Many people, including millions of Hindus, think that the Hindu tradition is puritanical about sex. What most Hindus and others don’t realize is that many of these puritanical ideas were not native to Hinduism. They came about through the cultural influences of foreign invaders like the Muslims and British. The British colonial era was the same period as the Victorian Age, which is hardly a byword for sexual enlightenment, or enlightenment of any kind.
Although Hinduism has always held sexual self-control in the highest regard, it was recognized that that path, especially strict celibacy, was for not for everyone. For the average person, a healthy sexual life was expected and even discussed in their spiritual texts. This was true even for many of those who lived apart from the world, and pursued intensive spiritual lifestyles, as is seen in this picture above of an advanced yogi couple.
The following excerpt is from one of the earliest and most highly-regarded texts: the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad. In it, the enlightened sage, Yagyavalkya, teaches about sex in quite explicit terms. He even speaks of spiritual techniques for birth control (don’t try these at home unless you are enlightened sages!), which answers those who say Hindu teachings of sexual pleasure were only intended for procreation. There are many other examples which can be found both in the texts and in Indian art, but this is one of the clearest and most detailed examples. Note that he also gives techniques to become pregnant with women children, which shows that women were valued in that society as well.
PART SIX
Chapter II—The Process of Rebirth
13) “Woman, O Gautama, is the fire, her sexual organ is the fuel, the hairs the smoke, the vulva the flame, sexual intercourse the cinders, enjoyment the sparks. In this fire the gods offer semen as libation. Out of this offering a man is born.
Chapter IV—Conception and Birth as Religious Rites
2) Prajapati said to Himself: “Well, let Me make a firm basis for it (semen).” So He created woman. Having created her, He placed her below and worshipped her. Therefore one should worship a woman, placing her below. He (Prajapati) extended His organ that projects and with it impregnated her.
3) Her lap is the sacrificial altar, her hair the sacrificial grass, her skin within the organ the lighted fire; the two labia of the vulva are the two stones of the soma—press. He who, knowing this, practises sexual intercourse wins as great a world as is won through the Vijapeya sacrifice; he acquires for himself the fruit of the good deeds of the woman. But he who, without knowing this, practises sexual intercourse turns over to the woman his own good deeds.
4) Having known this, Uddalaka the son of Aruna, Naka the son of Mudgala and Kumara—harita said: “Many mortals, brahmins only in name, perform the sexual act without knowledge of what has been said and depart from this world impotent and without merit.” Even if this much semen—of one asleep or of one awake—is spilled,
5) He should touch it and repeat the following mantra: “Whatever semen of mine has spilt on earth, whatever has flowed to plants, whatever to water, I reclaim it.” With these words he should take the semen with his ring finger and thumb and rub it between his breasts or eyebrows, repeating the following mantra: “Let the semen return to me, let Vigour come to me again, let glow and good fortune come to me again. May the deities who dwell in the sacrificial fire put the semen back in its proper place.”
6) Now, if a man sees himself (his reflection) in water, he should recite the following mantra: “May the gods bestow on me vigour, manhood, fame, wealth and merit.” In praise of the wife who will bear him a son: She (his wife) has put on the soiled clothes of impurity; she is, verily, loveliness among women. Therefore when she has removed the clothes of impurity and appears beautiful, he should approach her and speak to her.
7) If she does not willingly yield her body to him, he should buy her with presents. If she is still unyielding, he should strike her with a stick or with his hand and overcome her, repeating the following mantra: “With power and glory I take away your glory.” Thus she becomes discredited.
8) If she grants his desire, he should repeat the following mantra: “With power and glory I give you glory.” Thus they both become glorious.
9) If a man desires his wife with the thought: “May she enjoy love with me,” then, after inserting the member in her, joining mouth to mouth and stroking her organ, he should utter the following mantra: “O semen, you have been produced from my every limb, especially from my heart through the essence of food you are the essence of the limbs. Bring this woman under my control, like a deer pierced by a poisoned arrow.”
10) Now, the wife whom he desires with the thought: “May she not conceive”—after inserting the member in her and joining mouth to mouth, he should inhale and then exhale, repeating the following mantra: “With power, with semen, I reclaim the semen from you.” Thus she comes to be without semen.
11) Now, the wife whom he desires with the thought: “May she conceive”—after inserting the member in her and joining mouth to mouth, he should inhale and then exhale, repeating the following mantra: “With power, with semen, I deposit semen in you.” Thus she verily becomes pregnant.
12) Now, if a man’s wife has a paramour whom he detests, he should perform the following rite in order to cast an evil spell upon him: Let him put fire in an unbaked earthen vessel, spread stalks of reed and kusa grass inversely and offer in the sacrificial fire the reed tips, soaked in clarified butter, inversely, repeating the following mantra: “You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take away your prana and apana, you, _______! Here the name of the evil—doer should be uttered. You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take away your sons and cattle, you, _______! You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take away your Vedic rites and those done according to the Smritis, you, _______! You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take away your hopes and expectations, you, _______ He whom a brahmin who knows this rite curses, departs from this world impotent and shorn of merit. Therefore let no one even joke with the wife of a Vedic scholar who knows this rite; for he who has this knowledge is a dangerous enemy.
13) If a man’s wife has the monthly sickness, she should for three days drink water from a cup made of bell metal. Let no sudra man or woman touch her. After three nights she should bathe, put on a new cloth and her husband should make her thresh rice.
14) If a man wishes that a son with a fair complexion should be born to him, that he should study one Veda and that he should attain a full term of life, then they (husband and wife) should have rice cooked in milk and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be able to beget such a son.
15) If a man wishes that a son with a tawny or brown complexion should be born to him, that he should study two Vedas and that he should attain a full term of life, then they should have rice cooked in curds and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be able to beget such a son.
16) If a man wishes that a son with a dark complexion and red eyes should be born to him, that he should study three Vedas and that he should attain a full term of life, then they should have rice cooked in water and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be able to beget such a son.
17) If a man wishes that a daughter should be born to him who will be a scholar and attain a full term of life, then they should have rice cooked with sesamum and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be able to beget such a daughter.
18) If a man wishes that a son should be born to him who will be a famous scholar, frequenting assemblies and speaking delightful words, a student of all the Vedas and an enjoyer of the full term of life, he should have rice cooked with the meat of a young bull or of one more advanced in years and he and his wife should eat it with clarified butter. Then they should be able to beget such a son.
19) Now, towards morning he purifies the clarified butter according to the rules of Sthalipaka and offers Sthalipaka oblations repeatedly, saying: “Svaha to fire! Svaha to Anumati! Svaha to the radiant sun, who produces infallible results!” Having made the offering, he takes up the remnant of the cooked food, eats part of it and gives the rest to his wife. Then he washes his hands, fills the water—vessel and sprinkles her thrice with water, uttering once this mantra: “Get up from here, O Visvavasu! Seek another young woman, a wife with her husband.”
20) Then he embraces her, repeating the following mantra: I am the vital breath and you are speech. You are speech and I am the vital breath. I am Saman and you are Rig; I am heaven and you are earth. Come, let us strive together so that we may have a male child.”
21) Then he spreads apart her thighs, repeating the following mantra: “Spread yourselves apart, Heaven and Earth.” Inserting the member in her and joining mouth to mouth, he strokes her three times from head to foot, repeating the following mantra: “Let Vishnu make the womb capable of bearing a son! Let Tvashtra shape the various limbs of the child! Let Prajapati pour in the semen! Let Dhatra support the embryo! O Sinivali, make her conceive; O goddess whose glory is widespread, make her conceive! May the two Atvins, garlanded with lotuses, support the embryo!
22) “Let the two Atvins chum the womb with the two golden arani sticks! I am placing a seed in your womb to be delivered in the tenth month. As the earth has fire in its womb, as heaven is pregnant with the sun, as the quarters are impregnated by air, so I am impregnating you by placing this seed in your womb.” After the reciting of the mantra, he utters his own name and that of his wife and places the seed.
23) When she is about to deliver the child, he sprinkles her with water, repeating the following mantra: “As the wind agitates a pond on every side, even so let your foetus stir and come out along with the chorion. Indra (prana) made a path when the seed entered the womb. O Indra, follow 200 that path and come out with the foetus and the covering and cause also the after birth to come forth with the babe.”
24) When the son is born, he should light a fire, take the child on his lap, put a mixture of curds and clarified butter in a bell— metal cup and offer oblations in the fire repeatedly, uttering the mantra: “May I increase as the son in my own home and support a thousand people! May the Goddess of Fortune never depart, with children and cattle, from his line! Svaha! The vital breath that is in me, I mentally offer to you. Svaha! If I have done anything too much or too little in this ceremony, may the all— knowing and highly beneficent fire make it just right and proper for me. Svaha!”
25) The, putting his month to the child’s right ear, he should say thrice: “Speech! Speech!” Next he would mix together curds, honey and clarified butter and feed the child with a golden stick which is not placed inside the month, saying these mantras: “I put the earth (Bhuh) into you; I put the sky (Bhuvah) into you; I put heaven (Svah) into you. The whole of earth, sky and heaven I put into you.”
26) Then he (the father) gives him (the son) a name: ‘You are the Veda (knowledge).” That is his secret name.
27) Then he presents him to the mother to give him her breast, uttering the mantra: “O Sarasvati, that breast of thine which is fruitful, the sustainer of all, full of milk, the bestower of wealth and generous and by which thou nourishest all who are worthy—transfer that breast here to my wife, for my child to suck.
28) Then he addresses the mother of the child thus: ‘You are the adorable Arundhati, the wife of Vasishtha and with me, who am a man, as your partner you have brought forth a male child. Be the mother of many male children, for you have given us a son.
—
In response to those who say sex is not for pleasure but only for having children, there is this section from the same Upanishad that tells you how to prevent pregnancy from sex. Note: for enlightened rishis only. Don’t try this at home!
Note: this two-part series was inspired by an interview with David Godman. I will expand on most of these topics in the future, but a few of David’s comments catalyzed breakthroughs in my personal understanding. So I thought I’d post some ruminations inspired by them. YMMV. Part One establishes the background and talks about activity in enlightenment. Part Two talks about stages of enlightenment.
Part One
It seems that people are popping into Enlightenment everywhere these days.
Anyone who follows the modern American spiritual scene is aware that reports of ‘awakening’ or ‘enlightenment’ are quite widespread. They are especially common among teachers in the so-called Neo-Vedanta and Neo-Buddhist movements. A good selection of some of these teachers can be found at http://www.batgap.com — Rick Archer’s excellent web site, Buddha At the Gas Pump. Rick has not only interviewed over 200 people who represent themselves as having attained some level of realization, but his decades of experience as a teacher of meditation make him very qualified to understand and probe deeply into their claims.
This development may be viewed as the maturation of the introduction of Eastern spiritual ideas into the West. In terms of Indian teachings, this can be seen as comprising three waves. The first wave was inaugurated by Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the disciple of the great Bengali saint, Shri Ramakrishna (1836-1886). Vivekananda first spoke in the West at the Parliament of the World’s Religions at Chicago in 1893. Although Eastern ideas had been popularized in the West previously to this, perhaps most notably through the works of the Theosophical Society founded in 1873, they were usually filtered through a Western perspective and often of questionable accuracy. Vivekananda was arguably the first to achieve significant notoriety as a direct representative of a major school of Indian thought, namely Vedanta.
The second wave may be said to have been inaugurated by Swami Yogananda (1893-1952) who came to the United States in 1920. In 1946 he published his very influential life story, Autobiography of a Yogi. From his headquarters in Los Angeles and India his teachings grew slowly but surely until his death in 1952. During the following years both Vivekananda’s Vedanta Society and Yogananda’s Spiritual Regeneration Fellowship continued their activities.
The previous waves, while influential, nevertheless failed to reach beyond a relatively small audience of dedicated spiritual seekers. That was to change with the third wave, inaugurated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918-2008) who arrived in the United States in 1958 and who soon after made a world tour. His simplified form of Transcendental Meditation (TM), freed of religious trappings, made it very popular in the West and it grew steadily in popularity. When the popular rock band The Beatles learned it in 1967 its popularity exploded, and it soon became a household phenomenon practiced by people of all walks of life, far different from the dedicated followers of the earlier teachings with their oriental mystique.
Many other influential Indian teachers came during this time, many no doubt inspired by those who had come before, but by that time the third wave had become a permanent worldwide phenomenon. There will be no more waves, with their ebb and flow, since the ocean has spread to permanently cover the globe. A similar time line could be developed for the spread of Buddhist teachings that often overlapped and often filled in the gaps in the Indian teachings, but that is beyond my expertise. It is interesting, however, that there was an important spread of Buddhism into the West during the 1950s and early 1960s at a time when Indian teachings were not as active.
In any case, it is no surprise, after close to 50 years of widespread dedicated practice of eastern paths to enlightenment, that numerous people are claiming to be enlightened.
But are they really there?
For an informed and experienced observer it is clear that some of these claims are premature.
First, it will be helpful to establish some terminology. Unfortunately, ‘awakening’ and ‘enlightenment’ are used so promiscuously that their meanings have become unclear. ‘Enlightenment’ will be used here only in sense that it is used in the Vedantic and Buddhist traditions: the permanent realization of the eternal universal Self beyond the small self or individual ego. I will use the term in ‘awakening’ in a lesser sense to refer to any glimpse of a higher state of consciousness.
A glimpse of enlightenment, no matter how transformative, is not the same as full realization. This is covered quite well in Mariana Caplan’s Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment, so I won’t elaborate on it here.
A more difficult issue, however, is whether we can discern the level of attainment of someone who seems to be quite clearly exhibiting signs of permenant enlightenment. The first thing that has to be noted is that the concept of enlightenment has been over-romanticized by centuries of myth-making portraying enlightened men and women as some kind of miracle-wielding, supremely perfect beings. Even modern gurus are not entirely innocent of this tendency. But if one thing has been made clear in the past five decades of hard-headed skeptical analyses of enlightenment, it is this: enlightenment may be great, but it isn’t perfect. The expectations that attaining enlightenment will somehow instantly remove all of your personal foibles and make you perfect in every way has been shown to be an illusion.
Some of these issues are discussed in Robert K. C. Forman’s book Enlightenment Ain’t What It’s Cracked Up To Be. He discusses that although one may be experiencing very high states of consciousness, this does not imply that all of the other aspects of one’s life are well-integrated.
I wrote a paper titled, Reply to Ken Wilber: the Seven States of Consciousness Model in which I discuss Ken Wilber’s critique of the model of human development by psychologist Charles Alexander. In it I address Wilber’s most germane point that enlightenment may not guarantee the development of the highest stages, but I suggest that it does seem to make their actualization far easier. My discussion goes far beyond this, however, because Alexander et al. and I share a common foundational model of spiritual experiences, the Seven States of Consciousness proposed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which, while mostly praised by Wilber, is not completely accepted by him.
I found great insight into these issues from David Godman who is a long-term spiritual commentator and scholar of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, Papaji and Naisargadatta Maharaj. His interview by Rick Archer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xayU4f5–I ) clarified my understanding on a couple of key issues. One of the main questions is the nature of desire in enlightenment and how this is manifested in action. As referred to above, the idea of enlightenment as a thoughtless state where one automatically and unfailingly showers grace on everyone around appears to be unrealistic, at least according to the norms of our decidedly non-cosmic society. The evidence has been there all along, but ignored: it is clear that even the enlightened still continue to exhibit a unique personality.
Godman pointed out that since the value of spiritual teachers is in their ability to stimulate higher states of consciousness, one should not make to much of their personal foibles. Papaji disliked Pakistan, voted as a Indian conservative and loved cricket and junk food. He even had an affair with a younger disciple that resulted in pregnancy. (I discuss more generally this particularly sticky topic in another article, Sex and the Guru). Nisargadatta Maharaj smoked cigarettes. Ramana appeared to have been obsessive-compulsive. Godman uses the analogy that you go to diamond merchant for the quality of his diamonds. “You’re not going to a guru for lessons on ettiquette and behavior; you’re going for enlightenment.” (Godman/Archer 1:12 ff.)
He cites Ramana who said that there are certain desires like eating or breathing. You can’t do anything about them. You don’t worry about them. But he also made a valuable distinction between two different types of latent impressions that give rise to desires which are called vaasanas. There are bandha vaasanas “bondage impressions” which bind people to ignorance and force you to behave in a certain way. But there are also bhoga vaasanas “pleasure impressions” which are what remain after enlightenment. They are just for enjoyment; the enlightened are not bound by them. (Godman/Archer 1:08 ff.)
It also appears that the way thoughts, perceptions and actions are manifested in enlightenment depends on which stage of enlightenment one is in. I discuss that in Part Two.
———
Some random notes from the same interview with Godman:
1:15 Ramakrishna said even if my guru drinks toddy, he’s still my guru because it doesn’t impinge on his enlightenment.
1:21 When Ramana was nine he had a glimpse when his father died. When he was 16 he was living in this uncle’s house and he gained enlightenment spontaneously. He said it was due to practice in a past life.
1:23 Ramana said after E his old body was burned by gyana and he got a new body.
1:25 Godman: it seems if you’ve done a lot of spal practice you slip into it easily without a big shock to your body; if it is sudden, like with Ramana, it can be a big shock and can take some time to get used to it
These are primarily my personal notes in a somewhat rough form. I put them here in case others are interested. I primarily chose those sections where Maharishi laid out the development of his model for the Seven States of Consciousness over a period of several years.
Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh. 1967. The Seven States of Consciousness. Live Recoding – Los Angeles.
Broken up into seven parts on youtube. The link actually goes to a playlist that begins with two other lectures then moves on to the one in question. At least that was the case at the time this post was made.
Part 1
7:40 commonly we live waking, dreaming, sleep
7:56-8:50 Those who meditate … they take our awareness from the outside and gradually go deep into the thinking process and eventually go beyond the thought. … And then the thinking mind, the conscious mind, becomes consciousness. … This consciousness is Pure Consciousness. The nature of this PC is bliss. It is nonchanging sphere of life because we have transcended all the variable action of relative life and gone to the Absolute. This is called Being.”
“Those who meditate … gradually go deep into the thinking process and eventually go beyond the thought. … And then the thinking mind, the conscious mind, becomes consciousness. … This consciousness is Pure Consciousness. The nature of this Pure Consciousness is bliss. It is nonchanging sphere of life…. the Absolute.” (Maharishi. 1972. Part 1 :7:56-8:50)
9:08 all the gross and subtle aspects of Creation; and these within everything in Creation is that field of Being; Transcendental Absolute.
11:00 “The word ‘Absolute’, so far, was shrouded in the garb of mysticism. Even these days, I hear some word ‘transcendentalism’. It is the transcendental field of life that is free from ‘isms’. <laughter> All ‘isms’ belong to the changing sphere of relative life. Every “ism” has some corresponding branch of learning. … “Transcendentalism” is a word from the mouth of the ignorant.” ends 11:47 REBUTTAL OF KATZ (Maharishi. 1972. Part 1 : ~11-11:47 minutes)
“The entire metabolic rate becomes nil. The physical nervous system gets completely rested and yet it is alert. Inside one is awake. Mind is not functioning: it’s not active but awareness is clear. This clarity of awareness is Pure Consciousness or Pure Awareness.” (Maharishi. 1972. Part 1 : 14:10-14:40)
end part 1
begin part 2
0-0:07 “And when the thought drops off, the thinker remains all by himself; and this is Self-Realization. “
0:44-1:25 “What I have to do (sic) to realize my Self? I have only to stop realizing things from within (sic), and see that I don’t go to sleep. (laughter) … If I go out of all this experience, and don’t fall into the inertia of sleep, then I’ll be awake in my Self.”
2:30 “How can I be difficult to realize for my Self. …
3:20 Self-Realization is the simplest thing that one could accomplish in life.”
5min The basis of all the field of knowledge is language, the basis of communication. The basis of the field of language is the K of the alphabet. (ME: linguistics) Now alphabet, what is the basis of the alphabet? The answer is nil. This shows that clearly that the present system of education not indicating the source of the alpha and not providing the K of the source of the alpha, is completely baseless. We pick up the alpha when it comes on the vocal level… the combination and the words and the whole thing.
Part 2 9:30 It is on the intellectual level that we decide the principle, not on what we see. Many a time, the perception is deceptive. But what we decide intellectually, we hold that to be true.
pt 3 PC 4th state of consciousness
in the beginning the mind goes and comes out, quickly
stability, nonchanging, bliss,
4:39 “This quick transference of the physical structure [alternation of PC and waking state] gives the nervous system an ability where it continues to reflect Pure Consciousness at the time when it is reflecting waking state of consciousness. So both states of consciousness begin to be reflected simultaneously. One lives bliss consciousness permanently whether one is waking or dreaming or sleeping. In the deep sleep, one is wide awake inside (Skip Alexander). The body and mind, everything takes complete rest, deep rest… inside completely awake. During activity one is engaged in vigorous activity, but has an unshakeable stand of bliss consciousness. One begins to live these two states of consciousness simultaneously: waking and Pure Consciousness. And this is called Cosmic Consciousness.” (Maharishi. 1972. Part 3: 4:39-5:45)
CC has corresponding state of the nervous system – does not lose PC, does not lose Restful Alertness in bliss consciousness
7:51 perm state of Cosmic Consciousness cannot be gained by psychological thinking
~8min “wide awake in one’s own nature”
part 4 – not much theory
part 5
1:35 “The first step to God Realization is Self Realization.”
2:20 Until we have found the whole creation, the search for the Creator is just a fanciful idea of some abstract nature which will not conform to any practicality of life. And if we want to know the whole of Nature … we must know what we are.”
“unbounded, eternal, absolute, unchanging Being, bliss consciousness I am”
4:20 “Realization of the Self first, and then realization of the creation. The two realizations give the relationship between the inner Self and the outer world. And the relationship of the inner Self and the outer world is: this is relative, this is Absolute.” 4:40
4:42 “When one has established the Self knows the outer world and the Self knows the relationship with the creation… then one rises to find the Creator. 4:58
5 min “The Self knows outer world and realizing the relation of the unbounded outer world with the self “having realized the Creator, one rises to establish the relation of the Creator with the self within.” and that relation of the creator establishes GC – where one lives the Abs and supreme relative at the same time. Having lived that for some time, one begins to realize the mechanics that lie between the highest relative and the Abs. And this makes clear to him what is that in nature which separates the two. And with this K one finds that they are essentially the same. ” 5:43 “So this unity of life is not only a fanciful thought on the level of metaphysical understanding or on the fanciful level of imagination. It is a living reality… 6m
6:47 “For about four years in the beginning of my Movement I was only devoted to establishing the value of the Absolute into the relative life. [Cosmic Consciousness] (7m) … It is only from about the fifth or sixth year that I started to speak about the light of the celestial. And it’s only since last year that I have started to explain about God C in a systematic manner. And it is only from about this year that I’ve started to speak about that state of supreme K. These things cannot be understood clearly enough to bring satisfaction on the intellectual level [even] without the experience.” 6:47 – 7:30)me: leave out word ‘even’
8:15 “This supreme knowledge is the knowledge of Vedanta. The whole field of Yoga is from waking state of consciousness to this Self Consciousness and making this Self Consciousness permanent into Cosmic Consciousness. This is the field of Yoga. Having gained Cosmic Consciousness, Yoga, or Union, is complete. Then this state of union becomes glorified through devotion. And devotion plays a great part. The heart has to be cultured for the direct realization of that celestial nature of life. It is a fully cultured heart that brings the light of that celestial experience and from there one glorifies Cosmic Consciousness into God Consciousness. [9:08] So the field of Yoga is glorified through devotion in order to give rise to God Consciousness. And from that God Consciousness devotion finds its fulfillment in the supreme knowledge [Vedanta] when God Consciousness is lived for some time. ” [9:25] … “One could rise to the supreme knowledge, beyond which there is no possibility of any more expansion of consciousness; beyond which there is no possibility of any development of life. “
“… everything is easy and one’s life is fully supp by Nat and every thought will be materialized. Just we don’t do anything and enjoy everything.”
Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh. 1967. “The Seven States Of Consciousness – Live Audio Recording – Los Angeles.” Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – The Seven States Of Consciousness – Part 1 (1967) Vinyl – YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScwYJ7GHixw&list=PLkQBRoNgEn3iK7GOuAniy22UoxCy7lOSx.
This is a document that summarizes the history of the Transcendental Meditation Movement. It is best read at:
http://maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com/achievements/Maharishi-Achievements/03.html
It is reproduced here only for archival purposes in case it is removed from the web.
Adyashanti – True Meditation part 2 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQFtY4j-3fI
18:10 “Before we find out what we actually are, first we must find out what we’re not. We could call this the Way of Subraction. In the Christian tradition they call this via negativa: the negative path. In the Hindu tradition of Vedanta, they call this the path of “neti neti”. Neti neti means “not this, not that”. Basically, these are all paths of subtraction.
-20 “… you start to see, there are thoughts but you are the witness of your thoughts. So you are not your thoughts. … there is something more primary that is watching the thoughts. In the same way, there are feelings…. and there is the witness of the feelings. … There is also awareness of those beliefs. And we all know that our beliefs change. …
CC
-30:20 “We are actually finding out what is the essential nature of ourself. Bodies and minds and and beliefs and feelings are like clothing the spirit puts on, or awareness puts on; and we’re finding out what’s underneath this clothing. … And it can be quite radical, quite transformative, to realize that you are not antything that you ever thought you were. That you are not your beliefs, you’re not your personality, you’re not your ego. You are something other than this. You are something that resides and remains on the inside; on the innermost part of your being. Right now, for the moment, we’re calling that awareness itself. 31:19”
-31:49 “This is such a leap that the mind can’t make it. Thought cannot comprehend what’s beyond thought. … This is a transcendent recognition; a transcendent revelation. It’s actually our identity waking up from the prison of separation to its true state. And this is actually an extraodinarily simple recognition but extraordinarily profound. It might come in the beginning for some people as a very quick flash. It recognized that you have actually always been this awareness that been watching from the inside all along. You may have it as a very quick flash…. Or it may flash upon you and it may last for a longer period of time. For some people it flash within them and it may stay that way indefinitely.””
-33 “Now matter how it comes, it is important to realize that this is not something the mind decides upon. This is a flash of revelation.”
-34:30 “taking back our identity from thought, from ego”
36: “its also equally important to realize that although we are taking back, or extracting our identity, out of thought and feeling and personality, we are not denying or disassociating ourselves from thought or personiality or belief. … This is simply a way of getting identity to wake up from the dream of separation. But even when it wakes up there is still a body there, there is still a personality there, tehre is still a rudimentary ego structure there.?
-37 “who we are is now resting in its essence. who we are is no longer found in our body, mind, personality, thoughts and beliefs. Who we are rests in its source.
-38 “When we extract our identity from them our whole human experience starts the process of coming into a natural harmony … we are not divided against ourselves. Of course it may not immediately come into this harmony in the deepest possible way. But certainly the journey begins, where even on a human level, we come into a harmony of body and mind. ”
UC
-40m “even though spiritual begins as finding who we’re not, that is not where spirituality ends …. Because there is also the necessity of what I call the Great Inclusion. So after we have subtracted ourselves, pulled our identity out of thought and belief and personality and ego, simply by seeing that there is someting more primary. Simply by seeing that there is someting more primary, identity begins to come out of it. And eventually rests in awareness itself.”
-”much more free to identify yourself as awareness than to identify yourself as a thought form [such as the idea “I am awareness”].”
41:30 “We should also not get stuck in a new concept, in a new way of identifying ourselves neccessarily simply as awareness. Because another word for awareness could be spirit. Because awareness is something that has no form, no shape, no color. It has no gender, it has no age, it had no beliefs. And awareness itself is also of the nature of spirit. Spirit simply means … a beingness, a sense of aliveness. An awareness that has no shape, no form, no color, no gender. It is transcendent of all of those. That is spirit. That within us which transcends all our forms.”
42:44 “Now the Way of Inclusion we start to notice that awareness or spirit is not resisting thoughts … feelings … personality, ego.”
43:30 “And so when you start to notice that there is this prescence of awareness within you. this presence of awareness that is what you actually are; and then you start to notice that this presence of awareness is not trying to change your humanness. It’s not trying to alter you. Just as important, it’s not trying to alter others. It’s something that’s totally inclusive. [44m] – “It’s a state of being is where everything is OK simply the way it is.”
44:30 “It’s an amazing revelation for a human being to realize that their true nature, as awareness or spirit, their true nature is not trying to change their human nature. That allows the human nature to rest; to no longer feel separate from its source; when it realizes that its source is not trying to alter it. … We start to feel a unity within ourselves.”
-45:13 “Because ultimately there is no dividing line between awareness/spirit and ego/personality. … When we start to let go into awareness or spirit, we start to recognize that that’s who and what we really are. We start to see that everything in existence is actually simply a manifestation of spirit. It’s an expression of spirit. Whether it’s the chair you’re sitting on, or the floor you’re lying on… the shoes you wear … everything is an expressoin of spirit. The trees outside, the sky…. In the same way, that body you call you…”
-46:28 “Now when our identification is caught in these various forms, that’s suffering. Then we feel separate. But when through enquiry and meditation our identity starts to come back to its home ground as awareness/spirit itself, then everything is included. Everything starts to be seen as a manifestation of spirit. Including your personality, including your humanness with all of its strengths, with all of its weaknesses. Your humanness is in no way separate from the divinity within you which you actually are. … I call this the Way of Inclusion….”
-stopped at 47:33 – listened lightly to the rest
54:40 “It’s the beginning of a new way of life. Instead of a life lived from the separate ego, the illusion of the egoic personality, it’s the beginning of a life lived from a conscious recognition of our true nature as spirit. And that’s a truly new life. … it’s not the end of spirituality as some people think. It’s actually the beginning of a new way of life. It’s the beginning of … the ongoing discovery…. what is it to recognize that you’re spirit appearing as a human being. That is a journey all and of itself. …. it’s what I call life after awakening.
Enlightenment Journals 