What is the cause of our mental anguish?

Yoga and Vedanta says we could be free of all suffering if we only knew who and what we are.

But is it not obvious who we are, are we not this body, this mind and this personality? But Yoga tells that this limited view is the chief obstacle to our enlightenment, to our inner freedom. What we have to realize, is that we are, ever existing, ever conscious, ever new bliss (joy, love), in Sanskrit Sat, Chit, Ananda.

But if that is the case, how can we come to this insight? The best way for us is by starting to ask ourselves, what we are not. We are not this body, we have a body, we are not this mind, we have a mind, we are not our feelings, we have feelings. If we can see ourselves as other than this body/mind complexes and rest in pure consciousness, which in reality we are right now, we will be free from all suffering and at peace with ourselves.

We become to realize that we are not this physical body by questioning ourselves what we are, until we come to the conclusion ourselves. This form of higher point of reasoning is designed to point something out to us, something which we have to see as fact. If the concept is new to us, it may take some time for us to comprehend it, since we are conditioned to see ourselves as limited body/mind complexes, even worse from a Christian viewpoint as sinners.

Now the task becomes in seeing ourselves different from this body and mind complex and rest in pure consciousness.

Seeing ourselves different from the body is not that difficult, since we can feel ourselves as embodied entities apart from the fleshy body. We can feel ourselves as embodied minds.

Now we will attempt to see ourselves as even separate from the mind.

This can be a breath taking discovery since the mind is still there and functioning, but when we manage to be free of the mind; the mind begins to behave for the first time in our lives. It is the freedom that comes to us when we don’t have to think. Then the tyranny of the mind comes to an end. This brings about an enormous sense of freedom and lightness. We step outside the mind and experience ourselves as the witness of the mind. In essence what we are doing is removing the covering of the mind and renew ourselves as pure consciousness. Then we can proclaim:”I am something apart from the mind.”

We have seen as the first step that we are not the physical body or the sthula sarira in Sanskrit. The second step was to see that we are also not the subtle body, the suksma sarira in Sanskrit.

This subtle or inner body consists of 17 parts, five organs of perception, five organs of action, the five pranas, the mind and memory.

According to the teachings, at the death of the physical body, the subtle body separates and transmigrates. It goes to another world, or another body. This is the idea of reincarnation or rebirth. The subtle body is what we accept ourselves to be, our personality, our ego, the I, the me. It is important to note that, the Self or soul does not move from body to body; it never changes. This is why we say, that in our innermost being we are always perfect.

Now the object becomes for us to see that we are not even the subtle body, suksma sarira in Sanskrit either.   

The subtle body is an object of awareness. I am the witness, the observer who is watching everything that goes on within the body. The observer and the observed cannot be the same. I the observer cannot be the subtle body or the gross body; they are that which is observed.

Everything in and around us is subject to change – we are the observer of the change. If the subtle feels well or not well, we the observer remain the same, unchanging observer. We can experience this right now, at this moment. When we internalize our attention, we realize that we feel ourselves to always be the same, no matter of age we presently are, in our inner being we feel the same.

How do we know, that we exist without the subtle body? In deep sleep the body and mind is not experienced; who slept, what slept? On waking up, we experience the subtle body.

The subtle body is false, it is an appearance. I the consciousness am the reality. We define falsity as something that has no existence of its own, that is, no independent existence. The mind has no existence of its own apart from the knowing witness consciousness, the Self. Without consciousness no seeing, no hearing etc. is possible. Just as a wave has no existence apart from the water.

We are that consciousness. Most people think that without the mind, they are gone, yet we know that even people who are brain dead are conscious.

We need to realize, that just by the mere presence of consciousness, all activities in the body are performed. Nature or Prakriti does everything, willing and thinking, all is done by nature. The Self is neither the doer nor an agent of action.

Modern science tells us also, that everything can be reduced to material action and energy, the universe does everything. The Bhagavad Gita also states: “I am the witness consciousness and in my presence all the subtle instruments act.

We are not the causal body either. The causal body is the cause of the physical and subtle body. The causal body is likened to deep sleep. In deep sleep we experience nothing except deep rest. Yet we are aware, that we had a good rest.

Finally we come to see that we are the immutable Self (Atman in Sanskrit), the substratum of the ego is thus different from these two bodies and it is the Spirit (Purusha in Sanskrit), cosmically the Ishwara (Lord of all), the Self of all, it is present in every form, yet it transcends them all. Realizing this is liberation.

It is the Self (soul) in us that expresses through body and mind in the physical realm and not the mind. Body and mind are mere instruments. Know that you are in this world but not of it. We are eternal beings. The Self is neither born, nor does it die, it is Existence (Sat in Sanskrit) itself.

Purifying the Subconscious Mind

Every one of us can discern between what is right and what is wrong. Some people tell us, I know what is right and wrong, but I can’t stop myself doing what is wrong.

What is the reason for doing the wrong thing rather than doing what is right? Let’s take a look at our likes and dislikes or our basic nature. When we do this, we notice, that our likes and dislikes are deep rooted below the conscious mind. They are often impulse driven.

When we interact with the world, we invariably have a reaction. We see something we like, we want it and we act on it, whether it furthers our aim or not. An example is a sale of certain merchandise; many people buy the item even though they don’t need it.

In the choices that we make in life, we invariably have a tendency to choose what we like, what appeals to us especially when it comes to instant gratification and if it turns out to have been the wrong choice, we say, I should have known better.

When we observe our behavior patterns we discover, that we repeat this type of stimulus response frequently, we act and soon after, we say, I should not have done that.

We said that our choices are the result of our basic nature. What does this mean? It means that our basic nature emerges from our subconscious mind, from our mental impressions, when a sense stimulus enters our awareness and we act upon it, we invariably do so without thinking about it.  

It appears that our urges to act are often out of our control. If so is there a way out, is there a gap where the subconscious impulses enter the conscious mind?

At this point you may say, ‘I don’t personally respond like this’. It should be noted, that this type of response appears primarily in people who lack self discipline.

     The Gap

1.     Mental impressions – are subconscious  and uncontrollable

2.     Desire, likes and dislikes – are conscious and controllable

3.     Action, cause and effect – are uncontrollable

Between the above two levels – subconscious mental impressions 1) and action cause and effect 3) is the controllable level, the conscious level. This level presents the Gap, here the desire is still weak and we have an influence over how we respond or where the inappropriate action can be stopped and replaced with a correct response.

The key is to discriminate between what is in accordance with our aim and what is not. We allow into expression that which is in accordance with our aim, and we disallow that which is not and immediately replace it with something that is in accordance with our aim. But first, we have to be clear about what our aim is and then decide accordingly.

Many people unfortunately cause themselves problems by reacting to the dictates of their senses and repeat the same inappropriate responses over and over.

What is the process in all of this?

Our likes and dislikes come to us via our sense organs, hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell, every sense organ has a variety of likes and dislikes, we have to decide between what is good for us and what we would like to do,  for example: I want to get up at 6:00 AM in the morning and study for my exam because it is important for me to get the grades I need to move on to the next level, versus it is cold, I am going to stay in my warm and comfortable bed as long as I possibly can, forget about the exam.

Which urge takes over?

Since how we respond to a situation is on a conscious level, we do have control over it but we need to make the conscious decisions immediately when the negative thought fist surfaces, since the longer we wait the stronger the urge to make the inappropriate decision becomes.

In other words, we eliminate ‘the would should’ response with constructive action.

A – Represents what needs to be done and

B – What I would like to do, we need to eliminate B.

Now what has this to do with our topic of purifying the sub conscious mind?

As was said, our likes and dislikes come from our subconscious mental impressions. Imagine that these impressions go around a circle and come to the surface whenever the appropriate stimulus presents itself. It surfaces as a thought, and we respond. If we don’t change our inappropriate response, the thought goes back into the circle and appears again when the opportunity to express arises.

This is how we make the same mistake over and over. It becomes a conditioned response. If on the other hand we replace negative responses with positive ones, they will eventually replace the negative ones and the positive ones will gradually become dominant. As a result our future actions will be in accordance with our aim, a purified subconscious mind. 

The Role of Gunas (natures attributes) in Creation and how they affect our lives.

The Godhead is the first manifestation from the unmanifest field. The field of God has attributes or qualities known as gunas.The gunas being present in nature, influence changes and transformation in mind and body as well as in consciousness. The gunas 

exist permanently in the field of God.

Further elaboration

The gunas are born from Prakriti (nature). They are in the Self as potential. Before creation, they remain inactive and in a state of perfect balance in the Primordial Nature. When their balance is disturbed, creation sets in motion, and the diversity of objects and beings come into existence, each possessing the triple gunas in different proportions.

In the higher consciousness, sattva is dominant, in a lower state of being tamas dominates, and in the middle state the predominance is rajas. In humans, all the three gunas are present in different degrees of predominance according to their spiritual purity and progress.

According to the Bhagavad-Gita, God is the real Enjoyer. He brings forth the entire creation for His joy (ananda). It is Purusha only that, seated in Prakriti, enjoys the qualities produced by Prakriti. The gunas are responsible for the diversity of nature. Because of the gunas (qualities or attributes of nature) the division of reality and unreality arises. When the gunas are manifested in creation, the individual souls come under their influence and begin their onward journey into the world of matter.

The Bhagavad-Gita suggests that we should try to transcend them rather than cultivate them. By knowing the nature of the three gunas and how they tend to keep us in bondage and illusion, we should become wiser and strive to transcend them. Sattva is purity and beneficial. However, for those who strive for liberation, even cultivation of "sattva" should not be an end in itself for sattva also binds us to the duality of pleasure and pain. Sattvic people want to enjoy pleasure and avoid pain. They are pious and knowledgeable but prefer leading a life of luxury and comfort. They engage in desire-ridden actions and become bound. Even though it is pure, sattva is but an instrument of Prakriti, which is meant to serve its ends by keeping us bound to the worldly life. Hence, one may cultivate purity (sattva) to suppress the other two, but in the end must rise above all the three and become stabilized in equanimity, sameness, and oneness of the Self. One should go beyond the three gunas to attain immortality and freedom from birth, death, old age and sorrow.

How do we rise above the gunas?

When a person, with his eye of wisdom, sees that all the drama of life is only a performance of the three gunas, and only the three gunas do anything anywhere, and knows, at the same time, that there is something above the three gunas, such a person attains to unity.

He attains union with Me in My Eternal State, provided that there is the perpetual vision maintained by that person, that there is no actor in this world, no performer of deeds other than the three gunas of Prakriti, and one’s own real Self is transcendent, above the three gunas. Such a person is liberated even while in this life.

In a practical yogic manner, we must realize that we are spiritual beings that are temporarily in the body. We do this by identifying ourselves with the formless, Spirit that we are, rather than the functions of the mind feelings and body. Then through deep meditation we dissolve the ego (the separate self) and gradually we experiencing Oneness, Union with Spirit, in which the entire universe dissolves.

Yogananda on Self Realization, "Self-realization is the knowing – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God's omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing."

What are the signs for one, that the gunas have been transcended?

When some effects follow as a result of the operation of sattva, rajas or tamas, the person who has transcended the qualities of Prakriti neither is elated nor is disgusted, nor is there any resentment at their operation.” When sattva operates, he does not exult. When rajas and tamas operate, he is not in any way affected. Whether the gunas are actively operating or whether they withdraw themselves into a state of inactivity, it makes no difference to this person because he sees them as they are, as objects of the witness consciousness—and he does not identify his consciousness with the three gunas.

He remains silent, taking no initiative in anything, appearing to be a person who has no intention of doing anything at all. He keeps quiet, knowing all things. He seems to be doing nothing, yet is internally doing many things. He is then not affected by the operation of the gunas even when they blow like a whirlwind on his person.

Fickleness of the mind is caused by the coming and going of the three gunas, which sometimes makes the mind feel satisfied, sometimes makes it restless, sometimes makes it feel fatigued or inactive. These operations of the psyche will be witnessed by his consciousness, and he will not identify himself with the properties of the psyche, which are usually affected by the gunas.

Pleasure or pain, let it be. It matters little. Whether he sees a nugget of gold or a big boulder of granite, it makes no difference to him. A lump of earth and gold have the same value to the eye of this great soul who has transcended the operation of the three gunas.

Praise and condemnation mean the same thing. It makes no difference whether he is glorified or condemned. Let a friend come or let an enemy come; there is no difference. He will still do nothing. He will be seated calm and quiet in himself, as if the world does not exist at all for him. Such a person is one who has transcended the operation of the three gunas.

“Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, I shall give you a final recipe how you can get over the three gunas. Undividedly love Me; then you will find that the gunas have no effect upon you. You need not have to struggle to observe the operation of the gunas with your witness consciousness, and put forth great effort in your mind. Effortlessly they will vanish; they will leave you of their own accord, provided you genuinely love Me.”

Such a person, is the greatest devotee of God who wants only God and has no other thought in his mind, automatically he will rise above the three gunas.

Awakening to CosmicConsciousness

We read in the bible that the Jews of Jesus’ day accused Him of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God: “Because you, being a Man, make Yourself God” (John 10:33).

His response is intriguing: “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law [in Psalms 82:6], “I said, ‘You are gods’ ”? If He called them gods, can one say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”?’” (John 10:34-36).

In other words, Christ, called human beings gods, why should we be upset when one states, I am god?” The problem lies in that we identify ourselves with body and mind, instead of realizing, that our essential essence is spirit, oneness with God. Jesus referred to himself, his body as son of man and his essence as son of God, oneness with God, ‘I and the father are one. John 10:30. ‘God is a spirit John 4:24. There is only one spirit that resides in all.

“Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”? 1 Corinthian 3:16 (NLT)

So are human beings actually gods? What did He mean?

In Psalms 82:6, from which Jesus quoted, God says to human beings: “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.’

The Hebrew word translated “gods” is elohim, which literally means “gods” or “mighty ones”—although it is often rendered as “God” (that is, the true God) in the Bible. That’s because, although plural in form, the word elohim is often singular in usage.

Some have argued that the word in this context should be translated “judges” (“mighty ones being seen by some here as simply powerful human beings). But the original New Testament manuscripts translate Christ’s quotation in John 10 using the Greek word theoi,”gods". But, again, can human beings legitimately be referred to as gods, as Jesus said? How are we to understand this?

The key here is to see ourselves as parts of God’s family comprising of more than one God Being.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Indeed, from the beginning God intended to add many children to His family. In Genesis 1, after creating plants and animals to reproduce each “according to its kind,” God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added throughout)—showing that man was created according to the “God kind.” To help us understand the parallel with God creating man in His image and likeness. So God was essentially reproducing Himself through humanity.

The apostle Paul told the men of Athens, “As also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’ ” (Acts 17:28).

Psalm 82 (KJV) is much easier to understand in this light. In verse 6, I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

That makes perfect sense. When any entity bears offspring, its offspring are of the same kind. The offspring of God are “gods.”

God is eternal spirit. Human bodies are mortal flesh but infused with a soul being a part of the Spirit of God.

God intends to exalt us from this fleshly existence to the same level of divine spirit existence that He has, as we will see.

A new awakening in us needs to take place

This involves a process of spiritual awakening in which God fathers us as His children. It starts with His Spirit joining with our human spirit: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16, KJV). Through this miraculous union, we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Thus the Spirit-begotten Christian is a child of God, an actual member of elohim, the family of God.

The apostle John wrote: “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). We will receive the divine glory of the Father and Christ (Romans 5:2; 1 Peter 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Colossians 1:27).

As coinheritors with Christ, we will receive dominion over all things, including the entire vast universe—dominion just as Christ has (Romans 8:17; Hebrews 2:5-9; Revelation 21:7). To truly exercise dominion over all things requires the omnipotent power of God.

What about our minds? As human beings, we couldn’t count all the individual stars of the universe in a trillion lifetimes. But God, in a passing remark, says He knows all the stars by name (Psalms 147:4). Amazingly, Paul states, “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known that is, by God”

(1 Corinthians 13:12), showing that we will possess the omniscience of God, and why not, for we will have the Holy Spirit and the mind of God in full?

Indeed, at that time, like Jesus, we will at last be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19; compare Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9). How can someone be filled with all the fullness of God and be anything less than God? Therefore, at our ultimate change, we too will be divine—though the Father and Christ will forever be greater than us.

The teaching of deification

This wonderful truth will surely come as quite a shock to those who have heard only the traditional view of mainstream Christianity regarding the ultimate reward of the righteous. Yet those who might be quick to assail this teaching will perhaps be even more surprised to learn that many early “church fathers” of mainstream tradition—not so far removed from early apostolic teaching— did understand this incredible truth, at least in part.

“The Word became flesh to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’ [2 Peter 1:4]: ‘For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine son ship, might become a son of God’ [St. Irenaeus, Adv.  haeres (against Heresies). 3, 19, 1: PG 7/1, 939]. ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God’ [St. Athanasius, De inc., 54, 3: PG 25, 192B]. ‘The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us share in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods’ St. Thomas Aquinas."

This teaching is even more prevalent in Eastern Orthodox tradition, where it is known by the Greek term theosis, meaning “divinization” or “deification.” However, it is wholly unlike the New Age concept of “I am god”—looking to the self as supreme. Notice the remarkable explanation of the early theologian Tertullian, writing around A.D. 200:

“It would be impossible that another God could be admitted, when it is permitted to no other being to possess anything of God. Well, then, you say, at that rate we ourselves possess nothing of God. But indeed we do, and will continue to do so. Only it is from Him that we receive it, and not from ourselves. For we will be even gods, if we deserve to be among those of whom He declared, ‘I have said, “You are gods,”’ and ‘God stands in the congregation of the gods.’ But this comes of His own grace, not from any property in us. For it is He alone who can make gods”.

Of course, Christianity is not a polytheistic religion. There is but one God. The term gods is really meant to distinguish multiple God Beings constituting the one God—the one God meaning the one God family. As mentioned before, there are at present two fully divine members of that family—two distinct Beings—God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. And, as incredible as it sounds, there will be more to come.

There are many more who are already members of the God family. Having all measure of the divine through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, they are in the process of deification. However, they are not yet themselves truly divine. But one day, if they remain faithful, they will be. And ultimately all of mankind, that is, those who are willing, will follow in the same course.

“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18). And He means it. God will not forever kid Himself into thinking we are His children when we really aren’t. No, the Father intends to have  us as His full children, to transform us into the very kind of beings that He and Christ now are—though, again, forever subject to Their loving authority.

Indeed, even though saved human beings will be elevated to existence at the God level as real children of God and full members of the God family, they will never challenge, individually or collectively, the preeminence of the Father and Christ as leaders of the family. Truly, all will be subject to Jesus, except the Father, and Christ will Himself be subject to the Father (see 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Their positions at the top of the family will never be challenged or threatened by even the addition of billions of divine children.

This, then, is the ultimate potential destiny of all human kind. It is the awe-inspiring purpose for which we were created. As Jesus quoted, foreseeing our destiny reached, “I said, ‘You are gods.’” Let us all, then, be ever thankful. For it can’t get any higher than that.

Glory to God, Amen.

The True Teachings of Jesus

Universal Awakening

John 15:7-11 (ESV)

Jesus’ message to His disciples

⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

What does it mean?

7 It is the indwelling of His words that secures the harmony in one of asking in accordance with the divine will.

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

What does it mean?

In doing this, whatever ye ask, my Father is glorified, in order that ye may bear much fruit, and that ye may become my disciples.

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

What does it mean?

Jesus has passed from the thought of their discipleship to the foundation of their union with Him and with God. By “My love” is meant, not “love to Me in your hearts,” but, “My love towards you. The one produces the other. “We love Him because He hath first loved us.

10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

What does it mean?

Keeping of His commandments is the outward proof of love towards Him; so that the love of the human heart towards Christ, which itself flows from Christ’s love to us becomes the condition of abiding in that love. While we cherish love for Him, our hearts are abiding in that state which can receive His love for us.

¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

What does it mean?

The joy is that which Christ Himself possessed in the consciousness of His love towards the Father, and of the Father’s love towards Him. The brightness of that joy lit up the darkest hours of His own human life, and He wills that it should light up theirs. In the consciousness of their love to God, and of God’s love to them, there would be in them, joy which no sorrow could ever overcome. Jesus has told them of the true source of peace. His own peace He has given to them. He tells them now of the source of joy, and has spoken the word that they may possess the very joy which was the light of His own heart.

These biblical words contradict much of what is taught in churches today, that we are separate from Christ and God. Although the message was originally meant for the disciples of Jesus, they are meant to all who call themselves Christians. The aim of Christians ought to be discipleship.

What does this mean?

The standard definition of “disciple” is someone who adheres to the teachings of another. It is a follower or a learner. It refers to someone who takes up the ways of someone else. Applied to Jesus, a disciple is someone who learns from Him and lives like him — someone who, because of God’s awakening grace conforms his or her words and ways to the words and ways of Jesus. Or, you might say, as others have put it in the past, disciples of Jesus are themselves “little Christs” (Acts 26:28; 2 Corinthians 1:21).