(Sep 16,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – The Atman as the Pranava (OM)

The Atman as the Pranava (OM)

Divine Life Society Publication: Section7 The Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda

 

The three syllables, A, U, M, may be compared with the three states described of the Atman – Jagarita (waking), Svapna (dream), Sushupti (sleep). And, also, just as there is a fourth transcendent state beyond the three states of the Atman, there is a transcendent state of Om, too, beyond the three syllables, A, U, M. As there are four states of consciousness, there are four states of Omkara, each one, respectively, comparable with its corresponding counterpart. All these comparisons are symbolic, and we should not take them literally. All meditations are symbolic; all Vidyas of the Upanishads are symbolic.

What is the first state of the Atman? The Jagaritasthana, or the waking condition of the Atman, called the Visva, or Vaisvanara, is the first syllable of Om – Akara. From the point of view of the Jiva – not from the point of view of Isvara – the waking condition is the cause, and dream and sleep may be regarded as its effects. Ya evam veda: One who knows this secret of meditation on the harmony between Akara and the waking state of the Atman, becomes a master over all things, a perfected Siddha does he become, and he is an adept in Yoga.

Ukara is the second syllable of Om, which can be compared with the second Pada or foot of the Atman. Taijasa or dream-consciousness comes as an effect of the waking experience; proceeding from the waking experience, existing midway between waking and sleep. One who meditates in this manner, rises in his status of knowledge and becomes an equalizing factor in society and in all creation. One has peace within oneself, and creates peace outside, too, on account of the radiance of peace emanating from oneself.

Makara is the third Matra of Om, and it is comparable with Prajna (deep sleep state of consciousness), the third state, causal, of the Atman. It is the measure of all things, and it is the dissolver of all things. When we chant Om, Akara and Ukara merge in Makara, as all the impressions of waking and dream merge in Prajna, deep sleep, the causal state. Deep sleep is the cause, and all experiences in waking and dream are its effects. As Isvara is the cause of all things, the deep sleep state seems to be the cause of our waking and dreaming, in one sense, namely, that we wake up from sleep on account of unfulfilled desires. If all our desires are fulfilled, we would not be waking up from sleep, at all. 'A' and 'U', merge themselves in 'M'. One, who meditates thus, has the capacity to measure all things, that is, to know everything – he becomes Sarvajna. He becomes Isvara Himself. Everything merges in him; as the verse in the second chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita says, everything enters into him, as rivers enter the ocean. Isvara is the Merger of all creation, and when you become Isvara, the whole creation merges in you. You realize this state by this meditation on the unity of Makara and Prajna, the causal state of Pranava and the causal state of Consciousness, both individually and cosmically.

Now, as there are three relative conditions of the Atman, Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti – waking, dream and deep sleep – Akara, Ukara, and Makara of Pranava, or Omkara, may be regarded as its relative conditions. But, just as there is a transcendent state of the Atman, there is a transcendent condition of Pranava, or Omkara, which is not constituted of Matras or syllables, but is Amatra, without any measure or syllable. Even as we cannot designate the Atman as either this or that, so we cannot specify this Amatra condition of Om as either this or that. It is a vibration of being, and not a state of sound, and there is no material content in this vibration. It transcends the physical, the subtle and the causal states, and it is not even merely the vibration which sets creation in motion. It is subtler than even the causal vibration with which creation commenced. The only word the Upanishad uses to name this state is Amatra, immeasurable. As the Atman is ungraspable, unrelatable, indescribable, unthinkable, so is this Amatra condition of Omkara measureless in every way.



Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva within OM

This Om, in its fourth or transcendent state, is Atman itself. There is a soundless state of Pranava that is Existence itself. All sounds and vibrations merge into Existence, and Existence is One. We may call it Pranava in its Amatra state or as Atman in its indescribable state of Being. Pure Existence is the merging together of Pranava and the Atman. The fourth state of Pranava is that with which we cannot have any dealings, as with objects, words or sounds, such as in connection with usages in language. All the world of sound ceases here in this soundless state of Pranava. It is most auspicious, blessed and non-dual like the Atman, because it is The Atman. This Omkara which is soundless and transcendent is the Atman itself. Creation and the Creator become one here. The merger of Om in the Atman is the merger of creation in the Absolute. There is no creatorship also, because there is no created. There is no sound that is supposed to be the first vibration of creation. Sound reaches the soundless state. It becomes, then, relationless. One, who knows this secret, by deep meditation, enters the Atman by the Atman. Sounds merge in Pranava; it becomes the Atman.

The Atman alone is. When the Atman becomes the Atman through the Atman, it is called Atma-sakshatkara – realization of the Atman. It is also Brahma-sakshatkara – realization of Brahman. From the point of view of the Atman animating the individual states, we call this achievement Atma-sakshatkara. From the standpoint of this very same Atman animating the whole cosmos, we call it Brahma-sakshatkara. It is Self-realization and God-realization at one and the same time. It is Existence, it is Consciousness, it is Power, it is Bliss, it is Perfection, it is Immortality, it is Moksha, it is Kaivalya. This is the Goal of life, the path to which is beautifully described in the Mandukya Upanishad.

Excerpts from:

The Atman as the Pranava - Section7 The Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda

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(August 16,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Sadhana Chatushtaya

Sadhana Chatustaya

Divine Life Society Publication: Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda

Jnana Yoga of Brahma Vidya or the science of the Self is not a subject that can be understood and realized through mere intellectual study, reasoning, ratiocination, discussion or arguments. It is the most difficult of all sciences.

A student who treads the path of Truth must, therefore, first equip himself with Sadhana Chatushtaya - the "four means of salvation". They are discrimination, dispassion, the sixfold qualities of perfection, and intense longing for liberation - Viveka, Vairagya, Shad-Sampat and Mumukshutva. Then alone will he be able to march forward fearlessly on the path. Not an iota of spiritual progress is possible unless one is endowed with these four qualifications.

These four means are as old as the Vedas and this world itself. Every religion prescribes them; the names differ from path to path but this is immaterial. Only ignorant people have the undesirable habit of practicing lingual warfare and raising unnecessary questions. Pay no attention to them. It is your duty to try to eat the fruit instead of wasting time in counting the leaves of the tree. Try now to understand these four essential requisites for salvation.

Viveka is discrimination between the real and the unreal, between the permanent and the impermanent, between the Self and the non-Self. Viveka dawns in a man through the Grace of God. The Grace can come only after one has done unceasing selfless service in countless births with the feeling that he is an instrument of the Lord and that the work is an offering to the Lord. The door to the higher mind is flung open when there is an awakening of discrimination.

There is an eternal, changeless principle amidst the ever-changing phenomena of this vast universe and the fleeting movements and oscillations of the mind.

The aspirant should separate himself also from the six waves of the ocean of Samsara - birth and death, hunger and thirst, and exhilaration and grief. Birth and death belong to the physical body; hunger and thirst belong to Prana; exhilaration and grief are the attributes of the mind. The Soul is unattached. The six waves cannot touch Brahman which is as subtle as the all-pervading ether.

Association with saints and study of Vedantic literature will infuse discrimination in man. Viveka should be developed to the maximum degree. One should be well established in it.

Vairagya is dispassion for the pleasures of this world and of heaven. The Vairagya that is born of Viveka is enduring and lasting. It will not fail the aspirant. But the Vairagya that comes temporarily to a woman when she gives birth to a child or when one attends a funeral at a crematorium, is of no use. The view that everything in the world is unreal causes indifference to the enjoyments of this world and the heaven-world also. One has to return from heaven to this plane of existence when the fruits of good works are all exhausted. Hence they are not worth striving for.

Vairagya does not mean abandoning one's social duties and responsibilities of life. It does not mean abandoning the world, for life in a solitary cave of the Himalayas. Vairagya is mental detachment from all worldly objects. One may remain in the world and discharge all duties with detachment. He may be a householder with a large family, yet at the same time he may have perfect mental detachment from everything. He can do spiritual Sadhana amidst his worldly activities. He who has perfect mental detachment in the world is a hero indeed. He is better than a Sadhu living in a Himalayan cave, for the former has to face innumerable temptations every moment of his life.

The third requisite is Shad-Sampat, the sixfold virtue. It consists of Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha, Sraddha and Samadhana. All these six qualities are taken as one because they are calculated to bring about mental control and discipline, without which concentration and meditation are impossible.

1.       Sama is serenity or tranquillity of mind which is brought about through the eradication of desires.

2.       Dama is rational control of the senses.

3.       Uparati is satiety; it is resolutely turning the mind away from desire for sensual enjoyment. This state of mind comes naturally when one has practiced Viveka, Vairagya, Sama and Dama.

4.       Titiksha is the power of endurance. An aspirant should patiently bear the pairs of opposites such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc.

5.       Sraddha is intense faith in the word of the Guru, in Vedantic scriptures and, above all, in one's own self. It is not blind faith but is based on accurate reasoning, evidence and experience. As such, it is lasting, perfect and unshakable. Such a faith is capable of achieving anything.

6.       Samadhana is fixing the mind on Brahman or the Self, without allowing it to run towards objects. The mind is free from anxiety amid pains and troubles. There is stability, mental poise and indifference amid pleasures. The aspirant has neither like nor dislikes. He has great inner strength and enjoys unruffled peace of mind, due to the practices of Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha and Sraddha.

Mumukshutva is intense desire for liberation or deliverance from the wheel of births and deaths with its concomitant evils of old age, disease, delusion and sorrow. If one is equipped with the previous three qualifications (Viveka, Vairagya and Shad-Sampat), then the intense desire for liberation will come without any difficulty. The mind moves towards the Source of its own accord when it has lost its charm for external objects. When purification of mind and mental discipline are achieved, the longing for liberation dawns by itself.

The aspirant who is endowed with all these four qualification should then approach the Guru who will instruct him on the knowledge of his real nature. The Guru is one who has a thorough knowledge of the scriptures and is also established in that knowledge in direct experience. He should then reflect and meditate on the inner Self and strive earnestly to attain the goal of Self-realization.

A Sadhaka should reflect and meditate. Sravana is hearing of Srutis, Manana is thinking and reflecting, Nididhyasana is constant and profound meditation. Then comes Atma-Sakshatkara or direct realization.

Excerpts from:

Sadhana Chatushtaya – Jnana Yoga by Swami Sivananda

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(July 25,2013) The Aim of Objective Analysis

   The Aim of Objective Analysis

Divine Life Society Publication: The Yoga System by Swami Krishnananda

As all thoughts can be reduced to five types of internal function, all objects can be reduced to five bhutas or elements. The five great elements are called pancha-mahabhutas, and they are (1) Ether (akasa), (2) Air (vayu), (3) Fire (agni), (4) Water (apas) and (5) Earth (prithivi). The subtlety of these elements is in the ascending order of this arrangement, the succeeding one being grosser than the preceding. Also the preceding element is the cause of the succeeding, so that Ether may be regarded as containing all things in an unmanifested form. The elements constitute the whole physical cosmos. These are the real objects of the senses, and all the variety we see is made up of forms of these objects.

Our sensations are the five objects. We sense through the indriyas or sense-organs. With the sense of the ear we come in contact with Ether and hear sound which is a reverberation produced by Ether. Touch is the property of Air, felt by us with the tactile sense. With the sense of the eyes we contact light which is the property of Fire. With the palate we taste things, which is the property of Water. With the nose we smell objects, and this is the property of Earth.

There is the vast universe, and we know it with our senses. We live in a world of fivefold objects. The senses are incapable of knowing anything more than these elements. The internal organ, as informed and influenced by the objects, deals with them in certain manners, and this is life. While our psychological reactions constitute our personal life, the adjustment we make with others is our social life. The yoga is primarily concerned with the personal life of man in relation to the universe, and not the social life, for, in the social environment, one's real personality is rarely revealed. Yoga is essentially a study of self by self, which initially looks like an individual affair, a process of Self-investigation (atma-vichara) and Self-realization (atma-sakshatkara). But this is not the whole truth. The Self envisaged here is a consciousness of gradual integration of reality, and it finally encompasses all experience and the whole universe in its being.

While the psychology of yoga comprises the functions of the internal organ, and its physics is of the five great objects or mahabhutas, the philosophy of yoga transcends both these stages of study. The yoga metaphysics holds that the body is not all, and even the five elements are not all. We do not see what is inside the body and also what is within the universe of five elements. A different set of senses would be necessary for knowing these larger secrets. Yoga finally leads us to this point. When we go deep into the body we would confront its roots; so also in the case of the objects outside. When we set out on this adventure, we begin to converge slowly at a single centre, like the two sides of a triangle that taper at one point. The so-called wide base of the world on which we move does not disclose the truth of ourselves or of objects. At this point of convergence of ourselves and of things, we need not look at objects, and here no senses are necessary, for, in this experience, there are neither selves nor things.

There is only one Reality, where the universal object and the universal subject become a unitary existence. Neither is that an experience of a subject nor an object, where is revealed a knowledge of the whole cosmos, at once, not through the senses, mind or intellect - for there are no objects - and there is only being that is consciousness. Yoga is, therefore, spiritual, superphysical or supermaterial, because materiality is shed in its achievement, and consciousness reigns supreme. This is the highest object of yoga, where the individual and the universe do not stand apart as two entities but come together in a fraternal embrace. The purpose of the yoga way of analysis is an overcoming of the limitations of both subjectivity and objectivity and a union of the deepest within us with the deepest in the cosmos.

Excerpts from:

The Yoga System by Swami Krishnananda

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http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

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(May 4,2013) The Mandukya Upanishad – Consciousness and Sleep

The Mandukya Upanishad – Consciousness and Sleep

Divine Life Society Publication: Section 5: Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda

The waking world and the dream world, from the point of view of the Jiva, are two aspects of the function of the mind. The mind projects itself in perception, both in waking and dream. The mind is active, and it ceases from activity when it is too much fatigued. The complete cessation of the activity of the mind, due to exhaustion, is sleep, known as Sushupti.

Sushupti, or deep sleep, is where one desires nothing, because the mind has withdrawn itself from both the physical and subtle objects.  It does not dream also, because even psychic activity has ceased.  This is complete absorption of the mind into itself. But this absorption is of an unconscious nature.

The mind, while it appears to be a little conscious in dream, and more conscious in waking, is not conscious at all in deep sleep.  We are not aware of the world outside in the state of sleep because of the absence of Vrittis, or psychoses, of the mind. Only when the mind becomes extrovert can it have consciousness of the outer world, whether in dream or in waking. But, there is no agitation of the mind, of that nature, in sleep. The happiness of deep sleep is greater than all other forms of happiness or pleasure born of sense-contact. It is filled with Ananda, bliss, delight, satisfaction.

An empire cannot give you that happiness, the power which you may seem to have over the world cannot give you that satisfaction, which you have while you are alone in deep sleep, unbefriended, unprotected, unseen, unpossessed of anything. In that condition, when you are alone, you are more happy than when you are in the midst of people in the waking state. It is all bliss.

Your real nature is aloneness, not sociability. Your real nature is singularity, not multiplicity. Your real nature is a total transcendence of all sensory and mental phenomena, not contact with objects. Therefore you are Anandamaya, Anandabhuk: filled with bliss, enjoying bliss.

If consciousness were there in sleep, you would not like to return to this waking world. But you remain unconscious. So, you are driven back by an impulse of work, once again, to the waking world. Consciousness of sleep is equal to Samadhi. If sleep is to be coupled with consciousness, it becomes Atma-Sakshatkara, the realisation of the Atman. This is what they call Superconsciousness. This is Nirvana, Moksha, Kevalata – Liberation. This is your real nature.

What is the instrument through which you enjoy this Ananda? It is 'Chit' that experiences 'Ananda', not the Indriyas or the Manas, the senses or the mind. In deep sleep there is only Ananda experienced by Chit. You experience Satchidananda, here, Consciousness-Being, as such. But something covers the consciousness, and makes you come back to the waking life with the same foolishness with which you entered the state of sleep.

This is Prajna, the consciousness which is in its own pristine nature, knowing everything and not being associated with anything external. This is the transcendent state in relation to waking and dreaming, the cause of all experiences in waking and dreaming, the Karana-Avastha, in relation to which waking and dreaming are effects, Karya-Avastha.

In correspondence with this Prajna, or the causal condition of Anandamayatva of the Jiva, there is a Universal Causal Condition, known as Isvara. While the waking consciousness, individually, is called Visva, it is called Taijasa in dream, and Prajna in the deep sleep state. Correspondingly, from the cosmic level, we have Virat in waking, Hiranyagarbha in dreaming, and Isvara in deep sleep. The relationship between the individual and the cosmic, between Visva and Virat, Taijasa and Hiranyagarbha, Prajna and Isvara is one of organic integrality, and a realisation of this organic connection of being, will land the Jiva in Isvaratva and make it at once omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

Continue to read:

Section 5: Consciousness and Sleep – Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda

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(Apr15, 2013) Yoga way of Analysis (The Aim of Objective Analysis)

Yoga way of Analysis

From Divine Life Society Publication “The Yoga System” by Swami Krishnananda

As all thoughts can be reduced to five types of internal function, all objects can be reduced to five bhutas or elements. The five great elements are called pancha-mahabhutas, and they are (1) Ether (akasa), (2) Air (vayu), (3) Fire (agni), (4) Water (apas) and (5) Earth (prithivi). The elements constitute the whole physical cosmos. These are the real objects of the senses, and all the variety we see is made up of forms of these objects.

Our sensations are the five objects and we sense through the indriyas or sense-organs. With the sense of the ear we come in contact with Ether and hear sound which is a reverberation produced by Ether. Touch is the property of Air, felt by us with the tactile sense. With the sense of the eyes we contact light which is the property of Fire. With the palate we taste things, which is the property of Water. With the nose we smell objects, and this is the property of Earth.

There is the vast universe, and we know it with our senses. We live in a world of fivefold objects. The senses are incapable of knowing anything more than these elements. The internal organ, as informed and influenced by the objects, deals with them in certain manners, and this is life. The yoga is primarily concerned with the personal life of man in relation to the universe, and not the social life, for, in the social environment, one's real personality is rarely revealed. Yoga is essentially a study of self by self, a process of Self-investigation (atma-vichara) and Self-realization (atma-sakshatkara). The Self envisaged here is a consciousness of gradual integration of reality, and it finally encompasses all experience and the whole universe in its being.

While the psychology of yoga comprises the functions of the internal organ, and its physics is of the five great objects or mahabhutas, the philosophy of yoga transcends both these stages of study. The yoga metaphysics holds that the body is not all, and even the five elements are not all. We do not see what is inside the body and also what is within the universe of five elements. A different set of senses would be necessary for knowing these larger secrets. Yoga finally leads us to this point. When we set out on this adventure, we begin to converge slowly at a single centre, like the two sides of a triangle that taper at one point. The so-called wide base of the world on which we move does not disclose the truth of ourselves or of objects. At this point of convergence of ourselves and of things, we need not look at objects, and here no senses are necessary, for, in this experience, there are neither selves nor things. There is only one Reality, where the universal object and the universal subject become a unitary existence. Neither is that an experience of a subject nor an object, where is revealed a knowledge of the whole cosmos, at once, not through the senses, mind or intellect - for there are no objects - and there is only being that is consciousness.

 

Yoga is, therefore, spiritual, superphysical or supermaterial, because materiality is shed in its achievement, and consciousness reigns supreme. This is the highest object of yoga, where the individual and the universe do not stand apart as two entities but come together in a fraternal embrace. The purpose of the yoga way of analysis is an overcoming of the limitations of both subjectivity and objectivity and a union of the deepest within us with the deepest in the cosmos.

Continue to read:

“The Aim of Objective Analysis – The Yoga System” by Swami Krishnananda

“The Purpose of Life” by Swami Sivananda