LIGHT ON LIFE

Spiritual Illumination of Action, Meditation and Realization
Sri Sudarshan, Founder & Leader at SKYLIGHT YOGA™

Published: May 1, 2020
Written: April 18, 2015

LIGHT ON ACTION
Spiritual Illumination of Effort

​Do we realize that our lives are mostly lived in an intense and anxious struggle, in a swirl of speed and aggression, in competing, grasping, possessing, and forever preoccupied? Underlying our whole outlook of ourselves is a neurotic conviction of our own limitations. But this contradicts the central truth of spiritual teachings: that we are all in our truest essence, perfect.

Every word you utter to another human being has an effect. If we all were to understand that change comes about because of millions of tiny acts that seem totally insignificant, well then we would not hesitate to take those tiny acts. Love is a force. It has power. Intend on using it for good. Gurus are for guidance. They can illuminate the path with simple and clear instructions, but they cannot do the work for you. You and you alone are responsible for your happiness and for maintaining health and balance. No one else can do it for you. In the Dalai Lama’s words, “Critical thinking followed by action.”

Imagine there is a flirtatious man who always chases women. After a while, he gets frustrated with all the chasing and becomes a Sanyasi, someone who renounces all selfish purpose and worldliness for pursuit of spirituality full-time. After becoming a Sanyasi, he starts talking down against women as if they are a trap. He has simply gone from one extreme to another, and nowhere closer to Self-realization. A real Sanyasi is so because they have renounced extremes. This is a highly-evolved state where they have renounced all craving for the empty objects of the world, which cause the agitation of the mind as it swings from elation and depression.
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"Yoga is not meant to leave you the same as you were before. It is meant to transform every part of you."

Your plan for life should be simple and fit on one page. Focus on the essential. Do one thing at a time. Start with one minute of inner work, or start with one breath. In just one hour of meditation you have strung together around 900 breaths. There are 1,440 minutes in one day. You must start somewhere. In the beginning, you may need to make appointments for this inner work. In the end, your heart and mind will ask you for it. If 168 hours are available to us every week, make some of them non-negotiable commitments. The regularity of time and place are the most important factors for establishing a consistent practice.

“The best way to learn Yoga is by practicing Yoga.”

LIGHT ON MEDITATION
Spiritual Illumination of Mind

​Raja Yoga, the Yoga of Meditation, is like the lake in which the swans of Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, etc. are playfully singing. Body is like a musical instrument - it has to be rightly tuned - only then will the higher music arise out of it. Tuned just right, it resonates with your natural rhythm, your natural frequency. If it is too loose, the structure of the music falls apart. If it is too tight, the body breaks from use. And when it is tuned just right, perfect harmony ensues. 

Sthir Sukham Asanam “steady and comfortable seat is called posture.” Notice that most common English translations include the word “should” and make the scriptures sound like they are “rules to follow.” The Yoga scriptures give definitions, not rules. 

Sage Maharshi Patanjali said that the only alignment necessary in Yoga poses is to be comfortable, steady and relaxed. Breath is to be paired along with the movement and your attention is to be placed on a Drishti, point of focus. This is, in itself, an effective form of concentration to quiet the mind. The teacher is the guide, the Asana is the tool. The most important part of an Asana is not in its appearance but in the subtle energies within the body, known as Pranas.

You are not the body. If you do not believe this initially, do not bathe for a few weeks and you will be glad that you are not actually the body. Gauge and observe the outer posture of the body and the inner posture of the mind. They are connected and must be brought into steadiness, then only can you start to envision the Soul, which is neither body nor mind. Try this: suddenly stop the breath and close your eyes. Immediately the thoughts stop, if just for a fraction of a second. Breath is the link or bridge between the mind and the body. By watching the breath coming in, going out, and the gaps, you become separate from the breath. When you are separated from the breath, you are separated from thoughts. Breath moves in the body causing thoughts to move in the mind. Stopping unconscious thoughts arising from the mind is effectively the end of ignorance and suffering caused by mis-identification with thoughts. 

All the while, Raja Yogis know the body to be the structure and foundation for their Sadhana. If the body is missed, the higher training will take longer. Only in a graceful body is a graceful mind, and only with a graceful mind can a graceful Self be seen. In order to realize That One Absolute Reality, known as Atman or Brahman, Sri Bhagwan Krishna instructs, “One must shut out the outward sense contacts, fix the gaze, make the inhalation and exhalation equal, with the mind and reason held in check, rid of longing, fear and wrath, and intent on Freedom.”

“Raja” Yoga means the “highest” science of Self-realization. Physical sciences currently glorified by Western culture is limited by the five senses. Yogic science starts there and takes you well-beyond what you previously were able to imagine. Pranayama and Meditation cannot be explained through study of anatomy and physiology. Yet, there are biological and physiological responses to Pranayama and Meditation. 

“Mind” is not fixed or rigid. It is flexible and workable. If we train it, anything is possible. Everything is a question of training and the power of habit. Meditation slowly purifies the ordinary mind, unmasking and exhausting its habits and delusions. Meditation establishes direct contact with the truth of your Being. 

You are psychosomatic: your body is just the beginning of your mind and your mind is nothing but the end of your body. Whatever happens in the body affects the mind and whatever happens in the mind affects the body. If your body is not in deep rest, your mind cannot be. For most, it is easier to start with the body because it is the outermost layer. 

Between body and mind, in the middle, there is comfort; because, in the middle, the weight of both sides disappears. Exactly in the middle, you become weightless. This is equanimity, or even-mindedness. A man of true understanding enjoys sleep in either a palace or a hut. When there is balance, the duality of the body and mind disappears – all dualities disappear – and there is no conflict between the two. Then you become silence, and silence is the beginning.

LIGHT ON REALIZATION
Spiritual Illumination of Wisdom

Sri Bhagavan Krishna teaches in the Bhagavad Gita, “To them whose ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of Atman, this their knowledge, like the Sun, reveals the Supreme.” The body is born and the body will die, but the Self is unborn and thus cannot die. When Yoga uses the words “eternal,” “immortal” and “infinite,” it refers to the Self. Having a “beginning” and an “end” is not-Self. The purpose of Yoga is to abide in that Self, to aim at and end up in the Self, to become one with that Self now and by uniting with that Self, you have conquered birth and death: You are Immortal. Sri Bhagavan Krishna goes on to say in the Gita, “Those who have mastered themselves and who are engrossed in the welfare of all beings are considered Yogis.”

Why is Reality so difficult for the mind to grasp? Because the one absolute Reality is beyond the limited mind’s grasp. Buddha described Four Faults of the mind that act as obstacles for the spiritual aspirant to overcome. These are illusions created by the mind being informed by Maya. 1) “Reality is too close to us to even be recognized.” In fact, we are that absolute Reality. Just as the eyes can see everything except for themselves, the mind must develop the technique of inquiring into its own nature. 2) “Reality is too profound for us to fathom.” Reality is beyond all names, forms and activities, yet It is the creator, sustainer, transformer and substratum of this entire manifested universe. 3) “Reality is too easy for us to believe.” We may believe in the existence of that one Reality, and we may even believe that we are also enfolded in that one Reality, but, unfortunately, many spiritual aspirants leave it at that. Choosing to believe in Reality does not mean that you have realized It. 4) “Reality is too wonderful for us to accommodate.” You are truly that infinitely existing, conscious and blissful Beingness, and this fact is simply a lot for a dulled mind to handle. Inspire yourself to expand your own mind and sphere of consciousness, eventually you will discard the falsely-identified ego all-together and experience yourself as that Reality. 

In Tibetan Buddhism, the mind has two positions: looking-out and looking-in. When the mind points outward away from the Self, it is a continuation of suffering. When the mind points inward toward the Self, it is a conscious movement toward illumination, peace and happiness. This is clearly seen given that the word “Buddhist” in Tibetan language is Nangpa, which means “insider.” A real “Buddhist” or follower of Buddha is someone who seeks truth not outside but within the nature of oneself.

Reality, the Self and therefore Enlightenment is not something exotic or fanatical, not for the elite only, but for all of humanity. Truth is not something elaborate and esoteric; when you realize It, It is in fact profound common sense. So you do not “become” a Buddha, you simply and slowly cease to be deluded about your Reality. At last, a true human being. 

Tapas is the Sanskrit word for “austerity” or something done with “burning enthusiasm.” The purpose is to strengthen by disciplining the body and mind. You clean your body throughout every day; daily you wash your body and examine it in the mirror many times a day; and we are constantly cleaning our hands, our face and eyes, our skin and hair, etc. We buy expensive products to prevent our hair from greying, skin from wrinkling and to make sure our appearance is kept clean. We also wear more expensive clothes to promote a certain social status. 

We go through all this Tapas for irrelevant things but go on neglecting Tapas for our mind. We bathe and wash our bodies but do we bathe and wash and observe the imperfections of the mind? Why not? Many people want to know everything about everything and everyone, but they do not want to know themselves, which will bring about the happiness they desire. It is about conquering yourself and being the Master of your life, as susinctly written by Lao Tzu in the Daodejing, “Knowing others is intelligence, Knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, Mastering yourself is true power.” That is what the wise know to be Yoga.

Author | Sri Sudarshan
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