Selected Sutras, Part I (Swami Nityananda)

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Selected Sutras, Part I

 

These sutras were selected from The Sky of the Heart: Jewels of

Wisdom from Nityananda, published by Rudra Press, the publishing

division of Nityananda Institute. The accompanying commentaries are

by Swami Chetanananda.

 

SUTRA 1

The real sunrise is in the sky of the heart;

It is the best one.

Just as the water jar reflects the sun,

So the entire universe shines

In the heart-space of the Self.

When you are in a train, the whole world

Appears to pass by.

Similarly, the whole universe can be known

Within the Self.

 

Commentary:

Atman is used interchangeably with Self in these Sutras. Atman refers

to the universal Self that manifests as a proliferation of rays

emanating from itself. These rays are not different from the nature

of their source, but only take on the appearance of separateness.

Kundalini is the supreme conscious energy manifesting as an

individuated person (jivatman). Paramatman is the Absolute. Both are

Atman. It is the merging of Atman into Atman, like the merging of

waves into water, that is the goal of spiritual practice: the union

of the individual and the Divine. The Absolute, the Supreme,

Paramatman, Brahman, the Self are all synonymous with Atman in these

sutras.

 

The image of chidakash is also central to Nityananda's teaching as

given in these Sutras; the word is formed of the roots chit,

consciousness, and akasha, space or sky, and is thus poetically

translated as the sky of consciousness. It is synonymous with

hridayakasha, sky of the heart. Chidakash is an experience; it is a

state of consciousness in which perception is objectless and

limitlessly vast, a state in which the individual and the universal

are in complete union. In various disciplines, this experience of

Oneness may be called samadhi, turiya, nirvana or shunya.

 

Nityananda also called this " heart-space of the Atman " the

Brahmarandhra, and the sahasrara chakra, the thousand-petaled lotus;

for him, these were all the same. They all refer to that secret point

in the head where the light of consciousness shines in its purest

form. When an individual's kundalini energy is completely roused, it

merges into this place in the head. The awakening that occurs in our

understanding at that time reveals our complete and total unity in

the Divine. When we realize that we are in God and that God is in us,

then there is nothing outside of us. All knowledge is accessible from

within.

 

 

SUTRA 6

Why do you hold an umbrella?

For protection from the rain.

The illusion of duality is the rain—Maya,

Truth is the umbrella,

And a steadfast mind is the handle.

Truth is in everything but few people realize it.

Maya, the cosmic power responsible for our

Sense of duality, comes from the Self—

The Self does not come from Maya.

The prime minister is under the king,

But he is not the king.

The mind is not the Self—

It is a reflection of the Self.

The mind is two grades below the Self.

The mind has an end,

But the Self has no end.

The mind is often deluded,

But the Self is not deluded, and not subject

To three forms of manifest reality—

The dense, the dynamic, the still.

Such qualities apply only to the mind.

The mind is to the Self

As the river is to the sea.

The Self is the sea, its water measureless.

The Self is without beginning or end.

The Self does not come and it does not go.

Wherever you turn, it is there.

Nothing else is seen.

The Self is there before you and it is there

After you;

Even before you were born, there was creation.

Only you are unaware.

 

Commentary:

The three primary gunas are sattva, rajas, and tamas. Collectively,

they are Prakriti, cosmic Nature, the " stuff " of all manifestation.

They are simply three different forms of manifestation: still,

dynamic and dense. Sattva guna is pure space, pure light, pure peace.

Tamas guna is the opposite; it is density, darkness and inertia.

Rajas guna is fire and dynamic activity. They are at once

hierarchical and not hierarchical, since the peace exists in

everyone, everyone has dynamic capability, and there is also inertia

in everyone. It is just another way of speaking about the spectrum of

manifestation. Tamas guna (inertia, thickness) is one end of the

spectrum, sattva guna (pure light) is the opposite end, and rajas

guna is the meeting of the two, for when pure light and pure density

meet, the result is fire. Yet upon reaching sattva guna, there is no

more hierarchy. In the pure state of sattva guna, everything is seen

as equal; there is no separate mind, no chakras, no nadis—nothing is

separate. Sattva guna is pure and perfect balance.

 

In man, these gunas are found in a state of instability. Sattva

causes moments of inspiration, meditative calm, quiet joy, and

disinterested affection. Rajas brings out constructive activity,

energy, enthusiasm, and physical courage as well as ambition and

rage. Tamas is associated with the lowest qualities such as sloth,

stupidity, helpless despair, obstinacy and the like.

 

 

SUTRA 13

The source of liberation is Shiva.

The linga in the head is Shiva.

It is all Om.

Enlightenment is the most important thing.

Without channels for the flow

Of subtle breath in the body,

There is no sound.

Love and devotion are the oil,

The channel is the wick,

Discrimination is the lantern.

Flame, light and glass are the channels;

The air hole is the Brahmarandhra,

The still point at the top of the head.

The form of discrimination is intelligence.

 

Commentary:

The source of liberation is pure consciousness, the awareness of our

real Self. The linga in the head is the seat of this pure

consciousness. The linga is a stone symbol in the shape of an egg

which is the iconography for Shiva as Absolute Potential. It is egg-

shaped to represent the unity of the universe—its internal

consistency and its formless presence in all direction. Thus, the

linga has no corners or edges; it is all Om. It has no face because

pure consciousness has no face. The linga in the head corresponds to

the medulla oblongata, or brain stem, at the junction between brain

and spinal column. This is the still point in the head, the place

where the ida, pingala, and sushumna meet. For Nityananda, the Shiva

linga, the Brahmarandhra, the prana linga, the sahasrara are all the

same: the Abode of Shiva, the doorway to God.

 

 

SUTRA 17

There are three important channels

In the subtle body.

Sushumna is the sun channel in the center,

Ida is the moon channel on the left, and

Pingala is the star channel on the right.

In color, the sun nadi is red,

The moon nadi is blue, and

The star nadi is green.

They join in the sky of the heart.

 

In time, the Om sound is heard in the head.

This sound, though truly one and undivided,

Can manifest as many--

The roar of the sea,

Notes of the flute, violin or harmonium,

Beating of drums or bells, even

The buzzing of bees.

These are the ten sounds of the

One subtle sound, indivisible.

 

Commentary:

Nadis are the channels of creative energy, of conscious energy.

Within the Self, the vibration of Omkar interacts with itself and

gives rise to different currents, just as the constant movement of

the ocean interacts with variances in depth and temperature to give

rise to the currents that flow within it. The currents, though

individual, are still water, they are not different in essence from

the ocean itself. Our physical being can be compared to a current in

the ocean of Omkar, and the nadis are the channels for the flow of

this conscious energy that is the essence of the mind, the emotions,

and the physical body. The nadis are the subtle body. And it is

awareness of these nadis that leads us to the recognition of our true

nature: the Self.

 

As Nityananda describes, there are three major nadis. The conscious,

creative energy of life flows unceasingly through these channels. As

listed in the Sutras, these nadis are associated with colors as well

as with celestial bodies.

 

 

SUTRA 24

To bring your creative energy under control—Breathe.

Samadhi is the upward breath, the God within.

With the upward breath established,

You will find the entire universe inside.

In all creatures the upward breath is the same.

The raja yogi is at one with this Infinite movement.

Whether sitting, talking, standing, walking.

Raja yoga is the highest yoga.

It is like climbing to the roof of a building

And looking below.

When intellect and wisdom are united,

You will know complete peace,

Formless and without qualities.

Bliss has no qualities.

This state is called jivanmukti—

Knowing liberation while alive!

Self-realization.

 

Selected Sutras, Part I

www.nityananda.us/sutras1.htm