Aparokshanubhuti or Self Realization according to Adi Shankara 788-820

This subject is about how to realize one’s true nature as existence, consciousness and bliss according to the teachings of non-dual Vedanta.

We do not question our own existence, but many question the existence of God. Yet we will see that the proof of the existence of God lies, in that it is the very light that illumines our own existence.

There is a popular saying:”When I searched for God, I found myself – when I found myself, I found God.

Self illumined existence is called in Sanskrit Aparoksha, that which is beyond sensory existence, it is that which illumines the senses.

Many people will say, what I can’t experience through my senses, does not exist.

Vedanta and Yoga teaches, only that which is permanent exists and that which is impermanent is illusory. From this we can infer, that what we see with our eyes is illusory or temporary; it is a reflection of an ever changing world of matter on the gross realm.

Beyond this world of matter is the subtle realm. Since we do not directly perceive this realm, we build our theories about it on belief or inference. It is the source on which much of religion is based. An example is heaven.

The realm beyond the subtle is Reality is changeless Truth, Existence, Bliss, God. Vedanta and yoga state that, true religion is not theory, it is God realization.

How can one become enlightened and what criteria of enlightenment is our purpose?

Enlightenment for our purpose is Self and God realization.

There have been instances where people became enlightened in a flash, but this should not be taken as the norm. Most people will need guidance, or a system of instruction to fallow, a spiritual path. Following a spiritual path is not different from any other discipline which requires dedicated study.

In our approach, we do not seek for God, we suggest seeing God wherever we are. Scriptures speak of the omnipresence of God, yet most people envision God at some remote place and apart from themselves.

Yet seeing God and the creative process everywhere means that everything we need is here already, we only have to discover and be conscious of it.

Guidelines for those embracing the journey of enlightenment are:

Discrimination between what is real and what is unreal and applying dispassion or letting go for the unreal.

Self control, forbearance, faith, tolerance

An intense desire for enlightenment, for Self and God realization.

Austerity for the purification of the mind, performance of one’s duties to social order and the different stages in life, practice of daily devotion, worship and self-control.

The austerity of the mind consists of cultivation of one’s inner life, such as kindness, silence and purity of heart.

Cultivate a peaceful in heart, by being unperturbed by attachment and aversion when in contact with agreeable and disagreeable objects or subjects.

Avoidance of craving for sensuous happiness in this life or hereafter.

Abandonment of desires – restrained of the external

Spiritual fortitude, being content during the difficulties of life.

Liberation – moksha, freedom from suffering.

Note: For anyone on the journey, there will be times of Divine discontent until God realization is attained.

Obtaining of spiritual knowledge

According to Vedanta and Yoga, the cause of suffering in man is ignorance of his true nature. To obtain spiritual knowledge we need to cultivate a sattvic inquiring mind, which is often referred to in religious terms as purity of mind. A tamasic mind leads to external action and further involvement in the realm of matter. We also need jnana –knowledge, as knowledge destroys ignorance. Knowledge really means re-discovery of knowledge which always exists, knowledge of not just reading books, but knowledge of the spiritual inquiry of who we really are.

There are two kinds of philosophers, academic and genuine. The genuine philosophers are puzzled by life, academic philosophers are those puzzled by books – Schopenhauer.

Action cannot destroy ignorance, because it is not in conflict with ignorance. Knowledge alone destroys ignorance, as light destroys darkness.

Ignorance conjures up the multiplicity of the relative world. Vedanta declares that the knowledge of the non duality of Brahman (God) and Atman (Self, soul) is the only true knowledge; all else is ignorance. As such the vision of a God or the experience of happiness in heaven belongs to the realm of ignorance.

According to Non Dual Vedanta the Ultimate Reality is Brahman (God), which is one without a second. It alone exists; names and forms are illusory. One sees multiplicity on account of ignorance. Again under the influence of ignorance one performs actions as the doer. By means of action a man fulfills his various desires. Therefore action is in harmony with ignorance and cannot destroy it. But if one is firmly established in the Knowledge of Non Duality and if he realizes that he is the Absolute, the embodiment of Freedom, Bliss and Perfection, then the false notion of his self as a finite, physical entity which impels him to various actions disappears. The action performed by the knower of Brahman (God) is free from the notion of duality. The action of an ignorant person is selfish and egocentric.

It is only because of ignorance, that the Self (soul) appears to be finite. When ignorance is destroyed, the Self, which does not admit to any multiplicity whatsoever, truly reveals itself, by itself, like the sun when the cloud is removed.   

By means of contemplation and realization of the truth contained in such Vedic statements as “The Self is Brahman,” “I am Brahman”’ Brahman is Pure consciousness,” and “All this is verily Brahman”.

"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."

Paramahansa Yogananda

Story of a god and a demon

A god and a demon went to learn about the Self from a great sage. They studied with him for a long time. At last the sage told them, "You yourselves are the Being you are seeking."

Both of them thought that their bodies were the Self. They went back to their people quite satisfied and said, "We have learned everything that was to be learned; eat, drink, and be merry; we are the Self; there is nothing beyond us."

 The nature of the demon was ignorant, clouded; so he never inquired any further, but was perfectly contented with the idea that he was God, that by the Self was meant the body.

 The god had a purer nature. He at first committed the mistake of thinking: I, this body, am Brahman: so keep it strong and in health, and well dressed, and give it all sorts of enjoyments. But, in a few days, he found out that that could not be the meaning of the sage, their master; there must be something higher.

 So he came back and said, "Sir, did you teach me that this body was the Self? If so, I see all bodies die; the Self cannot die." The sage said, "Find it out; thou art That."

 Then the god thought that the vital forces which work the body were what the sage meant. But after a time, he found that if he ate, these vital forces remained strong, but, if he starved, they became weak. The god then went back to the sage and said, "Sir, do you mean that the vital forces are the Self?"

 The sage said, "Find out for yourself; thou art That." The god returned home once more, thinking that it was the mind, perhaps, that was the Self. But in a short while he saw that thoughts were so various, now good, again bad; the mind was too changeable to be the Self. He went back to the sage and said, "Sir, I do not think that the mind is the Self; did you mean that?" "No," replied the sage, "thou art That; find out for yourself."

 The god went home, and at last found that he was the Self, beyond all thought, one without birth or death, whom the sword cannot pierce or the fire burn, whom the air cannot dry or the water melt, the beginningless and endless, the immovable, the intangible, the omniscient, the omnipotent Being; that It was neither the body nor the mind, but beyond them all. So he was satisfied; but the poor demon did not get the truth, owing to his fondness for the body.

Modern times mystery

We need mystery in our lives, for it gives us hope. We hear much talk about end times. What we need to realize, is that when ultimately our soul joins with Spirit, the phenomenal world will have come for us to an end and we will know that all is One (people who practice real deep meditation will attest to that)., the ever existing, ever conscious, ever new bliss, and that the phenomenal world and its forces of creation, maintenance and dissolution are nothing but an expression of the One. It is a cosmic play in which we as spiritual beings participate.

Jesus said: "My food is doing the will of the one who sent me and completing his work.” (John 4:34). We need to be God centered realizing that we are spiritual beings and live in accordance with the laws of the universe.

A glance at education

There are two types of education, the education about the material world and the demystifying of nature. This we may call the science of education. The objective is to have a mastery of the forces of nature so that we can make use of this understanding in order to make our lives comfortable and enjoyable.

Knowledge is acquired through learning. We engage with an authority on the subject to obtain understanding for ourselves. We listen to what is said. The words convey meaning which is nothing more than an expression of ideas. We attach ourselves to the ideas, we are being informed, and that information forms part of education. Thus, the process of education is: information, education and result oriented instruction.

A similar process applies to spiritual education. We read spiritual literature or listen to talks. We are exposing ourselves to the ideas contained in a written or spoken word, which is composed of ideas, we ponder these ideas, internalize the meaning according to our understanding and use our free will to follow, or not follow the do’s and don’ts that are being expressed. We educate ourselves. Among other things, we are told not to become a victim of anger, greed, passion etc. because these are neither acceptable to society, nor conducive to the process of spiritual awakening since awakening requires a quiet mind. Hence, spiritual education means being well informed about the subject of contemplation. We generate and become saturated with ideas, and attempt to share them in our lives as opportunities present themselves.

How did scriptures come into existence?

When we study the lives of prophets, saints, holy people, we realize that scriptures of all denominations are nothing but experiences that people like us had and who made an effort to outgrow their ignorance and succeeded. Having succeeded they wanted to share the experience of their journey. We read and absorb these ideas and profess that we educate ourselves. In fact we attempt to pattern our lives after these teachings. Yet we soon realize that experiences are unique to the one who has the experience. We may have comparable experiences, but they can never be exactly the same. This tells us, that real education is more than just knowing about things, we need to have our own experience.

By knowing about things, we base our understanding on faith only.

Knowing things implies that we live by what we know and from a spiritual viewpoint we realize that the laws of God are written into our soul. God’s voice in us is our conscience. However, we have free will to either follow our conscience or ignore it.

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)

What have different spiritual teachings in common?

All legitimate religious or spiritual teachings say that there is a Reality beyond appearance. The Reality is Divine and is called by different names. Spiritual teachings tell us that names are nothing but concepts of Eternal Reality which is manifest in this diverse world. This diversity has four pillars to stand on: Name, Form, Qualities and Utilitarian value. When we take away these diversities, the Spirit, the Essence of Existence, the Reality is what remains.

When we realize that Spirit is expressing in and through us as us, we gradually become aware of our weaknesses and begin to re-educate ourselves to hopefully fulfill our inner potential. In the process we develop our intuition and become more and more Self referring in managing our affairs.

Integration of science and religion

We need to be clear, that the education of science helps us to improve our quality of life.

Spiritual science teaches us that we are infinite potential and that that potential needs to express in an ethical manner. It teaches us that we ought not to be victims of greed, of jealousy, of anger and passion etc. It teaches us to improve the quality of our personality by employing four faculties: rationality (rationality implies the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons to believe, or of one's actions with one's reasons for action), emotionality (a measure of our emotional reactivity to a stimulus), ingenuity (the quality of being clever, original, and inventive) and will power (the faculty by which we decides on and initiates action).                       .

We need to seriously ponder where and how we invest our time and efforts. We need to have balance in life. To say that investing in material comforts is to be avoided, is saying that we deny the fulfilling of our legitimate needs. To neglect our spiritual nature is equally foolish, since we neglect living in accordance with our true essence.

Matthew 6:19-21(KJV)

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.

We need both, material and spiritual education. But instead of separating them, they need to be combined and thus become a way of daily living. Ideally, we work and we are spirit guided

As we have seen, the approach to education whether material or spiritual is the same. 

The difference is the objective

In our daily lives we need to serve our fellow human being as a manifestation of the Divine. We need to realize, that the Divine is everywhere present and interact with Divinity as a devoted educated servant; we need to realize, that the Spirit in all of us is the same. There is only one Spirit. We ought to see our life as a reverent, interaction with the awareness of the presence of life, - God.

A way to Self discovery

We need to know who and what we are in order to have a meaningful relationship to the whole. Most people see themselves as body mind organisms existing in this word of matter. They think that they are the body, the body has a mind, or perhaps even a soul; they constantly reinforce that thought in their daily lives.

Yet every day when we refer to our physical existence we say, ‘this is my body, this is my mind, body and mind belongs to me. We don’t say I body. No, we identified ourselves with a sense of ownership with the body and mind. But, if body and mind belong to me, rather than being me, why do we insist on being body mind beings? The obvious answer is habit. How do we break this habit? By identifying and realizing our true nature.

We start with being aware of having a body rather than being a body, of having a mind rather than being a mind; of being aware of the people around us and that people around us are aware of us. We also are aware that we exist, what exists, cannot not exist. We can say that we are awareness or consciousness itself; we are the Witness to that which is in and around us.

But what is that witness?  We will call it our soul the changeless reflection of the omnipresent Spirit, Holy Spirit or God; whatever name feels comfortable to us during this journey of Self discovery. The reality is, it is our true nature. Going one step further we discover, that our whole physical and mental existence is contingent on this Spirit, God, which is Existence Itself.

Let’s continue with our process of Self discovery.

We can prove the existence of this witness consciousness to ourselves in our everyday life as the observer of our inner world, our thoughts, mind, feelings and our outer world our actions and the activities of others around us; life expressing as life. We note, this witness in us is always silent, peaceful, and none attached, nevertheless ever present, it is the knower.

When we practice this witness consciousness on a daily basis, we will experience our world in a new way. We will become aware, that all of existence can be viewed from a peaceful, unbiased perspective, rather than seeing and experiencing circumstances through the screen of our mind in a fragmented manner according to our mental and emotional state of mind. Seeing the world in a peaceful demeanor is paramount in this tumultuous time in which we live. Ephesians 4:23, ‘be renewed in the spirit of your minds’.

This approach of seeing life from a witness perspective will take practice and needs to be a constant reminder to us that we are more than body mind organisms, which is what our conditioned mind tells us we are.

What is the process?

Generally when we think of being a witness to something, we think of what our eyes perceive and leave it at that. But is there something that is aware of our eyes? What is the observer of the eyes that knows for example that the eyes are sore or tired? It is the mind, Yet, we know, that even the mind can be observed. What is it that is the witness of the mind? It is our essence, our soul, which is nothing other than a reflection of Spirit.

This is very important for people on the spiritual path, who say that they are spiritual beings temporarily attached to the body, rather than human beings attempting to become spiritual.

We need to witness the mind without being attached to any of the images. When thoughts or images arise, we witness them and let them go.

This approach quiets the mind without repressing thoughts that are derives from the sub-conscious. It brings the sub-into the conscious and ultimately purifies the mind, enabling it to become a pure reflection of Spirit, our true nature.

We should be aware, that in general we are conditioned to think in terms of form, of objects, however. Spirit, soul, witness are without form.

What does this tell us? It tells us that the formless Spirit is expressing through form, through mind and body. The Spirit in us gives life to the mind and body.

We need to learn to rely more on being inner or soul directed, or Self or soul referring and realize that all knowledge of the universe and its processes are right with un. We are the microcosm of the macrocosm; as above, so below; as within, so without.

Additional practices to aid us in the awakening process

Most spiritual traditions offer some combination of four practices for those who would seek to know their true nature: devotion, meditation or contemplative prayer, selfless service, and wise reflection or inquiry. We will be more drawn to one or two of these practices than to the others. But the only way to discover which practices work for us is to do them.

IN THE TEMPLE OF SILENCE

Silence is power, for when we have reached the place of silence in our minds, we have reached the place of power, the place where all is one, the one power: God.  “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) suggests, that when we still the fluctuations which ordinarily arise in our mind, we access higher consciousness.

Diffused power is noise. Concentrated power is silence. When through concentration we have brought all our forces into one point of focus, we have contacted God in silence; we are one with Him and hence with all power. This is the heritage of man. This is what Jesus meant when he proclaimed, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30).

There is but one way to be one with the power of God, and that is by conscious attunement to Him through inner devotion and meditation. “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the Earth keep silent before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20). Only as we turn our focus from the outside world to the silence within can we hope to be in conscious union with God. It is then when we will realize that God is ever so close to us, that He is our own life, our own consciousness, and we are never separate from Him.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). When we realize our relationship with God, we will be humble and we will perceive the truth, and the truth will make us free. Our feet will feel the firm ground, we will no longer stumble, and we will be poised in our decisions at all times.

To become aware that God as the only power, substance, and intelligence is confusing at first. But when we realize the nature of God and bring Him forth into active expression, we will know that He is the doer and that we can do nothing without His power. We will realize that we utilize His power at all times as the consciousness behind all our activities. He is the one that sees through our eyes, hears through our ears, and feels through our touch. We have not learned to do the greater works that God has in store for us, because we rely on our own perceived limited power, our ego-based consciousness. To make this world in which we live now a better place, we must first know that with the power of God working through as and as us, we can do all things that are in accord with His Divine Will.

We should remember that God does not hear us through our loud and vain repetitions, nor through any lengthy speeches, we must seek God through the Christ within; through the invisible connection to him we have within ourselves. When the Father within is worshipped in Spirit and in Truth, He hears the calls of that soul which is sincerely open to Him. To know this, we must only view how Jesus constantly held himself in conscious communication with the God within: He talked with Him as though He were personally present. We know from the scriptures how powerful this secret inner relation made him. He recognized that God does not only speak through fire, through earthquakes, or the great wind, but also through the still small voice- the still small voice in our own soul.

When we learn and accept this, we will become poised. We will learn to think things through. Old ideas will drop away and be replaced by new ones. We will learn to take all our questions that perplex us into our silent hour. There we may not always or immediately solve them, but we will become familiar with them and see them in a new light.

So let us keep God in our consciousness at all times, knowing that He is the source of all things. Let us share this message with our brothers and sisters, and with the children, and thus plant hope in their souls.

Peace and love.

Five Forms of Intuition - Paramahansa Yogananda

In man, the conscious awakening of intuition expresses itself in five forms, as determined by the effects of the five Koshas inherent in his consciousness. They are as follows:

1) Basic Feeling The first form of intuition, the crudest form, is the basic feeling that "I exist with a body and a mind." This feeling every human being has. This is called the intuition of the annamaya kosha—the consciousness of existence in the gross or matter plane. When one is limited to sense knowledge or inferential knowledge, he is on this crude plane of intuition. Why is this called intuition at all? Because in every thinking or sensing process, there is the immediate feeling of "my-ness." This feeling is a direct awareness; it cannot be given by any mediary in the world. Every being knows that he exists. It is a feeling that is with him even in sleep and dreams. This knowing comes from the knowledge or intuition of the ever conscious soul. 

2) Immediate Knowledge of the Life Forces. The second form of intuition is of the pranic energy, the vital or life current that courses through every cell of the body. It is the intuition, or immediate knowledge, of the pranamaya kosha, the plane of the life forces that create and sustain the body. In the primary form of this intuition, one hears subtle sounds, sees subtle lights, feels subtle sensations, smells subtle fragrances, and tastes subtle flavors. These are not outward sensations; they have nothing to do with the physical sense organs. In the higher form of this intuition, one feels the pranic force in the subtlest way in every part of the body. Intensified forms of the intuition of prana—for example, when the yogi perceives the soul as Cosmic Sound, as noted in this Gita stanza—depend upon the succeeding stages of intuition. When one is in this second form of intuitive knowledge, or prana, he has partially or wholly withdrawn his consciousness from the matter plane of annamaya kosha. 

3) Direct Knowledge of Mind. The third form of intuition is the direct knowledge of manas or mind—its effects and its combinations with other principles of perception and cognition—along with the separate knowledge of the subtle organs of sense. When one has attained this stage of intuition, the attention is not on the matter plane—that is, neither the body— nor much on the pranic plane; though some action of prana may be involved in the experiences of this state. This is called the intuition of the manomaya kosha, or mind plane. The consciousness in this plane may be worked on by prana, or life energy, and visions are then seen. In this form of intuition, one is not conscious of the outside world at all, or very little, depending on the depth of meditation. In the undeveloped stage of this form of intuition, one may see visions of all sorts, either fitfully generated, or voluntarily willed. For some people, it is not under control and so visions are fitfully generated. For the adept, such phenomena are voluntary and under control of the will. Visions are astral in substance, projections of prana and consciousness as lifetronic images. Visions experienced by those whose intuition is still in undeveloped stages may be little more than entertaining phenomena—glimpses into the subtle astral realms (distractions eschewed by the serious God-seeker). Meaningful visions, having true spiritual value, are engendered by the soul and Spirit through pure intuition working on prana and the God-attuned consciousness of the devotee for the purpose of elevating him to ever higher spiritual states—as for example, beholding the soul as Cosmic Light. 

4) Direct Knowledge of Intellect The fourth form of intuition is the direct knowledge of the operation of buddhi, or discriminative intellect along with knowledge of the ego. One in this stage does not feel the whirl of mind, the race of prana, or the weight and confinement of the body. He feels existent above them, an existence without any other adjunct or condition; though there may remain a doubt in him whether he is knowing his true Self or not. This is the intuition of the jnanamaya kosha, or intellect plane. When this stage is high, fully developed, it is called cognitive meditation. It begets keen discernment of truth, manifesting as Wisdom.

5) Direct Knowledge of Bliss The fifth form of intuition is the direct knowledge of bliss as depending upon no object, mediary, or condition. This is intuition of anandamaya kosha. It bestows all-fulfilling joy, crowning divine experiences with ultimate satisfaction. In this, as in the previous states, the consciousness has been wholly withdrawn from the body plane, or at least nearly so. Remember that the first form of intuition is possessed by everyone; the other four forms must be developed. These latter four forms of intuition are not wholly separate. As they develop, one form may manifest when others are present also in some measure. In meditation, when the devotee sees subtle light or hears subtle sound, for example, he may have the intuition of bliss mixed with it to some degree. Or when he intuitively feels himself consciously existent without consciousness of the body (as in the intuition of jnanamaya kosha) he may have simultaneously the intuition of unending bliss flowing throughout his being. The highly advanced devotee has this intuitive experience: He feels the soul reflected in the purified, adjunct less intellect and ego; and that ananda, divine bliss, is flowing there from. Even during the performance of worldly duties, the higher intuition of that spiritual man remains with him in greater or lesser extent according to his spiritual development. Pure intuition is soul intuition—knowing the soul by the soul; seeing the soul with the eyes of the soul, so to speak. Here there are no modifications of intuition—as the intuition of intellect, or prana, or mind, or matter. 

The yogi in this state is above them all—knower, knowing, and known having become one. He is fully conscious of his true Self. This is the real soul-consciousness; and, in fact, it is God-consciousness, for the soul is realized as nothing other than the reflection of Spirit. Only the highest of spiritual beings—very few in this world—have this pure soul intuition. Some have it at times, as when in deep meditation. Some are often fixed in it for longer periods, even after meditation. The more one is anchored in this consciousness, the more one feels the whole world to be akin. Stars, earth, plants, animals, man—he feels all to be pervaded by the same soul, which he feels to be himself. 

When soul intuition intensifies, and the yogi remains unbroken in that consciousness for a long time, with no desire or effort to hold on to the accoutrements of delusion, then even his body-cage cannot last. He is one with God. Thus is it declared in this Gita stanza, the wonder of the soul; and that it cannot be known by the ordinary or even keen intellect, but only by those who actually perceive it through intuition. 

Progressively unfolding by the practice of the right techniques of meditation, intuition makes possible the experience of the various manifestations of the soul, and ultimately the realization of oneself as soul, one with Spirit. 

On Self Realization

What is consciousness? Is it soul, or a connection with infinity, or is it something to do with our mental condition, or is it the Self?

This should be a question in the mind of all thinking people. These questions can be pondered by laymen and scientists. The dictionary depicts the meaning in some way, but is the described meaning complete, since people in different states of consciousness see the answer in accordance with their present state of awareness.

What is consciousness according to the Vedas and Yoga?

First let us ask, what is the nature of the mind, how is the mind reflected from a deeper point of consciousness, and above all, who are we in our real being? What is our true identity or true Self behind the endless dream of thoughts going on inside us?

Vedanta teaches that everything is consciousness. Life is consciousness in contrast to New Thought Philosophy and Science of mind teachings.

Ernest Holmes the founder of Science of Mind defines consciousness as follows: ‘Mental awareness, consciousness  is both objective and subjective. Objective consciousness is a state of conscious awareness of both decision and discrimination, both inductive and deductive. Subjective consciousness is reactive to the objective world. It is creative, but not discriminatory. It is conscious, but it is not self conscious. It has no reflective or discriminative faculty. Consciousness can be changed; it can be cultivated from sadness to joy.

Objective consciousness changes subjective consciousness. This is how Spiritual Mind Treatment works. Consciousness creates from the unseen to the seen.

Subjective consciousness is the female principle, it is feeling and belief, it is a creative medium that accepts what objective consciousness puts into it. It also perpetuates. Life is consciousness, because it is creative. To create, both the masculine and feminine is needed.

Life is ruled by cause and effect. Cause is objective and subjective consciousness. The creative person is objective thought, subjective in belief, yielding to a physical effect.

When we don’t use our power of choice, our ability to reason, we chose to live unconsciously, just existing, letting old beliefs, old ways of thinking take their course and let others do their thinking and creating for us. Living unconsciously is letting the subconscious express what is already in it, - the past.

New Thought Spiritual leader, Emmet Fox

The key to life is the key to live consciously. Life is a state of consciousness. That is the beginning and the end. That is the final step in Meta Physics – you are and you do in accordance with your consciousness.

There are other ways of looking at life, which are superficially correct, but ultimately the truth is that our life is a state of consciousness. The whole of our life is an expression of consciousness. We see the effect of our conscious state. In other words, by our deeds shall you be known. People are trying to change outer conditions but leaving their consciousness unchanged, and it cannot be done."

Psychology

In Psychology the mind is our real consciousness. Science also identifies mind with consciousness and mind as a function of the brain, equating thinking with awareness. “I think therefore I am” – Rene Descartes.

Yoga view of the mind 

The yogic concept of the mind is based on meditation and inner experience, rather than on outer experimentation. It attempts to understand the mind through introspection, turning the mind within, rather than analyzing outer mental patterns. It encourages one to observe the mind, rather than follow its reaction. It teaches the process of perception and how it conditions us, rather than merely to examine our memories.

Mind is a broad based sense called Chitta in Sanskrit. It is one of four aspects of the human mind; the other three are buddhi (intelligence), manas (conscious mind) and Ahamkara (ego).

Chitta is the mind stuff or vast data warehouse where all the past memories, images, thoughts, feelings, desires, emotions, samskaras and other forms of impressions of an individual remain stored.

Chitta extends beyond the personal mind; it extends to the cosmic mind principle. Mind and consciousness are two different powers.

Yoga is identified with Chit, pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is also known as Purusha, Self, Spirit. It is our inner being. Mind is the inner instrument of thinking and sensing on several levels. Mind gets its light from the Purusha (Self, Spirit); it has no light of its own.

Personal psychology reflects the condition of the mind, as the personal tendencies in man. The mind is a product of time and outer experience, the mind is qualified according to the gunas (attributes of nature). Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three Gunas or qualities of the Chitta (mind stuff). Sattva is its inherent quality. Chitta is born of Sattva Guna. But when it mixes with Rajas and Tamas, all the worldly taints manifest. Sattva is purity, light or knowledge.

Our true Self, the Purusha does not have a psychology, because it is the witness outside of time. This implies that if we go past psychology or mind, we can go past all material suffering. This is why we need to raise our awareness to the inner consciousness beyond the mind and its dualities, the movement from Chitta to Chit; to Self knowledge in yoga – liberation of consciousness.

When we talk about self knowledge according to the personal mind, we are mainly referring to our own history and inclinations.

But Self knowledge consists of awareness beyond thought and personal history. Self knowledge consists of being and not of thoughts and emotions. It is a state of Being, not an event. Our inner being is a state of openness, of surrender which brings us into a state of peace.

To reach our inner peace we need to let go of our personal history and dive into the great unknown within. From this point of view, there is no personal history that could define us. We can only be our Self. In being our Self, we become one with all beings – we see mind as an instrument to be used or not be used. The inner being is beyond time and space, birth and death, mind and body.

To truly know our Self is to know this inner being which is the same in all. In that awareness the mind becomes quiet and the personal self loses its relevance. It is as when the sun is shining, we no longer notice the moon. The reality is self-evident, one merges into the experience only.

The yogi says: ‘I am that, I am’.

Now we can see what Self Realization is. I am that which is, that which was and that which will be. I am therefore I can think, It is this I which is neither me, nor you. We can say it is God. But it is not the God of any belief; it is the Divine Being that is the being of all. It is existence of all, it is the ground in which all pain and suffering disappears.

We have reached the goal of yoga as the inner Self or Purusha. Self knowledge is the most important goal in life. Our true Self is beyond, beyond body and mind.

In general people think of realizing the Self as developing their inner potential, which is fine, but we need to go much beyond that.

True consciousness is not the embodied mind, which is conditioned consciousness.

True consciousness is a universal principle. We need to move from personal limited consciousness to universal consciousness where the universal consciousness enlightens the mind. For such realization the mind plays an important role. The mind can be instrumental for bondage or liberation, ignorance or enlightenment. If we turn the mind toward the external world, it becomes attached to the perceptions. If we turn it inward, it slows down and comes to reflect a higher reality.

For this, the mind needs to become one-pointed, where seer and seen become one. A fragmented mind cannot turn within. We need to immerse the mind into the inner being.

Mind knowledge is thought based; it wants detailed information, opinion, ideal, theories, formulae etc.

Our inner being has a special knowledge. By identity it is not colored by the mind and names and form. True knowledge comes when the mind is at rest.

How do we reach this inner Self? We need to go from mind to being. It is to rest in silence and peace, the place where no thoughts, opinions, believes or conclusions exist. We reach that inner experience, where no words can go, where one becomes at the same time everything and nothing.

If we try to understand consciousness through the mind, we fall into spiritual ignorance; we wrongly identify our true being with our outer being.

We need to discriminate between mind and consciousness. We need to learn to be the seer or witness of the mind. We practice meditation to empty the mind of its conditioning to allow us to rest in our true nature.

The physical universe was created from consciousness. The Infinite originally created three aspects of Itself, thought, feeling and motion. Thought and feeling are intertwined and set into motion. This is the source of creativity that helps us to experience our own unique potential.

We are expressions of the Infinite, as It experiences Itself from all possible viewpoints. The way we can serve the Self and the Cosmic being, the source within us all, is to live our life according to our personal highest potential. Different people are programmed by the choice they made in life to explore different ways in manifesting their potential. We all have the freedom of choice. By design, there is no one alike in the entire universe. The world needs us and the service we will offer as we help people in our own unique way.

When we feel the Cosmic Being, holding the Universe within manifestation and preserving all of life within it in love, we sense what our ultimate potential really is, the being one with the One.

So deep inside we are yearning for unity. It is love that fills space; it is consciousness that keeps the universe together.