The Ascent to the Godhead - Part 5

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

We concluded Part 4 with:

 

(P.185) " The situation in the Bhagavad Gita is that Arjuna, who represents the

human self, is seated in a chariot facing the battle and Krishna, the Lord,

comes to counsel him. Here the chariot represents the body, Arjuna is the mind

and Krishna is the spirit within, the Lord who has come to counsel him. What

Krishna says to Arjuna is that he must fight the battle. He must face life and

do his work in the world. This was a very important development because at an

earlier stage it had been said that one should separate from the world, separate

from all activity and meditate in silence and solitude, and then one attains the

Supreme. That is one path, the way of the ascetic, the 'sannyasi', and that path

is also recognised by the 'Gita', but it now opens another path which is a way

for the householder, the ordinary person living his ordinary daily life, if the

work is done in the spirit of yoga. There are several conditions for doing one's

work in the spirit of yoga. Attachment is what the Buddha called 'tanha' or

'trishna', clinging to people, clinging to things. This attachment is really the

attachment of the ego in the self-centred person. There is a true self which is

open to God and to others, and there is a false self which clings to itself and,

centring on itself, sees everything in the context of itself. That is the great

obstacle to all meditation and to all transcendent experience. "

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith), Pg.185

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

 

Here now is Part 5.

 

Enjoy!

 

violet

 

 

The Ascent to the Godhead - Part 5

 

(P.185) It is very important that, while the Gita teaches detachment, it does

not say that one has to suppress one's senses. (P.186) In later traditions it

often seems to be that one has to try to suppress the senses, but the Gita

teaches being detached, enjoying the senses but not being attached to them in

the least. It is possible to be totally free in this enjoyment. At the same time

one is not to indulge the senses, for then one is carried away by them. This is

the middle path of detachment from the senses and it is attained by sacrifice.

'Sacrum facere' is to make a thing sacred. The thing sacrificed is made over to

God. What the Gita now introduces, following what the Svetasvatara Upanishad had

begun, is the concept of the personal God who is going to be the guide to the

higher stages of contemplation and of inner experience.

 

In this case the personal God takes the form of Krishna and the whole of one's

work in life must be dedicated to him in sacrifice. One offers everything one

has and everything one does to the supreme Lord. Above all one offers oneself,

one's ego. Detaching oneself from people and things, one sacrifices everything

one does and thinks and is to the Lord within. It is done out of 'bhakti',

devotion. It is done out of love. This is very important, that at this stage the

path of meditation is not only a path of knowledge, 'jnana', consciousness; it

is also a path of love, and while love is primarily for the Lord it also does

include others, the " welfare of the world " .

 

The final stage of 'karma' yoga is when one has surrendered everything and

oneself to the Lord in total devotion and love and one is able to say, " I am not

the doer. " One realises that it is not oneself who is acting but the Spirit, the

Lord, who is acting in one. Then one is free from the ego; that is liberation.

So that is the path of 'karma' yoga in the Bhagavad Gita and the first six books

of the text are primarily concerned with this.

 

The next six books are concerned principally with 'bhakti' yoga, which is

devotion to the personal God. (P.187) Krishna is the form of the cosmic person,

the Lord of the universe, and he is also the personal Lord, the one who is not

only knowledge but also love. And so he says, " Offer to me all thy works. Rest

thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts and with

inner peace fight thou thy fight. " [15]

 

A little later the text describes the process of yoga. " Day after day let the

yogi practice harmony of soul (which is yoga) in a secret place, in deep

solitude, master of his mind, hoping for nothing, desiring nothing. " [16] In

other words, at that stage one is free from desire and is simply open to the

transcendent. The text goes on, " Let him find a place that is pure and seat that

is restful, neither too high nor too low, and let him practise yoga for the

purification of the soul, with the life of his body and mind in peace, his soul

in silence before the one. " [17] This is the process of yoga; the 'prana', the

life energy, and the mind have to be in peace, and then the 'buddhi', the

intellect, is silent before the one Reality, the one Self. The text continues

" with upright body, head and neck which rest still and move not, with inner gaze

which is not restless but rests between the eyebrows " .[18] That is a common

technique. One tries to focus the mind between the eyebrows, one of the

'chakras', which we will come to later. [break Quote]

 

[Note: Shri Mataji has opened the Kingdom of God within (called as " Sahasrara "

by the Hindus). Those who wish to have their resurrection that Christ promised

the Comforter would bring - can have it now:

 

http://www.sahajayoga.org/experienceitnow/

 

Previously, it was a common technique for people in meditation/prayer to put

their attention on the area of the Narrow Gate within - (called as " Agnya " by

the Hindus). The Narrow Gate/Agnya is the spiritual centre within human beings

that was opened by Christ. It was a spiritual milestone of evolution within

human beings. It was Christ's prior Work that enables all those who wish it

today, to have the en masse outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the en masse entry

into the Kingdom of God within. The Prophet Isaiah talked in his time about this

future outpouring of God's Holy Spirit:

 

" For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I

will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants;

and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by the streams of water. "

(Isaiah 44:3-4)

 

In referring to the 'thirsty land' Isaiah was most certainly referring to the

'thirsty' seekers of the truth of this modern age who are not finding the truth

they seek in religion, politics or economics these days, because it has been the

Dark Age (Kali Yuga). In referring to the 'dry ground', Isaiah was most

certainly referring to the lack of spiritual qualities due to the lack of the

truth being spoken in these modern times. However, the watering of the thirsty

land and the flowing of the streams of water on the dry ground has begun. It is

happening now. It is an en masse outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God. The

Comforter that Christ promised would come, has come. The Holy Spirit has enabled

the modern seekers of the truth to have the resurrection of their Spirit at this

time of prophecy - and they are entering the Promised Land within, where they

can enjoy the fruits (spiritual qualities) of the Spirit:

 

" The Sahasrara Chakra encompasses the crown of the head where all Chakras of the

subtle system are integrated. When Kundalini passes through the top of the head,

at the fontanel area, your Realization is manifested. Sahasrara is the Promised

Land where absolute freedom and Truth is granted.

 

The beginner of Sahaja Yoga receives Self-Realization at the start with the

raising of the Kundalini. Usually only a few strands rise at first and the

Chakras will only open slightly. Meditation and other simple techniques provide

daily opportunities to gradually cleanse and clear the Chakras, enabling more

strands of the Kundalini to rise. Your ability to feel vibrations will increase.

Vibrations will play a daily role to determine right decisions; to feel

conditions of others; to ascertain the Truth; to develop a wise discretion; feel

Nature; heal oneself and other beings; solve problems and more. " Wisdom doesn’t

mean that you know how to argue things or you fight with people. No, it doesn’t

mean that. Wisdom means how you take to the good side of everything to enjoy it.

This is Wisdom and that you avoid all destructive things and take to something

constructive. "

 

The opening of the Sahasrara is the very special gift of Shri Mataji to

humankind. Through years of selfless service and very hard work She has

ceaselessly circled the globe to bestow on humankind the most benevolent

spiritual power ever known. "

 

http://www.adishakti.org/subtle_system/sahasrara_chakra.htm

 

[Resume Quote]

 

The text continues, " Then with soul in peace and all fear gone, and strong in

the vow of holiness (brahmacharya), let him rest with mind in harmony, his soul

on me, his God supreme. " [19] 'Brahmacharya' is basically chastity but it is much

more than that; it is purity of heart. So this is not simply pure consciousness

but consciousness focused on the personal God, the Lord, the Creator. " And that

yogi who, lord of his mind, ever prays in this harmony of soul, attains the

peace of 'nirvana', the peace of supreme that is in me. " 'Nirvana' is a Buddhist

term for the transcendent reality and the Gita speaks of " the nirvana which is

in me. " [20] In other words one finds one's inner peace, inner tranquility, in

the Lord himself. (P.188) This culminates in the saying, " Give me thy mind, give

me thy heart, give me thy offering and thy adoration and then, with thy soul in

harmony, and making me thy goal supreme, thou shalt in truth come to me. " [21]

In the Katha Upanishad the goal was 'purusha', but 'purusha' had not been

clearly defined. There 'purusha' was hardly different from 'brahman' and

'atman'. But here in the Gita the 'brahman-atman' is seen as the personal God,

the Lord. " He is your goal supreme. "

 

Finally, at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna sums it all up by saying,

" This is my word of promise, thou shalt in truth come to me for thou art dear to

me. " [22] This is very important. At this stage in the process one is going

beyond oneself, beyond the created world, and then one encounters the personal

God. One encounters love. " You are dear to me. " That is a further stage in

revelation, when one discovers the reality of the person within. The text says,

" Leave all things behind " , which is literally all 'dharmas', " and come to me for

thy salvation. I will make thee free from the bondage of sin. Fear no more. "

[23] This is the path of 'bhakti', of devotion to a personal God, which is of

course, very close to the Christian path which we will be considering in the

next chapter. It has to be seen in the context of both 'karma' yoga, the yoga of

work and service, and 'jnana' yoga, the realisation of the absolute Reality.

That is the path of the yoga of the Bhagavad Gita.

 

[15]Bhagavad Gita 3:30

[16]Bhagavad Gita 6:10

[17]Bhagavad Gita 6:12

[18]Bhagavad Gita 6:13

[19]Bhagavad Gita 6:14

[20]Bhagavad Gita 6:15

[21]Bhagavad Gita 9:34

[22]Bhagavad Gita 18:65

[23]Bhagavad Gita 18:66

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith), Pg.185-188

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0