Jnanis And The Path They Teach, Part Two
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: Description: Śaiva Siddhānta-Four Stages of Evolution: Jñāna is the state of the realized soul who knows Absolute Reality through personal experience, who has reached the end of the spiritual path after many, many lifetimes. In our Parampara to be a jñani you have to know the Absolute Reality. Yoga is the path of sādhana, or discipline, leading the advanced soul toward jñāna. Kriyā is basically worship and devotion, or the expression of our love of the Divine through various ceremonies and rituals. Charyā is service done selflessly, it is dharma performed consciously, it is worship offered wholly and it is goodness in thought, word and deed. Our most cherished theology is monistic Śaiva Siddhānta, the advaitic teachings inherited from our guru paramparā who outlined the course we are on. This teaches us that God and man are ultimately one, that our Supreme God, Śiva, is the creator of the universe, and He is also the creation; He is not different from it. Śaiva Siddhānta outlines the path that we are on. Saint Tirumular, taught, “Offer oblations in love. Light the golden lamps. Spread incense of fragrant wood and lighted camphor in all directions. Forget your worldly worries and meditate. Truly, you shall attain rapturous liberation.” With rare exceptions, in this lifetime, a satguru is necessary for the aspirants on the path to gently lead us to God within ourselves. "Master Course Trilogy", "Merging with Siva" Lessons 317-318.
Transcription:
Good morning everyone. This morning we are continuing with "Merging with Siva" Chapter 46 entitled "Jñanis and the Path they Teach" and it's from 1984. And our section this morning is a bit short.
Lesson 317
"Four Stages of Evolution.
"Jñāna is the last stage. Most people don’t understand jñāna. They think it is little more than intellectual study of the path, a simple kind of wisdom. But jñāna does not mean simplistic reading of scriptures or understanding of philosophical books and knowing pat answers to stereotyped questions. (That's a very interesting statement.) Jñāna is the blossoming of wisdom, of enlightened consciousness, of true being. Jñāna is the state of the realized soul who knows Absolute Reality through personal experience, who has reached the end of the spiritual path after many, many lifetimes."
So that's an important point and Yogaswami echos the same point in his statements that: "It's not in books, you fool!" Saying the same thing but it is a common difference of opinion, shall we say, about what jñāna means. There are many teachers who relegate jñāna to intellectual knowledge. To be a jñāni you have to know a lot of philosophy, study a lot of books, to be able to answer lots of questions on philosophy. In our parampara that's not the case. You have to know the Absolute Reality.
"Yoga is the path of sādhana, or discipline, leading the advanced soul toward jñāna. Yoga is divided into eight parts, ranging from the simple physical disciplines and diet, up to the deepest contemplation gained through perfect control of mind. Yoga does not mean just sitting in lotus for half an hour each day in a penthouse or doing haṭha yoga āsanas for health and beauty. It means yoga as performed by the yogīs of yore, the renegades from society, tapasvins ready to face the fire of sādhana, brave souls who have given up all else in their search for Truth, persevering with an iron will until they have accomplished what they seek."
So that's another common misconception. If you tell someone: "Oh I practice yoga every day" the popular understanding is that means the asanas, right? I do my asanas every day. But asanas is just a minor part of true yoga which has to do with meditation and of course as we know controlling the mind.
"Kriyā is basically worship and devotion, or the expression of our love of the Divine through various ceremonies and rituals."
That's a great definition, really. "Kriyā is basically worship and devotion, or the expression of our love of the Divine through various ceremonies and rituals."
"Kriyā does not mean mindlessly or superstitiously attending temple services to look good in the community, to be with friends, to gossip or talk of politics and other human affairs. (Gurudeva's really going after everyone there.) It is a genuine communion with the inner worlds, a profound stage in which the heart swells and eyes overflow with internalized worship, love and surrender."
So the idea here is, just because someone goes to the temple doesn't mean they're practicing kriyā. They're in the temple but it's what you do with your mind that matters. The comparison I use is to your favorite music. Normally if you play your favorite music and you listen to it you're uplifted. That's why it's your favorite music, right? But if you play your favorite music and you're thinking about something else, you're not uplifted. So just because the music is playing doesn't constitute listening to the music. Just because you're in the temple, doesn't constitute kriyā; it's what you do with your mind that constitutes kriyā.
"Charyā is service, but it does not mean empty service, unthinking performance of traditional rites or just marrying off daughters, thus forestalling premarital affairs. It is service done selflessly, it is dharma performed consciously, it is worship offered wholly and it is goodness in thought, word and deed. "
Again, another beautiful definition.
Lesson 318
"Devotion and Guru Guidance
"Of course, our most cherished theology is monistic Śaiva Siddhānta, the advaitic teachings inherited from our guru paramparā who outlined the course we are on. This teaches us that God and man are ultimately one. This teaches us that our Supreme God, Śiva, is the creator of the universe, and He is also the creation. He is not different from it. (So, that's an important point there: "This teaches us that God and man are ultimately one." The idea being that part of our soul is identical with God even at this point in time. It's just we're not aware of it. We don't have to do anything for part of us to be one with God. We just have to learn how to experience that part of us.) We must go to the temple and worship, with all our heart, God in form before our karmas are cleared, our responsibilities paid, and we realize the formless perfection of God Śiva. The guhā, the cave of consciousness, opens its doors for us to sit comfortably, mentally undistracted, within the cavity within the head, there to begin the yoga of union for personal, spiritual, everlasting attainment. Śaiva Siddhānta outlines the path that we are on. It tells us how to attain these goals.
"The saints who sang the hymns of Tirumurai inspire us onward and inward. The illustrious, venerable Rishi Tirumular captured the essence of the Vedas and the Āgamas in his epistles, promulgating the rules and regulations that we must follow, setting forth the attainments that we may expect to reach. Over two thousand years ago the great siddha, Saint Tirumular, taught, 'Offer oblations in love. Light the golden lamps. Spread incense of fragrant wood and lighted camphor in all directions. Forget your worldly worries and meditate. Truly, you shall attain rapturous liberation.'
"It is said in our Hindu scriptures that it is necessary to have a satguru. However, it is also possible for an individual to accomplish all of this by himself without a guru. Possible, but most difficult and exceedingly rare. There may be four or five in a hundred years, or less. Scriptures explain that perhaps in past lives such a soul would have been well disciplined by some guru and is helped inwardly by God in this life. With rare exceptions, a guru is necessary to guide the aspirant on the path as far as he is willing and able to go in his current incarnation. Few will reach the Ultimate. The satguru is needed because the mind is cunning and the ego is a self-perpetuating mechanism. It is unable and unwilling to transcend itself by itself. Therefore, one needs the guidance of another who has gone through the same process, who has faithfully followed the path to its natural end and therefore can gently lead us to God within ourselves. Remember, the satguru will keep you on the path, but you have to walk the path yourself.
"All gurus differ one from another depending on their paramparā, their lineage, as well as on their individual nature, awakening and attainments. Basically, the only thing that a guru can give you is yourself to yourself. That is all, and this is done in many ways. which outlines the ultimate attainment, and by his own experience. He cannot take you where he himself has not been. It is the guru’s job to inspire, to assist, to guide and sometimes even impel the disciple to move a little farther toward the Self of himself than he has been able to go by himself."
Yes, good morning, Purya. Time to go walk ..., huh?
Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day.
[End of transcript.]