Bhakti is like making love to everything
continuously, from humans to birds, flowers everything; you have no choice, for
you realise their real nature and the nature of yourself and with this
'"impossible" relationship, how is it possible not to feel love for everything? - Paramhamsa Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Human life, our daily life is about
balance; balancing our responsibilities, needs, desires, fears, aspirations and
losses. We do this best when we are
connected to our inner central being, our Divine Essence.
When we are caught up in the world, which
takes place on the surface of things, we can get quickly thrown off
balance. We can get overwhelmed by
emotions: anxiety, anger, jealousy, resentment, guilt, joy and grief. Emotions are not to be avoided, but when we
become lost in them we forget that everything in this world is temporary. Permanence is an illusion. Just like separation.
The spiritual path of Yoga is a balance
between immanence, this shared world of mutual illusion, and
transcendence. Too much immanence and we
are caught up in anger and anxiety. Too
much transcendence and we are spaced out.
Psychological and spiritual growth requires us to stay present with one
foot in both worlds.
In a sense there are two selves; one in
each world. The ego-self is bound by
illusion and desire. The Greater Self is
free and is unconditional love. The
bound self is limited to five senses and mind.
The Greater Self is intimately connected with our omniscient,
omnipresent and omnipotent source.
The Bhagavad Gita has an interesting verse
in this regard. In it Krishna says:
The self is the friend of the
self for him who has conquered himself by the Self, but to the unconquered
self, this self stands in the position of an enemy like the (external) foe. (6:6 as translated by Swami Sivananda)
As ego-selves bound by illusion we have
the responsibility of making a decision whether to become more bound or to move
towards freedom; the choice to awaken from the nightmare of self-centered
desire to the bliss of unconditional love.
When in doubt, I say, go for the bliss.
The ego becomes our enemy when we are caught up in fear and anger.
Meditation means becoming inwardly still
and silent. It is a means of connecting
with that greater Self within. As St.
Teresa counseled, “Settle yourself in solitude, and you will come upon Him in
yourself.” The regular practice of
meditation helps us to break open the cage of ego, to release anxiety and to
open to love. Karma Yoga is meditation
in action, love in action.
When we perform work as service, with
spiritual dedication we are much less vulnerable to the stress and anxiety
inherent in the world. When we are
simply working for a paycheck then we are subject to the ups and downs of
increases, decreases, job loss, office politics, difficult co-workers and
unreasonable supervisors, etc. When we
practice Karma Yoga we are learning to observe our limited ego-self in action
and to operate from a deeper place of unconditional love.
What if the job you had right now was
given to you by God both as a means for your own spiritual growth and also as a
way for you to serve others in his name?
We are socially conditioned to think of our work much differently. We are taught to look for a job, study for a
career with which we can make a living and possibly finance the “good
life.” Generally we are not encouraged
to discover and develop our talents and abilities as a gift to all. The experience of work can change
dramatically with this change of attitude.
The spiritual path of Yoga requires
renunciation and non-attachment: letting go of personal desires and fears. We do this not out of some perverse need for
self-denial but to raise our level of consciousness. As the Krishna teaches:
The
Supreme Reality stands revealed in the
consciousness
of those who have conquered themselves. They live in peace, alike in cold
and heat, pleasure and pain, praise and blame.
(Bhagavad
Gita, 6:7)
This really does not mean that we cannot
enjoy the pleasures of life. Instead we
are simply conscious of a greater reality; our own greater Self. When we simply pursue the satisfaction of our
personal needs and desires we are choosing to live in a narrow world. We are choosing to live in desire and
anxiety. To release ourselves from our
ego-cage however requires letting go of some of our most cherished assumed
values:
They are
completely fulfilled by spiritual wisdom
and
Self-realization. Having conquered their senses, they have climbed to the summit
of human consciousness. To such people a
clod of dirt, a stone and gold are the same.
They are equally disposed to family, enemies,
and friends, to those who support them and
those who are hostile, to the good and the evil
alike. Because they are impartial, they rise to
great heights.
(Bhagavad Gita 6:8 – 9, Easwaren, 1985.)
It might seem that Yoga in this sense is
all about self-suppression. After all
isn’t it natural for us to love our families?
Of course it is. It is not about
turning your back on friends and family but loving them and expanding that
circle of love to include all beings. It’s
not about being an imbecile who can’t distinguish between dirt and gold, but
developing an awareness which discerns deeper spiritual values. It is about connecting with the all-pervading
loving awareness present behind the scenes and bringing into expression in this
world. As Amma states, “Understand that
God dwells as pure consciousness in all beings, including you. As this
experience becomes stronger and stronger, the love in you also grows. This love
is the best cure for all emotional blocks.”
Through meditation we release the fearful
and judgmental ideation that has been planted in our minds. We open to the transcendent love and wisdom
which doesn’t come from “above,” but is residing quietly within us. Through our service in the world we share this
love and wisdom with others. We are all
awakening to our spiritual unity, our connection in consciousness. As Krishna confides,
With the
mind harmonised by Yoga he sees the Self abiding
in all beings and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere. (Bhagavad
Gita 6:29, Swami Sivananda)
We have to approach this Yoga step by
step. It is a developmental process
whereby we go from ego-centric awareness, to ethno-centric and then
world-centric. Don’t get discouraged
when you run up against your attachments, love yourself anyway instead. Research has shown that meditation “restarts
and catalyzes” psycho-spiritual development.
(Roger Walsh, MD)
Mastery of life
is the opposite of control. You become aligned with the greater consciousness.
It acts, speaks, does the works. ~ Eckhart Tolle
