Here is a wonderful story presented by MSI that can be found in the book Ascension.
"One day, God came walking through the world to see how his children were faring. He came upon an old ascetic who had spent his entire adult life in severe bodily mortification and forceful mental disciplines.
The ascetic had gained a certain degree of clarity of his senses from his prolonged practice and realized that the man casually walking by his cave was fully established in awareness of the inner Divine Self. Painfully unwinding his body from his rigid posture, the ascetic bowed before God and said, "Great-Souled One! I perceive you are an illumined master. Pray tell me, honorable sir, how long it will be before I realize my inner Divine Nature?"
God smiled warmly and laughingly replied, "You are doing well, my son! At your present rate of progress, you will realize your inner Divine Self with just one more lifetime of similar effort."
The ascetic, terrified, in shock, cried, "Another lifetime of this horror? How can I endure this boredom, this agony, this pain for another day, let alone another lifetime! How horrible! You have cursed me this day! Be gone from this place, you imposter! Never would I believe such as you."
God smiled lovingly at him and walked on. Soon He came upon an idiot splashing in the river, laughing and singing. This man’s primary activity every day was to cry out, "God! How I love God! God! I love God! God!" This foolish one never took the slightest care for his physical needs, never cared if he were fed, clothed, housed. He never noticed if he were clean or dirty, hot or cold, wet or dry. He might have been locked up in a padded cell in our modern age, but in those days, people saw that he was harmless and therefore tolerated him and occasionally gave him a crust of bread or some old, half-rotten fruits or vegetables to eat.
The idiot was attracted by the radiance of this handsome stranger, came up out of the water, bowed before him and said, "How wonderful! God has sent by a Great-Souled One. I have been enjoying myself so much of late I had nearly forgotten I have a goal. I began my quest to realize enlightenment long ago but of late have become distracted by this constant joy welling up inside. Seeing you just now reminded me of my journey and I was wondering if you could tell me how long it will be before I realize my inner Divine Nature?"
God smiled warmly and laughingly replied, "You are doing well, my son! At your present rate of progress, you will realize your inner Divine Self with just seventy more lifetimes of similar effort."
"Seventy lifetimes of similar effort!" cried the idiot with perfect joy. "How wonderful! What a flawless boon you have today bestowed upon me, Great Lord!" The idiot was so filled with joy at the prospect of another seventy lifetimes of such bliss that the last doubt fled from his mind; his last question melted into the joy that was his life; his ignorance was irrevocably crushed; he attained the highest state of enlightenment instantly."
We on Earth commonly think there are three kinds of time: the past, the present and the future. We often guide our actions largely on the basis of regret for our past actions and missed opportunities or from concern for our future well-being. The problem with living for the future is that the future never arrives. It doesn’t exist except as an invented concept. There is only NOW—now extends in all places and at all times. The past does not exist, either: there was, before this instant, an unbroken succession of Now moments; there will be in the future an unbroken succession of Now moments. Now, the present, is the only time there is, the only time there has ever been, the only time there will ever be.
This is why it is so absurdly easy to gain enlightenment—the Infinite light is already here, now, within the grasp of each of us. Nothing more is required than ceasing the attempt to live in the past or the future. The Sun is always shining; we have only to stop identifying with the clouds passing in front of it to be free.
The unhappy ascetic was not enjoying the present; he was continually hoping to realize his Self in the future. Therefore the prospect of even one more moment of such torture was agonizing. The happy idiot, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed each and every instant—he was filled with joy at the thought of continuing his ecstatic present. The additional rush of joy through his already bliss-saturated nervous system was more than the last of his ego’s weakened belief system could withstand—the old limitations in his mind, already largely discarded, were destroyed—the Infinite light of the Now burst through him, upward and out, transforming his life permanently. His eyes fully opened for the first time; he recognized God standing before him. The newly enlightened one bowed before his Lord and cried his gratitude and joy to the Source of all that is.
We human beings have an unfortunate habit of unnecessarily complicating our lives. Love is supremely simple, absolutely fundamental, requires no training whatsoever, is permanently transforming, increases more and more as it is given away, and is the greatest secret in the entire Universe. Like most great secrets, this particular one is displayed openly, as if it were valueless. It is here for all who wish to have it; there is no limited supply; it increases from age to age and yet is infinitely full always.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Some Musings
There never was a time when I was not,
nor you, nor these rulers of men,
nor will there ever be a time when all of
us will cease to be.
-The Bhagavad Gita-
Eternity is that which does not change. We live in a world of constant change, a world of time and space, yet underneath it all there is a Field that does not (for science buffs type into your search engine the words, "John Hagelin string theory"). It may seem that the story of life is only birth, maturation, and death. This is certainly the most common interpretation, but it is not the only interpretation. Ones interpretation of the Ocean greatly depends on where we are viewing the ocean from. Life lived from the surface of the mind is a vastly different world than a life lived in contact with the depths of the mind. Everyone who is Ascending regularly is touching these depths more and more and more. Be innocent and let go of who you think you are. There is no need to think that "you" are anything when you already are.
Each time we think an ascension attitude we are connecting our mind with the Infinite Mind. That is the practice. When the mind is Infinite then life too is Infinite.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Yoga Sutras Primer
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the most concise formulation in history of the mechanics of the growth of consciousness from the Waking State to the highest degree of human consciousness, Unified Consciousness. This ancient manuscript presents a systematic and complete understanding of the psychological, emotional and physical transformations that occur as an individual develops full enlightenment. This process of development is called Ascension, or rising beyond the boundaries of ignorance.
What we use for the meaning of the word “Yoga” in America is very different than it’s original meaning. Most Americans think of yoga as just set of physical exercises.
Yoga (in its truest sense) is an extremely practical methodology for systematically expanding the conscious mind. Said another way, Yoga is the Science for overcoming the self-destructive and limiting beliefs and internal programs that keep individual life bound to the experiences of the Waking state of Consciousness -- the state in which life is alternately happy and sad, loving and hating, healthy and sick -- in short, dual. Yoga provides a systematic ladder for climbing beyond the often painful experiences of the Waking State of duality into the state of non-changing full human consciousness.
Yoga is the Science of Union. The union of what with what? Yoga is the science of joining together the individual lower self with the universal higher Self, the indivisible spark of God that resides within everyone. As the growth of consciousness proceeds, every area of life develops -- heart, mind, body, environment. Yoga, properly understood, is not a system of giving up life. It is a system of adding to life.
The Science of Yoga begins and ends in the present moment. Everything to be understood about the transformation of life from suffering to permanent happiness, from failure to success, from ignorance to enlightenment is to be found in the present instant of time. Life in freedom is the result of learning to turn from the imperious demands of our past experience. Nothing can be done for the past, it is over; nothing can be done for the future, for it never comes; all that can be done is to make the present Ideal. Then the future will take care of itself. Perfection of the present instant is at once the goal and the means of the Science of Union.
“Stilling the movements of the mind leads to Union,” and Union leads to the stilling of the movements of the mind.” Yoga or Union is both the path and the goal.
When the constant chattering of the internal dialogue is stilled, Union with the higher Self is natural, for this is the normal state of the nervous system. It is the constant activity which is abnormal - the mind hammering out its 100,000 thoughts a day, most of them the same as yesterday’s, many of them self-contradictory.
Systematically quieting down the mind is the purpose of the Science of Yoga. It is not only natural, it is extremely easy. There are only three requirements. There must be 1) a functioning nervous system, capable of thought. There must also be 2) a suitable vehicle for the mind to follow in this process of stilling, a vehicle which naturally and effortlessly pulls the mind inward to ever deeper levels of silence, until even the faintest level of activity is Ascended and the conscious mind experiences its true form, the higher Self. And there also needs to be 3) competent guidance to ensure the necessary feedback that verifies the correctness of the practice. Thus it is extremely difficult for tapes or books to teach techniques validly, for the third requirement is missing. Even if the prospective student is proceeding completely correctly, how would he or she ever know without verification from a qualified instructor?
The yoga sutras have been misinterpreted as the means to walk down the path to enlightenment. They are not. They are a description of the nature of enlightenment. The yoga sutras included no actual techniques of Ascension or Yoga in this text. His descriptions of the mechanics of enlightenment are so brilliant and clear, however, that many of the sutras have been widely misunderstood as actually being the techniques themselves.
Above was excerpted from Enlightenment! The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translation and commentary by MSI.
As MSI makes clear in his commentary, the Yoga Sutras does not contain the actual techniques toachieve enlightenment. Rather, it describes what happens when proper tools are correctly applied. The tools themselves, the Ascension Attitudes, have always been passed on through personal instruction, one enlivened heart to another. Without instruction and feedback from a qualified Teacher, the ego much too easily fools itself into believing it is doing well, when in fact no real progress is being made. Even though the techniques themselves are simple, if they were printed in books or given in audio recording, much time would be wasted by individuals making their best guesses about correct practice, missing the experience of expanding awareness.
To learn the simple techniques of Ascension you will need to find a qualified teacher. MSI taught the Art of Ascension to hundreds, many of whom now teach the Ishayas’ Ascension all over the world and offer a variety of websites for further information.
If you would like to read MSI’s translation and commentary of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, you can download the ebook for free at www.theishayatradition.org/books/ebooks/Enlightenment.pdf or for a complete listing of books, ebooks and audio books, go to www.theishayatradition.org/books.
What we use for the meaning of the word “Yoga” in America is very different than it’s original meaning. Most Americans think of yoga as just set of physical exercises.
Yoga (in its truest sense) is an extremely practical methodology for systematically expanding the conscious mind. Said another way, Yoga is the Science for overcoming the self-destructive and limiting beliefs and internal programs that keep individual life bound to the experiences of the Waking state of Consciousness -- the state in which life is alternately happy and sad, loving and hating, healthy and sick -- in short, dual. Yoga provides a systematic ladder for climbing beyond the often painful experiences of the Waking State of duality into the state of non-changing full human consciousness.
Yoga is the Science of Union. The union of what with what? Yoga is the science of joining together the individual lower self with the universal higher Self, the indivisible spark of God that resides within everyone. As the growth of consciousness proceeds, every area of life develops -- heart, mind, body, environment. Yoga, properly understood, is not a system of giving up life. It is a system of adding to life.
The Science of Yoga begins and ends in the present moment. Everything to be understood about the transformation of life from suffering to permanent happiness, from failure to success, from ignorance to enlightenment is to be found in the present instant of time. Life in freedom is the result of learning to turn from the imperious demands of our past experience. Nothing can be done for the past, it is over; nothing can be done for the future, for it never comes; all that can be done is to make the present Ideal. Then the future will take care of itself. Perfection of the present instant is at once the goal and the means of the Science of Union.
“Stilling the movements of the mind leads to Union,” and Union leads to the stilling of the movements of the mind.” Yoga or Union is both the path and the goal.
When the constant chattering of the internal dialogue is stilled, Union with the higher Self is natural, for this is the normal state of the nervous system. It is the constant activity which is abnormal - the mind hammering out its 100,000 thoughts a day, most of them the same as yesterday’s, many of them self-contradictory.
Systematically quieting down the mind is the purpose of the Science of Yoga. It is not only natural, it is extremely easy. There are only three requirements. There must be 1) a functioning nervous system, capable of thought. There must also be 2) a suitable vehicle for the mind to follow in this process of stilling, a vehicle which naturally and effortlessly pulls the mind inward to ever deeper levels of silence, until even the faintest level of activity is Ascended and the conscious mind experiences its true form, the higher Self. And there also needs to be 3) competent guidance to ensure the necessary feedback that verifies the correctness of the practice. Thus it is extremely difficult for tapes or books to teach techniques validly, for the third requirement is missing. Even if the prospective student is proceeding completely correctly, how would he or she ever know without verification from a qualified instructor?
The yoga sutras have been misinterpreted as the means to walk down the path to enlightenment. They are not. They are a description of the nature of enlightenment. The yoga sutras included no actual techniques of Ascension or Yoga in this text. His descriptions of the mechanics of enlightenment are so brilliant and clear, however, that many of the sutras have been widely misunderstood as actually being the techniques themselves.
Above was excerpted from Enlightenment! The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translation and commentary by MSI.
As MSI makes clear in his commentary, the Yoga Sutras does not contain the actual techniques toachieve enlightenment. Rather, it describes what happens when proper tools are correctly applied. The tools themselves, the Ascension Attitudes, have always been passed on through personal instruction, one enlivened heart to another. Without instruction and feedback from a qualified Teacher, the ego much too easily fools itself into believing it is doing well, when in fact no real progress is being made. Even though the techniques themselves are simple, if they were printed in books or given in audio recording, much time would be wasted by individuals making their best guesses about correct practice, missing the experience of expanding awareness.
To learn the simple techniques of Ascension you will need to find a qualified teacher. MSI taught the Art of Ascension to hundreds, many of whom now teach the Ishayas’ Ascension all over the world and offer a variety of websites for further information.
If you would like to read MSI’s translation and commentary of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, you can download the ebook for free at www.theishayatradition.org/books/ebooks/Enlightenment.pdf or for a complete listing of books, ebooks and audio books, go to www.theishayatradition.org/books.
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