Maxim IX

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“Mould your living so as to rouse a feeling of love and piety in others.” The ninth maxim. For anyone unfamiliar with the word, as it’s not a terribly common one these days, “piety” means a quality of being religious or reverent. Devoutness. Saintliness.

The first thing that struck me is that, by itself, this maxim could easily confuse people. On a number of levels it can tie into the things we’ve discussed in earlier maxims, but this feels like a maxim that would best be supplemented by commentary from the masters of our lineage. If it were a commandment or something in another religion it would likely come with lots of explanatory interpretations and guidelines on how to best implement it into the believer’s life.

In regard to the use of the word piety in this maxim I think there’s a new understanding that should apply. For one, the path of Heartfulness helps us see that religion is to be left behind just as kindergarten is. So I think to say that piety here means that we’re meant to invoke a feeling of religiosity in others is inaccurate. Reverence, though, is likely more applicable and more practical for today.

If you “mould your living” in a way that causes others to experience love and induces a feeling of reverence for who you are, how you conduct yourself, and the overall value of your life as a whole in relation to the lives of those witnessing your living.

I was recently talking with a friend. I’ve known this person for the better part of a couple years already and we were chatting about many things in life, including our respective significant others. We were both comfortable enough to share with each other things we think might be better in our own lives if they were maybe different. During this part of our discussion, although I forget the details of how it came about, it was said to me by this friend, “I think anyone would want to be your husband, but I feel like I’m not good enough.” It obviously gave me pause and then, as anyone who knows me can attest, I insisted a statement like that be explained immediately. I got my explanation and the conversation kept moving, but my heart broke right then with humility.

I’m never doing anything other than what feels natural and right and true to be “Joshua” right now. I try to conduct myself in the best and highest way I know to, given any circumstance I might find myself in. Never once, truly, have I thought to myself that I need to do this or that to be better person or to get more people to like me. Frankly, I don’t even try to inspire people. I guess that kind of thinking isn’t part of who I am. And yet, that’s what happens sometimes with my connections to others. People sometimes think I’m cool or talented or even wise…. too good for them, even. It baffles me and flatters me and humbles me and invariably surprises me.

It can be tough to accept that you’re setting some kind of example when that idea isn’t even on your radar – but that’s exactly what we’re called to do in this maxim. Readers, I would encourage you at this point in our study of the maxims to look back and assess. How much of the prior maxims do you incorporate into your life and what example does that mean you’re setting for others to witness? Do you feel the need to set more of an example? Less of an example?

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

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Maxim VII

Too many people feel entitled to right wrongs. I’m no exception. I usually have enough spine and spunk to assert myself from the start and it’s actually rare for me to be “wronged.” But when I hear about my loved ones being wronged, one of my first thoughts is to ask whose legs I need to break – which usually just makes my loved ones laugh or roll their eyes. I’m more cerebral than anything and even if I were capable of snapping femurs, I’m not actually inclined to. Whenever the news talks about a child molester or someone who’s killed a senior citizen for what was in their wallet or been particularly abusive to animals, not far behind it is talk of how that person deserves the electric chair or lethal injection – or bullet to the head. Often you hear people joke about the “fun” that person is likely to experience in prison when they’re made into someone else’s bitch. Whether we’re the dealer of revenge or we rely on the legal system to deliver it, we love seeing people get what we think they deserve.

The seventh maxim is, “Be not revengeful for the wrongs done by others. Take them with gratitude as heavenly gifts.”

In Hinduism (and other Dharmic religions) there’s the concept of karma. Most Western minds only understand karma as “bad.” We say, “Karma’s a bitch.” But karma isn’t. It’s an impartial force of balance that, like gravity, can apply everywhere. Karma alone is reason enough for us not to worry about nonsense like revenge. Karma makes sure that what goes up comes back down and vice verse. It makes sure that what is given is likewise taken and that those who take don’t go forever without giving in the same measure. Karma is always in our favor. Always. How can this be so? Because balance and negation are what it’s about. Karma is not – in any way – concerned with punishing or rewarding. As long as one carries a balance of ANY karma, he or she will be burdened with death and rebirth.

Like a prior maxim where we talked about turning poison into medicine, this maxim advises us to see wrongs done by others as “heavenly gifts.” Sadly, my first thought is of the Westboro Baptist Church. Their spokespeople can be heard as saying things like, “Thank God for 9-11” and “Thank god for IEDs.” They’re known for being so negative, but from where they sit they are celebrating what they see as God’s punishment to the USA for growing into an unrighteous nation. To be clear – that’s total shit from a bull’s ass. But in their understanding they are grateful for these atrocities because they see them as opportunities – god is telling us we’ve gone off the right path and the punishments are alerts to steer us back.

I think you REALLY have to be careful with that kind of logic.

For me, this maxim breaks down quite cleanly into two parts and each part has a very clean focus. In the first part, pay attention to the “be not revengeful.” The part about wrongs done by others is so wide open for interpretation that it can get messy really fast, just because of ego and individual perspective. You and I may have very different ideas on what constitutes a wrong. For instance, if you’re a Christian it’s (probably) not at all wrong for you to consider the idea of others converting to your religion. For me, as a practicing Hindu, the idea of conversion is nearly repulsive, and is certainly offensive. Regardless of the definition of “wrong,” we can all take the same approach to our responses – be not revengeful. The second part, for me, should focus on the word gratitude. Like defining what wrong might mean to one person or another, defining a gift is also pretty open to interpretation. For some winning the lottery is a fantastic gift – but to those who have won and whose life fell to ruin afterward (just because of the misuse of the money) it’s not much of a gift, after all. But the notion of gratitude is easily settled on. Be mindfully thankful for your life experiences – no matter the filter through which you chose to see them.

It’s a tall order to fill when we’re in the middle of the householder life. We do the best we can to make life good and to protect and provide for ourselves and our loved ones. It seems natural to defend those parts of our existence. Protecting our life is normal and fine, but not to the point of being revengeful. Preventing wrongs, in my understanding, is being responsible. If you use your spine now to stand tall, you may well prevent being stepped on later. Revenge and retaliation, though, are going to far. They go beyond doing something unnecessary and reach into being detrimental. No further proof is needed outside of watching the Middle East. Pick any two groups who are fighting each other – the fighting goes so far back and is perpetuated by the need for revenge. A truly sad thing.

Don’t give energy to righting wrongs and be mindfully grateful of the unique life experience that is yours alone. This maxim communicates truth that can transform one’s life and touch the lives of others.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Maxim VI

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“Know all people as thy brethren and treat them as such.” This is the sixth maxim in Sahaj Marg. This seems to be our equivalent of “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” or “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Personally, I’ve always loved the “love your neighbor” verse in the Bible. It’s too often too quickly glossed over. Ultimately, to truly put that into effect you have to first realize your own Self and also recognize that Sameness in others. The Sahaj Marg version of this is actually a bit more digestible. It’s a tough thing for most people to reach realization of their true Center, let alone recognize the same in others that they meet – others who cut them off in traffic or vandalize their home.

But to see someone else as your brother is more doable. I don’t have to see you as non-different from my Self, but I get to start at a more comfortable and doable place which is knowing that we come from the same Parent – as brothers would. As one grows and deepens their personal evolution, of course, the natural revelation is that your brother IS not different from you – at all. Loving your brother (or neighbor) as yourself is literally loving yourself.

From a linguistic standpoint, I see a big difference between “like” and “as.” Most of the time, in the English language, the two words are fairly interchangeable. But the meatier parts of them are actually significant. Let’s contrast the two. If I love you LIKE myself, then it could be said that I’m loving you similarly to myself… as in, in a similar way. Similar does not mean the same. However, if I love you AS myself, then it could be said that I am loving you “in place of” myself. As if you were / are actually me – which is the ultimate Reality. Nondifference. If you go to a dance AS someone’s date, you are literally in the place of that person’s date. You’re not faking going as their date – you’re really in the place of their date. When that level of understanding is applied to this maxim, things really take on a new meaning.

The part of this I think many people are most likely to struggle with is the last four words: treat them as such.

It’s too easy to sit around and philosophize and ponder the deep intricacies of life and say, among friends, “We’re all One.” It’s another thing entirely to be out in the world living that oneness – to recognize your essential connection to the person who just cut you off in traffic or the person who transmitted HIV to your sister. Sadly, Christians come to mind with this. The Abrahamic religions come with hypocrisy built in – from the foundation up. It’s unavoidable, unfortunately, because of the structure of their belief system. But the reality is that the Christians, Muslims, and Jews aren’t alone – all people are guilty of this, even the godless. Our default is laziness and greed. We’re fine playing nice as long as things go our way – but the whole time we’re really just playing and really only for so long as things benefit us. To live life as though you truly see and know others to be your siblings – if not your Self – takes truthfulness mentioned in an earlier post.

What a profound and tough maxim this short one is!

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Maxim V

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The fifth maxim advises, “Be truthful. Take miseries as Divine Blessings for your own good and be thankful.” The first thought that comes to mind is one from my days of dabbling in Buddhism. For a brief moment I tried on a form of Japanese Buddhism founded by the monk Nichiren. Nichiren Buddhism is a practice founded on chanting of a mantra which is actually the title of a book – a sutra. I won’t go into that here now, but something that is often talked about in the SGI (Sokka Gakkai International – Nichiren Buddhist organization) is turning poison into medicine. To turn poison into medicine requires an elevated state. An internal adjustment. It required being able to see past the sting of the poison. The substance (poison) is not different – doesn’t change. And one’s individual essence is also unchanging. In basic terms, the perspective can really make a difference. Be able to separate the temporal from that which will remain.

Being able to separate and recognize the difference in perception / perspective is where the truth stays put. This is being truthful. Yeah, it means being honest – but truthfulness isn’t that shallow. I’ll try to provide an example: Years ago, I was shopping in a Marshall’s store. It’s been long enough ago now that I forget all of the details, but I was called over to the counter – a non-register line. And as I arrived and placed my items on the counter, the employee helping me pretty well thrashed my things around. She was huffing and puffing, rolling her eyes, not smiling or even making normal small talk with me. She slammed clothing around as she removed the anti-theft tags, etc… She was actually being quite rude to me. But was she?

I was separate enough from the situation to realize, quite easily, that I’d literally done nothing to elicit this behavior from her and so I just watched. Anyone who knows me, knows I probably had an expression on my face that would have clearly communicated to this young lady that I wasn’t about to have any of that from her. At some point, she made eye contact with me, and her expression softened instantly. So did her other behaviors. She then sighed softly, paused for just a second, and then quietly said to me, “I’m sorry.” Without breaking eye contact, I gently replied to her, “You’re okay. I promise.” The rest of my time in the checkout was quick and peaceful. And that was that.

Someone else might have gotten pissed because she was roughly handling things they intended to buy and the situation would maybe have gone from bad to worse. I was briefly able to discern the truth of the situation – which had nothing to do with me – and then extend grace to her as a result. And much needed grace, so it seemed! This is what truthfulness means to me in this maxim – setting ego aside and turning a poisonous circumstance into something medicinal.

When we talk about taking miseries as Divine Blessings for your own good and then being thankful, we usually think of bad karma. I get a flat tire. Labs come back from my doctor’s visit all wonky. My child breaks her arm playing at school. I lose my job. I lose my spouse. All miseries, surely. But usually when we try to consider these occurrences we resign ourselves to an understanding that we simply don’t possess. We blindly assume that God has a higher purpose for our misery or perhaps that we’ve transgressed God’s holy will in some way and are being punished – which then forces us into trying to be glad god is spanking us. Again … kindergartner’s notepad. God doesn’t have an opinion and also doesn’t punish us. Those are human traits alone. Seeing miseries as divine blessings requires the truthfulness I mentioned earlier. It requires a higher awareness – even if only temporarily. It’s based on the heart full of love and devotion and also harmony with Nature from the earlier maxims.

The natural response in all of this is gratitude – which is what this maxim ends with. What are we thankful for at this point? That’s easy – realization. Of what? The Self, Nature, our Center and Source. These first five maxims really could be it. If these are followed one morning, then they can apply to the next morning and the one after that. The foundation for a productive and peaceful life has been set. And with practice and even the smallest amount of dedication these become so easy! Think about summarizing these five and you will see how effective the Sahaj Marg Heartfulness practice can be at stripping away the baggage that keeps us bogged down, un-integrated, perpetually on the wheel of death and rebirth. These five alone are fairly complete. Luckily we have five more. We’re half way through!

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Maxim III

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I feel really good that, so far, the maxims each lead rather directly from the one before it. Maxim III is no different. It reads, “Fix your Goal which should be complete oneness with God. Rest not till the ideal is achieved.” This maxim actually touches on so many other ideas and practices within Sahaj Marg / Heartfulness. The love and devotion mentioned in conjunction with an elevated state relates directly to fixing our Goal and oneness with God.

It should be noted right off that Sahaj Marg doesn’t very much support the idea of God that comes to the mind of most who think of what God is. You can be sure that God is not an entity in the sky or off in the universe noticing the rights and wrongs of humans. Neither is God, really, Ganesha or Vishnu or Durga. To be sure, any conception of God – even the most vague – is flawed. These ideas and perceptions of what the Divine is do serve a purpose – but that purpose is no different than that served by those really long notepads used by preschoolers and kindergartners when they learn how to write. You know the ones? They’re long and the solid lines in them are spaced extra far apart and have a dotted line in between… and this is all to allow those tiny, yet unskilled hands to have more space to hone their ability to write lower case Ks and upper case Ts. Any understanding of God that involves traits you can picture or imagine or easily talk about are not much better than those learning notepads. Definitely have a valuable purpose but like those learning notepads you’re meant to leave them behind ASAP.

The word Goal, in this maxim, is upper case – not unlike God. That’s no accident. God is our Source. The Source is our very own Center and reaching That is the Goal Itself. It’s a fantastic journey and this reminds me of a Hindu prayer known as the Brahmarpanam …

ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणाहुतम् ।
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्म कर्म समाधिना ।।

A translation of this is: The act of offering is God, the oblation is God. By God it is offered into the Fire of God. God is That which is to be attained by him who performs actions pertaining to God.

The Brahmarpanam is often known as the Hindu meal blessing – and if you think about it for a second you can see why. But on a bigger scale, it means so much more and ties into this maxim. God is our Source and original Home. It’s where we’re journeying back to – despite the reality that It has never been separate from us! Crazy! The Goal is God and God is the traveler, the journey, and the destination. For anyone able to digest this, it’s an incredible and unshakable source of eternal hope and happiness. (For anyone not able to chew on this, give it time. Keep practicing on whatever learning notepad you’ve chosen and you will eventually get to the same place as anyone else – I promise.)

But there’s one last thing:  Don’t stop till you get there! The words in the maxim are, “Rest not till the ideal is achieved.” That probably doesn’t really need much explanation, but I’d like to point out something often overlooked. This “rest not…” bit means ALL THE TIME. In Sahaj Marg we have Constant Remembrance. We get out of bed – We shower and go to our meditation / puja place – Our heart swells with love and devotion making the Goal ever more clear – and then we set about reaching that Goal and rest not till it is achieved! What a valuable foundation this much can be for anyone!

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Maxim II

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Maxim II in Sahaj Marg advises, “Begin your puja with a prayer for spiritual elevation with a heart full of love and devotion.”

This feels like a natural progression from Maxim I. The last maxim pretty much gets us up and going and helps lessen the chances that we’ll rush into the day without our head on straight. This maxim goes a baby step more and begins our focus and the direction of our day. Prayer isn’t a big deal within Sahaj Marg. We have one “official” prayer – which will likely be covered in later posts.

In my mind and heart, the prayer here is not the same kind of prayer that we usually think of here in the West. In the West, virtually all prayer is a form of blabbering to the Divine. It’s really a shame – like seeing Ganesha as a wish giver. The real justice of the matter is discounted and overlooked. Here in the West, when we pray, it’s so noisy. There may be times of verbally offering thanks and whatnot, but very few people (probably) actually pray for the sole purpose of expressing gratitude. We say things like, “God protect us while we travel” and “God help me get that job” and “God give Kim Davis chlamydia.” Our mode of prayer here in the West is almost entirely ME-ME-ME. Prayer here is usually such a selfish act. And certainly there is plenty of that egoic prayer in the East, as well. People are people. We want things. Or, we want to avoid things. And we want the Divine to provide or prevent them.

The prayer in this maxim, though, feels different. If one can manage a “heart full of love and devotion” then it’s a bit less likely that the “prayer for spiritual elevation” will express itself in the shape of, “Give me spiritual elevation.” When one’s heart is filled with loved and devotion, words aren’t needed. Not really. And sometimes thoughts aren’t needed, either.

By this point, we’ve showered and dressed and gone to our meditation / puja spot and are in our preferred asana (position). And now Maxim II kicks in – with a heart full of love and devotion. Our puja / meditation is about lots of dark-n-wondrous things that will be covered by later posts, too, and this prayerful moment shaped by love and devotion builds on Maxim I and additionally sets the stage for a productive and heartful day ahead. And ultimately, that love and devotion are part of our core essence – which we’re uncovering in our practice through the elevation achieved (as mentioned in the prayer).

We’re beginning our personal puja with the intent (sankalpa) to achieve an elevated state, one less bogged down than the one we’re currently experiencing, and that sankalpa (intent) is full-flavored according to the intensity of our love and devotion.

Ready for Maxim III?

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Maxim I

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Just about every religious path or sect or denomination has its own set of rules. One of the first things I read when initially learning about Hinduism is that there are more religions WITHIN this religion than there are outside of it. Doesn’t that sound strange? How can a religion contain multiple others? Well, it’s true. In Islam you simply have the Quran. In Christianity, you have one very small religious text (the Bible). Even Mormons, who recognize the Old Testament, New Testament, and what I’ll call the Next Testament and have probably the most reading to do of all Christians, have only a tiny amount of scriptures to pull from compared to Hindus.

Hinduism has been around since… forever. It predates every other living religion today and at it’s essential core it remains incredibly and fantastically applicable to modern life and in harmony with science. Most other religions alive today have to backtrack a bit to realign what they say they believe so that they can harmonize with modern life and science, but the truth of Hinduism is that many recent scientific advancements support what Hindu texts have said for many thousands of years. (To be clear, going back 2,000 years or 4,000 years is cake to the Hindu. When most religions were just opening their eyes to the light of day, Hinduism long surpassed the crawling and walking phases and was running marathons.)

Regardless of the development of any specific religion, you’re bound to find a set of “rules.” Those within the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, among others) are very familiar with this, and it could even be said that they specialize in rule making. The problem with that approach is that rules suck. They aren’t usually as universally applicable or universally enforceable as we think. People, historically, break rules. Too often our rules are just not realistic.

But they still have value, right? If nothing else, they provide a basic foundation which can in turn either be built on or be jumped from. Whether those rules are built upon or jumped from depends entirely on the individual and it shouldn’t be forgotten that your personal choice to build or jump from a set of rules in no way naturally applies to whether someone else does the same action with the same set of rules.

In Sahaj Marg, we have what are termed The Ten Maxims. When you google the definition of what “maxim” means you get, “a short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.” For anyone not familiar with what “pithy” means, it means concise. That definition helps illustrate exactly what our Maxims mean to us (or to anyone). Our practice traces back on some level to Sage Patanjali who is known for his sutras – these Maxims are, in their own way, sutras. They are short, concise, general truths / rules of conduct, and tie together nicely like sutras would. Another layer of this was found by scrolling through additional google results – one of which mentions that a maxim is subjective. For anyone not familiar, subjective means, “based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.” So when you smoosh all that together you end up with a meaning that encompasses the idea of a general (universally applicable?) truth or rule of conduct that is concise (not bogged down) and able to pass through any individual’s subjective filter. This understanding is immensely valuable because structure is provided and so is freedom.

I start from where I am, I go to where I am able, and I grow the whole way. Equally important, and not to be forgotten, is the knowledge that none of that applies to you. Even if you follow the same Maxim (or surat, or sutra, or commandment, or whatever…), my experience and application is good only for myself and yours for you. It’s that simple and with that I’ll mention Sahaj Marg’s Maxim 1.

The first maxim reads, “Rise before dawn. Offer your prayer and puja at a fixed hour, preferably before sunrise, sitting in one and the same pose. Have a separate place and seat for worship. Purity of mind and body should be specially adhered to.” (Depending on where you are reading, the wording of the maxims might vary. For instance, I am going by a wallet card I ordered from our bookstore, but if you go to our site the words differe a bit. The essence is not changed, though.)

The first thing I noticed is that this maxim has no less than five parts to it: 1) Rise before dawn. 2) Offer prayer / puja at a fixed hour, preferably before sunrise. 3) Sit in one and the same pose. 4) Have a separate place and seat for worship. 5)Purity of mind and body should be adhered to.

This instantly seems to support the ability for anyone to adopt this maxim, from whatever point in their own evolution they might be. Maybe you can’t rise before dawn, but you can offer morning puja at the same time each morning. Maybe you live in a place that doesn’t allow for you to have a totally separate temple room or something but you can at least go to the same place in your home and use the same seating / posture. Purity of mind and body? Get up, shower, put on clean clothing – knowing that you’re headed into morning puja and meditation.

Personally, I rarely rise before dawn – except maybe in winter months. Regardless of whether I’m up before dawn, I do puja / meditation each morning after my shower and before leaving the house for the day. I sit in the same asana, not in a reclined posture, and I wrap myself in a comfortable but sturdy green blanket which is used for nothing else. That’s where I am currently with Maxim I. Others, more evolved than myself, perhaps are able to adhere to every part of this maxim. And there are many others, most people probably, who do well to complete one-fifth of this Maxim daily. Doesn’t matter – do what you can do now, and try to do more as you can as you grow.

This maxim, I’m guessing, is the easiest to gloss over. We want to know what other rules we have to follow. We want to see what else is written. We read it and then we’re like, “Okay – what else?” But this maxim is actually really important. If anyone is guilty of running a hundred miles an hour the minute their feet step out of bed, then it’s me. But I still recognize, and hope you do too, how important it is to set the tone for your day with stillness and peace and calm. Who knows what your day will bring? It’s smart to start your day with actions that are predictable and quietly productive.

A maxim that is so helpful as to set the stage for one’s day may well be as beneficial in setting the stage for the additional maxims.

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Soon till 10

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The Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga meditation (Heartfulness) is the basis of my spiritual practice. I’ve written about the various aspects of the practice here on Sthapati Samanvayam. I won’t bother with trying to give you the digest version of what my sampradaya (tradition, religious system) / parampara (guru-shishya lineage) entails. You can search for yourself by clicking HERE and HERE and HERE.

Every path that anyone can take offers a structure specific to that path. Some paths have a lot of scripture or many texts for adherents to pull from and others have far less. Some paths have definite lists of dos and don’ts while others just offer guidelines for followers to keep in mind as they travel through life. In the Sahaj Marg / Heartfulness tradition, our gurus contribute to an ever growing body of text from which abhyasis can derive structure, guidance, and clarity. Part of this body is a collection of ten maxims. A listing of those maxims can be found by clicking HERE.

I wanted to write about our Maxims because I think they’re important. To be clear, these are not truly our equivalent of the Abrahamic Ten Commandments. There’s a big difference between our Maxims and those Commandments – namely that there’s no petty, emotional, fickle, and judgmental Old Man Overlord in the sky meeting us on top of a mountain to dish out rules and punishments as the early Jews and Christians believed (and still mostly do). I was talking with a local prefect / preceptor, whom I really admire and am very fortunate to have locally, and I mentioned to her that I planned a short series on the maxims. Her response was, “Very cool. The Maxims are at the base of everything. Mysteriously, they begin to manifest within oneself the more fully one begins to drown in Love for all things with no distinction.”

My plan is to publish a post for each Maxim and share my thoughts and understandings related to that maxim. I encourage you, dear readers, to share your own thoughts and understandings of these maxims in comments on each post. As indicated in my Samyag Akhyate (click to view it) page, you’re more than welcome to disagree with me – you don’t have to be polite or sugar coat anything but you do have to be productive. For those of you who will be reading these posts as a result of them being shared to my other social media, such as my Facebook page, I would ask that if you want to share your comments / thoughts, please share them here and not in a comment on the Facebook post. In that way, others will be able to read your insights and may well benefit from them, too. Thank you for reading!

Aum Shri Mahaganeshaya Namaha | Aum Shanti

Sahaj Marg, The Breakdown

Sometime late last year, December-ish, I found myself in a psychology class.

Before continuing, I’d like to assert that only “psychos” go into psychology. I know this is likely an unfair statement, and certainly an over-generalization. I should also admit that there are moments, sometimes daily, when I think my own sanity must be mere minutes from leaving me for good. Many very educated people I know claim that virtually every psych professional they’ve know is in some way or another… off. The suspicion is that people with psych problems tend to enter that industry as part of some deep-rooted desire to figure their own selves (problems) out, and of course, help others in the process. Projection, which is illegal, happens all too often.

Back to the psychology class. The faculty teaching this class is an incredible person. She has life experience I’m glad I don’t have. The result is that her perspective is… interesting. She clearly adores psychology and all it entails. She certainly enjoyed teaching the class. I could truly write a book about her, but that’s not the point of this post. She is, however, relevant to this post because she’s the reason I encountered the Natural Path-formally and officially known as Sahaj Marg. We were actually doing a few ice breakers at the start of the class, one of which was to discuss one of the meditative techniques we had researched and tried prior to the class’s start. To be level with us, she shared similarly about herself. The meditative practice she mentioned was Sahaj Marg. I went home that night and looked into it. After only a day or two of poking around online and taking notes on everything I read, I made an online request to be contacted by a local representative.

When someone shows interest, the contact to them is initiated by someone called a Preceptor.

The preceptor who contacted me was an intelligent and charming woman named Jan. However, Jan was then about to head out of town and so she put me in touch with her husband, a tall and handsome man, and also a Preceptor. He and I met at a Starbucks shortly thereafter. During that chat we discussed the Sahaj Marg in general, and also he did well answering most of my questions at that point. Below is the digest version of what I learned during my preliminary study and in meeting with that Preceptor.

1. Practitioners of Sahaj Marg are known as Abhyasis. Abhyas means concentration, and is actually an applicable title for followers of this path.
2. The practice itself is a branch of Raja Yoga and essentially encompasses/simplifies Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and the goals of the Yamas and Niyamas through a specialized and summarized meditation practice which is centered in the area of the heart chakra.
3. In addition to the practice of abhyas/meditation, the path employs the unique practice of “cleaning.” This is essentially a visualization practice during which the abhyasi perceives the day’s impression (samskaras) as leaving the body through the upper back/shoulder area in the form of smoke or vapor.
4. Each person interested in becoming an abhyasi must undergo a minimum of three consecutive initiatory “sittings” with a Preceptor, during which the Cleaning Process is initiated as well as the beginning of Pranahuti, also known as Transmission, in which a bond with the current Master is established. Pranahuti is kind of like shaktipat, but entirely more subtle.

All of this sounded interesting enough, and while I’m not racist in the least, I should admit that it was kind of nice to be introduced to something like this by a non-Indian. In all my other spiritual pursuits, like 96% of all of them, I’m the only non-Indian. It truly doesn’t bother me, but it does perpetually feel rather lonely. At the end of the Starbucks meeting, I told this Preceptor that I’d be in touch about scheduling my initiatory sittings. I did just that.

As it turns out, this husband-wife Preceptor pair hosts much of the group’s local activities in their home, which isn’t new, but is nice. Their main living area actually makes for a very nice “sanctuary” with its enormous windowed space and near-panoramic view of their backyard.

After the initiatory sittings, there’s a prescribed manner of practice each abhyasi is encouraged to maintain including morning meditation, “cleaning” when the day’s work is done, and evening prayer. Additionally, there are a number of writings by the Marg’s lineage of Masters available for the abhyasi to study. Probably the most known of these are the Ten Maxims…which are not like the Ten Commandments.

Once their foot is in the door, so to speak, abhyasis are encouraged to do sittings with a Preceptor something like twice monthly. This is in addition to the individual cleaning one should be doing on his own. The benefit of this is that, if the abhyasi is diligent with his own cleaning it makes for increased progress in cleaning when he sits for such with his Preceptor.

The heart-based meditation is actually quite sweet, although it can be challenging to get a good hold on. It’s like picturing something without actually picturing it. The verbiage I feel is often used in this context is supposition. One “supposes” the existence of this Light, without actually picturing it. Apparently, picturing it too concretely will lead to kind of idolizing an image of this Light and this will, in its own way, deter the potential progress of the abhyasi. It’s for this reason that, although this practice comes from a Hindu background, no murtis are employed or encouraged.

Another aspect of Sahaj Marg is their use of journaling. All abhyasis are encouraged to do some post-meditative journaling as a means of logging their meditation experiences or realizations.

So far, in its relatively short lifespan, the Sahaj Marg has experienced three Masters (known respectively as Lalaji, Babuji, and Chariji), and the fourth was recently designated. I feel like a Google search has turned up some interesting tidbits about the Sahaj Marg, including that it’s a cult, that Preceptors at times force abhyasis to share their journals, a sex scandal or two, and disagreements in regard to the succession of some of the past Masters, among others. I’ll speak more about these things in my next post, when I detail my actual experience with the path.

My apologies for this post being so long. I intended to lay out a foundational understanding of as much of Sahaj Marg practice as possible, so that in my next post I can speak as much as possible about my specific experience with the path and not have as much explaining to so.

Om Shanti