VEDANTA EXPLAINEDA Spirituality for the 21st Century

BOOK ONE

ContentsForeword

Chapter oneIn the beginning…

Chapter twoThe view from the summit

Chapter threeThe view from the valley

Chapter fourThe view from the mountainside

BOOK TWO

THE GOLDEN THREAD Sources of India’s spiritual traditions

CONTENTSForeword

IntroductionChapter one

The big pictureChapter two

Overview of the six systemsChapter three

The VedasChapter four

The UpanishadsChapter five

NyayaChapter sixVaisesika

Chapter sevenSamkhya

Chapter eightYoga

Chapter nineThe Schools of Vedanta

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ForewordIn a world of paradoxes, here is another; the spirituality that is more appropriate to this

Atomic age is in fact, ancient. This is so because it is free of specific religious traditions and does not depend upon faith in a single savior, doctrines, or belief systems, but upon individual courage, intelligence and diligence. This spirituality encompasses the age-old views the Hindu sages had about the meaning of life and the Universe. Bits and pieces of these views have been filtering through Western culture for many years now, often fragmented, superficial and without mention of the dept owed to original sources. Here are the major teachings all together in the one book; so come on a fascinating journey through enchanted lands of deep insights, revelations, startling notions and beautiful ideas. Explore an alternative Universe and discover another life. You may arrive back from where you started with a fresh new mind.

Chapter oneIn the beginning…

According to Hindu traditions, the first of their great sages were called Rishis. They were part of the creation of human life, bringing with them the laws of living embodied in the scriptures and philosophies. Since then there have been countless Rishis born in all cultures and nations and no matter where or when they all advise much the same things and broadly speaking, share common world views. Within this wide scope there are many differences due to the level of their understanding, their cultural heritage and language.

Going back to the Hindu traditions, the knowledge the first Rishis brought have been modified, refined and developed into the most succinct and complete expression about the nature of the Universe, the world and the significance of being human. In its present form it is called the Sanatana Dharma or the Eternal Law. Aldous Huxley named it the Perennial Philosophy, though in its various or partial expressions it is known by many other names.

The most complete description can be found in the Hindu teachings for the simple reason that the living springs have been kept flowing through lines of enlightened sages for thousands of years. According to some academics the wisdom of the sages was first written down in the Sanskrit language about three thousand years ago. Much of it has been translated into English and other languages to such an extent that some of it has become common parlance.

In the 21st Century, the theories or axioms of science tend to confirm many of the ideas found in the Eternal Religion, giving birth to a marvelous fusion of cultural traditions. This phenomenon has profound significance, not only for this age but also for all time to come.The sages and their works

So what is this wonderful world-view the sages have carefully nurtured since the beginning of time? Can it be expressed in common language and can the whole broad canvass be explained in a small book? This book is one such attempt; its purpose being to present the teachings of the great sages, saints, yogis, and philosophers who have contributed to the sum total of teachings now known as Vedanta.

The most salient teachings have been presented in a simplified form in order to avoid the difficulties involved in grappling with Sanskrit terms and academic references, so that a clear exposition of the teachings of the Hindu sages can be easily understood.

Within the Hindu culture the volume of philosophical literature is immense and varied. This exposition is taken from many such different sources; all considered authoritative treatises of Vedanta philosophy. Vedanta is the name given to the summation of knowledge known as the Upanishads, contained in the immense body of work known as the Vedas, ascribed to and sung by many ancient Rishis. (It is worth mentioning that twenty-seven of them were women). The authors of the Upanishads however, are anonymous; the treatises referred to are by great sages such as Kanada, Gautama, Kapila, Shankara and Sadananda for the most part.

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The Universe was a living being to the sages who sung the Vedas. One of their most remarkable achievements was to deify and humanize everything at the same time. The sun was the father of the moon and night was his daughter, and the dawn was night’s sister; earth, air, fire and water were Gods and rites, rituals and festivals were timed to accord with the phases of the moon, for the moon was the deity of the mind.

The Vedas are not only religious but worldly and practical as well. They address all of life. The first part of the Vedas is called the Action section. It outlines the way to be happy by living in accordance with ethical laws and duties accompanied by oblations and sacrifices to maintain the harmony of nature. The Gods or Goddesses propitiated were seen as aspects of the one energy that structures creation and that energy was understood to be an expression of the Absolute Existence, Intelligence and Joy they called Brahman. Because material life is subject to suffering, is transitory and limited, it must ultimately be unsatisfactory. The human heart and mind long for something greater. This longing is the transcendental urge to which the second part of the Vedas is dedicated. It is the Knowledge section called the Upanishads. There are over one hundred Upanishads though the most quoted are eleven. Many great sages have written commentaries upon them. They are dedicated to transcending the limitations of ordinary life and awareness and thus, the achievement of liberation, immortality, freedom from birth and death and everlasting peace and felicity. Because this is only possible through one’s realisation of Brahman it is known as Brahmavidya. It is also known as Atmavidya, which brings in the idea of Self (atma). This points to one of the basic revelations of the sages – that what we intuit as the Self is in fact an aspect of Brahman. Self-realisation is Brahmavidya. These are world - shattering ideas the sages have taken great pains to explain.

As it is written in the Mundaka Upanishad ‘Heaven is his head, the sun and moon his eyes, the four quarters his ears, the revealed scriptures his voice, the air is his breath; the Universe is his heart. From his feet came the earth. He is the innermost Self of all’.Though the Upanishads are simple expressions of intuitive perceptions and not abstruse

philosophy, the knowledge they contain is not meant to be regarded as interesting ideas to while away the time or be read as cultural anthropology or even in a study of comparative religion. The world-views expressed by the sages are not a product of speculative thought nor are they based on a religious dogma to be believed in for fear of hellfire. They are based on their personal experience in heightened states of awareness and expressed in succinct intellectual form with great discrimination. Many of the subtler truths the sages proclaim are not easy to comprehend at first reading because they challenge our commonsense notions, but this will excite and not deter earnest readers. For the most part, the Upanishads are expressed in simple poetic language that is delightful to read.

Rather than wanting passive acceptance and belief in their ideas the sages seek to encourage an attempt by others to gain the same state of heightened awareness they enjoy. So the truth of the Upanishads is to be made real in the life of the hearer. They are meant to be sung in preference to being read. The means to this realization is daily hearing, thinking about what is heard and then meditating on it until the truth becomes a part of one’s nature. The teaching method was to repeat the seminal ideas in many different ways and from within varying contexts, so that a comprehensive understanding could grow. This method has been followed in this text. Other methods were included in later ages such as Yoga, rituals and various spiritual disciplines.

Traditionally, the student studied under a realized teacher or Guru and was tested and trained until ready. The fortunate ones reached that state of awareness “by attaining which, all other attainments pale into insignificance, being established in which, one is not shaken by the most adverse of circumstances.” Springs rivers and oceans

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The streams that flow out from the living springs of this realization have been the arts, science, religion and philosophy. Rather than clash as they have done in Western nations these streams of culture have flowed together to make a very deep ocean.

In the Hindu culture, philosophy is not merely an intellectual pursuit but an attempt to express the truth revealed by faith or revelation whose validity is judged by the rigorous application of reason and logic. Science is the law obtained by the intuitive insight of minds trained in reason and logic along with application to a particular issue.

Two thousand five hundred years ago Indian Universities in Taxila and Nalanda led the world in science and attracted students from as far as Greece, Korea, Persia and China. Many of the basic concepts of modern day science were known. The great sage Kanada taught atomic science and the relativity of time and space and that the smallest unit of time in the Universe was the time it took for an atom to traverse its own unit of space and many other ‘modern’ ideas. Because the object of science was to reveal wonder and inform philosophy it was never used to exploit nature for materialistic ends. Perhaps this was because the sages knew that such exploitation would lead to the ecological, social and personal disasters this century is now reaping.

Religion gave the people the fruits of these philosophical insights expressed by the easy to comprehend arts of music, dance and painting. Thus an integrated well-knit culture was created that in spite of the problems of its old age, has stood the test of time.

Religion and philosophy

The focus of philosophy is truth; the focus of religion is God. One is primarily of the heart, the other of the head. Head and heart are the necessary poles of human life. Religion without intellect can become a morass of dogma, prejudice, ignorance and sentimentality. The intellect without altruistic feeling is soulless and dry and can serve only mundane materialistic ends. Philosophy of the mind and heart and religion of the heart and mind are complimentary. The sages say that truth is God and God is truth. A saintly sage once said,

One cannot know truth through knowledge of the world. But through discrimination and reason one can gain true understanding. Philosophical speculations ultimately lead to the conclusion that the world is illusory and the Lord, who is infinite, is alone true. He graciously assumes the form of man so that human beings might be able to understand a little of Him.

That simple statement goes to the core of all religions. But for most of us, getting a clear understanding of the significance and role of religion is difficult because the major religions have become compromised by cultural and political issues. So much so, that these influences are commonly regarded as essential to the religion itself. Religion is, simply put, the knowledge and worship of God, yet the leading religions are overlaid with redundancies. They worship many other things, which may include privilege and hierarchy, history, prejudice, buildings, wealth, insularity, doctrines, and the various cultural and political overlays that have often eclipsed the simple core of the religion with a tough outer shell.

Different opinions within each religion create schisms; governments, individuals and movements then amplify and exploit the resulting divisions for economic or political advantage. At the present time such exploitation has become the major cause of conflict and wars, but such events are not the natural outcome of religion itself. Sages have always attempted to reconcile these differences, some at the cost of their life.

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The sages’ philosophies

There are six major schools of Hindu spiritual philosophy, each one known as a darshana, meaning sight, vision or viewpoint. Mimamsa of Jaimini seeks to prove the authority of the Vedas by investigating reasoning and the relation of word, thought, acts and meaning. Nyaya philosophy of Gautama deals mainly with reason, logic, rhetoric and an analysis of difference. Vaisheshika of Kanada deals with the same issues from a cosmic point of view that includes metaphysics and the law of time cycles. Samkya of Kapila deals mainly with cosmic evolution from Brahman down to matter, occult anatomy and psychology. Yoga and its offshoot Tantra deal with psychology, metaphysics, rituals, occult anatomy and methods of realization. Vedanta led by sages such as Madhava, Ramanuja and Shankara include spiritual philosophies that harmonize all things – reason and logic, faith and reason, religion and philosophy, mind and body, humans and nature, God and matter.

The spiritual philosophies of the Hindu sages have been classified into three groups depending upon the views they express concerning the reality and creation of the Universe, the nature, meaning and purpose of being human and how best to endure, change or transcend the limitations imposed upon us.

Philosophers have called these viewpoints dualistic, qualified non-dualistic and non-dualistic, thus highlighting their differences, which has created conflict amongst their adherents, though modern sages have shown them to be complementary, not conflicting, doctrines. Comparisons of the three views and the different teachings of the leading exponents is a subject it would take many books to explore.

The major differences are that dualists hold that the Universe has been made by a God external to it, as a potter makes a pot, and that there is a real distinction between God and nature, nature and humans, and between each person. The world and differences are real and we are bound by fixed morals and ethics and belong to one of a few distinctly different types of human beings.

Qualified non-duality sees the Universe as a transformation and embodiment of the Creator as curd is different from, but a transformation of milk. Humans are therefore an offspring of the Creator of the Universe who has given us the world as a sort of playground, and guides us back home to a parental embrace when we grow tired of it.

Non-dualism sees the Universe as a sort of apparition projected by, upon and within absolute awareness, as the appearance of a snake might be believed to exist where there is, in fact, only a coil of rope. Everything in experience is therefore relative and only apparently real. Freedom and liberation from relativity is the goal of life, by whatever means.

Not all the schools of Hindu spiritual philosophy advocate or depend upon a belief in God, nor do they extol atheism. As an example, the Sankya philosophy that is the basis for much of Yoga, is a spiritual philosophy without being theistic. Its founder, the sage Kapila, leaves the matter open, stating as a proviso that ‘God is not proved’.

Yoga and other philosophies may be incorporated in Vedanta and Yoga may share a mix of systems or appear to support one or the other, though it is generally considered to be dualistic. The leading exponents of each system are usually considered to be the sages, Jaimini, Kanada, Kapila, Patanjali, and Madhava, Ramanuja and Shankara of the three schools of Vedanta proper. Each of these famous sages had brilliant disciples who added much to the original texts, so there is an immense amount of literature, exposition and investigation. If these and the schools of Yoga, Tantra, Buddhist, Jain and other teachings were added to this book, it would contain much more information, so vast and varied are the expositions. However interesting this might be to some readers, most of it would be only different interpretations of the same themes or various subtle aspects of them.

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Taken in its entirety, Hindu philosophy is not a single viewpoint developed by a few sages, but many viewpoints expounded by many sages, with infinite ramifications. However, the three classifications, though they get fuzzy at the overlaps, is a useful way of understanding the development of Hindu thought. Most of the contents of this book are interpretations of the qualified and non-dualistic schools.

There is no room in the sages’ philosophy for fanciful notions of eternal damnation or everlasting harp playing in an antiseptic heaven, resurrection of every dead body that ever existed, or an eternity that only starts when the saved pass on. It is a philosophy of joy and freedom. It is not dependent on inspiring fear, but praises fearlessness.

Humans are sung of as children of immortal bliss; not miserable creatures born in sin, but self-directed people wending their way through a fascinating maze to find security at the winning post – final beatitude. For this reason, many of the sages have used the child’s game of ‘blind man’s bluff’ as a metaphor for the game of life.

The sages do not expect that what they say should be accepted on faith alone. Faith is certainly needed in the case of propositions that cannot be supported by reason, logic and demonstration, but rational arguments, allegories and metaphors can explain all other propositions. This is the role of philosophy. According to the sages if one’s spiritual life and religion is not based on a sound philosophical foundation it will be weakened due to doubt, intellectual conflict and uninformed bigotry.

The combined views of the Hindu sages comprise all that can be said about everything. That which cannot be said is to be realized.

So here we are alive in the world and absolutely sure it is real, and that we are as we think we are. We know a great deal about many things and are very clever and rather marvelous compared to other animals. On the other hand we might feel unsure of many things and a little uncomfortable about our weaknesses, worries and limitations but we bungle through life one way or another. The startling truth, according to the sages, is that almost everything we think about ourselves and life is only half-true at best, for even for the brilliant, intelligence is clouded. The average person stumbles through life blindfolded. Intelligent people feel this and want to know some surety and clarity. They ask the big questions – Who (or what) am I? – What is life all about? – How best to live it? – What is it I can really know? - How can I achieve my desires? - Is it possible to live above the valley of sorrow and suffering? – What is it I can really be sure of? How can I get out of the mess I am in?

The sages’ philosophies answer the big questions of life in a very convincing manner that satisfies heart and head, while warning at the same time, against mere belief. Personal realization is the keynote.

Though philosophy and books cannot produce a realization of the answers, they can show the way and clarify the questions. This is important for the proper answer can not be found unless the question is expressed correctly. In many cases the correct framing of a question automatically reveals the answer. For this, clear thinking and discrimination are essential and these are the benefits of studying the sages’ philosophy.

Chapter two

The View from the Summit

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The sages saw that creation must have begun with an explosion of vast energy. This energy was not just a powerful force but an intelligent one. The intelligence came from its source, Brahman, who remains ever uncreated. In some philosophies, the uncreated is the absolute progenitor of the Universe and is regarded as the absolute male. Because the primal energy he projected gave birth to the Universe it is regarded as female and depicted as the Goddess Durga, her ten arms holding symbols of her executive powers. When she becomes active she creates the dualism of gender and all other complimentary opposites by combining three basic qualities dormant in her nature. They are the qualities of purity, activity and grossness, mixed in all things in various different percentages. These three basic qualities are in all things, states and ideas. They are the trinity upon which all and everything is founded. Here is a brief list of how something on one plane is manifest on another. These relationships are called concordances and could be extended indefinitely. Reading down the lines reveals other relationships.

Purity – Intelligence – Creation - Thought – Visions

Activity – Energy - Preservation - Will – Waking Grossness – Mass – Destruction – Feeling – Sleep

All things masculine resonate with Brahman, all things feminine resonates with Durga. Like a screen upon which the pictures are projected the uncreated is the unmoving, timeless background to everything. The Universe – all creation – is the play of energy on the uncreated.

In mythology these two may be depicted in other forms – Shiva and Parvarti for instance – but the significance of all such depictions and image-making is because spiritual perceptions and abstract concepts can be made accessible through them to everybody – wise or foolish, educated or uneducated.

As an example of this, the God Shiva is depicted as a naked ascetic carrying a trident, symbol of the gunas and all trinities. Snakes, symbols of wisdom, curl about His brow. As such, He is the God of wandering mendicants. His most popular form is as Natarajan, the cosmic dancer.

Ananda Coomaraswami, writes about Natarajan: He rising from his rapture and dancing sent through inert matter, pulsating

waves of awakening sound and lo! Matter also dances, appearing as a glory round about him. Dancing, he sustains its manifold phenomena. In the fullness of time, still dancing, he destroys all forms and names by fire and gives new rest. This is poetry, but nonetheless, science.

Solid matter hides a chaos of movements. The wild pattern of particles coming and going, appearing and disappearing, whose traces can be photographed, shows this pulsating dance of creation. Like an equation, the beautiful image of the dancing Shiva develops a theme – the upper right hand holds a drum, indicating the patterns of rhythmic change and the primordial sound of creation. The upper left holds a tongue of flame, the symbol of converting matter into energy – the element of destruction. The dynamic tension between the hands indicates the balance of forces of creation and destruction. The second right hand is raised in a gesture, which says, ‘Do not fear, for while ever I dance all creatures will exist. When I cease dancing all creatures will return to Me.’

The lower left hand points to the demigod Pralaya or oblivion, symbolizing the great night of creation or in–breathing when the universe is utterly non-existent, or the death of personal ignorance when transcendental knowledge dawns. For either, Shiva must stop dancing for Pralaya to rise. The image means that motion supports the universe and when it stops not even one speck of dust could remain. On the personal level, it means that when the dance of thoughts and dualistic tensions cease, one is free in transcendental union with Shiva. In this way the other Gods and

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Goddesses worshiped in Hinduism are symbolic aspects of spiritual philosophy easily understood, even by the illiterate.

This entire Universe and all possible others are created with only a minute portion of Brahman, so huge and incomprehensible is he. “He is the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the substratum, the storehouse, and the seed.”

The energy he projected became the three threads of qualities. Combining in accordance with mathematical laws they became one substance of the nature of universal consciousness. Then cosmic mind evolved from it whose content was the stuff of relative creation, self, mind, the five subtle elements of solid, liquid, gas, light and space, or in the classical definitions, earth, water, air, fire and ether.

These fine energies further unfold to become the elements and senses in a fine state of manifestation. They then become the gross senses, the body and the material universe. One benefit of these concepts is that they give a holistic understanding of life, in which all things are related by a subtle thread of becoming.

Here is a brief list of the concordances from the elements to the organs -

Ether – Space – Pervasiveness – Hearing - Ears – Speech - Mouth Air - Pressure – Wind – Touch - Skin – Dexterity - HandsFire – Flame - Light - Heat – Sight - Eyes – Movement - FeetWater – Waves – Fluidity - Taste - Tongue – Procreation - GenitalsEarth – Particles – Cohesion – Smell - Nose – Excretion - Bowels

The contemplation of concordances can reveal many interesting things. Perhaps one of the most obvious is the unity of all life. All creatures are not in nature; they are nature. The ecology is one, from the gross physical universe to the inner functions of biochemistry, to thoughts, feelings and ideas.

Some sages have simplified the nature of the Universe into the three principles of physical space, mental space and undifferentiated space. The first is nature as the ocean of existence; the second, the ocean of consciousness, and the third, the timeless and spaceless beyond, imminent in all. Another way of looking at this is to think of nature as matter – the totality of the perceived, with the totality of perceivers as the Universal mind and the totality of both as the inexplicable unity beyond duality where all opposites are harmonised.

The human being, at the penultimate level of organic development is in deep reciprocal relationship with everything in the Universe. Few facts can have such profound significance as this one, for it means that divisions of inner and outer, nature and us, are all fictions. Outer ecology and inner ecology are one. If we pollute our inner environment, the outer one becomes polluted as well. When we pollute the outer environment the inner one becomes tainted as well. If we are in disharmony within, society follows suit. If society is full of conflict and violence, so is nature.

The abuses we inflict upon nature rebound upon us. Nature bears the brunt of our violent exploitation until it finally provokes an equally violent reaction. When this is taken to mean we have become the victims of impersonal and powerful forces, we contrive to ignore the lessons it could teach us. When the sages tell us that we humans are responsible for the world we live in, they mean much more than our personal karma. To say the least, it is a sobering thought.

These ideas also mean that gradual unfolding is a law of life. The evolution of organisms from simple single celled amoebas to dinosaurs and human beings is one of gradual unfolding of the same basic principles undergoing greater organization and refinement. It is worth taking some time

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to consider all this. These ideas will be expressed in many different ways throughout this text because they are seminal to the sage’s view of the Universe.

The original cosmic intelligence is the template for all creation, which is based on the repetition of basic ideas. By gaining access to these ideas all creation can be understood. It is this understanding that has provided the material for this book. The most basic idea is that of cycles and rhythm by which the balance of the universe is maintained. They manifest in our life as the rhythms of sleep and waking, the tides, seasons, night and day and so on. It is by the repetition of similars that the world gets to be here and to be as it is. Gnostic philosophers summed it up in the saying ‘as above, so below’.

The oldest of all Vedas has this hymn to creation:

- There was neither mortality nor immortality,There was no confine between night and day,The One breathed breathless and Ever since nothing else has been.Darkness was all veiled in gloom profound –An ocean without light, the germ,That lay covered in the husk,Burst forth one nature from the fervent heat,Then first came Love upon it and The new spring of mind, yeaPoets in their hearts since discerned,This bond between created and uncreated things.

Comes this spark from earth,Piercing and all pervading, or from heaven?Seeds were sown, mighty powers arose,Nature below, power and will above – So this mighty creation sprang,Who knows the secret? Who here proclaims it?

He from whom all this great creation sprang,Whether His will created or was mute, The most High Seer in the highest heaven,He knows it – or perchance even He knows it not.

Many centuries ago the great Hindu sage Kanada (pre 500 BC) developed concepts of time scales and relativity that put the age of this cosmos at 4,300,560,000 years called a day of creation. The duration of the whole universe is 314,159,000,000,000 years. The intellectual feat is staggering. This figure is based on the length of the solar year and a multiple of pi (the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle). During this huge span of time this solar system goes through four seasons over and over as it too, orbits another distant sun. The universal seasons span twenty four thousand years in which there is a descending twelve thousand years from a ‘golden’ age to a ‘dark’ age and back to a ‘golden’ one again. So it goes round. This is the repeated upward cycles of evolution and the wheel of life and death in which all creatures are caught.

To sum it all up - experience of a body and world is the gross appearance of subtle mind-stuff, the origins of which can be traced back to primordial energy and finally to Brahman. After eons the creation implodes and disappears back into Brahman only to reappear again in another cycle.

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The Absolute, God and the great SheOne of the mysteries of life is how the concept of an Absolute ever came to be, seeing that

we can have no knowledge of it. It is true that an Absolute cannot be perceived, and it is also true that it can not be imagined either. The same can be said for the idea of God, unless an image is imagined to represent God. Nevertheless, these two powerful concepts are common ideas that have been in the mind of all races in different ways for millennia. How is it that these concepts, inimical to common experience, have become a part of speech and so powerful an influence? This fact is as mysterious as the birth of language. The sages can shine a light upon these ancient puzzles.

As a concept of philosophy, the absolute can have no parts and no attributes and so can possess nothing human, such as pain, pleasure, matter or mind. In some spiritual philosophies the Absolute is regarded as the Supreme, the Infinite and the sole Being of the Universe. This seems to make it utterly remote from all things human, though if it is considered as the sole Being of the Universe, it follows that it must be the sole Being of human beings as well. But if it is the one Being of all beings, it is still too remote for most minds to grasp. According to the sages, this is the reason the Impersonal Absolute is regarded by the human mind as a personal God – the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe, its material and efficient cause and the epitome of all that is most beautiful and splendid.

The sages say that the absolute Brahman is expressed in life in three themes, though in so many different ways as to make the variations unrecognizable. The great themes get lost in the particulars. Some concordances of these three have been listed as purity, activity and grossness, but there are countless ways they can be explained. In terms of human life we know that we exist and are attracted to this or that and seek happiness in one way or another, so all life can be said to be an expression of existence, attraction, and fulfillment. This trinity is the great theme of all life. The three qualities are so pervasive they can be read in thousands of different ways from the highest to the lowest - as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva - existence, intelligence, bliss – awareness, mind, matter – harmony, energy, inertia - being, love, beauty – or spirit, mind and body. When the trinity is at its most sublime and highest, as absolute being, knowing and loving, it is regarded as the sum total of all life – God, the Supreme Person.

According to some of the great sages, they see the Energy-Love-Beauty trinity of the universe as the Infinite Mother of all; the Great Goddess, omniscient yet beyond, omnipotent yet separate, the Soul of our souls and yet other than us.

She is the Mother of the universe, for She has given it birth and guides Her wayward children through the vicissitudes of the millennia to ultimate freedom. It is through Her will that the sun shines and the clouds rain and death is the meaning of life. She is the cause of all causes, the effect of all effects, action and the fruit of all action. Guided by Her infallible Will we manufacture our lives though our own actions to reap what we sow, and when we have suffered and enjoyed enough, to seek to be free from Her laws. The motive power behind all action is freedom, for it is the energy of evolution that impels us in all things. This universal struggle working within nature finds it highest expression in our conscious determination to be free. A distinctive feature of the human being is impatience with the limitations nature imposes. Walking wasn’t fast enough so we tamed other animals to carry us faster and the end result is the motor car. Ultimately, the urge leads to a spiritual quest. The worship of God as Mother is one of the great traditions inspired by many of the greatest and wisest of the sages.

The spiritual quest involves another trinity - work, worship (or dedication) and knowledge. Work is the constant effort to do nothing but good to others and to labour against all that is weak, dishonest and egocentric in our selves, and to earn a virtuous livelihood. Worship is to serve others and to spend spare time in worship, prayer, study and meditation. Knowledge is to apply oneself to the study of philosophy and scripture, but mostly to deep contemplation and meditation through which the intuition flowers into realization.

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One then abandons the slow, random, torturous paths of natural evolution and speeds towards the fulfillment of the divine love, knowledge and freedom we have blindly sought in a thousand dead ends. The Great Chain of Being

Spiritual philosophers have dreamt up an excellent scheme to help students get a handle on the nature of the Universe according to spiritual philosophy. It is called The Great Chain of Being. The diagram is a conceptual scheme and can be misleading. If the levels or realms were coloured red at the center gradually running through the spectrum to purple at the outer edge it would convey the spiritual nature of creation more realistically.

(the diagram that should bein this space will not transfer to the text)

The vertical words from the top to the center are the levels of being from the spirit to matter. The list from matter down is the scientific discipline that is applicable (more or less) to that level. Some overlap; theology for instance, might embrace soul and spirit or mysticism might include both spirit and Brahman. On the right of center each level is numbered. On the left the letters indicate a very important principle. By reading the letters on the left it is easy to see how the greater realm both transcends and includes the lesser ones. Similarly each realm has qualities not present or explainable in terms of the lesser without being in conflict with them. So the spirit transcends and includes the soul, the soul transcends and includes the mind, mind transcends and includes life, and life transcends and includes matter.

Only spirit can transcend and include all the others as Brahman transcends and includes all realms including spirit. In the diagram Brahman is outside the diagram as Spirit with a capital S. The sages use the term Brahman to convey the nature of spirit in its absolute all-encompassing, unqualified state. God or spirit is the term used to denote the immanent aspect of Brahman. In the realm of the soul a being may commune with God as spirit, but there will still be the subject-object duality however subtle. Most saints and many sages have this sort of relationship with God but to those who are in spirit the soul becomes Brahman in a non-dual state beyond all comprehension. Just as spirit transcends and includes all other states down to matter, Brahman transcends them all including spirit – and yet all the states are in Brahman. How Brahman can be both beyond and in and through everything at the same time is the fundamental paradox. It does not make the slightest sense to the human mind for very good reasons, as we shall discover later. The sages in their wisdom have avoided much confusion and dispute by acknowledging this fundamental paradox. They do not seek to deny that the Universe is a paradox. Paradox is the cause of the ancient theological argument about God being either the efficient or the material cause of the Universe. The sages say that God is both, for though our human understanding has limitations, God has none. They point out that this is not so difficult to grasp if you consider the humble spider. It creates the web out of itself, can be present in all parts and does not become bound in it or by it.

Reading from the realm of spirit to matter another principle becomes apparent; that of graded limitation, a subject that will be explored in a latter section. The idea is that each realm is a link in a chain of becoming as spirit manifests matter. This is spiritual involution. As intelligence divests itself of material limitations it becomes more and more aware of the spirit. This is spiritual evolution. This has been called the path of forthgoing and return exemplified in the biblical story of the prodigal son.Two little words say it all

It might seem like an over simplification, but the sages sum the entire Universe up in two words – name and form. Another two words with the same meaning could be words and shapes. It could also be argued that a word is a shape too; it certainly is when written, and it can be seen as a

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shape of the lips when spoken. As a vibration in the air it is a shape as well, so everything could be reduced to form. The sages say that sounds, thoughts, feelings and ideas all have a shape and colour.

This is the basis for the science of symbols that the sages developed to express philosophical and spiritual truths. One can see it exemplified in the objects held by the deities and in the complex geometrical drawings called Mandalas and Yantras. The following illustration is not a Yantra but if you look at it steadily for a time, you will experience the power of shape.Another thing will happen as you look at these shapes – you will name them.

n fact, your perception will not be complete until you have integrated the shapes with the words –

oval, triangle, square. This is a universal principle; say a name, the form comes to mind; think of a form and the name comes with it. Name and form are one. We experience this in our relation to the world, for the idea ‘I am’ (name) is coexistent with its corollary, ‘the world is’ (form). The perception of a friend’s body is one with the awareness of the name. This is why some sages have said that creation is only name and form.

The sages say that the Universe is made of sounds, so every object has its special sound vibration that could be regarded as its true name, whatever it might be called in various languages. This involves the science of sounds known as Mantras. There are 20,500 mantras in the Vedas, each one directed to a specific deity. The very strict rules governing pronunciation, intonation and meter made it possible for the original purity of the chants to be maintained over the centuries. They also produce the effects aimed for. It is the special intonations of the sounds that effect the chanter, the listener, the environment, the subtle worlds and the deities. The meanings of words used in a Vedic mantra are of secondary importance.

It is a very exact science and the special Vedic modification of sanskrit is the only language that can be used. Translations into other languages, or Anglicised pronunciations render them ineffective.

Used with the rituals described in other Vedas, along with the chanting of the great Gaitri mantra at dawn and dusk they had one purpose – to further the well being of the Universe and all its creatures

The most common spiritual practice taught by the sages is concentration on the silent repetition of specific mantras. It is the Guru’s responsibility to find the right mantra for each disciple and then initiate him or her into its use when they are ready to receive it. It is by chanting the powerful seed mantras that communion with cosmic powers and principles, becomes possible.

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The mantra thus becomes the open sesame to spiritual awareness and experience. Sound, shape, and name are one. In the final analysis all we know about anything comes down to name and form.

(This is very significant in relation to the transcendental Self. While ever we only recognise things with name and form as reality, the nameless, formless reality of the Self will remain unknown. It is this conviction that is the cause of our knowledge of things and our ignorance of the Self.)

Science has revealed the power of shape, from the double helix of DNA to the pattern of atoms in a molecule, the critical shapes of enzymes, the web of fats in a cell membrane and so on. In mathematics there is the principle of squaring and of pi – the ratio of the diameter of a circle to its circumference.

The Mandalas and Yantras of the sages hold secret knowledge to those who know how to read them. They are still used as objects of contemplation or in esoteric rituals in Buddhism and Tantra Yoga.

From these facts one gets the strong impression that the Universe as the sages saw it, was one of mathematical and geometrical precision. The knowledge of the sages about the Universe is mostly secret still, but what little we know of it is profound enough. Where science has found seemingly unfathomable complexity, the sages have discovered harmony, simplicity and unity.What sort of a Universe do you live in?

Is it the physicist’s world of four basic energies holding unfathomable bits of something together? Is it the artist’s world of colour and shape? The philosophers world of ideas and ideals? The spiritualists world of spirits, gods and goddesses and the almighty? What do the sages say?

They say that there is no such thing as a fixed, stable, knowable, entity as a Universe. There are as many apparent Universes as there are people to wonder about it. Each of us read the world we live in in our own way. Few people realise that our individual worlds are our own creations. Each of our worlds are subjective, isolated by its own images and is fragmented, inconsistent, contradictory, and temporal. It is loneliness itself. Is it any wonder we are dissatisfied with it?

Wonders of wonders!We all inhabit the same earth,Yet live in different worlds!

The grosser the mental world we have created, the more material the Universe appears, the finer the mind, the more spiritual. It is all in the mind. Each sage might have a different expression of the idea that all definitions are faulty because they are partial. Further, there can be no comprehensive definition of something as mysterious, complex, unfathomable and paradoxical as the Universe.

The greatest of the sages say that all such questions can have no answer because they are asked from within a relative consciousness grounded in delusion. The limited intelligence that frames the question could not comprehend the answer even if it were possible to give one. Further, there can not be a true answer to a delusory question. However it is possible to explain why questions to do with absolute or ultimate concepts can have no satisfactory answers.

One is verbal of course. Language, no matter how subtle is inadequate. This is why science needed to develop the language of mathematics in their search for even relative truths.

The sages don’t see the same world others see. They live in a real world where there is no time, no space, no mind, no matter, only pure consciousness that projects the relative Universe informing it and infusing it all. The world, which seems so real and material to those who believe it to be such, is to them more like insubstantial multi-coloured clouds and the events in it similar to those of a dream.

To contemplate what they say about what we think is a marvelously fascinating thing to do. It can give us an inkling of the real nature of things – the truth then begins to dawn. They tell us startling things. They point out that we can only know a world of the senses so what we call the world is merely the senses functioning and that they are fraught with error no matter what

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technological appliances we add to them. Whatever they report, the sages say, is nothing but a minute portion of the All. Not only that, but also what they seem to report are not the qualities of an objective, solid, external reality, but merely their own nature. They can only report themselves. Though this is contrary to common sense it has support from neurological science.

Consider it this way - if we took the reports of the senses as absolute truths our understanding of the Universe would still be back in the dark ages. According to sensory experience it is obvious that the sun orbits the earth, that the earth, though bumpy, is flat, that two upright poles a mile apart are parallel, that heavy things cannot be made to fly, that energy and matter are different, or that the earth is stationary in space and does not rotate. The testimony of the senses had to be transcended before the truth of all these things could be proved. In the same way, ordinary sense-life has to be transcended in order to discover truth, hence the need for spiritual disciplines. (These simple facts about the Universe, for which many Europeans were persecuted or burnt at the stake, were well known to the sages of India.)

Another startling thing many of the sages have to tell us is that the real location of the Universe is not ‘out there’. The actual location of everything is our own brain. This is the greatest mystery in all creation. It cannot ever be fathomed. The best that can be done is to say that an unknown something produces vibrations that are read in the language of each of the five senses as digitally programmed blips in nervous tissue. There are no pictures in the optic nerves, no sounds in the auditory nerves, no smells or tastes in the nerves of smell or taste, no skin, glass, hot or cold in the nerves of touch – only blips. We call the resulting electro-chemical events in the brain reality. It is the pattern of these blips in the brain that become the Universe. Even a verbal description of actuality is mind-boggling! With further contemplation of the strangeness of life, joy, wonder, and awe flows through the mind like a silent river. So what sort of Universe do you live in? Perhaps it is the Universe that is living in you!

The strictest of the great sages say that the only thing that can be called reality is the unknown something that all the illusions are founded upon, for it is not relative, does not come and go, is not subject to change, has no birth or death, and is eternal, absolute and infinite. Its nature is eternal existence, absolute intelligence and infinite bliss.

Now comes the most startling, mind-boggling news of all – that something is pure consciousness, and so are you.

Chapter three

The View from the Valley

The vast universal cycles of the cosmos are not only mirrored in the seasons of the year but in our lives as well. One of the wisest Englishmen who ever lived described our life in this famous verse:

All the world’s a stage

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven stages…

And true it is though the sages’ knowledge of the best way to structure human life in society has four stages.

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Spring summer autumn winter

The first stage is as a student, the second as a married householder; the third stage when the children are grown and worldly duties are reduced is to be given over to religious studies and social work. The last stage is ideally one of renunciation of worldly life and dedication to spiritual pursuits. In many cases the aged became monks or nuns totally dedicated to achieving liberation and self-knowledge. At this stage the individual is free of social bonds. They are not subject to caste laws, social conventions or religious duties such as the daily rituals and sacrifices of the householder. They may affiliate with a religious community, join an ashram or monastery or become wandering mendicants.

Many Hindus still honor this ancient system. Others become wandering mendicants, monks or nuns early in life. The priestly castes are servants of society and must observe social conventions, but monks and nuns are considered to be beyond such strictures. For them it is not obligatory to observe caste. However, old habits tend to remain. So in Hindu society it is OK for a person to opt out of conventional life altogether if the spirit so moves them.

The four fours

It seems that the ideal structure of human society according to the sages has four legs. There are the four stages of life, the four goals of human endeavour, the four main types of human being and there are four qualifications needed to be an astute student of life.

The ideal behind them all is the attainment of the highest good both for the individual and for society. While the main thrust of the wisdom of the sages is a spiritual life they recognize that most human beings must experience the enjoyment of pleasure, material happiness and achievement. The knowledge of the four fours is part of Vedic education. Once again, what is explicit here is common to all life though not formalized. Righteousness wealth fulfillment freedom

Sound good? According to the old sages these four are the necessary aims of human life. They equate to the four stages of life as already described. The student life should be one of learning and living the moral virtues as a foundation for a happy healthy life. Building a career upon honest effort produces wealth. Desires must be fulfilled for when they are a person can more easily be free of them. Neglecting righteousness as a basis for life hampers social and personal development, for it tends to spiral out of control without a firm moral basis. However when a life is lived in accordance with righteousness, modest wealth, fulfillment and relative freedom are the fruits.

Righteousness involves sacrifices that are the daily duties of householders. For the sages, religion is centered in the home, not in a church. No matter how humble there will be a shrine. The daily sacrifices remind the individual of the debts owed to all life. They are the service to others or guests, rituals acknowledging the individuals debt to the elements, sacrifice to the ancestors, a fire sacrifice to the angels, whose presence is invoked, and the study of the scriptures. Study too, is regarded as an offering to the saints and sages or immortal beings, whose food is knowledge. These daily rituals atone for the destructive processes of human life, in which other things and beings are involved in our support and whose life is compromised by ours. Their purpose is the realisation of the oneness, connections, responsibilities, and obligations of our individual lives. As such, they help to expand the personal consciousness beyond the confines of the individual, bringing home the fact that all life is based upon sacrifice.

According to the sages the purpose of human life is to attain freedom, not enjoyment, so the first four aims of life will not yield any permanent satisfaction. Spiritual freedom alone can ultimately satisfy the human heart and mind. This is what should be sought not only in the last stage of life but throughout. The search for freedom in Spirit is a deep need in the human psyche and while ever it is denied there can be no happiness. So say the sages.

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For the majority of human beings the penny has not dropped into this slot. Money, sex and pleasure are for them, what being alive is all about. The sages point out that this is why there is so much strife, conflict and unhappiness in us. To them, ordinary life is one of duty to society and the establishment of righteousness aided by whatever religious traditions are honored by that society. It is a mixed bag yielding little true satisfaction. It is full of various levels of suffering, dissatisfactions of all kinds, unsatisfactory labour, partial pleasures, sickness, old age and finally death. Through affirming these things they constantly urge individuals towards attaining freedom from them in the Spirit. They outline the laws of material happiness and social security as a basis for embarking upon the way of Self-knowledge and the realization of Brahman. They maintain that this should be the ultimate goal of all our actions even if we acknowledge our own inadequacies in understanding and living a spiritual life. Freedom is the goal of all creation, they say, the powerful purpose nature urges us to fulfill. While ever we resist the flow we must struggle against the tide, as most of us do. Is it any wonder so many humans are frustrated, dissatisfied, unhappy, miserable, always seeking something but always finding dissatisfaction? This question is asked in the Upanishads. The answer it gives is ‘Arise! Awake! Ye children of immortal Bliss! …There is no real happiness in finite things’. For thousands of years the sages have advised us to first seek the fountain of unearthly bliss and everything else will come good.

The four necessary virtues

Every human endeavour requires the beginner to acquire some basic skills or qualities. A successful life and spiritual endevour is no exception. More so as the virtues are the foundation for the attempt and the structure can come unstuck if they are not there. For those people who have seen through the illusions that support ordinary life and who have began to look beyond them for their life’s purpose, the sages teach that four qualifications are necessary – discrimination – non-attachment – six treasures and passion. Though they are applied to spiritual endevour the four virtues are of great benefit in all living. They make the difference between life as a muddle and life as a work of art.

Discrimination is to know intuitively that sensory indulgence is not the purpose of life and cannot provide ultimate fulfillment. It is the faculty of perceiving the difference between the real and the unreal, of discriminating between the true and the false and thus having clarity of mental vision.

When honed this faculty produces non-attachment for the student becomes aware that earthly pleasures are a trap and sensory life unreliable and partial. It produces the consciousness that everything is relative, including virtues, good actions, worship and religious observances. Their effects too are relative and are subject to dissolution. The worldly object of attaining a good seat in heaven by virtuous actions is seen as temporal as well, for nothing in heaven or earth is free of impermanence. Discrimination shows that anything impermanent is not a worthy goal for those who seek the immortality of Brahman.

Affectionate non-attachment to anything in heaven or earth is the result of fine discrimination. It is also a great freedom in ordinary living. It is an attitude that can transform life into easy play. It produces an easy-going outlook that frees the mind to be uncluttered and truly creative. Discrimination reveals that no matter how important we may think our personalities and our affairs are, the truth is that we are a minute cell in a vast body of millions of human organisms being born, living, and dying every second. The span of each life is a blink. Taking life and one’s self too seriously is to ignore this fact, so why be attached to imperfect, partial and temporal things?

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The six treasures are the foundation of a well-lived life and a stable personality. They are also the virtues necessary to spiritual fulfillment for obviously a disintegrated personality is no foundation for anything except blundering. The six are: calmness, self-control, sense-control, forbearance, concentration, and faith.

Calmness means avoiding excitement and stimulants so the mind can be quiet. It is only when quiet that the mind can operate efficiently or concentrate and perceive subtle spiritual truths. Self-control involves control over the body and not letting contradictory desires confuse one’s life. Sense-control is part of both and is necessary to concentration and meditation. It means the ability to control the tendency of the sense to flow outward towards the external world so the mind can be concentrated. Forbearance is important for an impatient person is irritable and has little endurance. Endurance is what gives us the strength to overcome obstacles and there are plenty of those in all walks of life. Forbearance means to suffer ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ with patience. Faith is the sure conviction that Brahman is the sole reality whose nature is bliss, intelligence and absolute existence, that one is intimately related to it and can become absolutely free and immortal by faithfully following the precepts of one’s religion or Guru. To become immortal does not mean that the body lives forever, but that the consciousness of being mortal ceases to exist.

Rather than being separate, the six are part of one another so the development of one tends to encourage the others. If you consider them you will understand that to have one would be difficult if most or one of the others was lacking. On the other hand they can all be seen to be the outcome of concentration. Concentration is the opposite of dissipation. It is the ability to focus the attention upon one thing to the exclusion of all others, such as the aspirant must do in meditation or worship or to be in a concentrated state; centered, calm and whole. To achieve either state would require self-control, forbearance and sense-control so you see how they all fit together.

Passion is the most important of all. It is feeling the reality of human suffering and the immense burden of karma we carry. It is feeling the gasping struggles of all creatures to get free of limiting circumstances. It comes from the intuition of the real nature of things worldly and spiritual, resulting in the imperative need to resolve contradictions, limitations and suffering. It is to feel as though one was drowning in a morass. It is an intense longing for liberation. It is the intense need to be free of all worldly taint. It is the urge to be beyond both virtue and vice, good and bad, life and death. It is the passionate desire to be a fully aware child of immortal bliss.

Passion is that energy that drives higher evolution upward. Without some measure of passion nothing avails and spiritual attempts are hollow. Bhakti is the name the sages give to this passionate devotion, whether it is to the Guru, a deity, religion or to the search for truth through the study and application of philosophy. Bhakti puts the heart and soul into anything one undertakes. For many centuries sages and their disciples have sung this song:

Though God is never loath to grant salvation,He hesitates to grant pure love.Whoever wins pure love surpasses all;They are adored by all, And triumph over the three worlds.Listen! I shall tell you of love:Freedom a person might gain,But rare is bhakti.

Wholeness is another word that could be used for the six virtues. A person who is whole is integrated, centered, balanced, and in calm control of all their faculties. Many spiritual disciplines and religious practices aim to develop these six virtues. Wholeness is a psyche in harmony. Without it there can be little happiness in ordinary life and little progress for a spiritual aspirant.

From the Upanishads –

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By self-discipline purification of the mind is obtained. Through purification of the mind clear understanding is reached. Through clear understanding self-knowledge is gained. Those who gain self-knowledge do not return.

Sanguine phlegmatic choleric melancholicThe Greek philosopher Empedocles classified humans into these four basic types. It is an

old idea – as old as the Vedas. The four basic types of human nature are universal. No society has yet existed without some acknowledgement of the fact that people are by their nature cut out for certain roles. In India the roles were formalized with the intention of providing a chance for everyone to express their nature and to give society a stable foundation, which it achieved for millennia. Disruptive influences and the loss of dedication to the principles of Vedanta produced a degeneration of the society the four castes were supposed to protect. One’s caste then became a matter of one’s birth and place in the workforce. Social status then became affiliated with function and as has happened in many other civilizations, the priests became the privileged caste. The corruption became so great that many of the principles taught by the sages were employed to maintain the supremacy of the priestly castes and keep the lower castes in subjugation. Hence the ‘untouchables’. Originally, it was the duty of the higher castes to not only help the lower ones up but to attend to their welfare.

In English society the caste system was founded upon birth and inherited money. Even riches acquired by industry did not count. Until recently the English caste system was more rigid than the Indian.

The basic idea of caste is that the four aims of human life are instinctive in certain types of individuals. There are those that seek moral and ethical things, those that seek wealth and industry, those that want to fight for causes, the reformers and shakers, and those that want only to transcend all things worldly and to serve or become one with God.

The Vedic seers taught that persons were a manifestation of a cosmic person (as above, so below) The spiritual people are his head, the warriors his arms, the merchants his thighs and the labourers his feet. No one part is more important than the other is as no one part of the body is more important to its overall function.

A good definition of the duties of caste in the Vedic system can be found in the Bhagavad Gita, part of the great epic poem, the Mahabharata:

Control of the mind, control of the senses, austerity, cleanliness, forbearance, uprightness, knowledge, realization and faith – these are the duties of a brahmin, born of his own nature.

Heroism, energy, firmness, resourcefulness, courage, generosity, and sovereignty, these are the duties of a kshatriya, born of his own nature.

Agriculture, cattle rearing, trade and industry are the duties of the vaisya, born of his own nature. Service and manual labour are the duties of the sudra, born of his own nature.

In spite of humanist ideals we are not born equal. Somehow the inequalities due to individual karma must be accommodated. While ever it is not rigid, the caste system, allowing one to change caste if one’s nature changes, is a good foundation for society. In the religious context a person can attain high status by devotion to the duties of caste. The Bhagavad Gita goes on to say:

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Your own duties though performed badly, are better than the duties of another though well performed. A person should not give up the work determined by their nature. Though it may be imperfect there will be no sin for all sincere actions have some imperfections in this world for all undertakings are beset with errors as fire is with smoke.

The idea is that duties properly performed in this life make it possible to be born in a higher caste in the next. In the case of a Brahmin it would mean being born capable of being a better one or to be free of caste altogether as a monk or nun.

Empedocles’s four humors were not fixed or total qualities, but were mixed in each individual and capable of modification by various influences and practices. Whatever the caste you represent it can be perfected or transcended by the application of the four virtues and a religious life. Nothing in this world is irrevocably fixed. Evolution makes it impossible.

The doctrine of the four fours cannot be divorced from the teachings of the sages about the law of cause and effect known as karma and its corollary reincarnation.

Karma

As far as the sages are concerned karma and rebirth are not ideas or doctrines. They are facts of experience. In the more subtle aspects of consciousness their workings can be observed. Some recently deceased sages have described what they have observed while in higher states of consciousness such as Paramhansa Yogananda has done in his ‘The Autobiography of a Yogi’

For the rest of us the only thing to do is take karma on faith or reason it out – as we have to do with many other spiritual doctrines. As far as karma is concerned the authority of all religions supports the idea. ‘As ye sow so shall ye reap’ is the Christian version. Doing good in order to get to heaven is another allied notion based upon the idea that actions in this life will effect the experiences in the after life. Not only actions but also the motive behind them is the stuff of karma. The word means to act in thought or in deed, or in some texts, the residual effects in the mind as well. It requires no arguments to show that actions effect the world we live in or to show that motives effects the nature of the actions, or that memory stores it all. The only real difference in the sage’s attitude is that the effects of our actions and our motives extend to the after life and to the next one to come.

Every one of our actions, including intentions and even stray thoughts, has an immediate and a delayed effect. Future effects are due to the impressions left in the minds of those involved with the action so everyone is accumulating the subtle impressions of everything witnessed, felt, thought, learnt, and done, intentionally or otherwise. These impressions remain in one of four states, manifest, dormant, subdued or attenuated. The latent impressions are due broadly to actions and reactions either righteous or otherwise. These in turn produce merit or demerit that become the good and bad factors in our life. From this reservoir of past memories, manifest, dormant, subdued, or attenuated, we derive our tendencies, capabilities, proclivities, desires, talents, willpower – our whole personality and character. Other aspects of this teaching are mentioned in a later section dealing with the psyche.

Such karmas are classified as those that will become active much later, those that are due to be active in the present, and those that are being created by them and our reactions to them in the present. The sages teach that the first and last type of karma can be modified, mitigated, or even overcome, by spiritual realization and selfless actions. Only that karma fructifying in the present cannot be avoided, but even so, our attitude to it can be, if we so will. A great sage has said –

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Man is not bound by any other laws except those he makes for himself. Our thoughts, our words, our deeds, are the threads of the net we throw about ourselves, for good or evil. Once we set in motion a certain power, we have to take the full consequences of it. This is the law of karma.

The sages see that if we are to have a life after death then we must have a life before birth. Birth and death are only relative comings and goings of the immortal soul. The present life is too fleeting for all the effects of our actions upon our soul to bear fruit. Like a seed our actions take time to germinate, grow and bear fruit. They determine the conditions after death as they determine the conditions of our birth. In this way karma must include an intermediate state in another plane of being after death as well as rebirth.

This is another way of expressing the axiom of science that matter can not be destroyed or created – only recycled, and that energy is matter in a finer form and matter is energy in a grosser form. The individual consciousness that is the sign of a person cycles from finer form to gross and back again just as the whole Universe does. Karma is the way the Universe works for it must maintain balance at all costs. The fact that we sow what we reap is one way the balance is maintained. Though it may be difficult to see over the span of a life, absolute justice prevails. The wild swings and conflicts we see in the life of nations are national karma being worked out. Because most of our actions are based upon ignorance and neglect of our spiritual life and commitments, many such balances are very unpleasant, traumatic or horrific. None of this has anything to do directly with the will of God the sages point out. They tell us that karma is the result of our will to live as embodied beings, and that our histories, personal and national, good and bad, are the consequences of our own actions. If all of us respected the four fours most personal and national history would be harmonious.

Because freedom is the nature of life and its goal, we are free to ignore the simple laws of life all religions proclaim. Understanding the law of karma puts the responsibility for the way things are firmly upon our own shoulders. It shows us the laws of bondage as well as the laws of freedom. Actions not only bind the soul to further relative experience but they can be manipulated to bring about freedom from the limitations we have imposed upon ourselves. Living in harmony with the laws of life through the four fours ultimately leads us to felicity and freedom in the spirit. So say the sages.

The after-life and rebirth

These issues have been a bone of much contention at all times. The sort of scientific rationalism now in vogue puts the subject out of bounds for the children of The Age of Enlightenment. It has not ceased to be an issue of concern for them however. It might be ignored with some success for a long time but tends to surface in old age when the fact of death becomes an immanent possibility.

Life presents many facts that are impossible to fathom when reincarnation is not taken as a hypothesis. One is the birth of prodigies who possess knowledge and abilities not acquired in this life. The other is the unfortunate ones born in deformed states. (In this as in other matters, when science ascribes a cause to such things it might be a scientific fact, but it is also a philosophical error, for the assumed cause is in fact, an agent.)

Biological science is full of unknowns and suppositions made with little evidence and covered by such terms as ‘chance variations’, ‘sporadic changes’ or ‘spontaneous mutations’ and the like. Although scientists would be unlikely to agree, most of the unknowns can be accounted for by the teachings of the sages. According to the sages, the modern idea of everything being controlled solely by heredity is untenable. Vedanta agrees that heredity and environment are factors in the

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development of an individual, but that the problems caused by regarding them as the only factors are solved by the doctrines of karma and reincarnation. Heredity factors are then not limited to the parents but are also due to the influences carried over from an incarnating individual’s past life. Not only that, the individuals’ environment as well as the reactions they take to it are also an effect of karmic influence. Until science can account for sane children born to morons, geniuses born to mediocre parents, evil children born to saintly parents, healthy to diseased, or how one child amongst six siblings is brilliant and the others dull, and explain idiot savants, they must admit their limitations. Until psychologists can explain how some with traumatic pasts are strong and well balanced, and those who know only security and ease are neurotic, unbalanced and weak, they too, must acknowledge the need for an all-encompassing teaching that can resolve all these issues.

While there may be some other causes beyond our ken, reincarnation and karma not only accounts for them but also explains why there is such inequality in intelligence, opportunity and ability in normal births. From another point of view it is a fact that at the birth of every creature consciousness in one form or another, reincarnates. That is a data of observation and cannot be denied.

There is also evidence of personal identity surviving death from people who remember past lives under hypnosis that further investigation proved to be so. The weakness is that such claims are always subject to controversy.

These are not subjects an ordinary person is not qualified to consider or understand for they are only our ordinary experiences taken a cycle up. Faith is not required, for in all things capable of inquiry intelligent understanding is preferred to blind acceptance.

The case for an afterlife is explained by considering the laws of creation, from which it can be shown that events here and hereafter, must follow the patterns laid down by creation’s cycles and concordances. This is the reasoning:

It is our common daily experience that time is spent awake in which we know the external world and internal states. Growing tired we then sleep deeply, a state in which there is no consciousness of a body or an external world, or an internal state. Sometimes we dream in which case the awareness of exclusively internal states occurs. The images we see then are created out of our own consciousness from memories of the external experiences and observed by the witnessing soul. We then wake to earthly experience again. In this way, the twenty-four hour cycle of human experience mirrors the great cycle of death and rebirth, for in a relative sense we have lived, died, existed in a reality that has no content, experienced only internal images while comatose and came back to waking life again. In this way being born, living in a body, existing without one and then becoming embodied again is simply the ordinary daily experience on a larger time scale.

When the body dies the soul, according to the level of awareness while alive experiences either the bliss of pure consciousness or the images of a dream. If the images are pleasant we could be said to be in a sort of heaven, if bad, in a sort of hell. No matter – as in life they are all our own creation.

A sage was once asked what happens to a person after death. The sage replied, “What happens is according to their beliefs. As life before death is but imagination, so is life after. The dream continues.” We who believe so strongly in the reality of our dreaming do not like to be told that our life is mere imagination, whether it is before or after death, but to a sage it is a simple fact.

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The sages say that when karma and the desire for earthly experience comes, the soul is born in a new body created by mind, the gunas, the elements and prana following the pattern of Universal creation. In only nine months it repeats the vast cycles of evolution up to the human. Carrying its abilities, attitudes, understandings, prejudices and its karma like an internal backpack the child is born. The dormant subconscious potentials then immerge in terms of the culture in which the child is brought up. If the karma is good the culture in which the immerging soul finds itself will be one in which its best potentials can be expressed. To become free of this round of birth and death is the goal of spiritual striving.

According to the sages what we regard as the levels of heaven are in fact the levels of our own awareness. The spiritually evolved go to higher planes and may not need to be reincarnated back to this one. Those of evil tendencies cannot enjoy the freedom of not having a body and are limited to lower planes of existence and suffer because they cannot experience the satisfactions of gross desires that require a physical body to experience. Some become poltergeists and ghosts and may be reborn in bodies that can express only lower levels of consciousness. They have to start all over again like a player of snakes and ladders who loses the throw and must go back to square one, but with the grace of a Guru a person might land on a ladder and be elevated straight home.

The rewards of being blessed by a true Guru are incalculable. It is possible for them to nullify karma by a touch. Sometimes a worthy aspirant would visit Shri Ramakrishna and sit quietly amongst the visitors. Without saying a word Shri Ramakrishna would go to him and touch him and many karmic burdens would evaporate and spiritual realizations would take their place. Only he knows how many people he helped in this way. Talking of this, one of his disciples who saw it happen many times said:

Taking other’s karma was the reason he had his last long illness. He used to tell us: ‘People whose karma I have taken think they have attained salvation through their own efforts. How could they know it is because I have taken their karma upon myself?’ – We do not know how much we owe him, but some day we may realize how much he has done for us…

The sages say that when karma is expended, there is no compulsion to play the game of life and death again. One is free.

There are many planes in which the soul may dwell. These planes are also the natural environments for beings other than human - from simple nature spirits to angels, gods and goddesses. All these planes and beings are not up in the sky or away in the stars but right here, co-existent with the world. This can be understood by considering the fact that we live immersed in an ocean of electro-magnetic vibrations about which we know nothing. Thousands of radio and television waves bearing information are playing about us and through us at all times. Similarly there are a multitude of beings cohabiting with us on other levels of vibration. Many people have seen such beings or felt the presence of a departed loved one. It does not seem so strange when understood in this way. It is worlds within worlds, as the sages tell us.

The purpose of rituals is to evoke the presence of such beings – Christ into the wine and wafer, the god or goddess into the image, the protection or blessings of a saint or spirit or in the case of a séance, a ghost.

In psychotic states or under the influence of drugs, the in built protection against the infiltration of other beings into this plane can be lost. They may then take complete control of a

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person or adversely influence their thoughts or actions. It is a blessing that the opposite is also true. When a person develops the four virtues enlightened beings can help their spiritual evolution from within. The sages help is given anonymously, unlike those ghostly imposters who announce their name and lineage to the many deluded mediums mouthing tedious old platitudes.

The most common objection to the idea of reincarnation is that no one remembers a past life. There are at least three reasons why they don’t. One is that it is not the personality that survives death but the soul. The other is that we certainly lived our childhood learning experiences of walking and talking though they cannot be remembered. If the mere memory of them were essential to prove our existence as children it would be as difficult to prove as reincarnation is. Finally it has been shown that ignorance is essential for the game of life to be played and ignorance of an infinite past is essential for the existence of a personality in the present.

Another factor is that the brain is a product of the mind, according to the sages. The brain is built with the innate knowledge from the causal body and some part of it holds the impression of past lives that can be triggered by sufficient concentration, accidents or hypnosis.

There may be personal hints of reincarnation or after death states that most people would not confess to or would seek to ignore. Many people experience a deep rapport with a nation, event, place or period of history – why? Others may be irresistibly drawn to a craft, an art, or certain subjects and show an uncanny proficiency in it from the beginning – how? Some people are born with an in built fear of trains, space, confinement, fire, water or whatever - why? Reincarnation is the hypothesis that can explain it all. Taking an idea from science, the theory accepted as true from amongst others is the one which resolves the greatest number of problems. In this way karma and reincarnation are valid hypothesis for they explain all these mysterious facts of life.

Now here is an interesting thing – most of the books about reincarnation, karma, psychic states and powers have been written by westerners. To the sages all these contentious issues are simply facts that might or might not be accepted by others, so they write no books about them. That is the domain for scholars and teachers.

Many of the sages warn us about this very Western tendency of believing that limited notions encompass truth and write books about them.

As one sage put it –

We give reality to concepts that distort reality. Why play with ideas? Stay with the only thing you can be sure of – the sense of ‘I am’. This is Yoga.

Listen to the words of a sage talking about his great Guru -

Shri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘The goal of human life is to realize God. Without God life is full of misery, so at any cost we must realize him. What is the use of being conversant with religions and doctrines?’ He used to say, ‘You have come to the orchard to eat mangoes. What is the use of counting all the leaves and branches? What will avail you to go on discussing whether God exists or not, whether reincarnation is true or not and all that. If you want to know what road leads to Varanasi you must have faith in the words of those who have been there. Then you will have to go there yourself and see things with your own eyes. But if you shut yourself up in a room making your brain dizzy, imagining things about Varanasi, you will have no real conception of that holy city. And what is it to you if there is such a

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thing as rebirth or not? Your goal is to realize God in this very life.’

There are very few people who dedicate their life to this goal, though every one of us wants to resolve the contradictions and difficulties life presents. The wisdom of the sages is a good place to start. The first steps lead from the valley to the foot of a mountain.

Chapter four

The View from the Mountainside

How does a person begin to understand the mysteries of life? When this quest becomes important the valley is left behind and the accent up the slopes towards the summit begins.

An axiom of science is that for every action or force there is an equal and opposite reaction. Within nature there is a force that come what may, tends to incline events and actions towards amplifying the good. It is the irresistible energy that powers evolution. It must follow that there is also a balancing force that opposes it. In some religions the first is called God and the second is called Satan, a Hebrew world meaning ‘the adversary’. In another context they can be thought of as truth and falsehood. In the attempt to understand the mysteries of being alive in the world the adversary is ever ready to cloud the issue.

The reason that the four virtues are so essential to spiritual life is that they help protect the aspirant against being misled by bad company, adverse actions and erroneous notions. The most important virtue for this is discrimination. It is the faculty that teaches a person what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false. Combined with a passionate love for truth the mind of a person who practices discrimination becomes like a searchlight that exposes falsehoods of all kinds, even when the truth remains unknown. Applied to one’s own nature the searchlight shows up the foibles, proclivities, prejudices, dark spots and weaknesses most of us struggle to keep hidden. Admitting the truth and telling the truth are an important part of realizing the truth. Self-knowledge starts with an honest appraisal and understanding of the personal psyche. Life experiences will then tend to give opportunities to reveal more and more. This is why forbearance is needed for it is often not easy to tolerate either the tests or what they reveal, but the end result is a clear, strong character.

Right at the beginning though, what yardsticks can be used to discriminate between falsehood and truth? The sages were very explicit about this. To investigate this, a diversion is needed in order to discover a few things about belief.

In relation to belief, discrimination is of paramount importance because unless it is used to uncover the reasons why certain beliefs are preferred over others or what the beliefs are founded upon, prejudice and opinion may take the place of realized truth.

Truth and belief

The need to have belief systems is a very strange thing, not to be confused with opinions and such like. Insecurity from feeling small and vulnerable in the apparently intimidating immensity of the Universe is a likely cause. Also, we love knowledge and so hate the feeling of not knowing. We don’t like to admit being ignorant. It is so powerful a need that we will substitute belief for knowledge rather than admit ignorance. So for many centuries erroneous beliefs have been taught in Universities throughout Europe as established truth, more particularly in anatomy and physiology. It was only when these cherished beliefs were put aside and true investigation began that the truth began to be revealed. It is worth noting that much of physiological and anatomical truth was there for all to discover but the belief systems based upon old authority apparently prevented such direct

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and simple seeing. The same holds good for our modern belief systems and our largely uninvestigated personal notions.

In Europe centuries ago a person could be ostracized or burnt at the stake for not believing in an item of doctrine. Within the context of that culture it was because holding to a belief system upheld the authority of the Church and protected the believer from eternal damnation. Political systems do likewise.

In order to finance its wars the Church of Rome fostered the belief that remission of sins and a place in heaven could be purchased from the Church by buying an ‘indulgence’ as it was called. This was a diploma about as likely to achieve those ends as its owner would be to become Pope. Nevertheless, people did so. This kind of belief can only exist when there is a willful subjugation of intelligence.

Belief systems fostered by religion, philosophy and science are rather like clothes we put on to shield ourselves from inclement weather; often only put on when the climate turns against us. For the most part belief systems cause inner and outer disharmony and make mischief enough, but it is the subtle uninvestigated beliefs that often govern our lives. We can have no measure of freedom until they are unearthed. If a person believes they are inferior they certainly are. If a person believes that they are superior, they may not be, but the attitude will win out. If it is believed that humans are merely smart animals it justifies living with the sole intention of gratifying the animal nature and so on. In this way life tends to be experienced, as it is believed to be. It is as just as important to take great care with what we choose to believe as it is to take care about what we desire.

There can be little value in any belief that can not stand the clear light of applied intelligence or denies all firm evidence to the contrary - as the history of science has shown. Yet there are some ideas for which there can be no firm evidence. They are best not turned into articles of faith or belief but acknowledged as speculations that future experience might or might not verify. So much strife could have been saved by this simple admission!

For an individual concerned for the truth, fixed beliefs of any kind are of no benefit. To be open to truth, personal preferred beliefs must be held in abeyance. Persistent reasoning, experiment and discussion followed by contemplation until it yields its truth, should be the method of investigating any issue. This process is important in the beginning for the intimations of truth must come from outside and are then slowly confirmed by reason and conformity with other data and experience. A spiritual truth when first heard will resonate with an unpleasant clang on an unregenerate mind whereas on a regenerate one it will sing like a song. The soul recognizes it instantly. It feels ‘Yes! I know that!’ but until it was heard the person was not aware of knowing it. Later one’s truth comes through gentle revelations directly from the Self.

What a person believes because they have been told to believe it and what is believed through personal understanding are not the same. Truth obtained by investigation is different from belief systems adopted from authority, tradition or rational argument. Natural beliefs about the nature of life are views from where a person stands on the hillside so should not be held on to too strongly. The view is sure to change with the elevation. Only those on the summit can get a true picture of the lay of the land. This is why there are lesser and greater truths.

Opinions based upon one’s own investigation is not the same as a fixed belief and is very different from belief in a doctrine. Rather, it might be called an ‘operational concept’ – that is, a provisional concept that operates efficiently and is not contradicted by any other concept held. If contrary facts come to light the concept is then modified because truth is more important than fixed opinions. Though this is my own construction, it is consistent with the attitudes taken by many sages. As far as I am aware, there is no specific dissertations on belief in the sage’s writings, except for one saying that seems to give belief a potent force – ‘If you believe you are bound, bound you

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become. If you believe you are free, free you are.’ For most people, the teachings of the Hindu sages seem to challenge many of their belief systems, and that is as it should be. It is not so much the beliefs we might hold in metaphysical or religious concepts they challenge, but all the common sense notions we have accepted as true.

However, the sages affirm that fine discrimination shows where the boundaries of beliefs, concepts, thoughts, operational concepts and reasoning lie. They say that spiritual philosophy should not conflict with, or be contrary to, reason and logic, though it may require them to become free from their own limitations. It is another paradox that the astute application of both logic and reason in fine discrimination reveals their limitations. It reveals that the living truth lies beyond reason and logic. It resides within our souls. Philosophy, reason and logic are of value only in honing the mental understanding and the verbal expression of spiritual truth, not the uncovering of it. While humbly accepting the fact that there is a force tending to self-deception the sages tell us that there are three things that can be used as guides. They are the authority of the sages taught by a proficient teacher, reasoning it out, and the personal conviction that arises after sincere inquiry by a mind trained in thinking objectively and aware of its own tendencies as described in the section about discrimination. Ultimately it is personal experience alone that can confirm spiritual truth.

Irresolvable issues

It should be admitted that the subtle reasoning the sages use to express the truths they perceive are not always easy to grasp in the beginning. That is because they are beyond and greater than our commonsense notions. The initial difficulty should not discourage earnest seekers for knowledge however. Dealing with the principles of spiritual philosophy is a mental exercise that will hone the intellect, sharpen the intuition, reduce confusion and lead to strength of mind and clarity. It is well worth the effort.

When a person sets out to try to understand this strangest of all worlds there are many problems that seem to be too much for the human mind. Nothing seems clear. So often, every time something seems to be established, another opinion or idea is found to refute it. Most of this sort of activity is profitless play within ignorance and is best given up. Juggling ideas, notions, beliefs, philosophies, dogmas and doctrines is not what being alive is all about, though it is important to the ministers and priests of sects and religions. A wise person once said that life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be lived. There are few activities as profitless as haggling and arguing about ideas when one has no actual understanding from experience. A great modern sage has said that this sort of intellectual past time is ‘being clever with your ignorance’.

It is a great help to know that there are some issues not worth bothering your brain about because life has made a built-in block to their resolution. There are solvable and unsolvable problems in spiritual philosophy. Most are due to the inability of the mind to embrace extreme opposites such as God and matter, memory or love and the chemistry of the brain, mind and matter and so on. It is indeed a very strange thing seeing that the mind works by opposites. What have the sages to say about it?

Mind and matter relationship can be taken as an example of one type of problem - to us, mind and matter seem to be two opposite poles. To the sages, matter and mind are material substances but in differing rates of vibration. Mind-stuff being finer, is the basis for matter-stuff. Lacking this idea, the relationship of mind and matter has been a constant subject of debate in Western philosophy. It seems the issue will never be resolved. In the same way the nature of the Self and the material world seem to be two opposite poles that can have no relationship. How can such problems be resolved? Let’s see what the sages have to say.

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According to the sages, the non-dual nature of the Self is unalterable, for there can be no mutation whatsoever in the immutable, no change in the changeless, no time in the eternal, no space in the infinite. Here is the fundamental paradox. Either the world of the senses is utter reality and the Self a figment; or the Self is utter reality and the world of sense a figment, since they appear to be mutually exclusive. Most problems of philosophy and theology are similar based as they are on supposed opposites - God and the world, mind and matter, consciousness and the brain, consciousness and the world and so on. Such problems can be resolved if one or both opposites can be shown as differing manifestations of the same thing. If this cannot be done, no solution is possible

To explain both some fine reasoning is needed so put on your thinking cap. - The problem of the relationship between mind and matter is based on the fact that matter has location, and mind none, so they appear to be very different. It seems that the difference lies in the fact that matter exists in space and the mind in time, as one may ask when but not where a thought occurred. To ask when matter occurred or where a thought occurred appears illogical, unless by asking where a thought occurred, one means where was the body when such and such thought occurred. Which really means, “where was matter (body) when a certain thought occurred”. But what is the mind according to the human consciousness that is supposed to possess it? We always use the word mind as if we knew what it is - as if it was an object of experience, yet it is really a notion that is the result of a subtle form of remembrance. It is a remembrance of successive thoughts having taken place and arises in the same way as the ego-notion. On this basis, some sages affirm that the mind is merely an inference. (That is something to wonder about.)

Further, we know that the succession of thoughts is sensory and conditioned. They can only arise during and after consciousness has identified itself with the body, which is why no thoughts are present in deep sleep. It then follows that both mind and matter are equivalent, in the sense that both are objects of consciousness, based on sensory perception, or on the other hand, are twin delusions. Hence all attempts to reconcile them are necessarily futile, as both are inseparably united in the illusion of sensory perception and the subject-object consciousness. Such differences in identity can appear to be great, though the substance is the same. Snow flakes, ice, a puddle, the ocean and steam, are all water.

To put it another way - the brain is material and hence its functions are of materiality, and as all experience occurs in the brain, all worldly experience is material, mental or otherwise. There is in fact, no issue, as what we call mind or matter are not in opposition, but are interdependent aspects of the one substance, like ice and water. Because they are only apparent, problems of this type can be resolved in the same way. That is, by resolving the apparent duality to a unity.

The sages tell us strange things such as the mind is not conscious or the body has no life of its own. To quote a great sage: ‘Mind is not conscious because it is observed’. That’s one to think about. These are not items of dogma to be accepted but revelations that can be explained in a reasonable and logical way. Other deep issues are not resolvable by reason or logic - such as the relationship of the Self to the brain. It is beyond the scope of human understanding. The reason why will become clear in the later section about Maya. To go over the issue again: we have seen that the ego is another object of consciousness, and hence a part of total flux because awareness of it comes and goes. What is it then that gives reality to all this unstable flux of brain activity? It can only be the truly ‘subjective’ conscious Self that remains totally unaffected by all change. On the other hand the brain is matter, composed of parts and subject to imperfections, disease and decomposition, and yet all we seem to be, know or do, takes place in it. That the non-dual Self exists as the background of duality we also know, yet the two are utterly contradictory and mutually exclusive, and so any relationship between the two appears impossible. They appear forever incompatible. And so they must remain, as far as human understanding goes.

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Both problems are problems of relationship. In the first case, the terms were discovered to be identical and so no real problem exists. In the second case the terms were seen to be totally irreconcilable. The problem as stated is unsolvable. Any attempted solutions are an utter waste of energy for there is no way to reconcile the irreconcilable. In other words, the mind can dream up problems but cannot resolve them by recourse to reason and logic. It is the limitations of the dualistic mind that causes such problems. What seems to be an unsolvable riddle might be a simple truth in reality. It is wisest then not to enter into profitless debate.

Truth of being is self-evident

To most of us truth is a vague sort of notion clouded in mists of unknowing and difficult to recognize. It is common opinion that truth is a conclusion, whereas it is also true that it can be the acknowledgement of fundamental and irreconcilable contradictions where the truth is that there can be no conclusion. There are many relative truths and they often appear contradictory. Some of these have already been described, such as those that appear because of the duplicity of Maya, a subject yet to be explored. To the sages however, truth is by its nature self-evident and non-contradictory. It validates itself because like the sun it is self-effulgent. As no other light is needed to see the sun, no other proof is required of a spiritual truth.

Our ordinary experience validates this originally surprising idea. There is no way to prove that you exist for no other proof is required except the fact that you are alive. There is no argument on earth that can convince you otherwise. Like the truth, your intuition of Selfhood is immediate and without a medium. That is, the usual processes of knowledge are transcended. In the intuition of a Self there is no knower, process of knowing, and object of knowledge like there is in our knowledge of the world. It is immediate, direct and cannot be doubted. It requires no external proof.

In the same way, when you see a spiritual truth you do not need further proof. It shines by its own light, once the misconceptions that clouded it are removed. If you walk into a badly lit room and suddenly see a table in your way you do not reason about it or doubt it. You do not need to contemplate what to do about it or how to avoid it. The perceived truth of the table is one with the necessary action. However if your vision is faulty and you stumble over the table you can break a leg. This simile points to another interesting fact – that the perception of truth (as in the table) has its own action. Nothing needs to be done with it or to it. Right action springs from it spontaneously. On the other hand, when truth is clouded by ignorance, ignorance becomes the reason for all our errors. This is why the only way to realise truth is by the destruction of ignorance. When the ignorance is removed the truth becomes self-evident. So the aspirant’s attention should be directed, not to finding the truth, but in investigating their ignorance. Spiritual evolution then, is getting rid of the ignorance that is the nature of life in the relative world. To do this one needs to be as a child again, learning about life directly, but this time, suspicious about everything one has been told about it. With nothing taken for granted, everything must be investigated with interested attention, specially our own mind and beliefs.

The greatest of all sages loved to sing this song –

Let us go back once more, O mind, to our own abode!

Here in this foreign land of earth

Why should we wander aimlessly in stranger’s disguise?

These living beings and the five elements

Are strangers to you – all of them; none is your own.

Why do you thus forget yourself,

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In love with strangers, O my mind?

Why do you thus forget your own?

Ascend the path of truth O mind! Climb with love

As the lamp to light your way.

As your provisions for the journey bring with you

The virtues carefully concealed, for like two highwaymen,

Greed and delusion wait to rob you of your wealth.

Keep beside you constantly

As guards to shelter you from harm,

Calmness of mind and self-control.

Companionship of the holy shall be for you

A welcome rest house by the road:

There rest your weary limbs a while, asking your way,

If ever you should be in doubt, of him who watches there.

If anything along the path should frighten you,

Loudly shout the name of the Lord

For He is ruler of that road

And even death must bow to Him.

A modern sage has said that spiritual truth is not a complex thing difficult to fathom though it can not be thought into existence, but only felt in the heart. There it is simple and direct, beautiful, loving and lovable, open to and including all, without distinction. It is humble and innocent, and harmonious because it resolves conflicts and errors. He compares it to falsehood, which he says is the source of all troubles. It is full of wants, demands, expectations and needs, because it is unsure of itself and is weak and vulnerable. So it must strive to protect itself by clouding the truth in its own ignorance. This is the force behind much rhetoric and invective, when the person less sure shouts the loudest. In this way religious fanatics give vent to their secret doubts and insecurities.

Sages of all times and climes have urged us from the realization of lesser truth to greater truth, up the mountain side to the realization of the absolute truth at the summit. It might seem a daunting task but as spiritual evolution is inevitable anyway by the nature of things, whether we wish it so or not, wise people will cooperate. It doesn’t pay to try to swim against the current.

OK I’m wise. How do I cooperate?

The last paragraph mentioned growing from lesser truths to greater ones. Because evolving beings are mostly on lower levels of awareness, the absolute truth is for them, incomprehensible. It can only be approached gradually through lower steps. A lower expression of spiritual truth is not an error or a lie. There are gross, fine and pure expressions of spiritual truth and gradations of them, to suit the various levels of understanding. This is also a manifestation of the cosmic trinity of the three basic qualities in all things. As far as the sages are concerned there is really no such thing as an absolute untruth. Every falsehood must have a truth as its basis as every lie is a negation of a positive truth.

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To them, every religion is valid. All religions have the one goal no matter how much error and conflict exists amongst its adherents. Everything on this earth is subject to some degree of imperfection. Right and wrong are very relative terms. As to the method of spiritual discipline and practice there is a religious and spiritual smorgasbord to choose from. The evolutionary force has seen to it that there is a way suitable for every temperament and capacity. No way is absolutely right or absolutely wrong. Various religious expressions are appropriate for certain times and cultures for one reason or another.

All the theories about creation, theology, the human situation, the resolution of the problems of living and the purpose of it all have one thing in common: they are only partially true. They are attempts to make the inexplicable understandable. Any theory or teaching can be used to good effect by anyone sincerely devoted to realisation and freedom. Personal honesty, sincerity and tenacity are much more important than any teaching. Ultimately every teaching must be left behind. A ladder may get you to the roof but that is no reason to carry it with you everywhere. Freedom is not the result of adhering to a teaching, but by abandoning all supports and living spontaneously in wisdom, intelligence and affection.

If you are sincere, you will discover the way that is right for you. Once committed stick to it. The sages compare people who chop and change allegiances to those who seeking water dig many shallow holes and so find none. Lone meditation, congregational singing and worship, rituals and rites are all valid ways. One way might be the best for one individual or nation, but that does not mean that it is the best for all.

All religions have many levels to suit people at different stages. The aim of most of them is to aid followers towards an ethical and moral life to help free them from some karma or give them support and solace in coping with life. There are a growing number of people who seek direct spiritual experience, careless of beliefs, dogmas and doctrines. They need more than many religions can offer or condone and frequently become irreligious, as they become more spiritual. Another paradox.

One of the greatest of all sages once told a small group of disciples:

Man is to become divine by realizing the divine. Idols or temples or churches or books are only the supports, the helps of his spiritual childhood; but on and on he must progress. He must not stop anywhere. External worship, material prayer is the lowest stage; struggling to rise higher through mental prayer is the next stage but the highest stage is when the Lord is realised.

The wisest of the sages point out that no method, way or religion can result in the knowledge of the Self, for no temporal act can produce a permanent result. The great blessing can only come about through the fiat of God’s compassion. Spiritual practices can only help purify the mind so that it becomes open to it. Some of the sages say that no practices would be needed at all, if by the greatest good karma and through dynamic faith, you can surrender all to God or one of Her Saviors.

If you come within the influence of a knower of Brahman it is good fortune indeed, and the product of good karma of the best kind. Like the snakes and ladders player who has the good luck to throw the right number you have landed on a ladder and speedy progress is assured. This good fortune does not usually come in the beginning but only after much work has been done. In the beginning there may be teachers, or maybe a few books and lone attempts, but where true spiritual training is concerned, a Guru is indispensable. True spirituality is best caught, not taught.

In the ordinary activities of life, one may dabble in art or literature, or whatever, but if true

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competence and understanding is sought, a teacher is always needed. To master any art a Master teacher is essential; how much more so in the case of spiritual evolution?

The first step according to all the sages is study and contemplation of the scriptures. This involves the study of philosophy as well. The object is to aim for an all-round development of all aspects of our being – physical, intellectual and spiritual. Many aspirants become deluded, easily mislead or confused when this basic groundwork has been neglected.

When a person aspires to transcendental knowledge and freedom the process is a little like smelting an ore. The dross needs to be removed by various processes until only the uncontaminated ore remains. The ore has to be mined, pounded, washed, heated, mixed with solvents and slowly purified. It is not unlike the way a person grounded in earthly life becomes spiritual. In a life dedicated to spiritual endevour the grosser aspects of life are processed out as the consciousness becomes pure. Life itself then lends a hand as its higher evolutionary potentials have a chance to manifest.

It can also be likened to navigating a craft across an ocean because it takes constant adjustment to circumstances and preparedness for storms and knowing when to furl sails and ride them out. Many sages have used this metaphor for spiritual life.

Contrary to many assumptions, spiritual evolution is not a matter of learning things and stacking them up to make a shrine of known things. It is not an accumulative process but one of refining, taking away, letting go, giving up, denying the delusions the ego is built on, undermining them, becoming less, not more. This way, humility and innocence manifest. Many so-called spiritual teachings in vogue lead to just the opposite results. Wisdom does not come through subtly aggrandizing the personality by seeking personal power.

Smelting

Iron is hard, butter is soft and fire gives off heat. One person is calm and centered, one person is bright and energetic, and another person is dull and morose. The three qualities the Universe is built upon permeate everything. The sages call them satva, rajas, and tamas. When the Universe explodes into being these three qualities cease being in equilibrium and become dynamic. Tamas manifests clouding and rajas manifests projection and satva is the balancing quality.

From rajas comes the energy and activity that manifests a Universe and withdraws it as well. In human nature it is manifest as desire, energy, ambition, avarice, arrogance, pride, egoism, jealousy and the will to dominate and control. Tamas is the veiling power that in humans clouds the issue, making for dullness, ignorance, lassitude, confusion, doubt, uncertainty and violence. Satva is the power of truth, balance and calmness. In humans it manifests as honesty, self-control, faith, contentment, unselfishness and spirituality. Because the three qualities are present in our nature, so are perfection, evolution and obstruction. We go against our spiritual evolution at our peril for while ever we do so, conflict and suffering are compounded for we are attempting to live against the flow.

To quote from the works of one great sage, ‘Evolution is by the in-filling of nature’. These few words hold a mountain of meaning, suggesting that perfection is here and now, but as an inherent potential, which nature struggles to evolve through time, against a contrary pressure to obstruct. This process goes on eternally. We tend to think of evolution in terms of the last 4 billion years during which time Homo Sapiens evolved from the primates. In truth, the process has been going on for cycle after cycle, each one manifesting more and more consciousness. Even the physical organism is far from being evolved. As wondrous as it is, it is still very imperfect and given to many malfunctions and maladies. It will be millions of creations to come before it can manifest the inherent potential within it. This is the Wheel of Becoming. The realisation of this truth is what provides the impetus towards freedom from it through spiritual endevour, for it a long, devious and torturous process.

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Like the four humours of Empedocles, the individual qualities are never manifest one hundred percent in anything. They are always mixed. The difference between things is due to the preponderance of one quality over the other two. They are the characteristics of relativity throughout the entire Universe, physical, mental or spiritual. Superhuman beings have a predominance of satva, demons and ghouls a predominance of tamas and humans, in between, a predominance of rajas.

Each quality has its binding power through which humans are attached to life. Satva binds by attachment to happiness and goodness, rajas by activity and achievement, and tamas by inertia and delusion. Smelting is the process by which a person develops a preponderance of satva and holds rajas and tamas in balance. Most religions, aiming only for moral and religious virtue ask nothing more of their adherents. For the sages, this is not the final object because it is like getting rid of an iron chain and replacing it with a golden one. It is a very necessary stage but it too, must be transcended before freedom and eternal joy is found. It is like using the thorn of knowledge to prick out the thorn of ignorance – when it has done its job both thorns can be thrown away.

How come the truth is not clear to everybody?

Yes indeed. This is the really big question, to which the sages have evolved various answers, the outcome of most being that we do know but it is a very vague knowing, because we are so engrossed in being who we think we are, few people give the issue of being alive any thought. For the answer we have to go back to the beginning of creation.

In Shankara’s Vedanta the following concepts are used to explain how come the startling news that closed the first chapter can so effectively allude our understanding. To put it in the simplest way, this strange state of affairs is caused by the fact that for this miraculous Universe to appear to be, a clouding is essential. To project a film the room must be darkened. Creation is like that. So in order for the Universe to come about the lone perfection of unalloyed consciousness had to be hidden. The metaphor can be extended as the Self being light, the film as the mind, the image on the screen as the Universe, and the screen and the source of all as Brahman. We see only the projected shadows, physical or mental, but not the source of the light. From the absolute point of view it means that what appears to us to be a Universe is in truth, nothing but an apparition of the senses caused and supported by nothing but pure consciousness itself.

When you watch a movie the only substantial reality you are looking at is the screen, which you do not see. The story is nothing but shadows and lights playing upon it. In the same way, pure consciousness is the only substantial reality, upon which all the projected images we call the Universe come and go. The sages use the word ignorance to denote this illusory superimposition of the relative upon reality. As there is cosmic ignorance to account for creation, so there is personal ignorance to account for us being sure we are here as individuals. Personal ignorance is necessary for us to be here just as cosmic ignorance is necessary for the Universe to be here. The situation is similar to an actor who has become so identified with a character they are playing that they have forgotten their real identity and actual circumstances. This is why we do not know who we really are. When the Universe is projected a cosmic clouding is necessary, so it is part of us as well. Similarly, a film cannot be projected in the light of day. The room needs to be darkened. The viewing of moving shadows upon a screen in a darkened room is a perfect metaphor for the nature of creation. Who is it that sees it? “Why I do!” you will say with some conviction. But wait! There’s more to it than that simple answer will allow.

The seer and the seen

This describes all our experiences. We are the seer. We live inside the body. The world is outside and is the seen. We call one the subject, the other the object. Because of the magic of what we will call false attribution, few of us ever doubt this scenario, and given that common attitude,

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subject and object appear ever distinct and mutually opposed realities. It is surprising then, that one of our most prevalent contradictions is that we constantly confuse the two when we ascribe the qualities of the seen to those of the seer. This is the mechanism of identification that needs to be understood if we want to become aware for it is one way ignorance manifests. For instance, if you affirm “I am fat, skinny, white, black, happy, sad” or whatever you have taken the qualities of the body or mind and ascribed them to a being that is none of these things. No matter how you describe yourself the same error of false identification exists. About the only thing that can be stated with any truth about oneself is “I am”. There is no way to deny it. No act of imagination or logic, no affirmation of its non-being can change the intuition of ‘I am’ to ‘I am not’ for even to deny it is to affirm it. Further, ‘I am’ affirms God for it must be present before any idea of God can be acknowledged. God is an idea in the mind that only arises when called up, but the sense of ‘I am’ is constant. These are wondrous truths, so obvious they are easily ignored.

The sages say that to be constant, this pervading sense of being is a reflection of the Self. The purpose for the development of discrimination is that it reveals all this. Then it dawns upon the awareness that the ego is not the real seer, for what is it that reveals the thoughts and states of the ego? Is there another more inner ego? If so what is it that reveals it? Yet another one and so on ad infinitum? This conundrum is solved by the sage’s philosophy of the Self. The mind is in constant flux and so is the ego identified with it. Whatever is aware of them must be beyond all flux because one bit of flux cannot be aware of another bit of flux. All these internal states are within the awareness of the real subject – the one awareness through which all consciousness operates. It follows that everything of all types, ‘inside’ or ‘outside,’ of mind or of matter is actually objective to the one witnessing supreme consciousness. That, the sages say, is our Self. Because of cosmic and personal ignorance this truth is clouded. To be free of this clouding it is necessary to know about ignorance.

Nothing is as important as ignorance

False attribution is common in life. In fact it is the nature of life – at least the way we live it now. It is the proclivity to project our ideas and feelings outwards to the world and others and to mistake or confuse one thing with another. Perhaps the most common examples is in believing lust to be love, expansion for progress, cunning for intelligence and the map for the territory. Shankara uses a snake and a coil of rope as an example. When we see a coil of rope and think it is a snake we have projected the idea of a snake onto it. It can appear so real that we get a shock, the heart races, we jump or go get a stick to hit it with. In this case, the reality of the rope has been clouded and the idea of a snake imposed.

Only the very wise study ignorance because it is what makes the world go around. There cannot be a deep understanding of truth without an equally deep understanding of ignorance for when ignorance is seen for what it is absolute knowledge is possible. This is similar to being aware of the fact of the rope. The snake immediately is no more. The truth of the rope can only be seen when the superimposed ignorance is removed. To become aware of our ignorance is an arduous task for all our opinions, ideas and beliefs have to be investigated and doubted. When the false is discovered and abandoned, the obstacles to the awareness of truth are removed and it begins to shine through. This tedious task can be jumped over in one bound when all the knowledge we pride ourselves with is seen as a form of ignorance and surrendered. Such a person is on the way to enlightenment. The sages say that the only real way to alleviate the human situation and help the world is to put an end to our own ignorance. Contrary to what might be expected, this does not mean to acquire knowledge, but simply to recognise that what we call knowledge is in fact, another form of ignorance. Such a person is a blessing to all. As Shankara wrote, ‘A sage is like the Spring; wherever he goes he brings the song of birds and the fragrance of flowers.’

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For us to maintain our play as a separate person, a personal clouding, ignorance and projection is necessary. We do this with such energy and conviction that the reality of our true self is completely lost. We are then sure that the qualities we perceive and experience are our true self. An example is: “I am a man. My age is 50 years. I am white. I am a Christian. I am a Catholic. I am English. I am fat. I am wealthy. I am a Judge. I am married. I am important”. And so on. Identification is identity. The personality is not an entity, but merely a group of memories, notions and opinions. The ego claims it all. According to this self-created script we live out our roles in the worldly drama as if our imagined identity was real.

We claim that these definitions are our knowledge of ourselves but the sages say it is a form of ignorance. We are not the qualities we imagine ourselves to possess. In reality, we are the same nature as the pure awareness that is the foundation of the Universe. The sages have reiterated this staggering statement in many different ways; perhaps so we know we have heard it aright. So it follows that the game of life is to realise this, and break free from the bondage of personal and cosmic ignorance. These are the ultimate goals of religions and spiritual disciplines of all types.

When one thing is mistaken for another through false attribution, the vast cosmic pattern has been recreated. In this way the real nature of the Self (which the sages tell us is immortal, eternal, untouched by the world, and pure bliss, existence and intelligence) appears as the person, identified with a tangled mass of notions, fears, problems, desires, dissatisfactions and a body subject to disease, old age and death. It follows that without this false identification of the Self with the ego and body and the superimposition of the cosmic mind on Brahman through clouding and projection there would not be a creation or we human individuals in it. The magician plays his tricks with illusions and sleight of hand, God, with Maya and sleight of mind. This may seem strange but the one thing we all know is that whatever life might be seen to be it is indeed strange. The how of its being must be as strange. The Universe is much more of a miracle than we could ever imagine.

Because ignorance is so annoying to them, philosophers have invented many ingenious theories to account for the cause, nature and purpose for the Universe. Religions affirm that God has done it all and give many different ideas about the nature of the relationship between humans and the Deity. In some God is a Superperson and in others a pure abstraction; some use images and others abhor them. It is no wonder that confusion abounds about all these ideas. There is no difficulty while ever it is acknowledged that all the viewpoints represent the various appearances as the soul climbs higher up the mountain. From the very top all these ideas are seen as partial truths and are regarded with tolerant understanding.

The sages themselves hold different views but when properly understood they turn out to be different ways of saying much the same thing. Shankara is unique in that he affirms that all the would-be theological ‘solutions’ are in fact products of the fundamental ignorance. Perhaps this is why every ‘solution’ creates more controversy than it sets out to remove.

According to Shankara the cause of the sensory Universe is ignorance. That is, the Universe appears to exist by the very process of false attribution that we use to define ourselves as persons. While some of the sages set out valiantly to explore and detail the step-by-step procedure by which the One and All became the many and limited, Shankara pulls the rug out from under all such reasoning. In his view ignorance both cosmic and individual is the cause of everything. However this is not absolute not-knowing but rather a false knowledge where one thing is mistaken for another. He calls it Maya. It is one of the most brilliant principles to be formulated in the history of philosophy.

Is it is or is it isn’t?

Many of the great problems of philosophy and theology are about relationships. What is the relationship of mind to matter? – God to the world? – humans to nature? And so on. In one way the

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doctrine of Maya solves them by affirming that they are the products of relative ignorance and can have no final answer. The mind might exercise incredible ingenuity in thinking up marvellous ideas about them but that is all. In this way Maya saves a great deal of argument for which it should be praised.

To those who understand it, Maya is not a theory but a statement of fact. It is a description of the principles that govern the Universe. By its nature the Universe is inexplicable because it is Maya. The Universe is a magical appearance based upon consciousness and the apparent reality of the opposites, duality and all qualified manifestations of them. Maya cannot be said to exist or not to exist, it is neither being nor becoming, neither a positive something or a negative nothing, it is not real nor it is unreal. Such descriptions tend to put the mind into blank confusion. This is an important clue as to one way the mind and Maya works. Maya is based on the illusion of opposites being absolutely real and the mind works on the basis of opposites. When they are not clearly defined the mind objects with confusion. Because it works in the opposites it wonders what the relationship of one apparent opposite to another can be. In this way the mind seeks to solve problems such as the relationship of mind to matter, God to the world and so on. They can never be absolutely solved because they are the products of the same illusions as the mind itself. And this is Maya. It also means that the cause of Maya cannot be known by reasoning because the mind is its product. Maya can only be known by transcending it, which the sages have achieved in order to tell us about it.

They point out that our lives depend upon it because it is Maya as cosmic ignorance that produces the illusions of time, space and cause and the appearance of the ego and multiplicity. Not only that but the way we live our lives is a manifestation of Maya. It is the unseen factor that causes the contradictions, confusions, limitations, double standards, erroneous notions and delusions of our lives. It is the root of our identification with the body and thus, the relative world with all its problems.

Maya is the way of the world. While ever we are subject to it, our lives are contradictory; we want and need beauty, peace, harmony, love and happiness yet our actions create ugliness, war, hate, conflicts and sorrow. We still believe that we can amplify social good until all evil is eliminated though all history disproves it. We believe in progress and that everything is getting better while everything of real importance is getting worse and the life of the planet is threatened. We believe in peace so much we go to war to preserve it. We save money on essentials so we can spend it on junk. After a lifetime of exploiting others a man gives a little money to a charity and dies feeling he has done some good. Passionate attachment to the beloved destroys the love in jealousy and creates bondage. Hope for a happy life in marital bliss is a romantic illusion few escape from. All religions preach peace, brotherly love and understanding yet every religion has caused, fostered or condoned war, class divisions and racial prejudice. Nations become empires thinking they will dominate the world forever but none ever has. We believe we can conquer nature by dominating it with science but the attempt might kill us in the long run. We spend a lifetime accumulating money and things only to lose them all in death. In attempting to master matter be become slaves to the machine. And so it goes; we are all on a magical mystery tour through the maze of Maya. This is why the sages declare that Maya is not just a philosophical concept but accurate descriptions of the way things are.

It is no accident that the world is a place of so much strife and duplicity; the cause of broken hopes, worries, fears, and sorrows that are so rampant. Through them we learn that the earth, as wonderful as it is, is not our true home and that we can never find the peace, joy, love and beauty we seek while ever we remain subject to the duplicity of Maya. This rather grim picture is only one part of the story of Maya for it is also the cause of wisdom both worldly and spiritual. It is the giver of boons as well as the maker of stumbling blocks. It gives freedom to the wise and bondage to fools but is not partial to any. It makes the laws, chains and locks of worldly bondage and shatters

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them as well. It is full of compassion and inspires great teachers to show the way to freedom. The whole idea of proper living according to the four fours is to get on the right side of Maya – the Goddess of the Universe.

From up on the summit, Maya is the inscrutable creative power of Brahman, from down in the valley it is the one hurdle in life that must be jumped over in order to be truly free and happy. While ever a person is content with the world of Maya they can see no reason to climb the mountain, so they will remain in the valley.

The unit and the All

This brings out another fact about Maya – that there is always either the forest or the trees and when you see one you lose sight of the other. This is an aspect of daily life for the presence of a thing depends upon the absence of everything else. This is why knowledge can only be partial and fragmented. (A joker has said that through science we can learn more and more about less and less until we know everything about nothing and nothing about everything. This is more than a joke, as you will discover in the following section about science and Maya.)

In the same way as there are the units (trees) and the aggregates (forests) there is a single body and an aggregate body – the cosmic body. If there is a personal prana energising the body then there must be a cosmic prana as well, and so on. If there is an individual mind there must also be an aggregate of all minds – the cosmic mind. The unit is then, a lesser aspect of the All, which means that the particular and universal are inseparable. So as far as relative life goes, we have a personal and Universal body, a personal and Universal mind, a personal and Universal prana, a personal and Universal self and so on. The sages say that the reason we have become limited is because we have given so much attention to the personal that the awareness of the Universal has become obliterated, or at least, clouded. We are what we seem to be because we insist on imagining our being to be the particular instead of the Universal, and so doing, have limited our awareness to a personality.

This brings in the necessity for renunciation that the sages emphasise so much. Renunciation of personal concerns and ambitions takes the attention away from the person, body and worldly things, so freeing the mind to concentrate upon transcendental truths. Finally, completely disregarding the false and temporal opens the way to the true.

To realize this is to transcend the ego and its limited ideas and develop cosmic consciousness such as is known by the sages.

Much that has been explained in the opening chapters you may now recognize as an explanation of one aspect of Maya or another.

More about Maya

Another way of understanding a little more about the role Maya plays in the Universe is to consider it as the limiting factor in creation, for if a minute portion of the limitless Brahman gave rise to the Universe as the sages declare, there must have been a factor creating limitations as a primal cause. Maya is that cause, from which the gross material Universe evolves from its finer precursors by a gradual process of graded limitations.

In that aspect Maya can be thought of as primordial nature from which the three qualities (listed in the first chapter) that permeate all creation arise. In their pure form they are ideas in the cosmic mind that unfold through the principle of graded limitations and so become gross mind and matter. Permeating everything, Maya is both mind and matter. Matter cannot be the cause of mind nor mind the cause of matter for both arise simultaneously from primordial nature.

Maya and science

It might seem that nothing could be more disparate than these two. What ever could one

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have to do with the other? But of course, if Maya is the nature of the world, science must be another aspect of it. And so it is. The application of the scientific method and mathematics has revealed a great deal about the Universe and how Maya works expressed in the mathematical language of science.

Particle physics set out to discover the basic substance that composed the atom. Maya took over. It resulted in the surprising discovery that there was no continuity in matter. It pulsed in minute packets of energy that the physicists called quanta. It was a very disturbing discovery that called for a complete revision of scientific concepts developed since Newton. Challenging all our opinions to the contrary, we do not live in a sequential Universe; duration and progression are mental constructs. In this way science confirms what the old sages have had to say about the nature of the Universe. Fundamental stuff is ever illusive. And that is Maya. All that has been discovered so far is more bits, space and pattern and nothing fundamental at all. And that is Maya. The basic duplicity showed up when experiments with light revealed that it is either a particle and/or a wave at the same time. That makes no sense. And that is Maya. That contradictory result took a lot of getting used to. And contradiction is Maya. Then it was discovered that it was not possible to determine the velocity and location of an electron simultaneously. If one was measured the other couldn’t be found. And that is Maya. Scientists call it the principle of indeterminacy. The more you know about one aspect of reality the less you can know of the others. And that is Maya. Einstein showed that all the basic qualities we ascribe to a body are provisional upon the space/time continuum in which it exists. And that is Maya. Therefore, if the velocity of an object is increased its mass must decrease. If it were possible for it to exceed the speed of light it would disappear. Where? - Into the uncreated beyond Maya perhaps. He showed that everything is relative to the speed of light and matter and energy are not opposites but differing forms of the same thing. In other words everything is relative and provisional and opposites are not opposed but are complimentary. And that is Maya. It might seem strange and new to us but all these modern discoveries are as old as the hills to the sages. They called this strangeness and indeterminacy Maya. What science has discovered are the workings of Maya.

Through science humans have exploited many aspects of Maya to our own advantage, but we have created none of the things we exploit. With little understanding or none, we have cunningly manipulated the mysteries. They are mysteries still. One of the greatest of these mysteries is water. It defies the laws of chemistry and physics – it expands when frozen, floats on its self, can be induced to flow uphill and is the universal solvent. (This planet is wrongly named. It should be called aqua.)

The wisest of scientists know the limitations as this verse shows:

The person behind the microscope

Has this request of you,

Please do not ask what it is,

Just ask, ‘what does it do?’

Measure as we might we do not know what electricity really is - or any thing really is for that matter. And that is Maya. When we do not acknowledge our fundamental ignorance we become arrogant despoilers of the world we live in.

It is due to Maya again, that we are so heavily conditioned to love and respect scientific knowledge. Most of us do so without question. Yet the detailed knowledge we have struggled to

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attain has not lived up to its promise of earthly utopia such as we have imagined; in fact, just the opposite. To list all the present problems and future outcomes, personal and cosmic, is not applicable here, though it should be acknowledged that there is no way out. Having taken the lid off Pandora’s box we must continue to work at it like the sorcerer’s apprentice had to do with the brooms.

The story of Adam and Eve could be interpreted as humanity falling from a state of blissful, intuitive guidance from God and harmony in Eden, to the knowledge of good and evil (the opposites) thus involving the need for knowledge, progress, religion, belief and personal will.

The sages have profound knowledge of their own, though it is not the same as the technological knowledge we worship. Much of their knowledge they kept hidden for in their wisdom they knew that to develop it beyond a certain point would be exploited with disastrous results by the less wise populace. Their quest for knowledge was inspired by their love for truth, not for kudos, wealth, fame, power or patents.

A great sage was listening to a young disciple explaining a conversation he had with a person who told him about creation according to science. The Master said:

“You have heard many things here (meaning himself – he never used the personal pronoun) yet you said nothing? You should have told him that if God did not create the world then who did?”

“They say that nature is a natural process.” The disciple said.

“Can nature then create its self? If there is an effect there must be a proceeding cause. There is a powerful Being behind this creation.”

For the Master this was not theory or speculation. He could experience it at will.

The increasingly desperate situation facing life on the planet is the outcome of humans loosing the intuition of the Great Chain of Being the Master knew. It has isolated us in materialism, egocentricity and body consciousness. For this reason, the wisdom of the sages has become of crucial importance. Many of the sages have affirmed that worldly knowledge is of little importance compared to spiritual knowledge, for spiritual knowledge puts worldly knowledge in its proper place and applies constraints to its dangers. Ignorance about the limitations of what we call knowledge may yet result in the destruction of human beings and the planet that gave us life. To know about our ignorance is very important.

God, Maya and being human

The idea of God as a sort of benign old Patriarch adorning an antiseptic heaven surrounded by adoring angels and saints is at best, a clouded idea of Brahman seen through the mists of delusion. This does not mean that God is not the highest conception of Brahman that the human mind can envisage.

The nature of Maya makes it imperative that it should be so and that we read Brahman in relative terms no matter how abstract those terms are. Some sages teach that in His relative aspect He is the power that creates (satva) maintains (rajas) and destroys the Universe (tamas) and is also active in this way in all matter. To them, God is just as real as anything else is.

As an individual manifestation of a conscious being clouded by ignorance you are a limited aspect of the pure consciousness of Brahman. Because this consciousness is constricted by the

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principle of limiting function it cannot share the aspects of God such as omniscience and omnipresence and so on while ever it is subject to the power of Maya. Yet even in this we are creators of the Universe for we make everything possible by giving it our attention. In this way, both God and the individual are both co-producers and products of Maya in everlasting relationship. To know this is faith and humility as well. God is the controller of Maya but the soul is subject to it. The sages say that God is like a spider that spins a web but does not get caught in it while the soul is like a silkworm imprisoned in a cocoon.

It follows that religion is a matter of relationship of the soul to God. Different religions promote one sort of relationship or another. Some see it as a child/father or child/mother kind. Some as a master/servant or lover/beloved and some as friend to friend. No matter, all are valid because they suit the temperaments of different individuals, but to realise the Self is to go beyond all religions.

According to one great sage there are fourteen stages or planes of consciousness through which the life process evolves. The first four are protozoa, (born of cell division) plants, (born of seeds) the egg born and the womb born. Humans are the highest of the womb born because they are self-conscious, stand upright, can speak and possess the subtle centers through which consciousness can evolve to the highest. So the ordinary human is the most developed animal, but is on the lowest level of spiritual development. Such people are dull of understanding, engrossed in sense gratification only, self-centered, atheistic and materialistic.

The sixth and seventh levels are states of ignorance but with intimations of dawning knowledge and inquiry. Ideas such as animism and the supplication of spirits are appropriate to this stage. The next seven stages are the beginnings of higher evolution when the faculties of intelligence, logic and reason are manifest. The ultimate development of these faculties results in dualistic philosophies that reveal more of reality. God is seen as a stern King or Creator separate from creation, and humans and the world are absolutely real.

The next plane is a state of knowledge of the laws that apply to civil life and insight into the moral order. Concepts of a God as benign creator and Father who can be approached are appropriate to this stage of understanding. God is intimately related to individuals but is ‘in heaven’.

The third stage of higher understanding comes when the internal energies are controlled and the intelligence is keen. The study of philosophy and the devoted practice of Yoga or religion are the major signs of this stage. Concepts of God are varied and subtle but dualism is still the reality. God is no longer seen as ‘somewhere other’ and in relation to the human soul in some way.

When nature is understood and the higher intelligence is developed there is an intuitive knowledge of the identity of the soul and God, as sparks are to flame or a drop of water to a lake. The moral and ethical nature, the intelligence and creativity are at peak and the animal nature is all but transcended.

There follows a realisation of God and a transcendental state of love and bliss beyond relative knowledge in states of trance, sometimes accompanied by miraculous events, as has occurred with saints of all religions.

The final stage is complete Self-realisation or enlightenment. It is actual identity with Brahman at all times and there is no consciousness of duality. There is no longer any need for evolution as it has been completed. However there may be past karma to expend and the body may continue to live until this is done. There are no more rebirths needed. An individual free from karmic impediments may experience most of these higher stages in a single lifetime and win final release.

Humans are the products of both the universal and individual, (aggregate and unit) aspect of Maya, the universal causing the Universe and the individual causing the ego, mind, senses, and body. For this reason the individual core that creates a human being is known as the causal body. It

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is the subtle spiritual body also called the soul.

When an understanding of the real nature of Maya and ignorance dawns you are on the way to cosmic consciousness.

More about being human

The motive the sages have in these descriptions of the phenomenal nature of a human being is not to found schools of occultism or metaphysics, but to show the temporal nature of all these things and how we confound our true nature with them. By such study the realisation comes about that everything is partial, temporal, insubstantial, and ephemeral and so cannot be the Self that is the source of our life and the goal of our questing.

Congratulations! You are a human being! You have climbed the tortuous tree of evolution and immerged at the top. Never think of yourself as a failure again. But what are you as a living human being in the physical Universe?

Working within the limitations of the senses and through a mind conditioned by them even a learned person could get only a fragmented picture of the nature of a human being. Being established in cosmic consciousness the great sages have no such limitations. What do they say about it? Well, that depends upon what sort of sage they are. One sage advanced cogent arguments to show that there has been no such thing as a creation at all. In such absolute negation to discuss such issues as the nature of a human being would be a ridiculous inconsistency. Some sages for other reasons refuse to discuss life in metaphysical or academic terms. They counter such questions with another - “Who is it that asks the question?” Thus directing the mind of the questioner back to the Self. Those sages who recognize that it is natural for the human mind to want some framework to explain the nature of being a human being do so in such a way that an integrated understanding becomes possible. Their descriptions show that we are not merely physical organisms but cosmic creatures.

Biological science shows that there is real evidence that the human embryo duplicates the long process of evolution in its nine months of gestation. But a baby is not just a body. There are the life forces that maintain it, the energy in the nerves, a personality, and a rapidly developing mind endowed with intelligence. That intelligence holds innate knowledge that allows a baby to learn things that took its ancestors many centuries or even millennia to establish. Within five years it can talk, walk, reason, write, draw, think in abstractions, add, multiply and subtract. It would not be possible to acquire these abilities in so short a time unless they were innate. The skills have to be relearned but the abilities are innate.

The amazing process of building the body of a baby is similar to the small seed becoming a giant tree. All the constituents of both are present as a seed and develop by means of the five pranas through the intelligence of the Self, unfolding the potentials from the causal body. When the body dies, the entire potential for another individual is withdrawn back into a seed state within the causal body. As incredible as this might seem, we have an excellent analogy in the vast amount of data that can be stored on a minute silicon chip, or the scenes, people, and dialogue that can be created from a minute pattern of electrons in a video tape. The next section, ‘Occult Anatomy’ will develop this subject in detail.

The mind of a baby is not a blank as John Locke taught in the late eighteenth century. This fallacy was enthusiastically promoted in later ages by social reformers and politicians to such an

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extent that it became public opinion. This is an example of the results that follow when ordinary people, not sages, influence social values. That human beings are the products of environment and education alone and thus a product of chance is one of the many errors that grew out of this idea. In the same way it is the fashion of the times to think of our individuality as the product of genetic inheritance only. As in cards, life indeed deals out a hand of genes and chromosomes,

but by karma and the programming from the causal body they are manipulated and modified to suit the nature of the incarnating soul. When the body has grown the soul does the same with life situations and circumstances.

Occult anatomy

This term means the unseen structure and function of the subtle energies hidden within the physical form that have been described by many of the sages. It includes the ordinary functions of the energies that create and energise the body as well as the extraordinary functions of energies involved in spiritual evolution and enlightenment.

Just as physical and intellectual evolution has to be played out in the developing baby, cosmic evolution must be as well. In this way the processes by which the cosmos came into being are repeated in the creation of a human being. All in all, a human being is the whole history of creation; an amazing time capsule that includes the entire past evolving into the infinite future. This is the big picture; an overview of the sages view of human life, but they did not stop there. They detailed the processes by which human life accords with cosmic principles.

It involves much that has been explained in other contexts. Going back from the role the three basic qualities play in the psyche to their beginnings in the cosmos they first became the cosmic mind that held the five basic ideas that are the template for all creation. In their subtle form they are the ideas of solid, liquid, gas, light and ether. The rajasic aspect of them develops into the senses, the tamasic aspect becomes the physical elements earth, water, air, fire and space and the satvic aspect becomes the ego, and the individual mind. Because the five elements are the template for our bodies we have five fingers and five toes, four limbs and a torso, we have five organs of action, (hands, feet, genitals, tongue and anus,) five of knowledge (the senses). The fingers represent earth (thumb) water (index finger) fire (third finger) air (ring finger) and ether (little finger). Some sages can direct these creative energies through the hands to heal diseases of the mind and body. This is the tradition behind the hand gestures of Gods and Goddesses, in Indian dance and in ritual gestures and Yoga. A common gesture used by Yogis and often seen in the sitting postures, is the index finger and thumb joined and the other three fingers straight out, the back of the hands against the knees. This is the joining of water and earth, symbolising a damming up, which in turn represents a reservoir of energy (prana) the Yogi is accumulating.

The five elements in their aspect of energy drive the body’s powers of digestion, assimilation, dispersion, elimination and procreation. Each one has a prime bodily location in vortices of energy called chakras that control these vital functions and are associated with a nervous plexus, an organ or a gland. Ether at the throat (thyroid, larynx) air at the chest (lung, thymus) fire at the solar plexus (stomach, pancreas) water at the navel (kidney, adrenals) and earth at the perineum (reproductive glands, bowel).

As poetry is the best medium for metaphysics, this one sums it up:

EARTH BODY

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The sights of nature beguiles our heart,Intrigues the mind and eye;

Why is this fascination, why,So impelling that breath stops,

And the heart is awed to worship? I asked of the earth why this should be,

Out upon the windy swales, and,Sighing amid the Banksias,In the whistle of the winds,

I heard,

“You love us because you love yourself,Your body is the world.

Your flesh is soil, your bones are rocksThe blood, red rivers flowing,

The eyes are light,(Without eyes, light is blind.)

Earth air fire water space,Your body of five senses are,(Without you they are dead,)

And so it is your breath Is as the wind,

And in the belly,A solar furnace burns

Things of the earth as food,For cells floating in salted seasWith corals, reefs and waves;

Sea creatures still.-Your mind the boundless sky,

Thoughts its clouds;Sun-struck, moon-mellow, or dark as death.

Your seeming so solid flesh Seething with ordered chaos,

Are but bubbles in the universal sea,Like pools, dry up, then

Come again as rain,Growing plantlike in time’s soil,

Each part borrowed from ancient ancestors;The sea-shell ear, the fern-frond brow,

Bivalve lips seek food.Here, all past time and future eternity,

Are not mere notions,But all your bodies as they live,And all your bodies as they die.

You are the earth,The seer is the seen.”

At the base chakra there is a powerful energy whose name means ‘coiled serpent’ for it is

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under tension like a compressed spring. It powers sexual energy in ordinary people and spiritual power in the spiritually evolved. From this base chakra two complementary forces rise up each side of the spine to the pituitary gland, crossing over and through each chakra on the way up. They are colored blue and red, representing the male and female yin-yang polarities. Part of the effect of spiritual discipline is to balance the charge in these two energies, so that the female-male natures in the psyche are harmonized. They are often depicted in symbolic art in many different cultures, usually as entwined snakes, or the stems of creepers. In Greek mythology they appear very significantly, as the caduceus (herald’s wand) carried by Mercury, messenger of the Gods. It is represented as a staff (the spine) with two snakes coiled about it, heads together at the top with two wings on each side, symbolizing the flight of the soul into the infinite. In some countries it is used as the symbol for the medical profession.

When all the smelting has been done and the person is spiritually ready, the powerful energy sleeping in the base chakra awakens and rising up the spine charges the pituitary and pineal glands with its energy. The glandular excretions are then altered and the body becomes a holy one, radiating light. Enlightenment means, literally, to be full of light. The ordinary, dualistic mind ceases to function in its dualistic mode and the person is transformed. In this way the sages have given a detailed explanation of what takes place during our spiritual accent to enlightenment.

The state of transcendental realisation when the gross mind is without a movement is called samadhi. There are many different interpretations of samadhi in the various texts, especially those of Yoga, one such listing seven types. The usual classification is twofold. One is identification with a higher thought form in which duality exists and the higher form, identity with the Self beyond duality. The sage Shankara describes it in this way:

There is a continuous consciousness of the unity of Atman with Brahman. There is no longer any identification of the Atman with its coverings. All sense of duality is obliterated. There is only pure, unified consciousness. The person who is well established in this consciousness is said to be illumined. Their bliss is unending, they almost forget this world of appearances. Even though the mind is dissolved in Brahman, they are fully awake, but free from the ignorance of waking life. Fully conscious, they are free from any craving. Such a person is free even in this life. For them, the sorrows of this world are over. Though they possess a finite body they remain united with the infinite. They know no anxiety…

He also wrote a famous song about it. I wonder if he knew it would be sung in distant countries centuries after his death?

OM. I am neither mind, intelligence, ego nor mind-stuff,Neither ears nor tongue nor the senses of smell or sight;

Nor am I ether, earth, fire, water or air:I am pure knowledge and bliss:

I am That! I am That! Blessed spirit, I am That!

I am neither energy nor the five vital forces,I am not the seven elements of the body or its five sheaths,

No hands nor feet nor tongue, nor the organs of sex or elimination:I am pure knowledge and bliss:

I am That! I am That! Blessed spirit, I am That!

Neither liking nor loathing have I, neither greed nor delusion;

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No sense have I of ego or pride, neither duty nor freedom;Neither desires of the mind nor object for its desiring:

I am pure knowledge and bliss!I am That! I am That! Blessed spirit, I am That!

I know neither pleasure nor pain, right or wrong,Nor the mantra, the sacred place, the Vedas, the sacrifice;

Neither the act of eating, or the eater or the food:I am pure knowledge and bliss!

I am That! I am That! Blessed spirit, I am That!

Death or fear I have none, nor any caste;Neither father nor mother nor birth have I,

Neither friend or comrade, neither disciple or Guru:I am pure knowledge and bliss!

I am That! I am That! Blessed spirit, I am That!

I have no form; the all-pervading, am I;Everywhere I exist, beyond the senses;

Neither salvation am I or anything that can be known:I am pure knowledge and bliss!

I am That! I am That! Blessed spirit, I am That!

‘Blessed spirit, I am That!’ – That, of course, is the highest possible realization, beyond mind and speech and thus incapable of description. As Shankara’s song demonstrates, it can only be hinted at by negation. It is ‘not this, not this, not that’ as the sages say. The song epitomises Shankara’s Advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta.

In the 1920’s Paramhansa Yogananda wrote an article entitled ‘The Aurora of Bliss’ in which he described his first experience of samadhi-

I remember the day when for the first time, unlooked for, from behind the clouds of the drudgery of routine meditating habits, the aurora of bliss suddenly burst upon my consciousness. It surpassed all my expectations. Joy indescribable! The light of bliss illumined all the dark corners of my consciousness, clearing away the shadows of all questions, passing X-ray like through gross objects and showing me all things lying beyond the horizon of mortal gaze.

Though God may be an utter abstraction to most of us, the sages and samadhi are actualities. Such descriptions are invaluable aids to faith because they show that the goal of spiritual endevour is not an insubstantial, vague feeling, but a powerful, transcendental reality.

Eyewitness accounts of samadhi are many. Here is one given by a sage about 1930, reminiscing about the days spent with his Guru:

One day a great musician came to Dakshineswar with the idea of entertaining Shri Ramakrishna. He was an accomplished musician and he sang beautifully. He began to sing songs about God but after hearing only one or two songs the Master became absorbed in samadhi. His face became flushed and he throbbed with a divine presence. Moreover, his figure appeared larger than usual and his hair stood on end.

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How can I describe that sight? A long time passed and still the Master did not come down to the normal plane of consciousness. As the singing continued we were speechless with wonder. Never had we seen the Master in such deep samadhi nor had we seen his figure appear so large.

. The full description of the occult energy centers and bodies from the original sources connects them to all of life – attitudes, abilities, planets, colours, gems, plants, letters, numbers, gods or goddesses, and other affinities. They were illustrated in large charts covered in symbols that illustrated the concordances such as was outlined in the first chapter. Sadly, there are few people sage enough to understand the full implication of it all and show us how to make use of it, though some of the ancient medical systems that were founded upon these principles are now coming back into use.

In the light of the forgoing, you could define yourself in this way: “I am an individual aspect of the Universe”. And a rather miraculous one at that. There is much more to explain about the sages’ view of the human being.

Three plus five equals one.

We think the physical body is the only one but the sages say we have many. The three basic bodies are the physical, the subtle and the spiritual or causal body. Within them most of the sages describe five. They call them sheaths because they cover the in-dwelling Self like a scabbard. It is a matter of worlds within worlds again. The sheath analogy can be misleading for one body is not really inside the other like a set of Russian dolls. Rather, they are interpenetrating, from the physical one to the finest one deep in the soul.

We are all familiar with the outermost sheath for it is the gross outer body made of the elements in food. The next finest is the energy or vital body that gives the physical body the semblance of life. It permeates it and extends beyond it. Within it is the body of the gross mind. Within it is the fine mind or intelligence and within that, the body of bliss. A good analogy is that of a lamp with five glass covers, the light being that of the Self and the covers being the various bodies. The light of the Self shines brightest on the inner sheath and glows dully through the outermost one. The finest substance of all is the causal body or soul whose light shines through all bodies, integrating them. It is the unifying principle that makes them cooperate as one being. Thus, everything in nature whether gross, fine or superfine, is material. The only true spiritual entity is the Self.

Death is the absence of this unifying principle, allowing the stuff of the various bodies to go back to their elements, after the makings for the next incarnation are absorbed into a seed state within the causal body.

The mind, senses, ego and so on are known as the inner organs and part of the functions of the subtle or vital body. It is important to note that the actual seats of sensory perceptions are in the subtle body. Accordingly, extra-sensory perception is a misnomer. What is called clairvoyance and its like is the inner sensory factors functioning independently from the outer sensory organs in the body.

This is a complex subject and this is a simple explanation. Other aspects will be mentioned in later sections.

The gross body is the most transitory and subject to many changes and finally death, so those who identify the sense of Self exclusively with the physical body must always feel insecure. Most people identify themselves more with the mental sheath while the truly spiritual person does

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not identify the soul with a limited body at all.

There are five executive energies called Pranas controlling digestion, assimilation, dispersion, elimination and procreation that develop the embryo and leave the body at death. Because they are what give the body the signs of life their absence is death.

When the soul is identified with the mental sheath it is conscious of the senses, personality, and the duality of subject and object. This is its unregenerate state, centered as it is in the relative world and the ego, causing delusion and bondage, but when purified, it becomes the cause of liberation from them. This is the goal of all spiritual practices.

The body of intelligence is the discriminating faculty. Though it appears to be the conscious seat of awareness it does not possess these faculties in its own inherent nature, but because of its fineness, reflects the quality of pure intelligence from the Self. An aspect of this reflection appears as the ego. Because it claims all the qualities of the bodies as its own and instigates egocentric action it is subject to karma and rebirth.

The sheath of bliss is the source of joy, peace and rest. We know it most when the senses report agreeable sensations or the mind enjoys peace or we are deeply asleep.

Though apparently so deeply involved, the Self is not a product of evolution. Through the magic of creative ignorance however, it appears as the life and intelligence in the five bodies and the senses. As substantial and convincing as the Universe, the world and our life appears to be, they are actually a product of a marvellous warp of perception where we ascribe reality and solid materiality to sensory phenomena and actuality to mere ideas. It is a paradox that life, as we know it, depends upon a false assumption. We live amongst the images on the screen unaware of the light and screen the pictures depend upon. This is another reason the sages say we live in ignorance. The sages tell us that our world is all Maya. It might seem to be too weird for words, and so it is. The sages however, reiterate this as the fundamental fact of life. All these descriptions of bodies within bodies and subtle energies are like maps of Maya. They are not the actual territories the maps refer to. That can only be explored when it is transcended. They say that the Self can not have any actual connection with any of the bodies as the water of a mirage can have none with the sands of a desert. The Self remains ever supreme as Pure Consciousness. It is the real nature of the human being.

The three states of human life

So according to what the sages say about human life, the Self, far from being what thought would make it seem, is beyond limitation and thus infinite and eternal. So long as a person believes strongly in the categories of sense-life and ego as being the only realities, their essential being will remain hidden. To hear of the Self challenges this strong belief and it is then either rejected or investigated. In order to discern the changeless principle within us we must investigate the full range of human experience. This does not mean a catalogue of our activities, but can be expressed in three simple ways. We all know what they are because they are our daily experience, yet of the many people I have asked, not one has been able to give the simple answer. It is worth digressing here a little, because it is very significant that everyone goes to text book learning in order to answer a simple question that can be found by simply describing our common experience. It is an example of how our conditioning can obscure direct knowledge. But to continue-

The answer to the question ‘All our experience comes in three states (or phases of experience) – what are they?’ is waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. Every thing that happens to us exists in one of these three states. Because we are habitually in the waking state and consider it the only real one, it isn’t easy to understand the other two. Little can be learned of a whole from the limited standpoints of one of its parts, so we must consider each state from different points of view;

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its own, and from its complementary, and from the one that transcends them, in order to get a comprehensive understanding.

The waking state

This phase can be defined as consisting of thinking, acting and feeling in the presence of objects produced by the nature of the five senses. It is the subject-object consciousness.

The dream state

This state appears to consist of thinking and feeling only, because sense objects, as known by the waking state, cannot be present in a dream state, or so it appears from the standpoint of the waking state. Yet this is not so from within the dreaming state itself, for it is the firm conviction of a dreamer that objects are actually perceived and are real. So much so, that being chased by a dream tiger produces the same physiological reactions as a ‘real’ one would. Of course, we can dream of ourselves doing things while dreaming that we can not do while awake – flying unaided is one such – but we can not imagine ourselves doing something in a dream that we can not also imagine ourselves doing while we are awake. Dreaming is another form of imagination. Thus the dreaming state is definable in exactly the same terms as the waking state, that is, thinking and feeling in the presence of apparent sense objects.

A difference appears only when we consider dreams from the standpoint of the waking state, according to which, waking alone is the real experience. (In this fact lies a clue to the nature of realisation, for on waking we know that the dream world and the dream body whose senses perceived it were all products of the individual mind. Similarly on waking in the Self all states and the world are perceived to be the products of the universal mind.)

As far as the sages are concerned, there is no essential difference between thinking and feeling in either the waking or the dream state, for both are coloured by ego-consciousness and appear equally real to the experiencing ego in each state. Both are characterized by a subject-object consciousness. The difference between the two states is that the dream experience exists without the action of the various external organs of sensory perception. Dreaming is similar to so-called extra-sensory perception.

The most salient fact is that both deep sleep and dream experiences do not determine the nature of the waking state. It is only the willed acts and subsequent experiences of the waking state that produce karma and determine the nature of dreams.

Dreams are created with recollections derived from the mysterious nature of memory, characterized by the same object-subject duality, as is the waking state. The vital body of Prana never sleeps, so while the being is quiescent the vital processes of peristalsis, digestion and circulation, though slowed down, continue.

Much can be learnt from dreaming, for just as a dream is not an independent reality, but a self-created aspect of the dreamers consciousness, so is the world another aspect of our own being.Dreamless sleep

In dreamless sleep the subject-object consciousness is absent, so there is no consciousness of duality. There is no subject-object awareness. It is a negative state from the standpoint of that awareness, but very positive from its own, for it totally annihilates the world. To waking consciousness it seems to be a blank because there is no subject-object duality. Opinions based upon this ordinary awareness make it difficult to follow subtle reasoning, so it might take a time for the significance of this section to be understood. (It might help to try to imagine the state of deep sleep, though in the opposite state of waking.)

Though nothing exists for us in profound sleep, we do not cease to exist, so there must be

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within it, a principle transcending all the qualities and experiences of ordinary subject-object consciousness. If no such principle existed, how could there be a continuation of experience, after the complete absence of experience in deep sleep? The principle responsible for this continuance must be independent of both the existence and non-existence of experience. It must be something beyond the knowledge of existence and knowledge of non-existence. According to the sages it is absolute being, or, “I-myself” that exists and gives the appearance of continuance from one state to the other. It might help to consider it this way:

When we wake we can be conscious of having slept soundly. Paradoxically we are then conscious of having been totally “unconscious”. This is illogical. One cannot be conscious of the absence of consciousness. It must be that deep sleep is consciousness in its pristine state, while it is not assuming the duality of subject and object. The consciousness in deep sleep is then synonymous with the Self, or supreme identity, which is beyond duality. From another point of view, in deep sleep the veiling power of Maya functions but its projecting power doesn’t.

We look forward to sleep, become sick when deprived of it, and desire it with confidence of enjoyment. This must be because it is the state of profound contentment, peace and desirelessness, for all desiring and struggle to fulfil desires is then at an end. It is such an important state that we cannot function in any other state for long if deprived of it. Only highly developed sages can do entirely without sleep.

It is surprising that nothing could be known at all if it were possible to depart from our unconditioned state at any time. We are actually in it unawares, while everything else seems to be. It follows then, that the Supreme Identity as the non-dual consciousness, continues as the background of all perception and knowledge. It is like the screen the pictures are projected on to.

From the standpoint of the Self both waking and dreaming are states of mental activity, as dreamless sleep is the absence of such activity. If any difference can be discovered between waking and dreaming, it is no more than the difference between one mode of subject-object thought and another.

There is no essential difference between one state of objective experience and another seeing they are all characterized by duality. Its characteristic is the presence of knower and known, thinker and thought, the duality of subject and object. This is the Universe of duality created by Maya.

The sages reveal all this in the hope that this great truth can be realized – that it is because we remain forever in our unconditioned state that we can then know all the endless variety of our experiences. It is indeed magical. Finally, the realisation of the Self produces a state beyond every possible circumstance, including death, because of the awareness of the changeless principle life and death depends upon. All the varieties of spiritual endeavour are based upon diverting the attention from conditioned experience to the unconditioned background and then abiding in the fourth state

The fourth state

Beyond yet suffusing the three states is the unalloyed consciousness of the Self, in which there is no duality at all. It is called the fourth state because it is experienced by the sages who have transcended the three ordinary states of awareness. It is this that subsists throughout all states and conditions of creation. It is beyond the capacity of the human mind to grasp or speech to express. It is unattached witnessing, pure awareness beyond everything ‘inner’ or ‘outer’, beyond subjective or objective consciousness. Nothing can touch it. It can not be perceived by the senses, thought by the mind, or indicated by any image. It is the immutable ground of all phenomena and all states, so it is not really the ‘fourth’ state either because it is beyond states and numbers.The first freedom

The presence or absence of desired things gives rise to a complex of feelings: relief, frustration, motivation, grief, fear, longing, excitement, happiness, anger and the corresponding acts

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that relate to them, as well as the laws and morals that apply to them. It is a vast complex that has many names, such as society, humanity, the world, or civilisation or whatever. Will is the crux of it all. Operating in ignorance, through time and personal identity, will is the sum total of all motivation, urging towards the fulfillment of desire. It is the wellspring of all self-directed action.

Wisdom, self-knowledge and strength came from observing the play of will as it happens; providing this can be done without judgment or identification. It leads to mastery over the dynamics of the psyche and hence freedom from the domination of its images and impulses. This is true freedom of mind and soul, made possible through pure objectivity; that is, awareness from the true Self as the center, not the ego. For the sincere seeker of freedom, this section is worth much contemplation. It is the key to the first freedom.

Inside the psycheGenerally speaking, Western psychological therapies seek to reestablish ‘normal’ functions;

Indian psychology seeks to transcend them. In describing samscaras ‘subliminal activators’ that form vasanas ‘traits’ Hindu psychologists discovered the subconscious and complexes, thousands of years before Sigmund Freud. Before a true spiritual life can begin, the unconsciously acquired subconscious activators must be modified or negated by psychological disciplines. Most of the methods involve replacing old, negative attitudes with positive ones by starving the unwanted qualities out of existence by denying them attention. The qualities needed are given all the attention possible at all times and brought into sharp focus when the unwanted qualities become active. The concentration exercises taught by Raja Yoga are also effective as they make it possible to focus the attention on any subjective quality and replace it. The ability to focus attention without distractions is essential to a perceptive, deep and quiet mind, and so can be used to penetrate subconscious levels. This is the positive method. The negative method comes about through the effects of meditation upon the psyche. As one gives more time and attention to spiritual endevour the psyche is speedily and naturally cleansed and life situations occur to assist the process.

However, the real key to a healthy psyche is action, not psychological methods. The sages advise that a coward should learn to be brave by not avoiding challenges. A selfish person should dedicate their actions to the benefit of others and so on. According to Patanjali the mind becomes clear and serene when the affections are cultivated. He lists them as friendliness towards the joyful, compassion towards the suffering, happiness towards the pure and impartiality towards the impure.

The great gulf that exists between Hindu and Western psychology is due to the sage’s teachings about the transcendental Self. To most Western clinical psychology until recently, the psyche is the self. In the sage’s view the contents of consciousness are of the mind and its images and the Self is beyond and behind them as pure consciousness, so there is a difference between consciousness and its contents. This allows the psyche to be investigated with greater clarity and objectivity and its qualities to be seen in better perspective.

Ethics, morals and the cultivation of virtues assist the process of cleansing the psyche. The sages say we need to go much further than merely cultivating virtue for that can be a trap in itself.

Concern for, tinkering with, and analysing selected bits of the contents of the psyche that popular psychology encourages, is similar to rummaging through a garbage dump; a focussing on the person that tends to strengthen the ego. This is not the way to go, for to live in true freedom the whole mind with its images, good and bad, helpful or hindering must ultimately be transcended. Psychological methods help to refine the images but only true spiritual meditation can transcend them.

In the sage’s psychology, the functions of the mind are called the ‘will’ group that consists of will, desire, resolve, doubt, longing, unbelief, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, shyness, fear and imagination. To them, the ordinary, conditioned, conventional, mind is not the right tool to uncover truth. From the sage’s point of view, no matter how clever the mind becomes in interpreting and

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investigating the external world, all it can do is push back the edges of ignorance. Yoga psychology describes a function of the mind that can be perfected by training. It

results in the ability to focus concentrated attention on any aspect of life, revealing its true nature. Interest and attention are two abilities that everyone uses, though in a haphazard and vague way. We know that the more interest we have in anything, the easier it is to be attentive to it. It is the secret of learning and mental acuity. Another advantage is that a focussed, attentive mind is not so prone to error. All Yoga mental discipline is directed finally, to this ability to focus attention inwardly like a searchlight, and to turn it off again at will. According to one sage the mind is -

Desire, deliberation, doubt, faith, lack of faith, steadfastness, unsteadiness, shame, intelligence, and fear.

In other words, what we call the mind are the various contents of consciousness. But the transcendental Self is right there as well, as one Upanishad affirms -

He who dwells in the mind but is separate from the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body the mind is, and who controls the mind from within, - he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.

Most Western psychology posit the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious, tending to regard them as products of matter and the individual as a temporary cohesion of these functions. The sage’s psychology includes the superconscious. It sees the true individual as a permanent manifestation of consciousness functioning through, and structuring, the limitations of mind and personality and doing so in various bodies throughout time. So according to the sages, the evolution of the human species is really the evolution of consciousness. To some sages, consciousness is not the same as awareness – this is a rather startling, concept to Western ideas. Briefly, the idea is that consciousness has content and awareness has none. Throughout life, our consciousness changes but our awareness doesn’t. It is that ever-present awareness that gives us the ability to be able to say ‘this is a photo of me as a baby’. Between the adult and the baby there may be no resemblance of any kind, of mind or body, but the ‘I am’ awareness of being has been constant throughout all the many changes. It is that changeless awareness that makes it possible for a ninety-year-old, looking back, to say “I don’t feel any different to when I was twenty”. Our individual consciousness is personal but awareness is Universal. There we are all as one. Pure awareness is like light – it illuminates everything else except itself. Another way to express this is to say that awareness becomes consciousness when mind-stuff is present, as light becomes colour when it falls on an object. As a reflection of the sun can be caught in the brightness of a dewdrop, awareness is reflected in consciousness as the feeling ‘I am’. But what the sages call the Self is beyond even that.

The sages say that the very nature of the Self is peace and happiness because it has no parts, and so, no friction. It is the state of perfect rest. And though it is our very Self we are ignorant of it, though it is present in deep sleep, at the fulfilment of desire, and at the introversion of Self-realisation. Yet only in the latter are we truly aware of its significance. Nevertheless, it drives our psychic life through desire, will and aversion. Awareness of how these work is essential knowledge for anybody who seeks to understand what it means to be human.

The truth about desire

For most of us the release from the psyche and the limitations of life is closest in the timeless state that coincides with the orgasm. The limited existence as an ego isolated in a body

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produces a stifling sense of separation. It is the fundamental cause of our obsession with pleasure and why sex is such an important pre-occupation with most people. Such intimacy is the antidote to the sometimes overwhelming sense of separation and isolation. Apart from the physiological aspect, this is the psychological reason behind the attention paid to sex by adolescents foundering in the loneliness of self-consciousness. Sex is the perfect escape. At climax a state of absolute introversion occurs and nothing exists for us at all. All sensory function is suspended. The same happens to some degree whenever we enjoy an object of desire. We are then reabsorbed in the body of bliss and so become one with felicity. In other words, identification with the physical body is obliterated. This is the supreme paradox of sex. In essence it is not really physical at all, as the intensity of sensations, building up, explodes into nothingness. We then experience all the agreeable feelings attending a sense of harmony. The object of our desire however cannot be the actual cause of these feelings, for the object was obliterated in the suspension of sensory experience. This fact is an important clue to the nature of fulfilment. All fulfilment is an experience of the bliss body. In truth, happiness is not the inherent property of anything material. This is the reason that the sages are indifferent to sex and pleasure for they have no need for either. It is also the reason they council against indulgence in both. We strive for happiness because we have identified our being with a limited body and when the ‘I am this body’ idea goes there is no longer a need to desire happiness. Freedom from the limitations of the body idea is happiness.

But when fulfilment in sex, sensations and pleasure is denied and desire for them is thwarted, all the feelings attending the state of disharmony arise. When the agitation of unsatisfied desire continues it produces grief, anger, frustration, dissatisfaction, discontent, irritability and other disagreeable sensations, because the direct intuition of the Self is then obscured. If severe states of such suffering continue, it becomes the cause of mental aberrations, illness, or violence and other anti-social attitudes and acts. Everything from insanity to crime and immorality can only dominate our mind and acts when the true nature of life is obscured. This is the reason why civilisations in which these things are rampant are finally destroyed by their own corruption.

Feelings are manifestations of those aspects of the Self that relate to happiness and affections; so our will always strives to eliminate the adverse ones and promote the pleasant ones. As the Self is happiness itself, it follows that will directs every act towards experiencing the positive life-enhancing aspects of the Self. Because the Self is the target of will in this way, the desire of all humanity for happiness is in reality a desire to be established in one’s Self. That is why all temporal types of sensory happiness are ultimately unsatisfactory and being centered in the Self is supreme, everlasting, love and joy. The urge towards these things from within duality is caused by the cloudy intuition of our own real nature. In fact, it is the Self we love in all strivings for happiness. It is the Self we love in love. It is the Self we love in another. Everyone is in love with the Self, which is why our ego, which is a reflection of the indwelling Self, is so precious to us but to love our own ego as we do, is love misplaced because it focuses attention upon the shadow instead of the substance.

Following this reasoning, to be true to one’s Self is the only real good, for it is love in action. True Selfishness, understood in this way, is the highest virtue. The limited selfishness of the ego is a lower expression of this truth. The urge behind the desire for both sin and virtue is happiness, and as happiness is the nature of the Self, all actions, good and bad, are ultimately an expression of love for the Self.

Some sages say that the cause of the creation of the Universe is desire, because God desired to create and to be many. As the Universe is a manifestation of that desire, so our little worlds are a manifestation of our desiring. Desire is a potent force. A little spark can create a huge fire. Fundamentally, desire is the urge to experience and binds us to events in a future time. This is why the sages warn us to be careful of desire, and to desire noble things. Desire is the dynamo of the psyche and thereby, the maker of worlds.

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Will pleasure pain desire aversion

What could be more important for a person seeking wisdom than a sure knowledge of these things? Many stories told by sages as story tellers or poets instruct us about them in one way or another. They are the stuff of all stories for all time.

Granted – this section will not be easy to grasp at first, because the ideas are contrary to our conditioning and are probably radically new concepts, a fact that makes them all the more valuable. If they are contemplated well, the realization of their truth can make for a radical change in understanding, a fresh new mind, independence and clarity, and freedom from limiting ideas, so read on.

Will is part of another cosmic trinity. The other two are pleasure and pain, and the link is memory. All remembered events carry the colours or tints of one or the other. The memory of pain gives rise to aversion and the desire to avoid experiencing it again. The memory of pleasure gives rise to the desire for a continuance and repetition of pleasant experiences. Desire and aversion are really two aspects of the one feeling, one being the obverse of the other, like the two sides of a coin. Our will fuels the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain and every other form of advantage. On one level this is a natural biological process essential to all organisms, but it becomes exploited by the ego in order to protect, gratify, and further itself. This is a very important point to understand because it is the root of all suffering, according to the sages, because the ego begins to feel that it owns the body and mind and exploits both to its own ends. This is the cause of the ideas of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ – the cause of all conflict and suffering. To the sages, this state, so natural to us, is unnatural. The natural state they say, is a sense of vast being, effulgent with light, love and beauty, with no limited self-identification with anything in particular. We are then in our natural state; in tune with the Infinite, the unattached, spontaneous, joyful witness to all events. The sages live in that true state, which is why they liken our common consciousness to a dream. One sage says that because we are caught in that dream, in the meshes of will, pain and pleasure, we cannot see that pain and pleasure are really waves rising and falling on the surface of an ocean of bliss.

The term ‘free will’ is a contradiction to the sages of India and the concept has no meaning, for to them, all will is bound by its very nature.

These three – will, pleasure and pain, are the driving forces of our lives in Maya which we usually accept as is without daring to look at it. If we humbly acknowledge the truth, our lives are a mishmash of efforts to achieve minor or major satisfactions, and to avoid things we deem unpleasant or painful, to feel some measure of security in a world where there is none, to constantly live in hope of something better, and to ignore the true state of affairs. And so our life fluxes between the opposites; from misery to joy, success to failure, boredom to excitement, effort to ease, wealth to penury, health to disease or the other way around, with doubts, insecurity, struggles, fears and anxieties haunting us like resident ghosts.

Beyond our control, our lives are most often buffeted about by dissatisfactions, trials, disease and maladies, and most of our time is taken up by work. The little time left over is generally devoted to the many escapes we have invented. This description is of the common life from which most people seek to escape by methods that do not work because they are so temporal. This is not the only dissatisfaction; the most popular – sex, entertainment, drugs and alcohol can cause more strife, disease and problems than those they seek to mitigate. Even seemingly harmless entertainment can contribute to our difficulties because it tends to support prejudice, error, and the common delusions. In this century entertainment is as destructive to social and personal wellbeing as the abuse of drugs. This is the world egocentric will has made. When the sages talk of renunciation it is these states of dualistic delusion fueled by egocentric will that they refer to. While to us, renunciation seems to be denying ourselves our wants, to a sage it is denying everything that is false, unsatisfactory and partial. A visitor once lauded a Guru for his extreme renunciation but the

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Guru laughed and replied that the visitor was the real renouncer because he had renounced the bliss of Brahman for things and sensations. As the sages tell us, the way we look at things determines the world we live in.

At the same time, the sages extol the joy, peace and satisfaction in a well-lived life, but even that cannot compare to the simplest life of spiritual awareness. Even a healthy youth, full of vitality, hope, joy and happy expectations, by imagining them multiplied a thousand times, could not get an inkling of the positive joy of knowing the Self. So say the sages.

All the sages warn us about getting caught in the meshes of personal will directed by desire. They do not say desire is bad in itself. It is getting caught up in delusory ones that they warn us about. Here is another paradox – desire can be the cause of problems and bondage when limited and trivial things are desired to placate the ego, but a cause of freedom and wisdom when it becomes big and powerful enough to seek them. Desire and fear become destructive when the wrong things are desired and the right things are feared. The wrong leads to suffering, chaos and conflict and the right leads to the alleviation and resolution of them. The sages say that this is the real measure of good and bad.

Desire itself has much to teach us. Look at it this way: The ultimate object of desire is to achieve the desire and hence for a time to be in a state of desirelessness. The sense of satisfaction is due to the absence of the desire more than the experience of the desired. It is the freedom from the desire that brings about peace. In other words, to contact the Self. Will is the instinctive push to fulfil desire and desire is, ultimately, the pull towards peace and desirelessness.

It is not difficult to understand that individual existence and the memory of pleasure and pain are dual aspects of the psyche, and whenever they exist there is always something for the individual to desire. Desire implies time, effort and possible frustration. It is an agitation like a burr in underclothing. It prevents peace of mind and makes serenity impossible. But when the desire is completed serenity and tranquillity arise immediately. It is this that we are seeking, in fact, when we appear to be seeking an object of desire. This is another way of saying that the ultimate end of will is the intuited presence of the non-dual Self. This being so, both pain and pleasure have a common root in ignorance of the Self, as the root of all desire is the urge to the Self. Pleasure, pain, desire and will are related as manifestations of the primal ignorance, so when that is transcended, so are they.

One of the confusions of ego-life is to regard the feeling of pleasure, peace or happiness as intrinsic qualities of the object desired and not to see that the object does not possess happiness as an intrinsic quality. It is the cessation of desire and the pleasure of desirelessness that produces the sense of happiness.

So it is clear that will operates through desire and aversion and its object is the intuition of non-duality. Maya obscures this fact, and so all but the wise struggle to fulfil will by sensory pleasure, power, success, security and so on, expecting them to provide ultimate satisfaction. So it can be shown that our life proceeds by will working within memories. When this is well considered a very strange fact becomes obvious – we are a many-hued bundle of memories, some on the surface of consciousness, some shallow, and others deeply hidden and that it is this layered pattern of memories that gives us the notion of being a person living in time.

The strangeness of time

Few people give much thought to time, except as a method of arranging affairs. The fact that it is actually a notion and not a fixed reality is little considered. Even a cursory consideration reveals how relative time is. In our consciousness it is so malleable that it can seem to be stretched to forever or compacted to a millisecond. Everyone’s experiences of loving, waiting and suffering pain proves the point. To a child anticipating Christmas, time goes very slowly. To the old, the time

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between one Christmas and another seems to last but a month. These facts alone reveals it as relative and unreal.

New age enthusiasts will perhaps approve, affirming that the only reality is the now and that the past and future are figments. Yet the idea of a now, or present time, is dependent upon the idea of a past and a future time. If one of the trinity of past present and future is declared unreal the other two must be unreal as well. The truth is that the now is merely a notion as is time itself. The supposed ‘now’ is just as elusive to experience as is the future or the past. For this reason, an attempt to ‘live in the now’ is more likely to provoke psychological stress than anything else. If living experience is investigated another problem with this trendy advice appears; when the consciousness of being a person exists, the now can not exist at the same time; when the now exists the consciousness of being a person doesn’t. This being so, it is not possible for a person to ‘live in the now’. Some sages tell us that dying to the now is possible. Constant dying to the now is freedom and immortality. In this state, there is simply spontaneous, joyous, selfless, unpremeditated action without continuity, like a child at play.

Clear thinking is needed here. Everything is a present experience anyhow, and this fact can not be avoided. The attempt to ‘live in the now’ is to attempt to do what is already being done. It is like making an effort to walk while one is already walking, which is a good way to fall over.

How we experience is an amazing thing to think about. Actually, we live in a present, moment-to-moment unknown. The known is always in the past. This is so because the thought of a past, or of a future, or of a now, can only occur as a present object in consciousness, but as soon as it is acknowledged it is all ready past. “I thought, or did” really means, “I am at present conscious of the kind of thought called a memory”. “I shall think (or do) really means, “I am at present conscious of the kind of thought called an expectation”. “I think” really means, “I am at present conscious of a recent thought. “I slept” or “I was unconscious” really means, “I am at present conscious of a memory that relates to the absence of thought”. A dim awareness of this fact gives the impression that only the ‘now’ is real, but this too is an illusion of Maya. A past event lives only in memory; a future one only in imagination, but a present one is different. It is significant that a present event, no matter how trivial, has an authenticity the past or future cannot have. It has an actuality, a reality we cannot deny. What is it that gives even a trivial moment such a stamp of reality? It can not come from the moment as it is fleeting, which leaves us with only one answer - the sense of reality comes from us. As in other ‘ordinary’ experiences, it is the Self that makes a temporal event seem real. It is the only reality that was, is and shall be in all the temporal events in time.

It is much easier to see the unreal nature of the notions of past and future than it is to see the unreal nature of the idea of a now. This must be significant. It seems that common sense regards the notion of the ‘now’ as the last straw to cling to because without it everything would be dissolved into sheer being.

According to the sages, all divisions of time, including the supposed ‘now’, are actually sheer being as the nature of the Self, experienced through Maya. Being so heavily conditioned by common sense as we are, most minds react against the truth about time as declared by the sages, so there are certainly initial difficulties in understanding the nature of time. The difficulties are similar to those that occurred in the consideration of the three states of being, when the strong conditioning of the waking state made understanding the significance of dream and dreamless sleep difficult at first glance.

It helps to look from another angle - the notion of a present time is dependent on the twin notions of past and future, and if they go, the idea of present time must go too. Strictly speaking, an experience must be over before we can position it by another thought process, into the present, by which time the supposed “present” has become the “past”. Further, a past event has vanished totally, and a future event is wholly nonexistent. In truth, there cannot be a present time either, for without a

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subsistent past and future a present for them to relate to is an impossibility. This is a strange concept to common sense, though we all know that time only exists when we stop to think of it. In other words, the moment is timeless. Because timelessness is the nature of the Self, the fact is that only consciousness subsists and consciousness alone, as the Self, is ever present.

To understand the sensory nature of time, consider that the experience of time depends upon the observation of movement or changes in such things as the sun, and daily, yearly or bodily changes. Such observations depend upon the remembrance of successive sensory perceptions. So the experience of time is actually a psychological one, dependent upon memory. If it were not for such memories, both or any other form of time would fade into timelessness; in other words, sheer being. To a time-bound mind sheer being appears to be death, though it is absolute life and the nature of the Self. The idea takes a little getting used to.

Further, it is not difficult to see that space and time are inseperable. As soon as an object is experienced it defines space. Experience of objects in space follow one another, that is, they take time. In all respects time is inseparably linked to the senses, space and the memory of successive perceptions. Both space and time can thus be understood as modes of mental activity. Just as space is the gap between objects, time is the gap between events. Therefore, we experience time only in those states characterized by duality. As we have seen, duality is absent in deep sleep and spiritual states, which is why time is not experienced in them.

Everything is dependent on the memory of our commonsense notions of self, cause, effect, space and time, but as far as the true Self is concerned, these appearances have no absolute reality. Deep sleep appears to be a void to ordinary awareness but it is merely a lapse in memory.

Yet the illusion is impelling. We think deep sleep has a beginning and an end, thus making it a part of waking experience. Nor can it be a ‘state’ for the same reason, but is called such when looked at from waking consciousness steeped in Maya, making the use of such terms inevitable. Though the Self and dreamless sleep is synonymous, we say we have slept for several hours when as far as we were concerned, there was no time involved at all. When we say that the interval between two thoughts is ‘brief’ we ascribe duration in time to what in truth, is the Self. Another aspect of the persistent illusion is our misreading of the ideas of eternity and infinity. To common sense, eternity is everlasting time and infinity is ever expanding space, whereas eternity is timeless and infinity is spaceless. This fact is a proof of the action of Maya, causing categories of relative existence to be superimposed upon absolutes.

It is a paradox of Maya that our illusionary notions of space and time are due to the presence of the Self. Space does not universally and independently exist, though it is based on our intuitive knowledge of infinity, which is universal, independent and beyond mutation. Our notions of everlasting time are likewise based upon our intuition of eternity. In the same way, our idea of a present time is actually the immediate apprehension of pure consciousness, or ever-present eternity. Our notion of continuity - the basis of a personal past and future - is the intuition of the same principle as absolute existence. In this way the Self, as absolute existence, is the hidden background of the relative Universe. As the sages affirm, every apparent reality appears through, by and of, the Self. The categories of sense-life, of space, distance, continuity, time and causality, are mental constructions necessary to the appearance of the Universe. The Self, as non-duality, pervades everything as the water pervades the ocean. It is because everything in life is only a relative seeming of the nature of mind, that it can be transcended. (This fact makes what the unenlightened call miracles, possible, because they are events that occur beyond the categories the mind has constructed.)

The Self is ever present, not in terms of succession, but as the present eternity. Seen through the mists of Maya it becomes the idea of a ‘now’ from which memory spins the notions of a past and a future. This would not be possible unless there was also a notion of an existence spanning all

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the divisions of time. In other words an eternal living background. In this way, the idea of a personal past and future depends upon the intuition of absolute existence.

The real significance of this is that the divisions of time could not be apparent unless there was a subsistent being to experience them. That being is the soul and the soul is the name we give to the indwelling Self.

This is our only immediate knowledge, intuited equally in everyone. It finds expression as the personal pronoun “I”. At the core, we all share an equal sense of existence. This gives rise to the idea of equality, though there is none anywhere else. In the final analysis, the pronoun “I”, even when supposedly meaning our individual consciousness really means the non-dual Self. In this lies our Unity of Being. Understanding the true significance of time is the most direct way to the knowledge of the Self as pure consciousness.

As Krishna told Arjuna in the famous dialogue in the Bhagavad Gita -

The Lord dwells in the innermost heart of all beings,

and by His Maya causes all things to revolve,

as on a potter’s wheel.

To delve deeply into the strangeness of time is to reveal other strange things to do with our notions of spiritual growth.

To the sages on the very top of the mountain the words spiritual growth and spiritual ambition are contradictions and methods for both are false.

They say that both ideas bind one down because the underlying feeling of being a person implies all sorts of limitations. Those ideas being in place, it will then take time for such a person to become spiritual. The highest sages point out that only the false needs time and what needs time is false – in other words ideas of spiritual growth and methods to it, are all in Maya.

It is Maya itself that produces the illusion that we are not this moment in the ever-present eternity and that time is needed to get there. Time is certainly needed to grow, learn, develop or experience – all essential parts of the illusions of life, but the sages tell us that no amount of experience can lead to a realisation of the Self. We do not have to know to be, but we have to be to know. An event only becomes an experience to be recorded when it has an emotional significance. All experience becomes memories and memories become accretions about the false sense of a separate being. They merely add to the burden of the past. This is why some sages say that freedom is dying to the now. Actually, time or experience is not needed to know one’s Self if there is a powerful will to do so. The Self is instant ever-present eternity and all we do, remember, and think, merely gets in the way. The last word about our sense of time is that it is memory in disguise.

The mystery of memory

Freedom seekers of the world take note! If you can understand the miracle of memory you can forget being a seeker! But granted – some of this last section will not be easy to grasp, because the ideas can be contrary to popular opinion. Nevertheless, a little initial confusion might reveal many things.

It is not hard to see that will makes us seek what memory tells us is agreeable and augments life, and makes us avoid what is disagreeable and damaging. It is not difficult to understand that individual existence is inextricably woven with aversion and desire; (aversion is the negative aspect of desire, so the will-to and the will-not-to are identical as far as motive is concerned). Previously it

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has been shown that identifying the Self with the not–self produces the notion of individual existence, and that individual existence proceeds in terms of desire and aversion. What did not affect us we do not remember. We can remember only what we have known, and everything we have known is coloured by the subtleties of pleasure and pain. The memory of pleasure and pain give rise to desire and aversion, and these two in action become will and will urges us towards the Self even in delusion. Because the satisfaction of desire is actually the intuition of the Self, the Self is present even within the duality of ignorance. This is the marvelous magic of Maya.

But none of this could be without memory.

Though it may not be easy to comprehend in the beginning, one cannot claim to be the thinker of a thought until the thought has gone. Nor can one claim to be the subject of an experience until it is over. This is so because the claim is the memory of having a thought or experience. Memory of the ego-thought then becomes the ego that claims the experience or thought as its own. Two objects of internal awareness can not co-exist though they can be so fleeting that it may appear so. Because two thoughts cannot appear simultaneously, the thinker and the thought cannot exist at the same time, so they must be separate objects of consciousness. The thinker and the thought, or the so-called subject who thinks, and its apparent object, have no immediate relation, causal or otherwise. It is illogical that one object of consciousness could claim to be the cause of the other object of consciousness; were it so, the thought could claim to be the cause of the thinker, with as much reality as the thinker the cause of the thought. However, neither is in fact possible, for no immediate relation exists either way.

Confirmation of this strange fact can be found from within everyday life, for we know that while we are absorbed in some activity such as reading, that we experience a steady flow of thoughts relating to its contents. The notion “I am reading” cannot occur while we are thus absorbed. A little reflection reveals that at no time is it possible for the subject, who afterwards lays claim to the action, to be present while the action takes place. The idea of the ego being an agent is a wholly separate thought. At the time of an occurrence we as the ego, cannot be present as thinker, agent, percipient or enjoyer.

Given a little quiet thought this is not difficult to grasp, but has profound significance when understood. If this is your intention, take your time and follow closely. If the notion of subject and object are both separate objects of consciousness as we have just explained, both terms are merely provisional concepts. It should not be difficult to see that an object in the absence of a subject loses all significance and cannot be called an object; just as in the absence of an object a subject is impossible. We live as though it were not so. How can this strange fact be? The truth is they are given apparent individual and dependent reality by memory that combines the two notions to form an entirely new notion “I am a person that perceives, thinks and knows”. In this way, the idea of personality is bound to the continuity of memory and what we regard as our personality is really a pattern of memories. Contrasted to this, the Self is our true identity without memories, for we do not need to remember in order to be, only to become.

We live in and through memory but have no idea what it is. Like other common mysteries we take it for granted. How can an experience of childhood be recalled in one’s old age? How can a trigger, such as a smell, awaken forgotten images long dead? How do you remember who you are, where and why, when you waken each morning? How could life be at all without memory? (A person with amnesia is highly selective. They do not forget how to answer the calls of nature, to eat when hungry, or tie shoelaces.)

Memory is the creator of an individual’s life in the same way that it creates the illusion of a separate thinker thinking thoughts. For an ego living through time the individual brain is a complex memory bank. On the other hand, memory is the timeless faculty of bridging separate experiences and making them seem whole. If you are attentive when you listen to a tune you will become aware

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of the wonder of memory. Without the magic of memory a sequence of separate notes could never be experienced as a melody. Memory bridges the breaks in time and joins the ends together to make a tune in the same way it manifests separate events and thoughts into a personality or melds separate notions of subject and object into a person. So memory melds apparent opposites, joins events in space and time. In order to do this the source of memory must be beyond time and events. What does this mean?

Far from being merely a faculty of the mind, memory is the immediate presence of the Self. Only something permanent and not subject to flux could bridge the gap between thoughts, exist in deep sleep when nothing else does and give the semblance of reality to the ever-changing world of our experience, miraculously producing the feeling of duration from the flux of thoughts and moments.

Through the magic of Maya and memory the Self creates us and plays with everything in the Universe. This is probably about as far as human thought can go.

The Universe seems vast and the world and our lives in it of huge and portentous significance but to the sages looking down from the summit it is as a puddle left in the impression of a hoof print in mud. Human beings proudly strutting about in arrogance, pride and vanity seem like wind-up dolls fashioned as minute replicas of forgotten Gods. Others live lives of poverty, suppression and disease or live dreary lives of brave desperation. It is these sights that inspire the sages’ compassion. From that high altitude the drama of unfolding evolution that seems to be so profoundly important to us is to them, like a game of hide-and-seek or snakes and ladders which is why they play it so well. If being alive in the world is put in the right perspective we can play it well too. This is what the sages teach.

When the things the sages have to tell us are well understood it becomes obvious that the core of our identity and the core of all being in the Universe does not exist in some rarefied spiritual plane or an extra-cosmic heaven but in every aspect of our being. The conclusion to the sages’ philosophy is the inevitable conviction that the uncreated absolute is here in the present, infinite, blissful and eternal. You can no more be separated from it than the water of a mirage can be separated from the desert in which it appears. This is the great truth the sages have told us over and over again so that one day some wise person, hearing it, might suddenly get a glimpse of their own forgotten glory.

Vedanta in the 21st Century

Since the introduction of Sanskrit literature to Europe in the late 18th Century the trickle had become of flood. Sir Edwin Arnold’s translation of the Bhagavad Gita has sold millions of copies since it was published in the mid 19th century, as Swami Prabvhananda’s and Christopher Isherwood’s translation has in America since 1945.

This classic of Vedanta philosophy has now been translated into 82 different languages, 270 of them into English. It is estimated that there are about 2.000 translations throughout the world today.

In the year 2007 there are more and more translations from the Sanskrit being disseminated throughout the world, so the original works of the great teachers can now be read in many languages.

Because it accords with modern non-sectarian, liberal and scientific attitudes and is without dogma and narrow prejudices, Vedanta has become the most apt spirituality for the 21st Century.

The Vedanta philosophy has been greatly clarified since its spread in the New World due to the work, mainly, of the monks and nuns of the Ramakrishna Order, whose task it has been to present the ancient ideas in modern form. An excellent example of this is the following description

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of what Vedanta means by the president of the Ramakrishna Sarada Vedanta Society of Sydney, Australia –

‘Vedanta does not own its origins to any particular person or prophet. Vedanta presents an all-embracing view of existence gained from the speculations, experiences and analyses of the ancient seers and Rishis. Its basic principles are:1 Each soul is potentially divine. The essence of all beings is divine Spirit omnipresent and eternal, identical with the inmost being and reality of the universe.2. The goal of life is to manifest this divinity Because we are divine, we have infinite strength and wisdom at our command. This can be gradually uncovered and experienced through prayer, meditation and living a disciplined life.3. “As many religions, so many paths.” Vedanta accepts all the great religions of the world as true. Different religions suit differing races, cultures and temperaments. All of them are different paths to the same gaol.4 “God is One, sages call it by various names” Vedanta reveres all the great prophets, teachers and sons of God, and all those personal aspects of the Ultimate Reality worshiped by different religions. Accepting all, it does not seek to make converts. It only seeks to clarify our thoughts, and help us the have a true appreciation of our own religion and its ultimate aim.’

Over 100 years ago the great Orientalist, Professor W.M. Muller wrote that he considered Vedanta to hold the “corrective” needed by the Graeco-Roman-Judaic-Christian mind, making it “ more perfect, more comprehensive, more universal, more truly human”. Since then, this non-proselytizing, humble religious philosophy has spread all over the world. There is no cultural aspect of Western life in which it has not played a part. Consider the possibilities for the next 100 years!

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VEDANTA EXPLAINED

book two

THE GOLDEN THREAD Sources of India’s spiritual traditions

CONTENTSForeword

Introduction

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Chapter oneThe big picture

Chapter twoOverview of the six systems

Chapter threeThe Vedas

Chapter fourThe Upanishads

Chapter fiveNyaya

Chapter sixVaisesika

Chapter sevenSamkhya

Chapter eightYoga

Chapter nineThe Schools of Vedanta

IntroductionThe impact of Vedanta upon Western culture is usually considered as a relatively recent one

– since its beginnings about 1800 until the advent of great teachers and gurus who have taught in America and Europe since 1894. The influence of Hindu culture on the West goes back much further than that. The first published translation of Indian texts known as the Vedas or Upanishads was in Dutch in the early seventeenth century. A translation of the Upanishads from the Persian was published in France by Francois Bernier in 1671. Voltaire translated this text into German in 1794, starting the impact of Vedanta upon German academics. Yet the influence of Vedanta on Western thought goes back prior to the attempted invasion of India by Alexander the Great in 327-326 BC. How far back is a subject for academic speculation, but it is most surely evidenced by Pythagorus (c. 569-582 BC). In fact, his name is a derivation of the sanscrit Pitha-gorus, ‘Father-teacher’. Some leading academics have traced the teachings and geometrical theories of Pythagorus to Vedanta and Hindu science. This may be surprising to the average Westerner who believes that all our knowledge was a product of Greek culture. Only a few scholars of antiquity know that India was more developed than other ancient cultures. Qadi Sa’id (1029-1070) an Arab scientist of Cordova, Spain, wrote:

The first nation to cultivate the sciences is the people of India who form a nation vast in numbers, powerful, with great dominions. All former Kings and past generations have acknowledged their wisdom and admitted their pre-eminence in the various branches of knowledge. Among all nations, during the course of the centuries and throughout the passage of time, India was known as the mine of wisdom and the fountainhead of justice and good government, and the Indians were credited with excellent intellect, exalted ideas, universal maxims, rare inventions and wonderful talents…Socrates debated with at least one Indian as recorded in Eusebius:

Aristoxenus the musician tells the following story about the Indians. One of these men met Socrates in Athens and asked him what was the scope of his philosophy. ’An inquiry into human phenomena,’ replied Socrates. At this the Indian said ‘How can a man inquire into human phenomena, when he is ignorant of divine ones?’”

The study of Vedanta is an interest that can shed truth-revealing light on all aspects of

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existence. It can provide subject matter for a lifetime of discovery in such diverse subjects as archaeology, anthropology, theology, psychology, health, occult anatomy, cosmology, and metaphysics.

Because it is so ancient, one can trace the development of the human mind in its struggles to understand the mystery of life. It contains the antidote to the challenges and errors of modern life and can resolve the conflicts produced by the Jewish/Christian traditions and the Descartian/Newtonian ideas of Western philosophy.

The German philosopher Schopenhauer (1788-1860) said Vedanta had been the consolation of his life and would be the consolation of his death. In fact, almost every European philosopher from Kant (1712-1804) to Nietzsche (1844-1900) have been deeply influenced by contact with Indian philosophy.

Nietzsche studied Professor Deussen’s ‘Systems of the Vedanta’ and other Sanscrit works. Of the ‘Code Book of Manu’ he wrote:

“It is an incomparable intellectual and superior work. It is replete with noble values, it is filled with a feeling of perfection, with a saying of yea to life,…the sun shines upon the whole book…”

Schopenhauer was prophetic when he wrote:

“In India our religions will never take root. The ancient wisdom of the human race will not be displaced by what happened in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian philosophy streams back to Europe and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.”

The discovery of Sanscrit literature in the 19th century has become a significant influence in the evolution of Western culture – perhaps the most important of all, for as the scientist Julian Huxley wrote in ‘Evolution after Darwin’ in 1959:

“Man’s evolution is not biological but psychosocial: it operates by the mechanism of cultural tradition…Accordingly, major steps in the human phase of evolution are achieved by break-throughs to new dominant patterns of mental organization, of knowledge, ideas, and beliefs…”

Vedantic ideas have certainly provided great stimulus to this end, while Western ideas have had a similar effect upon the culture of India. The subtle effects of Vedanta in the West have been through its influence upon many famous Western philosophers, writers and poets. The list is impressive - Tolstoy, Emerson, Whitman, Goethe, Hesse, Edison, Voltaire, Yeats, Huxley, Maeterlink and Tesla; European academics such as Prof.Muller, Duessler and Zimmerman and physicists such as Bohr, Bhome, Einstein, Schrodinger, and Heisenberg. The overt effects have been through the work of the Theosophical Society and the influence of the great teachers and Gurus that have taught in the West since Swami Vivekananda burst into American society in 1893.

Professor Max Muller has written: “Vedanta is the most sublime of all philosophies and the most comforting of all

religions. It has room for almost every religion. It embraces them all”. Vedanta is the Golden Thread that has run through all true spiritual traditions throughout the

world. The American philosopher and historian, Will Durant, in his book ‘The Story of Civilisation’ wrote:

“…India has sent to us such gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess, and above all, our numerals and decimal system.

But these are not the essence of her spirit; they are trifles compared to what we may learn from her in the future.

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…Perhaps in return for conquest, arrogance and spoliation, India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of an understanding spirit, and a unifying, pacifying love for all living things.”

This book is not intended to be an academic study, but an outline of the six main philosophical systems that are the foundations of The Golden Thread. It is for those who want to find out more about the culture that is having such an impact upon Western civilization. It is hoped that practitioners of various schools of Yoga will use it to gain a better understanding of how Yoga fits into the overall scheme of Hinduism as well as to clear up some fallacious notions that have become attached to Yoga and Indian philosophy.

Chapter One

The big picture

‘As a blazing fire reduces fuel to ashes, so does the fire of Knowledge reduce all Karma to ashes.’ The Bhagavad Gita.

The Vedas are the heritage of civilizations that flourished along the Indus and Saraswati rivers in c.3500 BC, which they predate by an unknown number of centuries. They were transmitted orally until written in the Sanscrit language about 1550 BC, according to some authorities. They have become one of the greatest scriptures in world literature both in volume and significance.Philosophical systems inspired by them developed to become the six main philosophies

known today. The Vedas inspired the culture that produced the great literary epics, the Mahabharata (of 200,000 verses) and the Ramayana (of 24,000 verses) making them the largest, most complex epics in world literature. This type of literature, known as the Puranas, from the word Pura meaning past. The famous dialogue known as the Bhagavad Gita is in fact, a part of the Mahabharata. The Vedas are known as the revealed scripture (Srutis). The Puranas, mythologies and others are called Smritis, which means ‘to be remembered’. The stories are regarded as scripture, and to be remembered as a guide to how to conduct one’s life. The Srutis are eternal truths not subject to time or circumstance. They are to be heard, studied, thought about and meditated upon. Smritis, on the other hand, also contain temporal truths subject to modification by necessity, time, place and circumstance.

Students of philosophy may find that attempting to put concepts from Hindu philosophies into the categories familiar to western systems may distort their meanings or intentions. Applying terms such as pantheism, polytheism, atheism, materialism, dualism, monism and so on sometimes results in misunderstanding. In spite of this possibility some classifications have been ascribed to the philosophies of the Hindu tradition in this outline. Another difficulty is the erroneous meanings that have become attached to some Sanscrit words.

Maya is frequently thought to mean illusion. Its literal meaning is to measure. In the context of philosophy its usual meaning is the power by which the One seems to become the many. It also means the delusion inherent in regarding the resultant magical appearance of creation as real. By extension, this term also implies the notions we might have that are based upon false assumptions and values.Atman is translated as Self, the capital signifying that it is not to be confused with the ego. Soul has also been used but there is no accurate English word to cover the real meaning. Both soul and self are likely to cause misleading concepts. The word is used to convey many meanings in sanscrit texts, though the original meaning is ‘all-pervading’. Since Self has been in use for so long it is now too late to introduce another word. It implies nothing personal for it is beyond personality. It is a

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transcendental aspect of consciousness beyond the relative, though relative consciousness depends upon it. The goal of human life is the realisation of the Atman. One of the best descriptions of this important word can be found in the Sarvopanishad:

“That which is the cogniser of the manifestation and disappearance of the knower, knowledge and the object of knowledge, but is devoid of such manifestation or disappearance and is self-effulgent is called the Witness. When perceived in an undifferentiated way as the intelligence of all beings, it is then called that which abides in the unreal. When realised as the real nature of differentiation due to limiting adjuncts, the Atman manifests itself as interwoven in all bodies like a thread through a string of jewels. When the Atman shines free from all limiting adjuncts as a mass of consciousness in its nature of pure, independent intelligence, it is called the Inner Self. That reality is the indestructible. It remains when space, time, name, substance and causation are destroyed.”The Atman is not an abstract notion of philosophy but a reality to be realised, as evidenced

by this quote from the Brahmopanishad:“The Atman is hidden like oil is in the sesamum seed, butter in curd, and fire in wood. The Atman in one’s self is to be discovered by searching for It through adherence to truth and austere practice.”

The result, according to the Kaivalyopanishad is:

“Seeing the Atman in all beings and all beings in the Atman one attains the highest Brahman. There is no other way.”Guru is a most misunderstood word. In the West it usually means a teacher, authority or expert. In India, Gurus must be what they teach. They can actually give understanding and realisation. According to one source the word means ‘destroyer of darkness’. In India a true guru is regarded as a form of God. It is only by contact with a guru that the knowledge of the Vedas can be made a matter of one’s personal experience. The image given is how one candle can be ignited from another – the living flame in one is transferred to the other Dharma is usually translated as Law. The original meaning is to’ hold’ or ‘retain’ which applies to the moral matrix of creation. A better word might be ‘ righteousness’. The word has many meanings, but Law as commonly understood in English, is not one of them. Perhaps the word Aryan should be mentioned as well, though it is not a term used philosophically. In the Vedas it is used many times to mean ‘noble’. The idea of an Aryan race, as of an Aryan invasion of ancient India, is a European invention that may have no foundation in fact.

Chapter Two An overview of the six systems

‘The Self (Atman) is not attained through discourses, or through intellectuality, or through much learning. It is gained only by those who long for the Truth with their whole heart. To such a one the Self reveals Its own nature.’ The Taittiriya Upanishad.

The six systems of Hindu philosophy, (Nyaya, Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta) are known as Darshanas, which means view, vision, seeing, or viewpoint. Yoga and Vedanta are the most known in the West. They have given rise to many groups, sects, and teachers, some of doubtful integrity.

All six systems are not intended for mere intellectual speculation but as ways to achieve human excellence and freedom, through the realisation of truth. Therefore, meditation, contemplation and discipline are required as an integral part of the study.

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In Western philosophy, a philosopher might be any sort of a rascal and still be respected, but this is not so in India. Their great philosophers were what Westerners would call saints, or at least, sages.

Another relevant difference is the fact that the six systems embrace religion, science, and psychology as well as philosophy, for in the Hindu culture they are not separate or conflicting disciplines.

Karma, reincarnation, evolution and the nature of the world-experience are seminal ideas in all the darshanas. They are not separate ideas that can exist apart with integrity, for they are in fact different aspects of the one truth.

Karma as commonly understood is a moral law which makes the individual (jiva) wholly responsible for the situations and circumstances of life. It is in stark contrast to popular opinion which sees the individual as a product of circumstance and environment, or the will of God. The literal meaning of the word karma is action. The world is the result of our combined actions. It takes more maturity than most of us can muster to admit our complicity in the conflicts, evils and ugliness of the world.

Karma also means that the individual has a history going back to the dawn of life on the planet. Considered this way, it also involves the idea of evolution. Our human consciousness has evolved from that of life forms replicating by cell division to the seed-born, to the egg-born, then to the womb-born animal and finally to the human. Consciousness continues to evolve in each one of us until the Atman is realized. The end point of human evolution is not the possession of miraculous powers. It is the consciousness of a supreme ever-new joy that is the nature of the Atman. Evolution therefor is a gradual growth towards freedom, for freedom is the outcome of the consciousness of supernal joy. So says the Upanishads. Each jiva is a reservoir of potentials that can only become actual under the right conditions and in the right time, which requires transmigration from one life form to another, then from one human body to another.

The common understanding is that karma is what happens to individuals. As the meaning of the word is “action” it embraces the actions of attitudes, thoughts and emotions. It follows that karma is not so much what happens to a person, but how they interpret the event – their attitude to it. The vast differences in individual response to events are due to psychological factors that will be explained in the section on Raja Yoga.

Some ideas common to the six systems are: Evolution is the gradual growth of consciousness as the amoeba becomes man (from the Sanscrit word Manas, ‘the thinker’). When an individual realizes that their intrinsic nature is the Supreme Consciousness, there is no longer any need to remain evolving.

The world is an appearance that makes the play of an evolving jiva possible. On the one hand nature urges this evolution forward while at the same time producing obstacles to an easy and swift consummation. This is the nature of the world. It is of the nature of a game, from which we structure sports, which no matter how played are all based on the same principle.

Whatever aids the ultimate purpose is ‘good’; whatever hinders it is ‘bad’. These ideas are common to all the Darshanas though they hold differing views about the nature of the world. They range from absolutely real to provisionally real, to a delusion. It is created like a pot is (Arambha) or as a transformation of a basic substance like curd from milk, (Paranama) or as an appearance like a snake might appear in a rope (Vivarta). These doctrines are linked to the various theories about the nature of cause and effect in the various Darshanas. If the effect is wholly other and separate from the cause as a potter is from his pot, (as Nyaya/Vaisesika affirms), then the creation can be of a different order to the creator, (Dvaita). If the effect is the product of a transformation of the cause, then the creation and the creator are merely variations on a theme (Visistadvaita). If the effect is in fact a delusion (as a snake can appear to be in a piece of rope) and only the cause is real, then both the creator and the created are a product of a delusion, and there is actually only one subsiding reality, (Advaita). This three-tiered attitude is expressed in the Ramayana,

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‘O Lord, when I identify myself with the body I look upon You as my master and myself as Your servant. When I think of myself as the individual soul, I regard You as the Infinite Whole and myself as Your part. When I look upon myself as the Spirit transcending all limitations my individuality is lost in You and I realise that I am verily Yourself’. There are other scriptures called Agamas that number in the hundreds though few have been translated. They include those of the Shiva devotees and the body of works known as Tantra outlined in the section about Yoga. The heterodox schools are mentioned as well in the chart.

Relation to morals and ethics

‘Subdue the senses, do acts of charity, be compassionate. Practice these three virtues – control of the senses, charity and compassion.’ The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

As the study of philosophy is considered part of the spiritual development of the individual, morals and ethics are important. Morals and ethics are not ends in themselves, but means to the development of a superior intellect by which one can appreciate subtle aspects of philosophy and make possible an environment in which an aesthetic life can be lived. Further, morals or right action, are rooted in the cosmic order (rita) by which the harmony of the universe is maintained. Therefore one should seek to live in harmony with the cosmic order if one wants to understand it and life, which is the goal of philosophical inquiry. Morals and ethics (Yamas and Niyamas) are the preliminary requirements for the practice of all the Yogas. The philosophical basis of both morals and ethics are four. They provide social harmony, thus providing a good environment for spiritual pursuits, they purify the mind to the same end and make it possible to transcend the consciousness of both good and evil. Therefor they are not ends in themselves. Morals and ethics have their basis in the concept of the Oneness of all life. They are rooted in the nature of identity. Other people are aspects of one’s self so to act immorally is to do your self as well as all others damage.

In the Mahabharata the sage Sanatsujatya explains the moral and ethical requirements for a religious life:

‘All that you ask me O King, has austerity as its basis. It is through austerity that the knowers of the scriptures attain the Supreme, the Immortal. There are nineteen defects, which, when overcome by austerity and discipline give rise to the twelve excellences which lead to Supreme knowledge. The defects are anger, lust, greed, delusion, indulgences in sense pleasures, lack of kindness, malice, pride, grief, attachment, envy and disgust. There are also seven kinds of wickedness such as being engrossed in worldliness, harassing others, being covetous, earning money dishonestly, defending incorrect knowledge, indulging in the senses, and cruelty to one’s spouse. These are as dangerous as wild beasts and should be avoided. The twelve excellences are knowledge of the truth, serving others, mind control, knowledge of the scriptures, absence of jealousy, abstaining from immoral acts, forbearance in happiness and misery, compassion, performance of sacrifices, giving gifts, avoiding temptations, and control of the senses. Those endowed with these qualities are blessed indeed. Even having some of these excellences one will attain knowledge of the Supreme for they lead to the eight merits of truth, meditation, concentration, inquiry, renunciation, celibacy, and abstention.

Relation to psychology

‘This Immutable is never seen, but is the witness; It is never heard, but is the hearer; It is never thought about, but is the thinker; It is never known, but is the knower. There is no other witness but this…’ The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

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Perhaps mankind’s first attempt at a psychological analysis occurs in the Samkhya

philosophy of the sage Kapila, which will be outlined when that system is explained. Indirectly, the doctrines of reincarnation, non-sensory perception and the idea of a transcendental consciousness have profound repercussions on the nature of the psyche and consciousness. Yoga psychology is part of a wider philosophy detailed in the sections on Yoga and Samkhya. In her book, ‘The Master as I saw him’ Swami Vivekananda’s English disciple, Sister Nevidita wrote,

Millenniums before instruments and laboratories could be thought of, as having any bearing on scientific enquiry in general, the age of experiment was fully developed amongst the Indian people, with regard to this most characteristic of their sciences. It is not surprising that in the singularly wide knowledge thus accumulated in India, many phenomena of the mind, which appear to the less informed West as abnormal or miraculous should be duly noted and classified. Thus hypnotism, and many obscure forms of hyperaesthesis and hyperkinesis – the most familiar being healing, thought-reading, clairvoyance, and clairaudience – offer no overwhelming difficulty to the student of the ancient Indian psychology, or Raja Yoga as it is called…Western psychological therapies seek to reestablish normal functions. Indian psychology

seeks to transcend them. Describing the ‘subliminal activators’ (samskaras) that form ‘traits’ (vasanas), Hindu psychologists discovered the subconscious thousands of years before Sigmund Freud.

The functions of the mind are called the Ichchha (will) group consisting of will, desire, resolve, doubt, longing, unbelief, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, shyness, fear and imagination. According to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:

“Desire, deliberation, doubt, faith, lack of faith, steadfastness, unsteadiness, shame, intelligence, and fear – all these are but the mind.”All Vedic psychology is rooted in the Atman. The sage Yagnavalkya speaking in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad said:

“He who dwells in the mind but is separate from the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body the mind is, and who controls the mind from within, - he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.”

Most Western psychology posit the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious, tending to regard them as products of matter and the individual a temporary cohesion of these functions. Hindu psychology includes the superconscious. It sees the individual as a permanent manifestation of consciousness functioning through, and structuring, the limitations of mind and personality and doing so in various bodies throughout time. The evolution of the human species is the evolution of consciousness. The purpose of the Darshanas is to explain, enhance and facilitate this evolution.

Relation to concepts of God

‘Who is the Being to whom we should offer our worship and prayer? …. He who is the giver of spiritual knowledge and strength, whom the whole world worships, whose command all learned people obey, whose house is immortality, whose shadow is death – He it is to whom we shall offer our prayers and worship’. The Rig Veda.

The six systems embrace many different concepts of God, (Ishvara) with many different names that are not really different deities but various aspects of an infinite being. This is also because no one concept can appeal to everybody, because individuals are at different stages of evolution, capacity and understanding. Mimamsa makes no mention of a deity. Samkhya takes an agnostic attitude, saying, ‘God is not proved’ but not denying God. The Yoga of the sage Patanjali

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does not make the system dependent upon a deity but advises that it is a useful concept though it is very different from the Christian concept of God.

Describing God in the absolute aspect of Brahman the Kaivalyopanishad sings:“That which is the Supreme Brahman, the soul of all, the great support of the universe, subtler than the subtle, the eternal – that is thyself, and Thou art That.‘ I am That which manifests the phenomena such as waking, dream and dreamless sleep’ – realising thus one is liberated from all bonds.I am different from what constitutes the enjoyable, the enjoyer and the enjoyment in all three states. I am the Witness, the pure consciousness and eternal good.In me alone is everything born, in me does everything rest and in me everything is dissolved. I am that Brahman, without a second.I am smaller than the minute and greater than the great. I am the manifold universe. I am the Ancient One, the Purusha and the Ruler. I am the Effulgent One and the All-good.Without arms and legs I am of unthinkable power; I see without eyes and hear without ears. I know all and am different from all. None can know me for I am the intelligence that knows.”Brahman is described as Satchitananda (Absolute Existence, Intelligence and Bliss.) In his

commentary on the Taittiriya Upanishad the great sage Shankara defined Brahman as “That Reality from which beings do not get separated during the time of their origin, maintenance or dissolution.” As Ishvara however, God can be seen in glorious forms or can incarnate as Krishna or Rama and other Avatars. Avatars are depicted with rich imagery and in many superlative forms in sculpture and paintings. A description of Krishna as the Supreme Personality of the Godhead from the Shrimat Bhagavata reads:

“His mouth expresses His happiness. His eyes spread like the petals of a lotus, and His garments, yellow like the saffron of a kadamba flower are bedecked with valuable jewels. His ornaments are made of gold set with jewels and He wears a golden headdress and earrings”.Such anthropomorphic images of Gods and Goddesses are used by the followers of the

devotional schools of Vedanta as subjects of worship (Puja) and for meditation. On the other hand the Kena Upanishad advises:

“That which man does not comprehend with the mind, that by which the mind is encompassed, know that to be Brahman and not what people worship as an object.That which man does not see with the eye, but that by which man perceives the activities of the eye, know that alone to be Brahman and not what people worship as an object.

That which man does not hear with the ear, that by which man knows the ear, know that to be Brahman and not what people worship as an object.”

The various schools of Vedanta and Yoga cover most theological concepts of divinity and finally, transcend them all.

Chapter three

The Source.The Vedas

‘May my speech be one with my mind, and may my mind be one with my speech. O Thou Self-luminous Brahman, remove the veil of ignorance from before me, that I might behold Thy light. Do Thou reveal to me the spirit of the scriptures. ’ The Rig Veda.

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‘Hindu’ is a term derived from the name of the river Indus and not the name the Hindus give themselves. Their country is known as Bharata and the religion and philosophy based upon the Vedas is known as the Sanatana Dharma, meaning ‘the eternal teachings’. Such a claim might seem illogical to students of philosophy but there is no wooly thinking in Hinduism, where no sect can gain followers if it has no basis in sound philosophy. The belief is based on their cosmology. It may be put this way – If God is the creator of this world, then He must have been non-existent prior to creation for a creator cannot come into being until a creation occurs. In Hinduism creation is not a fiat in time, but is without beginning or ending, though it is cyclic. It involves vast time spans in which the universe fluxes between manifestation and dissolution. This is cosmic expansion and contraction on a huge scale, likened to God breathing in and out. Universes are born and die, just as we do. Thus we are not only born into a world, but into an endless series of worlds. Buddhists liken this to a wheel upon which we are caught. (In both Hinduism and Buddhism the game of life is to get free from the bondage associated with recurrent reincarnation.)

The Nasadiya-sukta of the Rig Veda is a marvelous creation hymn - - There was neither mortality nor immortality,There was no confine twix night and day,The One breathed breathless and Ever since nothing else has been.Darkness was veiled in gloom profound –An ocean without light, the germ,That lay covered in the husk,Burst forth one nature from the fervent heat,Then first came Love upon it and The new spring of mind, yeaPoets in their hearts since discerned,This bond between created and uncreated things.

Comes this spark from earth,Piercing and all pervading - or from heaven?Seeds were sown, mighty powers arose,Nature below, power and will above – So this mighty creation sprang,Who knows the secret? Who here proclaims it?

He from whom all this great creation sprang,Whether His will created or was mute, The most High Seer in the highest heaven,He knows it – or perchance even He knows it not.At the beginning of each new cycle holy seers (Rishis) who have achieved liberation from

the wheel of becoming are born into the world, bringing the Vedas, which, like creation itself, is eternal. The Vedas are known as Sruti meaning ‘heard’, the implication being that the Rishis did not compose them, but that they were dictated to them by Brahman. The Rig, has each hymn credited to a Rishi and it is worth noting that twenty seven of them were women.

Or as the Svetashvatara Upanishad puts it, “He who at the beginning of creation projected Brahma, (The Creator, one of the trinity of Vishnu (Preserver) and Shiva (Destroyer)… and who delivered the Vedas unto Him – seeking liberation I go for refuge unto the Effulgent One, whose light turns the understanding towards the Atman.”

Or as it is expressed in the Rig Veda, “From that universal sacrifice (creation) sprang the Rig and Saman verses, the meters sprang from it, from it the Yajurs arose.”

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In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad the wife of a famous sage asks for the knowledge of Brahman. As part of the dialogue that follows he explains:

“As smoke and sparks arise from a fire kindled with damp fuel, even so, have breathed forth from the Eternal all knowledge and all wisdom – what we know as the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the rest. They are the breath of the Eternal.”There are four different Vedas, known as the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Arthava. Each is

divided into three sections, the Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Aranyakas, comprising 20, 500 mantras in all, each one directed to a specific deity. These four are divided into two – the rituals, hymns, rites, duties, sacrifices and sciences, known as the Karma Khanda, (action section) and the philosophical section of each known as the Vidya Khanda (knowledge section). There are six supplements called Vedangas which teach the laws of euphony and pronunciation, grammar, metre, etymology, astronomy, ritual procedure, interpretation of Vedic texts, logic, mythology and codes of conduct.

Scholars have further divided these sections so it becomes rather complex. There are five Samhitas, eighteen Brahmanas, four Aranyakas and sixteen Upanishads considered the most important. This later portion is also called the Vedanta, meaning the summation or end part of the Vedas, containing the revelations and instructions of the Rishis. Of the many Upanishads 108 are now extant. Of these, ten have been given precedence, mostly due to the fact that the great sage and philosopher Shankara wrote commentaries upon them. There is much esoteric knowledge locked in the Vedas that has taken a long time to unearth. As an example of this, mathematical methods have come to light that make it possible to solve complex problems or arrive at correct answers swiftly and simply. However interesting the Karma Khanda sections might be, the focus of interest for philosophers is the Upanishads. The six systems are considered orthodox because they do not deny or dispute the Vedas. The unorthodox materialistic philosophies were also regarded as a kind of religious faith. They are called the Charvakas a word meaning ‘easy on the ears’ because they express the common attitude ordinary people like to hear. No God, no responsibility, no altruism, and free indulgence in desires. Many Gods are mentioned in the Vedas, such as Varuna, god of sky, Indra, god of rain, Agni, god of fire. Yama, god of death, and Vayu, god of wind. In some hymns they take human form, or in others are elevated to a cosmic principle. Varuna becomes Rita, the moral order of the universe, Indra becomes the Universal Being, and so on. One god after another becomes elevated to Brahman, the Supreme Being. This has puzzled Western philosophers and because of this and the many Gods and Goddesses of popular religion, Christian missionaries regard Hinduism as grossly polytheistic. To the Hindu way of thinking, an infinite God can have infinite names and forms. The Rig-Veda declares:

“Reality is One, the sages call It by various names: Agni, Yama, and Vayu.’ ‘ The infinite One is the Lord of the moving and the unmoving, of all that walk and all that fly in this multiform creation.”However, the same Supreme Being is worshiped mainly in three different aspects, the

omnipresent Preserver (Vishnu) by the Vaishnavas, as the Transcendent Being (Shiva) by the Shaivas and as Shiva’s creative power, (Shakti) the Mother of the universe, by the Shaktas. Though based originally on the Vedas they have undergone much later development in the schools of Yoga, the Agamas, Puranas and Tantras.

The Vedas are unique. They are so unlike other scriptures that to compare them with those of Semitic origin seems unfair to both. The Vedas are the only scriptures that declare they should be transcended along with traditional religious observances. The definition of a really holy person is one who has transcended religion and the scriptures, not one who merely practices them. Describing such a one, the Paramahansopanishad states:

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“Having renounced all; hair tuft, holy thread, the study of the Vedas, obligatory ceremonies and observances, the holy one should wear and eat only enough to maintain the body and live for the good of all.”

Or from the Amritabindupanishad :“After studying the Vedas the intelligent one who is solely intent on acquiring knowledge and realisation should discard the Vedas altogether, as the man who seeks to obtain rice discards the husk.”However, this advice is for the few all-renouncing monks. To balance this the Isha

Upanishad warns:“To darkness are they doomed who devote themselves only to life in the world, and to greater darkness they who devote themselves only to meditation.Life in the world alone leads to one result, meditation alone leads to another. So we have heard from the wise.”The Vedas and other scriptures based upon them, extol intelligent doubt more than

blind faith, individuality more than conformity, personal quest more than congregations, and intelligent inquiry over dogmatic belief. The intellect is not denigrated but lauded as essential to spiritual realisation. The Katha Upanishad affirms this:

“Brahman is hidden in all beings, hence He is not known as the Self of all. But He may be seen through a pointed and fine intellect.”W. S. Maugham’s novel ‘The Razor’s Edge’ was published in 1944. A stanza in the

Katha Upanishad describes the way to the realisation of Brahman is as difficult to tread as the edge of a razor, from which Maugham took the title of his novel. However, Shankara’s commentary on this stanza suggests that realisation is unobtainable unless the intelligence is as sharp as the edge of a razor,

Unlike most New Age ‘spirituality’ there is no fascination in Vedanta for psychic powers or the paranormal. They are regarded as obstacles to true spiritual progress. Many Yoga practices lead to the control of some of the forces of nature but they are the by-products of attainment and rarely demonstrated.

As with other spiritual traditions faith (Shraddha) is regarded as supremely important though not in the sense of believing in doctrines. Shankara’s definition of the word could be translated as a ‘totality of positive attitudes’. Shraddha has different meanings in the various Darshanas, from mental poise, to a positive frame of mind or a mental repose without doubts. It is essential that a student has explicit faith in the instructions of the Guru.

The graph shows the relationship between the various books, and the names and subjects of the leading Upanishads.

Chapter fourThe Upanishads

‘What is the cause of the universe? Whence are we born? Why do we live? Where is our final rest? Under whose command are we subject to happiness and misery?’ The Svetasvatara Upanishad.“May quietness descend upon my limbs, my speech, my breath, my eyes, my ears; may all my senses wax clear and strong. May Brahman show himself to me…may there be revealed to me, who am devoted to Brahman, the holy truth of the Upanishads. OM…peace…peace…peace.” The Kena Upanishad.

Though the Upanishads differ widely they have four main themes. They are the nature of the Atman – the transcendental core of individual being and its identity with Brahman, the absolute reality, the doctrines of reincarnation and karma, and how the production of karma and its future

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fruition can be avoided and freedom obtained. The Upanishads are not dialectical, philosophical structures, but are the records of the insights and revelations of sages, recorded by anonymous writers. Like life itself, they are wonderfully inconsistent, without logical beginning or final summation. Some are lyrical outpourings, others are instructions to students, some are anecdotes, and others are records of conversations, such as the dialogue between the sage Yajnavalkya and his wife Maitreyi.

“Maitreyi said ‘My Lord if the whole earth belonged to me, with all its wealth, should I through its possession attain immortality?’‘No. Your life would be like that of the rich. None can hope to attain immortality through wealth.’‘Then what need have I of wealth? Please my Lord, tell me what you know about the way to immortality.’‘Dear to me you have always been Maitreyi and now you ask to learn what is dearest to my heart. Come, sit by me and I will explain it to you. Meditate upon what I say…”

He then expounds the knowledge of Brahman in what has become part of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Upanishads are not all profound philosophy and metaphysics. There is light reading as well, even a little droll humor.

The same Upanishad tells the story of the great King-sage Janaka who called sages together and offered a thousand cows to the winner of a philosophical debate. Yagnavalkya called his son and told him to drive the cows home. The sages were enraged. “How do you know you are the wisest among us” They shouted. “I bow down to the wisest among you but I want those cows!” Yagnavalkya said. Each sage then questioned him. One of them was Gargi a famous woman Rishi.

“Yagnavalkya, as the son of a warrior from Kasi or Videha might string his loosened bow and with two deadly arrows in his hand give rise to battle, even so have I risen to fight you with two questions. Answer my questions.”

A lively debate follows. Yagnavalkya won the cows.Four of the aphorisms from the Upanishads have become famous Mantras known as the

Great Sayings, (Mahavakyas). They are bold, uncompromising affirmations that have given rise to speculation and commentaries for thousands of years. They are, from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, ‘Aham Brahmasi’ (I am Brahman), from the Aitareya Upanishad, ‘Prajnanam Brahman’ (Consciousness is Brahman), from the Chandogya Upanishad, ‘Tat tvam asi’ (‘Thou art That’), and from the Mandukya, ‘Ayam atma Brahman’ (This Self is Brahman).

Somewhere between 200 and 500 BC, the sage Badarayana organized the Upanishads into a treatise he called the Brahma Sutras, also known as the Vedanta Sutras. (The word sutra means ‘thread’ or ‘string’. Sutras are the terse aphorisms in which the Darshanas are expressed.)

The Brahma Sutras are an attempt to form a cohesive, consistent philosophy from the variety of ideas expressed in the Upanishads. It has given rise to three main philosophies established by commentaries on the Brahma Sutras written by the philosopher-sages, Madhava, Ramanuja, and Shankara. They have been classified as Dualistic (Dvaita), Qualified non-dualism, (Visistadvaita) and Non-dualism, (Advaita) respectively. Many other sages have written commentaries or refutations based upon the original works, providing a vast body of literature.

(The graph will make it easier to understand the place of the scriptures and the basic ideas expressed in the Darshanas.)

The evolution of consciousness from the relative to the absolute, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to immortality, from obscurity to clarity, from doubt to truth, from error to righteousness, is a constant theme of Hindu philosophy. Because each individual is at a different stage, no one religion or philosophy can be appropriate for all. The world-view inherent in each Darshana appeals to different people depending upon their

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understanding and nature. The three famous commentaries (Bhasyas) on the Brahma Sutras represent the three basic outlooks of dualism, qualified non-dualism and non-dualism. These terms will be clarified as the Darshanas are explained. Because some systems share one of these categories, and have similar world-views, they have been linked, as Nyaya/Vaisesika, Samkhya/Yoga and Mimamsa/Vedanta. Of Vedanta philosophy Professor Max Muller has written:

“After lifting the Self above body and soul, and after uniting heaven and earth, God and man, Brahman and Atman, these Vedantic philosophers have destroyed nothing in the life of the phenomenal beings who have to act and fulfil their duties in the phenomenal world. On the contrary, they have shown that there can be nothing phenomenal without something that is real, and that goodness, virtue, faith, and works are necessary as a preparation for the attainment of higher knowledge which brings the soul back to its source and home, and restores it to its true nature, to its Selfhood in Brahman.”Sadly, the Vedanta of today as expressed by Muller, was little known by the people of India.

The knowledge of the Upanishads was kept secret until the 8th century AD, when the great sage Shankara made them known to the public, though the principles of the Vedas were known to the ordinary citizen through the daily performance of rituals. It was not until Swami Vivekananda made the study of the Upanishads popular in both India and the West that the benefits of their wisdom became freely available to all.

One of the best translations of the Upanishads for beginners is ‘The Upanishads, breath of the Eternal’ by Swami Prabhananda and Frederick Manchester, though it is abridged. A more philosophical translation is the two-volume edition of ‘Eight Upanishads’ by Swami Gambhirananda with Shankara’s commentaries. Serious students are advised to study two or three different translations of a Sanscrit text at the same time, comparing one with the other.A text reads “Logic and grammar are indispensable aids for every branch of knowledge”. The application of logic and grammar to philosophical inquiry is the thrust of the first Darshana to be considered - the Nyaya philosophy by the sage Gautama.

he original works are so terse and enigmatic as to be a challenge even to Sanscrit scholars, making it doubtful whether accurate translations are possible. Considering this difficulty and the lack of explanatory texts it is impossible to give a comprehensive insight into the full implications of Nyaya. However an outline of its subject matter will show skill in understanding subtle abstractions. Chapter five

Nyaya

‘The soul is the inspirer of the organs for an instrument requires an agent. The soul is the substratum of merit and demerit and is perceived because it has special qualities…it is the substratum of egoism and is known only through the mind’. TheBhasapariccheda. Just as the Brahma Sutras were composed to organize the ideas in the Upanishads, the rationalistic schools of Hindu philosophy reacted to their idealistic and intuitive nature, and so developed cogent augments to support the Upanishads with a rational foundation. The challenge of Buddhist logic and metaphysics to Vedic philosophy after the fifth century BC inspired a resurgence of earlier rationalistic thinking which then sought to defend the Vedas against the heterodox schools of Buddhism. Great developments in Nyaya followed up to the seventeenth century AD in which the handbooks, the Bhasapariccheda and the Tarka Samgraha were written. Both have been translated into English.

The original Vaisesika had anti Vedic content that became modified by its fusion with Nyaya, largely because of their common rationalistic and realistic approaches, though they have

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different epistemological and ontological ideas. The Nyaya schools emphasize the principles of ratiocination, categories, and logic. Vaisesika is primarily concerned with ontology, analysis of observation and cosmogony. Together they form a cohesive and compelling philosophy of pluralistic realism and rational theism.

Nyaya is a very difficult study requiring great powers of concentration and skill in understanding subtle abstractions. The original works are so terse and enigmatic as to be a challenge even to Sanscrit scholars, making it doubtful whether accurate translations are possible. Considering this difficulty and the lack of explanatory texts it is impossible to give a comprehensive insight into the full implications of Nyaya. However an outline of its subject matter will show

how perceptive and penetrating this inquiry is. how perceptive and penetrating this inquiry is.

Like most Hindu philosophical writings the style is terse and aphoristic. Explanation and discussion is left to the commentator who interprets the text. The following example is taken from the Bhasyaparichheda:

“In verbal comprehension the merit is the valid knowledge of either consistency or intention. Here knowledge other than error is called valid knowledge.”

The commentator discusses the text:“In perception the merit is the connection of the organs with objects possessing true attributes. In inference the merit is the knowledge of the presence of the thing to be inferred…”

In many commentaries a dialectical style is used when objections to the text occur in this manner - the commentator argues a point. There then follows an argument on the issueObjection: That could not be true because it does not follow that ...etc. Reply. Not so. The error here is your assumption that…etc.Objection. There is no error in my assumption because…and so on.

The insistence on strict dialectics leading to rational and logical debate is the factor that has kept Hindu spiritual philosophy free of cant. In stark contrast to Western culture, no cult without a sound basis in rational philosophy would be able to flourish in India.

The word Nyaya means ‘rules’ meaning the correct procedures required to arrive at the truth. It uses the correct interpretation of words and grammar and an analysis of experience to arrive at ‘The Supreme Knowledge’ and ‘The Highest Good’.

The Nyaya sutras begin with an exposition of the art of debate and epistemology. It investigates the means and the objects of right knowledge and the role of doubt and motive. There are discussions about the nature and use of metaphor, syllogisms and premises, deception, dispute, criticism, fallacy, how truth is perceived and the arts of refutation. Without such mental discipline errors of understanding are inevitable hence the importance of Nyaya in any inquiry.

Nyaya reveals the fact that words, and the miracle of speech, can conceal and delude as well as reveal. To learn the proper meaning of words and the laws of language and semantics is to develop discrimination. That faculty is logic in action. It frees one from errors of thought. This is turn makes for a clear, astute mind that instantly reveals the bias, errors, and attempts at various forms of manipulation in the spoken and written word. In this age such skills are essential now the arts of coercion on the part of politicians, media and advertising are so rampant.

Nyaya cites the proofs of valid knowledge (Pramanas) as four – perception, inference, analogy (or comparison), and verbal testimony, each investigated in detail. Perceptual knowledge arises from contact of the self with the mind, the sense organs and the object. The Hindu dialecticians have paid particular attention to inference. It is knowledge derived from knowing the invariable relation between what is perceived and what is deduced. The Nyaya syllogism has five propositions,1 The proposition to be proved. There is fire on the hill.2 The reason. Because smoke is seen.

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3 Invariable relation. Fire and smoke go together (as in my fire-place) 4 Application of number three. The hill has smoke which is always accompanied by fire.5 Conclusion proved. There is fire on the hill.

It is the fourth step that is considered to be the immediate cause of inferential knowledge in Nyaya. Other systems differ. (There are only two Pramanas in Vaisesika epistemology - perception and inference, other Pramanas being included in inference).

It is by a form of inference that Nyaya seeks to prove the existence of God, reasoning that it is common experience that every created object must have a creator that knows all about it. The universe is perceived as a created thing so it follows that it too must have an efficient cause. Therefore, an omniscient and omnipotent creator must exist. The verbal testimony of the Vedas is also cited as proof. (This is criticized in Advaita epistemology by pointing out that this theory can also be used to prove more than one creator).

There are many differences between Western logic and Hindu logic, the main one being that the above four points are not actually inference, but the syllogistic form in which it can be explained. It is a very salient point that the subject matter of logic is the mechanisms of thought, not the language in which it is expressed. Hindu logicians do not classify inference as inductive or deductive – both together constitute a syllogism. (The epistemology of Advaita Vedanta is even more at variance with Western notions, making a study of Hindu epistemology a rewarding experience for students of knowledge. (If epistemology is your interest a helpful book would be ‘Methods of knowledge’ by Swami Satprakashananda published by the Advaita Ashrama).

One great difference between Western and Hindu logic is that European systems do not include spiritual or super rational considerations. Hindu systems have spiritual truth and realisation as the goal.

The Nyaya idea of false knowledge is that it is a confusion of perceptionknown as Moha, (delusion). Ignorance therefore, is not the absence of knowledge, but false knowledge caused by hindrances to, or distortion of, perception. In the final analysis it is the identification with Manas that is the fundamental error. It follows that the correct knowledge of the categories of experience is essential to Moksha. The Nyaya lists them as substance, quality, motion, genus, species, and relation. (Later sages added negation to this list. It is by the negation of moha that moksha is obtained). There are nine substances considered independent and eternal. They are self, mind, ether, water, fire, air, earth, time and space. The reality of the self (jiva) is considered as self-evident as all the others depend upon it. Nyaya expounds the interesting idea that the self only becomes conscious when in contact with mind (Manas) though it is eternal. Birth is its junction with manas and body and severance from them is death. The primary cause of ignorance, misery and suffering is the fusion of the self with manas. When the self is realized this identification ceases. The fundamental Moha being negated, Moksha occurs. This is achieved by following the scriptures, study and the practice of yoga concentration.

It is the subtle modifications of manas which accompanies the self at death and remains in contact with it until moksha is obtained, producing ‘Supreme knowledge’ and the ‘Highest Good’.

Substance is the only one of the categories that has independent existence. There are nine substances. All the others depend upon them. Quality (Guna) is distinct but dependent upon substance and is divided into general or specific. Qualities that many things might have in common, such as weight or magnitude are classified as general. The smell of a rose is specific. Time and space are subtle and therefore all pervading because they have no specific quality.

Motion (action or karma) is dependent on the five elements and is of five kinds, up, down, contraction, expansion and general. Genus is the quality common to groups called Jati, (thatness) by which whole groups of things are known. It is the ‘cowness’ of cows, the ‘horseness’ of horses and so on. This is the lower form of jati, the higher being that which characterizes many different

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jatis, such as Being. Species, or particularity, is the perception of difference which is the main function of the lower intellect. Relation is essential to perception because it relates a substance to its qualities, parts to a whole, or cause to effect. It is the function of the higher intellect.

The seventh category included by later philosophers is negation, by which the absence of an object is perceived. In this way transcendental insight negates moha and knowledge negates ignorance.

Quality are twenty four: Color, taste, smell, touch, number, dimension, separateness, conjunction, disjunction, distance, nearness, knowledge, pleasure, pain, desire, aversion, effort, weight, liquidity, oiliness, tendency, merit and demerit, (the unseen result) and sound. Each category is investigated.

Causality is considered to be of three kinds: inherent, non-inherent and auxiliary. Thus, the universe is resolved into its basic nature – substance, qualities and relations. Being eternal, they are independent of thought or the percipient, a concept denied in other systems. Nyaya/Vaisesika investigates cause and effect in detail seeing them as two discrete conditions, with the effect as non-existent prior to its appearance. Thus the world, which is a relative effect, is the product of the eternally pre-existing substances with their properties and relations from cycle to cycle of creation. According to Nyaya/Vaisesika there are an infinite number of eternal selves (Jivatman) relating to the Supreme Self, the Paramatman.

Chapter six Vaisesika

The philosophy of the sage Kanada investigates differences between things by acute observation and discrimination. In this system ignorance and delusion is due to a lack of discrimination causing one thing to be confused with another, conditioning our life by errors of perception. It causes us to confuse lust with love, attachment with affection, wealth with money, good with bad, the pleasant with the good and so on. (In Vedanta this is called Maya.) Therefore it follows that liberation is the outcome of a rational understanding of the categories of existence. Spiritually it is realizing the difference between the Atman and the worlds of temporal existence that cause misery and suffering.

Both systems extol devotion to God, recognizing the study of philosophy as a form of worship, with self-surrender and the practice of Yoga as the means to freedom. Freedom while living is not recognized by these schools as it can only occur at death when the jivatman is free from contamination of mind and body, though enlightenment can occur prior to final emancipation.

According to the Vaisesika philosophy there are fourteen stages or planes of consciousness through which the life process evolves. The first four are protozoa, (born of cell division) plants, (born of seeds) the egg born and the womb born. Humans are the highest of the womb born because they are self-conscious, stand upright, can speak and possess the subtle centers (Chakras) through which consciousness can evolve to the highest. So the ordinary human is the most developed animal, but is on the lowest level of spiritual development. Such people are dull of understanding, engrossed in sense gratification only, self-centered, atheistic and materialistic.

The sixth and seventh levels are states of ignorance but with intimations of dawning knowledge and inquiry. Ideas such as animism and the supplication of spirits are appropriate to this stage. The next seven stages are the beginnings of higher evolution when the faculties of intelligence, logic and reason are manifest. The ultimate development of these faculties results in dualistic philosophies that reveal more of reality. God is seen as utterly other, a stern King or Creator, and the world as absolutely real.

The next plane is a state of knowledge of the laws that apply to civil life

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The study of these ideas makes one realize a little of the vastness of creation, the purpose of our life and the evolutionary spiral in which all life ascends to final release. Such ideas give one a perspective on one’s own life as well as that of the world and the cycles of history. The present moment stands out clearer in the light of the eternal and insight into the moral order. Concepts of a God as benign creator and Father who can be approached are appropriate to this stage of understanding. God is intimately related to individuals but is ‘in heaven’.

The third stage of higher understanding comes when the internal energies are controlled and the intelligence is keen. The study of philosophy and the devoted practice of Yoga or religion are the major signs of this stage. Concepts of God are varied and subtle but dualism is still the reality. God is no longer seen as ‘somewhere other’ but is equivalent to the human soul in some way. Qualified non-dualism dawns.

When nature is understood and the higher mind is developed there is an intuitive knowledge of the identity of the soul and God, as sparks are to flame or a drop of water to a lake. The moral and ethical nature, the intelligence and creativity are at peak and the animal nature is all but transcended.

There follows a realisation of God and a transcendental state of love and bliss beyond relative knowledge in states of trance, sometimes accompanied by psychic powers, such as saints of all religions have demonstrated.

The final stage is complete Self-realisation or enlightenment. It is actual identity with Brahman at all times where no duality is apprehended at all. All is One. There is no longer any need for evolution as it has been completed. However there may be past karma to expend and the body may continue to live until this is done. There are no more rebirths. An individual free from karmic impediments may experience most of these stages in a single lifetime and win final release (Moksha).

Vaisesika contains an atomic theory and an analysis of time which is regarded as atomic. These are marvelous ideas of great sophistication. Kanada ascribes the existence of each manifestation of a universe to be 4.32 billion years, called a day of creation (Kalpa). The day is divided into 12 million great ages interspersed with a period of dissolution when nothing exists, called a night of creation (Pralaya). This is expansion and contraction, inbreathing and outbreathing on a cosmic scale, mirrored in the microcosm by the action of the lungs, waking and sleeping and living and dying.

Our cosmos goes through seasons just as the earth does, in great spans of time known as Kalpas. Each Kalpa is divided into seasons (Yugas) named Satya, Dwarpara, Treta and Kali yugas in which life on earth goes through periods of harmony and development and subsides into darkness, hardship and materialism, over and over again, just as the seasons change each year. Visualised as a clock, high noon (Satya), is analogous to mid summer. As its influence wanes the yugas follow on a descending left hand arc, down to the Kali yuga at six O’clock. On the upward cycle the progress is from Kali on its upward phase to Dwarpara, Treta and early summer, Satya, that reaches high noon at 12 O’clock. This cosmic progression is caused by the cosmos going around a far distant sun, just as the earth’s orbit around the sun causes the seasons of the earth. It is a principle of both Nyaya and Vaisesika that the microcosm is mirrored in the macrocosm and vice versa. It follows that to rightly understand the nature of our ordinary life will reveal the nature of the cosmic life, which Nyaya attempts to do, while Vaisesika starts from the understanding of the cosmos thus revealing the nature of ordinary life in the microcosm.

Satya is the age of truth when humans live in harmony with the cosmic order (Rita). Nature is bountiful and without cataclysms, quakes or eruptions. Health and happiness are the norm. Cosmic delusion is weak, so understanding is easy. Humans are not dependent as much on food as they are in other yugas. Consequently there is much more freedom. In the Satya yuga many evolved souls attain Moksha.

According to the calculations of Swami Shri Yukteswar, in 12.000 years the yugas wane

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from 12 O’clock to the lowest point of the Kali Yuga at 6 O’clock. The dark age then begins to lift as the upward cycle begins. Human understanding slowly grows until the upward cycle of the Dwarpara age begins, finally arriving once more back at the ‘golden age’ of Satya. The cycle of 12.000 years of a descending arc and 12.000 years of an ascending arc make a 24 thousand year cycle which is repeated over and over as souls incarnate again and again unless they obtain release. This cycle is in a spiral of greater time scales still. According to the Vedas the full Kali yuga lasts for 4,32,000 years, Dwarpara 8,64,000 years, Treta 12,96,000, and Satya 17,28,000 years. All together they make a Mahayuga of 43,20,000 years.

In any age people are born ‘out of their time’. Sometimes Satya age people are born into the Kali Yuga for instance, thereby showing in that age of darkness how evolved a person can become. Christ was such a one. Many such are gurus, teachers or philosophers. No doubt in the Satya Yuga there will still be many still struggling in Kali Yuga consciousness. However, in that age it will be much easier to progress.

By the grace of God, the Kali Yuga lasts for the shortest span of time (1,200) years and the Satya Yuga the longest (4,800 years). Spiritual progress for an individual is attained by simpler methods in the Kali Yuga. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states:

‘What one attains by meditation in the Satya Yuga, by sacrifices in the Treta Yuga and by worship in the Dwarpara Yuga, the same is attained in the age of Kali by merely reciting the name of God’

According to the calculations of Swami Sri Yukteswar (Guru of Paramahansa Yogananda) the lowest part of the Kali Yuga was reached in 499 AD which also marked the start of the ascending Kali Yuga. The ascending Dwarpara Yuga began about 1599 AD when the human intellect began to investigate and understand the phenomena of nature and the fine forces of creation, such as magnetism. It was the beginning of the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ with the discoveries of William Gilbert, Kepler, Galilio, Drebbel and Newton following in swift succession.

After a few million lifetimes an incarnating soul might ask ‘What is this strange thing called life all about?’ This is the beginning of philosophy. With greater understanding one may ask ‘How can I live in harmony with Rita and Dharma, will that prevent disharmony and suffering?’ This is the beginning of humanistic concerns, morals and ethics. When one truly knows the real nature of the human condition one asks, ‘How can I get off the painful wheel of becoming?’ This is the beginning of the practice of transcendental religion. Swami Shri Yukteswar wrote in his book about the kalpas and yugas:

‘Such is the great influence of Time, which governs the universe. No person can overcome this influence except those who, blessed with pure love, the heavenly gift of nature, becomes divine; being baptized in the sacred stream Pranava (the Om vibration) they comprehend the kingdom of God.’According to all the Darshanas the end point of human evolution in this world is samadhi or

moksha. Samadhi is the state of transcendental realisation when the mind is without a movement of any kind. The sage Shankara describes it in this way:

‘ There is a continuous consciousness of the unity of Atman with Brahman. There is no longer any identification of the Atman with its coverings. All sense of duality is obliterated. There is only pure, unified consciousness. The person who is well established in this consciousness is said to be illumined….Their bliss is unending, they almost forget this world of appearances. Even though the mind is dissolved in Brahman, they are fully awake, but free from the ignorance of waking life. Fully conscious, they are free from any craving. Such a person is free even in this life. For them, the sorrows of this world are over. Though they possess a finite body they remain united with the infinite. They know no anxiety…’

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In the 1920’s Paramhansa Yogananda wrote an article entitled ‘The aurora of bliss’ in which he described his first experience of samadhi-

‘I remember the day when for the first time, unlooked for, from behind the clouds of the drudgery of routine meditating habits, the aurora of bliss suddenly burst upon my consciousness. It surpassed all my expectations. Joy indescribable! The light of bliss illumined all the dark corners of my consciousness, clearing away the shadows of all questions, passing X-ray like through gross objects and showing me all things lying beyond the horizon of mortal gaze…’

Discussion

To properly study Nyaya and Vaisesika one needs to be able to read Sanscrit and have access to the scriptures. Nor would this be sufficient. A learned teacher would be necessary. Nyaya is a particularly difficult subject.

The main difference between Nyaya and Vaisesika is that Nyaya reasons from the particular to the universal and Vaisesika from the universal to the particular. Nyaya therefor, is mainly concerned with logic and dialectics. It is a very impressive analysis of the world, investigating the categories of experience, resolving everything we know into substance, quality and relation. Vaishesika puts it into perspective with cosmogony and cosmology, so they complement each other well. Together they provide the mental disciplines with which to develop a mind capable of astute reasoning. This mind can then be a tool for the discovery of truth, freedom from Moha and ultimately freedom in Moksha. ds of creation.

Chapter sevenSamkhya

‘As oil is in sesame seed, butter in curd, and fire in wood, so is that Self to be discovered within by those who search after it through Yoga and the realisation of Truth.’ The Svetasvatara Upanishad.

Yoga is closely allied to another, the Samkhya philosophy of the sage Kapila. To understand Yoga metaphysics, cosmogony and psychology it is first necessary to describe that of Samkhya upon which much of the philosophy of Yoga is based. A western scholar has written:

‘In Kapila’s’ doctrine for the first time in the history of the world, the complete independence and freedom of the human mind; its full confidence in its own powers, was exhibited.’

Samkhya is a fascinating study with many ramifications. It has two similarities to Buddhism in that it begins with an investigation of suffering, and is not dependent on the concept of God. For this reason both have been thought to be atheistic, though Samkhya does not deny the concept, but points out that ‘God is not proved’ and that in its scheme of things, ‘God is an unnecessary presumption.’ This is the main difference between Samkhya and Yoga, because Yoga, at least from the time of Patanjali (C250 BC) included Ishvara in its cosmic principles. The word means Ruler or Lord though the idea is very different from our ideas about God. Nevertheless, it is a being to be worshiped or surrended to.

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The first aphorism of Samkhya is ‘The supreme goal of human life is to put an end to the three kinds of suffering’. These are the pains of disease, mental or physical, which includes restlessness, irritability, lust, and jealousy, that destroy peace of mind. Secondly, the pain caused by others, the environment and happenings, and the supernatural causes such as planets, the elements and cataclysms.

Everyone wishes to be free from all these things though the way we seek to do so is usually of little use. Most of our cunning strategies are unwise or only temporarily effective because they are only escapes, or the product of our ignorance. We seek some freedom in wealth perhaps, or security in power, chase sensory indulgences, invest in hope, belief systems, and so on. Most people fail to see that these pursuits are likely to cause more strife than they might relieve.

Technological development may be relatively effective and help in immediate difficulties, or make life more comfortable in many ways. Yet technology when developed beyond certain levels brings more suffering in its wake as we in this age are beginning to discover. As the great yogi Ramakrishna pointed out, the world is like a dog’s tail - bent. There is no way to straighten it out. Accordingly, there is no ultimate solution to the problems of life by manipulating nature, as we do. After all is said and done, the only solution lays in a psychological revolution, and that is only truly possible by transcending the consciousness of the body and the world. Good deeds, right belief, sacrifices such as the Vedic rites, rituals, and other actions are also not permanent solutions.

According to Samkhya the human situation described in the last few paragraphs is caused by wrong knowledge. Only right knowledge can bring an end to what Shakespeare called ‘The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’. In the Samkhya analysis ignorance is not being aware of the presence of our true nature and knowing that it is distinct from the sufferings inherent in relative experience. Our true nature is Pure Consciousness – Purusha. Everything in relative life is a mixture of happiness, misery and delusion, according to Kapila. Though these are feelings, and therefore subjective, the world that made them possible is real. Thus, what we experience really belongs to the object experienced, though different people may experience it in various ways. Knowledge of the objective world must therefore be partial and fragmentary. In this way Kapila avoids the extremes of realism and idealism. In other words, things are not precisely as they are apprehended, nor does the mind make its own images independent of an objective reality.

This has far reaching implications. Perfect knowledge of the relative world through the senses is not possible, so everyone’s idea of it is correct relative to circumstances and the observer’s nature. The world as we see it is a product of our prejudice, notions, beliefs, cultural position and temperament. This makes for good-humored tolerance, which is a characteristic of the Hindu culture. However, these are mental impurities that must be overcome in order to know the Purusha (Pure consciousness) and to transcend the limitations of Prakriti (Nature). To do this, nature must be understood, so an analysis of it is required. This is the main contribution of Samkhya, because it establishes its position on the basis of a cosmological and psychological metaphysic that is one of the great achievements of Hindu culture. The two ultimate realities, Purusha and Prakriti, relate to each other as a magnet does to a pin. The magnet is unmoving but is the power which activates the pin. In the same way, Purusha as pure consciousness inspires Prakriti as primal matter to cause the universe. Purusha also causes the idea of identity and the feeling of being conscious, which will be investigated later. Prakriti becomes the first cause of all but is insentient and without intelligence of its own, for it is the reflection of Purusha in Prakriti which produces intelligence and knowledge.

Samkhya then proceeds to enumerate the changes from Prakriti to the elements of matter, which comprise the world. Before we investigate the 24 categories there is more to be explained about the nature of Prakriti - which brings us to one of the most fascinating concepts in the history of philosophy, known as the gunas. An investigation of the relation of the gunas to each other, Prakriti and the categories could take up an entire book, but briefly, the gunas are the three basic qualities whose permutations structure the universe. The word means strand, thread or string, but is usually translated as quality. They are called satva, rajas, and tamas.

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When these three are in balance they are inactive and creation is unmanifested. There can be no creation while ever the gunas are in harmony. It follows that creation is based on a disturbance of immaculate harmony. At the beginning of a cycle of creation they become dynamic and their various combinations evolve the sentient and insentient universe. Everything possesses all three gunas simultaneously but in different orders of magnitude. Satva is the quality of clarity, light, and purity. Rajas is the quality of energy, restlessness, and passion. Tamas is the quality of darkness, heaviness and inertia. They can be seen in infinite variations such as balance, change, and stability, - animal, vegetable, and mineral, - waking, dream, and sleep and so on. As colors, scarlet is rajasic, white is satvic and black is tamasic. They are the trinity upon which, life is founded. Everything we know is an aspect of the gunas. When water is still and clear it is mostly satvic, but if it is flowing rapidly and muddy it is also rajasic and tamasic. A block of granite or of iron is mostly tamasic, but the purer the substance the more satvic it becomes. So it can be satvic as related to substance and tamasic as relating to mass. (Bear this in mind when you study the following chart because it classifies things according to the most predominant guna only.) Psychologically, the gunas manifest as calmness, passion, and sloth.

These qualities not only evolve the universe, but evolution itself is a process of the amplification of satva over vast eons of time. This makes the evolution of all life comprehensible. It hints at the great cosmic drama being played out, as life forms struggle to manifest their inherent perfection.

Shankara in his famous ‘Crest-jewel of Supernal Wisdom’ lists the properties of rajas as: “The desire for enjoyment, anger, pride, envy, egotism and jealousy.’ And of tamas,

‘The scattering power makes restlessness…. (He) remains in ignorance, dullness, sleep, and thinks ridiculous things…’ and of satva, ‘Satva is pure. It becomes useful for liberation… like the sun it manifests the whole universe... light, scattering and darkness are the three qualities of the gunas.”There is an interesting description of the gunas in Ishvara Krishna’s Samkhya Karika:

“The attributes (gunas) are of the nature of pleasure, pain and delusion. They serve the purpose of illumination, endeavor and restraint and are mutually dominating, supporting, productive and cooperative.”

Just as disharmony-in-balance is necessary for the manifestation of a universe, so delusion is necessary for the manifestation of the Jiva. This startling fact will become more comprehensible as we proceed.

The object of Yoga is to develop satva, control rajas and overcome tamas. This sums up the whole of human evolution on the planet. When one’s entire nature is satvic, the purpose of Prakriti is fulfilled for one can then realise the Purusha and be free.

Yoga dietary restrictions are due to the presence of the gunas in food, which then affects the mind according to the dominant guna. The object in that system is to base the diet on foods that are mostly satvic, as rajasic food increase desires and passions. Tamasic foods are heavy and create dullness.

The following chart lists some of the relationships of the gunas as they appear in different aspects of our life. These projections of qualities are known as concordances. The concordances of the elements are included.

The concordances.Satva – Expansion – Intelligence – Creation –Thought - VisionsRajas – Activity – Energy – Preservation – Will - WakingTamas – Obstruction – Mass – Destruction – Feeling - Sleep(Continued reading down and across, satva etc.)Satva – Future – Potential - White blood cells - Milk, rice, wheatRajas – Present – Manifest - Red cells - chilies, onion, garlic, alcohol

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Tamas – Past – Latent – Carbon - Red meat, stale food.The five elements (Bhutas) and their correspondences-Akash – Ether – Space – Pervasiveness – Sound - Ears – Speech - Mouth Vayu – Air - Pressure – Wind – Touch - Skin – Dexterity - HandsTej – Fire – Flame - Light, heat – Sight - Eyes – Movement - FeetAp - Water – Waves – Fluidity - Taste - Tongue – Procreation - Generative organsPrithivi – Earth – Particles – Cohesion – Smell - Nose – Excretion - Bowels

The dualistic darshanas of Hindu philosophy are very concerned with the issues of substance and quality, basing much of their metaphysic and theories of being (Ontology) on their analysis of both. The Nyaya School lists nine substances and twenty-four qualities, arguing that qualities are absolutely distinct from substance. Samkhya regards the separation of them as unreal for one never experiences one without the other. Therefore, substance and attribute are identical. This means that the gunas manifest both and Prakriti is not a compound of them, but its inherent nature, defined only by its modes, which keep it ever existent (satva) ever dynamic (rajas) and ever sustained (tamas). (These three aspects have been deified in various religions as the trinity, with many different names.) This means, also, that the whole of an effect exists potentially in the cause, for the effect is a transformation of the cause and not separate from it. The creation and evolution of our universe are seen in the light of this doctrine. Thinking in terms of evolution through time, the whole potential to be expressed in the future is fully present at all times. If the obstructions of tamas in nature were removed, the full potential would become actual immediately. Nature however, requires much coercion before satva becomes supreme. In Yoga terms this involves the effort of dedicated discipline known as sadhana.

In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras he states ‘Evolution is by the in-filling of nature’. These few words hold a mountain of meaning, suggesting that perfection is here and now, but as an inherent potential, which nature struggles to evolve through time against a contrary pressure to obstruct. This process goes on eternally. We tend to think of evolution in terms of the last 4 billion years during which time Homo Sapiens evolved from the primates. In truth, the process has been going on for cycle after cycle, each one manifesting more and more consciousness. Even the physical organism is far from being evolved. As wondrous as it is, it is still very imperfect and given to many malfunctions and maladies. It will be millions of creations to come before it can manifest the inherent potential within it. This is the Wheel of Becoming. The realisation of this truth is what provides the impetus towards freedom from it through Sadhana.

This fact is of great concern to you and me, as the gunas are present in our nature and so are perfection, evolution and obstruction. We go against our spiritual evolution at our peril for while ever we do so conflict and suffering are compounded for we are attempting to live against the flow. Have you ever wondered what sort of a world you live in, and if you could ever understand it? Most of us have, and to study the Samkhya cosmogony is not a bad start, so now that the nature of the Purusha, Prakriti and the gunas have been explained, it is time to consider the categories of nature according to Kapila.

The following list is Cosmic evolution according to this system. It can also be regarded as Cosmic Involution as well. A path back to the consciousness of Purusha from the consciousness of the bhutas can be thought of as spiritual devolution. In spiritual traditions this has been called ‘the path of forgoing and return’. It is the parable of the Prodigal Son who leaves home, wanders far and returns finally to his Father. Nor is it is to be thought of as something that occurred at the beginning of Time. It is ever occurring. All these categories are constantly working within each individual. The Cosmic mirrors itself in the particular. Whether these concepts are true or not is only verifiable from one’s own experience and intuition. Nor is it that important in the light of the fact that meditation on the meanings and extensions of these ideas produces understanding and insights that may reveal the

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nature of the world. Samkhya categories of creationPURUSHA Pure ConsciousnessPRAKRITI Primordial NatureMAHAT Intelligence*BUDDHI Discriminative faculty*AHAMKARA Jiva (Empirical self)Satva Raja Tamas*MANAS (Antakarana, ‘Inner organ’ (includes ahamkara, and buddhi) 5 Tanmatras (fine matter)5 Gross Elements (Bhutas)5 Organs of perception (Indriyas)5 Organs of action (Karmindriyas)Organs of perception are: hearing, touch, sight, smell, taste.Organs of action are: hands, feet, tongue, excretory organs, and genitals.Five Tanmatras are subtle precursors of the gross organs and elements. Gross elements are: ether, air, fire, water, earth, in that order. (The grosser manifests from the finer) Thus there are 24 categories in Samkhya philosophy. Classical Yoga adds ‘Ishvara’ meaning ‘Ruler’ or ‘Lord’. The five elements are concepts common to Greek philosophers and other philosophical traditions. They are now considered to be archaic notions though they are as valid as ever if expressed in modern terms – space-time continuum, gas, energy, liquid, and solid respectively. By combining according to mathematical laws, the tanmatras make the five gross elements; ether, air, fire, water and earth. Tanmatras are the cosmic ‘ideas’ beyond the gross world of the bhutas. So the world of mind and matter spring from two parallel involutions of Prakriti.

Mahat is the cosmic intelligence reflecting the nature of Purusha, which is pure intelligence, and though present everywhere, is unattached to mahat and the products of evolution. Everything in the universe therefore must express some mahat, for everything, even inanimate things have some form of consciousness. Some western schools of thought talk of Cosmic or Christ Consciousness, which probably means an elevation of personal consciousness to mahat. This may give another meaning to the words of Christ –“ …None come to the Father except by me.” In this context this apparently exclusive saying means that none get to realize the Purusha except through mahat.

Next is Buddhi, which is a product of Prakriti. Therefore it contains all the gunas. It is the faculty of discrimination by which differences are known. Individual buddhis differ due to the preponderance of satva, rajas or tamas, giving individuals varying characteristics. Unlike mahat, the intelligence of buddhi is not the same at all times, due to the action of the gunas. The more satva it possesses the more the intelligence of mahat is brought to bear on and in experience. It is therefore of great significance for our wellbeing and our spiritual endeavors. According to some Samkhya philosophers, buddhi is also the storehouse of all our subconscious impressions.

Ahamkara means I-maker, or ego. The preponderance of tamas causes one to be more egocentric, lazy and willful, rajas to be selfishly active and satva to be compassionate, kind, calm and helpful.

The gunas then develop in three directions. From the satva aspect evolve Manas (mind, ahamkara, and buddhi). From Ahamkara the five organs of perception are evolved, hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell in that order, and the five organs of action, the hands, feet, speech, excretory and reproductive organs. Manas is the lower mind which receives impressions but cannot discriminate the significance and differences, but presents the impressions to the buddhi. Manas is also active in willing through the organs of action. Manas, buddhi and ahamkara together are called the Antahkarana, the inner organ, or mind – stuff. This is of great significance but will be left till later to explain.

This world-picture is expressed poetically in the Uddhava Gita where the world is described

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as the tree of life, having two seeds, a hundred roots, three trunks, five main branches, eleven minor branches, five saps, two birds nesting, three layers of bark, and two fruits.

Virtue and vice are the seeds and the hundred roots are the desires that feed them. The trunks are the gunas – satva, rajas and tamas. The main branches are the five elements and the minor branches are the organs of action, senses and manas and the saps are the objects each of the senses are drawn to. The birds are the jiva and the paramatman and the barks are the three temperaments – nervous, bilious and lymphatic. The fruits are happiness and misery.

An understanding of this world-view can throw some light on the nature of magic and miracles. There is really nothing miraculous about saints and great yogis showing mastery over external and internal nature. In his autobiography Paramhansa Yogananda mentions many such phenomena, including his Guru’s visit after he had died. The visit was true to all Yogananda’s senses, including touch. The chapter on miracles explains the way miracles are brought about. If you understand the creative energies (tanmatras) that reside both in the external world and within the body it becomes easy to see how they might be manipulated by a superior consciousness operating from the level of mahat.

There are two more important doctrines of Samkhya. One is the means to valid knowledge (Epistemology) the other, the nature of change, or cause and effect. Briefly, the means of knowledge are three - perception, inference and verbal testimony. The method of perception is through the senses to manas, to buddhi and finally Purusha. Other darshanas list five or six valid means but Samkhya places them all under the classification of inference, which is an interesting approach that could be developed further. (Even the appearance of the external world could be seen as an inference). Samkhya also makes way for a superior knowledge akin to intuition.

The changes from Prakriti are by transformation of the cause into the effect. Something can not be created from nothing. There is no word for creation in this scheme of things. The evolution of the cosmos is by Sristi, or projection. If C is transformed into E, C is the material cause and E is the effect. So C no longer remains as C but becomes E and so continues to exist as E. This means that the effect exists in C before it becomes E, which is the reasoning behind the ontological ideas of Samkhya, which rejects the doctrine of creation coming out of non-being. The effect must be pre-existent in the causal stuff and both must be identical substances. This makes possible the concordances of all the different categories, some of which have been listed. They are variations of the same substance. This is one reason why Samkhya affirms that God, as material and/or efficient cause of creation is superfluous. Discussion Everything we know, body, mind, senses; the whole world, is nothing but the basic elements. All the differences we know are produced by the patterns caused by the various combinations of the elements. There is great food for thought in these ideas. They place consciousness as the ground of being, mind as a sort of matter, intelligence as a cosmic principle, and the matter of the world as an aspect of our senses, and our individual bodies as temporary manifestations of eternal aspects of the universe itself. There is much to think about.

Consider your body. Few people wonder why they have five fingers and toes and not four or seven. But the body is all fives because it is an expression of the Tanmatras. There are four limbs and a trunk. Considered another way, there are two upper and two lower limbs, and a trunk.

The reason we have five fingers and toes is that they represent the energies that form and vitalize the body. The thumb represents earth, being the most substantial, and the sense of smell and the nose. The index finger represents water, taste and the tongue. The next finger represents fire, sight and the eyes. The third finger represents air, the sense of touch and the skin, and the little finger ether, hearing and the ears. Because hands are expressions of the energies that vitalize the body, they can be used to heal if the body they are part of is full of satvic energy.

All higher life forms are based on the same energies. A bird’s wing is supported by five ‘fingers’. Cloven-hoofed mammals have fused two together and the thumb has become a mere

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bump. Paws are a variation on the theme. Darwin thought that all creatures must be descended from a common ancient ancestor, which is probably true. But according to the darshanas life has evolved over vast eons of time in cycle after cycle of creation and destruction. The template for all creatures lies in the nature of Prakriti and the gunas.

Many aspects of Samkhya cosmogony and psychology have far reaching implications, which should be explored. One is the nature of Akasha (ether).

Many translations opt for the word ‘space’ or even ‘void’ instead, making the concept difficult to grasp. Akasha is a substance of very fine vibration from which the primordial elements emanate. It allows each object to exist and makes within and without possible. Nothing can exist without it. The original meaning of the word was ‘luminescence’ or ‘radiance’. When it was translated as ether it was easy to think it similar to the old idea of a ‘luminiferous ether’ of 19th century physics, a concept science has now discarded.

As an all – pervading subtle source of the elements Akasha is closer to the ‘unified field’ or ‘ground state’ proposed by Einstein.

(Students of Physics will know the Michelson-Morley experiment (1887) to detect the ether, ‘proved’ that the ether did not exist, and that it inspired Einstein’s Special theory of relativity in 1905. This in turn gave rise to the quantum field theory that replaced the ether with a featureless ‘ground state.’

To quote from Einstein - …We may therefore regard matter as being constituted by the region of space in which the field is

extremely intense…there is no place in this new kind of physics for both the field and matter, for the field is the only reality’. Again: ‘The field exists always and everywhere; it can never be removed. It is the carrier of all material phenomena…It is the void out of which the proton creates the pimesons. Being and fading of particles are merely forms of the motion of the field

In 1895 the Swami wrote:Learned researchers trained in both Vedanta and physics have seen deeper meanings in the Samkhya cosmology. They speculate that the five subtle elements are in fact, the five known transformational energies of the Universe – gravitational energy, kinetic energy, radiation, electricity and magnetism. Akasha relates to the gravitational energy dispersed throughout space, resulting in vayu (air) as kinetic energy, producing tejas (fire) as radiation, which gives rise to electricity and magnetism, Ap and Prithivi (water and earth). Hence water is the best conductor of electricity and the earth is magnetic. Further, these have a definite relationship with the senses, as Samkhya proclaims. The sacule of the ear tells us our orientation in the gravitational field, kinetic energy is felt as warmth in the skin, radiation as light is seen by the eye and electricity is recorded by the tongue as it senses the diverse charges in food and drink, and the nose senses the magnetic configurations in the air as smell.

Further, it is possible to draw parallels between the three gunas of Samkhya and gravitation, charge and inertia. Why seemingly solid matter is actually minute electrical charges – why does hydrogen want to fall together as gravity and yet want to be dispersed in space and why does matter resist every change in its state of motion? Science provides the how; Samkhya tells us why – hydrogen is attracted to all other matter because the reality is undivided. Electrical particles are driven towards infinite expansion because reality is infinite and matter resists change because the reality is changeless.

In the terms of its time, Samkhya explained creation as a series of transformations in a fundamental reality. In terms of physical science the world’s matter is likewise a product of transformational creation from hydrogen (the precursor of all matter) to helium, to carbon to oxygen to neon to magnesium and so on. As to what created hydrogen science must remain mute. As Advaita Vedanta shows transformational creation is apparitional though its parameters of cause, effect, time and apparent solidarity should be respected, they are not real. This will be discussed in a section to follow.

The history of the attempted marriage of science and Vedanta goes back to 1895 when the

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great Advaitin, Swami Vivekananda lectured throughout the United States of America. The mystic scientist Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a student who at the Swami’s suggestion attempted to show the equivalence of Akasha and Prana (energy and mass). In a letter to a friend in 1895 the Swami wrote:

“Mr. Tesla thinks he can demonstrate mathematically that force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go and see him next week to get this new mathematical demonstration. In that case the Vedantic cosmology will be placed on the surest of foundations. I am working a good deal now on the cosmology and eschatology of the Vedanta. I clearly see their perfect union with modern science and the elucidation of one will be followed by that of the other”

Learned researchers trained in both Vedanta and physics have seen deeper meanings in the Samkhya cosmology. They speculate that the five subtle elements are in fact, the five known transformational energies of the Universe – gravitational energy, kinetic energy, radiation, electricity and magnetism. Akasha relates to the gravitational energy dispersed throughout space, resulting in vayu (air) as kinetic energy, producing tejas (fire) as radiation, which gives rise to electricity and magnetism, Ap and Prithivi (water and earth). Hence water is the best conductor of electricity and the earth is magnetic. Further, these have a definite relationship with the senses, as Samkhya proclaims. The sacule of the ear tells us our orientation in the gravitational field, kinetic energy is felt as warmth in the skin, radiation as light is seen by the eye and electricity is recorded by the tongue as it senses the diverse charges in food and drink, and the nose senses the magnetic configurations in the air as smell.

If Tesla finally did so, he kept it a secret as he became a recluse for the rest of his life. The paradox here is that though Vedanta was fully mature but science wasn’t as it was still dominated by the mechanistic concepts of Newtonian physics. It was Einstein who achieved this in 1905.

Perhaps the most significant idea is that the sense of self, (ahamkara) in the evolution of the cosmos, precedes that of matter. It follows that the presence of a world is dependent upon the pre-existence of the witnessing entity – an idea with immense implications. Another marvellous idea is that mind is part of the physical universe. Mind is matter in a finer vibration. This means that matter does not spring from mind or mind from matter, therefore solving one of the great debates of western philosophy.

Samkhya psychology presents us with new ideas to consider as well. The most startling is the idea that the mind is not a conscious entity in its own right. It merely reflects the reflected light of Purusha from mahat. What we call the mind is a composite of ahamkara, buddhi and sense impressions. Buddhi is a reservoir of impressions from an infinite past, not just one life. In it lies the instinct to speech and other faculties that we could not learn in a few years if we did not know them already. This is one of the differences between buddhi and western ideas of the subconscious. I suspect that the Buddhi also inspires all the physiological processes through which the body ‘knows’ how to perform the millions of functions that make it a self-repairing, living organism.

Another thing to consider is the idea that only the Purusha is the knower or experiencer in the final analysis, and not the ego. Needless to say, there are many aspects of these subjects to delight an inquiring mind. Interested students can pursue these ideas by obtaining translations of original texts, or by reading the works of Swami Vivekananda. Rather than simply accepting them as knowledge of the structure of a darshana, contemplation of these ideas can be very rewarding.

Chapter eightYoga

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‘Cut asunder with the sword of Knowledge the doubt about the Self caused by ignorance and fight, taking refuge in Yoga.’ The Bhagavad Gita.

Yoga is a Sanscrit word from the verbal root meaning to yoke or harness. It can also mean union, team, equipment or conjunction. Its earliest use appears in a Hindu scripture called the Rig-Veda (C 1550 BC) where it is used in the sense of controlling horses, which are likened to the senses. In the later Taittiriya Upanishad, it carries the meaning of ‘spiritual endeavor’, implying an ultimate union or conjunction of human consciousness and the divine. By the fourth century this was its common meaning in Hindu spiritual traditions.

Scholars classify Yoga as either pre-classical, as it appears in texts to the fourth century, or classical, as it appears in texts from about the second century AD. Yoga holds widely divergent world-views, as it has come under the influence of its Gurus and the various schools of Vedanta. There are fifteen different Yogas though some are really variations of main schools. There are variations of variations, so many names mean much the same thing, such as Siddha Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and so on.

The many schools of thought can be confusing to western students at first. We of the west think in terms of either/or, right/wrong, true/false whereas to the Hindu every doctrine holds some truth, for all creation being relative, everything is qualified.

Yoga realizes that individual needs, capacities and ways of expression vary, so no one way can be right for all. It is part of the uniqueness of Yoga that it includes all the ways of spiritual endeavor, so the different attitudes, world-views, and practices meet the needs of aspirants of all religions – or of agnostics, perhaps even atheists!

These major schools will be outlined in the final section, but first the doctrines common to them all should be explained.

Metaphysic. The most fascinating aspect of Yoga philosophy is the metaphysic, which could be called an occult anatomy. The physical body is one of many. By its own nature it is insentient and immobile. This may seem a strange idea, yet when the life force (Prana) leaves it in what we call death, the insentient nature of the body is revealed. In Yoga the body is called the Annamayakosha, or ‘food sheath’. It is comprised of the five tanmatras and vitalized by the pranic or energy body (Pranamayakosha) composed of the five Vayus (breaths or airs),. These are the energies that work through the five organs of action and manifest the faculties of speech, manual dexterity, walking, excretion and procreation. The five pranas (Vayus) also control digestion, assimilation, circulation, elimination and sexual functions. Many of the complex exercises of Hatha Yoga aim at manipulating these energies, so bringing physiological functions under control. These five energies flow in 72.000 channels (Nadis) of different frequencies and therefore subtle colors, which radiate beyond the body, causing the aura. Nadis are analogous to the meridians of acupuncture, with points known as Marmas.

Next is the mental body or sheath, (Manomayakosha) that is subtler still, interpenetrating the pranic and physical body. As previously explained mind is a material substance though of very fine vibration compared to matter. It is called chitta, (mind-stuff) the movements in it are called vrittis. All experience is a vritti of one sort or another, depending on the name we give it, such as a memory, a percept, a concept or a feeling. Yoga is the control of the vrittis in chitta. All the schools of Yoga have this as the final aim, for when the vrittis are subdued, the mind reflects the nature of the Purusha.

The next sheath is the Vijnanamayakosha, composed of awareness. The finest ‘body’ or sheath is called the Anandamayakosha, the body of bliss. These are like five veils through which the Atman manifests itself. Individual consciousness might be identified with one or another of these sheaths. In the grossly physical person the identification is with the lower sheaths. In the spiritually evolved person the identification is with the sheaths of awareness and bliss (Ananda). (This word is always part of titles taken by monks of the Swami order. The first part of their monastic name attests to their means of liberation or spiritual quality).

The moral and ethical disciplines of Yoga are aimed at reducing those deep vrittis in the subconscious mind, which determine our actions and outlook, but more about this later.

Here is an exercise that might make the idea of a mind-stuff clearer for you. Close your eyes

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and imagine a cat. You are seeing it in your ‘minds’ eye’ as we say. Now, tell me, what are you looking at? You might reply, ‘A cat!’ but this is not correct for what you are actually observing is your mind-stuff taking the form of a cat by the power of your will. Not only that, but you can do what you like with it, giving the cat horns, making it as big as a house or as small as a mouse, but the particular type of cat you imagine depends upon subconscious impressions. It is a vritti in chitta. Imagination is making images, as you do when you dream. There is much to be learnt from dreams though not by attempts to decipher them. A dream is an experience in, of and through, mind-stuff. Everyone and all objects in a dream are comprised of your own consciousness. You are everything in your dream. In dream you are making images in the same way as you do while awake. To the Yoga metaphysicians there is no intrinsic difference between waking or dreaming, though there is a big difference between both and deep sleep, which will be mentioned later.When you become aware, you will realize that there is a constant stream of images playing in your mind, in much the same way that projected images play upon a movie screen. As you experienced in the ‘cat’ experiment what you were actually seeing was your image of a cat made out of your mind-stuff, impelled by your will, and experienced in the final analysis by the Purusha. It is one of the disciplines of Yoga to be aware of the source of thoughts, as well as their nature and to be in control of the content of the mind. This comes about through the disciplines of Raja Yoga. Such a discipline reveals how attached we are to the inherited images in our mind. Few are of our own creation. A group of such manifests as an attitude and when fixed, a prejudice. In this sense we are all image worshipers. There can be no freedom while ever images dominate our consciousness. When such freedom is obtained, images can be manipulated, used or disposed of according to our will and/or the need of the moment. This is indeed freedom! It is explicate faith. The world of images, that is, the whole span of human experience is at one’s command. It is by this power that Christ walked upon water, miracles are performed and the resurrection of Christ, Shri Yukteswar, and Shri Ramakrishna occurred. (Consider this in relation to the previously mentioned Tanmatras and miracles).

The mental matter is dependent upon food just as the physical body is. It is the finer vibrations in food that effect the quality of mind-stuff. This applies to all inputs into the being as well, which includes what one reads, hears, and sees, as well as the environment generally.

In the Upanishads the Anandamayakosha is called the ‘causal body’ because it contains the karmic seeds that germinate the individual manifestation. It is comprised of the combined buddhi, ahamkara and manas, perhaps in a seed form, whose characteristics are determined by the balance of gunas. Genetics notwithstanding, the causal body is responsible for our character and individuality. The causal body is the seed of all the rest of the bodies. In it resides the intelligence that controls the growth of the body within the womb. (Perhaps the word soul might refer to the causal body because it experiences the after-life and subsequent rebirth.) Because the causal seeds construct the body, the brain contains vague memories of pre-birth experiences and past lives. Therefore it is possible by concentration to reawaken them. They may also be the cause of habits, skills and attitudes that produce our karma. It is through such influences that genius’ and idiotsavants are born. On the way to Self-Knowledge they must be understood and transcended

Chakras. Within the pranic body there are seven powerful centers through which cosmic forces manifest our individual beings according to the basic vibrations from the causal body. These centers of energy are called chakras, which means wheel, for they are round vortices of swirling energy not unlike a convolvulus flower to look at. They are depicted in Yoga texts as mandalas with various numbers of petals and a complex system of symbology expressing their occult meanings. There are different ideas about their location, some say they are like flowers on a stalk which has its base in the spine, others that they are in the spine itself, and so on. Modern ideas are that they are connected to each endocrine gland or nervous plexus. Obviously the five basic chakras are aspects of the five vayus, the tanmatras the indriyas and the bhutas.

The base chakra (Muladhara, root foundation) is located in the perineum between the anus

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and the genitals in men and the opening of the cervix in women. It is the prana of elimination and generation, the element earth, the sense of smell and the organ nose.

Close above it is the chakra that manifests the water element (Svadhishthana, self-base) the kidney and bladder, the sense of taste and the organ tongue. Next is the solar plexus (Manipura, jeweled city) manifesting the element fire, digestion, the eyes and the sense of sight. Then air, at the chest (Anahata, unstruck sound) which manifests the lung, hearing and the ear. The element ether is at the throat (Vishuddha pure wheel) the seat of the lower mind, the skin and the sense of touch. This sequence is mirrored in the fingers and toes; from earth and the thumb to ether and the little finger.

This description is relating the chakras to the pranas and other things previously considered, but they are also the seat of emotions, which is why they are experienced in the appropriate part of the body. Fear in the lower abdomen in the water element, hate in the guts, love at the heart and so on. Though we may not be aware of it, our language acknowledges the fact, in such sayings as ‘I was so frightened I nearly pissed myself’ – ‘He hated him with all his guts’ – ‘She loved him with all her heart’ – ‘He is gutless’ – meaning cowardly, without fire.

The chakras are sensitive to electro-magnetic fields, which is why shock treatment can sometimes cure mental disorders. Also, each chakra is associated with an endocrine gland. It is in this way that the planets affect our evolution and feelings through astrological influences, for each chakra is tuned to the specific cosmic vibrations that were present when our first breath was taken.

The consciousness of the average person is limited to the three lower chakras, hence our preoccupation with body, sex and food. The chakras in this case are usually small, rotate slowly and are dull in color, depending upon the level of vitality. Influenced by the disciplined life of the yogi, they open up, rotate rapidly and shine in many colors as spiritual evolution proceeds.

There are two chakras in the head to do with higher consciousness, will and intelligence. The sixth is at the forehead known as the third eye, (Ajna, command center) which is associated with the pineal gland and the moon. It has been suggested that the pineal gland is an internalized eye as it still responds to light, controlling some hormonal excretions in that way. The seventh is associated with the sun and the pituitary gland. It is situated at the crown, called the Sahasrara ‘thousand petal lotus’ depicted in statues and paintings of Buddha and the halo or nimbus in Christian art.

At the base chakra there is a powerful energy called the Kundalini, meaning coiled serpent for it is under tension like a compressed spring. It powers the libido in ordinary people and spiritual power in the spiritually evolved. From this chakra two complementary forces rise up each side of the spine to the pituitary chakra, crossing over and through each chakra on the way up. They are named Ida and Pingala and are colored blue and red, representing the male and female yin-yang polarities. They arise from the central Sushumna nadi at the Muladara and travels up the center of the spine conducting the Kundalini up to the seventh chakra. Part of the effect of yogic discipline is to balance the charge in these two energies, so the female-male nature is harmonized. They are often depicted in symbolic art in many different cultures, usually as entwined snakes, or the stems of creepers. In Greek mythology they appear very significantly, as the caduceus (heralds’ wand) carried by the God Mercury, messenger of the Gods. It is represented as a staff (The spine) with two snakes entwined (Ida and Pingala) heads together at the top, (Sun and moon) with two wings on each side, symbolizing the flight of the soul into the infinite. It is used today as the symbol for the medical profession in some countries.

Enlightenment. When, at the fulfillment of Yoga sadhana, the energies are balanced and the kundalini is awakened, it rises to join the pineal and pituitary gland in a high charge of energy which transforms the whole being, through the altered excretions from the glands. The thousand-petalled lotus then blooms, turning upside down, irradiating the bodies, which makes the aura vast in size. The pineal gland lies above a small hollow and when it is transformed by Kundalini in what is known in mystic law as the ‘Marriage of the sun and the moon’; it excretes Amrit or ‘divine

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nectar’ or ‘the nectar of immortality’. Amrit fills this small cup and seeps down into the body. It is this exudate which transforms the body into a divine one which then shines with a golden hue.

For some time Shri Ramakrishna’s body radiated a golden light to such an extent that it was difficult for him to go out without causing unwelcome attention. It went after he slapped his body often, saying, “Mother, go in! Go in!” (God was ‘Mother’ to Shri Ramakrishna.)

It is possible that the sayings of Christ refer to these phenomena. “If thine eye be single thy body shall be full of light.” when the ‘third eye’ becomes active. Also the saying “The Lord maketh my cup to run over” may refer to Amrit. Another possibility is that this is the true cup of the Holy Grail.Samadhi also causes a startling physiological phenomena - no heart beat or breath. This has been attested to by many who were present when Shri Ramakrishna and Paramhansa Yogananda entered samadhi. One of Shri Ramakrishna’s physicians was present on one occasion and was amazed to find the physical signs of death in a living person. As St. Paul has written, “I protest by the joy I have in Christ that I die daily”.

As amazing as this might appear to be, the state has often been alluded to by poets. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Alfred Lord Tennyson describe such an experience. Tennyson could experience it at will by the simple device of repeating his own name. In ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey’ Wordsworth gives a beautiful description of a form of Samadhi.

“That serene and blessed mood,In which the affections gently lead us on-Until, the breath of this corporeal frameAnd even the motion of our human bloodAlmost suspended, we are laid to sleepIn body and become a living soul:While with an eye made quiet by the powerOf harmony and the deep power of joy,We see into the life of things”.Apparently Socrates knew this state of being which he described as reported by Plato –

“Thought is best when the mind is gathered into herself and none of these things trouble her – neither sounds nor sights nor pain nor again any pleasure – when she takes leave of the body and has as little as possible to do with it, when she has no bodily sense or desire, but is aspiring after true being.” The state of samadhi is rare, and is rarely observed in another when it does happen, so

without such testimony by philosophers and poets it would be unknown to the rest of us. (It is imperative that this aspect of awareness is taken into consideration in the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, and ontology. Without including samadhi they can never provide a complete picture of human consciousness.)

The halo, Buddha’s coiffure, crowns and priests’ hats, and the liberal use of the color gold in religious icons symbolize the awakening of Kundalini. This is the metaphysics of Enlightenment or Self-realisation, showing what powerful forces we are dealing with when we set out on a personal sadhana.

The complex symbology and mythology of occult anatomy has fascinated many westerners, some of whom have taught their own versions of the ancient law with meditations and rituals to awaken the chakras. Many people have come unbalanced by following them. From my many years of experience I proffer a warning not to try complicated breathing exercises, nor to meddle with your subtle energies by following instructions from books. Even without a mishap, they are more likely to produce a psychic power or two, which has nothing whatever to do with spiritual advancement.

Guru. Though this word was almost unknown thirty years ago, it is now part of the language, usually meaning an authority or a teacher, expert in some art, science or whatever. This is

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not the true meaning of the word in the context of a spiritual guide, nor does it follow that to be Self-realized and Enlightened is automatically to be a guru. According to the ‘Guru Gita’ guru means ‘darkness dispeller.’The Katha Upanishad makes the difference between one who teaches from theory and one who teaches from realization clear:

“The truth of the Self cannot be fully understood when taught by an ignorant person, for opinions regarding it, not founded on knowledge, vary one from the other. Subtler than the subtlest is this Self and beyond all logic. Taught by a teacher who knows this Self and Brahman to be one, the student leaves vain theory behind and attains to truth.”

Those with the spiritual power to remove the darkness of a person’s ignorance of the Purusha are the only real gurus, and they are very rare. There are many great teachers, but a true guru is known by the power to awaken spiritual consciousness and to be able to enter the breathless state of samadhi at will. Though free, they willingly renounce their personal freedom to serve others. They are supreme Karma Yogis. In India true gurus are worshiped as evidenced by this prayer to the guru by Shankara.

‘How shall I get free and what means is there? I do not know what is my fate in this world. You alone can protect me, setting me free from the bondage of the body…”True gurus take their work very seriously. Here is“I bow down to you, true friend of the hopeless. I pray you to help me cross the ocean of bondage into which I have fallen. A mere gracious look from you is a raft that will save me. Oh flowing stream of grace! I am shaken by the winds of a perverse fate.The fire of samsara that burns around me torments me. I pray you,inspire me by the nectar of your grace. Gurus like you abide ever in peace, bliss and knowledge, ever benefiting the world. I have taken refuge with you from the ocean of samsara. I have cast on you the burden of protecting me from the samsara of birth and death. O lord! The flames of individual being have scorched me. Cool me through the outpouring of your beautiful words. Your words bring peace, being born of your experience of divine bliss. Blessed are they who have received your glance. Blessed are they who have become acceptable to you.

an extract from a letter from Swami Premananda, a personal disciple of Shri Ramakrishna, to another, younger Swami of the Order:

“…We should not forget that our real objective is to enshrine the Lord in the hearts of everybody in the world, for the real temple of the Lord is the human heart. Within the heart of every person the ground has to be consecrated, for it has been defiled by the profanity of worldly desires and pleasures. Upon this consecrated ground let the temple of Divine Communion be raised and the overflowing bliss of the Supreme Good reign. Let the devotee be flooded over by this bliss from within. Preaching is real only when this bliss provides for its own preaching.One devotee overflowing from within with this bliss is worth a million dollars of propaganda. One real temple raised in the human heart is worth hundreds of temples built outside. Remember that our object is to raise temples from within”. I pray that our Lord may shower His blessings upon you, till your life becomes pervaded through and through by the blessedness that is His love, which is He Himself. May you be submerged in the reality of His Presence”. This is required of all true teachers, and certainly of gurus.When Shri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) was dying of throat cancer and speaking was painful

his disciples insisted he stop teaching. Ramakrishna said, “I don’t care. I would give twenty thousand such bodies to help one person!”

Samadhi. The transcendental state has a philosophical side also. In Yoga it is known as samadhi, with much literature on the subject. All the darshanas have some form of samadhi as the

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culmination of the system, though there may be many different opinions about it. In Yoga it is a non-dual state of consciousness beyond the opposites. The divisions between knower (satva) the process of knowing (rajas) and the object known (tamas) are annihilated. It is pure, intuitive, integrative knowledge beyond word and thought. It is the Purusha itself. There are said to be two types of samadhi, with time (Savikalpa) and without time, (Nirvikalpa) meaning that as initially experienced it is a state where there is no consciousness of the world in any way. However, there may be a vague sense of a personal consciousness enjoying the Absolute Consciousness. With further development it is experienced without a break, even with the mind and body active.

Atman. Before we go on to an outline of the different schools of Yoga there is one more word whose meaning will need to be clarified. It is a word sometimes used in those forms of Yoga influenced by Vedanta, which replace the word Purusha with the word Atman. The Atman is much the same as Purusha in the sense that it is transcendental. The difference lies in the fact that the Purusha is conceived of manifesting as many in Samkhya while the Atman is singular in Yoga. It is Brahman within each one of us.

OM. The sacred syllable OM is common to all forms of Yoga and will be mentioned in the appropriate sections.

Now the different schools of Yoga will be briefly described, starting with the better-known forms. Hatha Yoga

There is much confusion about this most common of Yogas. To many it is the only Yoga known – postures to keep you fit, young, attractive or sexy. The writers of the old Yoga texts had no such notions in mind, though health advantages were certainly important.

The origins of Hatha go back to the 9th century AD and are attributed to the sage Goraksha, who developed it from ancient traditions of alchemy and occultism. Only a few of the Hatha texts have been translated. There are also 21 Yoga Upanishads not yet translated, some as late as the 14th and 15 Th. century, so there is still much to be understood about this complex art.

Apart from the basic Yamas and Niyamas, Hatha categories are the postures (Asanas) breathing exercises (Pranayams) symbolic postures (Mudras) and contractions (Bhandas). The original meaning of the word asana is ‘seat’ and refers to a mat of grass animal skin or woven material. All the Yogas use asanas, even if it is only the simple cross-legged ‘tailor pose’. The sitting postures are excellent for meditation as they provide a stable posture that can be held for long periods of time without stress. According to Yoga metaphysic they also have a sedating effect on the Nadis and Vayus, thus calming the mind.

According to one scripture there are 840.000 asanas though only 84 are recommended by Goraksha.

Pranayama means the control of Prana but is taken to mean the breathing methods that lead to it. Most Yogas use some form of pranayama. It is often done for short periods of time before meditation or worship in order to harmonize the body energies and calm the mind. The most common pranayam for this purpose is alternative nostril breathing.

Mudras have various meanings in Hindu culture. They are hand gestures used by dancers in the same way as can be seen in the images of Gods and Goddesses, to express meaning. In Hatha mudras are special asanas usually combined with bandhas and according to tradition should be kept secret. They are said to produce paranormal abilities (Siddhis).

Bandha mean ‘lock’ or ‘constriction’ in Hatha. Bandhas involve contractions of muscles, usually around the alimentary canal, such as the Mulabandha, contraction of the anal sphincter, Jalandharabandha at the throat or the contraction of the abdomen and isolation of the rectus abdomenus muscle in Uddiyanabandha. Bandhas lead to control of Prana and produce siddhis.

The original Hatha Yoga was a complex system of psychophysical exercises and breathing methods to serve two purposes. One was to prepare the organism for the awakening of a powerful energy latent in the body, called the Kundalini. The other was to prepare the being for the practice of Raja Yoga, which is the science of Self – Realisation through mind control.

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The word Hatha may have two derivations – one from the word for elephant, suggesting power and force, the other for the sun and the moon. Both are applicable as Hatha has been called the ‘forceful way’ and the sun and moon refer to concepts of Yoga metaphysics, previously explained. In this fascinating subject, the body is seen as a manifestation of cosmic forces and the endocrine glands are counterparts of the planets. The pineal gland represents the sun and the pituitary the moon. When the kundalini energy is roused from its chakra (energy vortex) at the base of the spine it rushes up the spine linking the two glands in a charge of energy which changes their nature and excretions. Enlightenment occurs and Amrit, the nectar of immortality flows from the pineal changing the molecular structure of the body. This is the real aim of Hatha Yoga.

As practiced in the west Hatha is a watered down variation of the original, which is just as well, for it is a difficult and dangerous practice. It requires much more sacrifice and discipline than the average person is capable of, and must be done under strict supervision by a master of the art. The original texts state many qualifications required by beginners, and warnings, which if ignored can lead to instability or severe physical or psychological breakdown.

Some Western enthusiasts have come to grief in this way by following self-styled teachers or attempting advanced techniques while ignoring dietary or sexual restraints and the Yamas and Niyamas. The ancient Sat-Karma-Samgraha is a text much of which is devoted to purification methods for those who suffer from diseases caused by failing to observe the rules applicable to Yoga practices.

There is much more to Hatha than contortions. It involves complicated breathing rhythms, contractions of sphincters and muscle groups and various psychophysical practices, sometimes all to be done while holding a pose for extended periods of time. There are very strict dietary and lifestyle requirements as well. Further, most of the techniques are dangerous or become ineffectual if not preceded by initiation by a master of the art and practiced under guidance.

The problem with Hatha from a spiritual point of view is that there are so many techniques to achieve this or that, due to its development from occultism and alchemy, it has become little more than a compendium of metaphysical technology. Another issue is that the cause of personal suffering is the identification with mind and body according to Samkhya and classical Yoga. This identification increases the more attention is put upon body and the personality. This is one reason why Shri Ramakrishna advised his disciples against the practice of Hatha Yoga. Another reason was that such severe methods are no longer needed with his advent. Unlike the practice of traditional Hatha in India the Western attitude is powerfully body-conscious, while traditional Hatha involves disregard for the demands of the body such as comforts as well as severe practices to break attachment to it.

One of the many contributions of Westernized Hatha is research into the health benefits of the postures (Asanas) in various maladies, or in its application to learning difficulties and some personality disorders.

Many people have found that Hatha is a great help to their physical well being or that maladies have mysteriously disappeared after taking it up. It is an excellent antidote to the excesses and tensions of modern life. The practice of Hatha Yoga has also helped many people towards an appreciation of Hindu culture, which is not the least of its possible benefits.

Raja Yoga Raja means the royal or kingly Yoga expounded in Patanjali’s Yoga sutras, probably about 200 AD. Because it compiles earlier works and traditions Patanjali’s 195 sutras are classified as ‘Classical Yoga’ of this late period of its development.There are other works on Raja Yoga, which are very different. One explains Raja Yoga as the union between the male and female energies in the practitioner, producing a radiant, dynamic balance. Though Patanjali’s Yoga sutras are not the only Raja Yoga texts they are the best compilation, not only because of their intrinsic merit, but also because of the excellent commentaries which have been written on them.

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Similar to Hatha, the practice begins with the Yamas (Restrictions) in which the moral virtues of noninjury, truthfulness, nonstealing, chastity, and nongreed are listed. Then follows the Niyamas (Restraints) the practices of purity, contentment, asceticism, study and devotion to the teacher. In later texts, patience, cleanliness, sympathy, and forbearance were included as necessary preliminaries for the practice of Yoga.

Patanjali’s contribution to Yoga philosophy is the psychology expressed in his famous sutras. According to Patanjali, the mind has three components: manas, buddhi and ahamkara. Manas converts sensory stimulation into impressions. Buddhi is the discriminating faculty, which classifies the impressions and reacts to them. Ahamkara is the ego – sense that claims them. To the ahamkara, buddhi and manas appear to be intelligent and conscious. Not so, says Patanjali. Only Purusha – the indwelling soul – is intelligent and conscious. The mind and ego only appear to be so, because they reflect the nature of the Purusha. The ego appears to be a subjective, conscious entity. Not so, says Patanjali. What we call experience or knowledge whether objective or subjective, are merely waves in the mind – stuff. It is not really subjective, for all experience, including the feeling of the ego being the subjective experiencer, is objective to the indwelling Purusha. Body and mind are in fact insentient and unconscious in their own nature. This is a profound and remarkable statement.It means that there is no subject – object relationship between matter and mind for everything inner and outer is objective to the real see-er which remains unknown, for it cannot be objectified. This is why it is not apprehended in normal experience. It can only be known from scripture (verbal testimony) and transcendental experience. Further, the ego’s sense of being is likewise derived. It is not an intrinsic property of the ego. The sense of being is derived from the Purusha. Yet the ego claims the waves and patterns in mind stuff as its own, and so suffers and enjoys.The Purusha, ever pure and uninvolved, looks on as witness throughout the three phases of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep.

The aim of the disciplines of Raja Yoga is to develop samyama. When mental activity can be focussed totally upon one object of consciousness, samyama is obtained. This is the Raja yogi’s tool, for by so doing, supersensuous knowledge is obtained. Steps towards this are pratyahara – suspension of outgoing sensory activity, darana, concentration, dyana, meditation, and samadhi. When these are focussed upon an object or subject, its nature is revealed in transcendental awareness. In this way, yogic knowledge of divine truth, cosmogony, physic and metaphysic has been revealed.

Those who know nothing of yoga might know a simple form of samyama, which is the main subject of part three of the yoga sutras. People deeply interested in a subject may be able to focus their attention in such a way as to produce a form of samyama. Anne Sophy Mutter is a violinist who has memorized all ten of Beethoven’s sonatas and plays them with waveless concentration. Such fetes are not possible without samyama.All scientific breakthroughs are due to this form of yoga. It frequently follows wrestling with a problem to near exhaustion. Suddenly perhaps a day later, the mind is inundated with the immaculate solution that mere thought could not produce.Great musicians, craftspeople, actors, artists and poets specially possess the gifts of darana, dyana, and samyama to some extent.

Another significant contribution is the explanation of our individuality and character. These are products of samskaras and vasanas. Samskaras are deep imprints in manas. They are the hidden potentialities of actions and the sum total of previous experience. They are not passive, but are the informing foundations of our individuality. Negative impressions may appear as positive and vice versa, however. In this way, a person who is fearful may put on a bold front and so on. They are thus, the activators of our psychic life. Vasanas are similar to complexes, as they are the subliminal traits or a meld of similar samskaras, especially in relation to desires, which impel us to seek their satisfaction. Raja Yoga teaches that we can change both the deep and superficial images in our psyche, which impel our actions and attitudes. This is the aim of the moral precepts called the

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yamas and niyamas. Essential to these disciplines is the understanding that to attempt to eliminate desires and proclivities by satisfying them is like trying to quench a fire with petrol. Yet they should not be repressed, but channeled to a higher purpose. Other methods are by concentrating upon positive qualities, which oppose the negative ones, the discipline of the senses and a deep study of philosophy and scriptures. Beneficial samskaras then replace ones that hinder. But the one sure method is self-realisation. Sutra 10 of chapter two states: ‘Samskaras are to be conquered by resolving them into their causal state.’ What is the causal state? Sutra 17 of chapter two states; ‘The cause of that to be avoided (samskaras) is the junction of the seer and the seen.’ In other words, the basic error of identifying the Purusha with the mind. When this identification ceases all ordinary mentation is suspended, rendering the samskaras inactive. Ramakrishna once said, ”In a self-realized person, only the samskaras of compassion remain.” Samskaras and vasanas that can no longer influence action have been likened to ‘cooked’ seeds. They have no life. They can be used but can no longer sprout. ‘The seeds of karma are scorched in the fires of wisdom’

The texts may also conceal a deeper meanings. If one reads sutra 3/34 in Vivekananda’s translation, it states ‘Or by the power of Pratabha, all knowledge’.Pratabha is spontaneous enlightenment because of purity of mind. So it follows that one does not have to be a practitioner of yoga to obtain samyama on the Atman. Many Christian saints became saints by this means. However, this sutra is rendered in many fanciful ways, and this interesting meaning is lost. It is frustrating to know this. The lesson to be learnt is not to accept a translation as gospel.A beneficial outcome of this difficulty is to meditate your way into a sutra to delve out its other possible meanings. Many of them, which seem simple, have deep hidden meanings. Many of the cosmic truths they hold may not be developed by modern commentaries.

Here are two brief but profound sutras that require such unlocking. (2/22) ‘Experience is for him.’ This simple statement has been expanded in some translations to a paragraph! It begs the question, ‘Who is him?’ The Purusha is the him, the primal male. Prakriti is then, the primal female. In the bhakti yoga and tantra these are personalized as Shiva and Parvati (or Kali); Krishna and Radha. Patanjali states here that nature exists for the Purusha only.

Does this infer that nature has no end purpose? Or does it imply that nature exists so that the Purusha can play games with it? This possibility has been taken up by the bhakti schools of Vedanta as the Ras Lila. The universe is seen as a sport of God with no meaning save that of play.Another possibility is that nature exists to express the Purusha in time and space, which brings in the notion of evolution. Also, if nature exists for the Purusha it could not be inimical to it or be a problem for humankind – the Purushas greatest manifestation. Yet nature is often seen as the sole obstacle to religious life or ultimate realisation. What then is the truth? These are not academic issues, because how you live your life depends upon your world-view. The challenge is to get one’s views in accordance with the truth.

(4/2) throws light on the puzzle. It states: ‘Evolution is by the infilling of nature.’ Now the meaning of 2/22 can be understood. Nature exists to express more and more Purusha through evolution in infinite time. Further, it means that whatever changes are to be expressed throughout evolution are here and now and are not solely produced by physical changes. Changes in the structure or function of an organism are the products of the manifesting intelligence. Involution is evolution. Vedanta and science agree that the universe is the product of a self-evolving cause. If this is so then it follows that the cause must be present in all its evolved products. Vedanta affirms that this self-evolving cause is an intelligent principle (Ishvara) and that intelligence is the highest product of evolution. (Science, when it tends to regard the cause as a non-intelligent force is stuck with the problem of explaining how a non-intelligent cause can produce intelligence.) When nature changes to a higher form it is because more Purusha flows into that combination of elements. Purusha therefore, is a constant pressure within nature, and so, within us, like steam in a boiler. All

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life strives to express more and more consciousness against circumstances that tend to deter it. This is the very nature of game. Thus nature both impedes evolution and expresses it. This is expressed by the image of Kali worshiped by the tantric yogis.

In Patanjali’s Yoga there are four phases of consciousness; the unconscious, the subconscious, conscious and superconscious – the latter is a most important one that modern psychology is just beginning to accept.

The object of Raja Yoga is to remove the mental impressions that cause mentation so the superconscious realisations can come about, finally centering on the sublime consciousness of the Purusha. There are many translations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, some very imaginative. The second sutra, defining Yoga, reads ‘Yoga is the cessation of vrittis (waves) in chitta (mind-stuff)’ Yet see how it comes out according to different translators -1…’ settling the mind into silence’2…’state of being where the ideational choice-making movement of mind slows down and stops.’3…’restraining mind – stuff from forms.’4…’Ability to direct mind to object and sustain it’.

The translator of number two has philosophical axes to grind and does so throughout the entire work. All the others miss the very important concepts of vrittis and chitta explicit in the original. This example explains the need to study different translations of any sanscrit work.

Swami Vivekananda’s rendering is one of the best with a very tight translation and excellent commentary. Another good translation is ‘How to know God’ by Swami Prabhavananda. The dangers of the practice of Raja Yoga are the exploitation of psychic phenomena for selfish or egocentric purpose’s, getting lost in the subtle states, and misuse of personal power.Karma Yoga

“This Yoga is rarely practiced in full for it is not really possible to do so while the ego drives remain. To many, karma Yoga is merely doing something-specially if it benefits others. The word karma comes from a root ‘to do’. It means action, but in the context of Yoga, it means selfless action. It cannot be ‘practiced’ for to do so would be the outcome of a motive and would, to that extent, be egocentric. But karma Yoga should be innocent of any intent. Selfless action flows out as perfume flows out of a flower.” From ‘The Yogas’ by the author.

Nevertheless, life itself forces us into some form of Karma Yoga, like it or not. It is not possible to live without some form of sacrifice.

A young man, fancy free and glowing with youth and ambitious desires, sees in love the fulfillment of all his sexual and romantic notions. Dazzled by the wonder of it all, he plunges into marriage. Five years later he is a tired wage slave struggling to bring up a family, pay off a mortgage or rent, and responsible for the well-being and support of a number of others. His consciousness has stretched from his own being only, to encompass his family. He is in fact, a Karma Yogi. Whenever one forsakes personal wants, especially needs, for a common good or advantage, one is practicing a little Karma Yoga. Whenever one goes out of one’s way to help another, one is to some extent a Karma Yogi.

Karma Yoga is a stretching of personal consciousness so that, to some extent, it expands towards universal consciousness. From the highest level of universal consciousness to the lowest of a small self-less act Karma Yoga is love in action. It is universal compassion expressed in action at its fullest, and at its lowest, an expansion of the limitations of the ego.Perfect Karma Yoga is the natural outpouring in action, of a soul immersed in love, joy and gratitude, with no ulterior motive and no expectations.

In Hinduism, the Yajnas, or sacrifices, which are the duties of a householder, is a form of karma. For the Hindu, religion is centered in the home, not in a church. No matter how humble

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there will be a shrine. The daily sacrifices remind the individual of the debts owed to all life. They are Nri yajna, the daily service to others or guests. Bhuta yajna acknowledges the individual’s debt to the elements, Pitri yajna is sacrifice to the ancestors and higher beings. Deva yajna is a fire sacrifice to the angels, whose presence is invoked. The last is Brahma yajna, the study of the scriptures as an offering to the saints and sages or immortal beings, whose food is knowledge. These daily rituals atone for the destructive processes of human life, in which other things and beings are involved in our support. Their purpose is the realisation of the oneness, connections, responsibilities, and obligations of our individual lives. As such, they help to expand the personal consciousness beyond the confines of the individual, bringing home the fact that life is based upon sacrifice.

The life of an orthodox Hindu is nothing but the practice of Karma Yoga. Their life is lived, not for themselves, but as a sacrifice to Ishvara. The orthodox Hindu life is lived in four stages, called ashramas. The first, brahmacarya, is as a celibate student learning the Vedas by heart and the skills of daily life. The second stage, garhasthya, is the life of the householder. As a married couple their life is one of performance of daily rituals (Puja) and sacrifices (Yajna), attention to civic duties according to their caste, and the rearing of a family. As the signs of old age appear, the ideal is to give up most of these worldly concerns and devote more time to the practice of religion. This stage is known as vanaprastha. In this stage some of the details of the rituals are overlooked. More attention is given to what the articles of the rituals actually symbolized, so action is reduced to contemplation of what the rituals really symbolized. The final stage of life is known as sannyasa. Life is then dedicated to the study of the Upanishads while the performance of the rituals and sacrifices applicable to the first three stages gives way to the contemplative life as a mendicant, supported by the society to which they had given the earlier part of their life. The ashramas are still followed in the main, adapted to modern times.

Throughout life, the great Gayatri mantra is to be recited at the conjunctions (sandhya) of night and day, midday, and day and night, along with simple ritual acts such as the sipping and sprinkling of water, touching parts of the body with specific fingers and pranayama. Full sandhya puja can be complex. The reciting of the Gayatri 108 times is a part of a full sandhya puja. Prayers for the well being of all creatures are an essential finale to sandhya rituals. A translation of the Gayatri reads –

“OM. I meditate on the spiritual effulgence of the Supreme Reality, the source and protector of the three worlds (physical, psychic and causal). May that Supreme Being illumine my intelligence so that I realize the Truth.”

The practice of Karma Yoga for a Hindu is also connected to caste, as each caste has its own duties. Within the paradigms of spiritual philosophy, caste follows the nature of the macrocosm. Just as humans have a head, arms and hands, thighs and feet, so has society as the body of Ishvara. Philosophers, scientists and spiritual people (brahmins) are the head, warriors and do-ers (kshatriyas) the arms and hands, merchants and traders are the thighs (vaisyas) and labourers (sudras) are the feet. This is also an expression of swadharma, the natural inborn proclivities of individuals. The Bhagavad Gita lists the duties of the castes:

“Control of the mind, control of the senses, austerity, cleanliness, forbearance, and uprightness, as also knowledge, realisation and faith are the duties of a brahmin born of his own nature.Heroism, high spirits, firmness, resourcefulness, dauntlessness in battle, generosity and sovereignty are the duties of a kshatriya born of his own nature.Agriculture, cattle-raising, and trade are the duties of a vaisya born of his own nature. The duties of a sudra, born of his own nature is any action consisting of service.”

Officially structured or not, caste is a natural outcome of all civilizations. Plato extolled it in his Republic when he wrote that everyone should perform the social function “for which his nature best

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suited him…and when each order…keeps to it’s own proper business in the commonwealth and does it’s own work, that is justice and makes a just society.”

Caste is the product of virtue and karma. It was originally flexible but became hereditary over the millenia. Caste is not a religious institution but a social one. When a Hindu becomes a monk or mendicant (sannyasin, sadhu) caste laws are no longer applicable.

Perhaps one reason that the Hindu culture has survived for at least 5.000 years in spite of periods of degeneration, might be because each day, millions of people affirm their place in the cosmic order through the yajnas. Perhaps Karma Yoga is the savior of cultures and civilizations, as it is of individuals.

Many sincere souls, who go into battle to right social injustice or ecological errors, or to uphold principles are practicing Karma Yogis. It is also karma Yoga to attempt to conform our actions to the cosmic order (Rita). Living in accordance with Rita is individual law, is dharma. Living in harmony with the cosmic order is true virtue. It is based on an understanding of the nature of life, and so requires great intelligence.

The great Hindu scripture known as the Bhagavad Gita teaches Karma Yoga. Its message is to learn your true nature and act in accordance with it. It extols action, but without desire for, or attachment to, its fruits. So self-knowledge is the well spring of Karma Yoga.

There may be many pitfalls on the way to perfectly selfless action, such as getting involved with others, or becoming attached to or lost in the work. But as the understanding grows so our actions and thoughts are transformed to accord with truth, reality, rita and dharma, and the action becomes untainted again.Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti is the way of worship of a personal God, or the incarnation of God in human form, or of a deity. Devotees of every religion practice some form of Bhakti Yoga.It is profoundly subtle and at once the most natural, and for some, the most difficult way.

Firstly, who is this personal God? In the Hindu texts the personal God is called Ishvara, “The supreme Lord”. “From whom is the birth, continuation and dissolution of the universe – the eternal, the pure, the ever-free, the almighty, the all-knowing, the all-merciful, the teacher of teachers”. And “The Lord is inexpressible love”.

In Vedanta and the other Yogas the ultimate is Brahman, defined as Satchitananda – absolute existence, intelligence and bliss; one without a second. But the Bhakti says, ”All very well, but how can I love and serve such an abstraction? It is my nature to worship and serve, so I will relate to the relative aspect of Brahman: Ishvara, the Supreme Lord”. Bhakti harnesses the most powerful and beguiling forces in the human psyche by appealing to the affections. This is why it can be the easiest of the Yogas for most, though with more pitfalls.

In the Narada bhakti sutras is written,”Bhakti is greater than Karma, greater than Yoga, because they are intended with a future object in view, but Bhakti is its own fruition, its own means and its own end.”

Bhakti begins with some form of simple worship expressed as a ritual act or dedicated attitude involving some notions of splendid qualities in the deity, and ends with intense love.

Bhoja, commenting upon Patanjali’s Ishvara sutra says, “Bhakti to Ishvara is that love which does not seek results such as sense enjoyments and all works are dedicated to the teacher of teachers”.

Prahlada, king of Bhaktas, writes, “That deathless love which the ignorant have for the fleeting objects of the senses, I offer to thee, Lord, may that love never slip away from my heart.”

Bhakti does not require the devotee to suppress any feelings or emotions, but only direct them to God. Even in the lowest forms of attraction there is the germ of divine love. One of the names of Ishvara is Hari, ”He who attracts all to himself”.

“Wherever there is any bliss, even in the grossest of things, there is a spark of that eternal bliss which is the Lord himself”

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“None, O beloved, ever loved the wife for the wife’s sake, but it is the Lord in the wife which is loved”. From the Brihadarranyaka Upanishad.The Lord is the great magnet and we are the iron filings. All Yogas are a means of cleaning

dirt off the iron filings so the natural attraction to the magnet is unimpeded. The guru’s job is to help with the process and push the iron filings further into the magnetic field. The rest is natural and inevitable.

Finally, Bhakti leads to universal love, which is also self-surrender, and self-surrender is higher knowledge. Bhakti and Jnana (knowledge) are ultimately the same and the expression of them is Karma. So, there is no real division between the Yogas though Bhakti is always dualistic, for separation between worshiper and worshiped is essential, though the nature of each is seen differently in the various schools of Bhakti. Although inwardly established in the knowledge of Brahman, Ramakrishna was a devotee of the goddess Kali. He used to pray, ”Mother, don’t make me a dry Jnani, keep me a little separate, so I can enjoy your sweetness.” He used to say, ”I don’t want to be sugar, I want to taste sugar!” Thus he taught others the beauty of Bhakti.Bhakti has six limbs – shravana, listening to scripture, kirtana, chanting and singing,

smarana, remembering the divine, pada-sevana, service to God, arcana, ritual worship and vandana, prostration before the image, guru or thought of them.

Many devotional moods can be developed from human affections in which the human traits can be transformed into Bhakti. In this way samskaras and vasanas can be transmuted naturally which is the advantage of the Bhakti way. Hence, one does not struggle with them as in Raja or seek to deny them as in Jnana or transform them by neglect, as in Karma. The first form is that of mild, peaceful love, such as a non-passionate person may feel for a close companion. This is known as shanta. It is calm and gentle. Next is dasya, the attitude of a servant, popular with Christians. Next is sakhya, friendship. One feels closer to God as a faithful friend. Next is vatsalya, parental love. Hindu widows tend to this, for obvious reasons. But it has profound significance. The baby Krishna, Rama or Christ is worshiped, as it takes feelings of awe and ideas of power away from God. Here, no favor may be asked but only love and service given. Next comes madhura, the sweet. This is human love transformed. All the love the devotee may have for a lover is given to God, from Whom all love comes.

Ultimately Bhakti leads not only to Jnana, but supreme renunciation in the madness of ecstatic love. “Lord, I do not want wealth, or friends, or beauty. Not even learning, not even freedom, but let me be born again and again, so long as I may love You.”The Bhakti cares for nothing – except love. Ramakrishna said:

“The whole world is a lunatic asylum. Some are mad after sex, some are mad after worldly success, others after fame, some after wealth, and some after powers or salvation in heaven. I too am mad. I am mad after God. You are mad, so am I. I think my madness is the best.”The dangers of Bhakti are notions of exclusion that may lead to prejudice and fanaticism, or

over-emotionalism unless bhakti is tempered with intelligence and discrimination. Unreasonable attachment to the image or ones conception of God, or being satisfied with the sweetness of the lower stages can also be a hindrance.Tantra YogaTantra is the most complex, fascinating and mystical of Yogas. It is a meld of many diverse practices, traditions and ideas. It has its own world-view replete with mythology, dealing with the symbolical and metaphorical acts of the Goddess Durga and others.

Tantra draws heavily on Hatha Yoga theory and practice and ancient cults of the Vedic period. It is a mix of Vedanta, the other Yogas, mantras, rituals, mystical rites, cosmogony, metaphysics and mysticism. It purports to be a new revelation suitable for the dark ages of the Kali Yuga, when the human mind is clouded with materialism. The same could be said for Hatha Yoga

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as well, and like Hatha, Tantra is body-centered. The word Tantra is derived from a root word meaning to extend or expand, giving the idea

of Tantra as a means of spreading Vedic truths to the general population. For this reason, the Vama Marga or ‘left-hand’ path of Tantra uses the very obstacles to higher evolution as a means. This involves the panca-tattva rite which includes the ritual use of meat, wine and sexual intercourse. It has nothing whatever to do with sexual gratification of any kind. It is a rigorous discipline extending over many months during which, sexual desire (kama) is both heightened and sublimated. It culminates in the Maithuna rite, when physical union produces samadhi with Ananda, transcendental bliss, known as the triple Kumbaka or retentions, when the breath, the mind and the ejaculation of semen, are suspended.

The Kaula sect is a Tantra school dating from about 500 AD. Like the Hatha yogis, it teaches that enlightenment is a bodily event, and so, manipulation of bodily processes can result in self-realisation. This requires the awakening of the ‘serpent-power’ or kundalini which resides in the Muladara chakra, an energy center at the base of the spine.

The Bhakti aspect of Tantra Yoga worships Shakti, which means primal energy or power. The primal energy is deified in a female form called Durga or Kali. The ‘Kauli-Jnana-nirnaya’ develops a complex philosophy of Shiva-Shakti (God and primal nature) as bride and groom. In this way Tantra bridges the gap between the absolute and the relative. In Tantra they are considered inseparable like fire and smoke, milk and whiteness. Other Yogas take radically different approaches to the problem. However they are all variations on the one theme; modalities which express in different ways an identical goal and experience.

Though Tantras’ main scriptures are about Shakti worship, they also include the gods Vishnu, and Shiva, though it is its concepts of God as Mother that are most interesting.

The philosophy is a marvelous expression of non-dualistic Vedanta, which reconciles apparently conflicting concepts. Non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta declares the sole reality to be Brahman and the universe a mere appearance produced by delusion. Tantra sees it as the creative power of Shakti. The universe is Her play as She manifests mind and matter. Shakti is Brahman in the aspect of creatrix and nourisher of all the worlds. She has three forms, the Supreme (Para) beyond relative knowledge. The second form is subtle (Sukshma) consisting of the Devi Mantras for Her devotees to use in rituals and meditation. She also appears in Her gross (Sthula) form as a subject for contemplation. There are ten of these divine forms (Mahavidyas) – Kali, Bagala, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshvari, Matangini, Shorosi, Dhuvavati, Tripurasundari, Tara and Bhairavi. Each of these images is replete with symbols expressing a wealth of metaphysical meaning.

She is also imaged as the Goddess Durga, with 10 arms (The Mahavidyas) and riding a tiger. Kali epitomizes the contrary forces of nature, dancing upon the prostrate form of Shiva. Her image seems to be a grim one to the uninitiated but the symbols are otherwise for Her devotees. Her necklace of severed heads represent the fifty letters of the Sanscrit language for She is the Primal Sound (The pranava, OM) and the giver of speech. The hand gestures (Mudras) of the upper and lower right hands signify the removal of obstacles and the granting of desires. Her upper left hand wields a sword with which She severs the bonds of illusion and ignorance, and Her lower left hand holds a severed human head because She grants knowledge beyond all cerebration. The belt of human hands signify karma, the acts that give rise to individual circumstance, and that all jivas with their karmas are merged in Her at the end of the cycles of creation.

Kali stands upon the breast of the recumbent Shiva, dancing the dance of creation upon Him, for without Him it could not take place. Kali is in blissful union with Shiva in the joy of creation. Her large bared teeth are white, symbolizing the Satva guna and her protruding tongue is red, symbol of the Raja guna. She is black because She has is above all gunas.

Mother Kali is also God-in-nature. Her opposites of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, prod its beings along a torturous evolutionary spiral to final consummation and release. Without Her

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boons and consent, freedom from nature is not possible, nor is any fulfillment or growth. She rules with a rod of iron, yet is tender like a mother. She gives birth to innumerable children, tends their growth, and then eats them with relish. She is the beauty of a flower and the ugliness of rotting bodies. She is bright life and mysterious death. In contemplating Kali the mind moves beyond the opposites. “She gives bondage to fools and liberation to the wise”.

The color of a Goddess (Devi) varies according to the aspect of the form. As conferring liberation or knowledge She is white. As controller of beings She is red and as mistress of wealth She is saffron. In Her aspect of enmity and obstruction She is tawny and in love and passion She is rose. When She is in Her aspect of slaying (Kali) She becomes black.

The many hymns to the Devis are profound and beautiful. Here are two prayers from the ‘Candi’, a book of the Sakta Tantras,

“Oh Mother, thou art the embodiment of all knowledge. Wherever there are intelligence and learning, there thou art manifest. All women are thy forms. Thou hast thy being in the universe, filling and permeating all things.”

“To the Devi who is known as intelligence in all beings,Reverence to Her, reverence to Her,Reverence to Her, reverence, reverence.To the Devi who dwells in the form of buddhi in all beings,Reverence to Her, reverence to Her,Reverence to Her, reverence, reverence.To the Devi who exists in the form of race and species in all beings,Reverence to Her, reverence to Her,Reverence to Her, reverence, reverence.”The Shiva cults depict the God as a naked ascetic carrying a trident, symbol of the gunas and

all trinities, as His weapon. Snakes, symbols of wisdom, curl about His brow. As such, He is the God of wandering mendicants. His most popular form is as Natarajan, the cosmic dancer.

Ananda Coomaraswami, writing about Natarajan: “He rising from his rapture and dancing sent through inert matter, pulsating waves of awakening sound and lo!

Matter also dances! Appearing as a glory round about him. Dancing, he sustains its manifold phenomena. In the fullness of time, still dancing, he destroys all forms and names by fire and gives new rest. This is poetry, but nonetheless, science.”Solid matter hides a chaos of movement. The wild pattern of particles coming and going, appearing and

disappearing, whose traces can be photographed in a nuclear reactor shows this pulsating dance of creation. Like an equation, the beautiful image of the dancing Shiva develops a theme – the upper right hand holds a drum, indicating the patterns of rhythmic change and the primordial sound of creation. The upper left holds a tongue of flame, the symbol of converting matter into energy – the element of destruction. The dynamic tension between the hands indicates the balance of forces of creation and destruction. The second right hand is raised in a gesture, which says, ‘Do not fear, for while ever I dance all creatures will exist. When I cease dancing all creatures will return to Me.’

The lower left hand points to the demigod Pralaya or oblivion, which at once symbolizes the great night of creation or in – breathing when the universe is utterly non-existent or the death of personal ignorance when transcendental knowledge dawns. For either, Shiva must stop dancing for Pralaya to rise. The image means that dance supports the universe and when it stops not even one speck of dust could remain. On the personal level, it means that when the dance of thoughts and dualistic tensions cease, one is free in transcendental union with Shiva.

The Hindu scriptures put it this way: “When a man is in the embrace of a loving wife he knows nothing within or without, so a person

when in the embrace of the intelligent spirit, knows nothing within or without’…’Where there is duality, there one sees another, smells another, tastes another, but where everything has become one’s own Self, then whereby and whom could one see or smell, or taste?”Japa, the repetition of mystic syllables is the main means in Tantra. These sounds must be

given by a guru and received by initiation. They are silently intoned while concentrating on the guru or goddess in the heart, or on a symbol or chakra. A mala, (beads) may be used to keep count. Twenty thousand repetitions a day is considered a modest effort. It is taught that this dedicated repetition refines the being, gets rid of distractions and ultimately, produces realisation of God.

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Kali speaks: “I am the energy of Brahman, I am the mother of all. It is for me that

Brahman resides in all intellects and it is I who have penetrated all the worlds with my power and am holding them in their places. Apart from this heaven and apart from this earth, I remain always the all-intelligent primal energy as well as the one intelligent being, perfect and untouched by my magic creation.”In those marvelous verses the nature of God and the philosophy of Tantra are shown.

If the complex rites of Tantra practices are followed by aspirants who are not qualified to do so the way of Tantra can have many pitfalls. The varma marga is slippery and dangerous. Mantra Yoga Mantra is not so much a separate Yoga but a modality of Tantra and others. It involves the

repetition (Japa) of mystic syllables or prayers. There is a vast literature on Mantras and Mantra Yoga.

In Raja Yoga, Patanjali limits it to the repetition of the syllable OM. Mantra proper is more complex. One meaning of the word mantra is ‘mind-tool’. The word is first mentioned in the ancient Rig-Veda where mantras are credited with magical powers. Mantras are integral parts of the Karma Khanda section of the Vedas to do with rituals and much of the philosophy of Mimansa relates to them. They were also used in medieval Yoga and occultism as charms and invocations to obtain power over nature or satisfy desires.

The ideas behind mantras are interesting. Mantra Yoga teaches that all manifestations of Prakriti are vibrations of sound. The pranava, or OM is the vibration of the cosmic motor, pouring all creation out as unheard music. It is considered very sacred as it is regarded as God, or the voice of God, for it is the three gunas that structure creation. It is so sacred that the separate letters of the word are not written and OM is an abbreviation. The letters are A (satva) U (rajas) and M (tamas). They represent the gunas, waking, dreaming and deep sleep states, all trinities and the whole gamut of sounds produced by the human voice, which makes speech possible. When the mouth is opened and the throat relaxed the base sound made is A, when it is half-closed it produces the U sound, and when the mouth is closed it produces the M. OM is mentioned in various Upanishads. In the Katha Upanishad the Lord of Death teaches the young student Nachiteka about OM:

“This syllable is Brahman. This syllable is indeed supreme. He who knows it obtains his desire. It is the strongest support. It is the highest symbol. He who knows it is reverenced as a knower of Brahman.

The Self, whose symbol is OM, is the omniscient Lord. He does not die. He is neither cause nor effect. This ancient one is unborn, eternal, imperishable; though the body be destroyed, he is not killed.”When introversion of the senses occurs, known as pratyahara in Hatha and Raja Yoga, this

sound can be heard in the inner ear. The sages, so meditating, perceived that there were seminal sounds, which are the seeds of physical, mental and spiritual things. When these sounds are articulated in a rhythmic way for some time, they produce effects which expand consciousness or invite revelations. Some mantras invoke gods or goddesses and others are used in ritual magic.

A section of the Vedas deals with the all - important subject of how the sounds of a mantra should be produced, for it is the strict observance of these principles that produce the result aimed for. It is a very strict and complex science and much more important than the meaning of the words. That is why translations into other languages or Anglicised pronunciations render a mantra ineffective.

Most mantras now used are one of the names of God, proceeded by the pranava OM and given specific direction by its bija, or seed mantra, which invokes an aspect of God or resonates with a chakra. These energy centers each have a specific syllable.

Philosophically Mantra Yoga sees the world as a combination of name and form. Word and thing are inseparably connected. One is, in fact, an aspect of the other. See an object, and

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its name immediately comes to mind. See something never seen before, and the immediate need is to find out its name, or give it one.

The texts say, “God and His name are one”. By repeating the mantra as a name of God, or as an aspect of God, and visualizing the form, either in the image or in the mind, that aspect of God is manifested to consciousness. This may even take the form of a being as true to the senses as one’s own body. The Gayatri Mantra is to be repeated at dawn, midday and evening by Hindus as part of daily worship.

Nada YogaNada means sound. This Yoga is similar to Mantra and Laya Yoga, but is only possible for

those who have advanced to complete sensory inversion. In Nada Yoga one concentrates upon the subtle inner sounds of the spinning chakras, and through them, the creative energies of the body and universe. These subtle sounds can only be heard after the Nadis have been purified. The inner sounds lead ultimately to the Pranava and through that and Amrit to final Enlightenment. Absorption in the subtle sounds produces control of the elements and through them the control of nature and knowledge of the language of birds and animals. Many of the untranslated Yoga Upanishads deal with Nada and Laya Yoga.

Laya YogaThe word comes from the root meaning to dissolve, or absorb. Similar to Nada Yoga, it is

based upon an understanding of the subtle energies in the body known as chakras, vayus and nadis. The vayus are the five life breaths, which cause the physiological functions. The nadis are the energy flows within the energy body, numbering 72.000. Laya teaches the connections between the macrocosm and the microcosm, the body and the universal processes of creation. The endless cycles of countless solar systems appear and disappear in what is called the Lila Vigraha or ‘play image’.

The most interesting feature of Laya is how the cosmic forces of the lila manifest a human being. It is in fact a restatement of the metaphysic of Tantra and Hatha. The chakras are called Pithas; (divine seats) and most of the terms of the other Yogas are given different shades of meaning. Samadhi becomes Maha Laya, for instance. The Laya philosophers explain how the five elements, (air, fire, water, earth, and ether) function and how to realise their inner essence. Similar to Nada Yoga, the Laya Yogi transcends the person to the cosmic by absorption of the mind into its divine essences.

The ‘Yoga-bija’ defines Laya as the identity of the field and the field-knower, which echoes Patanjali's seer and seen.

“Upon realizing that identity, O Goddess, the mind dissolves. When Laya Yoga occurs, the life force becomes stable. Owing to absorption there is bliss, the transcendental state.”Kriya YogaKriya means act or rite, so this Yoga is one of regularly performing a spiritual discipline. In

this very general sense it applies to all Yogas, but it now refers to one.The great guru, Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952) taught a system of graded psycho-

physical exercises he called Kriya Yoga, a technique that speeds the development of divine consciousness, by the regular practice of a breathing method, linked to the circulation of bioenergy up and down the spine. Contrasted to the slow evolution of consciousness imposed by nature, he often called the Kriya technique the “Jet plane way” to Self-realisation.

In the Raja Yoga of Patanjali, Kriya stands for the action of Yoga that obliterates the samskaras, (subliminal activators).

Jnana YogaThis is the way of pure discrimination suitable for people with a disciplined intellect and a

philosophical temperament. There are few real Jnanis in any world cycle, though one such, Ramana Maharshi, lived in a village south of Madras during the two world wars. He died in 1950.

Jnana means wisdom or knowledge, though these words should be understood in a transcendental sense when applied to Yoga. This is the most difficult Yoga to understand yet

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ultimately all the Yogas aim for it. Though from the point of view of Jnana some of the other Yogas, Hatha and Tantra particularly, have the problem of encouraging identification with the body. This is a very valid objection as it is precisely this powerful identification of the Self with phenomena that is the cause of confusion, ignorance, delusion and suffering.

The statements of those who know the absolute truth leave one mindlessly speechless. To quote Gaudapada,

"…There is no death, there is no birth; there is none in bondage, no one aspiring to knowledge, no seeker after liberation, no one liberated. This is the absolute truth.”Jnana can only be understood in the absolute samadhi. Until then, its principles can only be

taken upon trust while diligent study and strict discipline seek the truth.Jnana Yoga is based upon Advaita Vedanta, which is a profound subject, so deep and subtle

that few minds can plumb its depths. (Advaita is explained and discussed in the final section of this book). Jnana Yoga is uncompromising in its discipline and integrity, so it is best practiced by monks and recluses who do not need to compromise.

The most famous exponent of Jnana was Shankara, who was born in south India in the sixth century AD. A genius, he was an intellectual prodigy at the age of ten. He had by then, memorized the scriptures and had written commentaries on them. His literary output was prodigious. He died aged 32, yet his brief span revolutionized Hindu life. He reorganized the ancient Swami order of monks, which still exists. He is also famous for his philosophy of non- dualistic Advaita Vedanta.

The right understanding of the Advaita Vedanta of Shankara produces a world-view that reconciles the longings of the heart and the needs of the intellect. It harmonizes all philosophies and religions. The great sage Swami Vivekananda hinted that one day in distant ages, it will be the world-view that inspires the entire world culture.

Much of Shankara’s philosophy filters down through the Yoga texts and later scriptures. These include the doctrines of ‘avidya’ or ignorance which produces the idea of a world which is a magical superimposition upon the absolute Brahman, similar to the images on a movie screen. The nature of this phenomenon cannot be fathomed because it is ‘Maya’ – contradictory and inexplicable. A paradox by its very nature. Only the eternal, infinite Brahman is true. These ideas will be explored further in the section about Advaita Vedanta.Swami Prabhananda writes about Jnana Yoga:

“If there is only one consciousness, one Brahman, who is the seer and who is the seen? As long as one is within the limitation of maya, the One can only be seen as many. Ignorance can do no better than worship appearance, and Ishvara is the ruler of appearance – the highest idea the human mind can grasp and the human heart can love. The human mind can never grasp the absolute reality; it can only infer its presence and worship its projected image. In the process of this worship the mind becomes purified, the ego thins away like a mist, superimposition ceases, Ishvara and the world appearance both vanish in the blaze of transcendental consciousness, wherein there is no seer, no seen -–nothing but Brahman, the single, all-embracing, timeless fact.” The method of Jnana Yoga is philosophical study, one-pointed concentration and discrimination between the real and the unreal, the true and the false and constant meditation on the Mahavakyas (great sayings). It requires an honest observation of ordinary experience and of one’s mental habits and delusions. In its absolute adherence to the transcendental reality that is the Atman in us all, Jnana is at first world denying. The body and persona are negated in a life of self-denial and asceticism. Everything relative is investigated and discarded as not being Brahman, in a process known as ‘Neti-Neti’ – meaning ‘not this, not this’. When the Truth of Brahman is realized in Nirvalkalpa Samadhi, neti-neti becomes ‘All this is It’.”The pitfalls may be pride, over development of the intellect and a certain type of hypocrisy

if one flies high in thought and words, but is worldly and materialistic in acts and attitudes. This

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failing however is more likely in Jnana philosophers than practitioners. Discussion

It seems that the Yoga traditions of occultism, magic and mystic practices were not part of Vedantic traditions and that they were blended thousands of years ago. The means of realisation in Vedanta are simple compared to the complexities of Yoga. In Vedanta they are but four – listening to scripture, contemplating the meanings, meditation on them and the Pranava OM.

The ‘occult’ Yogas of Tantra, Mantra, Laya, Nada, etc are part of Hatha traditions that hold a wealth of occult knowledge. The texts mention many strange practices to obtain powers over nature that are in fact, not very spiritual. Many of them are sexual rites so bizarre, difficult and complex it is a wonder they were thought of or ever practiced. It has also been suggested that the many schools of Hatha Yoga were more applicable to medieval times and are degenerate forms from a period of cultural decline. Both Hatha and Tantra texts declare they are applicable to the Kali Yuga.

For Westerners, Hatha asanas, Bhakti, Raja and Karma Yogas suitably modified perhaps, can be practiced from books. However as with any art it is best to be guided by a suitable teacher, or for the really sincere, to take formal initiation from a Guru. People not interested in practicing Yoga can nevertheless learn much from a study of the spiritual philosophy taught by the various schools.

Properly understood, the Yogas are not ‘paths’ or separate practices, nor exclusively Hindu. They are the main ways the individual soul expresses itself as it progresses away from egocentric delusions towards the realisation of truth or God. Human nature is such, that though one aspect of Yoga may be the main focus, all others will be included in some measure. On the other hand, such is the inexplicable nature of life, that some enlightened beings are born that way, and have no need to practice anything.

Of Prakriti and the end of spiritual evolution, Swami Vivekananda wrote:“Nature’s task is done, this unselfish task which our sweet nurse has imposed upon herself. She gently took the Self-forgetting soul by the hand, and showed it all that was in the universe…bringing it higher and higher through various bodies till its glory came back and it remembered its own nature. Then the kind mother went back for others who had lost their way in the trackless desert of life. And thus is she working, without beginning and without end. And thus, through pleasure and pain, good and evil, the infinite river of souls is flowing into the ocean of perfection, or Self-realisation. Glory unto those who have realized their own nature; may their blessings lie on us all.”

Chapter nine The Schools of Vedanta Mimamsa

‘Now, rites are generally twofold, viz., principle and subsidiary – for example, the fire ceremony, the new and full moon sacrifices etc. Accessories directly helpful are those that generate unique results inhering in the soul…These do not cause any purification either in the materials used or in the deity, but produce unique results within the soul. Hence they are called directly helpful’. The Mimamsa Paribhasa

Because Mimamsa is concerned primarily with an analysis of the ritual portion of the Vedas, and not the Upanishads, only a very brief description will be given. Mimansa is founded on Jaimini’s Purva-Mimamsa-sutras (220-300BC) or ‘prior investigation’. Vedanta is Uttara-Mimamsa, or ‘posterior investigation’.

The word Mimamsa means ‘inquiry’ or ‘investigation’ referring to its rational analysis of the Karma Khanda portion of Vedas. In the main, it seeks to explain how the rituals, rites and sacrifices

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come to bear fruit. It seeks to answer the question how a temporal, even fleeting act, can have an effect at another time and place. To this extent, it is also an inquiry into the operation of the law of karma. Much of the Mimamsa concerns the punctilious performance of the rites and the correct pronunciation of the mantras, to ensure achieving the four goals of life – enjoyment, wealth, knowledge, and heaven in the afterlife.

One of the most interesting aspects of Mimamsa is its subtle reasoning on karma and the relationship of thought to word and its epistemology. While supporting the doctrines of the Vedas, Mimamsa is not concerned with an investigation of the Self or the way to its realisation. Its focus is on a rational investigation of the soul’s survival in after-death states, the influence of merit and demerit upon it, and the subsequent retribution in hell or heaven, and the moral foundation of the universe, upon which the whole is based. Mimamsa sees karma as the only force needed to maintain the cosmic order; therefore it does not rely upon concepts of Ishvara. Mimamsakas consider the Vedic mantras to be the embodiment of the deities. In fact the mantras are the deities. Mimamsa teaches that Brahman is nothing but sound (Shabda) and OM is its symbol. Everything is an aspect of the cosmic vibration. Mimamsa hints at the marvelous idea that the entire Universe and all experience is nothing but the meaning of words. The implications are profound and have been mentioned in the section on Yoga, as many of the doctrines of Mimamsa appear in Tantra, Mantra, and Laya Yoga and have already been described. Because it is concerned with the performance of rites and rituals it supposes that the goals of human life – freedom from miseries and happiness can be attained by the proper performance of them. But Vedanta affirms that anything attained through action with a motive cannot produce an eternal effect, and only knowledge of the Self can do so. Right action is only a preliminary aid to the realisation of the Self. This is the major difference between them. Like Nyaya/Vaisesika, Mimamsa is pluralistic and realistic in its outlook, though it does not mention Ishvara as an efficient cause of the universe, though later schools do so.

Uttara Mimansa (Vedanta)‘From Brahman are born hymns, devotions, chants, scriptures, rites, sacrifices, oblations, divisions of time, the doer and the deed, all the worlds lighted by the sun and purified by the moon.’ The Mundaka Upanishad.

The Vedantic schools are sometimes called the Higher Inquiry (Uttara Mimamsa). There are five main schools based upon the Brahma Sutras that have key points in common. These are; Brahman is the cause of the universe, knowledge of Brahman is the end of suffering and rebirth and that Brahman can only be known about by reading the scriptures. Their differences lie in respect to the nature of Brahman, the nature of the process of creation, and the relation and nature of the individual soul to Brahman and the world.

The enigmatic terseness of the Brahma Sutras has given rise to many interpretations often considered as conflicting doctrines, though they are not. In science, an element is best described, not by trying to determine it by a precise definition, but by describing all the possible states of its manifestation, or all its known qualities. In the same way, the darshanas and the Vedantic schools describe the possible states in which experience presents itself. Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta has a two tiered theory of reality that the realists did not like. He also taught that Brahman was impersonal and without qualities which the dualistic devotees of God could not accept. They found the doctrine of Maya most objectionable because it denied reality to the world which they believed was real. All of these ideas can be deduced from the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Efforts to resolve these issues have provided a wealth of profound and interesting thought. Ramanuja is responsible for a fine critique of Advaita from the philosophical position of qualified non-dualism (Vishishtadvaita). Nimbarka developed a philosophy of accepting both dualism and non-dualism, (difference in non-difference) (Bhedabheda), seeing they

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both can be deduced from the Upanishads (These schools taught worship of a personal God and are therefore known as the Bhakti schools of Vedanta). The most famous philosophers and saints of this school are Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Madhva, Vallabha and Chaitanya. Though beyond the scope of this book, the various resolutions advanced by their philosophies makes a very fascinating study. As the Bhakti schools have much in common, Madhava’s will be used as an example of dualistic thinking. Madhava’s Dvaita Vedanta‘The face of truth is hidden by thy golden orb, O Sun. That do thou remove, in order that I, who am devoted to truth, may behold its glory.’ The Isha Upanishad.

Madhava was born in 1238AD. He went to the village school but he was a poor student though very athletic. He preferred to stay home and study the scriptures instead of going to school. At the age of sixteen he became a monk and studied Vedanta under a guru of the non-dualistic school. His scholarship and intelligence were revealed in a commentary he wrote on the Bhagavad Gita from which he developed his own school of philosophy. He traveled extensively in south India where he undoubtedly came in contact with the Christian communities on the west coast. He wrote commentaries on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, expounding his ideas in 37 treatises. Like all dualists he attacked the non-dualistic views of Shankara, particularly the theory of Maya.

His intellectual attainments did not hinder his religious devotion. He was a devotee of Lord Krishna, establishing Krishna temples and centers of this cult wherever he went. Madhava’s works argue for dualism in much the same way as Gautama’s Nyaya, though his is a complete system with a theology supported by its own philosophy, ethics, logic, ontology and epistemology. This makes a remarkable edifice of thought regarded as the epitome of the dualistic world-view.

According to Madhava, the nature of reality is irrevocably dual. This is based on the two eternal differences – the independent and the dependant. Brahman is the only independent entity and jiva, Prakriti and all else, including the Gods, are the dependant entities. In a sense, this is a restatement of Shankaras’ two-tier doctrine and Nyaya’s independent and dependant categories. This is an instance of the Darshana’s similarities and differences, as they often present similar ideas from an entirely different angle.

Madhava’s epistemology recognizes three means of valid knowledge – perception, reasoning, and scriptural authority. All forms of inference are included in reasoning. It follows that all we know is directly experienced reality or reports of directly experienced reality. Therefore, sense experience is the most important and fundamental means of knowledge. To quote: ‘Any experience with a location in space, time and place is a real experience and therefore valid.’ and as such, it is a fact of objectivity. Such a fact might undergo change of course, but this does not affect its reality. This is a matter of contention with Advaita, because in that system, reality is defined as That which does not change.

In a bi-polar universe, consciousness must also obey the law. Thus it is dual, characterized by knower and known, therefore there can be no consciousness without the subject-object relationship. However, there are two types of objective perception – external and internal, both mediated by the mind. In the first the mind is in contact with the senses, in the second, it is in contact with itself. The senses report the nature of external reality. Such objects of knowledge must be outside the knowing subject and correspond to the knowledge so gained. Madhava concludes that knowledge must be self-validating, for if we could only be sure of knowledge validated by another knowledge, that too would have to be validated by another, so an infinite regression would follow. Errors of perception occur because of obstructions of an adventitious kind, such as a fault in the function of an organ of sense, or distance or darkness or some other factor affecting the proper reception of the organ.

The function of the intellect is to doubt and test in order to validate knowledge. It is only

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when the energy of the soul illumines the intellect that an impression presented by the senses to the intellect is perceived by the function of the Atman as witness (Saksi). In subtle internal states such as perception of time or an abstraction, no sense is involved. They are perceived intuitively by the action of Saksi, which transcends mind and matter, the subjective and the objective. The experience of Saksi is eternal, though all other experience is selective and segmentary, though factual. Though fragmentary, our experience appears to us to be total and unified. This is a sort of intuition caused by the total awareness of Brahman in Prakriti. (It is this conviction of our experience being total and actual and so the world real, that Shankara calls Maya, which we will see later.)

All Hindu philosophers have to explain the nature of false perception by which gross errors of understanding occur, the usual example being the appearance of silver in mother-of-pearl. Briefly, Madhava’s conclusion is that in false perception there is a real contact of sight with a real object, the illusory appearance of silver being present in mother-of-pearl being instantly sublated as soon as the non-existence of real silver is known. Silver present in a bangle is a valid knowledge confused by adventitious factors with a substance in which there is no silver. Silver is real and the mother-of-pearl shell is real. The illusion is due to a distortion of locus. It can be sublated only because it is not real.

The significance of the Darshana’s theories of false knowledge is important because they are reflected in metaphysical doctrines to do with what is real and what is false, which are ideas that can be extended to creation, the world-appearance and the nature of transcendental knowledge. The Upanishads declare ‘All this is verily Brahman!’ and ‘That is the subtle essence and the Self of all. And ‘That is the Self and the Truth’, or ‘Thou art That.’ Therefore the question as to why this is not experienced in common, and how multiplicity and difference exists if everything is One, must be answered. The major differences between the Darshanas occur in efforts to resolve this basic problem of existence. Nyaya seeks to resolve it in theories of the relation between substance and qualities, as appearance and reality. Ramanuja denies illusion in toto, and Shankara affirms it in the doctrine of Maya. The logical realists think all experience real and duality a cosmic truth. The absolute idealists declare relative experience to be an unreal figment. Monists affirm that only the Absolute is really existent and the creation is a mere appearance superimposed by cosmic and personal delusion upon it. Other schools seek a compromise. The arguments one way and the other are very subtle and beyond the scope of this book to explore.

There are at least three profound features of Madhava’s dualism – That the Atman is Saksi, the witness of all, sublation of illusory perception is possible because it is illusory, and Visesa, (identity-in difference). Similar to the Nyaya philosophers, Madhava investigates the nature of difference, listing five basic differences – that between jiva and jiva, Ishvara and jiva, Ishvara and Jada (inanimate substance), jiva and jada, and jada and jada. There are three entities involved in these five differences – Brahman, jiva and Prakriti. Madhava’s theology makes it important to establish differenc for in his scheme of things, the jiva can only obtain salvation from the evil and suffering in the world by the Grace of God due to devotion and self-surrender. Separation between jiva and Ishvara is essential, as it is in all dualistic religions, because it absolves the Deity from contact with the evil, ignorance, suffering and violence in the world.e as an ultimate category,

Visesa is an attempt to resolve the difficulty of the relation between substance and quality investigated by the Nyaya/Vaisesika and Samkhya systems. In ordinary experience, substance is a common reference point to one or many qualities whether they are adventitious or inherent, a vase on a table being adventitious, but the grain of its wood, inherent. To Madhava, the inherent qualities must have a self-linking capacity to connect it to the substance. The attributes of a substance subsist in the substance though they are different. Visesa is identity–in-difference, therefore substance and qualities are inseparable wholes, united but basically different. In this way Ishvara can pervade the universe, giving life to all, but remain divine and pure. Visesa means that difference itself, being a self-linked attribute of substance makes the perception of a substance identical with the knowledge of its difference from all others. Therefore the presence of one object in a location in space and time

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precludes all others.The concept of Visesa is Madhava’s main contribution to the philosophy of realism. Nyaya’s doctrine of qualities being a reality separate from substance became unacceptable because it leads to an infinite regression in the definition of difference.

The categories of reality in Madhava’s realism differ from Nyaya, as the interpretations of them must be made consistent with his ontology, theology and epistemology. Briefly, substance is the basis of attributes because to deny it would be Nihilism. Madhava lists six ultimate substances: Vishnu (the same as Brahman in this system), the only independent entity whose attributes are infinite, eternal, auspicious and glorious: Lakshmi, or Shri, Vishnu’s consort, dependent but equal and conscious, all pervading and formless. The Lord bestows upon her the power to manifest infinite forms and control Prakriti and the fate of individuals. Jivas, conscious centers of intelligence limited by ignorance. Akasha, (Ether) is an unmodified and eternal entity that exists even after the dissolution of the universe, so it is not the physical space that is an evolute of Prakriti. Prakriti, is the same as jada – the basic, insentient stuff of the universe: Gunas, The three basic qualities described in the Samkhya darshana.

To these six are added nine other categories - attributes, action, universals, identity, the qualified, wholes, power, similarity and negation. The attributes are without number and dependent upon substance, physical, mental or spiritual, and may be good or bad, except in the case of the attributes of Vishnu. They are always supremely good, infinite and glorious. Action is dual - either sinful or virtuous. It is a property of substance but not a quality. Its dual nature is responsible for the good or bad karma of jivas. The universal applies to properties shared by a number of similar entities. It allows us to designate classes of things, as in the concepts, minerals, plants, animals. Madhava includes it as a category to refute doctrines that claim them to be only a mental notion. Identity (Visesa) is the backbone of this darshana because it solves the problem of substance and attribute and establishes the theory of difference being an invariable attribute of substance. The qualified means that each thing-in-itself is distinguished in some way by adjuncts which qualify it. Adding or subtracting one or more adjuncts produce an entirely different entity. They are not seen separately but as one qualified whole, greater than its parts. According to Madhava’s realism this inherent ability is not just an acquired faculty, but a category of existence. Wholes are things composed of parts that like substance and attributes cannot be separated without effecting the whole. The illustration used is that of a piece of cloth – a whole though it is really one long piece of thread and both are real in their own right. It is the nature of composition. Applied to conscious entities, they are fractions of a whole. The Incarnations of God (Avatars) are thus fractions of the potencies of Brahman and in union with Brahman. Jivas are potencies too, but in separation and not in union because of ignorance. This category is an important factor in Madhava’s theology. Power is of four kinds – the power of Brahman, induced power, such as that invoked in consecrated images by the power of rites, the power inherent in causes through which they produce their effects and the power of words to convey meaning. Similarity is the ability to discriminate resemblance. It is the power to recognize similarities between objects. As the objects cannot be the origin of the recognition of similarities, it must be a category of existence. Negation is an interesting addition to the categories. It is negative cognition. It is awareness of the absence of a something. There are four kinds – the perception of the non-existence of a thing before it comes into being, such as a potter may have before throwing the clay. Opposed to this is perception of the absence of a thing after its destruction. Reciprocal negation occurs when the awareness of the existence of a thing precludes the presence of another i.e. ‘This car is not a horse’. The fourth is absolute non-existence such as the udders of a bird or the son of a barren woman.

The proof of God in Madhava’s system is similar to Christian doctrine, which infers a God by the miraculous design in nature. Madhava adds a proof by pointing out that all creatures are dependent, so there must be an independent Being upon which they are dependent. As the jiva manifests some extraordinary powers in varying degrees it can be inferred that they are limited

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faculties derived from an unlimited Being. However, such inference is not proof and so the sole proof of God is the Vedas. The final proof of God is by realisation of the jiva’s total dependence upon Vishnu (Brahman), His glory and His love. Worship is the way, based upon the authority of the Bhagavata Purana which defines Bhakti as consisting of “Hearing about God’s majesty, singing His praises collectively, silent remembrance of Him through repetition of His names, service to Him in society, worship of His holy images, salutation to His presence in all beings, regarding oneself as His servant, entertaining intimacy with Him and making a whole-hearted offering of oneself to Him”.

Madhava defines Bhakti as “ The continual flow of the heart that has been liquefied by the love of God. It is preceded by a deep understanding of the majesty, omnipotence and omniscience of the one Independent Entity on whom all the universe depends for its being.”

Applying keen intelligence, Madhava provides fully reasoned augments to support his philosophy, investigating the nature of God as creator, ignorance (Avidya), Prakriti and its evolutes, the attributes of Brahman, the source of evil, the jiva and its relation to Brahman and liberation (Moksa).

As this book is not a comprehensive description of all ideas within Vedanta, three will be selected for comment as they are the most important – the nature of Brahman, the relation of the jiva to Brahman, and evil.

Theistic philosophies are forced to account for evil in a universe created by a loving, benign God. Few explanations are convincing. In Madhava’s system, jivas are eternally distinct from each other and countless in number. However there is a bewildering range of differences in their natures and fates. According to Madhava, karma alone can not explain it all. He proposes a doctrine of a threefold nature for jivas: some are destined for salvation, others transmigrate forever and others are damnable. The first develop their satva nature, become devotees of God and finally achieve Moksa by His grace. The second are quite happy with worldly life and incarnate endlessly. The last type is responsible for all the evil in the world being of a demonic nature. Evil however, is self-limiting because the evil jivas become increasingly degenerate and their sins finally consign them to perdition. If Brahman created each jiva then God would be responsible for the huge discrepancies of talents as well as of evil. Madhava avoids this objection by saying that jivas are coeval reflections of Brahman and are not created by Him. Brahman is the powerhouse of all life but each jiva is free to act according to its own nature. Thus jivas coexist with Brahman as a reflection of sun in water – but without the water! For if a medium is introduced it would qualify both the jiva and Brahman. As a pure reflection of Brahman, the jiva reflects some of the brilliance and faculties of Brahman, which are Truth, Knowledge and Bliss. These are limited by ignorance (Avidya) and action (Karma). These limitations are removed when the jiva attains Moksa by experiencing the divine, but full liberation (Mukti) only comes when the karma that caused the present incarnation runs out. After death the jiva passes through subtler realms until it enters the heaven of the sphere of the creator (Brahma Loka). There it lingers in timeless bliss until the end of the cycle when along with Brahma it is absorbed into Vishnu – the Supreme Being.

Of moksa, Madhava wrote, “There is no death, disease, disappointment or any other defect in the state of

moksa. All are attuned towards God and there is no competition, no jealousy, and no strife. The souls cherish the highest devotion to God and such devotion is of the nature of eternal happiness”.

Discussion

Vedanta refers to those schools of philosophy based directly upon the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Referring to the chart you will see that the three most influential sages who wrote commentaries upon the Brahma Sutras gave rise to three schools of Vedanta – dualistic, qualified

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non-dualistic and monistic. (Dvaita, Visistadvaita and Advaita). The first two are Bhakti schools, led by Madhava and Ramanuja and the third, led by Shankara, espouses knowledge and is known as Jnana. These schools seem opposed to one another, and indeed much argument has taken place. Since the late eighteen hundreds the apparent opposition has given way to a concept of harmony-in-difference due to the insights of the great Swami Vivekananda.

As Prof. Hiriyanna has written: “If the Advaita explains the prevailingly absolutistic standpoint of Upanishadic

teaching by postulating only reality and explaining the rest of the universe as its appearance, the Dvaita of Madhava does the same by postulating God as the supreme entity and explaining the rest as altogether dependent upon him”.Samkhya provides a cosmology and psychology accepted by these schools for the most part.

Hatha Yoga provides methods to remove the distractions of the body in health and to remove disease, so that the higher Yogas can be practiced. The Yogas supply the metaphysical basis of realisation as well as the many methods to achieve the goal of life – realisation of the Truth, union with God, supersensuous knowledge, Bhakti, Jnana, moksa and mukti depending upon the various paradigms. The schools of Yoga are a complex of doctrines and psychophysical rites far beyond the simple methods to be found in the Upanishads, where only four are mentioned – hearing (or reading) the truth of the Upanishads, reflecting upon it and then meditating upon the truths revealed by contemplation. The fourth is the chanting of the sacred syllable OM while meditating upon its meaning. Though the fecund intelligence of the Hindu sages has produced a bewildering range of ideas that might seem fuel for endless controversy, the Darshanas do not contradict each other. A little creative thinking will reveal that for the most part, they are all saying the same thing, but in different ways. Life is characterized by infinite aspects, so in the same way, Lakshmi, Kali, Sri, Rada, Parvarti and the various consorts of God, and Krishna, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, are different aspects of a single Being. Chaitanya’s doctrine of ‘incomprehensible difference in non-difference’ to explain the One-in-the-many phenomenon can be seen as another reading of Shankara’s Maya, the inexplicable appearance of difference in the unified whole that is Brahman. Dr. Radakrishnan expressed it in this way:

“The Nyaya-Vaisesika realism, the Samkhya-Yoga dualism and the Vedantic monism, do nor differ as true and false but as more or less true….the different views are hewn out of one stone and belong to one whole, integral, entire and self-contained. No scheme of the universe can be regarded as complete if it has not the different sides of logic and physics, psychology and ethics, metaphysics and religion.”

Basically, all the Bhakti schools teach devotion to a personal God with auspicious attributes, the worship of which leads to moksa and mukti. Jnana does not deny this but places emphasis on an Absolute Brahman without attributes and the power of an individual to achieve both moksa and mukti by knowledge alone. Shankara’s Vedanta is a masterpiece of transcendental philosophy that has developed a sound but subtle metaphysic that can stand on its own without the support of a theology. His influence on Hindu philosophy has been profound. It was probably the main factor in the decline of Buddhism in India.

In spite of his immense impact on Hindu culture, some 300 years after Shankara’s death there was a movement away from Jnana towards devotional theism, led by the gurus of the Bhakti school for whom the worship of a personal God was essential.

While Madhava was a strict dualist and argued against Shankara’s Jnana, Ramanuja took a less stringent approach, though arguing against Shankara’s monism, Jnana and maya. Being a sort of compromise between the extremes of dualism and monism his system became known as Qualified non-dualism.

Naturally, it was Shankara’s doctrine of maya the Bhakti schools objected to most strongly, for it is essential to the integrity of their philosophies that the world, God and soul be real in an

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ultimate sense, and distinct from each other. Ignorance and bondage must be ultimately real as well and God the only solution to the evils of ignorance and suffering, as dispenser of justice, knowledge, salvation and liberation. To the Bhakti schools Brahman is not an impersonal Absolute but a Divine Person, Ishvara, - all resplendent, full of love and bliss, who out of infinite compassion, manifests many times in each cycle of creation to deliver evolved jivas into moksa. These world teachers should be worshiped as God incarnate (Avatars).

One of the fascinating aspects of a study of Vedanta is to see how these great minds tackled the problems of all time – is there a God? is the Creator both the material and the efficient cause of the universe?, where did the idea of Oneness come from in the face of the manifest multiplicity and diversity? How does God relate to the world? What is the nature of the individual? What is life and what is our role in it? What is the purpose of it all? Next we will see how Ramanuja solved these problems.

Ramanuja’s Visistadvaita Vedanta‘The Lord God, all pervading and omnipresent, dwells in the heart of all beings. Full of grace, he ultimately gives liberation to all creatures by turning their face towards himself.’ The Svetesvatara Upanishad.

According to tradition, Ramanuja lived from 1017AD to 1137 AD – a life span of 120 years. His life is well recorded and very interesting. It was an amazing life, to say the least. At sixteen a guru who taught a type of Advaita accepted him. He was a brilliant student, but as time passed he began to argue with his teacher on subtle points of philosophy. They fell out and he left to go wandering, teaching and learning as he went, finally renouncing the world and becoming a Sannyasi (monk).

There is a story about Ramanuja getting a powerful mantra from his Bhakti guru who told him never to reveal it to anybody else, for though they would obtain salvation, Ramanuja would be consigned to hell if he did so. Ramanuja hastened to the temple calling a crowd of people about him, shouting, “Listen! My guru has given me a mantra that produces liberation. Here it is! ‘Om namo Narayanaya’. When his guru rebuked him for disobedience Ramanuja replied, “ If by my damnation so many can be saved, damnation is my supreme desire!” Whether this story is true or not, Ramanuja’s life was certainly full of noble self-sacrifice.

Ramanuja was born about 30 miles south of Madras and though he wandered all over India, teaching and founding temples, his influence is centered in the south. He wrote 9 books, one of which is his monumental commentary on the Brahma Sutras.

It should be easy for most Christians to understand Ramanuja’s theology for it teaches the Lordship of God, worship as the sole means of salvation, and worship of the incarnations of God (Avatars). To Hindus Christ is but one of the descents of God, while for most Christians, there has been only one, a doctrine considered by Hindus as a limitation imposed upon God.

With superlative insight, Ramanuja developed a philosophy and metaphysic consistent with the Upanishads. It has become a major influence in Hindu culture, philosophy and religion.

Three centuries after Shankara’s brilliant statement of the Advaita standpoint, Bhaskara and Ramanuja were the first philosophers to expound a criticism of its main themes. Ramanuja’s interpretations of the Brahma Sutras were so profound that later scholars could add little, though the work of Bhaskara, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Chaitanya add interesting aspects to Ramanuja’s philosophy.

Ramanuja does not extol unitary consciousness, saying that all consciousness is dual and relative for it is characterized by the duality of subject and object, knower and known. Bhaktas want to affirm this relative consciousness in order for the jiva to experience the joy of knowing the bliss and love of Brahman. The great Avatar, Ramakrishna (1836-1886) expressed this by saying, “I don’t want to be sugar! (Jnana) I want to taste sugar!” (Bhakti). Brahman is identical with His creative power (Shakti) but different at the same time – like milk and

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its whiteness, fire and light, water and wetness. It is the shakti energy that manifests the universe and evolves creation and the jivas, while Brahman remains whole and unaffected. Hence Brahman is both the efficient and the material cause of the universe. Further, Ishvara has the same relation to the universe as the soul has to the body. Therefore, the universe is the body of Brahman. A little like the relationship of a single cell to the body as a whole. The cell is separate, but is one with the whole and cannot exist without it. In the same way, the jivas relate to Brahman as the soul and the oversoul. Because the jivas have free will they can act in harmony with rita, the dharma of the universe or go against it. So their acts being either good or bad, in harmony with dharma or not, activate the law of karma, but Brahman is not affected by either. The divine shakti manifests universe after universe in cycle after cycle without beginning or end in order to fulfil the huge variety of desires of the evolving jivas. Creation is a field of action allowing for the play of karma and its fruits. This is a marvelous, playful explanation of creation known as the Ras lila, the Play of God.

The duty of a jiva is to serve Ishvara in whatever position its karma has placed it in, and according to its Swardharma, the law of its own nature. According to Ramanuja ignorance is a form of forgetting. The exercise of egocentric free will is the cause of us forgetting our divine origin. This in turn, is the cause of evil, sin and suffering as well as our perpetual restlessness and sense of something missing. Recall that the explanations from the other darshanas include Atman being identified with mind, Atman confused with the categories, or Purusha being confused with Prakriti. It is therefore the nature of humans to be discontent for we are constantly aware of a lack, of what, we cannot tell, for we have forgotten. We seek to fill the unknown void with all manner of things, each one proving false because we seek for the Golden Fleece in a world where all the fleeces happen to be black. All the schools of Vedanta affirm that the solution to this gnawing need cannot be found in externals, even scripture, belief, philosophy or religion, but only in the depth of our own Self.

Egocentric will is the force that binds the jiva to karma, suffering and ignorance. The solution to our distress is the surrender of the individual will to God, in which case it loses its capacity to bind. This is only made possible by the grace of Sri, the consort of Vishnu. Total self-surrender is moksa.

Advaita’s doctrine of maya attempts to solve the problem of the oneness of Brahman by affirming that it is not compromised by the diversity of differences because the relative diversity is an illusion and as such, is not real. Ramanuja criticized this doctrine affirming that the unity of Brahman is not achieved by denying reality to diversity, but by diversity being subordinated to an intrinsic unity. This is known as Visistadvaita. The term is usually translated as ‘qualified non-dualism’ but does not state Ramanuja’s key doctrine clearly. According to Sanscrit scholars a better term would be ‘non-duality of the qualified whole’, which I hope will be understood by the end of this section.

Ramanuja’s philosophy is a blend of traditional Vedantic methodology and dialectic with the devotional Bhakti of the devotees of Lord Vishnu known in the south as Alvars. Vishnu is the second person of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu is the aspect of God whose energy maintains creation and preserves dharma. In order to do so, Vishnu enters history in each age to preserve righteousness. The great Avatars Rama and Krishna are therefore known as incarnations of Vishnu and the religion is known as Vaishnavism. Ramanuja’s great contribution to this religion was to give it a sound basis of philosophy and metaphysic.

To Ramanuja the Brahman of the Upanishads became the Lord Narayana-Vishnu, the Divine Person, whose essences and attributes are Knowledge, Bliss, Truth, Purity, and Infinity, and whose powers are Omniscience, Omnipotence, Lordship, Creative Power, Immutability and Splendor. His auspicious qualities are infinite, but are led by Grandeur, Generosity and Compassion. Amongst this list of the Lord’s attributes are nature (Jagrat) and the totality of individual souls (jivas). At this point Ramanuja’s theology requires the support of metaphysics to answer the age-old

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questions of relationship.The contradictions produced by the contrast of common experience to theories of theology

have always been the main task of Vedantic philosophers. The problem of showing how unity can exist in the face of multiplicity and how God as a perfect, pure, omniscient being can be the creator of a world in which his creatures are subject to suffering, evil, disease and sin must be answered. While belief in God can be a matter of faith, the human intellect demands that contradictions be resolved. No matter how this is expressed, it is always one of relationship.

Ramanuja proposes two ideas – that nature (jagrat) and jivas are totally and irrevocably dependent entities eternally different from Brahman, while Brahman is totally independent of both. Individual jivas and jagrat might undergo change but their totalities remain unmodified in an inseparable and integral unity because one cannot exist without the other. These irrevocably dependent relationships are expressed as the relationship as the soul is to the body, a principle and its subordinate, a substance to its mode of being, and a whole to its qualifications. Therefore, jiva and jagrat together, is the cosmic body of Brahman, eternally dependent but in inseparable relation. Just as the soul is pure, above and unaffected by the corruption of mind and body, so Brahman has no part or contact with the imperfections of life, which are due to the mass karma generated by the actions of jivas.

Unlike the Purusha/Prakriti dualism of the Samkhya, Vedanta affirms Brahman is the efficient and the material cause of the universe, as a spider is both the efficient and material cause of its web. Ramanuja follows Samkhya cosmology in the main, but the categories are denied independent existence. They are all in inseparable dependence as a unity with Brahman, whose will is the efficient cause of the transformations of evolution. The question as to the purpose of it all is answered by the Ras lila, implying no ulterior motive but a spontaneous, creative act as a happy person might sing a song or a joyous person dance. The suffering involved in this sport of God is balanced by many satisfactions, pleasures and joys and is part of the jivas evolutionary process. The compassionate grace of God is always silently working to lead jivas onto the spiritual path through which they can free themselves from the limitations imposed by nature.

There is much more to Ramanuja’s theology as each aspect of Brahman’s nature, attributes, and powers are explained. It is possibly the most logical, comprehensive theology of all. The metaphysics list six substances (Dravyas) the most important of which is Ishvara, the substratum of all attributes. Others are jiva, attributive consciousness (Dharmabhuta-Jnana) basic, non-material stuff (Suddhasatva), time (Kala) and Prakriti. The first four are sentient, (Ajada). The last two are insentient (Jada). (The jiva has some characteristics shared with Brahman and some determined by its own nature). Its higher nature is as a monad – self conscious and luminous, sentiency, bliss, self-awareness and agency. The attributes that separate the jiva from Brahman are its separate nature, being an accessory, needing support and being dependent, subservient and subordinate. The consciousness of the jiva is two-fold, self-revealing and attribute revealing. In this way it is simultaneously aware of being conscious and being conscious of attributes. Self-consciousness is substance-consciousness. God is pure knowledge–substance in the same way, but His knowledge is not limited by karma, space or time and is infinite. This knowledge is present in the jiva but is contracted to an infinitesimal speck by ignorance and karma. However, it is a potential that can expand to embrace Ishvara if a pure religious life is lived and the grace of Narayana-Vishnu is obtained.

The concept of Prakriti is different in this system because it is insentient (jada) while in the Samkhya system it is independent and dynamic. Prakriti is the substratum of the gunas and dependent on the will of Ishvara, causing it to undergo cyclic periods of manifestation and dissolution over vast periods of time. Ramanuja describes this process in detail for it has a bearing on karma, jivas, and avidya.

Ramanuja’s ideas about time and satva guna are unusual and original. Time is not part of Prakriti and so does not undergo creation or dissolution. Rather, it is an aspect of the Supreme

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Being residing in Ishvara as a unique glory. It is through time as a glory of Ishvara, that Ishvara controls evolution and the manifestation and dissolution of the universe.

Descriptions of the Vaishnavite ideas of heaven are not unlike those of other dualistic devotional religions. Narayana-Vishnu is enthroned in glory surrounded by attendants, Gods and Goddesses, liberated jivas in everlasting splendor and perfection. What is the stuff of all this? Of what is the glorious body of Vishnu composed? Ramanuja explains that it is a special manifestation of Suddha-satva, reasoning that satva cannot be pure in Prakriti because a little of the other gunas must inhere in it. Therefore there must be a form of satva outside Prakriti, a pure satva substance he calls Suddha-satva. It is an immaculate non-material stuff from which heaven and the bodies of Narayana-Vishnu are composed.

Ramanuja wrote much on the nature and grace of Ishvara and the power of surrender to Him, which is open to all no matter how ignorant, simple and uneducated. He advocated the practice of Karma and Jnana Yoga and of course, Bhakti Yoga about which he gave many special instructions. Much of the information contained in the section about Bhakti Yoga is from the Vaishnavite traditions.

Discussion

“The world is so full of a number of things, I am sure we should all be as happy as Kings!” But it is not so. There is something in us that seeks for a single entity; a unifying principle within diversity. In science it is expressed as a search for the ultimate particle, the one element from which all the others have sprung, or the one thing from which all chemical compounds have evolved. If it were successful, that branch of science could go no further. We have understood how the Hindu sages have pondered this problem. Nyaya/Vaisesika attempted, by classifying differences to arrive at a unified knowledge. Samkhya lists the 24 cosmic principles of creation with a unifying principle called Purusha. Difference, suffering and limitation could be transcended by identification with Purusha. Yoga seeks to unify two principles that are apparently different but are of the same nature – Atman and Brahman, to achieve the same end. Madhava teaches that difference is ultimate and the creation is utterly other than the creator like a pot is to a potter. Worship and direct experience of God (Aparoksa) can mitigate the suffering in it by God’s grace alone. Ramanuja saw difference as springing from the intrinsic creative power of Brahman, so all diversity is a modification of it as yogurt is a modification of milk, not the same, but not different. It is a philosophy of identity-in-difference. Shankara’s maya solved the problem and other difficult philosophical problems in an entirely different way.

So much rhetoric has been expended in the support of one or the other of the Vedantic schools that the fact they have a major feature in common – a two-tiered definition of the universe – has often been overlooked. For the dualistic and qualified non-dualistic schools it is expressed as the independent entity (Brahman) and the dependent entities (jiva and jagrat). In the non-dualistic schools the difference is between the absolutely real (Brahman) and the inexplicable, indeterminate appearance of ‘relative reality’; the Paramarthica and Vyavaharika levels of reality. This is more easily understood in this century because the paradigms of science have revealed the same inexplicable duplicity of nature. It could be said that there are two physics; one of Newton and one of Einstein, for the laws of Newton’s physics cannot explain what goes on in the atom. There is also the conflict between Relativity theory and Quantum Mechanics though both are equally applicable within their fields – Relativity for the universe and Quantum for the atom. The fundamental duplicity is apparent as well in the nature of light, for in some experiments it behaves like a wave and in others like a particle. Its real nature is indeterminate. This is an expression of maya. The same is true of attempts to measure the velocity of an electron. If the velocity is established its position is lost and if its position is determined its velocity is unobtainable, so the two cannot be

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determined together. The two-tiered levels of Vedanta can be understood as expressing the same truth as the mechanical and quantum theory, the conflicting two-tiered levels of physics, the two interpretations of light and the inexplicable, indeterminate nature of maya. Perhaps there is an absolute limit to scientific inquiry, as Vedanta would tend to suggest. It could be that nuclear physics is at an impasse because this limit has been reached, as the implications of String Theory seem to suggest. String theory conceives subatomic matter to be vibrations of minute ‘strings’ of energy and not particles. Its implications resolve the contradictions between relativity and quantum theory. In this case the attempt to unify the contradictions with a theory that resolves the conflicts produced even more contradictions. Five different mathematical formula to express it and up to eleven dimensions to name a few. Perhaps nuclear science is on the verge of transcending itself for the human mind becomes religious whenever it reaches the end of its tether. From the Vedantic stand point the problem is inevitable because science has hitherto insisted on an inquiry into the nature of the known without first understanding the nature of the knower. The complicity of the knower in what is called ‘the known’ has now become apparent. Once again science has vindicated the ancient perceptions of the Hindu sages. In this context it is fascinating to note that String Theory is a scientific expression of the Gunas (strings) of Samkhya.

No matter how variously expressed, Vedanta has one common theme that unifies the differences – the end that justifies all means – Atma Jnana, Self-Realisation. It is not a science of the phenomena of external nature, but the science of the Self. Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta‘As fire, though one, takes the shape of every object which it consumes, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which it dwells.’ The Katha Upanishad.

Amongst western students of Vedanta there are many who regard Advaita as the only Vedanta and Shankara as an uncompromising Jnani antagonistic to devotion to a deity. Both are misconceptions encouraged by a limited reading of the texts.

In his ‘Shivananda Lahiri’ Shankara has written: “ A man caught in a current seeks the shore; a tired traveler, the shade of a tree; one

caught in the rain, his comfortable home; a person in quest of hospitality, a householder; a poverty-stricken person, a charitable and wealthy man; a person in dense darkness, a lamp; and one exposed to cold, a well fired hearth. In the same way, O my mind, seek the lotus feet of Shiva – the feet that destroy all fear. That state of mind is called Bhakti wherein all movements of thought go automatically to the lotus feet of the Lord and stick to them for ever…” Those of us brought up in the age of scientific rationalism and agnosticism find the extreme

monism of Advaita attractive because it avoids the effusions, limitations and conflicts of popular religions, which have become distasteful. The common misreadings of Advaita indicate that the understanding of the Advaita darshana requires the exercise of great discrimination. Therefore hasty conclusions are best avoided until deeper understandings have had time to mature.

Though intelligent discrimination is the means par excellence in Advaita, Shankara’s writings show that he was not an uncompromising Jnani. He also wrote hymns and prayers to various deities, thus admitting the efficacy of these things in the religious life. But actual realisation of Brahman is other than even a religious life, transcending as it does everything relative.

Scholars dispute his birth date but it was possibly about 686 AD, in Kalidar in south India. Authentic information about his life is scarce though anecdotes abound. He was a born genius who could read at age two, and had mastered the Vedas at eight. At ten he was a well-known philosopher to whom others came to debate abstruse points of Vedanta. His father died when Shankara was a young man, the experience causing him to ponder over the mystery of death and the meaning of life. He determined to forsake all to discover the Truth so he became a wandering sanyassin. His father’s death also inspired a poem, two stanzas of which are:‘Behold the folly of man:

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In childhood busy with toys,In youth bewitched by love,In old age bowed down with cares –And always unmindful of the Lord!The hours fly, the seasons roll, life ebbs,But the breeze of hope blows ever in his heart.

…Be not vain of thy wealth,Or of family, or of thy youth –All are fleeting, all must change,Know this and be free,Enter the joy of the Lord!”

Shankara wandered all over India teaching as he went. He founded the modern Swami order of monks with an apostolic succession unbroken to this day. The four monasteries he founded still exist. He died in the Himalayas at the age of thirty-two.

The Advaita philosophers have taken the skeleton provided by Nyaya epistemology and Samkhya cosmogony, giving them new flesh. The pramanas of Nyaya epistemology were added to with subtle interpretations of the existing ones, especially inference.

According to Advaita, cognition of a hill being alight because of smoke seen is not a matter of simple inference, but a composite of inference and perception. The hill is an immediate perception, while fire on it is an inference produced by a projection from memory, which is a much more perceptive interpretation. To some Advaitins the mind too, is only established by inference and is not an organ as in Nyaya. It is a transient projection of the Witness (Saksi). Also a very interesting and very different idea.

While the other systems strive to account for the verification of knowledge, the Advaitins dispense with them, affirming that the validity of knowledge is spontaneous and self-evident. This is closer to the truth for experience shows there is no agent or intermediary in the process. It is a fiat of the Saksi. On the other hand, invalid knowledge is a knowledge that contradicts any other knowledge. Therefore consistency with the whole field of experience is a proof of truth. Maya being what it is, even this is provisional, for all knowledge, ‘valid’ or ‘invalid’ is contradicted by the knowledge of Brahman. Until then empirical experience is consistent within relativity, as is valid knowledge within different frames of reference, as quantum theory affirms.

Nyaya dualists see cause as different from the effect, while some schools of Vedanta see effects as modifications of the cause. In Advaita, cause and effect are merely conventions of maya, which is why the question of the cause of creation cannot be answered. It is like asking, ‘What is the cause of this dream?’ while one is dreaming. In this way the categories of Samkhya and Nyaya are given new meaning.

Advaita epistemology lists six pramanas: perception (pratyaksa), inference (anumana) verbal testimony (sabda), comparison (upamana) postulation (arthapatti) and non-apprehension (anupalabhdi) As previously expressed, other systems include the last three pramanas in inference while Advaita points out that they are very different and cannot be so included. The Nyaya philosophers also include comparison as a means of valid knowledge but the Advaitins deny that it is not perception or inference but a distinct means of knowledge.

Postulation is a presumption of an unknown fact based upon a know fact. For instance: Fred is fat but is never seen to eat during the day. One cannot get fat by not eating; hence the presumption is that Fred does all his eating at night. The importance of presumption is its ability to discern truth in a negative way. It is the function of knowledge that makes sense of incongruities. A text from the Upanishads reads “Then the mortal becomes immortal”. The postulation here is that the mortality of man is only apparent else the statement is meaningless. Postulation is therefore a very important means of knowledge in its own right. It is an essential aspect of language as well,

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often used by poets. This is because an assumption of secondary meaning is essential to language, as in the case of a camel being described as ‘a ship of the desert’. Without assumption the statement becomes ridiculous. In this way Advaita philosophers push analysis to its logical, or supralogical conclusion. The contribution of Advaita to psychology and epistemology is great, largely because it shows that ultimately, no amount of physiological or psychological theorizing can account for knowledge until the Atman is brought into the frame of reference, though the fiat will still remain inexplicable. (There is reference to this in the concluding discussion.)

All the darshanas investigate the nature of illusion (Adhyasa), because the understanding of erroneous cognition is essential in establishing truth. It is more important in Advaita because the interpretation reveals the nature of maya and other doctrines seminal to its metaphysics. In refuting the theories of other systems in establishing its own, Advaita epistemology reaches new heights, the understanding of them makes the subtleties of Advaita metaphysics clear. According to Shankara, no illusion is possible without a substratum, and there cannot be a cognition of that which is absolutely false. And according to Vacaspati ‘There cannot be an illusion where the basis is fully apprehended or not apprehended at all.’ So Advaita differs from all the others by the theory of ‘the apprehension of the indefinable.’ This means that the illusory object is a creation of anti-knowledge (Ajnana) upon a necessary substratum that is only vaguely perceived due to ajnana. When the substratum is accurately perceived, the illusion, along with ajnana, is sublated. True knowledge dawns. The illusory object, (say the idea of a snake imposed upon a coil of rope) cannot be real because it is ephemeral, and it cannot be completely unreal, since it is experienced. Therefore, the illusory object is therefore indefinable. The veiling power of ajnana is the cause of all illusion and erroneous cognition, but as the products are neither real nor unreal so is the cause. Illusion is not just an adventitious accident due to errors of perception but is ever present, for the existence of the universe as of all personal experience is an illusory superimposition upon Brahman. It follows that the notion of being a separate ego is likewise a case of perennial delusion. As a particular illusion is instantly sublated when the reality is known (rope appears as rope and not as snake) personal delusion (Avidya) and cosmic illusion (Ajnana) disappear when the true Self is realized. Even with this brief outline, the very convincing consistency of epistemology, psychology and metaphysics in Advaita can be seen. It is one of the reasons why Shankara is regarded so highly. There are marvelous insights to be gained by a study of the epistemology and metaphysics of Advaita. Avoiding technical terms and detail where it is reasonably possible to omit them, an overview of the more significant aspects of Advaita Vedanta follows.

Shankara summed up the essence of his philosophy in the BrahmaJnanavalimala; “Brahman, the absolute existence, knowledge, and bliss is real. The universe is not real. Atman and Brahman are one”. A challenging statement to say the least. The same thing is said in the Upanishads though it is not worked out. It is only explicable to Shankara on the basis of his concepts of maya and superimposition (Vivata), on a two-tiered structure of reality (Paramarthica and Vyavaharika). This is the empirical and transcendental levels that are reflected in the nature of maya, jiva and jagrat. In the jiva, for instance, they appear as the relative ego (empirical existence) and the intuition of the Atman - the undeniable sense of identity as ‘I exist’, (transcendental existence). He reasons that to be real, a thing must be beyond change and never cease to exist. Nothing temporal therefore, no matter how subtle or tenuous, or relatively permanent can be absolutely real if it does not meet this criteria. Absolute reality implies absolute existence and absolute intelligence because it is not possible to exist without awareness. This fact is the core of our own existence. This simple fact is the Atman. Contrasted to it, life is contradictory, which is the nature of maya. All the problems of philosophy and life, and of relationship, such as God and the world, universe and the self, individual to nature, one opposite to another, and substance to quality, cannot be unanimously resolved because they are all delusory dualities inhering in the ever-present All. Therefore, every object of knowledge based upon these dualities, whether internal or external, are brief modifications in the mind-stuff and cannot be real. That does not mean however, that they

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do not exist. Any apparent existence is derived from the presence of the Atman – the one real existence, known as the Saksi or Witness when it relates to experience in the three states of existence – waking, dream and dreamless sleep. If there were not a transcendental, permanent entity behind everything, nothing could be known. The mind cannot be the medium for it is part of the flux and one movement in flux cannot apprehend another in flux. The consciousness that makes it all possible is the Atman, which the average person intuits as their existence. We may be unsure of many things but we cannot doubt our own existence. As obscure as this fact is to most of us, the Atman is the only thing we really know or can be sure of. It is obscure to us because we are by habit, only aware of objects and the Atman is not an object of knowledge. It is knowledge itself.

Vedanta affirms that all appearances are different aspects of the One. Everything within the field of maya is objective to the one real subject, the Atman. Jiva, manas and the antakarana are all objective to the one ever present Witness. Thus Shankara avoids the problems of idealism and realism for they depend on the difference of mind and matter as separate realities.

Though all our experience is not real in the absolute sense, it carries a conviction of authenticity though this too, is fragmented and temporal. It is neither real nor unreal, an actuality or an illusion. It is indeterminate, and inexplicable. It is of the nature of magic – and this is maya. Simply put, the world–appearance is a delusion based upon the reality of Brahman. It is the One thing all apparent difference depends upon. The great physicist Erwin Schrodinger described this simply in his book ‘What is life?’

“Consciousness is never experienced in the plural, only in the singular…Consciousness is a singular of which the plural is unknown; that there is only one thing and that, what seems to be a plurality is merely a series of different aspects of this one thing, produced by a deception.”Thus a famous 20th century physicist describes a strand in the Golden Thread. The concept

of maya also means that there can be no principle within duality by which the contradictions inherent in it can be resolved. They must be simply accepted.

Though Ishvara is the Lord of creation he is not the same as the stern Lawgiver of the Semitic traditions. Ishvara, rita and dharma are part of creation and the play of maya. Other darshanas give ingenious arguments to explain evil. Maya means that as dharma is a part of creation adharma must be as well. Dualities are not opposites in the strict sense because they are complementary. Whatever the ego regards as pleasant is called good. Whatever the ego regards as unpleasant is called bad. Great goodness is called virtue or dharma; great badness is called evil. Both must exist as part of the same maya. Therefore it is as absurd to ask ‘Why does God allow evil?’ as it is to ask ‘Why does God allow good?’ The jiva is totally responsible for the good or bad conditions of life because these are the result of actions and must be accepted as well. It follows that there is no point in trying to bargain with Ishvara, or think that a bit of worship will act like an insurance policy, for karma rules all. If it is action that has bound us, action can free us as well. The disciplines of Jnana Yoga can ultimately free us from all karma, ‘good’ or ‘bad’. This is the end-point of evolution.

In his ‘Vivekachudamani’ Shankara describes this highest state of consciousness (Nirvakalpa Samadhi):

“ The ego has disappeared. I have realized my identity with Brahman, and so all my desires have melted away. I have risen above my ignorance and my knowledge of this seeming universe. What is this joy that I feel? Who shall measure it? I know nothing but joy, limitless, unbounded! The ocean of Brahman is full of nectar – the joy of the Atman. The treasure I have found there cannot be described in words. The mind cannot conceive of it. The mind fell like a hailstone into that vast expanse of Brahman’s ocean. Touching one drop of it, I melted away and became one with Brahman. And now, as I return to human consciousness, I abide in the joy of the Atman.

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Where is this universe? Who took it away? Has it merged in something else? Awhile ago I beheld it – now it exists no longer. This is wonderful indeed! Here is the ocean of Brahman, full of endless joy. How can I accept or reject anything? Is there anything distinct or apart from Brahman? Now, finally and clearly I know that I am the Atman whose nature is eternal joy. I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing that is separate from me.”

Discussion

Unlike dogmatic religions that threaten dire consequences for those who do not give assent to a belief system, Vedanta is a scientific inquiry into the nature of reality. It is scientific because it proposes rational models of reality which should not be taken as dogma, but proved by personal realisation. This is achieved by experiments in discrimination where every aspect of existence is subjected to acute scrutiny and the results of observation and contemplation meditated upon until they reveal the truth. (Other disciplines have been outlined in the section on Jnana Yoga).

Shankara’s doctrines have far reaching significance. To realize the paradox of maya makes it difficult to accept anything as immutable truth fixed for all time in that form. Consequently it is impossible to be prejudiced, fanatical or to be a bigot.

Dualistic schools of Vedanta explain the problems of relationship with ingenious arguments. If God has transformed himself into the universe he has undergone change, so he can no longer be regarded as the ultimate reality. Or if the infinite has created the finite, then the infinite is infinite no longer. Shankara’s answer to these problems is that Brahman has not created the universe and that questions as to cause and effect and ideas of time and space are relative notions and cannot apply to absolutes. Shankara’s superimposition resolves the problem of cause and the relationship between God and creation in a simple and elegant way. Further, arguments about the relationship between Brahman and the universe are likewise pointless because they are mutually exclusive, for when the universe exists to a consciousness Brahman is unknown, and when Brahman is known the universe disappears. As they never appear in concert, there can be no question of a relation between them.

Non-dualism has many other meanings when it is realized that it is the concept of dualistic opposites that is the cause of confusions in life as in philosophy. Advaitic non-dualism shows that the problems of the relationship between mind and matter, subject and object, and all others, is solved when it is realized that they are not different things in opposition to each other. Arguing about these relationships is like arguing about the relationship of one side of a coin to the other. In the light of these concepts, other systems, and especially western philosophy, seem to be struggling to bridge gaps which don’t really exist, to unify parts of a single whole, or reconcile differences between opposites that are only apparent.

The relationship between Brahman and maya and the nature of maya itself is unknowable, indefinable and inexplicable, so here too, no arguments are indulged in, for though the truth might be realized in higher states of consciousness, it cannot be explained in words. There are fascinating ramifications of Shankara’s philosophy that can be explored in relation to science, and other aspects of learning, some of which follow.

Relativity is a fact of science. Maya is the fact expressed in philosophy. Relativity, amongst other things, means that there is no absolute measure for all measurements depend upon the frame of reference in a space-time continuum. The Lorentz-Fitzgerald experiment proved that a moving metal bar contracts in the direction of movement relative to the speed. The greater the velocity the shorter it becomes. One is tempted to ask, ” What is the true length of the rod?” The answer of physics is that there is no true length as the measurement varies depending on the frame of reference. I can imagine Shankara would exclaim, “I told you so! There can be no absolute measures, absolute rights or wrongs in maya.” This is a humbling realisation that puts everything in the right perspective. No reading of reality is absolutely true – no doctrine, no belief system, no

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religion, no philosophy. This realisation makes for true open-mindedness, tolerance and acceptance. It has deeper implications. All the ideas, attitudes and beliefs a person has are expressions of their karma. Is the world a person inhabits a projection of them selves? If so, there is no one else to blame or praise for the way things are. To realize this is to know right responsibility and to accept with grace all the conflicting opinions of others, and to be truly magnanimous.

Amongst all the things we think we know there is only one which cannot be disputed and that is that we exist. Whence comes this absolute conviction in the face of constant inner and outer change? It is the intuition of the Atman. In this way, Brahman is apparent to our consciousness, though we are not aware of this fact. Upon this sense of “I am” we superimpose the ego-idea and with it, everything else – history, family, proclivities, interests, personality etc. The moment we learn to impose the notions ‘I am me’ ‘I am separate’, ‘I am an ego’ the world and all its diversity has come into existence. Ego and world-appearance are interdependent like light and shade. When the ego-idea goes, the whole of creation undergoes a transformation.

As there is an apparent creation, so there must be an apparent creative principle. This is Ishvara, Brahman seen from within the relative ignorance of maya. As it is stated in the Pancadasi:

“The will of the Lord, which is a mode of maya, is instrumental in the act of creation; the will of the jiva, which is a mode of the mind, is instrumental in the act of experience. While the thing created by Ishvara, such as a gem, remains identical, its experience varies because of the differences in the mental states of the experiencer. One may rejoice in getting the gem, another may grieve for not getting it, while a third who is indifferent to it sees it without joy or grief. The three feelings of joy, grief and indifference in relation to the gem are created by the jiva whereas the gem that is common to them is created by Ishvara.”

The duality of a relative God and Brahman is the old problem of substance and qualities that so intrigued the Nyaya, Vaishesica and Samkhya philosophers. In this case Brahman is the absolute substratum and Ishvara the superlative qualities. Thus Shankara proposed a two-tiered reality, an idea that seems strange until it is realized that it refers to an apparent and an actual reality. Thus God exists as Ishvara, but is not real in the same way Brahman is.

That our sensory life is by nature a partial representation of an unknown ‘something’ is a fact of science. From the infinitely varied vibrations pouring about us, we read an infinitesimal portion and call it the universe. This is what the word maya means – to measure. In this way we convert the unknown immensity (Brahman) into the known. Thus the infinite and eternal appear as blips in our nervous system. Nor do objects exist only as we interpret them. They are created by the limitation of sensory systems. If our sense were sensitive to a wider band of wavelengths we would be living in an apparently different universe. How the universe is created from the excitation of nerve cells (blips in the brain) is inexplicable, except as an act of magic that can never be understood by the brain in which it occurs. Consequently, no amount of scientific investigation of the Pramanas can reveal the truth about knowledge. Though the pramanas are interpreted by Advaita philosophers such as Dharmaraja Adhvarindra in his ‘Vedanta Paribhasa’, it is finally revealed that knowledge is pure consciousness beyond the dualities of knower, the process of knowing and the object of knowledge. This truth cannot be realized while ever the mind works within the frame of reference imposed by the conventional disciplines of epistemology.

Further, the same substance is seen by different life forms in very different ways, qualities, relationships and all. A gnat, worm, bug, fly, bird, marsupial, spirit, angel, ghost, yogi, all see the same world in their own special way, though the only ultimate substance is Brahman, beyond all sensory organs, the one substratum of knower, the process of knowing and the objects of knowledge as well. For all life forms, the universe in all its diversity is a few blips in the neurons of the brain. How do these electro-chemical changes in the brain become the entire world-experience? Also, how does this internal excitation become positioned in external time and space? These will most probably remain mysteries for all time. All this is maya. It is intricate, illusive, neither this nor that,

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existent or non-existent, real or unreal. It is the real mystery of life.From within maya eternity appears to be endless time and infinity endless space, but like all

dualities eternity and infinity are dualities of relative consciousness. With realisation, infinity is known to be no space at all and eternity without time, and both are absolute existence. Absolute existence implies absolute intelligence and the freedom of absolution is bliss (Sat (existence)chit (intelligence)ananda (bliss).

One of the mysteries of life is how the concept of an Absolute ever came to be, seeing that we can have no knowledge of it. It is true that an Absolute cannot be perceived, and it is also true that it can not be imagined either. The same can be said for the idea of God, unless an image, external or internal, is used to represent God. Nevertheless, these two powerful concepts are common ideas that have been in the mind of all races in different ways for millennia. How is it that these concepts, inimical to common experience have become a part of speech and so powerful an influence? This fact is as mysterious as the birth of language.

As a concept of philosophy, an absolute can have no parts and no attributes and so can possess nothing human, such as pain, pleasure, matter or mind. In some philosophies the Absolute is regarded as the Supreme, the Infinite and the sole Being of the Universe. This seems to make it utterly remote from all things human, though if it is considered as the sole Being of the Universe, it follows that it must be the sole Being of human beings as well. If it is the one Being of all beings, it is still too remote for most minds to grasp. According to Hindu religious philosophies, this is the reason the Impersonal Absolute is regarded by the human mind as a personal God – who creates, preserves and destroys the universe, who is its material and efficient cause and is the epitome of all that is most beautiful and splendid.

This absolute is expressed in life in three themes, though in so many different ways as to make the variations unrecognizable. The great theme gets lost in the particulars. Simply put, all creatures know that they exist and are attracted to this or that, and all creatures seek happiness in one way or another, so all life can be said to be an expression of existence, attraction, and fulfillment. This trinity is the Great Theme. It is so pervasive that it can be read in thousands of different ways from the highest to the lowest. As God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost – Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, existence, intelligence, and bliss (Satchitananda) – energy, love and beauty – spirit, mind, and body, and at its lowest as ego, desire and satiation. When the trinity is at its most sublime and highest, it is the sum total of all life and so becomes Ishvara, the Supreme Person.

According to the Tantras, the Energy-Love-Beauty trinity of the universe is the Infinite Mother of all, the Great Goddess, omniscient yet beyond, omnipotent yet separate, the Soul of our souls and yet other than us. She is the Mother of the universe for She has given it birth and guides Her wayward children through the vicissitudes of the millennia to ultimate freedom. It is through Her will that the sun shines and the clouds rain and death is the meaning of life. She is the cause of all causes, the effect of all effects, action and the fruit of all action. Guided by Her infallible Will we manufacture our lives though our own actions to reap what we sow, and when we have suffered enough, to seek to be free from Her laws.

In Her is the only freedom, so the motive power behind all action is freedom, for it is the energy of evolution that impels us in all things. This universal struggle working within nature finds it highest expression in our conscious determination to be free. It is the beginning of religion.

For the Hindu, work, worship and knowledge is the trinity that manifests a religious life. Work is the constant effort to do nothing but good to others and to labour against all that is weak, dishonest and egocentric in our selves. Worship is to serve others and to spend spare time in worship, prayer, study and meditation.Knowledge is to apply oneself to the study of philosophy and scripture, but mostly to deep contemplation and meditation through which the intuition flowers into realisation. One then takes the slow, random, torturous paths of natural evolution into one’s own hands and speeds towards the fulfillment of the divine love, knowledge and freedom we have blindly sought in a thousand dead

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ends. As Carl Jung wrote in his ‘Modern Man in Search of a Soul’:

“There is nothing that can free us…except that opposite urge of life, the spirit. It is not the children of the flesh but “the children of God” who know freedom…That is what Freud would never learn, and what all those who share his outlook forbid themselves to learn. At least they never find the key to this knowledge…We moderns are faced with the necessity of rediscovering the life of the spirit; we must experience it anew for ourselves. It is the only way we can break the spell that binds us to the cycle of biological events.”Those who aspire to the highest realisation are bold indeed. Whatever the level of aspiration,

pray with the illumined sage who wrote the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:

“From darkness lead me to light, From the unreal lead me to the real, From death lead me to immortality!” (Perhaps it should be mentioned that immortality is not the mortal existing forever, but the consciousness of mortality ceasing to exist.) The spirit of modern Vedanta has been expressed by the great Swami Vivekananda who shocked his American audience when he told them:

“There is disease, disaster, old age and inevitable death, everywhere, always. What makes you fearless in the face of all this? …When you have realized what you are – that infinite spirit, deathless, birthless. Him no fire can burn, no instrument hurt, no poison kill. Not theory mind you! Not reading books, not parroting! My old master (Ramakrishna) used to say, ‘You can teach a parrot to say mantras, but when a cat comes near it, it squawks’. You may read all the scriptures, pray all the time, worship all the Gods that exist, but unless you realize your own Self there is no freedom. Not talking, theorizing, argumentation, but actual realisation. No more vain arguments!”

Epilogue About Spiritual endeavour

The following section is for those readers who may be inspired to seek to untangle themselves from the meshes of their karma and be free through self-knowledge and meditation

One reason that the sages’ spirituality is so right for the 21st. Century is that there is a great similarity between the spiritual quest and the scientific method. Nothing must be taken for granted and intelligent doubt is important. Just as a scientist needs explicit faith in the axioms in which he works, so a person on a spiritual quest must have faith in them selves and the possibility of attaining the goal. As a scientist sets out to verify a proposition by undertaking an experiment, the spiritual aspirant follows the protocol of the methods that produced the results by the original researchers. This is where a Guru’s advice is needed. When you have all the necessary data and methodology, you have to set out alone, following the operational instructions.

At variance with advice in some books on the subject, true spiritual meditation does not involve imagining pretty scenes, or mentally repeating affirmations of principles deemed important. Mysticism, occultism, spiritualism and rituals require forms of imagination, whereas true spiritual meditation seeks to transcend the imagination because it is conditioned by false material images and notions. Contrary to meditations recommended by some mystics, occultists and spiritualists, spiritual meditation is not an attempt at hypnotizing one’s self into affirming certain ideas. On the contrary, it is an effort to be free from the limitations of ideas. We are hypnotized by the known. Meditation is a process of de-hypnotizing the mind.

Contemplation or cogitation are better words to describe what is usually called meditation. They are a very important part of spiritual life, as philosophical truths or the meaning of scripture is

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thought about. This requires some perspicacity, education and aptitude. Meditation requires nothing but intention and constancy. It is not complex. Rather, it is very simple. Because of our conditioning, this very fact makes it appear difficult.

The sage Patanjali defined Yoga as the cessation of mental images. This does not mean that efforts should be made to make the mind blank. That is the way to imbecility. The average mind is dissipated. The concentrated mind is calm, whole, still, without a ripple. That is the aim of meditation. Patanjali states: ‘Then the mind abides in its own nature.’ Apprehending that nature is Self-realisation.

It is heartening news to know that the ways to induce this natural state are available to all. The first thing to attend to is how you sit. If it is on a chair, the feet should be crossed, left ankle over right and the hands clasped or open on the lap, right hand over left. The spine should be straight, the neck relaxed, the chin slightly down so the head sits comfortably on the neck. The cross-legged poses of Yoga are excellent for meditation.

The simplest and easiest meditation is upon OM. Om is the sacred sound composed of the sound equivalents of the three basic forces of creation, A,U and M. The mouth is opened, the basic sound made and continued as the mouth is slowly closed while the breath flows out. Breathe in and repeat for as long as you wish. You will note that after a while the repetitions slow down. At this stage chant Om quieter and quieter until the sound becomes a whisper and the repetitions a long way apart. By that time you will be happily centred, calm and stable. Then watch the breath as it flows slowly and quietly. If the breath stops for short periods of its own accord it is a sign of success. Increase the breathing rate, open the eyes and sit quietly for a time before getting up.

All creatures unconsciously make sounds when they breathe. The human one is ‘hong–sau’. When this is repeated consciously body awareness becomes less because attention becomes centred within. It involves watching the breath as it flows in and out, intoning ‘hong’ on the in breath and ‘sau’ on the out breath. The eyes should be rolled upward slightly as though looking at a point in the middle of the forehead. The ability to focus at this point is a great aid to effective prayer. Once focused, pray for guidance and wisdom. The inversion of attention is not to be confused with introspection. The difference is that the latter is concerned with the contents of consciousness whereas introversion is the withdrawal of attention from the contents to consciousness itself. It is not tinkering with the mind or manipulating the imagination. If the attention wanders to these things, which it will, bring it back to focus on the breath.

Those of devotional nature would be happiest focusing on the heart, once the inversion of attention has come about. There they can feel the presence of the Guru or receive the guidance of God. A response may appear as the vision of glorious light, the sound of OM, the peace ‘that passeth all understanding’ or an inexplicable joy. Whatever the responses, they can be known as genuine because of the effects. They produce peace, affection and understanding. The sages warn against developing psychic powers or seeking fantastic revelations and dramatic experiences, all of which can be the result of an unbalanced mind or lifestyle.

The best times to practice are early morning, sunset and midnight but any time is favorable to the sincere. Slowly, faith, joy, and wisdom begin to colour the meditator’s life. Practices like these, coupled with regular re-reading of this text will have profound results.

By these simple methods, supported by will, determination, and study, spiritual evolution can be accelerated. Slowly your life will undergo radical change for the better. Depending where you are on the evolutionary spiral your progress will be fast or slow and tests will be few or many.

Shankara wrote that there were three great boons possible in life – A human body (OK, you’ve got that) the desire for freedom (who hasn’t?) and the guidance of a Guru. The chances are you are lacking the last boon. Seeking a Guru is an enterprise fraught with great dangers and difficulties. It is safer to give your spiritual life all you’ve got. When the time is ripe, the Guru will then seek you.

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