Experience Directly The Nature of Life

Jan 28, 2005, 12.00am IST
Andrew Cohen.

What is enlightenment? The person who is truly enlightened has directly experienced the ultimate or absolute nature of life itself. In that revelation, he has seen far beyond the boundaries of the personal self and discovered the universal nature of all his human experience. That explosive realisation liberates the self from the perpetual tyranny of being trapped in a relationship to life that is merely personal. Enlightenment is a condition in which the individual has come to the end of a fundamentally self-centred relationship to life.

What do you mean by the term 'absolute'? Absolute means free from limitations. Those who directly experience enlightenment find themselves infused with a consciousness that transcends time, a consciousness that was never born and therefore is free from death. They experience that which is immortal. They are no longer fundamentally limited by the conditioned human personality that they have exclusively identified with since the body was born.


Does it happen gradually, or instantly? It really depends upon the individual. But it doesn't matter whether it happens instantaneously or gradually. The only important thing is that it happens. Because as long as we are self-centred, lost in that which is merely personal, we are simply not going to be available.

Available for what? Available to manifest the profound and extraordinary evolutionary potential that in most of us lies dormant. This suffering world is in dire need of truly conscious beings — human beings who know who they are and why they are here.

But wouldn't moving beyond the personal discount many important aspects of human life? Absolutely not. The enlightened condition in no way denies any aspect of our humanity. The condition enlightens it. It means that our perspective dramatically deepens and widens. The perspective of the one who has not awakened is limited by definition. The reference point for all of his personal experience is the separate ego. But the perspective of the one who has awakened is free from this fundamental limitation because he has realised the absolute nature of life and the universal nature of his own human experience. And that changes everything. It transforms his relationship to being alive because the context in which he is living now infinitely transcends the merely personal dimension.

Therefore, the question I encourage people to ask themselves is: How enlightened is my perspective on my own personal experience? So would we see all our experience in a much, much bigger context? Yes. And that bigger context reveals itself automatically when we make the thrilling discovery that who and what we are, beyond the personal ego, is a profound mystery that is completely free from any sense of limitation. A truly enlightened human being spontaneously expresses that freedom from limitation as his own humanity. Indeed, simply through spending time in the company of the enlightened, we can awaken to that same mystery that is also our own true nature. In their reflection, it becomes obvious how, in our ignorance, we have been living in an alarmingly small context. And we see directly that it is that small context alone which creates the painful sense of suffocation and isolation that is so familiar in the unawakened state. The miraculous experiential discovery of the enlightened perspective is instantly liberating. And it is in this discovery that our humanity is finally set free to manifest its evolutionary potential without inhibition.

Read More

Multidimensional Spiritual Reality

Jan 29, 2005, 12.00am IST
S H VENKATRAMANI.

True spirituality is beyond thought — it is transcendent and therefore incomprehensible. How can we describe something that’s beyond comprehension? Hindu philosophy stresses the point that the essential nature of ultimate reality transcends all opposites, all qualities and all concepts. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that God cannot be described for He is without any qualities. God is above and beyond all thesis and antithesis; a synthesis that transcends all the cycles of Hegelian dialectics. God is a subject for which there is no predicate.

The Kena Upanishad says, "There the eye goes not,/ Speech goes not, nor the mind./ We know not, we understand not/ How would one teach it?" The ultimate spiritual reality transcends even the duality or dvaita of existence and non-existence, the opposites of being and non-being. When we understand something intellectually, we do so in relation to something else. We do not know it intrinsically nor do we directly experience its innate essence. We identify the broader group it belongs to. Then we try to specify what makes it distinct from the other members of the group. That is how we define anything.


How do we define a human being? We see that humans belong to the larger group of animals. We find that what distinguishes man from the rest of the animal kingdom is the fact that he is rational; so we conclude that man is a rational animal. The human mind pieces reality together by dissecting, differentiating and relating. Science tries to understand reality as a mechanism, taking apart its components and reassembling them.

According to modern physics reality is fundamentally indivisible. It is inseparably interconnected as a cosmic web. The essence of reality, it turns out, is not mechanistic but metaphysical. Quantum physics has highlighted a fundamental limitation of the scientific method of understanding reality through observation and measurement. Einstein’s theory has demonstrated that there is nothing absolute or immutable about a distance in space or a span of time. Modern physics says that there is no such thing as an objective reality. An observer is not independent of the observation. The very act of observation affects what is observed. Consciousness too cannot detach itself from physical reality. Sri Aurobindo explained that the material object becomes "something different from what we now see, not a separate object on the background or in the environment of the rest of nature but an indivisible part and even in a subtle way an expression of the unity of all that we see".


Another way of understanding is through direct sensory experiencing. We understand pain as a sensation. We understand winter by experiencing the cold. We have to hoist ourselves out of the fundamental and circumscribing construct of our minds to stir ourselves in the profound spiritual depths of our being. The human mind discovers patterns among mentally stored abs-tractions of sensory experiences. It mechanically pieces together the jigsaw of physical reality through space and time sequences. We have to rise above this basic mental paradigm, which derives from the historical accumulation of man’s sense perception, to become alive to the spiritual dimension.


The direct mystical experiencing of reality is non-sensory. As William James explains it, "Our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the flimsiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different".

Read More

The Act of Giving Spontaneously

Jan 21, 2005, 12.00am IST
D M Sinha.

The disastrous tsunami has revealed different aspects of human nature — heroism and hope, compassion and charity brought together actors, businessmen, spiritual leaders, NGOs, sportsmen, fishermen, politicians and other people from various backgrounds to reach out and help. What makes us respond thus to human tragedy, abandoning the safety and comfort we're used to, in order to lend a helping hand? And what is it that inhibits some of us from reaching out?


Seeing the enthusiasm of those who are performing seva would have gladdened Swami Vivekananda who had immense faith in people, especially the young. Tragedy gives rise to various opportunities as well; it creates the environment to make a fresh beginning. What determines the way we react to disaster? The Bhagavad Gita says that people act and behave in accordance with their innate nature. The difference in behaviour is due to the fact that the actions done in pursuance of desires in the past propel us to do what we do in this life. This is what creates the innate nature of an individual and governs actions in this life. Knowledge acquired in this life helps purify the mind. The essence of karma yoga is that righteous actions done with dedication lead easily to self-realisation.


The basis of all righteous action is virtuous thought. Krishna has listed 26 divine qualities on which the edifice of righteous action is built. And among these qualities is daya or compassion and daana or charity. Compassion is sympathy for those who are suffering and charity implies using one's material resources as well as the assistance rendered by imparting one's knowledge to others for love. Krishna says, "The divine properties lead to liberation and the demonic to bondage, O Pandava! Grieve not, for you are born with divine properties". The natural tendency of a being is to accept and foster the divine properties; this does not need any great input of effort. This is why Krishna asks


Arjuna not to grieve for the individualised self is by nature divine. Demonic pro-perties like anger, harshness and arrogance are not the innate nature of any human being. Yet one inculcates them due to wrong associations and beliefs, getting bound to endless births and deaths. Krishna explains that those having more sattvic qualities are attracted towards divine qualities while those under the influence of rajas and tamas are attracted to demonic qualities.


Dharma means a set of disciplines that enables us to hold on to sattvic qualities. Divine qualities fall in the category of dharma as righteous disciplines. Whenever a person performs his duty, his qualities are revealed in his


actions. In this sense, duty is an important aspect of dharma and dharma indicates a particular path or philosophical dogma. It is a means of manifestation of one's potential divinity that may manifest itself in one as a mastery of scriptures, in another as expertise of military science, and in yet another as high business acumen. It is this manifestation of divinity that is known as God-realisation or Self-realisation. Whatever is spiritually ordained duty born of righteous inclinations must be done enthu-siastically, even though its performance may mean facing formidable difficulties.


Krishna advises one to shed all conceit, of being a doer of actions through mind, speech and body. While performing duties, the sense of an action being superior or inferior has to be given up completely. The performer of seva must surrender himself unconditionally. Such action leads to godhead.

(The author, a former IAS officer, spoke to Seema Burman.)

Read More

Less Possessions, More Happiness

Jan 14, 2005, 12.00am IST
ANIL K RAJVANSHI.

A well-to-do disciple was very fond of his frugal guru who used to live in a remote village, meditating under a tree most of the time. The guru was a free bird; he had neither family nor home. He sustained himself by begging for alms. There were days when he even went without food, but that did not seem to bother him. He was focused on his meditation and ascetic lifestyle.


The fact that such a learned and good man had no regular livelihood — and so did not know where his next meal was coming from — bothered the disciple. After some thought he decided that he would give his guru a cow so that he would not have to depend on the charity of others for food. He would have to beg no more.

The guru, however, refused the gift saying that he was very happy with his existence. Also, since he had taken to a frugal way of life in order to direct his energies to spiritual pursuits, he would rather not get into the trap of acquiring worldly possessions. Nevertheless, after great persuasion and cajoling, he reluctantly accepted the cow. The disciple was delighted and felt that he had done a great service to his guru.


Many years passed before the disciple returned to the village to seek advice from his guru. Not finding him under the tree he inquired about his whereabouts from the villagers. They pointed at a hamlet in the distance. He went there. Seeing the disciple, the guru rushed out from one of the huts and wailed: "Look how you have ruined my life... First the cow, then the cowgirl and the rest followed! I cannot meditate and most of my time goes in running this outfit".

Possessions burden your mind and are a distraction to deep thought. Thinking of ways on how to acquire more, the pursuit of possessions becomes an end in itself. Similarly, there is a tendency in people to amass wealth for the sake of hoarding it. It is of no use to anyone. This becomes a way of life.

Possessions and wealth are necessary for a comfortable life. However, they should serve our need, not greed. Whether it is clothing, shoes or homes, possessing more than what is required is nothing but wasteful hoarding. Amassing of wealth and possessions comes from internal insecurity of an individual. This leads to a spiral: to get more money for acquiring more goods and services, often leading to a corrupt and unsustainable lifestyle.

This insecurity can be reduced by first trying to understand ourselves. Most people are afraid of looking deep within. But a deeper understanding will give us a perspective in life and is the genesis of spirituality, it will help in the understanding of the spirit inside us.


Spirituality can also help in keeping our greed for materials and resources in check. As a person progresses on the path of spirituality his or her priorities in life change. The focus of life shifts more towards getting personal happiness through mental peace and is less on material needs and desires and hence towards sustainability. Spirituality also helps make a person internally secure and humble.

Since the desire to increase possessions and amass wealth comes from the greed impulse it should be reduced or kept in check. Removal of greed can be achieved by cultivating a spiritual outlook with the help of yoga and sanyam . The brain has tremendous processing power and hence even a small amount of data is processed efficiently to gain useful information. This helps the mind to "get satisfied" easily so that the person can move on. Reduction and ultimately the complete removal of greed is the key to happiness and sustainability.

Read More

I am not Suffering, I am Happiness

Jan 8, 2005, 12.00am IST
Vinay Kamat.

They call me Suffering. I know everyone. But they don't know me enough. I feel it's time to tell my story. Don't worry, it's not an autobiography. It's a desire to express myself, truly and entirely. Before I do that, I must say that I have been impressed by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk's style of making emotion speak for itself.

So, I would like to reveal myself by engaging You deeply. Let me begin with my birth. I was born as Happiness. I was renamed Suffering by a world that could not see beyond Existence — its immediate concerns. I bear no grudges. After all, philosophers have sensed my duality, recognising Happiness as my other manifestation. Others have tried to deconstruct duality to understand me better, and failed. How can you simplify duality? How can I exist as Good and


Bad at the same time? How can I even be Positive or Negative? Call me what you want. I have no opposites. I have no similarities. I have no likes. I have no dislikes.

A poet has said Suffering is the only genuine feeling. Anything that is genuine and pure is unattached, unengaged, free, blithe. Then, why do I suffer the misinterpretation of my identity? I am neither Happiness nor Suffering. I am life's sustenance, its continuity. I am not a whim, a mood, or a tsunami. It's only human to see me as such. Sometimes it's refreshing to pick up a slice of conversation that tells you more about yourself. I was the subject of a recent discussion at a New Year get-together.
It was quite a revelation to listen to a couple talk about me.The girl said: "Suffering is not plight. It's an evolution that strengthens resolve. It's not just enlightenment. It's purification of emotion. Christ ennobled us when he said: 'Father forgive them, for they know not what they do'. Arthur Ashe forgot he had AIDS when he remembered the good things that he had had as the world's top tennis player. He saw no reason to blame God. Malaysian political leader Anwar Ibrahim transcended suffering by refusing to be angry about it. Even in his agony, he believed in trust."

I was beginning to enjoy the conversation. Her partner responded: "Suffering is an awakening. The 'I' (the individual) suffers because it refuses to reconcile itself with the cosmic 'All' (the larger good). Indeed, the 'I' must not reconcile; it must become one with the all-embracing 'All'. In so doing, it liberates itself from Suffering; its isolation ceases. In the vastness of its being and the nothingness of its purpose, the 'All' senses no emotion." I was about to interrupt when the girl spoke: "Continuity has no consequence. Where there's no consequence, how can there be Suffering? Suffering is a continuum, like Life. It's a stream where Happiness, Sorrow, Guilt, Compassion and Empathy are the reflexes of the swimmer (the individual)."

It was a profound conversation. But I have yet to make my point. I have tried to fathom my duality; I have questioned people who still call me Suffering; I have suffered in silence. I have wondered whether Karna was cruel, compassionate, or carefree. I have read The Da Vinci Code and wondered why it had no grim or happy ending. As I looked around for answers, I found some in myself. To say that Suffering is an inexplicable, multi-faceted, never-ending, story is to be simplistic. I am much more than that. I make people happy despite me. I break their bonds with the 'I'. I am Happiness.

Read More

Material Success and Principles of Yoga

Jan 5, 2005, 12.00am IST
Swami Kriyananda.

The purpose of practising the principles of yoga is to raise one's consciousness to the highest state of self-realisation. Yoga gives the "how to" of the spiritual path, through withdrawing one's consciousness from the body and centring it in the spine.

Many obstacles confront you as you make this inward journey. The first is the fact that human understanding is limited to the information it receives from the senses — of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Next, our understanding is limited by the way we use reason to process that information.


We have, in fact, entered a house of mirrors. Everything we see and experience in the world is only a reflection of our own awareness. Happiness, which everyone craves, is reflected to us from the surrounding world, what we project outwardly from our centre. If we lack inner joy, we will find not a hint of it outside. Happy melodies pluck at our heart strings, but sound faint and elusive; we can enjoy them fully only when we realise that the source of happy melodies is inside of us.

We experience happiness or sadness only in our egoistic state. Paramhansa Yogananda defined ego as the soul identified with the body. We reach out to the world through our senses, trying to grasp the joy that we think is our birthright. But ego-consciousness is a delusion. It imprisons joy instead of letting it flow out.

Remaining self-involved even in adulthood means you are still immature. The awareness of the super-egotist is expansive only insofar as it reaches out to take what he can for himself. He wants more and more, indifferent to the needs and interests of others. There are two outward directions in which the ego can grow: towards mature acceptance of objective realities; or towards a desire for possession and dominion over others.


Expanding sympathy helps the ego to be aware of its subtle identity with other people and with the universe. One's own happiness, in consequence, expands exponentially. But if the ego grows more self-centred, this "expansion" of self-consciousness becomes suffocating. With compassion, the ego relaxes and we can effortlessly become aware of the indwelling soul. Ego discovers its identity, in this case, with the Infinite Spirit.

Most people are not aware that a non-material reality exists. The pebbles in a stream become gradually rounded by rubbing against one another. Wisdom, too, shines more and more clearly as the little pebble of the ego gets smoothed by the constant rubbing together of success and failure, joy and disappointment, gain and loss. The maturing of the ego comes in time to understand the ancient Sanskrit saying: "Yata dharma, tata Jaya: Where there is right action, there is victory".

Yoga teachings need to be externalised in daily life, and not taken only inside in meditation. What is learnt must be applied in practice. There is a great need for balance. Striking a balance is especially important in today's world in order to bridge the gap between two realities — the inner and the outer.


For material success to be more assured and lasting, it must be paired with high principles. The science of yoga proves these principles to be dynamically valid. By learning how to direct your activities from your inner centre, and to control your whole life from that centre, you will find yourself becoming a cause, and no longer a passive effect. You will cease being a pebble tossing and tumbling helplessly down the stream of life because of sheer circumstance.

(Today is Paramhansa Yogananda's 113th birth anniversary.)

Read More