Basics of SpiritualityByKalyan MalshePune, Indiakalyan.malshe@gmail.com+919823196788

Disclaimer: I am trying to present here my understanding of the spiritual world. This is based on a lot of reading of Indian spiritual literature I have done over the past decade and a lot of 'chintan' or reflection on the literature. Reading and reflection, over a period of time, crystalizes the thoughts. It is difficult to say what have I have read from which literature. I can only say that most of what I am presenting is available in some literature but there are certainly a few things which are original

Perspective 1What is Spirituality?

To start the discussion let us look at two very different worlds which we experience One, the Physical world which is also called the external world or the objective worldSecond, the subtle world ('sookshma srishti') which is also called the internal world or the subjective worldLet us try to understand these two worlds and their characteristics

Physical world external world - objective worldPerceptible to 'panchendriyas'Can be seen, touched, heard, tasted, smelledConsists of galaxies, solar systems, stars, planetsConsists of 'khanija vishwa, vanaspati vishwa, prani vishwa and manushya vishwa'To study the physical world there are different streams of scinece physics, chemistry, biology etc. One takes help of gadgets like microscope, telescope etc to investigate Science discovers the laws of nature and using the laws creates things to achieve the goal - betterment of the physical world

Subtle world - Internal world subjective worldNot perceptible to 'panchendriyas'Can not be seen, touched, heard, tasted, smelledConsists of things far bigger in size but far subtler (sookshma)Consists of number of worlds and dimensions 'lokas', 'bhuvanas', hiranyagarbha, mahakaran etc etcTo study the subtle world one has to use the power of the mind and intellect (maan and buddhi). No gadgets exist for this purposeMind discovers the laws of internal world and using the laws it attempts to achieve the goal 'mukti', or salvation

Physical world external world - objective worldCan be shared with othersOne scientist can start from where the previous scientist leftScientific experiments can be repeated and discoveries can be verified by othersScience does not acknowledge presence of God or the subtle world since it can not be provenCurrent scientific knowledge is far too limited to investigate into the subtle world

Subtle world - Internal world subjective worldCan not be shared with others it belongs to each individualOne scientist can not start from where the previous scientist left every wheel has to be reinvented by each individualScientific experiments in the internal world can not be repeated and discoveries can not be verified by others unless others develop their own faculties* (*pl see next page for explanation)An individual can experience the presence of God or the subtle world but he can not share the experience with others or prove it to the othersScientists of the subtle world are called the 'rishis', saints, mystiques

Let us look at an example to understand the term 'faculties'Suppose there is person who is blind by birth. He has never seen the lightYou have seen a rainbow, you are very excited and want to share your experience with some one. Only the blind man is aroundTry to share your experience with him convey the concept of rainbow, 7 colors etc to himYou will fail miserably you will realize that words, the language, fails completely in sharing your experienceYou will also realize that unless the faculty of 'seeing' is present in him that person will never believe what you are saying

He will challenge you - 'prove it to me there is a rainbow or accept that there is nothing called a rainbow in this world'. You will fail to prove it to him. There is no way of proving it to him unless he has the faculty of seeing and has an ability to understand the meaning of words like red and violetSimilarly, a scientist of the physical world does not possess the faculty to seeing the internal or the subtle world and therefore it is impossible to prove the presence of God or internal world to himEither you deny the presence of internal world or have a faith ('shraddha') in someone who has experienced the internal world'Shraddha' is the strong belief in something without asking for an evidence

What is Spirituality?Spirituality is pure scienceScience of the subtle worldDiscovering the structure of the sookshma srishti or subtle world (like planetary system, oceans, forests, desserts)Understanding the laws of the subtle worldUsing the mind by making the mind sookshma (microscopic)And then use the natural laws to achieve the goal 'moksha, mukti, salvation, nirvana' etcSpirituality has nothing to do with any religion though all religions deal with spirituality in some way

Perspective 2Gross comes from the subtle

Consider a human bodyIt consists of cellsCells are formed by complex molecular stringsThese strings are formed by moleculesMolecules are formed by atomsAtoms consists of subatomic particles - proton, neutrons and electronsThese particles are formed by even subtler particles quarks, leptons, bosons etcOur current scientific knowledge stops here

With these discoveries we are going from gross to the subtleIf we proceed we may discover the basic particle a single particle the building block from which the matter and entire physical world is createdThe subtlest physical entity from which the whole physical world is createdBut from where does this subtlest physical entity come?E = MC2Matter has come from the energy mass is nothing but solidified energyEnergy gets converted into matter and vice versa

Energy belongs to the subtle world as it does not exist in physical formIt means that the physical world comes from the subtle worldThe subtle world is called 'Hiranyagarbha'The gross or the physical world is called 'Virata'Virata comes from hiranyagarbha at the begining of a 'kalpa'Virata will eventually merge back into hiranyagarbha at the end of the 'kalpa'

Perspective 3Subtle controls the gross

If you fall sick you take a medicine and you are curedBut how does the medicine work?Scientists worked at the subtle level of the body the cellsThey discovered the basic reasons for the diseases at the cellular levelThey created substances which worked at the cellular level to remove the maladyBody gets cured due to an action at cellular levelTo control the gross you have to find the relevant subtle phenomena and manipulate itThus, the subtle controls the gross

Take the example of a computerThere are several layers of softwaresThe user applications are on the grosser side and the basic machine applications on the subtler sideBut everything ultimately gets converted to zeros and ones at the machine levelTo achieve anything on the computer you have to ultimately go down to these basic zeros and onesThus, the subtle level controls the gross level

Perspective 4Matter and Spirit

The gross or the physical world consists on living and non-living thingsThe non-living things are pure matterThe living things consist of matter and spiritImagine a person one nano second before and after his deathPractically nothing has changed in one nano secondWhat has changed is that the spirit or the soul which was attached to the physical body right from the conception till now has left the bodyWhat is that soul?

The soul belongs to the subtle worldTherefore it can not be perceived thru 'panchendriyas'(eyes etc)You can never perceive the light unless it falls on some object and is reflected. The light can be known by its effect onlySimilarly you can not perceive electricity. Its presence can be known by its effect like an electric bulb or a fan or a shockSimilarly the soul can be known only by its effect an otherwise inert physical body comes to life only when a soul gets attached to itThe body becomes inert again and starts decomposing the moment the soul gets detached

So, there is something called a soul or spiritOne of the aims of spirituality is to understand the soulWhat does it consist of? How does it work? Does it need any food? Why does it get attached to a body?This enquiry and corresponding discovery is a spiritual practice

Perspective 5Concept of God

Human body consists of 100 trillion cellsEach cell is alive. It is born, it lives for some time and then it diesEach cell has specific work allotted to itIt keeps doing the work faithfullyIn 7 years time you have an entirely new set of cells. How many of these cells do we control?None!! You have no control over a single cellThen who runs your body?

The body manufactures thousands of chemicals every dayIn each cell over a million operations take place every secondWho co-ordinates this?Who digests your food?Who pumps blood in your body to feed all 100 trillion cell continuously?Who creates a baby in the mothers womb? Can you imagine the complexity of creating a new baby from nothing?

Who makes the Earth go around the Sun?Who makes an electron go around the nucleus in an atom?Who packs gillions of data bytes of genetic information in a tiny seed which eventually becomes a tree?Who gives the power of seeing to our eyes? Power of hearing to our ears?

That universal power which does all this is the GOD

God is not a person with 4 heads or 4 handsGod is not that idol ('moorty') we worshipGod is not the one we visit in a temple and offer a bribe ('navaas') to get what we want

God is that universal power, energy, intelligence which is present everywhere, which has created this world, which controls this world

Perspective 6Nature of God

Let us look at gravityIts one of the laws of natureExpressed as F = Gmm/R2This law works everywhere earth, moon, planets, galaxiesThis law works in the smallest of spaces nano-centimeters or even smaller at electron levelWho has created this law? Who implements it very faithfully?Every-where, every-time, consistently?Without fail? Of course the GodThus the God is omni-present

The law is implemented without fail. Every-time, every-whereWhether the object is tiny like a virus or gigantic galaxies with billions of starsThe God has the power to implement itHe is therefore omni-potentThere are millions of such laws and many laws work simultaneously across gillions of objects in the worldHE knows about the laws and the objects on which to apply these lawsHE is thus omni-scient

Thus the God is omni-present, omni-potent and omni-scientHE has created the laws of nature and HE implements all the laws all the timeHE implements every law ruthlesslyHE applies the laws to every object without exceptionAll objects are equal to HIMThere is no discrimination. HE is fair to all

Perspective 7We control very little

I have no control over the color of my skin, my features etcI have no control over the parents to whom I was bornI have no control over the country I was born into USA, Ethiopia etcI have no control over the rich/poor family I was born intoI have no control over most major events in my lifeI have no control over my deathI have little control over the major health issues or accidents I face

Thus we have very little or no control over our own lifeWe are in a prison, facing bondageIf we are lucky enough we will lead a good life a golden cageBut there are billions of underprivileged in this world who lead a miserable lifeThey don't get two meals a dayThey suffer from disease, painThey are exploited by othersWe could have been one of them

Why does this happen?Why some are rich and some very poor?Why some are healthy and others suffer from disease?Why some are happy and others miserable?

These are the questions we try to answer thru spirituality

Perspective 8Why are there differences between people?

God works as per His laws and rulesHE does not discriminate. All are equal to HimThen why is someone born in a rich family and someone in a beggar's family, why someone is born blind?Why someone is beautiful and someone ugly?Why someone is healthy and someone suffers from disease?Why someone loses his parents when he is a child and someone is fortunate to have parental protection for long?

WHY THESE DIFFERENCES?

This brings us to the theory of karmaIn the physical world we have 3rd law of Newton for every action there is equal and opposite reactionIn the subtle world this law manifests as the law of karmaWhat you sow so will you reapDifferences in the world we see are due to the karmas of the past life/lives

The God has designed a life for you or has programmed your life based on your entire history so farBased on this you face different situations in lifeGod expects you to fulfill your duties ('kartavya') in the circumstances he has created for you honor your obligationsNot performing these duties is a bad karmaGod will make sure that if you do not perform your duty willingly (that means you are deviating from His program designed for you) He will force you to do it by creating harsher situations in the next life/lives

An illustration (hypothetical) --In one life, say, you had the duty to look after your ailing parents in their old ageYou had the freedom of action to perform the duty or to run away from itSay, you ran awayIn the next birth, God programed you to have a retarded child. (Normally one tends to look after one's child much more that the parents). You were thus mildly forced by Him to serve the childYou had the freedom of fulfilling your obligation or run awaySay, you ran away

In the next birth, you were born in a poor family, you did not have enough intelligence and money to get proper education and therefore you had to get an unskilled job as a ward-boy in a hospitalNow, God has forced you by the circumstances to perform the service you ran away from in the past two birthsGod gave you the freedom of action in the past two births, but you misused the freedom by not fulfilling obligations. Now you have no choice but to serve since your livelihood depends on itIf you still refuse, you will starveYou still have the freedom of running away and becoming a criminal to earn your livelihoodBut then you will have to face very serious consequences

Thus, not doing your duty (programed by him for you) is a bad karmaHurting others intentionally in any way is a bad karmaTaking selfish actions is a bad karmaHelping others is a good karmaSpending your money, efforts and time for the betterment of others without expecting anything in return (not even thename and fame) is a good karmaGiving unconditional love to others is a good karma

What is fair behavior? Look at any given situation involving two persons and mentally reverse your roles. Does your action now look fair from the other side? If so, you are on right path. This is natural justice. This is 50:50You can create a good karma by doing more than the 'fair' markFollow a 70:30 rule in a relationship. You give 70% and expect 30% in return. You are now moving from selfish to selfless behaviorWhatever is your situation carry out your duty ('niyata karma') 110%, without regret, without grudging. As a task given to you by the God. Fulfilling your obligation under the God's program

Perspective 9Vasanas / Desires

God is very kindHE gives you what you want always without fail He fulfills all your desires - but there are some conditions which we need to understandWe live in 3 dimensional space and we have a concept of time. This is a characteristic of the physical worldHowever, the God's concept of time is different from our's in the physical world. This point must be understoodHE will give you what you want when? That is not known. We have no say in the matter. It will be as per HIS programing rulesHE will definitely include all our wants and desires into his program for us. When will the program run? As per his rules

The second condition is that you must accumulate enough merits ('punya') before HE can program the fulfillment of your desiresMerits or 'punya' accrues to you due to your good karmasSuppose, there are two persons A and B with very strong desire to eat sweetsPerson A has a lot of 'punya' accumulated to his credit while B doesn't have anyThe desires are built into their respective programs but the fulfillment will happen only in case of A who will be programed to be born in a good family, will earn well, will enjoy good health and thereby fulfill his desire of eating a lots of sweets

B's program has built in desire to eat sweets. However, he will be born in a poor family where getting a square meal itself is difficult. Or, he may be a well to do person but is diagnosed diabetic early in his life and therefore can not eat sweets in spite of affordabilityThus, the fulfillment of desires will take place only if there are accumulated meritsB's desire will be carried forward to his next lives and will be fulfilled only when he has accumulated enough 'punya' in his account

Thus, The God has programed the world to fulfill your every desire HE indeed wants you to fulfill every of your desireBut you must help HIM by doing good karmas and accumulating them in enough quantityGod's program records and stores all your desires there is a mechanism for storing them and carrying them forward to future lives

Perspective 10Vikara's

In the above example of person B he has a strong desire to eat sweets but the circumstances don't permit him to do soHe may become angry ('krodha') on his circumstances, on himself, on the society, on his parents for being poorHe gets angry at the sight of a sweet shop and many people enjoying their sweetsNon-fulfillment of desires lead to 'krodha'He will not be able express this krodha near the sweet shop due to the situation there and therefore it will get recorded in his program. Every thought and action gets recorded

Alternatively, his krodha may be expressed by way of beating of the wife or children on an inconsequential point. This way he will accumulate bad karma or demerits ('paap') and that too will get recorded into his program Another possibility is that he may start stealing or cheating others to get money to eat sweets thereby creating bad karmaIn both these cases above the krodha has led to 'moha' (delusion) which leads to a great spiritual downfall of a personOr B can accept the situation as his fate/destiny and desist from wrong actions to fulfill his desire. He will not create any bad karmaFreedom of action is available to all

Thus vasanas (desires) may lead to krodha (anger) which may lead to moha (delusion) which in turns lead to bad karmasThus one gets trapped in to a vicious circleIn the process he will suffer for centuries or millenniums through repeated lifetimes of suffering and miseries

Let us go back to the case of person AHe was able to fulfill his desire of eating sweetsBut the nature of desires is insatiable. He wants more and moreThis is called 'lobha' another vikara we see so many people with tons of money but still want more and moreThough fulfilled to a great extent it still remained unfulfilledIt will get recorded and carried forward againHowever, person A may have spent lots of his accumulated merits in fulfilling his desires. If he exhausts his merits he may land himself in the shoes of person B in the next life

When person B sees person A eating sweets at a sweet shop he develops another vikara 'matsar (envy)'. B is envious of A all the time since A has got something which he does not have. B constantly thinks ill of A and is always grudging about A. So, he accumulates more vikara and bad karmaWhen A sees B as a poor person not able to afford the sweets which he is buying A becomes proud and develops a vikara called 'mada'. He starts looking down upon B and persons like B. A also starts thinking himself as superior and becomes arrogant in his behavior. Thus he also accumulated demerits

Thus, Vasana ('kaama' or desires), with or without punya, leads to the vikara like krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsara etcBoth the vasana and vikaras are stored and do get carried forward to future livesAs long as vasanas and vikaras are in the store one has to keep coming back to the physical world to discharge themThat is how the God's program worksBut this causes the bondage - the prison of the physical body and physical worldSpirituality is about getting rid of this bondage which is called moksha or mukti

Perspective 11The Storages

Each individual has a storage chittaIt stores all karmas, vasanas, vikaras etcThe storage also includes smriti the entire past lives physical as well as sookshma statesEvery word you uttered, every thought you entertained and every action you carried out is recordedIts amazing how HE is able to store almost infinite amount of information for infinite number of beings

Each storage type is unique and can not be squared off against other typesFor example, the bad karmas and the good karmas can not be squared offThe only way to remove anything from the storage is thru a life in one of the three 'loka's (mrityuloka, swarga and naraka)That means one has to keep coming back to the physical world till the storage becomes nilAfter the storage becomes nil one does not return back to the physical worldSo, mukti means nullifying the storage of karma, vasanas and vikaras

When the good karma or the bad karma is of humungous proportion it is difficult to discharge these karmas in the physical world. In such cases the soul is born in 'swarga' or 'naraaka' to discharge the huge good or bad karma respectivelyIn swarga or naraaka souls do not acquire new karmas. They only discharge them. On the other hand, in the physical world its a two way process while souls are discharging the accumulated karmas they are also acquiring new onesOnce the quantum of karmas are reduced to the normal limits during the tenure in swarga or naraaka the soul returns back to the physical worldThus the soul has to return back to the physical state from swarga or naraaka sooner or later

Perspective 12Different 'Sharira's or 'Deha's

There are 3 Dehas and 5 koshasOur Physical body is called 'sthoola deha'The second deha is called 'sookshma deha' or subtle body. Death of the physical body is nothing but the delinking of the sookshma deha from the sthoola dehaSo, the sthoola deha represents the matter and sookshma deha the spiritWhen we say the soul has left the body we really mean that the sookshma deha has detached itself from the sthoola dehaAfter leaving the physical body you continue as the sookshma deha. Thus there is no death for anyone really speaking

You only change the form from the physical existence to the subtle body existence'You' never die. What dies is the physical bodyThus the principles of spirituality derived from the above are -You are not the physical bodyYou are only an occupant of the physical bodyIts like living in a leased house. House is not yours. It's given to you for the lease period. You vacate the house after the lease period is overYou never die. After leaving the physical body you continue in a different form the subtle bodyAs per HIS program you will acquire another physical body based on karmas, vasanas etc. Like going from one leased house to another one

Due to ignorance of the subtle world we think of ourselves as the physical bodyWho am I? I am what I see in the mirror - is our assumptionThis assumption, which is far from truth, leads to an entirely different behavior we tend to become selfish, do everything to pamper this body, strive for the physical pleasures, we are so scared of deathWhen we realize the truth our behavior will undergo massive change the physical body will become a means to an end rather than an end in itself we will start doing good karmas, will become less selfish, will devote our efforts, wealth and time to help others, will not be afraid of death The third deha is the karana deha

There are 5 koshas They are -- Annamaya kosha created from foodPranamaya kosha 64000 nadis - linkage to annamaya koshaManomaya kosha the mindVidyanamaya kosha the intellectAnandamaya kosha the seat of Jiva

Sthool deha is Annamaya kosha Sookshma deha consists of --Pranamaya kosha Manomaya kosha Vidyanamaya koshas Karana deha consists of Anandamaya koshaThe sookshma deha is connected to the sthoola deha thru 64000 nadis they belong to the subtle body ( they are like arteries of physical body) thru them the energy (prana) flows from subtle body to the physical bodyThe action at the physical level takes place thru the flow of information / instructions coming thru the nadis from subtle body

Different parts of the body get affected as per program stored in subtle body thru these nadisThe mind gets outside information from panchendriyas thru these nadisSo nadis are the communication and action conduits between the sthoola deha and subtle deha

The storages are at two levelsThe storages pertaining to the current physical life are stored in the sookshma dehaStorages pertaining to the future lives are stored in the karana dehaWhy this distinction?A being may have large amount of storages. It is impossible to discharge them in one physical life. Before the birth of a being in the physical world his current life is programed by transferring small part of data from karan deha to the sookshma dehaThus the program for the current life is stored in the sookshma deha

Let us look at the karmasThe karmas stored in the sookshma deha are ripe for fruition in the current life and like the contents of a CD the things will unfold in the life one by oneThis is called the 'prarabdha'Thus, all major events in the physical life are programedThe storage in the karana deha which is not taken up for fruition in the current physical life is called the 'sanchita' which will be used only in the future livesIt's like the 'forward base stores' and the 'main stores' in an army

We commit karmas in three waysKarma of the mind, karma of the speech and karma of actionAll these karmas in the current physical life are stored separately in a temporary storageAt the time of the death this storage is merged with the main storageThus the karmas of our current physical life has nothing to do with the reward or punishment in this lifeIf we suffer in our current life it is not due to our karmas in this life but it is the effect of our past livesThis phenomenon if not understood properly leads to great amount of misunderstanding amongst people

We see around us many corrupt people who commit many crimes but lead a very wealthy, lavish and apparently a happy lifeThis leads many of us to believe that there is nothing wrong in this kind of behaviorAt the same time we also see some very nice, innocent and God fearing people suffering in lifeThis leads us to believe that the God is not fairBoth the above conclusions are wrong. God delivers 100% justice not even 1% less or 1% moreBut we must have an understanding of how the God's system of karma works

Lets take an example of persons P and QBoth are criminals and commit crimesPerson P is caught and gets an imprisonment. He receives a punishment as per the legal system of the physical worldPerson Q is never caught and continues to enjoy his freedomIt is important to understand that the punishment P has received has nothing to do with the crimes he has committed in current life. He has received the punishment as per the God's program of karmas for the bad karmas in his previous livesBoth P and Q will receive the punishment for their current life crimes in their respective future lives

It is important to understand the difference in good and bad behavior as defined by the legal systems in the physical world versus that of the God's kingdomFor example, abortion is a bad karma as per the God's system since a life is being terminated for the convenience of the mother/father. Parents and other influencers will sufferHowever, today abortion is legal and not a crime at allA few decades back abortion was illegal and was punishable by imprisonmentSo, the man made laws of the physical world keep changing and bad behavior may become good behavior and vice a versaBut God's rules of karma never change

Sookshma deha has various storages karmas, vasanas, vikaras and smritiThe internal process between the sookshma deha and sthoola deha is that of constant discharge of the storages. The program attempts to nullify the storages at every opportunityThe action can take place only at the physical level. The process therefore converts the bits from the storage into actionThe mind, the intellect and the pranamaya kosha comes into the play to convert the bits of storage (in sookshma deha) into action (at sthoola deha)A person's nature, his behavior, his response to different situations is guided by what is stored inside

We find some individuals are bad tempered always on the edge flare up at slightest excuse. They have large storage of krodha which gets discharged at every opportunitySome people are greedy, want more and more of everything, especially money. They have a large storage of lobhaSome people are afraid of water, high altitude, closed spaces etc apparently for no reason. It is due to their smriti some incidence in past or current lifeSome people serve others dedicate their lives - they have strong service vasana and very little of other vasanas Some people are cool, level headed, rational. They have a low storage of vasanas and vikaras.

Perspective 13Vyashti and Samashti

Vyashti means the individualSamashti refers to the vast outside world in the same dimension as vyashtiFor example, our physical body is the vyashti in the physical dimension while the entire physical world consisting of the Earth, stars, galaxies, people, animals, plants, panchmahabhootas etc is the samashtiThe terminology for the above is sthool deha (vyashti) and virata (samashti). This is at the physical dimensionFor the sookshma deha (the vyashti) the corresponding samashti is called 'hiranyagarbha' sookshma srishtiHiranyagarbha consists of all sookshma dehas of all beings in the universe, various lokas, bhuvanas, tanmatras etc

For the karana deha (the vyashti) there is mahakarana deha or the brahmanda as the samashtiThus there are 3 levels or dimensions at vyashti and samashtiSthoola deha, sookshma deha and karana deha as part of vyashti and corresponding virata, hiranyagarbha and mahakarana as part of samashti

Whatever happens in the physical world gets planned well in advance in the hiranyagarbhaWhether it is at the individual body level (life span, diseases etc) or at collective level (relationships, life spans/diseases of near ones, pleasure/pain in relationships, accidents, good/bad actions by others etc) Therefore one talks about destiny or fate - since it is already planned and programed in hiranyagarbha. The CD is just playing out at the physical levelThere are advanced people who have 'siddhi' are able to predict an individual's future accurately since they are able to read the program in hiranyagarbha

Perspective 14How does the Mind function

Mind is a processor like the CPU of a computer. It has a large number of inputs. They are -- Five DyanendriyasBuddhi Karma Vasana Vikara SmritiAnandmaya kosha which supplies energy Output is to the pranamaya kosha which directs action at physical level and to the storages

The storages are in the form of small packets like seedsFor example the vasana of eating sweets is stored in the form of a number of small packets or seedsThe intensity of a vasana determines the number of seeds in the storage. A strong vasana will have a large number of seeds in the storage compared to a weaker vasanaIn the natural emptying process the stronger vasanas with large number of seeds will show up in the processor (mind) more often than a weaker vasana with much smaller number of seedsThus the natural process impels the person to act accordance with the strength of different vasanas

The seeds enter the processor in the form of various thoughtsThe thoughts can be based on specific opportunities to fulfill the vasanas based on the information provided by panchendriyas. Like you see or smell a mithai and the mind identifies the opportunity to fulfill a vasana of eating sweetsOr the thoughts can be random - The mind constantly chatters the packets or seeds from various storages are thrown into the processor randomly. This is a natural emptying processOr one thought leads to another one with some connection and that leads to a third thought and the chain of thought continues Now let's see how the thought gets converted in to an action

Suppose a random thought has entered the mind. The thought is in the form of a seedThe seed has to be developed into a shrub or a bush or a treeThis is done by paying attention to the thought and getting involved with the thought. By this process the seed gets the mental energy (like minerals, water and sunlight in physical world)The thought is developed from a seed form to an actionable form by generating different possibilities. This is the creative process of the mind. Each possibility is checked out by buddhi for its feasibility and consequences. Buddhi uses the smriti as its database

One of the alternatives is chosen and the output is fed to pranamaya kosha to implementThe necessary instructions are given to the brain and many other glands in the body by which the action is taken at the physical levelAt times no action seems to be feasible and buddhi rejects all possibilitiesIn that case the developed seed which results in a shrub is stored back for future useAt times the thought gets so much energy (passion) or the previously stored shrubs come out in numbers. The resulting drive of the energy is too much to be contained

So, even if buddhi rejects the action it gets overruled due to the sheer quantum of energy associated with itThus, many times a man ends up taking an action even though he knows that the action is wrong from moral or legal point of viewFor example, we see this in a traffic quarrel when people start hitting each other over a minor issueFrom the above it is clear that every seed that comes in to the processor ends up in an action at physical level or the seed is developed into a shrub and is stored back which will come out stronger in the futureIf an action is taken it may lead to a good or bad karma. If it is stored back it will come out stronger at the next opportunity leading to a possible action in the future

However there is one more possibilityIf the thought is ignored completely, no attention is paid at all and one does not get involved with the thought the seed gets starved of the vital energy. It is like a physical seed not getting water or mineral or sunlightThe seed dies It means that one seed in the storage is emptied without any consequences at all no good or bad karma or no storage of the shrubWhen our mind concentrates on something, like say writing an exam, many thoughts are thrown in the processor but are completely ignored and therefore die outThe process of dreaming is similar. It helps in emptying a few seeds from the storages

Perspective 15Prakruti and Purusha

All that is manifest is called prakruti Entire creation whether at gross physical level or at different subtle levels is prakruti So, mahakaran, hiranyagarbha and virata are a part of prakruti Similarly, the physical body, the sookshma deha and karana deha are a part of prakruti All five koshas is prakruti Panchmahabhootas (gross) and corresponding tanmatras (subtle) is part of prakruti The unmanifest, nirguna/nirakaar/ananta, sat-chit-ananda, the spirit (non-matter) is the purusha

The entire system of storages (vasanas, vikaras, karmas and smriti) and the process of converting the storages into action thru the processor (mind) is part of prakruti Prakruti keeps emptying the storages by converting the bits (seeds) of storage into thoughts and then converting thoughts into action at the physical level Prakruti needs energy to survive. This energy is provided from the subtler levels of the system Mahakaran deha provides energy to the Karan deha of each individual which in turns feeds the sookshma deha which in turn feeds the physical body. This energy is called prana shakti Physical body gets the supply of energy at physical level thru food intake and subtle energy (prana shakti) thru sookshma deha

It is said that most of the karmas are actually committed by the work of the prakruti since what happens at physical level is manifestation of the storages in the subtle body and the process of emptying of the storages The purusha is represented in an individual by the Jiva which resides in the karana deha (anandamaya kosha) As said earlier, Jiva is nothing but the solidified purusha manifestation of the purusha at the level of an individual being Jiva has the 'I'ness and 'My'ness Ahankara associated with it which is essential to sustain the creation Due to this Ahankara an individual becomes selfish, desires many things, wants to be ahead of the others,

At the level of sookshma deha the Jiva manifests in three ways a) Ahankara, b) the knowing/cognizant principle (outward in) and c) attention at the level of the mind (inward out) Ahankara represents an individual's karma account. Actions taken with the involvement of Ahankara lead to the karma being credited to the individual's karma account When the prakruti is at work, converting the storages into action, the Ahankara gets involved and takes the credit for all actions Due to this, the karma created by the actions is stored back in the individual's karma account as the temporary storage which is merged back with the main storage at the time of death This accumulated storage creates the bondage as the birth/death will continue till the storages are completely emptied

By the same logic if the Ahankara is not involved in the actions the corresponding karmas are not stored in the individual's karma account The prakruti will continue to empty the storages and generate actions even if the Ahankara is not involved In absence of Ahankara's involvement the actions do not lead to karma being credited the individual's karma account Thus no new karma will get created This is the principle behind 'Nishkama Karma' taking actions without the involvement of the Ahankara and without expectation of the fruits of action

Perspective 16The Process of Meditation

Meditation is designed to help you empty the storages without any consequences that is without taking any action at physical level leading to good/bad karma or without converting the seed into a shrub and storing it back in the storageIn meditation, first you cut off yourself from the physical world by sitting comfortably in a quiet place and closing your eyes.Ideally all inputs to the panchendriyas should be cut offThis ensures that there are no distractions of the physical worldNext, slow down your breathing. Focus on the breathing, give suggestion for it to calm down and witness it slowing downNext, try to calm your mind by observing the mind and giving suggestions for it to calm down

Next, focus on something a word (mantra), a picture (deity/guru), a jyoti etc. Concentrate your attention on itThe thoughts keep coming to mind. You have to learn to ignore the thoughts completely by keeping your attention on the mantraYou get carried away, at times, by the thought and after a while you realize that you gave attention to a thought and got involved in developing the thought. The moment you realize this come back to the mantra and focus on it againIt is not an easy process. Takes a lot of determination and practice. It takes a long time before you achieve some progress. Give yourself at least 6 months. Most people give up after a while since they can not master the process

By doing this again and again, after a lot of patience and practice, you learn to keep your attention focussed on the mantra and ignore all thoughtsThe thoughts (seeds) keep entering the mind (processor), they are starved of vital energy and therefore they die out without any consequencesMore seeds are thrown into the empty processor and they also die without consequencesThe storages then start emptying fast since the emptying is the natural process you encounter bigger volume of seeds being thrown into the processor. Your task of concentration may get difficult. But if you succeed in ignoring them and remain focussed on the mantra all those seeds (thoughts) will die without consequences

At times you get involved with the thoughts and since the thoughts now are coming in big numbers you may witness outburst of vasanas or vikaras. This phase is very disturbing to you and your near ones (remember Vishvamitra and Menaka?)They will wonder if your meditation is going the wrong wayPlease remember that the reason for the outbursts is your involvement with the strong flow of thoughts. You must remain focussed on the mantra and not get carried away in the thought flowBy regular practice you not only keep emptying the storage but also ensure at the same time that nothing is added to the storage. It means you are not creating new vasanas, vikaras and karmas

If you follow this long enough the storages will indeed become empty Earlier, we have seen that one comes into the physical world due to the vasana, vikaras and karmas Empty storage means you can not come back in the physical body as there is nothing to achieve as a physical body Of course, You have to remember there is a storage in the karana deha also. So, it is possible that you may still have to keep coming back to the physical body till all the storages in sookshma deha and karana deha are over Emptying the storage is one aspect of meditation. The other aspect will be covered after introducing few more concepts

Perspective 17Concept of Brahman

We have discussed 5 koshas earlierKosha means covering, an outer layerAll koshas are made up of matter of varying degree of subtlety. They are all matter envelopmentsAnnamaya kosha is made of gross matter while Anandamaya kosha is made of very subtle matterThey all are called 'upadhi'sThe spirit part for an individual is called the Jiva which resides in Anandamaya koshaSo Jiva is the vyashtiThe corresponding samashti is called Shiva, Purusha or Brahman

Brahman is omni-present, omniscient, omni-potent It is nirguna, nirakar, ananta It is beyond time and space It is called sat, chit, ananda It is complete in itself Earlier we referred to it as God The God is nothing but the Brahman

Perspective 18Jiva and Brahman

Let us take an illustration Suppose there are a number of ice cubes in a pan Each ice cube has a distinct size, shape, color etc which is different from any other ice cube Thus each ice cube has an individuality Let us now start heating the pan. All the cubes will melt to become water Ice cube's distinct identity and individuality is now gone. We can say that the ice cubes have merged into water Water has no shape but has other characteristics. You can see, touch, smell, taste water

Let us continue to heat up the water Now it will turn into vapor We can say that the water has merged into vapor We can not see, touch, smell, taste the vapor Water is subtler than the ice cubes and vapor is even more subtle than water Cubes are 'saguna', 'sakaar' Water is saguna , nirakaar Steam is nirguna, nirakaar

Let us now start the reverse process - start cooling the steam Slowly you will find formation of water droplets very minute and tiny to start with and they become bigger over time will become a small pool of water after a while Thus the water has appeared from nowhere (as perceived by panchendriyas). It has suddenly manifested Further cooling will lead to formation of ice crystals. Each crystal has unique shape, size, color etc. Each crystal has individuality This process shows that something can manifest from nothing (as perceived by panchendriyas) Essentially there was something (steam), though not perceivable to panchendriyas, from which something else has manifested

In reality ice cubes, water and steam are all same - H2O The only difference is in their state of being. They look different but essentially they all are same Think of Jiva as the ice cubes and Brahman as the vapor The Jiva is nothing but solidified Brahman Essentially there is no difference. Jiva and Brahman are same Jiva is the grosser version of Brahman In spiritual literature they say 'you yourself are the God' and we react with disbelief what nonsense? But its true. All Jivas come from Brahman and essentially all Jivas are nothing but Brahman. So its true that in essence we are all Brahman just as all ice cubes in essence are nothing but vapor

In spiritual literature they also say 'all human beings are your brothers' and we react with disbelief what nonsense? But its true. All ice cubes, though each is uniquely different, have come from vapor and all of them are essentially nothing but vapor. That makes all ice cubes real brothers. Similarly all human beings are real brothers. We can extend this to animals and plants and all living beings. We the living beings are all brothers. We may be in the form of humans or animals or insects or trees. We may be black or white or brown or yellow. But we all have come from Brahman. Essentially we are all same though we look different Each Jiva is exactly identical a replica of any other Jiva. So, there is no difference whatsoever in Jivas The difference we perceive is in the matter envelopments in the koshas, in the upadhi's

In spiritual literature they also say that we all can achieve nirvana. Is it possible? Just like ice cubes can become vapor the Jiva can become Brahman The process of heating is essential to convert the ice into vapor. Similarly thru the appropriate spiritual practices - thru 'tapa' we can reach nirvana ('tapa' essentially means heating)

Perspective 19Ego / Ahankar

Before the creation only the Brahman existed As nirguna, nirakara, ananta Then it decided to start the creation. That point is called the beginning of a new 'kalpa' As a first step it created Jiva's spirits of the individual beings From one infinite Brahman it created infinite number of Jivas It also created the subtlest form of matter matter from which Anandamaya kosha and mahakarana is created It also created a bond between the matter and spirit between the Jiva and the Anandamaya kosha without which creation is not possible

The Jiva is now enveloped by the Anandamaya kosha an upadhi Karan deha of an individual being is thus born With this covering the Jiva forgets its true identity being same as Brahman This is essential for sustaining the creation. If every Jiva realizes that it is same as Brahman it would like to merge back in it and the entire creation will merge back into Brahman Therefore, for sustaining the creation, the Jiva is enveloped in the Ananadamaya kosha also known as the 'Adnyana kosha' ignorance envelopment

Due to this ignorance a being starts perceiving itself as a separate entity different from all other beingsThus the ego or Ahankara is born it is the separateness - the 'I'ness and 'My'nessAhankara creates the 'bheda' division or difference between different beingsAhankara provides each being with a unique individualityAhankara makes the being oriented toward the grossAhankara makes the being selfishNow the world is ready for the creationVasana's are born due to ahankara. Vasanas lead to vikaras

Emptying of the storages (vasanas, vikaras, karmas etc) ensures that you do not come back to the physical state as there is nothing to be achieved in this physical worldHowever, this is not what salvation or nirvana or mukti is. It is only a pre-requisiteMukti or moksha means merging with the Brahman becoming one with the BrahmanThis necessitates complete elimination of ego or ahankara since Ego means separateness or 'bheda'In mukti the individual Jiva does not remain separate and it merges back with the Brahman. Its like the ice cube becoming vapor never to become an ice cube again during the current 'kalpa'

Perspective 20Second Aspect of the Meditation Process

This is where we come to the second aspect of meditation Emptying of storages allows the mind to become calm and quiet. There is very little or no chattering of the mind. There are no external distractions of the physical world since there are no aspirations/passions/ambitions - nothing to be achieved in the physical world With this the mind and intellect change their orientation from the gross to the subtle. From external to internal Mind and intellect now start focusing on subtler aspects of existence The meditation practice now moves to expand the awareness gradually to cover the Brahman to merge with it The ice cube starts melting and proceed to become vapor

In this meditation imagine that you are expanding to cover the room you are sitting in, then the entire building, then the entire locality Continue to imagine that you are expanding to cover your city, your state, your country, your continent Expand to cover the Earth first the surface, then the solid sphere, and then the entire atmosphere Continue to expand to the solar system, the milky way, then the entire virata Now expand to the subtle world the hiranyagarbha Continue to cover the 'Mahakarana' the Brahmanda

It is said that to achieve this state you require grace of the guru Without the Guru you can reach swarga but you can not achieve the state of mukti The reason is that the nature of Jiva is designed to be outwards or gross-wards. The Jiva does not have enough energy to swim against this outward stream. It requires huge energy to achieve this. The Guru is the one who provides this energy That is called the grace or 'kripa' Therefore in spirituality the Guru has very significant importance

Once your awareness expands to the brahmanda you start experiencing HIM everywhere. You experience HIM in every human, animal, insect, plant, even in inert matter You actually see HIM everywhere With continued practice the realization changes from 'HE is everywhere' to 'I AM HIM' 'Aham Brahmasmi' There is no difference between HIM and I This is called 'Turiya' state the 4th state of existence Though this is a highly evolved state a small Aham the ego or ahankara remains The awareness 'I AM Brahman' has the 'I' in it though in a very subtle state

'Turiya' is also called the first of the four 'mukti's' You have to continue the practice or 'tapa' You keep becoming more and more subtle The subtle 'I' that exists in turiya state starts melting and you slowly become one with the Brahman. The concept of 'I' goes away This state is called 'Unmani' state or 'manonash' or 'turiyateet' state beyond turiya This is the second of the four 'mukti's'

You have to keep expanding further to go beyond this BrahmandaThere are infinite number of Brahmandas. We are part of one of themOnce your awareness breaks thru the current Brahmanda and goes beyond you are experiencing the 'Parabrahma' the bigger aspect of brahmanda. You evolve to become one with parabrahmaThis is the third of the four 'mukti's'

With further practice you keep becoming subtler and subtler. All the brahmandas slowly vanish and what remains is called 'Kevala Brahma'There is no creation left. There is no manifestation at all. Everything has merged back into the ultimate 'Kevala Brahma'You have reached the ultimate state pure existence, pure knowledge, pure bliss'Sat, Chit, Ananda', the pure potentialThis is last and the fourth of the four mukti'sEverything rests here, you have reached your ultimate destination

Hope this presentation gives you some idea about spirituality Spirituality is pure science Science of the subtler worlds We can understand the rules of the subtler worlds by making the mind subtler and have faith in scriptures like Geeta, Upanishads etc and in the teaching of a relized guru We can achieve the moksha or mukti by following the rules of the subtler worlds Moksha or mukti is the ultimate aim of humankindGOD bless us all

Thank You

Hope this helps you to get a perspective of the world from the Indian philosophical view point and enriches your knowledge and understanding which in turn will help to view the world differently and modify your behavior towards the world