Ideal of the Spiritual Life
The spiritual life has only one ideal, the realization of the Supreme Spirit, Brahman, God. The theoretical and intellectual knowledge of God is not enough; in fact it is of secondary importance in our spiritual endeavor. What is of supreme importance in our spiritual aspiration is that each of us must attain the realization of God within his own effulgent cosmic pure consciousness, for thus alone we reach Kaivalyam, we become the absolute One.
The Upanishads are quite clear and emphatic regarding the truth of spiritual life. The spiritual life has only one ideal, the realization of the Supreme Spirit, Brahman, God. The theoretical and intellectual knowledge of God is not enough; in fact it is of secondary importance in our spiritual endeavor. What is of supreme importance in our spiritual aspiration is that each of us must attain the realization of God within his own effulgent cosmic pure consciousness, for thus alone we reach Kaivalyam, we become the absolute One.
Foreword to Kaivalya Upanishad by Swami Premananda
Then the true devotee of self-realization, in whom all personal and objective desires have ceased to exist, approached the great Master with veneration and said: Venerable Sir, teach me the knowledge of Brahman, the one and the absolute God and also the way to attain to the realization of that transcendental Spirit whom the wise constantly seek after, who is hidden in all and by the light of whom one, in due time, gains complete freedom from all subjective finiteness and limitations and becomes one with the supreme Self.
The venerable Master said to him: Seek to realize Brahman by unconditional and abiding faith, supreme devotion, profound meditation and by the practice of the spiritual yoga, the subjective communion of mind with self and self with Self-Consciousness.
The self-disciplined and enlightened devotees who have rightly recognized that scriptural learning is not sufficient to receive spiritual illumination and who have purified their minds and hearts, thoughts and emotions by the practice of subjective renunciation of sensory desires and ego, they, without being distracted by the limitations of the concept of time, meditating on the attributes of God and thereby becoming one with the eternal Brahman, attain to self-liberation.
By perceiving the self in all beings and all beings in the self the devotee attains to the realization of Brahman.
Kaivalya Upanishad (translation by Swami Premananda)
Included in Eight Upanishads by Swami Premananda
Our Legacy and Our Future
In religion, in the arts, in science, as in many fields of human relations and vocations, representatives as pinnacles of achievement emerge to help us and to teach us. We continually turn to those whose examples we need and respect for their experiences to inspire and nourish our development. In their presence and with their encouragement and guidance, we find ourselves ennobled and enriched.
O Lord, grant our respected gurus spiritual strength and purity that they may be guided by Thy Light and inspired to dedicate their life to the service of humanity. —Rig Veda
In religion, in the arts, in science, as in many fields of human relations and vocations, representatives as pinnacles of achievement emerge to help us and to teach us. We continually turn to those whose examples we need and respect for their experiences to inspire and nourish our development. In their presence and with their encouragement and guidance, we find ourselves ennobled and enriched.
However great the legacy, its future depends on us, on our pure efforts. Great masters have come as examples, to awaken and to lead us on the path of self-realization. The precepts they lay down are broad principles to be developed and lived by their followers. Great teachers will come again and again. They provide the ground-work with teachings that, like spring rains, will wash over and nourish newly-awakened life. They plant seeds which, when cultivated, will bear fruit later.
It is for each person to step from legacy into a creative future. Truth asks us to be bold and creative, fresh with our own God-given energies and discoveries as the future opens within us. Quantum knowledge in physics did not end with Newton’s law. Was it left for his followers to sit and watch apples falling? No! Along came Einstein to open new thought and new areas, to loyally fulfill the known and then to build. Others have followed him into new frontiers.
The precepts of self-knowledge and self-realization are imparted to us according to a tradition known as “guru-shishya parampara,” ( i.e., personally, “from guru to disciple”). I emphasize the word “personally” to indicate the mutual kinship of responsibility, devotion and respect. Mature masters lay down broad principles, not only specific information or methods. Theirs is the groundwork for experiences by which others may delve into and grasp even greater truths and experiences. Wisdom will always bear fruit in due course when rightly followed.
Good teachers and good students know that higher proficiency in any field does not come immediately or automatically, as if accelerating by a “fast-forward” mode. Focused practice, knowledge and patience must infuse every effort. We can feel comforted with the recognition that we always exist as participants in the ocean’s vastness even as we begin to swim on its shallow shores.
Methodically we take the hand of the guru-ideal at the base of the spiritual tower. There can be no impatience or rushing to reach any higher level or vision. We must learn to enjoy our life’s attainment fully at each level. Not to worry; greater attainments will await us! From wherever we are, we learn to proceed with confidence and patience. Then only will we progress to greater understanding and proficiency.
In my life I have been blessed to learn from, live and work with great masters, the foremost, of course, being my spiritual guru, Swami Premananda. In addition, I have been drawn to respected mentors in other fields. Your interests will draw you to mentors. Be high-minded and focused to find the best, and then put yourself into their chosen realm with trust and faith in them and in yourself to learn from them. There is no gain without trust and practice.
Swami Kamalananda, The Breath of God and Pranayam
The Breath of God and Pranayam
“To live is to breathe” is to assert the obvious. We do not need medical science to tell us that the whole marvelous mechanism of the human body stops when breath departs. Otherwise stated, however perfect the physical body is, with the absence of breath it is but a corpse. Yet there is more to know about breathing than the obvious, and from the spiritual heritage of Yoga comes the invitation to learn to expand what it is “to live.”
To that God we dedicate our life,
Who is the giver of life’s breath, power and vigor;
Whose command all the divine powers obey;
Who rules whatever breathes, moves or is still;
Who is the God of all created beings.Atharva Veda
“To live is to breathe” is to assert the obvious. We do not need medical science to tell us that the whole marvelous mechanism of the human body stops when breath departs. Otherwise stated, however perfect the physical body is, with the absence of breath it is but a corpse. Yet there is more to know about breathing than the obvious, and from the spiritual heritage of Yoga comes the invitation to learn to expand what it is “to live.”
Isn’t it enough, you might think, just to breathe and to be grateful to be alive, whatever one’s circumstances or age? Well, if to “breathe and let breathe” is enough for you, then the subject of this book is not going to hold your interest.
Admittedly, for many people, “to breathe” simply designates that process of air going into the lungs expanding to receive oxygen and then contracting to expel carbon dioxide. Yet the process of breathing, as we will see, involves our entire body, its energies and more, circulating throughout our entire being as various simultaneous waves, arising and falling. Also, breathing is more than what happens physically as you inhale and exhale, and it does not even originate from your lungs.
Most people will duly appreciate that breathing keeps the lungs, brain and organs functioning while maintaining all the attendant functions of digestion, circulation and movement. They know that improving breathing improves health. Although fitness watches remind their wearers regularly to mindfully take deep breaths, such attentions are still comparatively superficial, ignoring more sublime meaningful potential! Unfortunately, theologians do not develop the importance of breath as essential to one’s spiritual life. Some say that scriptural knowledge is important, some that prayer is, others that faith is, and others that ritual is, but that the knowledge of breath is of essential importance is likely to be disregarded or deemed unnecessary.
You have been breathing from your first day on earth. You are breathing now as you read this, and you will breathe for as long as you live as human. Most of the time you will not think about breathing, and yet, when methodically and meditatively breathing you will find yourself attuned to, inspired by and empowered by the most sublime wisdom ever known to human minds! Your own mental powers of Contentment and Peace, Power and Universality will grow.
Although many creatures breathe, we humans, in relation to our breath, are unique. The Old Testament’s Book of Genesis asserts that there is a special and purposeful link with God through the breath, as “God breathed the breath of life in the nostrils of man.” Note that the pronouncement in Genesis occurs only after the creation of heaven and hell, after the creation of earth and skies, after creation of days and nights — in fact after all living components of nature are created. A profound point derives from that single statement.
That God breathes at all is something we might further wonder about since God’s breath would certainly not involve lungs ... nor inhaling and exhaling. In what, then, does God’s breath consist? God’s breath must and can only be the breath of life itself, as Breath and Life are inexorably linked together. Why, then, the specific mention of “the nostrils of man”? Ah, we shall see ... The knowledge will be both practicable as well as illuminating.
Srimati Kamala “Swami Kamalananda,” The Breath of God and Pranayam
The Power of Ahimsa
Ahimsa, in its subtle power, depends on a cosmic principle — that of the oneness of life. Ahimsa, in its positive form, means the largest love, the greatest charity. When ahimsa becomes all-embracing it transforms everything it touches. There is no limit to its power. Gandhiji understood that power. He made a conscious and constant effort to apply the power of ahimsa in his daily life. Ahimsa is living so as to realize the oneness of life.
For Mahatma Gandhi, the pursuit of Truth, dedication to the law of love, practice of selfless service, and aspiration for self-liberation, pave the way to unify the human experience. He wanted to awaken minds and unite hearts to a higher ideal—an ideal that unites Truth, love and service into living practice.
All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.
Consider Gandhiji’s ashram prayer meetings. Through these prayer meetings, an ideal of devotion was practiced on a daily basis. The prayers, hymns, slokas and bhajans offered inspiration to nourish the mind, heart and soul each and every day. The time given to the thought of that Reality which pervades the whole universe, built a foundation of respect and reverence within each and every participant, and perhaps in hearts beyond.
If, therefore, we achieve that purity of the heart, when it is emptied of all but love, if we keep all the chords in proper tune, they ‘trembling pass in music out of sight.’ … Our prayer is a heart-search.
Love is the essence of life. It generates in us a continuous source of power which is indestructible, ever-productive and transforming. In our love, we awaken ourselves to the higher principles of life. Our ideal is to manifest this love in its perfection. The idea of the oneness of life—that you and I are one, that we are one with the stars and the planets. That if I harm you or another, I harm myself.
To slight a human being is to slight those divine powers and thus to harm not only that being but with him the whole world.
One cannot separate one’s love for God or Truth from an all-encompassing love of creation. They are inseparable. This is what Gandhiji tried to express. This is the law of love, of life. Love is more than feeling. It is all-consuming thought and fullness of action. It is absolute oneness.
I believe in the absolute oneness of God and therefore also of humanity. What though we have many bodies, we have but one soul. The rays of the sun are many through refraction. But they have the same source. I cannot, therefore, detach myself from the wickedest soul nor may I be denied the identity with the most virtuous.
Ahimsa, in its subtle power, depends on a cosmic principle — that of the oneness of life.
Ahimsa, in its positive form, means the largest love, the greatest charity. When ahimsa becomes all-embracing it transforms everything it touches. There is no limit to its power.
Gandhiji understood that power. He made a conscious and constant effort to apply the power of ahimsa in his daily life. Ahimsa is living so as to realize the oneness of life.
By Srimati Karuna
Children of Immortality
The source of man’s divine qualities is the infinite perfection of God. But man cuts himself off, though not completely, from this cosmic spiritual reservoir by his own thought of self-separateness and consequently of self-limitation. “Man thinking himself separated from Brahman, revolves on the wheel of birth and death.”
Within this ever changing body resides the eternal Brahman, God, Consciousness-Existence-Bliss Absolute. Realization of the indwelling nearness of, in truth, the inseparable oneness with Brahman awakens man to the conscious cognition of the illimitable power of his wisdom, will and love. He gains the illumination that he is above all conditions of duality, and secures that transcendental self-assurance of moral and spiritual strength which inspires and enables him to live by righteousness and truth amidst all the adversities and perplexities of life.
The source of man’s divine qualities is the infinite perfection of God. But man cuts himself off, though not completely, from this cosmic spiritual reservoir by his own thought of self-separateness and consequently of self-limitation.
“Man thinking himself separated from Brahman, revolves on the wheel of birth and death.”
Man, in his soul, is omnipotent. By divine benediction he possesses the power to liberate himself from the thralldom of bondage by realizing his identity with God.
“In the realization of Brahman is the severance of all bondage of self-limitation.”
The Rishi Svetasvatara, a sage of self-realization and the author of this (Svetasvatara) Upanishad, reveals the wisdom and the way to divine identity and self-liberation:
“Ye sons of immortality, listen!”
—Swami Premananda, Introduction to his translation of the Svetasvatara Upanishad in Eight Upanishads
Meditate on the Light of AUM
“By meditating on AUM, the Word, within the effulgence of each of the seven lotuses, the mystic centers of spiritual revelation, is gained the inner illumination of the self which consumes the causes of all finiteness and self-limitation.”— Kaivalya Upanishad “The Self is symbolized by the word AUM. AUM is composed of three mystic sound vibrations. These also signify the first three states of consciousness in the self." — Mandukya Upanishad
Hong Swa & Pranayam: The Breath of Life
“Rise above the consciousness of separation and realize thyself in all and all in thee.” -Adi Shankarachariya “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. The supreme Self is Hong Swa, which leads to the realization of Sohong in wisdom and bliss.” -Svetasvatara Upanishad
Finding Freedom from the Gunas
All aspects of creation are the various modulations of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas—the law of harmony, the self-manifesting power, and the evolving potency—but in reality these are the objective manifestations of myself. I am not limited by them, though they exist in me... Rise above the pairs of opposites, be thou firmly established on truth, be not attached to material gain and possession, be established on the Self, and thus thou shalt find freedom in and from the relative world of the Gunas.
Power of Cosmic Prana
Like the spokes on the hub of a chariot wheel, all beings are established on Prana. Life, Prana, is born of Atman, the absolute Self. Prana sustains and determines the functions of various currents of life-force within the body.
Guiding the Mind in Meditation
The Self is immutable and self-composed. It is transcendental. It is more subtle than the mind. It is beyond the limits of sense perception. It is serene; yet it is more active than the mind or the sense faculties.
Heart-Centered
The state of pure-consciousness, transcends all other states of spiritual enlightenment; it is enshrined within the effulgence of the heart lotus, Anahata. Those who aspire with patience and perseverance to reach that blessed state become completely immersed in it. Meditate on the lotus of the heart with calm serenity and subjective purity.
Self-Subjectivity
The self is endowed with the power to guide itself to the realization of absolute perfection. And the self, having fulfilled its divine duty by revealing cosmic illumination at Sahasraram, merges in the limitless, luminous dynamic stillness.
Kriya Yoga Meditation Series 2023 - April l2 at 7:30pm in the Golden Lotus Temple
In this first of our series we will explore the roots of self-subjectivity through Sahaja Sadhana and self-effort on the sacred path of yoga.
“The self is endowed with the power to guide itself to the realization of absolute perfection. And the self, having fulfilled its divine duty by revealing cosmic illumination at Sahasraram, merges in the limitless, luminous dynamic stillness. Verily, with self-mergence in the infinity of effulgent pure-consciousness is realized the absolute Self in conscious bliss.
“Regarding this a Rishi, a sage of self-realization, said: ‘Through meditation I realized all the steps of self-unfoldment. Numberless accumulated finite concepts of long past imprisoned my consciousness in self-limitation. But with devotion and determination, I finally regained my freedom in the perfection of the Self.’”
From Aitareya Upanishad
Translated by Swami Premananda
Included in Eight Upanishads
One God, Variously Called by Thy Devotees
Awaken us to the realization that this manifested universe Is but an infinitesimal part of thy stupendous whole. Let us realize that thou art the Brahman of the Hindus, Jehovah of the Jews, Christ of the Christians, Allah of the Muslims: One God, variously called by thy devotees.
Lead us from the unreal to the real,
From darkness to light,
From death to immortality.
Bless us that we may realize thee within us,
And thy presence in each and every object and being of the universe:
That we may realize thou art sleeping in minerals,
Dreaming in plants, awake in animals, conscious in human souls;
That we may love all as part of our own soul in the cosmic Soul.
Awaken us to the realization that this manifested universe
Is but an infinitesimal part of thy stupendous whole.
Let us realize that thou art the Brahman of the Hindus,
Jehovah of the Jews, Christ of the Christians, Allah of the Muslims:
One God, variously called by thy devotees.
Thou art Consciousness-Existence-Bliss Absolute.
We are one with thee. We are immortal, blissful, perfect.
From Prayers of Self-Realization
By Swami Premananda
Based on a Vedic Prayer
The Authority of the Mind
By what power does the mind color our vision and govern our personality? Is the mind an entity which, once set in motion, proceeds of its own will to be the final authority to our consciousness?
In our daily encounters with people, some seem mentally resilient, receptive, confident and cheerful. Others resist new associations and ways, or feel burdened by the world. Some remain serene amidst difficulties and face them with constructive attitudes; others are fearful of the unexpected, bored, cynical or bitter. By what power does the mind color our vision and govern our personality? Is the mind an entity which, once set in motion, proceeds of its own will to be the final authority to our consciousness?
The mind builds its own patterns of certainty, expectancy, security of its own interests. Self-interest, attachment, makes the mind petty. Shallowness brings deterioration or weakness. Carried away into worldliness or not giving thought to enduring and universal or uplifting things of beauty and truth brings decay or restlessness to the mind and body. If we lead a life inattentive to the cultivation of the mind, towards the end of our days on earth we wonder why the mind is negative or unhappy, yet we will be unable to arrest the process. The mind needs nourishment by the pure food of noble thoughts. Right thinking is necessary for right living. Right thinking is right awareness and right evaluation which come only with the light of the Self.
In our desire to solve the mysteries of the universe we cannot and should not stop the quest of the mind. By its nature, the intellect seeks to know, to explore. That “knowledge is the key,” is universally acclaimed, but what will be unlocked by the mind is disputable. As the key, knowledge itself is (as implied) a mere instrument; it is not the end. Philosophically, it secures our introduction to the realm of Truth, but it is not Truth. Truth can be realized, but is beyond the limits of knowledge. Knowledge, with its words and mind-forms and analytic comprehension, cannot comprehend reality. That reality empowers the mind to know, yet is all-knowing and self-existent. It does not require form or time or association to see.
Put in another way, by the mind’s authority we cannot fully comprehend life. The authority of the intellect is complete only when enlightened by intuition, soul’s direct apprehension of Truth. The ordinary intellect works analytically, piecing together the elements of the large puzzle of experience—comparing, measuring, predicting, analyzing—but reality remains veiled from linear programs of thought. The mind cannot see the nature of the whole because the reality is more than the sum of time, space and relation.
Swami Kamalananda
Frontiers of the Spirit
Gandhi's Inspiration from the Prophet Muhammad
During his prayer meetings, Gandhiji always included verses from the Qur'an Sharif. He would not hold prayer meetings without recitations from the Qur’an. He had a profound admiration for the refined character of the Prophet Muhammad, as a man of faith and action.
Begin your day with prayer, and make it so soulful that it may remain with you until the evening. Close the day with prayer, so that you may have a peaceful night free from dreams and nightmares. —Mahatma Gandhi
Evening prayer was a great center of attraction in Gandhiji’s ashram in India. The morning prayers, he explained, were too early to attract additional friends, but a gathering of Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs, and a sprinkling of Europeans attended the evening prayers. They often requested a fifteen minute talk after prayer and before dinner. A question was asked each evening, and Gandhiji replied to it the next evening. One of the Indian participants, a Muslim youth, asked Gandhiji to give his personal testimony on prayer, not a theoretical discourse but a narration of what he had felt and experienced as a result of prayer. Gandhiji liked this question immensely, and poured out his personal testimony from a full heart. "Prayer," he said, "has been the saving of my life…prayer has not been part of my life in the sense that truth has been. Rather, it came out of sheer necessity…I could not possibly be happy without it. And the more my faith in God increased, the more irresistible became the yearning for prayer. Life seemed to be dull and vacant without it.”
The missionary, Charles Freer Andrews, a close friend of Gandhiji, wrote that there was no one at Sabarmati Ashram to whom Gandhiji went more surely for quiet counsel and help in time of prayer than to the Imam, who accompanied him from South Africa. And during his prayer meetings, Gandhiji always included verses from the Qur'an Sharif. In fact, he would not hold prayer meetings without recitations from the Qur’an.
Gandhiji had a profound admiration for the refined character of the Prophet Muhammad as a man of faith and action. He studied the history and rise of Islam and was impressed by the strong faith of the very first followers of the Prophet and the simplicity with which they lived. Their devotion to the poor and their intense belief thoroughly inspired him.
Gandhiji said: "I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions...I became more than ever convinced it was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his selflessness, his absolute trust in God and his own mission. These surmounted every obstacle. Muhammad was a great Prophet. He was brave and feared no one but God. He was never found to say one thing and do another. He acted as he felt. The Prophet was a faqir. He could have commanded wealth if he had so desired. I shed tears when I read of the privations, he, his family and companions suffered voluntarily. How can a truth-seeker like me help but respect one whose mind was constantly fixed on God, who ever walked in God's fear and who had boundless compassion for humanity.” Gandhiji also explained “I have read Sir Abdullah Suhrawardy's collection of the sayings of the Prophet with much interest. They are among the treasures not only of Muslims, but of all humanity.”
In addition to his interest in the life example of Prophet Muhammad, Gandhiji also studied the Qur'an regularly. He spent a considerable time studying the Qur'an during his intermittent sojourns while imprisoned by the British. He thought there was no difference between the Qur'an and the Upanishads on the issue of the necessity for total self-surrender to God.
In Gandhi's mind, dharma meant firmness in upholding truth. This was similar to his understanding of the Qur'anic imperative in Surah Fatiha to remain on the straight path, and not be led astray. He continuously included Surah Fatiha from the Holy Qur'an as part of his daily prayer service.
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
All praise is for God - Lord of all worlds –
the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help…
Guide us along the straight path –
the Path of those You have blessed…
Awakening
I was alone on the lonely mountain when I heard thy voice in the song of a spring bird. I opened my eyes and beheld thy form. I looked within and found thee in my heart. The light of the new dawn has touched my soul and I am awakened with the vision of thy all-pervading universality and thy transcendental infinity.
I was alone on the lonely mountain when I heard thy voice in the song of a spring bird. I opened my eyes and beheld thy form. I looked within and found thee in my heart. The light of the new dawn has touched my soul and I am awakened with the vision of thy all-pervading universality and thy transcendental infinity.
When I came out to greet the dawn thy light touched my soul and filled my heart with the peace of thy bliss. Thy life animates the seed to grow into the beauty of a plant. Thy divinity inspires my soul to unfold the glory and grace of thy perfection. Thou dost reveal thy splendor through thy created universe. I look at the grandeur and beauty of nature and a feeling of adoration overfills my heart. I bow before the grandeur of thy form. I lose myself in thy formless being. It must be that my soul has touched thy glory. Then, O all-pervading God, unveil thy mystery which is hidden within me that I may realize thy perfection in my soul and manifest thy divine attributes in my life and self-expression.
The dawn heralds thy coming to my heart and the twilight opens the door of thy immortality to my soul. I gather the morning flowers in my hands and I feel thee everywhere. Would my garden of flowers be beautiful without thy light? Then touch my heart with thy divinity that all the virtues of love and grace may blossom forth in their fullest glory in my being.
Why do the flowers not bloom in the winter? Is it because the spring then would be devoid of beauty and loveliness? The beauty of spring draws thee closer to my heart. With devotion and purity let me receive thee nearer to my soul.
The flowers and the foliage are my fellow devotees. I worship thee in the companionship of these souls of thy creation in the temple of thy cosmic nature. Only the thought of thee inspires beauty in my heart; then the exquisitely sweet pansy must be in ever-adoring contemplation of thy perfection.
Nature has put on the robe of beauty and I behold thy permeating grace and glory in all and everywhere. As the little lake plays with the stars above so let my senses catch the beauty of thy manifested glory.
Some mystic hand must have painted the butterfly, else how could such exquisite colors have decorated its wavering wings? The bluejay gathers the azure from the sky above. The cardinal borrows its beauty from the setting sun. The violet draws its sweetness from the kindly earth, but my soul imbibes the glory of God from everywhere. Then let me in humility receive the grace of thy wisdom, power and love to inspire my heart.
Like the song of the morning bird let thy wisdom and love awaken me from the slumber of spiritual forgetfulness.
“Awakening” by Swami Premananda
From The Inner Path to God
Kriya Yoga
In this Kriya Yoga Meditation series we will examine the life and practice of Kriya. Each evening we will explore the abode of PEACE within us by our own personal effort and unfoldment. AUM-SHANTHI
Five Ways of Meditation
Meditation is a very broad term in the field of philosophy and religion. It includes all righteous efforts of mind, heart and soul that lead to enlightenment, revelation and realization. Enlightenment is the result of the right comprehension of truth. Revelation is the result of the inner unfoldment of truth. Realization is the perfection of becoming one with truth.
Meditation is a very broad term in the field of philosophy and religion. It includes all righteous efforts of mind, heart and soul that lead to enlightenment, revelation and realization. Enlightenment is the result of the right comprehension of truth. Revelation is the result of the inner unfoldment of truth. Realization is the perfection of becoming one with truth. Mind enquires and comprehends. Heart feels and unfolds. Soul recognizes and realizes. Meditation begins with the mind, it is inspired by the heart and perfected in the soul.
Meditation may be practiced in the following five ways:
1. Contemplation on a spiritual form or symbol. A spiritual form is the personified image of impersonal truths. A symbol is the visible manifestation of absolute ideals. The knowledge that an image or a symbol is but a finite representation of infinite truths and ideals must be recognized in this method of meditation.
2. Contemplation upon the spiritual qualities which are associated with a sacred form or symbol. It is the concentration of mind exclusively upon the sublime qualities of a symbol. In this meditation, mind and thought are lifted completely beyond form and finiteness.
3. Contemplation upon the divine attributes of one's own heart. Within the heart of each of us are enshrined all the attributes of divinity and perfection. Meditation upon each and all of these attributes fills the heart with inspiration, joy and blissfulness.
4. Contemplation upon one's own inner self as a spiritual being. By deep introspection we recognize within us a self-conscious self. It is totally independent of body and mind. It is completely free from all finite thoughts and impressions. It is a distinct individual entity. It is our spiritual self, our soul. Contemplation upon the spiritual self is meditation on the soul. The light of God illumines and liberates the individualized self-consciousness.
5. Contemplation upon the cosmic-consciousness. This is the unification of individual self-consciousness with infinite Self-consciousness. It is that inner profound meditation wherein the self, rejecting and transcending all subjective finiteness, becomes absorbed in meditation upon the absolute Self.
RAJA Yoga: The Yoga of God-Realization by Swami Premananda
(Translation and commentary on the first chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras)
Three Ways of Living
Buddha’s many stories are teachings, rich with illustrations from animal and human life, helping us to discover and perceive as he did that the Eternal lives with us here on earth in companionable ways. In one Nirvana Sutra (teaching on self-realization) he brought to mind three ways of living by describing how three animals - a hare, a horse, and an elephant - cross a river.
The power that Buddha attained in meditation gave him a penetrating vision into “everyday life.” A vision that was neither denial of nor escape from the world’s dual nature, but wise understanding of the freedom possible while living here.
Buddha’s many stories are teachings, rich with illustrations from animal and human life, helping us to discover and perceive as he did that the Eternal lives with us here on earth in companionable ways. In one Nirvana Sutra (teaching on self-realization) he brought to mind three ways of living by describing how three animals - a hare, a horse, and an elephant - cross a river. We can picture the animals and imagine how they each proceed. They bring to mind similarities in our own behaviors, linking us to other earthly beings with greater appreciation and compassion… and helping us to cross the “sea of samsara,” the ebb and flow in the currents of ever changing worlds.
In Buddha’s story, the hare must cross the river by skirting the flotsam, and hopping over the surface or else he will drown. Poor thing, he must be an escape artist in order to survive, nervously moving from here to there. There is nothing at all secure in his way of going.
The horse seemingly has an advantage over the hare. He can understand the current and stride deeper into the river, perhaps even crossing it safely because he can swim. He will have to struggle all the way, though, pushing and probing, while immersed in the currents, but he’s definitely better off than the hare!
The elephant is the only one of the three who moves forward steadily whatever the current, as his footing will always be solid and secure. Stride by stride, even if completely immersed in the flow of the waters, he is fearless, and will surely reach the other side.
In the story, the hare represents the most shallow way of human living, or one who lives as on the surface of life only; who is ever restless, afraid, and unable to bear any other responsible concern but his own physical survival, while traversing the ever-threatening river. He is helpless and continually changeable in his course, switching from one hope to another, ultimately ruled by external forces.
The human’s plight as typified by the horse, is only better than the hare’s by half. He will perhaps, “just get by” if he can swim, but the dual currents of life and death, joy and sorrow, fortune and misfortune, success and failure provide no stability to his course of crossing. Although he will be able to bear some weight of cares and responsibilities, the cycles of his crossing will be endless.
The elephant, the most noble of beasts in ths story, represents an enlightened soul, a bodhisattva who proceeds through whatever he encounters without trying to avoid difficulties, or desiring to escape them. He becomes ever stronger by his steady practice, and he penetrates into the depths of life‘s currents to cross the river without fear or suffering.
One who knows only the physical forms of earth, bound by their shapes, and colors, and words knows very little. His life remains shallow. But if he can go deeper, perceiving within them, the eternal thread of the ethereal web, he will find that all life is bound together in an essential unity.
By Srimati Kamala
The Forest of Forever
"Tapas" as Spiritual Discipline
The meaning of discipline in yoga is self-mastery. The Sanskrit term used by Patanjali expresses the goal: “Tapas” is “that which generates heat or energy.” Discipline in yoga philosophy as explained by Patanjali is the practice of directing or channeling energies towards a spiritual goal and thereby realizing greater light or energy.
The meaning of discipline in yoga is self-mastery. The Sanskrit term used by Patanjali expresses the goal: “Tapas” is “that which generates heat or energy.” Discipline in yoga philosophy as explained by Patanjali is the practice of directing or channeling energies towards a spiritual goal and thereby realizing greater light or energy. Discipline is not grim or negative, it is joyous and positive because it generates greater light and energy.
Tapas, according to Patanjali, is continuous and progressive practice of the balanced behaviors of yama and niyama. Yama is abstention in thought, word and deed from harming others, from falsehood, theft, incontinence and greed. It has an immediate constructive effect. All creatures feel better in the presence of one whose conduct is honest and peaceful. Thereby, greater peace and harmony are attracted to one who practices yama.
Niyama is the balancing discipline to yama, consisting of the cultivation of purity, contentment, study and devotion to God. Together, yama and niyama establish moral character until conflicting or distracting tendencies resolve harmoniously into a powerful character.
From “Frontiers of the Spirit” by Swami Kamalananda