Daily Archives: November 4, 2009

Dissolving the Accumulated Blockages in the Subconscious Mind: By Pieter Schoonheim Samara

. Advaita and Yoga . , , , ,

This is a yoga where numerous means have been developed and preserved over thousands of years to release and free up energy blockages. You may have heard the phrase from the Third Zen Patriarch, “When thought is in bondage, the Truth is hidden.” The Truth is that our individual consciousness is not different from the Universal Consciousness, which is the support and substratum of the entire manifestation of the apparent diversified universe in all its planes.

The accumulation of subconscious blockages:

The mind is like a movie film running frame by frame through the focusing lens of attention through which the undifferentiated light of the Universal Consciousness passes projecting the images onto the single, uncaused, unconditioned, screen of pure Being.

What has happened is that the sense of “I” (which is the seer) which pervades the body and lights the mind and the universe has become focused through attention to the images that appear in the mind, such that an idea or notion of an identity merges between the all pervasive single non-dual “I” and these images, with the result that the images are bound, and the mind fills up with, what we might call “takes” (using the cinematography term) of impressions of who we think we are, and we become bound by those thoughts and we come to believe we are those thought. The bondage becomes a habit of thought patterns that plays like a record over and over.

These impressions then locate themselves throughout the body and its magnetic field creating a weakness in the natural flowing voltage and sound current of the several centers along the spine, and, as a whole, in the brain and magnetic field or aura – each center related to nerve plexus, glands and organs. The result of this weakness is that the nerve groups in these centers don’t fire fully, such that some of the nerves atrophy and fire weakly. The related glands and organs,
loosing their natural voltage, then begin to accumulate toxins that crystallize in their capillaries, so that the voltage of these organs also becomes weak, the glands no longer secrete properly, and there is an overall mental and eventually physical loss of natural or inherent balance that becomes in the weakened light of consciousness what we take to be our identity.

An example of the manner in which impressions are stored throughout the body can be experienced when you sit quietly for a while, and you begin to notice thoughts immerging and with them related twitches or stresses in various parts of the body.

This illusory or contrived identity defines itself continuously in our daily thought patterns, through a kind of a self-talk just at and under the surface of our waking consciousness, constantly commenting on the events of our lives. There is a whole new psychology involved in simply changing this self-talk in order to change ones life, through planning, repeating and mentally imaging affirmations, called self-image psychology. This self-talk further influences the dreams we have related to the building of the identity around the mind’s ongoing attempts to bring all these images and takes into a unified identity. This process all happens at what we call the subconscious level.

Releasing blockages and dissolving the subconscious mind:

The purpose of yoga, from the psychological point of view, especially as it relates to the emergence of the True Man and True Woman, is simply to dissolve these subconscious blockages that have been stored throughout the body, with the result that the subconscious mind simply vanishes like a mirage, energy is released and flows freely once again, and only the single all-pervasive Truth is seen, again to quote the Third Zen Patriarch, “Infinitely large and infinitely small, no difference for definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen.”

In order to sunder this bondage between the sense of “I” to thoughts and impressions, many postures and movements have been designed by ancient self realized beings to put expanding and contracting pressures from all conceivable angles and positions in systematic yogic sets that focus on specific centers and systems in the body field. These are combined with a number of powerful breathing techniques that purify and supercharge the bloodstream with oxygen, electricity and the other vital chemicals in the air. The charged and purified blood then flows into the areas are saturated with blood due to the pressure of the positions and movements, with the result that the nerves begin to charge and fire completely, the capillaries in the related organs and glands open and discharge their toxins, the cells discharge accumulated waste and vitality and life force begins to flow back into these centers.

Systematic practice:

Systematically, as one continues to come to the classes and eventually begins a daily Sadhana of ones own, these centers begin to build up a charge towards the natural voltage of these centers themselves, much like a battery of a car, but our physical vehicle has a number of batteries and the destination is always homeward bound to the source of Being. As the charge builds in the centers, heat is felt in the nerves as they purify, and then electricity and eventually the whole body and magnetic field become etheric, seen and experienced in the mind’s eye.

But it is not enough to simply build a charge, as these centers resonate with different frequencies that need to be tuned, brought into balance and harmonized in a process that completely releases the charge built up and stored through the practice of these yoga sets, which opens not only the higher centers, but also brings about the regeneration of the nerve of the soul – the sushumna. The sushumna starts at the base of the spine and goes to the neck, then through the passage to the crown and to the point between the eyebrows, called the silver cord, then from the point between the eyebrows to the crown, called the gold cord, and from the crown to the heart (where we point when we say “I” located the point 1/8th to the right of the sternum) – called the atma or para nadi, because, when regenerated, it resonates with the pulsation of “I.”

This harmonic resonation of the centers is accomplished through the practice of many different kriyas or specialized yogic actions that direct and channel the flow of energy, and Laya Yoga, which involves very specific techniques using sacred sound (mantra) to vibrate and open and release the stored energy in the centers. The charging of the centers, nerve channels and magnetic field (aura) is like tightening the strings on an 8-string guitar. The Laya yoga chants are like the tuning, playing and releasing of the spiritual music of the guitar, until the soundless sound of the pulsation of the “I” resonates everywhere and one experiences pervading light and being.

Ultimately the mind becomes very pure and clear as blockages related to thought patterns and images are simply dissolved, and the balanced resonance of the unified mind in harmony with the universal consciousness becomes ones prevailing pattern.

At a certain point, the energy flow and balance comes under pressure and this pranic pressure results in the mind being drawn inwards. As the mind is draw inwards, the heart (to the right of sternum) begins to pulsate like a graviton, and the feeling of the Singularity of the “I” begins to pulsate throughout the body field. At this time three force centers in the mechanism of the body begin to open. One of these is at the Kandal, between the navel and 4th vertebra, the center of chi, which regulates the prana throughout the body. The body has three major locks, and with the opening of the Kandal the lower lock pulls up and energy is released downward to the base of the spine from where it flows upwards directly opening the centers along the spine. At the same time, the centers in the brain also open, in particular the area of the hypothalamus, which opening allows the increasing flow of pervasive energy in through the crown, like the opening of the top of a jar so that the inner air and outer air become one.

The causal center that triggers these other force centers to open is the seat of the “I” sense Itself, in the heart (to the right of sternum). It is not the same as the heart chakra, but that place through which the sense of Being Awareness or “I” consciousness originates and permeates all the nerves of the body and through the atma nadi lights the images in the brain with the feeling of “I” consciousness. With this causal center opening the sense of “I” related to any images dissolves completely, as all images are “sucked into” the heart in a process that releases the realization of ever abiding single universal consciousness, wherein all other energy flows seem dim and inconsequential by comparison. This awakening experience is like going through the night seeing with the light of the moon. Then, as the sun of the heart begins to rise, even though the moon of the mind can still be seen, it is no longer needed for seeing, as “everything is clear and
self-illuminating with no exertion of the mind’s power.” (Third Zen Patriarch)

Kundalini Yoga

The entire systematic process of purifying and charging the centers (chakras), channeling the energy (prana) and awakening to the opening of the force centers is called Kundalini Yoga – an ancient yoga, or spiritual technology, that was traditionally taught in secret, but which Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga and head of the Sikh Dharma of the West, began to teach openly in 1968, so that people of all religions and backgrounds could purify their minds in a completely dynamic and balanced manner, have an enhanced experience and finally “hear” the Truth their religion teaches regarding the One God, which hearing results in the sudden abiding in That Incandescent Truth.

The awakening of the generative, organizational and dissolusionary force is known as Kundalini, which is simply another word for Awareness. The mechanism of the chakras, channels and force centers that is innate and inherent in every human being is designed to automatically resolve the individual consciousness into its universal Truth as soon as that individual consciousness begins to seek its source.

There is nothing mystical or secret about this yoga. It is a completely practical and scientific spiritual technology based entirely on experience. One’s initiation is accomplished by one’s self through one’s own sincerity, honesty and adherence to the practice, through Sadhana, through experience and the satsang or the ardent practice in a community of like-minded. The practice and teaching recognizes only one universal Truth consciousness within the heart of each person
and not any person or place or event as an initiating factor. The True Guru is, therefore, the Truth which is revealed inwardly through a systematic practice that is powerful and complete enough in itself that very quickly the Generative, Organizational and Dissolutionary force manifests and one awakens and abides as the True Man and True Woman.

While anyone that practices this yoga will naturally begin to have spiritual experiences and the dawning of Self-Knowledge (the discrimination between the Real and unreal) and True Faith and Devotion, there is nothing held as secret or hidden or mystical, as everything is taught and made available openly and presented in a clear, practical and scientific manner.

All this to say that one needs to come to the classes on a regular basis until one is able to develop a Sadhana on ones own. Better yet, if one comes to regular classes to gain some practical experience with the yoga and then comes to the Teacher’s Training course, when it is offered, then through teaching the yoga one will also be able to master it, while becoming directly linked into an organization of thousands of people around the world that practice and teach this yoga
and the spiritual line and source of these teachings.

“I have come to create Teachers, not to gather disciples.” Yogi Bhajan on teaching: “If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it.”

Shankaracharya’s Atmabodha

. Advaita and Yoga . ,

The following is an extract from page 111-114 of the introduction to the book Self-Knowledge in which Nikhilananda has provided an Introduction and translation to Sri Sankacharya’s Atmabodha. The Publisher is Sri Ramakrishna Math. The book can be purchased through the Vedanta Society in New York City for $5.00.

The Goal:

The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman. Knowledge is accompanies by realization. The illusion of name and form is destroyed, and the knower is no longer a victim of the false fear and false expectation that plague at every step the life of the unillumined person. For the knower of Truth, the seen, the seer and the seeing all merge in the indescribable experience of the Absolute. Consciousness of time and space is obliterated; the fetters of causality are broken forever. This is the experience of Peace, Knowledge, and Reality that passes all understanding. In the graphic words of Sankara*:

“The illumined person, realizes within himself, through samadhi, the infinite and indescribable Brahman, which is of the nature of Eternal Knowledge and Absolute Bliss, which is without a peer in the world of relative experience, which transcends all limitations and is ever free and actionless – which is like the limitless sky, indivisible and absolute.

“The illumined person realizes in his heart1, through samadhi, the Infinite Brahman, which is devoid of the ideas of cause and effect, which is Reality untouched by any imagination, homogeneous, matchless, beyond the range of proofs, established by the pronouncements of the Vedas, and ever familiar through the manifestation of I consciousness.

“The illumined person realizes in his heart1, through samadhi, the Infinite Brahman, undecaying and immortal, the positive Substance which precludes all negation, which resembles a serene and waveless ocean and is without a name, in which there are neither merits nor demerits – which is eternal, serene and One.”

The man illumined by the realization of Brahman enters the realm of Pure Consciousness. His mind vanishes; his activities associated with the ideas of a doer, instrument, and result come to a stop. Emerging from the experience of samadhi and still inebriated with the Bliss of Brahman, he cries out in amazement2:

“Where is the universe gone? By whom is it removed? And where is it merged? It was just seen by me; and has it ceased to exist? I see everywhere the Ocean of Reality filled with the nectar of Absolute Bliss. There is nothing to shun, nothing to accept, nothing to despise. I do no see anything; I do not hear anything; I do no know anything. I simply exist as the Self, the Eternal Bliss. Blessed am I; I have attained the Goal of my life. I am free from the clutches of transmigration. I am unattached. I am free from the body, both the gross and the subtle. I am undecaying, immaculate, and eternal. I am neither the doer nor the enjoyer. I am changeless and beyond activity; I am the essence of pure knowledge.

* Vivekacudamani, 408-410
1 Hrdayam (the spiritual heart to the right, not the Anahata Chakra or the physical organ)
2 Amazement that this non-dual Consciousness is and has always been ones true and natural state

Sankara’s Self-Knowledge, an excerpt

“I am indeed Brahman, One without a second, without a peer, the Reality that has no beginning, beyond the illusion of ‘you’ or ‘I,’ ‘this’ or ‘that.’ I am the Essence of Eternal Bliss and Truth. I alone reside in all beings as Knowledge and Reality, their internal and external Support. I am the enjoyer and all that is enjoyable.

“In me, the Ocean of Infinite Bliss, the waves of the universe arise and merge by the playing of the wind of maya. Like the sky, I am beyond contamination; like the sun, I am distinct from all things illumined; like a mountain, I am motionless; like the ocean, I am limitless. I have no connection with the body, as the sky has no connection with clouds; I am unaffected by waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. I do not engage in work nor desist from it. How can I ever exert myself, since I am allpervading, like the ether? Merits and demerits cannot affect me, neither heat nor cold, neither good nor evil; I neither work nor make others work; I neither enjoy nor make others enjoy; I nether see nor make others see – I am Atman, self-effulgent and transcendent. Let this inert body drop away, either in water or on land. I am not touched by what may happen to it. Is the sky inside a jar ever befouled by the properties of the jar? Let there be changes in the body or in the senses, tenfold, a hundredfold or a thousandfold; I, Pure Consciousness, am ever free. Can the clouds ever touch the dome of the heavens.

“I am verily Brahman, the One without a second, which, like the sky, is beginningless and endless, in which the whole universe, from the causal to the gross, appears to be a mere shadow. I am verily Brahman, the One without a second, which is the Support of all, which has infinite forms, is omnipresent, devoid of multiplicity, eternal, pure, unmoved and absolute. I am the Soul of the universe. I am the All, I am transcendent. I am Absolute and Infinite Knowledge.”

The illumined person realizes his indebtedness to his guru, through whose grace he has received the splendour of the sovereignty of Self-effulgence. Prostrating himself before the teacher, he says: “O teacher, out of sheer grace thou hast awakened me from sleep and completely saved me, who was wandering in an interminable dream, in the forest of birth, decay, and death created by illusion, being tormented day after day by countless afflictions and sorely troubled by the ugly beast of egoism. Salutations to thee, O prince of teachers! O thou of indescribable greatness, thee I salute.”*

* The state of Liberation cannot be comprehended by our relative minds. The terms existence and non-existence, as we understand them cannot be applied to a liberated soul. All that can be said about such a person is that he is forever freed from the spell of ignorance. He has entered into the realm of Light, compared to which the highest knowledge of the relative world is sheer darkness. He no longer dreams but is fully awake. He no longer enjoys the shadows of the phenomenal world. It is often asked how long the embodied soul must practice discipline in the relative world before attaining Liberation.. The concept of time cannot be applied to the Knowledge of Brahman. Time is a relative thing, dependent on the state of mind. Many years spent in the dream world may be only a few minutes from the waking standpoint. The passage of the soul from the realm of relativity to the Absolute is dependent upon the Knowledge of Reality, and not upon any period of time; it is instantaneous, like lightning.

Faith Mind: By Sengstan, the Third Zen Patriarch

. Advaita and Yoga . , , ,

hsin hsin ming

verses on the faith-mind
by Sengtsan, the third Zen Patriarch

Note: The title’s first character Hsin shows a man standing by his words, and is often translated as faith or trust. The second Hsin depicts heart and has come to mean heart, mind, soul, etc. and sometimes Buddha-nature

So..

The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the Truth, then hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood,
the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

The Way is perfect like vast space, where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept and reject that we do not see the true nature of
things.

Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things, and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity, your very effort fills you with activity.
As long as you remain in one extreme or the other, you will never know Oneness.

Those who do not live in the single Way fail in both activity and passivity,
assertion and denial.
To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality;
to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality.
The more you talk and think about it, the further astray you wander from the truth.
Stop talking and thinking, and there is nothing you will not be able to know.
To return to the root is to find the meaning, but to pursue appearances is to miss their source.
At the moment of inner enlightenment there is a going beyond appearances and emptiness.

The changes that appear to occur in the empty world we call real only because of our
ignorance.
Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.

Do not remain in the dualistic state; avoid such pursuits carefully.
If there is even a trace of this and that, of right and wrong
the mind essence will be lost in confusion.
Although all dualities come from the One, do not be attracted even to this One.
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend,
and when a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist in the old way.

When no distinguishing thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist.
When thought objects vanish, the thinking-subject vanishes,
as when the mind vanishes, objects vanish.
Things are objects because of the subject [mind].
the mind [subject] is such because of things [object].

Understand the relativity of these two and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.
In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable,
and each contains in itself the whole world.
If you do not discriminate between course and fine,
you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.

To live in the Great Way is neither easy nor difficult,
but those with limited views are fearful and irresolute:
the faster they hurry, the slower they go, and clinging [attachment] cannot be limited;
even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray.
Just let things be in their own way, and there will be neither coming nor going.

Obey the nature of things [your own nature], and you will walk freely and undisturbed.
When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden, for everything becomes murky and unclear,
and the burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness.
What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separations?

If you wish to move in the One Way, do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.
Indeed, to accept them fully is identical with full enlightenment.
The wise man strives to no goals, but the foolish man fetters himself.
There is one Dharma, not many; distinctions arise from the clinging need of the ignorant.
To seek mind with the [discriminating] mind is the greatest of all mistakes.

Rest and unrest derive from illusion; with enlightenment there is no liking and no disliking.
All dualities come from ignorant inference.
They are like dreams or flowers in air: foolish to try to grasp them.
Gain and loss, right and wrong: such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.

If the eye never sleeps, all dreams will naturally cease.
If the mind makes no discriminations, the ten thousand things are as they are,
of single essence.
To understand the mystery of this One-essence is to be released from all entanglements.
When all things are seen equally, the timeless Self-essence is reached.
No comparisons or analogies are possible in this causeless, relationless state.

Consider movement stationary and the stationary in motion,
both movement and rest disappear.
When such dualities cease to exist, Oneness itself cannot exist.
To this ultimate finality no laws or description applies.

For the unified mind in accordance with the Way all self centered striving ceases.
Doubts and irresolutions vanish, and life in true faith is possible.
With a single stroke we are freed from bondage; nothing clings to us,
and we hold to nothing.
All is empty, clear and self-illuminating, with no exertion of the mind’s power.
Here thoughts, feelings, knowledge and imagination are of no value. In this world of Suchness there is neither self nor other-than-self.