Monday, May 4, 2009

An Inquiry Regarding Om Yoga

An Inquiry Regarding Om Yoga

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

I have recently started Om Yoga practice. Getting right to the point, I am puzzled by what seems to be the lack of practitioners of Om sadhana. Other than your web site, and references by early twentieth century masters (Swamis Sivananda, Rama Tirtha, etc.) there seems to be little support for the practice other than "lip service" to it being the highest mantra, etc. But then it is appended to a longer mantra, not used by itself–almost as if it is "mantra light." For example, I have seen many references which say something like, "If you are not comfortable with these mantras, you can always just use Om"–like it is a safe old afterthought.

One other thing: many references indicate that a mantra is useless unless empowered by a master. Is this universally true?

Considering the amount of material on Om sadhana to be found on our website in THE WORD THAT IS GOD, especially the section: "The Glories and Powers of Om," it is incredibly amazing that more people (at least in India) do not practice it. The majority of dasanami (Shankara) sadhus do practice Om sadhana, and in India most of those in the non-SRF/YSS lineage of Lahiri Mahasaya (Shyama Charan Lahiri) also do japa and meditation of Om in addition to their pranayama practice. Virtually all Arya Samaj members do Om sadhana. The Jains also meditate on Om. Still, the percentage is small. This is because of the terrible degeneration of Hinduism that has been going on since the death of Krishna and the advent of the Kali Yuga.

Here is the section entitled "Initiation?" from the third chapter of the complete Om Yoga book:

"It is commonly believed that an aspiring yogi must be empowered for yoga practice through some kind of initiation or transference of power. There are many exaggerated statements made about how it is impossible to make any progress, much less attain enlightenment, without initiation. But they have no relevance to the practice of Om Yoga, which requires no initiation because it is based squarely on the eternal nature and unity of the jivatman and the Paramatman–what to speak of the nature of Om Itself. The japa and meditation of Om are themselves expressions of the eternal nature of God and man. The eternal spirits need no external input to return to their Source.

"It is when the individual perpetually experiences the eternal point where Om is common to both itself and God that it can know its oneness with God, and separation from God is impossible for it. Yet it is still itself, still distinct, though its consciousness is totally absorbed in God and it sees only the One, and can say, 'God alone exists. There is no other but God.'

"All we need is God Himself in the form of Om."

As far as needing a "master" is concerned, here is the preceding section from the third chapter, entitled: "God is guru in the form of Om":

"Immediately after telling us that God is the Guru, Patanjali says: 'His spoken form is Om.' In a hymn of the poet-saint Kabir, an Indian mystic of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there are two important statements: 'That Word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.…That Word reveals all.'

"Beautiful as the thought of God being the guru may be, is it true? If so, how is God the guru?

"From the depths of God's Being, Om is eternally present, is eternally flowing or rising, and the same is true of each individual spirit. The heart-core of God and the core of the individual spirit are the same in non-dual unity. Om is flowing from the single point where the spirit and the Spirit are absolutely one. God is eternally stimulating or 'teaching' the spirit to emanate Om as the agent of its evolution and perfection. In this way God is the guru of each one of us. One finite spirit may reveal to another finite spirit the way to realize its oneness with God, and thereby momentarily become a spiritual teacher for that spirit; but God alone will be the Sat (true and eternal) Guru.

"Om is the ultimate guru, the infallible teacher and guide from within. Yet, according to Vyasa there is another teacher: our yoga practice itself. He says: 'It is yoga that is the teacher. How so? It has been said:

"Yoga is to be known by yoga; Yoga goes forward from yoga alone. He who is not careless [neglectful] in his yoga For a long time, rejoices in the yoga."'

"Shankara, commenting on these words of Vyasa, discusses the reaction that the awakening person has upon learning about the possibility of liberation from his present state of bondage: 'Meditation on his own being, which is the cause that should lead to liberation, begins of itself, caused by karma of a previous life or else by steadfastness in renunciation in this present one. And it goes on of itself, without instruction from a teacher.'

"The experience gained from yoga practice itself teaches us the reality and value of yoga. But even more, it opens our intuition and enables us to comprehend the inner workings of the subtle levels of our being and its mastery. Yoga truly becomes our teacher, revealing to us that which is far beyond the wisdom of books and verbal instructions. Moreover, it is practice of yoga that enables us to understand the basis and rationale of its methods and their application. The why and wherefore of yoga become known to us by direct insight."

Please read the books Om Yoga and The Word That Is God more then once.

The bottom line, however, is your own experience through practice. This is the only way the validity of any methodology can be known. Just see how both here and in India people are laboring away at all kinds of exotic "yogas" that have no real basis in the pure Sanatana Dharma tradition. They get nowhere, but because they have accepted a great deal of exaggerated praise about the practice and the guru, they waste decades in "faith" instead of using good sense about their own perceptions–or lack thereof. People often lament their lack of progress, but mistakenly blame themselves instead of facing the truth that their practice is worthless–and so is their guru.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

How does a person really know what they want in life? It seems very confusing sometimes and you can work really hard to achieve something you want very much only to find when you reach the goal or obtain the object you feel disappointment or decide you didn't really want it.

How does a person know what they want in life? First we have to realize that we are composed of several layers, inside of which is an eternal spirit which alone is our true self. But this real self is covered over by the layers, each of which has its "wants" and attempts to overshadow all the other levels of our being in order to be the only voice heard. Our body wants "comfort" and pleasure. Our magnetic, emotional level wants "happiness," "love," "peace," etc. Our lower, sensory mind wants lots of sense experience and distractions. Our higher, intellectual mind wants knowledge in the sense of facts and understanding of external "realities." Our will wants power and skill to dominate. Our spirit wants God.

Since everything but spirit is merely its clothing, it is only sensible to let the spirit have its way–especially when we realize that the "wants" of our external levels are for transitory objects that, even if obtained, are swept away by the currents of karma and (ultimately) death. But God lasts forever. Therefore even when we do attain our lesser "wants" they turn out to be incapable of satisfying us in the long run.

Saint Augustine wrote that our hearts are ever restless until they rest in God. Before that, Jesus said "seek the kingdom of God first." And in our own times Sri Ma Anandamayi of India said: "In Him is everything; HIM you must try to find."

It is of course true that we have come into this life with certain karmic destinies in relation to the external world and its population. But even here it is only the freeing of the spirit that can enable us to perfectly fulfil our destiny, whatever it might be.

We must cultivate a "taste" for God. In earlier times, liver disorders were sometimes treated with rock sugar. But to those with diseased livers sugar candy actually tastes bitter, so they do not like the remedy! It is the same with us–we have lost our affinity for the Divine, Who is our only destiny.

And how shall we develop that taste? Through meditation and a life of spiritual cultivation.

I recently came across a "yoga" system that involves leaving the body and ascending to the higher worlds as its practice. Are you familiar with this approach?

Yes. I think of it as the "up and out" school of meditation. The idea that by simply going to the heights we will become enlightened is as ludicrous as to assume that by simply journeying to a university we will become educated. Rather, we have first to enter the primary grades, spend time studying there, and work our way upwards. What is necessary for us is to attain the necessary evolution required in this world for our "graduation" to the higher worlds. There we work on our evolution until qualified to move upward into even higher worlds. And so it goes, from rung to rung of the ladder until we can return to the Absolute from which we first came forth. "He who climbs up another way is a thief and a robber,"1 as Jesus said.

I recently read a question submitted to a meditation master. The inquirer said that whenever he meditates he leaves his body and floats up near the ceiling. He asked what he should do about this. The meditation master's answer was: "Go on through the ceiling." Will you comment on this?

It is extremely difficult, and therefore extremely rare, for an individual to leave the body before death. It is unfortunately true that some persons unnaturally force this ability which carries over into subsequent lives so that a person leaves his body involuntarily while sleeping. I have known more than one person who has suffered in this life from this involuntary astral travel.

Am I saying that the man does not leave his body and float up to the ceiling? No; but I am saying that it is extremely unlikely. Is he hallucinating, then? Chances are not. Within our psychic bodies there are many points of perception. It is not at all uncommon for the beginning meditator's focus of consciousness to become shifted into one of his psychic bodies during meditation and thus to begin seeing through the "eyes" of that body. It is this shift which also produces such sensations as expanding, rising, moving forward or backward, and such like. One of the most dramatic effects of this shift is for a person to experience himself as being many feet up in the air and to look down and see his body sitting below in meditation. For one who does not understand, this is naturally a very frightening experience. But it is nothing harmful at all. Therefore, it is most likely that the inquirer who thinks that he is floating up near the ceiling is actually moving into the awareness of his subtle bodies which extend out far beyond the physical body. In other words, he is experiencing one of his astral or causal bodies. This is actually quite normal, though not necessarily of any particular value. But he is not really outside his body.

It is also possible for the meditator to experience standing outside his body during the meditation period and even walking around and viewing it. He is not really doing so, but is simply looking through the "eyes" contained within his subtle levels. So if the inquiry had been directed to me, I would have explained it as I have now done, and assured the man that he was in no danger of flying away and getting lost in the cosmos. It is not so easy!

The second American to become a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda was a young man named Warren Vickerman. "Vickie" became highly developed yogically, and for many years led the Self-Realization Fellowship center in New York City. This naturally entailed his meeting many seekers and often becoming their advisor. Much like Yogananda's guru, Swami Yukteswar Giri, Vickie had little patience with nonsense, earthly or psychic. One day a woman came to him in great distress. "Oh! What shall I do? Every time I start to meditate I fly up astrally out of my body and hit my head on the ceiling!" Vickie looked at her with a glint in his eye and then said forcefully: "Lady, when you are in that state there is no ceiling!"

What are UFO's and are they connected with spiritual life in any way? I have heard people talking that beings of light, be they Masters or whatever, will lift the "lightworkers" from the earth during cataclysmic earth changes. I don't know what to make of this idea or of how real the "contact" experience seems to be to those who claim to have had one.

There is no reason to disbelieve that there is intelligent life of many forms in the universe. As to whether or not UFO's are from other planets, I really cannot say, through it certainly is possible. Since each planet has its own scheme of evolution, one thing sure is that cross-pollination is not possible, therefore contact with these beings would be of little profit–perhaps even detrimental. What about those who tell of their contacts? I simply do not know. I have seen UFO phenomena myself, but it has never seemed relevant to me or my personal spiritual growth, so I have not pursued the subject. I do feel that many "contactees" are having psychic/astral experiences rather than actual physical contact. And all of the descriptions I have read (and that is a limited amount) seem either negative, false, or irrelevant.

It is remarkable that those who feel they have grown beyond the Fundamentalist Protestant teaching of "the Rapture" so unquestioningly accept the "beam me up Scotty" eschatology of the New Age! It is just another manifestation of the delusive insistence that an external force can intervene and "save" us from the consequence of our own doing. Karma is never evaded–it is either reaped or dissolved by us through interior illumination. The real "space brothers" we need to be interested in and involved with are the saints and angels of God whose work is to help us find our way through the labyrinth of earthly life and evolve beyond the necessity for rebirth.

Monastic Life

Monastic Life

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

QUESTION: How does one know if one is meant to live a monastic life versus a householder's life? I have been going over this in my mind for some ten years now and I am still uncertain of my calling to one or the other. I have had many "worldly" experiences and none have proven to bring any fundamental
or lasting peace. The desire to enter monastic life has been a recurring one with me. I am tired of waffling about my decision between householder and monastic life. I feel like I need to commit one way or another and get on with doing the best I can in whichever capacity. Anything you might be able to say in regards to discerning if one has a monastic calling would be most appreciated and very helpful.

ANSWER: Since we are not external beings, the external mode of life is not "the thing." Rather, it is the interior development–sadhana–that matters.

Two people once asked Sri Ma Anandamayi if they should some day become monastics (they were married, but living a celibate life). Her reply was: "Those who do sadhana automatically become sadhus."

Once a young man came to Sri Ramana Maharshi and asked if he should become a monk. Immediately Sri Ramana responded: "No." Taken aback the young man protested: "But you did!" "Yes, but I did not need to ask anyone if I should," replied Ramana.

Please focus on your sadhana, making sure that it is going right. Then everything will unfold as it should. As Jesus assures us: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

Nothing is more miserable than a monk without a genuine interior life–India is filled with them.

Astrology

Astrology

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

What do you think about astrology?

All that exists, despite the appearance of multiplicity, is really ONE in a very real and practical sense. And in every part the Whole is contained. Thus there is no possibility of separating ourselves from the universal life of creation except through transcendence. But until that transcendence occurs we must acknowledge our integral existence with all that "is." And part of that existence is the phenomenon of change wrought by the invisible tides of life.

Long before recorded history the wise observed that the human being was a miniature universe, a reflection of creation. Further observance revealed that changes in the external world–including the solar system–corresponded to changes in the individual's sphere of life. This was particularly noted in the matter of planetary movement. Thus it was discovered that the movements of the planets within the solar system corresponded to operations of biomagnetic and psychic forces within the individual person that were then reflected outward into the individual's environment or daily life routine.

The ancients understood that the planets were not the causes of the observed changes, but were merely indicators of forces operating deep within the magnetic levels of universal life. Further, the ancients understood that these magnetic fluxes produced a tendency toward certain conditions, or a state of favorability for the development of certain situations or conditions, but they did not believe that they were inexorable or unavoidable causes of those effects. The movements of the planets revealed the likelihood of certain effects, but not their inevitability. Therefore those who studied the movements of the planets were in no way fatalistic about their seeming foreshadowings. Rather, the movements of the stars were simply looked upon as indicators that certain times were more favorable for certain results and less favorable for others. And that is all. The fatalistic attitude that some people have mistakenly adopted in modern times was unknown.

The movements of the planets mostly indicate the character of prevailing biomagnetic influences–energies that are only slightly more subtle than purely physical forces. Most of the world's population is enmeshed in and controlled by such gross powers, although those who cultivate spiritual consciousness become less and less affected by those forces.

Consequently astrology can be used to comprehend what forces are moving within the collective psyche of "the masses." For example, we can certainly gauge the tendencies of national or international politics or economics by means of astrology. I well remember going to the First Temple and College of Astrology in Los Angeles every week to learn the world news of the coming week! In the class on Mundane Astrology, the astrological aspects of the previous week would be considered, and the accuracy of the predictions given at the previous class would be undeniably evident. Then, having seen that we had every reason to trust in the accuracy of her analysis, the instructor would proceed to reveal the major events of the next seven days. Only the most determined bigot could have failed to see that astrology was a viable science.

Astrology may be used to discover the hidden mechanisms of the personality. A wise parent should have a child's horoscope drawn up as soon after birth as possible, for it can be an invaluable guide to the parents in caring for their new charge. The horoscope will show the tendencies the child has brought over from its previous births and which are the seeds that are meant to germinate and come to fruition in the new life. But this is not meant to be accepted fatalistically or slavishly. Rather, the positive tendencies are to be cultivated to the optimum and the negative tendencies mitigated to the minimum.

Animals

Animals

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

Do animals have souls?

Indeed they do. What is more, so does every living thing upon the earth, including plants and stones. Actually, every single atom that exists bears within itself a spark of the Divine Consciousness that we call "a soul." Thus, every atom is a "person" in its own right–or, more correctly, every atom is the vehicle of a soul that is beginning its evolution which will pass through gas, mineral, plant, animal, and human forms in a series of countless rebirths until the soul is evolved beyond the earth plane and ascends to continue its evolution in higher and higher realms of existence until it attains the capacity for Infinite Consciousness. Thus everything around us is alive and evolving and must be respected and treated accordingly.

Where do animals go after death?

They usually fall asleep for a short–very short–period of astral rest and then reawaken in another incarnation. When they draw near to human form, however, they spend longer times in certain astral regions where they experiment with being human. That is, they take on temporary human forms and learn to function in them. This is of course done under the guidance of those angelic guardians who foster the evolution of lower forms to higher. On occasion animals remain "earthbound" for a while, usually because of attachment to their "owners." Thus they may be heard barking, meowing, or whatever for some time after their death. Incidents have been recorded of disembodied animals defending or warning their former owners in time of danger.

Do animals reincarnate?

Absolutely–according to the principles I have already outlined. There are many instances of such reincarnations, and I have myself met reincarnated animals whom I had known in their previous lives. And we both knew it was a reunion.

Does God love animals as much as humans?

Yes, for they are His immortal children, dreaming that they are animals until after passing through many forms they shall awaken and be with Him, "gods with God." In truth, there is not an atom that God does not love with an infinite love, a love that is itself the force of evolution, the call to come back to their Origin for a perfect union of Love which is God Himself.

Therefore we should indeed love animals and not eat them. They are our brothers and sisters, evolving just as are we. To destroy their innocent bodies for the sake of food1 is a crime against our and their nature.

If we are all evolving, including animals, how do they fit into this statement? Will they be humans at some time in their evolution?

When the individual consciousness comes forth from the Absolute it begins as a single atom of hydrogen, moves upward in evolution through mineral, plant, animal, human, angelic, archangelic forms, and beyond. We have all lived in each animal form upon the earth in turn as we worked up to human life. And now we are hopefully growing beyond even that.

Yes, those divine sparks that are now manifesting in animal form are destined to become human beings one day. Morally and spiritually they are even now our equals, our brothers and sisters. Therefore to exploit and injure them is a crime against Life itself.

How well I remember my first lessons in these truths when I was in India nearly forty years ago. I was staying at the school founded in Ranchi by Paramhansa Yogananda. One morning I went with a young man to gather flowers for the early morning worship. There was a particularly fine marigold on a tall plant. "Here, pick this one," I told him. "No!" he replied. "It is the only bloom on the plant, and if I pluck it the plant will cry." I am glad to say that I did not think he was silly, but realized that what he said was true. Some weeks later I was helping in the cleaning and decorating of the Guru Mandir for the celebration of Christmas. I lifted a picture off its nail, and out ran a lizard (gecko). I jumped back and expressed disgust. Wonderingly, one of the men said to me: "But he is a Son of God, too."

Swami Vivekananda in his American lectures would often tell the people: "The lowliest worm is the brother of the Galilean [Christ]," and his pseudo-Christian hearers would run for the exits! Naturally they could not endure the truth that they were enslaving, killing, wearing, and eating the brothers of Christ and themselves. And now they are killing their own unborn and those whose hearts they want for transplants. What goes around truly does come around.

Image Worship

Image Worship

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

Q. In the Unknown Life of Jesus Christ Jesus says that we should not worship images of God or deities. Is this worship really wrong?

A. There is a great difference between worshipping a material image and worshipping God through that image. A primitive person having never before seen a telephone would assume that someone using it is talking to the phone receiver, but we would know that he was speaking through the receiver to the person on the other end. It is the same with spiritual imagery. We who understand that God is at the heart of all existence are aware that we can relate to him and even communicate with him through a material image. It will be according to our understanding and intention.

The ignorant and the simplistic always think that the problem lies with an object rather than the user of the object. What is needed, however, is a spiritual perspective on our part. Then no matter how involved we are with imagery we will never be "idolators." After all, we know that a person is only spirit (atman) and not the body. But we speak to their body, give gifts to the body, embrace and even honor that body, and no one accuses us of materiality. We are relating to the essential spirit by means of their body vehicle. It is the same with the use of religious imagery. It is a matter of spiritual intelligence. Those who lack that intelligence will never get the idea. Jesus was speaking to those whose ignorance made them idolators.

Samadhi

Samadhi

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram


Q: Swamiji, I am interested in climbing the stairs that may lead to samadhi. Please guide.

A: Samadhi is a natural consequence of meditation, and there need be no special attention placed on it. Rather, your attention should be on making sure your practice is correct, of sufficient time, and that nothing in your life is working against it.

Swami Vivekananda told M that Sri Ramakrishna once asked him: "What do you want?" I said, "I want to remain absorbed in samadhi." He said, "What a poor understanding you have. Get beyond samadhi. Samadhi is a petty thing."

Sri Ramakrishna, the Supreme Yogi, said: "The seed of His Name has great Power. It destroys ignorance. Seed is so soft, sprout is so soft. Yet they pierce hard earth. The earth cracks."; Success is assured.

Yoga and Meditation

Yoga and Meditation

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

Q. How is yoga just the stopping of thoughts in the mind? Is that all there is to it?

A. No. It is much more sophisticated than that. It is also pretty technical, but there is no avoiding that.

"Yoga is the suppression of the modifications of the chitta," is the beginning statement of the Yoga Sutras as well as being Patanjali's definition of yoga. Meditation establishes our consciousness in the true self and renders the chitta (mental energy, mind substance) free from outer-caused modifications or vrittis (waves). We should look at this further.

"To the purusha the chitta is the sole object in the form of its modifications. And chitta with its modifications [vrittis] inhibited [suppressed] would no longer be an object," according to Shankara. The spirit, whose nature is consciousness alone, experiences the modifications of the mind (chitta) and mistakenly identifies with them. Though it seems to see many things, the only thing it ever really does see is the chitta as it dances before it in the form of ever-changing waves (vrittis). It is this objective consciousness that is the root of bondage–actually is the state of bondage. For Vyasa comments on Sutra 4:22: "Though unmoving and unchanging, the purusha-experiencer has as it were entered into the changing object [of the chitta and its many forms or objects] and conformed itself to its function" by false identification with it. Shankara, considering the same sutra, says: "A wave in the mind, by merely arising, becomes an object for the purusha,…[although] its true nature is pure awareness." Therefore, over-simple as it may seem, it is the removal of such objective consciousness that is liberation. And meditation is the direct means to remove such a binding consciousness.

By the resulting direct experience of our spirit-self, "ignorance comes to an end, and when that ceases there are none of the taints. With no taints, there is no karma-fruition. In that state the gunas have finished with their involvement and no longer arise before the purusha as perceived objects. That is the liberation of the spirit when the spirit stands alone in its true nature as pure light. So it is." This is the conclusion of Vyasa.


Q. The following is a reply to an inquirer who described an experience in consciousness and asked what was its nature and if it was enlightenment:

A. Along the way many doors swing open, giving us unexpected insights. But we just keep moving on. On occasion we enter into profound states of consciousness, some of which begin to fade away since they are "messages" to seek and become established in them, and others are plateaus from which we do not regress. Whichever they are, in the words of Sri Ramakrishna: "Go forward." Infinity lies ahead.


Q. What is the purpose of "spiritual practice"?

A. Everything is Consciousness, but when it is unmoving we call it spirit, and when it moves (vibrates) we call it energy. Spiritual practices are methods which develop the individual's consciousness and its potential states. That is, spiritual practice awakens, develops, and attunes the inmost consciousness of the individual. The basic intention of spiritual practice is to transmute the consciousness from humanity to divinity, passing through the infinite variety of evolutionary states that lie between those two poles. Since the process is direct and pragmatic, it does not manifest as externalized "powers" or displays. I do not mean by this that the aspirant does not experience change–but the changes are mostly internal and usually apparent only to the practitioner.


Q. I have an established japa practice centered around a mantra of Ganesha and the Kali/Durga mantra. I am drawn to the Om practice as outlined on our website. Can these practises be done together?

A. The shastras tell us that Om is the Mula Mantra, the source of all mantras. Therefore Its use is not inconsistent with other mantras.


Q. I have recently started Om Yoga practice. Getting right to the point, I am puzzled by what seems to be the lack of practitioners of Om sadhana. Other than your web site, and references by early twentieth century masters (Swamis Sivananda, Rama Tirtha, etc.) there seems to be little support for the practice other than "lip service" to it being the highest mantra, etc. But then it is appended to a longer mantra, not used by itself–almost as if it is "mantra light." For example, I have seen many references which say something like, "If you are not comfortable with these mantras, you can always just use Om"–like it is a safe old afterthought.

One other thing: many references indicate that a mantra is useless unless empowered by a master. Is this universally true?

A. Considering the amount of material on Om sadhana to be found on our website in THE WORD THAT IS GOD, especially the section: "The Glories and Powers of Om," it is incredibly amazing that more people (at least in India) do not practice it. The majority of dasanami (Shankara) sadhus do practice Om sadhana, and in India most of those in the non-SRF/YSS lineage of Lahiri Mahasaya (Shyama Charan Lahiri) also do japa and meditation of Om in addition to their pranayama practice. Virtually all Arya Samaj members do Om sadhana. The Jains also meditate on Om. Still, the percentage is small. This is because of the terrible degeneration of Hinduism that has been going on since the death of Krishna and the advent of the Kali Yuga.

Here is the section entitled "Initiation?" from the third chapter of the complete Om Yoga book:

"It is commonly believed that an aspiring yogi must be empowered for yoga practice through some kind of initiation or transference of power. There are many exaggerated statements made about how it is impossible to make any progress, much less attain enlightenment, without initiation. But they have no relevance to the practice of Om Yoga, which requires no initiation because it is based squarely on the eternal nature and unity of the jivatman and the Paramatman–what to speak of the nature of Om Itself. The japa and meditation of Om are themselves expressions of the eternal nature of God and man. The eternal spirits need no external input to return to their Source.

"It is when the individual perpetually experiences the eternal point where Om is common to both itself and God that it can know its oneness with God, and separation from God is impossible for it. Yet it is still itself, still distinct, though its consciousness is totally absorbed in God and it sees only the One, and can say, 'God alone exists. There is no other but God.'

"All we need is God Himself in the form of Om."

As far as needing a "master" is concerned, here is the preceding section from the third chapter, entitled: "God is guru in the form of Om":

"Immediately after telling us that God is the Guru, Patanjali says: 'His spoken form is Om.' In a hymn of the poet-saint Kabir, an Indian mystic of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there are two important statements: 'That Word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.…That Word reveals all.'

"Beautiful as the thought of God being the guru may be, is it true? If so, how is God the guru?

"From the depths of God's Being, Om is eternally present, is eternally flowing or rising, and the same is true of each individual spirit. The heart-core of God and the core of the individual spirit are the same in non-dual unity. Om is flowing from the single point where the spirit and the Spirit are absolutely one. God is eternally stimulating or 'teaching' the spirit to emanate Om as the agent of its evolution and perfection. In this way God is the guru of each one of us. One finite spirit may reveal to another finite spirit the way to realize its oneness with God, and thereby momentarily become a spiritual teacher for that spirit; but God alone will be the Sat (true and eternal) Guru.

"Om is the ultimate guru, the infallible teacher and guide from within. Yet, according to Vyasa there is another teacher: our yoga practice itself. He says: 'It is yoga that is the teacher. How so? It has been said:

"Yoga is to be known by yoga; Yoga goes forward from yoga alone. He who is not careless [neglectful] in his yoga For a long time, rejoices in the yoga."'

"Shankara, commenting on these words of Vyasa, discusses the reaction that the awakening person has upon learning about the possibility of liberation from his present state of bondage: 'Meditation on his own being, which is the cause that should lead to liberation, begins of itself, caused by karma of a previous life or else by steadfastness in renunciation in this present one. And it goes on of itself, without instruction from a teacher.'

"The experience gained from yoga practice itself teaches us the reality and value of yoga. But even more, it opens our intuition and enables us to comprehend the inner workings of the subtle levels of our being and its mastery. Yoga truly becomes our teacher, revealing to us that which is far beyond the wisdom of books and verbal instructions. Moreover, it is practice of yoga that enables us to understand the basis and rationale of its methods and their application. The why and wherefore of yoga become known to us by direct insight."

Please read the books Om Yoga and The Word That Is God more then once.

The bottom line, however, is your own experience through practice. This is the only way the validity of any methodology can be known. Just see how both here and in India people are laboring away at all kinds of exotic "yogas" that have no real basis in the pure Sanatana Dharma tradition. They get nowhere, but because they have accepted a great deal of exaggerated praise about the practice and the guru, they waste decades in "faith" instead of using good sense about their own perceptions–or lack thereof. People often lament their lack of progress, but mistakenly blame themselves instead of facing the truth that their practice is worthless–and so is their guru.


Q. I hope you will help me with a long-standing question: Can a person realise Brahman just by spiritual activities such as meditation, without ritualistic worship and prayers or devotion to personal gods?

A. If ritualistic worship and devotion to various deity forms assist the sadhaka, they should be used. But they are not necessary. However the Gita indicates that we should cultivate devotion to the Infinite Being, Brahman, who was speaking through Sri Krishna.

The Bhagavad Gita gives complete instruction on how to realize Brahman. Please take the Gita as your supreme teacher and read a chapter from it each day. You will succeed in spiritual life if you follow its teachings. And you will surely have the living blessing of Sri Vyasa, the author, as well as Sri Krishna.


Q. Mentally chanting Om in time with my breath–once on the inbreath and once on the outbreath–causes a bit of anxiety. It is nothing serious, but it is just not relaxing, and seems to speed up my breathing rate somewhat. Things seem to flow better (and I feel more serene) when I intone one long Ooommm for a full breath cycle. I understand what you are saying in Om Yoga though. So, would you recommend that I just stick with the inbreath/outbreath method until things "stabilize" or is there room for flexibility in the technique?

A. A few things can produce some tension in the practice of Om Yoga.

1) Sometimes we are too anxious about making sure the O and the M get equal time, so we unintentionally start trying to regulate the breath. Here the solution is to realize that our inner intelligence can take care of it in time, and just relax and be satisfied with approximate equality of time taken.

2) As we move into our inner bodies there is an inner resistance to the process of unsnarling the inner tangles we have gotten into, and also resistance to the repolarization of the breath. In time this fades away, but we need to "hold the course" and not let our present condition continue.

3) But usually the problem is that we are keeping the mental intonations of Om on too "loud" or objective a level. If we will consciously "lighten up" and make our intonations soft or whisperlike, and consciously relax even more, everything will adjust itself automatically and we will experience great ease and benefit.

The importance of mentally intoning Om once while inhaling and once while exhaling is explained in the following paragraphs from the Om Yoga book:

"Om should be intoned once throughout each inhalation and once throughout each exhalation because there are two poles or subtle currents within the causal realm that make the sound of Om as they move outward and manifest as inhalation and exhalation. In a sense there are two Oms–positive and negative, Shiva and Shakti–which together produce the projection of the cosmos and the individual's manifestation therein. So the two Om's affect the two sides of the yogi's being. Ultimately they are one, and by his joining of Om to his breath, each breath moves him onward toward the goal of Divine Unity."

"As already indicated there are two Oms–or two sides of the single Om–one of positive polarity and one of negative polarity. Om intoned while inhaling is of negative polarity, and Om intoned while exhaling is of positive polarity. By intoning Om once while inhaling and once while exhaling we produce a complete Om–of both polarities."

It is very important, then, to intone in the recommended pattern. Be assured that we have ourselves spent years in experimental practice on this very matter, and although a single Om intoned throughout a single breath has beneficial effect, it is much more effective to intone as advised in the book. The single intonation practice enables a person to float at peace in a bubble of awareness; but the double intonation moves us both upward into higher consciousness and forward into increased internal development.


Angels and Satan

Angels and Satan

Questions by various friends, and Answers by Swami Nirmalananda, abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram

Are angels and archangels real individual consciousnesses, or are they some kind of energy constructs?

In Oriental cosmological view–including that of Christianity with is an Eastern religion–the individual consciousness evolves from the simplest form of manifested existence, the atom of hydrogen, to the most complex–including angels and archangels. (In India they are known as various kinds of devas–"gods"–gandharvas, asparas, etc.) They are all stages along the way to Infinity. Thus, archangels are "graduated" angels, who are themselves "graduated" human beings.

In truth, there are no human, angelic, archangelic, etc., beings as entities in themselves. Rather, there are spirits (atmas) who are presently evolving through those forms. More simply: there are no beings known as hats, coats, shoes, dresses, and trousers–those are just the clothing assumed by us humans. In the same way there are only individualized consciousnesses that are clothing themselves in various states of embodiment for the purpose of evolution. The angelic/archangelic condition is just that: a condition or state of being which is experienced by the evolving spirit in its upward passage to divinity.

It has been my understanding for years that angels are in a completely different evolutionary stream from that of human beings–that they have not passed through the evolutionary forms that lead up to the human form. I have been taught that angels are of a completely different mode of being than us, and that their evolutionary paths are irrevocably separate. Could you comment on this?

There are throughout the universe–and including our own planet–numberless types of psychic entities that are evolving along lines of their very own–beings that shall indeed never be in the human evolutionary stream. (I use the term "psychic entities" to designate beings that have bodies formed of astral–psychic–energies, rather than material energies. The term "spirit" is properly applied only to the divine spark within all beings, rather than to their relative conditions.) These range from the type of entities we call "elementals" to the guides and guardians of plant and animal life, even up to great entities who look after the welfare of solar systems. Each of these entities may be given a proper name of their own, such as sylphs, undines, pixies, kelpies, devas, gandharvas, kinnaras, etc. Chistians tend to lump them all together under the term "angels." This certainly does no harm, but is not very accurate.

Although there are indeed many "species" of non-physical entities which dwell within, upon, and above the earth, mostly affecting its mineral, plant, and non-human life, they are not properly called angels. Perhaps to use the Sanskrit term devas, as do the residents of Findhorn, is more appropriate even if not exact. Further, it is true that these residents, though evolving, will never enter into that particular evolutionary current which produces humans and angels. They are nevertheless the moral and spiritual equals of the beings within that current–as are those within all the various evolutionary streams within creation.

Who or what is "Satan"? And "Lucifer?"

Satan is the force of cosmic delusion. But since it is to a great extent the collective energies projected by deluded intelligences (souls), it is also a kind of energy being that has a form of independent (though reflected) consciousness. Those who talk about how "if God did not exist, man would invent him" have intuited a fact. Humans can create thoughtform entities that become energy robots with a dim life and consciousness of their own. Many of the "gods" that have been worshipped throughout history were such creations of human will and consciousness. It is fashionable to sneer at the declaration by Judaism and Christianity that many of the "old" gods were demons, nevertheless–they were.

Satan is much more powerful than the thoughtform gods, being drawn from countless beings over a vast span of time. Satan can be thought of as an immense blind shark that swims around and intuits who can be engulfed or eaten and perhaps even assimilated in time. In this way it perpetually increases in power and effect. As Frankenstein's monster was composed of parts taken from many bodies, so Satan is also a composite of energies or intelligent beings that are yet somewhat individual though submerged in a collective darkness of consciousness. So Satan is not an individual but a collection of both negative forces–and negative trapped souls. This is far more hideous than anything most of us can imagine. This awful conglomerate moves through the universe, both material and psychic, indeed seeking whom it may devour1 or debase. It both knows what it is doing and does not know, since much of its function is subliminal.

Lucifer is an altogether different matter, being a highly evolved creative being–an archangel or prajapati–that has turned negative while maintaining his definition as an individual entity. Since he is in total harmony with the cosmic Satanic force and has for ages added to its power as its agent, he can also be called Satan–just as Jesus "turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."2

So what are "demons"?

Demons,3 or evil spirits, are fallen (i.e., negative-turned) angels and earthbound human souls–many of whom are under the thrall of other evil entities. There are swarms of these distorted souls that also move here and there seeking who they may devour–that is, dominate and eventually assimilate. They are like gangs of murderers that will to be what they are and yet are at the same time slaves of their commanding masters. We can think of them as divisions of a demonic army.

Just as moths and other insects are drawn to light, so Satan, Lucifer, and the evil spirits are drawn to those whose auras shine forth. And just as the moths smother the flames of lamps and candles, so these beings wish to extinguish the light of souls and seize them in the resulting darkness. Each commander of a demonic platoon wishes to be as God. And the first step is the collecting of souls to rule. Such beings often reveal themselves as gods to those susceptible to contact with them. They can even give benefits and answer the prayers of their devotees, but in time they devour them and possess them through long ages. Though in time their slaves escape–for none are "damned" forever–the experience is nonetheless monstrous and traumatic. Those who enter into the path of communication with them shall find it leading into a darkness and agony that is hardly escaped–and for most cannot be escaped at all until the end of the creation cycle. Why does God allow it? Because it is the consequence of free will. We might as well complain about God allowing people who put their hands into fire to be burned. There is no learning otherwise.

So we must learn that defence against such horrible wanderers is necessary for both inner and outer survival. The pretty-think people may not like the truth about these beings, and even deny it. But that only guarantees that they will not have any immunity to their onslaughts. I well remember assisting in the exorcism of a wholistic health center run by a positive-thinking metaphysical church. The entire place was infested with earthbound entities, including a particularly dangerous being that had gotten trapped there. Since the church denied the existence of such beings, how could they deal with them? Consequently this beautiful expensive facility was completely unusable. Within a short time of entering there anyone would leave in fear. As a result they had to call those of us who were too ignorant to know such things did not exist to come and get rid of the non-existent beings. As the little boy says in the folk story: "I was afraid of the ghosts that did not exist!"

Such things do exist, and we who strive for higher life must not naively think that we are thereby automatically protected. We must not make the mistake of the deer in Bambi (I am referring to the book, not the movie) who believes that humans are kind and friendly and is shot trying to get near them. Sincerity and good motivation have never shielded anyone from the consequences of folly. Even Jesus would not agree to risk psychic danger when Lucifer urged him to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple.4 The principle not to tempt God by foolhardy confidence is wisdom.

On a cosmic level these entities and forces need to be pushed into "the outer darkness" of chaos where they can harm no one and can in time be healed.

Being miniature universes, we, too, have inner Satan, inner Lucifer, and inner demons–all created by our own negative deeds and thoughts in this and previous lives. They, too, must be "thrust down"–back into the subconscious from which they arise–and be recycled into good forces. Just as in time Satan, Lucifer, and all demons shall be healed and restored to their original state of perfection, so we should be working even now to restore their inner counterparts within ourselves.

Just how and why did Lucifer fall?

As far as the how and why of Lucifer's dilemma: I have no idea about my own "fall," so any speculation on my part about another's fall would be worthless. It happened. I cannot say any more, except that being an Archangel is no big thing on the evolutionary ladder, and Lucifer's situation only proves the statement of one great Master: "Until you are There, you are not There." That is, the possibility of reversing the process of evolution is as open to us as is the path of progression. Evolution is really a two-way street. In the ultimate analysis, it is a matter of will, which, whether it is exclusively ours or is really God's, is always free. Therefore the option of fall is essential to our freedom to rise.

Then what about Lucifer–is he evolving, too?

Lucifer is still playing the fool, directing other similarly deluded beings in their mutual self-destruction, but in time he will truly come to himself and take the path of return–so the saints and masters have told us. But I do not plan to wait around for the event.