Cosmic Vibration

“The illuminating, joyous vibration of the ascending current of Pranic force resembles the tone quality of the hum of the bumblebee at Muladhar, coccygeal; that of the melodious note from a violin at Sadhisthan, sacral; that of the sweet call of a flute at Manipur, lumbar; that of the deep and vibrant roar of a conch at Anahata, dorsal; that of the reverberation of rolling thunder at Visuddha, cervical; and that of a universal symphony of exalting blissfulness at Ajna, the spiritual eye. Besides these there are also felt in this body temple the power of calmness of mind and poise of the senses, clear conscience and love of truth, intuition and enlightened perception, as well as the power of purified consciousness and self-realization. The illuminating power and joyousness of these vibrations are beyond the conception of mind. This cosmic vibration, resounding throughout the entire being and consciousness, spiritualizes the faculties of the senses, transforms the will of the sense-attached mind, and liberates the self from sense-identification.” (1:15-19)

“When the mind is absorbed by the cosmic vibration, AUM, then the power of understanding becomes pure, the mind remains established on the Self at the spiritual eye, and finally the Self is revealed.” (2:53)

“The practice of Kriya spiritualizes the perceptive and cognitive faculties by raising the sensitivity of the entire nervous system to a highly perfected rate of subtle vibration; and in this state the self is realized in the body and finally the absolute Self is revealed as the transcendental, illimitable consciousness.” (8:3)

—Swami Premananda, A Spiritual Interpretation of the Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita: The Revelation of the Supreme Self

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi:

"The greatest power in the world is that of the Soul. Peace is its highest expression. To attain peace, first we must acquire greater mastery over ourselves. We secure then an atmosphere of perfect peace, calm and goodwill that protects and fortifies ourselves and blesses others around us.”
(Discourses on the Gita)

"Peace requires one first to be brave enough to love another, and to trust another. That requires faith in oneself. One has not the strength to be peaceful if he is fighting the internal duel of selfish desires. Good can never result from evil desires or actions; hence, the Gita's central teaching of the oneness of the means and ends. The practice of peace is thus a test of the sincerity of our hearts; it requires solid and silent self-sacrifice, honesty and the capacity for diligent work, but must be realized first in its source within.”
(Discourses on the Gita)

“True humility means most strenuous and constant endeavor, entirely directed towards the service of humanity. God is continuously in action without resting for a single moment. If we should serve him or become one with him, our activity must be as unwearied as his. There may be momentary rest in store for the drop which is separated from the ocean, but not for the drop in the ocean, which knows no rest. The same is the case with ourselves. As soon as we become one with the ocean in the shape of God, there is no more rest for us, nor indeed do we need rest any longer. Our very sleep is action. For we sleep with the thought of God in our hearts. This restlessness constitutes true rest. This never-ceasing agitation holds the key to peace ineffable. This supreme state of total surrender is difficult to describe, but not beyond the bounds of human experience. It has been attained by many dedicated souls, and may be attained by ourselves as well.”
(The Way to God)

“Without good thoughts there is no peace, and without peace there is no happiness. Where a stable-minded man sees things clear as daylight, the unstable man distracted by the turmoil of the world is as good as blind. On the other hand, what is pure in the eyes of the worldly wise looks unclean and repels the stable-minded man. Rivers continuously flow into the sea, but the sea remains unmoved; in the same way all sense objects come to the yogi, but he always remains calm like the sea. One who abandons all desires, is free from pride and selfishness and behaves as one apart, finds peace. This is the condition of a perfect devotee of God, and he who is established therein, even at the final hour, finds moksha… self-liberation.”
(Discourses on the Gita)

“He who would practice yoga, i.e., evenness of temper (samatvam), cannot but perform action. The man who has achieved such evenness of temper will be serene, because his mere thoughts are charged with the strength of action. A yogi is one who is not attached to the objects of sense or to action and whose mind has ceased to roam restlessly. He is a yogi who is a man of knowledge as well as experience, who is unwavering and master of his senses and to whom gold, stone and earth seem all alike. He regards with an equal eye friend and foe, sinner and saint. The yogi is stable-minded at all times, and is without effort free from all desires. He is like an unflickering lamp burning in a windless place. He is not tossed to and fro by dramatic events on the world-stage or by his own brain waves. Such mental poise can be achieved by slow but steady effort. The mind is fickle and restless, but it should be gradually stabilized, for one can have peace of mind only when he is firm of understanding. In order thus to stabilize the mind, he should constantly fix it on the Soul.“ 
(Discourses on the Gita)

Divine Messengers

“The Angels, Gracious Light of Soul,
bending near the earth
in me
touched the golden heart strings
of my heart
and the worlds
in silent obeisance lay
to hear their voices:
"Peace and Joy!
Peace and Joy
unto All!"

Upon this midnight clear 
I listen to their 
Word
resounding,
still.”

By Swami Kamalananda

“Praise be to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth,
who made the angels, messengers with wings…”

From the Qur’an, Fatir 35:1

“Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created.”

From Psalms 148:2-5

“Let your life come amongst them like a flame of light, my child, unflickering and pure, and delight them into silence. Let them see your face, my child, and thus know the meaning of all things. Let them love you and love each other. Come and take your seat in the bosom of the limitless, my child. At sunrise open and raise your heart like a blossoming flower, and at sunset bend your head and in silence complete the worship of the day.”

From “The Child Angel” by Rabindranath Tagore

The Yuletide Tree

From
The Forest of Forever
By Srimati Kamala

Perhaps you were walking in woodland familiar to you. A place that brings you thoughts of the beauty, majesty and beneficence of a forest. Did the little tree invite you with a special charm? “Perfect,” You thought. “I receive this offering as Perfect. It has fulfilled its forest existence with quiet humility and grace.”

Perhaps the little tree was planted and cultivated by a farmer to end up in a home like yours, or perhaps it sprang up in the forest from the seeds of previous generations, surrounded with other voluntary upstarts, all drawing to light and sharing the vitality and breath of creation.

You chose it for its symmetry or something intangible about it that suited the space you would soon offer it, and you no doubt discovered that it had some peculiarities: Some branches splayed out; one side was a bit uneven; there were gaps that needed to be filled. It had to grow in a unique way to be vigorous and to receive light.

Once “home,” within the evenness of walls and windows, its form became more pronounced. Did you attempt to remove or alter its expression then, so it conformed to public appraisal? Remember, whatever its own expression while in the forest, it spoke intimately to your heart. So you allowed that vision to survive as you chose it.

You worked to share its vital verdure anew, stringing it with strands of brightly colored lights, garlands and metallic bulbs, hand-painted decorations, carved and mirrored collections specially sorted and saved from over the years.

Sitting there in front of your yuletide tree in silent admiration you were filled with its timeless message of Gladness and Hope.

O, if we could meet other humans beings with
as much love and respect as we do
our beloved Yuletide Tree!
If we could recognize how they too came to
live and grow on earth,
striving for growth, for light and companionship
of their surroundings as we do.
Like this little tree, humans are born into
conditions they cannot change and
must adapt in order to survive and flourish.
Like this little tree’s branches some people have traits
and virtues that seem disproportionate or
overbearing.
It is for us to encourage them, to visualize
their rightfulness and fruition, giving them
adornments from our own treasures of
divine qualities.

You brought this little tree from God's garden onto the hearth of your heart. It shared its truth and beauty with you as an offering, and you received it with love and joy.

The Devout Gift

From
The Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita: The Revelation of the Supreme Self
Translated by Swami Premananda

Whosoever with devotion offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I accept it from him as the devout gift of a pure heart.

O son of Kunti, whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou offerest as oblation, whatever thou givest as gift, and whatever soul’s power thou puttest forth, do it as an offering unto me.

When a gift is offered with the thought that it is righteous to perform acts of charity, without expecting anything in return, at the right time and place and to a worthy person, that gift is regarded as the source of self-liberation and peace.

That gift which is made with the hope of receiving in return, or desiring personal reward, or with reluctance, is known as the source of pride and sorrow.

The gift that is given at the wrong place or time, to unworthy persons, or ungraciously and with contempt, is the cause of self-degradation and misery.

From Ch 9:26-27 and Ch 17:20-22

Guidance

An excerpt from
Frontiers of the Spirit
By Swami Kamalananda

Lead us from the unreal to the real,
From darkness to light,
From death to immortality.

--Vedic Invocation

There is a saying, “There are thousands of gurus, but it is difficult to find one true disciple.” in other words, we find more who wish to tell and proclaim rather than to study, understand, learn and follow spiritual wisdom in their life. There may be many to pontificate, but few who truly and sincerely, wisely and humbly practice.

Who, or what leads us? How are we led? What is the goal of guidance? From the invocation above, the ideal and law of guidance, cosmic and human, are revealed.

From the most wayward to the most enlightened, all need and heed some authority for guidance in life. In our spiritual life the recognition of this need is revealed in the supplication of prayer, and the law of guidance is further demonstrated through the ideal of Guru.

The ideal of Guru is profound and universal, not delimited by human association nor confined to any one religious tradition. It is inherent in the unfoldment of cosmic life as well as human spirituality. The authority of “Guru” is based on reverence for the goal of self-perfection, and it comes from an understanding of the means to attain that goal.

All life is guided by consciousness. Consciousness is responsible for all our happiness or unhappiness, peace or sorrow in life. Right now we are our consciousness. Our consciousness reveals the authority over our daily experience. Therefore, it is wise to evaluate the course of our own consciousness to see what authority we are obeying most of the time. What is our perspective, vision, awareness, ideal that guides our learning and growth? As Jesus wisely said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our “treasure” or predominant identification of consciousness determines our happiness.

The quality of our life improves when we live more in the understanding, hence authority, of our pure consciousness. Our pure consciousness is the light of soul. It is ever one with the pure light of the universe. Remember, it is relatively easy to serve the growth and maintenance of our physical being, but do we make the effort to serve and to obey what governs our physical being? Good people today are rightly concerned about the purity of our food for the proper health of the body. Then how much more concern and care should be given to the cultivation of mental purity for the mind’s balance and strength? Just as our muscles require practice and training to maintain balance and harmony of the nervous system, so our mental faculties need practice and constant effort to receive pure consciousness, the power and peace of soul.

For the full publication: “Frontiers of the Spirit”

Two Little Birds in the Self-Same Tree

“Two little birds, linked by mutual friendly bonds, reside in the self-same tree; one of them is engrossed in the enjoyment of sweet fruit, while the other merely looks on with perfect serenity.”

“Dwelling within this body are the supreme Self, the individual self, and the potencies of thought, volition and feeling. The individual self, by means of the potencies of thought, volition and feeling, creates and lives in a little world of its own desires and pleasures. But finally the indwelling supreme Self, by its inherent power of illumination, renounces all bondage of limitations and regains freedom.”

“Even so, becoming identified with the body, man has fallen into the delusion of imperfection, self-condemnation and weakness, and in consequence has become engulfed in sorrow. But when, by the power of his subjective meditation and illumination he realizes the glory of his own divine Self, he transcends sorrow and lives by the power of inner contentment.”

—Svetasvatara Upanishad
translated by Swami Premananda in Eight Upanishads

“In the Upanishad it is said in a parable that there are two birds sitting on the same bough, one of which feeds and the other looks on. This is an image of the mutual relationship of the infinite being and the finite self. The delight of the bird which looks on is great, for it is a pure and free delight. There are both of these birds in man himself, the objective one with its business of life, the subjective one with its disinterested joy of vision.”

—Rabindranath Tagore

Painted by the Master Artist

By Swami Premananda
From “Seven Mystic Holydays”

Keep your mind serenely and continuously on God both within and without. Witness the glories and beauty of God all about. The world is a living manifestation of divinity. Every object reveals God’s beauty and perfection. Do not close your eyes but open them in the singleness of spiritual vision that everything about you may reveal the reality of the Supreme Spirit.

The stars have a message for us. In the fall season they seem so bright and clear. God has placed them in the heavens to reveal to us the transcendental nature of soul. Although we live in this world, our soul cannot be confined to earthly limitations. The sun, too, has a message of spiritual awakening. Have you ever witnessed a sunrise? City-dwellers rarely see that glorious spectacle and that is one of the tragedies of modern living. As the sun lifts above the horizon it seems that the consciousness also is lifted and we are reminded of our spiritual unfoldment.

The rivers, too, carry a godly message. They have their origin in the mountains. They flow over rough places, through fields and valleys, finally to reach the vast ocean. So our life originates in God. It travels through many lowlands of toil and effort but it always comes, at last, to the ocean of divinity. Life moves ever onwards to the infinity of God.

This constant perception of God wherever you look, saturates the consciousness with spiritual harmony and identifies mind with all that is noble and sublime. Behind all the objects of nature is the message of God. Find spiritual companionship with this glorious manifestation all about us. The seasons reveal to us the garment of God, painted by the hand of the master artist.

Hamsa

By Srimati Karuna

Hamsa is the Sacred Swan. Many poetic images are derived from the flight of the swan to an abode at Manasarovar Lake in the Himalayas. In the Hamsa Jataka, the swan symbolizes wisdom and loyalty. And the Goddess, Sarasawati, rides the sacred swan that can separate milk from water, a symbol of discernment and detachment. It represents discernment because the sacred swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to separate milk from the water and drink the milk alone. The swan thus symbolizes the ability to discern the eternal from the ephemeral.

Mahatma Gandhi often repeated the words from Tulsidas’ Ramayana: ”All things - with or without life - the Lord has created with their good and bad points. The wise like the discerning swan separate the good milk and reject the adulterating water.” Beyond the relative knowledge of the mind is the pure consciousness of soul which enlightens our reason, instinct and intuition.

The hamsa also symbolizes detachment because though swans need water for their survival, they can always fly away without a drop of water burdening their wings. The flight of the swan relates to moksha, freedom or liberation. This release from Samsara is represented by its freedom to travel between heaven and earth. This hamsa, a migratory bird, symbolizes the transcendent and is thus identified with the Supreme Spirit or Brahman.

In Sanskrit, Soham or Sohum means “I am That." It is identification with the Ultimate Reality. The mantra is also inverted from so 'ham (saḥ + aham) to ham + sa (“That I am.”) The combination of so ‘haṃ and haṃsa has also been interpreted as "I myself am the Swan.” HAMSA is also HONGSWA.

“The flame of pure-consciousness is eternally ignited within this body. By the meditation of Hong-Swa, all delusion having been dispelled, the Self is revealed in its effulgent glory. In the realization of oneness with Brahman, the Self, man transcends death. There is no path other than this to the attainment of immortality and bliss…The Supreme Self is Hong Swa, which leads to the realization of SOHONG in wisdom and bliss.” (Svetasvatara Upanishad, Ch 6:16 and 3:18)

“O Thou self-manifested cause and substance of creation, O Thou indwelling Self of all, Thou source of illumination, guide me beyond Thy rays of creation, transport me beyond Thy objective form that, by Thy grace, I may behold Thy glorious Self: That absolute Self abiding in the transcendental effulgence, verily, I am That.” (Isha Upanishad, v16)

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras also refer to viveka or discernment. It is that mental state which is capable of discerning what is true from what is false, what is permanent from what is fleeting, and what brings suffering from what does not. Viveka is considered as the first requirement in the spiritual journey. Vivekachudamani is a text, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya. It means the “crest-jewel of discrimination” and it discusses the viveka, discrimination or discernment, between the Real (unchanging, eternal) and the unreal (changing, temporal) and reflects on the oneness of Atman and Brahman. The next requirement in this journey of Self-Realization is vairagya or detachment. It is a natural extension of viveka. Hence, we come to recognize in the symbol of the HAMSA, realization derived from viveka and vairagya, discernment and detachment.

The swan can tell us the good from the bad
Floating on a pond near a lily pad
As graceful and beautiful as silk
Separating water mixed with milk
The swan will tell us of its role
To reflect freedom of the soul
At home on water and on land
At ease in all ways, small and grand
Of spirit or matter, body or mind
Arise, every one! Awake, every kind!

Ashvattha

By Swami Kamalananda
From “The Forest of Forever”

We know
of course that
“Only God can make a tree,”
the miracle and colorful fount of vitality,
the living symbol of the cooperative
and holistic existence
of life on earth!
Now turn that symbol upside down.
Yes, UPSIDE DOWN,
And you will have a symbol of unmatched,
unique
and yet characteristically sublime
meaning from India's spiritual heritage:
“Ashvattha”
“What, visualize a tree upside down?” you ask.
Precisely.
Now that gets our attention!
That will remain an unforgettable image.
Forever. 

Why would one imagine a tree with its roots
above the branches,
and the branches extending below them?
“Why on earth?” indeed:
Because while we live on earth
we must learn to see trees
(as all living beings)
in another way:
As coming from above,
from beyond creation.
From an unseen source
beyond
heaven itself
and extending
downwards
into the realm of
Creation and, finally, to Earth—
bringing the unmanifest Soul
into
all our surroundings.

“With its roots, the original source,
established above in the Supreme Self,
and its branches spreading below as creation,
stands the everlasting Ashvattha,
the symbolic tree of the ever changing world.
The hymns of the Vedas form its leaves.
He who knows this is truly enlightened
in the wisdom of the Vedas.”

 —Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. 15, V.1

Guru-Disciple

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Swami Yogananda and Swami Premananda

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Swami Kamalananda and Swami Premananda

By Swami Kamalananda
Excerpt from “The Mystic Cross” Magazine Dedication Issue

In the purest light of God-consciousness there is no relationship nor any bond as sacred as that between guru and disciple. Purely spiritual and divinely ordained by the cosmic law of self-unfoldment, that mutual bond of soul continues to guide and inspire the path of self-illumination which leads to absolute oneness in the perfection of God.

There are many self-proclaimed gurus. There are more who profess unending and deep devotion as true disciples. Vanities and emotions come and go. Life is the ultimate and only revealer of the truth. To live according to the light of God and soul is to fulfill the vow of perfect disciple and perfect guru. That requires the most energy, a tremendous intelligence, cultivated self-discipline, subtle thinking and, above all, great love.

Since his coming to the United States in 1928—in a life of ministry that extended over half a century—Swami Premananda arduously and devotedly worked to carry the light of the spiritual heritage of his guru and of the great souls that preceded him in the tradition of the Swami Order. He never wavered in his self-remembrance and adherence of his guru-disciple vow. That today we should enjoy the inspiration of idealism shared through the Self-Revelation Church and Gandhi Memorial Foundation is testimony to the wisdom and service of Swamiji and the noble souls who understood, embraced and served the life and goal of self-realization that he so purely established in our nation's capital over decades.

The many translations and illuminations of Vedic scriptures in the light of absolute monism; almost 20 years of weekly radio broadcasts; the receiving of the 33rd degree and jewel of the 33rd degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry; and the chartering of the Swami Order in America are but a few of the unique achievements of far-reaching and enduring consequence that Swamiji offered from his dedication to further our spiritual heritage in America. 

I am stating unequivocally that no swami has made such a profound and enduring contribution to American life. Beyond Washington, on the summit of the Stony Man Mount, beneath the crystal skies of Skyland in the most beautiful Shenandoah National Park, Swamiji dedicated a permanent mystic shrine of the Swami Order of India where devotees of all faiths—even atheists—will come henceforth to worship the One Absolute in the cathedral of Nature. Years later (in 1952), in the beautiful northwest section of Washington called Friendship Heights, the Golden Lotus Temple opened its sacred doors for all seekers of truth and light. It was an unprecedented and unique event in Masonic and religious history that a Grandmaster of the Light laid the foundation stone in a temple of which a swami is the minister.

May the light of God and gurus continue to illumine the path of our life.

The Festival of Light

From Prayers of Soul, by Swami Premananda

Come join the festival of light.

The Light of Light has arrived and is in touch with the souls of all souls. Each soul is a shining light; bring your luminous lamp of joy and happiness, and lend your ecstasy to the rapturous delight of all hearts. The stars in the sky above have come with their bright lights to fill the firmament with the celestial lights of the gods of heavens and earth. The sweet jasmines have infused the evening breeze with the exotic fragrance of the intoxicating perfume. The whole world is uplifted with the spirit of love, and man and nature are in the indulgence of divine ecstasy. The bliss of God has spread its blossoms of happiness upon the hearts of the lovers of love.

The Nataraj has lighted his lamp, and the whole universe is illumined with the cosmic cycle of celestial effulgence. The Divine Dancer has ushered the yoga of joy for all souls to become one in the rhythm of ecstasy. Light reveals beauty, beauty brings joy, and joy lifts the soul into the paradise of purity and peace. Sublimity of happiness is the ascension of soul. Joy is the jewel of the human heart, and peace is the ornament of the human soul. Bliss is the blue diamond on the forehead of the icon of divine consciousness. Soul in peace is in the bliss of God. Soul dances with joy and the freedom of self-effulgent self-illumination.

The darkness of sorrow and sadness, pain and suffering has vanished from the sphere of human consciousness, and the spirit of man is awakened in the lustrous splendor of beauty and purity and holiness. Darkness is dawn in ascension like the fragrant incense rising in adoration of the Devata, the Deity of Light. Dance is the invitation of love from soul to soul to become one in the hall of happiness. Love unfolds the flower of soul to blossom forth with the petals of hidden happiness. The light of God glows in the hearts of lovers in the embrace of purity of soul. The light of God shines in the soul of man.

Invitation to dance is an offering of love and the chalice of love. Dance is a sacred sacrament of love. The breeze offers an invitation to dance to the butterfly with shimmering wings. The dew drop opens its pure heart welcoming the light of the dawn.

Creation is the dance of the Creator in the cosmic rhythm of love. Love is heavenly and divine. Love is God. Come and dance with love in the light of holiness. Come let your soul dance with love and consort with the ballet of the lighted candles. Let the pure hearts melt in joy in the festival of love.

The Light of Light has touched the souls with his lamp of love. Come—join the festival of the dance of light.

Light is God.

Gandhi and the Ashram Ideal

FOUR “ASHRAMAS” or “abodes of identification with an ideal”

There is no time or condition of our life when faith in God and self-dedication to following the will of God as spiritual ideal should not or cannot come first. Life is spiritual in purpose at every moment and throughout every condition. Resignation is recognizing the first motive and final attainment of life as spiritual.

Awareness of life as spiritual through identification and practice is no less a priority for the householder or student than it is for the “renunciate” or “sannyasin.” If we believe it to be so, then we condition spirituality by the personality or condition of the body, thus contradicting the oneness of life.

From ancient times the “ideal life” of self-dedication was described by our Vedic ancestors, as such, that at every stage of self-unfoldment the Self could be experienced. The life of self-dedicated progressive Self-remembrance according to one’s individual tendency of self-expression was called sadhana. Broadly speaking, life was viewed symbolically as comprised of four progressive and spiritual stages, a descriptive guide for self-dedication. The four stages are called “ashramas” or “abodes of identification with an ideal.” They correspond to the normal patterns of human growth and expression between birth and death. The stage are not mutually exclusive, but each illustrates the understanding, work, love and wisdom of the soul through a human condition.

The first stage, called Brahmacharya is not a mere student phase, nor does it refer only to a monk or celibate as has been the popular misunderstanding. The word conveys the ideal: Life guided by and dedicated to Brahman, God. In the ideal life this stage would come first, naturally, during one’s early years, as a necessity for establishing the understanding of the spiritual ideal and value of life from the first experiences in learning. When experience broadens the mind, and when new problem confronts us, should not the ideal of our spiritual life be remembered first, in order to help us to evaluate our disposition and action?

Mahatma Gandhi included the ideal of brahmacharya as one of the vows or ideals of life for those of all ages – married or unmarried – who lived in his ashram communities. He rightly intended it to be an ideal to be followed throughout life and not to be taken in a narrow sense. He interpreted brahmacharya as self-mastery or self-control, consistent with Truth. Instead of mere control of the body this includes channeling of the mind to resist every low thought.

“I have always felt that much harm has been done by the narrow definition of brahmacharya. If we practice self-control in all directions, the attempt will be scientific and possible of success…Let us remember the root meaning of brahmacharya. Charya means course of conduct: brahmacharya, conduct adapted to the search of Brahma, i.e., Truth. We must entirely forget the incomplete definition.” —From: Yeravda Mandir, Ashram Observances by M.K. Gandhi 

The second ashrama is called  Garhastya. As an ideal it is not confined to those who are married and have children nor to those with family responsibilities. It refers to that aspect of self-manifestation wherein one realizes his well-being as mutual (shared) responsibility and then seeks to fulfill it through selfless action. “Griya” from “ghar,” means “home,” not in the limited sense of domicile, but in the larger connotation of community or society. “-Hastya” refers to the hand, lending the idea of performance of duty or action. The natural desire as well as purpose of the soul is to give and to share for the benefit of broader life. Objective service is an expression of understanding and reverence for our ideal. Life is incomplete without it. The body is the instrument of self-expression.

“Reverence for Life…does not allow the scholar to live for his science alone, even if he is very useful to the community in so doing. It does not permit the artist to exist only for his art, even if he gives inspiration to many by its means. It refuses to let the business man imagine that he fulfills all legitimate demands in the course of his business activities. It demands from all that they should sacrifice a portion of their own lives for others. When we are truly filled with the idea of reverence for life, all our attitudes, thinking, actions change. We must go deep into ourselves to find this inspiration.” —Albert Schweitzer

In the traditional Hindu marriage ceremony, the bride and groom walk together seven circles around the altar, a symbolic affirmation of the ideal of garhastya: They make God the center of their life while journeying together as co-partners on the path of self-unfoldment to the perfection of God. Their seven spiritual aspirations may be seen as the dedications of every soul to render creative service in divine union with the will of God.

1. To establish a spiritual abode or environment wherein divinity may find refuge and flourish.

2. To aid one’s companion in life in the harmonious development of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.

3. To offer the best of oneself in creative, useful and purposeful work to enrich life on earth with harmony, peace and wisdom.

4. To seek, perceive and follow the path of self-perfection (dharma).

5. To honor divine trust of spiritual kinship by serving the soul and becoming a spiritual companion to all souls on earth.

6. To realize oneness of soul through the universe of Life.

7. To become one with God in the realization of the Self.

Vanaprashta is the third ashrama. It refers to the service of soul through wisdom of experience and the need in life for the introspective guidance of the mind. There comes a time in objective service or expression in life when we are not as physically strong or able to help actively in provision for welfare for ourselves and others. This outer stage mirrors an inner need. At this stage ideally one should offer the wisdom of experience, understanding and inspiration in continued service to one’s fellow companions, while at the same time seeking deepening subjective knowledge. Objective detachment is symbolized in the third stage of life when the strength of the senses diminishes and the powers of mind and heart predominate. The ideal of God is not realized by the neglect of duty or idleness. Age does not necessarily bring wisdom by the waning of our physical strengths. Wisdom is dependent upon the renunciation of ego—that is, the departure from sense-identified self-consciousness and the entering into the haven of the spirit. Renunciation is a requisite practice of every stage of our spiritual life. “Vana,” or “forest,” refers in a religious sense to a campus or community of enlightened souls. “Prastha” is “departure” or “farewell.” (Mahaprasthan is death, or the final farewell.) Vanaprastha therefore designates the stage of life wherein one renounces or departs from “the worldly” (sense-dominated) experience and identifies with the community and guidance of soul.

The ideal of  Sannyas is the fourth ashrama of life. To be a sannyasin is not to wear a robe and go preaching or to retreat from the difficulties or burdens of life. Sannyas is an ideal of heart. It is the life of subjective freedom, embracing all in the consciousness of the Self with love and wisdom. When one lives in the consciousness of God one becomes a sannyasi, having totally renounced selfish desires. The greatest spiritual power of the sannyasi is a pure heart.

“All imperfections are automatically dropped when love adorns the heart. Devotion has three stages: Meditation in the consciousness of love; subjective perception or feeling of love; and realization of oneness in love. By unconditional love man attains to the state of God-hood.” —Sri Chaitannya

Excerpt from “Frontiers of the Spirit” by Srimati Kamala

THE ASHRAM OBSERVANCES

The ashram vows, to Mahatma Gandhi, were more than arbitrary rules or mental decisions pertaining to matters of ephemeral importance (which may be alterable by moods of fancy or which may even be imposed without.) A vow one takes upon the altar of one’s conscience in the name of all that one holds to be sacred and true. “God is the very image of the vow,” said Gandhi.

“A vow is a spiritual commitment of self-dedication of body, mind, heart and soul consistent with Truth which is cosmically beneficent. Based on what is constituent to our being, a vow is self-fulfilling—itself a power of progressive realization.”

To vow means to do steadfastly and at any sacrifice what one really ought to do according to purity of heart and the nature of Truth. “A vow is the marriage of ideal and practice, of duty and will.”

The perpetual striving to fulfill basic vows in one’s life constitutes the means of religion. The means then perfect the art of living consistent with the purity of human nature.

During his incarceration in 1930 in the Yeravda Central Prison (Poona), Mahatma Gandhi wrote weekly letters to the community of workers at Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, India. The letters contained descriptions and examinations of the principal ashram observances. The “ashram life” had been cultivated under Gandhiji’s supervision and example for already more than one decade, and its influence had far exceeded its geographical confines—proof of its practical and universal applicability.

Copies of his letters were printed for wider circulation, therefore, and translations were rendered into various Indian languages. In 1932 (from prison) Gandhi himself put pen to the final English translation of Mahadev Desai, his secretary, which was later published as “From Yeravda Mandir: Ashram Observances.” Over the years Gandhiji wrote, said and demonstrated much more, elaborating upon and analyzing these basic principles of conduct which he himself considered to be the heart of any philosophical conduct consistent with Truth.

The following are Mahatma Gandhi’s own words, faithful to their original context, but gathered from different times and texts and chosen for their timeless and universal importance. Thus, they are equally practicable for our as well as his generation, and for generations to come.

Truth

The word SATYA (Truth) is derived from Sat, which means “Being.” Nothing is or exists in reality except Truth. That is why SAT or Truth is perhaps the most important name of God. Where there is Truth, there also is knowledge which is true. Where there is no truth, there can be no true knowledge. That is why the word CHIT, or “knowledge,” is associated with the name of God. And where there is true knowledge, there is always bliss (Ananda). There sorrow has no place. And even as Truth is eternal, so is the bliss derived from it. Hence, we know God as Sat-Chit-Ananda—one who combines in Himself Truth, Knowledge and Bliss.

For me, truth is the sovereign principle, which includes numerous other principles. This truth is not only truthfulness in word, but truthfulness in thought also, and not only the relative truth of our conception, but the Absolute Truth, the Eternal Principle, that is God. I worship God that is Truth or Truth which is God.”

Ahimsa, or Love

In its positive form, Ahimsa means the largest love, the greatest charity. If I am a follower of Ahimsa, I must love my enemy. I must apply the same rules to the wrongdoer who is my enemy or a stranger to me as I would to my wrong-doing father or son. This active Ahimsa necessarily includes truth and fearlessness. 

Ahimsa is not the crude thing it has been made to appear. Not to hurt any living thing is no doubt a part of Ahimsa. But it is its least expression. The principle of Ahimsa is hurt by every evil thought, by undue haste, by lying, by hatred, by wishing ill to anybody. It is also violated by our holding on to what the world needs.

Brahmacharya or Self-Mastery

Brahmacharya is a mental condition. The outward behavior of man is at once the sign and proof of the inner state.

Let us remember the root meaning of Brahmacharya. “Charya” means course of conduct; “Brahma-charya” conduct adapted to the search of Brahma, i.e., Truth. From this etymological meaning arises the special meaning, viz. control of all the senses. Thus, an impure thought is a breach of Brahmacharya; so is anger…And since thought is the root of all speech and action, the quality of the latter corresponds to that of the former. Hence, perfectly controlled thought is itself power of the highest potency and can become self-acting. That seems to me to be the meaning of the silent prayer of the heart.


Control of the Palate

Most of us, instead of keeping the organs of sense under control, become their slaves. We must not be thinking of food all the twenty-four hours of the day. The only thing needful is perpetual vigilance, which will help us to find out very soon when we eat for self-indulgence and when in order only to sustain the body. This being discovered, we must resolutely set our faces against mere indulgence.


Non-Stealing

The profound truth upon which this observance is based is that God never creates more than what is strictly needed for the moment. Therefore, whoever appropriates more than the minimum that is really necessary for him is guilty of theft.

It is theft to take something from another even with his permission if we have no real need of it. We should not receive any single thing that we do not need…We are not always aware of our real needs, and most of us improperly multiply our wants, and thus unconsciously make thieves of ourselves. If we devote some thought to the subject, we shall find that we can get rid of quite a number of our wants…Most of the distressing poverty in this world has arisen out of breaches of the principle of non-stealing.

Non-Possession

Non-stealing and non-possession are mental states only. No human being can keep these observances to perfection. The body too is a possession, and as long as it is there it calls for other possessions in its train. 

These difficulties appear to have given rise to the current conception of sannyasa “(renunciation of the world”) which is not acceptable… Such sannyasa may be necessary for some rare spirit who has the power of conferring benefits upon the world by only thinking good thoughts in a cave. But the world would be ruined if everyone became a cave-dweller. Ordinary men and women can only cultivate mental detachment. Whoever lives in the world and lives in it only for serving it is a [true renunciate].

Physical Labor

It is a gross superstition to imagine that knowledge is acquired only through books. Even for real intellectual development one should engage in some useful bodily activity (having) fully acquired the skill of correlating the three R’s with body labour …(and)…the idea of saving others. The Ashram ideal is to live to serve. In such an institution there is no room for idleness or shirking of duty, and everything should be done with right goodwill.

Fearlessness

Fear has no place in our hearts, when we have shaken off attachment for wealth, for family and for the body. “Enjoy the things of the earth by renouncing them” is a noble precept. Wealth, family and body will be there, just the same; we have only to change our attitude towards them. All these are not ours, but God’s. Nothing whatever in this world is ours. Even we ourselves are His. Why then should we entertain any fears? The Upanishad therefore directs us ‘to give up attachment for things, while we enjoy them.”

Swadeshi

A man’s first duty is to his neighbor. This does not imply hatred for the foreigner or partiality for the fellow countryman.

Our capacity for service has obvious limits. We can serve even our neighbor with some difficulty. If every one of us duly performed his duty to his neighbor, no one in the world who needed assistance would be left unattended. Therefore, one who serves his neighbor serves all the world. As a matter of fact, there is in Swadeshi no room for distinction between one’s own and other people…One to whom the whole world is as his family should have the power of serving the universe without moving from his place. He can exercise this power only through service rendered to his neighbor.

Religious Tolerance

The principle faiths of the world constitute a revelation of Truth. One must therefore entertain the same respect for religious faiths of others as one accords to one’s own. Where such tolerance becomes law of life, conflict between different faiths becomes impossible, and so does all effort to convert other people to one’s own faith. Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal? In reality there are as many religions as there are individuals.

Excerpt from “Mahatma Gandhi: An American Profile” by Srimati Kamala

The Revelation of The Supreme Self

Spiritual interpretation of the first chapter
of the Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita according to Kriya Yoga

By Swami Premananda

The awakened mind enquired:
Reveal unto me, O power of introspection, the various states of consciousness passing through which the self comes to realize its absolute perfection, as its qualities aspire to overcome the accumulated impressions born of mind through its identification with the senses. (1)

Introspection observed:
Aroused by the rising influence of the divine qualities of the self, the objective will of the sense-identified mind, aided by its power of discrimination, becomes engaged in subjective self-analysis; (2)

And with intelligent cognition it at once becomes aware and feels the impact of the tremendous power of the newly awakened divine qualities revealed in the effulgence of illumined consciousness. (3)

Among these qualities the following may be distinguished: complete forgetfulness of the objective and sensory world, and indomitable subjective strength, as well as others of equal power, faith, spiritualized consciousness, intuition, noninjury, memory, revelation, self-discipline, sense-control, subjectivity, moral well-being, inner contentment, and enlightened perception; each of which is a liberating power of the self to guide the senses. (4-6)

In the light of clear intelligence, which is the best of the qualities of the newly awakened self, there also appear within the consciousness the dominant negative concepts, acquired through the faculties of the senses engrossed in physical propensities: (7)

False knowledge, sense-identified self-consciousness, attachment, ignorance which is the root cause of all sorrow, hatred, fear, clinging to sensory life, and the self-limiting consequences of the sum total of these; (8)

And many more powerful, cunning and deluding concepts in deceptive garb gain their firm footing in the consciousness and seek to veil the vision of the self. (9)

Limitless in number are the negative concepts under the dominance of the ego, the sense-identified self-consciousness; but few appear to be the divine qualities manifested by the power of the self. (10)

Moreover, it is only the existence of ego that keeps the self-limiting negative concepts intrenched in the consciousness of the awakened self, and at this initial stage of subjective analysis the inherent weakness of the sense-attached mind is exposed before the rising power of the self. (11)

But to strengthen the faltering will of the sense-attached mind, the ego, the first and most powerful cause of all objectivity, reaches out for the cosmic Prana embedded at Kundalini, the coccygeal center, and in consequence thereof the ascending Pranic force emits a roaring vibration, exhilarating all the sense organs. (12)

Responding thereto, the entire organic system, comprising the faculties of touch and sensation, taste and assimilation, attraction and expansion, reception and protection, perception and expression, creates a prolonged, reverberating, rhythmic, intense and penetrating sensation throughout the entire body, a feeling dynamic and decidedly psychosensory in character. (13)

Thereafter, however, illumined and inspired by the divine qualities of the indwelling supreme Self, the enlightened self becomes firmly established at Ajna, the spiritual eye, and witnesses a white star within a dark blue center surrounded by a brilliant but soothing effulgence. While at this state there is awakened a cosmic vibration of all-engulfing immensity wherein the self is merged in blissful self-consciousness. (14)

The illuminating, joyous vibration of the ascending current of Pranic force resembles the tone quality of the hum of the bumblebee at Muladhar, coccygeal; that of the melodious note from a violin at Sadhisthan, sacral; that of the sweet call of a flute at Manipur, lumbar; that of the deep and vibrant roar of a conch at Anahata, dorsal; that of the reverberation of rolling thunder at Visuddha, cervical; and that of an universal symphony of exalting blissfulness at Ajna, the spiritual eye. (15,16)

Besides these there are also felt in this body temple the power of calmness of mind and poise of the senses, clear conscience and love of truth, intuition and enlightened perception, as well as the power of purified consciousness and self-realization. The illuminating power and joyousness of these vibrations are beyond the conception of mind. (17,18)

This cosmic vibration, resounding throughout the entire being and consciousness, spiritualizes the faculties of the senses, transforms the will of the sense-attached mind, and liberates the self from sense-identification. (19)

Thus subjectively prepared, with perception interiorized and spine erect, the spiritual aspirant is about to commence subjective meditation; but he is at once confronted by the acquired finite impressions of long past, rising out of subconsciousness in accumulated number. Though seeking the guidance of the supreme Self, yet, in mistaken self-sufficiency, he looks up to his own intellect for counsel of truth. (20)

Consequently, the self directs its consciousness to recognize its own divine qualities as well as to discover the acquired concepts born of sensory existence in order that it may gain, at the very outset, a proper perspective of the entire field of subjective struggle, but particularly that it may be able to discern the negative qualities of the sense-attached mind. (21-23)

Whereupon the pure-consciousness, the highest of all cognitive and perceptive faculties, guides the self to that state of cognition at which it can clearly perceive the true nature of ego, the egoistic intelligence, and other sensory powers, thereby revealing unto the self its sense-identified nature of self-limitation. (24,25)

At this state the self observes the innumerable procreative, accumulated concepts of finitude acquired from sense-identified existence, while at the same time the revealing qualities of the self begin to shed their illumination within the consciousness. (26)

But the spiritual aspirant, influenced by the subconscious effect of sense-identified existence, again succumbs to his sensory habits, and once more delusion overpowers his consciousness. (27)

Inevitably, thoughts of personal attachment sway his reason as he ventures into discrimination:

My soul longs for transcendental revelation, but within my consciousness are gathered all my cherished concepts of long past, as my divine qualities aspire to overcome my relative impressions and concepts of the phenomenal world. I feel powerless. I am disturbed. Nervousness rocks my whole body. I am full of fear. My moral courage fails me, and even my circulation has gone awry. (28,29)

I know full well that within me is hidden the eternal source of strength and power, yet I have lost my physical poise and my serenity of mind is gone. My judgment misleads me and I am negative through and through. (30)

I am perfectly aware of my divine destiny of spiritual perfection, nevertheless, I do not see any moral or spiritual justification for destroying the subjective concepts and impressions which I have acquired through self-effort in the phenomenal world. If these are to be destroyed to gain spiritual illumination, I desire neither self-control nor enlightenment, nor even peace. (31)

Life is intelligent self-manifestation, then of what constructive value are self-control, serenity and peace, or even existence itself, if these are to be gained by destroying intellect, ego, mind, cognitive and perceptive faculties, self-consciousness, judgment, discrimination, understanding, sympathy and affection, and many other acquired qualities such as these, through the cultivation of which enjoyment and pleasure are derived? (32-34)

Enlightenment is not self-annihilation, therefore, although these relative concepts and impressions do limit my consciousness, I cannot destroy them, not even to gain the threefold attainment of mastery over the senses, calmness of mind, and the illumination of the Self, and most surely not to obtain the pleasures of the senses and sensory existence. (35)

The supreme goal of self-illumination is the realization of bliss in the perfection of consciousness; then what higher ideal could be attained by destroying the will, intellect and feeling, born of mind? Surely it is unrighteous to mortify the senses and to destroy the sense-faculties. Therefore I should not annihilate any of the cognitive and perceptive faculties. Besides, how are pleasure and happiness to be enjoyed if these are destroyed? (36,37)

Though the negative and self-limiting qualities, born of sense-identified existence, may seek to overcome the divinity of the self, or may create an inner conflict with the virtues of the self, even that could not justify the annihilation of the senses, will, intellect, feeling, and the rest, because that would inevitably result in self-destruction. (38,39)

Furthermore, when the harmonious functioning of the psychophysical system is disturbed by the absence of any of its organic powers, the whole system gradually loses its proper balance, just as the violation of any of the fundamental principles of righteousness disrupts the entire spiritual life. (40)

When the light of the self is veiled by mental objectivity and sensory attachment, higher and subtler faculties lose their power of inspiration and guidance. (41)

When inharmony disrupts the co-relationship of the physical, mental and spiritual nature, life degenerates into a state of confusion, sorrow and suffering. (42)

Mental discord disturbs the nervous system and creates subjective perturbation and thereby undermines the powers of body and mind. (43)

Indeed, when the proper functioning of the senses and the mind becomes disorganized, life itself is doomed to chaotic existence and insufferable sorrow. (44)

What ignorance! that I am determined to destroy my physical and mental powers in order to gain spiritual illumination and peace. (45)

If that constitutes the way which leads to self-perfection, it is better not to pursue that course; rather let the forces of the sensory propensities destroy all the spiritual qualities and aspirations. (46)

Such thoughts, arising in the midst of the inner conflict between the desires of the senses and the aspiration of the soul, cause the spiritual aspirant to lose control over his body and mind, and to forsake the inspiration and spiritual guidance of his soul. (47)

The full publication is available through the Self-Revelation Church HERE.

Gandhi and Advaita

By Srimati Karuna

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the observance of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, we reflect upon the enduring inspiration of his idealism. This idealism is rooted in his faith in Universal Truth. He said, “I believe in Advaita, in the essential unity of man and for that matter, of all that lives.” His life revolved around his belief “in the oneness of God and, therefore, in the oneness of humanity.” His was a belief in the absolute oneness of all.

Gandhi emphasized that “Truth alone is eternal, everything else is momentary.” And the Vedas record the powerful and significant Advaitist revelation: “Ekam Sat” — “Truth is One.” It is the monistic philosophy that there is one reality which pervades all. Gandhi’s commitment to Truth and Love (Satya and Ahimsa) is rooted in this ideal.

Absolute Monism or Advaita Vedanta is considered a philosophy or spiritual pathway rather than a religion. It cannot be contained nor limited to any one scripture. It is found in all scriptures of self-enlightenment, all revelations of Truth. The word Advaita means non-dual. Veda is the knowledge of wisdom.

The philosophy of Advaita Vedanta is expressed in the subjective teachings of the Upanishads but has also been given moral application through the compassionate example of the Buddha. It found rejuvenation through the intellectual approach of Shankaracharya and Mahatma Gandhi brought new life to Advaita philosophy through his selfless service.

The ideal of Advaita is to realize that one’s true Self is of identical nature with the God of the universe. It is the realization of the relationship of all beings to the one Reality… complete identification with that Reality or Truth. Gandhi believed and often articulated that “God is Truth.” He even turned it around and said: “Truth is God.”  For Gandhi, Truth, Love, and God were interchangeable terms.

Advaita is the philosophy of the soul’s realization of perfection. Gandhi’s effort toward Swaraj (“Swa” means Self and “Raj” means Rule — Self-Rule) was not merely aimed at political and economic self-rule for India, but for a universal Swaraj of the individual self. Individual Swaraj or Self-Rule guides the individual toward a mastery of the Self that frees one from all limitation, from the bondage of negativity, fear, and attachment. Gandhi said, “The greatest power in the world is that of the Soul. To attain peace we must first attain greater mastery over ourselves.” His goal was to attain moksha: self-liberation through self-realization. He was a universalist ever seeking the Truth that all human life aspires to reach: True knowledge of the Self.  He said, “The purpose of life is undoubtedly to know oneself. We cannot do it unless we learn to identify ourselves with all that lives.”

Mahatma Gandhi utilized the ashram life as a sort of spiritual laboratory.  It was the environment he created in which to test and experiment with the ideal of Truth. Just as Henry David Thoreau went to Walden Pond to experiment with the simple life, a life enriched by a natural heritage, Gandhiji, too, explored the domain of the Soul through prayer and service in the ashram setting. His deep conviction in terms of his experiments with Truth reveal that he was constantly engaging the reality and applicability of Truth within the ever changing conditions of life. Through a combination of faith and experience, Gandhi pursued Truth above all else.

We, too, can create an environment in which to search deeply and personally the understanding and application of the philosophy of Advaita.  We do this through our own study, service and meditation. We do this as we observe our own spiritual growth, as we become more attuned to the oneness of life.

Although Gandhiji undertook very practical objectives in terms of breaking down societal barriers and advancing constructive programs, he always had at the heart of his life’s ambition, the goal of self-realization. He attempted to live his ideal, Truth. He was committed to his statement that “Truth to be real must incarnate in human life.” Gandhiji lived and worked to reawaken the human heart and mind to a higher ideal — the ideal that unites Truth and Love into a living practice.

I Am An Absolute Monist

By Swami Kamalananda

My Guru, Swami Premananda Giri of India, came to America in 1928 at the behest of his Guru, Swami Yogananda Paramhansa, to perpetuate the specific philosophy which is called Absolute Monism. As ordained spiritual ministers they were members of a religious order, The Ancient Swami Order of India, which has existed from the 8th century to serve the understanding of the beliefs of Absolute Monism—beliefs which had been propounded in texts preexisting the Order itself by several more millenniums. The contributions of the Swamis to spiritual thought in America are inestimable—distinct as according to the heritage and wisdom of the great Gurus (masters of God-Realization) of India, yet sharing the same stream of Light and Wisdom as the saviors and prophets of all times and all lands who have bowed before the altar of Universal Truth. Inspired by their blessings of self-dedication to God, the one Soul of all, “I am an Absolute Monist.”

“I am an Absolute Monist.” As vow, aspiration, and ideal the words are sacredly uttered by my fellow devotees and me as we worship together each Sunday morning in the Self-Revelation Church of Absolute Monism named for their reality and spiritual goal. The words introduce a gathering of truths which have been carefully selected from many sublime scriptures of the world: truths uttered by lovers of God from many times and lands, whose minds were unfettered by ritual or personalized faiths, and who stepped out beyond the confines of their own culture and time. They proclaim that one’s own soul, ever one with God, with nature, and with one’s fellow beings, is all there is to know, to work for, and to love in life. That soul is God, and God is All.

“I am an Absolute Monist.” My religion is God, Truth, or the pursuit of what is ultimately real called by any name, yet ever ineffable. The words Absolute Monism convey more clearly than any others in English do the content and the ideal of my belief, and yet they say nothing about its origin or its foundations, practices or attainments. And so, the questions that arise are natural: What is Absolute Monism? Where did it originate? What specifically are its tenets? Who are Absolute Monists?

What do the words mean? Monism simply means oneness. I believe in the oneness of all. There is one Reality which pervades all, from which all the manifested universe is born, and into which all phenomena of its manifestation are reabsorbed.

All exist as parts of one Existence; all intelligences are expressions of one Consciousness; all beings are kin in one Love. Intelligence-Life-Love is one.

There can be but one Truth which articulates through all knowledge; one Light which projects itself into all lights; one Life which is the force and energy of all beings; and one Love in which all are united harmoniously and balanced.

That which empowers the senses, enlightens and guides the mind, and sustains the body is Cosmic and ultimately One. I believe that this manifested universe is but an infinitesimal part of the whole of existence, and that Existence itself is Pure and Perfect; that is, unconditioned, unchanged, undiminished by its creation. Pure existence is the source, the indwelling immutable life, and the perfection of all. Whatever ultimately exists always and ever is: “The unreal hath no existence; the real can never cease to be.” It is forever Pure and Perfect. Therefore it is Absolute.

* * * * * * *

Where did Absolute Monism originate? Absolute Monism is the English terminology for an ancient spiritual heritage of belief whose origin in time or geographic location cannot be pinpointed nor marked by the birth or life of a particular proponent, prophet, or sage. Its philosophy cannot be contained in or delimited by any one scripture. It is the philosophy of the Cosmic Soul.

This universe is the manifestation of infinite Life and Consciousness. Thus, every created being is a partial and valid representative of the same divine reality. This perfect being, evolving through all species—from an amoeba to a Buddha or a Christ—is destined to fulfill its divine potential. The philosophy—the divine science of the soul’s realization of its perfection—is Absolute Monism.

To be accurate then, we can only say that Absolute Monism originated in the divine consciousness of the soul of man. The soul of man—of every human—of identical nature with the God of the Universe, awakens to the realization of its inherent attributes of pure intelligence, immortal life and peace and love. The soul of man, one with the Consciousness-Existence-Bliss (Sat-Chit- Anandam) of God, realizes itself as Absolute, One.

Although the philosophy has undergone development over time, it is impossible to present Absolute Monism from a historical survey. Its exponents, by their very deeply contemplative nature, have placed more emphasis on the eternal than on what can be marked by time. They have stressed the Reality to be known rather than themselves as its personal agents; and they have illumined humanity with their encouragement and guidance to a subjective experience to be apprehended and proved by each truth seeker rather than doctrines to be conferred, adopted, or conformed to collectively.

“Absolute Monism” refers to the ancient philosophy called “Advaita Vedanta” according to the spiritual heritage of India. Although the philosophy of Absolute Monism has come to us virtually from time immemorial, it was first recorded during the period when the ancient Aryans entered into what is now the region of the Indian subcontinent from Central Asia, developing there a culture and civilization whose distinctive features culminated in the philosophy first known as Advaita Vedanta. The period is known historically as the Vedic period, and is generally accepted as being between 2500 and 600 B.C.

The Vedas, the literature profoundly distinguishing the period and for which it is named, are perhaps the oldest records of man’s philosophic thinking, and their spiritual depth is exalting and unequaled! They describe man’s wonder at beholding the mysteries of a dynamic creation that is endless and beginningless; the mysteries of human existence whose origin and goal is formless and eternal; and the relationship of all beings in and to the one Supreme Reality.

In fact, “Veda” derives from the Sanskrit word “Vid” from which come our English words such as video, vision and view having to do with seeing, suggesting the most sublime meaning of “Veda”: the direct apprehension, the ultimate identification with Truth.

The Vedas record the most powerful and significant revelation of mankind: “Ekam Sat.”—Truth is One, the indisputably monastic proclamation. Truth is One: Life, animate and inanimate, subjective and objective, material as well as spiritual, is whole, One. The established Reality of the Vedas is thus neither polytheistic nor pantheistic, as per some erroneous misinterpretations, but absolutely monistic and impersonal. That Reality is “Advaita”—which simply means “non-dual.”

Actually the literary Vedas—four large texts—comprise a virtual encyclopedia of knowledge of their times as well as the testimonies to the ultimate meanings of life. So comprehensive are the Vedas in their contents that a popular and witty appreciation of them maintained that if a farmer lost his cow he could find it in the Vedas!

Placed at the end of the four Vedas—as if to indicate a culmination of their wisdom and enlightenment—are the Upanishads (said to be altogether 108 in number), scriptures which are specific in their metaphysical teachings as to the nature of God (Brahman) and the path of subjective illumination to attain the supreme state of Pure God-consciousness. “Upanishad” literally means “seated near to”—perhaps referring to the way the disciples in ancient days received instruction from their spiritual preceptor. It also implies that there is an evolution in man’s perception of reality: that scriptures or teachings can take us near to but cannot give us ultimate realization. Only in the revelation of the Self within, the soul (atman), can one attain to the perfection of the Supreme Self, God (Brahman). Collectively, the four Vedas and their Upanishads are called Vedas. The “essence and fulfillment” (“-anta”) of life is Vedanta, the revelation and wisdom of the Supreme Self.

The Vedas and the Upanishads articulate totally universal religious experiences which are neither foreign nor remote to one who reads with sincere philosophic insight. They describe formal ritual, mental disciplines and attainments, adoration and devotion, and meditation—components and levels of faith and spiritual experiences that are the foundations of all religions.

The spiritual experiences of the four Vedas (named Rig, Atharva, Sama, and Yajur) may also be interpreted at a deeper level as symbolizing the four states of self-consciousness in man. The states are stages of subtle, ascending, enlightened self-awareness: The first is consciousness in the domain of the senses that finds that the entire phenomenal universe is permeated and sustained by the presence of the Divine Self (ritual); the second, consciousness that inhabits the mental realms with the higher creativity and subjectivity of the intellect and faith; the third, consciousness that experiences itself in the harmony and unity of the cosmic life; and the fourth, consciousness that knows no duality, no limitation, i.e., that is Absolute.

By its very meaning, the revelation of Truth, “Veda,” is virtually a living principle and ideal. Thus the texts of Vedas essentially are not regarded as delimited compendiums or the final pronouncements of Truth. Rather, like creation itself, they are looked upon as the continuous offering of Divine Meaning, hence beginningless and endless: Truth is not static. It did not happen once. Truth ever is—progressive, creative, ever self-revealing. Veda, supremely revered as the highest spiritual standard and ideal, is the ever-new revelation of Truth to human consciousness, wherever and whenever it emerges.

Swami Shankarachariya

No explanation of Absolute Monism would be complete without reference to Shankara, undoubtedly one of the greatest philosophical minds of the world. Shankarachariya (“achariya” means teacher) was the first to use the very words Advaita Vedanta, naming and identifying its characteristics. In the 8th Century he founded the religious Order in India dedicated to perpetuating its teachings. Every ordained minister of that Order since Swami Shankarachariya’s time strives to carry on the heritage of his ideal: Ordained as “Swami,” he or she is dedicated to realizing “Swa” (That One), “ami” (I Am). In a relative sense, all swamis are followers of Swami Shankarachariya.

What Shankarachariya has propounded has become respected as Indian philosophy’s highest peak and typical outlook, although it is essentially non-sectarian and not linked only to India’s culture. The greatest modern leaders of India have identified with the ancient Advaita Vedanta as espoused by Shankara: Radhakrishnan, the second President of India and great scholar-historian; Swami Vivekenanda who first introduced the science and metaphysics of Yoga to the west at the World Conference of Religions in 1893; Jawaharlal Nehru who found in Advaita Vedanta a way to unify all peoples’ religious experiences. Mahatma Gandhi said directly, “I believe in advaita, in the essential unity of man and for that matter, of all that lives.” Rabindranath Tagore, India’s first Nobel laureate, writing about Anandam as “the harmony, the bliss of the Infinite One,” was also an Advaita Vedantist.

How or why did Shankara come to elucidate Advaita Vedanta? Shankara’s times, like our own, suffered from spiritual and social discord and lacked religious leadership. After Buddha’s “noble silence” concerning the nature of God in the 6th Century, B.C. various sects jealously rivaled for supremacy, forgetting the Vedic teaching affirmed by Buddha’s enlightenment that God is One. Like Christ and Buddha before him, Shankara came to revitalize and to fulfill—not to destroy—tradition. He came to reawaken and to unite human hearts and minds to something higher and impersonal, not to reject or to contradict existing beliefs. His words from the Moha-Mudgar (“The Bludgeon that Strikes Delusion Dead”) are the quintessential expression of Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta:

“There is but one Reality that permeates thee and me and all beings. Rise above the consciousness of separation and realize thyself in all and all in thee.”
– From the “Moha-Mudgar”, Translated by Swami Premananda

What Shankara propounded was not new, of course. His realization and teachings, pure and simple, flowed from the heart of the Vedas:

Knowledge is God. (“Prajna Brahman”)
The Self is God. (“Ayam Atman Brahman”)
That Thou Art. (“Tat Twam Asi”)
I am Brahman. (“Aham Brahman”)

His powerful intellect reawakened within his fellowmen the universal purpose, potential and value of human life. His fourfold standard for one who desires to realize God is high-minded, profound and precise. He gets right to the heart of spirituality with no side-shows or frills: Discriminate between eternal and ephemeral values. Renounce the desire to live in sense-identified self-consciousness. Cultivate the means of self-unfoldment (Yoga). Desire self-liberation (Moksha).

A precocious child who began teaching at the young age of twelve, Shankarachariya contributed to philosophic literature rich commentaries on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and other works. His intellect was universally respected in his own short lifetime of thirty-two years. Yet from the wisdom of his own devoted heart he reminded us of the importance of the supremacy of love above all else in our spiritual life.

Many stories attributed to Shankarachariya’s life illustrate with loving poignancy and wit the profundity of his teachings. One such famous story that I have cherished is of Shankarachariya and an “Untouchable.”

Shankarachariya had gone to the sacred river Ganges for a ritual bath, a time for self-purifying thoughts and prayers, for oblation and homage to the one stream of consciousness and life, the current that carries the soul to its union with the Absolute. Imbued and inspired with feelings of profound peace and devotion, he emerged from the waters and began to walk along the path of the river bank towards the Viswanath Temple.

Suddenly a Chandala, a person socially deemed as an outcast or Untouchable, appeared before him blocking his path. Annoyed and distracted from his holy mood by the presence of one he considered impure, Shankara rudely commanded, “Move!”

“Whom are you addressing, O holy man?” came the gentle Chandala’s voice, “Are you speaking to my body? If you think this body is different from yours, how is it so? Both our bodies have come from the same primordial matter. Then are you addressing my soul? Is not the atman the same—one, indivisible, eternal?

“Is it not the same sun that reflects in the Ganges and also in a roadside puddle? Is there any difference in the atman reflecting through a Brahmin or a Chandala?

“‘Move,’ you say … The soul being one, how can it go away? Where, O holy man, shall this soul go where your soul is not?”

Shankarachariya was stunned and humbly reawakened with the revelation of God. He saw before himself a God-realized being. Reverently Shankarachariya bowed before the Chandala. On the spot he composed a beautiful hymn, an ever-favorite of the Indian people, immortalizing the unforgettable experience. All religions today could heed its message: “One who has gained self-knowledge is my Guru, whether Brahmin or Untouchable. God, the Soul, is the Guru of all.”

In a second legendary story, Shankarachariya, while visiting the holy ancient city of Benares, encountered a Pandit dryly reciting a grammatical rule. His mind had lost its way in the dogmas and trappings of religion, in rituals and in formalities. The words came out almost mechanically, without life or thought.

Shankarachariya rebuked the Pandit, saying “Oh man, don’t waste precious time on grammar, on rules and definitions of God, but take the name of God into your heart; absorb your mind in the reality and love of God.”

* * * * * * *

Is Absolute Monism a religion? No, Absolute Monism is not a religion. Rather it is the ideal of spiritual experience and as such it is the fulfillment of all religions. Everyone will attain to the ideal and realization of Absolute Monism ultimately because self-unfoldment and self-realization in the search for Truth is universal to us all.

In Truth alone mankind is one. Religions are not one. Religions are the various interpretations of the Truth. Therefore we do not become Absolute Monists merely by conversion or by religious affiliation or affirmation, but according to the very destiny of our soul in its origin and perfection of Oneness.

We grow and progress spiritually in our wisdom of Truth. Seeking the revelation of Its own light of perfection, the soul gradually unfolds its divine attributes of Truth—of love, mastery, and peace. Realization of the Truth of the Self is the source and fulfillment of happiness and peace, wisdom and power in life.

The focus of Absolute Monism is not that of comparative religion. Its teachings are not eclectic, gathered little bits of knowledge from various religions combined into a melting pot of vague commonalities of faiths. Its traditional values and perspectives of life include the specific concepts aforementioned identifying God, man and nature as the One Soul, the One Reality. An Absolute Monist, therefore, does not reject, criticize or separate the religious experiences of another. He accepts all with understanding, but he maintains the standard of ultimate Truth and individual responsibility to discriminate and become wise in the light of the perfection of all. All religious paths lead ultimately to the realization of God. All souls are my fellow pilgrims on the path to God.

“I am an Absolute Monist” by my very nature, by virtue of the light of my soul which reveals life to me in its Perfection. The more I seek the Truth of my soul, the more it illumines me; the more I realize it, the more precious is its value to me. As I discover the light of God within me, I find it in all life around me. The Truth of God, like a precious gem to me, increases in value and luminosity the more facets of it I behold.

The great teachers and gurus (masters of God-realization) of all religions who have realized their soul’s oneness with God have unequivocally taught Absolute Monism. Jesus, for example, was an Absolute Monist. By that I do not mean that he promoted a particular following or a personal dogma, but that he taught the destiny and reality of the oneness of the soul of man and the perfection of God: “I and my Father are one.” He taught Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta (self-realization) as the ultimate Truth. He taught the perfection of soul and the attainment of the realization of that perfection in human life: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as thy Father in heaven is perfect.”

Although Indian philosophy specifically names it as such, the wisdom of Advaita Vedanta is certainly not confined to India’s spiritual heritage or scriptures. It is found in all scriptures of self-enlightenment, such as the Avesta, the Old and New Testaments of the “Bible”, and the “Qu’ran.” They are all Vedas, revelations of the Impersonal Truth, by ideal and revelation. Moreover, the ideal of Vedanta is certainly not limited to the written words, for it is as broad as life itself! Is not Creation itself a Veda, the “word” of God manifesting its Truth everywhere? The discoveries of science, the inspirations of art, the beauties of music—all are the testimonies of Vedanta, fulfillments in the revelation of living Truth.

Einstein, identifying the “cosmic mystical experience” as the goal of science, recognized that the Ultimate knowledge will take us inevitably to oneness, to Absolute Monism:

“The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.”

This perspective, although it was not called Vedanta or Absolute Monism was also certainly shared by the great American transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who described it beautifully as his outlook on the Universal Soul:

“There is one soul.
It is related to the world.
Art is its action thereon.
Science finds its methods.
Literature is its record.
Religion is the emotion of reverence that it inspires.
Ethics is the soul illustrated in human life.
Society is the finding of this soul by individuals in each other.
Trades are the learning of the soul in nature by labor.
Politics is the activity of the soul illustrated in power.
Manners are silent and mediate expressions of soul.”

The ideal of the One Soul is realized in the service of love, in all seeking of mind for what is high and sublime and true, in the pursuit of beauty, in the sharing of joy and compassion, in the exaltations of renunciation—in every way that the soul unfolds and manifests itself. Absolute Monism is the divine way of the life of the cosmic soul everywhere—one and Self-revealing.

Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Aum Shanti
May Absolute Peace Pervade the Whole Universe

Six Basic Words of Religion

By Swami Premananda

A definition is the expounding of the most comprehensive concept regarding a truth with a minimum of precise words. A definition is the proof of perfect knowledge. Until we can define the truths of our beliefs, our knowledge about them is superficial, vague and incomplete. We must know exactly what we believe in. We must possess the clearest concept of the fundamental principles upon which we are to build our spiritual life. Bigotry and intolerance are the inevitable consequences of ignorance and especially false knowledge. In ignorance truth is concealed from our vision. False knowledge destroys our ability to perceive the truth. Belief without right knowledge is emotional and sentimental self-submission. Under all circumstances, especially in our spiritual life, we must seek with utmost devotion and sincerity, the enlightened knowledge of the truths which are to illumine our inner life and guide our outer conduct. Knowledge of truth is wisdom. The path of God is illumined by wisdom.

In religion there are specific words that signify particular truths. Right knowledge regarding the meaning and connotation of these words is vital to our spiritual life and the attainment of self-realization. I will present here six specific words which are common to all religions of the world. They are God, soul, heart, mind, body and universe. I will define and elucidate them.

1. GOD. The term God is an English word. In various religions different words are used when referring to God, such as Ahura-mazda, Allah, Brahman, Christ, Ra, Jehovah, Tao, Yod and many other suitable terms. But to what reality do all these words refer? Our primary question is, what is God? God is not a personality. God is the cosmic reality, infinite in his being, universal in his presence and ever-abiding in his oneness with all. He transcends all duality, yet he is all pervasive. He is truth-good-beauty; light-immortality-love; spirit-power-peace. He is transcendental as well as immanent. We may choose any appropriate word to convey his nature and attributes; but, no word of mortal tongue can ever fully describe the glory of his reality and perfection. However, let it be clearly understood that each and all of us can and will ultimately attain the realization of God’s complete and absolute perfection. That is the unalterable divine destiny of every soul. God is the supreme Self of all.

2. SOUL. Soul is intelligence-life-love. Soul is God within us. God within you is your soul. God within me is my soul. God within us is our soul. In our soul we are all identically the same in divine substance and potentiality. We are all spiritually one in soul. There is a divine bond of eternal unity among us. It is the bond of soul, the unity of spirit. Our soul is exclusively the creation of God. Only God is the originator of our soul. It is the direct projection of the spirit, the reality and the attributes of God. God is ever in touch with us through our soul, and we remain in constant communion with God only through the conscious awareness of the innate divinity and righteousness of our soul. Our soul is the spiritual bond not only among ourselves but it is also the divine link that keeps us permanently united with God.

The attributes of God are the constituent qualities of our soul. The Consciousness-Existence-Bliss of God are the intelligence-life-love, respectively, of our soul. Man is an embodied soul, and individualized self.

3. HEART. Heart is intuition-goodwill-joy. Heart is the most sensitive spiritual faculty of man. We feel with our heart. Therefore our heart reveals unto us what lies beyond the power of reason to ascertain. Truth is instantly revealed in a pure heart. Heart responds directly to truth; therefore, its knowledge is intuitive. Goodwill is the divine power of our heart. It is transmitted from our heart in all directions of the universe. It is a potent spiritual force. It is illimitable and pervasive. Joy is the supreme blessing of a pure heart. Joy is happiness of heart. It is exalting in inspiration and beautiful in realization. God has blessed our heart with his attributes of Consciousness-Existence-Bliss and adorned it with intuition-goodwill-joy.

4. MIND. Mind is thought-volition-feeling. Our mind is the companion of our soul. Soul infuses its spiritual qualities into the mind in order that the latter may fulfill its constructive mission in our everyday life. The more our mind identifies itself with the soul the greater becomes its power to think with higher vision, desire with sublime aspiration and be inspired by noble sentiments. Our mind is very susceptible to its environment, subjective as well as objective. Let our mind associate with the finer things of life, such as inspiring music, art and literature. Let philosophy and religion be its permanent companions. It will find inspiration and happiness. The divine qualities of our soul offer our mind a fellowship of righteousness. All the qualities of virtue and holiness are within us. We should train our mind to be with them in spiritual introspection and contemplative meditation. Mental companionship with our innate virtues and righteousness is the way of spiritual self-unfoldment and inner peace. God has bestowed his Consciousness-Existence-Bliss upon our mind and has endured it with thought-volition-feeling.

5. BODY. In its essential nature our body is coordinated life-energy in delicate symmetry. Life-energy is the substance of our physical being. The chemicals which form our body are gathered from the basic element, life-energy. Our life-energy is governed by an inner intelligence. Our entire physical organism and nervous system function is a highly coordinated process. Furthermore, there is an extremely delicate balance within the whole physiological system. God sends the divine rays of his Consciousness-Existence-Bliss to our body in order that the coordinated life-energy may fashion for us a living temple for his worship.

6. UNIVERSE. By universe is meant the created cosmos, the world of time and space and the sphere of phenomena. The universe includes all objects and beings that have come into existence within the world of duality. The universe is the objective manifestation of God. It is the projection of his attributes in the domain of nature. One God became many and the universe of creation assumed its tangible form. All phenomena are emanations from the noumenon. The transcendental Spirit has taken form in perceptible beings. Creation is a part of the creator. God is ever present in all. In final analysis not only every object in it, but the universe itself is an embodiment of cosmic force or power harmonized by law. Law is the principle of reason. The universe is composed of three correlated forces, namely, law-power-harmony. They are the materialization of God’s triune attributes Consciousness-Existence-Bliss, respectively. The universe is the living objective manifestation of God.

Thus, there is a spiritual relationship among God, soul, heart, mind, body and universe. God is the first cause of them all. In him they are all united as of one substance. Our body, mind and heart are the sacred means of revealing and realizing God. We are the soul, the immortal spirit. The whole universe is a part of our greater Self and God is our supreme Self. The knowledge of truth liberates our soul in the realization of cosmic Oneness.

Eight Aspects of Yoga

By Swami Premananda

Yoga is the realization of God. It is the attainment of soul’s absolute oneness with the supreme Spirit. It is the revelation of the transcendental nature of the highest Self of man. Self-realization is Yoga. The attainment of the complete conscious cognition of his highest Self is the culmination of the knowledge of man. Self-knowledge is wisdom. Yoga recognizes man as a spiritual being, a divine entity. Man is a soul, the immortal, eternal, ever-seeking, ever-revealing and ever-realizing spirit. Truth is not only the ideal of man, it is also his essential nature. It is true that divinity is the supreme goal of man but it is equally true that the reality and the attributes of the Deity constitute the substance of his soul. Yoga seeks to awaken man to the realization of his spiritual self. It points out to him that he is a son of God, a light which is illumined by the absolute Light. He is a universal soul, an infinite spirit and an eternal being.

Yoga postulates the existence of God. According to the philosophy of Yoga, God is one. All creations are emanations from his being and all souls are integral parts of himself. He is the life of all that exists, the intelligence of all conscious beings and the perfection of love. In him is the attainment of immortality, infinity and bliss.

God is the central truth of Yoga. The fundamental purpose of Yoga is to guide man towards God. Man must first seek God and his attributes. He must establish his life on God and his divine righteousness. He must saturate his life with love, devotion, adoration and realization of God. He must illumine every aspect of his life with the light of God. A life of Yoga is a God-permeated life.

According to Yoga, the attainment of the realization of God is within the spiritual power of every man. Every one of us is capable of knowing, revealing and realizing God. God has endued each and all of us with the ability to see him within the light of our pure-consciousness, to perceive him within the illumination of our righteousness and to realize him within the divinity of our soul.

Yoga is living in conscious union with God. It is practicing the presence of God constantly and under all circumstances. All religions are based on Yoga because all religions propagate the truths of God and prescribe the life of righteousness. In Yoga no truth of religion, however simple or primitive it may be, is rejected. Every aspect of spiritual life is accepted and understood in the light of man’s endeavor to know God and to realize his perfection. Each seeker after truth, every devotee of God is a Yogi, a follower of Yoga. Yoga is the life of spirituality and righteousness.

Yoga is not a denominational religion. It is above and beyond all sectarianism, just as God and soul are above and beyond all denominational dogmas and sectarian creeds. Yoga unites all religions on the one fundamental truth which is God-realization. God is the one God of all, and our souls are all substantially the same. Our ideal is the attainment of the realization of God with our soul. This is Yoga. Yoga is not only devoted to helping man to unite his soul with God but it also seeks to establish unity among all religions and faiths. Ignorance is the tenet of division and dissension. Knowledge is the law of unity and progress. In the knowledge of the law of spiritual truths lies the foundation of religious unity and universal peace.

Yoga is the science of God-realization. It is the way of self-realization. Etymologically, the word Yoga, a Sanskrit term, signifies unity, oneness, or absolute identity. It may be studied and practice in its following eight aspects:

1. The Yoga of the body or HATHA YOGA

It is the realization of God’s power and beauty within our body organism and nervous system. Our body is the divine instrument of God-realization and soul manifestation. It is sustained by the substance of God and it functions in accordance with the law of the Spirit. Hatha Yoga is not physical culture as is commonly thought. Harmonization of the body organism and nervous system with the truth and law of God is the purpose and principle of Hatha Yoga, the Yoga of the body.

2. The Yoga of the mind or LAYA YOGA

It is the complete absorption of the mind in the thought of God, so much so that all the mental faculties and functions are illumined only by the light and righteousness of the supreme Spirit. It is constant identification of mind with the light and attributes of God until only the divine qualities illumine, inspire and guide all the mental potencies.

3. The Yoga of the Sacred Word or MANTRA YOGA

A Mantram is that specific sacred Word which embodies and connotes truth about God and godliness. A word is the symbol of thought. A thought is the projection of an ideal. A spiritual ideal awakens righteous thought which is expressed in a sacred word. A Word carries the power of thought as well as that of the truth behind the thought. A Mantram, a sacred Word of God, awakens the thought of God which finally leads to the revelation and realization of God. Mantra Yoga is the attainment of the realization of God by chanting, especially by mental and silent chanting, together with conscious contemplation upon the truth and significance of the sacred Word of God.

4. The Yoga of pure consciousness or JNANA YOGA

It is the unification of our consciousness with God-consciousness. Consciousness is independent of all thoughts and concepts. All thoughts and concepts are various waves, so to speak, in the ocean of consciousness. Consciousness is infinite and pure. It is cosmic and absolute. It is Self-conscious. By the unification of our consciousness with the pure Self-consciousness which is within us we enter into the effulgent cosmic consciousness and attain to the realization of God.

5. The Yoga of service or KARMA YOGA

Service is action with devotion unto God and love of soul. Service is self-expression. It is the constructive manifestation of the righteous qualities of the soul. Karma encompasses all positive and noble expressions of our thought, volition and feeling. To give manifestation of the attributes of God through all expression of our life and being is the Yoga of service. It is rendering service unto God through the performance of our actions. Deeds without devotion unto God are vanity. Love of soul is the divine inspiration of righteous self-expression. In the manifestation of the attributes of God through our service our soul abides in constant union with him.

6. The Yoga of love or BHAKTI YOGA

Love is the most potent and most sublime of all our feelings and emotions. It is a divine force, the most sacred power within us. It is the power of God in the soul of man. In its supreme perfection love is absolute devotion unto God. In Bhakti Yoga God is love, and the way to God-realization is love and love alone. Love is spiritual oneness. It is oneness of soul. God is one with us in love and only by the love of our soul can we become one with God. By the realization of our spiritual oneness with all that exists in his cosmic universe our soul becomes one with God. Bhakti is the supreme spiritualizing force. It instantly transforms and transmutes everything into God and godliness. Love at once reveals God before our visible perception and lifts our soul to his transcendental and blissful perfection. Bhakti Yoga is the most beautiful of all Yogas because it makes all things beautiful and perfect.

7. The Yoga of sublime serenity or RAJA YOGA

Serenity is the dynamic tranquility of soul. It is that state of inner calmness wherein the total revealing power of soul is focused on God. There is a state of profound calmness within our consciousness. Raja Yoga is the way which leads our self-consciousness into that state of sublime stillness wherein our soul realizes God in his divine glory.

8. The Yoga of the Self or KRIYA YOGA

The supreme Self is God. The individual self is the soul. The difference between the supreme Self and the individual self is  quantitative and not qualitative. The self possesses in potential form all the attributes of the Self. Within our soul is enshrined all the righteousness of God. Kriya Yoga is the self, like the blossoming lotus, unfolding all its potential divine qualities until they reach the perfection of the attributes of the supreme Self. At this state of transcendental spiritual unfoldment, the self becomes one with the Self and attains to its absolute perfection. This is Self-realization. This is soul revealing, realizing and becoming one with God. The fundamental truth and technique of Kriya Yoga have been taught from time immemorial and are now being expounded more fully by all true mystic orders and religions everywhere.

The practice of Yoga, the communion of soul with God, is vitally important to our physical well-being, mental enlightenment, spiritual realization and peace.

Why Self-Revelation? What is it?

Why “Self-Revelation?”

Revelation of the Self is the ONE characteristic that distinguishes human life from all other beings in creation. It is the distinctive reason for the soul being born “human” and the destiny of our human life.

The power of self-revelation is given to us by God alone for the sole purpose of realizing our identity with God. Through conscious living aware of God’s divine attributes within us we gradually unfold and manifest the perfection of our divinely-bestowed soul. We choose this goal, this awareness and way of life because of our soul’s inherent desires for pure consciousness, pure existence and pure bliss that comprise God’s perfection.

Each soul’s birthright is freedom, and each soul freely chooses its spiritual ideal. God’s beneficent Law of Freedom is our individual responsibility, and we elect the path of self-revelation unencumbered and unconditioned by anything and anyone else. We do not follow this ideal because someone else wants us to, nor to please anyone else but God. In our soul’s unfolding and perfecting no one can force us against our will. There is no one to blame if we do not progress: No one else can provide for our soul—its happiness, power or wisdom. No one else is the cause for our misfortune, unhappiness or ignorance. The life of our soul is from God as revealed in our God-given pure consciousness.

What is self-revelation?

Revelation of the Self is knowledge of the Self (God) discovered or revealed within our own consciousness. Self-knowledge should not be confused with self-analysis where the mind is prominent as it is observed in terms of its environment. In self-knowledge the “I” is comprehended as the reality itself—without object. Another way of saying this is that the self finds the Self revealed as itself, as One.

How does self-revelation differ from learning?

The knowledge of self is not a product of thought and experience although mind’s right concepts lead to it. It is not an accumulation of knowledge as, for example, learning to drive a car is. In fact, self-revelation requires a knowledge that is unfolded, that is free of concepts, images, desires and memories. The term “nirvikalpa samadhi” for enlightenment designates just this: “nir” (non-, out) “vikalpa” (concepts). All knowledge of our soul comes from Truth that is without limit, changeless.

Why is it necessary to leave the consciousness of time and space?

Time and space separate us from our Self. They divide and demarcate the Self, instilling the false idea of duality. Time is a kind of demarcation of the One Eternal Existence into illusory separate existences of what was and what will be. Space, too, is an illusory perception of the One Infinite within separate existences of “here” and “there.” The Self is revealed as One, above the consciousness of separation.

Does the ideal of self-revelation deny the worthiness of our earthly existence?

Is it unrelated to living in this world? Quite the contrary, the yoga of self-revelation provides the blessed link between earthly (human) pursuits and eternal (divine) ones. There is no permanent feud between our human world of desires and social aims and the spiritual consciousness we aspire to unfold. The kingdom of heaven comes not from earth, but exists IN it to be discovered and manifest. Earthly existence is not condemned in yoga; only that worldly life which is unrelated to the Self is. Such a life is empty and unsatisfying. It comes to an end in the darkness of ignorance.

Why is meditation necessary for self-revelation?

To face life with a spiritual awareness a particular state of mind is required. Not a “religious” mind, but a mind that is dynamic, free and serene. The energy/consciousness that the mind receives from the creation’s vitality is limited. The higher energy that comes from the universal consciousness within creation is more powerful, illuminating and exalting. Conscious of it one can remain gentle and loving, can find inspiration in troubled times, feel continuously creative and can ultimately draw to the Light of Lights, that Self revealed in pure consciousness. The subjective process and practice of spiritualizing the mind for self-revelation is meditation.

Our Church Life

By Swami Kamalananda

(Excerpt from the Self-Revelation Magazine 2002)

Self-Revelation, Atma-jnan, is the ideal and the spiritual heritage of our church. We are here for the knowledge of the Soul. But there is a second purpose—that of sharing the life. You attend the services of this church with the idea that this is your spiritual home. You meet and welcome one another with the joy and interest of being fellow devotees on a path which, through our own Gurus and the lives of other sages and saviors from time immemorial join us together as a congregation. This congregation comprises a spiritual family. As all families do, it has treasured occasions worth savoring and remembering, contributions of love and dedication. Our parental ties of family are maintained by the traditions of values and histories appreciated over time. Our spiritual family prospers, too, from recognizing the lives that have come before ours and have prepared the way for us to have the comfortable and inspiring abode of worship and the vast spiritual heritage that we enjoy.

From time to time, as newcomers attend the church, they inquire about the absence of social gatherings or other activities beyond worship and meditation. They have questions such as why there seems to be no formal membership, and what is the nature of “belonging,” of congregational fellowship.

Our church IS unusual in the way it is supported and maintained, and in that very expression the spiritual ideal and fellowship can readily be understood. With creative and thoughtful devotion, every part of the church grounds, the preparation of the Temple and Sunday School for their services, all the publications and other projects—all are the dedicated expressions of our fellow worshippers of God. The work continues throughout each week and throughout the year.

I should explain that my guru himself, from the very beginning life of his church, took active part in every such care—cleaning, painting, polishing floors and pews, sweeping walkways, painting and trimming bushes. There is very little that we all do today in the care of our church that Swami Premananda did not do. From the very first responsibilities that I was given in the church I became aware of the importance and the benefit of work as worship…as sadhana, “the realization of the spiritual life.” That blessed legacy—a tradition of the Swami Order understood by all who aspired to Kriya Yoga—defines our church more than a membership roster could. There is no growth in yoga without service. Those who love, serve.