SPIRITUAL SADHANA

Dear All,

The author spends some time every  morning  explaining the earlier posts to his mother .

While explaining the "purpose of human birth" posts, it came from within to reproduce a very important portion of a post in December 2016.

Here it is. Each line, each expression of this master, especially the last ending para, is priceless, most precious for any human being who has a least a little urge to evolve spiritually.

Love

I quote,

“Sadhana [spiritual practice] is important. It will give you a comprehensive knowledge of life with all its currents and cross currents. I worked hard in my life and attained something that gives me solace. I found out that life is mingled with sorrow and joy; both of these feelings should not be allowed to disturb the course of life. A human being is not imperfect, but incomplete. Man’s essential nature is a limitless horizon. The call to inner Truth is present in him with all profundity, but his analytical logic is shallow. A sadhaka has to go through a series of internal experiences. When a sadhaka’s convictions are filtered by the systematic and organized way of sadhana, the mind becomes penetrating and one-pointed. Through constant contemplation and meditation, one begins having glimpses of the Truth, and these experiences strengthen his faith. Growing internally, that exclusive faith becomes the source of inner strength, enabling the aspirant to move along the path until perfection is achieved. The human mind is complex with all its typical moods, manners, and weapons. The purpose of sadhana is to be free from the magic wonders of the mind and remain free all the time. Freedom is a divine gift lent to mortals. A seeker of Truth should first have freedom from all time-honored taboos. Mental freedom is an accepted fact and is definitely higher than physical freedom. Free spirit is godly and alone can claim kinship with God. The potential to realize the Truth is present in every person. In some it remains dormant, while in others it is awakened. The more one directs one’s awareness toward the Divine Force, the more one realizes the emptiness of the objects of the world. That realization helps one to withdraw one’s mind from the external world, and to compose oneself for inner exploration. All sadhanas, all practices, are meant to purify and strengthen the mind that disturbs your being and prevents you from being aware of the Reality that is within you. To be spiritual means to be aware of the Reality all the time, to be aware of the Absolute Truth all the time, and to be aware of the Lord within you all the time.”

(Swami Rama)

Creation of the Universe - Part 15

MACROCOSM AND MICROCOSM

Ancient Indian philosophy says that man is the microcosm of the Universe. The Universe is referred to as the brahmanda (i.e. Egg of Brahma) and Man is referred to kshudra-brahmanda (i.e. Little Egg of Brahma). 

Let us try and understand the similarity in the process of evolution of universe as learnt in the earlier post, with the evolution of man.

Let us now read our Lord SAI's answers to few relevant questions which link the 24 elements that we learnt in the creation of universe  (Macrocosm) with the individual Jiva (Microcosm)

Q. Tell me also what they mean by the super-causal or transcendental body, the fourth.
A. The pure consciousness unmixed with any or elemental principle (thathwa), the witness eternal, the Self luminous. They refer to it as the Supreme Cause.

Q. Has it a name, like the rest?
A. It is known as Cosmic Intelligence (Hiranyagarbha).

Q. And the state?
A. It is stateless. It is beyond all states of consciousness, so it is described as the Imperishable (Akshara-puru- sha).

Q.Coming back to this gross body, what special products are attributable to the  5 elements that united to form it?
A. To the earth: bone, skin, flesh, veins, hair.

Q. Of water?
A. Blood, urine, saliva, phlegm, brain.

Q. From fire?
A. Hunger, thirst, sleep, steadiness, mating.

Q. The element air produces?
A. Activity, movement, speed, shame, fear.

Q. Similarly, the element ether in the body must be responsible for some consequences.
A. Yes, for lust, anger, greed, pride, and envy. 

(Extract from Prasnottara Vahini, answers are by Swami)

In the next post, we will learn about the wonderful process of retracing from our lowest state to the highest state, along the creation flow diagram which we are now familiar with.

Love.

Chinmayananda Saraswati