Evolution

Yoga Vasista describes eight stages of inner development 

The default stage is ignorance - wherein your trust the unreal to be real and the impermanent to be permanent. the veil of Maya strengthens the ego sense and emphasises this stage. suffering is the hallmark of ignorance. you need self effort to lift yourself off this stage.

Once you have realised that you live in ignorance and want to move towards wisdom to be relieved of suffering, you need a spiritual path and a Guru. the stages of growth are described as below

1. studying the scriptures - scriptures are the insights of the enlightened who share their experiences of hieghtened consciousness. studying the scriptures gives you an idea of all the poosibilites of human consciousness and inspires you to aim for it.
2. Reflection/enquiry - relfecting on the scriptures and enquiry into our life helps you to understand and rleate your life to the wisdom as prescirved by the sages
3. Non attachment/ psychological freedom - by the above steps, you slowly start developing dispassion. dispassion is a product of assimilation of knowledge. dispassion brings psychological freedom from the obligations  and temptations of the world. it also enhances the inner strength to deal with adversity
4. Loosening the grip of Vasanas - the vasanas or deeper impressions then start to  loosen their grip on the individual, so the compulsive actions slowly start becoming conscious actions as the awareness grows
5. Pure awareness or witnessing - as the awareness grows you slowly grow into witness consciousness. your responses are measured and spontaneous
6. Self knowledge - establishing in awareness leads to aatma  Gyaan or self knowledge. this is the stage when there is absolute clarity between the real and the unreal, the doer and the expereincer. this is an irreversible stage and once you are establshed in self knowledge, you cannot fall back into ignorance. duality ceases to exist or exists only as an apparent reality
7. Turiya - transcendental/ savitarka samadhi - this is the non dual state of pure being. I am ness, immersed in bliss
8. Turiyatita - Nirvitarka Samadhi - this is state beyond Turiya, it is called indescribable

This evolution is said to be influenced 50% by the company of the enlightened, 25% by self effort and 25% by. One who is established is in bliss, non dual , has no interest in living or dying, free from subject-object and does not individualise.

Freedom from Karma

Karma is action, its impression which feeds on to further actions. The source of action, the action itself and the seeds for future actions are all Karma. These are termed as Sanchita, Prarabda and Aagami Karma respectively (past, present and future Karmas) . As long as you are bound by the action and its results you are held within the limits of Karma.When you are acting on the strongest impulse in your mind, you are bound by Karma.Good Karma brings you heaven and bad karma hell.

What is Moksha or freedom

it is the state free from Karma. The purpose of life is freedom, but the repetitive cycle of birth and death is to exhaust the Karma baggage.

How to exhaust Karma

Both Sancthita and Aagami Karmas (past Karma and seed of future Karma) can be eliminated. The methods prescribed are

1. Going through the Karma - the commonest way which most people follow - takes many lifetimes to exhaust
2. Going through Karma with full awareness
3. Dropping the I - Most actions originate in the ego - the sense of Me and mine. at times when this is dropped, Karma is burnt. this happens during dreamless sleep, during meditation, singing and dancing.
4. Service - you eliminate bad karma through accumulation of good Karma. Service helps to accumulate good karma. any action that brings comfort and relief to others brings good Karma.
5. Yagya - any action that is done as a group for the upliftment of the whole. Yagna has three components - the actual ritual, Daana or charity and Sangatikarana - getting together for a noble cause. Meditating together, listening to knowledge and chanting together are all Yagyas
6. Grace - a moment of grace can burn away lifetimes of Karma. that is why the company of the enlightened is SOOO……. important
7. AKarma - non doing or non attachment to the action or results. Being of witness rather than the participant in the action; Staying with the experiencer rather than the experience.

Who is Iswara (GOD)?

Patanjali in the Yogasutras gives methods to overcome the tendencies of the mind. 

One way is the way of Action - by Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya (dispassion). Practice is that stabilises you in the present moment and Dispassion is the ability to let go, to not to be perturbed or attached to the results of the action.

The second way is by devotion or surrendering to the Lord or Ishwar.

Who is Lord?

That consciousness which is free from Karma and Klesha (suffering) is Ishwara

How do you experience the Lord? 

through the Turiya

we usually are familiar with three states of  consciousness

• Waking - mind fully awake and dominant, world is prominent and real 
• Asleep - mind absent ; absence of the world
• Dreaming - mind weakly awake,  experience a different world

There is a fourth level which is a neither awake nor asleep or dreaming OR it is a bit awake, a bit asleep and a bit dreaming. This state of transit is called Turiya - the fourth state. This is also the state of meditation/ Sudarshan Kriya. It is said that you meet GOD in this state. This state is also experienced in the few twilight moments just after waking up or just before slipping into sleep. Also if fully alert, this can be experienced at the transit between inspiration and expiration.

How do you address the Lord?

By chanting the soundless sound that indicates and includes the infinity within it - AUM

Philosophy and Darshana

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Philosophy is a Latin word means "love of knowledge". The Indian translation is Tattva Shastra - science of theories. That's what Philosophy is - just theory & concepts. Knowledge has no relevance if there's no reference. When there is no reference, there is no experience either. Words that are not followed by experience or a thirst for experience become a burden. That's how GOD has become in the modern world - a theory, a concept but not an experience. 

A seeker is one who is looking not that much to understand life, but to experience life. As he experiences, any understanding that follows has relevance and depth. Every understanding that follows an experience has an - Aha - wonder - attached to it. 

When a seeker comes across revelations, he becomes a Seer. That's why the Indian version of philosophy is called Darshana - the seeing. The One whose intuition is sharp is a Seer. Seers dont theorise they only see what is already there more clearly than the rest of us. They are discoverers. Their  power of discrimination is so mature and intelligence so sharp and untainted they can easily see what is illusion and what isnt. They give what they expereince. Unlike philosophers their aim is not to convince but to confirm. They are less logical and more intuitive. Their logic is also very special (Vitarka) than ordinary logic (Tarka). 

That's why a Master is so relevant - he not only tells but also makes you experience. He IS the knowledge. Just observing Him, you get a taste of the beyond. Everything around him seems to be so harmonious inspite of the obvious chaos. He doesnt try to convince nor does he try to force anything on you, but by being Him, just inspires.

Competition and Harmony

Many think that to be successful you need to be competitive. When we live with this notion, we see & experience competition everywhere - at school, at work, in social groups & sometimes even within family. Competition brings jealousy, insecurity, fear and the desire to dominate. It breeds exclusiveness & pumps the ego. Growth in this environment is difficult & slow. And when it happens, it is usually at the expense of others.

When you invest in harmony rather than competition, you experience friendship, inclusiveness, trust and security. In this environment you are supporting yourselves by supporting others. The collective energy makes growth fast and effortless. Individual ego expands to a collective ego. With harmony comes a sense of belongingness. With belongingness comes responsibility and with responsibility comes strength. 

So how to develop belongingness? You cannot. When the stress in the system is reduced, when the restless mind become quiet through meditation, people appear friendly and supportive; and belongingness automatically increases. Meditation increases the sensitivity to suffering so there is a willingness to attend to pain and to do everything to alleviate suffering of oneself and others 

Remember whenever you are not experiencing harmony, you are in the grip of ego. In competition there is only one winner, while in harmony everyone is a winner.

Evolution of consciouness

The stages of evolution of consciousness are from Disturbance to Peace to Happiness to Love and finally Freedom. Most humanity is distracted and disturbed with too much Rajas. As you settle into spiritual practices and adopt healthier and conducive lifestyles, Rajas is tamed and you experience more peace. As you progress further, happiness adds on to the peace. When you are able to let go of the desire for happiness, Divine Love - the ability to experience and express unconditional love - dawns and when you are not seeking divine love either, freedom ensues. Love brings attachment and obligations, and can restrict you. When you are able to be detach yourself from obligation - Liberation ensues. Dispassion or Vairagya is the highest attribute as there is no freedom without Dispassion. Remembrance of the impermanence of everything , awareness of your own death  and company of the enlightened all help in attaining Dispassion

The spiritual journey

THERE Is a story in Ramayana
Rama realises that Ravana’s  immortality  is in his navel and shoots his navel. As Ravana collapses breathing his last, Rama asks Lakshmana to go and seek knowledge from Ravana - who is a great scholar. it is important to know that Ravana was born to a Rishi father (Vishrava) and a Rakhsasi mother and his grandfather was one of the Saptarishis called Pulastya. So when Lakshmana approaches Ravana from his head end and requests knowledge - Ravana turns his face away. So Lakshmana goes to his foot end, kneels down and requests Ravana for knowledge. Ravana smiles and says these last words - It is the nature of the ignorant mind to be attracted towards things that cause harm and to avoid things that are good. Remember that what tempts and distracts us will in all probability be the cause of our downfall. What we shy away from, what we procrastinate about, is probably what will help us evolve

Guru Mandala is representation of the journey form the periphery to the centre. Centre is the self where the Guru is established, periphery is the world where all the distractions are. The spiritual journey is the travel from the periphery to the centre, overcoming all distractions. Everytime you get distracted you move away from the goal. Sensory pleasures, laziness, low levels of energy and ignorance are all distractions. To reach the centre one has to overcome all these. There is no better way than to surrender to the Master and just be focussed on the path.