Understanding Shakti in Awakening – Pt 2 of 3

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Awakening
Because the physiology is what supports the direct experience of awakening, it must be purified and refined to handle the new experience. That process is said to be done through the pranas (life energy) or vayu (air or wind) which are Shakti in coarser form.

In Ayurveda, they describe how we come into this lifetime with influences from 6 bhavas (houses). Half of these are from the body (bloodlines and care), the other half from our soul (jiva). Two of those are Atman (Self) and sattva (purity/clarity). Whatever development we cultured prior, we bring into this life and pick up where we left off.

These 2 aspects have a big influence on how we experience awakening. The primary awakening is to Atman, our cosmic nature. This is known as Self Realization or Cosmic Consciousness (CC). It is Self waking up to itself. But even this is not driven by Self. It is driven by that which is beyond consciousness, sometimes called grace or the mystery or That. It does not necessarily follow any particular convention. As we are essentially here to have a unique experience of the whole, our process and awakening will inherently be somewhat unique.

The other aspect of awakening, sattva, is experienced as refining perception and feelings. Thus we come to see some of these mechanics for ourselves, plus the way the world comes to be. This includes all the layers of creation between source and the gross physical, both in our body as koshas and chakras and in the world as expression. This phase is known as God Consciousness (GC) or by some euphemisms like Divine or Celestial Consciousness. Unlike the other stages which start with a realization, this stage reaches its realization at the climax in God Realization, after the later Unity shift.

This refinement can begin long before spiritual awakening or may begin well after. It’s a kind of parallel process. But subtle perception is not spiritual awakening. And awakening without subtle perception is more limited and flat.

The awakening to Self deepens into Unity with all expression until we transcend Atman into Brahman.

These stages of development beyond Self Realization are understood by some traditions, particularly Vedanta, Tantra and Zen. We could say stages of awakening are punctuation marks in a much larger process of evolution that is ongoing.

Shakti
With the context of stages of awakening, we can come back to kundalini and Shakti. Understanding Shakti is a little like trying to understand consciousness: both arise before the mind and thus cannot be understood by the mind until their foundation is directly experienced. In fact, they are the essence of mind itself. Mind can be said to be the inside surface of self-aware consciousness. It’s activity is driven by Shakti.

The counterpart of Shakti is Shiva. Shiva is representative of absolute, pure Being and the observer. Observation or awareness flows with attention and intention, with Shiva and Shakti.

Those with a powerful awakening may have vivid experiences and a clear sense of a kundalini awakening. But until we can view it after the fact, from outside the process, our perspective will be localized. Those with mild shifts and few direct experiences of the energy process will tend to lean on others to fill in the gaps. The only real way we’ll understand it is with a clear inner vision of the energy physiology throughout the process. That’s not very common yet.

Kundalini Rising
While Shakti expresses within creation, because it’s motive force arises beyond it, it is not bound by any of the conventions we might make about it. We can describe typical pathways but Shakti is never limited to them.

It is typical for Kundalini to open and then rise and fall through the sushumna (spine) nadi until it reaches makara (just above the 3rd eye) where it becomes stable. From there it rises to bindu and the crown. Shakti rises to join Shiva. Some experience this process beginning with the root chakra, while others in the feet or somewhere else.

How it is experienced may depend on when and if it gets noisy and where the noise is experienced as coming from. We may become aware of the process part way in. Much of it remains very subtle and out of awareness.

How I see the process aligns with my interpretation of the Kundalini Vidya tradition, as described by Joan Harrigan, PhD. Awakening, Cosmic Consciousness or Self Realization happens when the kundalini reaches the crown chakra. Then, through “advanced process”, Shiva and Shakti descend together through the chakras, awakening more subtle values. These correspond to the further stages mentioned above – GC at the heart, Unity at the gut, and Brahman at the root.

This also aligns with Zen’s Adyashanti, describing “head, heart, gut” and his conversation with Loch Kelly in “Journey After Awakening.” And it aligns to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with a Vedic background, as seen in one of his rare talks on the subject (Lake Louise, 1968):  “The Kundalini finds its absorption in all these centres…and eventually here in the cortex…  a thousand-petaled lotus.

And by the time Kundalini comes here, everything, the whole thing becomes full of light. Full of light means full of awareness. Light means not this light, but pure Being.  And when this whole area becomes aware of Being clearly, then it is Cosmic Consciousness.”

When Shakti completes the descent, Kundalini Vidya describes a rising again to a chakra based on the needs of the life. In two cases I know (Myself and Igor), Shiva has instead descended whole-body to the heart. This may be equivalent or something different.

For a time, I took this process to be the underlying energetic dynamic that lead to the subjective experience of awakening stages. However, various kundalini traditions describe it taking place in two other ways. Not as alternate possibilities but as how it actually unfolds.

Another kundalini tradition describes a circulation of the vayus (airs) clearing the channels, then the descent of Shiva as grace, without a Shakti rise. As Harrigan points out in Kundalini Vidya, mantra meditators are inclined to notice little in the way of obvious kundalini experiences until the rise reaches the third eye. Many could thus align their experience with something like this but I don’t know the details of such traditions and Kundalini Vidya aligned on many points.

The third perspective sees awakening during a single rise. It begins in the gut, with CC at the heart and Unity at the crown. This does not align with my own experience but is how Vamadeva (Igor) saw it unfolding for himself and others. Because he experienced a more intense kundalini process, he has studied the kundalini traditions in more detail.

In this variation, after Shakti rises to the crown, it descends to the heart via the amrita channel. It takes the mind with it, dissolving the mind in the heart. That is what he describes as full release, full embodiment. This puts the heart descent I mentioned above in a different context.

It occurs to me this version of the rise may occur when the upper channel is more clear than the lower and Shiva descends to meet Shakti part way up. Thus the awakening, the meeting of Shiva and Shakti, occurs at a lower level. Or it may simply be a variation in how it is subjectively being experienced.

A related example: the white light in the head common around awakening Igor attributes to the pranas coming together in the gut, but experienced in the head. However, I attribute it to the opening of makara above the 3rd eye. A drop of the Divine Mother. I can note that once open, makara can be seen by some others as a white light in the head. All this suggests interconnected events being experienced different ways. And indeed, the KV tradition tells us the crown manages the opening of the lower chakras but we typically only experience the effects in those lower centres. More detail is necessary to clarify.

I’ve also run into some individual variations that describe other combinations, like a concurrent step-by-step rise and descent. But in some cases, I have to wonder if concepts are directing experience.

If we come back to the Koshas, we can see that most of our subjective experiences revolve around the body, energy changes and perceptions. These involve only the grossest 3 bodies. Many of these are side-effects of deeper changes out of our clear experiential range. Thus, there is no one obvious energy process that fits all people.

Clearly, the energetic process is not the underlying mechanism I once thought but rather the physiologies adaptation to a deeper shift and the experiences that result from that.

Broadly though, we know there is purification, refinement and opening taking place on all levels while the body is prepared for, then adapting to, unfolding awareness.

Let’s clarify this further by going into a little more detail on two aspects of subjective experience: What we notice and where it’s experienced.
Davidya

Part 3 >>

Understanding Shakti in Awakening – Pt 1 of 3

Several months ago, I discovered my understanding of the energetic process underlying enlightenment was flawed and incomplete. While it corresponded to a number of traditions, it did not address how everyone experienced the process. This article in 3 parts reviews the exploration and results. More is yet to be unfolded.  -D

Understanding Kundalini and Shakti in Awakening

Our physical existence is dependent on much subtler energetic interactions which are in turn dependent on virtual fluctuations in a vacuum. This is a physics perspective. Our bodies are composed of complex fields and structures that interplay to form our apparent physical body. Those on a spiritual journey and/or who are unfolding subtle perception are more likely to experience these finer energy values directly. Most prominently, we notice the energy nodes (minor and primary chakras) and the main channels (nadis).

The Vedas explored this subject thousands of years ago and have given us much more detail. Our body is built up in progressive inter-penetrating layers described as koshas or sheaths. You’ve probably heard of the etheric, astral and causal “bodies” but that’s a little misleading. It’s not separate entities but rather a series of progressively denser fields.

The 5 commonly understood koshas are:
Annamaya – literally “food” sheath, the physical and etheric
Pranamaya – prana or energy sheath, called vital, emotional or astral
Manonmaya – lower mind, mental
Vijnanamaya – higher mind, intellect
Anandamaya – bliss, vibration, causal

Another way of modeling this sequence is vibration/sound, subtle geometry, subtle fields, gross fields, physical.

Some further describe 2 more koshas. In early stages of awakening, these may not be recognized as sheaths. Atman, for example, is seen as boundless. However, it later becomes apparent that it too can be transcended. These are non-individual or shared layers:
Chittamaya – storehouse of impressions/ memory, subconscious
Atmamaya – Atman or cosmic Self

Including these correctly maps the 1 into 3 into 7 progression seen as a principle in this creation. (similarly there are 7 senses and elements but the highest 2 are largely virtual.)

These koshas are driven by a set of primary chakras, from which a network of channels run out, supporting the nervous, circulatory and limbic systems of our physiology. Chakra means wheel, in this case a wheel of vibrating, spinning, & circulating energy (prana, vayu or chi). We’ve all seen those images of 7 chakras in a tidy rainbow of specific colours but that’s largely symbolic. Kundalini operates more subtly than in the colour spectrum of human sight. And each chakra tends to be a blend of colours, unique to each person.

Keep in mind that chakras are not physical things and so their appearance depends more on how they’re being observed. Some count just the primary 7 chakras and some include other secondary nodes like the feet. Some count fewer as main ones. Some will see further chakras above the head and some will see those same chakras as folded over the original 7 in subtler form. Thus, some describe higher stages above the head after kundalini rises and some see those same stages during a descent. I’ll come back to this shortly.

Irrespective of the apparent physical body and its position, the chakras run in a perfect line, equally spaced. This is because they’re not individual chakras inside your body but rather a common set used by all beings in this universe.

Where we experience them arising in our body, bottom to top:
Root of the spine, lower belly (2” below navel), solar plexus, heart, throat, forehead (third eye), and crown of the head. The crown isn’t a chakra wheel but rather a centre that directs the lower chakras, often depicted as a thousand-petaled lotus flower.

These chakras drive the physiology and power the koshas. We can thus see a correspondence between the koshas, chakras, elements, senses and layer of existence.

Kosha	chakra	element	sense	layer
Annamaya	root	earth	smell	physical, etheric
Pranamaya	2nd	water	taste	astral/emotional/vital
Manonmaya	3rd	fire	sight	lower mind
Vijnanamaya	heart	air	touch	intellect, causal
Anandamaya	throat	space	hearing	bliss, celestial

Note however that these are a relationship, not a one-to-one correspondence. It’s more the chakras provide the energy qualities which are structured by the rules of each progressive layer of form. And they build in layers to full expression on grosser levels.

For most people, the energy system is plugged up with a kind of waxiness that restricts the flow of prana (energy). This is not unlike a subtler version of the buildup of plaques in the blood system. Granthi’s or knots that block the main paths are also common. These bigger blocks create more significant experiences and changes when they open.

In the root chakra at the base of the spine is a potent form of energy called Kundalini. Kundalini means coiled. Once it uncoils and begins to rise, it is Shakti though many still call it kundalini. Shakti is the divine power or energy or flow of That. Shakti is seen as feminine as she is the creative and motive force behind all experience. She is the Mother of creation, also experienced as pure love. She originates in the fundamental liveliness of That.
Davidya

Part 2 >>
Part 3 >>

Householder and Monk

We’ve been slowly rising out of a dark age spiritually. For some time, real spiritual progress was best achieved by withdrawing from the heaviness of the world. Thus, for hundreds of years, the most illustrious examples of enlightenment have often been monks and nuns. Many traditions have come to teach the renunciate path as the only way to enlightenment.

While this has been relatively true for a time, it is no longer true. As world consciousness rises, dharma is restored and householders can once again make decent progress. Some are becoming remarkable shining lights. Older history shows many past examples as well. The majority of ancient texts like the Rk Veda were written by householders.

A householder is one who is out in the world, with work, family, and so forth. A renunciate or recluse is one who withdraws to an ashram, monastery or cave. The vast majority of people are the first.

The renunciate path you can recognize by its Neti Neti (not this, not this) approach. It is a disconnecting from all expression, seeking only the depths of silent being. The reality of the person is denied. Some promote this as the only truth. But there is a different approach for the householder.

For them, it is in some ways the opposite. And this, and this. A householder is obliged to very much engage their person as an aspect of their expression. They add the full range of creation to their daily life.

In the back of the book Science of Being, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi describes the “Paths to God Realization.” In it, he specifies that the Intellectual path of discrimination is the path of the renunciate. Other paths, such as that of action & perception, devotion, and so forth are generally householder paths.

If a householder tries to follow a renunciate path, they will succeed at neither. Very simply because they will be in conflict. Their natural inclinations will fight their practice. But because of teaching influences, many householders drift in a kind of middle ground, with one foot in each.

They pursue long daily spiritual practice while trying to hold down work and a life. Or they focus on practices that are better for monks such as long retreats or a deep practice of inquiry.

I say this from experience. When I first read Maharishi’s reference above, I thought this meant I had to be a renunciate. I didn’t even know how.(laughs) When I began, long practice was more necessary for good progress. But millions of meditators have softened and smoothed the way.

We have to note that it’s not all black and white, as my error above indicated. Many people are inclined to a combination of paths. Royal or Raja Yoga itself, outlined in the Yoga Sutras, is a blend of Yogas.

Further, people’s personalities vary. More introverted people will have reclusive tendencies, even if they’re householders. And renunciates may benefit from some activity in the world. Many do good works, for example.

This also does not mean a householder should not take periods of retreat from the world for rest, healing and deepening. And some retired people may find retreat ideal. But only the renunciate should pursue this over all. The householder should not see withdrawing as an escape from worldly troubles or a means to enlightenment.

Also, this does not mean a householder will not go through the same stages as a renunciate. There will still be a detachment and witness phase. But for the householder, this is a stage whereas for the renunciate, it is the emphasis. And they will relate to the stages differently.

The apparently indistinct line between the 2 can confuse people and there are many promoting detachment as the goal. But what feels natural? There is so much richness beyond ego-surrender, it cannot be imagined. To deny that over confusion about our path is to miss the fullness of our being.
Davidya

What is Consciousness Published

I do almost no publicity or networking for this blog. It has grown by word of mouth and happenstance. Until recently, I blogged under an alias.

A few months back, I was invited to contribute an article to Science to Sage on-line magazine in an issue themed on consciousness. This issue was delayed a couple of times but has finally been published.

As a benefit to readers, the editor has invited me to send a link to the magazine issue for my readers for free. The issue is normally $8.

The issue is a wide-ranging smorgasbord and very graphical. I’ve not read the other articles yet and certainly don’t endorse the other content. But you may enjoy a browse. Other contributors include Eliza Mada Dalian, Bruce Lipton, Austin Vickers, and Dean Radin.

My article begins on pg. 104. A PDF (3MB) with the cover pages and just my article is here. I also posted the article in February as a three-parter beginning here.
Davidya

What do Concepts Feed?

This blog is all words. Words are symbols for concepts.
“Taking concepts to be reality. That’s the basic human dysfunction that we call maya or illusion or original sin…  we form all these concepts in the head, and then we take the concepts to be reality. And the concepts are words about reality at best…”
– Francis Bennett (1:09)*

In other words, if I feed your concepts that create barriers to what is here, this blog fails. But if the words here offer pointers that help you recognize what is already here, it succeeds.

“Peace will come one enlightenment at a time.”
–John Mark  (1:32)*

*Both in an interview by Rick Archer on Buddha at the Gas Pump.
Both bring a Christian perspective to the enlightenment discussion.
Davidya

Life is…

“Life is a process of giving birth to ourselves.”
- Rev. Austin Hennessey

Solving Problems

Recently, I attended an afternoon workshop by Mark McCooey, a very successful businessman involved in multiple industries and several non-profits. The workshop covered problem-solving techniques he’s developed, based partly on the work of Byron Katie. The presentation followed the outline of a book he’s working on.

I found his approach to life’s challenges excellent. It can bring you peace in difficult circumstances but it may require some deep looking. I’ll paraphrase from notes, adding my own perspective.

The first thing to recognize about problems is that they’re only problems as long as we don’t see a solution. Once a solution arises, our stress levels drop – even before it’s implemented. In other words – everything is perception, even the problem.

As Mark observed, if we have no expectations, we have no problems. When we disengage the identified me and recognize our nature as the cosmic Self, that unlimited perspective changes our perception of ourselves and the world and heals many old wounds. Challenges will still arise but when they are no longer personal, they will not bring the weight and stress they once did. Nor will we tend to create problems for ourselves with expectations, though it may take time to wind down the many old habits. The ultimate solution to problems thus lies in spiritual awakening.

The second thing to note is that our first reaction to a new challenge is to drop into our animal brain with a fight, flight, or freeze response. The reactive self experiences stress and uncertainty. The body shifts blood flow away from the higher brain and gut and into the animal brain and muscles. It demands something be done, now, even if nothing can be done. Just remembering something we’ve forgotten can elicit the stress response. Or noticing we don’t know where something is. The style of our typical response (anger, fear, withdrawal) is usually based on long-established habits from our childhood. That in turn is based on those circumstances and family examples, plus our own temperament.

Mark recommends we never respond to a newly perceived problem immediately, unless it’s a small one. Rather, if we wait until the initial reaction settles, we can shift back into our higher rational mind and make much better, more creative choices. The best way to relieve stress and stimulate the prefrontal cortex per research is with effortless meditation – which is good for awakening too.  

Once settled, the first step Mark suggests is we ask the question:
Who’s problem is it?
Often, we can spend a lot of energy and stress over a circumstance we have no resources to do anything about. The problem does not even belong to us.

The 3 types of problems:
1) Yours: if it’s your problem, it’s solvable by you only and with the resources you have.
2) Someone Else’s: if someone else has the resources, it’s their problem. You may need to bring it to their attention or support them in the process, but if it’s theirs it is only theirs to actually resolve.
3) God’s: no one has the resources but God. (substitute nature, universe, or similar if you don’t like that word) If you don’t control it, let it go. Put another way, let go and let God.
Note that God also controls all outcomes. You control your actions but not the results. This is a key teaching from the Bhagavad Gita.

For example, perhaps someone in the family has an addiction. In the case of an alcoholic husband, only he can solve the problem of the addiction, much as the rest of the family may try. Others may help support them in finding treatment, but the addict must take the responsibility and seek healing. No one else can do it for them, just as no one else can learn their lessons for them.

However, that initial problem may create problems for others that they can address. For example, the wife of an unrepentant alcoholic has the choice to stay in the relationship or not. They also have a choice around how they respond emotionally to the circumstance. But they cannot solve the addiction itself. Expectations the addict will change will only lead to our own suffering.

There can also be a whole chain of people involved, such as in trying to deal with or cover for the alcoholic. But again, only they can solve the core problem. If they are unwilling, the others have to let it go and decide how they will deal with how it impacts them. Tough love.

In another potent example, a terminally ill child. The parents and family can do their best to provide care and comfort and research options. But they have to leave the outcome to God. They have no control over that.

You may also find some problems are shared. You have some of the resources and can be part of the solution. However, you have to be very clear that it’s not all your problem and you or others don’t try to make it so.

Why do we get involved in problems we can’t solve? If we have the illusion we can do something about it, it avoids a feeling of being helpless. However, this just delays the inevitable and often leads to deeper suffering. Ofttimes, it can also be tied into our sense of identity and illusions of control. As I mentioned, this can take some deep looking.

Constraint theory
If the problem does belong to us, it’s important to address the main aspects of the problem and not get caught in minor details. After identifying it’s your problem, identify the biggest obstacle and look to resolving that. For example, you need a job. Are you spending most of your time seeking and applying for jobs? Or making nice spreadsheets of possible employers, polishing the resume, and so forth?

The Either/Or dilemma
Often we see a problem as black and white, a this or that choice. This is another symptom of being in the reactive animal brain. Often, hybrid solutions are possible that address both sides. This requires time for the higher brain to process and synthesize.

For example, do you stay in a dead-end job or go back to school for training? Perhaps there is a weekend training option that lets you support yourself while getting the training. In other words, both. The job isn’t so dead-end then.

Helping Others
If we’re going to actually help someone with their problems rather than becoming part of the problem ourselves, there needs to be some clear ground rules. Use gentle, quiet truth.
1 – you need to be clear it’s their problem before you even get involved
2 – they need to be clear it’s their problem
3 – they need to be clear your help is not you taking the problem (#2 again)
4 – they need to be demonstrating that they’re doing what they can
Once they recognize it’s in their power, ask them to make commitments to action steps, even baby steps. If they take no action, you cannot help.

If they come to you with a big story or drama, they have not yet defined the problem. You may be able to help them get clarity. The problem should be able to be stated in one or two sentences. First, the problem is defined, they recognize it’s theirs to do something about, and then action steps are identified.

In this regard, women tend to see issues more in relationship and thus may take longer than men to come to clarity but the result is a more comprehensive solution. So men, be patient and let them share. It can be part of their process. Sharing a story is not a problem. Regurgitating it over and over without change is when it’s an issue. Then it’s being turned into a belief.

If they are unwilling to take responsibility & action steps, you cannot help. Sometimes people get invested in their drama and just want to keep telling their story. You may be able to challenge them with baby steps but if they keep telling the same story, you’re just enabling it. Sadly, some people need to suffer more deeply before they’re willing to let go. Until then, there’s little you can do except tell them you’ll be there when they’re ready.

Perhaps a friend has a health crisis and needs support through it. But then the crisis is over and it’s time for them to reengage life. If they’re still asking for the same support and you give it, then you’re enabling a dependency. Instead, can you help them see steps to take to become sufficient again?

Define, take responsibility, and act may sound obvious but all of us can get caught in loops, reacting habitually to a circumstance without stopping to consider what the real issue is. Only then can it be addressed. A key red flag is when you find yourself telling others an excuse story over and over. Another flag is when your health is taking a hit because you’re unwilling to deal with the potential change being called for by life.

Mark also explored a number of other dynamics, like identifying the primary reactive mode people you engage with favour and how to mitigate each. He plans to hold a further session to explore others layers. I look forward to this and his resulting book.
Davidya

Shadbhava

While people may speak of past karma or desire driving the form of this lifetime, the qualities of the life that unfold are found in various factors. Shadbhava is a term from Ayurveda meaning 6 houses or areas of life. It refers to the influences we have when starting this life. (it also refers to the 6 stages of life, but that’s another discussion)

Three or half of the factors relate to the body we’re being born into. The father, the mother, and nutrition during pregnancy. In other words, our bloodline and prenatal care. Many traditions honour their ancestral bloodlines and prescribe careful care of pregnant women.

Science has found that a fetus develops to prepare for the environment into which it expects to be born. If it is exposed to a lot of stress through the mother’s experience, it will tend to develop more musculature and less fore-brain (higher faculties). In a more nurturing environment, the reverse is the case. A woman who experiences samadhi (transcendence) during pregnancy will pass that experience to the fetus as well.

“In stressful environments, fetal blood preferentially flows to the muscles and hind brain, while shorting the flow to the viscera and the fore-brain. The development of fetal tissues and organs is proportional to the amount of blood they receive. Consequently, a mother experiencing chronic stress will profoundly alter the development of her child’s physiologic systems that provide for growth and protection.“
– Bruce Lipton
(On Bruce Lipton’s web site, select the Nature, Nurture article for much more detail.)

The other half of the equation are the aspects our soul (jiva) brings in. These are Rasa, Sattva, and Atman.

Rasa means flavour or essence and relates to the dosha or body type / constitution that results. (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) The flavour we bring to the bodies bloodline. (which is why you see some kids out of type in a family)

Sattva relates to the degree of purity and our karmic debt. The baggage or resistance we bring in and the unresolved desires. And this relates to Maya and the way we perceive the world.

Atman relates to our degree of infusion of spirit. Our spiritual history.

Atman and sattva in particular illustrate prior spiritual development and how we pick up where we left off. Their mix also illustrates the wide variety in ways people experience personal and transpersonal development. It depends on what we’ve taken care of and what is yet to open.

I found this an insightful overview. Our life and growth are not just about our own history but that of our family and community.

To quote John Donne (English clergyman & poet (1572 – 1631)):
“No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.”

See also
Only together.
Davidya

Four Mayas

Awhile back, I wrote about the 3 forms of Maya described by Shankara. The way we perceive the world is dependent on the dominant guna or quality through which we experience it.

Guna means string or strand but abstractly, it refers to a quality or distinction. Triguna is used to describe the 3 tendencies or qualities of prakriti (nature). Broadly, they are creation, maintenance, and destruction. Much of what we experience as change is the gunas coming out of and back into balance again. Internally we experience them as clarity, movement, and inertia or sattva, rajas, and tamas.

In Ayurveda (Vedic medicine), they describe how we come into this lifetime with influences of 6 bhavas (houses). Half of these are from the bodies bloodline, the other half from our soul (jiva). Two of the second are Atman (Self, spirit) and sattva, the guna. Whatever development of these we cultured prior, we bring into this life and pick up where we left off. Hence, some seem to come in a little ahead of the game.

This brings us to a review of Maya. Contrary to popular translation, Maya means “to build.” However, how that “build”, creation, is perceived by us depends on our dominant guna. Maya stays the same but how we perceive it evolves.

1) The dominant way creation is perceived is through Tamas or inertia. The world behaves like a covering over it’s source. The physical world seems real and the subjective world unreal.

2) When Rajas becomes dominant, it has the effect of “burning” or purifying tamas. In this stage, the world is seen as an illusion, a common symptom of good spiritual progress and typical of Self Realization or Cosmic Consciousness.

3) When Sattva becomes dominant (and we’re speaking on inner levels, not necessarily obvious yet on the surface), the illusion is recognized as ‘created by’ and is now seen as Lila, the play. This is more typical of God consciousness or, if delayed, in unity.

Here, it’s good to differentiate clearly between sattva and atman. Someone can awaken and still be lower on the guna scale and thus not have refined perception. They’ll tend to describe a black and white reality of inner spirit/ Self and separate, outer, illusory world. This is dwaita or duality, not non-duality as some suggest. Someone more up the guna scale but lower on the Atman scale will not be awake but have many “spiritual” or refined experiences of subtle realities. The best for progress is of course both.

There are various prescribed ways to increase sattva but many edicts for living a pure life are difficult in our culture. The key ones are widely-held rules across cultures, like the golden rule and early to bed. The best way though is transcendence; a daily connection to source purifies the physiology & mind, and opens us to spirit (atman) as well. Transcendence itself or samadhi triggers the physiological production of Soma (Amrita), a refined product that much increases sattva. You may notice it as a sweet taste in the mouth during a deep meditation. It also produces a lustre on the skin via ojas.

4) So, what is the 4th Maya? No maya, the absence of maya. The recognition that nothing has ever happened. No creation, no you and I, nada. However, this is not the same thing as neti, neti (not this, not this), the illusion stage. Paradoxically, it is this and this but it is neither also. It is a wholeness more than everything, more than either being or non-being (which have become recognized as another subtle duality). It is Brahman, contemplating within itself but never creating, never doing.

So- not really 4 Mayas, unless we’re counting digitally from 0. 
Davidya

Father Thomas Keating

My first real exposure to Father Keating was in the film One, the Movie (2005). I bought the DVD and the extras DVD that included the entire interviews*. More recently, I discovered he played a key role in helping a contacts healing from a cult I knew of.

I recently had the pleasure of hearing a new interview with Father Keating. While a Christian Father, he is well-versed in the faiths and philosophies of the world, is active in Inter-spirituality, and developed and promotes Centering Prayer. The last is a practice that is surprisingly like Effortless Meditation that I recommend. (see also Jewish Sh’ma “meditation.”)

If you read the article What is Consciousness?, you’ll know the importance of the means to direct experience of our spiritual nature. Father Keating similarly emphasizes this. The interviewer has a background in the Vedic tradition of India but Father Keating has no trouble speaking to his terminology and questions.

Father Keating speaks of Unity without recognizing the full depth of it, suggesting the Isness aspect of God and the expressed God, or Father and Son, can never unite. As I’ve explained here, even the Holy Trinity unites in advanced Unity. However, the few minor points like this are just quibbles with the extent of it, not with the content. He is a remarkable example of the value of surrender and gratitude, common subjects on this blog.

1 hr 50 min

On BATGAP

Contemplative Outreach
See the link on the left for Contemplative Prayer. That page includes instruction documents and the workshops he recommends to help you establish the practice correctly. As I’ve mentioned here, it’s very easy to mess up effortless practices as it’s such a habit to try. And that small change is the difference between direct experience of Divinity and a headache.
Davidya

*They now sell the full interviews as audio files separately, probably due to the expense of mastering another DVD. My original purchase was burned, not produced, an early home-brew of the project that was later manufactured when the funds were raised.