The Atma Jyoti Blog

This is Part 4 of a serialized commentary on “A Method Of Enlightening A Disciple” from Shankara’s Upadeshasahasri–A Thousand Teachings

6) “The Self which is free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger, free from thirst, whose desires come true and whose thoughts come true–That it is which should be searched out, That it is which one should desire to understand. He who has known this Self from the scriptures and a teacher and understood It obtains all the worlds and all desires.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:7:1)

This is easily understood, yet some comment may be of use. First we see that the Self is absolutely and eternally free of all defects. Next we see that the Self is omnipotent in its sphere, that whatever it “wills” or “thinks” comes to be. Knowledge of the Self should be our uppermost intention in life, for when It is known then everything is gained.

7) “That which breathes through the prana is your Self that is within all. That which moves downward through the apana is your Self that is within all. That which pervades through the vyana is your Self that is within all. That which goes out with the udana is your Self that is within all. This is your Self that is within all.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:4:1)

This verse tells us that the Self is not some antiseptic, indifferent, utterly separate entity from our bodies, but that it is consciously active within us. Deism postulates that God made the world and then walked away to leave it spinning on its own, and it is easy to lapse into a kind of deism on the individual level when we learn that the Self is untouched by anything and its nature is beyond all things. But, as is usual, the truth is a combination of opposing ideas, somewhere in the middle of them.

Prana pervades and functions in all living things, including us. There are five forms of prana. They are: 1) Prana, the prana that moves upward; 2) Apana: the prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general. 3) Vyana: the prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body. 4) Samana: the prana that carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 5) Udana: the prana which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.

The Self is not the prana, but the inner force which impels the prana in its five modes. Part of the idea is that the Self is involved in all the functions of living beings. The Self “lives” through and in our gross and subtle bodies. Without the Self there would be no life, nor anything at all.

Further, it is not the universal prana, the Vishwaprana, that lives in each one of us, but rather our own personal Self-directed life-force. God is running the great cosmos, but we are running our private cosmos all on our own. Total responsibility is ours, but this implies total capability, a very positive fact. We are weaving our own dreams within the Cosmic Dream. We are writing, producing, directing, and acting in our own dramas.

Read previous installments of A Catechism of Enlightenment.

“When a man is resolute and recollected, pure of deed and persevering, when he is attentive and self-controlled and lives according to the Teaching, his reputation is bound to grow.”
–Gotama Buddha

Many of us suffer from–and suffer because of–what I call the Pinochio Complex. Pinochio lived in the continual hope that one day he would wake up and find himself a real boy instead of a puppet. We think that if we just wait long enough and lounge around the vestibule of spiritual life (reading the magazines in the Dharma Waitingroom) we will one day find ourselves out on the track and on our way–and soon at the goal. We are not really lazy, otherwise we could not even sustain our life on earth, yet Effortlessness appeals to us endlessly, especially in spiritual matters. Any yogi who adopts the soap-commercial line about how quick and easy–just like magic–it is to meditate and attain enlightenment will sell very well. His customers will not get anything in the long run, but maybe they did not want to, anyway.

Before we can know our true, inmost self, we must first gain control over our untrue, outer “self.” It is this control that is meant by “self-controlled.” And when we attain that control we restrain the false self in all its aspects. Moderation is not the purpose here, either, but eventual effacement so the true self can resurrect, ascend, and reign (the real meaning behind the same events in the life of Christ).

Read more on this verse from the Dhammapada in Expanding Glory.

It will be most helpful to your practice if you have a special place exclusively for your practice of meditation. Your mind will begin to associate that place with meditation and will more easily enter a quiet and peaceful state when you sit there. If you can set aside an entire room for practicing meditation, or even a large well-ventilated closet, that is good, but just an area in a room is adequate. The important thing is that the area be devoted exclusively to your meditation.

Your meditation place should be as quiet as possible. As a rule earplugs are not recommended for the practice of meditation since you can become distracted by the sensation of pressure in the ears, or the chirping, cricket-like noises that go on all the time in the ears, or the sound of your heartbeat. But if you need them, use them. Your place of meditation should ideally be a place where you can most easily forget outer distractions, but if it is not, you can still manage to practice meditation successfully.

It should be softly or dimly lighted. (Full darkness might tend to make you go to sleep.) It is also good to turn off any electric lights, as their pulsation–even though not perceived by the eyes–affects the brain waves and subtly agitates the mind. (Halogen lights do not pulsate, so they are no problem if they do not glare.) If you like having a candle or wick lamp burning when you meditate, they should be a kind that does not flicker. Even a very dim electric light somewhere in the room out of the range of your sight is better than a flickering candle or lamp in front of you.

The room should be moderate in temperature and free from drafts, both cold and hot. It is also important that it be well ventilated so you do not get sleepy from lack of oxygen in the air.

Some meditators like to burn incense when they meditate. This is a good practice if the smoke does not irritate their lungs or noses. Unfortunately, most incense, including that from India, contains artificial, toxic ingredients that are unhealthy. The two best kinds of incenses to use are genuine sandalwood or frankincense. Sandal is considered the highest vibratory fragrance. Frankincense and rose also possess a very high vibration. There are several brands of incense that are genuine, but the Auroshikha brand made at the Aurobindo Ashram in India is the most trustworthy.

[This is taken from the chapter "Points for Successful Meditation," from Om Yoga, Its Theory and Practice, by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.]

Q: Please explain how the world goes–what is the starting point and the end point?

This is best explained in Autobiography of a Yogi (first edition facsimile published by Crystal Clarity Publishers–View full text online here). Some of the major upanishads also give detailed descriptions of how the universe emanates from the Absolute–and also why. The Bhagavad Gita also deals with these matters. I recommend you get information directly from these authoritative sources rather than a synthesis from me.

Q: If we consider this world as cyclic when will Satya Yuga arrive?

This is also discussed quite completely in Autobiography of a Yogi as well as in The Holy Science by Swami Sriyukteswar Giri.

Please be aware, that Kali, Dwapara, Treta, and Satya are matters of prevailing consciousness at some point in time. But they are also indications of individual development. Therefore, we can inwardly be in Satya Yuga even when Kali Yuga prevails outside. And we can be in Kali Yuga inside even when the world in general is in Satya Yuga.

The answer to this all is meditation.

Read more about learning how to meditate.