Meditation: Key to Inner Freedom

There is nothing in the outer world, no person, no condition and no circumstance that can take away the freedom which is yours in spirit. Instead of wishing that you were free to live your life differently, accept the truth that right now you are free, free to change your thinking, free to change your outlook on life, free to be all that you long to be.
- Swami Satyananda

We generally think of oppression as something outside of ourselves. It is due to the government, our job, family, partner, lack of education, prejudice, etc. People all over the world are fighting for freedom and this is something wonderful, despite the suffering and bloodshed involved. Let’s envision a world in which every one of us has basic human rights, freedom to express ourselves and to determine our own destinies. Social and political freedom are meaningless though as long as we trapped in our own thoughts, beliefs and emotional patterns.

Yoga philosophy tells us that we are all conditioned by ignorance of our true identity. We are bound by ego-centric desire, hatred and fear. These are the root causes of our bondage. It is an insidious form of bondage of which we are often unaware. Overlaid on these are the layers of our personal and social conditioning. Due to our need to fit in and belong, to feel loved and admired, to establish our unique personal territory we have sacrificed our true nature, sabotaged our divine potential. When we judge ourselves and others, try to be in control of situations, seek approval, etc. we are adding bricks the prison wall. We hold onto our reductionist self-definitions out of fear that we might become lost in the expanse of our true being.

Meditation is a paradoxical discipline of letting go. Through the practice of deep relaxation, detached self-observation and focused awareness we can dismantle the cage of ego, deconstruct the narrative of fear, unworthiness and victimization. Meditation connects us to our inner power, grace and ease. It dissolves the barriers between ourselves and our divine source. It heals the narcissistic wounds from childhood and opens us to the presence of love.

The problem is that we can’t be free until we know who we are. Our true nature is freedom; freedom from all conditions, limitations, lack or disease. We are essentially beings of joy, light, love and boundless consciousness.

Everything else is a lie meant to enslave us.

Attuning to the Infinite

To chant a mantra at a deeper yogic level is to think with the entire universe and to access the wisdom and experience of all beings.

- Dr. David Frawley

When I conduct a yoga class I always start with the practice of Om chanting. To me it seems completely natural and even self-evident to do so. All the possible explanation of the benefits can be experienced simply by doing it. Still some students are put off. Perhaps they think I am indoctrinating them in a religion, or putting a spell on them. This is understandable. We are all a little resistant to encountering the unfamiliar. The practice of Om chanting requires lowering one’s guard to a certain extent. It is an effective way of promoting relaxation, lowering blood pressure, improving memory and concentration and going beyond the limits of our ordinary ego-centric minds.

In Mantra Yoga and the Primal Sound: Secrets of Seed (Bija) Mantras David Frawley suggests that “Perhaps the easiest way for us to understand mantra is as a kind of asana for the mind. Mantras provide focus, strength, plasticity and adaptability to the mind, just as asanas do for the body.” Mantras generally do not have a direct word to word translatability into English. Instead they challenge us to develop new meta-concepts; new ways of understanding ourselves and our relation to the universe. As Swami Satyananda has explained, mantras are used for their sound qualities not as a means of communicating intellectually. We have to experience the mantra to truly understand its meaning.

The mantra “Om” is central to the Yogic tradition. In the Yoga Sutras it is referred to as “Pranava,” meaning “that which pervades all life.” It is the universal hum of creation. Om is first mentioned in the Rig Veda which is estimated to have originated between 1700-1100 BC (some argue that it was much earlier than that). It is generally considered to be the outward form of the inner sound which experienced practitioners hear in deep meditation. By chanting Om aloud or silently within we attune to the underlying vibratory field of creation. Through attuning to Om we experience how the farthest reaches of space and our innermost self are intimately interconnected. Om is the fundamental sound of everyone and everything.

The Mandukya Upanishad offers an expanded understanding of the mantra Om as it relates to consciousness and its states. It gives us a sense of the transcendent aspect of consciousness as it is present in the conditioned states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. Om represents both the immanent and transcendent aspects of consciousness. The first verse of this Upanishad dives deep into the significance of this mantra:

Om is the universal sound. Past, present and future are all contained within and that which is beyond the divisions of time is also present in Om.

Wow! If we pause to think about it for a moment this opening verse challenges us to go beyond our ordinary concepts and understanding. What is beyond past, present and future? We might be tempted to say “eternity,” but we usually envision this as an endless future. The Upanishad suggests that we should try to think beyond the linear notions of time. We might say that it is the “eternal now” and this might be closer to the point. Like a koan from the Zen tradition it pushes us to go beyond our conditioned mind.

Om, according to the Upanishad, represents the source or cosmic consciousness, Brahman. Brahman is sometimes translated as “God,” however most of us have been raised to understand God as some distant, authoritarian figure. Brahman is actually your innermost essential nature. It is the creative mind of the universe expressing itself in and through each of us. It is the universal flow of Loving Awareness.

This Universal Self is divided up within each of us as four states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, dreamless sleep and transcendent awareness. We are all familiar with the first three. We all go through cycles of waking, dream sleep and dreamless sleep. Sometimes, of course we have difficulty with the sleep part. The fourth state is not actually a separate state. Instead it is the witnessing awareness present in all states – even the “unconscious” state of deep sleep. Through meditation practice we can awaken to this inner witness and experience it more clearly.

The waking state is the one we are most familiar with. Many would refer to it as THE state of consciousness. From the Yogic viewpoint however it is a relative state of consciousness equivalent to dreaming. As Ramana Maharshi once stated, “The world does not exist in sleep and forms a projection of your mind in the waking state. It is therefore an idea and nothing else.” While scientific investigation seeks to know the external world of the senses, Yogic investigation inquires into the subjective aspect; the knower. Reality is basically experiential. We don’t know of any other reality. The world beyond conscious experience is purely hypothetical. We are usually so preoccupied with the seeming objective world of experience that we forget the “experiencer.”

When we experience through dreams, we encounter mind our imagination more directly. Often we dream of fragments of our waking experience. If we pay attention however dreams contain information beyond the limits of our ordinary consciousness. Dreams can be precognitive as well as about past events. Dreams can give us deeper information about our experiences in the waking state. They can be clairvoyant, transegoic and can actually bring about changes in the world of our waking experience. Dreams can bring us warnings and can give us visions of the course to take in life.

We tend to regard deep sleep as a waste of time. Of course it is valuable in restoring us both physically and psychologically. From the Yogic perspective, it has a deeper value. In the state of deep sleep we are free from all stress. We are free from desire, hatred and fear. We are actually connected with our infinite Being. The Mundakhya Upanishad refers to the deep sleep state as “prajna.” Prajna is generally understood as enlightened wisdom. “Prajna,” it states, “is the ultimate Being, the true knower, the creator and destroyer of all beings.” The problem however is that we are asleep!

Awakening in the spiritual sense means becoming aware of the true being buried within us; becoming aware of awareness itself. This is the fourth state of consciousness referred to as turiya. “Turiya is pure awareness,” according to the Upanishad, “neither subjective, nor objective nor in between.” Within turiya we experience peace, ecstatic joy and non-duality. We are at one with infinite being.

The mantra Om represents this awareness as it is present in all states of consciousness. In order to grasp this we must spell the mantra as AUM. A is the waking state, U is dreaming and M is deep sleep. The natural silence that we experience at the end is turiya. Om doesn’t just stand as a symbol representing this experience. Instead the practice of Om chanting both out loud and silently takes us into the actual experience. In fact, if we just try to understand Om intellectually we end up with endless “fascinating” discussions. The practice of meditation on Om takes us into silence, deep peace, joy and unity.

Resources:

Lao Tzu, Jesus and Patanjali

The Kingdom of Heaven is within.

- Jesus


There seem to be some basic themes running through the various religious traditions of the world; some spiritual principles which are universal and unanimous. Of course there also disparities between traditions but I suspect these are more superficial and can be overlooked as we seek to find a common spirituality which is actually central to human nature. If we look at such separate fields as anthropology, psychedelic research and Jungian Psychology, for example, we encounter common themes pointing to a common spiritual potential striving to awaken within human consciousness. Given the current research, we can even pull in the field of “contemplative neuroscience.”

Rather than attempt an exhaustive analysis, (please read Houston Smith for that) I want to explore some themes that I find common within the sayings of Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese master, Jesus, weighing in from the Middle East and Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutras, an ancient Indian text on meditation. Each was an outstanding master within their separate cultural milieus. Lao Tzu is a seminal figure in the Chinese spiritual tradition of Taoism. Jesus, of course, emerged from the Judaic tradition and had an entirely new religion develop out of his teachings. Patanjali is credited with codifying the more ancient tradition of Meditative Yoga in a form which has survived and influenced the following centuries.

I grew up in the Catholic religion and was indoctrinated in that particular interpretation of Jesus’ teachings. From my childhood I heard the parables of Jesus without really understanding them. In fact, I don’t lay claim to a complete understanding of his teachings yet, by any means. One that particularly stuck with me was the story of the Prodigal Son. What did that parable mean? From the standpoint of my religious background it seems to indicate that it was a good idea to give up one’s evil ways, conform to religious rules and that one would be duly rewarded in the afterlife. But what about that assertion that “The Kingdom” is within us?

I don’t remember exactly when I discovered the Tao Te Ching (or Dao De Jing.) However, the wise words of Lao Tzu have resonated with me for many years. As I went on to study Yoga I found his poetic sayings to be even more meaningful. One theme that runs throughout the Tao Te Ching is the emphasis on “return.” He states in chapter 10:

Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

The source is known as “Tao.” The text itself tells us that Tao cannot be defined. It is both the source and the hidden order of all things. Like in the Yoga tradition, this source is entered into by stilling thought and opening the heart. This source is what Jesus refers to as the “Kingdom of Heaven,” and what Patanjali refers to as Ishwara. It is the universal source of being; the non-dual Consciousness residing within.

I first became familiar with Patanjali’s teachings from my guru, Paramhamsa Satyananda Saraswati. I have continued to study them over the years, reading and comparing various translations and commentaries, but, more importantly practicing the methods as taught by him. I don’t think there is much point in studying comparative religion without entering into practice, whether prayer, contemplation or meditation; better still, all three. Scholars have argued for decades over what the Kingdom of Heaven, Tao or Samadhi might mean. The traditions require us to enter the spiritual path to find the meanings. Ultimately the spiritual “path” doesn’t lead anywhere else but to where you truly are (or where the true “you” is).

The Yoga tradition describes two apparent movements of consciousness. One is the outward movement known as pravritti. This is the movement whereby consciousness follows the mind and senses to engage in the world. It is actually a creative process, however, consciousness forgets itself in its own creation. We become individualized fragments of our original wholeness, or so we believe. The other movement of consciousness is called nivritti. This is where consciousness remembers itself. Actually consciousness never moves because it is not located anywhere. Pravritti means activity of mind and nivritti means cessation and return. Pravritti is the means by which we create and enter into our experience of the world, nivritti is the means by which we disengage and return to our source. As Patanjali states at the beginning of the Yoga Sutras: “Yoga (i.e. union) means bringing the patterns of consciousness (chitta vritti) into stillness. Then consciousness rests in its own essential nature.”

Patanjali rather succinctly understates the significance of resting in one’s essential nature. Often we think of Yoga in terms of stress reduction. The ultimate achievement of Yoga however takes one beyond any and all stress. It is the realization of oneself as a being of consciousness untouched by birth, death and suffering. It is a release into pure ecstasy, peace that passes understanding. If we compare this with Lao Tzu’s words we can see a definite similarity. He states:

If you don’ realize the source,
You stumble in confusion and sorrow.

Here he is describing pravritti and then goes on to describe nivritti:

When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.
(Stephen Mitchell, “The Enlightened Heart”)

So perhaps the story of the Return of the Prodigal Son by Jesus has a similar meaning to the Yogic concept of nivritti and the Taoist sense of returning to the source. Let’s follow the parable. It begins with a certain man who has two sons. One decides to collect his inheritance and try his fortune in the world. He departs to a far country where he squanders it through “riotous living” and ends destitute and hungry. This represents the process of pravritti, it seems. The son represents the ego-self who takes his creative potential from the source and becomes lost and seemingly separate from it. The far country represents the world of the senses wherein our true nature is forgotten.

He ends up feeding pigs after having joined the citizenship of the spiritually blind. Remember Jesus was a Jew telling his stories to other Jews. That culture traditionally does not think highly of pigs. So there is a strong sense of debasement and humiliation involved. As Lao Tzu put it he was “stumbling in confusion and sorrow.” Often it is the recognition of our suffering that leads us to begin seeking a spiritual path. The prodigal son begins to remember his home, his source and seeks to return. As he is returning there is a strong sense of remorse and also unworthiness. He thinks of offering himself as a servant to his father. However, the Old Man holds no grudge and presents him with a lavish welcome home.

Here the sense of self-loathing and undeserving stands out. It seems to be an aspect of our Judeo-Christian inheritance that is missing in the East. It is what the Buddhist psychologist Tara Brach refers to as “the trance of unworthiness.” If we fall into this particular psychological pattern (vritti) it becomes an obstacle to our return. Note that Jesus indicates that there is no reciprocal sense of judgment coming from the source. All of the vrittis represent our creative power. We create and cling to our narratives of worthlessness and despair. It is pretty clear here that Jesus did not mean for us to wallow in our sense of being guilty sinners.

Then there is the other son, the “good one.” He represents another tendency of the ego. Instead of finding himself unworthy, he is judgmental and resentful. He lacks love, compassion and humility. Instead of welcoming his brother home, he gets pissed off about all the attention he’s getting. Humility is different than feelings of unworthiness. Instead it is an absence of judgment of our self or others. The father tells him “come on in. The door is always open.” Being self-righteous does not lead us back to our source. Instead as Jesus taught, we need to become innocent like little children.

Patanjali refers to Ishwara, or “God” in the Yoga Sutras as a “unique soul” who is untouched by the conditions of life. Ishwara “contains the seed of omniscience,” and by virtue of being timeless, he is also the first teacher. He is intimately connected with the mantra OM. Although we use the masculine pronoun here, Ishwara is completely impersonal. It is the consciousness beyond our ego-identifications, the essence of our own beings. The Tao, Ishwara and the Heavenly Father as presented by Jesus in the parable are all impersonal. There is no sense of judgment or need to control. There is simply unconditional love. There is a Divine Principle which operates through us and within us, a possibility and a promise.

As Echhardt Tole writes:

So really what it comes down to, it's God. Wherever you look, it's God appearing as this, that, that and what you really love and appreciate in each form is the divine formless out of which each form comes. But to be able to sense that you have to sense it in yourself first. And that is seeing the beauty in everything, that's really what it means.

Resources:

Mantra and Meaning

The mantra is a combination or assembly of powerful sound
waves. As such, the intellectual understanding of the mantra is not
at all necessary.
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati



Inevitably when I introduce mantra to a class someone asks, “What does it mean?” On one hand mantra is not just gibberish, on the other it doesn’t really correspond with our common notions of “meaning.” Ordinarily, we think of words as pointing to something, an object, idea or belief. Language as such is at the basis of dualistic thought. Mantra is non-dualistic language. It resonates within consciousness and has no object of reference.

Mantras are meant to takes us beyond the mind. While ordinary words point to either sensual or mental “objects,” mantras point inwardly to the Self. This makes it difficult to respond as to the “meaning” of a mantra. The mantra “Om Namah Shivaya,” for instance, is often “translated” as “I offer salutations to the Universal Consciousness.” As such it can give us somewhat of an intellectual crutch to use. The purpose of the mantra however goes way beyond the meaning. Dedicated practice of the mantra will open you to the experience of the Universal Consciousness within yourself.

Some mantras, such as the bija mantras for the chakras, have no meaning. They are simply sounds used to awaken experience of the psychic energy centers along the spine. Other longer mantras are actually understood as prayers, however, the resonant sound qualities of the mantras are just as important as the “words.” In this way the mantric prayers help harmonize the rational, analytic left brain and the holistic, aesthetic and emotional right brain. If we get hung up in interpreting the meaning we become unbalanced and simply intellectualize the mantra rather than allowing it to take us into a state of transcendent consciousness.

Om, sometimes spelled Aum, is regarded as the root of all mantras. It is referred to as the “pranava” meaning that it is the sound that pervades all life. Trying to unpack the various “meanings” of Om will take another post. However, Om chanting will help you to enter a state of calm presence, a sense of universal connection and deep inner peace. This is the real meaning of the mantra. In general we could say that the true meaning of a mantra is discovered through its practice rather than something given up front. We must enter into the experience of the mantra, give ourselves over to it and then its meaning will be revealed.

Some resources:

Meditations for Staying Positive

Illigitimi non carbrorundum.
- Anon.


There’s no question that other people can sometimes be a pain. As much as we practice meditation, positive thinking and try to maintain an attitude of compassion someone always comes along to push our buttons. Suddenly the inner peace is gone and we’re fuming. Certain people just get on our nerves and some seem to go out of their way to do so. Or perhaps some people seem to cause us to feel insecure, undermine our confidence or otherwise bring us down. Based on our encounters we might feel uplifted or we might feel angry, resentful of self-pitying. For those of us on the path of yoga, the question arises, “How do I maintain my inner calm when I have to deal with these (fill in the blank)?”

Meditation is a practical means for dealing with life not just a means for altering consciousness to achieve a “legal high.” (It does work though.) The goal is to achieve an inner steadiness or equanimity. As the Bhagavad Gita states, “Yoga is complete evenness of mind.” Through consistent practice and the cultivation of non-attachment we can develop an unshakable inner peace. We develop an inner harbor in the face of life’s storms. The problem is that we can’t really change the world around us unless or until we make some inner changes; until we train our minds.

In the Yoga Sutras Patanjali offers some invaluable guidance for dealing with others in the world. In the first chapter, verse 33, he tells us, “By cultivating friendliness towards happiness and compassion towards misery, gladness towards virtue and indifference towards vice, the mind is purified.” This practice is basically a way of developing mindfulness in daily life. It requires self-awareness first and foremost.

Maitri, or friendliness is Patanjali’s first prescription. When we encounter people who are happy there might be a tendency to be envious at times, to be judgmental or to compare ourselves and our lot. It is important to notice and to admit these feelings to ourselves. Instead of comparing ourselves we can join them and share in their happiness. Why not? Envy and self-pity are wastes of time and energy and they mess up our meditation (kill the buzz.)

Karuna, or compassion is the second prescription. When we encounter people who are suffering we might feel imposed upon, frustrated, even afraid that their suffering might be contagious. Compassion arises when we can be aware of these feelings and cultivate patience and kindness. Compassion is not the same as co-dependence or enabling however. A kind act or a few kind words can do a lot. Suffering is universal and relative. It helps to remember that we have been or may be in the same situation.

Mudita, or gladness is the third prescription. Gladness means an attitude of goodwill. When someone is outstanding in some way we might feel inadequate, or maybe even ashamed. Sometimes there is a tendency to look for fault, or to bring that person down to our level. Mudita means joining with them and thereby raising ourselves to their level.

Upekshanam, or indifference, is the fourth prescription. This means developing a non-judgmental attitude towards others with whom we find fault. Instead of reacting to others’ negative behaviors we can practice acceptance and neutrality. This is not in reference to the criminal violation of others’ rights. But when people are rude, negative, insulting, callous, etc. we can simply choose to disengage from them. This may be the hardest one for us to practice. If you have a bumper sticker that says, “I don’t get mad. I get even,” then you may need to learn upekshanam.

How do we begin to practice developing these attitudes? First of all is to be aware of our own inner responses. Repressing them won’t work. Instead be willing to look at, feel and learn about yourself from your inner responses. Our responses to others come from within us. Others are often reflections of our own unconscious shadow. So let’s begin by developing friendliness, compassion, goodwill and acceptance towards ourselves. It is amazing how others change in response!

Resources:

The Importance of Individuality

“If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all.”

- Billie Holiday

Spiritual traditions often point to our essential “oneness,” to the underlying unity beyond our ego-identifications. Consciousness is fundamentally singular and our sense of separation is illusion. The Yoga Sutras tell us that asmita, or ego-identification is an aspect of avidya, or ignorance. Liberation or enlightenment in this sense seems to be a release of individual identity, a transcendence of “I, me and mine.” But what does this really mean? Certainly we cannot function without some sense of identity.

Ego in this sense is really an unconscious identification with the body-mind which serves as a vehicle for the soul. “Soul” here refers to our deeper more essential nature as beings of consciousness. We don’t “have” souls as much as we are souls. The ego is more of a description we have developed of ourselves vis-à-vis the world. However, we hold onto that description for dear life! An essential aspect of the ego is our non-stop internal elaboration of this description of ourselves; what we usually refer to as “thinking.”

The ego in this sense is hardy “individual.” Instead it is the result of conditioning or “programming,” by family, culture, media, religion, etc. There is very little within us that is truly unique, creative or spontaneous. Instead we are imbedded in a narrative which originates elsewhere. To truly discover our individuality we have to reach beyond our egos. Perhaps “reach beyond” is a bad choice of words. We have to go deeper within ourselves to uncover what is more real, more essential and truly alive. What is truly individual within us is a unique expression of the One.

Culture is actually just the biggest “cult” around. As much as we need to stand out and be special, we need to fit in. Spiritual groups often become a substitute culture. We become spiritual “borgs”, identified with the collective and out to assimilate. “Resistance is futile!” Whether we are Moonies, Hare Krishnas, Evangelical Christians, or Scientific Materialists the modus operand is the same. A true spiritual culture, like a good family is meant to help us grow beyond its limits. At some point we are not supposed to “fit in.” At some point we are meant to individuate. To be an individual we may have to face ridicule, shunning, and outright hostility.

We experience a broader collective identity in various situations: at a sports event, concert, religious ceremony or group chanting. This ego “transcendence” takes us into an experience of a collective or shared identity. In some cases it leads to group violence, in others to a sense of shared peace and oneness with a higher Being. It can be a group regression as well as a transpersonal experience. It depends on the level of consciousness of the group itself. I have never heard of a riot following kirtan. We have to be aware of which kind of collective field we are being swept into. We also need to be able to detach ourselves from that field. God, or Self, is the field of all fields, present everywhere but ultimately transcendent. And, as the Upanishad tells us, “Thou art That.”

So, paradoxically, individuation is what brings us into closer contact with the totality, the essential oneness of Being. Individual responsibility is essential to our spiritual development. Jesus and Buddha were both outstanding individuals. Their followers merely seek to imitate them, at best. They both exhorted us to do better than that. “Be yourself,” as Gerard Way says, “don’t take shit from anyone and don’t let them take you alive.”