Is there 'light' in Enlightenment?

September 3, 2003

Namaste, Sri Madathil and all Advaitins!

I had intended to post a few thoughts on this interesting topic ever since

Sri Madathil-ji first broached the subject, but foolishly decided to wait

until a few responses appeared. Alas! "A few responses" have now become

42 and already I am hopelessly behind. Rather than procrastinate further

I'll begin now and hope none feel slighted thinking I've ignored their

comments.

My first acquaintance with the phenomenon of seeing lights behind closed

eyelids occurred one lazy afternoon when, as a bored schoolboy in third

grade, my sleepiness led to a vigorous rubbing of my eyes, and lo!

multi-colored fireworks and auroras erupted in dazzling beauty, providing

delightful relief from the multiplication drills in which my teacher and

classmates were engaged.

I recall resorting again to this distraction from time to time as a child

when I was very bored.

Later in my elementary school career I was informed that these were called

"photisms" and that they were of no importance, the result of optic nerve

stimulation. I would have dismissed them as a puerile diversion had it

not also been mentioned that they were observed even in ancient times by

the Greek philosophers.

This bit of information intrigued me and I remembered it later in life

when, as I meditated, hazy clouds of light would drift across my visual

field. Further elucidation of their significance, however, would await my

initiation into Yoganandaji's Kriya Yoga where, with the application of

Jyoti Mudra, I had the remarkable experience of seeing the appearance of a

golden circle, blue field, and white five-pointed star looking exactly

like the Self-Realization Fellowship emblem. And I mean that literally:

it was picture-perfect, textbook-perfect, of indefinite and long duration,

exactly as pictured and described. I was astounded, but was also

materialistic enough to dismiss it as a mere artifact of mechanical

pressure on the eyes.

In a cynical moment I might even denounce it as a trick.

Upon reflection, however, I now recognize Yoganandaji's technique as an

upaya, the application of skillful means, to the end of motivating and

deepening the student's meditation practice. And as an upaya, the

technique did indeed have it's intended effect as I continued meditating

and the light phenomena of meditation began to become ordered, coherent,

and spontaneous.

Thus far, I did not ascribe any particular significance to the light

experiences apart from the attainment of a stable posture and a certain

degree of interiorization. When the senses are not outwardly directed,

their perception is directed toward inner and more subtle fields. Call it

a glimpse of the astral plane antarloka, the light energy of the chakras,

manomaya kosa, sukshma sarira, asuddha maya, in any case it did not seem

to me to be of much importance. This understanding agrees with the

counsels of the many teachers of meditation who suggest that such

phenomena are alike under the sway of maya and are distractions on the

spiritual path - much like the photisms in my math class. It also accords

with the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church on the subject of the

"Uncreated Light" which sometimes manifests in and around hesychasts; the

Fathers advise aspirants to pay no attention to it.

However, I have been rethinking my estimate of these phenomena in the

light of some more recent and much more interesting experiences which

commenced at my last darshan with Holy Mother Amritanandamyai Devi. After

leaving her arms I sat down and closed my eyes to meditate. To my

surprise I noticed that the familiar overhead indigo-violet circle or

crown of light which I've observed for years during meditation had

suddenly turned a brilliant bluish-white, had elongated upward, and had

taken on a shaft-like quality. And the center of consciousness or

awareness, which I typically experience lodging somewhere between my ears,

was now located at the upper extremity of the light, i.e., about 1 1/2

feet or .5 metres above the top of my head. This novel impression has

persisted in my meditation over the course of the past two months, and the

character of my meditation has also changed, becoming more silent and

acquiring a certain ethereal, timeless, and out-of-body quality.

Thus it is with considerable personal interest that I am following the

erudite discussions of our learned Advaitins, to all of whom I offer my

humble

PraNAms,

Ramlal

--

Aum Amriteshvaryai Namah!

September 4, 2003

Namaste Sri Kathirsanji,

I was looking at that section this morning (G.M.T)

B.S.B. II.iii.39. The general topic being discussed is

the soul as agent. I presume this refers to the jiva.

That the soul is an agent is established by various

vedic texts including one which enjoins meditation on

the Self - "The Self, my dear, should be realized -

should be heard of, reflected on, and profoundly

meditated upon" Br.Up. II.iv.5. This profound

meditation he calls Samadhi. I believe that I allowed

that it was clear that the meditation which he enjoined

i.e. successive objectification would lead to samadhi

but that his primary focus seemed to be on analysis.

When one reads Chap.II of Upa.Sah. in which the

aspirant is of an analytic, philosophical bent it seems

to me that insight into the nature of consciousness is

what is emphasised.

In Br.Up. III.iii.1 Sankara has this to say: "The idea

of excellent work coupled with meditation is this much

only, for work and its results are confined to the

manifested universe of name and form. Work has no

access to that (liberation) which is not an effect,

which is eternal, unmanifested, beyond name and form,

and devoid of the characteristics of action with its

factors and results."

Taking up meditation even where it leads to samadhi is

an action and enlightenment is not the result of any

action only knowledge. As a wise spiritual director

Sankara is perhaps not setting up samadhi as a goal to

be gone after as though it were a piece of spiritual

capital like the ultimate good grade. Perhaps it

happens as a by product of viveka/vairega.

Best Wishes, Michael

http://sino-sv3.sino.uni-

heidelberg.de/FULLTEXT//cfb_phil.htm

((Search for Comans on that list)) It is on the

general and very useful Open Directory

http://dmoz.org/

which has a lot of sites on Vedanta, Philosophy etc.

September 4, 2003

At 05.09.03-04:03 AM Tony OClery quoted:

>The Divine Mother with bright, gentle, hands,

>Caressed my head, With bowed head, I told Mother,

>That my life is dedicated to Her.

>

>Smiling, She became a Divine Effulgence,

>And merged in me, My mind blosomed,

>Bathed in the many-hued Light of Divinity,

>And the events of millions of years gone by,

>Rose up within me, Thenceforth,

>Seeing nothing as separate from my own Self,

>A Single Unity, and merging in the Divine Mother,

>I renounced all sense of enjoyment.

>

>IMO this seems to be a description of a Savikalpa Samadhi as opposed

>to a Moksha. However as only a Jivanmukta can recognise another I can

>make no final comment. Except to say Amma is a force for good in a

>world needing it. I notice a lot of her devotees are women, who have

>had bad sexual experiences with men, assaults, abuse etc. Also many

>of her dovotees are those that have left famous gurus who have been

>compromised by sexual accusations and fraud. So she is the Mother to

>come home to for succour.

>

>AS she is really a point of concentration for Dvaita rather than

>Advaita, I am not a devotee as such, but I do use her bhajans before

>my meditations for helping prepare myself etc.....ONS...Tony.

Yes. The drama of spirituality.

We want to escape the roller coasters of suffering and bliss.

Thus we cling to the roller coasters of spirituality.

Who wants the serene waters of enlightenment?

We have that in deep sleep anyway.

Did we come into this world in order to escape it again?

For most of us skirting the periphery of spiritual escape

is less boring than staying for hours in samadhi

Any wonder why so few want to really escape?

Even though a fewer more like to pay lip service to wanting enlightenment.

What do we really want? Can we ask that question honestly to ourselves?

Why did Ramana get involved sometimes in the petty goings on at Arunchala [sp]?

[Distribute the food equally, I don't want any favoritism, etc.]

Wasn't his posture of sitting there wearing just a bed sheet, more drama?

[just my two conceptual cents!]

Jan

September 4, 2003

Namaste Michaelji,

Thanks for the explanation. Actually my interest is to know what Samadhi is

in the context of the Bhashyas for BSB 2:3:39 & 2:1:9. In both Samadhi is

mentioned but the implied definition seems to be different to me. One seems

to suggest an experience while the other seems to be referring to Jnana

sadhana, i.e. Shravana manana nididhyasana. Could you provide more insights

please?

best regards,

K Kathirasan