EARNESTNESS AND THOUGHTLESSNESS

                                              NIRVANA AND THE DEATH

                  EARNESTNESS IS THE PATH OF IMMORTALITY(NIRVANA), THOUGHTLESSNESS THE PATH OF DEATH. THOSE WHO ARE IN EARNEST DO NOT DIE, THOSE WHO ARE THOUGHTLESSNESS ARE AS IF DEAD ALREADY. HAVING UNDERSTOOD THIS CLEARLY, THOSE WHO ARE ADVANCED IN EARNESTNESS DELIGHT IN EARNESTNESS, AND REJOICE IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ELECT. THESE WISE PEOPLE, MEDITATIVE, STEADY, ALWAYS POSSESSED OF STRONG POWERS, ATTAIN TO NIRVANA, THE HIGHEST HAPPINESS. IF AN EARNEST PERSON HAS ROUSED HIMSELF, IF HE IS NOT FORGETFUL, IF HIS DEEDS ARE PURE, IF HE ACTS WITH CONSIDERATION, IF HE IS RESTRAINS HIMSELF, AND LIVES ACCORDING TO LAW- THEN HIS GLORY WILL INCREASE. 

                 BY ROUSING HIMSELF, BY EARNESTNESS BY RESTRAINT AND CONTROL, THE WSE MAN MAY MAKE FOR HIMSELF, AN ISLAND WHICH NO FLOOD CAN OVERWHELM. FOOLS FOLLOW AFTER VANITY. THE WISE MAN KEEPS EARNESTNESS AS HIS BEST JEWEL. FOLLOW NOT AFTER VANITY, NOR AFTER THE ENJOYMENT OF LOVE AND LUST! HE WHO  IS EARNEST AND MEDITATIVE, OBTAINS AMPLE JOY. WHEN THE LEARNED MAN DRIVES AWAY VANITY BY EARNESTNESS, HE THE WISE, CLIMBING THE TERRACED HEIGHTS OF WISDOM, LOOKS DOWN UPON THE FOOLS, FREE FROM SORROW HE LOOKS UPON THE SORROWING CROWD, AS ONE THAT STANDS ON A MOUNTAIN LOOKS DOWN UPON THEM THAT STAND UPON THE PLAIN.
            EARNEST AMONG THE THOUGHLESS, AWAKE AMONG THE SLEEPERS, THE WISE MAN ADVANCES LIKE A RACER. LEAVING BEHIND THE HACK. BY EARNESTNESS DID MAGHAVAN (INDRA) RISE TO THE LORDSHIP OF THE GODS. PEOPLE PRAISE EARNESTNESS, THOUGHTLESSNESS IS ALWAYS BLAMED.

              A BHIKSHU(MENDICANT) WHO DELIGHTS IN EARNESTNESS, WHO LOOKS WITH FEAR ON THOUGHTLESSNESS, MOVES ABOUT LIKE FIRE, BURNING ALL HIS FETTERS, SMALL OR LARGE. A BHIKSHU(MENDICANT) WHO DELIGHTS IN REFLECTION, WHO LOOKS WITH FEAR ON THOUGHTLESSNESS, CANNOT FALL AWAY FROM HIS PERFECT STATE-HE IS CLOSE UPON NIRVANA.

                                                                      FLOWERS

                      WHO SHALL OVERCOME THIS EARTH, AND THE WORLD OF YAMA, THE LORD OF THE DEPARTED, AND THE WORLD OF THE GODS? WHO SHALL FIND OUT THE PLAINLY SHOWN PATH OF VIRTUE, AS A CLEVER MAN FINDS THE RIGHT FLOWER? THE DISCIPLINE WILL OVERCOME THE EARTH, AND THE WORLD OF YAMA, AND THE WORLD OF THE GODS. THE DISCIPLINE WILL FIND OUT THE PLAINLY SHOWN PATH OF VIRTUE, ASA CLEVER MAN FINDS THE RIGHT FLOWER. HE WHO KNOWS THAT THIS BODY IS LIKE FROTH, AND HAS LEARNT THAT IT IS AS UNSUBTANTIAL AS A MIRAGE, WILL BREAK THE FLOWER-POINTED ARROW OF MARA AND NEVER SEETHE KING OF DEATH.

                  DEATH CARRIES OFF A MAN WHO IS GATHERING FLOWER, AND WHOSE MIND IS DISTRACTED, AS A FLOOD CARRIES OFF A SLEEPING VILLAGE. DEATH SUBDUES A MAN WHO IS GETHERING FLOWERS, AND WHOSE MIND IS DISTRACTED, BEFORE HE IS SATIATED IN HIS PLEASURE. AS THE BEE COLLECTS NECTAR AND DEPARTS WITHOUT INJURING THE FLOWER, OR ITS COLOR OR SCENT, SO LET A SAGE DWELL IN HIS VILLAGE.

                 NOT THE PERVERSITIES OF OTHERS, NOT THEIR SINS OF COMMISSION OR OMISSION, BUT HIS OWN MISDEEDS AND NEGLIGENCES SHOULD A SAGE TAKE NOTICE OF.  LIKE A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER, FULL OF COLOR, BUT WITHOUT SCENT, ARE THE FINE BUT FRUITLESS WORDS OF HIM WHO DOES NOT ACT ACCORDINGLY. AS MANY KINDS OF WREATHS CAN BE MADE FROM A HEAP OF FLOWERS, SO MANY GOOD THINGS MAY BE ACHIEVED BY A MORTAL WHEN ONCE HE IS HORN. THE SCENT OF FLOWERS DOES NOT TRAVEL AGAINST THE WIND, NOR THAT OF SANDAL-WOOD, OR OF TAGARA AND MALLIKA FLOWERS, BUT THE ODOR OF GOOD PEOPLE TRAVELS EVEN AGAINST THE WIND, A GOOD MAN PERVADES EVERY PLACE. SANDAL-WOOD OR TAGARA, A LOTUS-FLOWER, OR A VASSIKI, AMONG THESE SORTS OF PERFUMES, THE PERFUME OF VIRTUE IS UNSURPASSED. 

                 

               MEAN IS THE SCENT THAT COMES FROM TAGARA AND SANDAL-WOOD THE PERFUME OF THOSE WHO POSSESS VIRTUE RISES UP TO THE GODS AS THE HIGHEST. OF THE PEOPLE WHO PASSES THESE VIRTUES, WHO LIVE WITHOUT THOUGHTLESSNESS, AND WHO ARE EMANCIPATED THROUGH TRUE KNOWLEDGE, MARA, THE TEMPTER, NEVER FINDS THE WAY. AS ON A HEAP OF RUBBISH CAST UPON THE HIGHWAY THE LILY WILL GROW FULL OF SWEET PERFUME AND DELIGHT, THUS AMONG THOSE WHO ARE MERE RUBBISH THE DISCIPLE OF THE TRULY ENLIGHTENED BUDDHA SHINES FORTH BY HIS KNOWLEDGE ABOVE THE BLINDED WORLDLING.

 

KNOW ABOUT MEDITATION

                                                       MEDITATION

        FROM EGOISM ALONE PROCEED THE CREATED MINDS.

              THE THEORY OF KARMA IS THAT WE SUFFER FOR OUR GOOD OR BAD DEEDS, AND THE WHOSE SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY IS TO APPROACH THE GLORY OF MAN. ALL THE SCRIPTURES SING THE GLORY OF MAN, OF THE GLORY OF MAN. ALL THE SCRIPTURES SING THE GLORY OF MAN, OF THE SOUL, AND THEN, WITH THE SAME BREATH, THEY PEACH THIS KARMA. A GOOD DEED BRINGS SUCH A RESULT, AND A BLAD DEED SUCH A RESULT, BUT, IF THE SOUL CAN BE ACTED UPON BY A GOOD OR BAD DEED, IT AMOUNTS TO NOTHING, BAD DEEDS PUT A BART TO THE MANIFESTATION OF OUR NATURE,OF THE PURUSA, AND GOOD DEEDS TAKE THE OBSTACLES OFF, AND ITS GLORY BECOMES MANIFEST. BUT THE PURUSA ITSELF IS NEVER CHANGED. WHATEVER YOU DO NEVER DESTROYS YOUR OWN GLORY, YOUR OWN NATURE, BECAUSE THE SOUL CANNOT BE ACTED UPON BY ANYTHING, ONLY A VEIL IS SPREAD BEFORE IT, HIDING ITS PERFECTION.

              THOUGH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE DIFFERENT CREATED MINDS ARE VARIOUS, THE ONE ORIGINAL MIND IS THE CONTROLLER OF THEM ALL.

               THESE DIFFERENT MINDS, WHICH WILL ACT IN THESE DIFFERENT BODIES, ARE CALLED MADE-MINDS,  AND THE BODIES, MADE-BODIES, THAT IS, MANUFACTURED BODIES AND MINDS. MATTER AND MIND ARE LIKE TWO INEXHAUTIBLE STOREHOUSES. WHEN YOU HAVE BECOME A YOGI, YOU HAVE LEARNED THE SECRET OF THEIR CONTROL. IT WAS YOURS ALL THE TIME, BUT YOU HAD FORGOTTEN IT. WHEN YOU BECOME A YOGI, YOU RECOLLECT IT, THEN YOU CAN DO ANYTHING WITH IT, MANIPULATE IT ANY WAY YOU LIKE. THE MATERIAL OUT OF WHICH THAT MANUFACTURED MIND IS CREATED IS THE VERY SAME MATERIAL WHICH IS USED AS THE MACROCOSM. IT IS NOT THAT MIND IS ONE THING AND MATTER ANOTHER, BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT EXISTENCE OF THE SAME THING. ASMITA, EGOISM, IS THE MATERIAL, THE FINE STATE OF EXISTENCE OUT OF WHICH THESE MADE-MINDS AND MADE BODIES OF THE YOGI WILL BE MANUFACTURED. THEREFORE, WHEN THE YOGI, HAS FOUND THE SECRET OF THESE ENERGIES OF NATURE HE CAN MANUFACTURE ANY NUMBER OF BODIES, OR MINDS, BUT THEY WILL ALL BE MANUFACTURES OUT OF THE SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS EGOISM.

               AMONG THE VARIOUS CHITTAS THAT WHICH IS ATTINED BY SAMADHI IS DESIRELESS.

               AMONG ALL THE VARIOUS MINDS THAT WE SEE IN VARIOUS MEN, ONLY THAT MIND WHICH HAS ATTAINED TO SAMADHI, PERFECT CONCENTRATION, IS THE HIGHEST. A MAN WHO HAS ATTAINED CERTAIN POWERS THROUGH MEDICINES, OR THROUGH WORDS, OR THROUGH MORTIFICATIONS, STILL HAS DESIRE, BUT THAT MAN WHO HAS ATTAINED TO SAMADHI THROUGH CONCENTRATION IS ALONE FREE FROM ALL DESIRES.

                   WORKS ARE NEITHER BLACK NOR WHITE FOR THE YOGIS FOR OTHERS THEY ARE THREEFOLD-BLACK, WHITE, AND MIXED.

               WHEN THE YOGI HAS ATTAINED TO THAT STATE OF PERFECTION, THE ACTIONS OF THAT MAN, AND THE KARMA PRODUCED BY THOSE ACTIONS, WILL NOT BLIND HIM, BECAUSE HE DID NOT DESIRE THEM. HE JUST WORKS ON, HE WORKS TO DO GOOD, AND HE DOES GOOD, BUT DOES NOT CARE FOR THE RESULT, AND IT WILL NOT COME TO HIM. BUT FOR ORDINARY MEN, WHO HAVE NOT ATTAINED TO THAT HIGHEST STATE, WORKS ARE OF THREE KINDS, BLACK (EVIL ACTIONS), WHITE (GOOD ACTIONS) AND MIXED.

                   

             FROM THESE THREEFOLD WORKS ARE MANIFESTED IN EACH STATE ONLY THOSE DESIRES (WHICH ARE) FITTING TO THAT STATE ALONE. (THE OTHERS ARE HELD IN ABEYANCE FOR THE TIME BEING)

             SUPPOSE I HAVE MADE THE THREE KINDS OF KARMA-GOOD, BAD, AND MIXED, AND SUPPOSE I DIE AND BECOME A GOD IN HEAVEN, THE DESIRES IN A GOD BODY ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE DESIRES IN A HUMAN BODY. THE GOD BODY NEITHER EATS NOR DRINKS, WHAT BECOMES OF MY PAST UNWORKED KARMAS, WHICH PRODUCE AS THEIR EFFECT THE DESIRE TO EAT AND DRINK? WHERE WOULD THESE KARMAS GO WHEN I BECAME A GOD? THE ANSWER IS THAT DESIRES CAN ONLY MANIFEST THEMSELVES IN PROPER ENVIRONMENTS. ONLY THOSE DESIRES WILL COME OUT FOR WHICH THE ENVIRONMENT IS FITTED, THE REST WILL COME OUT FOR WHICH THE ENVIRONMENT IS FITTED, THE REST WILL REMAINS STORED UP. IN THIS LIFE WE HAVE MANY GODLY DESIRES, MANY HUMAN DESIRES, MANY ANIMAL DESIRES. IF I TAKE A GOD BODY, ONLY THE GOD DESIRES WILL COME UP, BECAUSE FOR THEM THE ENVIRONMENTS ARE SUITABLE. AND IF I TAKE AN ANIMAL BODY, ONLY THE ANIMAL DESIRES WILL COME UP, AND THE GOD DESIRES WILL WAIT. WHAT DOES THE SHOW? THAT BY MEANS OF ENVIRONMENT, WE CAN CHECK THESE DESIRES. ONLY THAT KARMA WHICH IS SUITED TO AND FITTED FOR THE ENVIRONMENTS WILL COME OUT. THIS PROVES THAT THE POWER OF ENVIRONMENT IS A GREAT CHECK TO CONTROL EVEN KARMA ITSELF.

              

 

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

                                                    RELATIONSHIPS

      AS THE EGOIC MODE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND ALL THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURES THAT IT CREATED ENTER THE FINAL STAGE OF COLLAPSE, THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN REFLECT THE DEEP STATE OF CRISIS IN WHICH HUMANITY NOW FINDS ITSELF. AS HUMAN HAVE BECOME INCRESINGLY IDENTIFIED WITH THEIR MIND, RELATIONSHIPS ARE NOT ROOTED IN BEING AND SO TURN INTO A SOURCE OF PAIN AND BECOME DOMINATED BY PROBLEMS AND CONFLICT.

         MILLIONS ARE NOW LIVING ALONE OR AS SINGLE PARENTS, UNABLE TO ESTABLISH AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP OR UNWILLING TO REPEAT THE INSANE DRAMA OF PAST RELATIONSHIPS. OTHERS GO FROM ONE RELATIONSHIP TO ANOTHER, FROM ONE PLEASURE - AND - PAIN CYCLE TO ANOTHER, IN SEARCH OF THE EXCLUSIVE GOAL OF FULFILLMENT THRROUGH UNION WITH THE OPPOSITE ENERGY POLARITY. STILL OTHERS COMPROMISE AND CONTINUE TO BE TOGETHER IN A DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH NEGATIVITY PREVAILS, FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN OR SECURITY, THROUGH FORCE OF HABIT, FEAR OF BEING ALONE, OR SOME OTHER MUTUALLY "BENEFICIAL" ARRAGEMENT, OR EVEN THROUGH THE UNCONSCIOUS ADDICTION TO THE EXCITEMENT OF EMOTIONAL DRAMA AND PAIN.

               HOWEVER EVERY CRISTS REPRESENTS NOT ONLY DANGER BUT ALSO OPPORTUNITY. IF RELATIONSHIPS ENERGIZE AND MAGNIFY EGOIC MIND PATTERNS AND ACTIVITY THE PAIN-BODY, AS THEY DO AT THIS TIME, WHY NOT ACCEPT THIS FACT RATHER THAN TRY TO ESCAPE FROM IT? WHY NOT COOPERATE WITH IT INSTEAD OF AVOIDING RELATIONSHIPS OR CONTINUING TO PURSUE THE PHANTOM OF AN IDEAL PARTNER AS AN ANSWER TO YOUR PROBLEMS OR A MEANS OF FEELING FULFILLED? THE OPPORTUNITY THAT IS CONCEALED WITHIN EVERY CRISIS DOES NOT MANIFEST UNTIL ALL THE FACTS OF ANY GIVEN SITUATION ARE ACKNOWLEDGED AND FULLY ACCEPTED. AS LONG AS YOU DENY THEM, AS LONG AS YOU TRY TO ESCAPE FROM THEM OR WISH THAT THINGS WERE DIFFERENT THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY DOES NOT OPEN UP, AND YOU REMAIN TRAPPED INSIDE THAT SITUATION, WHICH WILL REMAIN THE SAME OR DETERIARATE FURTHER. 

                       WITH THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF TTHE FACTS ALSO COMES A DEGREE OF FREEDOM FROM THEM. FOR EXAMPLE WHEN YOU KNOW THERE IS DISHARMONY AND YOU HOLD THAT "KNOWING" THROUGH YOUR KNOWING A NEW FACTOR HAS COME IN, AND THE DISHARMONY CANNOT REMAIN UNCHANGED. WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE NOT AT PEACE, YOUR KNOWING CREATES A STILL SPACE THAT SURROUNDS YOUR NONPEACE IN A LOVING AND TENDER EMBRACE AND THEN TRANSMUTES YOUR NONPEACE INTO PEACE. AS FAR AS INNER TRANSFORMATION IS CONCERNED, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. YOU CANNOT TRANSFORM YOURSELF, AND YOU CERTAINLY CANNOT TRANSFORM YOUR PARTNER OR ANYBODY ELSE. ALL YOU CAN DO IS CREATE A SPACE FOR TRANSFORMATION TO HAPPEN, FOR GRACE AND LOVE TO ENTER.  

           SO WHENEVER YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS NOT WORKING, WHENEVER IT BRINGS OUT THE "MADNESS" IN YOU AND IN YOUR PARTNER, BE GLAD. WHAT WAS UNCONSCIOUS IS BEING BROUGHT UP TO THE LIGHT. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SAVATION. EVERY MOMENT, HOLD THE KNOWING OF THAT MOMENT, PARTICULARLY OF YOUR INNER STATE. IF THERE IS ANGER, KNOW THAT THERE IS ANGER. IF THERE IS JEALOUSLY, DEFENSIVENESS, THE URGUE TO ARUGUE, THE NEED TO BE RIGHT, AND UNNER CHILD DEMANDING LOVE AND ATTENTION, OR EMOTIONAL AND HOLD THE KNOWING . THE RELATIONSHIP THEN BECOMES YOUR SADHANA, YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE. IF YOU OBSERVE UNCONSCIOUS BEHAVIOR IN YOUR PARTNER, HOLD IT IN THE LOVING EMBRACE OF YOUR KNOWING SO THA YOU WON'T REACT. UNCONSCIOUS AND KNOWING CANNOT COEXIST FOR LONG- EVEN IF THE KNOWING IS ONLY IN THE OTHER PERSON AND NOT IN THE ONE WHO IS ACTING OUT THE UNCONSCIOUSNESS. THE ENERGY FORM THAT LIES BEHIND HOSTILITY AND ATTACK FINDS THE PRESENCE OF LOVE ABSOLUTELY INTOLERABLE. IF YOU REACT AT ALL TO YOUR PARTNER'S UNCIOUSNESS, YOU BECOME UNCONSCIOUS YOURSELF. BUT IF YOU THEN REMEMBER TO KNOW YOUR REACTION NOTHING IS LOST.

                  IF YOU ARE CONSISTENLY OR AT LEAST PREDOMINANTLY PRESENT IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP, THIS WILL BE THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FOR YOUR PARTNER. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TOLERATE YOUR PRESENCE FOR VERY LONG AND STAY UNCONSCIOUS. IF THEY ARE READY, THEY WILL WALK THROUGH THE DOOR THAT YOU OPENED FOR THEM AND JOIN YOU IN THAT STATE. IF THEY ARE NOT, YOU WILL SEPARATE LIKE OIL AND WATER. THE LIGHT IS TOO PAINFUL FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO REMAIN IN DARKNESS.

THE POWER OF POW

                                    WHICH IS THE POWERFUL TIME - ITS NOW!

               I HAVE LITTLE USE FOR THE PAST AND RARELY THINK ABOUT IT, HOWEVER, I WOULD BRIEFLY LIKE TO TELL YOU HOW I CAME TO BE A SPIRITUAL TEACHER AND HOW THIS BOOK CAME INTO EXISTENCE

            UNTIL  MY THIRTEENTH YEAR, I LIVED IN A STATE OF ALMOST CONTINUOS ANXIETY UNTERSPERSED WITH PERIODS OF SUICIDAL DEPRESSION. IT FEESL NOW AS IF I AM TALKING ABOUT SOME PAST LIFETIME OR SOMEBODY ELSE'S LIFE. 

           ONE NIGHT NOT LONG AFTER MY TWENTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY. I WOKE UP IN THE EARLY HOURS WITH A FEELING OF ABSOLUTE DREAD. I HAD WOKEDN UP WITH SUCH A FEELING MANY TIMES BEFORE, BUT THIS TIME IT WAS MORE INTENSE THAN IT HAD EVER BEEN. THE SILENCE OF THE NIGHT, THE VAGUE OUTLINES OF THE FURNITURE IN THE DARK ROOM, THE DISTANT NOISE OF A PASSING TRAIN-EVERYTHING FELT SO ALIEN, SO HOLTILE, AND SO UTTERLY MEANINGLESS THAT IT CREATED IN ME A DEEP LOATHING OF THE WORLD. THE MOST LOATHSOME THING OF ALL, HOWEVER, WAS MY OWN EXISTENCE. WHAT WAS THE POINT IN CONTINUING OF LIVE WITH THIS BURDEN OF MISERY? WHY CARRY ON WITH THIS CONTINIOUS STRUGGLE? I COULD FEEL THAT A DEEP LONGING FOR ANNIHILATION, FOR NONEXISTENCE, WAS NOW BECOMING MUCH STRONGER THAN THE INSTINCTIVE DESIRE TO CONTINUE TO LIVE.

                     I CANNOT LIVE WITH MYSELF LONGER, THIS WAS THE THOUGHT THAT KEPT REPEATING ITSELF IN MY MIND. THEN SUDDENLY I BECAME  AWARE OF WHAT A PECULIAR THOUGHT IT WAS. AM I ONE OR TWO? IF I CANNOT LIVE WITH MYSELF, THERE MUST BE TWO OF ME,  THE I AND SELF THAT I CANNOT LIVE WITH, MAYBE I THOUGHT ONLY ONE OF THEM IS REAL.

                 I WAS SO STUNNED BY THIS STRANGE REALIZATION THAT MY MIND STOPPED. I WAS FULLY CONSCIOUS, BUT THERE WERE NO MORE THOUGHTS. THEN I FELS DRAWN INTO WHAT SEEMED LIKE A VORTEX OF ENERGY. IT WAS A SLOW MOVEMENT AT FIRST AND THEN ACCELERATED. I WAS GRIPPED BY AN INTENSE FEAR, AND MY BODY STARTED TO SHAKE. I HEARD THE WORDS, RESIST NOTHING, AS IF SPOKEN INSIDE MY CHEST. I COULD FEEL MYSELF BEING SUCKED INT A VOID. IF FELT AS IF THE VOID WAS INSIDE MYSELF RATHER THAN OUTSIDE. SUDDENLY, THERE WAS NO MORE FEAR, AND I LET MYSELF FALL INTO THAT VOID. I HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF WHAT HAPPEND AFTER THAT.

                    I WAS AWAKENED BY THE CHIRPING OF A BIRD OUTSIDE THE WINDOW. I HAD NEVER HEARD SUCH A SOUND BEFORE. MY EYES WERE STILL CLOSED. AND I SAW THE IMAGE OF A PRECIOUS DIAMOND. YES, IF A DIAMOND COULD MAKE A SOUND, THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE. I OPENED MY EYES. THE FIRST LIGHT OF DRAWN WAS FILTERING THROUGH THE CURTAINS. WITHOUT ANY THOUGHT, I FELT, K KNEW, THAT THERE IS INFINITELY MORE TO LIGHT THAT WE REALIZE. THAT SOFT LUMINOSITY FILTERING THROUGH THE CURTAINS WE LOVE ITSELF. TEARS CAME INTO MY EYES, I GOT UP AND WALKED AROUND THE ROOM. I RECONGNIZED THE ROOM, AND YET I KNEW THAT I HAD NEVER TRULY SEEN IT BEFORE. EVERYTHING WAS FRESH AND PRISTINE, AS IF IT HAD JUST COME INTO EXISTENCE, I PICKED UP THINGS, A PENCIL, AN EMPTY BOTTLE, MARVELLING AT THE BEAUTY AND ALIVENESS OF IT ALL.

                 THAT DAY I WALKED AROUND THE CITY IN UTTER AMAZEMENT AT THE MIRACLE OF LIFE ON EARTH, AS IF I HAD JUST BEEN BORN INTO THIS WORLD.

                  FOR THE NEXT FIVE MONTHS, I LIVED IN A STATE OF UNINTERUPPED DEEP PEACE AND BLISS. AFTER THAT, IT DIMINISHED SOMEWHAT IN INTENSITY, OR PERHAPS IT JUST SEEMED TO BECAUSE IT BECAME MY NATURAL STATE. I COULD STILL FUNCTION IN THE WORLD, ALTHOUGH I REALIZED THAT NOTHING I EVER DID COULD POSSIBLY AND ANYTHING TO WHAT I ALREADY HAD.

                     

            I KNEW OF COURSE, THAT SOMETHING PROFOUNDLY SIGNIFICANT HAD HAPPENED TO ME, BUT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT AT ALL. IT WASN'T UNTIL SEVERAL YEARS LATER, AFTER I HAD READ  SPIRITUAL TEXTS AND SPEND TIME WITH SPIRITUAL TEACHERS. THAT I REALIZED THAT WHAT EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING FOR HAD ALWAYS HAPPENED TO ME. I UNDERSTOOD THAT THE INTENSE PRESSURE OF SUFFERING THAT NIGHT MUSH HAVE FORCED MY CONSCIOUSNESS TO WITHDRAW FROM ITS IDENTIFICATION WITH THE UNHAPPY AND DEEPTY FEERFUL SELF, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY A FICTION FO THE MIND. THIS WITHDRAWAL MUST HAVE BEEN SO COMPLETE THAT THIS FALSE, SUFFERING SELF IMMEDIATELY COLLAPSED, JUST AS IF A PLUG HAD BEEN PULLED OUT OF AN INFLATABLE TOY. WHAT WAS LEFT THEN WAS MY TRUE NATURE AS THE EVER-PRESENT I AM: CONSCIOUSNESS IN ITS PURE STATE PRIOR TO IDENFICATION WITH FORM. LATER I ALSO LEARNED TO GO INTO THAT INNER TIMELESS AND DEATHLESS REALM THAT I HAD ORIGINALLY PERCEIVED AS A VOID AND REMAIN FULLY CONSCIOUS. I DWELT IN STATES OF SUCH INDESCRIBABLE BLISS AND SACREDNESS THAT EVER THE ORIGINAL EXPERIENCE. I JUST DESCRIBED PALES IN COMPARISON. A TIME CAME WHEN, FOR A WHILE, I WAS LEFT WITH NOTHING ON THE PHYSICAL PLANE. I HAD NO RELATIONSHIPS, NO JOB, NO HOME, NO SOCIALLY DEFINED IDENTITY. I SPENT ALMOST TWO YEARS STTING ON PARK BENCHES IN A STATE OF THE MOST INTENSE JOY.

                          BEFORE I KNEW, I HAD AN EXTERNAL IDENTITY AGAIN. I HAD BECOME A SPIRITUAL TEACHER.

                 

                        

            

YOGIS

                                                      THE YOGIS

                  THE YOGI WHOSE VIRTTIS HAVE THUS BECOME POWERLESS (CONTROLLED) OBTAINS IN THE RECEIVER, AND RECEIVED (THE SELF, THE MIND AND EXTERNAL OBJECTS), CONCENTRATEDNESS AND SAMENESS, LIKE THE CRYSTAL.

                 WHAT RESULTS FROM THIS CONSTANT MEDITATION? WE MUST REMEMBER HOW IN A PREVIOUS APHORISM PATANJALI WENT INTO THE VARIOUS STATES OF MEDITATION, AND HOW THE FIRST WILL BE THE GROSS, AND THE SECOND THE FINE OBJECTS, AND FROM THEM THE ADVANCE IS TO STILL FINER OBJECTS OF MEDITATION, AND HOW, IN ALL THESE MEDITATIONS, WHICH ARE ONLY OF THE FIRST DEGREE, NOT VERY HIGH ONES, WE GET AS A RESULT THAT WE CAN MEDITATES AS EASILY ON THE FINE AS ON THE GROSSER OBJECTS. HERE THE YOGI SEES THE THREE THINGS, THE RECEIVER, AND THE RECEIVING, CORRESPONDING TO THE SOUL, THE OBJECT, AND THE MIND. THERE ARE THREE OBJECTS OF MEDITATION GIVEN TO US. FIRST, THE GROSS THINGS, AS BODIES, OR MATERIAL OBJECTS, SECOND, FINE THINGS, AS THE MIND, THE CHITTA, AND THIRD, THE PURUSA QUALIFIED, NOT THE PURUSA ITSELF, BUT THE EGOISM. BY PRACTISE, THE YOGI GETS ESTABLISHED IN ALL THESE MEDITATIONS. WHENEVER THE MEDITATES HE CAN KEEP OUT ALL OTHER THOUGHT, HE BECOMES IDENTIFIED WITH THAT ON WHICH HE MEDIATES, WHEN HE MEDITATES HE IS LIKE A PIECE OF CRYSTAL, BEFORE FLOWERS THE CRYSTAL BECOMES ALMOST IDENTIFIED WITH FLOWERS. IF THE FLOWER IS RED, THE CRYSTAL LOOKS RED, OR IF THE FLOWER IS BLUE, THE CRYSTAL LOOKS BLUE.

                  SOUND MEANING, AND RESULTING KNOWLEDGE, BEING MIXED UP, IS (CALLED SAMADHI) WITH REASONING. 

                   SOUND HERE MEANS VIBRATION, MEANING, THE NERVE CURRENTS WHICH CONDUCT IT, AND KNOWLEDGE, REACTION. ALL THE VARIOUS MEDITATION WE HAVE HAD SO FAR, PATANJALI CALLS SAVITARKA (MEDITATION WITH REASONING). LATER ON HE WILL GIVE US HIGHER AND HIGHER DHYANAS. IN THESED THAT ARE CALLED "WITH REASONING" WE KEEP THE DUALITY OF SUBJECT AND OBJECT, WHICH RESULTS FROM THE MIXTURE OF WORD, MEANING AND KNOWLEDGE. THERE IS FIRST THE EXTERNAL VIBRATION, THE WORD, THIS CARREID INWARD BY THE SENSE CURRENTS, IS THE MEANING. AFTER THAT THERE COMES A REACTIONARY WAVE IN THE CHITT, WHICH IS KNOWLEDGE . IN ALL THE MEDITATIONS UP TO THIS , WE GET THIS MIXTURE AS OBJECT OF MEDITATION. THE NEXT SAMADHI IS HIGHER.

                  THE SAMADHI CALLED WITHOUT REASONING(COMES) WHEN THE MEMORY IS PURIFIED, OR DEVOID OF QUALITIES, EXPRESSING ONLY THE MEANING(OF THE MEDITATED OBJECT).

                  IT IS BY PRACTICE OF MEDITATION OF THESE THREE THAT WE COME TO THE STATE WHERE THESE THREE DO NOT MIX. WE CAN GET RID OF THEM. WE WILL FIRST TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE THREE ARE. HERE IS CHITTA, YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE SIMILE OF THE LAKE, THE MIND-STUFF, AND THE VIBRATION, THE WORD, THE SOUND, LIKE A PULSATION COMING OVER IT. YOU HAVE THAT CALM LAKE IN YOU, AND I PRONOUNCE A WORD, "COW". AS SOON AS IT ENTERS THROUGH YOUR EARS THERE IS A WAVE PRODUCED IN YOUR CHITTA ALONG WITH IT. SO THAT WAVE REPRESENTS THE IDEA OF THE COW, THE FORM OR THE MEANING AS WE CALL IT. THAT APPARENT COW THAT YOU KNOW IS REALLY THAT WAVE IN THE MIND-STUFF, AND THAT COMES AS A REACTION TO THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SOUND-VIBRATIONS, AND WITH THE SOUND, THE WAVE DIES AWAY, THAT WAVE CAN NEVER EXIST WIHOUT A WORD.                 

                      YOU MAY ASK HOW IT IS WHEN WE ONLY THINK OF THE CO, AND DO NOT HEAR A SOUND. YOU MAKE THAT SOUND YOURSELF. YOU ARE SAYING "COW" FAINTLYIN YOUR MIND, AND WITH THAT COMES A WAVE. THERE CANNOT BE ANY WAVE WITHOUT THIS IMPULSE OF SOUND. AND WHEN IT IS NOT FROM OUTSIDE IT IS FROM INSIDE, AND WHEN THE SOUND DIES, THE WAVE DIES. WHAT REMAINS? THE RESULT OF THE REACTION, AND THAT IS KNOWLEDGE. THESE THREE ARE SO CLOSELY COMBINED IN OUR MIND THAT WE CANNOT SEPERATE THEM. WHEN THE SOUND COMES, THE SENSE VIBRATE, AND THE WAVE RISES IN REACTION, THEY FOLLOW SO CLOSELY UPON ONE ANOTHER THAT THERE IS NO DISCERNING ONE FROM THE OTHER, WHEN THIS MEDITATION HAS BEEN PRACTISED FOR A LONG TIME, MEMORY THE RECEPTACLE OF ALL IMPRESSIONS, BECOMES PURIFIED, AND WE ARE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH THEM FORM ONE ANOTHER. THIS IS CALLED "NIRVITARKA" CONCENTRATION WITHOUT REASONING. 

THE MAN

                                               

                                                       THE MAN CHAPTER 2

              IF A MAN HOLD HIMSELF, LET HIM WATCH HIMSELF CAREFULLY, DURING ONE AT LEAST OUT OF THE THREE WATCHE'S A WISE MAN SHOULD BE WATCHFUL. LET EACH MAN DIRECT HIMSELF FIRST TO WHAT IS PROPER, THEN LET HIM TEACH OTHERS, THUS A WISE MAN WILL NOT SUFFER. IF A MAN MAKE HIMSELF AS HE TEACHES OTHERS TO BE, THEN, BEING HIMSELF WELL SUBDUED, HE MAY SUBDUE OTHERS, ONE'S OWN SELF IS DIFFICULT SUBDUE. SELF IS THE LORD OF SELF, WHO ELSE COULD BE THE LORD? WITH SELF WELL SUBDUED, A MAN FINDS A LORD SUCH AS FEW CAN FIND.

             THE EVIL DONE BY ONE'S SELF, SELF-FORGOTTEN, SELF-BRED, CRUSHES THE FOOLISH, AS A DIAMOND BREAKS EVEN A PRECIOUS STONE. HE WHOSE WICKEDNESS IS VERY GREAT BRINGS HIMSELF DOWN TO THAT STATE WHERE HIS ENEMY WISHES HIM TO BE, AS A CREEPER DOES WITH THE TREE WHICH IT SURROUNDS. BAD DEEDS, AND DEEDS HURTFUL TO OURSELVES, ARE EASY TO DO, WHAT IS BENEFICIAL AND GOOD, THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DO. THE FOOLISH MAN WHO SCORNS THE RULE OF THE VENERABLE(ARHAT), OF THE ELECT(ARIYA), OF THE VIRTUOS, AND FOLLOWS A FALSE DOCTINE, HE BEARS FRUIT TO HIS OWN DESTRUCTION LIKE THE FRUITS OF THE KATTHAKA REED?

                  BY ONE'S SELF THE EVIL IS DONE, BY ONE'S SELF ONE SUFFERS, BY ONE'S SELF EVIL IS STAND AND FALL BY ONE'S SELF ONE IS PURIFIED. THE PURE AND THE IMPURE STAND AND FALL BY THEMSELVES, NO ONE CAN PURIFY ANOTHER. LET NO ONE FORGET HIS OWN DUTY FOR THE SAKE OF ANOTHER'S HOWEVER GREAT, LET A MAN, AFTER HE HAS DISCERNED HIS OWN DUTY, BE ALWAYS ATTENTIVE TO HIS DUTY.

                                                               THE EVIL LAW

        DO NOT FOLLOW THE EVIL LAW! DO NOT LIVE ON IN THOUGHTNESSNESS! DON NOT FOLLOW FALSE DOCTRINE! BE NOT A FRIEND OF THE WORLD.ROUSE THYSELF! DO NOT BE IDLE! FOLLOW THE LAW OF VIRTUE! THE VIRTUEOUS REST IN BLISS IN THIS WORLD AND IN THE NEXT. FOLLOW THE LAW OF VIRTUE, DON NOT FOLLOW THAT OF SIN. THE VIRTUOUS REST IN BLISS IN THIS WORLD AND IN THE NEXT. LOOK UPON THE WORLD AS YOU WOULD ON A BUBBLE, LOOK UPON IT AS YOU WOULD ON A MIRAGE, THE KING OF DEATH DOES NOT SEE HIM WHO THUS LOOKS DOWN UPON THE WORLD. COME, LOOK AT THIS WORLD, GLITTERING LIKE A ROYAL CHARIOT, THE FOOLISH ARE IMMERSED IN IT, BUT THE WISE DO NOT TOUCH IT.

           HE WHO FORMERLY WAS RECKLESS AND AFTERWARDS BECAME SOBER, BRIGHTENS UP THIS WORLD, LIKE THE MOON WHEN FREED FROM CLOUDS. HE WHOSE EVIL DEEDS ARE COVERED BY GOOD DEEDS, BRIGHTENS UP THIS WORLD, LIKE THE MOON WHEN FREED FROM CLOUDS. THIS WORLD IS DARK, FEW ONLY CAN SEE HERE, A FEW ONLY GO TO HEAVEN, LIKE BIRDS ESCAPED FROM THE NET. THE SWANS GO ON THE PATH OF THE SUN, THEY GO MIRACUOUSLY THROUGH THE ETHER, THE WISE ARE LED OUT OF THIS WORLD, WHEN THEY HAVE CONQUERED MARA AND HIS TRAIN. IF A MAN HAS TRANSGRESSED THE ONE LAW, AND SPEAKS LIES, AND SCOFFS AT ANOTHER WORLD, THERE IS NO EVIL HE WILL NOT DO. THE UNCHARITABLE DO NOT GO TO THE WORLD OF THE GODS, FOOLS ONLY DO NOT PRAISE LIBERALITY, A WISE MAN REJOICES IN LIBERALITY, AND THOUGH IT BECOMES BLESSED IN THE OTHER WORLD.  BETTER THAN SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE EARTH, BETTAR THAN GOING TO HEAVEN, BETTER THAN LORDSHIP OVER ALL WORDS, IS THE REWARD OF SOTAPATTI, THE FIRST STEP IN HOLINESS.

                                                                   DONT SEEK

        HOW IS THERE LAUGHER, HOW IS THER JOY, AS THIS WORLD IS ALWAYS BURNING? DO YOU NOT SEEK A LIGHT, YE WHO ARE SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS? LOOK AT THIS DRESSED-UP LUMP, COVERED WITH WOUNDS, JOINED TOGETHER, SICKLY, FULL OF MANY SCHEMES, BUT WHICH HAS NO STRENGTH, NO HOLD! THIS BODY IS WASTED, FULL OF SICKNESS, AND FRAIL, THIS HEAP OF CORRUPTION BREAKS, TO PIECES, LIFE INDEED ENDS IN DEATH. AFTER ONE HAS LOOKED AT THOSE GRAY BONES, THROWN AWAY LIKE GOURDS IN THE AUTUMN, WHAT PLEASURE IS THERE LEFT IN LIFE!.

         AFTER A STONGHOLD HAS BEEN MADE OF THE BONES, IT IS COVERED WITH FLESH AND BLOOD, AND THERE DWELL IN IT OLD AGE AND DEATH, PRIDE AND DECEIT. THE BRILLIAT CHARIOTS OF KINGS ARE DESTROYED, THE BODY ALSO APPROACHES DESTRUTION, BUT THE VIRTUE OF GOOD PEOPLE NEVER APPROACHES DESTRUCTION-THUS DO THE GOOD SAY TO THE GOOD. A MAN WHO HAS LEARNT, LITTLE, GROWS OLD LIKE AN OX, HIS FLESH GROWS, BUT HIS KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT GROW. LOOKING FOR THE MAKER OF THIS TABERNACLE, I HAVE RUN THROUGH A COURSE OF MANY BIRTHS, NOT FINDING HIM, AND PAINFUL IS BIRTH AGAIN AND AGAIN. BUT NOW, MAKER OF THER TABERNACLE, THOU HAS BEEN SEEN, THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UP THIS TABERNACLE AGAIN. ALL THY RAFTERS ARE BROKEN, THY RIDGE-POLE IS SUNDERED, THE MIND, APPROACHING THE ETERNAL(VISANKHARA NIRVANA) HAS ATTAINED TO THE EXTINCTION OF ALL DESIRES.

             MEN WHO HAVE NOT OBSERVED PROPER DISCIPLINE, AND HAVE NOT GAINED WEALTH IN THEIR YOUTH, PERISH LIKE OLD HERONS IN A LAKE WITHOUT FISH. MEN WHO HAVE NOT OBSERVED PROPER DISCIPLINE AND HAVE NOT GAINED WEALTH IN THEIR YOUTH, LIE, LIKE BROKEN BOWS, SIGHING AFTER THE PAST.

 

 

ANGER

                                                  ANGER SPOIL THE LIFE

         LET  A MAN LEAVE ANGER, LET HIM FORSAKE PRIDE, LET HIM OVERCOME ALL BONDAGE! NO SUFFERINGS BEFALL THE MAN WHO IS NOT ATTACHED TO NAME AND FORM, AND WHO CALLS NOTHING HIS OWN. HE WHO HOLDS BACK RISING ANGER LIKE A ROLLING CHARIOT, HIM I CALL A REAL DRIVER, OTHER PEOPLE ARE BUT HOLDING THE REINS. LET A MAN OVERCOME ANGER BY LOVE, LET HIM OVERCOME EVIL BY GOOD, LET HIM OVERCOME THE GREEDY BY LIBERALITY, THE LIAR BY TRUTH! SPEAK THE TRUTH, DO NOT YIELD TO ANGER, GIVE, IF THOU ART ASKED FOR LITTLE, BY THESE THREE STEPS THOU WILT GO NEAR THE GODS. THE SAGES WHO INJURE NOBODY, AND WHO ALWAYS CONTROL THEIR BODY, THEY WILL GO TO THE UNCHANGEABLE PLACE(NIRVANA) WHERE IF THEY HAVE GONE, THEY WILL SUFFER NO MORE. THOSE WHO ARE EVER WATCHFUL, WHO STUDY DAY AND NIGHT, AND WHO STIVE, AFTER NIRVANA, THEIR PASSIONS WILL COME TO AN END. THIS IS AN OLD SAYING, THEY BLAME HIM WHO SPEAKS MUCH, THEY ALSO BLAME HIM WHO SAYS LITTLE, THERE IS NO ONE ON EARTH WHO IS NOT BLAMED. THERE NEVER WAS, THERE NEVER WILL BE, NOR IS THERE NOW, A MAN WHO IS ALWAYS BLAMED, OR A MAN WHO IS ALWAYS PRAISED.

           BUT HE WHOM THOSE WHO DISCRIMINATE PRAISE CONTINUALLY DAY AFTER DAY, AS WITHOUT BLEMISH, WISE, RICH IN KNOWLEDGE AND VIRTUE, WHO WOULD DARE TO BLAME HIM, LIKE A COIN MADE OF GOLD FROM THE GAMBU RIVER? EVEN THE GODS PRAISE HIM, HE IS PRAISED EVEN BY BRAHMAN.

           BEWARE OF BODILY ANGER, AND CONTROL THY BODY! LEAVE THE SINS OF THE BODY, AND WITH THY BODY PRACTISE VIRTUE! BEWARE OF THE ANGER OF THE TONGUE, AND CONTROL THY TONGUE! LEAVE THE SINS OF THE TONGUE, AND PRACTISE VIRTUE WITH THY TONGUE!

           BEWARE OF THE ANGER OF THE MIND, AND CONTROL THY MIND! LEAVE THE SINS OF THE MIND, AND PRACTISE VIRTUE WITH THY MIND! THE WISE WHO CONTROL THEIR MIND, ARE INDEED WELL CONTROLLED.

                                                                      PLEASURE

                 HE WHO GIVES HIMSELF TO VANITY AND DOES NOT GIVE HIMSELF TO MEDITATION, FORGETTING THE REAL AIM OF LIFE AND GRASPING AT PLEASURE, WILL IN TIME EVERY HIM WHO HAS EXERTED HIMSELF IN MEDITATION. LET NO MAN EVER CLING TO WHAT IS PLEASANT, OR TO WHAT IS UNPLEASANT NOT TO SEE WHAT IS PLEASANT IS PAIN, AND IT IS PAIN TO SEE WHAT IS UNPLEASANT. LET, THEREFORE NO MAN LOVE ANYTHING, LOSS OF THE BELOVED IS EVIL, THOSE THOSE WHO LOVE NOTHING, AND HATE NOTHING, HAVE NO FETTERS. FROM PLEASURE COMES GRIEF, FROM PLEASURE COMES FEAR, HE WHO IS FREE FROM PLEASURE KNOWS NEITHER GRIEF NOR FEAR.

              FROM AFFECTION COMES GRIEF, FROM AFFECTION COMES FEAR, HE WHO IS FREE FROM AFFECTION KNOWS NEITHER GRIEF NO FEAR. FROM LUST COMES GRIEF, FROM LUST COMES FEAR, HE WHO IS FREE FROM LUST KNOWS NEITHER GRIEF NOR FEAR. FROM LOVE COMES GRIEF, FROM LOVE COMES FEAR, HE WHO IS FREE FROM LOVE KNOWS NEITHER GRIEF NOR FEAR. FROM GREED COMES GRIEF, FROM GREED COMES FROM FEAR, HE WHO IS FREE FROM GREED KNOWS NEITHER GRIEF NOR FEAR.

             HE WHO POSSESSES VIRTUE AND INTELLIGENCE, WHO IS JUST, SPEAKS THE TRUTH, AND DOES WHAT IS HIS OWN BUSINESS, HIM THE WORLD WILL HOLD DEAR. HE IN WHOM A DESIRE FOR THE INEFFABLE (NIRVANA) HAS SPRUNG UP, WHO IN HIS MIND IS SATISFIED, AND WHOSE THOUGHTS ARE NOT BEWILDERED BY LOVE, HE IS CALLED URDHVAMSROTAS.

               KINSMEN, FRIENDS, AND LOVERS SALUTE A MAN WHO HAS BEEN LONG AWAY, AND RETURNS SAFE FROM AFAR. IN LIKE MANNER HIS GOOD WORDS RECEIVE HIM WHO HAS DONE GOOD, AND HAS GONE FROM THIS WORLD TO THE OTHER-AS KINSMEN RECEIVE A FRIEND ON HIS RETURN.