Self and Satisfaction

There is much concern in contemporary alternative and spiritual societies with the cleansing, clearing and healing of the physical body as well as the mental and energetic systems.

Many rightly propose fasting, vegetarian and vegan diets of clean, fresh, locally grown organic produce and grains. When such foodstuffs are prepared with the beneficial enhancement of a devotional mood in dedication to the conscious sacred source of their spiritual origin, they acquire a subtle yet profound spiritual energetic to heal the physical body at a deeper level by cleansing the subtle psychic body of negative karmic impressions or samskaras.

This process of clean eating can be undertaken by anyone, anywhere, at anytime, with relative ease providing one is sincere in intention and action.
In chapter nine of the Bhagavad-gita, we find this passage:

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayachati
tad aham bhakty upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.”

No great sacrifice of time, materials or energy is required if the substantial inner mood of sincere aspiration to satisfy and unite with Divinity through loving devotion is present.

True healing and deep cleansing must always begin at the spiritual conscious level, for the gross physical body of five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) is the shadow or product of the subtle psychic self, who’s focus, quality and nature are reflected and manifested in the physical characteristics.

This psychic self is also a thinner shadow and a more subtle reflection of the true spiritual conscious identity that gives rise to the subtle psychic nature of thinking, feeling and willing as well as the gross physical body of biological constitution.

Just as when a cloud, though eclipsing the full moon at night, is actually seen by the presence of the moon behind it, in a similar way the physical body and subtle mind appear energized, active and alive due to the presence of the energizing, subjective non-material self or jivatma that illuminates them with life symptoms from within.

The Gita also gives evidence of the non-materially quantifiable conscious self in this way:

avinasi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayas yasya
na kascit kartum arhati

“That which pervades the entire body is indestructible, no one is able to destroy that imperishable self.”

Cleansing diet, yoga, spiritually conscious lifestyles, all contribute towards a healthier individual on all levels, however, the single most determining factor of our level of satisfaction in life stems from the profound yet simple understanding that what we actually focus upon from moment to moment determines the quality and nature of our experiences in life. A material focus covers our true conscious nature. A spiritually conscious focus uncovers our clear and natural qualities of existence, consciousness and joy.

If we accept the spiritual paradigm that the true self is spiritual, non-material and indestructible due to its extremely subtle nature… our lives begin to flow toward an incredibly auspicious state of Divine Grace. This imperishable nature has three constituents, namely unassailable existence or sat, conscious awareness, sentience or chit, and a natural joy or spiritual happiness independent of material circumstance called ananada.

Our moment to moment focus determines the quality of our experiences in life, and this is demonstrated by the way most people unconsciously drift between the illusory mental representations of the regretful past or the fearful future. When one consciously attempts to hold the consciousness in the present moment by mantra meditation, one will become aware of this drifting mental propensity. The nature of the mind is sankalpa and vikalpa. Accepting and rejecting. One thought replaces another, however, sometimes the mind becomes fixed or obsessed upon a particular emotionally charged thought or mental representation of a past event or future hopeful or fearful event. Rare indeed is the length of time actually spent in the present moment of the here and now. Mantra meditation can be very effective in this regard by holding the awareness and focusing it constructively.

The Vedas declare vishvam purnam sukayate, The universe is a perfect abode of happiness! Yet very few people experience the world in this way. Is it actually possible?
Not only is it possible, it is the actual goal of the human platform of life to experience the self-realization that we are producing our experience of life by the focus of our minds.

The subjective pure awareness of self, clear of mental clutter, is the deepest spiritual identity of the individual. And as previously stated is of the simple clear nature of eternal, unassailable existence, pure unclouded perception and a natural independent spiritual joy.

When consciousness is drawn back and detached from the gross physical body and the subtle mind it is possible to gain a new and higher perspective of ourselves free from the encumbrances of the entangling and ignorant identification with matter (the body) and mind (psychic envelope). We are not bound or imprisoned by any external force but rather bound up in the mistaken identification with the saguna or material modes (goodness, passion & ignorance) and elements of nature, by our attraction, identification and desire to sensually enjoy them. This has a binding effect upon our natural clear awareness.

Finding joy in the self we become freed from the imprisoning compulsions of the material mind and senses. Param dristva nivattate-a higher taste is awakened within us. Positive engagement of a higher order is indispensable in this regard and for this we need higher association with, and service engagement to, saintly and realized agents of the nirguna, or materially unconditioned Absolute Reality. False teachers, bogus gurus and cheaters abound in the environment of commercial spirituality, however, if we are sincere in our intention to give of ourselves selflessly, then a correspondingly sincere agent will manifest and we shall avoid falling into the gutter of the cheaters and the cheated.

When an individual soul reaches a sufficient level of faith that is characterized by a deep longing for union with the Truth or Divinity, revelation takes place. Our negative charge of seeking (laulyam) draws the positive charge or attention of Divinity (parusha), for union (yoga) in devotional love (bhakti).

The Absolute Reality is inconceivably all pervading yet personal. Recognizing our sincere necessity, our need is proportionally reciprocated by the appearance of an agent suitable for our current level of understanding. Ye yatha mam prapadynte… It may come in the form of book, sadhu or similar spiritual seeker, or if our faith is sufficiently developed, a Guru of high type. From this position an active engagement in higher activities as directed by the guide will successively lead us through higher and finer states of theistic awareness until a profound unfolding of the heart reveals our natural spiritually dynamic and wholesome reciprocal loving relation to the dynamic Absolute Conscious Whole, or Divine Personality of Godhead.

Love is the fulfillment of all things. If we have learned how to spiritually love (prema-dharma), we have learned all of wisdoms secrets and entered the dynamic stream of conscious dedication. Achintya-beda-beda-tattva, Our fulfillment will not be a static position of unified monism but a “Unity of Divine Variagated Diversity, wherein our unity (yoga) with Divinity is ever fresh in new experience, revelation, playfulness and beauty (lila).

These are the realizations of the yogic Rishis, the ancient spiritual research scientists of the Vedic civilization which flourished thousands of years ago in India. This wisdom was widely distributed in modern times by the great apostle of Divine Love, Shri Chaitanya Dev who taught the chanting of the Holy Names of God as the most effective path of self-realization in the current modern age which is predominated by overwhelming materialism.
Shi Chaitanya Deva’s teachings can be extensively explored at www.scsmath.com

wealth within

"What is the value of a life, that is wasted, inexperienced by years in this world? Better a moment of full consciousness, because that gives one a start in searching after ones' supreme interest."

These words were spoken 5,000 years ago and they are as true today as they were then. Most people live their lives on "automatic". They repeat the same mental and emotional patterns throughout their lives without questioning the beliefs that often limit them. They consider themselves objectively, and that "things" or experiences just "happen" to them without considering that their own subjective consciousness is actually the source of their own objective and emotional experiences.

As a fellow traveler on the path of life I'd like to share with you several cognitive technologies that can empower you to take control of your mental states and emotions and free you from the misconception that the external environment is controlling your behavior and emotions. The passion and power that gives energy to life comes from a compelling purpose, and if we begin with a powerful paradigm of purposeful living, its possible we'll locate and unlock our own inherent energies that will fuel our personal positive transformations from the inside out.

The activities of human beings can be observed in three phases.
Exploitation, renunciation, and dedication. Exploitation is characterized by selfish interest, and although this can give much passion and power to life, it ultimately self-destructs into reactionary experiences because it is not life-supporting. Renunciation is a type of false equilibrium because no one can remain inactive for long. Progressive movement means elimination and new acceptance, in other words life is a living, moving experience. If you're not living, moving and growing, you'll be stagnating decaying and dying. Only dedication is truly healthy, practical and life-enhancing, because a personal paradigm of dedication utilizes everything in life for the benefit of life and our fellow living beings, and by its selfless nature is non-reactionary. This is a powerful paradigm of purposeful living and draws real goodness and power to energize our lives in a profound and life-supporting way. This is a spiritually purposeful view of life, that energizes and enables a dynamic experience of life.

"By serving the center of all life and beauty, everything is beautifully done".

Our lives take on further power and purpose when we begin to understand that everything in our experience of life proceeds from consciousness. Objective material nature is a product of consciousness and is sustained in consciousness. Everything that exists begins as a thought in consciousness. Consciousness is essentially unlimited in its potentiality, therefore we can state with certainty that the limitations we impose upon our lives are ultimately illusory negative mental constructs that are self-imposed.

The mind is very powerful and can be directed constructively or destructively. By understanding how to resourcefully direct our minds we can empower ourselves to achieve our full potentials in life. Yet, it's not merely enough to simply understand the mind alone, for the mind and body are a unified field. Our experience can also be viewed as a unified diversity of body-mind-and spirit (consciousness). Nurturing all three aspects is life-enhancing and balancing for overall health.

Optimizing the body of course includes diet and exercise. A diet of foods in the modes of goodness, that is, foods such as organic fruits and vegetables, grains, and low-fat milk products keep the body clean and healthy. If those foods are further purified and charged with the conscious intentionality of prayer and spiritual gratitude that recognizes and honors the interconnectedness of all life, they will even purify our body and mind on a deeper level, as well as nourish our spirit.

Meat products involve the systematic abuse and killing of animals. This is action that is characterized by ignorance and exploitation. The fear and violence that the animals experience when their lives are violently terminated remains present in a subtle form within the meat products. When these unhealthy food sources are ingested in the human body they give rise to the imbalances of disease and the subtle negativities that manifest as aggression and unhappiness in human society. Foods of this variety are in the mode of ignorance, for to partake of them is an act of ignore-ance of their unhealthy characteristics. Drugs and alcohol also fall into this category of ignorance. To pollute the body with toxic (poisonous) substances is to in-toxi-cate. You wouldn't pour dirt into your cars gas tank, would you? Why put poison, tar and nicotine, alcohol or other poisons into your bloodstream? The same goes for the subtle mind. A mental diet of violent and explicit television and films also results in negative impressions upon the mind, thus negatively impacting the entire bio-psychological-spiritual system.

The mind and body exist in a cybernetic loop. The condition of the body affects the quality of consciousness and the mental representations of the mind effect the systems and overall health of the body. When one's mind is depressed due to negative internal representations, the body's immunity is adversely affected. Conversely, when the body is properly maintained through a balanced program of diet, exercise and rest, the mind is positively affected by the body's vibrant state of health. By simplifying and cleansing the diet you will take the first and most powerful step in taking charge of your mind and the quality of your life.

The next step in our journey of self-awareness is to understand our mind and emotions. The working senses serve the mind by gathering information from the environment through the pathways of sensory acquisition. The eyes, the ears, the nose, the sense of touch all direct their impulses into the mind. These impulses are then constructed within the mind as visual, auditory, and emotional representations. These representations are not literal experiences of the environment but limited approximations that are perceptually filtered by our beliefs and ideas of what is possible. Their meanings, impact, and emphasis are subjectively applied by we, who are the subjective conscious observers of these internal representations or mental constructs of the world.

We can directly alter the sub modalities of these representations through the application of our intelligence, and thereby enhance or diminish their impact upon our emotions and nervous system. Ultimately this will alter our feelings and subsequent behavioral patterns which in turn directly impact the quality of our lives.

For instance, imagine you are walking down the street and someone bumps into you and insults you for not watching where you're going. If you are feeling unhappy or inattentive to your own emotional state you would most likely react by yelling back at that person. Which in turn would mutually escalate your emotional negativity and lead to a full-scale argument or or even a physical fight. You might go away from the experience with a negative charge that will hang over your whole day. Replaying the negative experience in your mind, over and over again and verbally relating it to everyone you converse with throughout the day, you would continue to re-experience this initial negative emotional experience which would more deeply install it within your conscious experience.

On the other hand, if you're consciously practicing awareness of yourself as part of an internal spiritual practice or simply feeling happy, healthy and content, you may be in a positive and resourceful state that would allow you to respond rather than react. You might immediately feel the negativity of the encounter yet quickly understand that this person is having a "bad day". In other words, this person is representing the world to themselves in a negative way and is therefore acting out of an unremorseful emotional state. What if you suddenly realized that they just walked out of a funeral home where they were attending the funeral of a loved one. Wouldn't that change the way you felt about the experience? And how you felt about their behavior towards you? If you are like most people, you would probably feel compassion for them. What if the person were drunk? or crippled? Though you might initially go away with a negative mental representation of the experience you might possibly have the internal strength to consciously alter the meaning of the experience and thereby minimize the emotional impact of the experience upon yourself.

Amazing as it may sound, we can consciously and intentionally alter the meaning of any experience we have in life. We can literally put ourselves into more empowering and resourceful states of consciousness as well as change the the content and context of the states we are currently
experiencing.

Its not the experiences we have in life that affect us as much as the way we represent them to ourselves. The way we communicate to ourselves directly determines the quality of our experience in life.

Say for instance you walk away from your negative encounter and replay the images and sounds of your experience over and over again, becoming more and more upset. We've all done this many times. Yet we do have a choice in changing the way we represent or communicate these experiences to ourselves. And herein lies the power we all have to improve the quality of our lives.

The quality of our life is directly impacted by the quality of our communication, primarily with ourselves, but also our communication with other people as well.

We can change the way we feel about the experience or rather our internal representation of the experience, by changing the submodalities or characteristics and qualities of our internal representation.

An easy way would be to push the image back in our mind, tone down the sound and color, de-focus the image or push it way behind us into the distance. There are are a great variety of cognitive exercises that can be employed in this regard. By doing this consciously, we can literally change the way we feel about the experience and thereby consciously choose a more beneficial and healthy behavior. By making experiences bigger, brighter and more intense in our conscious experience of them, we tend to "blow things out of proportion". But what are we really doing? We're internally representing things in such a way that they overwhelm and overpower us. By changing the way that we represent our experiences in our minds we literally change the impact we feel emotionally. This can be done with positive experiences as well. People who are chronically depressed consistently represent the experiences of their life in a negative disempowering way. People who are arrogant and conceited tend to over exaggerate their abilities and qualities and also represent them to themselves and others in an exaggerated way. The same methodology is applied to both of these mentally imbalanced views.

As Lao Tsu once said: "If we do not change direction, we will end up where we are headed."

George Harrison penned these similar lyrics before he died: "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."

Again, these cognitive technologies can empower you to take control of your mental states and emotions and free you from the misconception that the external environment is controlling your behavior and emotions. The passion and power that gives energy to life comes from a compelling purpose. A purpose that has a life-supporting basis is a powerful paradigm of purposeful living. The most powerful paradigm of purposeful living is a personal and global view of spiritual dedication. By tapping the power of the conscious self we'll locate and unlock our own inherent energies that fuel our personal positive transformations from the inside out.

When we think of persons who have most powerfully impacted human society and consciousness we tend to think of individuals who had very high ideals of spiritual dedication. Like Christ, Buddha and Krishna. Thousands of years have passed yet their lives, activities and teachings continue to give life and inspiration to this day. In recent times we can recall individuals like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. They all had a cause and a purpose that was bigger than themselves and it drew great power into manifestation. Through dedication, your life can take on a deeper meaning and power as well.

Everything proceeds from consciousness, or as Shakespeare said..."thinking makes it so...."



Guided Meditation:

Close your eyes and imagine something that has been troubling you. Vividly picture in your mind the person or circumstance that triggers an emotionally negative response within you. Make it big and bright and in full color. Notice how you feel about the images. Now reduce their size, intensity and color. Make them black and white, shrink them into the distance or down to the size of a grain of sand in the palm of your hand. Now how do you feel about them?

the direction of your heart

Last night a guest asked how can we cultivate a soft heart. and what is self love?
I replied: our proper identification is with our heart.
In which direction our heart is moving, that is the all important factor in our life. It is a heart transaction. The begining of this awakening is faith, as faith matures it awakens through the spirit of dedication or self-giving and ultimately blossoms to become love, divine love. Divine love is dormant in our hearts. Presently it is manifest in a shadow form as selfish conditional love based on exploitation. It is bodily centered or mind centered but is ultimately unfullfilling due to its rootedness in a misconception of "self". love is our proper identity, selflessness is the doorway to understanding our true "self".

In order to properly understand what is self love, we first must understand what is self and what is love.

The gita gives many directions on the true nature of true self that transcends the limited conceptions of bodily and psychological identity: We are not merely biological bodies composed of earth, water, fire, and air. Nor the mind, inteligence or ego. Biology, psychology and indeed all objective experience "float" upon the deeper reality of consciousness. We, as conscious subjects manifest objective reality through intentionality and action.

avinasi tu tad viddhi..."that which pervades the entire body is indestructable, no one can destroy that imperishable soul."
What pervades the body is consciousness, the symptom of the non-materially quatifiable transcendent self. Immesurable in its infinitely small dimension, yet potent in its full manifestation.

nainam chidyanti sastrani: "the self can never be cut by any weapon, burned by fire, moistened by water nor withered by the wind." najayate mryate va cadacin: " for the self there is neither birth nor death. (we are beginingless...) nor having once been does she ever cease to be. The self is un-born, ever-existing, undying and primeaval. The self is not slain when the body is slain. This is the science of identity. further vedic evidence elaborates the qualities of (1) sat-eternity (un-assailable existence, (2)chit-sentience, consciousness, awareness (3) ananda- joy, ecstasy, loving exchange, fulfillment.

Ananda is the food of our hearts, our souls....to be "needy" is to misconcieve oneself as an absorbing unit of self-conscious concern, and to seek fulfillment in personal gratification at the expence of the environment.. A healthier concept leading to genuine fulfillment is found when we properly concieve of our selves as radiant giving units of joy and ecstacy. In the dynamic of self giving we generate more energy and love to give. This is the paradox of love.

As my Spiritual Master, Srila Sridhar Maharaja taught: "By serving the center of all beauty, everything is beautifully done".