Third Session (10.2.09)
Soul is a point of light which has three different levels of energy/ consciousness
1. Mind (Conscious)
2. Intellect (Conscience)
3. Sanskaras( Sub-conscious)
Mind creates a thought and then experiences the thought; The intellect acts like a filter, it analyses the experiences and thoughts and finally the action is made. This creates an imprint on our soul and this is called Sanskaras (or sub-conscious mind), that determine our personal traits.
Paramjit explained this by an example of smoking addiction. How we first generate the thought of smoking due to various reasons (trail or peer pressure or other reasons), then we act and later we act with out intellect and thus it becomes a habit/ addiction. Its a vicious cycle. In order to break this habit or stop the addiction we need to use our intellect to filter out the urge to act sub-consciously. Therefore the key to stop or quit an addiction or habit is to awaken your intellect.
When one is 'body conscious' ones intellect is sleeping and when one is 'soul conscious' our intellect is awake. Remember the most important aspect of Raja Yoga meditation is to consistently making our intellect stronger and thereby strengthening our conscience.
Paramjit also emphasised on speaking less and listening more that is a key communication skill. So speak less, speak softly and speak sweetly.
Fourth Session (12.02.2009)
Today's session was on Law of Karma.
Paramjit explained to us Karma ie 'the law of cause and effect'. As Laws in physics state there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action; in Spiritual terms this is "To what ever I give, I get back an equal amount".
The types of Action:
1. Positive
2. Negative
3. Neutral
A positive action would be to help others, to serve, to smile etc. A negative action is hatred, be angry, to hit etc and a neutral action is like "Iam going to write an article"...Now what you write can be a positive action or a negative action depending on the content.
There are 2 important aspects in Action
- Actions are determined by intentions
- Intentions are based on Awareness
Similarly Paramjit gave the scenario of a recent charity dinner where one person comes forward and when every one looks on writes a hefty sum on a cheque and hand it over to the lord mayor. He gets a great applause. Another person meanwhile walks quietly along the side of the auditorium, writes a similar amount and drops it anonymously. No body notices this action. Both the persons were giving the same amount...so the action is the same, but the intention is different. Both had opened a 'karmic account'. The first one had settled it then and there itself, when he gets the applause, instant popularity and probably a television interview. For the second person he has now got a 'credit' in his/ her 'karmic account'.
In the cycle of "Past- Present- Future", the vital part is present. The present is 'the gift'. Make good use of present. Do positive action with good intention, unconditionally. Your past(or past karmas) cannot be changed and future (according to the law of karma) is based on present and past actions. So do good action altruistically in the present.
There are 3 ways to settle karma
1. Suffering
2. Good action
3. Is possibly the easiest way(?), which Paramjit promised to explore in the next session
A few more quotes from today
"Be simple and be a sample"
"Never give sorrow, never take sorrow"
We are half way through the course. It has been a fascinating journey so far and re-discovering ourselves. I must conclude that Paramjit is doing a great service to the society. om shanthi............
5 comments:
Yoga (Application) which was based on the control of the body physically and implied that a perfect control over the body and the senses led to knowledge of the ultimate reality. A detailed anatomical knowledge of the human body was necessary to the advancement of yoga and therefore those practising yoga had to keep in touch with medical knowledge. (Romila Thapar, A History of India, volume one).
I suggest : Mind and brain are two distinct things. Brain is anatomical entity whereas mind is functional entity. Mind can be defined as the function of autonomic nervous system (ANS). It is claimed that mind can be brought under conscious control through the practice of meditation. But how? ANS is largely under hypothalamic control which is situated very close to optic chiasma (sixth chakra or ajna chakra). Protracted practice of concentration to meditate at this region brings functions of ANS say mind under one’s conscious control.
ANS is further divided into parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS). On the basis of these facts I have discovered a mathematical relationship for spiritual quotient (S.Q.). Spiritual Quotient can be expressed mathematically as the ratio of Parasympathetic dominance to Sympathetic dominance. PSNS dominates during meditative calm and SNS dominates during stress. In this formula we assign numerical values to the physiological parameters activated or suppressed during autonomic mobilization and put in the formula to describe the state of mind of an individual and also infer his/her level of consciousness.
Meditation is the art of looking within and science of doing nothing. We don’t use anything in meditation. We just try to concentrate to meditate at some point in human anatomy known as ‘chakra’ in Indian System of Yoga. The current of mind is flowing outward through the senses and unconsciously. The mind comes at rest gradually through regular practice of meditation. Then comes self realization and enlightenment. Protracted practice of meditation under qualified guidance will help to manage all sort of psychological problems.
Emotional Quotient can also be expressed mathematically as the product of I.Q. and Wisdom Factor. E.Q. stands for Emotional Quotient. An intelligent person may not be wise. But a wise man will always be intelligent. An intelligent person having certain level of positive emotions can be said as wise. An intelligent person lacking wisdom will turn autocrat. A wise man will always be a democrat who respects others existence.
Some may raise doubt that how could be the Wisdom quantified? The answer is simple -if Mental Age of I.Q. can be quantified then Wisdom can also be quantified, of course, comparatively with more efforts. Wilhelm Stern had given the formula of I.Q.. It is, Mental Age/ Chronological Age x 100. Spiritual Quotient (S.Q.) leverages both E.Q. and I.Q.
Radha Soami Faith is a branch of Religion of Saints like Kabir, Nanak, Paltu, and others. Soamiji Maharaj is the founder of this Faith. You may call It like New Wine in Old Bottle.
Maslow has given Hierarchy of Needs. At the top of it is need for self-actualization or self-realization.
In our society we should learn To Live and Let Live and help to satisfy others need. When the lower order needs, physiological and sociological both, are satisfied then only a person think to satisfy need for self-realization in true sense. Else he/she may spend all his/her life to satisfy at the most the need for self-expression instead of self-realization.
It is, therefore, the duty of every responsible person of our society to give serious thought over it.
For the satisfaction of need for self-realization i.e. establishment of harmony of individual consciousness with that of universal consciousness we need following three things:
1. Mater or Guru (A Self-Realized Soul)
2. Secret of Levels of Universal Consciousness
3. Method for traversing the path.
Anirudh Kumar Satsangi
Mind has four parts - memory, emotions, intellect ( which makes us discriminate betwern what is good and bad), and Ego ( Ahamkara). These are the layers or Manonmaya Kosha and Jnanamaya kosha. There is then Anandamaya Kosha or Causal Body, where the actions and reactions are etched, as cause - effect relationship. As you sow- so you reap.
Part of bad Karma or Prarabdha can be mitigated or erased by good deeds, daana, dharma,righteous life, worthy life, ideals, ahimsa, ethics and morals, balance, non-egoistic action, acting as agent of God without having the notion of Doership , surrender, receiving outcomes are Prasada, that is with equanimity, without swaying to pleasure and pain etc.
Further, yoga and meditation could control the mind. Mind is the instrument which governs everything. Man means MIND. As your mind, so you are.
God is a witness to these actions. He does not intervene, except through prayer and righteous living. When we do not know anything about the mysteries of life, we go by PRAMANA, that is the authoirity of Vedas or learned people. Science is by experiment, and Spirituality is by experience. Our Sages went by Experience, believing in nothing. So we accept the Karma Theory as a Pramana. Astrology is partly based on Law of karma.
Everything in the Universe obeys the Law of Order. Inanimate matter and plant life obey Law of Order hundred percent. Higher animals have a certain amout of discretion, beyond their instinct. Man has absolute freedom to choose. So when he choses the Pleasant, instead of what is good, he has to pay for it. Similarly when he does good, he is bound to get good, now, or later. There are other influences also, that is of the parents, community etc.
If we come to the world with a Good balance of virtues, we can enjoy. If we come with a bag load of bad Prarabdha, we have to pay though we may do some good now. But everything would be accounted for in the end.
Anup Taneja (2009) writes: Within the human body, is contained the entire cosmos. The first five chakras, from muladhara to vishuddha, are the centres of pancha-bhutas or the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether. the sixth chakra, ajna, is the seat of the mind, while the seventh, the sahasrara (Crown Chakra) is the seat of supra-causal state of Consciousness.
He futher writes:Paramhansa Yogananda says, “One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute kriya yoga equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment……One thousand kriyas practised in 8.5 hours give the yogi, in one day, the equivalent of 1000 years of natural evolution or 365,000 years of evolution in one year”
Based on my recent comments, I now propose a theory. Theoretcal Physics describes four fundamental forces of nature viz., weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force, electromagnetic force and force of gravity. Here we can present an analogy. Weak and strong nuclear forces represent pancha-bhutas or the five elements. Electromagnetic force represents force of current of mind which mainly works through sensory organs and force of gravity represents supra-causal state of Consciousness. We know that during advanced stage of practice of meditation and yoga pancha-bhutas or five elements merge into mind and mind into supra-causal state of Consciousness and ultimately Individual Consciousness merges into Cosmic Consciousness. This is the state of Perfect Bliss or Self-Realization. Likewise during the reverse process of Cosmic Evolution i.e. Perfect Dissolution of the Universe, weak and strong nuclear forces merge into electromagnetic force and electromangnetic force merges into force of gravity.
In the beginning, the enetire Creation came into existence from this Single Force Current which later on manifested into many force currents during the process of Cosmic Evolution.
Deepak Ranade (2009) writes in his article, “Is Realisation Nothing More Than a Chemical Reaction?” :
There has been speculation of whether there exists in the brain a God centre. A reseracher revealed that when a person was subjected to pain stimulus before and after being shown the picture of a deity he had faith in, his tolerance to pain was significantly better than it was before seeing the picture. Whichever deity one believes in , the final locus of God in the brain remains the same.
Then theoretically, if this God centre were to be stimulated, one could experience calm, bliss, even ecstasy. This implies that all spiritually advanced souls have, over a period of time, been able to device an intrinsic mechanism to stimulate the God centre.
All spiritually advanced masters are just those who, by repeated practice, develop the God centre further so that it can be stimulated at will. That would reduce realisation to a mere neurochemical phenomenon. It would then have some tangible parameters for either localisation or verification.
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