Author: Mandala

How can the non-enlightened ones guide others?

Posted on by Mandala

Question

Only one who has realized his true self who is free from ego and body mind breath identifications can understand and speak the truth and guide. All others are only speaking about concepts and second hand knowledge. That being the case, how can they guide others?

Answers

Randall Krause (Mokshadeva) and Stephen Parker (Stoma) have answered this question.

Randall Krause (Mokshadeva)

To answer your question, let me tell you a story—which you may have already heard but it bears repeating. There was man who, during a flood, climbed onto the roof of his house. He began praying fervently to God to save him. After some time, a firefighter came by with a long ladder to help him down but the fellow on the roof waved him away because he was praying to God to save him. The water continued to rise and soon was almost at the level of the roof. The man prayed more and more fervently. Soon, a person came in a boat and shouted, “Save yourself, jump into my boat and I’ll take you to safety!” But the fellow on the roof wouldn’t go because he wanted God to save him. The water was flowing rapidly now and came up over the roof and the fellow climbed to the top of his chimney—the only dry place—and prayed with all his heart and mind and concentration. Soon a helicopter came and lowered a basket and the Coast Guard soldier shouted down to “Get in the basket and we will haul you to safety.” But this fellow didn’t go. He was waiting for God to save him. Soon the flood swept the fellow away and he drowned. Then he found himself as a soul in the presence of God and was upset and said, “Why didn’t you save me when I prayed to you?” God said, I sent a fireman with a ladder, a man with a boat and a helicopter with a basket. What more did you want?

The idea is that the un-embodied, timeless Guru can teach us in many ways, through many people, and especially through initiated teachers. If you refuse all the help that comes to you, insisting that the Guru personally appear before you, you may miss essential lessons and have a very long wait.

Very few people ever came into the physical presence of Swami Rama, and almost nobody spent more than a few moments in that presence. The Guru can teach through many means and one does not need to be in his or her physical presence to be guided. Most teaching occurs out of the physical presence of the Gurudeva.

Finally, do consider that it is said in the Traditions that “when the student is ready, the Master appears.” So do the absolute maximum in your power to overcome your problems and do the practices you’ve been granted with full devotion, strength and with a positive, devotional attitude, and, only when you are “ready” will the Master appear. Before then you can search and search and possibly not find.

Stephen Parker (Stoma)

I think Mokshadev’s answer is wonderful, and I would only underline that the Guru in its intangible form reaches us all. And before it makes any kind of personal appearance, it will test you, as it tested the person in the story, to see whether you are really listening. I knew Swami Rama in the body for 26 years and certainly had more in-person darshana than most, although it was still very little in terms of clock time. All of his most important and most personal teaching came to me without any familiar form or voice after I had demonstrated some willingness to pay attention. And then it can just as often from beloved friends as from my own buddhi. The great Guru of the Avadhūtas, Dattātreya, listened well enough that he could take instruction from a range of animal teachers.

Editor’s Note

If you have any questions about your spiritual practice, you may write to the AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee at adhyatmasamiti@gmail.com.

Raja Yoga – Meditation & Samadhi

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Some students think that without practicing the preliminary steps of raja yoga they can attain samadhi, but that is not true. No matter which mantra you have, if your technique is defective, if you do not have a philosophy of life behind it, that technique alone will make you a technologist, but not a meditator. Work with yourself gently. As you look after your body, look after your mind. Proper meditation is very useful, and raja yoga teaches that.

Once you start doing meditation, you will come to know that life consists of more than merely learning. You talk of learning. You say, “I want to learn, I want to learn.” But that is not the proper attitude. There is something higher. On the spiritual path un-learning is much more important than so-called learning. What you really need to learn is “un-learning,” but only in meditation will you discover what this means.

I wish you could forget everything. If you could forget all that you have learned, in which language would you talk with yourself? What would be your state of mind? Do you know that when you have unlearned all the languages in which your mind thinks, you attain the state of samadhi? With the help of meditation and through the un-learning process, you will come in touch with your unconscious. Gradual and systematic meditation will enable you to make your mind one-pointed and will give you the power to penetrate the infinite library of intuitive knowledge. Then you will attain the real state of joy and happiness. Joy is realized only by that mind which can fathom the deeper levels of peace. One who has attained such an equilibrium of mind is never disturbed by worldly fetters because he has learned how to remain undisturbed, how to live here and now. He has learned to be here, yet above. If we live only here, we are flattened like a ball of clay and cannot get up, so we should learn to live here and yet remain above.

You know who is in samadhi? He who has no more questions. If you do not have any questions, if all your questions are solved, you are in samadhi, but as long as your mind is busy with dialogues, that is duality. If one part of your mind puts a question and another part answers it, you are not in samadhi. The day you are free from the argumentations of the mind, you are in samadhi. Samadhi is strengthened when you learn to practice your meditation constantly, without any interruption. This final rung of raja yoga has led you to become the most practical of persons, for now you are fully free, in full awareness of reality.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from the chapter “The Path of Raja Yoga” by Swami Rama in the book Inner Paths Compiled by the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, 1979. Pages 18-20.

The book Inner Paths is out of print, but available at some used bookstores.

For a better understanding of raja yoga, please read the book The Royal Path: Practical Lessons on Yoga by Swami Rama.

For all Swami Rama’s and Swami Veda Bharati’s published works, please email hyptbooks@gmail.com

Published works of Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati are also available at other venues.

How can a personal mantra be effective if it is given by a non-enlightened initiator?

Posted on by Mandala

Question

If a mantra is given by an initiator, rather than by an enlightened Master, I do not understand how a person, just a normal human being, can give something to another normal human being that will be effective.

Answers

Randall Krause (Mokshadeva), Lalita Arya (Ammaji), and Michael Smith have answered this question.

Randall Krause (Mokshadeva)

Your concern is that the mantra from an initiator is given by a non-realized person, and you wonder how that mantra could be effective. It’s a good question. What’s important to understand is that the mantra does not come from the initiator; it comes from the Guru. Swami Rama was known as Gurudeva— a person who has brought his mind to the level of the Guru. But the Guru is not a body, is not a person. Because of Swami Rama’s great spiritual achievement, he could speak from that Guru force. But, an initiator, even though not at such an exalted level himself or herself, has been blessed with the ability to receive mantras through intuition from the Guru and pass them on to aspirants.

Swami Veda used to tell stories of how Swami Rama showed him multiple times that the mantra and initiatory energy come through him (Swami Veda) not from him. The Mantra is said to come from the Guru not from the initiator. In one story, Swami Rama asked Swami Veda (who was known as Dr. Arya at that time) to tell him his (Swami Veda’s) personal mantra. Although Swami Veda had repeated that mantra thousands if not millions of times, he could not remember the mantra. Then Swami Rama said “now you can remember it,” and then Swami Veda remembered his mantra. Swami Rama told him that this was to show him who controls the mantra.

I’ve talked with Stoma Parker, who is one of the initiators, and he told me that when he gives initiation he goes into meditation and waits for the mantra to appear in a particular place in his mind—that’s how he described it. Only then does he give it. Swami Veda, who was an expert on mantras, told me that he doesn’t give the mantra, it comes through intuition, from the Guru. He would often think about what mantra would be good for a person but when initiating he’d give the mantra which came through intuition— which may have been different from the mantra he thought would be the right one.

One of Swami Rama’s prime teachings was not to worship any person, not even the Gurudeva. Only worship the infinite—which is within you. The goal of the Himalayan Tradition is to make each of us strong; it is not to make us weak and dependent on some other person.

The mantras given by the initiators are from the Guru, from the Self. Now, you may choose not to believe any of this. That is up to you. Swami Veda also said not to believe anything he said, but to do the practice and verify for yourself. So it’s up to you.

Lalita Arya (Ammaji)

A questioning mind is always a good sign that one is thinking and not just following blindly. Our Guruji encouraged queries but always used to say after his lecture, Do not just believe what I say, go out and practice and find out for yourselves.

Naturally when we do this sincerely all kinds of puzzles arise in the mind and in order to go forward when the answers do not come from within, we seek them out. Bhakti, devotion, Faith and trust that the Guru we have chosen and who has chosen us has to receive these in order for us to progress.

The Mantra Initiator in our Himalayan Tradition is like any “normal human being”, but is different because he/she has undergone training in this ancient Tradition from someone who Knows. The Initiator is chosen to carry the work of the Tradition and one of these is to initiate the trained student.

When the Guru trains – it is a difficult path – we are faced with challenges – and as students, we too go to the Guru for answers. We trust not only in that Guru but in the entire Tradition of Knowledge and wisdom passed on from Lineage to Lineage over thousands of years. It is like breath – when we lose it, it leaves us, but does not disappear, it merges. So is with the Learning, the Grace & the Blessing we receive within that Sangha of Elders.

As Mokshadeva pointed out, it is not the “normal human being” who initiates – it is the thread of inspiration, belief, and surrender through which that sound vibration in the form of a mantra comes and reverberates so that it can be passed on. When we sit to initiate we have no idea what that mantra will be. We prepare ourselves with the necessary tools, and meditate so that our minds are calm and ready to receive so we can give forth.

I would like to share an experience I had with one initiation – this student had come to the ashram, undergone the necessary training, submitted an application for initiation. It was approved and an appointment was scheduled. Unfortunately, the student had to leave urgently that evening and the initiator was not at the ashram. He was sent to me by the ashram office as I was in residence at our private home there, and he explained his predicament. I said OK, fine, go to the Initiation Room. I will meet you there. I prepared my mind, went, and initiated him.

As he was leaving, he thanked me and then said – It is remarkable – the mantra you gave me is one I remember receiving long ago from another tradition, but had never really practiced it. I was shocked that it was the same mantra that came back vividly to me as you whispered it to me. ,

I was not surprised at all, I smiled and said to him, “Now go and practice it. It seeks you as much as you need it.”

May Grace attend us all.

Michael Smith

Thank you for the beautiful thoughts that were shared on Mantra Initiation.

I’m not the person to write about this, because it’s all secondhand, but one of the most amazing things I’ve heard about in terms of the initiatory process in the Himalayan Yoga Tradition is that Swami Veda was able to give “charged” mantras to people in different spiritual paths (Islamic, Christian, Buddhist etc.), and that is true ALSO with the various initiators in the tradition.

So, if a person asks for a mantra particular to her/his tradition, the appropriate mantra will “come.” There are many profoundly baffling things that occur when we connect with an authentic lineage – but, for me, the gift of receiving an intrinsically viable “sound” that can nurture and guide us through our lives is paramount.

I give you the end of a golden string,
Only wrap it into a ball,
It will lead you in at Heaven’s Gate
Built in Jerusalem’s wall.
— William Blake

Editor’s Note

If you have any questions about your spiritual practice, you may write to the AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee at adhyatmasamiti@gmail.com.

Guru

Posted on by Mandala

Guru lives in the world but does not belong to the world.

The guru wants nothing for what he is doing because it is his duty and the purpose of his life. If he guides you, he is not obliging you; he is merely doing his work. He cannot live without doing his duty selflessly, for selfless love is the very basis of enlightenment. Such gurus guide humanity and radiate life and light from the unknown corners of the world. The world is not aware of them, and they do not want recognition. You may try your best to do something for your guru, but you cannot, because he doesn’t need anything. As the sun shines and lives far above, the guru gives spiritual love and remains unattached. This is why you should give your love and respect to your guru. If my guru and the Lord were to both come to me, I would go to my guru first and say, “Thank you very much. You have introduced me to the Lord.” I would not go to the Lord and say, “Thank you very much, Lord. You have given me my guru.”

In addition the guru should have inner strength and compassion. Compassion means that the teacher loves his students and wants them to grow and practise. If compassion is not there, then imparting knowledge is like planting seeds in a barren field in which nothing will grow.

You can feel if someone is phony or genuine when they say they love you. What do you mean by the word love? Love is when someone does things for you and does not expect anything in return. But if a teacher expects money or something else from his students, then that is a labor fee and has nothing to do with teaching. If you ask, “Guruji how much do you love me?” The teacher will reply, “My dear chela, as much as you love me, I love you the same.”

I spent the first forty years of my life going to many teachers. It became like a hobby to me. In vain I was roaming here and there, journeying far and wide, crossing the mountains and seven seas to seek and discover myself. Then finally I realized the teacher is within me. All I could do was laugh at myself and my foolishness. People called me wise, whereas I should have been called stupid for searching for myself outside instead of being still and looking within to become aware of what I already am. Finally I realized that I was the most extravagant vagabond I had ever met for wasting my breath and time searching for myself here, there and everywhere.

I am not condemning teachers, because they help. But if you ignore the teacher within, you will not be able to open the keys of the book of life. Your conscience is the greatest guide within you, but you do not listen to it because you don’t have self-confidence. Once you deserve to tread the inner path, everything will be open for you. And don’t worry about the mistakes; you are bound to commit mistakes when you are learning. In the process of learning, mistakes become the pillars of success, provided you don’t give up.

Guru Purnima

O Beloved Guru
Thou who art my very self
As the full moon reflects the sun’s light
This body should reflect thy glory,
Thy light should shine out from every pore
And thy fire should burn away any obstruction.
Thy will be done.

Editor’s Note

Reprinted from The Ancient Traveler: Writings on Love, by Swami Rama

Discipline

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Discipline should be practiced on three levels: mind, action, and speech. The human being knows everything that he ought to know about how to live in the world and how to relate to others. He has been taught, for example, the importance of being kind and gentle. But one does not knowhow to put those principles into practice. The emphasis of this commentary is therefore on practice. As our guru deva used to say, “Do not waste your time thinking and planning to follow the path. Decide and just follow.”

Spiritual sadhana requires the discipline of mind, action, and speech. Even preliminary discipline of mind, action, and speech can lead one to the experience of supernatural phenomena not ordinarily experienced by students who collect information but do not practice. Sometimes the great swamis, sages, and yogis who have practiced discipline speak with profound certainty, and whatever they say happens exactly as they said it would. They do not care to debate what the truth is; they simply say that when one practices non-lying, he speaks the truth. We have recorded many instances in which a sage has said something that seems impossible, yet it happens just as he said. By practicing samyama (discipline), one can perform such miracles. A miracle is a miracle only as long as one does not know how it came about; the moment that is known, it is no longer a miracle. If one wastes his power of speech indulging in useless discussions, talking nonsense, lying intentionally, hurting others through his speech, condemning others, or speaking against another’s religion, vakshakti (the power of words) does not find effective expression through his speech. But if one conserves his power of speech and does not lie, his speech will become so powerful that whatever he says will come to pass.

If one also disciplines his actions by not doing what is not to be done, he will find that he is doing his actions more efficiently and more accurately than before. The question may arise: How can one know what is not right? The answer is that one’s conscience already knows what is right and wrong, good and bad, helpful and unhelpful. One simply has to tune into his inner conscience, which guides him all the time. That is called seeking counsel within before performing action. It has already been explained that one already knows – he simply has to practice. In the course of practicing not doing that which is not to be done, one will find that he is being guided from within. Then he can learn to develop a dialogue with his conscience, which is not polluted by the fickleness and feebleness of the mind. Experimenting in this way leads one to understand that the real counselor is within each person.

The first and foremost duty of a true and selfless teacher is to introduce his student to the inner guide which leads one during the waking, dreaming, and sleeping states. When one takes a few moments from his busy life and learns to sit calmly in a quiet place, the inner counselor begins counseling. It would be helpful if modern therapists and psychologists, as well as priests and spiritual teachers, would learn to listen to the inner counselor and then introduce that inner guide to their clients and students.

After practicing disciplined action and speech and studying their marvelous effects, one should learn to understand and practice mental discipline. When one does not allow his mind to think that which is negative and which makes him depressed and sad, his mind begins forming new habits of joy. Slowly he begins discriminating between helpful thoughts and those unhelpful thoughts that consume more human energy than anything else. This introspective (inspecting within) method leads one to the next step: witnessing. Here one learns to witness all that happens, both in external and internal worlds, without being involved with it. While one is still learning, he must be patient and not become disappointed if at times he fails to remain a witness but instead becomes emotionally caught up in what is taking place. In pursuing such a self-training program, one should make a commitment to himself for the sake of his growth that he will practice regularly and faithfully no matter what. This is not the same as following a commandment or a blind injunction. Many people are afraid to make commitments because they believe that by not making commitments they will be free, but lack of commitment is merely irresponsibility and does not bring about true freedom. When one is afraid to make a commitment, it is because he is fearful of accepting responsibility, but real freedom is attained only when one is no longer a slave of his emotions and mental life. To be responsible is to be strong. With the help of mental discipline, one’s internal organization can be arranged in a way that prevents emotional disturbances and physical maladies.

After understanding the importance of the discipline of mind, speech, and action and after practicing that discipline regularly for some time, one experiences certain extraordinary phenomena that are based on those realities that cannot be understood by the conscious mind. In each approach, whether it be prayer, meditation, or contemplation, discipline plays a role, like that of a father who protects his loving child with his tender arms and loving teachings.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Rama contained in the commentary of II:52-53. 1985.

For all Swami Rama’s and Swami Veda Bharati’s published works, please email hyptbooks@gmail.com

Published works of Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati are also available at other venues.

Infinity Is Six Years Old

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We were sitting around a table en famille when my six-year old grandson piped up: Granddad what’s infinity plus three?

The wee fellow is fond of numbers.  The bigger the better.  We talked round it a bit and got on to other things.  I knew I had an answer, it just wasn’t there yet.

I could see he had grasped ‘infinity’ as an idea and ‘three’ as another similar idea.  Logically then, it is possible to add to infinity.  His mistake was to relegate infinity to an idea the same as an idea of three, which kind of subtracts from infinity.  I could hardly tell him that. Children will readily dismiss an adult when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Later I realised we chant the answer every morning at SRSG.

Om pῡrṇam adaḥ pῡrṇam idaṁ pῡrṇāt pῡrṇam udacyate|
pῡrṇasya pῡrṇam ādāya pῡrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

Om that is full/complete/perfect! This is full/complete/perfect! Perfection arises from the Perfect!
Taking the Perfect of the perfect, It remains as the Perfect alone

I found a second translation which replaces ‘complete’ with ‘infinity’.

THAT is infinite, THIS is infinite; From THAT, THIS comes. THIS added or removed from THAT, the Infinite remains as Infinite. (Swami Krishananda, Divine Life Society)

The passage is found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1.)

The prayers are very difficult to understand because they express very deep thinking. It is a delight to have my understanding prompted by one so young.

Years ago I was taught a mantra with a similar sense:

Om Pūrnaham chinmātrā’ham aham eva svāhā

Om I am full, I am the measure of consciousness, I am everything.

The ‘aham’ is not the ego sense but the oneness of the entire universe.

But let’s get back to addition and subtraction before the wee boy gets bored.

The essential problem is to find a way of describing infinity as infinite and therefore outside the categories where logic holds and confines. For infinity to be properly infinity it must include what is not; what could be or has been, thus beyond time. This is where we find shesha or residue. In Indian metaphysics and mythology shesha underlies the existent, making it possible. In Indian mathematics it is the remainder after subtraction. Shesha is also known as ananta which means infinity, literally ‘without end’.

You could think of space as infinity but space is not emptiness, not quite. The Indians regard space as an element, a thing of sorts. Einstein supports this by showing how space bends with gravity. Shesha, the remainder, lies beyond.  It is said in modern cosmology that the universe is ever expanding, so it must expand into what is not. That is a bit of a mystery. Infinity would have to include that otherwise it would not be complete. Marvellously, we are also told by the physicists that atoms display identical properties. So, there is the infinitely large and the infinitely small in the existent and the non-existent. The Indians considered this in the Nāsadīya Sūkta (Rig Veda 10.129).

It begins:

Then even non-existence was not there, nor existence,
There was no air then, nor the space beyond it.
What covered it? Where was it? In whose keeping?
Was there then cosmic fluid, in depths unfathomed?

In verse 4 we read:

The sages who have searched their hearts with wisdom
know that which is, is kin to that which is not.

It ends:

Whence all creation had its origin,
the creator, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not,
the creator, who surveys it all from highest heaven,
he knows — or maybe even he does not know.

My grandson might be interested to learn that modern physics also gives us the zero-energy universe hypothesis’ where the total amount of energy in the universe is exactly zero: the amount of positive energy in the form of matter is exactly cancelled out by its negative energy in the form of gravity. This has been called ‘a universe from nothingness’ where matter with positive energy and gravitational field with negative energy exist in balance. THIS and THAT or THAT and THIS. So, everything is also zero. Everything right beside nothing and both count to completeness. They have to according to this hypothesis or there wouldn’t be anything. In yoga we have shunya or asamprajnata, empty consciousness which is completeness. We are latently in a state of unrealised completeness where zero is the sign of everything.

So when I next see my grandson, maybe he’ll ask me again: Granddad what is infinity plus three? And I’m ready. I will answer the question with a question, the typical philosopher’s approach: Cauley, what is Cauley plus three? He’ll stop and think. Silence. See, Granddad isn’t so dumb.

Editor’s Note:

Jim teaches yoga in Scotland. He has received 500 hour certification through the Himalayan Yoga Tradition – Teacher Training Program (HYT-TTP).

The Story of Sai Om

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Many of you might have heard of this story already.

A wise old man in ancient China lost his horse which ran off into wilderness. Friends and neighbors came to comfort him. The old man just said, “How does one know it is not a lucky omen?” Indeed, a few days later the horse returned, and brought a herd of wild horses with it. People gathered to congratulate the old man. He just said, “How does one know it is not a bad omen?” One day his son fell off from the wild horse’s back while trying to tame it. He broke his thigh and became crippled. Once again, the old man said to those who came to show sympathy, “How does one know it is not a good omen?” Soon a war broke out and all the young men were drafted into the army and sent to the battlefield. Many of the young men never made it back but the wise old man’s son was spared because of his physical handicap.

The story is from an ancient book titled Huai Nan Zi attributed to a prince named Liu An of the Han Dynasty at around 139 B.C.  It has a very strong Taoist flavor, reflecting the prevalent philosophical mainstream at the time. The wise old man in the story was not named. He was referred on only as Sai Om (pronounced in today’s Chinese Mandarin). “Sai” is a military fortress or a stronghold. “Om” means elder. The wise old man lived around one of the fortresses in northern China and hence was referred to as Sai Om in the book. We may therefore call him the Chinese Sai Baba!

The moral of the story should be clear: misfortune hides in fortune and vice versa. One is therefore advised to expand one’s horizon and to step back from drowning in the current events.

It is perhaps also worth reading the story from the perspective of the sat-kārya-vāda of the sāṅkhya philosophy: the effects are already in their causes – so much so that, as Swami Veda put it, “a future purpose becomes the cause of the present”. In the grand scheme of things, in order for a certain future purpose to be fulfilled it is inevitable that something has to take place in the present.

But to speculate what that future purpose is is beyond the capability of most and will only take the mind away from the present. So in the mean time, here are two passages from Swami Veda’s book Sayings:

One may live in personal dark ages even in the Golden Age. One may live in a personal golden age even in the Dark Age.

When will the Golden Age return?
For you, whenever you want.

Editor’s Note:

Shi Hong is Senior Vice President of AHYMSIN. In addition, he is a mantra initiator and a member of the AHYMSIN Adhyatma Samiti, or Spiritual Committee.

Digging for the Treasure of Life

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The goal of life is not the drama being played, but the lesson that it offers.

Out of the tumult of human life comes the decision to look for lasting peace and joy. Where is one to look for this treasure, and how can it be found? Going back to the story of the angel who was given the job of hiding life’s meaning, this treasure is hidden within. It also might be said that the treasure is buried under layers of ego, desires, emotions, habits, and other embedded thought patterns. Atman, the individual’s real identity, is waiting there. It takes nothing more than realization of this fact to truly know it — just be awake to it, as the Buddha taught. It is as simple as flicking on a light.

Peeling off the layers of ego, emotions, and embedded thought patterns is not so easy. Shankara said that a treasure doesn’t come out when you call it. It must be hunted for and dug up. All that is heaped over the buried treasure must be removed. The decision to look for the treasure is only the beginning of the hunt. The promise that it sits waiting within is taken on faith, but there is also a feeling, a voice calling out from what is at once a great distance and no distance at all. The debris that covers the treasure is identified as maya and the effects of maya. On account of maya, one is not conscious of the real Self. A seeker must start the search in earnest and begin digging.

What separates a human being from his or her true identity? What are the rocks, dirt, and rubble under which the treasure is buried, and how does a person go about removing them? What are the necessary tools to accomplish the same?

This digging is the reason for worldly human existence. Knowing which tools to use and when is the art of life. This work is life, and it is a magnificent adventure with Atman, the treasure, as its goal.

We learn as we gradually dig, scrape, and peel off the layers of what is not our real and permanent nature, until finally the work is done and we know who our true Self is. This is why we come to this world, why we create it, why we compose the dramas that are enacted across the globe.

The goal of life is not the drama being played, but the lesson that it offers. Every human being is the playwright of her or his own drama. Most people forget this. They think the dramas of their lives are created by God, or by others, or by the chance of mathematical probability in an inconceivably vast universe. They also fail to remember that the drama of life is just that, a play that is momentarily being acted out for a desired result. Instead of understanding life as a play, they take life to be the ultimate. Then the lessons promised by the drama are missed and a great deal of pain and sorrow is experienced.

So it is. This is how our individual development is shaped. We create and recreate dramas that we fail to see as such dramas. We mistake them to be the ultimate and get tossed about in the turmoil of pain and pleasure. Finally the day dawns that we turn toward another perspective. We are able to step back and watch the drama from a distance. The pain diminishes and the wisdom and humor of the drama become more apparent.

Each person creates a stage, a laboratory, a drama—however you prefer to understand it—to penetrate the layers of barriers covering the Atman. The day will eventually arrive when we will realize our true identity as both the one who is watching the drama, and that which is being watched. There is only One, as the Upanishads state. Each individual is a wave in the single vast ocean of pure consciousness.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Sacred Journey: Living Purposefully and Dying Gracefully by Swami Rama. Chapter “Digging for the Treasure of Life,” pages 19-21.

For all Swami Rama’s and Swami Veda Bharati’s published works, please email hyptbooks@gmail.com

Published works of Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati are also available at other venues.

How can I control my anger?

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Question

I am practising yoga and meditation taught by Gurudev Swami Rama. I am getting angry. Please help me so that I may control it.

Answers

Stephen Parker (Stoma) and Carolyn Hume have answered this question.

Stephen Parker (Stoma)

Sorry to hear that you are feeling this anger. But it’s important to know that the anger was always there and now it has become clear to you (which is a good thing). You know your starting point with this aspect of emotional purification (citta-prasādana) which is the major goal of our initial practice of yoga. We always want to “control” it or make it go away; what is important is that you can observe it with mindful awareness. If you do this you can then inquire and discover what the anger is about (it may have many sources and levels), how it works, with whom you feel it, etc. All of this helps you to understand it and gradually get a sense of how to redirect that emotional energy in a more constructive way. For myself, I often redirected the energy into aerobic exercise which always left me feeling better afterwards. As long as I had something that would reliably help me feel better. I never felt helpless or hopeless which always made any anger or frustration worse. Gradually I felt more and more choice in how to respond to the anger I saw in myself. This effect of cultivating mindful self-observation is that this sense of freedom grows. In addition, maintaining mindful awareness by remaining aware of the sensation of breath flowing in your nostrils neurologically generates a subtle sense of joyfulness that gradually becomes more and more the habit of your mind.

Remember that your anger is always your responsibility. As Swami Veda used to say, nobody can make you angry; all they can do is hold up a mirror to what is already in your mind. When you blame others, and even when you blame yourself, you try to duck that responsibility but you also give away all your power to change anything. When you blame, you automatically define yourself as a powerless victim. When you take responsibility for your anger, regardless of others’ behavior, you take back whatever power you have to affect the situation.

So I wish you well in exploring the function and the sources of your anger. And I hope that you find your way to the sense of freedom and greater joyfulness that comes with the cultivation of mindful awareness.

Carolyn Hume

Stoma’s response is insightful on anger and how to handle anger.

In addition, diaphragmatic breathing can be a tool in anger management. When one is angry, one is emotionally distraught, and if one examines one’s breathing at the time, one may find that they are not breathing diaphragmatically. One can re-establish one’s diaphragmatic breathing and also relax (this can be a progressive relaxation) which goes well with the mindfulness about which Stoma wrote.

Also, it is good if one does not identify so strongly with the anger that one starts condemning oneself.

“We get angry, and we think, ‘I am angry.’ Who is angry? To say ‘I am angry’ is to identify with the emotion, to believe that the emotion is us. We cannot be an emotion. As humans, we are capable of having anger and experiencing anger, but we are not anger or any other emotion.” – Swami Rama

Swami Rama wrote, “You should decide which desires are helpful for your growth and which desires will create obstructions to your growth. Learning to train the intellect within (buddhi) will definitely help in doing this: when you get angry, you can arrive at the source of your frustration and anger by sitting down and analyzing why you got angry in the first place and examining which desires were not fulfilled.”

And Swami Veda Bharati has written, “Ask yourself, What is the alternative, sattvic way of behavior? Instead of anger how should I have responded to the situation? Slowly these questions will become paramount in your mind. If they create conflict, your rajas is still dominant. A gentle breeze of an answer is what you are looking for from within. The determination of behavioral choices begins within the mind. Instead of pondering on how to act, go to its causes, which are thoughts and feelings. Do not suppress your anger. Strive to convert it into compassion and acceptance…Gradually you will find mental tools to help you alter your choices. Your smile will cool and soothe the other person’s anger and leave him smiling. Having succeeded once, you are encouraged. You now have faith that, yes, indeed, this can be done. For sure, it will bear pleasant results. You then reaffirm your resolve for the next time. We can call this morality of emotions, ethics of emotions.”

Sometimes change can start with the grossest expression and move to the more subtle level. For instance, when I was a child, I was much more likely to strike out with a hit or a kick or something similar if I was angry.  Then later perhaps with a sharp tongue, critical and sarcastic. As I grow emotionally, first I realize that I am not physically striking out at people, and later I notice that I no longer attack with words.  The thought patterns become more sattvic.

However, as one continues the mindfulness, one finds more and more subtle levels of desire and possibly anger or irritation… This can be a lengthy process, but, as Stoma has said, it is also an opportunity, and it is an opportunity that leads one to grow in happiness and greater happiness. As we let go, love flows more freely through us.

Editor’s Note

If you have any questions about your spiritual practice, you may write to the AHYMSIN Spiritual Committee at adhyatmasamiti@gmail.com.

Concern for Humanity

Posted on by Mandala

For me, Swami Rama again and again stresses concern for humanity.

The point that Swami Rama emphasises is important:

“We have to transcend our racial vanity, and we have to search for a lifestyle to restructure a new, reformed society.” (A Call to Humanity, page 112)

“Today, humanity needs a moral and intellectual revitalization.” (A Call to Humanity, page 114)

“Today, we cannot live in seclusion and cannot separate ourselves from the problems and concerns of the rest of society. How is it possible to disregard the problems of our neighbors? There is no way to be happy if our fellow beings are suffering from disease and poverty.” (A Call to Humanity, page 115).

Inspired by his call, looking at the present dilemma of the world, I see very complex issues humanity is facing; it’s not just the virus. Silence and acquiescence are not helpful.

As Swami Rama says: we cannot separate ourselves. In fact, what is yoga? Ultimately when we talk of oneness, it means one with all of existence. We are part of nature… part of earth, interference with what makes life is a threat to all of us. What to do? We must somehow find a way to make societies and governments more aware.

“To have concern for others is to be human. By being selfish and self-centered, we fall from our true human status. Now we must strive for peace and happiness as a group. Before committing ourselves to working together, we have to create a sense of equality. We have to raise our moral status and design a new world that is free from complexes and in equities. In this age of high technology, no community or race can maintain its existence without associating with other communities and races. So there must be better understanding among human beings. We have to share one another’s losses and gains. We have to learn from each other’s experiences for our own growth.” – Swami Rama, A Call to Humanity, pages 114-115

“The human race is suffering from its ego-born narrow-mindedness.” – Swami Rama, A Call to Humanity, page 115