Most
Westerners think of yoga as being merely a morning-TV routine of stretches
and poses, or asanas. But a serious few know yoga to be a spiritual
pursuit of the highest order.
Because
it is spiritually oriented, yoga is sometimes thought to be a religion.
It is not — yoga is actually an ancient, though timeless science.
And like any science, yoga has its methods, practices and goals.
In yoga,
and its underlying philosophy, Vedanta, one of the most important
of these goals is attaining enlightenment. This state of awakened
illumination is also known by a variety of other names, such as "Self-realization."
However,
like most religions, yoga also has its different branches — portals,
you could say, which ultimately lead to the same place. The "branch"
of yoga that I follow is called "Neti Yoga."
In Neti
Yoga, enlightenment is not considered to be the final goal
of life. Rather, it is actually more like an important "mile-marker"
along a pathway of expanding personal development.
In Sanskrit,
"Neti" means "not this." Neti Yoga is so-named because of the peculiar
"core event" which, when combined with the knowledge of that
experience, creates the cherished goal of enlightenment or Self-realization.
"Neti" implies that "the enlightening incident" is essentially undefinable.
Nonetheless,
let me try to describe this universally-experienced — though
seldom-discussed — phenomenon, with the promise that, by the end
of this article, you, too, will have attained the treasured, though
elusive state of "enlightenment." That is, if you will accept that
"attaining enlightenment," and "becoming Self-realized" are one and
the same condition.
An outlandish
promise? Perhaps. But prepare yourself: Enlightenment is probably
not what imagine it to be. At least, it wasn't for me ... and for
most other people with whom I've shared the following, illuminating
(though somewhat sobering) information since my own Self-realization
in 1986.
But I'm
ahead of myself. I began my studies in yoga and Vedanta in the early
1970's. At that time, I had no idea what the exalted state of enlightenment
was about; and I was completely in the dark as to how to attain it.
But whatever "it" was, I felt certain that attaining enlightenment
or Self-realization would surely be akin to having a sacred vision
... an epiphany.
However,
I would learn that, from yoga's standpoint, enlightenment has little
to do with most of the religious principles and concepts many Westerners
hold as sacred ... at least the yoga I've come to know.
As other
serious aspirants have done throughout the centuries, to understand
the goal I was seeking I turned to the writings of respected authors
and preceptors — primarily, to such Swamis as Nikhilananda and
Yogananda, as well as to the published discourses of my own teacher,
Sathya Sai Baba.
Each
guru was quite clear: Enlightenment and Self-realization were definitely
possible, and to be pursued at all costs. Less clear, though, was
how this state would be recognized when, or if, I had "attained" it.
Their writings talked about this state, and its benefits
— but not the details about how it would be known.
The fact
is that "enlightenment" is an intuitively-deduced condition; however,
that was not at all satisfying to me. If these great teachers of Timeless
Wisdom were truly Self-realized beings — and I had no doubt that
they were — why couldn't they be more clear and precise in their
defining what this profound phenomenon actually was?
Perhaps
it was more a problem of semantics, and the fact that English wasn't
their native language ... or was it that they were indeed holding
something back? A carrot, maybe, to keep me plodding along the pathway
like some hardheaded mule?
So, grumblingly,
I read more. I studied The Bhagavad-Gita incessantly, it seemed,
as well as The Upanishads and most of the other great scriptures
of this spiritual science.
I learned
that, in yoga-Vedanta, we are each considered to be "Divine beings."
Fragments or aspects of God, you could say. I also learned that the
God of yoga has many names — Brahman, Atman, Purusha,
the Self, and a host of others. Becoming enlightened or Self-realized,
then, meant knowing fully what it is to "be God." But still nothing
akin to a religious epiphany occurred. Only confusion.
Then,
in 1985, after more than a decade of study, destiny finally called,
and I attained enlightenment ... at a traffic light, some three miles
from my house. The light had just turned red as I drove up. A moment
later, it seemed, the car behind me honked — the light was now
green!
Impossible!,
I thought to myself. I knew that stop signal to be a particularly
long one; yet it had obviously been green for a while, since the driver
behind me was annoyed at the delay and trying to get me to ... wake
up? Had I been asleep? Something had obviously happened. I
had somehow ... lost my mind, for several minutes!
Half
a mile later, I suddenly got it! I now completely understood what
the saints and sages had meant in one of yoga's key mahavakyas,
or great, descriptive aphorisms: One without a second. I realized
that I had just experienced the Self — and that its "form"
was simply a chunk of "lost time"!
In my
earlier studies, I had learned that a common, yogic term for the Self
is "Pure Consciousness" — the eternal state beyond all thoughts
and time. And it had just happened to me!
I inadvertently
burst out in a gale of laughter at the utter simplicity of it, all
... so much so, that I had to pull the car off the road until the,
well, humor of my "enlightenment" eased. Was that truly what
I had been searching for all those years ... or, indeed, as yoga-Vedanta
claimed, all these lifetimes?
It seemed
almost too simple — yet as I considered The Experience, it seemed
to meet all the necessary criteria for enlightenment, as clearly defined
in my studies. In the first place, this "No-Mind" state, as I began
calling it, was "non-dualistic": I had no memory of what had actually
occurred during the experience, itself ... nor could I ever. It would
always have to remain a blank "void" in time.
Otherwise,
it would mean there had been an "observer" somehow watching the phenomenon
of my "merging with the Self" as It took place. This would then make
the experience "dualistic." and thus invalidate it from the scriptural
authority I was using to confirm my admittedly outrageous conclusion.
And while
I never envisioned the fabled Self to be a segment of unaccountably
lost time, I immediately understood that Brahman (the Self
or God) and I are One (as proclaimed in The Bhagavad-Gita,
2:30) and that My Self, and the Self of all, are identical
(BG xxxxx5-7, 18, 19). This is scriptural authority of the highest
order for yogis and yoginis.
And I
could point to numerous other shlokas or verses from that,
and other, great yogic texts which now seemed to justify that same
conclusion that I had intuitively deduced.
It seemed
logical that my No-Mind experience matched all other such experiences
undergone by every other being, human or otherwise, who has ever lived.
There can't be a difference between these phenomena — "no mind"
is "no mind." Hence, there was the necessary Unity between myself
and all other creatures whilst in that state. That No-Mind experience
linked us, all.
As I
would shortly discover, my No-Mind experience was not unique —
far from it. Upon beginning to share my surprising insights to small
groups of spiritual seekers during the next year, I soon discovered
that everyone seemed to have had this experience (and frequently
under equally peculiar, or even bizarre situations). However, most
people were at first reluctant to discuss it, for fear of being thought
strange, ill or even insane.
Perhaps
surprisingly, by far the majority of these experiences occurred —
as did mine — while driving. Not just riding in a car; actually
driving it!
Let's
try to understand this phenomenon a little better. The scriptures
of yoga-Vedanta use many metaphors to describe the experience of attaining
Pure Consciousness. For example, one way of depicting this phenomenon
is describing it as "the space between one thought and another."
The analogy
here is that, if thoughts were like clouds, Pure Consciousness would
be like the "clear, blue sky" behind and between each "thought-cloud."
For most people, the mind and worldly awareness are constantly "on,"
and so the "blank space" between thoughts usually lasts only for microseconds,
when it occurs. Nonetheless, Pure Consciousness is timeless, Universal
and beyond birth and death, according to yoga-Vedanta's literature.
And there
are many other similes used, as well. However, the ancient masters
of yoga-Vedanta would have found a perfect analogy using the modern-day
cinema to explain the Self: If we think of the mind and our thoughts
as a movie, this No-Mind state would be like the blank screen upon
which the flickering lights of "reality" dance and play. "The screen"
— Pure Consciousness or the Self — is always present behind
the scenes, but almost never experienced directly.
In seeking
enlightenment, the mistake many people make is in believing that they
will be able to observe the enlightening process occur. But yoga-Vedanta
makes it very clear that we can never actually "see" ourselves being
enlightened or in the state of Pure Consciousness.
To repeat:
It must always be by inference, by deduction — we can
only know that we have been in the state of Pure Consciousness in
retrospect. It can never be differently; otherwise, it would be the
problem of "observer" and "observed." Dualism. This contention is
supported by all of yoga's Great Aphorisms and key scriptures.
But while
we each have such No-Mind experiences at least several times every
day (namely, during the grey area between being awake and being asleep),
they are usually accidental, pass within moments as the mind "returns,"
or occur without our consciously attempting to "induce" them, such
as during "day-dreams."
However,
if we could just deliberately capture this experience between thoughts
or beyond the mind — even for a moment — then we would gain
a reassuring peek at our own, eternal Self, whenever we wished. Yet
this in fact can be accomplished: In the process of meditation,
experienced meditators sometimes reach the deepest stage, which is
known as samadhi, satori or nirvana. They have literally erased
the mind-stuff by deliberately inducing Pure Consciousness, if only
for a few minutes.
In that
light, a mother hen, sitting motionlessly upon her nest of eggs for
the weeks until they hatch — typically without even blinking
— puts even the best meditator to shame with her No-Mindedness.
Infants,
too, seem to experience this state for long periods at a time, until
their physical needs bring them back to awareness.
Other
than his or her intention, then, the only difference between the meditator
intentionally inducing samadhi, and the everyday person experiencing
"accidental samadhi," is that of knowledge. Knowledge of what
this mind-free experience actually means and implies.
Of course,
broody hens, awakening sleepers, comfortable babies and lapsing drivers
are not the only ones who undergo "unintentional nirvana" or have
random No-Mind experiences. This perplexing phenomenon also occurs
under deep hypnosis, sometimes during drunkenness or intoxication,
or occasionally happens when we are profoundly relaxed or intensely
concentrating. Indeed, it can arise at any time, and under a wide
variety of circumstances.
Metaphysical
events and even health problems can also cause the time-free state
of Pure Consciousness to reveal Itself. Those who believe themselves
to be UFO abductees often claim "lost time" experiences during their
ordeals. Comatose victims and sleepwalkers, too, are in the No-Mind
state, as are people in the throes of grand mal epileptic seizures.
In other
words, virtually anything which can cause the mind to somehow
stop its thinking process automatically causes the "clear, blue sky"
of Pure Consciousness to be exposed, however briefly.
But for
enlightenment to truly occur, both the experience and knowledge
are vital.
Knowledge,
alone, merely adds to our mass of infoglut. And the experience
without the knowledge of its significance can be absolutely traumatic.
For example,
one fellow in our first Neti Yoga class had taken a "bathroom break"
at his office; then, a few minutes later, found himself seated back
at his desk, with no recall of what had happened between the middle
of his urination and when he returned to awareness.
Fearing
a brain tumor, he was relieved when the company's doctor discovered
nothing to be physically wrong. Yet until that class session when
he gained his enlightenment, he had quietly feared that this event
was a precursor to perhaps a life of Alzheimer's Disease in his later
years.His
relief was profound!
Fortunately,
all of us seem to be able to recall at least one No-Mind experience,
accidental or purposeful, if my informally-gathered data and statistics
are correct. So this is why I feel comfortable promising anyone "instant
enlightenment" ... even those who seem to have paid no "dues" to receive
this Highest Knowledge.
Remember,
though, in yoga-Vedanta, enlightenment is not the end of life's journey.
As the great spiritual science that it is, yoga's ultimate goal is
mental upliftment and, eventually, complete and permanent mind-transcendence.
To accomplish
this, yoga prescribes a variety of vital practices and processes.
As these are mastered, the yogi or yogini gradually reaches the equally
mysterious (and equally misunderstood) state of absolute dispassion
and detachment, commonly called "liberation."
In Neti
Yoga, attaining enlightenment — or, if you prefer, experiencing
Pure Consciousness, "being God," realizing the Self or even entering
into accidental samadhi (and knowing what it means!) —
implies that the end of your own life's journey has now come into
sight. Enjoy!
A
Yogi Explains The Bhagavad-Gita: Enlightenment for the New Millennium,
is now available from The G-Jo Institute at www.g-jo.com
