The Reality of MAYA

From the view point of perceptions  each individual is unique, in all aspects such as, 

physical, mental, social, emotional , intellectual, behavioral, sensual. This is 

something strange that no two individuals can ever experience exactly the same 

thing with their sense organs. All our sense organs are attuned in such a manner 

that the characteristics and frequencies of no two individuals can ever be the same 

except in certain exceptional and accidental cases. Not only that, the fine tuning of 

every individual keeps on changing from moment to moment or from day to day. For 

the purpose of understanding we can take the example of one particular sense 

organ, eyes. Let us suppose that the physical reality of a physical object remains 

the same for a day ( This too is a false assumption for the purpose of explaining, 

because the inert physical objects are also subject to constant change every 

moment.) The visual images formed of the given physical object in the inner screen 

of the mind will be different in all the individuals. Not only that , the images formed 

of the same physical object in the case of a single viewer will be different on 

different moments or on different days.  This characteristic of the physical reality is 

called FLUX in English language. It means that physical reality of the world is not 

the same any two successive moments. It is from this view point that the physical 

world is referred to as MAYA because it is so slippery and illusive that it cannot be 

captured under any circumstances. However, this characteristic of the physical 

world does not make it unreal as some people call it. It is a reality, though of a 

different kind, I.e. Of constant change. Change itself is a reality, rather a reality of all 

the realities.

Spirituality to Enlightenment

Enlightenment is a super conscious divine state of mind with a clear vision of

dichotomy of body and ATMA (SELF) free from materialistic cobwebs,worldly

possessions and attachments. It is considered to be the rarest of the rare

achievement. But it is no achievement. It is everybody's natural possession. It is not

something that comes from outside. It is an integral part of the self. But somehow

this SELF gets occluded during the journey through this universe. and the result is

that one goes astray.The two guides and path finders of the JEEVATMA ,

intelligence and logic not only prove helpless but also further complicate the issue ,

which is worsened by numerous shades of emotions. resulting in misplacement and

mis-identification of the SELF. In other words we can say that ATMA(SELF) , the

inseparable and and intrinsic component of JEEVATMA is submerged by the

overwhelming thought of JEEV (BODY} consciousness only and one continues to

move incognito in this world.This state can be called slumber or ignorance that can

and does last life- time in most cases.The life of such a person can be compared to

the act of sleep walking and the sleep walker never knows what he is doing. The

awakening from this slumber is called enlightenment.



As one wakes up from the long slumber of ignorance a great dazzling light appears

inside the mind and this light changes both the inner and outer perspectives.The

dust and dirt is wiped off and everything begins to show itself in its true colors.Self

versus Physical world and human relationships acquire a new dimension of

detachment. This detach...ment does not mean any renunciation or giving up

anything or any relationships. Outwardly everything remains the same The change

takes place inside in attitude and outlook only. Suddenly a feeling of great calm and

equanimity descends inside.Mind loses its flirtation and restlessness. This

detachment surprisingly increases manifold the concern for physical world and the

persons around . All kinds of negatives: worry, anxiety, fear, sense of loss etc.

disappear from the mind. Death loses is sting and separations don't trouble or

bother.Loneliness and solitude become soothing. Psychosomatic manifestations of

physical ailments begin to recede. Most of the desires vanish and those that remain

are docile. Stream of consciousness or internal thought traffic no longer remains

chaotic, is drastically reduced and gets controlled ,disciplined and organized. The

discovery of the misplaced SELF brings a great sense of relief. Physical and mental

potentials rise to their maximum. The transformation is so great that it cannot be put

into words. It is by all means a new birth of the SELF and a fresh beginning of

pilgrimage in this universe.The real picture can be obtained only through experience

(ANUBHUTI).

Myths about Spirituality

 

The path of ADHYATAM or Spirituality is considered by the young generation some 

sort of religious gimmick and the fad of old people.. Nothing could be far from truth 

than this notion.First of all it is important to note that spirituality has nothing to do 

with any sectarian religion. It is highly scientific and universal in nature. Secondly it 

is not at all hostile to materialism and physicality (ramifications of the human body). 

Whatever difference we find in a realized spiritual person from an ordinary person is 

the by-product of spiritual attainment or enlightenment. If a spiritual person changes 

his outlook towards materialism and physicality it is because of deeper 

understanding of the divine and universal facts and the futility of ordinary worldly 

activities and not because of any dictates of spirituality. An enlightened person has 

the choice to live like any other non-spiritual family person with a much better 

quality of life because of clear vision and highly enhanced physical and mental 

potential.The earlier a person understands this thing, the better.. Spirituality is also 

not a male domain as it was considered by some before the entry of certain female 

protagonists in this field who took courage to break the hegemony of male 

dominance. Anandmurti Gurumaa, Ritambra Didimaa, Brahmkumari Shivani and 

numerous others are living examples of this new genderless horizon of spirituality.

Spirituality, materialism and physicality(ramifications of the human body) are neither 

at variance nor in conflict with one another. There is no need to renounce one in 

order to follow the other. There is nothing wrong in following the path of 

renunciation of worldly possessions in order to follow the path of spirituality by 

certain ascetics but it is not a pre-condition to tread on the path of spirituality. 

Similarly, deprivation of bodily needs is also not a pre-requisite. Too much is made 

out of the negative influences of KAAM (Lechery), KRODH (Anger), LOBH (Greed), 

MOH (Obsessive attachment) and AHANKAR (Pride) as deterrents to the attainment 

of highest spiritual state i.e. MUKTI or salvation.All these traits can stay in 

moderation in a human being without causing any hindrance in his way to 

attainment of higher level of living. The ultimate destination of spirituality is just a 

mental state of equanimity that transcends all material possessions and bodily 

deprivations and creates in the achiever what in Hindi is called Sam Bhaav 

(Equanimity).. At this stage nothing shakes the achiever and no happening of the 

world, howsoever bad ,sad or shocking from the viewpoint of ordinary mortals, can 

raise even a ripple in his mind. Now it is his choice he can stay in this regime as 

long as he wants or he can join back his routine worldly duties.He may be the same 

person for people around him but he alone knows what he has become with his 

physical and mental potential much higher than others. Most of the Indians have 

often heard such things, they themselves know these well and can teach them to 

others but there are very few who can live them. Living is that matters.

Culmination of Spiritual Meditation

 

 

The ultimate stage of ANUBHUTI of a spiritual meditator is something like the description given below. It has been deducted from the shared experience of a few seekers. It is the approximation of each and by no means an exact description. Individual ANUBHUTIES are subject to variation some times no two ANUBHUTIES may share any similarities, but it does not in any way reflect thesuccess of one and the failure of the other:

 

"I am soul, a vast snowy white never ending expanse without beginning or end, I am neither lightnor darkness, I am neither physical nor metaphysical, I am neither ignorance nor knowledge, I am neither living nor non- living, I am in fact nothing to be encompassed in words, language is being used to negate what I am not, in order to reach  " I ", I keep on filling in the blank ( I am not...........) ad infinitum or till I am exhausted of the last word and in that case NOT drops and I emerge as I AM, in the mean time if any new word(s) comes my way I start the game process again to reach the the same old conclusion I AM, the game continues in circuitry and ends only when I AM also evaporates into NOTHINGNESS or what the scientists call today GOD PARTICLE.It is vast, infinite expanse of snowy whiteness , still and silent  pure consciousness , undisturbed peace, nameless, shapeless, all pervasive, all inclusive, SOUL, I don't know, CONSCIOUSNESS , I don't know , there is no knower, nothing knowable . This is the END OF JOURNEY."

 

In any case the culmination is:  Infinite expanse of snowy whiteness,still and silent marked by a kind of self consciousness or self awareness.there is nothing beyond that , only regression or reversal is possible.

 

It is a scientific fact that all colors manifest in white color, meaning thereby that white is the only reality, all other colors are just distortions or partial revelation of the white color. As soon as all colors loin, the existence of the white can be perceived. This fact has been convincingly and scientifically demonstrated by Revered Pavan Raina in his latest blog: life of colored shade is illusive in nature, the link is given below for convenient reference:

 

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual- blogs/seekers/philosophy/life-of-colored-shade-is-illusive-i n-nature

 

Similarly the life of physical reality is the distorted or partial revelation of the ultimate reality of self or God that can be experienced through Spiritual Meditation. Once this ultimate reality is experienced, the awareness or consciousness level of the seeker has touched the peak, there is nothing beyond that. 

 

Now it is the choice of the seeker, if he so desires , he can stay permanently in this state of bliss or he can come back to the physical world with the highest level of awareness and lead an ordinary life like all others around him, but his inward equanimity  will remain unsurpassed by others.

 

Sharing Spirituality with Less Fortunate

 

 I some times take liberties with my fellow seekers  for exchanging my ANUBHUTIES, for the purpose of authentication and confirmation from a fellow traveller who is on inward journey. After comparing and contrasting I have come to the conclusion that for the virus free clear minds the internal spiritual visions are the same, provided their approach is academic, objective, scientific and free from all kinds of predetermined ideas and religious hangovers. According to me such persons are perfect specimen of fully evolved human beings. But unfortunately they are in microscopic minority. It becomes the duty of such awakened souls to educate and enlighten the common men, whose vision is not yet fully developed because of certain adverse circumstances, poverty ,illiteracy and misery in their lives. The feedback from most of the enlightened persons shows that seen with uncolored clear glasses  life is a wonderful phenomenon and some religious fakes and fanatics are filling the common people with feelings of dividing,separating and narrow boundaries of sectarian religious thoughts .They are infusing in them false notions of guilt regarding materialism, sex, and moderate sensual pleasures, which God has granted them as Divine grace and gift, and frightening them with horrible punishments to create perpetual fearof misery awaiting them after death and consequently to keep them bound as a permanent supply line for their material and monetary needs  and committed as a standby army to be pushed ahead for fighting against their religious (read economic ) rivals  who are a threat to their self established seats of royalty and authority in the name of sectarian religions.I am here on the Speaking Tree just to register my presence for the like-minded individuals who can raise their voice against the people who are adding guilt ,poison and fear in the simple and honest living of the common people and infusing in them the elements of disruption and division in the name of false religiosity and God. 

According to Vedantic philosophy Spirituality is the pursuit of highest order and it is free from any pre-determined religious principles. In simple language it means finding out your own GOD ( which is nevertheless the same in all cases) for yourself and bow down to Him in complete surrender.

Independence Day Pledge

Our ancient Vedantic philosophy teaches each one of of us to find one's own God that  is at the core of every individual . The Adwaits and Dwaits slightly differ in their opinions about the individual core being a part of the one Almighty God. The difference between the two approaches is not of much consequence to the common man who has always been willing and ready to bow down before the Super Power, whatever its form or name, running and managing this universe with perfect accuracy. Depending on the guidance available in the neighborhood, he is ready to worship God both as SAGUN and NIRGUN .As a result there has been a multiplicity of gods and goddesses, deities, saintly sects and divergent religious philosophies.

 

Hinduism is not the name of any one religion nor is it a name given to a group of sectarian religions. It is a very wide and broad umbrella that allows freedom of religious thought and protection to each individual to choose his own religious options and the ways of worship. It encompasses all the sectarian religions of the world. This concept of Hinduism as such has been successfully working in India for centuries without much trouble except sporadic incidents of clashes between divergent groups. But these clashes cannot be given the name of religious conflicts of ideologies . Such clashes, which usually result from causes other than religion, such as social, economic or personal, are inevitable in any society. The number of such clashes in multi-religious country India is much less than the inter-sectarian religious conflicts and resulting in en mass murders  in other single religion dominated countries. 

 

On this Independence Day I salute this universal brotherhood and broad minded spirit of Mother India and religious tolerance of the people, and take pledge to work for this Noble Sentiment that binds the whole nation as a Living Organic Whole.

Beginner's Spiritual Meditation ( Survey )

For Meditation Techniques read earlier related blogs.

Spiritual Meditation up to Step II is meant for students, working professionals and family/worldly persons (Grihasthies ) who don't  have much time to spare. It will take a seeker about a fortnight's time to perfect the art of self meditation. After that everything will become automatic and self-regulated. The key words for reaping full benefits of spiritual meditation are: determination , strong will power and discipline. The earliest age for starting this meditation is approximately 10 years though a younger child can also be asked to join a senior member as an observer or participant, if the child is up to that. Meditation up to Step II is termed as Level I.It has absolutely no religious connections, though depending on the aptitude and inclination of the seeker this meditation at a later stage may be combined with chanting of the name of God or any deity of the seeker's choice. It should not be done at least up to one month of the starting.  In any case chanting does not make this meditation a religious ritual.  Chanting performs the job of emptying the mind of undesirable stream of thoughts going on unnoticed in the mind without the knowledge of the seeker. It is the awareness of these stray thoughts that dispels them  and  works wonders in bringing about quality changes in the routine life of the seeker. The meditation should invariably end with an expression of thanks and gratitude to the Almighty for all that He has showered on you, without keeping any additional demand before Him. This Spiritual Meditation is  based on purely scientific ,universal  principles aimed at bringing about self improvement and character formation.

The main objectives of Level I Spiritual Meditation are to develop a sense of gratitude to the Almighty and His creatures around you who contribute a lot to your being and existence, discipline, punctuality, regularity, determination, will power and to gradually sharpen memory and increase the level of over all awareness and consciousness. This much of meditation is more than enough for an average person to keep away various mental and physical disorders that result from the hectic and fast paced life style of the modern times. Depending on the circumstances and availability of time the seekers may move to the next level .The actual benefits of this meditation are so numerous that these cannot be described in this brief write up. These will better be realized by the seeker himself. One month's trial is not asking too much from the seeker for a life time of blissful experience.