As I go on doing all that my inherent properties (gunas) make me do, can I get rid of the habit, cultivated by the Illusive Maya, of desiring the fruits of whatever I do so that I become both Sannyaasi (Saakhya yogi) and a Yogi (Karmayogi).How can I renounce all thoughts of worldly sensual pleasures?
Performing the all actions without selfish motivation of enjoying Worldly sensual pleasure is the means to establish myself in Yoga and to God-realization. If and when I cease to have any attachment to all objects of senses and all actions (Karma) and renounce all subtle desires of the world, I will be in the perfect state of Yoga. I will have conquered lower self by the higher self. I go beyond the perishable I to experience the infinite I.
My mind would be perfectly serene and unperturbed by any distinction of pairs of opposites like love and hate, like and dislike, cold and heat favorable and unfavorable, joy and sorrow, and honor and dishonor. My mind would be in complete equanimity, perceiving well-wishers, friends, foes, neutral persons, mediators, the hateful, the relatives, saints and sinners, foes as one and the same - all alike.
How do I prepare my mind to get to that stage? I seat in whatever my mind considers as clean, unpolluted and level place that the mind finds neither too high nor too low (covered by Kusa-grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other) and then control my thinking faculty (Citta) and the senses by firmly holding my body, head and neck straight and steady and fixing my gaze at the tip of his nose, without looking in other directions, and then concentrating on meditation on the Infinite I or God. Only that order of perfectly disciplined mind can attain the everlasting peace consisting of Supreme Bliss, abiding in God (Nirvana) and thereby remove of any perception of any kind of suffering.
To get my mind disciplined, I need to eat and drink whatever things and as much quantities - not too much, too little, and also rest and sleep just enough so that my mind is not disturbed by any physical inconvenience. As a light of a lamp does not flicker but burns with a steady flame in a windless place', my disciplined mind shall be in steady, undisturbed meditation on the Self. Initially my mind may be restless and unsteady and may wander away, but I need to pull it back from all such material objects, actions and desires by repeated efforts to concentrate my thoughts on Self or Atman or God. Holding the intellect firmly, progressively my mind transcend from the world and my intellect) stops thinking of anything other than Atman or God. As I go on practicing this, one day my disciplined mind will hopefully becomes tranquil and be able to behold and merge my contented existence with the Self (Atman. It is then that I go beyond my lower self existence to live the existence of the Truth of the Atman. I will then hopefully see
Supreme (Sattvika) happiness certainly filling my pure, calm mind bereft of any passion (Rajo Guna) and I become one with Brahma. Can I practice this Sankhyayoga or Dhyanayoga that enables the mind look at all with an equal eye, sees me present in all beings and all beings present in me? Once my mind get to attain that, all my previous existences vanishes and the only existence that becomes permanent and everlasting is the oneness with everything and all things in the Universe and beyond. Having established a sentiment of oneness with all beings, I may still be engaged in all forms of activities without any bondage or attachment.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sacrifice through different Yoga Paths: Gita & God 43
In Gita's Chapters 5 & 6, Krishna shows the equivalence of all sacrifices under various paths of Yoga.
All paths aspire to reach the same Goal: become the knower of Knowledge, Truth and God Almighty and merge with that Knowledge, Truth and the God. The one who has mastered his senses, is exclusively devoted to spiritual practices attains Knowledge (wisdom) with complete faith in the Ultimate Truth that one is pursuing to know and realize, gains that knowledge and attains the supreme peace.
On the way to this Realization, the person sacrifices all differential relationships (equanimity), become detached from all actions and their consequences, removes all doubts arising from ignorance to fill the heart and establishes oneself in Karmayoga. Sannyasa (Sankhayoga/ Gyanjoga's pusuit of Knowledge) and Karmayoga (discipline of action) both lead to salvation (supreme bliss), though beginning with 'Karmayoga' is relatively easy as compared with starting with 'Sankhyayoga'.
Ultimately, the Yogis following these different paths will know not to hate anyone, desires anything from anyone, and will have risen above all dualities (pairs of opposites. The one who is well established in either path, gets the fruit of both (God realization). In real terms, Sankhyayoga and Karmayoga are one and the same, entailing the same fundamental sacrifices and yielding the same benefit. Sankhyayoga is difficult to practice without Karmayoga. The sage adept in Karmayoga, quickly attains to the Gyan/ Knowledge of the Absolute Truth. One whose mind is freed from all bondages/ attachment of ego, sensual pleasures, desires, distinction between good and bad or favorable and unfavorable, has achieved all these by controlling his/ her body, subdued his/ her senses and by perceiving and treating his/ her own Self in the Selves of all beings.
The Sankhyayogi ultimately comes to realize the truth that all of his/ her actions/ activities like seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing, speaking, answering the calls of nature, grasping, opening and closing the eyes, are really not his/ her activities and disassociates himself/ herself from the movement and attachment of senses among /to the sense objects'.
Similarly, the Bhaktiyogi offer all actions to God, performs actions abandoning all attachment while he Karmayogis, having shaken off attachment, perform actions with senses, mind, intellect and body simply for the sake of self-purification that allows Knowledge to reveal the Truth to himself/ herself.
All these Yogis following different paths come to realize and behave consistent with the Truth that neither the sense of doership nor the nature of actions does the Lord determine for the world, nor does He link actions with their fruits : to the All-pervading Lord there is no virtue or sin committed by anyone: all beings act deluded by ignorance anyone; as knowledge is enveloped by ignorance and illusion that obscures the True knowledge/ wisdom. With their mind and intellect completely absorbed in God, the realized Yogi remain constantly established in identity with and become one with God. To all such realized Yogis, a learned and humble Brahman, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a pariah (lowly, out caste) and also God are all the same. The realized souls of a Gyan Yogi, a Bhaki Yogi and a Karma Yogi are filled with the same understanding and none of them rejoices on obtaining what the senses would regard as pleasant or feel perturbed on meeting with the events or beings the senses may regard as unpleasant. They realize early that the pleasures that are born of contact with sense objects, are simultaneously and the only sources of pain, and therefore detach themselves from thoughts and activities that senses would be naturally inclined to pursue. They find happiness and bliss from whatever happens and goes on because they come to realize that all events that happen and all that what goes on is nothing but part of God even though God is unaffected by them.
He who discharges his duties without desiring its fruit, is both a Sannyaasi (Sankhya / Gyan yogi) and a Karmayogi. He is not a Sannyaasi (renounce), who has merely renounced the sacred fire and is not a Karma yogi, who has merely stopped all actions: none becomes a Yogi without renouncing thought of the world (i.e. without giving up subtle worldly desires).
The contemplative Yogi seeks perfection in desire-less Karmayoga (Samtaa or equanimity) and performs the duty without selfish motive. The Bhakti-Yogi or the Karma-Yogi derives the same Knowledge through sacrificing all desires and finally sees God in every thing, every phenomenon and every one.
When the Yogi succeeds in becoming free from attachment to any thing and any one whether the objects of senses or for the actions (Karma) and has completely renounced all subtle desires, he / she has conquered his/her (lower) self by the (higher) self: he has replaced the enemy implicit in the lower self by the friend resident in the higher self. Being in perfect serenity in the midst of pairs of opposites, such as cold and heat, favorable and unfavorable events, joy and sorrow, and honor and dishonor, the Yogi remains in constant communion with God, treating alike all- the well-wishers, friends, foes, neutral persons, mediators, the hateful, the relatives, saints and sinners. That is the essence of Sacrifice in Yoga.
All paths aspire to reach the same Goal: become the knower of Knowledge, Truth and God Almighty and merge with that Knowledge, Truth and the God. The one who has mastered his senses, is exclusively devoted to spiritual practices attains Knowledge (wisdom) with complete faith in the Ultimate Truth that one is pursuing to know and realize, gains that knowledge and attains the supreme peace.
On the way to this Realization, the person sacrifices all differential relationships (equanimity), become detached from all actions and their consequences, removes all doubts arising from ignorance to fill the heart and establishes oneself in Karmayoga. Sannyasa (Sankhayoga/ Gyanjoga's pusuit of Knowledge) and Karmayoga (discipline of action) both lead to salvation (supreme bliss), though beginning with 'Karmayoga' is relatively easy as compared with starting with 'Sankhyayoga'.
Ultimately, the Yogis following these different paths will know not to hate anyone, desires anything from anyone, and will have risen above all dualities (pairs of opposites. The one who is well established in either path, gets the fruit of both (God realization). In real terms, Sankhyayoga and Karmayoga are one and the same, entailing the same fundamental sacrifices and yielding the same benefit. Sankhyayoga is difficult to practice without Karmayoga. The sage adept in Karmayoga, quickly attains to the Gyan/ Knowledge of the Absolute Truth. One whose mind is freed from all bondages/ attachment of ego, sensual pleasures, desires, distinction between good and bad or favorable and unfavorable, has achieved all these by controlling his/ her body, subdued his/ her senses and by perceiving and treating his/ her own Self in the Selves of all beings.
The Sankhyayogi ultimately comes to realize the truth that all of his/ her actions/ activities like seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing, speaking, answering the calls of nature, grasping, opening and closing the eyes, are really not his/ her activities and disassociates himself/ herself from the movement and attachment of senses among /to the sense objects'.
Similarly, the Bhaktiyogi offer all actions to God, performs actions abandoning all attachment while he Karmayogis, having shaken off attachment, perform actions with senses, mind, intellect and body simply for the sake of self-purification that allows Knowledge to reveal the Truth to himself/ herself.
All these Yogis following different paths come to realize and behave consistent with the Truth that neither the sense of doership nor the nature of actions does the Lord determine for the world, nor does He link actions with their fruits : to the All-pervading Lord there is no virtue or sin committed by anyone: all beings act deluded by ignorance anyone; as knowledge is enveloped by ignorance and illusion that obscures the True knowledge/ wisdom. With their mind and intellect completely absorbed in God, the realized Yogi remain constantly established in identity with and become one with God. To all such realized Yogis, a learned and humble Brahman, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a pariah (lowly, out caste) and also God are all the same. The realized souls of a Gyan Yogi, a Bhaki Yogi and a Karma Yogi are filled with the same understanding and none of them rejoices on obtaining what the senses would regard as pleasant or feel perturbed on meeting with the events or beings the senses may regard as unpleasant. They realize early that the pleasures that are born of contact with sense objects, are simultaneously and the only sources of pain, and therefore detach themselves from thoughts and activities that senses would be naturally inclined to pursue. They find happiness and bliss from whatever happens and goes on because they come to realize that all events that happen and all that what goes on is nothing but part of God even though God is unaffected by them.
He who discharges his duties without desiring its fruit, is both a Sannyaasi (Sankhya / Gyan yogi) and a Karmayogi. He is not a Sannyaasi (renounce), who has merely renounced the sacred fire and is not a Karma yogi, who has merely stopped all actions: none becomes a Yogi without renouncing thought of the world (i.e. without giving up subtle worldly desires).
The contemplative Yogi seeks perfection in desire-less Karmayoga (Samtaa or equanimity) and performs the duty without selfish motive. The Bhakti-Yogi or the Karma-Yogi derives the same Knowledge through sacrificing all desires and finally sees God in every thing, every phenomenon and every one.
When the Yogi succeeds in becoming free from attachment to any thing and any one whether the objects of senses or for the actions (Karma) and has completely renounced all subtle desires, he / she has conquered his/her (lower) self by the (higher) self: he has replaced the enemy implicit in the lower self by the friend resident in the higher self. Being in perfect serenity in the midst of pairs of opposites, such as cold and heat, favorable and unfavorable events, joy and sorrow, and honor and dishonor, the Yogi remains in constant communion with God, treating alike all- the well-wishers, friends, foes, neutral persons, mediators, the hateful, the relatives, saints and sinners. That is the essence of Sacrifice in Yoga.
Sacrifices for Effective Meditation: Gita & God 42
Meditation by its very nature, as anyone can observe, involves sacrifices. Sacrifice means here withdrawal from every thought other than the thought about God Almighty and suspension of all actions that is consistent with God as the doer of everything. So, in Chapter 4, what does Krishna advise us to sacrifice for effective Yogic meditation? He recommends sacrificing attachment to: Ego and sense of doership, Desire, All objects of sensual pleasure, and Free functioning of the senses.
Yogi in meditation and through meditation 'frees all undertakings from "Sankalpa" (mental resolve) and desire,fully controls mind (inner faculties) and body, renounces all forms of hoarding even while performing actions for the maintenance of the body, remains completely devoid of attachment, establishes the mind in the knowledge of Self and works for the sake of sacrifice alone. Some Yogis offer hearing and all other senses as sacrifice into the fire of restraint; while others offer sound and other objects of senses into the fire of the senses. Still other Yogis offer sacrifice with the functions of their senses and those of the life-breath (vital energy), into the fire of Yoga of self-restraint, (Samadhiroop-yoga), kindled by knowledge. Many such forms of sacrifices (yajna) have been described in detail in the Vedas. Know them all to be born of actions and knowing these by performing these sacrifices, one will be liberated from the bondage of action."
This is extraordinarily difficult and seems impossible to do.
But says Krishna that He himself is always in this State of meditation. Though He is unborn, imperishable and Supreme Lord of all beings, He has to incarnate Himself through His Meditation on divine potency, keeping His Nature (Prakriti) under control: whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an upsurge in unrighteousness, He manifest Himself (in human or other form to restore Balance. In other words, Man being nothing but a manifestation of God can emulate Him and Meditate on Him, sacrificing all other things from mental or sensual recognition to remain the balanced state of peace and bliss.
Yogi in meditation and through meditation 'frees all undertakings from "Sankalpa" (mental resolve) and desire,fully controls mind (inner faculties) and body, renounces all forms of hoarding even while performing actions for the maintenance of the body, remains completely devoid of attachment, establishes the mind in the knowledge of Self and works for the sake of sacrifice alone. Some Yogis offer hearing and all other senses as sacrifice into the fire of restraint; while others offer sound and other objects of senses into the fire of the senses. Still other Yogis offer sacrifice with the functions of their senses and those of the life-breath (vital energy), into the fire of Yoga of self-restraint, (Samadhiroop-yoga), kindled by knowledge. Many such forms of sacrifices (yajna) have been described in detail in the Vedas. Know them all to be born of actions and knowing these by performing these sacrifices, one will be liberated from the bondage of action."
This is extraordinarily difficult and seems impossible to do.
But says Krishna that He himself is always in this State of meditation. Though He is unborn, imperishable and Supreme Lord of all beings, He has to incarnate Himself through His Meditation on divine potency, keeping His Nature (Prakriti) under control: whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an upsurge in unrighteousness, He manifest Himself (in human or other form to restore Balance. In other words, Man being nothing but a manifestation of God can emulate Him and Meditate on Him, sacrificing all other things from mental or sensual recognition to remain the balanced state of peace and bliss.
Simple Truth About Meditation: Gita & God 41
Meditation is so normal and common in human life that one does not need a Gita to elaborate for understanding. It is only incidental that ancient Indians had observed this so minutely as a Truth some 4000 plus years ago. We know that when we are fully engrossed in a particular thought (thinking about the beloved or solving a mathematical problem or drawing a sketch or composing a poem or cooking a particular dish, we do not get to know what is happening elsewhere in the surrounding environment and never get to know how long we have been focused on a single thought and involuntarily skipped meals, drinks, smoke, nature's call, other appointments and responsibilities. That is the State of Absolute Concentration that Meditation seeks to be in. In Chapter 6 of Gita, Krishna says:
1. Be seated in a proper posture (asana) in a clean, unpolluted and level place, neither too high nor too low [covered by Kusa-grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other : not to be taken literally as kusa- grass or deer-skin are not commonly available now as 4000 years ago].
2. Concentrate the mind, controlling the thinking faculty (Chitta) and the senses.
3. To firmly hold body, head and neck straight and steady and fix the gaze at the tip of the nose and not to look at any other point or direction.
4. To shut out all external objects from mind and senses, and to fix the mind on the point between the eyebrows. having
5. To regulate breathig evenly with the Prana (outgoing) and the Apana (incoming) breaths flowing through the nostrils
6. To mediate now only on the concept of God Almighty as the Supreme Goal of life.
7. Constantly and continuously meditate in this way, the Yogi of disciplined mind attains the everlasting peace and Supreme Bliss,and finally reaches the State of Nirvana or Salvation in the midst of God.
8. To facilitate progress in meditation be moderate in food intake, do not eat too much or too little, does not sleep too much or too little, do not act under impulse and do not get into much recreation.
10. To facilitate progress in effective meditation, the one needs to free oneself from all desires including those for sense enjoyment and pleasure. The goal of meditation or DhyanaYoga with a steady and resolute determination in mind is disconnection from the union with all worldly pains and pleasures.
1. Be seated in a proper posture (asana) in a clean, unpolluted and level place, neither too high nor too low [covered by Kusa-grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over the other : not to be taken literally as kusa- grass or deer-skin are not commonly available now as 4000 years ago].
2. Concentrate the mind, controlling the thinking faculty (Chitta) and the senses.
3. To firmly hold body, head and neck straight and steady and fix the gaze at the tip of the nose and not to look at any other point or direction.
4. To shut out all external objects from mind and senses, and to fix the mind on the point between the eyebrows. having
5. To regulate breathig evenly with the Prana (outgoing) and the Apana (incoming) breaths flowing through the nostrils
6. To mediate now only on the concept of God Almighty as the Supreme Goal of life.
7. Constantly and continuously meditate in this way, the Yogi of disciplined mind attains the everlasting peace and Supreme Bliss,and finally reaches the State of Nirvana or Salvation in the midst of God.
8. To facilitate progress in meditation be moderate in food intake, do not eat too much or too little, does not sleep too much or too little, do not act under impulse and do not get into much recreation.
10. To facilitate progress in effective meditation, the one needs to free oneself from all desires including those for sense enjoyment and pleasure. The goal of meditation or DhyanaYoga with a steady and resolute determination in mind is disconnection from the union with all worldly pains and pleasures.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Can I be one such?: Gita & God 40
They read Gita. They discuss Gita and they quote from Gita. Many try to practice Gita in life. For me the point is Can I practice Gita and test Gita? My hypotheses are: (a) One can practice Gita every moment of life through practice and (b)One gets what Gita promises, Salvation or permanent and unceasing happiness if one succeeds in pracising Gita. But how do I test these hypothses and prove to myself if the hypotheses are Tur of False? The most appealing method is by just citing an example that I have experienced. How do I obtain such an example? The best example that I can consider is to experiement with myself.
1. Can I go on doing whatever I happen to do without desiring any benefit / fruit from whatever I do? Can I be in complete renouciation and yet be in all kinds of action that I undertake or happen to undertake?
2. Can I make my mind totally unperturbed and perfectly serene in the midst of all kinds of and pairs of commonly regarded opposites, such as cold and heat,
favorable and unfavorable, joy and sorrow, honor and dishonor, plearure and pain, success and failure? Rather, can I lose all sense of good or bad, favourable and unfavourable or such other distinctions and comparisons and percieve all happenings as equally value-free?
3. Can I cease to have any attachment, either for the objects of senses or for the actions and lose all sense of gross or subtle desires?
4. Can I perceive every one and every thing as the expression of the Same - all sourced in the One even as I go on contemplating and performing actions that I happen to perform without any desire whatsoever for fulfilling any selfish or selfless objective or goal?
5. Can I do all the above even forgetting and renouncing the objective of hypotheses testing that I had initially set myself on the experiment?
So far I have not been able to successfully do the experiment. But I have tested that it is possible, though that would mean that the phenomenon others describing me as mad or funny or escapist or irresonsible or fatalist or heartless or selfish or stupid or incompetent to become a humaan being would cause in me any repercusions. But that is only so far as hypothesis (a) is concerned and I can continue with my experiement so that it becomes the way of life for me. What about (b)? Unless experiment (a) is complete and I remain continously in that State that gives the answer to all the five questions as YES, I cannot conclude if I had reached the State of Salvation, though once I reach that State that is supposed to bring me Salvation, I know, I would have lost any sense of the meaning of the world/ concept of Salvation. The only thing that I can perceive now that if I were to have no desire, no attachment, no anger, no distiction among things and events as being of more or less positive or negative value and no agitation in the mind for failure or success and pleasure and pain, I shall be free from all these bondages and yet I shall be in actions that get performed by me without any direction or control by my ego, intellect, mind and senses. There would be nothing that rules my behaviour and actions now will be ruling me any longer or even if they continue to rule, I shall not be attached to or subservient to those rulers.
My experiement therefore can only be an exploration. I can only say I started off practising Gita and then I do not know what happened to my experiment.
1. Can I go on doing whatever I happen to do without desiring any benefit / fruit from whatever I do? Can I be in complete renouciation and yet be in all kinds of action that I undertake or happen to undertake?
2. Can I make my mind totally unperturbed and perfectly serene in the midst of all kinds of and pairs of commonly regarded opposites, such as cold and heat,
favorable and unfavorable, joy and sorrow, honor and dishonor, plearure and pain, success and failure? Rather, can I lose all sense of good or bad, favourable and unfavourable or such other distinctions and comparisons and percieve all happenings as equally value-free?
3. Can I cease to have any attachment, either for the objects of senses or for the actions and lose all sense of gross or subtle desires?
4. Can I perceive every one and every thing as the expression of the Same - all sourced in the One even as I go on contemplating and performing actions that I happen to perform without any desire whatsoever for fulfilling any selfish or selfless objective or goal?
5. Can I do all the above even forgetting and renouncing the objective of hypotheses testing that I had initially set myself on the experiment?
So far I have not been able to successfully do the experiment. But I have tested that it is possible, though that would mean that the phenomenon others describing me as mad or funny or escapist or irresonsible or fatalist or heartless or selfish or stupid or incompetent to become a humaan being would cause in me any repercusions. But that is only so far as hypothesis (a) is concerned and I can continue with my experiement so that it becomes the way of life for me. What about (b)? Unless experiment (a) is complete and I remain continously in that State that gives the answer to all the five questions as YES, I cannot conclude if I had reached the State of Salvation, though once I reach that State that is supposed to bring me Salvation, I know, I would have lost any sense of the meaning of the world/ concept of Salvation. The only thing that I can perceive now that if I were to have no desire, no attachment, no anger, no distiction among things and events as being of more or less positive or negative value and no agitation in the mind for failure or success and pleasure and pain, I shall be free from all these bondages and yet I shall be in actions that get performed by me without any direction or control by my ego, intellect, mind and senses. There would be nothing that rules my behaviour and actions now will be ruling me any longer or even if they continue to rule, I shall not be attached to or subservient to those rulers.
My experiement therefore can only be an exploration. I can only say I started off practising Gita and then I do not know what happened to my experiment.
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