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This is Part 3 of a serialized commentary on “A Method Of Enlightening A Disciple” from Shankara’s Upadeshasahasri–A Thousand Teachings

4) “In the beginning all this verily was Atman only, one and without a second. There was nothing else that winked. He bethought Himself: ‘Let Me now create the worlds.’” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:1:1)

The Self alone is ever-existent. Creation goes in cycles. Before creation there is absolutely nothing but the Brahman-Self. The statement that “there was nothing else that winked” means that there was no movement or action whatsoever, that there was neither sentient nor non-sentient being–only the Paramatman.

The impulse to project the creation comes from Brahman Itself. In the same way the impulse to enter into relative experience comes from each individual being, and from no other. Brahman does not come into this. The Gita (9:6-8) says: “My wandering creatures, are always within me. These, when the round of ages is accomplished, I gather back to the seed of their becoming: these I send forth again at the hour of creation. Helpless all, for Maya is their master, and I, their Lord, the master of this Maya: ever and again, I send these multitudes forth from my Being.” But it is speaking only of those who have decided to enter the dream to develop their scope of consciousness (see Ladder of Light). The initial entry into creation comes from each spirit alone.

Like God, we have been creating many “worlds” through reincarnation, being born in a vast chain of embodiments, living out a different drama in each life. It is all under the aegis of the Self.

5) “All this is Brahman. From It the universe comes forth, in It the universe merges and in It the universe breathes. Therefore a man should meditate on Brahman with a calm mind.

“Now, verily, a man consists of will. As he wills in this world, so does he become when he has departed hence. Let him with this knowledge in mind form his will.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:1)

The doctrine of Maya is fundamental to upanishadic thought, because at all times the student must keep the perspective that everything is an appearance only, that things are only images in our consciousness. They are dream images within the mind of the dreamer. The fact that they have no objective reality will not disturb those of us who love plays and movies. The creation is not for entertainment but for training in consciousness–which is real. After all, words are only symbols, not realities, but nobody objects to language being insubstantial. As things are, so they are.

So when the upanishad tells us that “all this is Brahman,” it is telling us that the dream and the Dreamer are the same, only momentarily divided by the illusion of Maya. Both the real and the unreal are Brahman. Reality and fantasy have the same substance: Brahman. The cosmos rises from Brahman, evolves in Brahman, and melts back into Brahman, just as ice forms from water, floats in the water, and after a while melts back into water. Such an insight should give us unshakable peace, peace in which we should meditate on Brahman in order to unite with It.

The second part of this verse does not seem to fit, but it does, being a reflection on the injunction to meditate on Brahman. Meditation, being a matter of inner and outer stillness, is yet an action of will. To meditate is to exercise our will in the most creative manner. Therefore the subject of will is introduced. The Gita (6:5, 6) says this: “What is man’s will and how shall he use it? Let him put forth its power to uncover the Atman, not hide the Atman: man’s will is the only friend of the Atman: his will is also the Atman’s enemy. For when a man is self-controlled, his will is the Atman’s friend. But the will of an uncontrolled man is hostile to the Atman, like an enemy.”

The upanishad presents us with a fact we would rarely come to realize on our own: we “are” our will. This is not in the absolute sense, but from the fact that intelligent will is a prime characteristic–or at least a potential–of the human being. It is true, most people run on whimsy, desire, and delusion. But they are being instinctual like animals, and not functioning in their full humanity. The ideal in the upanishads is the fully conscious and therefore fully “wilful” person. But that is not enough; the will must be oriented toward the knowing of Brahman–not just a desire to know, but a willing to know which is manifest in the entire life. If the will is perfectly consonant or aligned with the truth of Brahman, then upon his departure from this world the yogi will attain to Brahman or at least ascend to those high worlds in which liberation is assured and attained.

Yet it is all up to us, so we are advised in conclusion to form and exercise our will according to what we have learned.

Read previous installments of A Catechism of Enlightenment.

Q:What do you think about astrology?

All that exists, despite the appearance of multiplicity, is really ONE in a very real and practical sense. And in every part the Whole is contained. Thus there is no possibility of separating ourselves from the universal life of creation except through transcendence. But until that transcendence occurs we must acknowledge our integral existence with all that “is.” And part of that existence is the phenomenon of change wrought by the invisible tides of life.

Long before recorded history the wise observed that the human being was a miniature universe, a reflection of creation. Further observance revealed that changes in the external world–including the solar system–corresponded to changes in the individual’s sphere of life. This was particularly noted in the matter of planetary movement. Thus it was discovered that the movements of the planets within the solar system corresponded to operations of biomagnetic and psychic forces within the individual person that were then reflected outward into the individual’s environment or daily life routine.

The ancients understood that the planets were not the causes of the observed changes, but were merely indicators of forces operating deep within the magnetic levels of universal life. Further, the ancients understood that these magnetic fluxes produced a tendency toward certain conditions, or a state of favorability for the development of certain situations or conditions, but they did not believe that they were inexorable or unavoidable causes of those effects. The movements of the planets revealed the likelihood of certain effects, but not their inevitability. Therefore those who studied the movements of the planets were in no way fatalistic about their seeming foreshadowings. Rather, the movements of the stars were simply looked upon as indicators that certain times were more favorable for certain results and less favorable for others. And that is all. The fatalistic attitude that some people have mistakenly adopted in modern times was unknown.

The movements of the planets mostly indicate the character of prevailing biomagnetic influences–energies that are only slightly more subtle than purely physical forces. Most of the world’s population is enmeshed in and controlled by such gross powers, although those who cultivate spiritual consciousness become less and less affected by those forces.

Consequently astrology can be used to comprehend what forces are moving within the collective psyche of “the masses.” For example, we can certainly gauge the tendencies of national or international politics or economics by means of astrology. I well remember going to the First Temple and College of Astrology in Los Angeles every week to learn the world news of the coming week! In the class on Mundane Astrology, the astrological aspects of the previous week would be considered, and the accuracy of the predictions given at the previous class would be undeniably evident. Then, having seen that we had every reason to trust in the accuracy of her analysis, the instructor would proceed to reveal the major events of the next seven days. Only the most determined bigot could have failed to see that astrology was a viable science.

Astrology may be used to discover the hidden mechanisms of the personality. A wise parent should have a child’s horoscope drawn up as soon after birth as possible, for it can be an invaluable guide to the parents in caring for their new charge. The horoscope will show the tendencies the child has brought over from its previous births and which are the seeds that are meant to germinate and come to fruition in the new life. But this is not meant to be accepted fatalistically or slavishly. Rather, the positive tendencies are to be cultivated to the optimum and the negative tendencies mitigated to the minimum.

Read More Questions and Answers

A growing mass of evidence indicates that Jesus spent much of his “Lost Years” in India.

In north India on the Ganges River in the Himalayas, about an hour up-river from Rishikesh, is a cave called Vashishta Guha. Made famous by the ancient sage Vashishta, it has been the home to yogis for centuries, most recently the renowned Swami Purushottamananda. About a five-minute walk down-river from this cave is another cave known as the “Jesus cave.” Set in the side of a sheer cliff on the banks of the Ganga, the cave has a spectacular view of the river and the surrounding peaks of the Himalayas. The cave derived its name from the tradition that Jesus spent time there during His sojourn in India during the “Lost Years.” In the last century both Swami Rama Tirtha and Swami (Papa) Ramdas lived there (at separate times), and had visions of Jesus meditating there, though they had no prior knowledge of His having lived there. We had the good fortune to visit and meditate in the cave during a recent trip to India.

The tradition of the Jesus Cave is but a small part of the lore of Jesus’ stay in India. To read more of the evidence of Jesus’ time in India, read the in-depth article, The Christ of India, by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.

The Jesus Cave

View more photos of Vashishta Guha and the Jesus Cave.

This continues a serialized commentary on “A Method Of Enlightening A Disciple” from Shankara’s Upadeshasahasri–A Thousand Teachings

3) The third verse presented by Shankara is preceded by one that I think you will find informative, though its wording is similar to the first part of Shankara’s quotation. It brings out some things that Shankara considered anybody would know who was inquiring after the Self, but in the West that is not the case. So here it is:

“That infinite, indeed, is below. It is above. It is behind. It is before. It is to the south. It is to the north. The Infinite, indeed, is all this.

“Next follows the instruction about the Infinite with reference to ‘I’:

“I, indeed, am below. I am above. I am behind. I am before. I am to the south. I am to the north. I am, indeed, all this.” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:25:1)

The idea here is that the Infinite–Bhuma, the unconditioned, infinite Brahman–is all-pervading, that there is nowhere that the infinite is not, indeed there is nowhere or no thing that is not the Infinite Itself.

Next, the same thing is said about the “I” principle, or aham. This is not the delusive ego, ahankara, that is being spoken about, but the positive asmita: I-ness; the sense of “I am;” “I exist.” It is the awareness of our very existence as a real entity. This “I” sense is all-pervading on the individual level, just as the Bhuma pervades all levels, cosmic and macrocosmic. For the real “I” is all that we are in truth. That real “I” is the Atman-Self, so the upanishad continues (with Shankara):

“Next follows the instruction about the Infinite with reference to the Self: The Self indeed, is below. It is above. It is behind. It is before. It is to the south. It is to the north. The Self, indeed, is all this.

“Verily, he who sees this, reflects on this and understands this delights in the Self, sports with the Self, rejoices in the Self, revels in the Self. Even while living in the body he becomes a self-ruler. He wields unlimited freedom in all the worlds.

‘‘But those who think differently from this have others for their rulers; they live in perishable worlds. They have no freedom in all the worlds.” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:25:2)

“Self” in this verse means both the individual and the universal Selves, the jiva and Brahman. So whatever is said applies to both equally, though on the finite and infinite levels. The yogi, knowing this, sports, rejoices, and revels in the Selves. He is a true master–a master of himself, and one who shows others the way to become masters themselves. Absolute freedom is his. That is this possible is shown by the lives of the great masters of all traditions. All the major religions of the world have had masters manifested in them. Sometimes it has seemed they were masters in spite of their religion. Many were persecuted–and some were killed–by their religious leaders. Nevertheless, they were masters and we should honor them all.

However…those who do not have Self-consciousness, but believe in the illusions of difference and separation are the servants (even slaves) of just about everything–their minds, bodies, associates, society, and so on. All their “worlds” are changeable, rushing toward dissolution. Bondage alone is their past, present, and future until they change their consciousness.