Beyond the Ego?



By whatever path you go, you will have to lose yourself in the One
- Ramana Maharshi

Psychology as it has developed in the West has focused heavily on ego development as the central criteria for mature mental health. From Freud’s early theories the idea of a rational “self” who mediates between inner drives and cultural injunctions, we have gone on to develop more sophisticated theories of object relations, self-psychology, etc. The ego, or “self,” can be seen as a combination of developmental lines: cognitive, moral, emotional, relational, aesthetic, etc. However, it is also an inner image or idea that we have of ourselves which sometimes does or does not correspond to how others see us.

Early childhood attachment has come to be seen as crucial in our development of our view of self and the world. It forms the basis on which further development succeeds or fails. As David J. Wallin writes in Attachment in Psychotherapy, “Histories of secure, avoidant, ambivalent and disorganized attachment have been found to be associated, for better or worse, with subsequent outcomes in childhood, adolescence and adulthood.” Psychotherapy utilizes the therapeutic relationship as a means of healing or correcting attachment patterns which interfere with our ability to live healthy, happy lives. As Wallin writes, “The therapist’s role here is to help the patient both to deconstruct the attachment patterns of the past and to reconstruct new ones in the present.”

As far as the structure and functioning of the brain reflects the development of personality, it has been found that secure attachment in childhood promotes healthy brain development. Daniel Siegel finds that secure attachment in infants leads to the development of neural pathways in the middle prefrontal area of the brain. This area of the brain is central in the development of psychological coherence and empathic relationships. In The Mindful Brain he lists nine functions of the middle prefrontal area which correspond to healthy psychological functioning: bodily regulation, attuned communication, emotional balance, response flexibility, empathy, insight, fear modulation, intuition and morality. Imagine a world where the majority of us had these areas fully functioning!

Interestingly enough he further finds that “mindfulness” promotes the development of this area of the brain. In writing of his interest in the use of mindfulness-based clinical interventions he states, “What struck me in learning about this area was that the outcome measures for its clinical applications appeared to overlap with the outcome measures of my own field of research in attachment: the study of the relationship between parents and children.” Mindfulness is a way of relating to oneself and one’s experience which is caring and nonjudgmental, open and impartial. In The Mindful Way through Depression, the authors describe mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to things as they are.”

Mindfulness is generally cultivated through meditation. It is an awareness of one’s internal processes. In the Yoga tradition we refer to this as developing the capacity of the inner witness. It is the capacity to step outside of one’s thoughts and to observe them without reacting to them. As Siegel writes, “Mindful awareness . . . actually involves more than just simply being aware: It involves being aware of aspects of the mind itself.” Through mindful yoga practice we can develop an integrated awareness of body, breath, thoughts and emotions.

Although the term mindfulness is generally associated with Buddhist practice it is an aspect, actually the central aspect, of all yoga practice. When I began studying Yoga with Swami Niranjan in 1981, he introduced to the idea of being aware in all areas of life. He guided me through a series of very simple asanas known as pawanmuktasana which basically takes one through each of the joints in the body as a focus of aware movement. Next came pranayama where I learned to become more aware of breathing patterns as they are related to emotional states. He then introduced me to a variety of meditation techniques as developed by our Guru, Swami Satyananda Saraswati. These can be found in Meditations from the Tantras which provides both theoretical aspects and detailed instructions for practice. Swamiji essentially presents the same view of meditation as presented by Siegel. He writes, “When we meditate we are able to take our consciousness to different parts of our mind. Normally our consciousness is confined to surface activity in small areas of the middle or rational parts of the unconscious. We are able to move away from intellectualization during meditation.” Unfortunately it is not really possible to learn meditation simply from a book. The guidance of a qualified teacher is necessary.

When we develop the capacity to witness our thoughts and to allow the mind to become quiet we begin to notice that the “ego,” the self we believe we are, is really more of a theoretical thought construct. Who we really are is a more basic awareness which witnesses or observes the ego itself. This is something which happens with practice over time. Research shows that ego-development is actually accelerated or catalyzed through meditation practice. A good review and discussion of this research can be found in Ken Wilber’s The Eye of Spirit, in a chapter entitled “The Effects of Meditation.” Basically, as we learn to step outside or “disembed” from the unconscious thought structures that constitute a particular level of self-development we are able to move on to the next stage. “Development is a constant process of embedding and disembedding, identifying with and then transcending. And we are controlled by everything we have not transcended.” writes Wilber.

In other words self-awareness or insight does lead to healthy development. It is also important to note we have start from where we are. We can’t skip over levels of development. As Wilber puts it, “Meditation, for example, can accelerate moral development (gauged by the Kohlberg test) but under no circumstances has it been shown to bypass any of those stages.” It is common for people on a “spiritual path” to attempt to skip stages of development and to imagine that they have achieved a higher state of consciousness. Psychotherapist and author, John Welwood, has coined the term “spiritual bypassing” to describe those of us who seek to use spiritual practice to avoid emotional issues. He writes, “. . . there is often a tendency to use spiritual practice to try to rise above our emotional and personal issues – all those messy, unresolved matters that weigh us down. I call this tendency to avoid or prematurely transcend basic human needs, feelings, and developmental tasks spiritual bypassing.”  Toward a Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation  Again, a teacher, or a therapist, might help us to avoid getting caught in self-delusion.

Practicing “yoga” without meditation, without developing mindful awareness is not really yoga. As a form of exercise the postures are still beneficial but we miss out on the potential for psychological and spiritual growth. In fact our yoga can come to serve the needs of an immature ego. On the other hand, if we can become aware of our pride, need to judge, to fit in, to feed our vanity, etc., this awareness will help us grow.

The “further reaches of human nature,” the higher developmental stages which lead to and include unity consciousness, are statistically rare achievements, often emerging late in life. Spiritual practice is a means to restart this development where it has become stuck and to accelerate the process so that we can experience the higher stages within this lifetime. There is a difference between a temporary state and a stable stage of development. A psychedelic substance or a spiritual retreat may give us glimpses of higher states but often they don’t last. The higher stages unfold successively based on our inner and outer experiences.

The inner witnessing awareness is our opportunity at any point to step outside of our self-referential system or ego. It gives us leverage for growth and change. It is an innate source of love and wisdom which we can draw upon, cultivated through yoga meditation, chanting, self-inquiry, Zazen, or any consistent contemplative practice. Eventually we move more and more into an identification with this awareness as the ego falls away. Open awareness without attachment, without any external reference point, is our true nature. At the same time the ego is just fine. We don’t have to try to kill it.

Resources:

Evolving Your Consciousness

All life is evolving and man is no exception. Human evolution, the evolution which we are undergoing relentlessly, both as individuals and as a race, is a journey through the different chakras. – Swami Satyananda

The entire universe is in a process of evolution and we are part of it. It is not a completely random process as some believe, but neither is it “intelligent design” in the sense of some external schema. It is a dynamic, creative process through which the universal consciousness seeks greater freedom and greater expression within the realm of form.

The great philosopher-yogi, Sri Aurobindo, wrote, “All life here is a stage or a circumstance in an unfolding progressive evolution of a Spirit that has involved itself in Matter and is labouring to manifest itself in that reluctant substance. This is the whole secret of earthly existence.”

The entire process of evolution up to the point where human consciousness evolved is a process arising out of the universal consciousness, or what we might call God. With the advent of human beings that consciousness has entered into us as us. The universe becomes self-aware through human beings. There is a Sufi saying which captures this: “God sleeps in the rock, dreams in the plant, stirs in the animal, and awakens in man.” This awakening is incomplete, however, and we are left to engage in the process of our further evolution consciously.

Even though this concept is ancient, recent psychological research supports the idea that we can consciously evolve. In an article entitled “How to Evolve in Your Lifetime,” psychologist Douglas La Bier writes, “Much research indicates that the capacity for self-evolution -- of your personality, mental capacities, relationships and actions in the world -- is based on conscious intent. That is, shaping your being is an art form, the way an artist develops, evolves and creates a painting or a composer creates music. You can make your conscious being and all that emanates from it a work of art.” (Huffington Post, 3/31/11)

We have enormous potentials dormant within us, some of which have been realized by spiritual figures such as Krishna, Buddha or Jesus. These potentials and the means for awakening them are known to the Tantric yogis. They have to do with the awakening of the dormant energy within the body-mind known as kundalini.

Kundalini is the energy or the unconscious potential within us that unfolds as we become more and more conscious; as we awaken. It is an interactive process. Consciousness and energy intersect with each other and things begin to happen. The chakras are energy centers aligned along the spinal column which represent successive stages of this unfolding.

As kundalini awakens our inner and outer life experience is transformed. We emerge from a near animal level of consciousness to realize our inner divinity, our creative sovereignty over life. As Swami Satyananda states, “Mooladhara is the most basic, fundamental chakra from where we commence our evolution, and sahasrara is where our evolution is completed. As we evolve towards sahasrara, outer experiences come our way in life, and inner experiences come to us in meditation, as different capacities and centers awaken progressively within the nervous system.” (Kundalini Tantra)

Psychological development, or ego-development, is a process of the functioning of the lower chakras within the body-mind. Yoga practices: asana, pranayama, and meditation are a means of working with the chakras and helping to awaken our higher potentials. Actually, any type of contemplative practice helps. The most powerful form of yoga for awakening kundalini and directing it to the higher centers is called kundalini kriya yoga. These are advanced practices however and require prior practice of hatha yoga and preliminary meditation methods. These can be found in Meditations from the Tantras by Swami Satyananda Saraswati but are best learned through personal instruction from an experienced teacher.

Karma, Sin, Mistakes and Forgiveness

"Self-acceptance leads to success, not the other way around."
- Deepak Chopra

To dwell upon the past is to remain stuck in repetitive patterns of karma. Karma is the accumulated history of beliefs, emotions and actions that have lead up to this present experience. It is our attachment to the past that keeps us stuck. There is a saying in French, “C’est la vie. C’est la guerre. C’est la rue de mon pere.” It is a fatalistic attitude that indicates that things are out of our control and continue as they always have; life and war are the same for us as for those who went before.

It is only through awareness that things can change. Awakening in the present moment allows us to make new choices, to find new paths and to go beyond repetitive cycles of suffering, failure, conflict and misery.

According the Yogic understanding, what we are presently experiencing is the outcome of past thoughts and actions. It has a momentum to it which is hard to change and must be endured to some extent. What comes next, however, is up to us. Our responses in the moment can lead us in either a positive or negative direction. If we continue to act from old beliefs and patterns we create more of the same. If we are able to be more aware we have the opportunity to make creative choices.

We all have our alibis, our excuses for not changing. “That’s just the way things are.” “That is just how I am.” “I must be hard-wired for anxiety.” These are all bullshit. However, it can be hard to change, hard to withstand the momentum of habit, to become conscious of our inner processes and to generate new ones.

People often comment that it seems like such a struggle to be aware of everything all the time and it is. Awakening is work at first although it becomes easier as we go along. With practice it becomes our nature (or so I’ve heard.) In any case you have to decide if it is worth it. We as the human community have to decide if it is worth it. To remain on the present path seems very clearly to leading us towards self-destruction.

Sin, guilt and shame are extremely counter-productive. The word “sin” comes from a Greek term used in archery for “missing the mark.” Of course it is more than a mere mistake. What we call sin is generally a fairly deep “mistake.” To lie, cheat, steal, kill, etc. are big mistakes which can bring huge consequences. “There is no sin but a mistake,” wrote Ernest Holmes, “and no punishment but an inevitable consequence.” The bigger the mistake, the bigger is the consequence. Sometimes we have to atone. If we understand atonement as “at-one-ment,” we begin to get the picture. Sin comes from being disconnected from our inner wholeness, our inner perfection as children of God.

All sins, all karma, all mistakes are released in the light of forgiveness. Forgiveness means waking up from past patterns, being present and choosing anew. All judgment, condemnation and resentment is really aimed at ourselves. What we hate and fear in others is projected from within ourselves. Forgiveness starts with ourselves as self-acceptance. When we are able to see and accept ourselves as we are, there is a possibility for change. In fact, change is inevitable. “Wake up, grow, change, evolve. For you are part of the universal process of spiritual evolution.”

Recommended:

The Transformational Power of Music and Mantra

Music has so much power that it can free your ego. Through kirtan you can reach the highest pinnacle of spiritual experience. Not by yoga or by any other means but by kirtan alone can you have the vision of the Divine.
-Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The Yoga practice of chanting mantras is known as kirtan. It is a powerful method for quieting the mind and uplifting the spirit. It is a means of bypassing the intellect to open and purify our hearts. Kirtan is an integral part of yoga practice. While hatha yoga focuses on the body and raja yoga focuses on the mind, kirtan is a practice of bhakti yoga which helps transform emotions. Through this practice we can learn to channel emotional energy in a very pure and positive direction: towards the Divine.

Mantra, melody and rhythm are three important aspects of this practice. It can be practiced inwardly on an individual level but is very powerful when practiced by a group. Mantras are the “words” of the songs combined with simple melodies. The use of drums for rhythm helps to create a shamanic aspect helping participants to enter deeper levels of consciousness. The drum beat has an immediate effect on brainwaves and becomes a “sonic massage for body and mind” in the words of Swami Satyananda. Participants may choose to dance as well.

People often ask about the meaning of the mantras sung in kirtan. Any “meaning,” though is actually secondary and somewhat artificial. The importance of mantras is in the sound vibrations themselves which connect us to the superconscious mind. As Swami Niranjan explains, “Mantra is the unspoken language of the heart. The proper use of mantra can evoke a particular sentiment and sensitize the mind to be receptive to many experiences, both internal and external. Although it is said that Rama and Krishna are the names of Indian gods, or that Devi is the name of a goddess, this is only a religious interpretation. The word Rama is also the sound of a chakra, and yogis had knowledge of the word Rama in its different capacities long before Rama was born. Mantras predate religion; they represent the link between the individual nature and the divine.” The true meaning of the mantra has to be realized through practice. It has to be experienced within one’s consciousness.

My own experiences with kirtan began in 1981 when I visited the small office/apartment that constituted Swami Niranjan’s ashram in San Jose, California. I was attending some classes in hatha yoga and meditation throughout the week and he invited me to come on the weekend for kirtan. I could hear the music as I came up the stairs and it sounded a little strange to my ears but very intriguing. Swamiji encouraged me to learn the mantras and melodies and before too long I could sing some of them on my own. We would sing for 30 minutes or so and then sit silently for meditation. I found it very easy to enter into meditation following kirtan.

With Swamiji’s encouragement I also sang kirtan on my own throughout the days as a way to keep from ruminating on anxious thoughts and to remember my connection with that higher consciousness. A couple of years later I travelled to India and experienced the powerful kirtan energy at the main ashram in Munger. It was incredible! I experienced visions and powerful feelings of ecstatic joy like coming home to a forgotten place of love and acceptance. There is nothing like it.

Kirtan has been catching on and growing within the yoga community throughout the world. Performers such as Krishna Das, Jai Uttal and Deva Premal  have introduced many to devotional song. You don’t have to be a good singer to participate however. Kirtan should become an important regular aspect of any yoga center, studio etc. Yoga is a means of harmonizing mind, body and emotions so that we can experience a transcendent state of consciousness. Kirtan is one of the most effective ways of doing this.

I will be leading kirtan groups in Riverside, Redlands and Yucaipa, California throughout the upcoming months. The first will be in Riverside on April 20 at 7 PM. Please contact (909) 373-6060 or turiyasaraswati@gmail.com for information and to reserve space.

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Karma Yoga – Path of Dharma

You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself – without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. For yoga means perfect evenness of mind.

- Krishna The Bhagavad Gita (Classics of Indian Spirituality)

Karma, as we discussed last post, means action and reaction. It is a chain of causal events that go back into some dim past that we can barely imagine. Our karmic conditioning is this backlog of events that have lead up to the present situation. Because it is self-perpetuating, it also propels us towards a future something like an equation. Fate = past events + attachment. Attachment is mental and emotional. Or, as Buddha taught:

Our experience is based on our thoughts; we become
what we think. Suffering follows negative thoughts
like the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it.
The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations

Karma is imbedded within us as the unconscious thoughts which drive us. They are rooted in avidya, “Ignorance.” Ignorance in this sense is the not-knowing of the creative power of our own minds. It is our inability to recognize our own hand in constructing the narrative that defines us. Thoughts lead to actions. Sometimes we might have angry thoughts, but we refrain from acting on them and they have nearly null karmic consequence, except that they create stress within our bodies. Sometimes the thoughts are so deeply ingrained that we act upon them “without thinking,” i.e. without reflection, and they bear their inescapable outcomes. One way or another the reality that we experience is the result of our habits of thought.

The central universal habit of thought is known as “the ego.” It is the organizing principal around which our individual realities take shape. Without it who would we be? It is the “operating program” according to Ram Das which enables us to function in this reality. There is a deeper aspect of our beings, which is often referred to as the Self, who is present throughout the karmic experiences of our lives. We might also refer to this as the inner observer, witness, or the space in which experiences take place. When we learn to practice meditation we are able to step into the perspective of the inner witnessing awareness. We are able to reflect upon our ego ideologies. The ego believes in a fixed self and reality, or at least “the way things are supposed to be.” The witnessing awareness is simply open to “what is.” They work in conjunction with each other.

Karma yoga means bringing this meditative awareness into our daily activities. This might mean a job, taking care of children, cooking, cleaning, taking care of things around the house. It includes the quality of interactions with others and awareness of what is going on within oneself. That is a lot to keep track of! Being awake, aware and present to each moment is not always easy.

The Bhagavad Gita defines karma yoga as “work without attachment to the fruits,” as in the “fruits of our labors.” If you are focused primarily what you are going to get as reward, you are probably not present with the experience. We’ve all had days where we were just watching the clock, putting in the time so we could ensure that paycheck. If you stop to think about it, the paycheck can enslave us. Instead of a loving dedication to our labors, we begrudgingly do the minimum to get by. The point of karma yoga is to extricate ourselves from the process of time: past>present>future. It is to open ourselves to the eternal Now. A “paycheck mentality” can keep us trapped in work that is unfulfilling and demoralizing. It can also make just about any task seem that way.

Karma yoga was a large part of ashram life while we were in India and at the ashram here in the U.S. Between early morning sadhana and evening satsang, there were a number of tasks assigned to us. Some of us worked at the printing press, some in the kitchen, some in the gardens, construction, etc. Teaching classes in yoga was also karma yoga. I was assigned to help hand address envelopes in which Yoga magazine was mailed throughout India and the world. At first I thought I had gotten off pretty easy. It was far from strenuous work. After a couple of weeks I would have torn my hair out if my head wasn’t shaved. Then I was reassigned to help dye cotton cloth “dhotis” and stretch them out on the open rooftops to dry. The activity and interaction was so much fun I was elated. All of it was food for more awareness to develop. I was clearly not experiencing “perfect evenness of mind.”

The attitude of karma yoga helps us to become aware of the tendencies of our minds in various situations. How well can you take directions, get along with troublesome coworkers, or pay attention to routine details? Can you stay present and focus on doing your best when confronting an endless supply of dirty dishes? These are some of the challenges of karma yoga in the ashram setting. Of course these are the same challenges that confront us in the “real world.” Most of the problems that we encounter come from within ourselves. Not always though, but we need to know ourselves on a deeper level to know the difference.

The concept of dharma is closely related to karma. On a universal level, dharma refers to the unfolding of the universal process. “Dharma is the great cosmic power which holds everything together in perfect harmony.” writes Swami Vibhooti Saraswati. (http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1998/esep98/dharma.shtml) Within the context of the cosmic dharma everyone and everything has an integral relationship with everything else. Each of us has a “swadharma,” our unique individual role to fill in this process. Deepak Chopra explains, “There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.”

In our post-modern age the concept of dharma is somewhat different than in ages past. In earlier centuries one was pretty much born into a role in society and in life. One’s dharma, however, comes from inside oneself. It is an attunement with one’s own nature, acceptance of one’s “duty” – which may or may not pertain to what society expects of us. An example that comes to mind is Martin Luther King. King obviously had a strong inner sense of mission. He didn’t go along with the prevailing social order but followed a deeper sense of morality. True dharma means going beyond the rigid boundaries of caste and class systems, not necessarily in the pursuit of wealth or even the “American Dream,” but in the pursuit of inner and interrelated fulfillment. Swami Vibhooti futher explains:

“To follow one's own dharma is to unfold the divine within oneself. Not to follow one's own dharma is to be out of tune with existence. The right performance of duty, or right action, in any station of life, provided it is done without attachment, will bring realization, according to the Bhagavad Gita. And duty has to be performed not only in relation to family and friends, but also to society, morality, spirit and the cosmos.” (ibid.)

Meditation helps us develop an intuitive connection with our dharma. The ultimate dharma for all of us is the evolution of consciousness – moving from a self-centered ego perspective to recognition of universal oneness. It is the awakening of Love. An understanding of dharma helps us to accept others as they are. Each of us has her own path in life, swadharma, so who is to judge? It also leads each of us to examine and explore our own inner nature without bringing in artificial criteria for judgment. “You’re duty is to Be,” taught Ramana Maharshi, “and not be this or that.”

Fate, Destiny and Karma

There are two forces in the universe, one is called karma- action and reaction, and the other is called free will. Free will is not karma; you will and it happens, the will is independent of karma. But the emergence of willpower takes time in spiritual life. As a human being evolves and becomes master of his own mind, he is able to exert his will.

- Paramhamsa Satyananda Saraswati

Fate, destiny and karma are three ancient concepts. They represent ways that people of wisdom tried to make sense of the world; of why negative events can befall good people and vice versa. We forget sometimes in our glib modern superficiality that these ancient ways of thinking are the culmination of keen observation, deep thought and contemplation. In the modern age it is acceptable to believe that the universe makes no sense, that nothing happens for a reason and that we exist for no purpose other than, perhaps, to be tortured by the meaninglessness of life. The wisdom traditions worked with a deep faith in the integrity of the universe.

Fate is an understanding in which we are primarily victims. Fate is directly related to the word fatality, and indeed, we are all fated to die on the physical, material level of our beings. In Greek mythology fate is the result of the workings of the Moirae, the goddesses of destiny. In this sense, fate is an interwoven narrative. It is the overall pattern in which we as individuals are imbedded. The cosmos is the collective epic in which we all play our respective parts. An important aspect of one’s fate, however, is character; the consistency of thought and action within the individual.

Destiny is closely related to fate and these terms are often used interchangeably. I am going to follow author shaman Alberto Villoldo, however in making a distinction. The distinction is similar to the one between karma and dharma which we will explore a little later. Villoldo explains, “The early Greeks believed that fate is spun from a certain thread, and that once it is woven into an entire cloth it becomes irreversible, while destiny is a powerful force or agency that can actually intervene in the course of your life, to reweave the cloth of your fate. I believe that destiny can also happen without divine intervention. This requires that you heal your past wounds and respond to the calling you were born with. You then can steer the course of your own life.” Courageous Dreaming: How Shamans Dream the World into Being

While fate means accepting some inevitable outcome of life, destiny means engaging heroically with your own potential. There are myriads of things that happen to us in life that we have little or no control over, however our destiny depends are ability to adapt, to adjust and to overcome these limitations. It is about finding a meaningful path in life. It requires going beyond the limitations of our conditioning. Perhaps even believing in ourselves; not necessarily as the ego-identified beings we have been led to accept but the spiritual beings that we truly are. The path of destiny is the path of awakening. It is a process of raising our level of consciousness.

Karma is similar to fate in some ways. The circumstances into which we are born are the result of the karma of previous lives. The obstacles and opportunities that come to us in life are based on our previous choices. If we remain unconscious then the pattern simply repeats, growing stronger each time. Karma is a mechanical habitual process. A tendency towards anger and violence becomes self-reinforcing, as does a tendency towards compassion and kindness. We rack up karmic debts through our self-centered actions which must be repaid at some future time. Karma can involve individuals, families, nations, ethnic groups, the human race and the planet itself. Karma and Reincarnation: The Key to Spiritual Evolution and Enlightenment  It is no wonder that the seers of old determined that the best path was to get off of the wheel of karma altogether,

An attractive aspect of the theory of karma is that it gives us some control over our destinies. Instead of being victims to a blind mechanistic process or an enigmatic God, karma suggests that we are responsible for determining the course of our future evolution. We are responsible for the quality of our thoughts and actions. The problem however is that a great deal of our thoughts and behavior are unconscious. For the most part we are asleep at the wheel of karma. The only way to master the karmic process is through waking up.

Our karma is driven by the five kleshas or afflictions: ignorance (of one’s true nature), ego-identification, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life (i.e. fear of death). As long as we are identified with our body-mind “instruments,” pushed and pulled by our attachments and fearful of death, we are bound by karma. We experience the duality of emotions: happiness and sadness, joy and grief, pleasure and pain, infatuation and disgust. However we don’t experience the transcendent joy, peace and equanimity of the soul at one with the infinite.

Based on the kleshas we accumulate karma which is stored in seed form in the unconscious storehouse known as karmashaya. These are deep memories or “impressions,” called samskaras. Our current experience is based upon the ripening of seeds of past karmas, and our current actions and reactions create the seeds for future experiences. These future experiences may not appear in this lifetime but lay the foundation for future births. As the Yoga Sutras explain, “Future effects can have happiness or sorrow as their fruit depending on merit or demerit.” Four Chapters on Freedom: Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali  Or as the Bible tells us, “As you sow; so shall you reap.”

The “Sutras” go on to point out that even good karma doesn’t  produce true happiness. As long as we are spiritually ignorant and attached to appearances we will inevitably suffer. Nothing is permanent. We can lose what we have, or perhaps grow tired of it. Cataclysmic events, such as the recent Japanese tsunami, can appear seemingly out of nowhere. Attachment in and of itself produces suffering. It is only through liberation from the karmic cycles by awakening that we can truly overcome suffering.

Meditation is the key to awakening. Karma originates in the mind although we are not generally conscious of it. Meditation enables us to go deeper into the subconscious processes and to become aware of our karmic predispositions. It also helps us to develop some control over their expression. This is the true free will of which Swamiji spoke. Through regular practice, meditation leads to a transformation of mind allowing us to free ourselves from negative karmic tendencies such as greed, anger, desire, pride, guilt, fear, shame, etc. We tend to forget that the outer world is really a reflection of our own inner tendencies. It is only when we can become aware of the depths of our own unconscious minds that we can take hold of the reigns of destiny.

Karma is completely overcome in the higher stages of Samadhi in which ego-identification is dropped and one recognizes oneself as a being of pure consciousness. The emphasis on meditation, though, does not mean one should refrain from action. Action which is not based in attachment is very powerful and through it enlightened beings serve the world in ways that we can barely recognize. Each of us enters life with a dharma, a particular path of service. While karma propels us unconsciously, dharma is the conscious acceptance of one’s personal mission in life. One’s mission may seem small and insignificant; we can’t all be great leaders, famous artists, etc. However, one person’s heartfelt contribution can create a ripple effect that uplifts many people. In my next post, I will talk about Karma Yoga: the path of action without attachment. We might call it “meditation in action.”

Prayer, Meditation and Faith

Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. – Swami Sivananda

Doubt is a virus that attacks our self-esteem, productivity and confidence. Faith that you and your life is perfectly unfolding is the strongest vaccine.
– Sean Stephenson

There is a saying: “prayer is talking to God, while meditation is listening.” This is a kind of facile distinction, however. It really depends on the depth of one’s meditation or prayer and, most importantly, one’s faith. The three are interconnected. We must begin with at least a quantum of faith to either pray or meditate – otherwise, what is the motivation? “Faith in what?” is not as important as trust, willingness, dedication and surrender. Known as “shraddha” in the yoga tradition, faith means being willing to extend our sense of possibilities beyond the known; beyond the recycled precedents of our egos, cultural conditioning or the opinions of others.

Of course there are numerous instances of blind, misplaced and foolish trust. We must use reason and intuition, both the left and right hemispheres of our brains. Rather than trusting some charismatic leader who may be nothing more than a convincing, self-serving salesman, we can learn to trust our own deeper intuitive judgment. Everyone goes through a process of learning from their mistakes. Meditation helps us to deepen our intuitive connection; our ability to listen to information beyond our usual linear processing. It is not so much the thoughts in our head as the subtle feelings in our body.

Ultimately, meditation, prayer and faith boil down to faith in one’s own deeper or higher nature. For the yogi there is no God separate from one’s innermost consciousness. It is difficult and shocking when we start to learn this. It arises when we begin to let go of the ego. As Paramhamsa Niranjan advises,

“Faith will only appear when ‘I’ does not exist. Faith will disappear when ‘I’ comes into existence because ‘I’ always represents the intellect, the logical dimension, whereas faith represents the universal dimension which connects a human being with the transcendental Self, without the imposition of any religious ideology, dogma or ritual. Faith is your spontaneous connection, your remembrance.” (From Yoga Magazine, 2005)
http://www.yogamag.net/

In this sense we can make a distinction between faith and belief. While faith is a process of entering more and more fully into a non-dual knowingness, belief is primarily an aspect of our conditioned intellects. We believe things because we have been taught to believe them whether we are religious or materialist. We then construct our perceptual world around those beliefs. Psychological studies show that we tend not to perceive data that doesn’t fit our personal paradigms. Either that or we rationalize it away. The majority of beliefs that we hold on a subconscious level were imprinted on our psyches when we were too young to evaluate them critically.

“Prayer,” as many of us have learned it, tends to come from dualistic beliefs. We pray to some distant God who has wields power over our world and our lives. It comes from an egoic place, often times when aspects of life seem out of control. Almost everyone knows the adage, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” Sometimes these prayers seem to evoke a positive response, sometimes it seems as if God has not heard us. If our faith is weak, we may then conclude that prayer is a waste of time. Perhaps there is a better, less dualistic way pray however.

Meditation can take us from belief to faith. In meditation we start with what is most basic to our awareness; the sensations of the body, movement of breath, the chaos of our thoughts. Gradually we settle into an awareness of the field of consciousness in which body, breath and thoughts are contained. We sometimes refer to this as the “inner witness,” or observer. With consistent practice, abhyasa, this awareness deepens into an awareness of our connection with the universal field of love, infinite intelligence and wisdom. Instead of making demands from our limited ego viewpoints, we tune into the universal conscious and allow it to work through us and our lives. Paramhamsa Satyananda explained,

“Faith is the greatest asset of man's personality. If you have faith, you have everything. Without faith, you have nothing. A good husband or wife, a nice house, and plenty of money can cause problems and give rise to doubts. Faith is not a result of external observances, it comes by constant inner awareness, not of the senses or the turbulence and disturbances of the mind, but of the soul, the atma. As you go deeper within and face the inner light, you become faithful. Where there is faith, there is power and enlightenment.” (Yoga Magazine, July 1980)

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