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Tantric Gems – 22 Namaskar Welcome to the 22nd edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers different stages in the spiritual path and what should be the object of ideation in meditation. The Sanskrit letter ah is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. This completes all the letters and sounds regarding the 5th chakra. Next issue will go into the 4th chakra. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes * Ananda Sutram: 1-19 Mahadvarjite anagrasare jiivadehe latagulme citta yuktaham undeveloped organisms mahat (pure I feeling) aham (doer-I) citta (objectivated mind) * Subhasita Samgraha: The Path unto the Abode of Beatitude restraint over physical movement and psychic demands know the Supreme Entity as the Lord of all Lords – first phase each and every particle is an indispensable part of the Supreme Entity the Supreme Entity is the Progenitor of all – second phase surmount the waves of degrading tendencies the Supreme Entity alone is the Guru – third phase inseparable unit consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness pinnacled intellect or pointed, apexed mind – fourth phase microvita – subtle cosmic emanations ectoplasm – gives mental faculty endoplasm – gives unit ‘I’ feeling prapatti – 100% reliance on the Supreme Entity sadhaka – spiritual aspirant devotion * Other Works: Microcosm and Its Object of Ideation microcosm object of ideation tempus eternal nature fate sam’skara – reactive momenta accident incident quinquelemental Factors (five factors of solid, liquid, luminous, aerial and ethereal) cosmic energy unit soul or unit spirit causal matrix Parama Purusa – Cosmic Consciousness Baba – ‘the dearest one’ or ‘the nearest one’. BABA NAM KEVALAM – ‘the nearest and dearest one’s name is everywhere’ or ‘God is everywhere’ * Acoustic Roots: ah positive qualities of words negative qualities of words am’ – acoustic root of mentality that is bitter, repulsive, indicative of poison ah – acoustic root of mentality that is sweet, attractive, indicative of nectar vishuddha cakra - fifth chakra as controlling point of visa (poison) or amrta (honey) kurma nadii – nerve point in the throat at bottom-most portion of periphery of vishuddha cakra — Ananda Sutram: 1-19 Mahadvarjite anagrasare jiivadehe latagulme citta yuktaham Purport: It may also be that in the undeveloped organisms or creepers and shrubs the manifestation of mahat (pure I feeling) has not taken place but those of aham (doer-I) and citta (objectivated mind) have. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha: The Path unto the Abode of Beatitude The subject of today’s discourse is "The Path unto the Abode of Beatitude." As you know, the style of movement, and the stamina applied for this movement, vary according to the condition of the path. So here in this case, the path unto the abode of beatitude, unto the establishment in Supreme Consciousness, may also be divided into four different stages, and to cross each and every stage one must move in a particular style, with a particular kind of inspiration and stamina. As I told you yesterday, in the embryonic form, in the starting phase, it is the inborn instincts that may stand in the way, that may create hindrance in your march. One must keep these inborn instincts under control. The reins must not be loosened; in behaviour, in different types of psychic expression, there must be some kind of restraint. Human beings by dint of their own ordinary power very often cannot do this. I already told you that human beings at the most can make efforts, and if Parama Purus’a (Supreme Consciousness) is pleased with their efforts, He will help them with positive microvita *; Parama Purus’a will get the work done with the help of positive microvita. The duty of human beings is only to continue their efforts to please Parama Purus’a. Thus when any work is done, the concerning sa’dhaka (spiritual aspirant) is not to be given any credit; the credit should be given to Parama Purus’a (God). Human beings should always try to please Him to obtain His Grace; that alone will serve the purpose. * Subtle emanations occupying ethereal, psychic or supra-psychic space. So here in this first stage, you will have to go on towards the goal, towards the termination with more and more vitality, and this vitality you are to get from the Supreme Lord. Here Parama Purus’a is your Lord, not only the Lord but the Supreme Lord from whom you are to get the stamina to move on. As I told you yesterday, in this movement one must not go beyond or against the characteristics of vitality. But you should have certain restraints over your physical movement and psychic demands. So in this stage you are to know Parama Purus’a, you are to know the Supreme Entity as the Lord of all Lords. This is the first phase, and in this phase also you are to try your best to bring as many persons, as many spiritual aspirants as possible to do this sacred duty along with you. Now, in the second stratum, the second stage, as I said last night, although it does not concern inborn instincts, it concerns human instincts or instincts not only of human or living beings, but of both animate and inanimate entities; that is, you cannot, you must not neglect those inanimate entities also, because they are also guided by certain characteristics. If you go against their characteristics they will revolt against you and the result may be dangerous. I told you that under such circumstances the physical integrity or physical structure may be in danger. There may be complete disintegration of the physical solidarity – the solidarity of any structure. In this second phase one is to remember that each and every particle of one’s existence, each and every iota, each and every ectoplasm ** of one’s existence, is an indispensable part of the Supreme Entity. In the first phase you are to ask Parama Purus’a for the vitality to fight against your physical frailties, your physical imperfections. In the second phase you are to ask for vitality, psychic vitality, ectoplasm ** under endoplasmic *** coverage from the same Entity – not to fight against your inborn instincts but against your physical or psychic imperfections. ** Ectoplasm gives mental faculty (but endoplasm gives unit "I" feeling). Mind is a particular ectoplasmic state. Ectoplasmic structure is a unitary structure. It is of unit nature – it is a unit structure. It is the unit existential faculty and the unit knowing faculty. *** Endoplasm is the outer surface of ectoplasm. The collective form of ectoplasm increases the sense of individuality — "I" feeling. With the growth of unit ectoplasm its volume and scope increases, and the collective form of ectoplasm will increase. With the increase of the collective form of ectoplasm, the endoplasm will gradually expand and burst. Thus, the unit "I" merges in the Cosmic "I". Endoplasmic structure has minimum "I" feeling. It is of collective nature – it is a collective structure. Endoplasm is collective in nature and ectoplasm is unitary in nature. I already told you that human beings can make progress only up to a certain stage, and if they want to make further progress they will have to divert their psycho-physical longings towards a different and better path, and keep the flow of their movement intact; or they will have to ascribe Macrocosmic grandeur to physical pabulum. The special type of psychic force, the faculty of self-control which human beings require at this stage, lies hidden in human beings – which, in fact, lies hidden in all living beings to a certain extent – but that is not enough to accomplish the task. To do this, they will have to make more and more efforts, and for this they require more and more strength – and they will get this strength from Parama Purus’a. It has already been said that human beings no doubt do sadhana (spiritual practices), but merely by doing sadhana they do not attain anything. Only due to the grace of Parama Purus’a can they attain anything. So to overcome their imperfection and establish themselves in the higher stratum, they will have to seek strength from Parama Purus’a, they will have to approach Parama Purus’a with these words : "Parama Purus’a, I want to move towards you, but I do not have sufficient strength to move. Please give me strength, I want to move on." In this phase, Parama Purus’a is not only the Supreme Lord, but He is something more than that. He is also the Supreme Progenitor. He creates everything, and that is why He is in a position to help you. So you have now understood that in the first phase the Supreme Entity is your Lord, the Lord of all Lords; but in the second phase of your march, He is not only the Lord of all Lords, but He is your Supreme Progenitor as well. When human beings reach the third stage, the speed of their progress is accelerated. The third stage, as I said last night, concerns the psychic pabulum. There is quick progress, no doubt, in this stage, but there are strong possibilities of degradation also. At every step one must move with vigilance. In this stage the spiritual aspirants acquire some occult powers, but these powers may be dangerous after a certain progress. There is every chance of misuse or abuse of those occult powers as a result of which one degenerates. Thus in this stage there are both inner and outer hindrances and obstacles. "Ks’ura.vya dha’ra’ nishita’ duratyaya’ Duram pathastat kavayo vadanti." "The spiritual path is as sharp as the razor’s … read more »
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Tantric Gems – 21 Namaskar Welcome to the 21st edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers the way of the spiritual path and significance of devotion. The Sanskrit letter am’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes * Ananda Sutram: 1 – 18 Mahadahamverjite anagrasare jiivadehe latagulme kevalam cittam undeveloped organisms, creepers and shrubs citta (objective mind) ahamtattva (doer-I) mahattatva (pure I-feeling) * Subhasita Samgraha: What is the Way? shruti – spiritual code smrti – social code muni – an intellectual jina’niis – intellectuals Brahma – God Parama Purus’a – Cosmic Consciousness Parama’tma’ – Supreme Cognition dharma – that which controls human conduct and behaviour vijina’na – science of spirituality (special knowledge) vidya’ – spiritual knowledge avidya’ -worldly knowledge yogashcittavrttinirodhah – suspension of all mental propensities sarvacinta’paritya’go nishcinto yoga ucyate – mind freed from all thoughts sam’yoga yoga ityuktah jiiva’tm’a Parama’tmanah – when unit consciousness and Supreme Consciousness become one (yoga) spiritual progress sa’dhaka – spiritual aspirant gopii bha’va – those whose very nature is to give joy to God devotees and devotion tapah – penance karma – change of position of an object a’sanas - yogic postures * Other Works: Taking the Air pure and fresh air breathe in as fully as possible walk in the fresh air sufficient sweat * Acoustic Roots: am’ am’ – acoustic root of an idea am’ – acoustic root of poisonous mentality ah - acoustic root of pleasant ideation underlying meaning of expression — Ananda Sutram: 1 – 18 Mahadahamverjite anagrasare jiivadehe latagulme kevalam cittam Purport: It may be discernible in the undeveloped organisms or creepers and shrubs that the manifestation of citta (objective mind) only has taken place but not of mahattatva (pure I-feeling) or ahamtattva (doer-I). Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha: What is the Way? The subject of today’s discourse is "What is the Way?" Regarding the proper way, it has been said in the Maha’bha’rata: Shrutayo vibhinna’h smrtayo vibhinna’h Naekamuniryasya matam’ na bhinnam Dharmasya tattvam’ nihitam’ guha’ya’m Maha’jano yena gatah sa pantha’. Shrutayo vibhinna’h: The word shruti means "spiritual code." The ancient people did not know how to write, because they were not acquainted with the scripts – A, B, C, D, or A, A’, Ka, Kha, etc. The people of those days were quite scholarly, no doubt, but the alphabets were not yet invented. Teachers or preceptors used to impart lessons orally, and students would learn by heart from listening to them. There was no way to read or write books. In the absence of script, the scriptures could not be written down. As the pupils would memorize the scriptures by hearing with their ears the discourses from their preceptors, the Vedas were called shruti which in modern Sam’skrta (Sanskrit) means ‘ear’. Now, there is a great deal of difference amongst these religious texts. Naturally the question arises: What will the masses do? Which one will they follow, and which one will they reject? The mutual difference amongst the extant texts is bound to pose a baffling problem to common people. Some scriptures suggest that while worshipping a deity one should sit facing the east, while others advocate sitting facing the west. Under such circumstances, what should people do? Obviously this question agitated people’s minds – which one to accept, and which to reject? Next let us consider the social codes. The purpose of a social code is to formulate relevant laws and provide necessary guidance regarding the establishment of a society free from exploitation – for example, Manusmrti, Para’sharasmrti, (various codes) etc. But here again there are mutual differences amongst the various social codes. So again people face the same problem of who to accept and whom to reject. Smrtayo vibhinna’h: Varying social codes are prevalent in different parts of India. In most of India the Mitaks’ara’ system of social inheritance as enunciated by Manu is prevalent; whereas in Meghalaya the popular system is the matrilineal order; in West Bengal the Da’yabha’ga system; in Kerala the Nayar system. People are confronted with a baffling choice. Naekamuniryasya matam’ na bhinnam: There is a marked difference of opinion amongst the munis. Muni literally means "an intellectual." In the scriptures it has been said, "na munirudugdhaba’lakah munih sam’liiman’anasah", ie a muni is not a mere baby, a muni is one who has attached his or her mind to Parama Purus’a (Supreme Cosmic Consciousness). Just to declare any Ram, Shyam, Tom, Dick or Harry as a muni cannot be accepted; a real muni is one who keeps his or her mind fixed on Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). In the sloka (verse), muni means an intellectual. It is said here that the great intellectuals also differ widely amongst themselves. Different intellectuals have given different interpretations of the scriptures, and there are different commentaries and annotations on the same scriptures. An average person invariably faces a problem to select the right text. According to some, Vyasadeva’s commentary on the Manusam’hita is scientific, and hence more acceptable, whereas in the opinion of other pundits, Jimu’tabahan Bhattacharya’s commentary is more reasonable. Against the backdrop of such a massive variety of literature, the problem of choosing the right text always persists. Dharmasya tattvam’ nihitam’ guha’ya’m: It is said, "Dharmasya tattvam’ nihitam’ guha’ya’m": that is, the inner essence of Dharma is hidden in the existential ‘I’ feeling of the human mind. That which controls human conduct and behaviour – indeed, human beings’ entire lifestyle – is called Dharma. In Dharma lies the greatest joy, the supreme beatitude of human life, the path of realising the Supreme Entity. Hence it is mandatory for all people – young and old, strong and infirm, wise and foolish, to follow Dharma. In Sam’skrta the word guha’ has two meanings: one is ‘cave’ and the other is ‘I’ feeling. The real essence of Dharma, its inner import, is hidden, is hidden in one’s existential ‘I’ feeling. The highest goal of Dharma is spiritual progress; the terminating point of excellence is Parama’tma’, the Supreme Cognition. Where is the abode of this Parama’tma’ (Supreme Soul/Cognition/Consciousness)? Its abode is the human mind. It is meaningless and unnecessary to run hither and thither and to journey to so-called places of pilgrimage in quest of Parama Purus’a (Supreme Consciousness), because God is seated right inside the ‘I’ feeling of the human mind. God is not an object of a distant heaven. Brhacca taddivyamacintyaru’pam’ Su’k’sma’cca tat su’ks’mataram’ vibha’ti Du’ra’t sudu’re tadiha’ntike ca Pashyaltsvihaeva nihitam’ guha’ya’m. Some consider the Supreme Entity to be very vast: in fact He is so vast that it is impossible for them to see Him. Human beings with their limited visual power cannot even have a full view of the vast sky – how can they expect to have a complete view of the Supreme Entity who is immeasurably bigger than the sky? The Sam’skrta word brhat means that which is unfathomable. Others say that Parama Purus’a (the Supreme Entity) is too small and subtle to be seen by anyone. Just as we cannot see a very vast entity, similarly we cannot see a very small entity either. Du’r'at sudu’re: if people think that Parama Purus’a is far from them, then He is very, very far. Du’ra means ‘far’ and sudu’ra means ’so far that the human mind cannot even imagine it’. Tadiha’ntike ca: antike means ‘near’, and ihantike means ’so near, so close that the human mind cannot conceive it’. Those who have the ability, see that Parama’tma’ (Supreme Cognition) is hidden in their very ‘I’ feeling. In this situation, what should people do? It is said, Shrutayo vibhinna’h smrtayo vibhinna’h. The scriptural codes differ from one another, the social codes also vary widely, and the intellectuals also differ amongst themselves on many subjects. But for a lay person, the Vedas are not very important, nor are the social treatises, nor even the utterance of the munis. What is truly important is genuine spiritual knowledge. Thus people should approach only those who have the proper intuitional knowledge, who have realised the Supreme Truth. It is useless for them to go to so-called intellectuals. It is not theoretical knowledge but the practical aspect of spirituality which is really important. By reading books one may know how to prepare rasagollas (sweets) theoretically, but that is not enough. To get the actual taste of a rasagolla, one will have to contact a professional confectioner. Likewise, to realise Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), one will have to come in contact with a Sadguru, a competent spiritual preceptor; for such persons alone can impart suitable lessons regarding spiritual practice. Through the study of books, one can never attain or realise the Supreme Consciousness. Some people say, "Keep on doing good deeds – that is sufficient." No, that is not enough. Suppose some people perform good deeds, but they have no definite goal before them: this will not produce any good result, their effort will be futile. Suppose you want to move forward: you should also know which way to move, otherwise your entire movement will be meaningless. All your time, your hard effort, and your sincerity will go … read more »
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Tantric Gems – 20 Namaskar Welcome to the 20th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers propensities and balance and includes a short fun story. The Sanskrit letter ‘AO’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 – 17 Ahamtattva mahadprabalye bodhih mahatattva (pure I feeling) ahamtattva (doer I) bodhi (intuition) Other Works: Laksman’s Curse Rama and Sita Laksman Goddess of Sleep duty sinners attending religious meetings Subhasita Samgraha: Propensities and Prama propensity – vrtti introversal propensities – sam’vrtti extroversal propensities – pravrtti introversal movement from psychic to psycho-spiritual to spiritual extroversal movement towards crude psychic, psycho-physical or physical pabula gradual identification with crude physicality or matter – prakrtiliina multi-propensive plexus – sahasrara cakra psychic equilibrium – prama’ perfect psychic equilibrium and equipoise – nivrtti grace of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) Macrocosm and microcosm Acoustic Roots: ao movement of posture – mudra rhythmic dance – chandapradhan nrtya mudraic dance – mudrapradhan nrtya done with the hands – shilpana or shilpa occidental dance and oriental dance posture of surrender – namah mudra namah – acoustic root of acquiring greatness in life ao – super-acoustic root of namah ha – acoustic root of the sun, stars and ethereal factor tha – acoustic root of the moon, satellites and related ideas haom – acoustic root of Shivatattva (the factor of Shiva) moon – symbol of the psychic realm sun – symbol of mundane energy hatha’ yoga – combination of mundane energy and psychic realm hatha’ – action done not abruptly but with sudden release of energy Ananda Sutram: 1 – 17 Ahamtattva mahadprabalye bodhih Purport: If the dimension of mahatattva (pure I feeling) be greater than that of ahamtattva (doer I), the surplus part of mahat is called intuition (bodhi). Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Propensities and Prama The subject of today’s discourse is "Propensities and Prama" – "Propensities and Equilibrium/Balance". As you know, propensities are of two kinds: introversal propensities or Sam’vrtti and extroversal propensities or Pravrtti. What is propensity (vrtti)? In the case of introversal propensities, the mind moves towards any spiritual pabulum, any psycho-spiritual pabulum, or in certain cases, any developed psychic pabulum, and the flow of the mind is through different channels of the mind and is a psycho-spiritual thing. So, the ultimate goal is always spiritual although it may apparently be psycho-spiritual or psychic. The subtler the pabulum, the greater is the elevation of the propensities, as they move towards subtler realms. *Introversal movement means movement from psychic to psycho-spiritual to spiritual. In the case of extroversal propensities, the movement of mind is towards condensed or crude psychic, psycho-physical, or physical pabula. And the mind or psycho-physical body moves through different channels of crude mind or crude psycho-physical body. So propensities mean not only physical or psychophysical propensities, but also psychic and psycho-spiritual propensities. But one must remember that in the realm of spirituality, there are no propensities. In the case of microcosm there are both extroversal and introversal propensities (Pravrtti and Samvrtti), but in the case of Macrocosm, there are only introversal ones, no extroversal propensities. Everything is within. The movement of the propensities in Pravrtti is always extroversal, and as there is nothing outside the Macrocosm, there cannot be any extroversal movement at all — the movement is always introversal, every movement is within the Macrocosmic arena. So in the case of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), there are only introversal propensities. Even this expressed quinquelemental (5 fundamental factors – solid, liquid, luminous, aerial/gaseous etherial) universe is within the periphery of the Macrocosmic structure. That is why those who are not cynical or nihilistic in their attitude towards the world, give the philosophical interpretation of the world as "Sam’vrtti bodhicitta" ("internally projected psychic creation, just like a flower or fig"). In the case of both microcosm and Macrocosm, there are many propensities, but they come mainly under fifty groups, and all of these fifty groups have both introversal and extroversal movements. So fifty is multiplied by two: (fifty introversal and fifty extroversal propensities) to give one hundred. And since these one hundred propensities move towards the ten directions*, so one hundred is multiplied by ten: 100 X 10 = 1000. Thus it is said that the vrttis or propensities (or emanations, manifestations, or flows of propensities) are one thousand in number, and they are all controlled by the multi-propensive plexus of the human body (the sahasrara cakra). And the controlling point of this plexus, when pinnacled, touches Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). That state is the state of perfect psychic equilibrium and equipoise – the state of Nivrtti. Nivrtti is the silver line of demarcation between Pravrtti or extroversal propensities, and Samvrtti or introversal propensities. * The six directions of Pradisha (north, south, east, west, above and below) and the four directions of Anudisha (north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west). What is Prama’? Prama’ is psychic equilibrium — equilibrium in the arena of psychic faculty, and equipoise in the arena of psychic mass. In the final stage of Prama’, when there is absolute equilibrium and equipoise in psychic faculty and mass, then the triangle of forces, the triangle of equilibrium, remains undisturbed. (Pra – ma’ + d’a + t’a suffix = Prama’). Now, as I have already said, extroversal propensities move towards crude objects, and introversal propensities move towards the Subtlest Entity. As a result of these extroversal propensities, human beings and other living beings maintain their relationship with the earth. Without the existence of extroversal propensities, no living entity can exist properly on this earth, and without the existence of introversal propensities, one loses all one’s mental faculties; the psychic flow cannot move upward towards subtler levels of existence, and so the mind gradually becomes crudified like stone or iron. All sense of humanity, all refinement and finer sensibilities are smashed into smithereens: the whole human existence is razed to its crudest foundations. That is why those philosophers who propagate materialism in fact mislead human beings towards extroversal propensities and goad them towards crude objects. Is such a state desirable? Certainly not. As there is no scope for or of Nivrtti, there is no equilibrium or equipoise, human beings gradually identify themselves with crude physicality or matter like stone, soil etc. In philosophical terms this is called the state of Prakrtiliina, ie one becomes one with nature. Thus human beings will have to move forward towards the Supreme Entity in the multi-propensive plexus along the path of introversal propensities; their minds must be elevated. But extroversal propensities will always remain in all living creatures. So while moving along this path one will have to maintain adjustment with Pravrtti, the extroversal propensities: they cannot be entirely crushed. Even on the path of introversal propensities there are various obstacles, and those obstacles create uneasiness in the human mind. So human beings will have to move towards the Supreme Entity while simultaneously fighting against these obstacles which are known as Pashas (fetters of the mind) and Ripus (cravings of the external world), internal and external enemies. As a result of their fight, human beings are established in the supreme stance of Nivrtti (perfect psychic equilibrium and equipoise); and when they attain that pinnacled point in the highest cakra (Parama Pada) in the multi-propensive plexus, they reach the supreme goal in human life. Then human beings no longer remain humans: they become veritable gods in human frame. It is possible for one and all to reach this supreme stance; it needs only effort, sincerity, and constant intuitional practice, and also a wee bit of the grace of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). You know that divine grace does not depend on any logic; it depends only on the whims of Parama Purus’a. If Parama Purus’a is satisfied with your intuitional practice, with your sincere zeal then the Supreme Consciousness may bless you so that you can easily reach that Supreme Stance. But if the Supreme does not bless you, then you may attain the goal in theory, but not in practice. Thus everyone will have to seek the blessing of the Divine in order to reach the goal. We say that spiritual progress is effected by the application of positive microvita (very subtle emanations); but in fact even microvitum is nothing but the grace of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). Let human beings perform virtuous deeds, practise meditation, serve the suffering humanity, and in return they will attain the grace of the Supreme Consciousness. Then by His grace they will certainly reach their goal when all the … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 19 Namaskar Welcome to the 19th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers movement and stages of individual and collective life. The tree planting ceremony describes collective life also. The Sanskrit letter ‘o’ is given a mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 – 16 Cittadahamprabalye buddhih aham (doer I) citta (objectivated mind) buddhi (intellect). Subhasita Samgraha: Desideratum of Human Life jagat – moving universe or world four stages of individual existence – wakeful, dream, deep sleep, non-duality turiiya – state of non-duality four stages of collective life – physical, psychic, psycho-spiritual, pure cognition ka’ma – physical attainment artha – removal of pain or suffering dharma – involves converting psychic stuff into cognition Brahmadha’ma’ – pure cognition (abode of the Supreme) primary dharma – bha’gvata dharma – establishment of pure cognition secondary dharma – that of the body, organisms or creatures elevation of mind vritti – mental tendency para’ – spiritual knowledge Ra’ma (a name for God) Na’rayana (another name for God) Other Works: Vrksa Ropana (Planting a Tree) Tantric tree planing ceremony Cosmic blessings service to the plant world beneficial trees Acoustic Roots: o o – super-acoustic root (atiibija or maha’bija) of sva’ha’ sva’ha’ – acoustic root of the completion of an action signifying pious resolve and psychic desire for universal welfare svadha’ – one who is self-reliant Vedic rituals subjective doer I objective done I Ananda Sutram: 1 – 16 Cittadahamprabalye buddhih Purport: If the periphery of aham (doer I) be greater than that of the citta (objectivated mind), the citta-less surplus portion is called intellect (buddhi). Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Desideratum of Human Life In this universe, everything is moving. Whether one wants to or not, one is moving. Movement is the very characteristic, the very nature of this universe. Therefore, the universe or world is called "jagat". The root verb is "Gam" which means ‘to go’. Everyone has to move physically as well as mentally. There is movement in the spirit also. Therefore if one knows which way one should move, there will be no waste of energy. Similarly, it is necessary to know how best to move. "How and where" will give proper direction to the movement. There are four stages of life – the wakeful, the dream, the deep sleep and the Turiiya (the state of non-duality). Out of these, the first three stages are within the scope of expression while they are on the move; in the fourth, there is movement, but no expression. Just as individual life has four stages, so also collective life has four movements or stages. These are: (1) There is the worldly quinquelemental physical existence. In this stage there is an effort to attain name and fame, to procure money, land, property, etc. This is one type of movement. (2) There is the effort to seek psychic or mental treasures or attainments. (3) There is the effort to convert the ectoplasm into cognition or the psycho-spiritual movement. (4) There is the stage of pure cognition. The first is called Ka’ma. It aims at physical attainment. The second is called Artha, which aims at removal of pain. Pain is physical, mental and spiritual, but mainly it is in the psychic realm. When we do not understand something, this also causes mental pain, hence one meaning of Artha is also "meaning". The spirit behind the word Artha is that which removes pain. As the pain of hunger and of many other types is removed by money, so Artha is also used in the sense of money. The scope of psychic wealth is vast, but this also does not last. It does not survive physical death. The psychic impressions which remained unexpressed in the physical arena, remain with the soul; the body is lost into oblivion. A scholar in the next life may be a fool or an illiterate person. Even in this life the mind does not retain its wealth. Think of a big learned man, who has gone mad for an M.A. in philosophy, who does the job of a clerk in a business firm. In this sense, he loses his earnings of mind. Therefore, accumulation of mental wealth is also not a stable position. The third one is to try to convert the psychic stuff into cognition. This effort is called the Dharma. Dharma is of two types – primary and secondary. The primary Dharma is expressed only in human beings. Therefore, the establishment of pure cognition or Bha’gvata Dharma is only possible in humans. Secondary Dharma is that of the body, of various organisms or creatures. When the movement of life reverts to the original state, ie consciousness, there is still movement there but no expression. When "svabha’va" (one’s own nature) is converted into "svarupa" (one’s original stance), "gati" (mobility) continues, but there is no expression. This is the peculiarity of this stage. Here there is no vibration and hence no expression. As this stage is Absolute and Eternal, it cannot be symbolised. The movement of life, therefore, should be from physical to psychic, from psychic to psycho-spiritual and from psycho-spiritual to spiritual. Those who are not moving in this direction are moving towards great catastrophe and in the end, they will finally be converted into iron or wood. All the potentialities and powers of human beings should be fully utilised. From the crude to the subtle and from the subtle to the causal, and from the causal to that which is beyond cause and effect, is the path of progress. You will follow this path and this will lead you to your desideratum. In the process of Saincara (extroversial flow) the abstract is crudified, and in the reverse process matter is powdered down and becomes subtler and subtler until it is fully liberated from the crudifying effect. Therefore, one has to avoid depraving propensities which lead to more physicality, and promote elevating tendencies of mind (vrittis). The correct way to get rid of depraving tendencies is not to repeat to oneself that I shall avoid this tendency or that. Suppression is not the proper way to weaken these tendencies. Do not suppress, but channelise – humans are psychic beings. Reconvert the psychic into the spiritual. Let elevating tendencies be converted into a spiritual wave. There are 49 propensities (vrittis). Collect them and awaken the 50th, the "Para" vrtti. When this will be awakened, you will enter the realm of pure cognition, which is called "Brahmadha’ma’" or the abode of the Supreme. The mind has to be made one-pointed. As long as this is not done, you will not be established in pure consciousness. Devotion to the Supreme Entity is withdrawal of all other attachments and their concentration into Vis’n'u or Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). The foundation or the base of all other propensities is unstable. Only the base of the 50th propensity, ie Para’ (spiritual knowledge – beyond the scope of all changes, beyond the scope of all transformations) is stable in the Supreme Entity. The stable base is one and not many. One has to be persistent and tenacious in this respect. You have to adopt only one goal, one base and one name. By keeping more than one direction, the Para will be distorted – the psycho-spiritual wave will not be consolidated. Remember that for you there is only one name of the Supreme Entity and not many like Ka’li, Vis’n'u, etc. In this regard, the story of Hanuma’na is very instructive. Someone asked him, "Hanuma’nji, you are always repeating ‘Ra’m, Ra’m’ and never uttering the name of ‘Na’ra’yan’a.’ What is the matter? Hanuma’n said that although he knew that Ra’ma and Na’rayana are one and the same, even then he accepted Ra’ma as his only Lord." "Srinatha Janakinathe ca’bhede parama’tmani" The meanings of the word ‘Ra’ma’ are many, but they lead to the same truth, ie Parama Purus’a (the Cosmic Consciousness). The first meaning is "Ramante yoginah yasmin’". The entity upon which the yogis meditate is Ra’ma, ie Parama Purus’a. The second meaning is "Ra’ti "Mahiidhara". The one who is most resplendent, the light from which all other lights derive their power to enlighten. This also means Parama Purus’a. The third is "Ra’van’asya Maran’am Ra’mah" – the one who kills the ten-faced demon Ra’vana is called Ra’ma. The ten-faced demon is none other than the base propensities of human mind which function in all ten directions. Only when you go into the shelter of the Parama Purus’a this ten-faced demon is killed. Similarly, the word "Na’ra’ya’na"’ also means Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). Na’ra has three meanings: (1) water, (2) Parama’ Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Force) and (3) devotion. The word Ayana means the shelter, therefore, one who is the abode of devotion; it also means the Parama Purus’a. Hence, it is clear that for the sake of psycho-spiritual progress one-mindedness is very necessary. Para’ma (the Cosmic) needs only one idea and no confusion. There should be one aim, one way and one name to guide a person on the way. None of these should be two in number. When one makes progress on this path, one will notice that there is movement in the spiritual realm, not only movement but acceleration also. In fact, there is no pause on this way and it is an eternal … read more »
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Tantric Gems – 18 Namaskar Welcome to the 18th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers universal well being and the process of vocalisation and its relation to cakras. The Sanskrit letter ‘ae’ is releant here as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 – 15 Suksamabhimukhiniigatirudaye ahamtattvanmahat vidya shakti (introversial force) rajoguna (mutative principle) sattvaguna (sentient principle). ahamtattva (doer I) mahatattva (pure I feeling.) Subhasita Samgraha: Macrocosm Macropsychic emanation Macropsychic connation microcosm micropsychic connation micropsychic longing auto-internal projection outer external projection khud parastii – self-centered khuda’ parastii – God-centered . liila’ – divine game yoga – unification of unit mind with Macrocosmic Mind Gondwanaland Other Works: The Continuous Effort to Promote Universal Well-being – Part 1 yatama’na – one who is endeavouring sanction of mind sanction of self (a’tman) noble philosophy human unity universal well-being universal sentiments conscience intellectual slavery animality exploitation Acoustic Roots: ae ae and aem acoustic root vas’at’ thought of welfare and materialisation of welfare in the subtler sphere 6 stages of linguistic expression para (at muladhara cakra) – seed of vocal expression pashyanti (at svadhisthana cakra) – mental visualisation of what one is going to communicate madhyama (manipur cakra) – ideas of the psychic world are added to with vital or internal energy dyotama’na’ (anahata cakra) – transformation of ideas into vocal expression or physical energy vaekharii (vishuddha cakra) – energy with which the mental ideal actually takes the form of language shrutigochara’ – energy through which the last stage of vocalisation is complete, through which the exact language is conveyed to the human ears aparashakti – shakti (energy) with which unit beings discharge their physico-psycho-spiritual actions parashakti – shakti (energy) with which unit beings direct their physico-psycho-spiritual efforts towards the divine Ananda Sutram: 1 – 15 Suksamabhimukhiniigatirudaye ahamtattvanmahat Purport: By the attraction of the introversial force (vidya shakti) even the influence of rajoguna (mutative principle) over ahamtattva (doer I) gradually starts shedding, indicating the predominance of sattvaguna (sentient principle). The part of ahamtattva where the predominance of sattvaguna is established, is called mahatattva (pure I feeling.) Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Macropsychic Connation and Micropsychic Longings The subject of today’s discourse is "Macropsychic Connation and Micropsychic Longings." The microcosm cannot remain without thinking — to remain at a standstill is not its nature. Think it must. And is the Macrocosm also compelled to think? Partly yes, partly no. When the balance in the triangle of binding fetters is maintained, there is no expression of creation, and then the Macrocosm does not think at all. But as soon as the supreme triangle is imbalanced and its equilibrium and equipoise are lost, then the attributional expressions of creation start from one of the vertices of the triangle, and then the Macrocosm also cannot remain without thinking. It is bound to think of something; it thinks of its created objects. A microcosm, a unit being, may think, "I am an insignificant person, I am not educated, I have neither intellect nor erudition nor wealth. Does Parama Purus’a (the Cosmic Consciousness) think of me also? Me, a very small insignificant microcosm?" They should remember that Parama Purus’a not only does think of them, He is bound to think of them by force of circumstances. Parama Purus’a cannot think, "These are just very ordinary human beings merely managing to make both ends meet — I can’t think of them!" He cannot think like this, because by providential decree the Macrocosm is bound to think of His created objects — He cannot forget them. And does He think only of a human being, or only of a white ant? No, He thinks of all. Sama plus’in’a’ sama mashakena Sama nagena sama ebhistribhih lakaeh. He looks upon a tiny white ant with as much love and affection as on a mosquito. Nor does He think of a large mammoth more than other entities, for a mammoth has a mind just as an ant has. So He thinks equally of all: He thinks of a white ant or a mosquito with the same seriousness as of a mammoth or an elephant, and He attaches the same importance to each individual creature as to all the three worlds. So you understand that you are not at all insignificant: your existential value is very great. Just as the Macrocosm thinks of the microcosm, so the microcosm also thinks of the Macrocosm: Macrocosm meditates on microcosm and microcosm meditates on Macrocosm. But what happens as a result of this mutual thinking? The microcosms attract the Macrocosm within themselves, and the Macrocosm arouses supreme devotion in the microcosms, and bestows permanent liberation upon them. Because of this meditative emanation of the Macrocosm, the universe moves, and because of the longings of the microcosm for the Macrocosm, the unit moves from zero point to the vast range of infinity. When the mental object of the unit mind is crude, the unit mind drifts away from the Macrocosm; but even while thinking of crude objects, if one ideates on Cosmic Consciousness even for some time one attains a certain degree of progress and moves towards Parama Purus’a, towards permanent liberation. This is the eternal liila’ (divine game) of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). When human beings bring something within the scope of their intellect, and by perceiving and observing it closely, can understand the cause behind it, this is called kriida’; and when the cause is beyond the scope of their thinking it is called liila’. Whatever the Macrocosm does is beyond the periphery of the human intellect, and that is why whatever He does is His liila’. In the process of thinking, if the microcosm’s full energy of thought is devoted to Parama Purus’a, then suspension of thought will result, and a temporary state of effortlessness or inaction of mind which is called yoga. Sarvacinta’ ta’ paritya’go Niscinto yoga ucyate Two plus two equals four: this addition is called yoga; and the merger of the unit mind in the Cosmic Mind is also called yoga. But the difference between these two types of yoga is that one is the yoga of addition (yuj + ghain) and the other is the yoga of unification of unit mind with Macrocosmic Mind (yunj + ghain). If you put sand and sugar together, they become mixed but they do not become one – the sand and sugar are still separate. But if sugar and water are mixed together they become one – sugar water. Can you separate the sugar from the water? No, you cannot, because they are already unified. Now, these two processes are occurring simultaneously – micropsychic connation and micropsychic longing: but the difference between the thought of Macrocosm and of microcosm is that what the microcosm thinks is an auto-internal projection; but what the Macrocosm thinks, His auto-internal projection is the attributional emanation of the universe. He creates everything within; there is nothing without. Everything in this universe, even a blade of grass, is within His vast mind, within the mind of the Great Purus’a, the Great Entity, the Macrocosm. The auto-internal projection of the Macrocosm is the outer external projection for the microcosm: it becomes an outer reality. But the auto-internal projection of the microcosm is simply a psychic phenomenon, which although it may be important for that microcosm, has no value for another microcosm because that other microcosm will not feel or realise it as a reality. This is the fundamental difference between Macropsychic connation and micropsychic longings: Macropsychic connation, what the Macrocosm thinks, is a reality for the microcosms, whereas micropsychic longings and desires are created on the basis of the external experience of the microcosms projected within their small minds, and have no real value in this universe. Macro-psychic connation, based on Macropsychic existence has the faculty of greatness, and micropsychic longings created by micropsychic entities have the faculty of desiring or wanting something from somebody else. This is the difference also: the attribution of the Cosmic Mind is greatness, and that of the unit mind is smallness. Eta’vupa’dhi para jiivayostayo Samyag nira’sena para najiivo Rajyam’ nar’endrasya bhat’asya kheta’ka Stayorapohena bhat’o na raja’. Tayorvirodho’yamupa’dhih kalpito Nava’stavah kashcidupa’dhires’ah Isha’dya ma’ya’ mahada’dika’ran’am’ Jiivasya ka’yam’ shrn’u paincakos’am. The attribute of controlling everything internally and externally is the wont of Macrocosm, and that of being guided by the guiding faculty of Macrocosm is the wont of microcosm. By dint of one’s own sadhana (spiritual practices) – by taking the Supreme as its object and ascribing Godhood to whatever it sees, feels or realises through different inferences, the microcosm becomes one with the Macrocosm and acquires the faculty of Macrocosm. This is the goal of human life. Now, those who think that this universe is not a reality … read more »
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Tantric Gems – 17 Namaskar Welcome to the 17th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers things to do with words and sound vibrations and their relation to psychic energy centres. The Sanskrit letter ‘e’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1–14: Cittat gunavaksaye rajogunaprabalye aham Cosmic Nucleus (Purusottama) introversial force (vidya shakti) static principle (tamoguna) mutative principle (rajoguna) doer I or owner I. (ahamtattva) Other Works: The Attainment of Permanent Composure Veda (knowledge) – Rk Veda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, Sa’ma Veda seven musical notes evolved from sounds of seven animals (s’a-re-ga’-ma’-pa’-dha’-ni) seven acoustic sounds – S’abdha Brahma’ (omn, hum’, phat, vaos’at’, va’s’at, sva’ha, namah) sixteen sounds controlled by the vocal chord (seven musical notes, seven acoustic sounds, `vis’a’ [angry dissent] and `amrta’ [deep affection]) six stages in the formation of words (para’, pashyantii, madhyama’, dyotama’na’, vaekharii, shrutigocarah’) and their relationship to cakras (psychic energy centres or plexi) para (the primordial seed of a word) pashyantii (the sprout or visualisation of an idea) madhya’ma’ (consolidation of an idea to give it a picture) dyotama’na’ (inner urge to express the idea) vaekharii (transformation of ideas into language) shrutigocarah (the audible form of a word) prasha’nti (permanent composure) Subhasita Samgraha: The Lord and His Name Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) Parama’ Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Force) Brahma (composite of Shiva and Shakti) Shiva (the transcendental principle) Shakti (the immanent principle) Na’ra’yan’a – Cognitive Principle (shelter of the Operative Principle) Na’rada – donor of bhakti (devotion) Ma’dhava – Controller of Prakrti/Shakti Rama – shelter of Supreme Beatitude Acoustic Roots: e e – atibiija or super acoustic root of the vibrations of vaos’at’ vaos’at’ – rhythmic expression of mundane knowledge, the sprouting of mundane knowledge, mundane welfare, and the thought of mundane welfare Ananda Sutram: 1–14: Cittat gunavaksaye rajogunaprabalye aham Purport: When, by the attraction of the Cosmic Nucleus (Purusottama), the mind-stuff is gradually goaded forward under the influence of the introversial force or vidya shakti, the predominance of the static principle (tamoguna) gradually wanes and the increasing influence of the mutative principle (rajoguna) becomes evident. The part of the mind-body where the predominance of rajoguna is noticeable, is called ahamtattva or doer I or owner I. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: The Lord and His Name The Cognitive Principle is the singular entity, but people give Him so many names according to their respective cogitative projections. A spiritual aspirant has nothing to do with the quarrel or the controversy regarding the magnanimity of these many names as the spiritual aspirant knows that the inner spirit of all these names is the same. Now, let us take these names one by one. The most popular name is Na’ra’yan’a. What is the inner meaning of Na’ra’yan’a? The word ‘Na’ra’yan’a’ has been composed of Na’ra + yana and the inner meaning of Nara’ra’yan’a is Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). The word Na’ra has got three meanings in Sam’skrta (Sanskrit). One meaning of ‘Na’ra’ is devotion (bhakti). You know there was a great sage Na’rada which means the donor of bhakti. ‘Da’ means donor, so Na’rada means one who distributes devotion. Another meaning of ‘Na’ra’ is water (niira). The third meaning is Supreme Operative Principle or Parama’ Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Force). Then what is the meaning of Na’ra’yan’a? Sometimes the word ‘Prakrti’ (Operative Principle) is erroneously used for nature. We say "it is a natural creation", but there is a difference between nature and Prakrti. Nature is the functional style of Prakrti, Prakrti is not nature. So Prakrti, the Operative Principle gets shelter in Na’ra’yan’a, as ‘Ayana’ means shelter. Then Na’ra’yan’a means the shelter of the Supreme Operative Principle, who is the superstratum of Supreme Operative Principle. It is Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) the Supreme Cognitive Principle, which is the transcendental and all-pervading entity. So Na’ra’yan’a means Parama Purus’a. Then another popular name is Shiva. Shiva and Shakti are the two aspects of the same reality. Shakti is not a separate entity: Shakti is the immanent principle and Shiva the transcendental. ‘Shakti’ means Operative Principle. In every action, two principles are required, one cognitive and another operative. Suppose you are a mechanic, you are operating a machine. In that case also two principles are working. You are operating the machine according to the dictates of your brain. So here this power of regulating the machine acts as the cognitive principle; the link, that is the muscles with which you are operating the machinery, become the operative principle. The universe is also created by principles — the Cognitive Principle, Parama Purus’a and the Operative Principle — Parama Prakrti. Though it sounds dualistic in theory it is monistic in its spirit. The composite name of Shiva and Shakti is Brahma. So here Shiva means this Cognitive Principle which means the Caetanya, the Cosmic Consciousness. Na’ra’yan’a means the Supreme consciousness and Shiva also means the Supreme Consciousness, so there is no difference between Na’ra’yan’a and Shiva. Now, let us take another word — Ma’dhava. In Sam’skrta (Sanskrit) ‘Ma’ has got three meanings. One meaning of ‘Ma’ is ‘no’, as for example, ‘Ma’ Gaccha, — don’t go. Another meaning of ‘Ma’ is indriya (organ) — the sensory and the motor organs. This is why the tongue is also called ‘Ma’. The third meaning of ‘Ma’ is the Supreme Operative Principle — Laks’mii, Parama’ Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Force). Now, ‘Dhava’ means controller, also ‘Dhava’ means husband. That is why a lady who has lost her husband is called Vidhava’. Another meaning of ‘Dhava’ is white. Hence ‘Madhava’ means the Controller of Prakrti (Operative Principle). Who is the Controller of Prakrti, Controller of the Operative Principle? It is Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). Hence, Na’ra’yan’a, Shiva and Ma’dhava denote the same thing. Now, let us take another word — Rama. The meaning of ‘Rama’ is Ramante Yoginah Yasmin Iti Ra’mah. The Sam’skrta (Sanskrit) root is ‘Ram’ which means to enjoy the Supreme Beatitude. Ram + Ghain = Rama means shelter of Supreme Beatitude. It is Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). Hence one should not quarrel regarding the greatness of the different names of different deities, also. All have got the same import, the same meaning. Another meaning of Rama is Rati Mahiidhara Rama – the most dazzling, the most glittering entity. All accept Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) as the most glittering entity. Another meaning of Ra’ma: Ra’van’as’ya Maran’am iti Rama. What is Ra’van’a? You know human mind has got both the subtle and debasing propensities. As subtler propensities are directed towards the Self, there is no question of their extroversial expressions. Only the debasing propensities of human mind are expressed in ten directions – east, west, north, south, north-east, north-west, south-east, south-west, above and below. The relevant directions are: Pu’rva, Pashcima, Uttar, Daks’ina, Urdhva, and Adhah and are known as ‘Pradisha’ in Sanskrit and Isha’na, Va’yu, Agni and Naert — these four corners are known as An’udisha. Six Pradisha and four An’udisha taken together are the ten directions in which microcosms express debasing propensities. As they are directed towards the mundane objects, the microcosm goaded with debasing propensities is called Ra’van’a. This is why in Hindu mythology Ra’van’a is represented as having ten heads. Now, what is the duty of a sa’dhaka for spiritual enlightenment? The sa’dhaka will have to fight against Ra’van’a, against those debasing propensities which are the causes of illusion and cloud the spiritual vision of humankind. So to be established in Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), one will have to crucify Ra’van’a. This is why Rama has been said Ra’van’sya Maran’am iti Rama. When the Ra’van’a dies the sa’dhaka comes in contact with the universal flow of divine nectar. Then Ra’van’a dies and the reign of Rama is established. So Rama means Parama Purus’a or Purus’ottama (Cosmic Nucleus). This is why it is said: Ra’van’asya Maran’am iti Rama. What is the first letter of Ra’vana – ‘Ra’ and what is the first letter of Maranam – ‘Ma’. So Ra’+Ma = Rama, because when the spiritual aspirant ideates on Him Ra’van’a dies. Hence Narayana, Shiva, Ma’dhava, Rama – all are the same. But for a sa’dhaka, the most valuable thing is his or her Ista’ Mantra (mantra by which to reach the Goal). With the help of the Ist’a Mantra or his or her personal incantation, a sa’dhaka will attain enlightenment. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti D.M.C. Madras 1.8.1966 Back to Key Themes Other Works: The Attainment of Permanent Composure It is mentioned in the Upanishads: Su’ks’a’tisu’ks’mam’ kalilsya madhye vishvasya sra’s’t'a’ram’anekaru’pam … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 16 Namaskar Welcome to the 16th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers balance in the physical and psychic strata and attainment of the absolute spiritual stance, as well as the nature of physical and psychic movement. The Sanskrit letter ‘lrr’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1-13 Vyastidehe cittanusamavayena cittabodhah coordinated totality of cittanus (ectoplasmic particles or mind-stuffs) sense of citta (objective I) citta identifying itself with reflections of what it perceives on itself Subhasita Samgraha: Physical Propulsion, Psychic Propensities and Spiritual Attainment propulsion of physical nature firm determination respect for one’s goal balanced mind (self restraint) propulsion of psychic propensities Pran’ipa’ta (surrendering oneself before one’s goal) Pariprashna (to know the answers to those queries which will accelerate and make the path of spiritual progress smooth) Sevaya’ (rendering selfless service to the universe – to anybody and everybody and all living creatures) propulsion of spiritual movement object of ideation as the Supreme Entity Prama (equipoise) Prama’trikon’a (balance of the triple qualitative forces) Prama’ Sam’vrddhi (when balanced material development maintains proper adjustment with the psychic and spiritual elevation of individuals and the collectivity) Prama’ Rddhi (when the balanced psychic stratum maintains adjustment with the material and spiritual progress of individuals and the collectivity) Prama’ Siddhi (when the mind attains a pinnacled state and absolute equilibrium in spiritual progress and maintains an adjustment with the physical and psychic development of individuals and the collectivity) Kaoshikii Shakti (in the first stage of creation, when there is no imbalance in the triangle of forces of the Cosmic Operative Force) Guna trikon’a (vertex of the triangle of qualitative forces from which creation springs) Lokatrikon’a (equipoise or balance of individuals and the collectivity formed in the physical, psychic and spiritual spheres) Other Works: Dynamicity & Staticity physical movement psychic movement speed and pause life and death assimilation relativity Acoustic Roots: lrr ‘lrr’ – acoustic root of process of removing lethargy ‘lrr’ – acoustic root of the sound phat. ‘phat’ – acoustic root of putting a theory into practice atibiija or mahabiija – super acoustic root matrka varna (causal matrix) – alphabet of all the acoustic roots representing some important factor, sound, vibration, propensity, human quality or microcosmic expression Ananda Sutram: 1-13 Vyastidehe cittanusamavayena cittabodhah Purport: The coordinated totality of the cittanus (ectoplasmic particles or mind-stuffs) that remain in the individual object-body centreing round its totality constitute the sense of citta (objective I) of that body. This citta is the ‘done I’ or ‘objective I’ of the unit-mind. Unperceived shall remain all the perceptions, whether seen or heard, of an individual, unless the citta identifies itself with their reflections on itself. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Physical Propulsion, Psychic Propensities and Spiritual Attainment The subject of today’s discourse is "Physical Propulsion, Psychic Propensities and Spiritual Attainment." Wherever there is any physical structure, be it animate or inanimate, there is certain propulsion, or you may say propensive propulsion. In the case of inanimate objects the propulsion is of physical nature. In magnets there are certain characteristics. In water there are certain characteristics. These are all their physical propulsions or propensive propulsions. In the case of animated structures, in animals or in human bodies, the propulsion is based on psychic specialities. That is, the propulsion is psycho-physical. Every thing moves in this universe; everywhere there is expressed dynamicity. Nothing is static in this universe of ours. Not only in the realm of physicality, but in the psychic stratum also there is, we find, this movement. In the psychic stratum, rather in the psychic arena, the movement takes place through different propensities and with the help of certain inferences. So the mental structure of each animate body moves sometimes with proper acceleration, sometimes with retardation. Where there is retardation, a day will come when the mental structure will get crudified and become one with crude or material objects. Those who have not got any subtle ideology or goal are sure to become one with the crude world, one with the physical world, one with the world of atoms and electrons. What a dangerous situation! They will lose their identities and become one with the dust of the earth. So it is the duty of each and every sane human being to see that there remains movement in his or her mind, in his or her mental world, and that mental world, that mental movement should be charged with proper acceleration, because when there is no acceleration, retardation is sure to take place. Now in the realm of physicality, in the stratum of physicality, there is some urge and there is some movement, rather actional movement. This urge is psycho-physical. What is this urge? Phalisyatiiti vishva’sah siddherprathama laks’an’am Dvitiiyam’ shraddhaya’yuktam’ trtiiyam’ gurupujanam? Caturtho samata’bha’vo paincamendriyanigrahah Sas’t'ainca pramita’ha’ro saptamam’ naeva vidyate. In this phase of physicality, the first item of the psycho-physical urge is the firm determination that "I must be successful in my mission." This firm determination is the first requisite factor. The second item is that one should have respect for one’s goal. ‘Shrat+ ‘dha’ = shraddha …. "Shrat" means satyam, the Supreme Veracity, and "dha"’ means movement towards that. So "shraddha" means movement towards the Supreme Veracity. Sometimes people wrongly understand the word "shraddha". Shrat satyam’ tasmin dhiiyate ya’ sa’ shraddha’. Trtiiyam gurupujanam: one should do as per the gospels of the preceptor. Caturtho samata’bha’vo: one must have balanced mind, that is, one must establish Prama within and without, ie in the physical, psychic and spiritual spheres. If Prama (equipoise) is lost, it must be restored immediately. Paincamendriya nigrahah: one must have self-restraint, one must not be goaded by crude propensities. How can a person who has no control over himself or herself, exercise control over others? It is not possible. And "S’as’t'hainca pramit’aha’ro": one must have a balanced diet. "Whatever I get, that I will eat" this must not be the policy of a sane being. This human body is a composite of protoplasmic cells, and these protoplasmic cells are made of the food we take in. If the food and drink is defective, then the protoplasmic cells will also become defective, and the human mind, which is the collective mind of so many protoplasmic minds, will also become defective. That is why ta’masik or static food has a negative influence on the human mind. These are the requisite factors. And, in the psychic sphere, when the mind proceeds internally towards its Supreme Fulfilment, there will also be three separate stages for accelerated progress : Pran’ipa’tena’; Pariprashnena; Sevaya’. Pran’ipa’ta means surrendering oneself before one’s goal. The attitude of self-surrender is represented by sa’s’t'aunga-pran’a'ma, which means to lie flat in a straight line like a rod. The idea is, however crooked I may be to others, to my ideology I am as simple and straight as a rod. That is why I lie prostrate. When one surrenders before one’s ideology, one will automatically attain self-knowledge. One need not move here and there in pursuit of self-knowledge. Idam’ tiirtham idam’ tiirtham’ Brahmanti ta’masa’h jana’h. Atma’tiirtham’ naja’nanti katham’ moks’a vara’nane. Here is a place of pilgrimage: if one takes a holy dip in this holy place of pilgrimage one will acquire one sort of merit. Over there is another place of pilgrimage: if one pours water on the deity over there one acquires another sort of merit. One does not acquire any spiritual progress in this way. This is not the path of true spirituality. One will have to move internally. So, firstly, only a person who surrenders himself or herself before their ideology can attain self-knowledge. This is the only way. Pariprashna means to get the detailed answers to all the questions which will facilitate one’s individual progress as well as the collective progress of the cosmos, and also to apply that acquired knowledge in accelerating both individual and collective progress. So, secondly, Pariprashna does not mean to become a ship of knowledge. It means to know the answers to those queries which will accelerate and make the path of progress smooth. And the third one is sevaya’. Seva’ means rendering selfless service to the universe, not to a particular group of people but to anybody and everybody, to all living creatures – animals, plants or human beings. Service is unilateral, not mutual. Where it is mutual, it is not service, it is commercial transaction. You are giving salt to somebody and he pays you in return. This is not service. People should carry on commercial transactions to earn their bread and … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 15 Namaskar Welcome to the 15th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers actions, potentiality of reactions, and the results of actions. It also looks at one’s relationship with the Supreme Entity. The Sanskrit letter ‘lr’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1-12 Tiivra sangharsena curniibhutani jadani cittanu manasadhatuh va excessive manifestation of energy excessive friction in object-body pulverisation and metamorphosis Cittanu (mind-stuff) mind born out of matter Other Works: The Birthright of All Divine Love guiding point and desideratum relationship with God as one of love birthright sinners and hatred Subhasita Samgraha: Actions and their Results (Karma and Karmaphala) karma (action) sam’ska’ra (potentiality of reaction) karmaphala (result – fruit of action) vikarma (that which enslaves people to their basic nature) relinquishment of desire of fruits of action (Phala’ka’m'ks’a’ Tya’ga) abandoning vanity of performance of acts (Kartrtva’bhima’na Tya’ga) surrendering all actions unto Brahma (God) Prakrti (Operative Force) and Purus’a (Consciousness) Sagun’a Brahma (Qualified Cosmic Mind) gun’a (binding principle) sattvaguna (sentient force) rajoguna (mutative force) tamoguna (static force) a’tman (soul) sa’dhana’ (spiritual practices) mukti (emancipation) moks’a (salvation) Divine Happiness Acoustic Roots: lr lr acoustic root of the sound hmmm struggle and sadhana (spiritual effort) kula kundalinii (coiled serpentine force) fundamental negativity muladhara cakra (manipadma or mahamanipadma in Mahayani Buddhist philosophy) mantra ghat (awakening of sleeping divinity through powerful incantative vibrations) mantra caetanya (conceptual understanding of import of mantra ) Ananda Sutram: 1-12 Tiivra sangharsena curniibhutani jadani cittanu manasadhatuh va Purport: If the manifestation of energy be too great in the object-body, some portion of the crude entity gets pulverised as the result of excessive friction in the object-body and gets metamorphosed into Cittanu or mind-stuff, which is subtler than the ether. That is to say, mind is born out of matter. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Actions and their Results (Karma and Karmaphala) The creation of Universe is sustained by actions (Karma). Where there is expression, invariably there is vibration and behind the vibration there is action. Where the working capacity is dormant, motionless or quiescent, there are no waves, nor is there any expending evolution of life and spirit. There the Cosmic Consciousness is lying in Blessedness as if it were a tranquil, serene and boundless ocean. When the surface of this ocean is agitated by gusts of wind, surging wavesets are created. For this reason when the unmanifested Cosmic Consciousness is tossed by Prakrti (the Cosmic Entity’s own Operative Principle) then there starts the concourse of the refulgence of expression. This Universe, full of fleeting shows and wonders, is the crude/condensed manifestation of the same Cosmic Consciousness. There is a subtle entity operating behind this crudeness which results from the domination of Prakrti (Operative Force) over Purus’a (Consciousness). In situations where the Cosmic Consciousness is less intense and apparently less evident, the influence of Prakrti is proportionately more pronounced. The bondage of Prakrti in this limitless field of activities of Universal Prakrti and Universal Purus’a, called Sagun’a Brahma (Qualified Cosmic Mind), is less tight than the bondage of Prakrti on the actual finite objects. What, after all, is a piece of stone? It is a finite manifestation of Purus’a (Consciousness) where Tamogun’a (the static binding force) is extremely dominant and as a result of this, the particularised consciousness in the shape formed out of Purus’a appears as crude. So people of ordinary prudence take the Purus’a dominated by Tamah (static force) as crude (Jad’a). The various names are assigned to different objects according to the variation in the degrees of crudeness of its own particularised consciousness. In fact, in this perceptible world, every object is pervaded by Tamogun’a (static force) for the simple reason that nothing is free from the bondage of Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Force or Principle). Why is a human being said to be the highest creature? It is only because the consciousness in human beings is very highly developed. Human beings desire to attain happiness from within their subtle entity rather than from the crude objects. This insatiable hunger of human beings leads people towards Divine Happiness. In those unit beings where the consciousness is moderately developed, that is to say, where the entire consciousness has not been overpowered by crudeness, there is the endeavour for self evolution and for achieving happiness. The strong display of Rajogun’a (mutative binding force) in Prakrti is an outcome of this effort. For the sake of self-preservation, one cannot remain in the state of inaction, because inaction is indicative of death, not of life. Now, the question may arise that when every entity is composed of the three gun’as (binding principles) does the dead body not contain them? The answer is not very far to seek. Obviously, the signs of the so-called crudeness exist in the dead body. For this reason alone, in spite of the fact that the three gun’as exist there, Rajogun’a predominates due to Sattva (sentient) and Rajah (mutative) being only indistinctly expressed. Therefore, there is no propensity for action and far less the capability for it. Then we arrive at this conclusion that every thing existent is pervaded by the three gun’as but in accordance with the variation of their proportion, Prakrti (Operative Force) is dynamic in certain situations and inert in others. According to both Science and Philosophy, every action has reaction and is coexistent with the original action, whether the action be a physical one or only a psychic vibration. For example, suppose you have committed a theft through the hands. Here, no doubt, you are the committer of this act of theft. But supposing that for fear of public scandal or state punishment, instead of stealing through your own hands, you got the theft committed by others or stole only mentally, are you not the committer of this theft from behind the scene? Therefore, if you think that you will not reap the consequence for the theft committed mentally, you are wrong. The potentiality of reaction or Sam’ska’ra (reactive momenta in potential form) that you beget through physical or mental action, have to be endured by some other act inevitably. Thus you see that the consequence of all actions has to be reaped by some other actions. But when you do another act for reaping the consequence of the previous one, you are not an independent agent of yours. At that time you act mechanically propelled by the reaction of previous acts and you are obliged to do some undesirable acts that brings to you disgrace, accusation and affliction. You upbraid yourself and regret at leisure for it. You become incapable to avoid it, as if your hands and feet are fettered. So long as you consider your identity separate from the Supreme Brahma (God) and so long as you are engrossed with the `individual I’ you will have to continue to perform actions and inevitably earn the reactions thereto, which when in potential form is known as Sam’ska’ra. In order to have these seeds of reaction grown, you will certainly have to select a new physical form. In other words, you will have to subject yourself to the cycle of birth and death in this revolution of Karma, like the oil-mill bullocks. Both Mukti and Moks’a (Emancipation and Salvation) will remain remote from you, beyond your access. If you make your mean ego the object of your A’tman (soul), all actions of yours may be a source of enjoyment but not of your spiritual salvation. A’sana ma’re kya’hua’, jo gayii na man kii a’s Jyon kothu’ ke bael ko, ghar hi kos paca’s. Does not the oil-mill bullock move on? It keeps going round the day. But though it may walk even fifty miles, it does not advance even the least, being tied to the pillar of the oil expresser. Likewise, is it not that those working with the `unit `I” as the object are similar to the bullock of the oil-expressing machine? Ya’vannaks’iiyate karma Shubham’ca’shubhamevaca ta’vannaja’yate moks’o nrna’m’ kalpashataerapi Yatha’ laohamayaeh pa’shaeh svarnam ayaerapi tatha’ baddho bhavejjiivo karma’bhishca’shubhaeshubhaeh (Tantra) In other words until the actions whether good or bad are annihilated, a person cannot attain salvation (Moks’a). Can the gold chain be looser and less torturing that then iron chain to a person in bondage? Similarly, the bondage of bad actions is exactly as tight as that of good ones. Na’bhuktam ks’iiyate karma kalpakotishataerapi Avashyameva bhoktavyam krtam’ karma shubha’shubham Therefore, for the salvation or emancipation, it is incumbent to be liberated from the bondage of Sam’ska’ras. The question is, how to attain salvation? When it is essential to act for maintaining one’s existence, how is it possible to keep off the cycle of action? It is known from philosophic propositions that … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems 14 continued Tantric Gems – 14 Namaskar Welcome to the 14th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers what is the first cause of the creation and the benefits of kiirtan (spiritual chanting and dancing). The Sanskrit letter ‘rr’ is given a mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 -11 Dehakendrikani parinamabhutani balani pranah nucleus of resultant force (of external and internal frictions) in an object-body pranah or vital energy ten vayus (vital forces in the body) Subhasita Samgraha: Ks’iire Sarpiriva’rpitam rs’i (learned person or sage) Intuitional Science first cause of creation (A’dika’ran’a) time or time force (Ka’la Shakti) place or direction (Dik) person-mind (Pa’tra-mana) nature (Svabha’va) destiny or fate (Niyati) accident five fundamental elements (ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid, solid) jiiva’tman (unit consciousness) Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) Prakrti (Operative Principle) Brahma (God) Brahma Cakra (Cosmic Cycle) Purus’ottama (Nucleus Consciousness) Nirgun’a (Unqualified Consciousness) Sagun’a (Qualified Consciousness) Sama’dhi (total absorption of all concentrations and meditations) Savikalpa Sama’dhi (determinate trance of absorption) Nirvikalpa Sama’dhi (indeterminate trance of absorption) Kaevalya-sthiti (ensconcement in Oneness) Dha’nayoga (intuitional meditation) vyakta and avyakta (manifest objects and unexpressed entities) ks’ara and aks’ara (perishableness and imperishableness) niraks’ara (state of perfect objectlessness) Nis’kala Purus’a (Objectless Consciousness) Iishvara (Supreme Controller) aniisha (controlled entity) an aniishata’ (subjection) bhogopada’na (enjoyment or endurance) bhoga’pavarga (addiction to objects of enjoyment or endurance) bhoktrbha’va (sense of enjoyership – expressed through unit consciousness as sensory gratification) bhogyabha’va (sense of enjoyableness – being fettered phenomenality) prerayitrbha’va (as the direct or controlling authority or faculty of the Cosmos) Other Works: Kiirtan Dispels Calamities kiirtan (spiritual chanting/dancing) kiirtan chanted with maximum sincerity concentration of physical energies and psychic energy spiritual force removes collective accumulated miseries of material world removes collective psychic afflictions sadhana (spiritual practices) Acoustic Roots: rr acoustic root of onm (onmkara) – AUM "a" – acoustic root of creation "u" – acoustic root of preservation "ma" – acoustic root of destruction "." (the point) – symbol of the unmanifested universe (Nirguna) "v" (na’da or kala’) – signifying the process of manifestation (Saguna) prana’va – that which helps tremendously in attaining the supreme stance atibiija or mahabiija (super acoustic root) vina’sha (transformation or metamorphosis) prana’sha (that change which takes an entity back to its original stance) Daks’in’aca’ra (rightist approach) Va’ma’ca’ra (leftist approach) Madhyama’ca’ra (centrist approach) A’nanda Marga (Path of Bliss) Acoustic Roots: rr This sound is the acoustic root of onm. You may say that since onm is the acoustic root of creation, preservation and destruction, and the acoustic root of Saguna (Qualified Cosmic Consciousness) and Nirguna (Non-qualified Cosmic Consciousness), how can rr be the acoustic root of onmkara. Let us see what onmkara is. The term onmkara consists of five symbols: "a" – the acoustic root of creation, "u" – the acoustic root of preservation, "ma" – the acoustic root of destruction, "." (a dot) – the symbol of the unmanifested universe, and "v" – the na’da or kala’, which signifies the process of manifestation. Not only is "a" the acoustic root of saraja (peacock sound), it is also the acoustic root of the force of creation. When the idea to create something arises in the mind of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), or in the microcosmic mind, its acoustic root is the "a" sound. Since "a" is the acoustic root of creation, from which everything else proceeds, it is the first letter of the alphabet. The sound "u" is the acoustic root of the fifth musical note, and is also the acoustic root of a few other factors – the force of preservation being one of them. When the desire to maintain the created entities arises in the mind of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), or in the individual microcosmic mind, then the acoustic root of that sort of desire is "u". The sound "m" is the acoustic root of prashraya vrtti (the instinct of providing impetus to something), as well as also the acoustic root of destruction through the onslaught of time. When people feel that something has become monotonous, they want to change it. It should be remembered that vina’sha (1) does not mean complete annihilation but transformation or metamorphosis. Complete annihilation is called prana’sha (2). In fact, nothing in this universe is subjected to prana’sha or complete annihilation. In the philosophical sense, prana’sha means that change which takes an entity back to its original stance. If sugar made from sugar cane is transformed back into sugar cane that will be the prana’sha of sugar. Thus philosophically if microcosms (unit existences) by virtue of sadhana (spiritual practices) merge into Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) from Whom they originated, it is the prana’sha of microcosms. This "m" sound is the acoustic root of annihilation. The manifested universe is comprised of creation, preservation and destruction (a-u-m). A + u = au. Hence a + u + m = aum. But that is not all. The point and the kala (sprout or vibrations with curvatures) of onmkara are also significant. The point represents the unmanifested universe, and the kala represents the principle of transmutation from the unmanifested to the manifested. Hence, onm’ is the acoustic root of creation, preservation and destruction plus the principle of transmutation from the unmanifested to the manifested. Acoustic roots mainly have their source in Tantra, although some of them existed in the Vedas, and were later accepted by Tantra. Onm was accepted in this way. Those following the school of Daks’in’a'ca’r Tantra (3) do not want to accept annihilation as the last word, and thus not want to put the acoustic root of destruction as the last sound. Moreover, they prefer to utilise the full letter (ma) as opposed to the half-letter (m). Thus, they place the letters in the following order: u+ma+a = uma. According to Daks’i'na’ca’r Tantra, Uma is another name of Parama Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Principle of Creation). Onm’kara is also called Prana’va (pra-nu+al) which literally means that which helps tremendously in attaining the supreme stance. In the Tripa’davibhu’tina’ra’yana Shruti it has been said, Prana’va’tmakam’ "Brahma (4) is in the form of Prana’va’". Elsewhere it has been said: Etaddhyeva’ks’aram’ Brahma etadeva’ks’aram’ param Etadeva’ks’aram’ jina’tva brahmaloke mahiiyate. "This is the immutable Brahma, this is the Supreme Sound. After knowing this Supreme Sound one attains the divine realm of Brahma." Now, if onm, along with its point (.) and kala (v) is accepted as the acoustic root of this diverse creation, and since it is a conglomeration of various sounds, it requires an acoustic root of its own. The acoustic root of another root is called atibiija or mahabiija (super acoustic root). So rr is the super acoustic root of onmkara. This rr sound is very necessary from the viewpoint of phonetics and semantics. Since it is an important acoustic root, it is imperative to decide whether such a letter should be deleted from the alphabet as some philologists have suggested. The Indo-Aryan alphabet consists of fifty letters from a to ks’a. If any of these fifty letter is deleted from the alphabet, the entire alphabet will become defective and the acoustic importance of the letter will be jeopardized. It is up to you to think over and decide whether rr should be kept in the alphabet or not. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (1) When an object is transformed and cannot be brought back to its original form it is called vina’sha. Vinasha means a change in something so that we do not get that thing again. (2) Pranasha means a thing is destroyed but in destruction it becomes again or merges into the stuff or the thing from which it was born. Here destruction is there but it is of another nature. For instance, when a microcosm is not required to return within the scope of the law of causation after becoming established in its original stance, it is called prana’sha. This prana’sha, or total merger in the Supreme Cause, is called moks’a or salvation. (3) There are three approaches of sa’dhana’ (spiritual practices): (i) Daks’in’aca’ra (rightist approach) (ii) Va’ma’ca’ra (leftist approach) (iii) Madhyama’ca’ra (centrist approach). Which path should an A’nanda Ma’rga sadhaka (spiritual aspirant on the path of bliss) adopt? In the case of a vama’ca’ra sa’dhaka, even before attaining their goal, they often misuse their hard-earned power; consequently, unknowingly inviting more darkness, more dullness, and gradually degenerating into animality. In the case of a daks’ina’ca’ra sa’dhaka theirs is a path of flattery. Flattery or psychopancy is a sign of cowardice. A mighty person being pleased with flattery may grant a few favours, a certain amount of privileges, but never complete freedom. A’nanda Ma’rga supports neither va’ma’ca’ra nor daks’ina’ca’ra. Hence, A’nanda … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 14 Namaskar Welcome to the 14th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers what is the first cause of the creation and the benefits of kiirtan (spiritual chanting and dancing). The Sanskrit letter ‘rr’ is given a mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 -11 Dehakendrikani parinamabhutani balani pranah nucleus of resultant force (of external and internal frictions) in an object-body pranah or vital energy ten vayus (vital forces in the body) Subhasita Samgraha: Ks’iire Sarpiriva’rpitam rs’i (learned person or sage) Intuitional Science first cause of creation (A’dika’ran’a) time or time force (Ka’la Shakti) place or direction (Dik) person-mind (Pa’tra-mana) nature (Svabha’va) destiny or fate (Niyati) accident five fundamental elements (ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid, solid) jiiva’tman (unit consciousness) Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) Prakrti (Operative Principle) Brahma (God) Brahma Cakra (Cosmic Cycle) Purus’ottama (Nucleus Consciousness) Nirgun’a (Unqualified Consciousness) Sagun’a (Qualified Consciousness) Sama’dhi (total absorption of all concentrations and meditations) Savikalpa Sama’dhi (determinate trance of absorption) Nirvikalpa Sama’dhi (indeterminate trance of absorption) Kaevalya-sthiti (ensconcement in Oneness) Dha’nayoga (intuitional meditation) vyakta and avyakta (manifest objects and unexpressed entities) ks’ara and aks’ara (perishableness and imperishableness) niraks’ara (state of perfect objectlessness) Nis’kala Purus’a (Objectless Consciousness) Iishvara (Supreme Controller) aniisha (controlled entity) an aniishata’ (subjection) bhogopada’na (enjoyment or endurance) bhoga’pavarga (addiction to objects of enjoyment or endurance) bhoktrbha’va (sense of enjoyership – expressed through unit consciousness as sensory gratification) bhogyabha’va (sense of enjoyableness – being fettered phenomenality) prerayitrbha’va (as the direct or controlling authority or faculty of the Cosmos) Other Works: Kiirtan Dispels Calamities kiirtan (spiritual chanting/dancing) kiirtan chanted with maximum sincerity concentration of physical energies and psychic energy spiritual force removes collective accumulated miseries of material world removes collective psychic afflictions sadhana (spiritual practices) Acoustic Roots: rr acoustic root of onm (onmkara) – AUM "a" – acoustic root of creation "u" – acoustic root of preservation "ma" – acoustic root of destruction "." (the point) – symbol of the unmanifested universe (Nirguna) "v" (na’da or kala’) – signifying the process of manifestation (Saguna) prana’va – that which helps tremendously in attaining the supreme stance atibiija or mahabiija (super acoustic root) vina’sha (transformation or metamorphosis) prana’sha (that change which takes an entity back to its original stance) Daks’in’aca’ra (rightist approach) Va’ma’ca’ra (leftist approach) Madhyama’ca’ra (centrist approach) A’nanda Marga (Path of Bliss) Ananda Sutram: 1 -11 Dehakendrikani parinamabhutani balani pranah Purport: If the resultant force – the force that comes into being as a result of both external and internal frictions in the object-body – finds its own nucleus in some part of that body, the powers or energies active in that body are collectively called pranah or vital energy. The word, pranah, is used in the samskrta (Sanskrit) language in the plural number, because it really stands for ten vayus (vital forces in the body). Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Ks’iire Sarpiriva’rpitam The Essence Contained Within The people of ancient times – the people of that crude prehistoric age, used to employ their entire force for the gratification of their gross desires and propensities (vrttis). But eventually they noticed that even through the meticulous and robust application of their individual and collective forces their vrttis (propensities) were not completely fulfilled and that some unseen force – some greater force, had been making a fun of them every moment by foiling all their efforts. Gradually they came to understand well enough that, no matter how blatantly they vaunted about their individual and collective forces, their capacity or power was as much limited as their field of action was narrow – extremely narrow and limited to time, space and person. Who is it then, to the inviolable decree of whose hand they are compelled to submit? What is It? How does that Entity look like? No matter how developed the intellect and how pervasive its force, how difficult it is for us to explain the characteristic form of the One, Whose vastness is perpetually immeasurable? A human being knows well enough that he or she does not often get what that person longs for, in spite of his or her fits and frets for it, and sometimes it comes to them, whether they wish for it or not. Then, the person accepts all of it as his or her fate or destiny. However, this fate or destiny as well does not depend on anybody’s or anything’s unreasonable whim, for if whim were everything, then the seed of the unit being’s desire would have had its extinction, but it just does not happen so. So a human being begins to think that it is perhaps the reaction of his or her action that presents itself as that person’s fate. When a person cannot see or understand the original deeds, a person calls them that person’s Adrs’ta or unseen deserts. But in spite of a human being having apparent freedom of action from that Supreme Controller – from that Dispensing Force – still, by prescribing reactions to actions, human beings remain dependent on others like the ball of wood. This dependence on the Supreme Entity is indeed a wholly inspirational dependence. While seeking for this source of Praeti (the Only Longing) – for the original cause of this inspiration, the thoughtful people of those days had started cultivating spiritual knowledge (Brahmatattva). The subtlety of thought of those thoughtful, progressive talented people had gradually given them the means of access from objectivity into subjectivity and then again from subjectivity into the realm of Consciousness. In the domain of knowledge they indeed had been the first Rs’is (learned people or sages) – the pioneers or the initial torch-bearers of knowledge. They had eventually succeeded in merging their Buddhi-vrtti (occupations of their intellect) in the sphere of subjectivity and so it was as the result of the churning or sustained application of their intellect that humanity got Brahma-Vijina’na or Intuitional Science. The ordinary people had gone to them in order to light up the dark niches of their minds with the light, brought by them (the Rs’is). These Vedantists would eventually make them well-versed in the Intuitional Science by properly answering every big or small question arising in their minds. The questions of the common people were: Kim’ ka’ran’am’ brahma kutah sma ja’ta’ Jiiva’ma kena kva ca sampratish’t'ha’h Adhis’t'hita’h kena sukhetares’u Varta’mahe brahmavido vyavastha’m. What is Brahma (God)? What is the First Cause of our origin? What keeps us alive and why? What harm was there, if we weren’t alive at all? On what foundation does our existence stand? What is our support? Why are we at all experiencing this life only through the media of weal and woe – pleasure and pain? O Brahmavid (knower of Brahma)! What are the proper laws about all this, ie explain to us with just and proper answers to these questions. Ka’lah svabha’vo niyatiryadrccha’ Bhu’ta’ni yonih purus’a iti cintya’ Sam’yoga es’a'm’ na tva’tmabha’va’d Atma’pyaniishah sukhaduhkha hetoh. Questions know no limit in the human mind. Are the solutions of the above problems embedded in the Time alone? In other words, is Time the final answer to these queries? Is it the absolute truth? Is it the spiritual truth? Apparently, it seems that the First Cause of the creation is hidden indeed in the womb of time. So indeed is its ultimate result also, isn’t it? Then why must we not regard Time as the absolute factor? Whatever had taken place, whatever is taking place and whatever will take place – all are within the periphery of Time’s knowledge, aren’t they? It is this Time Force (Ka’la Shakti) that has been giving birth to the universe as the Cosmic Mother (Vishvajananii). It is indeed this Time Force, by its different attitudinal stances, that has been supporting everything, keeping the consistency intact, through its revolving movements. It is this Time Force again, in its frantic dance (Ta’n'dava-Nrtya), that has been chewing and pulverising the world with a guffaw with the help of its horribly formidable fangs. The inscrutable play of light is nothing but a momentary flash upon its features. Belching darkness out of darkness, Time alone is the sole well-established entity in its own horror. O Brahmavid (knower of Truth)! Tell us, is not Time alone the Absolute Entity? The Brahmavid (the knower of Brahma) then replied, "No, I cannot recognise Time as the Absolute Entity." Time is only a relative factor, which is entirely dependent on the mutual relationship of `Place’ and `Person’. Time is but the mind’s reckoning on the motivity of action. Where there is no motivity of action, or even if there be any, where there is no mind … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 13 Namaskar Welcome to the 13th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers briefly the nature of the different psychologies in society and their evolution. As well, it looks at those factors fundamental to personal spiritual elevation. The Sanskrit letter ‘r’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1-10 Gunaprabhavena bhutasangharsadbalam binding factor and internal friction bala or prana (power or energy) existence and expression of expression of prana Subhasita Samgraha: The Evolution of Society Brahma Cakra (the Cosmic Cycle) pratisaincara (movement from crude to subtle) development of contemplation rs’is (seers) environment of first human beings psychological (psycho-social) mental classes shudra (proletariat mentality) ks’attriya (warrior mentality) vipra (intellectual mentality) vaeshya (business person, merchant, capitalist mentality) degeneration of ks’attriya (warrior) and vipra (intellectual) mentalities vaeshyan (capitalist) exploitation and shudra (proletariat) uprising society free from social discrimination social structure considering needs of humanity Other Works: The Three Factors for Spiritual Elevation agragati (spiritual elevation) pranipata (complete surrender to the Eternal Entity) pariprashna (questions which are responsible for spiritual elevation) seva (selfless service) prapatii (full self-submission to the ideation that everything is done by the Divine Entity) aprapatti (mental attitude that all is done by individuals and not by Cosmic Consciousness) Parama Purusa (Cosmic Consciousness) Acoustic Roots: r acoustic root of seventh musical note nis’arda (ni) half-letter Ananda Sutram: 1-10 Gunaprabhavena bhutasangharsadbalam Purport: Firmer the binding factor on the object body, the greater the internal friction in it. This clash or play of forces is called bala or prana (power or energy). This prana exists more or less in all objects or elements, although its expression has not taken place or does not take place in them in equal proportion. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: The Evolution of Society This quinquelemental universe (ether, aerial, luminous, liquid, solid) is the crudest manifestation of the Macrocosmic Mind Stuff. During Pratisaincara (movement of the Cosmic Cycle from crude to subtle) or the introversial phase of the Macrocosmic thought-wave, when the quinquelemental factors or the Paincabhaotika creation (ie the world composed of the five fundamental factors) comes in touch with the divine powers of the Supreme Divinity through the creation of life, then Purus’ottama (the Supreme Knowing Entity – Macrocosmic Nucleus) first produced the vibrations of animation. The more these animated entities begin to be illuminated with the divine effulgence of the Macrocosm, the more they develop their inherent capacity of contemplation, which in turn generates more self-awareness in them. The entities which are the greatest of all the contemplative microcosms are able to accelerate their speed of evolution along the path of Pratisaincara (movement from crude to subtle) in the Cosmic Cycle. The greatest of all these entities is called Man’ava (human beings), which means those human entities which are by nature contemplative. The degree of development of contemplative power is not equal in all human beings. No two human beings are even identical in intellectual capacity. Judged in the perspective of time, primitive humans were less contemplative than the people of today. About one million years ago the first human babes were born on this earth in the natural evolutionary flow of the Cosmic Cycle, but they did not find this world as safe a place to live as it is today. They were surrounded by dense forests infested with wild, ferocious animals and venomous reptiles. Gigantic, carnivorous creatures with huge protruding teeth were prowling all about in search of prey. The humans of that age were not blessed with a sweet home to protect them from terrifying storms and tempests. The scorching rays of the midday sun were about to nip the vital energy of these first humans in the bud. This, in essence, was the environment in which the first human beings found themselves. Such circumstances were not conducive for human beings to develop their intellect or progress along the path of self-introspection. In those days people employed all their energy just for their self-preservation against ruthless nature, and during that age of bitter struggle the most important thing was physical strength. In that distant age people realised the value of one thing – that might is right. As all forces were hostile to their existence, they came close to each other and formed many small groups, clans or tribes with the sole purpose of self-preservation through collective struggle. In those days the mightiest person of a clan or Gotra became the group leader and was worshipped as a hero by the society. Thus there arose in the ancient past the first Ks’attriya (Warrior) society. The world moved on. Primitive people could not maintain their original structure and began to realise that physical powers alone were inadequate. Physical strength required the support of intellect which would control their physical powers, leading them towards the path of real material progress. Those who first invented the use of fire through friction, who provided that pleasant touch of heat to the human body frozen by cold, winter nights, became the greatest of people. This greatness was achieved by dint of merit and not by sheer physical force. Such people were held in the highest esteem by society and came to be known as Rs’is (Seers) or the pioneers of human welfare. Later on human beings made food delicious and easily digestible by roasting it in fire. The person who first taught people how to use fire was also acclaimed as a Rs’i, a follower of the previous Rs’i. Those who discovered the art of weaving cloth in order to clothe the naked human body, those who taught animal husbandry and how to provide cow’s milk for babies deprived of their mother’s milk, and those who solved the problems of transportation by inventing bullock carts which are nearly obsolete today, were all called Rs’is. All of them were the honoured forebears of human society, and they are all worthy of being remembered, welcomed and revered. The Rs’is were the harbingers of new innovations for society. Ks’attriya (Warrior) society held them in highest esteem as Vipras (Intellectuals) and lavished them with honour. Years rolled by. Human beings became more closely acquainted with the external world. They learnt to use many more objects and to utilise those objects in a better way. Some people naturally remained preoccupied with mundane objects to make them more useful. This group of people, who were always engaged in the pursuit of wealth through mundane objects, were known as Vaeshyas (today called the modern Capitalists). As a natural rule the Ks’attriyas (Warriors) and Vipras (Intellectuals) gradually become subservient to the Vaeshyas (Business People, Merchants, Capitalists) just to eke out their physical existence. So in order to retain their integrity of existence they gradually came under the subjugation of the Vaeshyas. Just as in the absence of farmers no food would be available; and without weavers no clothes were available; similarly blacksmiths, potters, cobblers, leather merchants, etc were also indispensable. Generally, it was observable that Vipran (Intellectual) society had no alternative but to recognise the supremacy of the Vaeshyas (Business People). Those who were devoid of the qualities of the Ks’attriyas (Warriors), Vipras (Intellectuals) or Vaeshyas (Business People) became the obedient servants of these classes and were ruthlessly exploited by them. The world advanced still further. More changes occurred in the social structure. As a natural consequence of the flow of creation human beings invented money, and money gradually became the means of physical enjoyment. This led to constant fights amongst people because the more money one could hoard, the richer one became. If rich people so desired they could own vast property and all the amenities of life. In the Vaeshya (Capitalist) dominated society the Vaeshyas (Capitalists) were the most affluent class, and other classes were completely dependent on their patronage for self preservation. This Vaeshya (Capitalist) dominated society exists even today, and as a consequence of exploitation, the Ks’attriya (Warrior) and Vipra (Intellectual) societies have degenerated to the level of the Shudras (the mass of workers who generally aspire to none of the other psychologies of warrior, intellectuals or business people) or the working class. To date the historical norm has been that only a few persons have attained opulence, but Shudras (workers) are the majority. However, the movement is that these Shudras (workers) are collectively united and determined to destroy and annihilate the domination of the Vaeshyas (Capitalists). There is a clear indication of the emerging dominance of the Shudras (workers or proletariat mentality), but is this dominance of the Shudras (proletariat) the final phase? If the … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 12 Namaskar Welcome to the 12th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers what is real knowledge (spiritual knowledge) and the importance of bhakti (devotion). The Sanskrit letter U’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 – 9 Gunadhikye jadasphotah bhutasamyabhavat material explosion (jadasphota) solid factor (ksititattva) liquid (apa) luminous (tejas) aerial (marut) ethereal (akasha or vyoma) negative saincara and saincara (extroversial flow from subtle to crude) gunas (binding factors or attributional principles) internal frictions and external attributional flow living organisms Subhasita Samgraha: Knowledge and Progress jina’na (knowledge) physical knowledge physico-psychic knowledge psychic knowledge psycho-physical knowledge spirituo-psychic knowledge spiritual knowledge protozoic minds and protozoic microcosms metazoic minds and metazoic microcosms unit mind sadrsha parin’a'ma (cause and effect factor) ka’mamaya kosa (crude conscious layer of mind) citta (objectivated mind) aham (doer I) mahat (pure I feeling) abhijinata’ (discriminatory judgement) dharma buddhi (good thought) dhruva’smrti (fixed memory) sa’dhana’ (spiritual practice) Other Works: Service To God Is Devotion action knowledge bhakti (devotion) Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) Ananda (Bliss) Brahmananda (Cosmic Bliss) subjectivity and objectivity Acoustic Roots: u’ acoustic root of sixth musical note dhaevata (dha’) nis’arda (ni). Ananda Sutram: 1 – 9 Gunadhikye jadasphotah bhutasamyabhavat Purport: Even after the transformation of the object-body into solid factor (ksititattva), if the onslaught of the binding principle continues unabated, the equipoise of the elements gets lost and a material explosion (jadasphota) takes place. As a result of this explosion the ksititattva, .due to its excessive internal friction, gets pulverised into subtler elements like liquid (apa), luminous (tejas), aerial (marut) and ethereal (vyoma) factors, completely or partially, that is to say, its movement undergoes the process of negative saincara (ie negative movement reversing the extroversial flow from the subtle to the crude). Nevertheless the resultant subtler elements after the explosion, of course, retake the same old path of saincara (extroversial flow from the subtle to the crude). The ethereal element of the Cosmic Mind gets gradually cruder and cruder as per degrees of the ever-increasing flow of the gunas (binding factors or attributional principles), ie from akasha or vyoma (ethereal) to marut (aerial), from marut to tejas (luminous), from tejas to apa (liquid) and from apa to ksiti (solid). The more the progress of these metamorphoses the more varied the attributional peculiarities noticeable in the material bodies, and their dimensions also get shrunk and diminished. The dimensional contraction means the increase of internal frictions and this happens due to the excess or magnitude of the external attributional flow. Due to these excessive internal frictions explosions take place in the material bodies and they get pulverised into subtler elements. These explosions owning to hyper-attributional pressure occur only when the degree of the tension of the solid element becomes abnormally high as compared to other elements. In the absence of any wide disparities (either too high or too low) in the tensional relations of the elements, living organisms come into being instead of explosion. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: Knowledge and Progress What is knowledge (Jina’na)? Knowledge is subjectivisation of external objectivity. It leads a person from crudity to subtlety, ie wherever this tendency is found that can be termed knowledge, and where it is not there it is not knowledge. What is the base of knowledge? Where knowledge is completely physical, its base is mind; where it is entirely spiritual its base is soul. Knowledge unifies the mind with the soul. This itself is the greatest quality of knowledge. That which does not unify the mind with the soul is not knowledge but the confusion of knowledge. Because of this so-called knowledge, vanity creeps into mind. If you see a person with vanity you must understand that he or she has no knowledge but the confusion of it. In 15th century India, especially in Bengal, this confusion of knowledge developed excessively. People of Bengal went on arguing and debating on minor things. For hours they talked on subjects such as sound, shape etc. They thought themselves to be great in doing so, and those attaining victory considered themselves to be great scholars (panditas). They were neither pandit nor jinani (intellectuals). They were not panditas because they were not established in Paii’da’ Bha’va (the feeling that one is Brahma – God), nor were they jina’nii as their knowledge had not been subjectivised. They were merely arguing about Pa’tra’dha’ra taela or Taeladha’ra paltra, ie the oil is in the pot or the pot in the oil. There was once an argument between two great panditas, "Whether sound is produced first or the palm falls first." The discussion continued for a good number of months but no decision was arrived at. Then they decided to see practically by sitting under a tree one night, whether the palm falls first or sound is produced first. The next morning it was found that both were dead from palms falling on their heads. Hence this so-called knowledge is no knowledge at all but the confusion of knowledge, which you surely do not want to possess. In the first stage mind itself is the base of knowledge. What is mind? The structure of human beings is metazoic. In this structure there are innumerable protozoas – protozoic minds and protozoic microcosms. The result of all these protozoic microcosms is reflected in the human mind. In this metazoic structure there are metazoic minds and metazoic microcosms. Actually speaking the metazoic minds are the collection of their protozoic minds. For a human being, with a complex physical structure, there is also a unit mind. The human mind has three compartments. The first is the collective protozoic mind, the second one is the collective metazoic mind and the third one is its own separate mind. Taking all the three constitutes a human’s mind. These protozoic minds are guided only by instincts. This type of mind is only citta (objectivated mind) with no development of tattvas (faculties) of aham (doer I) and mahat (pure I feeling). Eating, supporting offspring, etc, are done instinctively, spontaneously (svabha’va), the reasons being quite unknown to the entities. The earthworm does not know that it is an earthworm. It moves instinctively, spontaneously, according to its undeveloped mind. The protozoic minds of protozoic microcosms can be called physical mind. They have only physical mind. The collection of protozoic minds in human beings can also be called physical mind. It is known as Ka’mamaya Kosa (crude conscious layer of mind). It is guided by instinct, there is no discrimination. Metazoic mind, however, moves with some intellect (discrimination), as there has been some development of intellect in it. Hence metazoic mind has control over protozoic mind. The more developed the metazoic mind is in a creature the more developed it is, ie its metazoic structure will be more complicated. Where this complication has considerably increased, that physical structure is a human physical structure. The individual mind in a human being is a metazoic mind. About a million years ago the first ancestor of human beings was Australopithecine. The metazoic mind of those humans was very, very simple compared to present day humans. Hence in the intellectual realm the ancient humans were quite undeveloped. In the course of one million years the metazoic structure and physical structure of human beings became very complicated. This resulted in the complication of the metazoic mind too. A number of different propensities were added to it. The number of propensities in human mind is far more than of those in animals. The reason is that the metazoic structure, the physical structure of human beings is complicated, hence their metazoic minds are more developed. The complete human is its own mind, its protozoic mind and its metazoic mind. In protozoic minds there is dominance of instinct. An animal does not understand discrimination but it understands the stick. You know that a person with the dominance of animality does not agree with logic but bows to administration. You know that at the time of fight between the Kauravas and Pandavas, vain attempts were made to make the former understand the consequence of their actions. Yudhisthira even prayed to God for a change in them. There was the grace of Parama’tma (Supreme Consciousness) also, but they were too crude to understand this. They could very easily understand however when they heard the thundering sound of Gandiiva (the bow of Arjuna). Hence the protozoic mind succumbs to physical administration and nothing else. All the protozoic minds in a person try to influence the human mind. Likewise metazoic minds also try to do so. Where the personal mind of a human being is not vigilant it is influenced by the protozoic minds … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 10 Namaskar Welcome to the 10th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue briefly touches on neo-humanism and also that human beings have got a close relationship with the Supreme Consciousness. That closeness being a personal relationship with God – hence it is akin to a universal and also family indentification. The Sanskrit letter ‘II’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to issue 7 for more details. As part of each issue of this email series, one letter of the Sanskrit alphabet is mentioned. Next week will be the letter ‘U’. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Ultimately, their use is as an aid in understanding one’s Self and the spiritual nature of the Cosmos, which is gleaned by the significance of the concepts from the deepest spiritual perspective. This is a free service and you may receive copies of unique articles on tantra once every two weeks (there will be 25 issues per year). The ongoing format is a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram, a regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (spiritual scriptures), an article from other works and a brief discussion of a letter from the Sanskrit alphabet (which is also the acoustic root of a particular propensity of a chakra). Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with an expanded understanding each time. If you are having trouble with Sanskrit terminology, don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Unfortunately, there will be occassional typing, layout and formatting errors. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Key Themes * Ananda Sutram 1 – 7 Drk Purusah darshanam Shaktishca action and actional faculty seeing and witnessing Purusa (Consciousness) Prakrti (Operative Principle) citta-entity (objective mind) ahamtattva (doer-I or ego) mahattattva (sense of I-feeling) ultimate witness drk (ultimate cognition) * Subhasita Samgraha – The Noumenal Cause and the Personal God noumenal cause supreme noumenal entity – Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) apparent noumenal cause and phenomenal entities psycho-spiritual movement – moving towards the Supreme Nucleus extro-internal movement from crude toward subtle intro-external movement from subtle toward crude sentimentality and rationality personal god and closest relationship ota-yoga – direct link of God to the individual prota-yoga – indirect link of God to everything * Education and Neo-Humanism physical arena psychic arena spiritual aspiration education human feelings Neo-Humanism spiritual practice and psychic remoulding * Acoustic Roots – II fourth note of the surasaptaka (seven notes of Indo-Aryan music) madhyama (ma’) — Ananda Sutram 1 – 7 Drk Purusah darshanam Shaktishca Purport: Acting is seeing, witnessing is substantiation. In the absence of the latter, seeing remains unsubstantiated. Thinking, speaking, moving, accepting – these fall in the category of action. The witness-ship that vouches for the existence of these activities, that substantive bearing, is Purusa (Consciousness) and the expression of activity that takes place under His witness-ship is charged with the gunas (attributes) of Prakrti (Operative Principle). If we call the expression of the material waves actional faculty, its apparent witness will be the citta-entity (objective mind). If the citta-ic expression be termed actional faculty, then its apparent witness will be the ahamtattva (doer-I) or ego. If the expression or manifestation of ego be called actional faculty, then its apparent witness will be mahattattva (sense of I-feeling). If we call the sense of I-ness or mahat actional faculty, then its witness-ship, that is, ‘I-know-I-am’-ness will be acceptable as the ultimate witness. This ‘I know’ is not the apparent witness of anybody or thing, it is the absolute witness of everything in all conditions. Hence, candidly this bearing alone falls in the category of ‘drk’ or ultimate cognition. This in truth is the attributed Consciousness of Purusa. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha – The Noumenal Cause and the Personal God The subject of today’s discourse is ‘The Noumenal Cause and the Personal God ‘. When one creates many, that one is called the noumenal cause. And when many is created from one, that many is called the phenomenal effect. We may say, ‘Falsehood is the noumenal cause of all social crimes’. Here social crimes are the phenomenal effects, and falsehood is the noumenal cause. Whatever we see in this universe, there is an apparent noumenal cause. We see so many milk products: milk is the noumenal cause, milk is the apparent noumenal cause. That is, it is not the supreme noumenal entity. And above all so-called apparent noumenal causes, there is the supreme noumenal entity, and that supreme noumenal entity is the Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). The Parama Purus’a is not something theoretical or abstract; the Parama Purus’a is your bigger ‘I’, is your greater ‘I’, your Supreme Father, your nearest and dearest entity. Here, the subject is that noumenal cause. Is that noumenal cause simply a philosophical figure or a figure of science? Or is it nothing but a profound hypothesis? Here the subject is the noumenal cause and the personal god. As I told you yesterday, the human approaches are of four kinds there are four clear aspects of human expressions, of human manifestations. And these manifestations are not only extro-internal, but intro-external also. That is, the process may be from crude toward the subtle or it may be from subtle toward the crude. When a person moves towards that noumenal cause, the movement is extro-internal. And when that noumenal cause comes in closer contact with His progeny, with His sons and daughters, the movement is intro-external. One may say, there is nothing external, for God everything is internal. For the jiivas (unit beings), for the created beings, there are both intro-external and extro-internal movements. Yes, for God there is nothing external, but here the word external is used or has been used in the sense that the movement is external from the nucleus – not beyond the periphery of God’s mind, but beyond the periphery of God’s centre of action. Similarly the intro-external movement of human beings is from their cognitive point toward their ectoplasmic manifestation. And these manifestations take place within the periphery of a person’s ectoplasmic body, and nothing without, everything within. But a person’s extro-internal movement starts from the hub of their ectoplasmic structure and moves towards the Cosmic noumenal entity, towards the Cosmic hub. I said last night that the movement is psycho-spiritual. And during this psycho-spiritual movement, a human being is moving towards the Supreme Nucleus. If a person knows, or if she or he is under the impression, that this Supreme Entity is a philosophical figure, or a figure of science or a figure just like a stool or other inanimate object, then perhaps his or her physical structure may move towards God, centripetally around or towards the noumenal entity – his or her mind may also move, but the person’s sentiment won’t feel any stir in it. And just to accelerate the speed, rather for the very existence of speed, a sentimental support, a sentimental propulsion is an indispensable necessity. Now, this sentimental support must be based on rationality. Sentimentality based on rationality is the strongest force in the universe. And sentimentality without rationality takes the form of, or rather the distortion of, dogma. Now what does rationality say? Each and every particle of this universe, from a big mammoth to a small blade of grass are of God’s creation and of the Macro-psychic conation. Hence the relationship can be described as that of Father and children, Father and His loving children. The Supreme progenitor and God’s progeny. There cannot be more than one noumenal cause. The Supreme noumenal entity is a singular one. So the conception of so many gods, so many goddesses, so many ghosts are all based on defective ideas. The Supreme Entity, the noumenal entity, is a singular entity and that noumenal entity is the loving Father. One’s relationship with the loving Father is that of love and affection, is a domestic relationship. There is nothing formal, no sort of formality in it. It is purely domestic, a family relationship. So the noumenal cause is not just a theoretical entity; it is your Father, your nearest and dearest one. Accordingly, one should not be afraid of God, one should not be god-fearing — one must be god-loving. One must not be afraid of hell and one must not have any charm or fascination for the so-called heaven. One must know that one has come from that Supreme progenitor and one’s culminating point of all sorts of marches, all sorts of movements is that Supreme Entity. Everything cometh from God, and the way is back to God. The relationship is that of love and affection, and not of any fear complex. One must not say, "Oh God, I am a sinner." You need not say like this — it is superfluous to say like this. Because whatever you did is known to Him. Then what is the necessity of saying, "Oh God, I am a sinner"? … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 11 Namaskar Welcome to the 11th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers morality as the base of spiritual practices and cult/ure and the achievement of a pinnacled order of mind. It also outlines what is the correct meaning of kundalinii as a ideative force (but which is metaphorically refered to as the coiled serpentine force) and examines the inner meaning of the relationship between Krisna and Radha. The Sanskrit letter ‘U’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to Issue 7 for more details. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Key Themes Ananda Sutram: 1 – 8 Gunabandhanena gunabhivyaktih Purusa (Consciousness) Prakrti (Operative Principle) guna (binding principle) Mahattattva (Cosmic I-feeling) Ahamtattva (Cosmic Doer-I) Citta (Cosmic Done-I) ethereal (akashatattva), aerial (vayutattva), luminous, liquid and solid factors external pressure internal frictions Subhasita Samgraha: The Cult Of Spirituality – The Cult Of Pinnacled Order morality as the base of the cult of spirituality proper control of psycho-physical emanations (Yama) physico-psychic waves and proper adjustment between external and internal world (Niyama) proper functioning of glands and subglands proper thoughts rationality pinnacled order of the mind ideation and ideas actional faculty intellectual with intuitional faculty devotional with emotional faculty guru (dispeller of darkness from the mind, teacher of a methodical way of life) Other Works: The Meaning of Krs’n'a in Ra’ja Yoga inborn instincts ten va’yus (vital-energy flows – five internal and five external) pra’n'a’ya’ma (regulation of vital energy flows) indriyas (organs – five sensory and five motor) chakras (and fifty main propensities) sahasra’ra cakra and the pineal gland biija mantras (acoustic roots) emanating sound vibrations devata’ (particular vibrational existence) Krs’n'a – Paramashiva (link to Supreme Consciousness) in sahasra’ra cakra Ra’dha’ – kulakun’d'alinii (sleeping divinity) at the mu’la’dha’ra cakra Ra’ja Yoga Cosmic Cycle of creation – saincara (extroversial flow) and pratisaincara (introversial flow) Acoustic Roots: u ‘u’ sound as acoustic root panchama (pa’) – fifth musical note of the surasaptaka (seven notes of Indo-Aryan music) Ananda Sutram: 1 – 8 Gunabandhanena gunabhivyaktih Purport: Guna means binding principle. The stronger the bondage upon anything the cruder the thing becomes. When in Her freedom acquired from the Purusa (Consciousness), the Prakrti (Operative Principle) binds Purusa, the conscious Purusa gets metamorphosed into Mahattattva (Cosmic I-feeling), Ahamtattva (Cosmic Doer-I), Citta (Cosmic Done-I) under the ever increasing binding factors and then, as a result of the gradually greater and still greater bondage of the static principal (tamoguna) there come into being as per degrees of crudification, the ethereal, the aerial, the luminous, the liquid and (ultimately) the solid factors. Even in the latter there are degrees of bondages. On account of the firmness of bondages the interatomic and inter-molecular distances go on decreasing, as the result of which the internal frictions in the material body go on increasing. The external pressure of attributional bondage and the internal frictions compel greater and greater attributional expressions in the bodies of objects. Here one should bear in mind that attributional expression does not mean the excess of attributional capabilities but that of the attributional manifestations as well as the attributional peculiarities. The akashatattva or ethereal factor has the sound carrying attribute. Suppose if we fix its measure at one hundred, in that case when the akashatattva gets metamorphosed into vayutattva or aerial factor on account of the greater static bondage, the attribute of touch is also expressed therein along with the sound-carrying attribute but the attributional capacity remaining what it is – unenhanced. The sound-carrying attribute wanes in the vayutattva as compared to akashatattva but all the same the combined measure of the sonic and the factual attributes still remains at one hundred. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Back to Key Themes Subhasita Samgraha: The Cult Of Spirituality – The Cult Of Pinnacled Order You know, spiritualism and spirituality are not the same thing. Spiritualism means something which concerns ghosts, and spirituality is something which concerns the Supreme Cognitive Principle. So there is a heaven-and-hell difference between the terms ’spiritualism’ and ’spirituality’. We are concerned with spirituality. Now, for all actions, be they intellectual, intuitional, or purely psychic, there must be a base, a standing point, a starting point. And there must also be a goal — a supreme desideratum. For this cult of spirituality, the base is morality; without morality nothing can be done. And morality concerns two types of waves; one psycho-physical emanations, and another: physico-psychic waves, physico-psychic movement. In the case of psycho-physical emanations, one should have proper control, proper regulation over those emanative flows. And in the case of physico-psychic movement, one should maintain a proper adjustment between the external world and the internal world, between the external physicality and the internal subjective world. The goal is the attainment of that Supreme Stance where there will be justice and fair play for all inanimate and animate beings. Pra’ii’a'h yatha’lmaiio’bhiis’l'a’h bhu’ta’na’rn’ api te tatha’ Atmaopomyena bhu’ta’nalml daya’m’ kurvanti sa’dhavah. ‘You love your life. Other living beings also love their lives.’ You should remember this. This sort of remembrance is called sa’dhu dharma or Bhagavata Dharma (the dharma or natural expression and longing of human beings), and the person who practises this cult is a true sa’dhu (spiritual practitioner). So there must not be any gap between your thinking and your actions. If there is any gap, that gap should be minimised step by step. Finally, thought and action should coincide. So in the plane of morality there are two divisions: psycho-physical emanation and physico-psychic movement. In Sam’skrta (Sanskrit), this psycho-physical emanation is Yama, and physico-psychic movement is called Niyama. Preaching disparity amongst human beings, or disparity amongst living beings — human beings, animals, birds, plants, etc. — is not morality. The Supreme Equality, the Supreme Spiritual Stance cannot be achieved where there is any thought of disparity. So at the very start, one must practise these two types of morality and become one with them. Now, morality is the base, and the Supreme Stance is the goal. Morality propels the microcosms towards the Goal, and the Goal is attracting them towards Cosmic Consciousness without break or pause. Since Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) is attracting all entities towards Himself, in Sam’skrta He is called Krs’n'a. One of the meanings of the word Krs’n'a is "one who attracts." Another meaning is "the entity on whom the existence of all other entities depends." Thus, on the one hand Parama Purus’a is attracting the spiritual aspirants to move ahead; and on the other hand, the spiritual aspirants, by dint of their own efforts, their own moral force, are also moving towards Him. Because of these sources of impetus, human beings arrive at their destination. If some people feel that Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness – God) is not sympathetic or gracious towards them, that He is not attracting them, in that case I will advise them to become more established in morality, and then they will instantly feel the grace of Parama Purus’a, because it is through their own moral force that they move forward. Parama Purus’a does His duty of attracting them, and they have their own duty to move towards the Goal. Let the sa’dhakas (spiritual aspirants) do their duty, and let Parama Purus’a do His. Then, the physical body should be sanctified by good thoughts, good actions, and good food as well, and also by various physical practices that affect the nerve fibres of the body; because through the nerve fibres, through the afferent and efferent nerves, the first phase of realisation comes. The highest realisation, however, does not depend upon the nerve cells and nerve fibres, although for this, good food and self-restraint are necessary. It is not proper for one to eat whatever one gets. You should eat only that sort of food which will have a beneficial influence on your body, mind and spirit. It is not proper for human beings to eat simply whatever is available, nor is it proper for animals either. Animals do indeed discriminate between food items. In this regard, Lord Shiva said: Phalis’yatiiti vishva’sah siddherprathama laks’an’am Dvitiiyam’ shraddhaya’ yuktam’, trtiityam’gurupujanam. Caturtho samata’bha’vo paincamendriyanigrahah S’as’t'hainca pramita’ha’ro, saptamam’naeva vidyate. This sanctification and purification of the body through proper food and proper behaviour and various practices should be complemented by certain other practices to create a perfect adjustment in the body among the glands, subglands, and their hormonal secretions. The propensities of living structures are both directly and indirectly controlled by the secretions of hormones from different glands and subglands … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 9 Namaskar Welcome to the 9th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue considers the significance of how mind progresses in spiritual movement (cult) in a spiritual culture and the characteristic features of the term ‘dharma’. The Sanskrit letter ‘I’ is given a brief mention as an acoustic root (and as one of the petals in the 5th chakra). Refer back to issue 7 for more details. As part of each issue of this email series, one letter of the Sanskrit alphabet is mentioned. Next week will be the letter ‘II’. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Ultimately, their use is as an aid in understanding one’s Self and the spiritual nature of the Cosmos, which is gleaned by the significance of the concepts from the deepest spiritual perspective. This is a free service and you may receive copies of unique articles on tantra once every two weeks (there will be 25 issues per year). The ongoing format is a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram, a regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (spiritual scriptures), an article from other works and a brief discussion of a letter from the Sanskrit alphabet (which is also the acoustic root of a particular propensity of a chakra). Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with an expanded understanding each time. If you are having trouble with Sanskrit terminology, don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Unfortunately, there will be occassional typing, layout and formatting errors. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Key Themes * Ananda Sutram 1 – 6 Nivrttimukhii pratisaincarah gunavaksayena Purusa (Consciousness) and Prakrti (Operative Force) Purusottama (the Nucleus Consciousness) jiivatman (unit soul) guna (binding principles) citta (objectivity, mind stuff) merger of unit mind in Consciousness vrtii (desire) pravrtti (accelerated momentum of desire) nivrtti (loss of desire) pratisaincara (introversial phase of the Cosmic Cycle) * Subhasita Samgraha – Perfect Spirituality and Neo-Humanism Neo-Humanism – welfare for humans, animals, plants and all the animate and inanimate worlds done-I (citta) – objectivated ‘I’ feeling or extro-internal objectivated ‘I’ doer-I feeling (ahamtattva) – ego pure "I-feeling" (mahattattva) – sense of ‘I exist’ establishment in Cosmic Cognisance dogma * The Ten Characteristics Of Dharma dharma – innate characteristic (dhrti may also be used in the sense of dharma) dhrti – patience ks’ama – forgiveness damah – self control asteya – non stealing of anything physically or mentally shaoca – cleanliness, both external and internal indriyanigraha – control of organs (indriyas): five sensory and five motor organs dhii – benevolent intellect vidya’ – spiritual knowledge (concern with internal life) satyam’ – love of truth akrodha – non-anger avidya – material science or physical development (concern with external life) paradharma – the type of dharma which is unfit to be followed by human beings * Acoustic Roots – I acoustic root gandara (ga’) 50 sounds — Ananda Sutram1 – 6 Nivrttimukhii pratisaincarah gunavaksayena Purport: The excess of desire (vrtti) is pravrtti (attachment) or the accelerated momentum of desire. The recessive or waning momentum of vrtti is nivrtii (detachment) or the loss of desire in the introversial phase. During the centrifugal momentum, desire finds its fullest expression in the Purusa (Consciousness) under the static influence of Prakrti (Operative Force). The citta (done I or objective mind or mindstuff) entity that comes into play in the body of Purusa under the static influence of Prakrti, when accepted by the jiivatman (the individual soul or the subjective part of the microcosm) as something perceivable or knowable, appears as the five gross physical elements, ten organs and five tanmatras (sensible and supersensible inferences or generic essences). When the attributional flow reaches its finality, then starts the shedding of the gunas or the binding factors – that is to say, the Purusa then keeps contracting the power of Prakrti. The result is that Prakrti, attracted by the Purusa, gets drawn to Purusottama (the nucleus of the universe). Consequently again, the five gross physical elements gradually get metamorphosed into body, vital energy and mind of the unit. Finally the unit mind merges into Purusottama (the Nucleus Consciousness) as the result of shedding of the binding principles. It is because of the merger of the unit mind into its primal cause that the ultimate state of pratisaincara (introversial movement) is a nonattributive one. This may be called the dissolution of the individual life. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha – Perfect Spirituality and Neo-Humanism Today’s topic of discussion is "Perfect Spirituality and Neo-Humanism." The inner spirit of the path of Sa’dhana (spiritual practices) is expressed in a particular sloka: Yacchet va’un manasi pra’jinas’ Tad yacchet mina’nama’tmani Jina’nama’tmani mahati niyacchet Tad yacchet cha’ntamatmani The entire phase of the divine cult is divided into different sub-phases. In the first phase one withdraws the mind from the external physicalities and establishes oneself in the realm of "done-I" (Citta), that is, objectivated ‘I’ feeling (extro-internal objectivated ‘I’, not intro-external objectivated I). And under such circumstances, what happens? One certainly establishes full or part control over the external physicalities so that one will be in a position to help the world in that realm, if not fully, certainly partly. But when the mind is goaded by certain dogmas, one cannot have a clear idea regarding the external physicalities. So one day one will fail to do one’s duty in that realm of extro-internal movement. Similarly in the second phase, the done-I, the objectivated I feelings of mind are withdrawn from that realm of affairs and established in the pure doer-I feeling (ahamtattva). Under such circumstances it is quite natural that such persons feel all the pains and agonies, all the pleasures and joys of the human mind and help the world accordingly – help the entire world, not only the living world but both the animate and inanimate worlds, and become assets to the whole human society. That is, their approach must be Neo-Humanistic. But if the mind is not pure, if it is amalgamated by dogmas, then certainly even if they are spiritual aspirants they cannot be assets to the human society. Even if they do sa’dhana” (spiritual meditation) for 20 hours out of 24 hours in a day, you can be sure that their sa’dhana’ is not on the right path, because theirs is not the path of Neo-Humanism. It is a defective path – it is a path rent by dogmas. And the third phase is: when the ego (Ahamtattva) is merged in the pure "I-feeling" (Mahattattva). Here one experiences the charm, not only of all human minds, but the charm of all living creatures – indeed the charm of life in the entire universe. Pra’na’h yatha’tmano’bhiist’ah Bhu’ta’na’m api te tatha’ A’tmaopamyena Bhu’ta’nam Dayam’ Kurvanti sa’dhavah. "Just as one’s own life is dear to one’s own self, similarly the lives of other creatures are also equally dear to them. Those who realise this truth are the real sa’dhaka’s." In this phase of sa’dhana’, such sa’dhaka’s feel that all the living beings are their own. In sympathy with the joys and sorrows of all living beings, they help all creatures. And you know, this charm of life is not only associated with flora or fauna but with all entities, even with inanimate objects – gold, iron, water, everything – because everything is living in this universe, everything is dancing in the rhythm of Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). But where such a mentality is lacking, where people are guided more by ahamtattva (ego), they say, "I am doing, I am giving, this was done by me, that was done by me, etc." This will finally culminate in the pure ‘I’ feeling (Mahattattva) which is not affected by any sense of ego or vanity. But though people at this stage are moving in the path of sa’dhana ‘ still there is some defect in them. Their minds do not inspire the lives of others, their minds do not touch the minds of others. They do not reach the sweetness of others ‘I’ feelings, for they are too preoccupied with themselves. Their approach is defective; their path is not the path of Neo-Humanism. And when the spiritual aspirants enter the final phase and become one with Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), certainly there remains no duality in them. They will realise the fact that everything is in Him, everything cometh from Him, remaineth in Him and goeth back to Him. There is no question of any duality. Everything becomes theirs, and they become everyone’s. So under such circumstances, such people cannot say that "I am the messenger of God, and what I say is the way. Those who follow me are the blessed people, and others are the cursed people." Those who think thus are not guided by the spirit of universalism, and it should be understood that they can never attain the supreme Goal in life. They are neither apostles nor prophets, nor are they realized souls. They themselves are following a defective path – not a Neo-Humanistic path – and … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 8 Welcome to the 8th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue again touches on the Sanskrit alphabet and the acoustic roots of sounds (which are ultimately also associated with the petals or propensiteis of the various chakras). Refer back to issue 7 for more details. As part of each issue of this email series, one letter of the Sanskrit alphabet will be discussed. The letter a’ is analysed in this edition. Next week will be the letter i. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Ultimately, their use is as an aid in understanding one’s Self and the spiritual nature of the Cosmos, which is gleaned by the significance of the concepts from the deepest spiritual perspective. This is a free service and you may receive copies of unique articles on tantra once every two weeks (there will be 25 issues per year). The ongoing format is a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram, a regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (spiritual scriptures), an article from other works and a brief discussion of a letter from the Sanskrit alphabet (which is also the acoustic root of a particular propensity of a chakra). Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with an expanded understanding each time. If you are having trouble with Sanskrit terminology, don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Unfortunately, there will be occassional typing, layout and formatting errors. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Key Themes * Ananda Sutram 1 – 5 Pravrtimukhii saincarah gunadharayam Purusa (Consciousness) and Prakrti (Operative Force) Mahatattva (sense of existence) Ahamtattva (sense of do-er ship) Citta (objectivity, mind stuff) guna (binding principles: sattvaguna-sentient, rajoguna-mutative, tamoguna-static) * Subhasita Samgraha – The Path of Salvation Eight-fold Path of Buddha Samyak Darshan (proper philosophy) Samyak Sam’kalpa (proper firm determination) Samyak Va’k (proper sensory and motor organ orientation) Samyak Ajiiva (proper physical and psychic occupation) Samyak Vyayam (proper exercise-physical, mental and spiritual) Samyak Karmanta (proper sincerity in and completion of work) Samyak Smrti (proper memory) Samyak Samadhi (proper absorption or suspension of mind) goals difference between humans and animals * God’s Reflections are Everywhere Varna Mala (varna – colour) or Shabda Mala (shabda – sound) or Aksa Mala (range of letters) first letter A last letter Ksa letter Ka – acoustic root of objectivated Brahma Sarvavyapii (God as all-pervasive) Sarva = `sa’, `ra’, `va Sa – acoustic root of the sentient principle, sattvaguna Sha – acoustic root of the mutative principle, rajoguna S’a – acoustic root of the static principle, tamoguna Ra – acoustic root of energy Va – acoustic root of dharma bhagavat dharma (human dharma) Antaratma (Inner Soul) Jiivatma (unit consciousness) Karmadhyaksa (God as seer of all) * Acoustic Roots – A’ A – acoustic root of saraja A’ – acoustic root of rs’abha musical notes Brahma vidya (intuitional science) ga’ndhar vidya (science of music) — Ananda Sutram1 – 5 Pravrtimukhii saincarah gunadharayam Purport: The object-ward movement (expression) of the Purusa (Consciousness) from the nucleus of the Cosmic Cycle under the influence of Prakrti (Operative Force) is called pravrtii (extrovertive phase). As the result of the initial impact of the Operative Force on the witnessing Purusottama (Cosmic Nucleus), there awakens in Him the sense of existence, which, in the language of philosophy is called Mahattattva, and the Operative Force concerned, whereby this Mahattattva comes into being is called sattvaguna or the sentient principle of Prakrti. Guna means binding principle. The second impact of the operative force of Prakrti results in the sense of doer-ship or authorship. This changed expression of the Purusa is called Ahamtattva or ‘doer I’ and the Operative Force concerned is called rajoguna or the mutative principle of Prakrti. Finally, through the greater impact of the operative force of Prakrti, in the wake of Her successive attacks comes the crudest objectivity or complete objectivation of Purusa (the crudest objective counterpart of the subjective cosmos). This condition of the Purusa is called Citta or mind stuff. The Operative Force concerned, whereby such objectivation takes place, is called tamoguna or static principle of Prakrti. That is to say, with the onset of desire and attachment (pravrtti) the centrifugal action (saincara) issues right from one and the same Purusa through the gradual process of the binding principles (gunas). Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha – The Path of Salvation The subject of today’s discourse is The Path of Salvation. As you all know, everything moves. Humans will have to move. Nobody can remain stationary and life represents that movement. There must be movement in human life. As in all strata of life, in our physical stratum we’ll have to face, we’ll have to solve so many problems, and in the physical stratum also the goal is the Cosmic welfare, the Supreme welfare. As this physical stratum, however, is a creation of fundamental relative factors which are also moving, there cannot be any permanent goal or permanent point of stagnation in this realm. Really speaking, there cannot be any progress in the realm of physicality nor in the psychic arena. You are moving, solving one problem, a few more problems will be created and so on. But human beings cannot remain idle. They will have to move forward. In psychic stratum also, so many psychic knots are unknotted but so many psychic problems are again created. If there is no proper adjustment amongst physical, psychic and spiritual movements, the psychic side of humans will get unbalanced and many new psychic diseases will get created. This is the present position of the world. There has been enough physical progress, less spiritual progress and the psychic structures of humans have lost their equilibrium, rather their equipoise, and that’s why the modern society is suffering from so many psychic ailments. Really speaking there cannot be any true progress in the psychic arena. Progress can be only in the spiritual level, because the spiritual goal, the spiritual desideratum of the humans is beyond the periphery of the fundamental factors – spatial, temporal and personal. So a person, a wise person is to move on towards the spiritual goal. While moving along the path of beatitude they will do their physical and psychic duty properly. This is the true path. Now everything moves and that movement is of systaltic nature. Wherever there is any movement there is pulsation. Without pulsation there cannot be any movement. And this pulsation, that is movement through speed and pause, is an essential factor for each and every animate or inanimate object. Wherever there is existential factor there must be this pulsation. An entity acquires strength and stamina, during the pause phase, and emanates vibration during the speed period. There cannot however, be any absolute speed or absolute pause in the created world. For a proper or a well-knit structure, there must be one nucleus and there must be many entities moving around that nucleus. Whether within a very little atom or in this vast cosmological order, the same movement is there around a nucleus. Hence in the middle there is the nucleus and everybody is moving around it and always the path is to some extent elliptical. I said "to some extent" as it is not actually elliptical. In the case of atoms, electrons are moving. In case of our etherial order, the moon moves around the earth. In case of our solar system so many planets are moving around the sun, and in the Supreme Cosmological Order the point of command is Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness). God is the nucleus and everybody is moving around Him. Now the fundamental difference between this cosmological order having Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) as the nucleus and other orders, is that in all other orders the movement is physical and the nucleus is also physical. In the case of this Cosmological Order, however, the nucleus is spiritual with all the potentialities of psychic and physical expression, and the moving entities are physical having psychic and physical pabula. That is, when we move, we not only move physically but we move along with our psychic structure and spiritual structure also. When asked by his disciples, Lord Buddha said that the proper style of movement should be according to a definite system and in that definite system there should be 8 fundamental factors. Another thing I should say here, for movement around the nucleus two forces are at work-one is centripetal and one is centrifugal. The centripetal force is called Vidya’Shakti or centre-seeking force. Those moving with Vidya’ Shakti get inspiration to move towards the nucleus. The other is centrifugal or drifting away from the centre. This movement always increases the radius, and where Vidya’ is more strong the radius is always reduced until finally the moving entity becomes one with the nucleus. This is salvation – becoming one with Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness), becoming one with the Supreme … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 7 Welcome to the 7th edition in this series of discourses on tantra. This issue gives a run down on the various propensities associated with each chakra and the acoustic root of each ‘petal’ of each chakra. In effect this is also the Sanskrit alphabet. In the relevant discourse you will see, starting from the 5th chakra and working downwards, each consecutive letter of the first 48 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. Then the last 2 letters are the propensities associated with the 6th chakra. As part of each issue of this email series, one letter of the Sanskrit alphabet will also be discussed. The letter a is analysed in this edition. Next week will be the letter a’. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very truest spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Ultimately, their use is as an aid in understanding one’s Self and the spiritual nature of the Cosmos, which is gleaned by the significance of the concepts from the deepest spiritual perspective. This is a free service and you may receive copies of unique articles on tantra once every two weeks (there will be 25 issues per year). The ongoing format is a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram, a regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (Treatise on Intuitional Science), an article from other works and a brief discussion of a letter from the Sanskrit alphabet (which is also the acoustic root of a particular propensity of a chakra). Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with an expanded understanding each time. If you are having trouble with Sanskrit terminology, don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses appear below. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Key Themes Issue 6 – Ananda Sutram 1 – 4 Paramashivah Purusottamah vishvasya kendram Cosmic Cycle (Brahmacakra) guna (binding attribute) centrifugal (saincara) and centripetal (pratisaincara) Purusa (Consciousness) and Prakrti (Operative Force) Issue 6 – Subhasita Samgraha – Maya’ and Moksa’ Maya and creation gunas (operative principles) cause and effect expressed or known world cognition bhava (ideation or idea) Mukti (liberation) and Moks’a (salvation) the Absolute Issue 6 – Plexii and Microvita glands and sub-glands plexii and chakras propensities acoustic roots microvita reflected and refracted light Issue 6 – Acoustic Roots – A sound of creation vibration and sound musical notes surasaptaka (septave) and octave — Ananda Sutram 1 – 4 Paramashivah Purusottamah vishvasya kendram Purport: The trivalent Operative Force (Prakrti) has been apparently crudifying the original Consciousness through Her own binding forces – this is one of the processes of Her activity. Her other process being that by gradually relaxing the influence of Her three attributes on the crude object She regains the characteristic of the Purusa, thus putting an end to Her binding operation. The first named process of the Operative Force (Prakrti) is centrifugal and the other half is centripetal. The Cosmic Cycle (Brahma Cakra or Srs’ti Cakra) or evolutionary process is manifested through the combination of these very centrifugal and centripetal actions. The nucleus of this Cosmic Cycle is indeed the characteristic bearing (svabha’va) of the Purusa. The material cause of the entire Cosmic Cycle is the Purusa or Shiva (Consciousness) and we shall call this nucleus Parama Shiva or Purusottama. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha – Treatise on Intuitional Science Maya’ and Moks’a Today’s subject of discourse is Maya’ and Moks’a. While speaking of Maya’, Lord Krisn’a stresses the role of Maya’ as being subordinate to Him; of Maya’ being subservient to Ishvara (Supreme Controller). Only those who surrender themselves to His protection and guidance can overcome its bounds. Just as northbound travellers have to keep the pole star before their eyes, the passenger on the path of liberation from Maya’ will have to keep the Lord as his or her goal. No other physical or mental compass is potent enough to guide one’s progress on this path, the path of Dharma (innate tendency or characteristic property or nature). That is why it is said that there is only one Dharma – the way towards the Absolute. Maya’ and the Creation What is Maya’? When Parama Purusa’ (Cognitive Principle) desires to create something, the Shaktii (force) required is known as Maya’. As such, one of the important characteristics of Maya’ is its plasticity. It is equally clear that since Maya’ is the force behind creation, if the Cognitive Principle had not desired to create anything, Ma’ya’ would have had no manifestation. What is it that made Him create and thus make the manifestation of Maya’ possible? The traditionally upheld cause and effect theory cannot answer this question, for the theory works and holds good only in the expressed world (ie, the universe after it has been created). Thus once the seed and the tree are there as a part of the expressed world, the cause and effect theory recognises the seed as the cause and the tree as the effect. But why was the seed or the tree originally created is a problem beyond its scope. Thus the cause and effect theory does not go beyond the expressed world. Now action which is beyond cause and effect is Liila (Divine Play). To differentiate further, action which is governed by the cause and effect theory is known as Krd’a. All His creation is Liila. Hence the manifestation of Ma’ya in the expressed world too is His Liila. Maya’ and Jiivas Maya’ influences the Jiiva (unit consciousness) in a number of ways. In His creation of the world, it is not the Citi Shakti (Cognitive Force or Cognitive Faculty) that works. Instead, when ordered by Him, Maya’ is the force which works. Here it is known as Visn’u ma’ya’. When human beings experience His attraction from Antahkarana (intrinsic portion of the mind or internal instrument) the feeling that something is to be done is generated in them. This is also done by Maya’ and here it is known as Yogama’ya’. Apart from these forms, Maya’ works in the Jiiva (unit consciousness) in two other forms – as Vishva maya’ and as An’uma’ya’. The fundamental stuff or matter used in His creation is Himself. In this process of creation, the Cognitive Principle crudifies Himself into this expressed world with the use of Vis’n'uma’ya’. But the essential element, the fundamental stuff is He. However, the Jiiva does not have the capacity to see Him in this creation. A person sees a pot as a pot, a forest as a forest and so on. This is the work of Vishvama’ya’. The sum of manifested Maya’ in the universe is known as Ma’ha’ma’ya’. Now, it is observed that individuals can create the same things in their minds which are expressed outside and are seen in this expressed world. They can create a whole world in their minds, according to their fancy, and can enjoy pain or pleasure from it. Such vicarious living is found especially in persons of advanced age. This is the work of An’uma’ya’. It must never be overlooked however that despite its various forms, it is His Maya’, and that He is the Ma’ya’dhis’ha. Therefore, if the individual starts a fight against Maya’, he or she cannot succeed. This is amply confirmed by the fact that you cannot effectively indulge in the suppression or repression of a certain Bha’va (underlying idea) for long, ultimately it overpowers you, because the more you try to suppress it the greater becomes the force with which it rebounds. If crude ideas come into your mind, you are not crude or bad – it is natural for them to come. But mental or psychic suppression or repression of these is not profitable for Sa’dhakas (spiritual aspirants). Instead the correct and psychological approach to Maya’ is to channelise it in the direction of the Absolute. For in this expressed world, you cannot overpower Maya’ because she has a much greater power. The central problem of reconciling the earthly duties of human beings with their progress towards the absolute thus crops up. The answer lies in the fact that this world is a relative truth. Human beings should not become slaves to it but should use it properly. However, as mind is engaged in it while using it, one may tend to crudify both in the mind and hence, in the body. This would hamper movement towards the Absolute which is the subtlest entity. The way out is to bring in the ideation of the Absolute. In other words, you should realise that while living in the expressed crude world, you do not work for the worldly things but for Him and with Him, because He is the essential element, the fundamental stuff out of which this world has been created. Maya’ and the Absolute On the other hand, those who run away from this material world to escape Maya’ only deceive themselves. For with the help of Maya’, they will be led to Him, as Ma’ya’ has a close relation with the Absolute. What is this relation? Maya’ has three gun’as – operative principles through which it works, viz; Sattvagun’a (sentient principle), Rajogun’a (mutative principle) and Tamogun’a (static principle). They work and lie in an ascending order on the road to the Absolute. The sentient principle (Sattvagun’a) has the capacity to take the sa’dhaka (spiritual aspirant) very near Him (Nira’ka’ra Brahma) by making the mind more and more subtle. But … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 6 Welcome to the 6th edition in this ongoing series of discourses on tantra. This issue has a curious combination of articles. Of special interest is the article about Krsna and the explanation as to the stages of realisation of devotees which is explained in such a way as if one feels Krsna as one’s dearest. This article was chosen so that something of the feeling of devotion could be understood and hence the stages of realisation. The other article is an explanation as to sex differences in relation to incarnation but with the clear message that sex difference has no relevance to ability to attain spiritual realisation and hence spirituality does not discriminate between male and female. It touches on how sex differences arise on incarnation of mind (and unit soul) into body from the perspective of centripetal and centrifugal inclinations. Given by a contemporary tantric master these discourses are in the very true spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Ultimately, their use is in understanding one’s Self by the significance of the concepts from the deepest spiritual perspective. This is a free service and you may receive copies of unique articles on tantra once every two weeks (there will be 25 issues per year). The ongoing format is a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram, a regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (Treatise on Intuitional Science), plus an article from other works. Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with an expanded understanding each time. If you are having trouble with Sanskrit terminology, don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses appear at the end of this email. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Ananda Sutram 1 – 3 Tayoh siddhih saincare pratisaincare ca Purport: The existence of any entity is known by the process of its activity, thought or witness-ship, of which witness-ship belongs to Purusa (Consciousness) and the other two substantive factors primarily belong to Prakrti (Operative Principle). And so the fact of Prakrti being the causal entity of the stream of action and thought will be recognised only when She completely identifies herself with objectivity. This appropriation of objectivity by Prakrti depends on her ever-increasing (saincara) or decreasing (pratisaincara) influence on Purusa. Prakrti’s manifestation lies in these extrovertive (saincara) and introvertive (pratisaincara) processes. In all these manifestations of Prakrti, Purusa not only exists as the material cause but as the witness as well, in all states and conditions. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha (Treatise on Intuitional Science) Philosophical Differences Between Men And Women If you are really intent on bringing about the well-being of human beings you have to create spiritual aspiration in people. You have to generate some kind of hunger for spirituality and meditation so that people understand that Dharma* is their life breath, that their whole life should be ensconced only in Dharma. In this spiritual practice there is no discrimination between men and women – in fact, there cannot be any discrimination. Jiivatman (unit soul) or unit consciousness does not evolve out of the five fundamental factors** and as such there cannot be any sexual difference for Jiivatman (unit soul). Nava strii na pumanesa na caevayam nampussahah Yadyacchriiramadatte tenatena sarahsate. "Jiivatma is neither male nor female nor hermaphrodite." The disembodied soul attains the body of a woman, man or hermaphrodite in a certain country at a certain time for the full expression of its internal samskaras (potential reactions to past actions/thoughts). In this process of incarnation there is no question of high or low, noble or ignoble, great or small, for whatever might be the physical differences of sex. Jiivatman (unit soul) is always the witnessing entity of the concerned body. The sex difference of the quinquelemental body** is mainly physical and has nothing to do with the Jiivatman (soul). The unexpressed psychic reactions of the disembodied entities or bodiless souls are guided by the Cosmic Mind, and so take their physical forms with the appropriate structures at a given time and place, resulting in independent actions or reactions. Depending upon the nature of the samskaras (potential reactions to past actions/thoughts) there is either the predominance of the centripetal force or the predominance of the centrifugal force. The centripetal force draws the commodities of enjoyment to the enjoyer, whereas the centrifugal force takes the entity itself to the objects of enjoyment. Where there is a predominance of the centripetal force in samskaras, the disembodied entity takes the form of a female for the expression of its internal samskaras; and where there is a predominance of the centrifugal force, the disembodied entity takes the male form. In the case where the total of the centripetal and centrifugal forces in the samskaras is neutral, the Jiivatman is the witnessing entity to a hermaphrodite. Of course, among hermaphrodites the centripetal and centrifugal forces are not equally balanced – one or the other is slightly predominant. That is why some hermaphrodites have female characteristics and some have male characteristics. Due to the balance of the centripetal and centrifugal forces, there are also hermaphrodites in undeveloped creatures. There is less internal struggle in undeveloped creatures than in developed ones, and more external clash in the former than the latter, so undeveloped creatures multiply themselves by dividing their own bodies into different parts. By comparison with undeveloped creatures, human beings undergo more internal clash and less external clash, and they are unable to multiply themselves through replication (self-division). In order to increase their numbers developed creatures with either the predominance of centripetal or centrifugal forces are compelled to take the help of one another, and for this reason there is a difference of sex between male and female. Without this sex difference their lineage cannot be preserved. It is obvious that depending on the differences in ideation there are sex differences only in the crude*** sphere for the proper expression of the internal samskaras. This sort of difference does not exist in the spiritual sphere and has no spiritual significance at all. The centripetality or centrifugality of psychic tendencies depends upon the crude psychic base or the crude psychic thought processes. With change in the physical glands there is also a corresponding change in the centripetal or centrifugal tendencies of the mind. That is, if one begins to think about the other sex, the centripetal or centrifugal tendencies of mind undergo a change. Conversely, with a considerable change in the centripetal or centrifugal tendencies of mind, a corresponding change occurs in the physical body. Consequently, a man can be converted into a woman and a woman into a man. (The difference in the mode of enjoyment between men and women with regard to mundane objects is an expression of their centrifugal or centripetal psychic tendencies.) So you see that the concepts of male, female and hermaphrodite are not something that can be accepted as an absolute or unalterable truth, and there can be no cause for any discrimination between men or women on the basis of sex. As there is no sex difference in Jiivatman (soul), it is not justified to discriminate between the potentialities of men and women in spiritual practices. Yet certain aspects of sadhana pertain to body and mind, so consideration has to be given to the glandular differences between men and women, and their possible effects on the human mind. Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii Translated from Subhasita Samgraha V (Bengali) pp. 102-107. * rigtheousness – or that which is most natural to an entity which in the case of human being is to obtain infinite happiness which can only be obtained from spiritual realisation ** etherial, luminous, aerial, liquid, solid *** eg as in density of waves or vibrations — Krs’n'a Imparts Six Stages of Realization When Parama Purus’a (Cosmic Consciousness) incarnates Himself as Ta’raka Brahma (the Supreme Entity in Its liberating aspect) at a certain stage of transition, the people of that period invariably enjoy some special privileges. These privileges enjoyed by the people are the veritable proof of Ta’raka Brahma’s advent or incarnation. Let us analyse how Krs’n'a of Vraja and Pa’rthasa’rathi Krs’n'a tried to help and actually did help elevate people on the path of spirituality. When people attain progress in the realm of spiritual realization, their progress is divided into six stages – Sa’lokya, Sa’miipya, Sa’yujya, Sa’ru’pya, Sa’rs’thi and Kaevalya. Sa’lokya: At the stage of Sa’lokya, people feel that they have come on to the earth at the same time as Parama Purus’a. The greatest achievement of human life is that one has come to live in this world at the same time that Parama Purus’a Himself has chosen to incarnate on this earth as Ta’raka Brahma. The great devotee Vrindavana Das has observed: E heno sampad hale gora na bhajinu hele koti pade na karinu ash shrii Krs’n'a caetanya ihakur shrii nityananda guna gay vrindavan das "It is my greatest misfortune … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 5 Welcome to the fifth edition in this ongoing series of discourses on tantra. Given by a contemporary tantric master in the very true spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Ultimately, their use is in understanding one’s Self by the significance of the concepts from the deepest spiritual perspective. This is a free service and you may receive copies of unique articles on tantra once every two weeks (there will be 25 issues per year). The ongoing format is a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram, a regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (Treatise on Intuitional Science), plus an article from other works. Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with an expanded understanding each time. If you are having trouble with Sanskrit terminology, don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses appear at the end of this email. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Ananda Sutram 1–2 Shakti sa Shivasya shaktih Purport: Every object has a material cause and an efficient cause. Over and above these there is also a conjunctive agency linking the material cause (Upadana) with the efficient or instrumental cause (Nimiita). The determination of the firmness or laxity of the relation of the material cause with the efficient cause depends on the degrees of conjunctive functions. In the process of creation Purusa (The Principle of Consciousness) is the material factor, and Prakrti (The Operative Principle) is the linking force consummating the relation between the material and the efficient causes. As the efficient cause Purusa (Consciousness) is the primary factor and Prakrti (Cosmic Operative Principle) is the secondary one. Purusa is the all-pervading entity and so none else except Him can be the material cause. Prakrti or Operative Principle, not being all-pervading, is sheltered in Purusa. In the body of Purusa, Prakrti can only work according to the opportunity given by the Purusa. And so, in the science of creation Purusa alone as the Doer-Entity is the chief efficient or instrumental cause and since Prakrti has been posing as the Doer with the authority given to her by Purusa, she is the subordinate efficient cause. The distortion or expressions which are taking place in the material cause (Upadana) through the efficient cause (Nimitta) and which we call worldly manifestations, are effected by the three attributes (Sattva – sentient/lucent, Rajah – mutative/modifying and Tamah – static/inertia) of Prakrti. This accounts for the Prakrti being the linking force between the efficient cause and the material cause. So the firmness or feebleness of the object-body fully depends upon the degrees of the influence of Prakrti. The role of Purusa is foremost in all spheres. Prakrti only acts to whatever extent the Purusa has authorised or authorises her to act. In the process of evolution the Purusa gives Prakrti the authority to work and she goes on working. The subtle Purusa goes on attaining crudity gradually due to the bondage of the three gunas or attributes of Prakrti. In the ultimate state of His crudity the Purusa slowly and gradually keeps shrivelling up the opportunity and liberty of Prakrti previously given to her and thus the crudified Purusa, gradually regaining His subtlety returns to His own ultimate characteristic state. The flow of manifestations of the Cosmic Body (Purusa) under the binding influence of Prakrti is what we call Saincara or extroversion from the subtle to the crude, while the gradual process of liber ation that results in the Cosmic Body (Purusa) due to progressive looseness of the bondage is what we call Prati-saincara or introversion from the crude t the subtle. It is now abundantly clear that even though Prakrti is free to make honest use of her acquired power, the attainment or non-attainment of this power depends on Purusa or Citi-Shakti (Consciousness) and so we have to say, Prakrti is but the characteristic of Purusa Himself–Shakti sa shivasya shaktih. – Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha (Treatise on Intuitional Science) Knowledge and Human Progress Knowledge is necessary for any kind of progress. It is hence necessary to find out what is knowledge. A human being’s existence is three-fold. There are three elements in a person as a composite being, viz. the physical body of the individual, the mental body and the spiritual body. The physical body of the individual houses a person’s mind and this mind is the reservoir of all knowledge that a person possesses. Now, what is this physical body of a human being? The individual’s physical body is composed of many kosas (layers), ie of cells. These are of two kinds–the protozoic cells and the metazoic cells. Thus all parts of the human body are composed of a combination of these two types of cells. But in another sense, a human being’s own complete structure can also be regarded as one metazoic cell. Each of the cells has a mind. But this mind is different from the individual’s human mind. The cell minds are dormant and under-developed. Furthermore, the metazoic cells are a collective effect of the protozoic cells. The human mind, too, is involved with these cells. But the human mind is much more developed. It is the unit microcosm plus a collection of both the minds of protozoic and metazoic cells which make up the individual. Therefore the human mind is a collective mind. The microcosm has a mental relation with all its parts, ie composites. Similarly, in the human mind there exists a system of relation between itself and its composites. Thus, the human mind has a direct relationship with both the protozoic and metazoic cells in the individual. But the cells, a composite part of the mind’s expression, have also a collective relation with it. I have said earlier that every unit cell has a mind. The unit protozoic mind is instinctive and because of the above relation, instinct comes in a human being. These cells are made by the food we consume. And so in the ultimate effect, you can regulate the mind of a person by the regulation of his/her diet. These two types of cells compose different parts of a person’s body. Or in other words, different portions of the body are composed of a different collection of the two types of the cells mentioned. So in each of these portions a collective mind is created and that portion works through its commands, irrespective of whether or not the human complete mind effects it. This collective mind of a portion of the body is possible because, as said earlier, every cell has a unit mind no mater however underdeveloped, for without this there will be no reproduction, movement, sound or reflexes in the cell. The individual human being virtually becomes an animal when his/her mind comes predominantly under the influence of the unit mind or the collective minds of these protozoic and metazoic cells only. This is because these cell-minds are undeveloped and of animal nature. However, when the human collective mind dominates in an individual s/he begins to act more like an evolved human being and in highly evolved cases as a divine human being (devata). Hence, you should strive to achieve this condition. The explanation of this is found in the fact that the human collective mind (including protozoic and metazoic mind), ie you own mind, is three-fold; partly psycho-physical, partly psychic and partly psycho-spiritual. What happens when a person dies? Death results in the loss of any physical relationship between the human mind and his/her physical body (ie protozoic and the metazoic cells and their minds.) The nerves are dead. Therefore, the mind, on the physical death of the individual does not remember anything physical thereafter. It is for this reason that when holding the funeral ceremony or Shraddha Ceremony (the ceremony conducted after one’s death) in a sense it is useless and meaningless. This also explains the English saying, "Out of sight, out of mind." But the longing by the microcosm for Iishvara (Supreme Entity or Controller) is psycho-spiritual in character and therefore your mind is engaged in it even after the death of your physical parts. What then is knowledge? The protozoic mind is guided by instincts and its sole concern and relation is with the physical body. A protozoic cell hence does not know its existence but it displays production, movement, sound and reflexes. An individual who may be born criminal by instinct is guided by the collective efforts of so many protozoic cell-minds. S/He will not rise in action, understanding and appetite to anything higher and above physicalities. Intellectual and spiritual values will not appeal to him/her. That is why the effect of more physical culture is never good. The metazoic mind on the other hand, is not solely concerned with the physical. It is also physico-psychic in nature. Human collective mind also has a greater element of the physico-psychic than the pure physical. This is because it has more metazoic cells. But the human mind as a whole is much more complex than even the metazoic minds. It is a collective mind being a collection of: (I) the mind’s own collective mind, (II) the metazoic minds in the parts of the body, (III) the protozoic minds in the parts of the body. The protozoic minds, being concerned with the physical aspect, is … read more »
Response:
Tantric Gems – 4 Welcome to the fourth edition in the new series of discourses on tantra. Given by a contemporary tantric master in the very true spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. This is a free service and you may receive a copy of a unique article on tantra every two weeks (there will be 25 issues a year). These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. In this issue there is a new format developing. Not only do you get the regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (Treatise on Intuitional Science), plus an article from other works, but you now get a sutra from the series Ananda Sutram. Sutras are meant for careful contemplation and can be read over and over again with a new understanding each time. Having trouble with Sanskrit terminology. Don’t worry this will eventually evaporate. Every effort is made to explain terminology and you will be surprised at how short a time it will take to learn terminology simply by reading the articles. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the discourses are: Ananda Sutram 1-1 – Shiva-shaktyatmakam Brahma: Brahma Cosmic Consciousness (Purusa or Shiva) Cosmic Operative Principle (Prakrti or Shakti) soul (atman) and soul-plate mind and mental-plate waves Brahma Krpa’hi Kevalam: Brahma (God) Nirguna Brahma (Non-attributional or Unqualified Consciousness) Saguna Brahma (Attributional or Qualified Consciousness) Mahatattva – Cosmic I-feeling Ahamtattva – Cosmic Ego (Doer-I) Citta – Cosmic Done-I (apparent objectivity) finite and infinite Food, Cells, Physical and Mental Development: human body and mind cells (metazoic and protozoic) food guna (binding principle) sattvik – sentient binding principle rajasik – mutative binding principle tamasik – static binding principle Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Drop a note to say no. Thank you. Dharmadeva — Ananda Sutram 1-1 Shiva-shaktyatmakam Brahma Purport: Brahma is the composite of Shiva and Shakti, ie, Consciousness and Operative Principle. A piece of paper has two sides, so to say. Although they are two for the sake of argument, they can under no circumstances be separated from that one paper entity. Removal of one side of the paper jeopardises the existence of the other. So is the relation of Purusa (Consciousness) and Prakrti (Operative Principle) in the Cosmic Entity (Brahma). None of them can stand without the other. That is why, it is said that they are an inalienable concomitance. As a philosophical word, Shiva or Purusa is used in the pervasive sense and yet in common parlance the word, Atman or Soul or Self is more extensively used. Shiva means Witnessing Consciousness. So does Purusa – ‘Pure shete yah sah purusah’, ie, the witness-ship that lies quiescent in every entity is the Purusa. Atman means that which is omni-telepathic. The physical sense of the body is telepathised on the mental plate. In other words the physical sense is awakened in the mental plate due to the reflection that follows the impact of the crude physical waves on the mental plate. Similarly the sense of every crude object is awakened in the mental plate as soon as the reflection takes place following the impact of the waves of the objects on the mental plate. Identical mental waves hit the soul entity, causing the reflection of those mental waves and this awakens in the unit a sense of its indivisibility from the soul. If, in the language of philosophy, mental waves, ie, thought, be called thought-waves, then the reflection of the mental waves on the soul-plate will have to be termed telepathic waves. And so in reference to the soul-plate, we may say that it is telepathic to the mind. All mundane objects, crude, subtle or causal, consist in the mental waves or thought-waves and so in the fullest accord with reasoning and logic we may call the soul omni-telepathic. It is because of this onmi-telepathic Atman that the existence of all mundane objects, visible or invisible, large or small, find their factual substantiation and recognition. Had there been no Atman, the existence of everything would have been in jeopardy. – Shrii Shrii Anandamurti — Subhasita Samgraha (Treatise on Intuitional Science) Brahma Krpa’hi Kevalam Nirgun’a Brahma (Brahma or God unaffected by any binding principle) is eternal without beginning and Sagun’a Brahma (Brahma affected by the binding principles) as well is eternal without beginning or end. In the common mind the question generally arises that when Sagun’a Brahma (Qualified Brahma) is within the infinite Nirgun’a Brahma (Unqualified Brahma), the former is certainly a little less than infinite, that is to say, is finite. A human being can be is carried away by this misconception, because that person has no conception with regard to the infinite, nor has the person even the capacity to conceive. If four is deducted from ten, the remainder is six. Here, both four and ten are finite. The remainder six is also finite. But if anything finite or infinite is taken from the infinite, the remainder is infinite, indeed. If the boundless Sagun’a Brahma (Qualified Cosmic Consciousness) is taken from the infinite Nirgun’a Brahma (Unqualified Cosmic Consciousness, the remainder is infinite Nirgun’a Brahma. Pu’rn’amadah purn’amdam’ Pu’rn’a'd pu’rna’mudacyate Pu’rn’sya pu’rnmada’ya Purn’ameva’vashisyate. That is to say, this is infinite and that also is infinite. The perfect has given rise to the perfect and if infinite be taken from the infinite, the remainder also is infinite. Sagun’a Brahma (Attributional or Qualifed Cosmic Consciousness) is the nucleus of knowledge in the form of Purus’ottama (the Nucleus Consciousness or the witness of the Cosmic Cycle) and His mental state is His object. Is Purus’ottama (the Nucleus Consciousness or the witness of the Cosmic Cycle) infinite of finite? For the reasons for which Purus’ottama is established in the Subjective Stance or feeling, for that very reason, His knowledge aspect is not destroyed. He is not under the bondage of Ma’ya’ (the Creative Principle of Prakrti, where Prakrti is the Cosmic Operative Principle and of which Ma’ya’ is Prakrti in her phase of creation). Whatever is beyond the bounds of Ma’ya’ is beyond the bounds of time, place and person. For this very reason the Purus’ottama’s entity is independent of time, place and form; that is to say, is infinite. It is to be seen here whether the mind of Purus’ottama, that is whether the Cosmic Mind, is finite or infinite. Mind signifies three aspects – Mahattattva, Ahamtattva and Citta (Mahattattva is Cosmic I-feeling – first mental subjectivity; Ahamtattva is Cosmic ‘doer-I’ – second mental subjectivity; and Citta is Cosmic ‘done I’ – apparently objective mind). On account of there being the expression only of Sattvagun’a (subtle or sentient binding principle, attribute or quality) in Mahattattva (the Cosmic I-feeling) there are no limiting boundaries in the Cosmic `I’. Giving shape to a thing after rendering it finite is effected by Tamogun’a (crude or static binding principle). For this very reason, the Ahamtattva (Cosmic doer-I) – that is, where only Sattvagun’a (subtle or sentient binding principle) and Rajogun’a (intermediate or mutative binding principle) exist in Sagun’a Brahma (Qualified Cosmic Consciousness) – can cause no limitations or differentiations yielding physical forms or crudeness. On this very account we find that the Mahattattva and Ahamtattva portions of the Cosmic Mind are infinite; that is to say, the Cosmic Mind is infinite. Is the Cosmic Citta (Cosmic done-I), the crudest manifestation of the Cosmic Mind, finite or infinite? When Citta (done-I or objective I) has been created under the influence of Tamogun’a (static binding principle of Creation) doubtlessly it is bounded by the limitations of time. In relation to the idea of oneness, Brahma (God) acquires form out of the five elements (ether, aerial, luminous, liquid, solid) to give rise to specific objects, or for the sake of sustaining the existence also accepts/sustains or discards them. So also, as a conglomerate the entire Cosmic Mind assumes a particular shape, and in this the boundaries are formed by the manifestation of unit minds. The only difference between the two (Cosmic and unit) is that the component of the unit mind is only the reflection of the Cosmic Mind. This five elemental world is the crude manifestation of the Cosmic Mind, which is the creator of the sublime forms of the unit minds. This five elemental world is nothing by the mental stuff of the Cosmic Mind and that very Cosmic Mind forms the medium of the individual for experiencing feelings of pleasure or pain. This five elemental world, though very large and extensive is not infinite, because it is simply the collective evolution of the Cosmic Citta (Cosmic done-I or apparent objective I of the Cosmos), created by the help of Tamogun’a (the crude or static binding principle of Creation). Doubtlessly, it is bounded by limits. Just as each of the planets, the stars and the heavenly bodies possess a particular shape, so also their sum total is not shapeless, because all these are the results of the mind stuff of the Cosmic Mind. The scientists also will arrive at this reality and will recognise the correctness of the sages’ words. This extremely vast Cosmic Mind-stuff resembling the oval shape of the solar world is known as Brahma’n'da (anda means egg in Sanskrit). The present visible Universe is finite – howsoever vast it may be; but is the potentiality of the Cosmic Mind-stuff also limited? That is to say, as a result of the evolutionary progress when the present Cosmic Mind-stuff shall merge into the state of … read more »
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Tantric Gems – 3 Welcome to the third edition in the new series of discourses on tantra. This is a free service and you may receive a copy of a unique article on tantra every two weeks (there will be 25 issues a year). These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Given by a contemporary tantric master in the true spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and service to humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. In this issue there is another special bonus. Not only do you get the regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (Treatise on Intuitional Science) but an article about Tantra’s effect on society comes as an extra. Missed out on previous issues? Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the two discourses ("The Base of Life" and "Tantra and Its Effect on Society") are: The Base of Life: proper use of things (vaeragya) finite and objects base of body and mind spiritual base Tantra and Its Effect on Society: tantra and tantrikas fighting spirit spiritual practices (sadhana) kula-kundalinii mental beings (human) animality and crudity Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Thank you. Dharmadeva — The Base of Life A finite entity requires a base for its existence. The base shall not only preserve its `I’ feeling in physical form, but it shall also nourish the same every moment with vital energy for that entity. A subtle entity requires a base in exactly the same manner as a physical one – the base being only the subtle form of the physical entity. The subtle entity with which we are always concerned ultimately is mind. The base or vitality of the mind are held to be and concern the accepted, discarded and contemplated objects collectively. These objects, in their basic states, are external and physical, but the mind enjoys them in their internal impression of mental forms only. The mind of a certain individual enjoys a particular finite object for a long time or slowly according to its Sam’ska’ras (reactive momenta to past actions and desires). After enjoying a particular object just for a short time or quickly, it wants to turn to another. The mind cannot enjoy any of the finite objects permanently till eternity without end, because the finite object has both a beginning and an end. In this eternal movement what has a beginning has certainly an end too. You would not be able to enjoy it for all the time. The long hands of Death shall certainly snatch it away. Even then, a human being fails to comprehend this. A person takes that thing as pleasant which s/he, according to his/her Sam’ska’ras (reactive momenta to past actions and desires), retains in his mind for long or which s/he enjoys slowly, and the person treats this slow speed as pleasure and calls it `happiness’. The minds of some persons remain absorbed in thoughts of money for a long time. Such people surrender all the fragrance of their life at the altar of money. Some persons treat the achievement of fame or having a son as the principal object of their lives. They do not hesitate to lay down their life for having a son or achieving fame. Just as in this very manner, when the mind cannot enjoy a particular object for long or enjoys it somehow hurriedly then such an experience is called a painful experience or pain. Can you afford to see a decomposed corpse for a long time? No. Do you not, after a brief talk disregard as quickly as possible the person who causes you pain? Therefore as it was said, whether an object is pleasant or painful, its finiteness cannot be your object permanently. That object from you and you from that object are bound to separate. Here the question arises that mind is needed for one’s own preservation and for the preservation of the mind, it needs such a safe shelter as can hold it throughout eternity. Human beings always craves for a safe shelter. Is it not so? Will you build your house on the hollow land covered by sand? No, you will construct your house on the firm foundation of solid earth. Human beings always seeks a solid base to preserve their mental potentialities firmly till ‘eternity’ and to give it vital energy in the struggle with Time. Is there a solid base like this in the world? What is finite cannot be the base of your life, because it will be used up, it will get away from you and will leave your mind unsheltered. Thrusting you in the abyss of darkness, it will pursue its course on a limitless path. Therefore, Oh human being, none except Brahma (God), the beginningless, endless and infinite, can be the object of your mind or the base of your life. Here the question arises that how shall we start a Brahma (God) based life in this manifested universe where there are multitudes of finite objects? The answer is that you adopt Madhuvidya’ (honey knowledge). Instead of taking the finite or superficial as finite and superficial, look upon them as the finite expressions of the Infinite or the Permanent. Then the attraction for Preya (superficies), love for Preya and love for Shreya (the ultimate gain) shall all fuse into one. Vishvajaner pa’yer tale dhulimae je bhu’mi Sei to svarga bhu’mi sava’e niye sava’r majhe Lukiye a’cho tumi sei to a’ma’r tumi (Ravindra Na’tha) Do you love your son? That is perfectly right. But on the son’s death you will have several-fold pain. Is it not? The son is a Preya, a finite entity. He cannot live till eternity. He will depart, make you weep and cry. But if you treat your son as the expression of Brahma (God) in the form of your son, then there will never be the fear of losing him because Brahma (God) cannot be lost in any span of time. God is present around you in all the ten directions. Es’a he devo pradisho’ nusarva’h Pu’rvvohaja’tah sau garbhe antah Sa eva ja’tah sa janis’yama’n'ah Pratyaun jana’m’stis’t'hate sarvvatomukhah (Shruti) Oh human beings! In that state no finite object can give you its own colour. At that time, you will truly become beyond all colours (Varn’a'tiita). Then you will be able to accord proper treatment to whatever finite being may come in contact with you. Go on according proper treatment to the expression of Brahma (God) in the shape of your father by serving him and paying attention to his comforts. Go on according proper treatment to the expression of Brahma (God) in the shape of the earth by cultivating it and increasing its fertility. If you go on according such proper treatment to the different objects, they will not be able to degrade your mind towards crudeness. This is called true Vaera’gya (proper and right use of things). Vaera’gya (proper and right use of things) does not denote renunciation or desertion or escaping to the Himalayas after forsaking one’s wife, child and family. A’nanda Ma’rga is a staunch protestant of such escapist mentality. According to A’nanda Ma’rga, the practice of Dharma on adopting Vaera’gya (proper and right use of things) is a part of family life. Those persons who harbour the sentiment of flying away leaving behind everything are labouring under the defeatist complex only. The thief for fear of the police, the debtor for fear of the creditor, the afflicted for inability to put up with the afflictions are amongst those who take recourse to the so-called Vaera’gya. such pseudo-Vaera’giis do not have the fortitude of facing the reverses of this world. They want to hide their cowardice under tall talks. Even on taking to the order of the so-called Vaera’gya, the worldly attractions do not abate in their minds. Therefore, pursuing a wrong significance of the term, they insistently practice `Tya’ga’ (not true Vaerag’gya). Consequently most of them become fallen from their path. `Vaera’gya’ has been derived from the word `Vira’ga’. The word `Ra’ga’ denotes attachment. The practice whereby detachment is developed for finite objects, ie the discipline whereby the mind is not influenced by the attractions of worldly objects is Vaera’gya Sa’dhana’ (spiritual practice) – the spiritual practice of proper and right use of and outlook on things. The true Cosmic Entity gets revealed to a person with this Vaera’gya and this Cosmic Entity alone is the basic shelter of human beings and a strong foundation which shall not, at anytime, forsake any person leaving them forlorn. In this very Cosmic Shelter you can establish yourself fearlessly for all time to come. Bhoge roga bhayam’ gun’e khala bhayam’ rupe torunya’ bhayam’ Kule cyuti bhayam’ ma’ne daenya bhayam’ vitte nrpa’lad bhayam’. Bale ripu bhayam’, sha’stre vadiibhayam’, Kaye Krta’nta’d bhayam’ sarvam’ vastu bhaya’nvitam’ bhuvi nrn’a'm’ vaera’gya meva’ bhayam’. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Calcutta Ashvinii Purnima 1955 SS1-9 — Tantra and Its Effect on Society What is Tantra? The process of transforming the animality or the latent divinity into the supreme Divinity is known as the Tantra Sadhana (Tantra Spiritual Practices). The sleeping divinity in its dormant animality, in the language of spiritual aspirants, is termed as Kula Kundalinii. So we find that actually the spirit of Tantra Sadhana lies in infusing a sensation in the Kula-Kundalinii so as to push her up push her towards the spiritual goal. The significance of the term Tantra is in liberation from bondage. The letter "Ta" is the seed word of dullness. The root verb "Tare" suffixed by "Da" becomes "Tra" which means "That which liberates," ie the spiritual practice which liberates the aspirant from dullness or animality of the static force and expands his or her self is the Tantra Sadhana. So there cannot be any spiritual practice without Tantra. Tantra is the Sadhana. Spiritual practice means a practice for expansion and this expansion is nothing but a liberation from the bondage of all sorts of dullness. Irrespective of caste, creed or religion, s/he who aspires for … read more »
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Mr. Sun Ray is a russian yogi. This is my homevillage Kimzha.
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Tantric Gems – 1 Welcome to a new series of discourses on tantra. This is a free service and you may receive a copy of a unique article on tantra about once every two weeks. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Given by a contemporary tantric master in the true spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Thank you. Dharmadeva —— The key themes of the discourse ‘The Science of Action’ are: direct and indirect will desire (vasana) action and reaction karma and karma’shaya reactive momenta (samskaras) pleasure and pain motor and sensory organs vital energy perception —– The Science of Action What is action? The relative change of position or place of an object is what is called action. When an object is transferred from one place to another or when an object acquires a new position temporarily disregarding its former position, we call it an action. When an overweight man by dint of some physical exercise becomes reduced in both size and weight, we call that also an action because now in his reduced state he cannot occupy the same space as he did in his previous form. The original form or primary stage of an action is will. This is the reason why will is called the primary action. All other actions are dependent on this primary action or will. Apparently one may think that the beating of the heart, a sound sleep, etc do not depend upon the will, but this sort of thinking is not supported by reason, that is, even in these actions will plays a dominant role. The process of respiration, sleep, waking up, etc, depends completely on will-power. In the mundane sphere there are also some actions which are dependent on the will-power of individuals and again there are some other actions which depend on the Cosmic Will. For instance, humans move according to their individual will but the wind blows according to the Cosmic Will. A major portion of the activities which humans perform supposedly by their own will are actually performed by the direct will force of the Cosmic Will. Conversely, some actions are performed by indirect will, such as the beating of the heart, in which the direct will of the human being may not be active but indirect will is certainly active. When the indirect will does not function, it should be understood that the individual Sam’ska’ras (reactions in potentiality) of that person are fully exhausted. In that condition, the person concerned will die and that death will be termed "Maha’mrtyu" or "final glorious death." When a person dies by suicide, he or she may not have a direct will to survive, but their indirect will remans partially active, sustained by the desire to be free of the untold sorrows, miseries and humiliations of this life. Within, he or she cherishes all indirect desires to acquire a new, dignified life in another world after death. What is this will to survive besides being an indirect will? When a person feels insulted due to some reason, their will works indirectly behind this feeling of humiliation. Their will force did something in the past as a result of which they must undergo the present humiliation. Behind the creation of this universe, the Macrocosmic Will is ever active. This Supreme Will of the Cosmic Consciousness (Parama Purus’a in Sanskrit) is termed Shambhuliunga in the language of philosophy. When a person does some action independently, that is called "Pratyayamu’laka Karma" (action born of independent will). Suppose you desired to go to Calcutta and then you went to Calcutta – this is "Pratyayamu’laka Karma" because to go or not to go to Calcutta depended entirely on your will. But in an action where you have no freedom, when you are under the pressure of circumstances so that you have to work mechanically, that type of action is called "Sam’ska’ramu’laka Karma." In the case of Sam’ska’ramu’laka Karma, although one’s direct will does not work, one’s indirect will force is subtly active. The consequence or the reaction of what the person did according to one’s expressed direct will is converted into their indirect will today and for the experience of reaction, one’s indirect will forces a person to do the work mechanically. That is, your previous action created a particular situation in the universe and now in order to restore normalcy you are compelled to act. In an action of this nature, individuals have no free will. You are then only a slave to the dictates of your indirect will. Suppose a person committed a theft. While stealing, the independent will of that person worked and now that will ultimately results in actual theft. As long as the reaction is not expressed, their independent will which was responsible for the original action gives rise to a remains in seed form, converted into reactive momenta. The moment the indirect will gets a congenial environment, the person will either be arrested by the police or they will undergo some punishment or humiliation and thus they will have to reap the consequences of their actions. In the same way, good reactions of good actions are also, experienced by individuals. Until one’s Sam’ska’ras (reactive momenta or potential reactions due to past actions) are totally exhausted, one will either have a blessed life due to one’s virtuous deeds or one will be called a sinner due to one’s wicked deeds. Once all the good and bad reactions are undergone, they are beyond the bondage of vice and virtue. All actions, whether crude, physical, extroversial or subtle are sure to remain with the individual in the potential form of seeds of reaction. These potential reactions, with the help of indirect will, get expressed in the external world. Suppose you do harm to a person, then the reaction of your action will lie in potential form. At a proper time and environment, you will have to experience the reaction. And again, even if you actually do not harm anyone but you mentally think of doing harm, accordingly the corresponding Sam’ska’ras (reactive momenta) will remain with you. Whatever may be your feelings towards a person, whether good or bad, there is sure to be reaction and that reaction remains in potential form in your subtle mental sphere. This is the reason why intelligent people look upon this universe with an attitude of equanimity and pray for the welfare of all. "Sarves’am’ maungalam’ ka’unks’e." Otherwise they consider people will have to suffer endlessly for their mean-mindedness. Action is of various types. When the mind, under the domination of Avidya’ma’ya’ (centrifugal or extroversive force, from subtle to crude), is tossed by the waves of earthly desires, that is, when the mind wants to associate itself with crude psychic pabulum, it is called "Abhila’s’a." When that Abhila’s’a (association with crude psychic pabulum) gets firmly rooted it is called a firm resolve (Sam’kalpa) for attaining that psychic pabulum. When the mind functions in collaboration with Pra’n'endriya (vital energy in its intermediary state between the sensory organs and/or motor organs) and the motor organs, then the expression of that "karma" (action) is called ‘Krti’. When the mind is associated with Pra’n'endriya (vital energy in its intermediary state between the sensory organs and/or motor organs) and sensory organs, the mental expansion is called Avadha’na. It should be remembered that Abhila’s’a, Krti and Avadha’na are all actions. Avadha’na (mind associating with vital energy and sensory organs) is again divided into three strata. When the sensory organs adopt certain objects but the mind does not accept them, that mental state is called avadha’na (inadvertence). For example, a student’s eyes are fixed on the pages of a book. The student is reading but his or her mind does not assimilate the material. Many students cannot absorb their subject matter due to this sort of inadvertence in study. Again when the mind is associated with the sense organs and it does not have any deep reflection in association with its object, then that special state of Avadha’na is known as a’locana jina’na (sensation). There the word ‘a’locana’ (sensation) does not mean serious reflection. It is just accommodating something within the mind received by the sensory and/or motor organs (collectively all called the Indriyas). Thirdly, the idea of an object received through deep-rooted sensations assimilated from various sources is called perception. This perception may also be termed as coordinated sensation. For example, a certain person saw four legs of an animal resembling the trunks of banana trees. A second person saw the trunk of an elephant. A third person saw two large ears which resembled bamboo trays. These are the separate sensations acquired by different people. Now, the totality of the huge legs, trunk and large ears that is produced in the mind give the image of an elephant. This temporary idea of an elephant is what is called perception. When perception becomes meaningful, ie, when a particular name is given in accordance with the nature of things sensed, it is called conception. For instance the perception of an elephant is possible when the legs of a particular shape, the trunk, the ears, etc, producing the image of an elephant becomes a reality. Then it appears that it is also an elephant, that is, an animal that I have seen before. Only then you can say that you have had a conception. When a person recapitulates the sense data of his or her perception on that person’s own mental plate with the help of memory and forms an idea, that idea is called Tattva-Jina’na (past perception recreated in the mind with the help of memory). This knowledge may be of various types. In the process of meditation, the crude mind … read more »
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Tantric Gems – 2 Welcome to the second edition in a new series of discourses on tantra. This is a free service and you may receive a copy of a unique article on tantra about once every two weeks. These articles are not generally available anywhere on the internet. They are informative, enlightening and consciousness raising. Much knowledge can be gained from their reading. Given by a contemporary tantric master in the true spirit of yoga for Liberation of Self and Service to Humanity, these articles are a must for your collection and research in this valuable subject area. In this issue there is a special bonus. Not only do you get the regular discourse from the Subhasita Samgraha series (Treatise on Intuitional Science) but an article about Shiva’s teachings comes as an extra. Back issues will always be available. Key themes for the two discourses ("Chariot" and "Shivopadesha 1") are: Chariot: motor and sensory organs will power and mind objective mind (citta) conscience or discriminating judgement (buddhi) prana and pranah (vital energy) spiritual practice atman (soul) Shivopadesha 1: matter and non-matter – sadvastu perception inferential waves (tanmatra) organs (indriya) and mind Samkhya philosophy Please feel free to accept if you choose to. Thank you. Dharmadeva —— Chariot I shall tell you today something from the Krs’na-yajurveda. The subject of discourse will be will "Mind, Buddhi and organs, and their Relation with Human Beings." You must have noticed that while explaining a subject a person generally tries to explain it through comparisons, examples, metaphors or allegories. Rice and food have the same meaning in an area where rice is the principal food. Similarly, in an area where wheat is the chief food, there bread means food. The people of ancient Aryan society often engaged in wars among themselves as well as against the non-Aryans. Among themselves they fought over wealth and prestige and over the predominance of the group of various sages, and against the non-Aryans they carried on cultural crusades. These crusades were finally responsible for the formation of the present day Indo-Aryan culture, a synthesis or compromise among the various schools of thought such as Dravidian, Mongolian, Austric, etc. During the composition of the Vedas these cultural clashes and expeditions for world conquest continued unabated; and during these expeditions the Aryans did not go as angels of, but as warriors mounted on, chariots. That is why examples of chariots were frequently cited to acquaint people with different trends of life of that age. Here the Sage has compared the mind, body and organs with a chariot and its different parts: A’tamanam’ rathinam’ viddhi shariiram’ rathameva tu Buddhintu sa’rathim’ viddhi manah pragrahameva ca. In this metaphor the entire body is compared to a chariot: the passenger of this body-like chariot is the A’tman or Soul. Like the passengers of other vehicles this Soul-like passenger also does not have to do anything; the A’tman is simply the Witnessing Force – He is companionless. This body-like chariot is being driven by the buddhi-like charioteer. Here buddhi does not mean Mahatattva or existential ‘I’ feeling; it means discriminating judgement or conscience. This body-like chariot should be driven by the conscience-like charioteer. Really speaking, people take their body-like chariots to those regions which are congenial to their minds. The charioteer may take the chariot to the abode of God as well as to a wine shop and accordingly the passenger, as the witness will derive the objective impression of things wherever the charioteer will take the chariot. So it is desirable for the charioteer to be perfectly efficient and competent, and for the proper control of the chariot it is necessary for the charioteer to have a rein. If the charioteer fails to keep the rein under perfect control it becomes difficult to drive the chariot properly and that rein is the Mind. The body-like chariot will surely be badly affected if the mind-like rein is not properly controlled by the judgement-like charioteer. When unit beings (jiivas) come in contact with any object they receive an impression of its form and other tanm’atric or inferential waves. These inferential waves, coming in contact with one’s sensory organs through the media of various physical elements, awaken in one a sense of objects. Suppose you are going on your way and suddenly you meet with a man face to face. In such a situation how did you detect the presence of the man? Certainly through the light waves of his form hitting your retina, through the aerial waves bearing his speech, and the sound of his footsteps hitting your ear drum. You must also have had the experience in your life that you did not notice the presence of a man in front of you or you did not hear his voice. Why, what is the reason? It is because at that time your mind was preoccupied with something else. Your buddhi did not engage your mind with the man’s form or his voice at that time, and so the contact of the light of his form with your retina, or the impact of his speech on your ear drum remained unknown to your crude conscious mind (Ka’mamaya Kos’a). Thus it has been said that the passenger-like charioteer takes the body-like chariot as well. Whenever any of the inferential waves emanating from any object catch your attention, instantly an identical wave also forms in your afferent nerves. Thereafter that wave, reaching your ectoplasmic body (citta – objectivated mind), causes your mind to be identified with the similar thought. Behind the mind’s acceptance of the thought through the organs and nerves, remains the presence of the static principle. It is static or tamogun’ii, because it confines the ectoplasmic body in the bondages of time, space and person. The acceptance of the thought by the mind depends upon rajogun’ii or mutative vibrations, whether these vibrations are of the external world or of the internal nerves of the body. This mutative principle is the apparent cause of the static principle and is dependent on sattvagun’ii or the sentient principle. This sentient principle is the pure, subjective entity (bha’vaka satta’) of the mutative thought waves. Whenever and whatever thought images are created in the ectoplasm through the static principle, their seeds subsequently remain embedded in the ectoplasm as the sam’ska’ras (reactions in potentiality or chromosomes). The nerve cells also remain for sometime as the potential receptacles of similar seeds. The thought-acceptance in the mind and the reactive causal (biija’tmaka) sam’ska’ras are both tamogun’ii or static, for inertness is the chief trait of both. This basic part of the static and dynamic forces that is inherent in the crudifying, vibrative, purely subjective mind (bha’vaka mana) is governed by the part dominated by conscience or discriminating force, which has been called buddhi. (It is not buddhitattva or mahattattva or intellect). Indriya’n’ haya’na’hurvis’ayamstesu’ gocara’n Atmendriyamanoyuktam’ bhoktetya’hurmaniis’anah. As I already said, the passenger of this body-like chariot is the A’tman, the buddhi is its driver or charioteer, and the mind is its rein. But the mere existence of these cannot move a chariot. Horses are necessary to give it power and movement. Now, who are the horses? Wise people say that the ten organs are the horses. The charioteer or driver of this ten-horse-driven chariot or ratha is Dasharath, the conscience, and the supreme passenger of that chariot is Ra’ma or A’tman. It is these horses that take the chariot towards objects. Running after matter is the characteristic of the organs. When the buddhi is not utilized, the organs run randomly like driverless horses. The remarkable part of it is that the organs always run after perceivable objects. Look into your mind – isn’t the unbridled movement of the organs always propensive? The organs go on running until they get something enjoyable for their gratification. When they get it, they are at rest for a time. I would rather call it momentary or apparent repose, because even at that time they do not remain inactive or invibrative; they remain engaged to the process of enjoyment. As their capacity for enjoyment is finite, they have to run, after a while, from one object to another. It is the propensive propulsion of the organs that causes the motivity in the body, for to keep the crude physical body on the move with insatiable desires for gratification is the characteristic of the organs. The contrary path – the introspective or desireless path jeopardises the very characteristic of the organs; they become absorbed in the subtler stratum, and so the organs do not take easily to the desireless path or to subtlety. Suppose there is a philosophical discussion somewhere, and singing and dancing going on nearby. The human mind, propelled by the propensive organs, will be more inclined toward the song and dance than towards the philosophical discourses. If people whose minds are yet unawakened to the state of spirituality through sa’dhana or spiritual practice, attend a philosophical symposium either for show or with the intention of forcibly suppressing their propensities, their minds will surely remain in the dance hall. The reason for this is the natural, pleasure-ward proclivity of the organs. The ‘Hadis’ tells of a beautiful event. Once a man presented a silk scarf to the great prophet Hazarat Mohammad. But Hazarat Mohammad did not keep that scarf with him, for he said that at the time of his nama’j (prayer) his mind repeatedly keep turning from God to the grandeur of the scarf. The eye-catching form of the scarf extroverted his mind through the medium of the sight organ, and proved harmful to his introversive spiritual sa’dhana’. So you see, the organs run after objects for happiness. They have to, for the preservation of their existence. In Brahma, the Supreme … read more »
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Hari Har Singh – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Boy, I’m getting a lot out of these posts today. Is it something in the air? seeking 