How to either know or not know the Self: Let the student (of Sahaja Yoga too) beware!

[Guest guest]

>

> , preetibala vasthava

> <preetu551@> wrote:

> >

> > Dear Jagbir and Violet

> >

> > I appreciate your advice and guidance. Your posts touch heart. I

> > wish everybody, at least the sahaj people could reach to this

> > level of surrendering ignorance. I saw in India, huge Sahaj

> > collecive indulging in treatments and rituals. People are

> > becoming arrogant with attainment of their Sahaj knowledge but

> > it's a shame that innocent people are just driven towards the

> > false knowledge.

> >

> > Thank you very much.

> >

> > /message/8152

> >

>

> Nididhyasitavyah - the deep pondering of self (atman), whereupon

> the Self (Brahman) become known

>

> The underlying idea of dhyana, though not the word itself, is found

> already in the Rig-Veda (see dhi, brahman). The expression dhyana

> is first to be met in the Upanishadic literature, starting with the

> archaic Chandogya-Upanishad (7.6.1,2; 7.1; 26,1) and Kaushitaki-

> Upanishad (3.2 3 4 6). In the Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad (4.5.6),

> which is generally held to be the earliest scripture of this genre,

> the verbal form nididhyasitavyah ( " to be contemplated " ) is used in

> the sense of deeply pondering the Self (atman), whereupon the Self

> becomes known.

>

> /message/8317

>

 

 

How to Either Know or Not Know the Self

Let the student (who is often a " buyer " ) beware

 

" The truth of the Self cannot be fully understood when taught by an

ignorant man, for opinions regarding it, not founded in knowledge,

vary one from another. Subtler than the subtlest is this Self, and

beyond all logic. Taught by a teacher who knows the Self and Brahman

as one, a man leaves vain theory behind and attains to truth. " 1

 

By " the truth of the Self " is meant both the philosophical,

scriptural truth and the direct perception of the truth experienced

in meditation. However Yama is at this point speaking more on the

side of learning the intellectual truth about the Self, its nature,

and its possibility of realization.

 

We all know the incredible and impenetrable tangle of theologies that

constitute what most people think are the religions of the world. The

reason for this is simple: most (almost all) teachers of religion are

fundamentally ignorant. Ignorant not in the intellectual sense, but

in the intuitive sense. Since we do need an intellectual road map to

help us in our search for direct experience of the Self, this is a

serious matter. For an attempt to figure out the truth of the Self in

a purely theoretical manner will only add to the prevailing

confusion. We will just become one more voice in the cacophony of

ignorant religion or philosophy. Nothing is worse than an ignoramus

that believes he has an " inside track. " As Jesus observed: " If

the `light' that is in thee be [actually] darkness, how great is that

darkness! " 2

 

Consequently, it is a most detrimental thing to come into the orbit

of an ignorant teacher and accept his words–and even worse to act on

them. Some years back there was a most interesting motion picture

called Apprentice to Murder. It was based on the actual experience of

a man who as an adolescent came into contact with a " wise man " in the

southern hills. This man conducted a kind of church whose members

studied a nineteenth-century book of what might be called folk magic.

He had genuine psychic abilities and really did work miracles. This

boy became his student and ended up being jailed as an accomplice in

the man's murder of someone he considered a " black magician. " This is

a rather drastic example, but frankly it is much less destructive in

the long run than involvement with many contemporary teachers, some

of the worst of whom are in the yoga world. To be confused is worse

than being merely ignorant, and being flawed and distorted by wrong

yoga practices is even worse.

 

Beyond the intellect

 

" Subtler than the subtlest is this Self, and beyond all logic, " says

Yama. Being subtler than the subtlest, the Self cannot possibly be

perceived by any sense–including those of the subtle bodies–or

conceived of by even the highest and subtle reaches of the intellect.

Yet, the Self can be known. This is possible only when " taught by a

teacher who knows the Self and Brahman as one, a man leaves vain

theory behind and attains to truth " through the practice of

meditation, instruction in which a qualified teacher will give. This

really marks out the knowledgous teacher from the ignorant teacher.

The ignorant teacher will only expound theory, " proving " what he

teaches by intellectual means. The worthy teacher may say much the

same words, but will point the student to the means by which he can

attain the vision of the Self. He will establish the student in the

practice of correct meditation, without which nothing that is real

can possibly be known.

 

A bit more. Yama tells us that the teacher should be one who knows–

not a rhetorician or theoretician. Now it is impossible for us to

look into the consciousness of a teacher, so how will we know he has

real knowledge? We cannot in an absolute sense, but Yama gives us a

trait that at least assures us the teacher is not altogether astray:

He will affirm the oneness of the Self and Brahman. No matter how

cleverly, convincingly, and cutely he may speak, however much he may

appeal to our emotions and deluded intellects, if he does not insist

on the unity of the Self and Brahman, saying with the Chandogya

Upanishad " THAT THOU ART, " he is unworthy and to be turned away from.

Unhappily, there are a lot of ignoramuses who appeal to egotistical

fools by saying: " You are God. " The true teacher says not that we are

God, but that God is us. There is an infinite difference.

Furthermore, the real teacher does not just tell us this fact, he

instructs in the means to find it out for ourself. These two traits

must be present before we even begin to think about accepting a

teacher as a valid guide.

 

The ultimate test of a teacher is our own capacity, made accessible

to us by his instruction, to leave all speculation behind and enter

into the Reality that is both Brahman and the Self while remaining

ever One. Then all the gods and sages will say of us what Yama said

of Nachiketa: " The awakening which thou hast known does not come

through the intellect, but rather, in fullest measure, from the lips

of the wise. Beloved Nachiketa, blessed, blessed art thou, because

thou seekest the Eternal. Would that I had more pupils like thee! " 3

 

www.atmajyoti.org/up_katha_upanishad_6.asp

 

1) Katha Upanishad 1:2:8

2) Matthew 6:23. " Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is

more hope of a fool than of him " (Proverbs 26:12). " Woe unto them

that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! "

(Isaiah 5:21). " Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools "

(Romans 1:22).

3) Katha Upanishad 1:2:9

 

 

-------

 

 

, preetibala vasthava

<preetu551 wrote:

>

> Dear Jagbir and Violet

>

> I appreciate your advice and guidance. Your posts touch heart. I

> wish everybody, at least the sahaj people could reach to this level

> of surrendering ignorance. I saw in India, huge Sahaj collecive

> indulging in treatments and rituals. People are becoming arrogant

> with attainment of their Sahaj knowledge but it's a shame that

> innocent people are just driven towards the false knowledge.

>

> Thank you very much.

>

>

 

Dear Preeti,

 

The need for external images and rituals is universal. Humans just do

not have the honesty, faith, knowledge and gnosis to follow the

esoteric path of their Holy Scriptures ........... even when they are

explicitly and implicitly embedded.

 

" One of the messages of the Upanishads is that the Spirit can only be

known through union with him, and not through mere learning. And can

any amount of learning make us feel love, or see beauty or hear

the `unheard melodies'? Some have only seen the variety of thought in

the Upanishads, not their underlying unity. To them the words in the

sacred texts might be applied: " Who sees variety and not the unity

wanders on from death to death. "

 

The spirit of the Upanishads is the Spirit of the Universe. Brahman,

God himself, is their underlying spirit. The Christians must feel

that Brahman is God, and the Hindu must feel that God is Brahman.

Unless a feeling of reverence independent of the barriers of names

can be felt for the ineffable, the sayings of the Upanishads is

true: " Words are weariness, " the same idea expressed by the prophet

that " Of making many books there is no end. "

 

The Holy Spirit may be the nearest translation of Brahman in

Christian language. Whilst God the Father and God the Son are in the

foreground of the mind of many Christians, the Holy Spirit seems to

receive less adoration. And in India the Brahman of the Upanishads is

not as popular as Siva, Vishnu or Krishna. Even Brahma, the

manifestation of Brahman as creator, and not to be confused with him,

is not living in the daily devotions of the Hindu, as are the other

two gods of the trinity, Siva and Vishnu. The Upanishads doctrine is

not a religion of the many; but rather the Spirit behind all

religions in their central theme repeated in such a wonderful variety

of ways.

 

Brahman in the Universe, God in his transcendence and immanence is

also the Spirit of man, the self in every one and in all, Atman. Thus

the momentous statement is made in the Upanishads that God must not

be sought as something far away, separate from us, but rather as the

very inmost of us, as the higher Self in us above the limitations of

our little self. Thus when the sage of the Upanishads is pressed for

a definition of God, he remains silent, meaning that God is silence.

When asked again to express God in words, he says " Neti, neti, " " Not

his, not this " ; but when pressed for a positive explanation he utters

the sublimely simple words " TAT TWAM ASI, " " Thou art That. " " [1]

 

 

i first experienced, then cross-examined, and finally realized that

the synthesis of all religions and holy scriptures can be reduced to

three words: " Silence on Self " . That took me more than a decade, but

now i am absolutely convinced without a shadow of doubt that Silence

on Self is the deepest core of enlightenment. i know for a surety

that if i take a single step in any direction to seek the Divine i am

definitely going the wrong way. Last, but not the least, i know for a

fact that if i now again indulge in _any_ external ritual or image

whatsoever, after having realized the nature and identity of my Self,

i will be a fool insulting the Divine Mother on a daily basis.

 

You are in truth the visible Brahman.

I will proclaim you as the visible Brahman.

I will speak the right. I will speak the truth.

May this protect me. May it protect my teacher!

May this protect me. May it protect my teacher!

Aum, peace, peace, peace!

 

Taittriya Upanishads 1.1.1.

 

 

i have just started practicing Silence on Self. In it lies the gnosis

and enlightenment of all religions and Holy Scriptures, the assured

path of moksa and eternity. There is nothing else to learn, realize

or meditate on. The real inner journey has finally begun – now i will

never ever look back again, or hesitate even once, on the final leg of

an epic life, from the depth of darkness, to attain emancipation.

 

" The yogin can choose between two distinct approaches in order to

attain emancipation ... Either he sets out to discover his essence,

the Self, whilst relying on his own innate strength, or else he calls

for help from the Divine Being. In both cases, however, he must open

himself to an order of life higher than his empirical personality. In

the latter approach he makes use of the powerful human capacity for

love. The inner vacuum which is created by turning away from worldly

pursuits, is now filled with a truly prodigious power which assists

him in overcoming even the strongest resistance of the mind to being

transmuted into pure consciousness and thereby transcending the

boundaries of the spatio-temporal universe. The divine grace

(prasada) of Purusottama safely guards the devotee across the chasms

of mundane life into the supreme abode of the Lord ...

 

It is self-evident that the love pulsating in the divine body of God

is not of an emotional or intellectual nature. The love that

flourishes eternally between God and the Self-particles who have

awakened to His presence is one of ineffable divine creativity: The

whole communing with Itself . . . Emancipation depends on God. No

amount of self-effort can bring about the final fruit of self-

transcendence. We must release all tension within us and relinquish

our self-will and become still. God's great work can only be

accomplished when the soul has become tranquil (prasada.) Then we are

able to open ourselves to the divine omnipresence. This is true

bhakti, which gives birth to the grace (prasada) of God. " [2]

 

 

How does one recognize such a Guru? What are the signs and qualities

to look for in this dark age of Kali Yuga and false gurus? Why is a

Guru so important in the first place?

 

" Je sayu chandaa oogvai suraj chade hajaar. Ete chaanan hodiyaa Gur

bin ghor andhaar: If a hundred moons were to rise, and a thousand

suns appeared, even with such light, there would still be pitch

darkness without the Guru (sggs 463). Vin gur peerai ko thaayi na

paayee: Without the Guru or a spiritual teacher, no one is accepted

(sggs 951). Jin Gur gopia aapnaa tis thayur na thaayu. Halat palat

doyoo gaye dargah naahee thaayu: Those who do not affirm their Guru

will have no home or place of rest. They lose both this world and the

next; they have no place in the God's Court (sggs 314).

 

How does one meet a True Guru? This age of Kal-Yug (Dark-Age) is

likened to a burning fire. A soul drifted away from God becomes lost

in this fire; the wilderness of suffering and miseries of this

material world resulting from undigested desires or Vaasnaas of one's

mind. Impelled by the spell of treacherous miseries and sorrows, such

soul begins to long for God. Imploring and beseeching, such soul

unconditionally surrenders to God. Entering His sanctuary, the soul

prays " O Lord, I am on fire, please shower me with Your mercy. " When

a soul thus becomes ready, the Lord sends him help in the form of a

True Guru. To put it otherwise, one must first earn God's grace to

meet a True Guru. The glance of Lord's grace comes with unconditional

surrender to Him.

 

Pooraa satgur taa milai jaa nadar kreyee: One meets the Perfect True

Guru only when the Lord bestows His Glance of Grace on him (sggs

424). Sat guru daataa Hri Naam kaa prabh aap milaavai soyi: The True

Guru is the Giver of the Name of the Lord. God Himself causes us to

meet Him (sggs 39). Jin Hari aap kirpaa kre se Gur samjhaayaa: The

Guru instructs those whom the Lord Himself blesses with Grace (sggs

643). Kal-Yug udhaariyaa Gurdev: The Divine Guru is the Saving Grace

in this Dark Age of Kali Yuga (sggs 406). Gur te saant oopjai jin

trisnaa agan bujhaayee: It is from Guru that peace is evolved, which

puts out the fire of desires of this sense-mind (sggs 424). Even

Bible affirms that God sends the Guru, and no man finds a Guru unless

the Lord Himself has drawn that person to the guru He has sent (John

6:44 and 6:65)...

 

A True Guru is he who is fixed in the Absolute Reality. He is

liberated, and he knows the Truth. In fact, only the Guru is awake;

the rest of the world is asleep in emotional attachment and desire.

If one is genuinely serious about learning the transcendental science

of God, one needs to approach such Guru. " [3]

 

Jai Shri Ganapathy,

 

 

jagbir

 

[1] Juan Mascaro, The Upanishads, Penguins Classics, 1965.

[2] Georg Feuerstein, Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, Rider & Co.

1974, p. 161-2.

[3] Tara Singh, Reflections on Gurbani: www.gurbani.org/webart6

 

/message/8152

 

----------------------------

 

 

Question: How does one discard all the organization and useless

activites (of Sahaja Yoga) and seek her (Holy Spirit/Adi Shakti) only

in the Sahastrara (Kingdom of God)?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am still unable to rid myself of catches and other chakra

problems despite years of daily footsoaking and treatments. What do I

do now?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am far from a Sahaja Yoga collective. How do I continue

practicing Sahaja Yoga?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: My collective leader has told me to leave Sahaja Yoga due

to some personal problems. What do I do now?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: Despite being years in Sahaja Yoga I do not agree with what

our leaders are doing. I am thinking of leaving my collective. Can

you suggest something that will help me continue on my own?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am a Muslim who absolutely am against worshipping of any

idol or image. How then is Sahaja Yoga and Shri Mataji compatible

with Islam?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: We are devout Christians who are very uncomfortable with

Hindu rituals, and see the same in Sahaja Yoga. Is there any way we

can do without such rituals?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: You loudly claim on your website that all religions and

holy scriptures preach the same message. I don't see such evidence.

What have you got to say?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I do not want to meditate on anything non-Christian but

agree that the Holy Spirit is feminine. How do I only worship the

Holy Spirit but not the Adi Shakti?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: My parents and husband are against worshipping Shri Mataji.

How can I solve this serious family problem but still continue to

practice Sahaja Yoga without their knowledge?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I completely agree with your belief that if you have to

take a single step in any direction to seek the Divine you are going

the wrong way. How and why did you reach this incredible conclusion

only now despite spending so many years meditating, checking the

scriptures and listening to Shri Mataji's speeches?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: How can we spread Shri Mataji's message successfully? So

many have failed all these years and Sahaja Yoga is very slow. Most

of the seekers have never heard of Shri Mataji. Other than Her Divine

Message what can we teach new seekers that will attract them?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I do not want to follow any religious organization or yoga

teacher but still am interested in spirituality. You think that is

possible?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: My mother-in-law is totally against Shri Mataji and regards

Her as just another false guru. But I know Shri Mataji is the Adi

Shakti and want to continue. However, i do not want to antagonize my

mother-in-law. Any suggestions?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am a Sikh. I am completely against any Hindu ritual or

worshipping of their idols and gods. Sikhism is completely against

such practices. But Sahaja Yoga is also so full of such rituals and

gods. What have you got to say, being a Sikh yourself?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am getting somewhat ridiculed for my own spiritual

experiences regarding the crown chakra and the divine feminine.

People think I'm weird by emphasizing that the Devi is the true

nature of brahman and it is creating doubt about my path (despite my

own experiences). Should I continue with my meditations and ignore

them or try to explain to them? What do you suggest?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: There is so much information about yoga and meditation. I

am so confused and do not know which path to take. What then is the

truth? How do I attain it?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I have been in Sahaja Yoga for years but still do not know

what is Self-realization. Can you tell me in detail what you

understand by it?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I have been a SY for many years and some of us find shoe-

beating and some rituals quite absurd. You also are against them. How

then can we solve our subtle system problems without such treatments?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am a Muslim living in Pakistan who want to practice

Sahaja Yoga. But there are no centers here. How can I continue?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: What will happen after Shri Mataji passes away? Will She

still be in the photograph? Where will the vibrations come from then?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I have just started meditating on Shri Mataji in the

Sahasrara but find it very difficult. Is there a better way?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I do not want to join Sahaja Yoga but believe in a number

of Shri Mataji's teachings. Can you help me?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I am an established SYogini who am concerned at the way the

organization is heading. However, I still want to spread Shri

Mataji's teachings. What do you suggest I tell others?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: I want to practice meditation but find it impossible to

stop the thoughts. I value you opinion. If you don't mind my asking,

but how do you do it?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: What is the shortest and surest route to realize God?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: Some religions claim that humans are divine in nature and

that liberation is from within. Can you tell me how all this is

realized in such a hectic and materialistic world?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: As a SY I am concerned that after Shri Mataji takes

Mahasamadhi there will great grief and sense of loss. How can I cope

with this eventuality and continue my faith and devotion? Do I

continue to meditate on Her photo even though She is not physically

present anymore?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: Jagbir, you are already telling us to discard Shri Mataji's

photo and meditate on Her is the Sahasrara. A number of SYs have been

offended by this and have left the forum. What makes you so sure you

are right?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: What is the most profound and deepest enlightenment you

have discovered after all these years, based on the teachings of Shri

Mataji? She also claims that all religions teach the same truth about

the spirit. How is that so given all the religious differences and

centuries-old rivalry?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: Hi, man-made religions, sects and denominations are wide

spread. So much misdeeds and divisions are committed and blood is

shed in the name of God and religion. Is there a way to make humans

realize that they are all worshipping the One and same Creator, no

matter how different religious organizations have made God to be?

 

Answer: Silence on Self

 

 

Question: It seems that religions are all preaching about a God that

is to be found only in their organizations. Why then is it that the

Divine can only be realized through one's own experience? What and

where is God then?

 

Answer: Silence on Self