Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Seven Stages for Self Realization
Exposing and dropping of the believed self happens in seven stages through Spirituality as a real art of living -
1) The stage of wisdom - Perform actions as a sacrifice to the Almighty God. Perform your duties disinterestedly without expecting results. Withdraw your senses and be detached from the illusions on nature. Controlling the senses helps in slaying the desire, attraction, anger, hate, jealousy and helps attaining wisdom.
He who can see inaction in action, and action in inaction, is the wisest among men. He is a saint, even though he still acts. The wise call him a sage, for whatever he undertakes is free from the motive of desire, and his deeds are purified by the fire of Wisdom.
Having surrendered all claim to the results of his actions, always contented and
independent, in reality he does nothing, even though he is apparently acting. Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing bodily actions only; though he acts, yet he remains untainted.
He who dedicates his actions to the Spirit, without any personal attachment to them, he is no more tainted by sin than the water lily is wetted by water. The sage performs his action dispassionately, using his body, mind and intellect, and even his senses, always as a means of purification.
He who is happy within his Self and has found Its peace, and in whom the inner light
shines, that sage attains Eternal Bliss and becomes the Spirit Itself. But those who act righteously, in whom sin has been destroyed, who are free from the infatuation of the conflicting emotions, they worship Me with firm resolution. Those who make Me their refuge, who strive for liberation from decay and Death, they realise the Supreme Spirit, which is their own real Self, and in which all action finds its
consummation.
2) The stage of questioning - The association with the wise and Scriptures and the following of the right path preceding the practice of indifference.
There is the Path of Wisdom for those who meditate, and the Path of Action for those who work. Do your duty as prescribed, for action for duty’s sake is superior to inaction. Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of Sacrifice. God is the epitome of sacrifice being performed in the World to all beings impartially.
In the beginning, when God created all beings by the sacrifice of Himself, He said unto them: `Through sacrifice you can procreate, and it shall satisfy all your desires. Worship the Powers of Nature thereby, and let them nourish you in return; thus supporting each other, you shall attain your highest welfare.
All creatures are the product of food, food is the product of rain, rain comes by sacrifice, and sacrifice is the noblest form of action. All action originates in the Supreme Spirit, which is Imperishable, and in sacrificial action the all-pervading Spirit is consciously present.
Thus he who does not help the revolving wheel of sacrifice, but instead leads a sinful life, rejoicing in the gratification of his senses lives in vain. On the other hand, the soul who meditates on the Self is content to serve the Self and rests
satisfied within the Self; there remains nothing more for him to accomplish.
Having surrendered all claim to the results of his actions, always contented and
independent, in reality he does nothing, even though he is apparently acting. Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing bodily actions only; though he acts, yet he remains untainted.
Content with what comes to him without effort of his own, mounting above the pairs of
opposites, free from envy, his mind balanced both in success and failure; though he acts, yet the consequences do not bind him. He who is without attachment, free, his mind centered in wisdom, his actions, being done as a sacrifice, leave no trace behind. For him, the sacrifice itself is the Spirit; the Spirit and the oblation are one; it is the Spirit Itself which is sacrificed in Its own fire, and the man even in action is united with God, since while performing his act, his mind never ceases to be fixed on Him.
3) Thinned mind (Meditation and Withdrawal of the Senses - Pratyaharaya) - That stage wherein the hankering after sensual objects is thinned through the first and second stages.
Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses (indriyas) of cognition and action from both the external world and the images or impressions in the mind field. The senses are said to follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever she goes, they will follow. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will come racing behind. Pratyahara is rung 5 of the 8 rungs.
Gaining mastery over the senses: Our senses seem to drag us around in the external world, whether pursuing material objects, food, or circumstances related to professional, social, or economic life. Through the routine practice of pratyahara at daily meditation time, we gradually gain positive control (2.55) over the mind being obsessively drawn towards all of those objects. This is a further refinement of minimizing the coloring of the mind field (2.1-2.9), and the third Niyama, which is Tapas, or training the senses (2.43).
Through ascesis or training of the senses (tapas), there comes a destruction of mental impurities, and an ensuing mastery or perfection over the body and the mental organs of senses and actions (indriyas).
(kaya indriya siddhih ashuddhi kshayat tapasah)
First comes posture and breath: Sense withdrawal, pratyahara, rests on the solid foundation of a steady, comfortable meditation posture (2.46-2.48), and smooth, deep, quiet breath that has no pauses (2.49-2.53). Without these two steps, sense withdrawal becomes a battle. With posture and breath regulated, pratyahara comes much more naturally.
Preparing for samyama: Meditation posture, regulation of prana, and withdrawal of the senses collectively set the stage for the higher practices of concentration (3.1), meditation (3.2), and samadhi (3.3), which are together called samyama (3.4). Samyama is the finer tool of the inner journey, and is the reason for doing the first five rungs.
When the mental organs of senses and actions (indriyas) cease to be engaged with the corresponding objects in their mental realm, and assimilate or turn back into the mind-field from which they arose, this is called pratyahara, and is the fifth step.
(sva vishaya asamprayoge chittasya svarupe anukarah iva indriyanam pratyaharah)
Training the Ten Senses or Indriyas
Sense withdrawal is a mental function: Withdrawing the senses does not mean just regulating the physical sense organs, such as closing the eyelids or sitting physically still. The senses are a mental function, and whenever that mental function is drawn to the objects of the mind field, there is active engagement of the senses. It doesn't really matter whether that mental object is coming from the outside (such as through the eyes), or arising from the memory. It is this internal withdrawal of sensory attention to the mental objects that is the process of pratyahara.
Indriyas are senses and actions: The senses that are withdrawn in pratyahara are called indriyas, and involve both cognition and expression. There are five means of cognition and five means of expression, and these are each aligned with the lower five chakras. It is extremely important point to understand that senses or indriyas means cognition and expression. There is an indwelling witness and an external world, and we are wanting to temporarily suspend all interaction (sensory and expression) with the external, so as to experience the depths of meditation. In addition to temporarily suspend external contact, we also want to temporarily suspend sensory contact with the images and impressions that arise in the mental field or on the mental screen. This pratyahara allows the depth of the last three rungs of Yoga to come (3.1-3.3).
Cessation of engagement, not suppression: Sense withdrawal means that the senses cease to be engaged or connected to the objects traveling in the train of the mind. It does not mean the suppression, repression, or stopping of those thoughts. They may naturally slow down or decrease to some degree, but the method itself is to break the contact, to cease connecting with the thought patterns. This means allowing thoughts to flow without interruption, while the senses are simply not diverted into those thoughts. (See the article on Intentionally Inviting Thoughts)
Following the queen bee: The senses are said to follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever she goes, they will follow. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will come racing behind.
Mantras for Sense Withdrawal -
Aum Ateindriyaayah Namaha
Aum Pratyaa-haraya Namaha
Mantras for Enlightenment -
Aum Namoh Narayanaya
Aum Namoh Bhagavateh Vasudevayah
Aum Namah Sivayah
4) The attainment of Sattva - That stage wherein having become indifferent to all sensual objects through the exercise of first three stages, the purified Intellect and Mind rests on the Spirit. When the mind is firmly fixed on the non-dual One and the conception of duality is put down, then he sees this universe as a dream through his union with the fourth stage.
Eating Vegetarian Food
Pure Satvik food, Satvik life, satvik actions, eat veggie (No onion, garlic, potato, mushroom, meat or fish, drinking alcohol in the diet), Fasting on water or juices, Silence (Talk less), Meditation, Self Control.
Speech and actions are rajas, Silence is satvik
Eliminate rajsik (action, too much talking, meat, food caused by pain),
Eliminate tamsik gunas (oversleeping, delusion, restlessness, fear, laziness, drinking alcohol, eating spoilt food, eating fast foods)
Sattva guna is full of virtue,softness,patience,endurance and deeper meaning. Sattvic people are non-violent,sympathetic,compassion,peace lovers and so on. Satvic behaviour is of divine nature.
Sattvic—silent quiet mental prayer and meditation; rajasic devotion or bhakthi--singing and dancing,taking out pocessions,elaborate rituals in temples.
5) Non attachment - The light (or manifestation) of Sattva-Guna (Pure knowledge) that is firmly rooted (in one) without any desire for the fruits of actions through the practice in the above four stages. Attainment of the Dreamless sleeping state, where he remains simply in the non-dual state, being freed from all the various differences.
You only have the right to work, but none to the fruit thereof. Let not then the fruit of your action be your motive; nor yet be thou enamored of inaction. Perform all your actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity.
Physical action is far inferior to an intellect concentrated on the Divine. Have recourse then to Pure Intelligence. It is only the petty-minded who work for reward.
When a man attains to Pure Reason, he renounces in this world the results of good and
evil alike. Cling thou to Right Action. Spirituality is the real art of living.
6) Analysis of objects - People come to you for clarifications. You don't have any questions after acquiring transcendental knowledge. That stage wherein through the practice in the (above) five stages one, having found delight in Spirit, has no conception of the internals or externals (though before him) and engages in actions only when impelled to do so by others. Having always introvision though ever participating in external actions, those that are engaged in the practice of this (sixth stage) are seen like one sleeping when fatigued (viz., being freed from all affinities).
7) Self Realization or Turiya State - The stage wherein after exceedingly long practice in the (above) six stages one is (immovably) fixed in the contemplation of Self alone without the difference (of the universe). Then one remains in that secondless state without fear and with his consciousness almost annihilated where there is neither Sat nor Asat, neither self nor not-self.
Like an empty pot in the Sky, there is void both within and without; like a filled vessel in the midst of an ocean, he is full both within and without. Do not become either the knower or the known. May you become the Reality which remains after all thoughts are given up. Having discarded (all the distinctions of) the seer, the sight and the seen with their affinities, meditate solely upon Self which shines as the supreme Light.
In this conscious effortless state of transcendental meditation (Nirvikalpa Samadhi). A perception of the feeling of Silence , permanent non-dual state, Absolute Existence and limitless Awareness penetrates the seeker taking him to the Continuous Blissful state of Being one with Universe.
He who sees God in everything and everything in God, him shall God never forsake, nor shall he lose God. The Saint who realises the unity of life and who worships God in all beings, lives in God always. He is the perfect saint who, taught by the likeness within himself, sees the same Self everywhere, whether the outer form be pleasurable or painful. When the mind is firmly fixed on the non-dual One and the conception of duality is put down, then he sees this universe as a dream through his union with the fourth stage.
Mantras for Self Realization and Enlightenment -
Aum Namoh Narayanaya
Aum Namoh Bhagavateh Vasudevayah
Aum Namah Sivayah
1) The stage of wisdom - Perform actions as a sacrifice to the Almighty God. Perform your duties disinterestedly without expecting results. Withdraw your senses and be detached from the illusions on nature. Controlling the senses helps in slaying the desire, attraction, anger, hate, jealousy and helps attaining wisdom.
He who can see inaction in action, and action in inaction, is the wisest among men. He is a saint, even though he still acts. The wise call him a sage, for whatever he undertakes is free from the motive of desire, and his deeds are purified by the fire of Wisdom.
Having surrendered all claim to the results of his actions, always contented and
independent, in reality he does nothing, even though he is apparently acting. Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing bodily actions only; though he acts, yet he remains untainted.
He who dedicates his actions to the Spirit, without any personal attachment to them, he is no more tainted by sin than the water lily is wetted by water. The sage performs his action dispassionately, using his body, mind and intellect, and even his senses, always as a means of purification.
He who is happy within his Self and has found Its peace, and in whom the inner light
shines, that sage attains Eternal Bliss and becomes the Spirit Itself. But those who act righteously, in whom sin has been destroyed, who are free from the infatuation of the conflicting emotions, they worship Me with firm resolution. Those who make Me their refuge, who strive for liberation from decay and Death, they realise the Supreme Spirit, which is their own real Self, and in which all action finds its
consummation.
2) The stage of questioning - The association with the wise and Scriptures and the following of the right path preceding the practice of indifference.
There is the Path of Wisdom for those who meditate, and the Path of Action for those who work. Do your duty as prescribed, for action for duty’s sake is superior to inaction. Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of Sacrifice. God is the epitome of sacrifice being performed in the World to all beings impartially.
In the beginning, when God created all beings by the sacrifice of Himself, He said unto them: `Through sacrifice you can procreate, and it shall satisfy all your desires. Worship the Powers of Nature thereby, and let them nourish you in return; thus supporting each other, you shall attain your highest welfare.
All creatures are the product of food, food is the product of rain, rain comes by sacrifice, and sacrifice is the noblest form of action. All action originates in the Supreme Spirit, which is Imperishable, and in sacrificial action the all-pervading Spirit is consciously present.
Thus he who does not help the revolving wheel of sacrifice, but instead leads a sinful life, rejoicing in the gratification of his senses lives in vain. On the other hand, the soul who meditates on the Self is content to serve the Self and rests
satisfied within the Self; there remains nothing more for him to accomplish.
Having surrendered all claim to the results of his actions, always contented and
independent, in reality he does nothing, even though he is apparently acting. Expecting nothing, his mind and personality controlled, without greed, doing bodily actions only; though he acts, yet he remains untainted.
Content with what comes to him without effort of his own, mounting above the pairs of
opposites, free from envy, his mind balanced both in success and failure; though he acts, yet the consequences do not bind him. He who is without attachment, free, his mind centered in wisdom, his actions, being done as a sacrifice, leave no trace behind. For him, the sacrifice itself is the Spirit; the Spirit and the oblation are one; it is the Spirit Itself which is sacrificed in Its own fire, and the man even in action is united with God, since while performing his act, his mind never ceases to be fixed on Him.
3) Thinned mind (Meditation and Withdrawal of the Senses - Pratyaharaya) - That stage wherein the hankering after sensual objects is thinned through the first and second stages.
Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses (indriyas) of cognition and action from both the external world and the images or impressions in the mind field. The senses are said to follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever she goes, they will follow. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will come racing behind. Pratyahara is rung 5 of the 8 rungs.
Gaining mastery over the senses: Our senses seem to drag us around in the external world, whether pursuing material objects, food, or circumstances related to professional, social, or economic life. Through the routine practice of pratyahara at daily meditation time, we gradually gain positive control (2.55) over the mind being obsessively drawn towards all of those objects. This is a further refinement of minimizing the coloring of the mind field (2.1-2.9), and the third Niyama, which is Tapas, or training the senses (2.43).
Through ascesis or training of the senses (tapas), there comes a destruction of mental impurities, and an ensuing mastery or perfection over the body and the mental organs of senses and actions (indriyas).
(kaya indriya siddhih ashuddhi kshayat tapasah)
First comes posture and breath: Sense withdrawal, pratyahara, rests on the solid foundation of a steady, comfortable meditation posture (2.46-2.48), and smooth, deep, quiet breath that has no pauses (2.49-2.53). Without these two steps, sense withdrawal becomes a battle. With posture and breath regulated, pratyahara comes much more naturally.
Preparing for samyama: Meditation posture, regulation of prana, and withdrawal of the senses collectively set the stage for the higher practices of concentration (3.1), meditation (3.2), and samadhi (3.3), which are together called samyama (3.4). Samyama is the finer tool of the inner journey, and is the reason for doing the first five rungs.
When the mental organs of senses and actions (indriyas) cease to be engaged with the corresponding objects in their mental realm, and assimilate or turn back into the mind-field from which they arose, this is called pratyahara, and is the fifth step.
(sva vishaya asamprayoge chittasya svarupe anukarah iva indriyanam pratyaharah)
Training the Ten Senses or Indriyas
Sense withdrawal is a mental function: Withdrawing the senses does not mean just regulating the physical sense organs, such as closing the eyelids or sitting physically still. The senses are a mental function, and whenever that mental function is drawn to the objects of the mind field, there is active engagement of the senses. It doesn't really matter whether that mental object is coming from the outside (such as through the eyes), or arising from the memory. It is this internal withdrawal of sensory attention to the mental objects that is the process of pratyahara.
Indriyas are senses and actions: The senses that are withdrawn in pratyahara are called indriyas, and involve both cognition and expression. There are five means of cognition and five means of expression, and these are each aligned with the lower five chakras. It is extremely important point to understand that senses or indriyas means cognition and expression. There is an indwelling witness and an external world, and we are wanting to temporarily suspend all interaction (sensory and expression) with the external, so as to experience the depths of meditation. In addition to temporarily suspend external contact, we also want to temporarily suspend sensory contact with the images and impressions that arise in the mental field or on the mental screen. This pratyahara allows the depth of the last three rungs of Yoga to come (3.1-3.3).
Cessation of engagement, not suppression: Sense withdrawal means that the senses cease to be engaged or connected to the objects traveling in the train of the mind. It does not mean the suppression, repression, or stopping of those thoughts. They may naturally slow down or decrease to some degree, but the method itself is to break the contact, to cease connecting with the thought patterns. This means allowing thoughts to flow without interruption, while the senses are simply not diverted into those thoughts. (See the article on Intentionally Inviting Thoughts)
Following the queen bee: The senses are said to follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever she goes, they will follow. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will come racing behind.
Mantras for Sense Withdrawal -
Aum Ateindriyaayah Namaha
Aum Pratyaa-haraya Namaha
Mantras for Enlightenment -
Aum Namoh Narayanaya
Aum Namoh Bhagavateh Vasudevayah
Aum Namah Sivayah
4) The attainment of Sattva - That stage wherein having become indifferent to all sensual objects through the exercise of first three stages, the purified Intellect and Mind rests on the Spirit. When the mind is firmly fixed on the non-dual One and the conception of duality is put down, then he sees this universe as a dream through his union with the fourth stage.
Eating Vegetarian Food
Pure Satvik food, Satvik life, satvik actions, eat veggie (No onion, garlic, potato, mushroom, meat or fish, drinking alcohol in the diet), Fasting on water or juices, Silence (Talk less), Meditation, Self Control.
Speech and actions are rajas, Silence is satvik
Eliminate rajsik (action, too much talking, meat, food caused by pain),
Eliminate tamsik gunas (oversleeping, delusion, restlessness, fear, laziness, drinking alcohol, eating spoilt food, eating fast foods)
Sattva guna is full of virtue,softness,patience,endurance and deeper meaning. Sattvic people are non-violent,sympathetic,compassion,peace lovers and so on. Satvic behaviour is of divine nature.
Sattvic—silent quiet mental prayer and meditation; rajasic devotion or bhakthi--singing and dancing,taking out pocessions,elaborate rituals in temples.
5) Non attachment - The light (or manifestation) of Sattva-Guna (Pure knowledge) that is firmly rooted (in one) without any desire for the fruits of actions through the practice in the above four stages. Attainment of the Dreamless sleeping state, where he remains simply in the non-dual state, being freed from all the various differences.
You only have the right to work, but none to the fruit thereof. Let not then the fruit of your action be your motive; nor yet be thou enamored of inaction. Perform all your actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity.
Physical action is far inferior to an intellect concentrated on the Divine. Have recourse then to Pure Intelligence. It is only the petty-minded who work for reward.
When a man attains to Pure Reason, he renounces in this world the results of good and
evil alike. Cling thou to Right Action. Spirituality is the real art of living.
6) Analysis of objects - People come to you for clarifications. You don't have any questions after acquiring transcendental knowledge. That stage wherein through the practice in the (above) five stages one, having found delight in Spirit, has no conception of the internals or externals (though before him) and engages in actions only when impelled to do so by others. Having always introvision though ever participating in external actions, those that are engaged in the practice of this (sixth stage) are seen like one sleeping when fatigued (viz., being freed from all affinities).
7) Self Realization or Turiya State - The stage wherein after exceedingly long practice in the (above) six stages one is (immovably) fixed in the contemplation of Self alone without the difference (of the universe). Then one remains in that secondless state without fear and with his consciousness almost annihilated where there is neither Sat nor Asat, neither self nor not-self.
Like an empty pot in the Sky, there is void both within and without; like a filled vessel in the midst of an ocean, he is full both within and without. Do not become either the knower or the known. May you become the Reality which remains after all thoughts are given up. Having discarded (all the distinctions of) the seer, the sight and the seen with their affinities, meditate solely upon Self which shines as the supreme Light.
In this conscious effortless state of transcendental meditation (Nirvikalpa Samadhi). A perception of the feeling of Silence , permanent non-dual state, Absolute Existence and limitless Awareness penetrates the seeker taking him to the Continuous Blissful state of Being one with Universe.
He who sees God in everything and everything in God, him shall God never forsake, nor shall he lose God. The Saint who realises the unity of life and who worships God in all beings, lives in God always. He is the perfect saint who, taught by the likeness within himself, sees the same Self everywhere, whether the outer form be pleasurable or painful. When the mind is firmly fixed on the non-dual One and the conception of duality is put down, then he sees this universe as a dream through his union with the fourth stage.
Mantras for Self Realization and Enlightenment -
Aum Namoh Narayanaya
Aum Namoh Bhagavateh Vasudevayah
Aum Namah Sivayah
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