According to Yoga there are three types of Karma collectively known as Sanchita, Prarabdha & Agami.
Sanchita-karma is a residue produced by actions performed either in this life or in a previous one, which remain dormant during this life. Sanchita-karma is a potentiality of karmic seeds and most beings* (see notes) don't experience the effect of it during the current incarnation.
Prarabdha-karma is indeed the residue of actions working itself out during the present life.
Agami-karma, ''yet-to-come'' is the result of actions performed during this present life which will mature in the normal course of events.
Just like with other Fundamental Laws no matter how much awareness we have of it, the Law of Karma - a current that ripples waters of the ocean - affects the surface of creation from within. It's not just action per se, but what, in its motivational force, fills the creature with desire for existence.
Notes: * The exceptions are those in whom the Latent Energy (Kundalini) has been awakened. When an awakening is powerful enough and the physiology is pure enough for a proper ascend of Consciousness inside the (Sushumna) channel, the rising Energy will compress the karmic load expelling the latent tendencies along with latent sanchita-karma. That explains why many advanced meditators after awakening have to endure more than what was otherwise ''written'' in their life-scenario.
(Extracts from the letters, Cote d'Azur, France, July, 2009)
The subject of Karma is vast and we would inevitably touch the other aspects of Vedic wisdom in order to expand the understanding of the concept. One of the disciplines closely related to the concept of Karma is the Vedic Astrology, known as Jyotish (Science of Light). According to that science trajectory of the soul is calculable just like any other heavenly body in the Cosmos.
In fact it provides an entirely new perspective on the notion of Karma, which is much more to do with the respective positioning of the Planets and their combined effect on the incarnation in question. The Science (Jyotish) itself was founded by the ancient Rishi Parashara who fathered that great son of Indian pantheon of Seers, the author of the 'Four Vedas', The Mahabharata and the Yoga Vashishtha.
Rishi Parashara did not just conceived his child randomly but made sure the seed was sawn at such precise time that it would assure the birth under the most auspicious planets with potency enough to create nothing less than a super-human. Surely enough his son was born a Veda Vyasa one of the most celebrated Rishis and most beloved author of the epics, the lore which was destined to influence an entire Orient.
The celestial trajectory of the soul is not a random traveling, it has an orbit so when the jyotish pandits build the birth-chart of a particular individual they can trace the past as well as foresee the future.
Some New Age authors have a tendency to portray Karma as something easily mendable, something one can navigate at will. As tempting as that sounds it is a far fetched view on the fundamental Law which sets everything in motion. According to Yoga, and as mentioned earlier, Karma consists of different degree of density. It has to be accepted and worked with by purifying the field of action itself, because Karma is not separate from Dharma. ''Purifying the field'' - meaning transcending action from the most fundamental level, from the level of thought.
Jai Guru Dev (Extracts from the letters, Cote d'Azur, France, August, 2009)
Friday, 30 April 2010
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
The triadic flow of Karma
Next to the notion of Yoga, Karma is probably the least understood concept that came out of India. The theory of Karma is accepted by most systems originated in the Subcontinent, yet there is no agreement on the way the notion is interpreted by various traditions associated with the systems of Indian Philosophy.
We are not going to focus here on the particularities between different doctrines, suffice to say there is a wide spectrum of interpretation. For instance Buddhism does not recognize identity, their doctrine of karma is based on the notion of dependent origination. In Veda the action is seen as the means to gain Self-realization, while according to Advaita Vedanta action is not the means to total freedom.
They all agree though in the main aspect: Karma (action) performed leaves potency behind powerful enough to produce future experiences of joy or sorrow according to its nature.
The most elaborate explanations are given in Patanjali Sutra in that classical gloss by an ancient commenter Vyasa with its almost scientific pragmatism. The other in The Bhagavad Gita which defined action as one of the means to attain Liberation in one of its chapters entitled The Yoga of Action, Karma Yoga.
Going back to the triadic nature of karma it's important to understand that karma is not something rigid but in itself a subject to extremely complex fluctuation of the generic matrix which produced the flow of karma in the first place. We should immediately point out that in reality there is no in the first place for there is no beginning and no end to karma as such. That's why the Gita says: ''Unfathomable is the cause of action.''
Karma consists of three currents: fixed, mixed and flexible.
~ The fixed portion of karma is the most gripping and it is formed of the countless factors accumulated by the sum total of all previous actions put together with mathematical precision. It determines or rather betrays the celestial trajectory of the soul on its evolutionary path. The moment of conception along with the moment of departure is recorded in the number of the breaths literally.
Speaking plainly, it is that portion of karma which is impossible to change just like it's impossible to reverse the river against its flow. Genetic setup, intellectual capacities, constitutional build, racial and ethnic background cannot be changed, just like the time and place of birth which forces an individual to share the collective consequences of a larger karmic influences.
~ The mixed portion is formed of immediate energies produced by more recent actions infused with the latent tendencies of the previous kind. Because of that it is less gripping and allows a certain degree of cooperation with the overall karmic flow. The skillful swimmer will be able to go along with the current knowing where to apply the effort and where to let it go.
The way the mixed portion of karma will affect an individual is to a large degree depends on the awareness available to witness one's own actions and reactions. That is, what is considered a bad luck for one is a good luck in disguise for another. The quality of our experiences are too a large degree influenced by the interpretation we assign to them, whence it is pointless to talk about the positive and negative in a larger scheme of events.
Generally speaking the mixed part of karma is where we feel the presence of the providence and ''good lack'' or as opposite to that the feeling of being haunted by the ''unfortunate'' circumstances.
~ The flexible, is that portion of karma were we are legitimate co-authors of life-scenario, we are born to act. It is that part which is constantly in motion, in a sense that it is constantly open to the field of all possibilities. It consists of countless patterns of thoughts with which we deal on a daily basis and which subtly influence the direction our life is taking even if by some invisible force. Yet it is the most valuable portion of karma and the least explored due to the latent tendencies of the previous (fixed and mixed) parts, and is only subjected to the conditioning of our psyche.
Once freed the flexible part of karma can and does create wonders. Even if it does not allow the rewriting of an actual script, it has the potential to ease the flow by useless fighting with the main current of life and exchanging it with the newly found joy of being transported.
To utilize the flexible part of karma is an art of living in itself. The mystery of our past and the secret of our future is hidden in the unfolding sequence of each and every moment, that what we call present.
The greater is the experience of the moment - the greater is the impact we have on our life and every given instance. To do that skillfully one needs to implement the technique which allows that experience of the moment to its maximum.
Jai Guru Dev
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Noli me tangere...
A child's hand reaching to grasp a new object, moved by instinctive desire to hold the world in those tiny fingers, to feel the thrill of a new sensation only the touch can reveal...
So is with the story, once pressed on the mind, forever leaves an imprint whose shape mothers all other stories in its womb, so simple and profound in its essence no heart is left untouched by its narrative...
The story of Christ could be read as reversal of the original Vedic Creation Myth, where Prajapati (the Progenitor) in order for the Universe to come forth has to sacrifice Himself through an act of dismembering, so great is Creator's compassion that He willingly puts and end to His unity so that diversity can take place!
That act of an original Sacrifice has to be reconciled, over and over as time goes by, and God incarnate into the flesh as Jesus in order to restore the unity again between the Spirit and the matter torn apart by the original descend. That's why so many great spiritual masters of India recognized in Jesus an Avatar and often referred to him as Love-incarnate. Some scholars believe that the historical Jesus has spent, those missing in the new testament years, in Kashmir learning at the feet of distinguished masters what would become later known as Kashmir Shaivism (a fusion of an old Vedic tradition with emerging practices of Tantra).
Small wander many Hindu Saints recognized in Christ a Yogi par excellence and one of the greatest Siddha ever to walk the earth. Leaving arguments for the scholars and theologians, we'll come back to the story itself, the story which never fails to move the heart, being the crossing point, the heart is where Christ left his most healing touch.
Some of the most precious moments in Christ' story were the encounters with the small circle of his disciples and the most enigmatic of all with the woman, whom Christ saved from being stoned to death, known as Mary from Magdala. It is worth remembering that the bond of unconditional Love - which broke the bondage of Mary's soul from the constraints of the body - was a touch stone between Compassion of Jesus and burning desire of Mary to become one with her Beloved. If Christ was greatest yogi than Mary Magdalen was destined to become a yogini of the western world as the foremost Christian Saint.
Noli me tangere - ''touch me not'', is a latin version of words spoken according to John, by Christ to Mary when she recognized him after his Resurrection. The original phrase was written in Greek and translates as ''cease clinging on to me''. What was behind the line, when Christ appeared in front of Mary Magdalen, his most devoted disciple, making her move on an impulse to embrace the feet of her beloved Master, yet being restrained by him. Noli me tangere, the phrase has been a subject of many debates between the scholars and interpreters of Christianity. We'll give it a Tantric touch.
According to Kashmir Shaivism, the touch is considered to be the most important faculty of the senses, which takes place at the onset of evolutionary process, more importantly, that process is being repeated over and over again at each and every instant of our existence! The touch is not only limited to experience of the object of sense perception transmitted through the air element and expressed through the organ of cognition as hand. In fact for the possibility of any experience to happen, there must be a moment of the crossing of two, the union produced by that sensation. Sound uniting with ear, touch uniting with skin, sight uniting with form, taste uniting with tongue, scent uniting with the organ of smelling.
Through all the activity touch is a culminating factor in giving possibility of the experience for the one who is going through it. For that reason Tantra considers all experiences erotic in its essence, for in every instant, on all the levels of creation, the original act is being re-created in a mini replica of Grand Union as penetration of the Spirit into the World. The sense of touch is located at the Heart Center and transmitted through air element. It associated with the heart chakra, where hands serve as organs of cognition and the genitals as organs of action. The Heart center is the seat of prana (vital force), as well as the seat of all emotions. The holy shrine of the body-temple and Lord Himself dwells in its chamber, in the crossing point where the subject meets its object... and the experience set in motion.
It's as if the Lord in response to the lover, who is in the agony to embrace the Beloved, warns: Do not touch me ! If you wish to unite with Me, you have to go beyond the realm of the senses ! The message is simple, to embrace the Lord and to be touched by His Divine Grace, Mary Magdalen has to withdraw her mind from the activity of the senses if she is to enjoy true union with the Beloved.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Memory of the Whole.
QUESTION:
If we are from this whole and part of a whole, why do we feel so separated from this most of the time ? Only when it rains and we are silent enough to stop and listen do we connect. The rest of the time we forget who or what we are. Why is the memory so easily erased if this is our natural state to be?
(posted by Emma Devi, 'On the Verandah', 23 February)
REPLY:
To answer these questions in a way would only reinforce the enigma. The obviousness of a predicament is in the paradoxical nature of consciousness. Let us try to see it from two diametrically opposing perspectives.
First and foremost, there is no separation on any levels what so ever! This sense of separateness is illusory, in reality it does not exist. Separateness is being perceived at a local level only, yet the nature of consciousness is essentially non-local. The subject (observer) and the object (observed) are forever united in oneness of the experience where the subjectivity is actualized by the process (of observing) itself. The perceiver and the (manifested world) perceived cannot be separated for an instant and are in fact an integral part of universal continuum.
If it were not so there would be no possibility for any experience at all. Just like when there is no connection to the ethernet there is no reception, no signal, nothing. The five senses provide the mind with information which allows for the experience of the physical world to be perceived as real. Coalesced with impressions left by countless previous experiences and stored deep in the recesses of the mind they provide fertile ground for sprouting of all sorts of desires, thoughts and ideation. The process is powered by the complex network of subtle charges which are electrical in nature and needs the source at all times for its function.
When the senses shut down (during the dreaming state) the mind is left to itself to wonder for there is no shortage of impressions (as mentioned earlier), and the vividness experienced in dreams is the proof of an autonomy of mind from the senses. When in turn the mind shuts down (during the deep-sleep) the experience of 'nothingness' (on waking up from that state) betrays the fact that there was a witness to the process. Who is witnessing the 'nothingness' of the deep-sleep state, when the mind is switched off ? These gives us an insight that there is a witness beyond the spheres of the mind. For the faculty of mind is just an instrumentality, which has no authority of its own.
If I am not the senses. Not the mind. Than who am I? Who is experiencing all this and moreover, who is making it felt as if the experience belongs to ''me''? That line of questioning is inevitable if we to understand the whole business of separation properly. Some identify the sense of ego as the source behind separation. The sense of ''I'' is what holding an incarnated soul together as a unit, from the uniqueness of its DNA vibrations to the interactive patterns of individual behavior. Egocentricity is certainly a major hindrance for harmonious co-existence, but can we blame the I-sense for the identification with the experience which is the real cause of misery? After all ego has no existence of its own and its function is what gives variety to an act were individuality is a mirrored infinity in its dynamic dimension. Moreover, the complete distraction of an ego is detrimental to the embodied being in as much as there is still a need for normal functioning of all bodily systems and the immune one in particular.
Is it at all possible to be connected while still being subjected to the limitations born of human condition? What is than stands on the way if there is continuity of energy throughout all the states of consciousness, why do we feel separated from the source? After all the source, the energy and the matter are one if the understanding of the modern physics to go by. Where does the separation comes into?
The separation is all in the head. It is in the dual nature of the mind. Mind is an instrumentality of consciousness very much like a lens, it serves as a channel to actualize the experience by narrowing it down to the individual level. It's as if Consciousness limits itself in order to enjoy particularity of any given experience. This trick is possible because of the dichotomized nature of thought. Thought in its essence is a fluctuation (a wave, a ripple) on the surface of the mind. As long as there is a thought process there is a sense of separation, because the surface of the mind is disturbed and cannot reflect Consciousness fully. Soon as the fluctuations subside the mind becomes still and reflects nothing but Consciousness. That is because the mind in its state of quiescence is Consciousness.
When mind is drawn outward by the incessant activity of the senses, it gives rise to the world of phenomenal experiences (of the physical world). When the mind turned inward (like in concentration, meditation, absorption) it will gradually move in the direction of the source (of bliss). Mind fluctuates between two extreme polarities, that of Absolute Dynamism (in its outward move) and that of Absolute Silence (in its inward state). When it's enjoying the outward activity it takes on the quality of the external experiences and (as if) looses its connection to the source. Yet soon as its finds its way home to the Silent sphere it becomes that which it is and always has been.
No matter how paradoxical that sounds, the mind can experience both the dynamism and the silence simultaneously. For that the mind needs to turn within on a regular basis, so that the deep silence experienced during the periods of inward strokes will eventually spill out into and infusing with the dynamic phases of activity. When the mind is thoroughly soaked in silence it will regain the ''memory'' even when being absorbed in the activity of the senses. In truth the term memory has little to do with the actual process, for the notion of memory is only applicable to the relative spectrum of life. For when the mind is awakened to its own nature and purified from the latent tendencies it becomes transparent in the midst of any experiences, mental or physical makes no difference. The ''memory'' here is in the form of a fully integrated knowledge that Awareness is independent from all forms of activity and is the only criteria of life lived in freedom from suffering.
So the separation does not exist yet what constitutes for the feeling of being separate is the degree of awareness throughout all the spheres of human interaction from it's innermost silence to its outmost dynamics of nature.
If we are from this whole and part of a whole, why do we feel so separated from this most of the time ? Only when it rains and we are silent enough to stop and listen do we connect. The rest of the time we forget who or what we are. Why is the memory so easily erased if this is our natural state to be?
(posted by Emma Devi, 'On the Verandah', 23 February)
REPLY:
To answer these questions in a way would only reinforce the enigma. The obviousness of a predicament is in the paradoxical nature of consciousness. Let us try to see it from two diametrically opposing perspectives.
First and foremost, there is no separation on any levels what so ever! This sense of separateness is illusory, in reality it does not exist. Separateness is being perceived at a local level only, yet the nature of consciousness is essentially non-local. The subject (observer) and the object (observed) are forever united in oneness of the experience where the subjectivity is actualized by the process (of observing) itself. The perceiver and the (manifested world) perceived cannot be separated for an instant and are in fact an integral part of universal continuum.
If it were not so there would be no possibility for any experience at all. Just like when there is no connection to the ethernet there is no reception, no signal, nothing. The five senses provide the mind with information which allows for the experience of the physical world to be perceived as real. Coalesced with impressions left by countless previous experiences and stored deep in the recesses of the mind they provide fertile ground for sprouting of all sorts of desires, thoughts and ideation. The process is powered by the complex network of subtle charges which are electrical in nature and needs the source at all times for its function.
When the senses shut down (during the dreaming state) the mind is left to itself to wonder for there is no shortage of impressions (as mentioned earlier), and the vividness experienced in dreams is the proof of an autonomy of mind from the senses. When in turn the mind shuts down (during the deep-sleep) the experience of 'nothingness' (on waking up from that state) betrays the fact that there was a witness to the process. Who is witnessing the 'nothingness' of the deep-sleep state, when the mind is switched off ? These gives us an insight that there is a witness beyond the spheres of the mind. For the faculty of mind is just an instrumentality, which has no authority of its own.
If I am not the senses. Not the mind. Than who am I? Who is experiencing all this and moreover, who is making it felt as if the experience belongs to ''me''? That line of questioning is inevitable if we to understand the whole business of separation properly. Some identify the sense of ego as the source behind separation. The sense of ''I'' is what holding an incarnated soul together as a unit, from the uniqueness of its DNA vibrations to the interactive patterns of individual behavior. Egocentricity is certainly a major hindrance for harmonious co-existence, but can we blame the I-sense for the identification with the experience which is the real cause of misery? After all ego has no existence of its own and its function is what gives variety to an act were individuality is a mirrored infinity in its dynamic dimension. Moreover, the complete distraction of an ego is detrimental to the embodied being in as much as there is still a need for normal functioning of all bodily systems and the immune one in particular.
Is it at all possible to be connected while still being subjected to the limitations born of human condition? What is than stands on the way if there is continuity of energy throughout all the states of consciousness, why do we feel separated from the source? After all the source, the energy and the matter are one if the understanding of the modern physics to go by. Where does the separation comes into?
The separation is all in the head. It is in the dual nature of the mind. Mind is an instrumentality of consciousness very much like a lens, it serves as a channel to actualize the experience by narrowing it down to the individual level. It's as if Consciousness limits itself in order to enjoy particularity of any given experience. This trick is possible because of the dichotomized nature of thought. Thought in its essence is a fluctuation (a wave, a ripple) on the surface of the mind. As long as there is a thought process there is a sense of separation, because the surface of the mind is disturbed and cannot reflect Consciousness fully. Soon as the fluctuations subside the mind becomes still and reflects nothing but Consciousness. That is because the mind in its state of quiescence is Consciousness.
When mind is drawn outward by the incessant activity of the senses, it gives rise to the world of phenomenal experiences (of the physical world). When the mind turned inward (like in concentration, meditation, absorption) it will gradually move in the direction of the source (of bliss). Mind fluctuates between two extreme polarities, that of Absolute Dynamism (in its outward move) and that of Absolute Silence (in its inward state). When it's enjoying the outward activity it takes on the quality of the external experiences and (as if) looses its connection to the source. Yet soon as its finds its way home to the Silent sphere it becomes that which it is and always has been.
No matter how paradoxical that sounds, the mind can experience both the dynamism and the silence simultaneously. For that the mind needs to turn within on a regular basis, so that the deep silence experienced during the periods of inward strokes will eventually spill out into and infusing with the dynamic phases of activity. When the mind is thoroughly soaked in silence it will regain the ''memory'' even when being absorbed in the activity of the senses. In truth the term memory has little to do with the actual process, for the notion of memory is only applicable to the relative spectrum of life. For when the mind is awakened to its own nature and purified from the latent tendencies it becomes transparent in the midst of any experiences, mental or physical makes no difference. The ''memory'' here is in the form of a fully integrated knowledge that Awareness is independent from all forms of activity and is the only criteria of life lived in freedom from suffering.
So the separation does not exist yet what constitutes for the feeling of being separate is the degree of awareness throughout all the spheres of human interaction from it's innermost silence to its outmost dynamics of nature.
Friday, 26 February 2010
The Nature of Pain - 2
Pleasure and pain are two most important neurophysiological responses in the brain which mark our likes and dislikes and wire the connection between the body, mind and environment. There is strong evidence for biological connections between the neurochemical pathways used for the perception of both pain and pleasure, which confirms with the yogic view of both experiences being part of the same continuum.
The Samkhya doctrine recognizes that process as the inner mechanics behind worldliness. Attachment arises from pleasure and pleasure is derived from attachment to the experience it produces. In turn pain gives rise to aversion and thus the circle of attachment and aversion strengthens the Vasanas (psychic conditioning) of an individual psyche.
When we undergo pleasurable experience we take it for granted, for its a natural predisposition in our mind and needs no questioning as for the reasoning. One of the resultant states of awakening is an increased awareness of the deep connectedness of all psychological states and physiological conditions. Even if still automatically preferring pleasure to pain the awakened mind is no longer bound by the attachment the experience of pleasure otherwise incurs.
That is because spontaneous realization rests on the knowledge that they (pain and pleasure) follow each other (like the dials of a clock) with the change in the alternating states with which Nature performs all actions. The Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas*) rotate and bring about changes in physical and psychological states of our system. Even a threshold of pain differs according to the predominance of a particular guna in an individual.
Whatever is the case, the one who set his/her mind on the path of yoga tries his/her best to overcome the cycle of attachment and aversion born of the experience of pleasure and pain. Both experiences produce the subconscious latencies in the shape of the above mentioned Vasanas. Attachment and aversion are rooted in misapprehension of reality which firmly binds the soul to the body by identification of the ''I'' (as a spectator) with the process of a spectacle.
To cut these circuit is to brake free from the chains with which the ''I'' is (seemingly) bound. Seemingly ? Well, the ''I'' is never affected by that which takes place on the level of cognitive (motor-sensory-mental) experiences, nor does it get affected by any fluctuations brought about by the superimposition of those experiences onto the ''I'' (as the perceiver). No more than the images projected onto the screen have an effect on the light which illumines the movie. So is with our experiences in the world as far as the motor-sensory-mental responses are concerned.
(end of part 2)
Notes:
* According to The Samhkya, one of the Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, The Gunas are primordial qualities which constitute Nature. On cosmological level Sattva is the energy of equilibrium; Rajas is the energy behind all motion; Tamas is primal factor behind inertia. In terms of psychological states of an individual, Sattva balances all processes and stands for light, clarity and peace. Rajas is responsible for excitement, passion, desire and consequently for all mental turmoil including pain and misery. Tamas as inertia rules stagnation and ignorance born of total identification with the physiology. Suffice to say that everyone is a mixture of all three energies with minute combination/proportion of the three Gunas which form the basis of an individual psyche.
The Samkhya doctrine recognizes that process as the inner mechanics behind worldliness. Attachment arises from pleasure and pleasure is derived from attachment to the experience it produces. In turn pain gives rise to aversion and thus the circle of attachment and aversion strengthens the Vasanas (psychic conditioning) of an individual psyche.
When we undergo pleasurable experience we take it for granted, for its a natural predisposition in our mind and needs no questioning as for the reasoning. One of the resultant states of awakening is an increased awareness of the deep connectedness of all psychological states and physiological conditions. Even if still automatically preferring pleasure to pain the awakened mind is no longer bound by the attachment the experience of pleasure otherwise incurs.
That is because spontaneous realization rests on the knowledge that they (pain and pleasure) follow each other (like the dials of a clock) with the change in the alternating states with which Nature performs all actions. The Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas*) rotate and bring about changes in physical and psychological states of our system. Even a threshold of pain differs according to the predominance of a particular guna in an individual.
Whatever is the case, the one who set his/her mind on the path of yoga tries his/her best to overcome the cycle of attachment and aversion born of the experience of pleasure and pain. Both experiences produce the subconscious latencies in the shape of the above mentioned Vasanas. Attachment and aversion are rooted in misapprehension of reality which firmly binds the soul to the body by identification of the ''I'' (as a spectator) with the process of a spectacle.
To cut these circuit is to brake free from the chains with which the ''I'' is (seemingly) bound. Seemingly ? Well, the ''I'' is never affected by that which takes place on the level of cognitive (motor-sensory-mental) experiences, nor does it get affected by any fluctuations brought about by the superimposition of those experiences onto the ''I'' (as the perceiver). No more than the images projected onto the screen have an effect on the light which illumines the movie. So is with our experiences in the world as far as the motor-sensory-mental responses are concerned.
(end of part 2)
Notes:
* According to The Samhkya, one of the Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, The Gunas are primordial qualities which constitute Nature. On cosmological level Sattva is the energy of equilibrium; Rajas is the energy behind all motion; Tamas is primal factor behind inertia. In terms of psychological states of an individual, Sattva balances all processes and stands for light, clarity and peace. Rajas is responsible for excitement, passion, desire and consequently for all mental turmoil including pain and misery. Tamas as inertia rules stagnation and ignorance born of total identification with the physiology. Suffice to say that everyone is a mixture of all three energies with minute combination/proportion of the three Gunas which form the basis of an individual psyche.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Mars retrograde
We all have been put through the test since Dec 20th when Mars, the blood-boiler went retrograde, and in the last three weeks in particular, as the planet has entered its most 'destructive' phase. By March 10th Mars will resume its normal course, and soon as February is over we all get some relief. Than two more weeks and we are out of the most demanding time we've been in a while, and that's despite the fact (suggested by many astrologers) that we've benefited by the overall positive planetary combinations. We should understand these that despite the losses the blows were somewhat softened.
Just to remind, Mars is retrograding in Leo, adding extra heat, extra anger and extra pride to already fiery planet. Comparing Western Zodiac with Indian Jyotish: the main characteristics of the planets are very similar so are the behavior and what the planets rule in both the outer and the inner spheres of our reality.
According to the Jyotish, the planets are grouped into benefic, malefic and neutral based on the energetic qualities they emit (from the worldly point of view). Mars (Mangal in sanskrit) belongs to the malefic group of planets, that is the overall character of the planet is unruly and has a fiery nature to it. Other malefic planets are Saturn, Sun and ascending and descending nodes of the Moon. Benefic ones are, Jupiter and Venus. While Mercury is neutral, that means the planet's energy can be colored by the combination of the planets it happened to share the house with.
From the psychological point of view Mars rules the emotions associated with fire element. Passion, anger, courage, jealousy, pride, and everything that makes us burn with impatience. When balanced Mars gives us strength for decision making, courage to face adversity and fearlessness to go with the changes in life. When imbalanced, as during the retrograde period (plus other special transits) the planet is seemed too eager to destroy everything, from the relationships to our inner peace, which are the mirrored conditions in any case.
Mars retrograde in Leo is a double bill. The otherwise assertive energy of leader Leo is being perplexed and thwarted into confusion and self-doubt. On top of that the shadowy qualities associated with Leo become exaggerated where pride and self-centeredness meets its extremes. Multiplied by the Martian energy we can expect an alien behavior from those we thought we knew as our own selves. Internalized anger is also on the agenda as the fire instead of being directed for cooking something nourishing or battling with adversaries is often turned against oneself.
The best strategy during the warrior planet going backwards is to sit it out in a shelter or make sure you use a bamboo stick instead of a real sword if you happened to be a martial artist. Is there anything good during the time when Mars is retrograding ? For sure, when the period is over we'll come out of it with facts and information which otherwise would have remained hidden. Both about ourselves and others. We'll be stronger and more compassionate beings, after being faced with our own limitations and inadequacies. Just like flower field gets more fertile after some blood drops on the ground. Exposure to our limitations would only help us go beyond the limits of our own making.
Just to remind, Mars is retrograding in Leo, adding extra heat, extra anger and extra pride to already fiery planet. Comparing Western Zodiac with Indian Jyotish: the main characteristics of the planets are very similar so are the behavior and what the planets rule in both the outer and the inner spheres of our reality.
According to the Jyotish, the planets are grouped into benefic, malefic and neutral based on the energetic qualities they emit (from the worldly point of view). Mars (Mangal in sanskrit) belongs to the malefic group of planets, that is the overall character of the planet is unruly and has a fiery nature to it. Other malefic planets are Saturn, Sun and ascending and descending nodes of the Moon. Benefic ones are, Jupiter and Venus. While Mercury is neutral, that means the planet's energy can be colored by the combination of the planets it happened to share the house with.
From the psychological point of view Mars rules the emotions associated with fire element. Passion, anger, courage, jealousy, pride, and everything that makes us burn with impatience. When balanced Mars gives us strength for decision making, courage to face adversity and fearlessness to go with the changes in life. When imbalanced, as during the retrograde period (plus other special transits) the planet is seemed too eager to destroy everything, from the relationships to our inner peace, which are the mirrored conditions in any case.
Mars retrograde in Leo is a double bill. The otherwise assertive energy of leader Leo is being perplexed and thwarted into confusion and self-doubt. On top of that the shadowy qualities associated with Leo become exaggerated where pride and self-centeredness meets its extremes. Multiplied by the Martian energy we can expect an alien behavior from those we thought we knew as our own selves. Internalized anger is also on the agenda as the fire instead of being directed for cooking something nourishing or battling with adversaries is often turned against oneself.
The best strategy during the warrior planet going backwards is to sit it out in a shelter or make sure you use a bamboo stick instead of a real sword if you happened to be a martial artist. Is there anything good during the time when Mars is retrograding ? For sure, when the period is over we'll come out of it with facts and information which otherwise would have remained hidden. Both about ourselves and others. We'll be stronger and more compassionate beings, after being faced with our own limitations and inadequacies. Just like flower field gets more fertile after some blood drops on the ground. Exposure to our limitations would only help us go beyond the limits of our own making.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
The Nature of Pain - 1
What is pain ? Is it a release, a protective mechanism, a natural response of the body to danger, a psychosomatic projection, all of these or something else altogether? Can we live without pain, or is it an integral part of our existence? Shall we suppress pain at all times?
The English word derives from Latin poena - meaning punishment pain, or Ancient Greek poine - a word related to penalty. Do we take that pain is literally punishment, or is it penalty in philosophical understanding of the term, like the re-payment for wrong action, whatever that action was. If we accept that view, than painful experiences are self-generational and we all are active participants to the pain we collectively produce even if being unaware of its consequences. Needless to say that the universal computation makes sure to distinguish between the types and forms before making us the receivers of physical or mental experience.
There is neurobiological reasons for the existence of pain which are there to make sure we distinguish our experiences between those that give us pleasure and that of its opposite. Pain marks the pathways of an illness and often reveals the way for treatment. The renowned physician Avicena used to infect himself with terrible diseases in order to undergo the symptoms which allowed him to experience pain first hand and understand the nature of the illness in all its complexity. Pain of all kind and physical pain in particular is a natural response of the body towards conditions where pain acts as a signal of a complex safety net.
Throughout history the understanding of pain changed inadvertently reflecting the existential attitudes towards the experience. Many cultures considered pain to be an important factor necessary for personal growth and maturity of a soul. In some the initiation contained exposure to pain and were seen as the right of passage, the coming of age. It seems with advance of science coupled with development of humanistic ideas, we do our utmost to suppress the pain. Today 'painkilling' is an industry in its own right and part of the overall orientation of our culture with the emphasis on pleasure at all costs. After all who in their right mind would prefer pain to its opposite. As living creatures we all share that aspect, the unconscious desire to prolong pleasure and keep away from pain.
Without drawing any conclusions, what if pain is an inseparable response of our localized consciousness to the environment we live in ? We know that suppressed desire for pleasure erupts as an obsession often in an ugly way. Suppressing pain without re-evaluating its cause is as detrimental to our overall health in a long term as indulging in pleasure without fully understanding the bounding nature of that experience.
(end of part 1)
The English word derives from Latin poena - meaning punishment pain, or Ancient Greek poine - a word related to penalty. Do we take that pain is literally punishment, or is it penalty in philosophical understanding of the term, like the re-payment for wrong action, whatever that action was. If we accept that view, than painful experiences are self-generational and we all are active participants to the pain we collectively produce even if being unaware of its consequences. Needless to say that the universal computation makes sure to distinguish between the types and forms before making us the receivers of physical or mental experience.
There is neurobiological reasons for the existence of pain which are there to make sure we distinguish our experiences between those that give us pleasure and that of its opposite. Pain marks the pathways of an illness and often reveals the way for treatment. The renowned physician Avicena used to infect himself with terrible diseases in order to undergo the symptoms which allowed him to experience pain first hand and understand the nature of the illness in all its complexity. Pain of all kind and physical pain in particular is a natural response of the body towards conditions where pain acts as a signal of a complex safety net.
Throughout history the understanding of pain changed inadvertently reflecting the existential attitudes towards the experience. Many cultures considered pain to be an important factor necessary for personal growth and maturity of a soul. In some the initiation contained exposure to pain and were seen as the right of passage, the coming of age. It seems with advance of science coupled with development of humanistic ideas, we do our utmost to suppress the pain. Today 'painkilling' is an industry in its own right and part of the overall orientation of our culture with the emphasis on pleasure at all costs. After all who in their right mind would prefer pain to its opposite. As living creatures we all share that aspect, the unconscious desire to prolong pleasure and keep away from pain.
Without drawing any conclusions, what if pain is an inseparable response of our localized consciousness to the environment we live in ? We know that suppressed desire for pleasure erupts as an obsession often in an ugly way. Suppressing pain without re-evaluating its cause is as detrimental to our overall health in a long term as indulging in pleasure without fully understanding the bounding nature of that experience.
(end of part 1)
Friday, 19 February 2010
What is there to know ?
Ours is a world where information is coalescing in ether element and available at the click of a finger. Think of scientific breakthroughs, a quantifiable data affords the luxury of savoring the ideas that only recently few brilliant minds could stomach. The same goes for the spiritual wisdom, the information age allows us to partake in the knowledge which deemed exclusive for millennia, and in any case was fully revealed for the reserved few. The possibility of an artificial intelligence is no longer a stuff of Hollywood scripts but a spooky reality of those who see the investigation as a normal day job. The world of super-science and the world of spirit seemed to be entering the time of reconciliation. We could carry on. In short we all agree ours is an amazing time.
We also feel strong urge for self-expression and a masked sense of uneasiness from the shear vastness of the task with which we have to balance our inner world and our outer interactions. This dilemma, when magnified proportionately would point to the relevance of our heartbeats multiplied together as the sum total of all our actions which ultimately lead to the way we co-exist as a whole. To make it plane, if I fail to solve the riddle individually I potentially contribute to obliterate the existence of my tribe off this planet. For the actions committed in blindness of ignorance are not an excuse from the repercussions of karmic re-assignment. Hence the birth of a human drama. Reevaluating the Oedipus complex in a light of the universal law of action in freedom from the bounding influence of karma, we bid faraway to the Freudian world of gilt.
Great time to be alive but a tricky one nevertheless. Great for the reasons we all know. Tricky not only due to the idea that there is no common denominator which keeps the pendulum of collective consciousness to swing in coherence other than that of my own power of swinging. But also because it's that much harder to counteract a pendulum rotating in a negative direction. The metaphor perhaps is too stiff, for consciousness is not a pendulum, it is more like an ocean. A mass of liquid light which moves in waves as creation but does not move at its base. It is another theme altogether, we shall go back to the dilemma born of human condition.
What is there to know? What kind of knowledge there is which will give us the platform to live in peace even amidst the calamities of all kinds? After all the insatiable desire for knowing is the very late-motive of an evolved being. Is it possible to know and be satisfied with that knowledge. To have an inner peace no matter what the circumstances we've been put through the inner conflict has to end. Think about it. Contemplate on it. Up until there is a conflict, up until there is the rubbing of anything against anything else there will be smoke. The smoke will veil the eyes from seeing, but if you rub consciously there will be fire eventually. That fire has the power to dispel the darkness. That fire is pure knowledge.
The field of knowledge belongs to the knower, where the knowing is the process. Know that by which everything else is known. Knowing that what is there to know.
We also feel strong urge for self-expression and a masked sense of uneasiness from the shear vastness of the task with which we have to balance our inner world and our outer interactions. This dilemma, when magnified proportionately would point to the relevance of our heartbeats multiplied together as the sum total of all our actions which ultimately lead to the way we co-exist as a whole. To make it plane, if I fail to solve the riddle individually I potentially contribute to obliterate the existence of my tribe off this planet. For the actions committed in blindness of ignorance are not an excuse from the repercussions of karmic re-assignment. Hence the birth of a human drama. Reevaluating the Oedipus complex in a light of the universal law of action in freedom from the bounding influence of karma, we bid faraway to the Freudian world of gilt.
Great time to be alive but a tricky one nevertheless. Great for the reasons we all know. Tricky not only due to the idea that there is no common denominator which keeps the pendulum of collective consciousness to swing in coherence other than that of my own power of swinging. But also because it's that much harder to counteract a pendulum rotating in a negative direction. The metaphor perhaps is too stiff, for consciousness is not a pendulum, it is more like an ocean. A mass of liquid light which moves in waves as creation but does not move at its base. It is another theme altogether, we shall go back to the dilemma born of human condition.
What is there to know? What kind of knowledge there is which will give us the platform to live in peace even amidst the calamities of all kinds? After all the insatiable desire for knowing is the very late-motive of an evolved being. Is it possible to know and be satisfied with that knowledge. To have an inner peace no matter what the circumstances we've been put through the inner conflict has to end. Think about it. Contemplate on it. Up until there is a conflict, up until there is the rubbing of anything against anything else there will be smoke. The smoke will veil the eyes from seeing, but if you rub consciously there will be fire eventually. That fire has the power to dispel the darkness. That fire is pure knowledge.
The field of knowledge belongs to the knower, where the knowing is the process. Know that by which everything else is known. Knowing that what is there to know.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
on the Verandah...
Dear friends,
Welcome to stop by to relax and to unwind for a while... and who knows perhaps something might happen in the space between. Feel free to share or open up a theme, or just sit back and enjoy the exchanges.
For the newcomers, this blog is a natural progression of the past eight years of communication with the wide audience made of advanced meditators and beginners alike.
Yours as ever,
Igor
P. S. The current version of the blog is to see how it goes before we'll move it to a more secure web-blog specially build for that purpose.
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