ABOUT SPIRITUAL

                                                      KEY OF SPIRITUAL

  

                 IN LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, THE SHIFT IN CONSIOUSNESS FROM TIME TO PRESENCE SOMETIMES HAPPENS NATURALLY. THE PERSONALITY THAT HAS A PAST AND FUTURE MOMENTARILY RECEDES AND IS REPLACED BY AN INTENSE CONSCIOUS PRESENCE, VERY STILL BUT VERY ALERT AT THE SAME TIME. WHATEVER RESPONSE IS NEEDED THEN ARISES OF THAT STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

               THE REASON WHY SOME PEOPLE LOVE TO ENGAGE IN DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS MOUNTAIN CLIMBING, CAR RACING, AND SO ON, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY NOT BE AWARE OF IT, THAT IF FORCES THEM INTO THE NOW- THAT INTENSELY ALIVE STATE THAT IS FREE OF TIME, FREE OF PROBLEMS, FREE OF THINKING FREE OF THE BURDEN OF THE PERSANALITY. SLIPPING AWAY FROM THE PRESENT MOMENT EVEN FOR A SECOND MAY MEAN DEATH. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY COME TO DEPEND ON A PARTICULAR ACTIVITY TO BE IN THAT STATE. BUT YOU DON'T NEED TO CLIMB THE NORTH FACE OF THE ELIGER. YOU CAN ENTER THAT SATE NOW.

                SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, SPIRITUAL MASTERS OF ALL TRADITIONS HAVE POINTED TO THE NOW AS THE KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION. DESPITE THIS, IT SEEMS TO HAVE REMAINED A SECRET, IT IS CERTAINLY NOT TAUGHT IN CHURGES AND TEMPLES. IF YOU GO TO A CHURCH, YOU MAY HEAR READINGS FROM THE GODPELS SUCH A TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW, FOR THE MORROW SHALL TAKE THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW, FOR THE THINGS OF ITSELF, OR NOBODY WHO PUTS HIS HANDS TO THE PLOW AND LOOKS BACK IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. OR YOU MIGHT HEAR THE PASSAGE ABOUT THE BEATIFUL FLOWERS THAT ARE NOT ANXIOUS ABOUT TOMORROW BUT LIVE WITH EASE IN THE TIMELESS NOW AND ARE PROVIDED FOR ABUNDANTLY BY GOD. THE DEPTH AND RADICAL NATURE OF THESE TEACHINGS ARE NOT REGOGNIZED. NO ONE SEEMS TO REALIZE THAT THEY ARE MEANT TO BE LIVED AND SO BRING ABOUT A PROFOUND INNER TRANSFORMATION.

                 THE WHOLE ESSENCE OF ZEN CONSISTS IN WALKING ALONG THE RAZOR'S EDGE OF NOW- TO BE SO UTTERLY, SO COMPLETELY PRESENT THAT NO PROBLEM, NO SUFFERING, NOTHING THAT IS NOW WHO YOU ARE IN YOUR ESSENCE, CAN SURVIVE IN YOU. IN THE NOW, IN THE ABSENCE OF TIME, ALL YOUR PROBLEMS DISSOLVE. SUFFERING NEEDS TIME, IT CANNOT SURVIVE IN THE NOW.

              THE GREAT ZEN MASTER RINZAI, IN ORDER TO TAKE HIS STUDENTS ATTENTION AWAY FROM TIME, WOULD OFTEN RAISE HIS FINGER AND SLOWLY ASK, WHAT AT THIS MOMENT IS LACKING? A POWERFUL QUESTION THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE AN ANSWER ON THE LEVEL OF THE MIND. IT IS DESIGNED TO TAKE YOUR ATTENTION DEEPLY INTO THE NOW. A SIMILAR QUESTION IN THE ZEN TRADITION IS THIS, IF NOT NOW WHEN?

              THE NOW IS ALSO CENTRAL TO THE TEACHING OF SUFISM, THE MYSTICAL BRANCH OF ISLAM. SUFIS HAVE A SAYING. THE SUFI IS THE SON OF TIME PRESENT AND RUMI, THE GREAT POET AND TEACHER OF SUFISM, DECLARES, "PAST AND FUTURE VEIL GOD FROM OUR SIGHT, BURN UP BOTH OF THEM WITH FIRE".

              MEISTER ECKHART, THE THIRTEENTH-CENTURY SPIRITUAL TEACHER, SUMMED IT ALL UP BEAUTIFULLY, TIME IS WHAT KEEP THE LIGHT FROM REACHING US. THERE IS NO GREATER OBSTACLE TO GOD THAN TIME.

THE POWER OF PRESENCE

                                                     DIVINE PRESENCE

  

        DON'T GET ATTACHED TO ANY ONE WORD. YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE "CHRIST" FOR PRESENCE. IF THAT IS MORE MEANINGFUL TO YOU. CHRIST IS YOUR GOD ESSENCE OR THE SELF, AS IT IS SOMETIMES CALLED IN THE EAST. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRIST AND PRESENCE IS THAT CHRIST REFERES TO YOUR INDWELLING DIVINITY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE CONSCIOUS OF IT OR NOT, WHEREAS PRESENCE MEANS YOUR AWAKENED DIVINITY OR GOD-ESSENCE.

            MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND FALSE BELIEFS ABOUT CHRIST WILL CLEAR IF YOU REALIZE THAT THERE IS NO PAST OR FUTURE IN CHRIST. TO SAY THAT CHRIST WAS OR WILL BE IS A  CONTRADICTION IN TERMS, JESUS WAS. HE WAS A MAN WHO LIVE TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO AND REALIZED DIVINE PRESENCE, HIS TRUE NATURE. AND SO HE SAID. " BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM " HE DID NOT SAY, I ALREADY EXISTED BEFORE ABRAHIM WAS BORN. THAT WOULD HAVE MEANT THAT HE WAS STILL WITHIN THE DIMENTION OF TIME AND FORM IDENTITY. THE WORDS I AM USED IN A SENTENCE THAT STARTS IN THE PASTTENSE INDICATE A RADICAL SHIFT, A DISCONTINUITY IN THE TEMPORAL DIMENSION.

               IT SI A ZEN-LIKE STATEMENT OF GREAT PROFUNDITY, JESUS ATTEMPTED TO CONVEY DIRECTLY, NOT THROUGH DISCURSIVE THOUGHT, THE MEANING OF PRESENCE, OF SELF-REALIZATION. HE HAD GONE BEYOND THE CONSCIOUSNESS DIMENSION GOVERNED.BY TIME, INTO THE REALM OF THE TIMELESS. THE DIMENSION OF ETERNITY HAD COME INTO THIS WORLD. ETERNITY, OF COURSE, DOES NOT MEAN ENDLESS TIME, BUT NO TIME. THUS, THE MAN JESUS BECAME CHRIST, A VEHICLE FOR PURE CONSCIOUSNESS. AND WHAT IS GOD'S SELF-DEFINITION IN THE BIBLE? DID GOD SAY " I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, AND I ALWAYS WILL BE? OF COURSE NOT. NO TIME HERE, JUST PRESENCE. 

               THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS A TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS, SHIFT FROM TIME TO PRESENCE, FROM THINKING TO PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, NOT THE ARRIVAL OF SOME MAN OR WOMAN. IF CHRIST WERE TO RETURN TOMORROW IN SOME EXTERNALIZED FORM, WHAT I COULD HE OR SHE POSSIBLE SAY TO YOU OTHER THAN THIS. I AM THE TRUTH. I AM DIVINE  PRESENCE. I AM ETERNAL LIFE. I AM WITHIN YOU. I AM HERE. I AM NOW.

                 NEVER PERSONAIZE CHRIST. DON'T MAKE CHRIST INTO A FORM IDENTITY. AVATARS. DIVINE MOTHERS, ENLIGHTENED MASTERS, THE VERY FEW THAT ARE REAL, ARE NOT SPECIAL .AS PERSONS. WITHOUT A FALSE SELF TO UPHOLD, DEFEND, AND FEED, THEY ARE MORE SIMPLE, MORE ORDINARY THAN THE ORDINARY MAN OR WOMAN. ANYONE WITH A STRONG EGO WOULD REGARD THEM AS INSIGNIFANT OR, MORE LIKELY, NOT SEE THEM AT ALL.

              IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO AN ENLIGHTENED TEACHER, IT IS BECAUSE THERE IS ALREADY ENOUGH PRESENCE IN YOU TO REGOGNIZE PRESENCE IN ANOTHER. THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE WHO DID NOT RECOGNIZE JESUS OR THE BUDDHA, AS THERE ARE AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE DRAWN TO FALSE TEACHERS. EGOS ARE DRAWN TO BIGGER EGOS. DARKNESS CANNOT RECOGNIZE LIGHT. ONLY LIGHT CAN RECOGNIZE LIGHT. SO DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE LIGHT IS OUTSIDE YOU OR THAT IT CAN ONLY CAN ONLY COME THROUGH ONE PARTICULAR FORM. IF ONLY YOUR MASTER IS AN INCARNATION OF GOD, THEN WHO ARE YOU? ANY KIND OF EXCLUSIVITY IS IDENFICATION WITH FORM, AND IDENTIFICATION WITH FORM MEANS EGO, NO MATTER HOW WELL DISGUISED.

             USE THE MASTER'S PRESENCE OF REFLECT YOUR OWN IDENTITY BEYOND NAME AND FORM BACK TO YOU AND TO BECOME MORE INTENSELY PRESENT YOURSELF. YOU WILL SOON REALIZE THAT THERE IS NO "MINE" OR "YOURS" IN PRESENCE. PRESENCE IS ONE.

              GROUP WORD CAN ALSO BE HELPFUL FOR INTENSIFYING THE LIGHT OF YOUR PRESENCE GENERATES.  GROUP OF PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER IN A STATE OF PRESENCE GENERATES A COLLECTIVE ENERGY FIELD OF GREAT INTENSITY. IT NOT ONLY RAISES THE DEGREE OF PRESENCE OF EACH MEMBER OF THE GROUP BUT ALSO HELPS TO FREE THE COLLECTIVE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS FROM ITS CURRENT STATE OF MIND DOMINANCE. THIS WILL MAKE THE STATE OF PRESENCE INCREASINGLY MORE ACCESSIBLE TO INDIVIDUALS. HOWEVER, UNLESS AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE GROUP IS ALREADY FIRMLY ESTABLISHED IN IT AND THUS CAN HOLD THE ENERGY FREQUENCY OF THAT STATE, THE EGOIC MIND CAN EASILY REASSERT ITSELF AND SABOTAGE THE GROUP'S ENDEAVORS. ALTHOUGH GROUP WORK IS INVALUABLE, IT IS NOT ENOUGH, AND YOU MUST NOT COME TO DEPEND ON IT. NO TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, WHEN YOU ARE LEARNING THE MEANING AND PRACTICE OF PRESENCE.

THE VALUE OF NOW

 

                                                              NOW.....

                 I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT TRUE ENLIGHTENMENT IS NOT POSSIBLE EXCEPT THROUGH LOVE IN A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN. ISN'T THIS WHAT MAKES US WHOLE AGAIN? HOW CAN ONE'S LIFE BE FULFILLED UNTIL THAT HAPPENS?

               IS THAT TRUE IN YOUR EXPERIENCE? HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU?

              NOT YET, BUT HOW COULD IT BE OTHERWISE? I KNOW THAT IT WILL HAPPEN.

            IN OTHER WORDS, YOU ARE WAITING FOR AN EVENT IN TIME TO SAVE YOU. IS THIS NOT THE CORE ERROR THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT? SALVATION IS NOT ELSEWHERE IN PLACE OR TIME. IT IS HERE AND NOW.

           WHAT DOES THAT STATEMENT MEAN, SALVATION IS HERE AND NOW? I DON'T UNERSTAND IT. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SALVATION MEANS.

         MOST PEOPLE PURSUE PHYSICAL PLEASURE OR VARIOUS FORMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL GRATIFICATION BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THAT THOSE THINGS WILL MAKE THEM HAPPY O FREE THEM FROM A FEELING OF FEAR OR LACK. HAPPINESS MAY BE PERCEIVED AS A HEIGHTENED SENSE OF ALIVENESS ATTAINED THROUGH PHYSICAL PLEASURE, OR A MORE SECURE AND MORE COMPLETE SENSE OF SELF ATTAINED THROUGH SOME FORM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL GRATIFICATION. THIS IS THE SEARCH FOR SALVATION FROM A STATE OF SATISFACTORINESS OR INSUFFICIENCY. INVARIABLY, ANY SATISFACTION THAT THEY OBTAIN IS SHORT- LIVED, SO THE CONDITION OF SATISFACTION OR FULFILLMENT IS USUALLY PROJECTED ONCE AGAIN INTO AN IMAGINARY POINT AWAY FROM THE HERE AND NOW. WHEN I OBTAIN THIS OR AM FREE OF THAT- THEN I WILL BE OKEY. THIS IS THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND-SET THAT CREATES THE ILLUSION OF SALVATION IN THE FUTURE.

              TRUE SALVATION IS FULFILLMENT , PEACE, LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS. IT IS TO BE WHO YOU ARE, TO FEEL WHITHIN YOU THE GOOD THAT HAS NO OPPOSITE, THE JOY OF BEING THAT DEPENDS ON NOTHING OUTSIDE ITSELF. IT IS FELT NOT AS A PASSING EXPERIENCE BUT AS AN ABIDING PRESENCE. IN THEISTIC LANGUAGE, IT I TO KNOW GOD NOT AS SOMETHING OUTSIDE YOU BUT AS YOUR OWN INNERMOST ESSENCE. TRUE SALVATION IS TO KNOW YOURSELF AS AN INSEPARABLE PART OF THE TIMELESS AND FORMLESS ONE LIFE FROM WHICH ALL THAT EXISTS DERIVES ITS BEING.

            TRUE SALVATION IS A STATE OF FEEDOM- FROM FEAR, FROM SUFFERING FROM A PERCEIVED STATE OF LACK AND INSUFFICIENCY AND THEREFORE FROM ALL WANTING, NEEDING, GRASPING, AND CLINGING. IT IS FREEDOM FROM COMPULSIVE THINKING, FROM NEGATIVITY, AND ABOVE ALL FROM PAST AND FUTURE AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL NEED. YOUR MIND IS TELLING YOU THAT YOU CANNOT GET THERE FROM HERE. SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN, OR YOU NEED TO BECOME THIS OR THAT BEFORE YOU CAN BE  OR COMPLETE, YOU SEE TIME AS THE MEANS TO SALVATION, WHEREAS IN TRUTH IT IS THE GREATEST OBSTACLES TO SALVATION. YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM WHERE AND WHO YOU ARE AT THIS MOMENT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT YET COMPLETE OR GOOD ENOUGH, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT HERE AND NOW IS THE ONLY POINT FROM WHERE YOU CAN GET THERE. YOU "GET" THERE BY REALIZING THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO SEEK GOD. SO THERE IS NO ONLY WAY TO SALVATION. ANY CONDITION AWAY FROM THIS MOMENT. YOU ARE LONELY AND WIHTOUT A PARTNER? ENTER THE NOW FROM THERE. YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP? ENTER THE NOW FROM THERE.

                     THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN EVER DO OR ATTIN THAT WILL GET YOU CLOSER TO SALVATION THAN IT IS AT THIS MOMENT. THIS MAY BE HARD TO GRASP FOR A MIND ACCUSTOMED TO THINKING THAT EVERYTHIN WORTHWHILE IS IN THE FUTURE. NOR CAN ANYTHING THAT YOU EVER DID OR THAT WAS DONE TO YOU IN THE PAST PREVENT YOU FROM SAYING YET TO WHAT IS AND TAKING YOUR ATTENTION DEEPLY INTO THE NOW. YOU CANNOT DO THIS IN THE FUTURE. YOU DO IT NOW OR NOT AT ALL.

                     

ABOUT WOMEN

                                                               WOMENS..

 

  

              ARE THE OBSTACLES TO ENLIGHTENMENT THE SAME FR A MAN AS FOR A                    WOMAN?

  

         YES, BUT EH EMPHASIS IS DIFFERENT. GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT IS EASIER FOR A WOMAN TO FEEL AND BE IN HER BODY, SO SHE IS NATURALLY CLOSER TO BEING AND POTENTIALLY CLOSER TO ENLIGHTENMENT THAN A MAN. THIS IS WHY MANY ANCIENT CULTURE INTINCTIVELY CHOSE FEMALE FIGURES OR ANALOGIES TO REPRESENT OR DESCRIBE THE FORMLESS AND TRANSCENDENTAL REALITY. IT WAS OFTEN SEEN AS A WOMB THAT GIVES BIRTH TO EVERYTHING IN CREATION AND SUSTAINS ANS NOURISHES IT DURING ITS LIFE AS FORM. IN THE TAO TEACHING, ONE OF THE MOST ANCIENT AND PROFOUND BOOKS EVER WRITTEN, THE TAO, WHICH COULD BE TRANSLATED AS BEING, IS DESCRIBED AS " INFINITE, ETERNALLY PRESENT, THE MOTHER OF THE UNIVERSE, NATURALLY, WOMAN  ARE CLOSER TO IT THAN MEN SINCE THEY VIRTUALLY "EMBODY" THE UNMANIFESTED. WHAT IS MORE, ALL CREATURES AND ALL THINGS MUST EVENTUALLY RETURN TO THE SOURCE. ALL THINGS VANISH INTO THE TAO. IT ALONE ENDURES. SINCE THE SOUCE IS SEEN AS FEMALE, THIS IS REPRESENTED AS THE LIGHT AND DARK SIDES OF THE ARCHETYPAL FEMININE IN PSYCHOLOGY AND MYTHOLOGY. THE GODDESS OR DIVINE MOTHER HAS TWO ASPECTS. SHE GIVES LIFE, AND SHE TAKES LIFE.

             WHEN THE MIND TOOK OVER AND HUMANS LOST TOUCH WITH THE REALITY OF THEIR DIVINE ESSENCE, THEY STARTED TO THINK OF GOD AS A MALE FIGURE. SOCIETY BECAME MALE DOMINATED, AND THE FEMALE WAS MADE SUBORDINATE TO THE MALE.

           I AM NOT SUGGESTING A RETURN TO EARLIER FEMALE REPRESENTATION FO THE DIVINE. SOME PEOPLE NOW USE THE TERM GODDESS INSTEAD OF GOD. THEY ARE REDRESSING A BALANCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE  THAT WAS LOST A LONG TIME AGO, AND THAT IS GOOD. BUT IT IS STILL A REPRESENTATION AND A CONCEPT, PERHAPS TEMPORARILY USEFUL, JUST AS A MAP OR A SIGNPOST IS TEMPORARILY USEFUL, BUT MORE A HINDRANCE THAN A MAP OR A SINGPOST IS TEMPORAILY USEFUL, BUT MORE A HINDRANCE THAN A HELP WHEN YOU ARE READY TO REALIZE THE REALITY BEYOND ALL CONCEPT AND IMAGES. WHAT DOES REMAIN TRUE, HOWEVER, IS THAT THE ENERGY FREQUENCY OF THE MIND APPEARS TO BE ESSENTIALLY MALE. THE MIND RESISTS, FIGHTS FOR CONTROL, USES, MANIPULATES, ATTACKS, TRIES TO GRASP AND POSSES, AND SO ON. THIS IS WHY THE TRADITIONAL GOD IS A PATRIARCHAL,CONTROLLING AUTHORITY FIGURE, AN OFTEN ANGRY MAN WHO YOU SHOULD LIVE IN FEAR OF, AS THE OLD TESTAMENT SUGGESTS. THIS GOD IS A PROJECTION OF THE HUMAN MIND.

            TO GO BEYOND THE MIND AND RECONNECT WITH THE DEEPER REALITY OF BEING, VERY DIFFERENT QUALITIES NEEDED. SURRENDER, NONJEDGEMENT, AN OPENESS THAT ALLOWS LIFE TO BE INSTEAD OF RESISTING IT, THE CAPACIY TO HOLD ALL THINGS IN THE LOVING EMBRACE OF YOUR KNOWING. ALL THESE QUALITIES ARE MUCH MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO THE FEMALE PRICIPLE WHERE AS MIND- ENERGY IS HARD AND RIGID, BEING - ENERGY IS SOFT AND YIELDING AND YET INFINITELY MORE POWERFUL  THAN MIND. THE MIND RUNS OUR CIVILIZATION, WHEREAS BEING IS IN CHARGE OF ALL LIFE ON OUR PLANET AND BEYOND. BEING IS THE VERY INTELLIGENCE WHOSE VISIBLE MANIFESTATION IS THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. ALTHOUGH WOMEN ARE POTENTIALLY CLOSER TO IT, MEN CAN ALSO ACCESS IT WITHIN THEMSELVES.

               

                AT THIS TIME, THE VAST MAJORITY OF MEN AS WELL AS WOMEN ARE STILL IN THE GRIP OF THE MIND. IDENTIFIED WITH THE THINKER AND THE PAIN- BODY. THIS, OF COURSE, IS WHAT PREVENTS ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE FLOWERING OF LOVE. AS A GENERAL RULE, THE MAJOR OBSTACLE FOR MEN TENDS TO BE THE THINKING MIND, AND THE MAJOR OBSTACLE FOR WOMEN THE PAIN- BODY, ATTHOUGH IN CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL CASES THE OPPOSITE MAY BE TRUE, AND IN OTHERS THE TWO FACTORS THE TWO FACTORS MAY BE EQUAL.

YOGA TELL ABOUT YOUR CONCENTRATION

                                                       CONCENTRATION

                     MORTIFICATION, STUDY, AND SURRENDERING FRUITS OF WORK TO GOD ARE CALLED KRIYA YOGA.

                     THOSE SAMADHIS WITH WHICH WE ENDED OUR LAST CHAPTER ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN, SO WE MUST TAKE THEM UP SLOWLY. THE FIRST STEP, THE PRELIMINARY STEP, IS CALLED KRIYA YOGA. LITERALLY THIS MEANS WORK, WORKING TOWARDS YOGA. THE ORGANS ARE THE MEANS WORK, WORKING TOWARDS YOGA.  THE LITERALLY THIS MEANS WORK, WORKING TOWARDS YOGA. THE ORGANS ARE THE HORSES, THE MIND IS THE REINS, THE INTELLECT IS THE CHARIOTEER, THE SOUL IS THE RIDER, AND THIS BODY IS THE CHARIOT. THE MASTER OF THE HOUSEHOLD, THE KING, THE SELF OF MAN, IS SITTING IN THIS CHARIOT.

                      IF THE HORSES ARE VERY STRONG, AND DO NOT OBEY THE REINS, IF THE CHARIOTEER, THE INTELLECT, DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO CONTROL THE HORSES, THEN THIS CHARIOT WILL COME TO GRIEF. BUT IF THE ORGANS, THE HORSES, ARE WELL CONTROLLED, AND IF THE REINS, THE MIND, ARE WELL HELD IN THE BANDS OF THE CHARIOTEER, THE INTELLECT, THE CHARIOT, REACHES THE GOAL. WHAT IS MEANT, GUILDING THIS BODY AND MIND. NOT LETTING THE BODY DO ANYTHING IT LIKES, BUT KEEPING THEM BOTH IN PROPER CONTROL. STUDY. WHAT IS MEANT BY STUDY IN THIS CASE? NOT STUDY OF NOVELS, OR FICTION, OR STORY BOOKS, BUT STUDY OF THOSE BOOKS WHICH TEACH THE LIBERATION OF THE SOUL. THEN AGAIN THIS STUDY DOES NOT MEAN CONTOVERSIAL STUDIES AT ALL. THE YOGI IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE FINISHED HIS PERIOD OF CONTROVERSY.

                     HE HAS HAD ENOUGH OF ALL THAT, AND HAS BECOME SATISFIED. HE ONLY  STUDIES TO INTENSIFY HIS CONVICTIONS. VADA AND SIDDHANTA ARE THE TWO SORTS OF SCRIPTUAL KNOWLEDGE, VADA( THE ARGUMENTATIVE) AND SIDDHARTA ( THE DECISIVE). WHEN A MAN IS ENTIRELY IGNORANT HE TAKES UP THE FIRST PART OF THIS, THE ARGUMENTATIVE FIGHTING, AND REASONING, PRO AND CON, AND WHEN HE HAS FINISHED, HETAKES UP THE SIDDHARTA, THE DECISIVE, ARRIVING AT A CONCLUTION. SIMPLY ARRIVING AT THIS CONCLUTION WILL NOT DO. IT MUST BE INTESIFIED. BOOKS ARE INFINITE IN NUMBER, AND TIME IS SHORT, THEREFORE THIS IS THE SECRET OF KNOWLEDGE, TO TAKE WHICH IS ESSENTIAL. TAKE THAT OUT, AND THEN TRY TO LIVE UP TO IT. THERE IS AN OLD SIMILE IN INDIA THAT IF YOU PLACE OF CUP OF MILK BEFORE A RAJA HAMSA(SWAN) WITH PLENTY OF WATER IN IT, HE WILL TAKE ALL THE THE MILK AND LEAVE THE WATER. IN THAT WAY WE SHOULD TAKE WHAT IS OF VALUE IN KNOWLEDGE, AND LEAVE THE DROSS. ALL THESE INTELLECTUAL GYMNASTICS ARE NECESSARY AT FIRST. WE MUST NOT GO BLINDLY INTO ANYTHING.

                    THE YOGI GAS PASSED THE ARGUMENTATIVE STAGE, AND HAS COME TO A CONCLUSION, WHICH IS LIKE THE ROCKS, IMMOVABLE. THE ONLY THING HE NOW SEEKS TO DO IS TO INTENSIFY THAT CONCLUSION. DO NOT ARGUE, HE SAYS, IF ONE FORCES ARGUMENTS UPON YOU, BE SILENT.

 DO NOT ANSWER ANY ARGUMENT, BUT GO AWAY FREE, BECAUSE ARGUMNENTS ONLY DISTURB THE MIND. THE ONLY THING IS TO TRAIN THE INTELLECT, SO WHAT IS THE USE OF DISTURBING IT ANYMORE. THE INTELLECT IS BUT A WEAK INSTRUMENT, AND CAN GIVE ONLY KNOWLEDGE LIMITED BY THE SENSE, THE YOGI WANTS TO GO BEYOND THE SENSES. THEREFORE THE INTELLECT IS OF NO USE OF HIM. HE IS CERTAIN OF THIS, AND THEREFORE, IS SILENT, AND DOES NOT ARGUE. EVERY ARGUMENT THROWS HIS MIND OUT OF BALANCE, CREATES A DISTURBANCE IN THE CHITTA, AND THIS DISTURBANCE IS A DRAWBACK. THESE ARGUMENTATIONS AND SEARCHINGS OF THE REASON ARE ONLY ON THE WAY. THERE ARE MUCH HIGHER THINGS BEHIND THEM. THE WHOLE OF LIFE IS NOT FOR SCHOOLDBOY FIGHTS AND DEBATING SOCIETIES. BY " SURROUDERING THE FRUITS OF WORK TO GOD" IS TO TAKE TO OURSELVES NEITHER CREDIT NOR BLAME, BUT TO GIVE BOTH UP TO THE LORD, AND BE AT PEACE.

       

FEEL ABOUT NATURE

                                                            THE NATURE

                    GOOD DEEDS, ETC., ARE NOT THE DIRECT CAUSES IN THE TRANFORMATION OF NATURE, BUT THEY ACT AS BREAKERS OF OBSTACLES TO THE EVOLUTION OF NATURE, AS A FARMER BREAKS THE OBSTACLES TO THE COURSE OF WATER, WHICH THEN RUNS DOWN BY ITS OWN NATURE. 

             WHEN A FARMER IS IRRIGATING HIS FIELD, THE WATER IS ALREADY IN THE CANALS, ONLY THERE ARE GATES WHICH KEEP THE WATER IN. THE FARMER OPENS THESE GATES, AND THE WATER FLOWS IN BY ITSELF, BY THE LAW OF GRAVITATION. SO ALL HUMAN PROGRESS AND POWER ARE ALREADY IN EVERYTHING, THIS PERFECTION IS EVERY MAN'S NATURE, ONLY IT IS BARRED IN AND PREVENTED FROM TAKING ITS PROPER COURSE. IF ANYONE CAN TAKE THE BAR OFF, IN RUSHES NATURE. THEN THE MAN ATTAIN THE POWER WHICH ARE HIS ALREADY. THOSE WE CALLED WICKED BECOME SAINTS, AS SOON AS THE BAR IS BROKEN AND NATURE RUSHES IN. IT IS NATURE THAT IS DRIVING US TOWARDS PERFECTION, AND EVENTUALLY SHE WILL BRING EVERYONE THERE. ALL THESE PRACTICES AND STRUGGLES TO BECOME RELIGIOUS ARE ONLY NEGATIVE WORK TO TAKE OFF THE BARS, AND OPEN THE DOORS TO THAT PERFECTION WHICH IS OUR BIRTHRIGHT, OUR NATURE.

            TODAY THE EVOLUTION THEORIES OF THE YOGIS WILL BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN RESEARCH. AND YET THE THEORY OF THE YOGIS IS A BETTER EXPLANATION. THE TWO CAUSES OF EVOLUTION ADVANCED BY THE MODERNS, VIZ., SEXUAL SELECTION AND SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, ARE INADEQUATE. SUPPOSE HUMAN KNOWLEDGE TO HAVE ADVANCED TOO MUCH AS TO ELIMINATE COMPETITION, BOTHE FROM THE FUNCTION OF ACQURING PHYSICAL SUSTENANCE AND OF ACQUIRING A MATE. THEN, ACCORDING TO THE MODERNS, HUMAN PROGRESS WILL STOP AND THE RAVE WILL DIE. AND THE RESULT OF THIS THEORY IS TO FURNISH EVERY OPPRESSOR WITH AN ARGUMENT TO CALM THE QUALMS OF CONSCIENCE, AND MEN ARE NOT LACKING, WHO, POSING AS PHILOSOPHERS, WANT TO KILL OUT ALL WICKED OF COMPETENT PERSONS, AND THUS PRESERVE THE HUMAN RACE! BUT THE GREAT ANCIENT EVOLUTIONIST, PATANJALI, DECLARES THAT THE TRUE SCRET OF EVOLUTION IS THE MANIFESTATION OF THE PERFECTION WHICH IS ALREADY IN EVERY BEING, THAT THIS PERFEFCTION HAS BEEN BARRED, AND THE INFINITE TIDE IT IS STRUGGLING TO EXPRESS ITSELF. 

              THESE STRUGGLES AND COMPETIONS ARE BUT THE RESULTS OF OUR IGNORENCE, BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW THE PROPER WAY TO UNLOCK THE GATE AND LET THE WATER IN. THIS INFINITE TIDE BEHIND MUST EXPRESS ITSELF, AND IT IS THE CAUSE OF ALL MANIFESTATION, NOT COMPETITION FOR LIFE, OR SEX GRATIFICATION, WHICH ARE ONLY MOMENTARY, UNNECESSARY, EXTRANEOUS EFFECTS, CAUSED BY IGNORANCE. EVEN WHEN ALL COMPETITION HAS CEASED, THIS PERFECT NATURE BEHIND WILL MAKE US GO FORWARD UNTIL EVERYONE HAS BECOME PERFECT. THEREFORE, THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE HAS BECOME PERFECT. THREFORE, THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT COMPETITION IS NECESSARY TO PROGRESS. IN THE ANIMAL THE MAN WAS SUPPRESSED, BUT, AS SOON AS THE DOOR WAS OPENED, OUT RUSHED MAN. SO, IN MAN THERE IS THE POTENTIAL GOD, KEPT IN BY THE LOCKS AND BARS OF IGNORANCE. WHEN KNOWLEDGE BREAKS THESE BARS, THE GOD BECOMES MANIFEST.

ABOUT INDEPENDENCE

                                        YOGA TELL ABOUT INDEPENDENCE

           THE SIDDHIS (POWERS) ARE ATTAINED BY BIRTH, CHEMICAL MEANS, POWER OF WORDS, MORTIFICATION OR CONCENTRATION.

          SOMETIMES A MAN IS BORN WITH THE SIDDHIS, POWERS, OF COURSE FROM THE EXERCISE OF POWERS HE HAD IN HIS PREVIOUS BIRTH. IN THIS HE IS BORN, AS IT WERE, TO ENJOY THE FRUITS OF THEM. IT IS SAID OF KAPILA, THE GREAT FATHER OF THE SANKHYA PHILOSOPHY, THAT HE WAS A BORN SIDDHA, WHICH MEANS, LITERALLY, A MAN WHO HAS ATTAINED TO SUCCESS.

          THE YOGIS CLAIM THAT THESE POWERS CAN BE GAINED BY CHEMICAL MEANS. ALL OF YOU KNOW THAT CHEMISTRY ORIGINALLY BEGAN AS ALCHEMY, MEN WENT IN SEARCH OF THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, AND ELIXIRS OF LIFE, AND SO FORTH. IN INDIA THERE WAS A SECT CALLED THE RASAYANAS. THEIR IDEA WAS THAT IDEALITY, KNOWLEDGE, SPIRITUALLY AND RELIGION, WERE ALL VERY RIGHT, BUT THAT THE BODY WAS THE ONLY INSTRUMENT BY WHICH TO ATTAIN TO ALL THESE. IF THE BODY BROKE NOW AND THEN, IT WOULD TAKE SO MUCH MORE TIME TO ATTAIN TO THE GOAL. FOR INSTANCE, A MAN WANTS TO PRACTICE YOGA,, OR WANTS TO BECOME SPIRITUAL. BEFORE HE HAS ADVANCED VERY FAR, HE DIES. THEN HE TAKES ANOTHER BODY AND BEGINS AGAIN, THEN DIES, AND SO ON, AND IN THIS WAY MUCH TIME WILL BE LOST IN DYING AND IN BEING BORN AGAIN. IF THE BODY COULD BE MADE STRONG AND PERFECT, SO THAT IT WOULD GETRID OF BIRTH AND DEATH, WE SHOULD HAVE SO MUCH MORE TIME TO BECOME SPIRITUAL. 

               SO THESE RASAYANAS SAY, FIRST MAKE THE BODY VERY STRONG, AND THEY CLAIM THAT THIS BODY CAN BE MAKE IMMORTAL. THE IDEA IS THAT IF THE MIND IS MANUFACTURING THE BODY, AND IF IT BE TRUE THATIF THE MIND IS MANUFACTURING THE BODY, AND IF IT BE TRUE THAT EACH MIND IS ONLY ONE PARTICULAR OUTLET TO THAT INFINITE ENERGY, AND THAT THERE IS NO LIMIT TO EACH PARTICULAR OUTLET GETTING ANY AMOUNT OF POWER FROM OUTSIDE, WHY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE THAT WE SHOULD KEEP OUR BODIES ALL THE TIME? WE SHALL HAVE TO MANUFACTURE ALL THE BODIES THAT WE SHALL EVER HAVE. AS SOON AS THIS BODY DIES, WE SHALL HAVE TO MANUFACTURE ANOTHER. IF WE CAN DO THAT,WHY CANNOT WE DO IT JUST HERE AND NOW, WITHOUT GETTING OUT? THE THEORY IS PERFECTLY CORRECT. IF IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WE LIVE AFTER DEATH, AND MAKE OTHER BODIES, WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE THE POWER OF MAKING BODIES HERE, WIHOUT ENTIRELY DISSOLVING THIS BODY, SIMPLY CHANGING IT CONTINUALLY? THEY ALSO THOUGHT THAT IN MERCURY AND IN SULPHUR WAS HIDDEN THE MOST WONDERFUL POWER, AND THAT BY CERTAIN PREPARATIONS OF THESE A MAN COULD KEEP THE BODY AS LONG AS HE LIKE. OTHERS BELIEVED THAT CERTAIN DRUGS COULD BRING POWERS, SUCH AS FLYING THROUGH THA AIR, ETC. MANY OF THE MOST WONDERFUL MEDICINES OF THE PRESENT DAY WE OWE TO THE RASAYANAS, NOTABLY THE USE OF METALS IN MEDICINE. CERTAIN SECTS OF YOGIS CLAIM THAT MANY OF THEIR PRINCIPAL TEACHERS ARE STILL LIVING IN THEIR OLD BODIES. PATANJALI, THE GREAT AUTHORITY ON YOGA, DOES NOT DENY THIS. 

            THE POWER OF WORDS. THERE ARE CERTAIN SACRED WORDS CALLED MANTRAMS, WHICH HAVE POWER, WHEN REPEATED UNDER PROPER CONDITIONS, TO PRODUCE THESE EXTAORDINARY POWERS. WE ARE LIVING IN THE MIDST OF SUCH A MASS OF MIRACLES, DAY AND NIGHT, THAT WE DO NOT THINK ANYTHING OF THEM. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO MAN'S POWER, THE POWER OF WORDS AND THE POWER OF MIND.

          MORTIFICATION, YOU WILL FIND THAT IN EVERY RELIGION, MORTIFICATIN AND ASCETICISM HAVE BEEN PRACTISED. IN THESE RELIGION CONCEPTIONS,THE HINDUS ALWAYS GO TO THE EXTEEMES. YOU WILL FIND MEN STANDING WITH THEIR HANDS UP ALL THEIR LIVES, UNTIL THEIR HANDS WITHER AND DIE. MEN SLEEP STANDING, DAY AND NIGHT, UNTIL THEIR FEET SWELL, AND , IF THEY LIVE, THE LEGS BECOME SO STIFF IN THIS POSITION THAT THEY CAN NO MORE BEND THEM, BUT HAVE TO STAND ALL THEIR LIVES. I ONCE SAW A MAN WHO HAD RAISED HIS HANDS IN THIS WAY, AND I ASKED HIM HOW IT FELT WHEN HE DID IT FIRST. HE SAID IT WAS AWFUL TORTURE. IT WAS SUCH TORTURE THAT HE HAD TO GO TO A RIVER AND PUT HIMSELF IN WATER, AND THAT ALLAYED THE PAIN FOR A LITTLE. AFTER A MONTH HE DID NOT SUFFER MUCH. THROUGH SUCH PRACTICES POWERS CAN BE ATTAINED.

                 CONCENTRATION. THE CONCENTRATION IS SAMADHI, AND THAT IS YOGA PROPER, THAT IS THE PRINCIPLE THEME OF THIS SCIENCE, AND IT IS THE HIGHEST MEANS. THE PRECEDING ONES ARE ONLY SECONDARY, AND WE CANNOT ATTAIN TO THE HIGHEST THROUGH THEM. SAMADHI IS THE MEANS THROUGH WHICH WE CAN GAIN ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING, MENTAL,MORAL OR SPIRITUAL.