 |
|||||
| AHYMSIN Newsletter, Issue - May 2013 | |||||
|
|||||
Lecture #2by Swami Veda Bharati March 1, 2013 Om Akhaṇḍa-maṇḍalākaraṁ vyāptaṁ yena charācharam. Hiraṇya-garbhād ārabdhām śheṣha-vyāsādi-madhyamām. Om tat sat brahmārpaṇam astu. Om. Hari Om. How is everybody’s forehead doing? Are you a little bit more free of worrying and anxieties? We would like your visit here to be a success. And what will be your definition of a success? If you can go with one or two new habits, if you can drop one or two old habits and cultivate one or two new habits, then your visit and all the money you have spent, and all the time, and all the discomfort of sleeping here and there, it will be a success. Also, for your information, there is, or is going to be from tonight a mauna kaksha (a silence chamber). It’s somewhere on that hilltop among all those big houses in a corner where you can go and be silent. That is not the place you go for a bed. So sometimes you can go and use that silence chamber. Enjoy. One thing more: this is one rare occasion when so many people are going to be practicing silence together. Swami Rama’s legacy is to merge science and spirituality. So we have a lab on this campus. We have something like 3,000 titles of articles published in medical and scientific journals on the subject of the effect of yoga breathing, meditation, mindfulness, and among all those titles we have not come across one single article on the effects of silence. So we are using this opportunity of the 200 people who are participating in the silence together from the 10th of March. Around 50 have chosen to be accepted as subjects for testing, that is, the brainwaves before you begin the silence and brainwaves and other physiological effects after nine days of silence, and what a difference that makes. So a list will be given out on the topic of when your turn is for that brainwave testing. And you need take it a little bit more seriously, not as a fun thing: “Oh, I had all these electrodes hooked into my skull.” That is not the purpose. We are not in a position to give you immediate results. All this data is being collected and is being sent to the scientists for later analysis. We have already had one research paper published based on the research that has been done in our lab, and one Ph.D. thesis that has been done in France has come out. So we have been moving ahead with that. Do be prepared, and a schedule will be given for when you are scheduled for that test. I am also asked to announce, people ask me, “After you go into silence, will you still travel?” The answer is a complex one. And the answer does not depend on me; the answer depends on you. And there is a small committee who will explain to you what is planned and where you come into that planning. So, center leaders and traveling teachers, please attend tomorrow, March 2nd, at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the plans for that. I’m certainly not traveling until mid-2014, but some possibility is there. But the possibility depends entirely on you – the more practical side of things. [Note: Swami Veda has subsequently moved the possibility of traveling to mid-2015.] Some foreheads are still wrinkled! What happened? Did I say something worrisome? What are you worrying about? Whatever you are worrying about there is nothing you can do about it sitting here. You might as well forget it and enjoy a worry-free life for a short time. You don’t always get such opportunities. Use the opportunity! As one progresses spiritually, all the layers of one’s being are revealed. You are not just this jumble of bones wrapped up by a plastic wrap, tied up with some strings inside, nerves and pipes. That is not what you are. That is only the outermost container. And you have begun to mistake yourself to be the container instead of the spirit-content. Between the container (called the body) and you the content (the pure spirit) there are many layers. Here I go into the very ancient science of Sāṅkhya and Vaiśeṣhika. These are two of the six Vedic schools of philosophy. There are layers upon layers, whether you read the theory about them or not, whether you can list all those categories by heart or not, as you begin to move your consciousness, your awareness, your mindfulness, your realization. What does the word “realization” mean? Something becoming “real” to you! When that which was previously merely a theory, which was previously a speculation or a hypothesis, when that becomes real to you, that is realization. That realization, that is a form of revelation, revealing. That which is covered with veils is unveiled. One of the prayers in the Veda is:
That is why as we progress the penultimate samādhi is called the dharma-mega samādhi. Dharma-mega: the raincloud of virtue and the nature of all things. (The electricity went off here and with it the sound system. When it returned, Swami Veda said, “We’ll get the generator working.” “Sorry, I wish I could shout.” “Well, enjoy the silence.” “Is it working?” “Can you hear?”) The samādhi of the raincloud of virtue and of the knowledge of the nature of all things, that is called dharma-mega samādhi. So, along with the revelation of your true nature, your true essence as atman the pure spiritual self, the nature of all things is revealed to you. So all these layers of prakṛti, all the layers of nature, matter of which your composite being is composed, one-by-one-by-one, they reveal their essence, what they are, how they function, how they operate. And by knowing that, you know the nature of the universe, because the components of your being are the same as the components of the universe. If you understand your individuated mind, you will understand the universal mind. If you understand the atomic energies at the sub-cellular level of your physical composition, you will also understand the atomic energies in the whole universe. If you will understand inside you the birth of a cell, the continuity of a cell, and the dissolution of that cell, thereby you understand the birth of the stars, the continuity of the stars, and the dissolution of the stars. And it is thus that when I read…. I am an avid reader of scientific magazines. I do not miss out on the latest scientific discoveries. I have no training in science, but I keep up with the scientific news. I am looking for some news, but I am not finding any. Really! I’m looking for some new discovery in science, but I’m not finding anything. It’s been known to me from childhood, from the texts – not the technology, but the science. Science – what is it the science of? What is the science the science of? Einstein answers: “I am trying to find out how it is that God runs the universe.” Learn to find the God within you. Learn to find how you, the God of this body-universe, how you the spiritual being, the God of this body-universe, how you run this universe, and thereby you will find out how God runs the universe. And this is the message of Yoga and Tantra and the beautiful texts like Saundarya-laharī. Gurudev Swami Rama often referred to these texts, Saundarya-laharī (Youtube) and Ananda-laharī, the Wave of Beauty and the Wave of Bliss. What is this Wave of Beauty and the Wave of Bliss? The entire universe is a stream of forces that come in waves. An interaction of the waves is the universe. And those waves are the same ones by which you, atman the spirit, utilizing the instrumentation called the mind, run your body-universe. When you understand that, you will understand how the universe is run. You will understand all its mathematics. Sometimes people ask, “What is the contribution of India to the world’s civilization?” You want to know my answer? The contribution of India to the world’s civilization is “zero.” Only the meditation masters could have figured out what “zero” was. And what is the common Sanskrit word and Hindi word commonly used for zero? Shunya! That is the word for zero. And going into that shunya within, from there they understood what the value of zero is and how all the numbers revolve around this reality of zero. That is how the zero was invented – no, discovered. Why am I saying this? What is its practical application for you in your spiritual life, in your daily life? Anything you touch, anything you sense, anything you feel, anything you experience, that you act upon or react to, find out its metaphysical connection. This piece of paper with scribbles on it can lead you to liberation. This little piece of paper, this object in my hand can lead you to liberation. This [other] object in my hand, what is it? What do I have in my hand? A cell phone. What is a cell phone? Its geometry, its dimensions, its subatomic particles, its energies, its interactions of energies – it is waves, it is interaction of waves. It’s poetry! That is why one of my lectures is that science is the most beautiful spiritual poem ever composed. And here is the poetry in my hand, and here is all the metaphysics: dimensions and what is beyond dimensions. What are the waves and what is beyond the waves, and from where do those waves arise? Can you learn to connect every smallest particle of your experience – of the taste buds or the smells, or what you see with the eyes, or what you touch with the skin, or what images you form in your mind – can you take any one of these are find their trans-physical resource? And so also your relationships, even more so! It is not by denouncing relationships that you will find renunciation. Renunciation is not denunciation. Some people think that renunciation is denunciation. It is not by denouncing the relationships, but by bringing them to their fullest conclusion, to their richest level. And then you will transcend to the next level – because that is where God is, because that is where love is. You keep hearing “God is love. God is love. God is love.” Have you brought your little love to the level where you say, “Yes, this is God.” So do these internal, mental, spiritual exercises. Every experience, anything you see, you hear, you observe moving, anything that moves in you, where is it in me? And where is it in the universe? And how are the spiritual contents moving these containers? The second verse of Saundarya-laharī, Shankaracharya’s text, the Wave of Beauty. I wish I could sing for you, but that is one thing I have not been able to do all my life. I can pray in the name of singing, so I only recite:
You read, you hear, you see pictures, you see icons of these Hindu gods, but you don’t know what they are. I have a shrine to Mother Divine. Some people think it’s just a statue. What is it a statue of? According to the texts and the poetry composed by the realized beings the Divine Mother is unending, fathomless. The verse that I have just recited, listen to it: “O Mother Divine, O source of all beauty.” Because sometimes we give mantras as to explain the Divine Mother dwelling within all things, all entities, all beings, shapes them and beautifies them from within. That is the secret of evolution – but that’s a different topic. “O Mother Divine, Brahma the creator god (God in his creator mode) takes tiny bits of the pollen dust of your feet, that is, all of the prakṛti, matter, anti-matter, all the millions of galaxies and black holes spinning close to the speed of light, all of that: a few particles of dust, a few particles of the pollen dust at the feet of the Divine Mother. What the extent of the Divine Mother in infinity is we cannot fathom. “God in the creator mode as Brahma takes a few particles of the pollen dust of your feet, and from those he shapes – lokān a-vikalam –unending and unbroken chains of all the universes, viracayati lokān a-vikalam – creates the unbroken, unending chains of all the universes, so that even the vast galactic serpent with a thousand hoods cannot easily bear the weight of this universe. And God in his dissolution mode takes it and blows it, and it turns to ashes and blows the ashes all about and rubs the ashes on himself, and that is how Shiva is shown as wearing ashes: the remnants of the dissolved universes. So when we have these yagñas, on the last day we take the ashes and rub them on ourselves – agnir iti bhasma vāyur iti bhasma. “The fire is ashes,” we recite. “The air is ashes. The earth is ashes. Ashes are merged into ashes.” You have the English phrase “ashes to ashes,” but the original is in that particular mantra. This is the vision by which a cosmic master walks. In their grandeur this is the way they look at the universe, and this is the way they look at themselves, and this is the way they carry themselves, and someday, sometime, by way of an incredibly high level of initiation may impart that vision. But this vision cannot be imparted to everybody. I have seen a case of a very, very dear Guru-brother of mine – I will not name – who kept begging for higher initiation, begging for higher initiation, and kept on asking me: “Intercede on my behalf to Swamiji, intercede on my behalf to Swamiji.” And made the mistake of interceding and pestering him on behalf of my friend, and so he received the initiation. And then Swami Rama left me to attend to him. And here now this disciple is writhing on the floor and says, “Please, beg the master to withdraw the power. Please, beg the master with withdraw the power. I cannot withstand it.” So first create in you the capacity. When you will read my little book on kundalinī, you’ll understand what I have just talked about. This part that I have just spoken of I have not covered in that book. People talk of energies flowing in them, touching them; they are blessed! What more do you want? Just become absorbed in observing them. This is for those who are writing me day and night, okay. Just let them absorb into observing and flowing wherever the energy goes, whichever layers it bursts. There is nothing to fear. It’s the pathway; it’s the Waves of Beauty and the Waves of Bliss. Enjoy! And those who have not yet been touched that way by the invisible masters, keep aspiring, keep contemplating this universe as the Wave of Beauty and the Wave of the Universe, and this object that you call the cell phone can lead you to enlightenment; this piece of paper in my hands can lead you to enlightenment, if you understand its reality. What is it? Waves – nothing more. Ask any physicist and they’ll tell you what the reality of this piece of paper is. It’s waves! It’s atomic waves imbued by another layer of waves, and that is consciousness; that is chaitanya; that is I the Self, the indweller of every particles of this body, the indweller of every particle of this universe, which has been created from a few grains of the pollen dust from Mother’s feet and flung into space, forming millions of galaxies, unbroken, unending chains. And in time, as the wave subsides, so Shiva, the power of dissolution, dissolves the waves and rubs the ashes on his body and keeps them till the next time: another universe. Just a moment. Those who ever wish to learn more about our lab and our scientific work, please, Dr. Prabhu, will you stand? Dr. Prabhu is our fulltime senior scientist who is working fulltime developing the lab, and you can ask him any questions anytime. I think he is making a brief presentation sometime about the lab, too. Thank you, Dr. Prabhu. And remember that we’ll give you the schedule for your testing. And do remember tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. the meeting to discuss further plans. On the third of March there is the election of AHYMSIN office-bearers. And on the 5th we have whole-day workshop on the future of this family and how to keep all its arms working together, and your thoughts and your contribution to that is most invaluable because I am in the withdrawal mode, okay? And so it’s you who carry the responsibility. How many people remember to do two or three minutes of meditation many times in the day? [Some people raised their hands.] A few. You come, you listen to the lecture, and you walk out. And the lecture you gather in your apron, and before you leave, you just shake it off. Form this new habit, every two or three hours for two or three minutes wherever you are, standing, sitting, lying down. Just relax your forehead, feel the flow and the touch of your breath in your nostrils. Breathe in slowly, gently, smoothly. Exhale and inhale with your mantra. Maintain the flow. Let your entire consciousness become an even-flowing stream. Remaining in this wave of consciousness, gently open your eyes, and may you walk in life aware that you are a wave in the ocean of the Waves of Beauty and Bliss. God bless you all. Thank you. Please accept my apologies for not being able to see my friends personally. The spirit is willing, but the body has its limits. It cannot do it anymore. I’m sorry we meet this way. God bless you. Editor’s Note:The Signs of Progress in Spirituality and in Meditation: During the 2013 Sangha Gathering held prior to Swami Veda's five year vow of silence, Ahymsin Publishers recorded these unique teachings to help those on a spiritual path recognize the signs of progress. He also gave cautions and 'pitfalls' to watch out as one navigates their practice. This 9 part series is invaluable for all seekers wishing to enjoy the guidance of a spiritual master like Swami Veda Bharati over the next years as he shifts deeper and deeper into silence. Contact AHYMSIN Publishers at ahymsinpublishers@gmail.com For Kundalini Stilled or Stirred by Swami Veda Bharati, please contact AHYMSIN Publishers: ahymsinpublishers@gmail.com To listen to Swami Rama lecture on Saundarya-laharī: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL61035752268BE45B To read Lecture #1: http://www.ahymsin.org/docs2/News/1304Apr/index.html To read the lecture on 9th March 2013: http://ahymsin.org/main/practice/practice-for-the-next-five-years-and-the-rest-of-your-life.html
|
|||||
 |
|||||