The Ascent to the Godhead - Part 6

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Dear All,

 

The Ascent to the Godhead - Part 6

 

(P.188) The next thing to consider is the yoga of Patanjali and the

earlier yoga system which goes back to at least 400 BC. The earlier yoga

'darshana', or system, is based on the Sankhya philosophy, which again is one of

the earlier philosophies of about the same period, 500-400 BC. The two basic

principles of the Sankhya are 'purusha' and 'prakriti'. Purusha is spirit,

consciousness, hardly person, at this stage. Prakriti is nature or matter.

Purusha is masculine and prakriti is feminine. The aim of the earlier yoga was

to separate purusha from prakriti. (P.189) The understanding was that 'purusha',

the mind or consciousness, has descended into involvement in matter, in nature,

in the senses, and the goal of this yoga is to separate the mind from the

senses, from the body, from the material world, until one reaches 'kaivalya',

isolation, separation. The idea was to separate from the world and to realise

the 'purusha', the person within. This is a very limited way and later profound

changes were made in it. But that was the earlier stage when one was simply

trying to get out of this world, out of the body and into the Self within. At

this stage there was not only one purusha; there were many and one was trying to

discover one's own purusha, person, which would be one among the many.

 

This method went on developing for hundreds of years until we have the yoga of

Patanjali, which is the system of yoga that is normally followed. In this system

there are eight stages. The first two stages are 'yama' and 'niyama', which

basically are the moral law that must be practised in every-day life. Under

'yama' are five abstentions: 'ahimsa', not to do violence; 'satya', to be

truthful in word and deed, i.e. not to lie; 'asteya', not to steal;

'brahmacharya', which is both chastity and purity of heart; and 'aparigraha',

not to covet. It is important that in this approach to the Godhead one has to

base oneself on the moral order. The Ten Commandments in the Judeo-Christian

understanding have the same function. This moral aspect may be left behind when

one goes further, but as the basis it cannot be neglected.

 

The 'niyama' are like the counsels of perfection: 'saucha', cleanliness, purity;

'santosha', contentment with pleasure and pain, good and evil, in other words,

inner equanimity; and 'tapas', which here is discipline, effort, practice. Then

there is 'svadhyaya', literally self-study, which is taken to mean the study of

the scriptures. This is important at this stage, for one of the means by which

one opens oneself to a higher level of consciousness is by meditating on the

scriptures because they come from the higher level. All sacred scriptures come

from a higher level of consciousness. (P.190) They are expressed in the language

of the senses and the mind, but one has to look through that language to the

mystery that is being revealed, whether it is in the Vedas or the Bible or the

Quran. In immersing oneself in any of the scriptures one is always encountering

a higher level of consciousness and this tends to raise one to that level. The

final 'niyama' is 'ishvarapranidhana', devotion to 'ishvara', the cosmic Lord.

In the yoga of Patanjali, however, 'ishvara' is only a perfected being; he has

not assumed the fullness that is found in Krishna. He is only one who gives

assistance. He helps one to meditate and to have some figure of a personal God.

This yoga has gone through many stages and some people just have a particular

deity which they use as a method of transcendence. This is very different from

the Bhagavad Gita.

 

The next two stages are basic in the yoga of Patanjali: 'asana' and 'pranayama',

control of the body and the breath. This is 'hatha' yoga and it was worked out

to a fine art. Through control of the body and the breath one also controls the

mind. The mind has to be concentrated on what one is doing. In all yoga the mind

must be attentive to every movement of the body, so it is constantly integrating

the body and the mind. B.K.S. Iyengar, the great master of 'hatha' yoga today,

in his 'Light on Yoga' brings that out very clearly. For him it is a discipline

of the body through which we reach the discipline of the mind and eventually

attain to full experience of Reality. We begin with the body which is in

contrast to the earlier tradition where very little attention was paid to the

body. In that tradition 'purusha' separates himself from 'prakriti' and she

finally disappears. In other words, this world and the body finally disappear in

pure spirit. So the earlier tradition was very one-sided, but now with Patanjali

there is the beginning of seeking a balance. One recognises that the body and

nature have their place in one's yoga (union). There is control but one never

suppresses or forces the body. (P.191) In yoga it is always a matter of balance

and harmony, harmonising all the senses, harmonising the muscles and the whole

physical organism. This reaches perfection in certain yogis where there is

almost perfect control of the body. [break Quote]

 

Note: Shri Mataji taught us that hatha yoga had been used in the past to correct

major imbalances, and otherwise was not necessary in more well-adjusted people.

With the advent of Sahaja Yoga, i.e. with the advent of en-masse Kundalini

Awakening, it is the Kundalini Energy that then goes to work to re-balance and

integrate the person. Through Kundalini Awakening the light, or enlightenment,

comes in. Then a person can see their imperfections in that light, and can

intelligently and surrenderingly work with their Kundalini Mother, to correct

their ego and conditionings - which are the two major causes of imbalance in our

bodies.

 

[Resume Quote]:

 

'Pranayama' is control of the breath or life-energy and this is extremely

important. Through the breathing the mind is controlled also, creating harmony

between body and mind. Again, 'pranayama' has vast possibilities and

extraordinary powers may be developed. The breathing controls the senses and the

inner powers. One of the features of 'hatha' yoga is the 'siddhis', the powers,

which begin to develop. As the body and the breathing is controlled, the senses,

instead of going out in the ordinary way, begin to be concentrated within and

then one can have very deep experiences, similar to sense experiences, but

taking place within. One begins to receive visions and locutions and revelations

of different sorts, and then one begins to develop the 'siddhis'. Being able to

control the senses, one can control matter through the senses. The yogic powers

of controlling matter through the senses are well established. Satya Sai Baba is

a good example today and there are many others who, through yoga, have attained

the power of controlling matter. What one is doing is drawing the power of one's

being away from the outer world into the inner world, to the source where matter

is controlled. Ultimately all matter is controlled from within and one reaches

that point where one can consciously control matter. There is danger in this

state, of course, because controlling the body and matter is not an end in

itself and it can be used as a form of magic to do harm to others as well as to

assist them. The state at which the 'siddhis' develop represents an intermediate

stage. All this so far is the bringing of the body and the senses under control

in 'hatha' yoga, through 'asana', the seat or posture, and through 'pranayama',

the control of the breathing. [break Quote]

 

Note: Shri Mataji has told us that Sai Baba of Shirdi was a true guru:

 

http://www.cosmicharmony.com/Av/ShrdSai/ShSai.htm

 

and that the present 'Sai Baba' is a false guru:

 

http://www.saiguru.net/english/news/030925index.htm

 

Here is what Shri Mataji said about such false gurus:

 

" You have all come now to Bangalore, and yesterday you had gone to Mysore, which

was ruled by Mahishasura, (Mahishasura is a rakshasa who is known today as the

false Sai Baba,) That's the reason you didn't get your food .... It's better not

to eat food in such places, " Rakshasas always choose cold places to live because

they have so much heat in their body, Mahishasura has to be exposed, and this

should be achieved through this Puja. In the olden days it was easier for the

Goddess to fight rakshasas as they were not involved in human beings and didn't

pose as gurus, Now sadhakas (devotees) become mesmerized by these false gurus.

Once the false gurus have gone into their brains, then the sadhakas become

possessed so that although they have all kinds of problems, they can't give them

up, In this Kali Yuga there are so many seekers trying to find the truth. When

the market is on, you get people to sell, and that is how so many false gurus

have come with their tricks to befool confused seekers in the West who have

money. Americans especially took to these people as fish take to water, very

surprising, Shri Mataji came and warned them, but they can't understand anything

that they can get without money. Despite all that, and due to blessings from

previous lives, many people have been able to discover reality in Sahaja Yoga,

and to realize that what others are doing is wrong.

 

There is a perverted Ayappa ritual in Kevala linking Shri Vishnu to

homosexuality. " It's very dangerous also to play about with a person like

Vishnu. " If we do things that are good for us and blessed by God we shouldn't

get diseases. It's of no use to do extreme rituals and penances for one month

while for the following eleven months one indulges in opposite behaviors.

 

Simple people are impressed by tricks like materializing Swiss watches, " They do

not understand that none of the incarnations did these tricks and that truth

should be based on the tradition, on the Shastras, " Whatever deviates is

heretic, But instead real Sufis and Gnostics who got their realization were

called heretics and thrown out of the religion, In the same way those who are

following something negative will definitely go against Sahaja Yoga. Now that we

understand this, we have to bring forth new laws so that non-Sahaja Yogis who

are practising some religion will realize that they are not doing the right

thing, Corrupt religious organizations are getting exposed, People need to ask

what the guru has given them. " A guru who doesn't talk of realization, doesn't

talk of Kundalini, who doesn't talk of ascent, who doesn't talk of second birth

cannot be a guru. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Shri Mahakali Puja Synopsis

Bangalore, India

9 December, 1991

 

[Resume Quote]:

 

(191) Next there is what is often called 'raja' yoga, the discipline of the

mind. Having controlled the body and the breathing, one has to control the mind.

The four stages are 'pratyahara', 'dharana', 'dhyana', and 'samadhi'.

'Pratyahara' is withdrawal from the objects of the senses. The senses are

drawing us out all the time; most people live through their senses, which draw

us to the outer world. So in meditation one first recollects oneself,

withdrawing the senses from their objects, and one begins to concentrate the

senses. The next stage, 'dharana', is concentration and is central to this whole

process. Having gathered the senses within, one now has to concentrate the mind.

The mind, the 'manas', is always moving from one thing to another and the art of

yoga is to fix the mind, either on an outer object or on an inner image, or even

on a thought. One can use different methods but one has to find a way to

concentrate the mind and achieve 'dharana'. This is a fundamental mental

discipline.

 

The next stage is 'dhyana', meditation proper, and this is when the mind is so

concentrated that it continues in that state of inner concentration. It is said

to be like a flow of oil. The mind flows steadily in that unity of

concentration. The word 'dhyana' became 'chan' in Chinese and 'zen' in Japanese

as the art of meditation was taken from India to China and eventually to Japan.

 

The final state is 'samadhi', when one goes beyond. At this stage one becomes

what one contemplates. First of all one concentrates on an object and the mind

fixes on that. The object may be external, it may be interior, it may be God,

and finally the mind is united with that object. In 'samadhi' there is no longer

a separation between the mind and what it contemplates. One emerges in the

object of meditation. In the final stage the knower, the knowing and the thing

known become one. It is a state of non-duality where one discovers the ultimate

oneness. But all this is technique, a method of reaching that oneness. The

danger of it is that it may be thought to be an end in itself. (P.193) What can

be done by mental concentration is limited. One may get the 'siddhis', one may

have remarkable powers, but these are not the ultimate. It is only when one goes

beyond oneself altogether that one discovers the Ultimate. It could be that

through 'samadhi' one opens oneself to the transcendent and receives grace, but

there is always an element of danger here. A great yogi can be a great egoist in

that he has really not gone beyond himself; he has only found his self and

concentrated at that point. So this can be a dangerous path and certainly it is

not the end. Patanjali also calls that final stage 'kaivalya', isolation. One

has separated oneself from everything and is centred now on that deep centre,

that deep point. It is a marvellous state but also a dangerous one, because it

is incomplete. So that is Patanjali's method of yoga.

 

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

Christian Faith), Pg.188-193

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0