By doing so, it reduces our steps from being overwhelming to simpler, more lasting, and much more powerful transformations in our lives. Making small and common changes to our lives consistently over time, then those changes will take on an amazing force in our lives to the positive. I have experienced this for myself to a great degree in the last few years, as they seemingly fly by.
If one is to gain peace in life, one’s ups and downs must merge into a more natural feeling of ebb and flow of energy that is unclaimed and merely IS. This view of energy coming and going then helps tremendously because one moves away from likes and dislikes and one begins to rather see a flow of energy that is not judged as it passes, like a river and one is standing on the bank witnessing its progression. The next year’s coming and going, will, I hope for you be in this spirit, and I would like to encourage you to move this habit into your moment to moment awareness.
From the perspective of a spiritual teacher, one is encouraged to find the teacher within them from the wholeness and silently vast knowing we ALL possess. One way to do so is to look at the long processes and changes one sees in the physical world, and trace those energies back to their source. In modern life, we often can do so through media.
Since our bodies are essentially star-stuff from the transformational causation (for an explanation of this go here) of hydrogen. This new book I am reading
agrees with this fact.
If you would like a further perspective on how calm you can be about the changes in your relatively short life, check out this excellently perspective-giving video, showing 12 billion years in the life of a star in 6 minutes :
and then think about how short a time you have available to you.
Buddhists have a meditation on suffering that allows a perspective to be gained similarly. When one is enduring some suffering, one considers himself to somehow be a proxy or a substitute for all those who might have to endure similar suffering. “May my suffering in this way somehow relieve someone else of their own suffering.” I believe that all those who would pursue spiritual teaching in some way are following this principle and using it to their own benefit. I would hope that you, dear reader, might adopt this perspective-giving attitude.
So, for me in my personal and professional life, I attempt to make the longest viewpoint on whatever I am dealing with in the now, as this flattens out the ups and downs of life. I have thus experienced a real shift in how my perception of problems has accompanied this change in viewpoint. It has allowed me to gain a quiet certitude about the opportunity that is surely revealing itself to me in the guise of a problem. My eyes open to the constancy and positive flow of life around me is not subject any longer to the whim of circumstance, and neither is my attitude and perspective on life.
In making our New Year’s Resolutions, I would suggest flattening out your ambitions to make them more easily palatable and make the changes more long lasting. This applies in large, potentially life-changing ways in the same manner as it would the most mundane of examples I could give. The example I always use of this is one of how when I came to the ashram to live initially, I didn’t really brush my teeth all that reliably. I did it once a day when I woke up whether I needed it or not!
Now I brush, floss, scape my tongue with a tongue scraper, and clean my nose, throat and sinuses with a neti pot every day. This didn’t happen overnight, but energy was put into it and little by little I added more and more mouth care habits into my daily routine without making a big thing of it, either for myself or people around me. Small changes, taken over time to establish good habits.
So what I would suggest then this New Year is that you take a small, silent, and almost invisible approach to your resolutions; keeping your silent intention to yourself so as not to disperse the energy of them. Make a small promise and keep it daily. Nothing anyone would notice. When this is successful- and ONLY then- add another. Keep track of your successes inside yourself, or in your diary that no one else can read. One success will build upon another, and I think you may find it a better 2009 than you may have imagined- one small and silent intention at a time.
Om,
DurgaDas
New Year’s Resolutions tempt us to think in terms of urgency, and I agree with that portion of it, yet it can also produce a feeling of overwhelm and passion that fades quickly.
One thing that greatly appeals to me about Yoga as a way of living daily life is that it takes The Ultimate Perspective into account in daily life. Gaining perspective and practicing it in all situations that arise in life is an extremely valuable mental and life tool. All serious forms of spiritual practice take this into account.
I would like to suggest to the readers that we take this long view with us around in our daily lives. Making ‘taking perspective’ practice a habit one can and rightly ought to feel urgency about. Adopting a quick fix in lieu of one’s previously poor habits is not commendable.
By doing so, it reduces our steps from being overwhelming to simpler, more lasting, and much more powerful transformations in our lives. Making small and common changes to our lives consistently over time, then those changes will take on an amazing force in our lives to the positive. I have experienced this for myself to a great degree in the last few years, as they seemingly fly by.
If one is to gain peace in life, one’s ups and downs must merge into a more natural feeling of ebb and flow of energy that is unclaimed and merely IS. This view of energy coming and going then helps tremendously because one moves away from likes and dislikes and one begins to rather see a flow of energy that is not judged as it passes, like a river and one is standing on the bank witnessing its progression. The next year’s coming and going, will, I hope for you be in this spirit, and I would like to encourage you to move this habit into your moment to moment awareness.
From the perspective of a spiritual teacher, one is encouraged to find the teacher within them from the wholeness and silently vast knowing we ALL possess. One way to do so is to look at the long processes and changes one sees in the physical world, and trace those energies back to their source. In modern life, we often can do so through media.
Since our bodies are essentially star-stuff from the transformational causation (for an explanation of this go here) of hydrogen. This new book I am reading
agrees with this fact.
If you would like a further perspective on how calm you can be about the changes in your relatively short life, check out this excellently perspective-giving video, showing 12 billion years in the life of a star in 6 minutes :
and then think about how short a time you have available to you.
Buddhists have a meditation on suffering that allows a perspective to be gained similarly. When one is enduring some suffering, one considers himself to somehow be a proxy or a substitute for all those who might have to endure similar suffering. “May my suffering in this way somehow relieve someone else of their own suffering.” I believe that all those who would pursue spiritual teaching in some way are following this principle and using it to their own benefit. I would hope that you, dear reader, might adopt this perspective-giving attitude.
So, for me in my personal and professional life, I attempt to make the longest viewpoint on whatever I am dealing with in the now, as this flattens out the ups and downs of life. I have thus experienced a real shift in how my perception of problems has accompanied this change in viewpoint. It has allowed me to gain a quiet certitude about the opportunity that is surely revealing itself to me in the guise of a problem. My eyes open to the constancy and positive flow of life around me is not subject any longer to the whim of circumstance, and neither is my attitude and perspective on life.
In making our New Year’s Resolutions, I would suggest flattening out your ambitions to make them more easily palatable and make the changes more long lasting. This applies in large, potentially life-changing ways in the same manner as it would the most mundane of examples I could give. The example I always use of this is one of how when I came to the ashram to live initially, I didn’t really brush my teeth all that reliably. I did it once a day when I woke up whether I needed it or not!
Now I brush, floss, scape my tongue with a tongue scraper, and clean my nose, throat and sinuses with a neti pot every day. This didn’t happen overnight, but energy was put into it and little by little I added more and more mouth care habits into my daily routine without making a big thing of it, either for myself or people around me. Small changes, taken over time to establish good habits.
So what I would suggest then this New Year is that you take a small, silent, and almost invisible approach to your resolutions; keeping your silent intention to yourself so as not to disperse the energy of them. Make a small promise and keep it daily. Nothing anyone would notice. When this is successful- and ONLY then- add another. Keep track of your successes inside yourself, or in your diary that no one else can read. One success will build upon another, and I think you may find it a better 2009 than you may have imagined- one small and silent intention at a time.
Om,
DurgaDas
Spiritual Teaching and Left/Right Brain Episode 1
12/20/2008 11:45 AM
A Stroke of Insight
One Youtube video that has had a large influence on my thinking about spiritual teaching is “A Stroke of Insight” by Jill-Bolte Taylor, posted below. Many people I have shown this video to have cried during the watching of it, as did I.
The combination of science and her own experience is the kicker for this. This combination allows the very left-brained way of thinking we are taught through the English system of instruction to be convinced of the reality of something else, something hidden from us for a long time. This ‘something else’ we have been experiencing for our whole lives, but haven’t been given permission to explore it, or even know that it’s there.
So, I would say to you, dear reader, *I* give you permission to do this. PLEASE do. To explore the teacher that exists within you through meditation- a right brain activity- and teach your right brain to dominate your left instead. You can then really harness the power of the left brain like Swami Sivananda did.
This internal experience of oneness, and lack of ego she experiences as she talks about her stroke in this video is could be seen as largely the goal of yoga practice. However, depending on the person who is experiencing it, this bliss and oneness can manifest in different forms. For example, Sri Ramakrishna would have episodes of just going into ‘samadhi’ by looking at anything and fall helpless and needing care for a periods of time ranging from a few minutes to months at a time. Apparently, as he got older, this was less random and disruptive to what we would consider regular life.
Still, as I say above, Swami Sivananda’s prodigious intellect was amplified by his samadhi experience, where he would keep many people typing at once on various books and correspondence. . I have heard KrishnaDas in concert speaking about a man who while singing a chant he was learning from a long-time Neem Karoli Baba devotee, this devotee went into samadhi and stopped breathing for long stretches. His description of it is hilarious.
What struck me about this video was that it connected for me the many spiritual instructions I received while I was living at the ashram. All the instructions during the guided meditation portion of satsangs of “Be The Silence. Smell, Touch, Taste The Silence. That Silence is your True Self. Be One with that Silence Now.” really are instructions to move into the space of my right brain. This relieves my ego, located in the left brain, along with all my past hurts and emotional baggage, etc. All the wisdom of “Be Here Now” and Eckart Tolle’s “The Power of Now”, etc. all refer to this.
Since Yoga means union, then, we can say that the balancing of the two hemispheres of the brain- while very different- can be unified and used to exceed our limitations. Yoga provides many tools to do this, but intellectual striving alone simply WILL NOT DO IT. Lifestyle and attitudinal changes must slowly erode this intellectual wall we have largely built around ourselves; but then again, it can can come in a flash, in an instant, too. Struggle, exert- surely you will know God.
One Youtube video that has had a large influence on my thinking about spiritual teaching is “A Stroke of Insight” by Jill-Bolte Taylor, posted below. Many people I have shown this video to have cried during the watching of it, as did I.
The combination of science and her own experience is the kicker for this. This combination allows the very left-brained way of thinking we are taught through the English system of instruction to be convinced of the reality of something else, something hidden from us for a long time. This ‘something else’ we have been experiencing for our whole lives, but haven’t been given permission to explore it, or even know that it’s there.
So, I would say to you, dear reader, *I* give you permission to do this. PLEASE do. To explore the teacher that exists within you through meditation- a right brain activity- and teach your right brain to dominate your left instead. You can then really harness the power of the left brain like Swami Sivananda did.
This internal experience of oneness, and lack of ego she experiences as she talks about her stroke in this video is could be seen as largely the goal of yoga practice. However, depending on the person who is experiencing it, this bliss and oneness can manifest in different forms. For example, Sri Ramakrishna would have episodes of just going into ‘samadhi’ by looking at anything and fall helpless and needing care for a periods of time ranging from a few minutes to months at a time. Apparently, as he got older, this was less random and disruptive to what we would consider regular life.
Still, as I say above, Swami Sivananda’s prodigious intellect was amplified by his samadhi experience, where he would keep many people typing at once on various books and correspondence. . I have heard KrishnaDas in concert speaking about a man who while singing a chant he was learning from a long-time Neem Karoli Baba devotee, this devotee went into samadhi and stopped breathing for long stretches. His description of it is hilarious.
What struck me about this video was that it connected for me the many spiritual instructions I received while I was living at the ashram. All the instructions during the guided meditation portion of satsangs of “Be The Silence. Smell, Touch, Taste The Silence. That Silence is your True Self. Be One with that Silence Now.” really are instructions to move into the space of my right brain. This relieves my ego, located in the left brain, along with all my past hurts and emotional baggage, etc. All the wisdom of “Be Here Now” and Eckart Tolle’s “The Power of Now”, etc. all refer to this.
Since Yoga means union, then, we can say that the balancing of the two hemispheres of the brain- while very different- can be unified and used to exceed our limitations. Yoga provides many tools to do this, but intellectual striving alone simply WILL NOT DO IT. Lifestyle and attitudinal changes must slowly erode this intellectual wall we have largely built around ourselves; but then again, it can can come in a flash, in an instant, too. Struggle, exert- surely you will know God.