inquire into the higher

Spring has officially “sprung” today here in New Zealand, and while climate change is making it increasingly difficult to determine what season we’re experiencing - and here in Wellington there are often all four and even a few others in one day - spring is traditionally a time for cleaning. 

After winter, when junk generally accumulates in the house, a “spring clean” is a good idea, and although late to the party last year, this year I’ve started mine today!

It’s certainly liberating to sell or chuck stuff that has no use anymore and is taking up valuable cupboard and wardrobe real estate, especially considering the tiny size of my flat.

And so it can be with our consciousness.

Imperceptibly, mental junk accumulates over time and weighs us down, particularly in terms of our nonmaterial aspirations. 

My personal process for spring cleaning the consciousness, which actually works a treat in all seasons, is mantra meditation, specifically the Maha-mantra: 

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. 

This special sonic therapy, which connects our consciousness to Krishna, the Supreme Consciousness, acts like a powerful cleaning agent, providing an organic spring clean for the higher self. 

108 is a special number for yoga practitioners.

There are 108 superlative Bhakti yogis, 108 important sacred texts, and 108 beads on a meditation thread.

And although no where near as significant as the above, today I’ve made 108 Gram posts, which I hope have stoked the fire of non material inquiry and given direction to your quest for true happiness, particularly if, like me, you live in a city.

In yoga circles it is said that an intelligent person can take the best from the worst, and gold from a filthy place. 

Even though traditionally yogis, sages and mystics retired to forests, caves and mountain tops to attain enlightenment, today this is impossible for most of us.

However, there is solid gold where we reside - we just need to know where to look for it.

Is self realisation doable in 2022 in a sprawling urban metropolis? 

Maha mantra makes it real.

Being open is the beginning of success, both in the ordinary sense and the extra ordinary, because without being open to new perspectives and ideas we are stuck with a worms eye view. 

The other often overlooked aspect of success is discrimination. 

Simply being open is not enough; we must also be able to discriminate about the value of what comes in. 

While the term “enlightenment” may sound like something only the Buddha could attain, yoga wisdom informs us that it’s not only possible for all of us, but also that it’s our ultimate necessity.

Why is enlightenment essential?

For the penny to drop here we need to understand what enlightenment is.

Enlightenment means you can see.

In the darkness we can’t see, and that lack of vision has ramifications.

Similarly, when we can’t see who we really are, what we’re supposed to be doing, and what the ultimate goal of life, is there are consequences that negatively impact our quest for genuine peace, happiness and love.

For-most yoga text Bhagavad Gita compares this world to a perverted reflection, which may seem like a strange comparison.

The text reveals that  this world is in fact an exact replica of the eternal reality, the spiritual world, with one major difference: everyone here, forgetful of their actual role as a humble servant, thinks consciously or otherwise “I should be served.”

The spiritual world, on the other hand, exists without this misconception, with all its inhabitants knowing without a doubt who they really are, and actively and loving acknowledging the actual Supreme proprietor and enjoyer.

The text points out that genuine spiritual life begins when this is understood and one sincerely tries in an authorised way to reverse the situation, to purify the consciousness of selfishness.

Those rare and beautiful souls who do so can be compared the most beautiful flower, the lotus.

How do such people deal with the perverted reflection, the “real world” as we call it?

The short, the secret is given in the Bible, where Jesus is reputed to have said that a spiritual person should be “In the world, but not of the world.”

What does this mean practically?

Just as a lotus is in the water but not wet, standing above the water’s surface, a true yogi, who follows the process Krishna gives to dedicate all his or her energy, money, intelligence, and words to the service of the Supreme, is never affected by perverted worldly consciousness and its reactions.

Such a fortunate individual is actually situated in the spiritual world, even though surrounded by karmic contamination.

“One who performs his duty without attachment, giving the results unto the Supreme Person, is unaffected by karma as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.”

Casually viewing shadows and reflections we generally don’t perceive their relationship to and dependency on their source, the sun.

Similarly, when we look at others and the energy of the world without genuine spiritual knowledge, we fail to see the connection between them and their ultimate source, the Supreme consciousness, known is Sanskrit as Krishna.

So what, you say?

The problem here is that due to our incomplete vision we naturally consider other humans, other species, and the earth’s natural resources as potential objects for our own independent enjoyment.

We treat people and other species as things, our things, and we treat the actual things of this world, our environment, as an unlimited resovoir of stuff to exploit, no matter the cost.

Here we have the culprit of the chaos we see in the world today.

The solution is too wise up, to acquire precise knowledge of the relationship and connection between the ultimate source and its emanations, because that vision automatically harmonises our consciousness and lifestyle with that of the Divine.

At the beginning of Bhagavad Gita’s seventh chapter, “Knowledge of the Absolute,” Sri Krishna says,

“Now I shall explain to you full knowledge of the material world and the spirit behind it, this being known nothing further shall remain for you to know.”

On the sun there are no shadows or reflections, and similarly in the full light of genuine spiritual knowledge we see everything clearly and in its true perspective.

Sailing has never been a calling for me. 

There’s something about the vastness and unpredictability of the ocean that has kept me from feeling comfortable at sea, or even with the idea of it. 

But Bhakti yoga wisdom informs me that my human form of life is exactly like a sailboat.

The winds that guide that boat are yoga texts like Bhagavad Gita.

And my spiritual mentor is the captain, who shows me how to catch those gusts of good fortune and sail across the ocean of repeated birth and death, back to my transcendental homeland.

The ancient yoga texts also declare that if I don’t take advantage of these facilities in this human life, I am atma ha, or “the killer of my own soul.”

Gazing into the night sky regularly we notice the moon waxing and waning.

But is it really waxing and waning?

I’m not referring to a conspiracy theory here, but rather to the limitations of our normal perception.

While we all perceive the moon growing and declining over time, it is actually doing neither - it’s always full - but only appears to be changing shape due to the direction of light from the sun and our location.

This is a fitting metaphor to illustrate the vision we have of ourselves and others.

The basic principle of any genuine spiritual knowledge is that we different from our body.

In other words, when I look in the mirror I’m not seeing my true self, but rather a temporary and changing material covering, one that I identify with and therefore call “me.”

Our bodily growth in childhood and youth can be compared to the moon waxing, and its retirement and old age to its waning.

Our psychology, also a type of body, similarly changes along with its physical counterpart, producing various attitudes, moods, and ambitions on the journey from birth to death.

Who are we really, beyond our waxing and waning physiology and phycology, why are we in such a strange situation, and why does it even matter?

When the mind and senses are uncontrolled they’re never satisfied with the status quo, and constantly seek new objects of desire. 

This is a law of nature, yoga wisdom reveals, and one that we can’t bend or break.

Is there anything wrong with following the dictations of our uncontrolled mind and senses?

While this modus operandi may appear like freedom, the reality is that we are being pushed around by forces that don’t serve our self interest.

As long the mind and senses lead the way, craving ever new objects of desire, there’s no question of peace, and, as Bhagavad Gita asks us to consider,

“How can there be any happiness without peace?”

Bhakti yoga gives us the nonmaterial knowledge and technology to take the power back, to gain control of our lower self for the highest purpose.

Is our journey down the river of life meant to be an aimless drifting from one sensory stimulation to another, or does it have a more substantial purpose?

In yoga wisdom we find that human intelligence, like an able boatman, has the potential to guide us beyond the base urges we share with other species to an ultimate destination, a “love Supreme.”

The beginning of that greatest journey is learning to discriminate between counterfeit pleasure and the real deal.

Bhagavad Gita explains,

“An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. Because such pleasures have a beginning and an end, the wise person does not delight in them.”

Bhakti luminary Srila Prabhupada elaborates,

“Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure?”

Being empowered by intelligence trained in yoga science to recognise what presents itself as pleasure but always disappoints, we can sail on unimpeded to that coveted ultimate connection.

Srila Prabhupada goes on to explain,

From a distance, and particularly in bad weather, we don’t see a moving car’s driver. 

Similarly, when looking at a human being from a distance - through the lens of material senses and intelligence - we fail to see what those with nonmaterial vision do: the essential self, or driver, within.

This lack of clear vision is the cause of our “happiness problem,” our lack of ultimate fulfilment.

Yoga wisdom compares our material body to a vehicle, and us - the spirit soul - to its driver, and as there’s a difference between us and our car, there’s also a difference between us and our body.

Just as we can’t achieve satisfaction by eating and drinking the same things that our car processes - petrol and oil - the real self can’t be satisfied by any material experience, physiological or psychological.

This doesn’t mean, however, that we should neglect our body and mind.

Just as we take care of our car because we have purposes to fulfil with it, we also take care of our human vehicle even though it is not our true identity, for the purpose of enlightenment.

Our car’s purpose is to serve us, its driver, by getting us to our destination. 

Similarly, the human body - our physiology and psychology - is the vehicle by which we, the spirit self, can realize our full pleasure potential. 

This greatest achievement is not attainable in any other life form, and is why human life - the human vehicle - is nature’s greatest gift. 

While going for my regular walk around the Wellington CBD I often notice how many letterboxes have a “no circulars” or “no junk mail” sign them.

Why don’t we like junk mail? 

Because it tries to sell us things we don’t need, and also blocks the real mail from being delivered. 

Just as we may hang a sign on our letterbox hoping to avoid it being packed with useless stuff that doesn’t serve us, genuine yogis also have a similar attitude towards protecting their own consciousness. 

Consciousness, our medium of perception, is not understood by modern science. 

In fact, it can’t even be directly detected by any scientific instrument.

In other words, there is no scientific proof that you or I exist, although we all know that we do!

This, yoga wisdom suggests, lets us know that there is something nonmaterial about us. 

What is consciousness exactly, how is it influenced, and what are the implications of junky consciousness? 

“The nonmaterial self, situated in material nature, follows the ways of life trying to enjoy matter. This is due to his association with material nature, which fills his consciousness with junk. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.” - Bhagavad Gita

Junky consciousness is responsible for our illusory material existence, as it makes us think “I am this body, an independent enjoyer.” 

This is the junk mail of material nature, which not only keeps us buying into things that won't satisfy us - the presentations of our mind and senses - but also prevents the real letters, the message of the infinitely attractive nonmaterial reality, from being delivered. 

Expert meditators therefore always repeat the maha-mantra - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare — Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare - as its the most effective “no junk mail” sign for the letterbox of our consciousness. 

It prevents the mundane circulars from getting in, throws out those that are already there, and illuminates the heart with the message and experience of perfect enlightenment.

The question why there are so many different spiritual paths, teachings, and teachers usually comes up for genuine seekers, and can be a confusing one. 

Are they all right? 

Or is one right and the others wrong? 

Or are they all wrong? 

Bhakti yoga wisdom gives a reasonable answer to this conundrum, which we can understand through the analogy of a building: the different levels in a building are all legitimate parts of the building, but at the same time are not equally high off the ground. 

Similarly, any genuine spiritual attempt is valuable, but that doesn’t mean all are equal in every respect: some are “closer to the spiritual sky” than others. 

What level are we on, and how high can we go? 

To rectify the disastrous effects of climate change positive alternatives to fossil fuels, such as electric transportation, are essential. 

Similarly, in our spiritual quest we require a positive alternative to illusory desire.

While some try to abandon all desire, the bhakti yogi knows that desire, like everything, has a misuse and a proper use.

Naturally when we misuse something it becomes a cause of suffering, but when we find its proper utilization the same thing that caused us pain becomes a source of pleasure.

And so it is with desire.

While material desire is the cause of our suffering, that same desire energy, when aimed at the pleasure of the Supreme, becomes the catalyst for spiritual bliss.

Like it or not, fighting is a part of life. 

Whether it’s fighting with a partner, an injustice, the weather, a cold, to pass our exams, to get to the top in a profession, or to keep our qualifications relevant, life, in so many contexts, means fighting. 

Yogis also fight, as they are dedicated to “fighting the sun.” 

Fighting the sun? 

That’s right. 

They know that both by its rising and setting the sun indicates that, imperceptibly, the time in our current body is running out. 

Reflecting on the massive advancements of modern science and technology, Albert Einstein once quipped to a friend,

“You know in the West we have built a large, beautiful ship. It has all the comforts in it. But one thing is missing: It has no compass and does not know where to go.”

Yoga science would agree, and add that without ultimate purpose we can never achieve true happiness or fulfillment.

Purpose gives life meaning, and the wise know that only by understanding and actively pursuing our ultimate purpose can we achieve the meaning and pleasure we crave.

With that axiom in place, we can move on to actually nutting out what that purpose might be and how to pursue it.

Where should we look for ultimate purpose?

Followers of what some call “scientism” would have us believe that modern science can provide the answers to every question, but, while acknowledging its astounding power to shape the world around us, we would also do well to acknowledge it’s limitations.

Because of exclusively focusing on what it calls “primary properties” - that which is quantifiable - it excludes from it’s paradigm that which we actually consider primary.

As famous physicist Erwin Schrodinger said,

“I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is deficient. It gives a lot of factual information, puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity.”

Spirituality, however, is supposed to meet that greatest need by taking information from a higher intelligence, the supreme source.

Thus the sincere seeker tries to broaden his or her paradigm by searching for the most comprehensive body of nonmaterial wisdom.

Outrage about injustice is natural, at least when it comes to things that affect us, but it’s hard to feel the same way about things that apparently don’t disturb our quality of our life right now. 

This is why it’s hard to understand and share higher knowledge today; when we’re caught in the mass consensual trance of consumer society, we just focus on how we feel right now and forget about future consequences. 

This is the cause of climate injustice, and, even more importantly, existential injustice. 

While we are apparently free to believe or practice any kind of spiritual path, modern society destroys so much of our nonmaterial potential through a culture of matter mania.