EkAyana vEda

We have all heard of the pundits talking about the three Veda, four Vedas, etc. displaying their ignorance about the Veda. The Veda as such is 'vidya' (vid meaning, to know). As "Knowledge Supreme", the Veda is one and un-parallel. It is first taught by Narayana as Saatvika Sastra; What is taught by the sages has come to be known as rajasa shastra, and the one taught by mortals is tamasa shastra. 

Pancharatra and vaikhanasa contain the rajasa shastra taught by sages. The earliest pancharatra works written by sages are satvata, jayakhya, and poushkara; amongst these, the satvata is the best. Satvata consists of dialogue between the Lord and Sankarshana.

   Thus, what we call the Veda has its beginning in Narayana, the supreme Lord. This Knowledge ('vid') is a compendium of Mantra Sastra. These mantra are to propitiate the Lord, the elemental gods, the Forces that operate on the Minds such as desires, thoughts, ideas, images and imaginations, dreams and the determination (dhruti) to put the dreams into action.  These actions are bound to bring reactions, like good and evil, in their wake and there are mantras to ward of these evil forces. The entire knowledge is to lead mankind towards Light from darkness, Immortality from death and to make life joyful, happy and also provide means of liberation, emancipation at the end.

  Thus the Veda are an invaluable guide to mankind. Unfortunately, these Vedic doctrines are highly esoteric and difficult decipher the meaning and purport. The semantics and etymology of Vedic terms need expert interpretation from attained souls only. Unfortunately, the British Rule in India has led to a leaning towards the western system of education, disregarding our basic values and rich cultural and spiritual heritage. The Governments after Independence did not heed to the advice of the pundits and treated as brahmanical and puritanical. This led to total topsy turvy values in education. Today, all are shudras; Shudra, meaning, shokataptaah- all running after riches, wealth by hook or crook, wickedness, cheating, immoral and unethical practices. Thus India is doomed to a catastrophic end, sans values, morals and ethics in public as well as private life and mad mad rush towards self- destruction. This is evident from the riches amssed by a few against the interest of the community and nation. Modern industrial development, too has not brought any progress since people at large are living in mire, drinking polluted water, This is sheer ignorance in the land of the Veda.
   How to resurrect the Vedic civilization? This question has been answered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in his publications "Heaven on Earth" and others.  He has established four universities of Vedic sciences and there is ample scope for expanding this system of education. He wants everything from environment, education, health, agriculture and business management should be Vedic!
 What is wrong with our mindset? It is the attitude of the rulers, and this should change.

"Ekayana Veda"

Contrary to the common understanding that the Vedas are three (Rk, Sman, and Yajus) or four including the Atharva Veda, there is "Ekayana Veda" taught by Lord Narayana to Sankarshana, who in turn taught it to the sages. The Lord has taken repeated incarnations epoch after epoch, and, as such, there is no wonder there came the Rishis, the Devatas and Chandas and the Veda Samhita, time and again. This ekayana veda taught by Lord Narayana is sattva shastra and must be of Satya yuga / Kruta yuga, 4320000 years ago!  What the sages taught came to be known as the Rajas shastra and the common people's renderings came to be known as tamas shastra.  The Veda contained all the details of methods of japa tapah, yajnya, yaga, havana, homa, dhyana, and rituals regarding worship of the Gods. The Rishi is called a Rishi only when he realized at least one mantra! The mantra is broadcast in the Highest Heavens Param pada or Vaikuntha. These are to be heard in samadhi, transcendental state of deep meditation. The Mantra, thus obtained from parame vyoman is of great strength, power and force that anything can be created, cured or sustained or destroyed! 

   The seeker of Knowledge first takes to yoga sadhana under a good teacher and practices diligently the vedic rituals. The mantra comes to him with divine intervention and thus becomes a well established jnyani, Rishi. Vishvamitra was a king who came to know the pooers of Sage Vasishtha and gave up his kingdom to become a sage. His greed took him to the highest, only to throw him back to the lowest pit. Finally, he succeeded becoming a Brahma Rishi and created Trishank Svarga for his pupil! This is how the yoga helps.

  Now, the veda we talk about in kaliyuga is of Atharvan. It consists of 40 branches- Veda- Rk, saman, yajus, and atharvan; Vedanga-shiksha, kalpa, vyakarana,nirukta, chhand, jyotish; Veda upanga- nyaya, vaisheshika, samkhya, yoga,purva/karma mimamsa, uttara mimamsa/vedanta; gandharva veda, dhanurveda, sthapatya veda, harita samhita, bhel samhita,kashyap samhita, charaka samhita, sushruta samhita, vagbhata samhita, madhavnidhan samhita, sharangadhara samhita, bhava-prakasha samhita, upanishad, aranyaka, brahmana, purana,smruti, itihasa; and Veda pratisakhya- atharava veda pratshakhya, shukla yajurveda pratshakhya, rkveda pratshakhya, atharva pratishakhya (chaturadhyayi), krishna yajurveda pratishakhya (taittiriya), and samaveda pratishakhya (pushpa sutram); each (set of three or six branches) is a step towards higher and higher consciousness, culminating in the "Unity Consciousness". Ultimately the student of Veda attains to samyak prajnya and realizes the fact that "Knowledge is Everything, Self included". Thus there is no separate Knowledge, vid or Veda apart from the person who acquires it. This is how a jiva (person) is  considered a mass of Knowledge. So where is the Veda apart from the Veda vidu? The Veda says, the atman is the Brahman; ayam atmaa brahma | atmavaivedgm sarvam | 

  When the students prays: asato ma sadgamaya | tamaso ma jyotirgamaya \ mrutyorma amrutam gamaya | the Lord answers his prayers and says, Thou art that, tatvamasi. Then, the student declares in joy, aham brahmasmi || meaning, "I am not the body, i am not the antahkarana and the senses; I am that supreme self only! 

Thus everything is 'Vid','chit, or prajnya; prajnyaanan brahmaa|

dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge |

   Bhagavan Shree Krishna says that, "He will appear again and again on this Planet Earth to restore dharma, resurrect the Veda." There are several great convulsions and catastrophes like the sinking and rising of large land masses (like the Atlantis, the Lost Continent), earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and other devastations that have struck the earth in the past Twenty-seven yugas, that have gone by, of the seven manvantaras, At least, there have been four glacial epochs* causing withdrawal of seas followed by a peak hot period melting ice and the consequent floodings on a vast scale during the last one million years. These four Great Ice Age are marked in the geomorphological history. Obviously, there is some meaning in restoring the Veda and other ancient scriptures that have been lost.

   There are 39 incarnations so far of which twenty five avatar are cited in many texts. Pancharatra gives the complete list. The most common names of incarnations of the Lord, that are popular are: matsya (fish), kurma (Tortoise), varaha (Bear), nr.simha (half-lion and half man), vamana (dwarf), parashurama, Shree Rama, Shree Krishna, the Buddha and Kalki. (See: Introduction to Pancharatra, by Otto Schrader, pp 46-49). The most interesting point here is that of the Lord taking the form of animals and half-lion and half man! There are also examples of incarnation as Mango tree! This aspect of animal face attached to human form has raised several questions. Is there a period in the ancient history that life forms like Ganesh or Narasinha existed? Some body has proposed transplantation of head by surgery also! There are pictures of Gods of Veda with face of goat, horse, cat, bear, attached to human form. The Sphinx in Egypt is the best example of a lion's body with a human face in contrast to our lions face of a human form. Obviously these curious things have to be explained.

  One plausible explanation may be that the earth has undergone lots of changes over time and there has been a gradual evolution from aquatic, amphibian, arboreal, reptilian, and mammalian forms to human as at present. Each and every period had a marvellous expansion in consciousness attaining to divinity, plants, birds, animals, no exception! Thus, we see even a tiny plant and a snake being worshiped by man in India. The fundamental principle here is that of incarnation and divinity inherent in all living beings. Even a stone called saligrama  (blackstone) is worshiped as Sudarshana or a Shivalingam! The Tirumala Tirupati Venkataramana idol  and Gokarna and the Kashi Vishveshwara are the best examples to cite a few.

    Lord Krishna has clearly stated in the Gitopadesha that "He exists as chaitanya, cit-shakti or consciousness in all moving and non-moving beings and there is nothing without Him in this universe!" Everything is pervaded by consciousness, Vishnu.

  However, the the possibility of such a feat, reaching divinity by humans these days, remains a remote possibility. Even Lord Krishna lamented on the affairs at the end of dwapara yuga, say 3500 years ago, when people were indulging in excessive drinking and committing atrocious crimes (even in His presence!). See Uddhava Gita for more details. He even stated that people would commit heinous crimes and there will be no law and order; dharma would collapse, and drunkards would rule the Kingdom in Kaliyuga. It has come true!
    This Kaliyug has to end disastrously! Only those who take to yoga and attain spiritually high level of conscious existence would become the seed for the next Manvantara. The pious ones will appear as pitrus of next yuga.

*Glacial epochs: Wurm, Riss, Mindel and Gunz.during the last 1 million years.

Notes and Quotes from Sacred Scriptures

   We have shruti (heard versions) and smruti (memorised versions) as the most reliable ancient scriptures, the store house of knowledge concerning the universe. These ancient sages contemplated on issues concerning the universe and realized the truth in their transcendental meditative (samadhi) state. These have come down to us as the shruti and smruti versions. We are presenting a few of these here for the benefit of those who cannot get a copy of the original text. These are quotations and notes given by renown authors from various backgrounds and the sources are quoted wherever available; some of these are also from manuscripts, unpublished, and quoted by others in their writings. The most beautiful work (in 5 vols.) is.that of Prof. Surendranath Dasgupta: A History of Indian Philosophy, published by Motilal Banarsidas Publishers, (MLBD) Delhi. and another interesting volume is The Upanishad, by Swami Nikhilananda of  Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.

   These quotations serve as the subject matter for contemplation. One can constantly meditate on these and get intuitional thoughts and flashes of light. This is the way to gain real knowledge. Once we get it right, there is no need to ask anybody or look to any other source for affirmation. This knowledge becomes one's own intuitive one.

  OM Brahma, The Maker of the universe and the Preserver of the world was the first among the devas. He told His eldest son (brain-child) Atharva about the knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge. (Mundakopanishat, I.i.1).

   In the beginning there was only one Veda and that was known by Atharvan, the first creation of Brahma. It is the Atharva Veda, a voluminous one, later divided into 4 volumes by Learned Sage Sri Krishna Dvaipayana, who got the pen name Veda Vyasa (One who divided the Veda). Let's remember, this is just a version from the epics and no such person ever existed since the creation was still in its initial sateges, shuddha vidya when Gods and Goddesses and Sages and Rishis were born as 'embodiment' of 'Knowledge' and Power (Shakti Devata). The Manu (surya/Sun) and the Planets (graha) pitrus, living beings (jivarashi) are yet to appear!

   Om, Brahmaa devaanaam prathamah sambhabhuva

    vishvasya kartaa bhuvanasya goptaa

   sa brahmavidyaam sarvavidyaa pratishthaam

    Atharvaaya jyesthaputraaya praaha || (Mund. Upa. I.i.1) 

 When we say, 'Knowledge' or Jnyan, it is important to note that everything is brahman, brahmavidya.  The Bhagavad-Gita devotes an entire chapter on Jnyan-vijnyana yoga and also a chapter on Kshetra-kshetrajnya  yoga (the Field and the Knower of the Field).

   "Everything is vidya, jnyan. Supposing there is a book in front of us and we do not know what the book is about. There arises a curiosity, a desire to know. Then we take the book in hand and read it. Once we read it we will know what the book is about and keep it aside. Thus, first, we have a person who does not know and want to know (ignorance and desire); second, there comes a book of knowledge, a means to know; third, the desire is quenched and knowledge is established in the place of ignorance. Finally. the Knowledge only remains and, the ignorant person and his ignorance disappear!  

    This is what is explained in the Veda as the Rishi, Chandas and Devata leading to Samhita. First the seeker (who later becomes a sage) looks to a devata for a guide, and gets the means of knowledge as Chandas and, finally, becomes a Rishi (samhitaa aspect). Here, the One (seeker) becomes Two (the seeker and the sought), and then, Three (Rishi-Devata-Chandas). Ultimately, everything becomes One only. The jnyata, jnyeya and the jnyan become ultimately the Jnyan only.

  This principle is explained in the Veda as the triputi, the principle of triad.

(Also see Vedanta- Knowledge Supreme, An Invaluable Guide to Happy and successful Life, By T. N. Achuta Rao, Kalpaz Publications, Gyan Books, Delhi, 1994 and DECODING THE VEDA- Rk Veda Samhita by the same author. (See Google search).

Evolution

  We have some luminaries in spiritual attainment and, to name a few, Swami Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Shivananda and Swami Krishnananda, amongst the monks; and, there are stalwarts in science and philosophy such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Osho and Sri Aurobindo and Jiddu Krishnamurti. Amongst theses, the last cited Thinker JK has no parallel, in the sense that he advocated the state of now and here in the present devoid of all memories and logs of deadwood of castes, creeds, customs, traditions, religions, faiths and, even thinking about yesterday! Nobody understood him! Well, there are Saints and sadhus and Sages of yester-years and great Rishis of Pre-historic and Puranic days. Finally, we have the Great Sri Krishna Dwaipayana vyasa deva and Badrinarayana. 

   Now the question is what are these names and their intellectual or spiritual attainments? Vedanta asks us to give up all names, forms and functions to see the 'truth'! So also, Pancharatra tells us that all jiva are just jnyan, jnyan rashi; in other words, we may treat all these human forms, their intellectual or spiritual attainments as just a faculty of the University, the Universe- inner world or outer world.  Similarly, now, what i am writing here is just an intuitional write-up about the nature of this universe and the function of the mind, intellect, ego in the light of consciousness. Consciousness is everything; prajnanam Brahma | Everything happens in the background of consciousness! Each one lives and exhibits a certain level of understanding (from pre-primary to University Postgraduate. and Research), level of consciousness attained (from muladhara to sahasrara). Let us remember the fact that childhood and old age do not matter here and what one attains at a certain age and stage in life is all important. May it be, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Galileo, or Newton, none was famous during their child-hood days! This is much different in the case of Vedic Rishis like Vishwamitra and the sages of Upanishads. Most of these teachers were living in family in Gurukula (practicing Veda in Brahmana), or left their family life and settled in seclusion in Forests (practising Veda- Aranyaka).

   The case of Veda Vyasa who wrote the eighteen epics and classified Veda or Badarinarayana who wrote Brahmasutra is worse than the cases cited above. It seems to us, these authors never existed and in fact, it is not possible to produce such works by a single person! Then who wrote all these! The answer to this question is already given in the above. It is the intellectual height, the level of consciousness attained and the intuitional knowledge that has found expression- beyond all limitations of time, place and causality. It is the highest one can attain during one's life time, God willing! Such persons, in all probability, have reached a state of samadhi, transcendental meditative mode and have lived an extraordinarily divine state of existence and we call them living Gods, God-head?

   So, who writes what? Kalidasa is a gift of Kali Ma. Shakespeare is an intellectual giant who created characters even  the Creator Brahma did not think of! right now, a person who gets into trance, produces a work of art becomes immortal!

 All these, said and done, do not matter in any way anything unless a person attains to Brahmn. Brahmn cannot be attained without taking to yoga- karma sanyasa, at that. Only a person who withdraws his/her senses and mind from all mundane worldly existence and focuses attention, in dharana on brahmn, attains to the supreme. One has to become a sthitaprajnya first. This level of existence is possible here and now! Faith is important. No faith, no life; samshayatma vinashyati.

  Thus, even while reading a scripture, we are under an illusion- so and so is a great author, so and so is an attained person, etc. Actually, nothing exists in reality and whatever exists is our own Self, the pure consciousness in the background of which everything comes to be known.
  This is evolution, and the jiva undergoes this process irrespective of its time and life. It is a long, long journey; it is at the end of the journey some attained soul stands shining in the glory of the Lord, like Sri Rama or S Krishna, or the Buddha. In fact, one living now and here only has to strive for this level of attainment and, no other God will ever descend from heavens to save the humanity!  To attain to this divinity is the aim of evolution and prakruti also helps the jiva. Sri-vidya is all about this. Shree Hari Narayana (Aditya, Surya) and Devi Lakshmi, Bhu-Devi, Shree, (Rk Veda Mandala X suktas) gives birth to jiva, provides food, shelter, and protects it and, also, helps it to attain to Brahman. Mahalakshmi is thus called bhukti mukti pradayani. Chanting Devi's name, one can attain everything! Mantra is a very powerful tool in attaining spiritual power. 
 Om Sri MahalakShmyai namah| The maha mantra for Lakshmi is: Om, Om, Om.. . . . Shreem, hreem svaha || Om, aim, hreem, shreem, kleem hsou | Aim, ka ye I la hreem | kleem ha sa ka la hreem | hsou sa ka la hreem || 'Shreem' is a single syllable mahamantra to be obtained from an attained Guru.

  

  

Karma-sanyasa yoga

Karmasanyasa yoga   

  "There must be a withdrawal from all mental and vital liking as from all mental and vital disliking whatsoever. And this is asked not for extinction, but in order that there may be a perfect enabling equality in which the spirit can give an unhampered and unlimited assent to the integral and comprehensive divine vision of things and to the integral divine action in Nature. A continual resort to meditation, dhy¯ana-yogaparonityam, is the firm means by which the soul of man can realise its self of Power and its self of silence. And yet there must be no abandonment of the active life for a life of pure meditation; action must always be done as a sacrifice to the supreme Spirit.”

   “This movement of recoil in the path of Sannyasa prepares an absorbed disappearance of the individual in the Eternal, and renunciation of action and life in the world is an indispensable Step in the process. But in the Gita’s path of Tyaga it is a preparation rather for the turning of our whole life and existence and of all action into an integral oneness with the serene and immeasurable being, consciousness and will of the Divine, and it preludes and makes possible a vast and total passing upward of the soul out of the lower ego to the inexpressible perfection of the supreme spiritual nature, par¯a prakrti. Then evidently the straight and simplest way to get out of the close bondage of the active nature and back to spiritual freedom is to cast away entirely all that belongs to the dynamics of the ignorance and to convert the soul into a pure spiritual existence. That is what is called becoming Brahman, brahmabhu¯ ya. It is to put off the lower mental, vital, physical existence and to put on the pure spiritual being. This can best be done by the intelligence and will, buddhi, our present topmost principle. It has to turn away from the things of the lower existence and first and foremost from its effective knot of desire, from our attachment to the objects pursued by the mind and the senses. One must become an understanding unattached in all things, asakta-buddhih. sarvatra. Then all desire passes away from the soul in its silence; it is free from all longings, vigata-spr.hah.. That brings with it or it makes possible the subjection of our lower and the possession of our higher self, a possession dependent on complete self-mastery, secured by a radical victory and conquest over our mobile nature, jit¯atm¯a. And all this amounts to an absolute inner renunciation of the desire of things, sanny¯asa. Renunciation is the way to this perfection and the man who has thus inwardly renounced all is described by the Gita as the true Sannyasin. But because the word usually signifies as well an outward renunciation or sometimes even that alone, the Teacher uses another word, ty ¯aga, to distinguish the inward from the outward withdrawal and says that Tyaga is better than Sannyasa. The ascetic way goes much farther in its recoil from the dynamic Nature. It is enamoured of renunciation for its own sake and insists on an outward giving up of life and action, a complete quietism of soul and nature. That, the Gita replies, is not possible entirely so long as we live in the body. As far as it is possible, it may be done, but such a rigorous diminution

of works is not indispensable: it is not even really or at least ordinarily advisable. The one thing needed is a complete inner quietism and that is all the Gita’s sense of nais.karmya.”

   “If we ask why this reservation, why this indulgence to the dynamic principle when our object is to become the pure self and the pure self is described as inactive, akart¯a, the answer is that that inactivity and divorce of self from Nature are not the whole truth of our spiritual release. Self and Nature are in the end one thing; a total and perfect spirituality makes us one with all the Divine in self and in nature. In fact this becoming Brahman, this assumption into the self of eternal silence, brahma-bhu¯ ya, is not all our objective, but only the necessary immense base for a still greater and more marvellous divine becoming, madbh¯ava. And to get to that greatest spiritual perfection we have indeed to be immobile in the self, silent in all our members, but also to act in the power, Shakti, Prakriti, the true and high force of the Spirit. And if we ask how a simultaneity of what seem to be two opposites is possible, the answer is that that is the very nature of a complete spiritual being; always it has this double poise of the Infinite. The impersonal self is silent; we too must be inwardly silent, impersonal, withdrawn into the spirit. The impersonal self looks on all action as done not by it but by Prakriti; it regards with a pure equality all the working of her qualities, modes and forces: the soul impersonalised in the self must similarly regard all our actions as done not by itself but by the qualities of Prakriti; it must be equal in all things, sarvatra. And at the same time in order that we may not stop here, in order that we may eventually go forward and find a spiritual rule and direction in our works and not only a law of inner immobility and silence, we are asked to impose on the intelligence and will the attitude of sacrifice, all our action inwardly changed and turned into an offering to the Lord of Nature, to the Being of whom she is the self-power, sv¯a prakr.tih, the supreme Spirit. Even we have eventually to renounce all into his hands, to abandon all personal initiation of action, sarv¯arambh¯ah., to keep our natural selves only as an instrument of his works andhis purpose. These things have been already explained fully and the Gita does not here insist, but uses simply without farther qualification the common terms, sanny¯asa and nais.karmya. A completest inner quietism once admitted as our necessary means towards living in the pure impersonal self, the question how practically it brings about that result is the next issue that arises.” (Excerpts from Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita Pp. 532-9)

Ekanta and Sanyasa

   Almost all the scriptures demand solitude, ekanta and dhyana for purpose of attaining the brahmn. We have heard of elderly people going on pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedarnath, most of them never to come back! They even celebrated the successful completion of Badri yatra, pilgrimage taking to the tortuous mountainous path to the shrine of Badri Narayana during the last century. That way, the present day journey to Badrinath is more an excursion! It is also heard from our ancestors that many used to take to vanaprastashrama, living alone in secluded places in the Himalayas. These are not heard of these days. However, it is essential to find out a secluded place to pursue spiritual practices. Bhagavad-Gita emphasizes the need for solitude.

   "A completest inner quietism once admitted as our necessary means towards living in the pure impersonal self, the question how practically it brings about that result is the next issue that arises. “How, having attained this perfection, one thus attains to the Brahman, hear from me, O son of Kunti,—that which is the supreme concentrated direction of the knowledge.” The knowledge meant here is the Yoga of the Sankhyas,—the Yoga of pure knowledge accepted by the Gita, jn˜ a¯na-yogena sa¯n˙khya¯na¯m, so far as it is one with its own Yoga which includes also the way of works of the Yogins, karma-yogena yogin¯am. But all mention of works is kept back for the moment. For by Brahman here is meant at first the silent, the impersonal, the immutable. The Brahman indeed is both for the Upanishads and the Gita all that is and lives and moves; it is not solely an impersonal Infinite or an unthinkable and incommunicable Absolute, acintyam avyavah¯aryam. All this is Brahman, says the Upanishad; all this is Vasudeva, says the Gita,—the supreme Brahman is all that moves or is stable and his hands and feet and eyes and heads and faces are on every side of us. But still there are two aspects of this All,—his immutable eternal self that supports existence and his self of active power that moves abroad in the world movement. It is only when we lose our limited ego personality in the impersonality of the self that we arrive at the calm and free oneness by which we can possess a true unity with the universal power of the Divine in his world movement. Impersonality is a denial of limitation and division, and the cult of impersonality is a natural condition of true being, an indispensable preliminary of true knowledge and therefore a first requisite of true action. It is very clear that we cannot become one self with all or one with the universal Spirit and his vast self-knowledge, his complex will and his widespread world-purpose by insisting on our limited personality of ego; for that divides us from others and it makes us bound and self-centred in our view and in our will to action. Imprisoned in personality we can only get at a limited union by sympathy or by some relative accommodation of ourselves to the view-point and feeling and will of others. To be one with all and with the Divine and his will in the cosmos we must become at first impersonal and free from our ego and its claims and from the ego’s way of seeing ourselves and the world and others. And we cannot do this if there is not something in our being other than the personality, other than the ego, an impersonal self one with all existences. To lose ego and be this impersonal self, to become this impersonal Brahman in our consciousness is therefore the first movement of this Yoga."

    "How then is this to be done? First, says the Gita, through a union of our purified intelligence with the pure spiritual substance in us by the yoga of the buddhi, buddhy¯a vi´suddhay¯ayuktah. . This spiritual turning of the buddhi from the outward and downward to the inward and upward look is the essence of the Yoga of knowledge. The purified understanding has to control the whole being, a¯ tma¯nam˙ niyamya; it must draw us away from attachment to the outward-going desires of the lower nature by a firm and a steady will, dhr.ty ¯a, which in its concentration faces entirely towards the impersonality of the pure spirit. The senses must abandon their objects, the mind must cast away the liking and disliking which these objects excite in it,—for the impersonal self has no desires and repulsions; these are vital reactions of our personality to the touches of things and the corresponding response of the mind and senses to the touches is their support and their basis. An entire control has to be acquired over the mind, speech and body, over even the vital and physical reactions, hunger and cold and heat and physical pleasure and pain; the whole of our being must become indifferent, unaffected by these things, equal to all outward touches and to their inward reactions and responses. This is the most direct and powerful method, the straight and sharp way of Yoga.

   There has to be a complete cessation of desire and attachment, vair ¯agya; a strong resort to impersonal solitude, a constant union with the inmost self by meditation is demanded of the seeker. And yet the object of this austere discipline is not to be self-centred in some supreme egoistic seclusion and tranquillity of the sage and thinker averse to the trouble of participation in the world-action; the object is to get rid of all ego. One must put away utterly first the rajasic kind of egoism, egoistic strength and violence, arrogance, desire, wrath, the sense and instinct of possession, the urge of the passions, the strong lusts of life. But afterwards must be discarded egoism of all kinds, even of the most sattwic type; for the aim is to make soul and mind and life free in the end from all imprisoning I-ness and my-ness, nirmama. The extinction of ego and its demands of all sorts is the method put before us. For the pure impersonal self which, unshaken, supports the universe has no egoism and makes no demand on thing or person; it is calm and luminously impassive and silently regards all things and persons with an equal and impartial eye of self-knowledge and world-knowledge. Then clearly it is by living inwardly in a similar or identical impersonality that the soul within, released from the siege of things, can best become capable of oneness with this immutable Brahman which regards and knows but is not affected by the forms and mutations of the universe.

     This first pursuit of impersonality as enjoined by the Gita brings with it evidently a certain complete(st) inner quiet(ism) and is identical in its inmost parts and principles of practice with the method of Sannyasa. And yet there is a point at which its tendency of withdrawal from the claims of dynamic Nature and the external world is checked and a limit imposed to prevent the inner quiet(ism) from deepening into refusal of action and a physical withdrawal. The renunciation of their objects by the senses, vis.aya¯m˙ s tyaktva¯ , is to be of the nature of Tyaga; it must be a giving up of all sensuous attachment, rasa, not a refusal of the intrinsic necessary activity of the senses. One must move among surrounding things and act on the objects of the sense-field with a pure, true and intense, a simple and absolute operation of the senses for their utility to the spirit in divine action, kevalair indriyai´s caran, and not at all for the fulfilment of desire. There is to be vair ¯agya, not in the common significance of disgust of life or distaste for the world action, but renunciation of r ¯aga, as also of its opposite, dvesha. There must be a withdrawal from all mental and vital liking as from all mental and vital disliking whatsoever. And this is asked not for extinction, but in order that there may be a perfect enabling equality in which the spirit can give an unhampered and unlimited assent to the integral and comprehensive divine vision of things and to the integral divine action in Nature. A continual resort to meditation, dhy¯ana-yogaparonityam, is the firm means by which the soul of man can realise its self of Power and its self of silence. And yet there must be no abandonment of the active life for a life of pure meditation; action must always be done as a sacrifice to the supreme Spirit. This movement of recoil in the path of Sannyasa prepares an absorbed disappearance of the individual in the Eternal, and renunciation of action and life in the world is an indispensable step in the process. But in the Gita’s path of Tyaga it is a preparation rather for the turning of our whole life and existence and of all action into an integral oneness with the serene and immeasurable being, consciousness and will of the Divine, and it preludes and makes possible a vast and total passing upward of the soul out of the lower ego to the inexpressible perfection of the supreme spiritual nature, par¯a prakr.ti."

   "The Vedic rhythms, chandaamsi, are the leaves and the sensible objects of desire supremely gained by a right doing of sacrifice are the constant budding of the foliage. Man, therefore, so long as he enjoys the play of the gunas and is attached to desire, is held in the coils of Pravritti, in the movement of birth and action, turns about constantly between the earth and the middle planes and the heavens and is unable to get back to his supreme spiritual infinitudes. This was perceived by the sages. To achieve liberation they followed the path of Nivritti or cessation from the original urge to action and the consummation of this way is the cessation of birth itself and, a transcendent status in the highest supra-cosmic reach of the Eternal. But for this purpose it is necessary to cut these long fixed roots of desire by the strong sword of detachment and then to seek for that highest goal whence, once having reached it, there is no compulsion of return to mortal life. To be free from the bewilderment of this lower Maya, without egoism, the great fault of attachment conquered, all desires stilled, the duality of joy and grief cast away, always to be fixed in wide equality, always to be firm in a pure spiritual consciousness, these are the steps of the way to that supreme Infinite." (Exerpts from Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita)

Prana is Brahman

What is this 'Prana'?

  'Prana' is that which pervades everything as chaitanya, Energy, the sustaining force, Vishnu. It is the manifest 'cit shakti' of Brahman and forms the core of the substance, the Atman. The fundamental principles (mahat tattva) are: Atma eva brahma | Prajnyanan Brahmaa |

   The first manifestation is Akasha, ether, space. Out of this vast deep endless akasha manifests vayu, manas and prana. Prana is the sattva aspect of manas. Taittiriya Upanishad give more details about this.

   As the sustaining force, prana is the vital one, superior to all others such as manas,indriyas, buddhi, ahankara; it sustains jiva and pervades its system from head to toe. Normally, the pranic energy flows through out the body, although it is said to be located in the left toe, the mouth, and the nose! The Atman weaves around itself the five coverings or koshas (sheaths)- anna, prana, manas, buddhi (jnyan) and the bliss (ananda). Further, this vital energy has pervaded all the gross elements such as the soil, water,fire and air and exists everywhere. It is eulogised in the Rk Veda (Mandala VII) as the tribandhu- the three states of Sun in Heavens (Svar), Lightning (in space/ bhuvah), and fire (agni) in the earth (bhu). It is the chief source of energy.

   Thus, prana is not something that we can easily understand. It is the most subtle aspect that sustain the jivas. The jiva vibrates as long as this energy vibrates in the body. The vibrant energy is supported by brahman, the unmanifest, absolute, undifferentiated, supreme and manifests in all the five koshas of the jiva- the anna, the ethereal or vital, the manas, the buddhi and the ananda koshas.  Thus, the source of prana is the manas in its sattva state. This takes us to the yoga where one can establish oneself in yoga- asamprajnya samadhi, and realize the Atman.

   Whoever meditates on prana establishes himself/herself in prana, in yogic trance, overcomes the clutches of death. Meditate on prana and become immortal says the Upanishad. Koushitaki, aitiriya, garbha, katha and many others eulogise the Prana as the vital aspect of the cosmic consciousness. The individualized, as well as, the cosmic vibration is prana. The universe exits with the cessation of vibration, the prana. All these are the function of the vibration of the three Gunas- tamas, rajas and the sattva.
   Now the secret of prana in the jiva is also clear. Since the prana has woven the jiva like an invisible golden thread and got knotted to the chief nadi at the heart- the anthahkarana (manas, chitta, buddhi and ahankara), it is difficult to get this rooted out!  Thus, we see the jiva struggling to leave its prana, rather, die even though it is not in a position to eat or drink even a spoonfull!
   We see many patients lying in the ICU on ventilators not able to breathe on their own, supported by oxygen! What keeps them alive?
  The struggling old and incapacitated jiva is liberated the moment the prana leaves the body.  But, the prana has to leave the same way it entered the body in order to reach its home in distant stars. It made its entrance along with the atman, as a spark, a photon, at the time of entering the planet earth- the mrutyu loka. It has entered the clouds, raindrops and soil and plants to become food. It entered water, air, fire, space, and all that. Ii entered the living beings (the would-be parents- first the man in his food and became semen, blood, desires, and then entered the woman's egg to take a form); thus, the prana has made its journey in space and through several conduits, vehicles, desires and forces to become finally the human body. This is the process that has taken place since the inception of the prana in the jiva with the conception in the mother's womb.
  So, the reverse process is also not very simple. The jiva has to traverse getting rid of what all it has acquired! First, it should stop its intake of food and drink; then it should determine to break the chain of repeated births by yoga. One by one, all relation with the external world should be stopped and finally, the antahkarana should also be cut asunder. Then only the prana leaves the body and the jiva will not take another body.
 So, desire, antahkarana, the attachments and other Gunas- such as mada, matsarya, moha, lobha, ahankara, all emotional ties with the family members, property, wealth and worldly life should be discarded. Otherwise, the jiva will take birth within fifteen days of its leaving the earlier one!
  But, this does not mean one should take to sanyasa like Shankaracharya and die at 32! May be, God-willing, one may be Ramanujacharya and live up to 120!! It should happen just as the passengers alight after they reach their destination. There is no compulsion here and one need not rush. This world is for enjoyment, Ananda. It is only after one has experienced everything and arrives at the conclusion that this worldly life, this mundane existence, is not what is aspired by the soul; it is the supreme bliss, undiminishing joy (independent of the material support) upadhi-ahita ananda that the soul aspires. Also, it seeks a higher and higher experience of the divine, and ultimately, the brahmn, nothing less than that! This is moksha. 
   When the jiva matures, things happen!

prana vayu

Contd...

   The ten vayus are the bio-motor forces of the system, of which the main is prana vayu; it is also called prana vidya.(vidya means shakti, Force). The prana vayu is closely associated with the breathing to such an extent that the life-force (prana) is breathing by itself is prana! The vyana works in such a way that the jiva turns towards or away from any object; the Apana vayu works in the belly, and lower regions below waist;lumbar region.The vyana works between the eye-brows (bhru)  and the ears, toes, nose throat and mouth. the udana works in the hands and the samana works through the entire body assisting general circulation.The udana vayu helps to raise or lower the body and the samana vayu works to feed and develop it. The naga vayu brings forth vomiting and the devadata produces sleep. Inhaling by ida (surya) brings heat and cleanses the nadis, The pingala (soma) is cooler and maintains the system in a balanced way and the person should exhale through this.

  Performing the systematic deep breathing exercises for about three months, regularly two to three times daily, will induce cleansing of the nadis and purify blood.

  Inhale from ida (left nostril) and exhale from pingala (right nostril), and keep the inhaled breath in suspense (kumbhaka) for double the time, says the  Yoga Shastra (pranayama).The time taken for each deep breath, in and out, should be in the ratio of 1:2:1 or 2:4:2 or increase in this ratio till 8:16:8. This will establish the jiva in a state of the highest brahmn, calm, quiet, undisturbed and in good health and vigour.The maximum retention period, a world record is about 7 mins. and ordinarily one can hold breath in kumbhaka for only 1 or 2 minutes.

   The breathing is closely associated with blood pressure and the mind and moods. brisk breathing brings High Blood Pressure and slow breathing induces normal blood flow. When a person is in tension, anxiety and worries, it is advisable to take long and deep breaths. This will calm the mind and reduce tension. The postures, asana advised in yoga are many and varied and should be practised under proper guidance of an expert yoga teacher. It is dangerous to practise yogasana with thc help of CD, TV Shows or books. There should be a guide with the students to correct the postures. Surya namaskar and ordinary exercises done during the school-days are enough for us!

    Most of the yoga schools are not suited to yoga for spiritual practices. Moreover, This ancient vidya should be handled carefully to promote evolutionary process taking the man with animal propensities to a more human and, then on, to divine existence here and now..   

PRANA- The Vital Force

  Animation, activation, is caused by infusing vital force, prana, in to the body, the jiva. The Great principle (mahat tattva) is: "Having  created, He entered into it". When the Lord created jiva in His own image it was not functioning; so He entered into it through an aperture, whole in the head (brahma randhra) and established Himself in the heart, hr'daya. Hence, chaitanaya brahmn \ pranam brahma | tad srushtva tadevanupravishat | vyavasthitaa shikhaya madhye (Purusha sukta, Rk Veda Mandala X  sukta 90).

  This makes the problem clear. The jiva is The Lord's own creation and He, the Lord only runs it! But for Him, there is nothing. He, the Lord, entered the jiva as prana, as chaitanya. He is called mukhya prana antargata VishnoH HatiH | He is also called Hari sarvottama and vayu jivottama | This is Vaishnava principle. In the Shaiva Agama Shastra (Kashmir Shaivism), "Shiva only is the jiva".

  Vayu is the elemental God in Rk Veda. He is also Mitra Varuna, friend of Rain-God. Gods in Rk Veda are Forces, Energy, Light, Life-force.  This prana-deva is also attributed to Hanuman, Vayu putra. We worship Prana Deva Hanuman as a symbolic presentation of Life-force within us!

   Ahirbudhnya Samhita gives a detailed account of the nervous system and the energy transmitted through nerves and neurons. The place of the root of the nadis is the navel, nabhi chakra. All nerves have their root here. There are 72,000 nadis and the two main nadis branching out here are- alambusa and sushumna. The sushumna nadi at the one end is reaching the brain centre and appears as a Lotus bud bent downward, while the other end is  closed at the bottom, coiled up like a snake, kundalini. More about this will come up later. The two other- Ida and the pingala carry on with the function of taking the air in and out of the body.The technique of controlling the movement of this air is a very complex one, and much more complex is the activating kundalini and opening up the Lotus bud in the head!.

 As far as the circulation of vital force (prana shakti) here, it is important to note the fact that the entire body is sustained by the constant supply of oxygen. Unfortunately, the ordinary mortals, as we are, do not know the significance of proper breathing techniques. We scarcely breath deep and long enough to supply the much needed fresh dry air with sufficient oxygen to all parts of our body. 80 per cent of our lung space is toxic gases-laden and scarcely evacuated by deep out-breath. The Lungs are often filled with dust, moisture, and other substance that cause diseases such as Tuberculosis, asthma, etc. Most of the physical ailments can be cured by simple breathing exercises like deep inhale and exhale; but, care must be taken not to do any breathing exercises during the rainy periods, and in industrial areas and areas where traffic create lots of air pollution. Open air, preferably near about hills and dales, valleys, and along river courses, lake-sides and gardens are the best places.

(to be contd.) 

    

Pranayama

   The beauty of human creation cannot be expressed in words! The entire earth is the home of living beings breathing air. Air (vayu) is one of the five basic elements (pancha mahabhuta) that constitute the earth. The Akasha that holds and supports all the physical entities such as stars and galaxies, planets and their satellites is a vast space in which air moves freely (Vedanta). Space is considered to be a dynamic entity, ether.
   The atmosphere of the earth is restricted to the 10 kms. from the earth's surface and there is nothing beyond this. The lower seven kms. constitute the limit of dense mass of air and air becomes thin and rarefied only to disappear beyond. Nearest the earth is the troposphere where there are dense masses of air in pockets of High Pressure and some Low Pressure pockets in between. Thus, air is not evenly distributed everywhere; moreover there are vast water bodies (oceans) and chunks of land masses that create differences in heating and cooling of the earth's surface by the Sun rays and the consequent differences in air pressure. The angle at which the sun rays reach the spherical earth is mainly responsible for differential heating- more near the Equator (Torrid Zone) and less and less nearer the Poles. The upper layers or zones above the troposphere are: stratosphere, chemosphere, ionosphere, and exosphere. Hydrogen particles freely move in the outermost zone of exosphere and, once they escape the gravitational pull of the earth, they get lost in the space.

  The major components of the atmosphere near the earth's surface are: Nitrogen (78%) and Oxygen (21%), the remaining being Hydrogen, Ozone, Argon, Methane,etc. It is surprising how these gaseous elements are formed, although we know that the earth is a planet condensed out of Sun's emissions (solar flares), cooled and solidified (with enormous heat still held inside). Hydrogen is. no doubt, the basic element, the constituent of the Sun. Oxygen is said to be formed at the bottom of the ocean floor and carbon is added only after the plant life evolved from algae in water. Anyway, the three gaseous elements- Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon go to make the earth a living planet. 

  We, the animals (prani) depend on Oxygen for our survival. The most surprising thing about this Oxygen is that it works out both as an agent of support and destruction! Oxidation and Reduction processes play the trick! Animals (prani) grow and develop with Oxygen in-take and start ageing and die later, when the same Oxygen starts consuming it(body). This is what led the ancient sages of India to take to Pranayama, and restrict the in-take of Oxygen and prolong life. At later stages in life, the in-take of Oxygen is reduced and the body cells are made to sustain themselves with the help of the Soul-power. The Sages go into samadhi, regulate their breathing, reduce it to minimum and live longer! This is the secret of Pranaya, controlling the pranic energy.  

   The air we breathe works wonders! We are not even aware of our daily exercise of breathing by which we supply the much needed oxygen to the body. We are unaware of our breathing in deep sleep! This is an involuntary aspect and it is said that "God lives between two breaths"- in kumbhaka between puraka (breathe-in) and rechaka (breathe-out); This breathing process is by itself a Meditative process, ajapa japa.
  The human physical body is composed of 78% water and 21% solid and semi-solid, and the remaining 1% is of air, fire, and space. Thus, the air breathe moves freely within the body through spaces and interstices. Our body is a Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon- the H+C+O combine that makes carbohydrates (food) and hydrocarbons (energy). We are basically energy-condensates fixed or localized into a form, as agni tanmatra, rupa. We are just vibrant energy. The air that enters the human body creates whirlpools of different rpm and rotate like fan blades at different speeds at different levels and produce wonderful effect on our vital systems! We breathe in and out 21600 times during 24 hours at different chakra (to be explained later) and this regulates the entire system of energy, blood flow (blood pressure), maintains heat of the body, and fills in lungs with oxygen and supplies it to blood and purifies it, and many more! Actually, we do not understand the entire mechanism of air circulation within our body. (See Chakra dhyan and Chakra system from muladhara to sahasrara in our body).

   The air we breathe enters the body through the nose alternately through the nostrils- left (ida) and the right (pingala). These are actually the regulators of the heat in our body.  

The term 'pranayama' (samsk.) control (yama) of the vital airs (prana). The air we breathe in divides itself into ten branches and pervades the body as life- force, pranic energy. Of these, prana is the prominent one and, the others are: vyana (distributed all over), samana (equally), udana (moving upward), and downward (apana), naga, kurma, kukrura, dhananja and, somadatta.
(to be contd.)

'yuj"- alignment with the Self, the 'Atman'.

  The ultimate purpose of yoga is to align the system- body, mind, nervous system and the soul. Asanas and pranayama help this process. However, this is not the whole purpose. The jivatman, at some stage in life, realizes the futility of its embodiment and seeks to get liberated through yoga.The soul is the 'photon', an energy particle that has entered the earthen material (soil and water/bhuti or gross material) to create a life-form like an earthworm. The DNA of the humans is 60% the DNA of the earthworm. The jiva is what the atman has woven around itself, hence it is known as the Jivatman.
  Apart from the hype, the International Yoga Day, the programs for awareness, it is important to know about the need for alignment- of the body, mind, the nerves and neurons (nervous system) and the soul, rather to be established with the Self,  the Atman. Right from the day 1, the jiva arrived on this earth,  breathes the air, and takes the food obtained from the earth (soil) and acquires gunas of nature (prakruti svabhava), and thus, it is in a state of mundane existence. The svabhava or nature is of the prakruti, not the jiva. It undergoes change with nature, physical and cultural environment and goes on adjusting itself to the external world. Its (jiva's) existence is tuned to the external world; it finds no time or need to look inward and see for itself the very purpose of existence! Hence, the jiva looks to some relief! Yoga comes to help in such cases where the jiva looks for emancipation, liberation, mukti or moksha. Thus, the real purpose of yoga is to get the suffering jivas (due to ignorance) out of the clutches of nature, prakruti.
  The Eight-fold path of Yoga (ashtanga yoga) prepares the jiva for emancipation step by step. These formulae demand the jiva to strictly adhere to the stipulated regulations such as satya, astheya, shoucha and other preliminary requirements so that purity of the jiva is attained. Eating junk food and performing yoga will not do. When the sadhaka comes to the third step of pratyahara and the fourth step of Ishvara pranidana , the person is already half-way through to emancipation. In pratyahara, the sadhaka withdraws his mind and senses from worldly affairs and by Ishvara pranidana, the jiva has already reached the state of surrender to the higher power, supreme state of Self. The next steps of asana and pranayama may as well be dropped! The next higher steps like dhyana, dharana and samadhi will take care of these physical exercises. When a person reaches the state of asamprajnya samadhi state, he/she has already become one with the Higher self and will not take birth on this earth again! These are assured as per the phalashruti, and scriptures have clearly stated these. We will quote the scriptural sayings in the next few updates.
  Thus, the purpose of yoga is to attain to divinity. Divinity is inherent in the jiva. It is the main purpose of the jiva to visualize the Creator and become one with Him.
  There is not much time available to the suffering jivas to look to yoga. Much of childhood and youth is spent in settling in life and there is no time to breathe! When the middle age passes, the real problems start. As the ageing process starts, the body starts losing its strength. The jiva starts losing interest in external mundane things and starts its inward journey, provided there is divine intervention, divya anugraha (divine grace), purva punya and, there is an earnest desire in the jiva to get rid of the clutches of Maya- limitations enforced by nature (time, distance, causation). Then, yoga becomes more meaningful.

  Almost 60,000 ways of yoga are enumerated by Osho, an expert on yoga.Accordingly, the very existence is yoga.Yoga starts with the foetus contemplating on its self! Every now and then we go into trance without our awareness and that is yoga, yuj, being in the natural state. Vijnyana Bhairava of Kashmir Shaivism enumerated 112 methods of dharana and even one will bring unity, oneness! To be with one's self, established in one's self is the natural state, brahmn, the ultimate reality 

   What is all propagated in the name of yoga is not oriented to redemption, liberation of the embodied soul. The embodied soul, like the spider caught in its web, its own creation, craves for liberation. It looks for emancipation, freedom from the shackles of repeated births and deaths. This has been explained in Kashmir Shaivism. Shiva becomes jiva and accumulates mala, pollutants such as desire, attachments, triguna (tamas, rajas, and sattva), and arishadvargas. Thus gets entangled in the mundane things forgetting its true nature (sat-chit-ananda); Then, realizing its predicament, the jiva takes to yoga and attains its divine status, Shiva. Shiva is the only truth! Satyam shivam sundaram.

  There are a number of texts that describe yoga. The Patanjali yoga sutra, the Shandilya yoga sutras, the yoga explained in the Bhagavad-Gita by Lord Shree Krishna are some of the most important ones. All these aim at total renunciation, karma sanyasa yoga and attainment of oneness with the supreme, Atma paramatma bhavaikyata.  

I-ness (aham-bhava) and Ego (ahamkar)

  There are differences in the meaning and connotation of these terms we call ego, I-ness, egotism, etc. In the strict sense of the term 'ego' means the 'I-ness'; but it is often mistaken for the bloated ego, pride, and a sort of behaviour, 'show-off', that irritates others. it is bragging about oneself. People do not like persons who boast of their achievements, pride, with a tinge of contempt for others associated with this self-appreciation. People would like to appreciate a person who is humble, unassuming, and who respects others. But, it is the nature of humans to shine in the Glory of the Lord, shine like the Sun! Everybody wants to show off, one-upmanship and, this is a competitive world. Everybody wants to exhibit himself, his achievements, and make himself known and become popular in society. It gives some sort of satisfaction, satisfies the 'ego'. This satisfaction is only transitory and there is no end to it! People want accolades, prizes, certificates and appreciation from others. This is the basic flaw. All that is external, all that depends on the outside for its existence will ultimately bring unhappiness. Joy, ananda, must spring forth from the heart without any external support, upadhi. Thus, upadhi-rahita ananda is the only real happiness. Being happy for no reason is real happiness.

   It has been stated that, "I`' is a term that stands for the very existence of the jiva". It is the jivatman.  It is the core of the substance. It is extremely difficult to know, rather, understand this concept. However, this 'I', the Self, or 'Atman' is not what is referred to here. It is the small, individualized 'i' that is insignificant that we refer to here. The term 'i' commonly used by all of us is the self, the 'ego', devoid of the knowledge of the one who he/she is! This ignorance is the maya, avidya, that makes one think: "It is there, and run after it with desire." Thus, the word we often use as 'i' is due to ignorance, avidya, maya. The reality is different. That reality is the "I", Rudra, the eternal, immortal and everlasting principle of  chaitanya, 'Energy'. The essential nature, mula svarupa, of all jiva is sat, chit and ananda. 

  One has to be very clear about the 'ego' that rule the jivas. This ego brings about, in its train, journey disappointments, disillusionment, and misery in the long run. Hence, almost all the saints and sages stressed the need for understanding this 'I', the Self, Atman. Ramana Maharshi used to say, find out this 'I', "naan yaar?"  
   This 'Knowledge of the Self', 'Atma jnyan' is the only path of redemption, mukti. Sri Adi Shankaracharya has given us a very simple and beautiful technique of finding out this 'I' in the principle of 'neti, neti. If we discard what all we call- 'me' and 'mine', the 'I' stands face to face! When we say, this is my head, my head is aching; this is my leg, neck, stomach or back and it is paaining, it is not the `I', but.a part of my body. Whatever is mine is not the 'I' . When all these my and mine are discarded what remains is the real 'I'., the immortal Self, 'So'ham', I AM. 

"I"- The Self, aham

   What is this "I", the Self, 'aham' (Samsk.) that everybody says, 'i' did  this', i did that, i think', etc.? Where is this 'I'? Rudra (See Rudra Shatiyam) Who is this 'i'? Can we not stop using this 'i' in everyday life? Try to avoid using this 'i' at least for one day and see what happens? Rk Veda describes this 'I' as Rudra.

  This 'I' is an English term and there are two- one cap. 'I' and the other small font 'i'. They, who use English, refer to 'I' as the Self and the 'i' for self? But, there is no such thing in Samskruta bhasha. Here, it is 'aham'. The term 'aham' (Samsk.) is totality, everything that we c an say in sound, syllables, words, phrases, and sentences! It is the entire bunch of alphabets (akshara maala), starting from the first syllable `a' to the last syllable 'ha', joined by 'm' (a ha m). The Divine Mother Lakshmi says, 'I' am matrika. The 'Garland of Letters' (mAtrika mAlini), alphabets or syllables, letters, words, phrases and sentences- what all they stand for! I am the embodiment of akshara (akshara brahma). It('I') is the Self (Atman) of all! In Bhagavad-Gita Shree Krishna also says I am that, ('soham'). I only exist. In Rk Veda Samhita, Mandala VII we find Rudra Shatiya that explains in detail everything about this 'I'. 'I' stands for the Atman. Rudra Deva says, "I am the bheshaja (dhanvantari /  Physician)  who maintains the health of all jivas. It is this Rudra Deva (Shiva) who says 'I'. I is existence in reality; there is no existence, astittva, for anybody without this aham ('I')..

   Therefore, 'I' stands for the Atman and stands for the real existence of the jiva. Since Lord Vishnu pervades the universe as the all-pervasive pure Consciousness,He / It assumes the formless 'I'. Sant Tukaram has beautifully described this in his abhang- anoraneeya thokada... It is an ion, micron or thokada of the 'bruhat', brahman, the vast (Akasha). Now we know what is this 'I' and who is this 'i'.

   The most beautiful aspect of this 'I' is that it does not exist! It is just an expression of that which does not exist. 'I' does not exist; therefore, 'I do not exist'. We have seen that the Lord says, I only exist and now He, the Lord says "I do not exist'. For all practical purposes, 'nothing exists, and everything is an illusion, a snake imposed on a rope (sarpa-rajju bhrama) and the consequent fear. This point is made clear in the following:

  When we go to sleep, the first thing that happens is the withdrawal of the senses; gradually, we stop hearing the 'tick,tick sound of the wall clock. Then the heart-beat is heard and that also stops in a while. When we go to deep sleep, nothing exists, not even this 'I' which runs the physical  system of the body- such as the function of heart, lungs, digestion, etc. The consciousness only exists along with prana (usiru/ life breath) and nothing else (the material wealth, the family, the possessions, etc)! Where have all these gone. No body is aware of this secret where this 'i', the self, disappears in deep sleep. If i  do not know where i disappear who else knows? It is thus the very purpose of life is to discover this 'i'. and that 'I', who is real and who is not real.

  All the great sages have discovered this 'I' and the difference between the 'i' and the 'I'.

This is how we can discover the truth. Every night i used to keep some milk for morning Tea and when i get up and look for the milk, the vessel used to be empty. There was no sign of how the milk disappeared.Then i decided to find out what happened when i was asleep. I discovered that a black cat was sneaking in the dark through the window and drink the milk. So, also, the Senses, the mind, the buddhi, ego (ahankaar) called  'i' disappear into the 'I', the Atman who is resting with paramatman in my deep sleep. Thus, the supreme Lord only exists and nothing else exist!

  Both the statements- I only exist and nothing exists, as well as I do not exist, are correct. The supreme Lord says "I, the Self of all, (Atman) am the Formless (nirakara), eternal (nitya), always existing (nirantara), eternal Truth (satya), the Higher Self of all (parabrahman). No body can ever know Me since I am not something to be known. I am the Self of all. What all one searches is Him Self/ her Self. One can find it if it is something 'other'. Since it is not 'the other', nobody can find this. The beauty is that even this 'i' disappears! Whatever does not exist is not real. So what is that we are babbling every now and then as "I did this, i did that?"  
   The day one discovers who this 'I' seated in us is, he / she declares - So, I Am, "so'ham, Shivoham, Then, there is exists nothing!

"I Only Exist, Nothing Exists"

   All the spiritual texts like the Veda, the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavad-Gita assert that "the  'One' (brahman) only becomes many" and, as such, the 'One'  (Energy?) only vibrates. creates an illusion of many; it is like a rope held in hand can be made to move like a snake by just shaking it! Form (Roopa) is the tanmatra of Agni.  What all we see is a form presented by movement! it is just an impression of some form on the mind. When we see an object, the picture of the object is printed on the mind screen like a mirror reflecting the objects. The mind uses the eyes to focus attention on the object and the picture is printed on the mind screen. The picture, image stays until it is erased. But, for the focused attention, nothing exists! This is the first principle.

  The second most important principle is that of 'maya'. This term is the most contentious issue in India philosophy, but not any more to a realized person. People are arguing about this concept for centuries without ever bothering to take to yoga and visualizing it themselves in samprajnya samadhi.   A very simple way of explaining the 'maya' (Illusory aspect of the world) aspect as well as the concept stated above, as "I only exist" can be explained as under:

  A jiva (person) is born alone; neither he /she that takes birth knows where it is born, to whom it is born, nor the fact who all are there before the jiva arrives there. Even if it is a twin or triplet, the jiva is one only, the bodies may be more. As the jiva grows through different stages of childhood and adult state, it is one only. When the person gets married, the person thinks he has become man and wife, or woman and her husband, as two. But, little does he/she realize the fact that he or she only became two! All are individuals- 'One' only; so also, when there are children, relatives and friends. ther term two,three, many are used to indicate the number of individual (one)s! Thus, little do i realize that i only became, two, three or more (with children), family, community, state, nation, world, planet, solar system, constellation, galaxy, universe, brahmanda, brahmn- all one only. Each individual entity merges into the other and create 'Oneness'.  This is so simple as all male, female, young and old as one family! 

  As to the maya aspect, it is very simple. What all that is present now here may have a past and a future and. as such, it is ever changing. Whatever that is subject to chane is not the truth and the 'truth' is one that never changes! All transient objects are unreal as far as their changeability is concerned. The Prana, the prajnya, the life-force are all permanent features, spiritual aspects that never undergo change, albeit change their habitats. For instance, my prana, life-force may leave the body in the same way as it entered into me. 

   Thus Brahman manifests in numerous forms. The Sky, space or ether as a medium for movement exists without undergoing any change. It is the 'sat' and it is brahman. Kham brahma; kam brahma. Brahman that manifests as Akasha also manifests as the vayu, agni, jal and prithvi, as if, each one coming out, manifest, in different form and function out of what all are already manifest, from brahmn. Thus, the One brahmn only manifests in many different forms and functions. Whoever knows this becomes brahmn only.

  Whe Shree Krishna says (in the Gitopadesha), "I only exist", He, the Lord, means that 'what all we see, hear, touch, tste or feel is nothing but His manifest aspects, the  brahmn.  He, the Lord is bruhat, macro and we the jiva are the condensed focused energy, the Atman, the micron. Each exist in each other! 

What after Death?

There are many interesting accounts of death and after- both Western and Eastern. However, when we go to our spiritual texts like Kathopanishat,Ishvasya upanishat, Atmopanishat, Bhavanopanishat and mahanarayana upanishat things are very clear. There is no need to look to West for this; moreover, the Western texts are all based on psychological studies like life-regression analysis. Psychological studies do not even touch outer layers of the vast ocean of subconscious mind. 

  In the Indian context, there are no words like God, Soul, Self, Super or Higher Self, self, heaven or hell. All these are English version of what is much deeper, vast and unfathomable brahmn, paramatman, Atman, jivatman (embodied soul), etc. The Atman and the Self are not the same. Similarly, God is not paramatman. (remember there are no capital letters, comma or full stops, vowels like a e i o u in our scriptures in samskruta bhasha). So we have to be very careful while studying and understanding scriptures, specially dealing with the Adhyatma. More often, the Western scholars may be well versed in Samskruta bhasha but may not have the intuitional knowledge obtained fro yoga- samprajnya samadhi by deep contemplation (dhyana and dharana). It is better to take them with a little bit of reservation (pinch of salt, as they say?)

  Now coming to this aspects of 'After Death' or the 'Near Death' experience, let us consider the jivatman. As already stated repeatedly, the Atman weaves around itself a cocoon like physical body consisting of 5 koshas, trigunas (raja, tamas and sattva) and antahkarana (manas, chitta, buddhi and ahankara), and then the bundle of nerves and neurons from head to toes, connecting the brain via the spinal cord and the central nervous system. 

  The prana, Life-force is a fine invisible thread of energy (chaitanya) connected to the antahkarana (subtle heart) adjacent to the physical blood pumping one. There is also a finer invisible cavity of the heart called hri daya- the seat of Sri Hari (Home of Hari) and Lakshmi (hrit-kamala). This is like parvati creating a clay idol and breathed life-force into it and called Ganapati. So also the Lord created an image of a micron size and when it was not functioning, He only entered it (as Chaitanya, prana shakti or Life-force) . tad srushtva tadevanupravishat |

  So who lives and who dies? The supreme Lord enters the earth as stellar dust particle, atman or jiva kana, particle of energy, photon and creates a body of the five elements and experiences the creation He created. He uses us as a taxi cab and goes round doing what He wishes and leave us on the wayside and departs. We made of earth, dust go unto dust. Where is the question of all these life and death? Sri Krishna, an avatara of Vishnu says, "nobody is born or die". "No one can kill or be killed". see nainam chindanti shastrani nainam dahati pavakah... etc.The Atman is indestructible. So there is no question of death to one is not born at all! Science also says the same thing: "Energy is neither created nor destroyed". Further, science states everything is vibration of this energy; electron move en masse at the speed of Light. Every cell in our body acts like an electron and the Atman is the nucleus (neutrinos). Thus, the latest version of both science and spirituality about the jivatman and the physical body called the humans Manava sharira) is just a vibrant mechanism with buddhi, manas, chitta and ahankara. All these merge in brahmn every day in deep sleep (die) sushupti state. They come back after sleep in ignorance not knowing where it had gone during the deep sleep. The same is true even if one closes his eyes and sits in dhyana, dharana and samadhi; but, the jiva enjoys total awareness and pure consciousness and clearly sees its state in all states of- wakeful (jagrata), dream (svapna) and deep sleep (sushupti). This is  'Enlightenment' and one need not bother about life or death thereafter.

  When we say 'death' here, it is an indication of moving into a different state of existence since there is no end to the vibration of energy (electrons). The only state of equilibrium comes when the electrons are merged in nucleus, This is also a state of Pralaya when all activity stops.

  A sage established in his self is of such a state where there is no vibration of mind, chitta creating desires, attachments, running after sensuous things and looking for satiation of the insatiable. There is no desire to do anything or go and reach anywhere (brahmn), too. Such a yogi is jivanmukta, free now and here (sadyomukta) He never dies. He knows that he is not even born. Birth and death are mere words for those ignorantly think he is a body and that grows and dies.

  The moment i realise that I am the immortal Atman supported by a higher force paramatman and surrender myself to the Force that runs the affairs of the world, I am released from all my mental afflictions. 

   This is one of the best versions we have from the scriptures (Bhagavad-Gita). There are other versions too. that tells us about our existence in ignorance and existence in pure consciousness and knowledge. If we look back how our great grandparents lived and died, and contemplate on the nature of existence, it is not difficult to trace our own foot steps. "I only appear and re-appear in different forms and there is none else, but myself." 

  Sage Ramana Maharishi and Stephen Hawking tried this experience. Ramana Maharshi experienced the stopping heart beat for a few minutes and experienced death. Recently, Stephen Hawking tried to stop his breathing! There are many whom i know who have tried to experience death and who have returned after being almost dead (my friend), or really dead for about half hour (my grandmother)! Both have told their experience. I do know about these and have contemplated enough and found the truth. The Truth is simple. "I simply do not exist". If at all i exist it is for others who see me and capture my form in their mind (on the mind screen) and their buddhi instructs them about my existence ( name and form and function/ ID  / in ignorance). In reality, "I always exist" (as a picture/form on the mind screen as memory till erased). I exist as desire, as a dream, as an object of possession and something but not the real Me. The real I and Me are Lakshmi according to Lakshmi Tantra of pancharatra agama shastra, or 'Shiva' of Kashmir Shaivism. Shiva only becomes jiva and acquires all mala, stains due to desire, attachment and gunas and svabhava. But when He realizes this, He takes to yoga and reverts to His true Self. This i-ness inall is Rudra according to Rk Veda ('Rudra Shatiya' in Mandala VII).

   Who am I to take birth or die and cast away my physical body?

 This entire world is Me and my Self. If i open my eyes the world of objects begin and the moment i close my eyes, the world ends. Moreover, it is i who create my parents; had i not been born, where is the question anybody saying I am the mother or father of so and so? This is a miracle played, maya of the Divine Mother Lakshmi (see Lakshmi Tantra).  French philosopher Descartes said 'ergo sum..." (I am, so is the world). Here in Vedanta, and Pancharatra, "I create the world and I am the world) This is the triputi- Shiva-jiva- jagat; jiva-yoga shiva. Everything depends on my desire. "Desire is brahmn". so'aham asmi. aham brahmasmi.