5/22/12

Mantra 8 (old)

That is all pervading, transparent,

bodiless, without defects, without sinew,

pure, sinless, wise, omniscient, over-ruler

and self existent. That has ontologically

distributed in equal divisions

of the eternal, the functions of substances.

         How do we define the Absolute? In other words, how do we define the indefinable? Often by what it is not. Positive assertions of what it is are more problematic. The Isa Upanishad’s definition given in Mantra 8 comes in at about an even split between positive and negative. It’s quite an intriguing list.

         Since there’s a wealth of material here, much of it familiar, Nitya glossed over most of the ideas. He does go deeper into asnaviram, “without sinews,” which he takes in the sense of the Absolute not needing physical connections. It operates perfectly well without any need for actual contact between its parts, mainly because it doesn’t have parts. It is unitive.

         Sinews are like strings to tie things together. It’s a very interesting choice of words, since one of the favored models of the structure of the universe in recent times is string theory. Maybe it should be called sinew theory!

         Unlike the Absolute, we are jam packed with sinews. Our bodies have nerves, muscles and capillaries that hold them together and permit communication between all parts. More than the tendons, which are literal sinews, they are our metaphorical sinews. Analogously, space is filled with electromagnetic radiation serving a similar purpose of connectedness in the empyrean. Yet the Absolute that is the basis of everything is said to be free of any dependence on connections. It doesn’t need them, because each part (if I may inject the term) is a self-functioning independent unit. And yet, the coherence of the whole is breathtaking. As far as we can tell, every part of our vast universe operates identically as the rest, imparting an overarching harmony and resonance without any connecting cables, or sinews. It’s a wonder.

         Since the rest of the definitions in Mantra 8 are given short shrift, I’ve asked the class (including email attendees) to choose one to meditate on and write about. Most of us don’t have the time to sit with all of these ideas, but as a group endeavor we could easily produce a cornucopia of insights. Your contribution would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to add a new category if you’d prefer. I should tell you that in the newer version we’ll get to next (in three weeks), Nitya elaborates on the poet aspect, here simply translated as “wise.”

         The most important discussion of the class centered around the meaning of meaning. Nitya offers a perfect definition:

Has this world no meaning?

It has its meaning exactly as it is seen and known from moment to moment as an existentially confronting reality to those who transact with any specific mode of it.

In other words, life is exactly what we make of it. That’s not to say that we make life, but we interpret whatever it is according to our lights, flawed and variable as they are. In a relative universe, there is no absolute meaning we measure ourselves against, we generate the meaning as we go along. We can despair or be elated over the same event. One person would read Nitya’s definition and conclude life has no meaning, while another would see an open door to invest every moment with profound care and dedication. This is the place we have a say in the matter, and the meaning of our life hangs in the balance.

         Susan has been having serial epiphanies around this idea recently, energized by last week’s discussion of sublimation. She talked about how her teenage daughter has a door to her room that bangs no matter how carefully she shuts it, and when she goes in the sound is like a tolling bell of doom to her mom. It stands for the growing separation she is experiencing in the relationship, as Sarah looks more and more outside the family for her trajectory. But Susan knows the sound of the door doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It is just her own baggage, her heavy load, and so she can reassure herself that Sarah doesn’t really hate her, and let her dread go. She knows she has a choice to either be miserable or smile and soldier on. Once you are aware you have a choice, you usually make the more sensible one. It’s the unaware decisions that really snag us.

         Paul told us about his conditioning as a firefighter, how even though he is retired, certain cues from his career are linked to the jolt of responding to emergencies. Since he is aware of it, he can calm himself down, but those who aren’t aware lead highly stressed lives, haplessly overreacting to insignificant stimuli. This is a place where yoga or some form of mindfulness is especially valuable. The class agreed that Paul should treat himself to an ice cream cone after hearing the cue, which will recondition him to take it more positively. We are definitely capable of rewiring our neurological “sinews” given some time and enough intention.

         One of the great leaps forward in recent times is the realization, based on empirical observation, that the brain can upgraded at any time in our life. Until recently it was a firm conviction that after the first two years we were stuck with a solid block, and improvement was hopeless. Good riddance to that toxic belief! But changing our wiring takes effort, and that’s where we fall down sometimes. If we feel defeated in our heart, we may surrender without a fight. Likewise, if we are cocksure we know everything already, we are defeated in advance.

         Moni related a poignant example of excellent upgrading, stemming from a gang killing she heard about. The murderer, a child of the streets, had no mother, and the murdered boy’s mother was left childless. Obviously she could have been filled with rage and woe and never gotten over her loss, but instead she began to visit her son’s murderer in prison. She came to see how tragic his situation was, and eventually forgave him. He could have been so wracked with guilt that he rebuffed her advances, but he allowed himself to respond. In the end he came to treat her as his own mother and she took him as her own son. Their hate and despair was sublimated into love and mutual support. That’s about as dramatic a difference in what you make out of life as can be imagined.

         This brought up the theme for the week, which was Voltaire’s classic satire, Candide. Several of us saw the opera version, which is challenging to say the least. It’s very heavy handed, but Voltaire was combating the prevailing belief of his day that everything that happened was for the best. The deceptive belief leads to maximal absurdity in the story, as naively optimistic buffoons gaze on piles of corpses or endure grotesque tortures while endlessly repeating “it’s all for the best.” It recalled Peter O’s joke that an optimist is someone who believes this is the best of all possible worlds, and a pessimist is someone who agrees with them. But it was no joke.

         Paul wondered if the fact that the Absolute was without defects, sinless and so on, meant we shouldn’t make judgments, that everything was somehow for the best after all. It’s a perennial issue, and the source of Marx accusing religion of being an opiate of the people, because it inures its believers to tragedy. But the confusion is due to a mixing of contexts. While the ideal of the Absolute is pure and sinless, the manifested version has plenty of warts. One prime meaning of life lies in our ability to improve situations, which requires us to acknowledge our ability to have an impact, and in turn to recognize injustice. Meekly accepting our lot drains all significance out of life. We need to cultivate a high value vision to move toward in order to make life both enjoyable and meaningful. The Absolute serves as the perfect ideal, an infinite, unattainable goal to direct our steps toward. We don’t have to become the Absolute to be worthy, we just have to look to it as our guiding star.

         It’s important to remember we are not called to live in a permanent state of outrage over injustice any more than to ignore it. We have to find a happy balance between the awareness and combating of injustice and retaining our peaceful integrity. So we meditate on the highest vision, and then live our life confronting obstacles while trying to keep the peace inside too. In an active life it’s quite a challenge. We go back and forth across the balance point between cosmos and chaos, until in rare instances we might be able to remain poised at just the right spot for a spell.

         Susan waxed rhapsodic about class as group meditation. She finds it so much easier to concentrate and be uplifted in the small group. She doesn’t necessarily retain too many of the ideas we talk about, but the atmosphere stays with her for a long time. Everyone agreed that meditating alone is much more challenging. In class it seems effortless, natural. Susan noted there are no “sinews,” no perceivable connections between any of us. Whatever is going on is more subtle than science. At least it is a good chance to regain our ground in the midst of our problems, which are ever pulling us out of our center.

         Scotty talked about a time when he was young that he went to see Ram Dass in a 3000-seat theater. (Those were the days!) Ram Dass came out and just sat still for maybe twenty minutes. Scotty remembers it seemed like ages, but created an uplifting sense of community, as everyone was just sitting with their own thoughts. Once everyone was in a great place together, Ram Dass began, “Tonight I’m going to say many things to you. I want you to be sure to forget everything I’m about to say. Let it go.” Of course, such a request has a paradoxical effect of making the listener more attentive, but Scotty remembered it as taking the pressure off, making him feel light and happy. Very often less is definitely more. Good advice for the didactically inclined.

         Okay, those of you with the time and inclination, please pick one of the descriptions of the Absolute, ponder it, and send us your insights to share.

Part II

         Paul brought up the neti neti aspect, the “not this, not this” practice we mentioned earlier, and I wanted to emphasize an important point about it. It is so easy for us to see the foibles of our fellows that we sometimes forget that spiritual practices like this have to be turned back on ourselves. They are not about enunciating the faults of other people, but of correcting our own miasma. Lurking behind spiritual practices is often a core conviction that I am right but all those fools out there are wrong. Believing that invalidates the entire neti neti exercise. In fact, it is a technique of the overmastering ego to defend itself. The ego takes to spirituality as a way to make itself inviolable, creating one of the chief dangers of the spiritual path.

         The Upanishadic rishis were well aware of the hazards of the spiritual ego, and the next few mantras will take it on. They are some of the most potent and crucial in the entire study. Unless we relinquish our need to validate our ego in the public arena, we cannot make any progress.

         By purest coincidence, Paul sent a take on the Absolute just in time to be shared before we go on a two week trip. During this time I hope to hear from many more amateur philosophers, but I won’t be able to pass anything along until I get back. Paul wrote under the title Bucketism as an Absolute Essence:

Can humans ever experience an unrestricted vision of the Absolute? By nature I believe we can. But by nurture I believe we are doomed. Human experience is both at once nature and nurture. Perception of the horizontal aspect of the Absolute requires a restriction (like in space and time) of the Pure Potential we term as Absolute. Hence non-duality manifests as duality and synthesis initially becomes visible as thesis and antithesis.

  I’ve heard it said that nature provides us a bucket-full of potential, nurture decides how much and with what that bucket will be filled with. So far, most buckets (myself included) I’ve met are half full of crap. The bad news is… we all use our individual buckets to define reality (crappy or otherwise). The good news is… our bucket is only half full and we have the ability to modify its contents. To me, bucket vs. bucket content resonates with “where does the potness of the pot reside”. What is the essence of a pot? Wikipedia’s, definition of essence (and accident) is:

In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the object or substance has contingently, without which the substance can still retain its identity. The concept originates with Aristotle, who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai, literally ‘the what it was to be’, or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti, literally ‘the what it is,’ for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for his Latin translators that they coined the word essentia (English “essence”) to represent the whole expression.

Essence is likened to our bucket (pure potential). Accident can be likened to the quantity and quality of our bucket content. And the accidental quality of our content can be tailored. When proper knowledge displaces improper knowledge, a greater bucket potential is achieved. And as it turns out, when accident is removed from essence (macro or micro), there is only One Bucket.

Part III

The submission from John A requires its own Part, as you can see. Defining the indefinable remains ever elusive, yet often the attempt is amusing and even instructive, both for the reader and the conceptual artist who makes it:

Hello Mr. T.

Thanks for the opportunity for me to express my view of the Absolute with you and the group.

Often I’m told to get to the point, the problem is, it is not a point but an entire picture with a multitude of pixels, or points, and those points/pixels are rejected and tossed out as fast as I can supply them due to common sense, judgment, ego, pride, preconceived notions, and the list goes on. Suspending rational judgment is common when reading a science fiction novel, or any fiction novel for a matter of fact, allowing the reader to see the full picture. The Absolute has the ability to convey an entire chunk of reality/picture in a single moment, we do not, we use single points or pixels necessitating faith and trust in the listener in order to see the full picture before it is rejected. So with that being said, I’m asking the listeners to please suspend their normal reason and judgments in order for me to convey the entire picture before it is evaluated.

If I say “this is the way it is”, it should really be taken as, “this is what it is like”, since there is no way to actually identify what “It” is.

So without further ado I will start painting the picture, pixel by pixel.

The Absolute/God is the embodiment and epitome of love, not an aloof deity unconcerned with mere mortals, in fact the opposite is true, the Absolute/God has created his/hers/its ultimate jewel, which is us! If it helps to visualize the Absolute as a kindly long bearded white-haired old man father figure, go for it. Like the analogy of those describing their view of the elephant, all may very well be correct however none see the entire picture either. That’s the way it is with attempting to create a single view of the Absolute.

This next concept is where you, the reader/listener needs to suspend rational opinions and judgments and preconceived notions of reality.

You are a separate entity from the Absolute, not like a drop or wave in the ocean, or inseparable, but co-eternal, no beginning or ending, like the Absolute/God. The process for us individually started a long time ago, however as you well know time is not a factor, nevertheless how else can I describe it? Like a seed, but a unique seed with the potential of becoming a God, we are. But like a seed, without sunlight water and nutrients, the seed remains in a stasis for all eternity. In a similar fashion, but with the sunlight water and nutrients being supplied by the Absolute, we partake of and choose from the horn-of-plenty all that is available, good and evil, which in the and determines our core essence of what we are. Those seeds that have an essence in their core closely resembling that of the Absolute/God continue to choose all that is available that leads them eventually to become one with the Absolute/God. The guiding light or thread of connection is love. The Absolute/God, if viewed as a facilitator more than as an authoritarian, a more accurate understanding blossoms.

Next comes the universe, and in this to, common sense and reason needs to be suspended for a while.

As progress in our individualistic progression continues, a complete severance of awareness of who we are and who God is needs to take place, otherwise, the purpose this life affords us could never take place. Moving at or above the speed of light, time and physical matter no longer exists, thus we needed to be slowed down in order to exist. Many enlightened yogis understand the nature of this universe as being illusory. If I say to you “look, I have imagined a beach ball sized red glowing ball”, you too can see what I have created though it has no substance other than thought, and I created it out of nothing, or at least nothing that we can conceive of. The Absolute/God has created the universe in like fashion out of nothing other than a thought, it is an illusion, but we see it as real! We see it as real just like you see the red glowing beach ball that I created. On a different level of reality this creation is taking place, which is another reason why some guru’s and yogis say “you have created the entire universe”, just like you created the red glowing beach ball that I suggested to your mind. Although this all takes place on another plane of existence. Regardless of the efforts of any individual to discover the reality of anything tangible beyond this realm of existence, those efforts will prove futile, it would thwart the purpose of this life, disallowing faith to guide each individual on their own course of development, their eyes would be open, seeing reality as it really is, which would be counterproductive to faith. The seed essence of what you are requires faith to properly allow it’s true nature to reveal itself, there is no other way, if there was, the Absolute/God would have done it differently. As a parent ourselves, we love our children regardless of their accomplishments, at least a good parent sees their children that way. In that very same way, the Absolute/God sees us too. The process is very long and deleterious to our existing conditions if we are to continue our growth. Think about this for a minute. When I was a baby, I thought as a baby, and now I am a man. When I was a squirrel, I thought as a squirrel thinks, though the true essence of what I am was not a squirrel, so why would I stop now and think I am a human just because I am a human now? This body which is human wants money sex and drugs, but I couldn’t care less what it wants, I will take care of it and feed it the sustenance it needs, but I will not be controlled by it, I will control it, and so the process continues, the process I choose is deleterious to the human one. On the other hand, if one believes they are human, the future course of that human is going to be different than mine, we are simply on different paths, directed by the core essence of what each individual is. Which is what? It is the same as the Absolute/God, Nothing! Though when I say nothing, my nothing is different than your nothing, for me to convey what picture I am trying to paint. If one assumes the presupposed notion that the Absolute/God is everything, then if I am separate from it, I cannot add to it unless it is not quite everything, which is not possible, thus the notion of non-duality comes into play, making sense of a presupposed notion of reality. However on the other hand, if the Absolute/God is nothing, and I am nothing, when I become one with the Absolute/God, I neither add to nor do I subtract from it because we are both nothing. This concept of nothing however is different than which can be conceived of, or different than what was thought of as being nothing.

So the process continues, and history cannot explain why human history of intelligence can only be traced back 4000 years or so, as though everything only started for us humans about 4000 to 6000 years ago. But we are not humans! We started to inhabit human bodies at that time, which is why history starts at the time, the Adam and Eve concept is a similitude story depicting when our spirits started to inhabit human bodies, which leads us to spirits.

The essence of us is Nothing. The Absolute/God created for us spirits/souls, which is a part of God, like the drop or wave in the ocean, inseparable from the Absolute/God, allowing for the commonly accepted notion of that idea to be true, our bodies, souls, minds, and everything else that there is, is the Absolute/God. The only part of us that is not God, or the Absolute, is the Nothing essence of what we are in our most rudimentary form, which is limitless! This helps to explain the divide between good and evil people, with the horn-of-plenty being made available to each and every one of us, we choose what we like, or more accurately, we choose what we are. Without the existence of this illusory life we are living, we would never manifest our true being. If I was in a store with 100 cops pointing their loaded guns at my head, I would never steal anything, instant death would be the result, so if I have a proclivity of thievery, that nature will never be manifested, and I would be assumed to be like everyone else, completely honest to the core, when in fact I simply do not want to be shot to death instantly. So our life as humans in this existence, is simply another step in our progression, being completely facilitated by the Absolute/God. Why would the Absolute/God want to do this for us? Because it loves us. Why would we want to become like it? Because we love it.

Of course there is much much more, but at least I have presented enough pixels to create one picture.

Thank you so very much for the opportunity to present my view of the Absolute/God.

Regards, John Aarness.

Part IV

         I’m still soliciting thoughts on the Absolute. I just talked to Dipika (in person! In Central Park, New York!), and she confessed to feeling intimidated that her language wasn’t erudite enough. I assured her that everyone is relieved and appreciative to read every variety of personal perspective. She immediately sent a very nice essay she had already written but held back, and I hope some of you will do the same. Stumbling thoughts can be even more charming than elegant structures, as Nitya points out below, and each expression includes the unique essence of the writer, which we are all eager to meet. Please do not feel ashamed of your contributions, but share them if you dare. It can only make life richer than it already is.

         Here is Dipika’s poetic offering:

The ABSOLUTE

The ‘Absolute’ is absolutely everywhere in its transparent ubiquitousness

We ...our bodies are just the casing for the ‘emptiness’ that is the real living breathing multifaceted potential ABSOLUTE (that’s why the name)

If you go anywhere in this world as a living being you find wherever you are becomes your centre...as we know it the ‘I’

The ‘I’ is alive with the 5 senses...it also retains any knowledge learnt and has the ability to add ....anywhere it goes

It may be trekking , swimming , flying , even scuba diving...and it is ‘alive’

There is no point on earth where if your casing ‘the body’ is functioning that you will not be alive provided you are able to ‘breathe’ in this space

Thus we are inextricably surrounded by this ‘Absolute Space’

As living creatures go...from amoebas to the multi celled intelligence that the human race has grown to...we have gained and sucked in knowledge from this ‘Absolute Space’ over the millennia

Each genus of the living creatures keeps growing and expanding as its ‘brain’ develops...picking up all its knowledge from the surrounding ‘potential’ space

Every creature is differently abled as it imbibes in different amounts of what is already available in this ‘Absolute potential space’

You have different animals side by side...the polarity of Carnivores and Herbivores

You have different humans from Physicists to Ballet dancers

You also have extremism like the Taliban and benevolence like the Dalai Lama

the Absolute...according to my understanding is really that...absolutely present everywhere in every form at all times

It is already present around us in complete totality (not quite like the noosphere which develops with human development but the opp...development happens through this)

Humans though have the ability to choose ...a knowledge to pursue to excel....an emotion to love to hate to be kind

What we make of it is up to us..what we take in and imbibe is what makes us these unique creations on earth...be it Plant Animal or Human

Space emptiness nothingness...are wherein all the qualities of omnipresent fullness reside....This is The Absolute

much love to all

--

dipika

Part V

         Susan’s contribution refers to our earlier discussion of sublimation, but she has spent a long time thinking about it, and then I couldn’t pass it along while I was on the road. This is such important stuff! And a prime example of why I occasionally beg for more from all you shining souls.

         At long last:

I keep thinking about the word sublimation. It really throws me off. The Upanishad uses it to mean purification (as you talked about), which is one of its three definitions. And I like the extension to the chemical definition that you talked about also. But the definition with which I am most familiar is more negative (from Wikipedia):

In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defence mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are consciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behaviour, possibly converting the initial impulse in the long term. According to Wade and Tavris, sublimation is when displacement “serves a higher cultural or socially useful purpose, as in the creation of art or inventions” [1]. As used by Freud, the word designated the concept of a spiritual redirection of the libido [2] and has roots in his psychoanalytical theory. According to Freud, this concept has had significant effects on the development of individuals, as well as culture, throughout time.

This kind of sublimation is more like what I've done my whole life. It's more like repression, right?

But you and Nitya are talking about sublime-ation! I had no idea that sublime was related. Very cool. It really bends my mind to think in this way. So instead of pushing the load down into my psyche and replacing it with a smile and a positive attitude, I am trying to examine the loads (the load descriptions in the sutra are amazing! I can so relate!). I am taking the things that set me off or make me sad or drive me crazy and I am transforming them instead of stuffing them inside. This is a radical idea and not so intuitive in our culture. When I was young and I got angry or sad, my mother told me to put on a smile instead. She really pushed the idea that the world had no room for negative feelings. I don't blame her for this — she just wanted things to be less dreary. But I really felt bad about my sadness or my anger and so I did push those feelings down inside and I replaced them with the veneer of optimism and happiness. I was always calm, cheerful, and compliant. But the negative emotions festered over time and I eventually had to deal with them. The Gurukula work has been vital to the purging of many of my suppressed feelings. Purging and purifying — that is, owning them and letting them go. I am much less often sentimental about my sadness and depression. I am aware of how I used to find it all too comfortable. As I tried to explain in class, I am also becoming aware of the reality of my life rather than just the subjective look of it because I am having to think about my past again as I raise Sarah and Peter. This helps all sorts of projections to melt away or go from a solid to a gas. Then there are all the annoyances of life. So many things can be annoyances, if I let them. Anticipation helps with this and just putting some energy into thinking about why I am getting so annoyed. Going to class helps and all we learn about letting things go and diving deeper into ourselves.

Part VI

         Mick has contributed some selections from his recent readings, addressing the One Subject from several different angles:

We used to practice with Tohei Sensei back in the day and still ascribe to his views, I am also reading Poonjaji and Nisargadatta Mahraj these days. I have been enjoying reading your class notes. My own readings have yielded the following passages that may possibly bear on the topic the group is currently focusing on:

Koichi Tohei (ca 1978)

Though from ancient times in the Orient, the word Ki has been in wide use for a wide number of things, from the Ki of the Universal to everyday things around us, many people who use the word do not realize to what extent everyday ki is connected with the Ki of universal, or even that the two are connected at all.

THE BASIC NATURE OF KI

As our five senses tell us, the universal in which we live at present has color and form. But what is the real nature of this universal?

Anything that has form must have a beginning. For example the sun is said to be blazing now but there must have been a beginning to the fire. There must also have been a fire before the fire stated. If we trace the origins of all things, we reach a point at which nothing existed. On the other hand, nothing cannot give birth to something. Zen uses a term, mu, which means nothingness, but not a complete nothingness; that is, the Zen mu means a state in which, thought nothing exists, there is still something.

Mathematically speaking, the basic entity of mathematics is the number one. The earth is one, a pebble is one. If it is reduced to half, what remains is also one. If it is reduced by half infinitely, it does not become zero. If there is one, half of it always exists. Ki is the infinite gathering of infinitely small particles. In this way the sun, the stars, the earth, plants, animals, and human mind and body are all born of the ki of the universal.

From ki, the real substance of the universal came movement and calm, joining and breaking apart, tensing and slacking, and many mutual actions which give the present universal its form. Ki has no beginning and no end; its absolute value neither increases nor decreases. We are one with the universal and our lives are part of the life of the universal. Since before the beginning of the universal, and even now, its absolute value exists as a solid fact within which birth and growth and death and dissolution continue to take place.

The Christian Church calls the universal essence God and its actions God's Providence. In other words, God exists in this world and God's Providence is a never-ending process.

In Ki Society, we make a distinction between the ki we use everyday and the universal ki/the real essence of the universal. We call the working of the universal, the rules of the universal.

Our lives were born of ki, to which they must someday return. Seen with the eyes of the body, our lives seem to disappear at death, but from the viewpoint of the spirit , nothing disappears at all. We have existed before and will continue to exist in the hereafter. Looking at something with the eyes of the spirit means viewing it from the viewpoint of its real essence. From the viewpoint of the real essence of the universal, all of us, the whole world, all humanity, are of the same womb with all trees, all grass, everything, even the clouds and the mists. Can a reason exist then for fighting or hatred? You will first be able to understand the spirit of loving and protecting all things and the injunction against fighting if you look at the question from viewpoint of the basic essence of the universal.

Our lives are a part of the universal ki enclosed in the flesh of our bodies. Though we say that this is “I”, viewed with the eyes of the mind, it is actually the ki of the universal. Even though that ki is encased in flesh , it is in conflux with and active as a part of the universal. When we breathe, we breathe the ki of the universal in with our entire body. When the conflux of our ki and that of the universal is unimpaired, we are in good health, and are lively. When the flow is dulled, we become listless, and when it stops, we die.

In the training of ki. We always practice sending forth ki, because when we do so, the ki of the universal can enter our bodies and improve the conflux between the two. If we stop the flow of ki, new ki cannot enter, and the flow becomes poor. For this reason, practice emphasizing the sending forth of ki aims not only at improvement in the martial techniques, but also at facilitation the conflux of our ki with that of the universal. This is an extremely wholesome way to make the maximum of one’s life power.

For centuries, the Japanese have said that to die is as to go home, but without firm convictions it is impossible to assume this attitude. We are one with the ki of the universal, and to die is only to return to the ki of the universal. We should use all of our power while we are alive and all of our power after death. This indestructible faith is essential to success.

Let us think more deeply on the one point. The universe is a limitless circle or sphere with a limitless radius. Thus, I can say that I am the center of the universe which is limitless in every direction. Even if I take a step to the left, one cannot say that the universe to my left side has become a step shorter. The universe is still limitless. But if I say I alone am the center of the universe, it will be a mistake. Everything is the center of the universe. A limited circle has only one center, but a limitless circle has as many centers as you want. The Buddha taught this when he said “Tengo tenga yuiga dokuson”, which means, “I am my own lord throughout heaven and earth. I am no man's man but my own”. The Buddha also said, “Banbutsu ni busho ari”, which means “all things in the universe have potential Buddhahood”. But in later ages, the priests wrongly interpreted this and said, “only Buddha is holy”.

The universe condensed becomes myself. This in turn, condensed, becomes the one point which is the center of the universe. The one point is not really a tangible point, but the point which infinitely condensed by half never becomes zero but becomes one with the universal. When it reaches the verge of being too small to be conceived, keep holding it in you mind and leave it as it is. This movement of infinite condensing results in calmness and is the exact meaning of the one point in the lower abdomen.

When the one point becomes too small to perceive, and you stop condensing, it becomes dead calmness instead of living calmness. Living calmness is the strongest state containing infinite movements and dead calmness has no power without movement. They look alike, but fundamentally are different. You are separate from the ki of the universal if you are in dead calmness.

Sri H. W. L. Poonja

Luknow, India 1990

Realization is uncovering that you are already Free. It is always Here and only relieves you of bondage. It is throwing the bucket of your individuality into the Well of Being without the ropes of desire, intention, thought, or attachment. Don't try to go anywhere, just simple Be. The only “need” is to BE, not even seeing. It is so simple that it is difficult. It is Here and Now this very Instant.

When mind is pure and there are no ripples, you will know that you have known all Beings from the beginning of creation. One glimpse of this Beauty is enough for Freedom for Life. Remove name and form and you will see and this Seeing is Being! I am pure Awareness! Stay as such.

Love itself speaks through every pore of your body, there is no word for Love. What you can speak about and what you can experience is not Love. All thought and speech is philosophy, not Love. For everything else, you need to work. There are sadhanas and paths and ways, but there is no path to Love. There is no center which will teach you Love. Bones will melt in true Love, let alone mind and ego. Nothing is in True Love. So long for only your Self and you will Be That. Taking time is just postponement and interest in something else. Love is the spontaneous Indweller of your Heart.

Swami Rama Tirtha speaks of this “I” so beautifully. At the age of 24, he realized himself and said: “When I wake up the whole world wakes up. When I eat the whole world eats. When I sleep the whole world sleeps. Let this body go, I do not care. For I move as the breeze and kiss the flowers and plants, and touch the Himalayan waterfalls.”

I teach about That which cannot be attained by any teaching. My teaching cannot be taught. I have no teaching for the Essence from where all teachings arise from. This Essence doesn't need any teaching or non-teaching for it is beyond everything. It is from where all words rise from. The Satguru is Within. The Maharishi says the same thing: “the Satguru is within your own Heart”

You are the Essence which does not disappear. FIND IT!

Sri Nisargadatta Mahraj

Bombay, India 1973

That in which consciousness happens, the universal consciousness or mind, we call the ether of consciousness. All the objects of consciousness form the universe. What is beyond both, supporting both, is the supreme state, a state of utter stillness and silence. Whoever goes there disappears. It is unreachable by words, or mind. You may call it God, or Parabrahman, or Supreme Reality, but these names are given by the mind. It is the nameless, contentless, effortless, and spontaneous state, beyond being and not being. As the universe is the body of the mind, so is consciousness the body of the supreme. It is not conscious, but it gives rise to consciousness.

The supreme state is entirely one and indivisible, a solid block of reality. The only way to know it is to be it. The mind cannot reach it. To perceive it does not need the senses; to know it does not need the mind. All divisions are illusory. You can know the false only. The true you must yourself be.

Of the entire universe you are the subtle cause. All is because you are. Grasp this point firmly and deeply and dwell on it repeatedly. To realize this is as absolutely true, is liberation.

Remember the instruction: whatever you comes across/ go beyond.

namaste,

Mick

6/12/12

Mantra 8 (new)

That environs,

pure and transparent,

bodiless, flawless,

devoid of anatomical system,

sinless, poetic wisdom permeating,

self-born, empirically valid, eternal,

functionally distributed evenly.

         Nitya’s commentary is one of his greatest ever, and doesn’t need any elaboration. He eloquently equates the poetic spirit with the Absolute. It is equally true that the Absolute emerges from poetry or that poetry emerges from the Absolute; or poetry expresses the Absolute and the Absolute expresses poetry. He also distinguishes the spirit of poetry from the actual words used by it, which as we well know inevitably fall short of complete communication:

A person may write or articulate a poem in a language familiar to them, but the true poem is not the words that are heard. It is a mysterious presence that cannot be fully clothed in words. Or we may say that a true poem is a self-effulgent truth which is many times more impressive than the expression of the poet. A poet may not succeed in finding all the appropriate words that can impart the essence and wonder of the truth that has chosen them to be an instrument of poetic expression. But the indwelling spirit of poetry is so rich and vital that it can penetrate through the clumsiness of the poet’s linguistic devices and directly reach the soul of the listener or reader.

         The real magic here is Nitya’s positive, enchanting, alluring stance. We hear over and over how words and thoughts and concepts fall short of a true vision. Although this is certainly true, harping on it tends to tempt us to abandon hope and give up. We are made to feel inadequate, forever cursed to fail. The subtext is very often a damaged ego that either wants to share its damage or prop itself up by putting others down. Instead, we want to share our bounty and raise each other up.

         Nitya’s great insight is that while actuality is always partial compared to total reality, the wonder of life is expressed in our eternal striving to raise the partial ever closer to the impartial. He does not scorn us, as if he alone knows truth; he has compassion for all of us including himself who are reaching for perfection but forced to settle for something less. Poetry is the rhythmic attempt to express the inexpressible. Astonishingly, as Susan pointed out, even though we fall short, something essential leaps the gap. We intuit the essence even when the words themselves (or the notes or colors or textures) don’t quite convey what we hope they will. This is nothing more or less than the human condition.

         Such excellent attitudes, embodied in the Upanishad as well as the wisdom of the gurus, invite us to grow and evolve, always refining our understanding and attending to the perfection of the Absolute instead of our faults, “wending our way toward spiritual clarity,” as the Gita puts it.

         I’d like to suggest that this is possibly the most important single factor in a spiritual mindset. The impetus to tolerate our failings while struggling to rise above them encourages compassion and mutual support. A harsh, judgmental attitude is simply a poisonous compensation for the embarrassing awareness that we know very little and are ashamed about it, and we are fearful of punishment, divine or otherwise. Such negativity drags everyone down, while the other lifts the mood.

         We talked about a terrific recent book: The Swerve, How the World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt, because it covers the medieval Church mentality that curiosity and doubt are literally mortal sins that guarantee you an eternity of hellfire and damnation. The mental swerve of the title is a revivification of the ancient (in this case Greek and Roman) philosophy of joy and freedom. Typically, as a Western scholar, Greenblatt knows nothing of the rich tradition of India, but he details the same thrust as we take here at the Gurukula. The Inquisition mentality, which craves to stamp out love wherever it appears, is still rife among us, and it is something that men and women of kindly hearts can never reconcile themselves with. Greenblatt’s book received the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his timely reminder of why we stand for joy rather than servitude, kindness rather than cruelty. Nitya weighs in on this crucial subject:

People all over the world have been making themselves like playful children by creating gods which are now no better than the dolls children play with which have painted staring eyes and rigid hands and feet. Such an anthropomorphic image of God, worshipped daily at the altar, or petitioned with supplications full of lament, is considered to be the great innovation or contribution of religions. The Isavasya Upanishad ruthlessly brushes away the notion of a caricatured God and categorically says, “that isa, which is none other than the spirit of poetry, has no body, akayam.” As it does not belong even to the language with which it is shrouded, the syntactical or metrical errors of the poet cannot touch the essence of the poetry with the blemishes of his creation.

         Just as the words of poetry indicate a profound mysterious subject that can be communicated from one to another, words of wisdom turn our eyes to an invisible Absolute essence that we can partially intuit. By looking we begin to see. No matter how deeply we have been taught and threatened to keep our eyes tightly shut, poetic exploration is not a mortal sin, it is the high road to salvation. And, as Nitya once again assures us, it is the domain of everyone: wise, idiotic, mature, infantile, clever or clumsy. The doors are wide open. We must only dare to step through them.

         Paul told about watching a news broadcast of the Transit of Venus, where the newscaster broke down in tears over the beauty and significance of what she was reporting. It was a reminder that poetry is everywhere. It can and should be as much a part of science as it is of art or religion. Venus is in fact the epitome of Love, the joy we feel when we touch and share with each other on any and every level. She too is everywhere.

         Mostly the class shared some poems and sat together, relaxing and soaking up their meaning. It made for lovely meditations. No analysis, just a settling in. A gentle community. Michael shared a poem as his description of the Absolute:

Within, without

and all about.

Uncountably full and

Infinitely empty,

the Absolute-

is Always Already.

This coincidentally spoke to Susan’s question about the meaning of “That environs everything,” as the gist of the mantra. Most commonly we hear that the Absolute supports everything, or it penetrates everything or creates everything. All these have a dualistic implication that the Absolute is one thing and everything else is another. Nitya was always trying to close the gap in his choice of language. Treating the Absolute as the environment makes it fully present always; not a cause of innumerable effects or a stage for plays, but the entire context. It works very well once you get over the initial awkwardness of the phraseology.

         Scotty shared two poems, the first, one that struck him keenly as a young man:

I am a being of violet fire.

I am a being of God’s desire.

The second, attributed to Milarepa:

Happy & sad

When there’s no difference

everything is Guru’s instruction.

Upset & wisdom

When there’s no difference

everything is the realized state.

My mind & Buddha mind

When there’s no difference

everything is complete.

Deb was unable to attend class, but she chose several poems for us to read out, one of her own and two by Czeslaw Milosz, including A Meadow (from Facing the River, Ecco Press 1995). It makes a perfect close for all we want to share on this beautiful day in a beautiful world, blessed as we are with so many beautiful friendships:

It was a riverside meadow, lush, from before the hay harvest,

On an immaculate day in the sun of June.

I searched for it, found it, recognized it.

Grasses and flowers grew there familiar in my childhood.

With half-closed eyelids I absorbed luminescence.

And the scent garnered me, all knowing ceased.

Suddenly I felt I was disappearing and weeping with joy.

6/19/12

Mantra 9 (older version)

Those who worship ignorance enter

into blinding darkness. And those

who are delighted in knowledge itself,

they enter into still greater darkness, as it were.

         Nestled in the exact center of the Upanishad is one of the most powerful teachings to be found anywhere, spread over three mantras. We look forward to digging deep into the ways we can benefit from meditating on it.

         A significant part of the impact comes from the gauntlet thrown at the feet of our ego, which invariably takes delight in knowledge. Even those who denigrate knowledge are showing off the superior knowledge they have that knowledge is overrated. In fact, knowledge is the ego’s primary protective defense. As we have learned, defenses constrict our world, and so are inimical to the thrust of liberation. There is a very thin line, if any, between bondage and our defensive fortifications. As seekers it is time to free ourselves from these limited parameters.

         Jan got us off on exactly the right foot, claiming that it doesn’t make sense to equate knowledge with darkness. Don’t we strive for knowledge to set us free, to bring us to the light? Of course we do, and the Isavasya Upanishad is not telling us to quit. But we are instructed to change our relationship with what we know. There is knowledge that liberates and knowledge that binds, and we need to be clear about the difference.

         Susan sent a quote this morning from Fyodor Dostoevsky:

It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man’s life is made up of nothing but the habits he has accumulated during the first half.

Sad but true. The Upanishad is begging us to avoid the knowledge that reinforces our habits, and open ourselves instead to the knowledge that breaks their hold on us. It’s a very large challenge, because we like our habits very much.

         Ignorance and knowledge are the polarities here, and they will be resolved dialectically in mantra 11. Notice that the Upanishad is speaking here of worshipping ignorance and delighting in knowledge. Ignorance and knowledge are normal and inevitable aspects of conscious life, but when we habitually cling to them we are not only unable to treat them dialectically, we are sure to become stuck fast in a mental dungeon. The more we love them and treat them as ends in themselves, the less likely it is that we will ever be able to expand our awareness.

         To answer Jan’s question, there is knowledge that liberates and knowledge that constrains. If we remain humble and do not crow about our knowledge, it is much more likely to help us to be free. We can share knowledge in the spirit of mutual edification. What we need to be cautious about is the tendency to use it for selfish purposes. Let’s face it, knowledge is a much more marketable commodity than ignorance!

         We should be aware at the outset that the Isa Upanishad is targeting spiritual egoism as much as anything. After all, who reads Upanishads other than seekers of truth? A large percentage of spiritual practices are the most intractable of traps, and the spiritual ego is the most resilient defense of all. It shouts, “You have to love me because I’m so special!”

         I want to share a couple of excellent quotes that express the same sentiment as the present mantra. From Goethe:

None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

And from Leo Tolstoy:

The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-
witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.

In other words, once you are convinced that you know all you need to know, you have closed and bolted the door of your prison. A yogi must never fall into that trap. Even as we seek certitude, we must remind ourselves that it is the seeking and not the certitude we’re really after.

         No one thinks they have a problem of worshipping ignorance, but other people can quite easily see that they do. And very few realize that delighting in knowledge is simply the flip side, the mirror image of delighting in ignorance. In both cases the ego is fixated on its beliefs, clinging to them desperately, in hopes that they will be its salvation. Unfortunately, the ego is not salvageable through beliefs. It has only to become itself, not someone else.

         Nitya traces both our ignorance and our knowledge search to early infancy. He aligns ignorance with the pressures of necessity and knowledge with the desire to legitimize ourselves to our caretakers. As helpless beings at the mercy of the indulgences of others, covering a wide range from meticulous care to abject neglect, we adopt strategies to attract attention and communicate our needs. When the needs are met, we can let our minds run free. Due to compounding pressures over time, however, the freedom of the mind becomes yoked to need fulfillment. This is the point where knowledge is made subsidiary to the satisfaction of desires. Though this is perfectly normal and necessary, it is also sharply limiting.

         The Upanishadic rishis want to help us reclaim the much larger freedom we have abandoned in order to secure our basic needs. This entails seeing the ignorance in knowledge and the knowledge hidden within ignorance, and letting both go. This is not something an infant or child can do, or a young person trying to make their way in the world. It requires some form of security and stability. Either we can be a mendicant and minimize our needs, or like most of us have some kind of supply line in place. Anyone who is fortunate enough to have their needs met has the rare and exceptionally wonderful opportunity to make the leap to the next level of human potential. That is exactly what the Upanishad is designed to foster.

         I talked about how knowledge is a strategy we adopt very early in life to convince others to appreciate us and not hurt us. One way or another we become convinced we are not lovable to our caretakers, and so start scheming to make ourselves more presentable. The less positive feedback we get, the harder we struggle to construct an acceptable image. If it never works, because nobody cares about us, the image will collapse and we will likely become a misfit. But healthy people are those who have had supportive interactions with their caretakers. We have to strike a balance between acting to mollify others by meeting their expectations and retaining our intrinsic interests, our dharma. Living with expertise is really quite an advanced art form.

         Because of this struggle to avoid the lash or some other form of neglect, our egos become either overly sensitive or callous to criticism. The callous ones build what Charles calls a lobster shell, a hard carapace that nothing can penetrate. Those fortunate enough to not need a thick shell may build their defenses out of knowledge. We wind up more or less appealing to others, but if we are criticized there is a sharp spike of fear that we will be punished or humiliated. Our ego's immediate reaction is denial. In some cases it takes many years to become brave enough to tolerate criticism, to lower the defenses enough to stand unprotected. We really don't need the defenses so much as adults, but we never were taught to give them up after their utility became obsolete. They are still with us.

         Susan agreed. When her teenaged kids criticize her, an instant excuse springs into her mouth before she can stop it. She knows it is ridiculous and is working to give it up, but it's a habit that bursts out unbidden. At least now she can let it go after it pops up. Those who don't practice spiritual or psychological therapy often cling to their defenses forever, which holds them in “still greater darkness, as it were.” The kicker is that Susan's kids do the same (like all kids) and it bothers her, but she can't convince them it isn't necessary to be defensive. All she can really work on successfully is herself. We agreed that the ego is bound to react in its typical fashion, spouting denial and obfuscation. But we should laugh at its folly rather than reinforcing its prevarications with supporting arguments and lame excuses.

         John surmised that making the teachings practical was the key to avoiding the greater darkness of untethered knowledge, and that’s very true. The Gurukula at its best always aims for a practical application of its theories. We are not interested in pie in the sky.

         Deb brought up Rousseau as an example of someone with a vision of liberation who failed to put it into practice. She feels that his selfish and confused behavior sabotages his wisdom, important as that is. His most famous saying is “Man was born free and everywhere he is in chains.” He must have meant to include himself. His very next sentence bears on our subject even more directly: “Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.” But Rousseau reminds us that while we can have an exalted vision, putting it into practice is a supreme challenge.

         I am more forgiving than Deb toward Rousseau, because I have more sympathy for human failings. If we insist that public figures be perfect, we will be eternally disappointed. Our best politicians are regularly disqualified because of their moral shortcomings, and so only the most devious make the grade. Living well is tough stuff, and we should cut each other some slack, because not only they but we routinely fall short of perfection. At least we can admit the good even from flawed sources.

         Knowledge is often used as a manipulative tool. In That Alone, Nitya talks about how Indian pundits use their knowledge of Sanskrit to impress others. They may know very little of any use, but they can make a living by quoting scripture or mouthing a few incomprehensible words. This is the type of knowledge the Upanishad is warning us away from, not the delightful, supportive knowledge-sharing that Jan was envisioning. It would be a shame to give that up!

         This study includes an open invitation to weigh in on the subject for all of you, since it goes to the heart of a spiritual investigation. I invite everyone to spend a little time thinking about theses issues, and to pass along any insights you deem worthy.

Part II

         Susan also sent the following poem this morning, perfectly in tune with Mantra 9:

BOOK BEAUTY by Rumi (transl. Coleman Barks)

Here’s the end of that story about the old woman who wanted

to lure a man with strange

cosmetics. She made a paste of pages from the Qu’ran to fill

the deep creases on her face and

neck with. This is not about an old woman, dear reader. It’s

about you, or anyone who tries

to use books to make themselves attractive. There she is,

sticking scripture, thick with

saliva, on her face. Of course, the bits keep falling off.

“The devil,” she yells, and

he appears! “This is a trick I’ve never seen. You don’t need

me. You are yourself a troop

of demons!” So people steal inspired words to get compliments.

Don’t bother. Death comes

and all talking, stolen or not, stops. Pity anyone unfamiliar

with silence when that happens.

Polish your heart with meditation and quietness. Let the inner

life grow generous and handsome

like Joseph. Zuleikha did that and her “old woman’s spring

cold snap” turned to mid-July. Dry

lips wet from within. Ink is not rouge. Let language lie

bygone. Now is where love breathes.

6/26/12

Mantra 9-11 (newer version)

Into blinding darkness

enter they who worship ignorance.

And into still greater darkness, as it were,

enter those who delight in knowledge itself.

Other is the use of knowledge, they say,

the use of ignorance is another.

Thus we have heard it from the wise

who have explained that to us.

One who knows both of these together,

knowledge and ignorance,

having overcome death with ignorance,

enjoys immortality with knowledge.

         Deb started us off with the caveat that while the commentary is heavy on what other people are up to, the intent is to always apply every example to ourselves. Performing yoga or dialectic synthesis doesn’t do much of anything for anyone else, only for the practitioner. Therefore the only point to what otherwise might come off as complaining or finger pointing is as a mirror to reflect our own shadow back to us.

         Nitya gave the talks in this booklet in India, where criticizing Indians is perfectly reasonable for a guru. The last thing he wanted was for Americans to come away feeling superior to their Indian counterparts. All of us in other countries can easily observe our own stratifications, and just be thankful we are not quite as plagued by caste as India is. Indians have plenty to be thankful for in the same vein.

         Deb read out mantra 11 also, because it gives the purpose of equating knowledge and ignorance with darkness here. They are to be brought together in dialectic synthesis. We are not to take one or the other by itself. Mantras 12-14 are nearly identical to 9-11, except substituting the manifest and the unmanifest as the propositions to be synthesized. Mantra 11 reads:

One who knows both of these together,

knowledge and ignorance,

having overcome death with ignorance,

enjoys immortality with knowledge.

This clearly reveals the dialectic intent of the Upanishad. The wording makes it sound like we are to overcome death by somehow employing ignorance, but I believe the idea is that ignorance is essentially mental death, so it means we are to overcome “death caused by ignorance.” Immortality, of course, means mental awakeness, the contrary of the mind-death of ignorance. These are not to be taken literally, though superstitious people love to do just that.

         I gave an example of how this works in practice. The easier side is to recognize we are in a state of ignorance, and to seek knowledge as the antidote. It’s much harder if we are knowledgeable to admit that there is a lot we don’t know, which is why this attitude contains the greater darkness. The corrective to arrogance in knowledge is the humbling awareness that there is a nearly infinite amount we don’t and never will know.

         This mantra teaches us to confront our deep-seated urge to be right. Being wrong engenders embarrassment or even punishment. At the back of our mind in every action is the fear of something terrible about to happen to us. Since the ego is mainly a clever defense mechanism against pain, it feels it has to prove itself unassailable, either as an invisible nonentity not worthy of attack or as a know-it-all fortress. An excellent practice is to stop overreacting to being wrong by making excuses, and learn to simply admit you made a mistake. Or admit you don't know the answer. Amazingly, the sky does not fall.

         Early in life many of us are punished for wandering outside the boxes provided for us, and we adopt self-suppression as a way to keep out of harm’s way. Others are given free rein, with their caretakers carefully ameliorating all consequences of their actions. Both produce unrealistic attitudes about the world. The correction is to liberate the timid soul by confronting the fear of pain in the first instance, and daring to acknowledge the impact of our actions in the second case.

         Last week we solicited examples of how this wisdom can be applied, and Jan brought one. She went to the beach last weekend with her family. Her two kids are now teenagers. When they were younger she would choose the itinerary and carefully plan out the activities for every vacation, but this time she let things simply unfold as a group decision. She was surprised at how much fun everyone had, that being free to follow the impulses of the moment was even more fun than fitting into a program. This recalled the quote Bill brought up last week, seconded by Michael: “In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”—Shunryu Suzuki: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, p. 21.

         One example I gave is from this spring, when I went on a small tour to present my book on a chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. A number of people called the bookstores, or the radio station in one case, to express shock and dismay that someone would peddle a book about “a scripture that advocates war.” Despite the fact that I spend ten pages in the book counteracting this widespread prejudice, those people remained stubbornly closed-minded. Their certitude based on a superficial reading (probably by someone else) blocked them from being exposed to the incredibly nuanced spiritual teachings contained in the Gita. Sad for them, but the lesson for us is that many of our beliefs are based on hearsay, and we may well be cutting ourselves off from valuable learning opportunities if we adhere to them too tightly. Life keeps offering us chances to evolve, but we would rather stick to our well-rutted pathways than take any risk.

         My son-in-law Kunal, it’s safe to say, will almost certainly never attend a Gurukula class here, but he wrote a very nice review of the same book, posted on Amazon and elsewhere. In it he decries “those who wish to remain in their self-indulgent bubble.” That’s exactly the gist of the Upanishad’s equating the delight in knowledge with darkness. Not in knowledge per se, but the delight in it, meaning the clinging to an exclusive, isolating bubble of fixed ideas. Kunal noted that popping our own bubbles is a lifelong task. He meant that the temptation we often succumb to is to pop one bubble and then blow up a bigger bubble of pride over our achievement.

         Speaking of pride, scientifically-minded materialists are once again loudly preaching (pun intended) that they know everything that there is to be known, and there are no surprises in store for humanity, echoing the smug convictions of the late nineteenth century that they were already in possession of all knowledge. That was just prior to the discovery of quantum mechanics, relativity, uncertainty, along with the myriad medical and technological breakthroughs we have enjoyed since.

         The Isa Upanishad’s advice is to counterbalance our hubris with humility, which produces a state of eager openness to innovation and discovery. An excess of humility can paralyze us, sure, making us feel incapable of doing anything worthwhile or even attempting it, but an excess of conceit is even more binding. Its faults are also glaringly obvious to those outside the chosen circle of beliefs.

         Here’s my take on materialism: Those who imagine a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow are wrong, but those who gloat that the rainbow is meaningless because there is no pot of gold at the end are even more wrong. At least the first attitude is inspiring and uplifting. It is literally wrong but figuratively lovely. The second is literally right about the pot, but entirely misses the beauty of the rainbow, and leaves out the delightful but metaphorical pot of gold as well.

         Finally, here’s an application in the spiritual field. The only people who seek instruction from a guru are those who have doubts, who are aware of their shortcomings and want to ameliorate them. Those who brim with confidence as they manage their world, free of doubts, never stop to wonder what they’re missing. Heck, most societies look down on gurus and therapists, precisely because they are an admission of ego weakness, I guess. But they are our best aids in progressing by leaps and bounds. I remember being asked in Taiwan what I was going to India to study. I answered proudly, “psychology.” The questioner recoiled in shock, shook his head, and said, “I’m so sorry.”

Part II

         Baird sent the following last week:

It would seem that in this age of information

  Knowledge has moved out.

We no longer possess it, we access it.

  Knowledge is in the cloud - the noosphere.

(Scott): It’s really fascinating how knowledge has become externalized over time. First there were only brains. Next we developed tablets, then books, then printing presses. Along came dictionaries and encyclopedias, then copy machines, and finally (as of now) computers. It definitely makes you wonder about the relationship of life to knowledge, doesn’t it? And what life will be like when all knowledge is contained in little devices that are so handy we can pretty much stop thinking. Will our evolution then be controlled by those with the power to manipulate the data stream? To what extent are we our knowledge, or what else are we? This looks like a promising area of speculation….

7/3/12

Mantra 10 & 11 (old)

Different is (what pertains) to knowledge,

it is said; different is (what pertains) to

ignorance, it is said. We have heard

such words of those wise teachers who

have explained that to us.

He who knows these both—knowledge

and ignorance together—such a person,

having overcome death with ignorance,

enjoys immortality with knowledge.

         An unbearably lovely full moon evening swathed us in light, as the perfect setting for summing up this subtle and transformative teaching. Most of what we talked about has been covered in the previous two classes and their notes, but really understanding it is a long-term project. And we are always open to new examples.

         The short version is that knowledge and ignorance are two sides of a coin we hold onto very hard. The seer transcends them by contemplative yoga, to arrive at “immortality,” which means a liberated state of mind. Nitya equates immortality with fearlessness in his commentary.

         In describing knowledge and ignorance, Nitya takes a different tack than any other rishi I am aware of. Ignorance is simple enough—we are privy to very small portions of information about every situation, and have to make our way through life on the basis of those scanty indications. Because of this, our minds flesh out the world from our own hopes, fears and presumptions. In the process, facts become subservient to our desires, and we lose our way, or at least we lose our individuality.

         Nitya’s original genius is to associate the knowledge side of the coin with the collective ignorance of humanity. It’s tough enough that each of us is an ignorant soul, but then we quite naturally gather into groups like families, tribes, nations and religions. Each of these more complex entities chooses and enforces rules and customs, which become the narrow channels for thinking and acting we are required to adhere to. This collective ignorance becomes exalted as “knowledge.” It is definitely a “greater darkness” than mere individual ignorance, because it is so pervasive we may hardly notice it, and like gravity it pulls us back to earth whenever we try to soar high. Nitya calls its constraints on our psyche a fate worse than death:

  In such group life there is the appreciation of the wrath of the allegorically conceived society a person relates to, duty bound or with the heartburn of a sense of guilt generated by actions of commission or omission. Such continuous exposure to the enigmas of a world governed by its rationalized irrationality continuously brings to each member of the community the fear of their imminent extinction or abandonment. This negative and dark side of life is here poetically alluded to as death (mrityu). Compared to that, going breathless and leaving the body is only a minor death.

The class struggled again with the wording “having overcome death with ignorance,” which sounds like we should use our ignorance to counter death. But ignorance is never the solution. The intent is to overcome “death caused by ignorance.” It’s basically a punctuation problem.

         The synthesis of ignorance and knowledge is the dialectic solution given by yoga. But just how do we go about it?

         Moni gave the example of the injustices created by the Indian caste system, as famous a social constraint system as any on the planet. (This is not to say that it is any worse than the more subtle versions that abound everywhere.) Almost everyone adjusts to caste and simply accepts it, with its endless prescriptions and prohibitions codifying injustice. Even Gandhi thought caste was valuable. But to a scientist or a Narayana Guru, there is no justification for it. Narayana Guru insisted there was only one “caste” called the human species, and science has come to agree, many decades later. To participate in that sort of vision, we have to be able to step back from our fixed notions and customs and look with clarity on our predicament. The Isa Upanishad, too, is urging us to come out of our small mentality, which is cruel and unusual in so many ways, and attain to the “immortality” of an unbounded consciousness. It takes great courage and a strong streak of independence to stand up in this way.

         The alternative is mental death: the stagnation of trite, conventional thinking.

         Once again, the reason we opt for the safe death of conventionality is that as children our egos are busy protecting us from harm. As small, helpless beings, we are very vulnerable. Even a harsh word can injure us. Like trained seals, we learn to perform as expected, and we polish a tough and impervious outer shell so that our tender essence is never exposed to threats. In this condition, we arrive at adulthood assured we are fitting in to our society but deep down wondering what we’ve lost. With great kindness and compassion, the rishis are offering us the option of regaining our true beingness. Doing so is okay. In fact, it’s wonderful.

         As independent adults, we no longer have to defend ourselves at every moment. We are not going to be smacked or punished for standing up as liberated individuals. Heck, as Jake said, nobody cares about us at all, as long as we don’t intrude on their private dreams. So we are free to regain our souls. Sadly, we have gotten used to the humdrum comforts of prepackaged thinking. Our invisible fears are like powerful magnets to keep us bound to the straight and narrow path as defined by collective derangement.

         The solution is to contemplate how we habitually respond, and measure it against the Absolute ground. Most often we skew the Absolute so that it conforms to our conditioning, but instead we are to use it for our own deconditioning. Nitya describes it this way:

To effect such a transformation, in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna advised Arjuna to remember him and also fight. This remembrance is the recall of a primeval memory that one’s truthful Self is the all-embracing consciousness which resides in and as the existentiality of all and as the meaning and value of everything.

  Such a knowledge brings unitive understanding. The conviction that there is no “other” brings fearlessness. And fearlessness is immortality. Immortality comes with true knowledge….

It’s worth noticing that sat-chit-ananda is brought in once again, as the all-embracing consciousness (chit) that permeates the existentiality of all (sat) and the meaning and value of everything (ananda).

         From such a detached perspective, we can let go of our clinging to ordinariness. We can stand up, without defenses. Our ego will probably continue to respond to threats, coupled with a jolt of adrenaline, but we can laugh most of them off. Eventually reactivity loses its hold on us. Scotty offered a mantra of his own invention to assist the process:

During a Hakomi workshop on boundaries we were asked to come up with a resolution or mantra that could help create balance and dissolve doubt. I came up with the saying: “It feels safe to not know.” This saying has supported me for over fifteen years since its realization.

We do have to remind ourself that making mistakes and screwing up is safe, that being seen as a fool and an intruder is all that can be expected of strangers, and often our friends. But that doesn’t mean that is what we actually are. We can stop identifying ourself with our embarrassing moments.

         Nitya puts the practice, such as it is, in a nutshell:

One can cross over the misery of the world of becoming by applying the discretion of giving primacy to the eternal over the fleeting, the real above the apparent, the true over the false, and the imperishable law of the cosmic above the inhibitory and compulsive persistence of the personal psyche….

Such a knowledge brings unitive understanding. The conviction that there is no “other” brings fearlessness. And fearlessness is immortality. Immortality comes with true knowledge, vidya.

Taking immortality and death literally is absurd, and has led to oceans of futile speculation, along with pitched battles between scientists and the religious-minded. Even such an enlightened thinker as Sri Aurobindo fell for it. The members of his ashram were certain that he and The Mother would literally live forever. When she died, they refused to believe it, imagining instead she was in a state of suspended animation. Eventually Indian authorities had to intervene and forcibly remove her body, which had begun to offer copious evidence of decomposition.

         Nataraja Guru is right that the proposition “all men are mortal” is not provable, but statistics are so far one hundred percent in favor of it. While we are human beings, at least, immortality is a pleasing but temporary prospect.

         The next three mantras are almost identical to 9-11, only substituting the duality of manifested/unmanifested for ignorance and knowledge. They are to be resolved dialectically in the same manner. Chapter XII of the Gita covers the dichotomy in detail. Should we treat the Absolute as a divine being and worship it, or as an impersonal principle to adjust ourselves to? Being the divide between science and religion, it is an even more subtle and demanding issue to synthesize. The Isa’s view is that neither by itself is adequate. Please bring your best ideas along, or email them to us.

         I offer an echo of part of the very first mantra “Whose is wealth? (It is not to be owned by anyone, so) do not covet it,” as a meditation on relinquishing the insecure ego to free ourself from its clutches. We not only defend ourself with knowledge, we worry about material security such as possessions. This is something I wrote that’s looking for a home:

Paradoxically, by giving up our desire to possess, the whole world becomes ours to enjoy. We don’t have to own anything, we can realize that our life is a miraculous event that we are always in the center of. Our course is on a river surging out of the depths that we float on, our only decisions minor adjustments to avoid obstacles or explore intriguing islands along the way.