Seven Stages of Jnana

 

There are seven stages of Jnana or the seven Jnana Bhumikas.

 

First, Jnana should be developed through a deep study of Atma Jnana Sastras and association with the wise and the performance of virtuous actions without any expectation of fruits. This is Subheccha or good desire, which forms the first Bhumika or stage of Jnana. This will irrigate the mind with the waters of discrimination and protect it. There will be non-attraction or indifference to sensual objects in this stage. The first stage is the substratum of the other stages.

 

From it the next two stages, viz., Vicharana and Tanumanasi will be reached. Constant Atma Vichara (Atmic enquiry) forms the second stage.

 

The third stage is Tanumanasi. This is attained through the cultivation of special indifference to objects. The mind becomes thin like a thread. Hence the name Tanumanasi. Tanu means thread - threadlike state of mind. The third stage is also known by the name Asanga Bhavana. In the third stage, the aspirant is free from all attractions. If any one dies in the third stage, he will remain in heaven for a long time and will reincarnate on earth again as a Jnani.

The above three stages can be included under the Jagrat state.

 

The fourth stage is Sattvapatti. This stage will destroy all Vasanas to the root. This can be included under the Svapana state. The world appears like a dream. Those who have reached the fourth stage will look upon all things of the universe with an equal eye.

 

The fifth stage is Asamsakti. There is perfect non-attachment to the objects of the world. There is no Upadhi or waking or sleeping in this stage. This is the Jivanmukti stage in which there is the experience of Ananda Svaroopa (the Eternal Bliss of Brahman) replete with spotless Jnana. This will come under Sushupti.

 

The sixth stage is Padartha Bhavana. There is knowledge of Truth.

 

The seventh stage is Turiya, or the state of superconsciousness. This is Moksha. This is also known by the name Turiyatita. There are no Sankalpas. All the Gunas disappear. This is above the reach of mind and speech. Disembodied salvation (Videhamukti) is attained in the seventh stage.

Remaining in the certitude of Atma, without desires, and with an equal vision over all, having completely eradicated all complications of differentiations of 'I' or 'he', existence or non-existence, is Turiya.

 

Now-a-days there are plenty of 'Talking Brahman'. No flowery talk or verbosity can make a man Brahman. It is constant, intense, earnest Sadhana and Sadhana alone can give a man direct Aparoksha Brahmic realization (Svanubhava or Sakshatkara) wherein he sees Brahman just as he sees the solid white wall in front of him and feels Brahman, just as he feels the table behind him. Practice, practice, practice and become established in Brahman.

 

- Swami Sivananda

Source: http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/jnanayoga.htm#seven

 

Technorati Tags: Spirituality,sivananda,jnana,meditation,self realization,self realisation

Power of ‘Ram Naam’

‘Ram Naam’ is a blessing which millions of Hindus have treasured in their hearts since ages past. It is the supreme purifier of the mind of man, the bestower of perennial joy, the giver of peace and the key to the gate of Immortality. The Ramarahasyopanishad says that the letters ‘Ra’ and ‘Ma’ are the essence of the two most important Mantras, viz., Ashtakshara and Panchakshara, which, when the letters ‘Ra’ and ‘Ma’ are removed from them, respectively, not only lose their primary meaning but give the opposite meaning. When Ram Nam is chanted, a significant change takes place in the entire organism of the person chanting it. There is a twofold effect product by the utterance of the Divine Name.

The Mantra Sakti or the power generated by the juxtaposition (dictionary meaning: The act of positioning close together) of the letters of the Mantra and by the utterance of the same, the whole nervous system of the chanter of the Mantra is set in vibration—a vibration which brings about rhythm, harmony and equilibrium in it. When the nervous system is in such a harmonized state, the breath, too flows rhythmically and the mind rests in a state of tranquillity. It is in this peaceful state of the mind that the divine Consciousness is reflected and the supernal joy of the Eternal is experienced.

The idea of the Divine Being generated in the mind at the time of the repetition of the Name, gives a direct fillip to the mind in its attempt to unite itself with the Divine Being. The nervous system is in a state of perfect harmony when the vibration produced by the chanting of the Divine Name pervades it with a force of integration. The Divine Name is not merely a sound; it is a force which can overcome all the destructive forces in the human system and render it pure and make it fit for the experience of Sattva, the highly transparent medium through which the Immortal Being is reflected.

Ram Nam like the Ashtakshara or the Dvadasakshara Mantras, is a powerful aid in destroying the animal passions in man. Passions are agitative forces, and Ram Nam is a tranquil force. When one adheres to Ram Nam with exclusive and genuine devotion, it becomes the destroyer of all pains. But one’s faith must not be divided between two or more Mantras. One should stick to ‘Ram Nam’ with full confidence in it. The more the faith and concentration, the quicker does the Lord’s Name destroy the evils in man. The votary of Rama prays:

"Apadam-apahartaram dataram sarva sampadam; Lokabhiramam Sri Ramam bhuyo bhuyo namamyaham—I prostrate myself, again and again, before Sri Rama, the Saviour from all calamities, the Giver of all prosperity, the Delight of the world." Such is the glory of Ram Nam. It bestows on one the beatitude of Absolute Independence or Kaivalya. But Ram Nam should not be used for the sake of obtaining worldly ends. Ram Nam is the saviour of man from the afflictions of mortality itself. It raises man from all penury and exalts him to the status of an undaunted sovereign over himself. Why do you use a gun to destroy a mosquito? Ram Nam can cure the disease of Samsara itself; what to speak of lesser wants and turmoils. Therefore, use Ram Nam as a Moksha Mantra and not as a servant to fetch you the glittering glass-pieces shining in the form of the objects of the world. Ram Nam is the guardian in your body, protecting you at all times against all attacks, preserving your purity and virtue, and warding off the inimical urges of desire, passion and anger.

The repetition of the Mantra should be done with Bhava or deep feeling. A tremendous effect is produced when repetition of the name is attended with a consciousness of the relation of the chanter to the deity of the Name. This, however, does not mean that a mechanical repetition of the Mantra without feeling is absolutely devoid of all beneficial results. The Name is potent enough to cause a change in the psychological and the physical being of man even when it is mechanically repeated. Ram Nam is a Mantra, and a Mantra is formed by significant letters, which by the very fact of their being uttered, produce a result, even if this result may not be directly connected with the consciousness of the chanter of the Mantra. There is a very peculiar process of physical and psychical transformation taking place at the time when the Mantra is repeated. Unconscious and mechanical repetition produces no direct psychical change, but causes biological change through the nervous system which is immediately influenced by the vibrations set up by the chanting of the Mantra, and these biological changes indirectly, bring about psychological changes; for these two natures in man are related to each other as effect and cause, respectively and the effects are so intimately related to their causes that any change in the effects will be felt by the causes, and vice versa.

The devotee should not test the Lord by the chanting of His Name. For example, one should not use the Name as an excuse for the deliberate perpetration of evil acts. The Name can overcome the effects of even such acts, but the implications of such acts would be that the devotee who uses the Name thus has not genuine aspiration and devotion to the Lord, and his mind is still being attracted to things other than those that pertain to the Lord and to His Way. Hence the condition for chanting the Divine Name is well laid out.

"Trinadapi sunichena tarorapi sahishnuna, Amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih—He who is humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, who does not crave for respect, but respects others, is the one fit to repeat the Name of Hari."

God helps those who help themselves. The best possible effort that one is capable of exercising under the intellectual circumstances provided by God should be put forth, and only beyond this effort, should one seek the grace of God. Idleness is not self-surrender. Surrender of the self to God becomes complete only when the individual consciousness is flooded over the love for the Divine. God’s grace descends when the efforts exercised are found to be inadequate for the realisation of God.

Ram Nam has a transforming effect not only on the psycholgical but also the biological personality. Even physical ailments can be overcome by the chanting of the Divine Name. Ram Nam is unfailing in its action, infallible in its operation. Ram Nam, properly understood, is the same as Omkara, the symbol of the Absolute, and Rama to the true devotee is the Absolute itself. Sri Rama is all-pervading; He is in the heart of all beings as the Antaryamin. What a power and glory should His Name possess! Even ordinary names of things of the world have the power of stimulating a corresponding mode of consciousness in man. How much more powerful should the Name of God be!

Saint Tulasidas says: The name is even superior to the Lord, because the Nirguna and Saguna aspects of Brahman are tasted and realised by the power of the Name. Rama delivered a single woman, Ahalya, while His Name has purified crores of wicked people. Rama gave salvation to two of his faithful servants, Jatayu and Sabari, but His Name has been the saviour of countless wicked persons. Blessed is the son and blessed are his parents who remember Sri Rama in whatsoever way it may be. Blessed are even the Chandalas who repeat the Name of Rama day and night. What is the use of high birth to one who does not repeat Ram Nam!

What a mighty power is latent in Ram Nam! Only those who are endowed with devotion know it. The scientists now declare that sound vibrations have such a tremendous force that they can direct this power to silk fabrics and clean them of all dirt more thoroughly than a washerman can.

The moment you utter the word Rama, the form of the Lord is aroused in your consciousness. So the advanced devotees say that the Divine Name is the exclusive support of those afflicted by the tribulations of Samsara.

The Valmiki Ramayana is the standard history of Sri Ram:

"Vedavedye pare punsi jate Dasarathatmaje; vedah prachetasadasit sakshadramayanatmana.—Verily, a Veda by itself was revealed by Maharshi Valmiki, in the form of Ramayana when the Supreme Being, to be known through the Vedas, manifested Himself as the son of Dasaratha." The Ramayana of Valmiki is a majestic epic, expounding Dharma by way of depicting the great heroic life of the ideal person, Sri Rama. The greatness of the Valmiki Ramayana cannot be adequately described. It is a huge didactic poem which has its main aim in constraining people to follow the path of righteousness, and towards this end, it employs the popular technique of appealing to the hearts of people by narrating in a homely style, the story of a life devoted to Dharma. The picturesque life of Sri Rama described by Valmiki is a grand glorification of the greatness of Sri Rama. Hence the Ramayana is in a way an expanded form of the Name and glory of Sri Rama.

The hearing or the study of the Ramayana is a contemplation on the various divine qualities of Sri Rama, which purifies the mind of man and renders it spiritual.

May Sri Ramachandra bless all with spiritual illumination, prosperity and Kaivalya Moksha!

Source: http://www.dlshq.org/books/es226.htm

Technorati Tags: Ram nam,rama,chanting,japa,ramayana,valmiki,tulsidas,adhtyatma,spirituality,hinduism

Universal Prayer by Swami Sivananda

O adorable Lord of mercy and love,

Salutations and prostrations unto Thee.

Thou art omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient;

Thou are Satchidananda, Truth, Knowledge, and Bliss;

Thou art the Indweller of all beings.


Grant us an understanding heart,

Equal vision, balanced mind,

Faith, devotion, and wisdom.

Grant us inner spiritual strength

To resist temptations and to control the mind.

Free us from egoism, lust, greed, and hatred,

Fill our hearts with divine virtues.


Let us behold Thee in all these names and forms,

Let us serve Thee in all these names and forms,

Let us ever remember Thee,

Let us ever sing Thy glories,

Let Thy name be ever on our lips,

Let us abide in Thee for ever and ever.


- Swami Sivananda

Source: http://www.writespirit.net/authors/swami_sivananda/writings_sivananda/universal_prayer/

Quotes on Bhakti - Swami Sivananda

God can be realised through faith, devotion, surrender and
meditation. Trust in the Lord. Surrender yourself to Him. He will
bless you with peace and plenty. He will bestow upon thee all health,
prosperity and success.

Worship the Lord with true devotion. Lead a life of purity, humility
and selflessness. Remember God. Take His name always. Meditate upon
Him. Know the Lord to be the one reality in the midst of unreal
things.

Think often of God, by day and by night. He is always near you and
with you - He dwells in the chambers
of your heart.

Swami Sivananda

The Secret Of Self-Realisation

81. DESIRELESSNESS

Absolute desirelessness is the criterion of perfection.
Absolute desirelessness is the test of Jeevanmukti.
Brahman is all-full and self-contained.
All desires melt in Brahman.
Desire is born of ignorance.
When one has attained the all-full Brahman
How can there be even the least trace of desire in him?
Desirelessness brings supreme Peace,
Eternal satisfaction and Immortal bliss,
Perennial joy and unalloyed felicity.
Meditate on Brahman and become desireless.

82. METHOD OF NIRGUNA MEDITATION

Thoughts of objects, thoughts of body, etc.,
Are antagonistic to those of Brahman or the Infinite.
They stand in the way of meditation.
When you meditate on the Absolute
Such foreign ideas must be excluded.
This is Vijateeya Vritti Tiraskara,
A stream of ideas of the same kind
As those of Brahman must be encouraged.
This is Sajateeya Vritti Pravaha.

83. FORMULA FOR NIRGUNA MEDITATION

Meditate constantly and intensely:
I am that Brahman or the Intelligence Absolute.
Bliss Absolute, Existence Absolute,
Formless like ether or Akasa,
Immutable, unattached, all-pervading,
Ever free, Infinite, Immortal, Eternal,
Self-effulgent, self-luminous, self-contained,
Birthless, decayless, deathless, changeless,
Timeless, spaceless, limitless, secondless.

84. CHIDABHASA'S SOLILOQUY

O Kutastha, salutations unto Thee.
I am Chidabhasa, Thy reflection in the intellect.
I am Jiva or the individual soul.
Thou art Para Brahman or the Absolute.
I joined the company of mind, senses and body,
And ruined myself completely.
I forgot entirely my essential divine nature,
My identity with Thee.
I identified with the intellect, the senses and the body.
I became very proud and egoistic.
I thought "I am the doer and the enjoyer",
And reaped the fruits of pleasure, pain and sorrow.
I took countless births.
I took on myself the attributes of intellect and body.
As I am Thy reflection;
I superimposed Thy attributes on body and intellect.
I thought "Body and intellect are the imperishable Self."
What a terrible mistake I did!
Now I have realised my folly.
I have developed discrimination.
I ever meditate on Thee.
I am ashamed to show my face now.
Like the man whose nose was cut.
Pray forgive all my mistakes.
Through constant meditation on Thee
I have become like Thyself.
I now realise "I am neither the doer nor the enjoyer".
Let me merge in Thee now.
Sivoham, Sivoham, Sivah Kevaloham.

85. KRAMA MUKTI AND SADYO MUKTI

Bhaktas attain Krama Mukti.
Or progressive emancipation.
They go to Brahmaloka
And get initiation into Vedanta by Brahma.
They merge in Brahman along with Brahma
At the end of a Maha Kalpa.
Those students of Jnana Yoga,
Who have failed to attain Jeevanmukti,
Go to Brahmaloka and attain Krama Mukti.
Those Jnana Yoga students,
Who have failed to attain Jeevanmukti,
Whose Vasanas are destroyed (Vasana Kshaya),
Do not attain Jeevanmukti
But they attain Videhamukti.
Those Bhaktas like Sri Rama Krishna.
Who at first realise Saguna Brahman
But who later on realise the Nirguna Brahman,
Attain Sadyo Mukti like the Vedantins.
A Jnani attains Sadyo Mukti
Or Kaivalya, instantaneous emancipation;
He merges in the Nirguna Brahman.

86. NATURE OF LIBERATION

The Mimamsikas, Jaimini and Sahara
Do not concern themselves with Mukti.
For Prabhakara it is a negative conception.
It is a total disappearance
Of Dharma and Adharma,
And consequent escape from rebirth.
It is not a state of positive bliss.
It is a cessation of pain and pleasure also.
For Kumarila Bhatta
Release cannot be eternal
Unless it is negative in character.

Vedanta asserts that liberation
Is perfect freedom from all sorts of pains
And is attainment of supreme, eternal bliss.
Sarva-duhkha- nivritti and Paramananda- prapti.

87. KNOWER OF BRAHMAN

Sthitha-Prajna, Bhagavata,
Gunatita, Brahmana,
Ativarnashrami, Jeevanmukta,
Atma-Vit, Brahma-Vit, Tattwa-Vit—
All are synonymous terms.
All have attained Self-realisation.
Sthitha-Prajna is one who is stable in wisdom.
Bhagawata is a God-realised devotee.
Gunatita is one who has crossed over the Gunas.
Brahmana is a knower of Brahman,
And not who is a Brahmin by caste.
Ativarnashrami is one who is beyond caste and order.
Jeevanmukta is one who is free while living.
Atma-Vit is a knower of Atma.
Brahma-Vit is a knower of Brahman.
Tattwa-Vit is a knower of the Supreme Tattwa or Reality.

88. JEEVANMUKTA

A Jeevanmukta is free from all bondages.
He is established in Brahman.
Though he has eyes, he is as one without eyes.
Though he has ears, he is as one without ears.
Though he is associated with the body,
He is ever untouched by ignorance or its effects.
He is free from doubts, errors, etc.
Humility, non-violence, courage, etc.,
Divine attributes which are steps
To the attainment of knowledge,
Persist in him like so many ornaments.
He does not consider the objects as real,
Because he has already known their nothingness.

89. JIVANMUKTI AND VIDEHAMUKTI

A Jivanmukta has slight objective experience.
The world of names and forms has not entirely vanished for him.
But he sees the world within himself.
He is not affected by the names and forms.
He has no attachment for anything.
He sees his disciples,
And gives them spiritual instructions.
Sukadeva instructed Parikshit.
Yajnavalkya instructed Raja Janaka.
He knows that all names and forms are unreal.
Just as the man, who knows "This is only mirage",
Is not affected by the mirage
And will not run for obtaining water from the mirage,
So also a Jivanmukta will not run after sense-objects.
A Videhamukta has no objective experience.
He cannot give spiritual instructions.
He has merged himself in Brahman.
The world has entirely vanished for him.
One attains Jivanmukti while living.
Videhamukti comes after the mortal coil is thrown off.

90. JEEVANMUKTA' S INFLUENCE

If one attains Jeevanmukta or Absolution,
His wife and mother become males in the next birth,
His bad deeds of Prarabdha are taken
By those who vilify him.
His good deeds of Prarabdha are taken
By those who serve and praise him.
This is vicarious enjoyment of Prarabdha—
Suffering in place of or for the sake of another.


Source:
THE SECRET OF SELF-REALISATION
By Sri Swami Sivananda
Chapter IX, 81-90

Vedanta is Living Experience

Vedanta has become a very comfortable philosophy, because one can do whatever he chooses and eat whatever he likes. Licentiousness is mistaken for a life of expansion. If a man can eat anything in any hotel in any part of the world, if he can move socially with any man or woman, that does not mean, he is a Vedantin. There is much tall talk of Vedanta nowadays. There is idle Vedantic gossiping. But there is no practical Vedanta. Nobody wants to do any real solid Vedantic Sadhana. Man feels ashamed to call himself a Bhakta, but he takes great pride in calling himself a Yogi or a Vedantin, because he foolishly imagines he will be respected by the public. Many ignorant Vedantins have mistaken the body for Brahman and hence there is corruption amongst the so-called loose Vedantins. This is not only lamentable but also highly deplorable.

Wholesale preaching of Vedanta to the Masses is not advisable. It will result in chaos, bewilderment and stagnation. Grasping of Vedantic principles and a right understanding of the philosophy and Sadhana are very difficult. Vedanta is for a select few who are equipped with the four means of salvation or Sadhana Chatushtaya and who have removed the impurities of their minds and mental oscillation through constant practice of Nishkama Karma Yoga and Upasana. The path of Vedanta is not so easy as it is generally supposed to be. It is a sharp razor-edge path. Therefore, those who preach Vedanta to the masses do more harm than any good. They are misleading the people.

It is very, very easy to say, "Soham—I am He, Sivoham—I am Siva, Aham Brahma Asmi—I am Brahman" like a parrot, but to live in the very spirit of Vedanta, to feel the oneness or unity of consciousness, to become ‘That’ in reality and to radiate the Brahmic Bliss, Joy and Peace is an extremely difficult affair. While repeating ‘Soham’, if his mind is easily upset when another utters a single harsh word, and if he begins to fight with that man vehemently, there is no use at all in that repetition. It is mere hypocrisy. He will not be able to influence others. People will take him for a cheat.

Vedanta is not merely a concept or a dogma. It is neither a theory nor a dry philosophy for contention and argumentation. It is the actual life of perennial joy in Brahman or Truth. A single practical Vedantin like Sankara could move the whole world. A practical Vedantin will outweigh a thousand and one Sandows when weighed in a balance. A practical Vedantin possesses tremendous inner spiritual strength. The whole world rejoices at the sight of a real practical Vedantin. Practical Vedanta is a living experience, the melting of the individual self in the ocean of consciousness or the Supreme Self. The experiencer exclaims with inexpressible joy, "All indeed is Brahman. All differences, distinctions, qualities have vanished. I see Brahman and Oneness everywhere. I am Brahman."

Sri Swami Sivananda

Source: http://www.dlshq.org/discourse/may2008.htm