Thursday, August 27, 2009

Think about it.....

Question: I wish to get Sakshatkara (direct realisation) of Sri Krishna. What should I do to get it?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: What is your idea of Sri Krishna and what do you mean by Sakshatkara?

Questioner: I mean Sri Krishna who lived in Brindavan and I want to see him as the gopis (His female devotees) saw Him.

Sri Ramana Maharshi: You see, you think he is a human being or one with a human form, the son of so and so, whereas He Himself has said, 'I am in the Heart of all beings, I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all forms of life'. He must be within you, as He is within all. He is your Self or the Self of your Self. So if you see this entity (the Self) or have Sakshatkar (direct realisation) of it, you will have Sakshatkar of Krishna. Direct realisation of the Self and direct realisation of Krishna cannot be different. However, to go on your own way, surrender completely to Krishna and leave it to him to grant the Sakshatkar you want.

 

Think about it...

THINK ABOUT IT

In these times, in homes and in society, is seen much unhappiness, quarrels and confrontation. The basic reason is that, though people demand their rights, they do not discharge their own duties.

(Amrta Bindu, #60)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Hindu woman priest in White House's advisory council


Hindu woman priest in White House's advisory council


Thu, Aug 13 06:11 PM

Rewari (Haryana), Aug 13 (PTI) Appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of a faith-based advisory council of the White House, Anju Bhargava, a banker and a Hindu priest, hopes to remove the ignorance about Hinduism and spread the "real meaning" of the rituals associated with the religion. 42-year-old Anju Bhargava, president of the Asian Indian Women in America (AIWA), is the second Indian American appointed to the council which is part of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and includes religious, secular leaders and scholars from different backgrounds as its members.

A graduate of Stella Maris College, Madras University, Bhargava, who was born and brought up in Chennai, says, "Most people do not understand Hinduism or the ritual process. I have a computer presentation to explain the context, the meaning of the symbols and why we do the puja.

It is not just a traditional recitation. "I would say, actually, for me, doing pujas took 25 years of preparation.

Most people go from ritual to philosophy. I have gone from philosophy to ritual", Bhargava, possibly the only Indian American women priest in the United States, told PTI in an e-mail.

She stressed on the need "to bridge the gap between philosophy and rituals". "Only then will the rituals be meaningful and not just something we are doing because someone is telling us to do them and in a language we don''t understand," Bhargava, whose mother Sarla Bhargava hailed from Rewari and who herself shared a "deep-rooted" connection with the district, said.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20090813/1416/tnl-hindu-woman-priest-in-white-house-s.html

We Are All Hindus Now


Newsweek says "We Are All Hindus Now"


Tue, Aug 18 03:50 PM

Nevada (US), Aug.18 (ANI): "We Are All Hindus Now"-headlines the article in the upcoming edition of prestigious newsmagazine "Newsweek", saying "U.S. Views on God and Life Are Turning Hindu".

Written by its religion editor Lisa Miller, it says, "...recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity."

Commenting about the Newsweek viewpoint, Rajan Zed said that community was glad that rich philosophical thought of Hinduism was being recognized and accepted widely outside the Hindu circles.

The article quotes a religion professor at Boston University who has long framed the American propensity for "the divine-deli-cafeteria religion" as "very much in the spirit of Hinduism..."

It further says: "So here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we're burning them-like Hindus-after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America."

The article ends with: So let us all say "om." (ANI)

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090818/888/twl-newsweek-says-we-are-all-hindus-now.html

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Power of invention - Tower of self-destruction

Question: Man has developed the power of invention: Science has discovered forces of nature; yet civilization is becoming self-destructive. Why? What is the disease? What is the remedy?

 

Answer: It is true, man has gathered more power, but power is not enough. Power may destroy as, also, as build. Man has acquired more control over the forces of nature. But what is needed is self-control.

The disease is selfishness. The remedy is self-control.



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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Significance of doing Puja



Significance of doing Puja

By Anand Sagar Pathak



The English equivalents of ‘Puja' are homage, reverence, worship, respect, etc. The system of Puja relates to religions, deities and God. In some religions there is an elaborate system of rituals for Puja while in some religions there is a simple method of prayer.

All the major religions of the world originated in Asia. South Asia is the birth place of four major religions- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. All these religions originated in India. Christianity and Islam originated in South-west Asia for which Jerusalem, Mecca and Madina are important places. In all these religions, the concept of God exists. Only Sikhism concentrates on Gurus. But, the system of Puja and prayers is associated with all the religions.

This system is visible in today's world also. Almost all the religions except Hinduism evolved during the last 2,600 years. Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world and its history is about 4,000 years long but Hinduism also developed after the 1 st agricultural revolution, which took place about 10,000 years ago and the intervening period was Vedic period in India during which such Puja systems had not taken roots.

In order to understand the purpose of Puja we will have to go back in the early stages of human civilizations when man was a jungle dweller and without shelter, because, the system of reverence to some unknown power started emerging in that period. This will define the causes also which drive human beings to perform Puja.

(a) The Puja system emerged to get protection of unknown powers, from natural calamities, hazards and disasters in the early period:-

In the initial stages man was a food gatherer, hunter, fisher and shelter-less living in jungle in small groups. There was no concept of God in that period. The small groups of people lived in isolation. However, they saw the impact of natural calamity on their lives. They experienced the impact of wild fires, thunderbolts, storms, heavy rains, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and they began fearing such phenomenon.

In order to protect themselves from such events, they must have visualized the role of an unknown superpower and started showing reverence to such powers. This culminated in the Vedic period in ancient India when elaborate system of worship of Fire God (Agni Dev), Wind God (Vayu Dev), Water God (Varun Dev), Sun God (Surya Dev), Thunderbolt God (Indra dev) began.

In addition to such deities a system of reverence was also invented to get protection from every element of the environment of the earth. Trees, soil, rivers, hills, animals, reptiles, birds, all became objects of reverence in the Vedic period. We may call it “Animism” which was the system of Puja up to the Vedic period.

(b) The rise of Sakam Puja (worship with expectation of reward):-

Since Hinduism developed from Vedic religion, there is a multiplicity of God's and Goddesses in the Hindu religion. There are 100's of Puja systems associated with deities. There is a multiplicity of religious books. The concept of “Tridev” (Trinity namely Bramha, Vishnu and Mahesh) developed in the early stages of Hinduism.

The system of worship was designed to please a particular deity for obtaining some blessings and rewards. This Puja is for fulfillment of human desires, wants, freedom from sufferings, for off-springs, for marriage, rise in status and position, for health, wealth, and other desires.

The ancient kings organized “Aswa-medha Yagya” for enlarging their kingdoms and empires. According to Ramayana even Raja Ram took recourse to this yagya and the horse of the yagya was caught by his children Lav and Kush which triggered a war between father and sons. Yagya is an elaborate system of Puja, which is practised even today with a particular purpose.

However, this type of Puja is medium quality Puja, because it is done for material rewards. Lord Krishna in Shrimad Bhagwat Gita said as follows:-

“Antavat tu phalam tesam tad bhavaty alpa medhasam
devan deva yajo yanti mad bhakta yanti mam api”

(Chapter VII, Verse 23)

Translation: Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but my devotees ultimately reach my supreme planet.

(c) System of Nishkam Puja (worship without attachment to expectations):-

The Hinduism continued to transform through the ages and became more scientific. It came to be regarded as a religion associated with fundamental doctrine of Karma. This thought emerged during the battle of Mahabharata when Lord Krishna began counseling Arjun. The same preaching is found in Shrimad Bhagwat Gita.

According to Hindu doctrine, all beings have souls and there is a process of reincarnation after death. These souls are arranged in a hierarchy. The fundamental point is to move upward in the hierarchy and then escape from the eternal cycle of birth and death through union with the Brahma. The principle of reincarnation of soul is the cornerstone of Hinduism and every soul should try to attain salvation (Nirvana, Mukti, Moksha) through spiritual practises. This should be the supreme purpose behind Puja.

For this Lord Krishna showed the paths of “Karma Yoga” (adherence to duty while remaining detached from reward), “Gyan Yoga” (knowledge of the absolute) and “Bhakti Yoga” (spiritual practise of fostering loving devotion to God). Lord Krishna said in Bhagwat Gita:-

“a-brahma bhuvanal lokah punar avartino rjun
mam upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate”

(Chapter VIII, Verse 16)


Translation: From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one, who attains to my abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.

(d) Rise of Sadguru Puja (worship of ascendant masters):-

Sadgurus (ascendant masters) are incarnations of God himself who live amidst us to guide us in our endeavor to reach to God. Lord Krishna in Bhagwat said that “Saints are incarnations of God”. Sadgurus are known by different names in different religions. Hindus call them “Paramhansa” Muslims call them “Qutub” and Christians call them “the ascendant masters”. They have incarnated in almost all religions. Some prominent names are “Jesus Christ”, “Moses”, “Gautum Buddha”, “Lord Mahavir”, “Aadi Sankracharya”, and “Prophet Mohammad”. The most recent incarnations of Sadgurus go by the name of “Ram Krishna Paramhansa”, Shri Sai Nath of Shirdi”, “Guru Nanak” etc.

The Sadguru guides his disciple to attain God for which Guru Bhakti (devotion to Guru) is the most important requirement. Therefore, the disciples are duty bound to keep their Guru in high reverence.

The life of the modern man has become very complex. He cannot follow the elaborate Puja systems and rituals followed by his ancestors. There is shortage of time and in these difficult moments; the only recourse left to human beings is to keep faith in Sadguru who guides them to spiritual betterment. Hence, worship of Sadguru is the most important Puja in today's world.


Monday, August 10, 2009

Miscellaneous Vedic Queries

Miscellaneous Vedic Queries



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.



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

Monastic Life

Monastic Life


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.



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

Astrology

Astrology



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.


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

Animals

Animals



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.




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

Image Worship

Image Worship


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.


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

Samadhi

Samadhi


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.

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

Yoga and Meditation

Yoga and Meditation

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.




“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.



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

Angels and Satan

Angels and Satan


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.


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

Channeling

Channeling



What is going on with the channeling phenomenon that seems to expand almost daily? Do high beings of light ever speak through human beings? What is the value (if any) of their so-called “wisdom” and predictions? Are these False Prophets, like it speaks of in the Bible?


The question of “channeling” is not a simple one because under that single term there may occur several differing phenomena: 1) a conscious tapping into the knowledge of the Higher Self through which a person can “read” the Cosmos; 2) direct inspiration from the Higher Self; 3) direct inspiration from another being; 4) mediumistic or shamanistic “control” by another entity; 5) simple fakery.


Let us take each one in turn and examine it.


Number One is rare because it takes a great degree of purification for the mind to be able to catch in an undistorted manner–and without interpretation interpolated by the “rational” mind–the subtle perceptions that take place on the level of the Higher Self. Those who have this ability do not make it public, so you can be sure that those who claim to do so really cannot! Moreover, no one who uses the “four soul killers”–meat, nicotine, alcohol, and mind-altering drugs–is capable of this at any time.


Number Two is possible, but only takes place within the context of the individual’s spiritual life and is never “done” for others.


Number Three is very possible, but again when it is positive and reliable it takes place only for the assistance of the individual, and not for someone to communicate to another. Obsession by negative spirits and the psychic invasion of another’s mind are both possible and greatly prevalent. One spiritual teacher of the East who has great experience with combatting negative psychic forces told a friend of mine that virtually every person living in the West–and the United States specifically–is obsessed to some degree by one or more negative entities. This is a terrible thought, but my personal observation confirms it. Those who make a public thing of relaying messages from invisible beings are harming both themselves and those who listen to them with faith.


Number Four is prevalent also and is always evil. You ask in your letter: “Do high beings of light ever speak through human beings?” The answer is: Never. For to do so the entity would have to invade and actually displace the individual, pushing him out of his body. This is a terrible thing to do, as it greatly harms the medium. Those great ones who have a message for humanity either appear objectively and speak their message, or they take human birth and live among us and teach us. Even God does not disdain to do so! But the lying or ignorant entities cannot–nor do they want to, for they have contempt for the human status, however noble their “channeled” words may be. A fundamental principle is enunciated by Saint Paul: “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”1 That is, a person with positive psychic abilities is always in control, and never relinquishes that control to anyone. A being that would seize control of another’s body and will is never positive, but a being of darkness and destruction. This is without exception.


It is true that “tramp souls” do invade unsuspecting people, and even pretend to be great masters and figures from history (if they told their real identity the game would be up). They mix truth in with their error, using it as bait to convince those who are cautious that they are reliable. They continually speak “wisdom”–but what profit does it bring their hearers? It is not intellectual teaching we need, but practical instruction in spiritual development. A true master shows others how to become masters themselves rather than wasting their time with endless revelations that have no practical application.“Channeled” books and messages are classical examples of this useless verbiage.


There are various types of false prophets, and “channelers” are one type, though many of them are sincere people who, because of their own negative karmas, are themselves as deceived as their hearers.



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

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism

My mother gave me your Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet booklet. I am currently a meat-eater whose attempts at spiritual growth and meditation have been difficult and the information you have provided has shown me how to overcome those difficulties. But I have some questions: 1) Could I experience withdrawal symptoms when my "bodies" start expelling the toxins from eating meat? If so, what should I expect? 2) How long does it take for these toxins to be expelled from my bodies? When could I expect to be free of these negative influences?

No one I know has ever had "withdrawal" problems upon becoming a vegetarian. It might be that someone in their fifties or sixties would have some reaction from so long a time of eating meat, but I have known several who did not. One thing is sure: there is no need to work up to being a vegetarian by slowly eliminating meat from the diet. The best thing is to stop instantly. Some people say that if the body is used to meat the switch to vegetarian should not be at once. That is as silly as saying that if our body is used to drinking polluted water we should quit gradually. After all, meat is not heroin, or like whiskey to an alcoholic. It is "addicting," but only psychologically. It has been my observation that a definite (perceptible) change for the better occurs six months after becoming a vegetarian-that is after abstaining absolutely from meat, fish, and eggs. Then after three more years a dramatic difference is experienced. Naturally, the improvement is happening all along, but these times are like plateaus we reach in the purification of our bodies. Interestingly enough, in the Eastern Christian monastic tradition an aspirant is a postulant for six months and a novice for three more years before becoming a permanent monastic. There must be a connection somewhere.

Doesn't the Genesis account of the sacrifices of Cain and Abel contradict the position of vegetarians?

Here is the incident you refer to: "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect."


Where in this account of Cain and Abel's sacrifice is there any mention of eating whatsoever-either of vegetables or of animals?


It is obvious that the acceptability or unacceptability of the sacrifices was a matter of the inner disposition of those who offered. Considering that later on non-animal food substances were daily offerings in the Temple, it would not be logical to conclude from this story that animal offering is acceptable and vegetable offering is not. (Though that, too, would have absolutely nothing to do with the principles of vegetarianism.)


Nor can it reasonably be concluded from the Genesis account that the animals offered by Abel were killed. Rather, they were dedicated to the service of God-just as the Essenes insisted upon doing at the time of Jesus.


The killing of animals and the eating of their flesh was absolutely unknown to Adam, Eve, and their children. Only later in the spiritual degeneracy of the human race did the hideous practice of flesh-eating arise.


It is interesting to see that carnivores consistently see only what they like in their reading of Genesis, and completely ignore the explicit statements that vegetarianism was the divinely ordained diet for both humans and animals: "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.


Neither humans nor animals are natural flesh-eaters. To be so is to violate the divine pattern.


Some people think that Saint Paul's saying that false spiritual teachers would be "forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving" is a condemnation of monastic life and vegetarianism. What do you think?


I think they need to hear the words of Jesus: "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." And those who pay attention to their ludicrous distortions of the Bible need to heed some other words of Saint Paul: "From such turn away."


Even a little good sense should show that this verse has nothing whatsoever to do with monastic life. In Christianity today monastics are found in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some European Evangelical Churches. (In the Evangelical churches the monastics are known as deacons and deaconesses.) None of these churches prohibit marriage, so such an accusation cannot be brought against them.


A person does not become a monastic because he has been forbidden to marry. Rather, he takes up monastic life to fulfill spiritual aspirations, the intensity of which preclude marriage-just as do certain secular careers. Both the Lord Jesus and Saint Paul7 speak highly of the celibate life as a worthy offering unto God.


As is usual with such ignoramuses, the word "meat" is taken to mean animal flesh, whereas the word maton used by Saint Paul (who was writing in Greek) simply means "foods." And the food "which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving" is clearly described in the Book of Genesis where God tells Adam: "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Those who cannot understand this simply do not wish to do so.


But Saint Paul was talking about something-what was it? He was speaking of those who would try to introduce into the Christian Church some very ancient ideas of those who were dualistic in their philosophy. Such persons usually believed that either the entire creation was produced by an evil power, or that some of the things to be found within creation had been placed there by evil forces. Such persons believed that some vegetables had been created by the Satanic power and that to eat them was to become tainted by evil powers and even to come under their control. They especially abhorred all root vegetables since they grew in the darkness and not in the light. (Some said that potatoes were all right to eat since when cut open they were found to be "light"-white-inside. You can draw your own conclusions about this type of thinking.) Others preached against the supposed evils of eating beans (!). And so the list went. It was the incursion of these ideas into Christianity which Saint Paul was warning against.


All this simply goes to show that the Bible in the hands of non-Gnostics-becomes an instrument of utter foolishness.




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

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Reincarnation and Karma

Reincarnation and Karma


When I listen to people on TV that talk to spirits that have passed on, they say that we chose to come back as who we are in this life, so that almost sounds like it was a script we chose to live out. That seems to be that it was all written and what happens is predisposed.


We do indeed determine what each life is going to be in a general way. For reincarnation does not stand alone. In fact, it is not an entity unto itself, but is the result of karma, the law that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). So every time we are about to reincarnate we look at our karmic balance sheet and decide just what karmas-good and bad-shall be reaped in the next life. It is rather like plotting a drama in which we are going to be the star. Having outlined the play, we then work on our costume-the kind of body we are going to have-and the sets-the kind of place we are going to live in, who our families are going to be, and what kind of people will surround us. But all this is just the framework. Within that framework our free will, and that of those involved in our life, determines most of what goes on with us-especially inside us. And since even the framework is of our own construction, that too is completely a matter of free will, actually. Destiny is simply the free will we have already set in motion.


The famous French playwright, Moliere, did not write out the dialogue of his plays. Instead he wrote the plot-divided into scenes and acts-on a big blackboard which the actors read and then went out and improvised. After each performance they discussed how it had gone and made changes in the plot outline and refined the dialogue. When they felt it was as good as it could be, it was all written down with stage directions and printed for others to act from. This is very much like our life as we live out performance after performance through reincarnation.


Let me give some examples of karma. If we are meant to be the renowned leader of a great army, it is a pretty safe bet that we will have to choose to be a man. And our male body will have to be healthy. If we are meant to fight on the side of good, then we will have to be born in a country whose policies are for the right things. And we will have to be born in a country that has a large army. And it have to be that country's karma to engage in warfare. We will have to find the place to be born that can supply us with all this.


Now where does free will come in? Everywhere. Because what I have outlined is just the skeleton of a life. Each person has to fill in the spaces, and they usually are far more than the simple karmic bones.


Another thing about free will and destiny. We may be destined to go to Chicago, but we will choose how we go: bus, train, plane, car, or hitchhike, and if we hitchhike or drive we will decide what route we want to take. The road of karma has many (very many) branches, and we decide when we come to them which one to take. So we move freely within a predetermined framework. If we want to build a fence it can only be within the boundaries of the land we own. If we live on an island we can only travel within its boundaries. So we do have freedom, but it is not unlimited.


It also happens very often that our karma is not to do something, but to have the chance to do it. In some lives we may have the possibility to take up several professions, and we are completely free to choose from those. So we do a lot of "I will" and "I won't" within the framework of our karma. Those choices in their own turn create karma which will manifest in the future. When we look at it, we see ourselves as both caught in the machine of karma and at the same time as the free owner and operator of the karma. Ultimately, it is freedom that is the truth of the whole thing.


Yes, it is all predisposed-by us. Yet, as I have said, the predisposition is only a general outline. At every moment we fill in the details, choosing right then.


If that is the case, then we are automatically going to learn what we chose (unbeknownst to us at the time) to learn in this lifetime.


Unfortunately, learning what we should learn from life as it manifests our karma is not at all a guaranteed matter. That is where not only free will comes in, but also the ability to understand the lesson and the desire to get the right answer. Our karma gives us the chance to learn. It does not force us to learn.


Often we lose our free will and understanding as a result of spiritual ignorance-the state of darkened heart and mind. Lots of labels are put on this state such as "sin," "negativity," "challenges," and such like. But we do not need to know what to call it, we need to know how to get rid of it. And how do we do that? By the learning that comes from reincarnation!


Does this sound like chasing our own tail? It is. That is exactly what reincarnation is for us. The moment we wise up...reincarnation stops.


If we are choosing to come back and live this life to learn something, how do we know what it is?


How right you are! You have understood what nearly everybody misses: We have to figure out what we have come here to learn. Otherwise we fritter away life after life, meandering along getting nowhere.


You see, all that we need to know-why and how we got here and what do do now-is clearly known to the mind of our soul (spirit). But we are out of touch with our soul (a lot of people do not even know they have one) and consequently have not a clue. So we must awaken our soul consciousness. We have to know who and what we are before we can begin to have a glimmering about the who and what of God. When we really enter into the full awareness of our soul the awareness and knowledge of God will start coming about automatically. When we shut the doors of our mind and senses and turn deep within we will find the Great Secret: God.


I understand that it all works together for spiritual enlightenment, but how does the day-to-day process such as what type of job we have or our financial situation or our relationships with our friends and family come to play in the spiritual journey?


The day-to-day things are a result of karma-opportunities to work it out and learn from it. They are the classroom in which we learn (or flunk) the karmic lessons.


There is an important word that rhymes with karma: Dharma. Dharma is often mistranslated as "religion" or "righteousness." There really is no way to translate it; for dharma means that way of life in which we shall most quickly come to the realization of our true self and God. Dharma, like karma, is an individual matter, tailored for each one of us. It is the way by which we make sure that our karma moves us along in our growth into God. Dharma is the way of life (and thought) that takes us to the realization of our full spiritual potential.


With this perspective we can see that some jobs, people, situations, environment, and suchlike are in tune with dharma (dharmic), and some are against dharma (adharmic), and we have to use our free will to affirm the one and eliminate the other.


Do you think that souls that have warlike and violent tendencies reincarnate over and over because they are locked into a negative cycle?


The fact is, those who have any habitual patterns of behavior which they indulge will be dragged by them from incarnation to incarnation. Those who perceive the tendencies to those behavior patterns within themselves but refuse to indulge them, and work to eliminate them from their inner minds, will in time succeed and break the bondage they impose.


The only "habit" we should cultivate is that of lifting our consciousness to God in japa and meditation, for that frees us-not only from this world but ultimately from all "worlds" so we may reenter the transcendent Absolute from which we originally came.


What good does it do for us to reap karma if we are not aware what it is we are suffering for? For example, what help can an infant who is abused receive from reaping such negative karma if it does not realize what is going on?


Certainly, there is a point in our evolution where it is good to consciously understand what has caused the present sufferings-that is, if such understanding will truly facilitate our learning. (The reaping of karma is always for learning and growth-never for punishment or even reward.) Those who have a conscious spiritual life-a life of intentional spiritual discipline-will be shown such things when they need them. There will be no need to poke around on our own to discover the roots of the karma. Sometimes it is better that we not know on the conscious level. However, our true self, the immortal spirit, the higher self, is always aware of what is going on. Therefore every unit of karmic return is of ultimate benefit. Our job is to keep on treading the path and get beyond karma.


What effect does "repenting" have upon our karmic debts?


None whatsoever. True repentance, which is a definite and lasting reformation of life and thought, is necessary to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistaken action that produced the present karma. Feeling sorrow for a wrong action is beneficial only if it produces this reformation. Just being sad and depressed means nothing. In fact it is spiritually harmful. Nor is there any need to ask God for forgiveness. That is as silly as asking our parents to forgive us if we get burnt when we touch something hot, assuming that the pain will cease upon being told we are forgiven. Saying "forgive me" has value when it indicates that we are aware of our wrong and are determined not to repeat it. So it is good to tell both God and man that we are sorry and acknowledge our wrong-and set our will not to repeat it. Thus, while repenting does not affect our karmic debts incurred in the past, it can be a preventive measure for the future. And in the metaphysical realm an ounce of prevention is also worth more than a pound of cure.


You seem to accept that the Hindu/Buddhist concept of reincarnation is compatible with Christianity. How is this, and how is it that the Chritian churches are apparently ignorant of this dramatic data?


Reincarnation is not an exclusively Hindu-Buddhist teaching, but has from the beginning been an integral part of Orthodox Judaism. Because this fact would imply that Christ and the Apostles would have held the belief in rebirth as Orthodox Jews, it has become a policy to toss around the red herring of "Hindu-Buddhist" whenever the ignorant have wished to combat the truth of reincarnation. (We met one bishop who thought Edgar Cayce had originated the concept of rebirth and so called all who believed in it "Cayce-ites." It seems that ignorance compounds itself.)


If you are interested in a historical study of reincarnation in both Judaism and Christianity, I recommend May A Christian Believe In Reincarnation? The British Methodist minister Leslie Weatherhead has also written an article on the subject, but I do not know if it is still in print. I am sure that you could track it down through Interlibrary Loan. There is another book entitled Reincarnation For Christians that you might find significant as well. The three Weatherhead-Cranston anthologies on reincarnation also contain material from Christian writers. Another book is Reincarnation In Christianity by Dr. Geddes MacGregor, who I believe is a Presbyterian.


There is a great difference between what some Christians know and what they say they knows. Some knowledge is simply swept under the convenient carpet of cowardly silence and some is outright denied.


One leading archpriest within a major "canonical" Byzantine Orthodox jurisdiction within this country not only believes in reincarnation, but has engaged for years in research into methods of past-life recall. Our monastery has done research for him on the subject of reincarnation in early Christianity, and that research has been embodied in May A Christian Believe In Reincarnation? I am sorry to tell you that this very priest also publicly denounces reincarnation as incompatible with Orthodox Christianity! This is because of the vicious fear and ignorance which was sanctified and canonized by the Emperor Justinian through his falsification of the decrees of the so-called Fifth Ecumenical Council. (Both Roman Catholic and Protestant scholars have written on the subject of the falsification of the decree, among them being the eminent Catholic-and later Old Catholic-theologian Von Dollinger. A brief discussion is also included in the Nicene Fathers series.)


I well remember discussions with a very learned Greek Orthodox theologian on the subject of reincarnation. Although he knew the truth of the matter, he continually took refuge in the assertion that "at this late date" it would be impossible to speak the truth since it was commonly held that an "infallible" Council had declared the beliefs in pre-existence of the soul and rebirth to be false. (The fact is, reincarnation was not at all mentioned in the interpolated decrees, though pre-existence was.)


Another ploy besides attributing the concept of reincarnation to Hinduism and Buddhism is to attribute it to "the heretic" Origen. This is also quite convenient, as it draws attention from the fact that other Church Fathers also openly taught it.


My favorite comment on the subject of reincarnation is that given by the holy Roman Catholic Capuchin stigmatist-saint, Padre Pio. When one of his spiritual daughters was "told on" for believing in reincarnation, he told her accusers very firmly: "It does not matter what you believe about reincarnation. The only thing that matters is this: Are you seeking for God now?"


I read in a Christian magazine that reincarnation denies our individuality, and also that if we lived many times it would be impossible for us to know which body to resurrect in at the end of time. What is your response to this?


Nothing either you or I could ever say will change the opinion of those whose minds are so coarsened that they would put forth such objections. But if you want a verbal response I will give it.


The true individual is the immortal spirit that is inhabiting the body, which is nothing more than the vehicle or the clothing of that spirit. The objectors to reincarnation do not believe that when the body dies and turns to dust the individual has ceased to exist-their theology affirms that it indeed does continue its existence. How, then, can they say that the body is a determinant of individuality? Even they will admit that every seven years the body of each of us is totally replaced, that not a cell remains of the previous body. Therefore in the span of a single lifetime we live in several bodies and do not lose our individuality.


It is of course true that from life to life we differ in our personalities, but so do we differ within a single life as we move from infancy to childhood, to adulthood and onward. It is to be hoped that the individual continues to evolve-and therefore to change in outlook and thought-throughout the entire lifespan. That which holds all this together like the string within a strand of beads is the principle of pure consciousness-the spirit which, as has been said, is the only element of individuality, the body being only an expression of that individuality.


A perusalof the earliest Christian writings reveals that Christians originally believed that creation has never begun nor will ever cease to be, but goes on in continuous cycles. This creation is not the first, nor is it the last. This was Christian teaching from the beginning. Those who believe otherwise have deviated from original Christianity. Does the fact of many creations deny the individuality of God? For creation is the body of God. Being made in the image of God, we, too, take on many bodies until we return into His infinite Bosom. But the individuality both of God and of His images never loses its integrity.


As far as the resurrection of the body is concerned-whether there is reincarnation or not, as Saint Paul declared: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 15:50). Therefore the concept of the resurrection of the body into an eternal state is alien to genuine Christian teaching, and the question of "which body?" is not a problem.


Have you ever heard of anyone refusing to reincarnate–and succeeding? If we have free will we must surely be able to make such a decision. Otherwise, in my opinion, we are nothing but slaves.


First we must realize that reincarnation is determined exclusively by the individual spirit, or atman. God has nothing to do with it, although God has manifested the worlds in which reincarnation can occur. Nor are there any “Lords of Karma” that decide when spirits reincarnate. Even more important, we must understand that karma is not some blind, omnipotent and inescapable force that drags or impels us into incarnation after incarnation. The belief in these three “causes” of reincarnation arises from a miscomprehension of what karma actually is, and an ignorance of the sole purpose of rebirth.


Karma is not some kind of subtle energy accumulation of merit (“good karma”) or demerit (“bad karma”), but rather is the psychic conditioning resulting from the states of mind and will that produced our past actions. Karma is a kind of kink in the mind and the other subtle energy bodies which at present make us “human.” The atman is consciously–and intelligently–working its way toward the state of perfection we call Liberation. It is the atman alone that determines when and where we shall reincarnate and exactly which kinks we will be working on in each life. If the will of the atman is not carried out then evolution stops and we stagnate.


The spiritual intelligence of the atman is often called the “higher mind.” In contrast to this is the “lower mind” that is the egocentric bundle of attraction/aversion impulses that are rooted in complete ignorance and selfishness. This lower mind is always in conflict with the higher mind, for its basis is ignorance and distortion of perception. This mind is indeed a slave, and has no possibility of free will, for it not only functions only in the world of bondage, it has no existence independent of the Self. It is a mirage, an illusion. It does not really “exist” in the ultimate sense. Naturally, it claims to be the only mind we have, and insists that it possesses and exercises free will.


Although the lower mind is not a conscious entity unto itself, nevertheless it is energy-force and therefore can produce effects, including influencing our incarnate and discarnate states.


On occasion the higher mind stands aside and lets the lower mind have its way so the folly and impotence of the lower mind can be revealed–even to itself. This results in suffering, as the only possible consequence, something the lower mind–being psychopathic–insists comes from God, the Lords of Karma, or even karma itself. Rarely does it admit the truth of its own responsibility, and when it does we know that its dissolution is beginning and freedom is dawning.


Deluded people often refuse to incarnate. Usually this results in nothing more than their being rebellious and embittered for the entire time of a particular birth. But it can also be the cause of continual bouts of life-threatening illnesses. The individual bounces between nearly dying and being suddenly cured. The lower mind is trying to escape through death, but it also possesses a clinging to life that militates against its attempts. This moral schizophrenia grips a lot of human beings.


On occasion the individual tries to avoid rebirth by preventing the subtle bodies from entering the physical body at birth (for there is a separation during the mother’s labor). If he succeeds, then the body remains inert, often paralyzed, and observers assume the person is a hopeless idiot. At other times the refusal results in the production of a horribly defective body–oftentimes not even of human configuration. Whichever occurs, the foolish person has to spend the span of an entire incarnation standing next to the body it has refused to incarnate–a hardly enjoyable consequence.


Other deluded people refuse to die and remain earthbound, attached to their physical body. This awful bondage can last for hundreds and even thousands of years. This is real slavery!


Nevertheless, in time the futility of such pain-bearing refusals become evident to even the most stubborn individuals and they stop such stupid attempts at thwarting the true free will, the free will of the divine Self. Then evolution proceeds, and in time they are free from the necessity for rebirth. This alone is freedom.





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