" When we spiritually rise to a level high above the one we are in now and look back at our selves with detachment and discrimination. Seeing where we were right or wrong..Our understanding and view change and then we take a step towards being truly free..". ..We are in the Class on Raja Yoga at the Vedanta Society of Toronto..Our teachers the spiritual head Revered Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj a senior Monk of the Ramakrishna order of Monks who became an all renouncing Monk devoting his entire life to spirituality since an early age and Professor Kumar Murty who is a world renowned Mathematician and Chair person at the University of Toronto's Mathematics department . He is also a firm Vedantist and teacher of Vedanta. They both explain to us not only the Spiritual truths of Vedanta but also how we can apply them to our every day lives and live as peaceful, well balanced , productive individuals who have a positive impact on everyone we interact with and in everything we do... The basis of all human psychology begins here..in our own journey. In the last many classes we studied the nature of Supernatural powers and their description and explanation..according to the ancient Vedic scriptures ...
Here we heard another Spiritual nugget..In order to reach the highest spirituality you must " Give up this Love for Power..Super natural or Worldly..and go beyond it and then and only then will you be truly Free"..In the book 'Meditation and contemplation on Patanjalis aphorisms' Swami Sarvagathananda Maharaj quotes the Bible and the words of The Christ who said " My Kingdom is not of this world" and that our teachers explain is the secret..dont look for power and glory, name and fame and importance in anything you do here..it is not worth it..The love for power may be a simple thing like the power struggle of couples in a marraige or a `power and control maniac' in the work place, or a politician with Dictatorial tendencies, the climb up the corporate ladder for many..the hankering for attention and self imporatance in a social setting.or the wish to acquire or display something super natural..whatever it is..it is a love for `Power'..that holds us back.from reaching the ultimate...In fact Sri Sarada Devi had once said.." God is like a child he gives to those who do not have hanker for anything" Power, Fame, Fortune and everything come to those who do not want it and eludes those who do....and we are constantly reminded in our spiritual journey that this is not and never was our goal in life...
The Verse of Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms which take us beyond the Supernatural to the Super Spiritual:
सत्त्वपुरुषान्यताख्यातिमात्रस्य सर्वभावाधिष्ठातृत्वं सर्वज्ञातृत्वञ्च ॥५०॥ Patanjali
50. Swami Vivekananda's notes: By making Samyama on the discrimination between the Sattva and the Purusha come omnipotence and omniscience.
When nature has been conquered, and the difference between the Purusha and nature realised — that the Purusha is indestructible, pure and perfect — then come omnipotence and omniscience.
The discussion which includes the reading of treatise by Swami Sarvagathananda Maharaj the late Head of the Vedanta society of Boston and the explanation by our two teachers on the night of 26th March..went something like this..
Professor Kumar Murty : "Imagine you are on a high mountain looking down at a city ..You can be detached and see the sameness of the city below..when you were down there..you would have been part of the hustle the bustle .the quarrels and controversies ..but when you rise above it all and give up the" Me and Mine"..and stand detached and unemotional you see it clearly and under stand it better.According to the aphorism 50...Meditation( Samayama which is meditation, continuation and culmination) on the purity of our own soul gives you this strength.
Mahatma Gandhi the great statesmen once said.".I became free when I gave up fear of fear and of failure.." He ( The Mahatma ) felt like a free man even when he was thrown in jail and spent a long time in solitary confinement..his faith in his God and the holy Gita ..made him a man of steel and of true freedom...He led an entire Sub continent into freedom and to this day is an icon of freedom and non violence for the world..
Prof Murty simplified the astronomical example " For centuries man thought the Sun rose in the East and traveled to the West and the Earth stood still while the Sun moved on...As Science progressed we saw the solar system from another angle and realized that it was the exact opposite to what we thought..so we changed our `ideas' in the same way..no one can say that what they have understood is " "IT" the golden truth....we have to progress spiritually and scientifically and in every possible way and as we `rise higher' our view changes...This is applicable to religion, human relationships, society, science and everything else..
The most beautiful example was from the treatise which was that of a Mother..she loves her family..looks upon all her children as dear and equal..works and serves them without any thought of reward or return and is therefore truly free . In the words of Swami Vivekananda
" Work like a Master and not as a Slave"..that only comes with love.. our revered Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj explained the beauty of the statement " Unless we all work with a Mother's love in our hearts and have that attitude in our lives we cannot ever be free..Do not expect anything from anyone..not a single thing and then your work and your service and your love will take you to freedom " said our Swami.We are also reminded that `giving up power does not mean becoming a `Loser' which is very popular worldly term..Swami Vivekananda often reminds us that we should actually strive for the highest, reach for our goals, give everything our best shot..but not out of love of 'power and self importance' but just out of love for everything we stand for and believe in..in fact just for the sake of `True Love for the work and Love for Love in itself.." A musician composes Music out of Love for music not because he wants to make it to the Symphony orchestra ..an Artist paints because he loves his Art..and a true writer or Poet writes for the Love of writing not because he is looking at the million dollars that he may make one day on the best seller list..
Below are the earlier five aphorisms which deal with Super Natural powers described by Patanjali and the explanation in a few words by Swami Vivekananda in the Book Raja Yoga:from his `Complete Works' .Note : The word ' Samyama' means deep Meditation which is Contemplation..Continuation and Culmination and leads to even the impossible becoming possible....A very important lesson in Vedanta as was taught by Sri Ramakrishna was to rise above and beyond the phenomena of super natural powers ,miracles and miracle mongering in our spiritual journey..that is the greatest hindrance to the true spiritual growth and understanding . Swami Vivekananda once said the mark of a spiritual person is simply" His level of unselfishness and love for all " ..The Yoga aporisms detailed the phenomena which a Yogi could achieve..yet these are the goals of our study..
स्थूल-स्वरूप-सूक्ष्मान्वयार्थवत्त्वसंयमाद्भूतजयः ॥४५॥
45. By making Samyama on the gross and fine forms of the elements, their essential traits, the inherence of the Gunas in them and on their contributing to the experience of the soul, comes mastery of the elements.
Swami Vivekananda : The Yogi makes Samyama on the elements, first on the gross, and then on the finer states. This Samyama is taken up more by a sect of the Buddhists. They take a lump of clay and make Samyama on that, and gradually they begin to see the fine materials of which it is composed, and when they have known all the fine materials in it, they get power over that element. So with all the elements. The Yogi can conquer them all.
ततोऽणिमादिप्रादुर्भावः कायसम्पत्तद्धर्मानभिघातश्च ॥४६॥46. From that comes minuteness and the rest of the powers, "glorification of the body," and indestructibleness of the bodily qualities.
Swami Vivekananda :This means that the Yogi has attained the eight powers. He can make himself as minute as a particle, or as huge as a mountain, as heavy as the earth, or as light as the air; he can reach anything he likes, he can rule everything he wants, he can conquer everything he wants, and so on. A lion will sit at his feet like a lamb, and all his desires will be fulfilled at will.
रूप-लावण्य-बल-वज्रसंहननत्वानि कायसम्पत् ॥४७॥
47. Swami Vivekananda: The "glorification of the body" is beauty, complexion, strength, adamantine hardness.
ग्रहण-स्वरूपास्मितान्वयार्थवत्त्वसंयमादिन्द्रियजयः ॥४८॥
48. By making Samyama on the objectivity and power of illumination of the organs, on egoism, the inherence of the Gunas in them and on their contributing to the experience of the soul, comes the conquest of the organs.
Swami Vivekananda :In the perception of external objects the organs leave their place in the mind and go towards the object; this is followed by knowledge. Egoism also is present in the act. When the Yogi makes Samyama on these and the other two by gradation, he conquers the organs. Take up anything that you see or feel, a book for instance; first concentrate the mind on it, then on the knowledge that is in the form of a book, and then on the Ego that sees the book, and so on. By that practice all the organs will be conquered.
ततो मनोजवित्वं विकरणभावः प्रधानजयश्च ॥४९॥
49. Swami Vivekananda: From that comes to the body the power of rapid movement like the mind, power of the organs independently of the body, and conquest of nature.
Just as by the conquest of the elements comes glorified body, so from the conquest of the organs will come the above-mentioned powers.
Snow Storms and the Evangelist missions of our teachers to other cities caused a break in our lessons for a few weeks..but we were all ` Back with a Bang ' this Wednesday to learn the simple truth " All these powers are meaningless in this little journey of life..know God and know yourself and see his divinity reflected in the inner most beauty of your own soul and in that of others and it will change your vision of the world and you will be free" This was the lesson in a nut Shell....!.
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