Part II - Discrimination

It is a common misconception in the general public that spiritual unfoldment and enlightenment is very difficult. Many people think that it takes decades of living in a cave, eating subsisting on raw leaves and rainwater and meditating 20 hours a day.
In fact, enlightenment can be very, very simple for the person who has a disciplined mind. The maximum effort is required only to withdraw the mind from everything else and bring its entire attention to the task of self discovery. When such a singlepointed intellect is applied to the task of spiritual inquiry, the discovery of truth is almost instantaneous.
A pile of dried leaves in the sun do not catch fire by themselves. But when a converging lens is held over them, it does not take long for the fire to start. The sunlight by itself is too scattered to light the fire - it is only when the magnifying lens focuses the rays and makes them single pointed that it becomes effective.
Our thoughts, like the sunshine are quite scattered. They go everywhere - from the hermitage in the Himalayas to the casino in Vegas, from the polished halls of Congress to the deep interior rainforests, the mind races everywhere. A mind of such scattered thoughts can never come to realize the very subtle truth of the nature of the self.
So what causes our mind to wander? This is a very important question. There are many motivations ascribed to our actions and our thoughts by psychologists and philosophers. What the scriptures say, and it makes deep sense to me, is that there is one great motivation behind all action and thought - the deep need to be happy.
The quest for bliss is at the root of all our actions. We may say we do something because we love someone - but in fact, we do it because doing something nice for someone we love makes us happy. Doing something for someone in need makes us happy, so we perform charity. We do the things we do, desire the things we desire, cling to the things we cling to, all because we believe those things have the power to make us happy.
Please examine your own mind and actions to verify the truth of this statement. Most people will find that they constantly make the unspoken assumption that happiness lies in something, person, place or period time.

 

This in itself would not be so bad, if it were not for the fact that not only do we seek happiness from these things, we expect that happiness to last forever. We may not express it in that way, and most of us would be quite swift to deny the fact, but it is true nonetheless. Our actions betray this.
When a relationship ends, when a cherished possession breaks, when a pet dies, when situations are difficult, we experience great agitation and sorrow. Why would we get so upset if we knew all along that these things cannot be a source of permanent joy? All objects, places and situations are temporary, and therefore they are at best fleeting sources of happiness. And yet we expect total joy from them permanently.
Let us examine this assumption. It is quite obvious that we can never get permanent joy from things since they are impermanent. But what about some joy, even if temporary? Is any object a source of joy?
Let us use the metaphor of sugar. Sugar is a source of sweetness. So anyone who tastes sugar, tastes sweetness, whether they like it or not. Sugar is sweet in Japan and in Africa, it is sweet at in springtime and in winter, it is sweet to children and to animals, it is sweet whether the person tasting it is angry or at peace. In all places, at all times and to all people, sugar is sweet. So sugar is a source of sweetness.
Same with the sun. To all people at all places and times, the sun gives heat and light. So the sun is a source of light.
Now, if things of the world were sources of joy, they would give joy to everyone who comes in contact with them, whenever they come in contact with them, wherever they come in contact with them. But this patently not the case.
Some, such as good food may give joy to everyone, but only in limited quantities. The 10 bowl of ice cream is not as good as the first and the 20th is positively sickening. And most people don't enjoy ice cream in when its already cold and snowy or when they are sick with the flu.
Money comes close, but money is not an end to itself. A man with millions of dollars is miserably wealthy when stuck on a desert island or afflicted with an incurable disease.
And quite often, when we have finally obtained something that we feel is going to make us happy, it is only a let down and before long we are seeking something else to fulfill us.
After much careful examination, generations of spiritual masters have seen very clearly that no object of the world can ever be a source of happiness.

 

Yet we experience happiness quite often when we contact these objects. Therefore happiness is there. So where does it come from?
The masters tell us that happiness is in fact within us all the time, but we are unable to see it because of this fundamental misunderstanding of the source of joy.
As a result of this delusion we have millions of desires. Every time a desire is satisfied, the sheath is brushed aside and so we experience joy. But before long another dozen desires gush in to replace the one that has been satisfied. It is like the moss that grows on the surface of a quiet lake. It covers the water so completely you cannot see it at all. So you take a stick and you brush some of it aside and you can see the water. But before long it slides back to cover it again.
This idea is beautifully symbolized in the Ramayana. When Rama battles the 10-headed demon Ravana, he manages to cut off his heads over and over, but they keep growing back. Then his adviser Vibheeshana tells him to target Ravana's navel, where he holds a jewel that is the source of his immortality. So Rama destroys the root of Ravana's invincibility, the root delusion and then easily gains victory.
Viveka, discrimination, is this wisdom, the ability to tell the difference between that which is a true source of happiness and that which only appears to be so.
When through practice, constant reinforcement, reflection and vigilance, viveka and vairagya (which we will discuss in our next lesson) become steady and strong, then we will have come a long way in our march towards the truth. May we allow the Lord in our hearts to guide and protect us as we undertake this challenging journey.

 

How are we so sure that such discovery exists to be made to begin with?

 

Because it has been discovered. How are you so sure that black holes exist and have been discovered? Someone discovered it and you accepted what they say. Generation after generation, in every era and culture there have been great souls who have discovered inner perfection and joy. I have been blessed to meet about a dozen such people in my lifetime.
Also, follow the scientific method of experimental verification. The spiritual masters have put forth their experience and also explained the steps to be followed in order to verify the truth of what they are saying through your own experience. So if you want to know for certain, you will have to perform the experiment yourself. You will have to discipline and purify the mind, reduce your desires, shed your ego in meditate and experience it for yourself. That is the ultimate proof.

Which scientist would ask, "How do I know this experiment will yield a result before conducting the experiement?"
Try the experiment. If perform every step correctly and without any compromises, and still find no results, then you have a negative result and you have proved to yourself the discovery does not exist.
In which case, you are no worse off than before. On the other hand, if you do get a positive result, then you have gained infinite peace and joy.

 

I agree, the experiment has to be carried out to the best of one's capability, and to the extent of reaching a valid result, once done, we have no other choice but to accept what is true, no matter how antagonizing it is to one's previous beliefs. Good luck!

 

My friend, the experiment has to be carried out exactly according to the procedure laid out by the teachers. If the best of your abilities, as you understand them, does not measure up to that, the failure is not theirs.
When an experiment fails to yield results, it is also the scientist's obligation to carefully examine the apparatus, the procedure and the materials used, to make sure that they adhere to the necessary standards. If they don't then the flaws must be corrected and the experiment repeated.

 

Is it also not true that one may repeat the experiment until one achieves the desired results? That's the good thing about science...

...and the difference with this is that...sometimes... we must have a little bit of faith to hold us over until we get where we need to be. We can try, as Bhaskar suggests, to get all the right materials and do the experiment correctly...but its hard. Most likely we will fail over and over again. Swami Tyaganandaji once told us that spiritual life is the hardest in the world... keep the hope and faith that you will get what you need..and let your desire for results eventually melt away in your sadhana and the power of your growing love for the Divine....

 

I disagree. You don't do it until you reach a desired result, you do it until you reach a result, which maybe appealing or not appealing to you. Brainwashing yourself or playing around with the data to interpret it the way you want it to look like has another name, and it is called pseudoscience.

If it is the truth, you don't need faith, you need to just see it to accept it. But yes faith sometimes does work, if you really believe there is a pink unicorn flying above you right now, all you need to do is stare at the sky long enough, you will see a pink unicorn winking at you , but we call that a visual hallucination or maybe in advanced cases- schizophrenia.

Now, SVG, i am not saying you shouldn't go ahead and do what you are doing, its America, you can pretty much do what you like, and Mr. Swami Tyaganandaji might be a nice guy, but he is wrong. Sadhana= prolonged brainwashing, thats all i have to say for that.

 

Not a matter of belief, a matter of function. From a functional perspective When the breath, spirit, untangles itself from the body, we may see that matter is the waste product of a metabolic fire. Animus animates animal. The world is not valuable for what it has to offer.

 

And you know this how?

 

Observation.

 

Observation?! hahaha.

lol , I am not even going there hahaha, spirit, thats funny, maybe its observation, but more likely, its the dope man, lay off the dope please.

You do not know what happens to you after death, why? - because you are not more intelligent than me or anyone else on this planet, you may very well think you are, but really once you lay off the dope, you will understand that you are not.

I think i am done here.

 

Actually my observation was not what happens after death but what happens as death occurs. I report what I saw on sept 11 2004 when my wife died in my arms. I was administering CPR and I paused one moment to listen and in that one moment I felt the breath leave her body. I felt that breath rise from her body as I was close over her and felt it pass through me as it went. It felt like the faintest whisper of a cool breeze. One moment I could feel the vital energy in her body and the next it was gone. Immediately I saw that the body laying there had absolutely no connection to the woman I know. There was nothing of her that I could recognize in that body, and I could muster no sentiment for it. I do not think I am more intelligent than any one on the planet. I have put effort into studying the world intently as opposed to saving to buy a car.
As you are done here, what was it you hoped to accomplish?

 

The research of well-established psychiatrists like Dr. Brian Weiss also points to the truth of reincarnation and the use of past-life regression in healing.
I too have had a person die in my arms - my sister-in-laws father died as I was helping him to the car to go to hospital. And I experienced much the samr thing dope is talking about.

the thing is, people who become vehemently atheists end up being guilty of exactly what they accuse spiritual people of - thinking they are smarter than everyone else.

But in the end, who is happier? You shall know them by their fruits.


And jedi, I'm sorry, but having an opinion is one thing, but coming to a forum meant specifically for spirituality and trying to bully it down people's throats... that's another. At least learn the basic decency of respecting other people instead of resorting to calling them schizophrenics, etc.
Sometimes you born-again atheists really get my goat.

 

Yes you might be right, I don't mean to convert you or anyone else to atheism (heck, I am not even atheist... I dont subscribe to any dogma, I am just questioning my own beliefs), anyway, I just felt like replying to svg, don't worry, i won't be visiting this forum again. good luck to you all in your spiritual practice May you find what you seek.

 

It's good to question your own beliefs, but it's not so good to close yourself to possibilities.
And definitely not good to question other people's beliefs for them.

 

Like I said, not trying to convert, was just trying to have a discussion, I think I am being misunderstoood, maybe it is better to not discuss at all. No offense meant to you and your beliefs thedope, SVG and bhaskar. I guess truth comes from direct experience, not is something to be found by contrasting one's ideas with others. No problem, I won't continue this discussion. Take care.

 

No offense taken in the least. I don't tend to cultivate or defend belief but I do know how to cook. Enjoyed almost talking to you anyway.