Anchor and Fish – Mysticism of Religious Symbols

 

In the Christian church many people believe that the anchor and fish was an important religious symbol in the early days, and there is a lot of discussion about it. So what does the symbolism of the anchor and fish mean in early Christianity? Jesus taught many people and most of them were fishermen. You may have read many stories about Jesus serving people fish, and about how Jesus helped Peter to catch more fish. What does this mean?

Fish live in water; without water fish cannot live. There is a beautiful teaching of Sant Kabir:

je jake sharan rakhe take rakhe laj

ulat jalame machali chale baha gaya gaja raj.

“One who surrenders is protected, just like a tiny fish goes against the current, but a big huge elephant goes down in the stream.”

It is a really thought-provoking example. Why can a tiny fish with so little strength go against the current, while an elephant with so much strength falls down? It is because a tiny fish has completely surrendered itself to water. The life of the fish is the life of surrender. It surrenders completely to water. In water it is born, in water it lives, and ultimately it dies in water. It cannot exist without water. Similarly, surrender yourself to God. You were born in God and exist because of God andwill go back to God.

Some fish live in mud, but the mud does not touch or stick to the fish. If your life is dedicated to God you will be free from worldly mud; nothing can touch you, and you will be free.

One can go against the current of the river. Although the pranic energy in the body naturally flows from the top of the head down towards the feet, there are those who

know how to go against the current (that is, taking the pranic energy upward, not downward). This is the spiritual meaning of being a fish.

In yogic scriptures, inhalation and exhalation are symbolized as two fish swimming in two streams. It is said in Kailasha Tantra:

Ganga yamunayor madhye dvau matsau charatah sada

Tau matsau bhakshayat yastu sa bhavet matsya sadhaka

“In the Ganga and the Yamuna there are two fish swimming continuously. One who can eat these two fish, is truly a sincere seeker.”

In the left and right nostril, in the ida and pingala canals (nadis), are the two holy rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna. There are two fish constantly swimming in these two rivers, which comprise the breath. The breath is flowing through the left and right nostrils, ida and pingala canals of the spine. Breath control brings beauty and success in life This is one meaning of the fish symbolism.

Jesus' giving fish to people symbolizes complete nutrition. We need nutrition for the body and nutrition for the mind. Jesus said: "Peter, be the fisher of men." Here fish symbolize human beings in the ocean of the world. The statement, "Peter, be the fisher of men," refers to bringing people from the worldly ocean and directing them towards God.

The anchor along with fishing are always associated with a boat. It is also said in the Bhagavatam: life is a boat and the world is the ocean. This lifeboat will flounder in the waves, but if the boat is anchored on the shore, even if there is a strong wind or storm, nothing will happen to the boat. Similarly, the boat of life should be anchored. My beloved Guruji Swami Shri Yukteshwarji said: "Human life is ever unreliable until it is anchored in the Divine." Therefore, let this boat of our life be anchored in the Divine. If the mind is anchored in Christ, if the mind is anchored in God, then the mind has nothing to do but to remember God, and to do good. This is the beauty of human life. So the anchor is symbolic of reaching the goal of life through breath control - to anchor life in Divinity. With the anchor and fish together, let our lives be dedicated to God with steadiness and harmony.

 

Source: page 13-16, Mysticism of Religious Symbols by Paramhansa Hariharananda of Kriya Yoga

You always instruct us to meditate with love, but what does that mean?

You work, and if you do not work with love it becomes a labor that you cannot enjoy. If you sing with inner joy from the heart, your singing will create love in the hearts of others also. If you cook it is not just a job, a duty, or a responsibility. If you love to cook, while cutting vegetables you can see how to eliminate negative qualities. It is just like eliminating the useless part of the vegetable, throwing it away and taking only the useful part for cooking. When you cook you see how a vegetable is simply boiled. Making your life ready for spirituality is similar. When a vegetable is boiled it becomes soft; so be soft, be tender, and be beautiful. If you bring love to your everyday activities you can enjoy your work. The work will give you more love, joy, and satisfaction. It will give you a devotional, blissful state and divine feeling in your daily life. This is love in daily life.

Many people sit to meditate as a duty, “I have promised to meditate, so I will meditate.” Mechanical meditation with the attitude, “I should try,” is good, but if you practice this meditation technique with love, “I am not sitting on the floor; I am sitting on the lap of God. It is not my body; it is the temple of God. It is not my breath; it is the breath of God,” then God is not far away. God is within you, and to maintain this type of loving attitude you not only bend your body and bow, you bow at the feet of God. Omnipresent God is observing you. In bending you bring humbleness into your life. When you develop this type of attitude and practice, you feel more impetus, more inner transformation, more strength within. Real joy and real love flourish in you. That is why I tell you to practice with love. When you practice with love you experience; “this is a beautiful time. God has given it to me so I will use it just for me and God.” Meditation becomes more intensified and you get real transformation within, more joy, and more love.

Source: page 130-131, The Divine Quest by Paramhansa Hariharananda

How do I develop love in my daily life?

First Love your breath. Where there is love there is attraction to love, closeness to love. When I say, “Love your breath,” I mean be attracted to breath, be closer to it, go to the source of your breath. Why do I emphasize on breath? In the Bible (John 4:24), it says, “God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” The worshipper of God should worship Him in Spirit, and spirit means breath. God is breath and the worshipper of God should worship in breath. In the Taittitiya Upanishad (1:1), it says:

namo brahmane namaste vayo tvameva pratyaksham brahmasi

“O Brahman, I bow to you, you are breath, you are directly perceived Brahman.”

The yogic scriptures say:

pranohi bhagavan isha prana vishnu pitamahah

pranena dharayate lokam sarvam pranamayam jagat

“Breath is Brahma, the creator of life, breath is Vishnu, the sustainer of life, breath is Maheshwara, the form of death.”

With breath you are born and with breath you will die. With breath you live; breath is God. If you love your breath that means you watch it, you see Who is inhaling from within, and you understand that if thee is no breath there is no life, there is no nothing for you. Even the body which you love so much you cannot claim, you cannot hold, if there is no breath. If there is no breath there is no body and you have no world you have no mind, you have no ego; you have nothing. All play in the world, all attachment, all relationships are possible because of breath. If you really love your breath, pay attention to it and you will realize how beautiful breath is in every living being. Even plants breathe. Life manifests through breath so your love will be greater.

I also tell whose who practice Kriya Yoga that love flourishes and the bond between friends becomes stronger. Mutual understanding is enhanced through the practice of Kriya Yoga. Kriya brings real love from within. The definition of divine love given by sage Shandhilya is sa paranuraktih ishware: “Real love is when you are constantly united with God.” Kriya Yoga teaches that love.

Source: page 129-130, The Divine Quest - Paramhansa Hariharananda

What is Love?

Love is a feeling. When you see a flower you get a feeling within. When a bee sees a beautiful flower it also has a feeling within. This feeling is created within a person, in his heart or mind. When looking at an external object, looking at a friend, hearing a very beautiful sound or a devotional song, feelings of love, joy, completeness, or satisfaction are created. But it is dependent. You hear beautiful music and you feel love and joy, but real love is to perceive divinity within, independent of any external factor. That love which is called devotion or pure love is only experienced through channeling or directing your emotion toward God. Emotion that is transformed in God consciousness becomes devotion. Love which you feel seeing your wife or husband, your children or friend, becomes more physical and worldly, but it can become more spiritual when you feel the power of God in a person. In your little baby you see the power of God, how the power of God is breathing. You observe the breath of your child as well as your own breath. You feel oneness – we are breathing same air, and the same power of God that is in me is in my child. That love brings more devotion, more gratefulness to God. This is pure love. Through worldly love or love of your relations, you can develop spiritually. This is what love is. Jesus said, “God is love.” When you have love, you forget everything and you are merged in God consciousness.

Source: page 129, The Divine Quest - Paramhansa Hariharananda

What is the difference between calmness and divinity?

I usually say calmness is godliness. Be careful of too much distraction; it will create trouble for you. When the mind is free from the temptest of temptation, it brings calmness within. This calmness is the first step, and divinity is the next step; so if you want to experience divinity, first become calm. To make yourself calm, have mastery over own body. The human body is restless, so keep your body still in your prayer and meditation. Then you can slowly regulate your breath. Breath is ordinarily unconsciously used, so people become a slave to their own breath, their own mind. A yogi can, through conscious breathing and regulated breath, bring calmness into him or herself with calmness of the body, slow, feeble breath, and calmness of the mind. The ordinary mind is restless and extrovert, running here and there. But a spiritual mind is peaceful, loving, and prayerful. When you meditate nicely you can really achieve calmness, and through calmness you can experience divinity. Calmness is godliness. Restlessness is human quality.

Source: page 127, The Divine Quest – Paramhansa Hariharananda

What is Yoga? Explained

The simple meaning of yoga is union. To be with someone or something is union, and this is yoga. For example if you are hungry and want to have food, being united with food is the appeasement of hunger. If you are tired and want to relax, being united with your bed is also yoga.

Ordinarily people think yoga means physical exercise or breathing techniques, but it is a philosophy of life. It is the art of perfect living. You are continuously united. In every breath you are united with cosmic energy. In every thought you are united with the power of thought. If you have good thoughts then you have more joy. If you have bad thoughts you feel unhappy or demoralized. In daily life we are united with both people and material objects.

The first union begins with the soul and body. If you understand your existence, you realize that you exist because of this union. Your total being is nothing but the union of body and soul; the union of soul with the mind and the union of soul with thought. This union is continuously with you.

The second level of union is the union with breath. You feel union through the

breath when you are united with the outer world, whether it is with family members, friends or colleagues, in the work place in the environment, with different objects, or with material things you have accumulated in your life.

When one observes this union in daily life, one does not feel incomplete, "I do not want to be a limited person, I want to be united with an unlimited source of life and energy." The ultimate state of yoga is to be united with divinity, with God. That is why it is said that the real union between the individual soul and the universal self, or God, is the ultimate end of yoga. Hence, this is the first meaning of yoga as union.

The second meaning of yoga is to discipline your life, discipline your lifestyle, discipline your desires, discipline your day to day activities and discipline your thoughts. Through discipline you can develop a higher state of living and a higher state of consciousness. This art of union, starting with the body, then the outer world and with people, and ultimately God, can be easily experienced and realized if one lives a life of discipline.

The third meaning of yoga is realization. It is said that yoga is the state of realization. Through this union you realize. First you realize that you are the soul living in the body, not the body itself. The body is changing but you are the changeless soul. You are united with the soul. You are also united with family and friends, but that is only temporary. Realize the temporariness of outer relationships and the outer world. To realize the one's essential divinity and to be united with God is the eternal union and the ultimate state of yoga. Yoga is a philosophy of life, and its practical aspect is to do special exercises, special breathing techniques and the special art of meditation. Thus yoga has different levels of understanding.

- Paramhansa Hariharananda of Kriya Yoga

Source: Stitha Prajna Vol 8, Issue 3, April 2010

Do you believe in caste system?

It is not a question of believing or disbelieving. I was born there and the caste system exits there. I was raised in that caste structure. There are no true caste system, we are children of God (from spiritual standpoint). We have only one real caste, our real nature, and we are all divine. For me, there is no distinction between castes, creed, colours, races or languages. To me, all are God’s children and all are divine, but as some people do not practice spiritual discipline systematically, their potential divinity is not being manifested. In my understanding of human beings, there is no distinction of caste.

 

When you pray, meditate, are devoted to God and study the scriptures, you are a brahmin. When you are doing work to take care of your physical body, such as exercise, you are like a warrior. When you go to  work to earn money or go shopping, you are like a businessman. When you take a shower, shave your face and comb your hair, you are like a shudra, the helping class.

 

When you are always God Conscious, the inner spiritual meaning is that you are a brahmin. When you are working to eliminate your weakness, trying to kill your weakness, fighting with your inner evil, you are a warrior, a kshatriya. When you use your time in a very calculated and disciplined way, you are a businessman; time is capital. When you are trying to develop the qualities of spirituality, love service, kindness and compassion, then you are in the forth category, a servant, who serves people.

 

In the inner meaning of depending upon your personal traits, qualities and your activities.

 

Source: Page 51, The Divine Quest by Paramhansa Hariharananda of Kriya Yoga.

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Who is Brahmin?

The caste system was developed long ago in India as a division of society based on the quality of a person’s personality and the type of work they do. There were four castes, or categories of people. In the Bhagvad Gita (4:13), it says:

chaturvarnam maya srushtam gunakarmavibhagashah

tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam

 

“the system of four castes has been created by Me, based on the differentiation of qualities and actions. Although I am the creator of all these, know Me as a non-agent (the one who has not done anything- akartaram) and immutable (avyayam – without any body)

i.e. I am without caste and body and I have not done anything.

Guna means quality and karma means activity, or work. Brahmins were the first group of people and were considered to be peaceful, calm, quiet, and spiritual and their work includes study, teaching, and priestly activities. This is the simple meaning of Brahmin, but the real meaning is “Self Realised” those who are on the path of truth. Brahman janati iti brahmanah: on who knows brahman, or realizes brahman is really brahman or becomes brahman or is not different than brahman. Brahmins usually lead strict and disciplined spiritual lives, practising different religious rites and rituals and helping people to live a religious and spiritual life.

Source: page 50-51, “The Divine Quest” by Paramhansa Hariharananda of Kriya Yoga

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