A spiritual journey : the four paths?

[Guest guest]

Pranams,

My thanks to Dennis-ji for inviting me to contribute to the monthly

series. I will periodically during this month pen some of my

thoughts on this spiritual journey, that we are all on, and endavor

to elaborate on some concepts with regards to what are popularly

known as the different paths or yogas that are available to the

seeker to enable him to reach his goal. I see this effort as more of

a sounding board which can perhaps give an opportunity for the more

learned scholars in this group to pen their thoughts in more detail.

 

I begin with a simple prayer

 

Om namaste ganapataye.

tvameva kevalam pratyaksham tatvam asi.

tvameva kevalam kartAsi.

tvameva kevalam dhartAsi.

tvameva kevalam hartAsi.

 

tvameva sarvam khalvidam brahmAsi

tvam sAkshAt Aatmasi nityam

 

My salutations to Lord Ganesha.

You Alone are the Substratum, the Truth.

You Alone are the Creator.

You Alone are the Sustainer.

You Alone are the Destroyer.

You Alone are the Whole, the Allpervading Brahman.

You Verily are ever the Atma, the Self.

 

 

The spiritual journey like any other journey has a start point and

an endpoint and a roadmap that helps one navigate through this.

The start point is me, a jiva, fortunate to be blessed with a human

form because of prarabdha.

The endpoint is self-realization for this jiva – whereupon the truth

about his own intrinsic nature becomes crystal clear to him.

Now manifold are the teachings and preachings about what the jiva

needs to do in order to attain this self-knowledge.

There is seemingly multiple avenues to approach the destination and

they again seemingly seem to be parallel paths as it were.

 

A closer examination of this journey will perhaps shed some light

for us on whether this indeed is true.

A popular conception is that the path chosen by the jiva is based on

his intrinsic temperament.

For a individual given to being very active, karma yoga is best –

where he does seva – dedicates his life in working for the poor and

downtrodden, and thereby cleanses his soul, and sublimates his Ego.

For a individual given to being an emotional person, a sensitive

sentimental soul, bhakti yoga is best – where he directs his

sentiments, his affections, his love and his tears towards a

chosen " Personal " God, and eventually his ego is melted in the

searing heat of his devotion, and he attains oneness with the

Supreme.

For a intellectual, a man of reason and blessed with a sharp faculty

of rational thought, the path of jnana yoga will be preferred. This

involves vichara or enquiry into who am I? why I am here? And what

is real? And what is the nature of that reality? And at the peak of

this relentless self-enquiry is a culmination of a flash of self-

realization.

A fourth approach involves the path of Hatha yoga where one tries to

channel the vital energy in the body, or prana, by adopting manifold

postures and breath control. A subset of this particular approach

involves manipulating a particular aspect of the prana - the

kundalini shakti. The goal is to enable the individual soul to merge

with the Supreme Being and attain oneness.

 

And so a seeker, can for himself, decide which path he likes –

similar to someone wanting to go from London to Paris can choose to

go by air, land, rail or sea.

And no matter which route he chooses the destination point is the

same.

 

Now let us begin to dissect this journey a bit more, and examine for

ourselves how valid these concepts are.

 

Defining the fundamental problem:

First of all, this spiritual journey has to begin with acceptance of

a problem. I need to understand a particular problem that is both

universal and at the same time very peculiar to me.

 

I am a limited mortal individual.

The Universe is immense – nay infinite and I am miniscule.

I am filled with a perpetual sense of lack; of want; of

dissatisfaction;

I seek many things, and am able to fulfill only a few.

What I am able to fulfill fails to give me the sense of fulfillment

that I thought I would obtain.

This wanting me certainly appears to be a permanent fixture with me,

and when I look around I see this to be the case with everyone – no

matter how much wealth anyone has accumulated, how much fame anyone

has acquired, how much power anyone wields, how large a family

someone enjoys – there is no one who says " I am now complete. I

desire nothing else "

 

And yet if being a limited individual is my lot then why am I

dissatisfied. And then again, why I am on occasion satisfied?

Witnessing a glorious sunset, watching the majestic Himalayas, the

innocent smile of a newborn child – there are instances such as this

where I am at peace, and temporarily tranquil. So there is something

intrinsic to me that seems inherently at peace and then again there

is something intrinsic to me that hurtles me back into being a

wanting person. Something does not seem to quite add up.

This then is the dawn of viveka or discrimination.

One discerns perhaps even intuits that all is not what it seems to

be.

There is more to life than what meets the eye.

This race I am in to acquire does not have a finish line. It never

did. And no one ever told me this before I started running.

 

Without this viveka, this ability to clearly discern a fundamental

problem, a spiritual journey cannot really said to have started.

 

Sure you can find people doing seva or social work, practicing yoga

or chanting mantras at temples and observing vratas or enrolling in

philosophic courses on existentialism and idealism but none of these

exercises can be said to be truly spiritual. All of these are very

much in the realm of motive-driven practices. The yoga perhaps to

gain some peace of mind, the vrata perhaps to ward off some

disturbing planetary influences, the seva perhaps to boost one's

sense of self-image, philosophy perhaps to indulge one's grey matter

in some avenues of abstract unstructured thought.

But if one has not dicerned a problem, for himself or herself, and

is happy with " life " as it is - mindless about its all-too

transitory evanescence, then there is no question of needing to

undertake any journey of any sort.

 

....to be continued...

 

Hari Om

Shri Gurubhyo namah

Shyam

[Guest guest]

(continued...)

Once viveka renders the mind and intellect fertile, there sprouts a

small weak sapling of vairagya.

Dispassion towards the wordly affairs I find myself enmeshed in. A

sense of unease at my own (what now appear to be) meaningless

pursuits. I realize that a venereal existence of procuring and

procreating cannot and should not be the goal - there has to be some

way out for this seeking me, this wanting me, this limited me, this

incomplete me, this mortal me to find a lasting solution. The

problem is clear to me. As is an urge to find some meaning in all of

this. An urge to seek solace. To seek answers. To seek. And this is

mumukshutvam.

 

From here on this seeker will now turn to someone or seek a path or

guide to help him further. Vedanta to such a seeker, who has

discerned the problem, is appropriately dispassionate towards his

worldly activities and is sufficiently eager to know the truth,

provides a simple message.

 

 

All that you perceive is in reality the Whole, the Infinite, the All-

pervading and hence Brahman. Nothing that ever was, is or will be is

anything other than Brahman in essence. Any appearance to the

contrary is mithya, a re-cognitive error, stemming from beginingless

ignorance. And what is more, you the seeker, are yourSelf this

Whole, the vastu.

 

Tat tvam asi.

 

You are what you seek – you are right now the Whole, the Pure, the

Truth.

Realize this truth about yourself, and be happy.

 

So this then is the destination.

Self realization.

 

" Dis " -cover who you really are, Discern who or what you are not, and

realize your inherent non-separateness from the Whole.

 

Now who will realize this? Naturally the one who does not know. The

jiva who is ignorant alone has to gain knowledge. How will he gain

this knowledge. By the mind alone.

 

But at the same time the Truth, the vastu, is said to beyond words,

beyond mind, beyond intellect.

 

There is a seemingly grave contradiction here. The seeker is

seemingly at an impasse.

What is the answer here?

 

An unprepared mind cannot grasp the truth, but the same ever-evident

truth is readily grasped by a prepared mind.

 

Just like a muddy dirty stagnant pool of dark water cannot reflect

the Sun, while the very same pool divested off its impurities

beautifully and faithfully reflects the glory of the Sun in all its

radiance.

 

So now we have the traveler, the seeker, the jiva.

We have the destination – self-realization about his true nature

 

And what is needed – a vehicle. The vehicle needs to be well-tuned,

its inner equipments need to be in sync.

What is the jiva's vehicle – this particular body – this rarest of

rare births – the human birth. Equipped with a appropriately

purified, attuned, human mind-intellect this jiva can now undertake

this journey starting from the self and ending in the self.

 

(.....to be continued)

 

Hari OM

Shri Gurubhyo namah

Shyam

 

advaitin , " shyam_md " <shyam_md wrote:

>

> Pranams,

> My thanks to Dennis-ji for inviting me to contribute to the

monthly

> series. I will periodically during this month pen some of my

> thoughts on this spiritual journey, that we are all on, and

endavor

> to elaborate on some concepts with regards to what are popularly

> known as the different paths or yogas that are available to the

> seeker to enable him to reach his goal.