Samskaras, SRCM

 

 

 

 

Just a quick post to share here what I came across somewhere else. There’s a Blogspot blog related to SRCM / Sahaj Marg / Heartfulness which can be found by clicking here. The post you’ll see when clicking there isn’t a very long post but is a bit deep. Presented in a very basic manner, there’s a small discussion on samskaras and how they are viewed and approached by Sahaj Marg / Heartfulness / SRCM.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

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Nahin

 

I think in the last post here I said that the next post would be a continuance of the one before. I didn’t know that would be a lie, but here I am.

Today was a really tough day for me – on a personal level as well as a spiritual one. In fact, so tough that a big chunk of me right now wants to cry a WHOLE lot.

But there’s another chunk of me, small but potent, and when I turn my mind’s eye inward, I can kind of see that small, powerful part – “amsha,” as Chariji called it. It looks a little bit like me, but not really. Even though it doesn’t really have arms or hands or legs or feet, I sense vrkshasana and I sense the anjali mudra. They are some of my favorite things and they communicate being grounded and being centered and being humbled. These things aren’t how I feel on the outside right now, but knowing they are inside helps bring that condition out.

That core is so serene right now, even as my outer layers feel so the opposite. How can I not practice my abhyas at a time like this?

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Reality: Static & Dynamic

My contribution to this post will be minimal because I plan to share original content from another source. If you’re interested, you can look into the Complete Works of Ram Chandra, Volume One. Else, please continue reading below for excerpts I’ve pulled from a chapter titled, “Reality – Its Static and Dynamic Aspects” which deals with how God is defined.

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There has been a great deal of controversy over the question of the existence of God, the Ultimate Reality. The real problem of my mind, is not that of proving or disproving the existence of an Eternal Absolute but that of defining it in an adequate and satisfactory way. The factor of blind and enthusiastic faith, created and strengthened by individual miseries and cravings in different cultural contexts, has added more and more confusions. Consequently, the man of reason and thought rightly feels disgusted at the very mention of the word “God.”

There are various conceptions of the Ultimate Reality. People look upon Him differently according to their capacity and understanding… But philosophic view includes the idea of Nirguna Brahman (Indeterminate Absolute) which is above all multiplicity and distinction. This Nirguna Brahman is regarded to be the ultimate cause and substratum of existence, the superactive center of the entire manifestation. It is also known as Para Brahman.

Next comes the idea of God as Supreme Existence. We see the universe with all its diversities and differentiations and we are led to believe in its creator and controller. We call him Ishwara, or Saguna Brahman (Determinate Absolute). We think of him as an Eternal Existence which is omipotent and omniscient, posessing all the finest attributes. He is the efficient cause of the world and also its preserver and destroyer.

It is only when viewed from the lower standpoint that God becomes an object of worship, which is the final approach of almost all the religions. This Saguna Brahman is also known as Apara Brahman. Much is said in religious books about the above-mentioned two conceptions. Some think that the concept of indeterminate or attributeless God is better than that of determinate God. Others hold just the opposite view. In fact, both of them are erring… There are no doubt the two ways, but the goal is one… Both the conceptions, as generally understood, are greatly misleading. Truly God is neither Nirguna nor Saguna, but is beyond both… It is we who conceive Him to be Nirguna; and it is we who make him Saguna. What we must do to avoid these quarrels is that we must fix our view on the original element (Adi Tattva) – be it Nirguna or Saguna. Whatever it is we must love it.

Religion is only a preliminary stage for preparing a man for his march on the path for freedom. The end of religion is the beginning of spirituality; the end of spirituality is the beginning of Reality; and the end of Reality is the real Bliss. When that too is gone, we have reached the destination. This is the highest mark which is almost inexpressible in words.

Thus God is not to be found within the folds of a particular religion or sect. He is neither to be confined within certain forms or rituals nor is He to be traced out within the scriptures. Him we have to seek in the innermost core of our heart.

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After this post, I’ll add another to pick up where this left off. The next will begin by starting at the place of understanding held by an Atheist and will employ some basic mathematical concepts to illustrate.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

The Un-Mutant

Image taken from Google Image search

 

I’ve been having more sittings than usual here lately… all in preparation for meeting Daaji at the end of this month. These sittings, while technically nothing special, have certainly felt different.

At the end of a recent sitting, the prefect who gave the sitting asked me how the sitting was – not in a specific tell-me-your-experience kinda way, but far more generally. I have been journaling some of these details, but thought – after talking to him about the experiences – to log them here, too…. well, partly. Kinda. I actually feel like remaining fairly guarded about this kinda stuff, but I think what I have planned to share here is fine, soo…What I’m actually telling here are the details of a dream I had. Mind you, that by itself is a rare occurence. I practically NEVER dream, or at least I never remember them. But this dream came after these special-but-not-special sittings began.

Reader, have you seen any of the X-Men movies? The most recent one, dealing with the mutant Apocalypse, hasn’t been out very long but the others are a bit older. One of the earlier ones has a scene that mirrors something from the dream I intend to share.

In a scene from one of the movies (I think it was Last Stand, 2006?) there is a clinical setting and in a certain room there’s a young male child. The whole setting is absolutely sterile – everything white, I think – even the boy’s clothing. If I recall correctly, he was even completely hairless. So sterile feeling, the entire scene. The mutant known as Beast (I think) approaches the boy and reaches out to touch the boy. As he reaches out and his hand nears the boy, the blue of Beasts skin and fur – even the fur itself – disappears. His entire mutant-ness, or at least the appearance of it, literally dissolves into nothing as he comes nearer to the boy, whose own mutant power is making that happen. As Beast pulls away from the boy, the fur and the blue return.

In my dream, something similar happened. I was at a conference in a setting like the one I’m expecting in New Jersey at the end of this month. There was a sequence of rather mundane events which was nothing unusual for what one would expect at any kind of conference, really. But then came time for me to meet Daaji in person for the first time and then to have a sitting with him directly.

As I entered the room where he was waiting to give the sitting I suddenly became aware of a fog surrounding me. And I mean it surrounded only my body, quite closely. If you’re familiar with the concept of an aura, it was just like that only cloudy and gray in color. This cloudy aura didn’t extend beyond my physical body more than probably 8 inches and it wasn’t suffocating or tough to “wear” or anything.

Then I entered the room and felt a gentle pressure on my body. It kind of felt like a type of full-body envelope or something. Daaji was on the other side of the room and so I began walking toward him. Much to my surprise, and much like Beast approaching the “pure” boy in the movie, the closer I got to Daaji the more I felt a kind of subtle wind which was gently blowing away the cloudy aura I carried.

As I came my nearest to him and started to seat myself, this subtle wind felt more intense or more focused or something. It wasn’t tough to withstand or anything and not uncomfortable. It really only affected the aura.

Without anything more than a slight “namaste” gesture, I seated myself before him in my usual meditation asana, closed my eyes, and steadily sank into deep meditation only vaguely aware of how very little of the gray aura still clung to me, all else burned off like a lake’s morning mist in the dawning sun.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Ganapati. Atharvashirsha. Upanishad.

I came across this the other day and thought to share it. So click away…

Shree Ganapatyatharvashirshopanishad

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Complete Works, Vol I

From the Conclusion of Efficacy of Raja Yoga as found in Complete Works of Shri Ram Chandra, Volume I. Here are some notes I took from the reading. I’m sharing them here as reminders to myself of what I do well and what I might ought to improve on.

1. Spiritual essence of food – Recognize it. Value it. Honor it. Don’t be fanatical about it.
2. Try not to unnecessarily injure or prick the heart or feelings of others.
3. Look to bright side of the picture. Always.
4. One cannot become a yogi without actual practice with love and devotion.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Heartfulness Indy T-Shirts

For a month solid (if not more) I’ve been working with one of the leading prefects in my region (and zone!) on putting ideas together for a t-shirt local abhyasis and prefects can wear when out-n-about and at events. As in many other contexts, one’s conduct and whatnot acts as a kind of unintentional business card – relating back to one’s family, socio-economic status, employer, religion, etc… Now the Heartfulness community in the Indy region has t-shirts to act as a simple but intentional display.

In putting this together we pulled inspiration from other zones as well as the global Heartfulness community. We initially went in the direction of an online store, CustomInk, which we know other communities have used. CustomInk is a fantastic site and quite user-friendly. I’d recommend that route to anyone.

However, because of a million reasons mostly relating to the 2016 North American Heartfulness conferences that have been underway in recent weeks, as well as local events like Monumental Yoga which the Indy region will be at, this was placed on a back burner and was only discussed off-n-on for a number of weeks and so we found ourselves with a very narrow window of time not only to complete the design, but get the design to a vendor, get the shirts made and paid for, AND get them back. The real hero in all this is a local business here in Indianapolis called Bright Ideas in Broad Ripple. (For anyone unaware, Broad Ripple is a unique little bubble in the Indy area and offers a lot of neat things to do and see.) If you look below to the first image attached, then you’ll see their web address which I encourage you to check out. I’ve been on their site and it’s very user-friendly too and does well at showing all that they offer. But because of the time crunch we were in, it was agreed that I should just stop by the store in person and try to consult with someone STAT.

So I did.

It was a Friday. Last Friday. And as my luck would have it, they were all but closed. In fact, when I arrived the door was locked. So I pushed the button for the doorbell and soon was greeted at the door by the owner herself, “Big Bad Boss Bev.” In my opinion, Bev doesn’t come off as big or bad, but she certainly feels like a natural boss – but exactly the kind you’d want to work for! She opened the door, explained that all the staff had left early that day, but said she’d consult with me, anyway.

She escorted me around her showroom and explained differences in fabrics and fits and pricing, etc… A very thorough consult. She gathered some basic information about who I am, who I was representing, the event we were wanting the shirts for, and some stats about the shirts that would help her beginning planning and pricing. I was with her for less than an hour and I feel the time spent was so valuable.

The weekend came and went as weekends do – far too quickly. I emailed Bev Monday morning with as much of the information she’d requested as I could and roped in a couple others locally and from Ohio. Everything was happening so quickly – our back and forth emailing was quite the whirlwind. By the end of the day everything had well been finalized and within a couple days I had everything paid for. We really thought we’d be lucky to have our shirts in-hand by the day before our event and understood there to be a risk that it simply wouldn’t be possible. However, exactly one week after consulting with Bev, she contacted me to let me know that our product was received and ready to be picked up.

I went that afternoon to get the product. When I entered the business establishment, Bev was on the phone with someone so one of her employees assisted. The woman who helped was very friendly and knew right where my order was being held. They had one of the shirts on a hanger and this made it easy for her to show me the final product. In that short time, Bev had gotten off the phone and found me. She greeted me personally and explained how when she was given the news that my order was ready, she insisted it be couriered over right away. We agreed that the result was a great shirt and we were both very pleased. With all of her help and care I couldn’t help but give her a big hug in thanks and she didn’t hesitate to hug me right back. So many Hoosiers really give good hugs and Bev is one of them!

Tomorrow morning I’ll be bringing the shirts to morning meditation to begin distributing them to those who ordered. I think these will really make a difference for our volunteers at the Monumental Yoga event this coming Tuesday. What a fantastic experience in the local journey to bring and grow Heartfulness in the Indianapolis area. Jaya!

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

 

 

Big Bad Boss Bev can be seen here on the right, an image taken from Bright Ideas’ Facebook page, which I encourage you to “like” – She was at the Pink Pajama Party, an event that is dear to my heart.

 

Delivery box – Bright Ideas is a FANTASTIC vendor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ghar Jaake Dekhna

I was reading around online when I came across something I found to be interesting. The idea of an “incomplete sitting” was discussed here, in a quote by the current Global Guide of Heartfulness and Sahaj Marg, known now as Daaji. Anyone who has experienced the Sahaj Marg method of Raja Yoga knows what a sitting is. It’s possible that someone learning the Heartfulness path could meditate without transmission – but even among that group of newcomers, transmission or a “sitting” is commonplace. It’s a palpable difference – meditating with transmission versus without.

Very recently, the sittings I’ve had have been altogether unique. A real shift in things experienced. I might write more about that later, but for now lets stay focused on this idea of an incomplete sitting. When I first started reading I thought the mention of an incomplete sitting sounds like something to certainly avoid. Since starting on this path of raja yoga there have been two times when I needed to excuse myself before the sitting or group meditation was technically finished. But that’s not what the link above will let you read about.

In an informal discussion, Daaji shares that there are times when, while giving a sitting, he just kinda pauses it all. The sitting is started, and underway, and then is kind of boxed up in spiritual Tupperware and sent home with the abhyasis – usually without the abhyasi even knowing. Then later, if the abhyasi sits at home, the rest of the “meal” can be enjoyed. Two gurus earlier in our lineage (I mean, two before Daaji), Babuji was known to have said, “Ghar jaake dekhna” which translates to something like, “observe at home.” It’s important to note our condition immediately following the sitting, but it can apparently also be quite beneficial to collect ourselves again once we’ve returned home and finish tasting the sustenance just received.

I have never heard of any prefect or preceptor doing this – only Daaji (and Babuji?) so I doubt it’s commonplace at all and, in fact, is maybe even something Daaji would advise against generally. We’re encouraged to be fully dedicated to our practice and this kind of playfulness should likely be reserved for someone with more mastery than the average abhyasi or prefect. Still, I kind of like the idea… spiritual left overs to be enjoyed after we get home from the sitting. They say chili soup is better as leftovers. What a treat to be able to carry home some “uneaten” prana and bask in those leftovers there.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti