Shri Ganesha

.
Today is a very important day for all of us Sahaja Yogis, because today Shri Ganesha was born. Shri Ganesha is whom we worship and because of whom we got our realization. However much you may remember Him, until you do not know His special qualities, you cannot attain Him. His special quality is that He is the embodiment of purity and complete Master of the Universe. He is the incarnation of the Supreme, of Brahman.

By coming into this world He has created music, rhythm and notes. By His Grace only people become one with music. A small boy who came into the world and did such great work! He has given so many things to everyone and even today He is active. Shri Ganesha’s Puja, no matter how much you do it, it is not enough. A lot of people say we don’t see Shri Ganesha, even after worshiping Him so much, we do not attain Him.

He is omnipotent, omnipresent and in everything, but you cannot recognize Him until you are realized. After your realization you can recognize what Shri Ganesha is. Shri Ganesha is Purity, the Pure Spirit. When He is awakened within us, then we have no questions left. Then we are successful, in whichever task we undertake. We find joy in everything we do. He is the embodiment of joy and gives joy to everyone. To serve Him is the ultimate dharma. To serve Him means to look after small children, to serve them, to make sure there is no cruelty towards them. This pleases Him very much. Such an embodiment of love, such a pure-hearted Shri Ganesha was born today.

This is the importance of this day. Today if you ask for any wish, then Shri Ganesha will fulfill it. It is His right to fulfill all your desires, because you are all realized. Ask Him with all your heart and He will help you in every way, every moment, every instant.

Today is a very big day, because the actual pure spirit has taken birth today. And He already had such an eternal state, that many people could not comprehend it or write about it. They wrote only what they understood, but now that you are realized you can understand that by the power of Shri Ganesha’s name you can get your realization. By taking His name alone any disease or any pain will disappear. He is eternal. He is always present within us, when you get your realization, you can feel Him. And if you are not realized, you cannot understand Him. That is why people get misled and do wrong things. But with Shri Ganesha’s blessings you can do so many things and neither you will feel greedy, nor will you have any problems. Because He does all the work for you.

He takes care of you. Though He is a little boy, He looks after you. Shri Ganesha is a very great power by which so much work is getting done.

So today’s day is very auspicious as today He is born. Secondly today is Panchami. This Panchami is recognized because on this day we wear a dress, whatever we wear today is so that our body is properly covered. The sense of shame and chastity that our body has is because of Him. Lajja Rupena Samstithaha. So if you have any sense of chastity and shame, it is because of Him. That will benefit you immensely.

You cannot feel joyous until you worship Shri Ganesha. By worshipping Shri Ganesha, your joy increases, you become joyous, because He is the personification of joy. Because of this, both things are today, His birthday and His help. We take His help in any work what we do. Such is our way. But we don’t see what we have to do to awaken Him. In that direction our attention does not go. We do not feel that we should become like Him, that we should have a state in which Shri Ganesha is awakened within us. With which we may never venture on the wrong path. Those who are rooted in Ganesha are special, they despise all the wrong things in this world and they do not do anything wrong, because Shri Ganesha stops them. They cannot enjoy any wrong activities. This is Shri Ganesha’s great blessing that you have come into such a joyous life. So today in His service you sing His praise and glory, so that He may be pleased. My Eternal Blessings to all of you.

H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Talk on Shri Ganesha's Birthday, 10/2/2008



Om Twameva Sakshat Shri Ganesha Sakshat Shri Adi Shakti Mataji Shri Nirmala Devi Namo Namah.

In Honour of Ganapathy

.
Reign up your rodent steed, and dance, Ganesha.
Raise high your trunk, and trumpet forth to all
That Shiva's son, defender of the Goddess
Has pierced the Moon, and made it wane and fall.
Now mount your rat and bravely ride, Ganesha.
The night approaches, dusk decends too soon;
When insult-tossing Chadra tries to taunt you
To hurl yor other tusk against the Moon.

Len/ Black Lotus

Let my every word be a prayer to Thee,
Every movement of my hands a ritual gesture to Thee,
Every step I take a circumambulation of Thy image,
Every morsel I eat a rite of sacrifice to Thee,
Every time I lay down a prostration at Thy feet;
Every act of personal pleasure and all else that I do,
Let it all be a form of worshiping Thee.

From Verse 27 of Shri Aadi Shankara's Saundaryalahari

Memoir: The Life Beyond

"While writing this book on the afterlife, I kept being drawn back to

stories that I'd heard in India as a child. Parables are a powerful

way to teach children, and many of the ones told to me have lasted

all my life. So I decided to weave the book around tales of the kind

I heard at home, around the temples, and at school, hoping that the

reader would be enticed by a world where heroes battle darkness in

order to emerge into the light.

In this case the hero is a woman, Savitri, and the enemy she must

defeat is Yama, the lord of death. Yama shows up in her front yard

one day, waiting to take away her husband the moment he returns

from his work as a woodcutter. Savitri is terrified. What strategy

could possibly turn Death away from his inexorable mission?

I had no trouble imagining these characters. I was frightened for

Savitri and anxious to find out how her battle of wits with Death

turned out. Their world flowed easily into my own, because the India

of my childhood was not that far removed from ancient India. I want

to take a moment to convey what death and the world beyond meant

back then. It may seem like a very esoteric place. If so, you can come

back to it after reading the main body of the book. However

mysterious and exotic, here is where I began.

What was most magical in my childhood was transformation. Death

itself was seen as a brief stopping point on an endless soul journey

that could turn a peasant into a king and vice versa. With the

possibility of infinite lifetimes extending forward and backward, a

soul could experience hundreds of heavens and hells. Death ended

nothing; it opened up limitless adventures. But at a deeper level,

it's typically Indian not to crave permanence. A drop of water

becomes vapor, which is invisible, yet vapor materializes into

billowing clouds, and from clouds rain falls back to earth, forming

river torrents and eventually merging into the sea. Has the drop of

water died along the way? No, it undergoes a new expression at each

stage. Likewise, the idea that I have a fixed body locked in space

and time is a mirage. Any drop of water inside my body could have

been ocean, cloud, river, or spring the day before. I remind myself

of this fact when the bonds of daily life squeeze too tight.

In the West the hereafter has been viewed as a place akin to the

material world. Heaven, hell, and purgatory lie in some distant

region beyond the sky or under the earth. In the India of my

childhood the hereafter wasn't a place at all, but a state of

awareness.

The cosmos that you and I are experiencing right now, with trees,

plants, people, houses, cars, stars, and galaxies, is just

consciousness expressing itself at one particular frequency.

Elsewhere in spacetime, different planes exist simultaneously. If I

had asked my grandmother where heaven was, she would have

pointed to the house we lived in, not only because it was full of love,

but because it made sense to her that many worlds could comfortably

inhabit the same place. By analogy, if you are listening to a concert

orchestra, there are a hundred instruments playing, each occupying

the same place in space and time. You can listen to the symphony as a

whole or, if you wish, put your attention on a specific instrument.

You can even separate out the individual notes played by that

instrument. The presence of one frequency does not displace any of

the others.

I didn't know it as a child, but when I walked around the crowded

Delhi market where more humanity was packed into one bazaar than

was possible to imagine, the world I couldn't see was even more

crowded. The air that I breathed contained voices, car noises, bird

songs, radio waves, X-rays, cosmic rays, and an almost infinite array

of subatomic particles. Endless realities lay all around me."

Deepak Chopra, Life After Death: The Burden of Proof

Lao Tzu on "Divine Feminine"

Gu Shen Bu Si,
Shi Wei Xuan Pin.
Xuan Pin Zhi Men,
Shi Wei Tian Di Gen.
Mian Mian Ruo Cun,
Yong Zhi Bu Qin. 

"The Valley Spirit never dies. 
It is named the Mysterious Female.
And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female 
is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang.
It is there within us all the while; 
Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry."

Tao Te Ching 6
(World Scripture, International Religious Foundation, Paragon House
Publishing, 1995 p. 95.)

The Spirit in the Void never dies.
It is called the Mother-Deep.
The opening of the Mother-Deep is called the Root of Heaven and Earth. (*)
Ceaselessly, ceaselessly, 
It nourishes and preserves:
Inexhaustible, without effort.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Shrine of Wisdom (1924) 

(*) SHRINE OF WISDOM says:
"The Mother is Tao 'conceived as having a name,' therefore She is the 
Root of Yang and Yin. Between the highest Heaven and the nethermost 
Earth is the fathomless Void where the forms of existence emerge from 
the opening of the Mother-Deep." 

"The Valley Spirit never dies
It is named the Mysterious Female.
And the doorway of the Mysterious Female
Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang.
It is there within us all the while.
Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry."

Tao Te Ching, Chapter VI, Translated by Arthur Waley

The valley spirit never dies.
It is the unknown first mother,
whose gate is the root
from which grew heaven and earth.
It is dimly seen, yet always present.
Draw from it all you wish;
it will never run dry. 

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Tolbert McCarroll 

The spirit of the valley never dies;
This is called the dark female.
The entry into the dark female
Is called the root of heaven and earth. 
Tenuous, it seems as if it were there,
Yet use will never exhaust it.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translation by D. C. Lau & Sarah Allan
(Ma Wang Tui Manuscripts) 

The Spirit of the Valley dies not,
it is called Mother-substance of the Deep.
The Door of Mother-substance of the Deep
is called the Root of Heaven and Earth.
Continuously, continuously,
It nourishes and preserves.
Use it,
Thy strength shall not fail. 

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translation by Isabella Mears (1922)

"The valley spirit never dies 
Call it the mystery, the woman. 
The mystery,
the Door of the Woman,
is the root 
of earth and heaven. 
Forever this endures, forever.
And all its uses are easy." 

Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching

"The Tao is called the Great Mother
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds. 
It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want."

Translated by Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 6

"The life-force of the valley never dies--
This is called the dark female.
The gateway of the dark female--
This is called the root of the world.
Wispy and delicate, it only seems to be there,
Yet its productivity is bottomless."

Dao De Jing, #6, Translated by Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall 

"The spirit of emptiness is immortal. 
It is called the Great Mother 
because it gives birth to Heaven and Earth. 
It is like a vapor, 
barely seen but always present. 
Use it effortlessly."

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 6, Translated by J. H. McDonald

The valley spirit never dies 
Call it the mystery, the woman. 
The mystery,
the Door of the Woman,
is the root 
of earth and heaven. 
Forever this endures, forever.
And all its uses are easy.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Ursula K. Le Guin 

The valley spirit never dies;
It is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and Earth.
It is like a veil barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English

The spirit of the valley never dies. 
It is called the mystical female.
The door of the mystical female is the root of heaven and earth.
It seems to be continuously within us. 
Use it, and it will never fail.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Beck

The valley spirit is not dead; 
They say it is the mystic female.
Her gateway is, they further say, 
The base of heaven and earth.
Constantly, and so forever, 
Use her without labour.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Blackney

The breath of life moves through a deathless valley 
Of mysterious motherhood
Which conceives and bears the universal seed, 
The seeming of a world never to end,
Breath for men to draw from as they will: 
And the more they take of it, the more remains.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Bynner

The spirit of emptiness is immortal. 
It is called the Great Mother 
because it gives birth to Heaven and Earth.
It is like a vapour, barely seen but always present. 
Use it effortlessly.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Byrn

The spirit of the valley never dies. 
It is called the subtle and profound female.
The gate of the subtle and profound female 
Is the root of Heaven and Earth.
It is continuous, and seems to be always existing. 
Use it and you will never wear it out.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Chan

The valley spirit not dying 
is called the mysterious female.
The opening of the mysterious female 
is called the root of heaven and earth.
Continuous, on the brink of existence, 
to put in into practice, don't try to force it.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Cleary

The De is the immortal energy of the Dao, 
its feminine aspect.
Its operation 
is of pure Joy and Love, and fails never.
Heaven and Earth issued from her Gate; 
this Gate is the root of their World-Sycamore.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Crowley

The Valley energy never dies. 
This is called 'fathomless female'
The channel of the fathomless female: 
This is called the basis of the cosmos.
Silken! It's as if it abides. 
Handle it gently.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Hansen

"The Valley Spirit is undying." 
This is mysterious Femininity.
The Abode of mysterious Femininity: 
This is the Root of Heaven and Earth.
It seems to endure on and on. 
One who uses It never wears out.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by LaFargue

The valley spirit dies not, aye the same; 
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth, 
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain, 
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Legge

The valley spirit has no death 
It is appropriately called the all-embracing female
The gateway of The all-embracing female 
Is appropriately called the root of heavens and earth.
Continuous, soft, it looks like it exists – 
It is infrequently used.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Lindauer

The Spirit of the Valley never dies. 
It is called the Mystic Female.
The Door of the Mystic Female 
Is the root of Heaven and Earth.
Continuously, continuously, It seems to remain. 
Draw upon it And it serves you with ease.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Lin Yutan

The spirit of emptiness is eternal. 
It is called "the Mysterious Woman."
Her womb is called "the Source of Heaven and Earth."
Dimly seen, yet eternally present 
It is always there for you to use. 
It's easy!

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Mabry

The valley spirit never dies. 
It's named the mystic woman.
And the gate of the profound woman 
is the root that heaven and earth sprang from.
It's there within us all the while; 
draw upon it as you will, you can never wear it out.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by McDonald

The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.
The Tao is called the Great Mother: 
empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds. 
It is always present within you. 
You can use it any way you want.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Mitchell

The valley spirit never dies. It is called "the mysterious female."
The opening of the mysterious female Is called "the root of Heaven 
and Earth."
The valley spirit never dies. It is called "the mysterious female." 
The opening of the mysterious female 
Is called "the root of Heaven and Earth."
Continuous, seeming to remain. Use it without exertion.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Muller

Valley and the Spirit never die.' They form what is called the Mystic 
Mother,.
From whose gate comes the origin of heaven and earth.
'The Valley and the Spirit never die.' They form what is called the 
Mystic Mother, 
From whose gate comes the origin of heaven and earth. 
This (the origin) seems ever to endure. 
In use it can never be exhausted.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Ta-Kao

The heart of Tao is immortal, the mysterious fertile mother of us all,
of heaven and earth, 
of every thing and not-thing.
Invisible yet ever present, 
you can use it forever without using it up.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Walker

The expansive transcendent power which resides in the median space, 
the virtue of the Principle, does not die. It is always the same and 
acts the same, without diminution or cessation. This virtue is the 
mysterious mother of all beings.
The doorway of this mysterious mother is the root of heaven and 
earth, the Principle.
Sprouting forth, she does not expend herself; acting, she does not 
tire herself.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Wieger

The Spirit of the Fountain dies not. It is called the Mysterious 
Feminine.
The doorway of the Mysterious Feminine 
Is called Root of Heaven-and-Earth.
Lingering like gossamer, it has only a hint of existence; 
And yet when you draw upon it, it is inexhaustible.

Tao Te Ching: Chapter 6
translated by Wu

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Feminine Tao
Introduction

The "Tao Te Ching" (pronounced Dao De Jing), literally, "The Book of 
the Way and its Virtue," is one of the major source texts in Chinese 
Taoism. It was probably compiled in the 6th-5th c. B.C.E., as a 
collection of teachings, for the most part passed down from a much 
older, oral tradition. The name of its faithfully nameless author, 
Lao-tzu (pronounced "Laozi"), means simply "old master." According to 
Ellen M. Chen's translation, "of all the ancient classics still 
extant, the Tao Te Ching alone draws its inspiration from the female 
principle." Its profound inclusion of the feminine divine is in fact 
essential to its core teaching. As Karyn Lai points out in an 
introduction to the TTC's environmental philosophy: its basic 
tenor "is that a more complete life for all forms of existence can be 
achieved only through a full appreciation of the connectedness of all 
beings."

This spirit of diversity as a wellspring of spirituality, may be 
aided and abetted, in any study of the Tao Te Ching, by utilizing as 
many different translations as is comfortable. Allowing these 
translations to inform each other is a good way to catch on to the 
various spiritual implications and unworded images, suggested but not 
spelled out in the ancient Chinese text. 

In her essay, "Daode Jing in Practice," Eva Wong comments: "In the 
Daoist tradition, study and practice are inseparable: to study is to 
practice and to practice is to study. Understanding a text can help 
us practice its teachings; practicing its teachings can help us 
understand its meanings." 

The Tao of Laozi (Lao Tzi)
Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 43 No. 1, Winter 2003

`Tao' is a Chinese word meaning `way', `way of Heaven', `Path' or 
`road' or `method'. It indicates a line or principle of conduct. 
There is no proper English term for `Tao'. It means the `Eternal 
Being'. 

The Founder of Taoism was Lao-Tze. Lao-Tze was born in 604 B.C. in 
the village of Chu-Jhren, in Li country, belonging to the Ku province 
of the State Chu. He was born under the plum tree (in Chinese `Li'). 
He adopted it as his surname. The hair of the head was white when he 
was born. Hence he was called Lao-Tze (old boy) or philosopher, one 
who is child-like even when old. 

He was popularly called Lao-Tze. His name was Er (ear). He was called 
Tan after his death. `Tan' means `long lobe'. He had peculiar long 
ears. His appellation was `Po Yang' or "count of positive principle". 
He was a keeper or recorder of the secret Archives in the Royal court 
of Chore. He was a State Historian. 

Lao-Tze says: Tao is one. It was in the beginning. It will remain for 
ever. It is impersonal, eternal, immutable, omnipresent, bodiless, 
immaterial. It cannot be perceived by the senses. It is nameless. It 
is indescribable. 

It is the first cause from which all substances take their origin and 
all phenomena flow. The great Tao is all-pervading. All things depend 
on it for life. It is the mother of all phenomena, of heaven and 
earth. It existed before the Personal God. It is the father of God. 
It is the producer of God. It is the originator of heaven and earth. 
It is the mother of all things. 

You will find that there is an aroma of Indian Vedantic philosophy in 
the teachings of Lao-Tze. 

Tao is everywhere. It is in the ant. It is in the grass. It is in the 
earthen-ware vessel. It is in excrement. It is in the highest place 
but is not high. It is in the, lowest place, but is not low. It is in 
ancient times, but itself is not ancient. It is in old age but itself 
is not old. It is everywhere, but appears to be nowhere. 

Tao is the sanctuary where all things find refuge. It is the good 
man's priceless treasure. It is the guardian and saviour of him who 
is not good. (Sri Swami Sivananda) 

Laozi believed that females are the mothers of all things and all 
human beings. In accordance with Dao, which generates everything, 
females are those that produce all things. Without females or 
mothers, there is nothing else in the world. 

The mystery of the valley is immortal; 
It is known as the Subtle Female. 
The gateway of the Subtle Female 
Is the source of the Heaven and Earth. (Chapter 6)

In another chapter, Laozi observed: 

The beginning of the world 
May be regarded as the Mother of the world. 
To apprehend the Mother, 
Know the offspring. 
To know the offspring 
Is to remain close to the mother, 
And free from harm throughout life. (Chapter 52) 

As per Daoist humanism, females, instead of males, are usually highly 
regarded in his writing: 

Know the male 
Hold to the female; 
Become the world's stream. 
By being the world's stream 
The Permanent De (or humanism) will never leave. 
This is returning to Infancy. (Chapter 28)

From this perspective, it is easy to see that femininity and 
mothering were highly valued by Laozi. Simply speaking, nothing in 
the world is as important as women and mothers. If many philosophical 
and religious ideas tend to maintain male superiority or dominance, 
directly or indirectly (e.g., Confucianism; Hinduism; Christianity, 
including Mormonism; Islam; Chauvinism; or Freudianism), Daoism 
differs because females play a more important role in humanism than 
males. This point may not have been well understood in modern 
feminist research (see Laughlin & Wong, 1999). Perhaps 
philosophically or religiously, Laozi could be seen as one of the 
first proponents of feminism in human history.

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 43 No. 1, Winter 2003 64-85

"The reader will notice in the many passages where Lao-tzu describes 
the Master, I have used the pronoun 'she' at least as often as 'he.' 
The Chinese language doesn't make this kind of distinction; in 
English we have to choose. But since we are all, potentially, the 
Master (since the Master is, essentially, us) I felt it would be 
untrue to present a male archetype, as other versions have, 
ironically, done. Ironically, because of all the great world 
religions the teaching of Lao-tzu is by far the most female." 

From the introduction to the translation
by Stephen Mitchell

"Now, the principle of Mother is in every, every scripture - has to 
be there!" 

Shri Mataji, Radio Interview 1983 Oct 1, Santa Cruz, USA

Refining Silver...

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying Chapter Three, they came across Verse Three which says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver'. This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse, that says, 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver'. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, how do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's the easy part, when I see my image reflected in it.'
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in you.

Regardsbharathi.A

Self, Shakti, Heart and Enlightenment in Advaita

Often on the spiritual path, the topics of best postures, best 

techniques of meditation, best behaviors conducive to spiritual 

growth, best gurus, etc., come up. All of these questions are 

appropriate to their time and circumstances. Underlying such 

questions is the fundamental theme or inquiry as to what constitutes 

superior spiritual practice that will lead to improvement in one's 

mental and physical conditions and finally to Self-Realization or 

Enlightenment.

In this perspective, Self-Realization is viewed as an attainment. It 

is something that is achieved by an individual by making the right 

effort. This approach in its methodology is not too different than 

that of a talented world class athlete, who after having trained 

rigorously, wins a gold medal at the Olympics.

This point of view emphasizes the need to focus the mind in order for 

it to expand and evolve to higher levels. Spiritual practices based 

on this foundation, involve meditating in a particular posture, 

concentrating on chakras, raising the kundalini shakti, practicing 

mantras, deep breathing, and doing pranayama exercises.

The Yoga paths explicitly incorporate the idea of controlling and 

developing the mind to gain entry into Samadhi and Super-conscious 

states. Most religions have this philosophy at their core; that 

without hard work one does not succeed either in life or in knowing 

God.

The General Spiritual Path Model

Budhha is supposed to have said to his disciples as he was 

dying, "Work out your salvation with diligence." He meant that you 

have to personally work it out and attain Nirvana by right conduct, 

right practice, right meditation, etc.

The same principle is present in Jainism and most of the schools of 

thought in Hinduism. In Jainism, one attains to Moksha through

one's own individual efforts. In Hinduism, one achieves Moksha

by God's Grace. However, in most schools of Hinduism, one only

benefits fully from God's Grace, when one has made the right 

effort on the spiritual path by following one's Dharma and by 

meditating on the nature of the Self.

Although it is a complex topic, the general spiritual model that we 

have before us is this: There is a spiritual path, there is the goal 

of Enlightenment or Self-Realization, and you have to expend much 

effort, and walk on the path for a long time in order to reach the 

destination. While you are walking, you may even have to go through 

the "dark night of the soul" a few times, because there are so many 

temptations along the way and things can sometimes appear

hopeless and quite depressing.

So not only is there the possibility of tripping and falling due to 

worldly obstacles, but one also may give up on the whole idea of 

Liberation, Salvation, Enlightenment, Nirvana, Moksha, and/or

getting to Heaven. Indeed many on the spiritual path do end up

concluding that there is no meaning in life or the spiritual

aspiration at all and kick themselves for missing out on the 

pleasures of their youth by having rejected the philosophy of

"Eat, Drink, and be Merry" prematurely.

However, experienced sages know that what practices or behaviors

will be helpful to the seeker on the spiritual path seems to depend

on one's conditioning, physiology, culture, background, etc. 

lthough there is a general framework on how to pursue one's

aspiration for Enlightenment or Self-Realization, the truth is that

one has to make the path as one walks on it because each individual

is unique. 

Therefore, the view of "Eat, Drink, and be Merry", within reason and 

in moderation, may be fully compatible with the spiritual life. It is 

the overall context that has to be understood.

The Self-Knowledge of a Sage

For the one abiding spontaneously and inherently in the Self-Truth of 

Reality, questions of methods, techniques, and practices, and the 

path become moot. When clarity of Self arises, any technique may be 

practiced and any path may be walked or one may give up all 

techniques and paths. For such a person, the Self-Attention itself 

absorbs attention regardless of where it is focused outwardly. The 

essential element in this understanding is the Recognition by 

Awareness of its Innate Wakefulness. Awareness is always self-aware 

by its very nature.

When awareness remains pure and spontaneously self-focused 

(perpetually in communion with itself), the subtle duality between 

awareness/attention (as Pure I AM) and its Source is seen to be 

illusory.

Then even the witness disappears, there being nothing to witness. 

The "I AM" disappears having nothing to point to. Spontaneously

with the I AM Awareness/Shakti merging in its Source, the Self is 

Recognized. The Self Recognizes It Self by It Self and Through It 

Self as its own Source. It Sees and Recognizes that It has Always 

Been the Source. That It Is the Eternal Source, the causeless cause.

This is the Supreme Beauty of the Heart. It absorbs the Shakti, and 

along with it the Mind, thus swallowing time and space.

How can one speak of this Silence? The Silence that transcends all 

understanding and knowledge can only be indicated indirectly.

Great sages like Sri Ramana Maharshi never tire of pointing out 

that, —That Which is Real and Absolute Always Exists and is not 

absent even now—. How can Reality, whether one calls it God, 

Consciousness, Absolute, Nirvana, Moksha, Kingdom of Heaven, or

by some other name be present at one time and absent at another? 

Perfection, by its nature, cannot be more perfect sometimes but not 

others. The approach and method of Advaita is based on this implicit 

axiom.

The Method of Advaita

The ever-present and eternal existence of our fundamental reality, 

whatever label we give it (Self-Nature, Buddha-Nature, Original Face, 

God, Goddess, God Consciousness, Pure Consciousness, Supreme 

Consciousness) must be here and now in this very moment.

Otherwise, it is not Perfect!

This is the fundamental insight and conviction of the path of Advaita 

and the Advaitic sages. Therefore, we have to grasp the present by 

simply being present to it. This is the method of Advaita.

How is this done? In this way:

This present ordinary awareness, that you experience, you should 

notice it and then hold on to it. It is subtle and yet so ordinary. 

That is why we miss it. No matter how ordinary a baby looks to 

others, to the mother it is special. She adores her baby and to her 

it is the most lovely and wonderful child in the world. That is the 

attitude one must have towards one's ordinary present awareness.

Like a mother holds on firmly to her child in all conditions, one 

should keep this ordinary self-awareness in the center of one's 

consciousness knowing it to be special. The Supreme Reality It Self 

is hidden in it. It cannot be anywhere outside of it. If the Supreme 

Reality is somewhere outside of our ordinary consciousness, it is not 

perfect. Therefore, we can confidently look for perfection in our 

ordinariness, our ordinary consciousness.

Finding God in the Heart

There is a Christian saying that "Man is made in the image of God". 

There is deep meaning in that. In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna says 

to Arjuna, "I am in the Heart of all." We find such expressions in 

many of the religions of the world and in major works of different 

spiritual traditions.

On the path of Advaita, through our present ordinary awareness, we 

become, or more accurately, recognize our True and Ever-Present

Image in the Heart. Advaita goes one step further and states that

indeed the illusion of separation between the Individual soul and

God lasts only as long as God is not recognized as the Center of our

Being, sitting in the Heart as the Heart.

This is the Heart, that the ancients called Sat-Chit-Ananda. 

Existence, Consciousness, Bliss. The Supreme Self. It is beyond 

thoughts and concepts. Time and Space do not touch it.

As Sri Ramana has said, — that which is real is ever present—. We 

have to see what is present right now in this very moment. If we 

become quiet, we are able to feel our ordinary awareness, the sense 

of "I Am" as being present in this moment. That is the seed. If we 

water it and give it food, it grows and the Reality reveals it Self 

from within..

Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

Nirvikalpa Samadhi

"The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one's own blissful Self." 

Bhavana Upanishad 1.27 

Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Self-Knowledge (Self-Realization)

Sometimes people say that Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a state where there 

is no knower and known. That is really a half-truth. To capture the 

essence of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, it is better to say that in Nirvikalpa 

the KNOWER and the KNOWN are IDENTICAL. It is only pure

consciousness that by which its very nature is self-revealing

and self-knowing.

Nirvikalpa in Sanskrit means "without thought or doubt or mental 

modification". It is the absence of mental modification and presence 

of fullness of consciousness in Nirvikalpa Samadhi which allows for 

the clear recognition of the Self.

Self is both the Knower and the Known, the Seer and the Seen,

without any duality. Self, being one without a second, is always

self-knowing. There is no "other" for it to know. That is why 

we refer to the Self as Nirvikalpa. The reference to Nirvikalpa

implies the nondual nature of the Self.

While deep sleep is a state of complete unconsciousness, Nirvikalpa 

Samadhi is the state of Full and Complete Consciousness. Deep sleep 

and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are the two sides of the same coin. In a very 

real and true sense Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the state of "deep awake". 

One is fully asleep to the world of perceptions and fully awake in 

the Self, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi cannot be understood without direct experience. 

But it is not impossible to understand it. If it was a state that is 

beyond understanding, Sages such as Shankracharya and Ramana 

Maharishi would not be able to speak of it. Such is not the case. 

People who speak about Nirvakalpa Samadhi without actually 

experiencing it can only speculate about its nature. Because such 

people are confused about Nirvikalpa Samadhi, their statements

create confusion for others.

The mind can continue to exist and function after Nirvikalpa

Samadhi. Through the existing mental apparatus, the Sage can

teach and experience via the mind and the body. The Sage may

weep or laugh or eat or sleep or dream. All those things are due

to mental modifications and unrelated to the Self-nature.

After Self-Realization, the mind is seen as existing but not separate 

from the Self. The Self Knows Itself even though the mind still 

exists. The mind exists as a condition that rises from the Self and 

then is absorbed back into it. It is due to the presence of the Mind, 

(until the departure from the body), that Knowledge of the Self can 

be passed on by the Realized beings to others who seek such knowledge.

Dr. Harsh K. Luthar