The Essence of the Aitareya and Taittiriya Upanishads - 6.2 - Swami Krishnananda.

 

Chinmaya Mission :

Chinmaya Mission center in Ahmedabad resounded with the Jnana Yajna "Geeta Padho Aage badho!" based on Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta. 

The speaker, Swami Avyayananda, expounded on various topics such as leadership, parenting, student life, saying no to stress, thinking right, and turning toward happiness, disseminating powerful insights to all listeners present. 

The practical tips and relevant examples from the scriptures on the topics given by Swamiji were generously accepted and made people understand the significance of studying Geeta in their current lifestyle. 

Listeners not only soaked in the beautiful lawns of ParamDham but also showed deep gratitude for being able to attend such insightful spiritual talks. 

Swamiji also engaged devotees through guided meditation sessions based on "Bodha Saar" in the morning. 

The entire program was an incredibly enriching experience, to say the least!

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Wednesday  21, Feb 2024 07:00.

Chapter 6: Some Light on Yoga Practice-2.

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In the Kathopanishad there is a hint given to us as to how we can practise yoga. There are one or two verses in the Kathopanishad which give the sum and substance of the practice of yoga, which is also the same yoga explained in greater detail in the system of Patanjali. The Kathopanishad says in these verses that the subtle essences of objects are superior to the sensory powers; they are higher in their degree and in quality. Higher than these essences of objects is the mind; higher than the mind is the intellect; higher than the intellect is the cosmic intellect called Mahat, also called Hiranyagarbha. Higher than that is the peaceful undifferentiated causal state called Avyakta. Higher than that is supreme Absolute, Purusha. The same Upanishad mentions the system of practice in another verse. The senses have to be rooted in the mind. The mind has to be centred in the intellect. The intellect has to be fixed in the Cosmic Intellect, and the Cosmic Intellect has to be united with the Peaceful Being. Sometimes this Peaceful Being, Shanta Atman, is identified with the Isvara of the Vedanta. This is how we have to control the mind.

The restraint of the mind and the senses is not an easy affair because, first of all, it is difficult even to understand how this can be done at all. We practise the traditional routines of stopping the breath, not thinking of objects, sometimes not thinking anything at all, and then keeping quiet in a blank state of mind, under the impression that we are practising yoga. These are all like sweeping the ground, but that is not the entire function in a house, though they are important enough from their own points of view. The mind is not such a simple thing as to come under our control in a few days. For this purpose, intense philosophical analysis is necessary together with other accessories such as living in an atmosphere which is conducive to this practice, and study of scriptures and books which will fill the mind with ideas that are elevating in their nature and of the nature of the practice of yoga. Living in the service of a Guru is a great help in this direction. Finally, a very correct grasp of the meaning of self-control is necessary. Since the Absolute is everywhere and all pervading, and its realisation in our own experience is the aim of this practice, withdrawal of the mind from objects implies some subtle technique which is commensurate with, or not in contradistinction with, the presence of the omnipresent Absolute.

Sometimes doubts arise in the mind. “From what am I withdrawing the mind? If Brahman is everywhere, if the Absolute is everything, whatever I think in the mind is the Absolute only. So what is it that I am withdrawing myself from? If I think of some object, it is a shape of the Absolute. It is a form taken by Brahman. So am I withdrawing the mind from Brahman itself, while my intention is the realisation of Brahman? What is self-control?” These doubts may come to the mind of even experienced sadhakas or seekers.

It is true that the Absolute is everything. The Supreme Being is manifest as all these things. Even the wall that we see in front is the Absolute manifest. But, and a terrible 'but' indeed, there is some great mistake in our notion about this wall. We have again to bring to our memory the selfhood character of the Absolute. The Absolute, or Brahman, is the Atman; it is not a vishaya, or an object of sense. So when we look upon this wall as an object outside, it has ceased to be the Absolute, though it is true that ultimately, in its essence, it is that. The mistake is not in the substance of the object as such, or the astitva or existence of the object, but in the nama and the rupa, the name and the form of the object, which is the effect of the externalisation or the separation of the object from our consciousness. Name and form have to be distinguished from the existence, or pure being, of the object.

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Continued

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