A Rediscovery of Existential Bliss

Vedic Renaissance

2007-05-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

From a recent talk by Nithyananda.

Why do we need Vedic renaissance? Let us first understand. For the first time in the history of the planet, human beings are enjoying so much luxury in the outer world. In the outer world, whether medicine, communications or technology, we have reached a peak. Just as we have reached a peak in the outer world luxury and comforts, we have reached a peak of suffering and misery in the inner world. Humanity has never suffered so much in the inner world. We are living in a world which is experiencing spiritual poverty. The Vedic tradition is a constant reminder, a constant inspiration to work on the inner world, to transform and to experience a different space, a different world. Only Vedic renaissance can do that, give you the experience of spiritual truth, the experience of the inner world, your own consciousness.

The first thing you need to do is become a seeker and understand the reason for living. When I use the word seeker, I mean a person who understands that the outer world is not everything; life is more than just the outer world. Whenever you feel that life is just more than what you experience through the senses you become a seeker. You start seeking the truth - in Sanskrit we call it mumukshutwa - seeking beyond he senses. Shankara, the great Master, spoke of the value of manushyatwa, mumukshutwa, Mahapurusha sangama, or having the human body, seeking the the Higher Self, and having the experience with an Enlightened being, having a touch or darshan of an Enlightened being. After having these three, if a person remains unenlightened, he is called... a fool!

Again and again, life reminds you of the truth, that life is beyond your control; especially when some near and dear ones die, or there is some accident, or you lose your job. Then, you are completely shaken, and don't know how to handle it. Either you fall into depression or you suffer. You have to then start seeking when you feel that your life is no longer in your control. The seeking should be a deep understanding, not just an emotional reaction. When understanding is added to the seeking, you will see that you will be transformed. Use only once scale to judge whether whatever you have been taught is the truth: Does it add more sat, honesty to you? Does it add more chit, consciousness to you? Does it add more ananda, bliss to you? If so, then you are traveling on the right path and, naturally, you will start experiencing enlightenment.

Once you create real sincere seeking, you will see that you are attracted to a spiritual community, and you attract a spiritual community around you. When a seeker attracts the same kind of people around him, it will create such a beautiful, peaceful community - no rules and regulations are necessary. All will live in Dharma, in the natural law of life. Each one will take charge of some work naturally. I call this Dharmic administration, administration through the natural law of life.

In the ancient Vedic Gurukulam, there was no community based on birth. It was purely based on activity. A person who doesn't have anything to share except his time is called a worker. A person who can share and create some products is called a vaishya, a merchant or businessman. A person who who inspires people in an ideology, who keeps things alive, is called kshatriya, or a warrior, an inspirer. A person who shares enlightenment, knowledge, is called a Brahmana, an Enlightened one. An important understanding you should have, is that you need to know when in your life to play these roles, of Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and worker. This will bring about Vedic renaissance in your own family. Your whole life will then become beautiful.

The truth is, life itself is a psychodrama. If you understand clearly that you are playing this drama again and again and again, you will realize that being a Brahmana is nothing great. If you do the job of the Brahmana, you will realize that it's just another job. Because you are sitting there, I am sitting here! Because disciples are there, the Guru is here. It is purely your choice. It is just a matter of who chooses to play what role.

I am not joyful not because I am playing the role of the Guru, but because I have understood that all roles are a drama. Joy is supposed to come from your own Being, not from any role. A person who can play all roles, and who has understood he is beyond all roles, who is not attached to any one role, is called a Paramahamsa, an Enlightened being. If you understand the utility and futility of all roles, you will really live life.

So, first, try to bring seeking into your life; then, realize the utility and futility of the roles you play. You will bring about Vedic renaissance in yourself, the whole community, and the whole world.

Transcendence

2007-03-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

It's all about transcendence. We dream, we fantasize, we get intoxicated with food and drink and physical contact, only to escape our own company if only for just a moment. Without those moments of ecstatic bliss of expansion which free us temporarily from our lives of quiet desperation, we may as well die. What is it that does it for you that lets your spirit soar high in the skies of purity? Can you remain flying in those skies, or does gravity pull you down unceremoniously?

When we enter the space of deep frustration that human existence brings, and enter the vacuous emptiness that escapism through sensory excitement leaves in its wake, a new space opens. A space of bliss eternal, ever renewing, ever nurturing. A space of bliss which is not polluted, corrupted, by insiduous thoughts, or feelings, or actions. A space of bliss which has always been ours. In that space we realize, we are home.

Settling into Bliss

2006-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

Our world and our lives in this present age predominantly express the qualities of vaata as described in Ayurveda. The essential nature of vaata is motion and aggravation of vaata leads to a sort of nervous, edgy energy which creates excitement in the superficial layers of Self, the annamaya kosha (the physical layer), pranamaya kosha (the pranic layer), and manomaya kosha (mental layer) but stirs up deep agitation in the mind-body-awareness connection and leaves us with a feeling of stress and burnout.

A holistic approach to our work on ourselves in the physical realm in order to start experiencing the deeper nature of the real Self or atman is necessary. The concept of dinacharya, or a daily routine praised in Ayurveda, is an excellent way to create a deep restfulness that is necessary to experience the bliss of our Being. Some key approaches I have found useful are outlined here.

Oil pulling: Squishing a small quantity of sesame oil in the mouth after waking up reduces vaata in the brain and mind.

Diet: A sattvic diet truly helps begin the process of restoring harmony to the bodily tissues and mental state. All vegetarian food, freshly cooked, lightly seasoned, with a touch of ghee are yogic in nature. Nuts, warm milk (with saffron) and lentil soups are also included in this category. Tea made from Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) and Brahmi (Gotu kola) also promote sattva, or purity, peace and a rested nervous system.

Abhyanga: A whole body massage with warm sesame oil before a shower has been praised by Charaka, the great Seer of Ayurveda as a means of promoting life and bliss.

Hatha Yoga: Most simple, gentle postures (surya namaskar is excellent) allow healthy functioning of naadis or subtle channels for flow of ojas, or the vital essence of the body. This results in feeling of exhilaration. Nithyananda has offered a simple idea to follow while performing any asana thus, "Imagine that your entire body is a bliss bag. Whenever you bend or move your body for any purpose, that memory, that idea, will be completely inserted and recorded in your body and mind. That intent or samskara will start expressing in your body."

Meditating in the presence of a living Buddha: As recognized and extolled by the Vedic tradition, this is one simple, effortless, direct means of experiencing the profound awareness beyond time and space, of nirvikalpa samadhi, or bliss without form. I meditated on my own for years, but never had the sort of shift in awareness that meditating for a day in my Master's presence had, leading to the no-mind zone. A quantum shift in intelligence is greatly accelerated through this process, which is as mysterious as it is thrilling.

The above approaches can greatly enhance the state of being grounded and help propel the body and mind into bliss. As Nithyananda says, "When your shoe fits well, you lose awareness of the shoe. When the belt fits well, you lose awareness of the belt. And, when the body fits well, you lose awareness of the body!" This settling into the body ends in settling into bliss. Then the mind can enter the gap between thoughts, and the gap between breaths, which is the home of samadhi, or pure bliss.

More Q&A with Nithyananda

2006-10-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

Q: How can we surrender the ego, when this wanting to surrender is itself an expression of the ego?

Nithyananda: How are you going to surrender the ego, when it does not exist? Suppose you are sitting in a dark room. You want the darkness to disappear. But can you push it out? Can you fight darkness and force it to leave the room? No! No matter how long you keep trying, you are ultimately going to be defeated - and that too by something which does not exist!

The ego is like darkness, it has no positive existence. Just like darkness is simply the absence of light, the ego is nothing but the absence of awareness. To struggle to kill the ego is like struggling to push the darkness out of the room. To really expel the darkness, what you need to do is to forget all about dealing with the darkness. Focus your energy on Light instead. Just bring a small lamp into the room, and you will find that the darkness has fled on its own! So, I tell you to forget all about the ego. Instead, focus on bringing a lamp of awareness into your being. When your entire consciousness has become a flame, you will find that the ego is no more.

The ego is an illusion. You cannot surrender it when you are unaware - because you don't know how. Of course, you cannot surrender it when you become aware either - because then you realize that there is nothing left to surrender! What you have heard, read, been taught - 'Surrender the ego in order to attain Self-realization' - this is an utterly nonsensical idea. It can happen only the other way round. Self-realization dawns, and suddenly you cannot find the ego anymore. The surrender has aleady happened, just like that.

However, I am glad that the question has arisen in your being. The ego is the root cause for all your anxieties, sorrows, tensions. It is your doorway to hell. To actively feel that you want to drop the ego, to feel the the need to be rid of this burden is itself a step towards awareness. It shows that you are stirring from your sleep!

Q: Whenever I am in your presence all questions disappear and everything seems possible. But when I am away from you, all the familiar doubts creep in. Why does this happen and what can I do about it?

Nithyananda: If a question disappears on its own in my presence, then it is time to realize that it was not a true question at all; it was merely a play of the mind. When you are with me, the mind is no more in control - you simply flow into meditation. You become a loving, serene silence. In this state, only a question that is truly your question, one that is completely relevant to you, will still remain with you.

In my presence, you become so intensely aware, so completely present that there is no space for questions to arise. When you leave my presence, the mind is free to impose the past and the future upon your present - for what else are your questions but the play of the past and the future upon your present? Just like the ego, there is no point in fighting with or condemning the mind. It is a pointless struggle which you are sure to lose. Instead, it is enough to be aware that this is the very nature of the mind; it can be expected to behave in no other way. It is bound to bring in anxiety, confusion, doubt. Just to be conscious of this is enough.

Do not pass judgement on the mind - even to get angry with your mind is to lose your energy to it. As you witness the workings of the mind, you will slowly become aware that you are not the mind - you are more than the mind, you are the watcher. Once deprived of your energy, the mind cannot go on! In the place of the chaos of thoughts that you call your mind, a clear, intense consciousness will arise. At that moment, all questions dissolve and the mind is no more.

This is the experience you find yourself having in my presence. And what I have just told you is the way to make it stay with you always - even when you are not with me! It is a slow process - give it time. It will happen.

Q:You ask us not to suppress our natural passions. But is it right to indulge in these passions?

Nithyananda: On this path, you will time and again come across apparent dualities: good/bad, false/true, attachment/aversion, suppression/indulgence. In fact, raging inside your being is this constant conflict of opposites. Whenever a duality asserts itself, remember this thumbrule: Existence is nondual. Opposites do not exist. To cling to either suppression or indulgence is a sign of ignorance. After all, suppression is nothing but a reaction to indulgence. What is essential is the awareness of one’s own tendencies.

Recognize anger, recognize jealousy, recognize lust and greed. Neither give in to these emotions nor try to suppress them. Simply attempt to know them for what they are. Keep your distance, and view your emotions as if they were strangers. You will be surprised to find that without your support, they cannot exist, they simply drop away! This may not make much sense to you when it is just someone else’s experience - but through constant practice you will experience the truth for yourself. It is only this awareness that can awaken Self-knowledge, and free you of these concepts of all dualities!

Q: You say that skepticism is a big hindrance to learning. But you also urge us to voice our doubts. Why?

Nithyananda: You can raise questions due to either skepticism or doubt. But there is a world of difference between the two.

Skepticism is a state where one refuses to believe in anything at all. Just like that! The skeptic will raise arguments just for the sake of raising them. Skepticism itself is an unconscious belief; it is a foregone negative conclusion against anything and everything. The skeptic has no ideology of his own, he only has an argument against whatever idea you place before him. He will argue against an idea for hours, and if you present another idea that is just the opposite, he will argue against it equally emphatically! Actually, he has already settled into a permanent attitude of "no!" towards everything. Truly, skepticism marks the end of the journey for the learner, because with this attitude it is impossible to get anywhere. The skeptic has closed himself to all possibility of change.

Doubt, on the other hand, is a state of openness and receptivity. Doubt is an acceptance of "I don’t know, but I can learn." This marks the beginning of the learner's pilgrimage. Doubt is the path of the seeker. It simply seeks to eliminate all that is untrue in order to perceive the Truth. A man with a doubt listens with respect, not with defiance. He possesses the humility of the ignorant. His is the attitude of "yes!"; he is only waiting to experience so that he can trust.

When a person with a sharp intellect turns to skepticism, it is a dangerous sign - because it can be very ego-fulfilling to put down all ideas in an effective manner. But ultimately, the skeptic is only burning his own bridges. This is especially true of skepticism with a Master; if you adopt the attitude of skepticism, there is just no way the Master can get through to you. There is no point in going to a doctor just to question the value of every pill in his prescription, is there?

So ask your questions, by all means. Just watch the attitude with which you ask them!

Awareness: The Gates of God

2006-10-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

From talks on the Shiva Sutras by Nithyananda.

Shiva says:
Tayaapooryaashu moordhaantam bhanktvaa bhrookshepasetunaa;
Nirvikalpam manah kritvaa sarvordhve sarvagodgamah.

With attention between the eyebrows, let the mind be before thought. Then, the inner energy rises, fills awareness and omnipresence prevails.

"During my travels as a parivrajaka (wandering renunciant), I stayed with and had the opportunity to learn from a great Master, a Naga Baba, in the Himalayas. He had a unique method of teaching. Whenever people came to him to learn, he would stick his trishul, the trident which Shiva carries, in the ground, and he would ask them to look at all three tips simultaneously. I had seen, that sometimes his students would sit for three months staring at the trishul all day, trying to perfect themselves. It is much harder than it appears. One moment you can see one tip in your vision, and the next moment the next tip and the next moment the third tip. I first thought it was easy! But when I started practising, I was shocked, 'Oh God, I can't even see this small trishul, entirely, all at once!' Only then did I understand, that without moving the eyeballs, without shifting the gaze, we cannot really see more than one point.

The trishul is a great weapon to to create awareness of the third eye; a great way to expand awareness. Right now, your field of vision is 120 degrees. If you start concentrating at one particular point, it will slowly become 30 degrees. The more you concentrate, the narrower the field of vision becomes, but if you center yourself on the third eye, slowly your awareness will expand beyond 120 degrees, and you will be able to first see 180 degrees, then 240 degrees and ultimately 360 degrees. To create awareness by centering yourself on the third eye means to awaken your consciousness.

The second line of the sutra is 'Let the mind be before thought'. Being aware before thought arises is the greatest liberation! Try this simple experiment. Look at a rose without creating any words, without creating any words about it in your inner space. Do not think that it is a rose, that it is red, or that it is beautiful. Do not create any thoughts at all! Just look at it. Just try to relate with it without any words. Suddenly, you will see that you are in a different space! You are able to connect with the flower more deeply than you ever imagined. Please be very clear, you do not relate with the world as it is. If you look with the two physical eyes, it is equivalent to blindness. According to Tantra, either you use one eye or three eyes. According to me, either you use three eyes or no eyes at all. Even if you see with your eyes, you do not see what is, you just play with words. The moment you create a word, you are no more connected to the world. And once you create words, joy is lost; the moment you verbalize, all joy is lost.

The third eye, the ajna chakra, is the energy center for intuition. Once this third eye is opened, you will start awakening and living a life of freedom. You will be liberated from your inner chatter. You will live with what is. Your vision disturbed by your samskaras (embedded engrams) is what I call maya. If your third eye is awakened, your vision will be clear. With the third eye you can burn the false appearance of reality and be liberated from it. You will live like Shiva. You will live like Mahadeva!"

Inner Chatter

2006-09-29T03:29:00.000-07:00

Nithyananda touches upon the nature of the mind:

Whether you speak through voicing opinions, or continue the conversation in your minds, it is difficult to break from the unconscious habit of inner chatter. When you are alone, you begin talking to yourself. In sleep, you begin talking in your dreams. You are not able to remain at peace with yourself even in your sleep, because you indulge in talk 24/7! An analogy: you may not feel a thing if you run fast for one or two minutes. If you run for 30 minutes, you will be gasping for breath. But if you continue running past your imagined limit, what happens to the body? It runs on auto-pilot. In the same manner, it has become difficult to be in silence because of the habit of the mind.

A small story: A learned professor from the West went to meet a Zen Master in the East, in Japan. The professor was a scholar, and had done a lot of research in many areas of science. He went to meet the Master to acquire some spiritual knowledge, to discuss various subjects with him, and to understand spirituality better.

He arrived at the Master's place and found the Master brewing tea. The Master saw him and gestured for him to sit and continued to brew the tea. The professor sat down and after a while, started talking about his background, about all his studies, his discoveries, his travels all over the world, his experiences with different people, his conclusions on various subjects and what not.

The Master finished brewing the tea and placed two cups between them. He began pouring tea into the professor's cup. He poured and poured and slowly the cup started overflowing. The tea spilt over the saucer and flowed onto the table. The professor was watching what was happening. He could not contain himself any more. He screamed out, "Master, what are you doing? Stop pouring! The cup is overflowing!"

The Master stopped and calmly said, "So are you."

The professor was surprised but suddenly understood exactly what the Master was trying to convey. The professor was so full, just like the teacup that could not hold any more tea, that any words of wisdom from the Master would not have filled him, but would have only overflowed outside. There is no question of perfect health or a blissful life unless the galloping nature of the mind is reigned in and the never-ending debates stop.

Even in the case of spiritual matters, you have your minds packed with all sorts of information, the words of this Master and that. Your inner chatter is shaped based on this information, too. As a first step, throw away into the trash can of your mind all this stinking garbage which you have accumulated unnecessarily! More importantly, ensure that you do not accumulate any further garbage.

The beauty of your pure inner self will then be revealed in your face.

The beauty of your pure mind will then be revealed in your speech.

Cleanse your mind – your speech will automatically become attractive. Those who have hated you will begin to love you. It is the first step you can take towards spiritual growth.

Nithyanandam!

2006-09-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

A traditional couplet sung in adoration of Existential Bliss:

Nithyanandam Paramasukhadam Kevalam Gnana Murtim

Dwandwatitam Gaganasadrisham Tattvamasyadi Lakshyam

Ekam Nithyam Vimalamachalam Sarvadhi Sakshibhutam

Bhavatitam Trigunarahitam Satgurum Tam Namami

Salutations (Tam Namami), to the Existential energy that dispels the darkness of illusion (Satgurum); the energy that is free, and beyond the three gunas, the modifications of matter: Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas (Trigunarahitam); that transcends all mental conception (Bhavatitam); that is so completely awake that there is no imprint left in the apparatus of memory - only movement of awareness of actuality, and no false assumptions, ascriptions and abstractions owing to the mind (Sarvadhi Sakshibhutam).

Salutations to the Existential energy of Awareness that is without any contamination from the divisiveness of embodied consciousness (Vimalam); and therefore extremely still and tranquil (Achalam); that is eternal, with neither beginning nor end (Nithyam); which is the aloneness or 'all-one'ness (Ekam) without the suffering of loneliness superimposed by illusion, and which is spoken of by the Mahavakya Tat Tvam Asi (Tatvamasyadi Lakshyam).

Salutations to this Energy-Intelligence, that is the emptiness and the wholeness, pervasive like the sky (Gaganasadrisham), beyond all duality, divisions, pairs of opposites, separations, fragmentations, and contradictions of the material universe (Dwandwatitam).

The manifestation and complete expression of this Energy and wisdom in a human body (Kevalam Gnana Murtim) brings supreme happiness (Paramasukhadam) and Eternal Bliss (Nithyanandam)!

The Master's Alchemy

2006-09-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

As students of physics in high school, we performed an experiment that I still remember, which demonstrated a phenomenon called resonance: A metal wire is stretched out on a wooden board between two elevated points. A folded piece of thin paper, called a rider, is placed on this wire. Next, a series of tuning forks of known frequencies are struck and pressed at one end of the fixed wire until the fork with the exact frequency as the wire's inherent vibratory frequency is employed. This causes the wire to vibrate at that very frequency, and in turn makes the paper rider jump dramatically off the wire.

A similar phenomenon is vividly perceived with Indian musical instruments like the tanpura and sitar, which have drone strings which spontaneously vibrate and produce sound through mere "sympathetic resonance" with the string which is plucked, to produce a most pleasing, rich, meditative tonality.

This phenomenon of resonance serves to illustrate the secret underlying the transformation produced by a skilled Satguru in the student. The essence of Vedanta wisdom is contained in the principal Upanishads. The very word Upanishad means to "sit near". The Vedic Gurukul system was an austere, yet remarkably effective means of awakening the student to his or her own divine nature as Brahman. The disciples merely had to be around the Guru for an extended period of time, either in active study and listening to truths expounded by the Master, or in various activities which were designed by the skilled Guru which awakened the latent potential of each individual student in the fastest, most effective manner.

Transmission of wisdom, Brahmajnana, happens in a manner which almost appears to be supernatural. This is true alchemy, this is spiritual resonance , where higher spiritual vibrations are transferred from Being to Being, with words becoming unnecessary. This is the hallmark of the Vedic Satguru tradition. The fire of wisdom which the Guru embodies has the power to cause the spontaneous combustion of the latent sparks in each student into independent fires, until they grow into a blaze of that same intensity.

A true Master, or Satguru, thus creates many Masters worthy of his lineage, who in turn are able to carry the torch of wisdom and set ablaze those ready for being in divine harmony with the Truth.

Beloved One

2006-08-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Beloved One, was there ever a time, when my heart did not feel glad in your joys, and sorrow in your pain?

Beloved One, was there ever a time when you were not I, and I you?

Beloved One, don’t you know, that when dark clouds fill the sky of your mind, I wait in prayer, knowing that they shall soon burst open, and let flood the torrential rain that releases all pain?

And, don’t you know, that the bright Sun waits to shine, to show your mind that light has removed all your illusions of darkness?

Beloved One, trust with your heart that you are eternally prayed for, that you are never forsaken, because wholeness is your very Being.

Inner Encounters

2006-07-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Have you sat with yourself, and deeply examined your innermost mechanisms? Of late I find myself doing that every quiet moment I get, and aided by where things are going in my life, I have found it to be a profoundly educational experience in uncovering old reactionary habit patterns which are often tightly bound with a strong emotional component. Often, while sitting in meditation I was slipping into an inner pattern of avoiding certain rising subtle impressions which created conflict and disturbance, instead of observing them with a pure attitude of detached witnessing.

When reflecting with eyes open, and facilitated by encounters in the outer world with people in my life, I was able to identify my inner drives and needs so starkly, honestly, and clearly, that the mere acknowledgment and recognition was enough to free me from the pain I was self-creating. You could try it too. Be patient and gentle and loving with yourself through the process. What is your fundamental drive? What are you seeking? Is it unconditional love? Or perhaps you value absolute freedom over everything else. If it is enlightenment, why so? What do you perceive to be "obstacles" to this liberating state? What can you unclutch from and accept in your life to be only the blessings of the Divine? We might not always get what we want, but we always get what we need. To be open to this amazing grace in every moment is to recognize that everything truly is perfect.

The Pendulum Of Emotion

2006-07-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Bliss is pure awareness in the moment, and the process of flowing with the inherent perfect-ness of each moment which segues into the next. Any other kind of seeking must necessarily end in pain and discontent, because it presupposes that life is somehow imperfect and needs fixing. Running away helter skelter, and indulging in spiritual escapism in order to flee from where we presently are, from each moment to the next, creates more suffering for us than simply acknowledging that everything is perfect just as is.

Following is an extract from the book Merging with Siva, and a teaching which I am sure will resonate with most of us when we examine our motives and behavior in seeking happiness and unalloyed bliss.

"Man, awareness, seeks happiness, and when he finds happiness, he often finds fault with it, and then he becomes aware in unhappy areas of the mind. This gives him the power to seek happiness again. Man finds fault with happiness and begins to look for something better. In looking for something better, he becomes selfish, greedy, unhappy, and finally he attains what he thinks will make him happy. He finds that it does not, and this makes him again unhappy, and he goes on through life like this. That is the cycle of awareness traveling through the instinctive-intellectual areas of the mind. Therefore, when you are unhappy, don't feel unhappy about it! And when you become happy, know that the pendulum of awareness will eventually swing to its counter side. This is the natural and the normal cycle of awareness."

Tat Tvam Asi

2006-06-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Tat Tvam Asi:
thou art that --
that leaf, that tree,
that cow, that cat,
that cloud, that sky,
that moon, that sun,
that you, that I --
for all are one.
So here you are
and there you go
and who you were
you hardly know.

I think this I
is only me:
a drip, a drop,
but not the sea.
Yet when I wake
from all these dreams,

then, like the snake,
I'll shed what seems:
this mask, this skin,
this ball and chain.
I will begin
to fall like rain.

Our heart's last home:
the wind-whipped foam,
the sweet, deep sea.
Tat Tvam Asi.

-- from Silent Awareness

Time and Mind

2006-05-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hindu mythology of creation talks about how the universe is created each time the Creator Brahma blinks! Millions of human years, called yugas, pass by between each blink of the Creator. Sages of ancient India measured time through the concept of kshana. Kshana is not chronological time. It was not measured as the amplitude of a pendulum or the frequency of an electronic chip. Kshana is not generic time, but individual time. Kshana is the time between two thoughts. My kshana and your kshana are different. In the case of the average person, in whom the mind is constantly active, in whom desires and thoughts pour out without a stop, the time between two thoughts is very little, very very little. In the case of an enlightened being, who is in a no-mind state, in whom there are no thoughts, kshana is infinite.
Kshana is the time and the space between two thoughts. This is the time and space that Buddha referred to as sunya, and which Sankara referred to as purna. It is the no-mind zone, the zone of awareness, in which you touch base with yourself. It is that present moment in which you come face to face with the divinity within yourself, and recognize the cosmic energy that you are part of.

When you are in that kshana, you are truly aware; you are energized and refreshed. Meditation takes you into that awareness. When you sit in the presence of an enlightened Master who lives in the no-mind state without thoughts, your own thoughts automatically slow down, and kshana becomes longer. Without even trying, you become calmer, more peaceful, and more aware.

When the mind stops, time stops too; it stands still. Contrary to what western philosophers say the idle mind is not the Devil's workshop. If it silent, it is God's workshop! It is the busy mind that is truly the Devil's workshop. Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am". That is an irrelevant fact. You cannot reach the state of awareness of who you are through thinking. You need to transcend the mind, you need to drop the mind to be aware of who you are. Hindu scriptures say that when you stop thinking, you are. This is truth; the cosmic truth. Be still and you will be God.

-- Paramahamsa Nithyananda

The Balance Between Effort and Non-effort

2006-05-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Having recently written about the concept that a spiritual aspirant or seeker need "do nothing", I thought I would further touch upon the Divine grace which flows regardless of effort or non-effort in everyone's lives.

While Nithyananda conducts the Acharya's training program, I find myself alone, seemingly separated by distance from my Guru. I made a decision when this period of separation begain, to go into silence, thinking that it would enable myself to connect more strongly with the presence of the Master (which I acknowledged, at least theoretically, was not limited by geographic or time-space constraints). Three days into the experiment, a friend alerted me to what the Master said about my vow, about which I had already personally informed Him prior to undertaking, "the cool breeze of the Master is always flowing irrespective of whether you are physically present or not. But by doing such things you obstruct that cool breeze."

These words created a tremendous shift in my awareness when I heard them, perhaps helped by the fact that I had created an energetic receptivity through my silence. It occured to me, how by this creation of unnatural effort, I was trying to take matters into my own hands, so to speak, completely driven by ego, or the sense of doership. In reality, my connection with the Master was never broken, despite the emotional upheaval at seeming separation. The Guru-disciple connection is the most sacred bond, forged for all eternity, in this life and beyond. How could anything ever sever it? Does not Nithyananda promise, "I will always be with you?", and had I not experienced that connection in every moment, with every breath?

Nithyananda further clarified, "all your sadhana is essential only upto the point when you meet the Master; after that point it becomes redundant, and even an obstacle. Just relax and let the Master work on the tumor of the ego. When I put my hand on it, you might run away because of the pain, but then I won't leave you. I will use anesthesia and perform the surgery. It will take more time but it will happen without pain. So allow me to work." The beauty of this incident lies in the fact that I was not stopped from following my own mind; experience in this case was the best teacher.

Only a relaxed, easy flowing with the moment remains necessary once the Guru has entered one's consciousness. All else is truly taken care of by the Divine. One learns to function as an unconcerned entity, detached from a sense of personal doership from this point onward. One continues to "do" things, including meditation and worship practices, yet remains a "non-doer" and recognizes that nobody was ever the doer!

The Principle Behind Temples

2006-04-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

Devotion (Bhakti), Cosmic energy (Shakti) and liberation (Mukti) are all intricately woven and connected to one another. Fulfillment of devotion is the revelation of energy; fulfillment of Energy is the revelation of liberation. Your quantum of absorption of devotion determines the quantum of absorption of Energy.

Usually, in most cases, there is no relationship between real devotion and what we think is devotion. If devotion is expressed in the form of seeking personal favors from God, by asking for various material comforts and asking that problems be given solutions, it is only a business deal, not true devotion!

True devotion means bubbling with devotional emotion transcending the feeling of thanksgiving expressed for the many, many blessings showered upon us all our lives. Even our very birth is such a blessing. Can we truly say we have earned this birth, and the ability to enjoy life? Praising and thanking the divine force from the depths of your heart, breathing deeply at that very moment, and feeling the bliss of life: that alone is true devotion.

Why do we feel a sense of peace upon returning home after we have gone to a temple and sat there for a while? Why do we also feel a sense of peace even after returning home when we have just sat in a beautiful scenic atmosphere? The reason is because we have enriched ourselves with energy. Unpolluted energy is always found in nature, in a scenic and beautiful atmosphere. Our body gets refreshed and our mind becomes calm only because our body and mind get energized by nature similar to a battery getting charged.

When a person goes to a temple, church, mosque or any other place of worship, and prays with a state of sincere devotion (sincere devotion is meditation), unknowingly he stands before the divine presence with a wide open heart. Every sanctum sanctorum inside these establishments is a small energy centre. If we keep our hearts and minds open, then, as per the law of nature, cosmic energy descends and fills us up to make up any deficiency of energy within us. Going to temples gives satisfaction to many mainly account of this.

How and from where do these temples derive divine energy?

Whenever an enlightened Master establishes and plants an idol or any thing at a particular sacred location, his experiential divine energy will continue to flow there forever. We can understand this from many examples:

Every enlightened Master leaves a particular type of energy in each temple he establishes; all famous temples in India are unique due to this reason alone. The sacred installation of the presiding deity at the holy town of Tirupathi was done by an enlightened Master named Konganava, while it was Bogar, another enlightened Master, who established the hill temple of Palani, and it was Idaik Kattu Siddhar who established the Tiruvannamalai temple, which symbolizes the Fire form of divine energy. The temple at Chidambaram, a shrine to the Air element of Cosmic energy was established by the great Master Patanjali.

The reason that millions of people visit Mecca each year is the divine energy that was released therein by the enlightened master Mohammed. It is only because of the benefits derived from that divine energy, which resulted in fulfilled desires etc, that pilgrims continue to visit the place again and again. The same is true in case of the major pilgrimage spots in India; due to the presence of the divine energy there, each person feels enhanced devotion and spiritual upliftment.

Devotion is the key to experiencing the energy! Energy is the entrance door to liberation!

It is not important which temple or place of worship you go to, but it is very important whether you get a feeling of true devotion deep within you or not. Without a sense of true devotion if a person goes to a temple just because his parents or somebody asks him to go, or just performs it only as a duty, then even if he calls himself a theist, he is, in fact, an atheist. Such people will remain theists only for name's sake, but deep in their hearts, they will remain only atheists.

It is only because we become enriched by the energy field present in the temples, that when we go and sit and meditate there with true devotion, our body gets refreshed and we get peace of mind. All restlessness of the mind, all craving and discontentment, all tiredness and feelings of dullness, and even all physical health problems are owing to an energy imbalance in the chakras. Meditation is one method which enables you to make use of the energy which remains dormant in you. Visiting temples and remaining there in the divine presence with a pure, devotional mind is another easy method which takes the energy present outside and feeds your body and mind.

Involve yourself totally and fully in whatever you do. When you go to a temple, do not return without sitting there calmly and meditating at least for half an hour. It will produce a tremendous change in you, and set you on your way to Nithya Ananda, Eternal Bliss!

-- Paramahamsa Nithyananda

Impermanence is Extremely Swift

2006-04-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

"Respectfully state to everyone: Life and death are of utmost importance and Impermanence is extremely swift. Wake up, everyone, ignore nothing."

-- Sign at the entrace to a Zendo (Zen meditation temple)

Open the Door - Let the Breeze In!

2006-04-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of articles which will be posted, culled from translations of the original Tamil discourses given by Nithyananda. They are delivered in his disarming and deceptively simple style, but with some spiritual significance to meditate upon.

One night, a Zen Master stood by the side of a river, watching the beauty of its flow. The moon and the stars were reflected in the waters, and there was peace all around. On the bank of the same river, a little distance away, lived a man who was restless and had no time for the river, moon and stars. He was depressed, fed up with life and moaned inside his dark hut, "Oh life is miserable! Life is miserable!"

The Zen Master heard this man and called out, "No, my friend, life is full of joy. Come out of the hut and see. Only then will you know."

There was no response.

The Master continued, "Keep your door open, and let the breeze come in. The breeze which comes towards you will bring you out into happiness."

Yet, there was no response.

Suddenly, the Master screamed, "Oh God... Oh God... Danger! Danger! Your hut is on fire!"

The moment the man heard this, he came rushing out of the hut.

The Master took him by his hand and showed him the stars in the sky. After looking at the beautiful moon, the twinkling of the stars and the calmly flowing river, the man admired them and stood there blissfully.

Like this man, most of us do not respond when a Master tells us, "Come out of your shelter, you will enjoy bliss."

If one has no belief in God there is no use telling that person, "You can realize the divine and get salvation." The only way that this person will ever listen is when he is alerted that his house is on fire. Shouting out, "Danger! Your house is on fire" is only a technique to bring the non-believer out.

A human being is like a silk worm that builds a cocoon around itself from which it cannot escape. A man, while living with miseries, builds walls, thinking that he is building a beautiful house. Once built, he finds it is a jail, and does not know how to break out of it; he lacks the courage to break it.

If the seed is afraid of bursting open, no tree can arise out of it. If the worm is afraid to tear open its cocoon, it cannot come out and fly in the sky freely as a butterfly. If you are afraid to open the door, you cannot let the breeze inside.

Have courage, open the door, and let the breeze in.

Reality Beyond Words and Action

2006-03-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Ultimately, my words are only intellectual gymnastics. So, while I take a break from writing, here are some beautiful and practical pointers from the AshtAvakra Gita, a treatise that is the pure, distilled essence of Advaita. Contemplate on these truths with sincerity and surrender, and you shall awaken to your true nature!

"If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, 'Thinking makes it so'."

"The strongest fetter is the certainty that one is bound. It is as false as the fearful hallucinations of a frightened child."

"Effort towards Realization is like the attempt to stamp with one's foot on the shadow cast by one's head. Effort will always make it recede."

"The body, heaven and hell, bondage and liberation, and fear too, all this is pure imagination. What is there left to do for me whose very nature is consciousness?"

"Shining is my essential nature, and I am nothing other than that. When the world shines forth, it is only me that is shining forth."

The text of this book, and also the Tripura Rahasya, another magnificent and practical treatise on Reality, can be found in the Spiritual Links section to the right.

Losing Yourself to Find Your Self

2006-03-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

Instruction from a spiritual Master to contemplate deeply upon:

"Surrender is the overflowing energy of perception whereas subservience is the overbearing entanglement with pretentions. Surrender is losing yourself (fallacy of mind) to find yourself (fullness of life). Surrender of 'I-ness' is the surfacing of 'Is-ness'. It is ending of becoming and emergence of Being.

Surrender to Guru Process.
Don't be subservient to guru personality.
Be available to Guru Process.
Don't be attached to guru personality."

Relax to Realize

2006-03-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

A recent conversation with a dear friend has inspired this present article.

Like many so-called seekers, I started my journey into spirituality by being initiated into Transcendental Meditation. Through this bija mantra-based approach to meditation, I made my initial foray into the inner space of mind. Meditation sparked in me a deep curiosity, and fascination with spiritual truths, and I started reading voraciously about Yoga and learning about its methods and results. What I did not realize at that point, was that I was creating a fantasy of what it must mean to become realized, to become enlightened, and liberated. Comparing my life with that of Masters who had realized the ultimate truth, all sorts of ideas and expectations filled my mind. I flirted with various techniques, including japa and kriya yoga, in the hopes that I was somehow "accelerating" my evolution. Ah, how misguided was I!

It reached a climax when I had exhausted and grown frustrated with self-efforts, and the Divine manifested the Satguru in the form of a living Master in my life. It was only after I was initiated into the Ananda Gandha - that causeless, timeless, spaceless space where the Divine Self exists - that true surrender to my real nature began to flower.

I once said, in a moment of frustration, to Nithyananda, "I don't want to do anything", followed immediately by the question, "what (sadhana, practice) should I do?" He replied, "If I give you some practice to do, it will only strengthen your ego". The true value of His statement becomes increasingly clear the more I am able to simply relax into my Self, free from ideation, free from longing, free from expectation and free from anxiety at not "achieving".

As Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi said, "He who instructs an ardent seeker to do this or that is not a true master. The seeker is already afflicted by his activities and wants peace and rest. In other words he wants cessation of his activities. If a teacher tells him to do something in addition to, or in place of, his other activities, can that be a help to the seeker?

Activity is creation. Activity is the destruction of one's inherent happiness. If activity is advocated the adviser is not a master but a killer...such a person cannot liberate the aspirant; he can only strengthen his fetters."

This is the real secret. The very relaxation into an utterly passive state of waiting allows the grace of the Satguru, the Divine inner Guru, to flow unabated in our Being. All tension and yearning then dissolves, and what remains is the witness, what always was the Divine Self.

Healing the Inner Child

2006-03-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

Living in this world, the pure, joyous child in each of us gets thrown into a whirlpool of damaging influences which remain embedded in the consciousness and start expressing more perceptibly at the level of the mind (manomaya kosha and pranamaya kosha) as pain, guilt and anger, and at the level of the physical body (annamaya kosha) as illness and disease. It is such a tragedy that as a society we invest so much in appearing as beautiful people, while ignoring this dark negativity we keep harboring within, and even accepting willingly, despite intuitively knowing the effects it has on our pure Being.

It is only by first connecting with our own inner child that we can really expect to have any positive and nurturing impact on children and youth in society, so that they too might grow as joyous, free, and wise guardians of pure spiritual knowledge, as architects of their Divine heritage.

By and large, it is the common experience of many meditators that traditional-style meditation practices involving sitting and transcending thought impulses do not seem to extend their ability to create inner content and bliss to our outer spheres of activity on a deep and lasting basis. It is almost as if two separate realities exist; the pure silent space which we contact during deep meditation, and the outer chaotic life. The reason for this split being that unless inner negativity is purged completely and consistently by techniques such as those incorporated in the Life Bliss Program, and damaging patterns of self-conflict are identified, sitting in silence or doing some breathing kriyas or pranayam is like treating only the symptoms and not the root cause.

A good adjunct practice to a spiritual life is beginning the process of nurturing and healing the inner child. Gazing at the body with love and compassion upon waking up every morning and touching it lovingly, just as a baby would, and doing an Ayurvedic-style full body self-massage, or abhyanga, with warm sesame oil before a shower, are a couple of approaches which can help connect our pure, compassionate higher Self with the child within, and help our entire Being to feel the loving presence of the Divine in a tangible way.

Awakening to the Divinity Within

2006-03-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a most momentous occasion for the 100-odd lucky ones who attended the first ever Dhyana Spurana Program conducted by Nithyananda. True to His promise, Swamiji magically triggered an awakening to Reality, to the pure truth of the higher Self in each and every one in a most effortless manner. There was pure energy being showered upon us by the peerless Master, and all we had to do was just be, to allow the alchemy to happen at the deepest layers of our being in ways unseen, but yet felt very clearly by our bodies and minds.

From the very first "meditation" it was astoundingly clear that this was going to be no ordinary program involving feel-good breathwork and other such traditionally limited approaches which serve only to sedate the mind. This was pure Tantra, pure handling by the Master of the energies of Existence, of Parashakti, in facilitating the awakening of the inherent Divinity in everyone by practically creating an awareness of unclutching from all thought and producing a sacred space of silence within, in which we could live and recreate ourselves anew.

For the first time ever in my life, I feel in control of my destiny. All inner conflict has died, and useless thoughts have ceased. I am able to watch the never ending modifications of my mind through the lens of awareness, and am able to unclutch myself from habitual patterns in a most Zen-like manner. On a practical plane, this has freed a tremendous amount of energy, and has created a most blissful state, an ocean of silence within. The words below, from the Book of Mirdad, could just as easily have been uttered by Nithyananda, and are about as close as words could get to explaining this radical transformation which has happened.

"The silence I would usher you into is that interminable expanse wherein non-being passes into being, and being into non-being. It is that awesome void where every sound is born and hushed and every form is crushed; where every self is writ and unwrit; where nothing is but IT.

Except you cross that void and that expanse in silent contemplation, you shall not know how real is your being, how unreal the non-being. Nor shall you know how fast your reality is bound up with all Reality. It is that Silence I would have you roam, that you may shed your old tight skin and move about unfettered, unrestrained."

If you are a new reader who has chanced upon this piece, let it be clear that this is no accident. It is just one piece of the cosmic jigsaw puzzle which could prove a turning point in your life, just as it did in mine; I urge you to explore Nithyananda's programs being held this year in the US, India and elsewhere. May the energies of Love spread like wildfire over our planet, and may all of humanity awaken to its Divinity soon!

Unclutched from Pleasure and Pain

2006-02-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

On a subtle level, as spiritual seekers, we all like to congratulate ourselves on our "accomplishments", having a sense of quiet pride in having come farther to the "goal" as we understand, in our quest for unalloyed bliss. And then the Master deals a swift blow, which shatters all our ideas and preconceived notions, and leaves us exposed to the true understanding that all such thoughts and ideas are random, illogical, disconnected.

As part of the discourses on Shiva Sutras being delivered this year in Los Angeles, Nithyananda dropped a spiritual bombshell which shook everyone to the core. Towards the conclusion of the evening, when He said to me on stage with a broad smile on his face, "So, today you finally understood all about your Vedanta!", I was stunned! How did He know? Yet, it was true. A great joy surged that evening in the hearts of everyone who experienced the profound truths He delivered in contemporary terms, with beautifully eloquent clarity.

We are the silent gap between thoughts, but we connect happy thoughts arising from disparate memories of events into a shaft, in an attempt to prolong our experience of joy. Experiencing happiness when we date the opposite sex, we try to prolong it into our idea of permanence by getting married, but when the inevitable disappointments arrive in our lives, we latch onto painful experiences in much the same manner and create another shaft of pain. Our understanding of time is chronological, and along similar lines do we create shafts of pleasure and pain, while forgetting that we are the pure gaps, beyond time and space, that we are pure awareness, pure Being, between any thoughts which ebb and flow.

The basic misunderstanding of the true nature of our Being makes us foolishly live in these illusory shafts of pleasure and pain, and causes us to swing wildly like a pendulum, while in reality we are always free from this self-imposed suffering - ever unclutched, ever untouched, ever centered in pure, silent Bliss. If only we can relearn to be unclutched from our false personality, our opinions, our pre-programmed ideas, we shall soar in the skies as Divine Paramahamsas!

Nithyananda on Enlightenment and the Master

2006-02-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

Paramahamsa Nithyananda addresses some common questions.

Question: What is enlightenment?

Answer: This question was asked to me by an Oklahoma scientist: "Swamiji we have been working in this field for the last 30 years. Everyone says that it cannot be explained. Please give us a clear-cut answer." I told them, "In a true sense, it cannot be explained, but I can mention a few qualities of enlightenment. First thing: thoughtlessness; there is no inner chattering. Second thing: boundarilessness; the idea that my body ends here and your body starts there is absent. Third thing: a tremendous ecstasy, a deep inner ecstasy. Fourth thing: The basic idea of whether I am male or female, is absent. These are the four things that I experience in my life as enlightenment. And according to their research, they say that all these four things are reflecting neurologically.

Question: Do you feel it is important for a seeker to have different Masters, in order not to get compartmentalized into one single philosophy or ideology?

Answer: Yes, it is important for a seeker to undergo at least 10 to 15 different traditions. Then he/she will be able to understand which exactly suits him/her. Even people who come to me I encourage them to go around. I never say, "Don't go anywhere, stop here". I say, "Go around, then you will really find who really suits you".

However, once you find your Master don't bother about anything else, go deeply into him. When you find the right Master, you will move beyond doubt, beyond your intellect, you will just fall in love with him. That is what I call finding the right Master. Even in my case, people come and ask me, "Swamiji, should I accept you as my Guru or not?" I tell them, "If you have that question please do not accept me. If you are supposed to be my disciple the very question will disappear. You will simply fall for me. If that is the case, I am your Master. If that is not, don't bother; start searching. Go ahead, continue".

Where your logic fails, where your doubt dies, is your Master. If you still have the question in your mind, "Should I accept you or not?", never accept. People ask me, "Swamiji, should I remember you?" to which I say, "No, never do that. You will never be able to forget me if you are supposed to remember me; if that is the case, the intimacy or the relationship will be such that you will never be able to forget me. If I am really your Master you will see that you will not be able to forget me. I will be in your mind, I will be in your dream, I will be in your sleep. You will simply be thinking of me and dreaming of me. If really you are going to be helped by me there is no need for you to take any step. You will simply see, I'll be there with you.

Resonance with the Divine Guru

2006-02-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

It was a unique mixture of feelings and emotions with which I stood with friends at the ashram to welcome back the physical presence of our beloved Guru, Swamiji, back in our lives; a melange of love and joy, filtered through pain at having not been "perfect" in my intentions to be in harmony with my Master.

Oh, how long, before I can live the truths I know only too well in the depths of my heart? How long before I have no conflict between thought, word and deed? How long before I resonate with the Guru, so that a word spoken, a glance thrown my way acts like a catalyst to trigger the bliss and ecstacy of God-communion? Oh Lord, may I be drenched with the Divine grace that pours from Your form. May I resonate with you in pure harmony, may my words and actions be Yours, and may my love and devotion for You be ever perfect.

Fully Present in the Present Moment

2006-02-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

"In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don’t wobble."

-- Zen Master Yün-men

Q&A with Nithyananda

2006-02-05T00:36:00.000-08:00

Swamiji answers questions about spiritual practice.

Q: When I ask "Who Am I?", where does the answer come from?

A: If you only ask yourself because a book recommends it, it remains only a question. It must become a quest. Your mind must turn inwards and search desperately for the experience. Your urge has to become urgent. Let the question settle from your head to your heart and your Being. Meditate. You will then get the answer.

Q: What is Man’s eternal quest?

A: Man’s eternal quest is to find himself. Once, somebody asked me, "Are you God?", and I answered, "I am not God, I am above that". God is a concept in your imagination; the Self is real and superior.

Q: How can you be above God?

A: When you talk about God, you talk about a concept. When you go to the temple, you go with faith, not with understanding. It is business. All your prayers are business. Yet, you feel energy. All your prayers, all your pilgrimages and rituals are only techniques to awaken your own internal energy. What your Being is, is God Himself; when you think of God as a form, it’s no more than a concept, a word.

Q: What about nama smarana (repeating a mantra)?

A: Repeating a mantra creates a relationship with a concept, a bondage. Instead, do vipasana, watching your breath, your mind, rather than upasana which is watching a name. For material comforts you need to work and struggle. To experience aloneness you need do nothing; it’s your reality. A disciple once asked a Zen Master, "How long does it take to reach enlightenment?" The Master replied, "Less than the time it takes you to blink. You are already enlightened".

Q: Will I become more "spiritual" after enlightenment?

A: No, neither spiritual nor material. Only before enlightenment do you think of yourself as one or the other. All becoming is material; all Being is spiritual. Upon enlightenment, you are as you are. You enjoy everything; you become joyful; yet you are not attached to anything. It is not a state of mind; it is beyond mind. Do not bring words into this. Enlightenment is not any thing.

Ask what you must do yourself, not what others must do. Do not ask for a method. Just affirm to yourself that you are enlightened! Accept yourself. Say to yourself, "I am in the state I am supposed to be". Express your utter relaxation. Tell your mind, your emotions, your Being: I am enlightened. If your mind expresses doubts, accept the doubts and move on. Like a dog that barks at, yet withdraws from an approaching elephant, doubts will recede as you face them and accept them. Change the focus to enlightenment, to the reality that you are enlightened.

More Q&A here.

From Loneliness to Aloneness

2006-02-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

From a discourse delivered in the USA by Paramahamsa Nithyananda.

Aloneness is the nature of Man, of the Being, from birth, and even before birth. Throughout your life, when you live, grow and die in society, you are always alone. That is reality. In the beginning of life, in the mother's womb, the Being is alone, blissful and peaceful; the very quest for enlightenment is owing to this imprint left as the blissful memory of a Being’s existence.

"I am the thread among the beads," says Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The beads are the incidents in your life. Aloneness is the thread. In all cultures and religions, there are mentions of an era, long, long ago, when there was joy and peace. In Hinduism this was known as the Satya Yuga. In Christianity, it was the Garden of Eden. This was simply the impression in the memory of ones womb life interpreted as a bygone golden age. It is just a memory. In Mesopotamia, centuries ago, it was written: It is now the age of sin. The Vedas written 5000 years ago say: This is Kali Yuga. Everything is sinful; morality has degenerated; children do not listen to parents; wives do not respect husbands, and so on. All these records are merely memories of a golden "past" that the Being yearns for in its search for aloneness.

Your mind cannot be alive when you are lonely; it can only flourish in relationships. Mind, ego and personality are societal and are alive only in relationships with society. Your individuality is aloneness, your nature; but your personality is societal. The mind is starved when you are alone, and struggles as a result. When you think of yourself as a personality you feel lonely. Personality is nothing but roles given by society. Personality is external. What others think about you, what you have earned, and what comforts you have, are all part of your personality. Individuality is internal. Individuality is what you are, it is natural. At most times, we nurture our personality, while ignoring our individuality. The cry of individuality to be heard above the clamor of your personality is expressed as the pain of your loneliness.

Attention is food for the personality. Whether positive or negative, we seek and suck attention; we demand attention, we beg attention. When you are alone there is no one to praise you or blame you. Your ego and your personality are shaken. When you start realizing that you are not your personality, you feel alone and shaken. When you realize that you are more than just a husband, a father, a wife, a daughter, more than the labels attached to your total Being, you start feeling aloneness.

People continuously socialize at parties, or otherwise seek escape through shopping, by watching TV, or by reading books and newspapers. Why? Because they are afraid of being alone. Entertainment is running away from yourself. For how long can you run? You always believe that you will be joyful at some point or other. By the time you turn about 40, you might have all you materially want; but you do not understand why you wanted what you struggled hard to acquire. You sink into the depression of success.

Addiction, suicide or meditation are the only three ways out of this depression. Addiction not only to drugs or cigarettes or alcohol; to food and many other substances also. You feel empty inside, and to fill this emptiness, men pour and women dump; one with liquor and the other with food. Suicide is what advanced nations and people who have seen depression in success resort to. Meditation is rare. Meditation is an intelligent way of living. It is sravana, manana and nididhyasana, or listening to, contemplating upon and expressing the great truths. Meditation helps you realize that you are far greater than your personality, that you are a Cosmic individual. It helps you answer who you are rather than let society answer that for you.

The query "Who Am I?" will help you move past your ego. Your mind will first resist this process of enquiry. Only once you understand aloneness through meditation can you really love yourself and others.The essence of the ecstasy that oozes out of that realization of your individuality is love. Otherwise, whatever you express as your love is only psychological slavery - a contract, a business deal. Between personalities only contracts can happen. Only between individualities can contacts happen.

To reach that core of individuality, moksha, kaivalya, nirvana, you need to contemplate: sit alone and think of who you are; not mentally, but within your Being. What Am I? What am I if all my labels are taken off me? Even if the process is painful, try to experience that pain again and again. You will give a new birth to yourself as you were once born. The seed has to suffer pain for the tree to grow.

Look inward so that you will grow from ego to Self, from personality to individuality, from depression to expression, from loneliness to aloneness; from pain to bliss. When you welcome and enter loneliness without resisting, you achieve nithya ananda.

Becoming Fit for the Guru's Grace

2006-01-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

Swami Sivananda has beautifully elucidated, "If you want to drink water at the tap, you will have to bend yourself. Even so, if you want to drink the spiritual nectar of immortality which flows from the holy lips of the Guru, you will have to be an embodiment of humility and meekness.

The lower nature of the mind must be thoroughly regenerated. The aspirant says to his preceptor: "I want to practise Yoga. I want to enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. I want to sit at your feet. I have surrendered myself to you". But he does not want to change his lower nature and habits, old character, behavior, and conduct.

One's individual ego, preconceived notions, pet ideas and prejudices, and selfish interests should be given up. All these stand in the way of carrying out the teachings and instructions of one's Guru.

Lay bare to your Guru the secrets of your heart. The more you do so, the greater the Guru's sympathy, which means an accession of strength to you in the struggle against sin and temptation.

The aspirant, before he desires the grace of the Master, should deserve it. The supply of divine grace comes only when there is a real thirst in the aspirant, and when he is fit to receive it.

The Guru's grace descends upon those who feel utterly humble and faithful to him. Faith is confidence and trust in the Guru. Faith is firm conviction of the truth of what is declared by the preceptor by way either of testimony or authority, without any other evidence or proof. The disciple who has faith in the Guru argues not, thinks not, reasons not, and cogitates not. He simply obeys, obeys, and obeys.

The disciple's self-surrender to the Guru and the Guru's grace are interrelated. Surrender draws down the Guru's grace, and the grace of the Guru makes the surrender complete.

The Guru's grace works in the form of sadhana in the aspirant. If an aspirant sticks to the path tenaciously, this is the grace of the Guru. If he resists when temptation assails him, this is the grace of the Guru. If people receive him with love and reverence, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets all bodily wants, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets encouragement and strength when he is in despair and despondency, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets over the body-consciousness and rests in his own Ananda Svarupa (the form of bliss), this is the grace of the Guru. Feel his grace at every step, and be sincere and truthful to him."

The Salmon and the River of Life

2006-01-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

During a vacation in Alaska a few summers ago, I got to watch the remarkable behavior of salmon and their migration, swimming upstream the river. It was an inspiring sight: a fish which, seemingly enduring much hardship, swims against the river's natural course, back to its source to lay eggs so as to ensure the survival of their species.

In my own life, my natural inclination of mind has caused me to be introspectively searching for that purpose, the true dharma, the "right action". Essentially, there have been two driving factors. One, desire to relieve myself of the deep urge to reconnect with bliss (which is fundamentally shared by all humans), and two, a necessity to relieve others of the suffering of separation as well. This manifested as my having studied Medicine, so that I might relieve pain. But the deep dissatisfaction with not making a true difference still continued to drive my thought process. I was still miserable.

Just what kind of lifestyle must I have, one where I feel like my inner drives are in complete harmony with my consciousness? Must I bother with financial viability? What if I choose to be an unconventional healer, a true physician? Or must I allow money and its management to dictate what choice I must make in charting my life path? Am I brave enough to surrender to Existence, to Providence, to that inner consciousness which seems to guide me towards bliss, at the expense of all notions of security?

If I surrender completely, it becomes not an upstream struggle back to the source of life, but a natural flow with the current, in a relaxed, harmonious state of being, without the unconscious, robotic life as society dictates we must live. Ultimately, the most profound healing which can take place, both within and without, involves drowning our little ego-self in the ocean of Consciousness, and with that the climax of all existence is realized. The riddle of suffering disappears in its apparent illusory state.

Surrender

2006-01-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Surrender to Him and abide by His will whether He appears or vanishes; await His pleasure. If you ask Him to do as you please that is not surrender but command to Him. You cannot have Him obey you and yet think that you have surrendered. He knows what is best and when and how to do it. Leave everything entirely to Him. His is the burden; you have no longer any cares. All your cares are His. Such is surrender. This is Bhakti.

-- Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi in Talks

Paramahamsa Nithyananda

2006-01-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some words I wrote in a stream of consciousness while centered in my Ananda Gandha, about the phenomenon of the Guru happening in my life. In sharing them, I hope they will inspire you, dear reader, to take the plunge into Nithyananda.

Through some preordained twist of events, I was introduced to a friend when I was visiting Mumbai in December ’04. Quite casually, she showed me the biography of Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda (Swamiji), at which point I was mildly intrigued. Upon arrival back in Los Angeles, I decided to attend Swamiji's discourses in March with my mother. Interestingly, during the first discourse, when Swamiji walked in at a considerable distance from us, both my mother and I experienced the unmistakable fragrance of sandalwood, to our surprise!

Somehow, even during that first discourse, I found myself disengaged from my ordinary sense of seeing and hearing, and instead "zoned out" and simply remained aware as if in a rapture. It was like effortless meditation. It was spontaneously clear that engaging my intellect would be a hindrance. At the end of the discourse, Swamiji announced that henceforth he would give Energy Darshan at the end of every public discourse. "This will give you the energy to experience the truth behind my words. Without the energy, words are going to be of little use", He said. When my turn came, I mentioned the friend who brought me to Him, to which Swamiji replied, "Oh, you are a doctor, right?" I nodded. He then asked me what I wanted (out of life). I blurted, "Brahmacharya and selfless service," to which Swamiji said to me "Why don’t you wait, I’ll speak with you after I finish". I was thrilled!

I got in a car with Swamiji and others, and we drove to the house of a devotee where Swamiji was staying. Swamiji took me alone to his room. He asked me to sit beside Him while we spoke, and gradually, for some reason beyond my comprehension, I started shivering, and this grew into an uncontrollably violent shaking from within, as if I was suddenly outside in icy, freezing weather. Swamiji repeatedly hugged me to calm me down, but the energy was too intense. I asked Him why this was happening, but He simply remained smilingly silent and gazed into my eyes. It then clearly registered in my being, that here was my Guru! I felt a spontaneous surrender, and bowed down to Him. I then left His blessed presence in a daze.

Over the course of the next few days, during the Nithyananda Spurana Program, as well as after the Healers’ Initiation, Swamiji called me again. At one point, He insisted that I must question Him, just as Vivekananda had questioned his Guru, Ramakrishna. I could only mumble, "it’s all Guru’s grace". He assured me, though, that He would test me as a disciple. No shortcuts. I finally wondered out aloud, "They say that when the disciple is ready, the Master appears. But I am hardly ready!" In fact, at that point in time, I was not even actively seeking a Guru; I was merely searching in vain for an end to inner suffering and confusion. My Master dismissed the thought with the words, "You are Antarananda!" adding, "Nithyananda is inside you always". That very moment it became very apparent to me, that here was a Mahapurusha who had descended into planetary consciousness.

I have read volumes of spiritual literature since my college days, but the reason for my Guru’s impact on my own consciousness was beyond mere words. I find the DVDs or CDs of His discourses most useful when I simply allow the sound of His voice to trigger the blissful awareness of His virtual presence within me. When I am physically not near His form, I find myself carrying on an internal "dialogue" with Him, and find that it gives me surer clarity, wisdom and courage than reading books. And when I am fortunate to be around Him, on some rare occasions I have also experienced a very tangible "Cosmic information superhighway", a direct connection between the Master’s consciousness and mine. The flow of non-verbal wisdom through that channel, in those moments of "no-mind", really is the most valuable of His "teachings".

Here is a Master with a precious diamond to offer to humanity; let us not reduce Him to an ordinary vegetable seller. What is especially humbling is that presently the Master is graciously playing the role of the vegetable seller that has been unconsciously thrust upon Him! As public awareness of Swamiji as a spiritual leader par excellence grows, no force will be able to stop the onslaught of the energies of pure love. The future is already impacting and shaping the present! Let us all become channels for the Divine grace to flow through. The greatest responsibility we have to the planet is to "be the hollow bamboo", unclogged of all debris of the mind, and a pure instrument through which Divine music plays.

There is no need to rehash the words of bygone masters and demi-gods, whose message and lives have become antiquated relics, fossilized by the sands of time. Let us understand the truth, bright as the shining sun, that here in this age, to initiate us into the pure experience of our own Divine reality, is a Jagad Guru, a World Teacher, who is living with us, mingling with us, speaking our language, sharing in our collective joys and pain, and all the while awakening us into everlasting bliss, into Nithya Ananda. It has been my inner intuitive conviction, that the arrival of Paramahamsa Nithyananda onto this planet is a rare Cosmic event. The Satguru has happened in our lives. Now, let perfect disciples happen through attunement with His Divine purpose.

tags: Paramahamsa Nithyananda

Brahmacharya, Kundalini and Evolution of Humans

2005-12-30T19:16:00.000-08:00

In recent times, it has often become necessary to dilute traditional guidelines and strict injunctions towards spiritual practice or sadhana to suit our modern lazy minds. A diluted approach, however, yields only dilute results. Traditionally, a twofold approach of abhyasa and vairagya, or practice and detachment to translate loosely from the original Sanskrit import, was prescribed as a sure means towards realization of human Divinity. This approach still remains relevant and effective today.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras outline a comprehensive eightfold approach which was prescribed as a foundation for yogic studies (not necessarily a stepwise heirarchy as commonly believed) so that humanity might achieve its summum bonum. An essential component of the Patanjali tradition, and indeed, that of all sannyasi traditions, was Brahmacharya. The word Brahmacharya is commonly believed to mean sexual abstinence. Continence is a more accurate description, albeit of only one facet of a life of Brahmacharya, or "being conscious of Divinity, or Brahman, and being absorbed in it at all times".

True Brahmacharya flowers not by regarding sex as "sinful", but by repeatedly allowing the mind subtle experience, through deep meditation, of such pure inner silence and bliss or Ananda, that it automatically results in our nervous system being refined to a great degree, with the consequence that all eight approaches that Patanjali describes are naturally and spontaneously expressed in our lives. However, in addition to this inner wisdom and guidance, it becomes simultaneously vital to exercise discrimination in our outer lives as well, and to allow that inner fragrance borne of meditation to permeate all outward actions with higher intelligence. This, of course, naturally means a regulated sex life; one which happens without repression or untoward consequences. A married man and woman with a family can be just as perfected in Brahmacharya as a fully celibate sannyasi.

The need for a highly balanced and regulated life, as a prerequisite for cosmic consciousness, was recognized in India from very early days. The emphasis on Brahmacharya, common to most religions of the world, is clearly rooted in the fact that, in the case of earnest seekers after illumination, the need for the preservation of sexual fluids is imperative to meet the exigencies of the awakening. Unless sexual energy is needed in some way for spiritual unfoldment, why should any prophet or any saint or any spiritual teacher recommend celibacy as a method of reaching God? Since part of the life energy, produced by the reproductive mechanism, is needed for the evolutionary process, it is obvious that this part cannot be utilized for amatory purposes without detriment to the latter. The words below (edited for clarity and brevity) come from Gopi Krishna. I have chosen to include his words and experience since I have not achieved the same realization of experience, nor am I a yogic expert (yet!)

"The precious organic substance and the concentrated energy, present in sexual secretion (both male and female), instead of being ejected for a momentary pleasure, can also be used, when the rejuvenation process is at work, as tonic nourishment for the nerves and the brain cells. By no other external feeding known to science can this wonderful transformation be brought about. An excess expenditure of the reproductive essences can cause ravages in the system which make adaptation to the new activity of the brain impossible. It is a colossal blunder to yield to the demands of sexual desire without restraint. The cost paid for the momentary thrill of erotic sensation, when it exceeds a healthy limit, is so high that generations can suffer for the unbridled lust of one libidinous ancestor.

The ignorance prevailing at the present moment about this vital issue can be gauged from the fact that in the thousands of modern books on marital happiness, conjugal relationship and the psychology of sex, there is rarely if ever, any hint about the fact that a part of this energy goes to nourish the brain and is essentially needed for its growth. There is not even a hint in any of the thousands of books on psychology or other sciences or philosophy to show that a higher dimension of consciousness is possible or has been experienced at rare intervals by some fortunate members of the race. Owing to the fact that the evolutionary and the reproductive processes work side by side in human bodies, and the main reservoir of the energy is the same, it is of utmost importance that this position should be verified empirically to educate the rank and file in the essential rudiments of the knowledge.

The source behind the evolution of the brain is the reproductive system. Normally the sex energy is used for procreative purposes, but nature has designed it for evolutionary purposes also. The reproductive apparatus has its own set of subtle nerves which integrate with the entire nervous system of the body. There is no doubt that a direct link exists between the brain and the reproductive organs; when the reversal of the functioning of the human reproductive system to its more evolutionary mechanism takes place with the attendant arousal of Kundalini, this connection becomes clearly perceptible."

Continued in Part II

Brahmacharya, Kundalini and Evolution of Humans (Part II)

2005-12-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

"There is no doubt that an enhanced activity of the brain is possible only through the consumption of more psychic energy, or, alternately, through the action of a more potent form of this energy than is used by average human beings. There is also no doubt that a new activity starts in the brain, due to the opening of a normally closed chamber to the influence of a fine biochemical essence, rising from the reproductive region through the spinal cord. This extract serves as nourishment for the highly enhanced activity leading to an expanded state of consciousness. Subjectively, this flow of the essences culled from the reproductive organs can be distinctly felt in the space behind the palate, from the midpoint of the tongue to its root. It pours into the cranium in an ambrosial stream so exquisitely pleasurable that even the rapture of love pales into insignificance when compared to it.

The descriptions contained in the Tantras and other treatises on Hatha-Yoga, about "the dripping ambrosia on the union of Shakti with Shiva" in actual fact denote the streaming of the reproductive secretions into the brain, on the opening of the central canal with the arousal of the kundalini power. These secretions are then drawn up as if a powerful suction is applied from above to the nerves lining the "kanda" (the triangular space below the navel) and the Mooladhara chakra. This marks the initiation of a new organic activity in the body in which the brain, the nervous system, and the reproductive organs are the main participants in an effort to fashion the whole system to a new awareness beyond the normal limits of human consciousness.
This upward flow of the reproductive essences into the cranium through the spinal canal is definitely somatic in nature. The body of the awakened individual develops a new biological function and a new form of awareness with a supersensory channel of cognition.

I make these statements from full personal experience of this extraordinary psychophysiological development. Everything about the disclosures I make, I have experienced myself. I have confirmed my experience with the traditional concepts relating to this esoteric science that have been known and verified during the past thousands of years. Hence, I am as sure of the authenticity of what I state and of the ultimate acceptance of this truth as I am of the fact that summer is invariably followed by autumn and winter by spring. What I am revealing is not knowledge picked up by study or gained through reflection but gathered from my day-to-day experience for years on end. For decades, I kept silent because I wanted to confirm that my experience was real, and not a delusion, and that it is corroborated by ancient tradition. I made a study of those traditions, and I found that my experience is in conformity to the ancient traditions.

The human brain is evolving, and present science doesn't know how. By external observation, one can see only neurons and their connections; only by internal observation through awakening this power can one observe the workings within. When this power is awakened, one is able to observe the eternal working of the brain and evolution. There are devices in our brain, in consciousness, which when digressed only invite calamity or disaster.The goal of evolution is to create a highly extended state of awareness in all human beings. There is every likelihood that both from the sides of religion and science eyebrows will be raised and open doubts expressed at what I say. This will, however, be only a transitory phase, as every important discovery in the realm of knowledge almost invariably took the world by surprise. I say this because, at this time, the learned world is in a state of confusion about the purpose of human life.

Today, the overhanging threat to the survival of the race is the result of mental rust which we are not able to clean; the rust of evil custom and habit, of conservatism, chauvinism, dogma, pride, prejudice, and bias. This rust is as much in evidence in the ranks of science as in those of religion, in communists as much as in capitalists, in democracies as much as in monarchies or dictatorships. It is this mental rust which is carrying humanity to the brink of disaster, awake and alert to the danger, and yet powerless to avert it. All our social customs are the customs of this mental rust.

The ideas I express might appear implausible to skeptical scientists because they have become too accustomed to ignoring this wide gulf in their own knowledge. They do not know that the territory of Yoga begins where the boundary of modern psychology ends. A storm is brewing in the psychological depths of the race to bring about radical changes in all spheres of human life. It will be so radical and unthought-of that scholars will be taken completely by surprise at the onslaught of superconscious forces of which they had no knowledge at all."

tags: evolution, kundalini

Transmission

2005-12-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

This lecture by Paramahamsa Satyananda is full of deep hidden meaning about the nature of transmission of wisdom and light from the Guru to the disciple.

"Nowadays, people from all walks of life have a better knowledge of yoga than ever before, because they have been attending yoga classes for many years. This method of learning in a class situation is called tuition, and it is the most prevalent way of imparting knowledge to students. History, geography, mathematics, philosophy, science and yoga are all taught in formal classes where a teacher stands up in front and speaks, while the students remain seated and listen. The teacher speaks from an intellectual point of view, repeating what he has learned from books and tutors. He does not speak from his spirit or his personal experience.

In ancient India, there was another concept of learning, known as transmission, whereby the student did not depend on the external aid of the senses. This process was completely internal. In tantra, transmission was the traditional method used to pass down the teachings from guru to disciple. In this way a direct link was established between the original preceptor and the disciple receiving his knowledge perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years later.

The main difference between these two systems is that one is intellectual while the other is intuitive. One is based on concepts gained outside from study, logic and experience. The other is a form of inner attunement, resulting from a highly charged energy spark entering one of the psychic centres of the brain.

Today, in spite of years and years of yoga training, many people have hardly grown spiritually. Their greed, pride, prejudice, fears and complexes still remain the same. This is because they have been learning yoga through an intellectual process and have not been able to imbibe it spiritually. Consequently, they have not yet transcended the weaknesses of life or managed to stabilize the state of happiness.

When a disciple or aspirant learns yoga through transmission, he comes to live in his guru's ashram. He does not attend any classes, but just by living in a yogic atmosphere, he learns yoga in spirit. Through the process of living with the guru, a state of communion develops and the disciple's consciousness expands inwardly, enabling him to imbibe the knowledge of his guru. Living with the guru does not mean living in his room. If you live with a guru, it means you live with him spiritually. When I lived in Rishikesh with my guru, I seldom met him, but still, every moment I was living for him and with him. Rishikesh ashram covers a wide area and the room where I stayed was so far away from where my guru dwelt, that if I had to walk there twice a day, I would be exhausted. But from dawn to dusk, in every action I performed, I felt my guru was there. You know how, if you love someone, he lives in you and you live in him; well, this is the situation between guru and disciple.

So you see, there are two ways of imparting knowledge. You have experienced learning yoga by means of tuition. Now, however, you should stop trying to learn yoga intellectually, and start imbibing it spiritually. To explain this process, I will give you an example. From an electrical powerhouse, the electricity travels to a transforming station. From the transforming station it travels to different electrical poles and into your homes. Now your homes are connected with electricity, and it is entirely up to you whether you switch on the power or not. Similarly, in spiritual life, the power line is connected, the switch is there, but it is up to the disciple whether he makes use of it or not... I now feel that physical contact is not the final means of communication. The guru and disciple must talk to each other in different realms, through the method of transmission."

Entire lecture here.

tags: guru, yoga, tantra

Man Creates God in his Own Mould!

2005-12-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

Culled from discourses delivered on the Shiva Sutras (Vijnana Bhairava Tantra) by Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda. These concepts apply not only to our definition of and relationship with "God", but also to all else we "worship" in life. I hope I need not clarify that because Swamiji is a "man" and uses the word "man" when speaking, it does not exclude womankind from the experience of bliss!

"Man dwells in the seven chakras or energy centers. You experience God according to your own experience of yourself. Whatever you lack, you worship. You worship the idol which fulfills your Being. For instance, if you are a poor man, you worship the Goddess of wealth; if you are in a highly elevated state of consciousness, you experience God in a more subtle fashion.

At the lowest level, at the Mooladhara chakra or the root center, we are caught in the emotions of lust and desire. We worship a God who can grant all our boons, which is why God is understood, and is very popular, as a giver of boons throughout the world! People are caught up in fantasies, expectations and desires and whoever fulfils these becomes their God. The moment the Gods miss giving a single boon, they must prepare to be dethroned!

Next, is the man who is caught in the Svadhisthana chakra or the being center (characterized by fear). We worship the God who gives us confidence, who we believe will take care of everything; we worship idols of Gods and Goddesses that have many hands and many weapons. We experience God as a protector.

The third level of man stays in the Manipuraka chakra or the navel center (characterized by worry). We continuously worry and remain confused about our lives. In asking or answering questions about spirituality, people either wish to display that they are "seekers" or that they are knowledgeable. All our doubts arise as words (from the Manipuraka chakra or the navel center), and to answer them, we seek words again. We worship the God who gives clarity and peace. We choose idols that radiate peace.

Fourth, is the man who lives in the Anahata chakra or the heart center (characterized by a need for attention). We are automatically attracted towards the God who showers love. We worship the God who gives emotional fulfillment.

Fifth, at the higher level of the Vishuddhi chakra or the throat center (characterized by the urge to be unique), the God of creativity or energy appeals to us. We experience God as the Creator.

If we are centered in the Ajna chakra or the brow center (characterized by the ego), we get locked in ego. We are then attracted to those in the egoless state – Rishis, Seers, Sages, Prophets and Masters. The egoless man becomes the chosen idol.

This is why I say, 'Man creates God in his own mould'! You simply relate to God or the Masters from these six levels; a real relationship doesn’t happen - you reduce them to mere mortals. You have a concept in your mind, and you demand from them that same concept by forcing them to conform to your notions of perfection. In the Ajna chakra, the dialogue starts; only in the Sahasrara chakra or the crown center (characterized by gratitude) does the communion happen! If you understand that you are actually relating to your Gods and Masters from these chakras and that you need to go beyond the chakras and into the infinite space of Being to catch the transcendental expression of the Divine, all your problems will dissolve!

When you are in the Mooladhara chakra, the Master drills into you, like a crowbar. At a higher level, He is like a knife penetrating you. At the level of the Sahasrara chakra, He is like a fragrance! If you are alert and aware, the Master can transform you. Allow me to enter into you like a fragrance when you are established in the Sahasrara chakra. You just need to be receptive for the alchemy to happen. I am not going to give you any rules or restrictions. I am going to radiate the fragrance of ecstasy, of bliss. If you are alert and aware, you can catch the fragrance and experience it!"

The Revival of Dharma in our Own Lives

2005-12-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

How do we fall in tune with the rhythm of our inner universe so that we may come in contact with our own true joyous nature, so that life becomes a celebration instead of an obligation? It must be understood, that once the experience of pure joy, of any kind, is relived in all its essence, through memory, one becomes filled once again with a state of being which could just very easily be used to expand into everlasting bliss. This is one means of using Tantra, to embrace our own individuality, not denying ourselves of our potential, and simply learning to remember that our essence is just that state of Being. A life in complete accordance with all that is the most uplifting is open to all of us. All that is required is a moment of complete surrender to Existence as a child and getting absorbed in a moment of great joy. This a means that is pure simplicity in its essence yet profoundly transforming.

Dharma in its Sanskrit fullness means falling in tune with our own natural evolutionary Self. We all have our own unique Dharma in life which we recognize deep within. A life in Dharma becomes a life of beauty, and one of Divine fullfillment. All our essential desires get automatically fullfilled, as a result of our resonance with our ecstatic nature as human beings. Every one is capable of experiencing that very ecstacy which is transcendant, eternal and permeating in all of Nature, while still expressing all qualities of Divinity, including wealth, love and peace in our lives.

How do we experience this revival of Dharma? Shastras speak of the goal, while Stotras are poetic, transcendental expressions of the experience. Shastras logically convince about the existence of the goal. Stotras sing, “Oh, how beautiful is the goal!” Tantra is an amalgam of the roots "tan", meaning to stretch, and "tra", meaning beyond boundaries. Tantra is the Sutra, the thread that connects the Shastras and Stotras and allows human potential to blossom into real wisdom of experience.

Shiva, the great Mahayogi, Master of Tantra Vidya, originally transmitted the understanding of the sutras in the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra to His female consort, Eashwari, to clear Her doubts through pure experience. The essence of those very methods is available to each of us now. Tantra does not belong to any religion, creed, caste or sect. The teachings are universal, for all mankind, to reach the Ultimate. It is a direct means to the light of the Ultimate Being.

The technology to reproduce the Divine Experience of deep meditation and bliss, as transmitted with universal love, compassion and wisdom by Shiva to Shakti, and through the lineages of Gurus to shishyas, has been updated for this present age to a level of sophistication that renders it a remarkably powerful means that enables us all to dive directly deep into Bliss, and come back out still touched ecstatically in every cell of our being. This is the experience of Nithya Ananda, or Eternal Bliss, our own true nature.

tags: dharma, meditation, Shiva, tantra

Lineage of Masters and the Avatar Phenomenon

2005-12-21T02:07:00.000-08:00

The picture above is a depiction of the primordial mode of dissemination of wisdom of Light which happened in Vedic Bharat, the Land which is the beacon of spiritual light in the world, through the Guru-shishya parampara, or Guru-disciple tradition. I often use the word Master as an English substitute, but it really does little justice to the true meaning of Guru. The initial revelation of pure knowledge happened in the consciousness of Rishis, the scientists and knowers of inner consciousness, through a means called Shruti, or the spontaneous expression of language and divine formulae and techniques for the transmission of them in the minds of those sages.

This got passed on, as in the unbroken tradition which exists today as the Shankara sannyas tradition. The sannyas tradition in its original essence was never a lifestyle strictly meant only for the so-called renunciants. The freedom of living a true life of freedom or sannyas (one who is always with the Self) was meant for all strata of society. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding kept the pure techniques of knowing out of the hands of ordinary householders. To answer that urgent quest of humanity as to how best to utilize our senses to realize that which is beyond them, without having to drop everything material, Gurus have brought a new wave of teachings of pure Tantra. Tantra condemns nobody and allows each person the luxury of utilizing an approach that is most harmonious and fulfilling to that person, until awareness expands into the infinite.

More recently, in this present Yuga, there has gradually been a descent of powerful energies on the planet which have appeared as a pure result of cosmic law becoming manifest as a force of change. The sannyasis who reach the pinnacle of realization are known as Paramahamsas ("Supreme Goose"), after the high-flying Indian goose, which soars at great heights to migrate to the Himalayas each year, and also after the swan with the ability to separate milk from water in a homogenous mixture of the two, an analogy for fully experiencing the Supreme Reality underlying the myriad phenomena of apparent maya. The Paramahamsas are Divine Children, in perfect harmony with their essence, pure as the sky, as exhibited in the lives of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharshi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Paramahamsa Satyananda, and several others.

On a further higher evolutionary scale is the manifestation of Avatars. An Avatar is a phenomenon which happens as a result of cosmic impulse to restore pure memory and experience of divinity, a phenomenon which spreads like a fragrance that wafts across the air and awakens those in its path to a glimpse of reality. Presently there are such Avatars who walk amongst us on the planet, and many more hidden from our sights, such as the immortal Mahavatar Babaji who continue to balance the energies of the planet on a universal scale.

With Avatars, and especially with the so-called Poorna Avatars, who descend into human consciousness out of pure compassion for humanity, there arises the ability to produce at will, through pure intent and superconscious transfer of energy, the same experience of truth and bliss in those who are receptive and ready to be transformed.

Words from my Master

2005-12-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

“Frozen into one frame, Mother or Lover, I am easy for you to capture and retain. I am then easier to market. It’s good business for me, not good business for you. I want you to be confused so that you become enlightened. I want you to die so that you are awake. Come to me with your ignorance; it’s my duty to show you the path. Don’t hesitate to fall into my arms with love; you will soar with me into bliss.”

This is the secret of Ananda Gandha. The point within where the Formless emerges into the form, where pure blissful awareness permeates matter. Devi asked Shiva in the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra about the nature of reality, and Her question dissolved in the experience of pure Bliss-consciousness. The doubt answered itself: What is life, beyond form, yet pervading forms? The path, the process to realization happened in Her through experience of Bliss leading to meditation and a spontaneous cognitive shift leading to absorption into the Divine. Anandam-Dhyanam-Nithyam. Swami Vivekananda said: "Arise, awake and stop not until the goal is reached". My Master says, "Arise, Awake, STOP! the goal is reached!"

tags: Nithyananda

On Love and Courage

2005-12-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Love can be tender, like a flower, but the spark of love when kindled in our Being can also become manifest as a blazing fire of intelligence that burns all dross just as fire purifies gold, sharpening our intellect in the process, and bringing energy to our passion and conviction for truth and beauty and grace. When truth is at stake, love gives us the courage to roar like a lion, while still enveloping everyone around us with the serenity and compassion that it radiates from within. To harness the energies of love intelligently is to truly realize our awe-inspiring innate potential.

Perfect Matrimony

2005-11-29T01:01:00.001-08:00

Perfect Matrimony must take place on the seven planes of cosmic consciousness. There are marriages that do not even reach the astral plane. Then there is not even sexual attraction. These are true failures... Some people live married life on the physical plane with a certain partner, and on the mental plane they live married life with a different partner. Rarely in life do we find the Perfect Matrimony. For there to be Love, it is necessary for there to be affinity of thought, affinity of feeling and will. Where there is arithmetic reckoning, there is not Love. Unfortunately, Love in modern life has the smell of a bank account, commodities and celluloid. In those homes where there are only additions and subtractions, Love does not exist. When Love leaves the heart, it is difficult for it to return. Love is a very elusive child.

-- Samael Aun Weor

The Rediscovery of Antarananda

2005-11-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

Through this blog, I intend to chronicle my meanderings through the jungle of the mind, in search of the sacred flower with the intoxicating, enchanting fragrance that permeates awareness and awakens the being to its own real nature of Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Truth, Existence and Bliss.