Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do

Saturday, December 31, 2011

The path of descriminating wisdom (jnana yoga) is described

Those who have the ability to discriminate between reality and illusion can see the ultimate truth which is that God is behind all of creation, that He is equally present in all creatures and exists without end amidst all we see that perishes. That wise person can see that his soul is part of the imperishable Spirit and that all of one’s actions are really a result of the vibratory energy of your created body and mind. Your soul, the image of God within, is a silent witness. The full realization of that truth is accompanied by the conscious recognition, the actual experience beyond intellectual knowing, that the whole variety of creation is existent in God. When that happens, you will understand beyond doubt that your true soul-Self has none of the qualities of creation, that it is deathless and that it is not affected by anything done in this world. You will have reached the ultimate goal of life and will forever more be absolutely free from the bondage of nature’s hypnotizing spell of illusion.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Three Main Paths to God Realization + One

God is, therefore, present in your body and mind. In order to recognize this, i.e. realize this in a conscious way or actually behold this image of God within, some people follow the path of meditation, some develop the wisdom to discriminate between reality and the illusion that the world presents, and still others by living a life of selfless service to others. But even those who cannot follow one of those three main paths for whatever reason will still find God if they take to heart the words of a spiritual teacher and become moved to worship with true devotion, following the edicts of one of the world’s scriptures.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

The ocean and the wave

The Gita once again tries to describe the indescribable essence of God. He is both existence and non-existence. He is knowledge itself, that which is to be known, and the goal of all learning. He is both within and without everything making Him simultaneously near and far, yet imperceptible because of his subtlety. God is unmanifested transcendent spirit beyond creation, without attributes that can be categorized. He is consciousness itself, therefore He is aware of all of the thoughts and perceptions of every human being. He is omnipresent to anyone who understands this, yet seemingly nowhere to be found by those who do not believe. God’s manifestation in creation is like a wave in the ocean. The wave is a part of the ocean, but it is not the ocean itself. It is made entirely of the ocean and yet is identifiable as separate from the rest of the ocean. It is from that wave of God that all the qualities of creation exhibit themselves.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Characteristics of the wise

The wise are humble and do not do anything to hurt others in any way. They are forgiving and virtuous. They serve their spiritual teachers with devotion. They maintain purity of both body and mind with steadfastness of conviction and self-control. Wise people are indifferent to what their senses are telling their minds because they understand that their bodies are connected to the painful cycle of birth, suffering, old age and death. They are, therefore, free from their ego identification with their bodies and see their oneness with all of humanity. They do not see their children, spouse or home as being their own and they remain constantly even-minded in the presence of either desirable or undesirable circumstances. They enjoy practicing meditation with devotion to God and naturally seek out quiet places while avoiding the company of worldly people. They persevere in their quest to know the image of God within because they recognize that it is the essence of their knowledge of the truth. To do otherwise is to pursue ignorance.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The "field" and its "knower"

In the philosophical school of thought which developed in India known as Sankhya (a parallel philosophy to classical Yoga), everything that we can know about the created universe is a combination of the following: the five great elements (earth, water, air, fire and ether); the ten senses (a combination of the five senses we know in the West and the five organs of perception) what is known as the “sense mind” (manas) that perceives them; discriminating intelligence; egoism; the five results of the sense mind (desire, hate, pleasure, pain and an aggregation of other diverse emotions); consciousness; and persistent will power.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Remain even-minded in the face of the dualities of the world

Those who want to follow the path of devotion should not disturb the world or be disturbed by the world. Do not be too excited by joy and be free from jealousy, fear and worry. Make your mind pure by being utterly detached from personal desires and worldly expectations. Remain fair to everyone and unconcerned by circumstances. Undertake nothing with ego, pride or vanity in mind. Do not rejoice at good fortune or loathe bad times so you can be free from grief and cravings. Transcend the whole concept of good and evil. Be tranquil in the presence of friend or foe, adoration or insult, heat or cold, pleasure or pain. Relinquish attachments and take refuge in silence. Keep your mind balanced no matter what the circumstances and remain content no matter what happens. Those who take this eternal wisdom to heart will become full of faith and devotion to seeking God as life’s highest goal.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

An important reminder

If you have decided to practice the path of devotion to God as your way of realizing Him, renouncing attachment to the results of your actions is even more important than meditation because peace immediately follows renunciation. Hate no one. Be friendly and compassionate to all. Give up your ego, all sense of I, me or mine and don’t think of anything as your own. Remain even-minded when you experience either pleasure or pain because they are both temporary. Be forgiving. Always remain content and steady of mind through meditation. Learn to behave properly while being strong and consistent in your convictions. Offer your heart and mind to God and others. Meditation is certainly better than just having knowledge of these truths or simply observing religious rituals, but the wisdom to put these things into practice is better than either meditation alone or ritual worship.