The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo - Chapters 6-10

Chapter 6: Man in the Universe

1. The universe and the human being within it are no mere accidental happenings. It is part of the progressive relevation of the Unknowable to Its own limited forms caught within the boundaries of Its own Maya. This revelation is the real purpose of human life (and of all limited creation) too.

2. Since the descent of the Supreme into limited forms is a self-concealment with many layers, the enlightenment also naturally happens progressively, stage by stage, each unveiling bringing the seeker one more step closer to the One Supreme Reality.

3. Matter below conscious life also has a harmony and tranquility, but that harmony is more like a deep slumber, driven by a force which moves it but is not understood by it. In conscious life, where thoughts, emotions and impulses play a strong role, there seems to be more discord and disharmony than in the subliminal life below it. However, there is a harmony above conscious life (in the realm of the Superconscious) which man seeks and tries to guide his ordinary life by. The world of confusions and discords due to limited egoistical understanding is an intermediate level of development of consciousness between these two harmonious states.

4. In comtemplating on this higher harmony, though, man realizes the limits of conceptual knowledge in grasping this higher harmony. Sometimes, man thinks of a "beyond" which lies outside God, sometimes he thinks of ordinary life as being too cruel to be a manifestation of the same Supreme (or at least, he thinks of the Supreme as being concealed by something which is not the Supreme), etc. However, these experiences which seem to deny or oppose the concept of God and His Harmony are also real, even if temporary relative to the Supreme, and should be thought of as a result of a "wrong relation", says Sri Aurobindo, rather than as a complete illusion. The basis of these ordinary experiences is "wrong" in the same way that man thinking of the Sun as revolving around the Earth is. Viewed in this way, the discordant rhythms of egoistical existence can be understood as interim experiences on the way to the higher Harmony - and we do not need to think of them as mere "punishments of a fall".

5. Viewing error and discord as an interim step in the evolution of consciousness is helpful because let's keep in mind that man has little choice but to work with these experiences first! As even the Upanishads declare - man has to first transcend death through ignorance (avidyaa) before attaining to the Supreme Knowledge (vidyaa).

6. Such thinking can then be a foundation for the "practice of the divine life". To live the divine life, we will need to go into the depths of conscious experiences and identify ourselves with these higher states of understanding and knowledge - which is not natural to the untrained egoistical or sense mind. Merely living a superficial existence will not produce the needed experiences and hints which can help unravel the mystery of the soul and the concealed Universal Plan.

Chapter 7: The Ego and the Dualities

1. The dualities, sufferings, pains etc. of ordinary mortal consciousness are deeply reconciled into a higher Harmony only when the soul truly experiences itself as one with the Universal. There are indeed states of higher consciousness in which pain and pleasure merge into oneness and seem like different aspects of the same essential truth. Pain is merely the recoil of the limited adjunct (ego) to something it feels is harmful to itself - so it is another working of the same conscious force which is active when the limited being feels pleasure. Limiitations are nothing but the concealment of the Infinite by His own Maya.

2. Sri Aurobindo is not talking here of the possibilities in hypnotized states of the mind - something he brings up in a later chapter. That the mind is capable of so much more in hypnotized states should itself be proof of the mind's potential being much more than what comes out in ordinary experiences of untrained minds. However, here we are not concerned about the active powers of the mind to do things. Here, Sri Aurobindo states only that the Higher Understanding spoken of in so many places is truly possible to experience. With that Understanding and vision, it is possible to see the underlying unity even in the world of dualities.

3. For ordinary life, though, the evidence of the senses might still be given its due respect and place. To replace the ordinary understanding by a blind belief in the Higher, without truly understanding and realizing the Higher might cause more confusion and disruptions. Clearly, says Sri Aurobindo, this is why the Gita specifically asks people of knowledge to not "disturb" the life and thought-basis of the ignorant. The ignorant cannot just follow the example of the illumined without any real understanding.

4. The truth about whether the Sun revolves around the Earth or vice-versa could be made known to people through some means, but the knowledge will not be of much use to people unless a body of knowledge is created around the true relationship. Only then will the true knowedge matter - else, it would be a piece of information without much practical use. Similarly for the true relation between the individual ego and Universal Consciousness. We cannot expect people to give up the old ways of living unless the knowledge of the true relationship has some value to them at first. The Ape could not really have lived by the dream of using logical and reasoning faculties in the future. We are in a similar situation today - where we are being told that there is a potential in us which is much higher than what we perceive through the eyes of the limited ego and its ordinary logical and mental capacity. Unless we create a body of knowledge where this higher truth matters, we cannot expect people to start living by these higher principles.

5. In early Vedantic thought, the ego was thought of as a self-limitation of the universal consciousness - something which tied consciousness exclusively to limited forms and thereby led to the experience of dualities, pain and suffering. Later Vedantists, however, seem to have started thinking of the ego as an essential factor for the existence of the universe too. However, says Sri Aurobindo, it is important to understand that the realization of the Universal does not lead to an inevitable extinction of the egoistic personality. Of course, it would probably make egoistical distinctions much less important and petty at some level. The individual who "attains", he says, would be able to not only represent his limited self after realization, but would probably be benefitted because he would be able to see his limited existence in the correct light and in its actual relation to the universe around it.

Chapter 8: The Methods of Vedantic Knowledge

1. The way reason has two kinds of action - mixed and sovereign - so does the mind have two kinds of psychological experiences. Reason acts in its pure way when it takes the inputs from the senses, perhaps, but refuses to be limited by them and evaluates the inputs on its own by trying to arrive at more fundamental truths which are unalterable. Similarly, the mind experiences a mixed psychological action when it tries to become aware of the "external" world but when the same mind tries to become aware of itself, it experiences a pure or sovereign psychological action. In one action (or experience) the dependence on sense inputs is high. In the other, the awareness is more direct and not dependent on the senses.

2. The second kind of knowledge is "knowledge by identity" - it is said that we know (or we are aware of) anger because we become anger. Similarly, we are aware of our own existence because we become that. Sri Aurobindo says that in a way, all knowledge is knowledge by identity, but the mind is commonly trained to work only with the inputs of sense organs and with the division between subject and object, and it is due to this habit of the mind that we typically find ourselves caught up with partial and hazy views of reality, rather than the clear perception attainable through "knowledge by identity".

3. In states of hypnosis and some other similar psychological phenomena, this ability of the mind to work directly is seen at work, with sense organs being at most a starting point and with the confusing thoughts of the waking state being put away temporarily. The action is no longer "mixed and dependent" and therefore is a lot more powerful than the actions and experiences of the waking state. The extension of this faculty of the mind to the waking state is definitely not impossible, says Sri Aurobindo, but more difficult. Thus we see people who have advanced faculties of perception - like estimating the weight of objects accurately by simply holding them in their hands or the ability to perceive thoughts and feelings of other people correctly even if the data supplied by the senses (their expressions, etc.) is misleading.

4. Of course, these limited uses of the higher powers of the mind are not our real aim - our real aim is to attain oneness with that Universal One which is described in the Gita as "attainable to intelligence but transcending the senses". The way this "knowledge by identity" reveals detailed and correct information when applied to limited objects, it is expected that by applying the mind directly to the Universal, that Supreme truth will be known to the seeker, including various details as relevant. Indian Vendanta bases itself upon this view. By knowing the Self deeply, as not only the inner Self within the body but also as the Universal Self extending outside the body, the Universal can therefore be made known, by the process of knowledge by identity.

5. Reason (as ordinarily understood) is a mediator between the subconscient (from where man comes) to the superconscient (towards which man is progressing). The subconscient and superconscient are two different formulations of the same One. In the subconscient, knowledge is involved in action, whereas in the superconscient, action itself is contained within a supreme consciousness. Therefore, the "master-words" of the subconscient and superconscient are, respectively, Life and Light. Intuition is common to the two states, but in one, intuition is expressed mainly in action, whereas in the other, intuition manifests in its true nature as knowledge by identity. Reason is an intermediary between these states, and in the superconscient, it converts itself into the fully illumined knowledge by identity. In fact, it is because the sages of Ancient India recognized illumined intuition as arising from knowledge by identity that they placed it above reason, and came up with a tradition where while ordinary reason would be used to explain and justify the truths "seen" by the great ones, the Truths "seen" or intuited by the greats would be considered superior to ordinary reason. Later on, of course, reason started acquiring a greater and greater place within the philosophical traditions, and thus we saw the development of many schools of thought - all supposedly based on the Vedas, but often using reason merely to attack each other's interpretations. These discussions therefore started moving away from the central tenets of the scriptures, which were Revelations of truths not always easy to describe in words but placed above ordinary logic just for that reason by the sages. Of course, from time to time, says Sri Aurobindo, there have also been efforts to revive the true teachings of the scriptures and to synthetize them in a way such that the knowledge would come across as a wholistic view, wherein various contradictions introduced by ordinary logic would be resolved.

6. The use of reason - replacing the acceptance of higher intuition by ordinary reason - is not without its merits, because it is only by this kind of a process that the "lower faculties" are compelled to assimilate and understand whatever they can of the higher truths and to organize and align themselves better to the higher vision. The lower faculties can thereby enrich themselves, and re-organize themselves to be better vehicles of the higher, resulting in a more complete harmony. Without this process, many parts of our personality would remain depressed or undeveloped. The balance is set right by this process of compelling the lower nature to understand and accomodate the higher truths. While the ancient Vedantic rishis perhaps worked mainly out of their intuition of the higher truths, and while we are justified in calling for a re-establishment of their intuition as a knowledge placed above ordinary reason, this seeming "descent" of Indian thought into a a body of knowledge dominated by ordinary reason is also not really a descent, but rather another opportunity to create a more complete and integral basis for the higher truths within the lower faculties of egoistic intelligence.

Chapter 9: The Pure Existent

1. Man initially tends to think of Universal consciousness as centered around himself but when careful reflection makes clear that the Cosmic Intelligence has a dynamic of its own and exists not just for the limited entity he represents, man tends to underestimate the importance of the individual unduly. Both extremes are incorrect - neither does Supreme and His creation revolve around the individual ego nor is the egoistical being unimportant to Him. In fact, It (Brahman) gives itself equally to all its creation - although each created form differs fom others in quality or quantity (size). Sri Aurobindo says that the force of strength that goes into making a strong man is no more or less than the force of weakness that goes into making a weak man! The energy spent in repression is as great as that spent in expression, and looking at it this way, it is easier to understand that Brahman is "equally" present everywhere, despite seeming differences.

2. To understand the relationship of the individual to the universal - and not go to both extremes - it would help to understand better what this Universal is. If it is an energy present everywhere, then is it forever in motion, or is the Supreme even beyond manifest energy, and therefore described in the Gita as the "sthaanu"? In normal consciousness, rest and motion are easy to ascribe to the same object, but upon closer inspection, it seems that what seems to be at rest in our usual world is yet another force in motion, only that our senses fail to see the underlying motion. If so, then is this Universal only eternal movement with absolutely no rest (in other words, is it only Shakti with no Shiva)? Sri Aurobindo feels that this hypothesis leaves the staircase of ascent without any support and contradicts reason - it gives us a feeling that this could not be the truth.

3. Intuition suggests, and Sri Aurobindo says, that this "Pure Existent" beyond the eternal movement is no mere theory - it is the fundamental reality. On the other hand, neither is it true to say that the movement seen everywhere is a mere illusion and Brahman is only the "Pure Existent" in a position of rest with no possibility of motion. Both the "being" and the "becoming" are truths - neither is a mere illusion or mental concept. In ordinary life, we think in terms of stability and rest. Both of these are aspects of our Supreme Reality, and what's more, so is the "silent Brahman" described in earlier chapters, which sustains and permits all manifestation (in rest or in motion).

4. So both "Shiva" and "Shakti" are to be thought of as truths and not mere illusions or concepts. However, says Sri Aurobindo, what is very important is to understand the nature of this Shakti. Is it merely a force without any intelligence? Is intelligence just one phenomenal result of force, or is it rather its secret and true nature? Or, to use the Vedantic terms, is Prakriti really a power of "Chit" - the creative Self-Conscious force? On this, says Sri Aurobindo, all the rest hinges.

Chapter 10: Conscious Force

1. On the question of how Universal Force came to manifest into varied forms, the ancient Indian answer is that the five basic elements were created, because with only one or a few of these, stable and separate individual forms could not be maintained. The manifestation started with Vibration (sound, or the Word, or Aum or Amen) and the last in the sequence was the Earth element - the element which represents the power of cohesiveness, required for solids to stay in form. All matter is said to be a composite of these five basic constituents. Yet, this did not adequately explain how these forms perceived each other and were endowed with individual consciousness, so the seers of the Sankhya (analytical) tradition explained it by way of inactive conscious souls in which the activities of material nature are reflected, thus giving the world of matter the power of consciousness too.

2. From the rational perspective, this explanation made sense, because the ordinary observer observes both consciousness as well as varied movements of material forces in his world. However, once the existence of a Pure Existence is accepted (as we did in the last chapter), the natural question arises as to what caused the Force to move (or who willed the Force to move) and why, in the first place? The Indian tradition answered the "what" part of the question by suggesting that the silent and the active Brahman are actuall one and not two separate existences. Force is inherent (even if sleeping) in Existence and it is no mystery that it arises from the silent Existence at times. The next question is "why" and it is clear that the question does not arise if we assume that consciousness is only a by-product of the moving, unintelligent Force. However, is that indeed so - is consciouness merely a by-product of otherwise unintelligent forces?

3. Increasingly, new knowledge is bringing to light powers of the mind way beyond the sense organs and the nervous system including the physical brain. There are remote but clear pointers to the fact that even the heartbeat and the so-called critical functions are not truly indispensable in all cases. Therefore, the orthodox position that consciousness is a by-product of the nervous system, the brain and its instruments is fast becoming indefensible. Sri Aurobindo says that the way the power of steam existed prior to the development of the steam engine, consciousness existed prior to the development of the brain and the nervous system.

4. So has this force of consciousness come from outside and possessed matter, so to speak, perhaps with some partial loss of its own sovereignty? Not really, says Sri Aurobindo. Consciousness is integrally intertwined with matter and in the Shakti of Shiva. In fact, the proof of some subliminal consciousness being present not only in plants but also in inert metals goes to support the idea that consciousness is not something which came from the outside to possess matter. The ancient thinkers did believe in other worlds and other dimensions where consciousness exists, but these worlds are not created by the entry of an external conscious force. Consciousness is, rather, all-pervading and exists both below and above ordinary human mentality (in subconscious and superconscious states). If the objection is that consciousness implies some kind of design, and therefore could not be the original Mother Force, Sri Aurobindo says that a design (even if with some evident discord and disharmony on the surface) is quite evident in creation anyway and so this fact too, favors the idea of the existence of a Universal Conscious Force. Finally, once we accept that the Pure Existence had the power of consciousness, then the problem of why it moved can be answered too. As Sri Aurobindo explains in a different chapter, the universe is merely one of Its infinite possibilities worked out in action, with self-concealment being the beginning of this particular Divine Play. The force evolves all these forms, but it is essentially still the one Universal force. The same consciousness which in sub-conscious life seems to be involed within matter, emerges as a distinct force in mental (human) activity and will evolve into its higher and purer forms as we keep going to states above ordinary human mentality.

5. The Force (Shakti) that builds the universe is very much a conscious force. It has manifested increasingly superior forms which sustain increasingly higher levels of consciousness (from the subliminal metal consciousness to the human), and it seems evident that the goal is to reach Its Perfect Potential within forms too.

Sadanand Tutakne

"The Life Divine" by Sri Aurobindo - Essays 2-5

B. Chapter 2 - The Two Negations: The Materialist Denial

1. An integral view of spirit and matter - as ends of a continuum which are linked by a variety of intermediate states - is essential to think of a divine life upon earth. Believing only in the reality of one of the two (either matter or spirit) would either lead to a recoil from material life or to an extreme of materialism, and both these states of mind - while necessary and helpful in some ways and even logically satisfying as ideas - fail to give the aspirant a feel of actuality of understanding. For that sense of actuality to develop, the aspirant would do well to take learnings from the extreme beliefs, but progress towards the integral view, in which matter itself is Brahman, but Brahman is much more than matter and what meets the eye.

2. Exploring these extreme states of mind - where either spirit or matter are the sole reality - is a natural way in which the human mind responds to disturbances from a harmoniously balanced state of mind. These explorations are even helpful in the sense that they provide the mind with an even more concrete base upon which the reconciled and integral view can stand. However, at the end of both roads, we come to the view that reality is something more than just that partial view we took on the road. In fact, the only way to escape the integral view then is to not make any progress on whichever path one is on! These isolated explorations define the "West" and the "East". In the East, we see heights of the spiritual world explored and made much of, but poverty of material life. In the West, we see great heights achieved in the world of matter, but a poverty in the "things of the spirit".

3. In a sense, the denial of the materialist - while easy to understand - is also easier to cure, because it stands on the shaky ground of the belief that what we see and feel through our sense organs is all. As soon as experience brings to our light powers and ranges of knowable phenomena which are beyond the senses, the foundations of the materialist dogma are shaken.

4. Before moving on to discuss the other extreme, it is important to also take note of the tremendous positive influence that rationalistic materialism has had - indeed, how materialism has served the divine purpose. Very often in history has humanity seen true knowledge being covered by such a huge mass of blind beliefs (in the hands of "unripe minds") that true advances in knowledge were made nearly impossible. Rationalism has done the divine pursuit a tremendous service by successfully contesting such dogmas and thereby helping bring out the real knowledge from the grips of superstitions.

5. A wide and deep knowledge of the material world is a good and essential footing for development of spiritual knowledge. In fact, this is the interpretation Sri Aurobindo gives to Upanishadic declarations like "The earth is His footing". Therefore, even as we move out of a limited materialistic view (where the evidence of the senses is all), we need to be careful not to throw away those aspects of materialism which are good (i.e., which even serve the divine purpose of life).

6. The way pure materialism narually ends in an Agnosticism (which points to something beyond it), so does the other extreme of pure spiritualism. However, as the spiritual experience becomes real to us, he says, there is a tendency to "exaggerate the unknowableness" of the spiritual reality. Actually, declarations like "Mind attains not there, not speech" refer more to the impossibility of describing that reality (or expressing it in completely clear words) than to its unknowableness. Indeed, the spiritual truths are knowable, he says -  not by the ordinary channels of sense-knowledge, but by a "supreme effort of consciousness". Knowledge by identity is difficult to reproduce in words, but that does not mean that the spiritual realities are truly unknowable. In fact, the Gita describes the elevated spiritual state (universal consciousness) as being "attainable to intelligence, but transcending the senses" (buddhigraahyam ateendriyam).

7. Modern science is opening our minds up to infinite possibilities - coming more and more close to the integral Vedantic conception of reality. Wireless telegraphy has led to the understanding that some of the intermediate instruments are not really required - the physical means are required only at the two end points of the signal. As we proceed on this path and investigate the right end-points, we will see that the physical means are not even required at the two end-points - i.e., the mind can directly work with the energies involved and send or receive the signals without any additional physical means. Of course, even with such enhancements in knowledge and skill, there will still be separation and a "beyond", until we truly see that in reality, One Unity embraces multiplicity (the ocean manifests itself as different waves), and not the other way around. With cosmic consciousness (not egoistical consciousness) guiding our actions, Man's divine nature will be realized within the materialistic universe too.

C. Chapter 3 - The Two Negations: The Refusal of the Ascetic

1. As compelling as the evidence of the senses is to the sense-mind, the "supra-sensuous" states are equally true for those who have experienced them. They are very much a reality, and it is only natural that having experienced them, the dependent reality of the material universe often fades into near non-existence.

2. That there are faculties beyond the senses is amply clear from psychic phenomena, telepathy being only one example. Even though methodical research has not yet found strong evidence of these phenomena (and part of the reason could be that the methods used have been "crude and defective"), there is no justification for rejecting the evidence and calling the reports false. As he elaborates in a later chapter, there are people, for example, who can feel the truth when others are speaking by using their minds directly to "listen". The speaker might lie and use his outward expressions to confuse others, but the faculties of these seers are so well-developed that the outward expressions and verbal messages do not confuse them. They learn exact and true details even when they are not being communicated by the speaker. Such phenomena point to the reality of the mind's ability to work beyond the senses. Of course, Sri Aurobindo's book does not suggest that aspirants should give a lot of importance to developing limited powers with such faculties. Rather, it seems clear from other chapters that this seemingly super-human power of the mind should be developed mainly to be one with the Superconscient One.

3. With the advent of Buddhism (and the Buddha is considered by Sri Aurobindo to be the most powerful and influential personality to have lived on this earth), this natural recoil of the ascetic from material life developed further into a "revolt of Spirit against Matter". For minds not in tune with cosmic consciousness, it is easy to dismiss this Indian attitude as a reflection of a decline in national spirit (i.e., a natural decline of spirit in an ancient race, tired of its own burden). However, the attitude is based very much on reality - experienced by many and experiencable to others. Only that in taking such an extreme ascetic stance, we completely ignore the descent of the Superconscious into the material - we ignore that matter too is ultimately Brahman, and that the real merit of human life is to not only find the eternal but also transform the transient (material) universe to make it a more fitting vehicle for it.

4. Before exiting, let us note that the pure ascetic spirit - like the rationalist materialistic attitude - has served a great purpose in human life, not to be forgotten while developing our integral understanding. (Going by the

articles, I believe Sri Aurobindo might have been speaking here of the fact that asceticism not only provides ordinary life with a moral footing, but also opens up minds to the idea of going beyond ordinary sense-perceptions and integrating the supra-sensuous into daily life.) Even as rational materialism has rendered a great service to the Divine, pure asceticism has rendered an even greater service to ordinary life, says Sri Aurobindo.

D. Chapter 4 - Reality Omnipresent

1. So the integral view integrates matter and spirit as poles of a continuum of existence, but what about the "silence" beyond? One upanishad says that from Non-Being, Being was born, while another upanishad seems to contradict the same by stating that existence is never born from non-existence (or, being is never born from non-being). Sri Aurobindo says that we are getting deluded by words here. When interpreting the first declaration closely (looking closely at the upanishadic texts which contain these declarations), we find that the non-being of the Taittiriya upanishad is probably the same as the "infinite" or unmanifest zero, from which all manifest energy arises. Being used to thinking in opposites and contradictions, we often feel that the silent or inactive Brahman is different from the active or manifest one, but actually, it is probably an error in our mode of thinking. The non-being of the Taittiriya upanishad is likely to be just a word for what lies beyond the manifest - not really the non-existent. Actually, the silent Brahman permits and sustains the active Brahman. The Buddha had attained to Nirvana and yet was highly active in the world of matter and egoistical consciousness - indeed the most powerful personality to ever have lived on this earth according to Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. So it is perhaps better to think of the "beyond" as being the inactive Brahman which sustains the active within it and not as a non-existence outside Brahman or different from Brahman.

2. If we then accept that Brahman who allows the manifest universe to exist and grow within Himself is indeed almighty, then the manifestation itself cannot be rejected just as a bunch of errors and discordant rhythms. Of course the apparent evil in the world has to be accepted at least from a limited egoistical point of

view, but we cannot start by assuming that the whole thing is bad or wrong - because we agree that it is all a manifestation of the same supremely harmonious Brahman. We must accept, then, that mankind is correct in seeking a final harmony beyond the seeming evil and discord of the world. The omnipotent and omnipresent reality could not have been subjected "from the outside" so to speak, by something which is not itself, to create a discordant world. Nor could it have been partial to a limited part of itself, and fallen prey to an error in that sense. So the search for a final harmony seems to be quite right, viewed in this light.

3. The above faith in a final harmony is not just a blind belief. According to Sri Aurobindo, the widest and most patient analyses affirm this truth, not contradict it. (Recall that Swami Vivekananda has also written in many places that the Truth will stand the most rigorous of scientific inquiries and so there is no reason to fear scientific inquiry of the Vedic truths.) Of course, this highest reason (think of the experiments and methods required for it to be evident) is not easy or quick to work out for most, and therefore, for most of humanity, faith does have a role to play in the journey. Finally, however, when faith leads to experience and Wisdom, the original faith will be "justified of her works".

E. Chapter 5 - The Destiny of the Individual

1. All knowledge, in a sense, at the borders points to something beyond itself. Even as universal consciousness was realized by the sages, it pointed them to the possibility of something beyond it - the unmanifest, silent Brahman sustaining the active consciousness of the universe. (In a previous chapter, of course, Sri Aurobindo has stated that there is a tendency to exaggerate the unknowableness of this unknown, but the statement is nevertheless true.) Knowing that no matter how well they know manifestation, the Supreme still holds other possibilities within Its womb, the Vendantic rishis started referring to these unknown (unmanifest, potential) possibilities of Brahman as the "Asat" (non-being). In fact, even the apparent division of the One into the Many in the material universe is called "Asat" inasmuch as it is not as real (enduring or long-lasting) as the universal consciousness which creates it. It should, however, be kept in mind that these words only point to something beyond the known. They should not be interpreted as suggesting that these other realms (the silent Brahman and the Brahman manifested as the Many in material world) are truly non-existent. These other possibilities exist, one as the sustainer of the manifest world and the other mainly as a dependent reality, like waves on the surface of the ocean.

2. Ordinary life - howsoever petty when compared to the eternal - is not merely an illusion or a false concept. If so, even the salvation of the individual soul would not be a task worth our while because it would be the salvation of the non-existent. The salvation of the individual (by realizing the higher reality of the superconscient Universal One) is not only possible, it is possible without a blotting out of the individual. Realization would make the egoistical being realize the deep connection with the Universal which makes the demarcations of individual egos very petty, but that realization would not, by itself, completely exterminate the individual entity, as Sri Aurobindo points out in a later chapter.

3. Once we note that ordinary life is therefore not merely an illusion, we revisit with renewed respect the view that the Universal created the petty life forms to enjoy the One through the limited apparatus of the Many. The significance of ordinary life then is in regaining the Universal consciousness (or, knowledge of the Brahman) and concluding the divine Play successfully by that ultimate achievement. As he elaborates on in a later chapter, it also makes complete sense then that the pettier life forms will be subject to some degree of error and disharmony (or what seems like error and disharmony), because this particular Game (Lila) of the Divine is founded on the fundamental act of self-concealment. When the basis of the whole Play is concealment of the most fundamental truth, it is to be expected that the workings of consciousness under that illusion will be subject to errors and discords, in smaller or larger magnitude. As we climb to higher and higher levels of consciousness, our attempt should then be to transform the lower states of consciousness into more apt vehicles for the Supreme. In doing so, we also embrace God in His Play, not just the God who stands above the Play. In the integral view, then, finding the Divine remains Man's greatest endeavor and purpose, but embracing the One in the Many by helping transform the Many into a better garment for the One also becomes the responsibility of the seeker. Just as we do not have to give up bodily life to lead a more advanced intellectual or mental life, similarly, we need not reject material (egoistical) life and existence to attain to the spiritual.

4. As the upanishads declare, the path of Mankind is towards Vidya (true knowledge, of the universal), but via Avidya (the cosmic illusion of multiplicity and ego-centric life).

Sadanand Tutakne

"The Life Divine" by Sri Aurobindo - initial essays

By now, most of my close friends would have understood that these articles are no longer mainly about things the author understands and wants to communicate, but rather constitute a small, but disciplined, effort to spend some time, periodically, on matters which are close to our hearts. It is therefore, very much an effort to meditate and attune the mind to things "higher" (no offence intended). I wonder whether some of you feel the same need every once in a while? 

Today, therefore, I have chosen a book by Sri Aurobindo (the same famous Sri Aurobindo who was an active freedom fighter for some years before giving himself up completely to spiritual endeavours) for which he is known far and wide in the world of philosophers, spiritual seekers, creative artists and intellectuals too. It is said of Sri Aurobindo that once he started earnestly on the path of yoga, while still a freedom fighter, his advance on the spiritual plane was quite rapid. In light of that fact, it is perhaps natural that after a few years, he dedicated his life completely to meditation and spiritual activities. Having studied in England, he had a great command over languages and I think his education would have made him more acceptable to the rationalists in his audiences too. Most of the essays in "The Life Divine" were originally written by him for his magazine "Arya", fairly early on in his spiritual career, but the essays were later thoroughly checked and edited by him, when publishing them in the form of a book. It is unlikely, therefore, that there is anything in the book which the fully illumined sage did not consider worth the public's time and attention. Today, to control the length of the essay, I am only giving a summary of the first chapter of the Book, but time does not end today (using probabilistic intelligence), so hopefully we can summarize and even discuss all the other essays slowly but surely in the near future.

A note about Sri Aurobindo's "Integral Yoga" or "Integral Vendanta" before we look at the essays. Sri Aurobindo's philosophy is called by these names because of his emphasis on the idea that even if matter and ignorant egoistical existence is only an outer garment of the superconscient, Universal Consciousness, it is still an integral part of the whole, and therefore, realizing the One in the Many should be an integral part of the journey of the spiritual ascetic. From books written about him, it is clear that he considered physical (Darwinian) evolution of forms to be an outward manifestation of Cosmic Universal Intelligence trying to discover itself by working within and also transforming matter to make matter a better instrument for its expression. Additionally, he did not consider matter and egoistical forms of manifestations as being essentially different from the Universal One. Rather, to use an analogy used by so many authors, he thought of the manifest (ignorant) universe as waves on the ocean of Pure Superconscient Existence, dependent on the ocean for their existence but an integral part of the whole and essentially made up of the same "stuff". Since it is indeed the eternal which creates and manifests itself in multitudinous (often petty) forms, completely ignoring or denying material existence (howsoever short-lived it might be relative to the eternal) would constitute rejecting the Universal in one of its own manifestations. According to Sri Aurobindo, the early Vendantist rishis knew this from deeper realization, and were therefore integral in their ways of looking at consciousness and matter, universal and individual. This ancient outlook integrating the two is a desirable way to look at creation, and will help the yogi embrace Creation and the Creator in Its entirety, yet without falling into the trap of a petty or animalistic living, devoid of higher intelligence. This outlook would also help other human beings caught within the delusion of Maya and Avidya (ignorance), enabling their progress towards the eternal, yet without making them completely impractical in their ways of living while they are on the path.

Even if only to bring out the beauty of some of the examples Sri Aurobindo and some other authors bring up, let's spend one more minute on the idea of integrating things which seem different or opposed to each other. Our intellectual reasoning can sometimes contradict the decisions of the ordinary "sense-mind" and sense organs, and in a sense, the faculty of reasoning "transcends" the senses which only provide inputs, but that does not mean that the data provided by the senses is itself wrong, or to be denied by the faculty of reasoning. Similarly, more than one author has said that while the understanding of the superconscient state transcends ordinary logical faculties and might even make decisions sometimes difficult for ordinary logic to explain, that does not in any way mean that the faculty of intellectual reasoning is itself "false" or that the higher intelligence is necessarily "opposed" to logical and verbal reasoning. Using such examples, Sri Aurobindo and other authors have often tried to make it clear that the lower and the higher faculties are not necessarily opposed to each other and do not necessarily falsify each other, even if one might "transcend" the other in some ways. The lower faculties are not exterminated by the higher realization and can in fact be integrated once the right understanding has been developed (or, reached).

A. Chapter 1 - The Human Aspiration

1. The greatest of the human aspirations is the search for the absolutely Perfect, the Eternal Truth, God, Universal Consciousness or whatever else one might want to call it. No matter what compulsions hold us back for a few years or decades, the aspiration comes back with equal force in due course of time. This
aspiration is, of course, in contradiction to ordinary sense perceptions and to the compulsions of a life based purely on such mundane experiences.

2. However, contradictions and their resolution are the rule (rather than the exception) in Mother Nature's work, and should not, therefore, be considered proof of the non-existence of the unseen or unknown. Life - whose very essence, in mundane experiences, seems to be activity - is encased within matter and material forms, whose typical characteristic is inertia and inactivity. Conscious living and experiencing - so very important to ordinary life - is shadowed by so many essential biological functions which are sub-conscious and almost totally unknown to the ordinary waking consciousness. So the presence of higher and higher levels of contradictions and their resolution, seems to be just the way Mother Nature works and does not mean that the unseen or unknown is not important.

3. Life in matter ranges from typically subliminal consciousness in Metals to a highly complex awareness of itself in Man, showing the wide range of experiences possible for itself. (So do physical phenomena have a wide range, many unknown to ordinary human consciousness.) So in Man himself is the potential for higher and higher experiences, constituting higher and higher steps towards a divine life integrated within the human form. (It is frequently asserted by different authors that the human form is about the limit of physical evolution, and that the future evolution of Man will be more mental and spiritual, with the body evolving only in small bits, as required for the manifestation of the higher intelligence within the human body.)

4. When this "religious" aspiration of Man is limited by force or by compulsions of the ordinary life, it comes back sharply and this violent rebound sometimes leads to the proliferation of obscure, mystical philosophies which do not ultimately satisfy the human aspiration (and create confusion rather than clarity). Rather than allowing this cycle to go on uninterrupted, we would do well to instead take up the Human Aspiration through our relatively more enlightened faculty of reason. At the same time, let's not deny the insight offered by intuition even if not clearly supported by verbal and mundane logic, for (as he explains in later chapters) intuition is essentially an outcome of "knowledge by identity", and is therefore often a source of light (knowledge) placed above ordinary verbal and logical reasoning.

Sadanand Tutakne

The Common Mantras

With two marriages scheduled one after the other in the near family, Mantras are again being looked into. By the grace of the One Above, I even got to know of one of the most important mantras being used in one of the weddings. Naturally, that set me thinking about the more commonly used mantras in daily worship, for example, the mantras used in the "sandhyaa" ritual, which is supposed to be performed daily by boys who undergo the sacred thread ceremony.

Now, mantra chanting is often done without any understanding of the meaning of the words, and some say that even that is very helpful provided the chanting (especially silent chanting) is done with due attention and concentration. On the other hand, recitation of mantras (especially silent) after understanding the meaning of the words is also highly encouraged by some, perhaps because it makes it easier for the mind to be totally absorbed in the ideas being conveyed by the mantra, facilitating conscious meditation. Which is better is therefore a slightly complicated question. Maybe practioners should try both alternatives, and decide for themselves as to which method is suitable in which situation.

The translation of some Vedic mantras are easily available on the internet too. In some cases, the literal translations are "enough," while in other cases, the typical reader would probably do better to look up a commentary too, so that the implied meanings or alternative interpretations can be understood along with the literal meanings of the words. The Rig-Vedic sandhyaa mainly contains mantras from the RigVeda, and therefore, at least literal translations are easily found on the internet from books like the 1888 translation by H. H. Wilson. Here, I am adding those same translations - with a few additional notes here and there, based mainly on a translation I have with me (edited by Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya and Bhagwati Devi Acharya).

Even those who do not perform the daily sandhyaa will probably appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the ideas contained in the mantras. To save some space, I am not adding the original Sanskrit mantras here, but I have tried to quote the Mandala and the Sookta from which each mantra has been taken.

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I. Aapo hi shthaa mayobhuvah....(the cleansing mantras in praise of Aapo devataa,chanted while sprinkling water on oneself, from Mandala 10, Sookta 9, by either Sindhudweep Aambareesh or Trishira Twaashtra):

1. Waters, you are the sources of happiness, grant to us to enjoy abundance, and great and delightful perception.

2. Give us to partake in this world of your most auspicious juice, like affectionate mothers.

3. Let us quickly have recourse to you, for that your (faculty) of removing (sin) by which you gladden us : waters, bestow upon us progeny.

Some other translators would let the last part be simply "nourish our dynasties." The meaning is the same, but one choice of words is more materialistic and explicit, while the other is less explicit and for devotees, might be more "classy" too. It is unlikely that the translator wanted to be too graphic or less reverent. Maybe the translator just wanted to bring out the verbal meaning clearly and quickly, without hints or suggestions which require further thinking.

4. May the divine waters be propitious to our worship, (may they be good) for our drinking: may they flow round us, and be our health and safety.

5. Waters, sovereigns of precious (treasures), grantors of habitations to men, I solicit of ye medicine (for mine infirmities).

6. Soma has declared to me: all medicaments, as well as Agni, the benefactor of the universe, are in the waters.

7. Waters, bring to perfection all disease-dispelling medicaments for the good of my body, that I may long behold the Sun.

8. Waters, take away whatever sin has been (found) in me, whether I have (knowingly) done wrong, or have pronounced imprecations (against holy men), or have spoken untruth.

9. I have this day entered into the waters: we have mingled with their essence. Agni abiding in the waters approach, and fill me (thus bathed) with vigor.


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II. Sooryashcha maa manyushcha...(the aachaman mantra, praying for internal purity and for cleansing of sins from thinking bad thoughts, etc.)

    Omitted here, since I can't find this in my copy of the RigVeda Samhita. It might be a mantra from the related vedic texts like the Brahman texts, etc., or perhaps starts slightly differently.

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III. Ritam cha satyam cha....(the aghamarshan mantra, again for cleansing, recited before exhaling into a handful of water which is thrown away to symbollically throw out any internal impurities, from Mandala 10, Sookta 190, by Aghamarshan Maadhuchchhandas):

1. Truth (of thought) and truthfulness (of speech) were born of arduous penance, thence was night generated, thence also the watery ocean.

2. From the watery ocean was the year afterwards produced, ordaining nights and days, the ruler of every moment.

3. Dhaatri in the beginning created the sun and moon, the heaven, the earth, the firmament, and the happy (sky).

The initial watery ocean mentioned above is supposed to mean the initial material substance which is subject to change. So, creation of the "year" is supposed to mean creation of changeable forms and thereby creation of "time", which is only relevant in the context of the changeable. The lines on the creation of the sun, moon etc., are also translated as "created like before", meaning that in this round of creation too, the Great One created the Sun, Moon etc. just like before. The devataa (to whom the prayer is dedicated) of the mantra is Bhaavavritti, which itself means a circle or cycle of creation and recreation. Dhaatri means the One who Holds, or Sustains.

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IV. Prithvi tvayaa dhritaa lokaa....(to purify the aasana, or the seat on which the meditator sits):

    Omitted here, since I can't find this in my copy of the RigVeda Samhita.

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V. Om Bhur Bhuvah...(gaayatri mantra, the central mantra of the sandhyaa ritual, and supposed to be the mantra of mantras, to be meditated upon and recited either 10, 28 or 108 times, from Mandala 3, Sookta 62, by the renowned sage Vishwaamitra):

    The first richa on the three lokaas is not in my copy of the Samhita. The mantra in the Samhita starts with "Tat savitur.." As for the number of repetitions (10, 28 or 108), I believe that many knowledgeable folk have emphasized that meditation should be more about quality than quantity, but the practitioner can take a call on that himself. Quantity requires its own rigor, so maybe there is still a case for quantity too, and therefore, the right course of action might differ depending upon the maturity of the practitioner. The translation is:

1. We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitri, who influences our pious rites. 

The last richaa is also translated as "who enlightens our intellect", or "who influences our intellect on the right path", and that is perhaps the more commonly accepted interpretation. The divine light has many well-accepted interpretations like the light of the soul which is one with the light of Brahma, the light which purifies all sins, etc.

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VI. Mitrasya charshanidhrito....(the upasthaana mantras, said after the central gaayatri meditation is over, and as the meditator prepares to get up from his seat, from Mandala 3, Sookta 59, by Vishwaamitra):

1. Desirable food and most renowned wealth are (the gifts) of the divine Mitra, the supporter of man.

2. The renowned Mitra, who by his might presides over heaven, is he who presides over the earth by (the gift of) food.

3. The five classes of men have repaired to the victorious Mitra, for he supports all the gods.

4. Mitra is he who amongst gods and men bestows food as the reward of pious acts upon the man who has prepared (for him) the lopped sacred grass.

The last part of the second mantra is also translated simply as "showers the earth with rain, through his rays". Since rain brings food, we can say that the two meanings are the same, but one sounds a bit less materialistic and might be preferred by the devout.

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VII. Jaatavedase sunavaama soma....(another upasthana mantra, from Mandala 1, Sookta 99, by Maaricha Kaashyap):

1. We offer oblations of Soma to Jatavedas. May he consume the wealth of those who feel enmity against us: may he transport us over all difficulties. May Agni convey us, as in a boat over a river, across all wickedness.

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VIII. Tachcham yoh...(another upasthana mantra)

    Omitted here since I can't find this mantra in my copy of the RigVeda Samhitaa. It might be from other Vedic texts.

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IX. Tattvaayaami....(another upasthana mantra for evening meditations, from Mandala 1, Sookta 24, by Shunah Shepa, son of Ajigarti):

1. Praising thee with (devout) prayer, I implore thee (Varuna) for that (life) which the institutor of the sacrifice solicits with oblations. Varuna, undisdainful, bestow a thought upon us: much-lauded, take not away our existence.

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X. Namo brahmane...(another upasthana mantra)

    Omitted here since I can't find this mantra in my copy of the Samhita.

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XI. Bhadran no....(pradakshina mantra, recited when standing and turning 360 degrees, praying to Agni after completion of the gayatri meditation, from Mandala 10, Sookta 20, by Vimad Endra):

1. (Agni), manifest towards us a favourable mind.

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There are of course, a few more Sanskrit mantras and shlokas which have been omitted here, for example, an invokation to Goddess Gaayatri before the main gaayatri meditation is taken up, the mantras bowing to all 10 directions (in standing position) after the gaayatri recitation is completed, etc. These additional mantras or prayers are probably not from the RigVeda proper and are easy enough to understand, I think. The sandhyaa ritual then ends with a famous shloka which means - as all waters falling from the sky (rivers) flow into the sea, all namaskars (prayerful obeisance) to different Gods go to the One Keshava.

Sadanand Tutakne

Flowers from the Bouquet of Sadhguru Shri Jaggi Vasudev

Many of us would have heard about Sadhguru Shri Jaggi Vasudev ji - the founder and Guru of the Isha Foundation, who is known worldwide as a self-realized master who also speaks to international audiences on issues like current affairs and the role spirituality can play in improving the lot of mankind. 

Sadhguru also has many great "spiritual" creations in his centres worldwide, and the "Dhyanalinga" temple on the foothills of the Velliangiri mountains (Coimbatore) is perhaps the most unique of his creations - probably the only Shiva lingam in the world with all its seven "chakras" awakened (at least the only such Shiva temple to have been created in the past 2000 years). Temples typically have lingams with one or two centres "awakened", and thereby serve a more limited purpose. The Dhyaanalinga, on the other hand, with all its seven chakras awakened, is said to have the power to awaken the tendency towards spiritual realization in anyone who comes in its proximity and is open to receiving its grace. It is therefore like a guru, only, not in a human body, but in a "stone idol", to put it bluntly. 

The journey of Sadhguru's past few lives is also interesting - at least, what I gathered of it from a book. It seems a few hundred years ago a snake charmer was punished (to death by snake bite) by village powerfuls for doing something which was "not allowed by caste laws". The snake charmer knew precious little about yoga, but knew and believed enough to focus on his breath during the last minutes or hours of his life. As it happened, the "entity" was reborn soon and found a spiritual master in the very next life, and only one more life later, the entity found himself self-realized and playing the role of a spiritual master, known then in Southern India as Sadhguru Brahmananda. The guru from the previous birth had given him the task of constructing the Dhyanalinga temple, and Sadhguru Brahmananda knew that this was a contribution he had to make. Finding the social order around him not conducive to the creation of the Dhyanalinga, Sadhguru Brahmananda decided to take another birth in a social setting where the creation of the Dhyanalinga by a "grihastha yogi" (householder yogi) would not be a problem. There was a prophecy that the dhyanalinga would be crated by a householder yogi and the yogi chose his birth carefully to make it happen. This reborn yogi is known as Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. The dhyanalinga was finally created by this incarnation, in line with the task given to the entity a couple of lives ago.

For those who might wonder about the nature of this self-realization, it might be helpful to watch some of Sadhguru's interview videos. In one, he mentions how for 12 years, he never lost the state of "yoga" or unity with everything around him - a state in which everything around one is felt, deeply, as part of oneself. Subtle and other laws of the universe open up once this state of self-realization is achieved, but as many other yogis too have suggested, simply using these laws for limited purposes like healing is not always good. These yogis take on deeper inner transformation of Man as the main purpose of their earthly life, and perform actions which help in that larger goal.

"Flowers on the path" is, however, a very different kind of book in which only Sadhguru's writings in a leading newspaper have been collected. The essays are therefore relatively short and the messages are delivered in a style highly acceptable to the "educated elite" too. The book is in 3 parts - "Everyday Flowers", "Flowers on the Path" and "Flowers of the Beyond". It would be unfair to say that all the wisdom in these articles can be condensed in a few points with just one quick read of the book, but here I try to list out a few important themes or ideas which came out from the articles in just a single reading.

1.  Yogic practices try to help practitioners gain direct experiences beyond what we receive from sense organs and the routine bodily experiences. Direct experience can transform lives much more deeply than mere theoretical knowledge. In fact, the usual sense organs are useful mainly from a survival point of view. When the objective of life changes from survival alone to deeper understanding and creativity arising from true intelligence, then the outer sense organs no longer remain the right instruments to rely on. Attention then needs to be turned inwards, consciously, to enable the super-sensory apparatus (if one might call it that) to start functioning. Yoga is the state where the practitioner can actually feel this unity with everything around him/her. The knowledge gained in this state is truth, not some imagined reality as in a dream. 

2. As other spiritual people have pointed out too, many or most of the problems in human life stem from the identification of the entity to what "it is not". These can be physical objects, or somewhat less physical objects like thoughts, memories and emotions. This identification leads to misery and compulsive action. Awareness of the self as something beyond just the "seeker of these wants" leads to more intelligent action (rather than compulsive tendencies). Using this intelligence, which, it seems clear, is intricately linked to renunciation of these identifications mentioned above, is the way to get better solutions to worldly problems too. 

3. Understand that even good and bad are ideas which spring from our identifications and our petty egos. Even the criminal is in a sense a victim because he too has degraded himself - probably for reasons beyond his control. Let not our punishment be merely an act of seeking power in anger. That kind of self-serving emotion will not set the world right. Rather, we need to focus on developing the higher intelligence and working in the world based on that. Those who wish to tread the spiritual path need to understand how they divide the world into good and bad and thereby strengthen petty egos. The seeker needs to expand his sphere to think and feel beyond the petty ego which feeds the body. How else does one expect to be in yoga (union) with the whole  of creation? 

4. To make the divine experience real, the entity has to "grow" to realize his/her oneness with the universe and its creator, not merely as a theory, but actually. In karma yoga (the yoga of work), the expansion is accomplished mainly via appropriately engaging the body in the right kinds of work. In jnana (the yoga of knowledge), the same is attempted via primarily intellectual work. In bhakti (the yoga of love and devotion), natural feelings are cultivated to attain to the expanded state and in kriya yoga (yoga of working with energies), the basic "energy body" is worked with to arrive at the same. These paths are not false, but often what is needed is a good combination of all four. Therefore, there is a point to not being too narrow in one's approach to the divine too. 

5. One's "karma" (tendencies/destiny) is not just based on action. Rather, the whole intellectual and emotional quality of the action is involved. The feelings, desires, etc. related to action are equally important in developing these tendencies. Therefore, it is not so much the action performed which creates karma, but rather the intentions surrounding it and how ones "feels" about it. Like any inheritance, karma can be used for growth, but it can also be squandered away. One should try not to merely waste all good karma inherited from the past. 

6. Some yogic practices seem unnatural and difficult. If we don't naturally like something, we can only perform that action consciously. The difficult practices are targeted at getting the yogi out of the web of easy, compulsive actions, and start a process whereby actions are undertaken consciously, with deeper awareness. The development of this faculty of awareness is the goal of these activities (not just to hurt the practitioner's ego!). As one becomes willing to bend the body and say, touch his toes with his hands, one binding tendency (here, of the body) is broken. With each such conscious action, various kinds of inertia and binding tendencies are rooted out, breaking "bonds" of karma which were holding the entity behind on the path of yoga. 

7. Of course, we can teach children to brush every morning, but parents should not feel that the arrival of the child means that it is time to teach. It is in fact, time to re-learn from the child's ways of looking at things, because, let's face it, adult minds are typically distorted with that one major need of earning the day's bread. With so much distortion and confusion, it is  better to view life afresh from the child's eyes, rather than dump the same mess on the child too. 

8. The use of "supernatural" powers for limited ends like healing is often not advisable because the root cause, which is much deeper within, needs to be treated. Imbalances in the energy body caused perhaps by habitual thought patterns and actions are not done away by healing symptoms like, say, joint pain. The guru with knowledge of these sciences has to often consider questions like whether curing the joint pains will make the energy come up in other ways and, say, cause an accident. This is the reason why Sadhguru's programs target the correction of some more fundamental tendencies, and it has been seen that very often, healing also happens as a by-product of the programs. People probably come to Sadhguru for purely health related problems as well, but Sadhguru's approach is typically deeper, aiming at more fundamental transformations in our propensities - not just using a yogic power to correct a joint-pain or something. 

9. Growth, therefore, requires acceptance of one's current bondage(s) as well as taking the right next step continuously. Both of these are required. 

10. The guru is like a live map. Highly useful once someone has taken the decision to travel. 

Sadanand Tutakne

The "Ascent" in Sahaja Yoga

It was only a few weeks ago that someone close to me mentioned - in a completely different context - that good thoughts and memories should not just be relegated to the past as mere memories, but should rather be cherished, celebrated and renewed by remembering them at appropriate times. I have not thought much about this in the context the speaker was mentioning it, but I immediately saw in there a good reason to continue blogging. Apologies in advance to the speaker if a different outcome was expected of me, but also thanks for giving me an external impetus to continue with my monologues, even if unintentionally. Well, the mind is mischievous in its ways, but when did I deny that?

"Utthaan" (or, Ascent) by "Yogi Mahajan" is a book on the ascent of the Kundalini through Sahaja Yoga (the same famous Sahaja Yoga which has been brought to the world by Mata Shri Nirmala Deviji). It is of course a fantastic introduction to the six principal chakras in the body and their functions, but one reading brought me back into the "real world" of mankind where it is quite clear that these are mainly matters for practice and not so much for discussion. Then I decided that while the feeling might be true in its rightful place, information still has a role to play in its own right. Typically, any effort in this direction has to begin within the boundaries of "Maya" (cosmic illusion), and if we plan to make an effort of that kind, then what's the point crying about the fact that we are not yet illumined? Indeed, what's the point crying over the fact that we are perhaps not following that exact path either? Yogi Mahajan and Shri Mataji have given us this system knowing well that we live in Maya, and it seems quite fine to invoke another part of Maya - i.e., their blessings - and continue our efforts for the present.

The descriptions of the principal functions of the chakras are perhaps there in other books too, and at least the physical functions seem to be the creation and regulation of physical organs in the nearby area in the body. I do not want to go into those specifics today, but I would surely like to bring out some highlights of the book which I thought were particularly informative and helpful. If some explanations are "colored" by my own preconceived notions, then I beg the author's pardon.

1. The origin of the kundalini energy is also within the brain, which is the seat of creative intelligence in the human body, but as the body evolves (i.e., is created) under the direction of this intelligence, this kundalini energy travels far away to the bottom of the spine where it finally "rests" after the task of "creation" is complete. On the way, this intelligence creates various bodily organs and the other "chakras", which are different centers recommended for meditation, each serving some special functions. Other authors have also suggested that the chakras are centers where the "knots" between creative intelligence (the soul) and the body are very deep, and proper meditation on the chakras therefore helps "untie these knots", making the meditator aware of the intelligence (or the soul) which is the creator of the body and is distinct from it, even though tied to the body due to Maya. According to Yogi Mahajan, when the kundalini awakens and ascends all the way up to the sahasraar chakra in the head, it cleans (unties the knots of) the chakras and finally unites with the supreme intelligence in the brain, which is its "origin" or its "mother". This union, it is said, finally clarifies all the confusions regarding soul, matter and God, and is therefore the end towards which all Yoga is ultimately directed.

2. Blockages in these chakras prevent the kundalini from rising, and these blockages are typically the result of various physical and mental processes going on in the average human being, who is typically unaware of what activity might have what effect on these chakras. Excesses (whether physical, like eating wrongly, or mental, like too much ego-centric activity) typically deplete the chakras of their energy and cause blockages and resulting problems. There could be physical consequences too - from mild ones like minor digestive problems to much more serious physical illnesses - which could occur if these excesses are not controlled by good thinking and right living. Stress and even insanity can sometimes result from excessive indulgence, depending upon to what extreme one goes.

3. During creation, this intelligence (chaitanya) creates a complex network of nerves to help in its task of expressing itself through the body. The left side of the body contains nerves which manifest various desires and these are linked to the right hand side of the brain, called the "superego". The nerves on the right hand side are a network created in order to bring these desires to fruition, and these are controlled by the left side of the brain (called the ego). Imbalance between these two energy flows is typically undesirable. Excessive development of the ego puts pressure on the superego and makes a person uncaring, devious and perhaps even worse on the emotional front, while excessive emotionalism can lead to the development of an irrational personality, prone to emotional excesses and even insanity in extreme cases.

4. Sahaja Yoga, therefore, favors a balanced approach to the development of personality, in which energy - which typically swings between these two channels on the left and right side of the spine - starts flowing from the third, "middle" channel, also known as the "sushumnaa" in various texts. This is, of course, the main objective of yoga as per other texts too, but Sahaja Yoga is perhaps special because of its explicit recommendation to not go to extremes. No matter how "intuitive" it might seem to go to extremes in ones' spiritual disciplines, hear the Sahaja Yogis out for a second. As per the book, trying penances and very difficult practices are not needed - what is needed, rather, is an understanding of these blockages, what causes them and what can help eliminate them, and how to infer whether these blockages are indeed being removed via the practices recommended by the experts. This is the kind of training Sahaja Yoga provides, says this book, and what is needed here according to the book is a balanced approach to life, not an extreme one. As one develops along this path, one starts using the "parasympathetic" nervous system (insted of the usual sympathetic nervous system), and this leads to much greater creativity, because the work is then inspired more and more by the infinite creative intelligence of God.

5. Interestingly, the area surrounding the third chakra behind the navel (Manipura chakra) is called "bhava-saagar" (the world-ocean). Quite literal, in a sense, given that so much of our worldly activity surrounds the idea of feeding ourselves!

6. Sleeping with the mind and heart absorbed in the Sahasraar chakra is very relaxing, according to the author. Even relatively shorter durations of such sleep turn out to be very refreshing (recharges our batteries like nothing else could), he says, and this kind of absorption also helps prevent tiredness when working during the day time. Working after being situated in the sahasraar, according to the Yogi, takes the body's attention off thoughts of doer-ship (the feeling that I am doing this or that), and work then seems to flow naturally, almost as if one was enjoying some music directed by a good musician. As a result, the sympathetic nervous system does not get depleted of energy, even while working during the day. This is also, by the way, right meditation, according to the book. It is, therefore, not necessary to run off to the jungles to meditate, according to the Sahaja Yogis.

7. In closing, the book does not forget to mention that all such training is given to practitioners free of cost in Sahaja Yoga, because it is advisable for practitioners to think of Shri Mataji first and foremost as a mother (Divine Mother is a Mother too!), and then, it's only logical that the Mother does not ask her child to pay for her teachings.

Sadanand Tutakne