Sean Bradrick is an Ayurvedic counselor, yogi and poet. Author of ‘A Hindu`s Guide to Advocacy & Activism: Fighting the Narrative War’ and the upcoming ‘Awakening the Hindu Mind’, and ‘Meditation for Mental Health: A Path to Clarity’

(All material is copyrighted & the intellectual property of Sean M. Bradrick)

List of articles

~ Nature Can Cause and Heal Disease

~ Meditation Education & Ashtanga (Raja) Yoga

~ A Brief History of Meditation

~ What Does Meditation Do According to Modern Science

~ What Meditation Is and What It Is Not

~ Do You Think You Can Meditate?

~ Meditation and Mental Health

~ Atma Vichara (Self Inquiry) 

~ How and Why to Chant Aum

~ Ayurvedic Pathology: Whey We Get Sick

~ Ayurvedic Psychology & Elemental Dharma

~ Psychological Applications of Meditation

~ Overcoming Fear, Depression, & Anxiety

~ Under Pressure: Ayurveda & Hypertension 

~ Staying Cool & Treatment for Excess Pitta

~ Ayurveda and Modern Medicine 

~ Sankhya in a Nutshell

~ Temple of the Heart: The Power of Kindness

~ The Maya of Thought, Time, and Place

~ Imagination is More Important than Knowledge

~ Mantra 101

~ Japa & Bija Mantra Recitation: The Four Seed Syllables of the Goddess

~ Everyday Maya: The Parody of Truth

~ The Dharma of Quantum Physics

~ Welcome to Your Path: Advice for the New & Potential Dharmi

~ Transcending Suffering & Understanding Karma

~ What is a Spiritual Person?

~ My Path to the Hindu Dharma & Vedic Living

~ Can an Atheist Be Hindu? Can a Hindu Be Non-Theistic?

~ Religion, Dogma, & Spirituality 

~ Is it Necessary to Reconcile Dvaita & Advaita, or Duality & Non-Duality?

Nature Can Cause and Heal Disease

Nature, her elements and patterns can be a great teacher for those with ears to hear and eyes to see.  Actually, all of our five senses are connected to the corresponding five elements. 

Space or ether are connected to and experienced through the sense of hearing sound.  Go to a place where you can measure an expanse of space... like a mountain top and you'll hear echoes.

Space or ether in motion becomes air or wind and can be experienced through the sense of touch.  Open up a window on a windy day and feel the air brush over you.

Air is a state of motion and/or movement. Motion creates friction, which creates fire. Fire can be felt, but before that it can be seen.  A distant forest fire can be seen before it's felt.

Fire melts and melds finer as well as grosser elements into liquidity or water. Water can be sensed primarily through taste.  If the tongue is dry and you put salt or sugar on the tongue, the flavor can not be detected.  When the tongue is moist, it brings the flavor to the tongue and then to the brain.

Water brings molecules together in conjunction and creates earth.  Earth is experienced through the sense of smell.  The smell of rain isn't actually the smell of the rain water, it is the smell of the earth evaporating.

These five senses and these five elements each have particular qualities that can be measured and willfully adjusted through lifestyle, diet, herbal medications, aromas, various Yogic practices and the like.

This is the basis of Ayurvedic medicine which then finds its basis in the Samkhya dharshana.

Meditation Education & Ashtanga (Raja) Yoga

There are many misconceptions about Yoga and/or meditation, especially in the material-minded West. Many there seem to confuse relaxation and “mindfulness” with Hindu’s meditation-proper, which is primarily of a more exact and technical methodology, and is of a primarily psycho-spiritual nature. This is a typical confusion that happens often between Eastern spirituality and/or Yogic techniques and with vague New Age cliches.

Meditation-proper is Dhyana which naturally leads one to Nirvana or Sattva Samadhi.  Samadhi is built upon Bhakti, structure, effort, service and study, as well as on: Dharana, Pratyahara, Pranayama, Asana, the Niyamas and Yamas. 

So meditation is not something we do, it’s something that occurs naturally because of what we’ve already been doing or practicing…often for many years or even lifetimes.

All the preparation that happens before surgery is preparation, not surgery. All the practice and preparation it takes to be able to sink a hole-in-one, or to play a Led Zeppelin song on the guitar, is practice and preparation for actually doing so. A rule also applies that if one practices wrong, one will probably play wrong. The same can be said about meditation and/or Yoga-proper.

To say that meditation can be practiced without ending the modifications of the mind, or without a spiritual and/or religious connection is incorrect. This is a Western view: take that which is sacred, singular and profound to Hindus and twist it around, turn it into something it’s not, divide it up, rename its sections, make it marketable to the masses and then take credit for its invention.

At its core, meditation is the science of Yoga that appears in Hinduism as the very essence of its spiritual practice. It’s not just a simple mental exercise, just as Yoga is not just Asana. Meditation is not a hobby. It’s not something anyone can do anytime they like with or without preparation, or with or without a competent teacher.  It’s not something that takes no effort or can be learned in minutes, or be mastered by next Thursday.

Of course the reader will hear that there are a thousand different kinds of meditation, and that it belongs to the human race without having any sort of radical.  These same people are ones who will say that anything and everything is meditation.  They are also usually the ones who are getting paid and are trying to create a version and vision of themselves as healers, great Yogis or Gurus. 

There is some truth in all this however. The copy of a copy of a copy ad infinitum, will leave the original reader of the copy with pristine direction, while those on the bottom end of it will just have to guess or fill in the blanks, so that meditation/Yoga might fit into their own individual purpose and/or narrow grooves of their understanding. 

It is like that game we played in grade school where the teacher whispers a phrase in the ear of the first child in line, and by the time it’s gotten to the last child it makes no sense…it goes from being something like, “I do know my name”, to “dog breath turtle slime.”  It is for such reasons that tradition and authenticity are important.

So the question has to be asked, ‘do we follow the original that has been practiced by multiple millions throughout many generations without alteration in India and her cultural realm, or do we take a New Age, Christian-like view of meditation/Yoga which has now become a part of popular Western culture used to sell everything from Yoga itself to life insurance and soft drinks. 

Many practitioners, Yogis, New Agers, Spiritual Universalists and Christian meditators will ask “why does any of this matter?”  All they really have to know as far as I’m concerned is that I’m a Hindu and that it does indeed matter to me.  If these people are actually as progressive, moderate and liberal as they like to think they are, that is all that should matter for them to take this article seriously and offer a modicum of attention and respect.  Beyond that, I have already given an explanation for this and now I will continue by offering a tutorial to what Yoga meditation-proper is. From a theoretical and scholarly stance.

There are a few different types of traditional Yoga, and they all connect in some way. Jnana Yoga is the way of contemplation, self inquiry, study and experiential knowledge. Bhakti Yoga is the way of finding god and the true self which is god, purely through devotion. Karma Yoga is the way of action in the service to others and/or the personal Lord, deity or God. Tantra is the way of ritual, mysticism and psychology. Hatha Yoga combines Asana, Pranayama and the quiet focusing of mental energy. Kriya Yoga involves using esoteric and Vedic techniques like visualization, communing with nature and utilizing other Vedic sciences like Ayurveda, Mantra, Jyotish and Laya and/or Yoga Nidra, or Following the currents of sound which present themselves during patterns of sleep. 

Raja (Ashtanga) Yoga is the way or Yoga of meditation. This is also known as Pantanjala Yoga. There are eight limbs of Raja Yoga. The first two limbs construct a foundation for the remaining limbs. The remaining limbs construct a basis for meditation-proper which is the state of meditation itself or Dhyana.  Sustained Dhyana then naturally leads to Nirvana or Samadhi. 

The five Yamas are codes of social conduct, and the five Niyamas or codes of personal conduct. These are the ten primary commitments and practices which make up the Yogic lifestyle. They are to be adapted to the individual practitioner rather than being a one-size-fits all, foreign imposition upon the whole of humanity. They are a part of traditional Dharma, not dogma.  They are simply common-sensible ways to live and behave so as not to bring conflict or chaos into the mind. A mind with conflict and chaos can never reach a meditative state. 

Limb One: The Five Yamas 

(Personal codes of conduct)

1)Ahimsa or non-harming/non-violence

2)Satya or truthfulness/rigorous honesty

3)Brahmacharya or control of sexual energy

4)Asteya or non-stealing, coveting

5)Aparigraha or non-possessiveness/non-attachment

Limb Two: The Five Niyamas

(Social codes of conduct) 

1)Shaucha or cleanliness/purity

2)Santosha or inner contentment, living in one’s truth

3)Tapas or discipline/sacrifice, literally ‘Tapas’ means fire which burns away all but that which is pristine and true

4)Svadhyaya or study/contemplation

5)Ishvara Prandidhana or surrender/sublimation of the ego-self to a god, goddess, truth or “higher power” 

Limb Three: Asana

Asanas are the beautiful physical aspects of Yoga. They are the poses, stretches and attitudes performed by the practitioner. They bring strength, flexibility and balance to the body and mind. They release tension and toxins. Primarily, they provide tonification to the nervous system and alignment to the spine, allowing the practitioner to sit or rest in an upright position while pursuing more mental and spiritual ventures and practices. 

Limb Four: Pranayama 

Prana is the vital life force. We obtain Prana into the body through the breath and diet, into the senses through impressions and into the mind through examination and contemplation on the elements, especially air and ether. 

These previous four branches are called the ‘outer’ limbs of Raja Yoga. The next limb, Pratyahara, is considered to be an inner as well as an outer limb. Limbs six, seven and eight are generally referred to as the ‘inner’ limbs of Raja Yoga.  

Limb Five: Pratyahara 

Pratyahara refers to various methods of managing and internalizing incoming sensory impressions. We learn to have Yogic awareness or discrimination (Viveka) of impressions when we find that some impressions are therapeutic in nature Vs. those that may be detrimental to our health and to our awakening.  In practicing these methods, we can create our own sort of sensory deprivation tank.  That is to say, we become in control of that which is allowed in and that which is kept in our individual awareness.

Limb Six: Dharana 

This refers to the ability to give all our mental energy to the object or idea of our examination. There are various methods to improve and sharpen this natural ability to focus that most of us have lost to some degree or another and through the process of practicing Yoga, regain and develop.

Limb Seven: Dhyana 

This is proper meditation. So there is relaxation, concentration, energization, observation, visualization, contemplation, memorization, mesmerization and disassociation, but none of these are meditation-proper. They are just prerequisites to meditation-proper.  The important thing here is to see how the previous limbs are things that we do, whereas Dhyana or meditation in its truest and purest form, is something that happens as a result of what we do or have already done.

So the Yamas and Niyamas give us a foundation for a Yogic lifestyle. They bring clarity to the mind, purity to the body and strengthen one’s will to stay on the spiritual path of awakening. Asana tonifies the nervous system, preparing it for an abundance of Prana or vital life force. Pranayama builds-up the life force or the energy of awareness and consciousness. Pratyahara internalizes this energy. Dharyana focuses this energy. Sustained focus of this sort naturally leads to Dhyana or the state of meditation-proper. Sustained Dhyana or meditation-proper, then naturally leads to the state of Samadhi or Nirvana, where one’s awareness meets with cosmic consciousness. 

Limb Eight: Samadhi

Samadhi is the state of union or Yoga-proper. Samadhi means ‘absorption’ and refers to the union of the true self (the Atman) and the Paramatman or supreme self.  This may also be described as the union with the comic divine Lord or deity and the individual self, or the union between the microcosm and the macrocosm, or between individual awareness and cosmic consciousness, or the soul and God.

It is the natural ability to be “reborn”, and see all in the self and the self in all.  It is pure truth…pure bliss…pure love.  It is the pure and pristine understanding of all that exists, without effort.  There are various ways of describing this, but it is really beyond words.  Even the most sublime poetry can not properly describe Samadhi.  It simply must be experienced. Once Samadhi is experienced, then there are various types, levels and/or qualities of Samadhi;  from the mundane to the profound, based upon the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas). 

Raja Yoga is the science of meditation and awareness. Every science has two main aspects. One is theorem and the second is practicum.  I have covered a very small portion of the theoretical here and in doing so, have provided a very general map of sorts that can be used by the beginning student of Yoga and meditation as well as by more experienced practitioners. I invite the reader to begin his or her own practice with the help of a qualified teacher and/or a copy of the Yoga Sutras by the Rishi Pantanjali.

A Brief History of Meditation

Philosophies regarding meditation, along with over 100  meditation techniques, began and developed in India. Originally, meditation was a Hindu practice, though it was practiced by the indigenous people of India for about 7,000 years before the term “Hindu” or “Hinduism” came about. So it might be more appropriate to say that meditation originated in the Vedic culture of ancient India, even though it is still an essential practice in Hindu spirituality. 

Veda simply means “knowledge” or “revealed knowledge”. Such knowledge was found by the Himalayan Rishis through trial and error, observation of nature, experimentation, introspection and various other methods. This knowledge evolved and was passed down orally from teacher to student and from parent to child, in lineages that go back many thousands of years. 

They were first put into written form in the Rig Veda and later in the Upanishads, around 6,000 BCE, if not before. Many other traditional texts describing in detail, specific practicums and theorems involving meditation techniques and schools of thought, came after. The Rishi’s core philosophical concept, still shared by Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Toaists and Sihks, is that the innermost and true nature of the Self, is pure spirit, energy or consciousness. The goal of Vedantic and Yogic meditation, is to come to an experiential realization of this phenomenon. 

The Vedic scholars and yogis of ancient India realized that the natural world, including our bodies, were made up of the five elements. They also thought that our minds were made up of subtle forms of these elements, and that each of the five elements related to one of our five senses. So yoga and meditation practices were thought to internalize and purify the five elements found in the body and mind, the five senses and what they considered to be the sixth sense, which is the mind itself. They found that such practices altered the structure and function of the mind, in a therapeutic manner.

This knowledge and these techniques made their way to Tibet and China and combined with Toaist practices and philosophy, when Indian Buddhists migrated to these countries from India, around 400 BCE. From the East, such teachings and practices eventually made their way via the Silk Road to the Middle East, around 130 BCE. The Vedic and yogic philosophies, along with meditative practices and yoga, made their way to North America, England and France, but not until the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

Currently, some form of meditation is practiced by people of all the world’s major religions, by various people around the world who observe their native or indigenous spiritual traditions, by followers of the New Age movement, Universalists, transcendentalists, followers of modern spirituality, agnostics and atheists.

What Does Meditation Do According to Modern Science

Neuroscience has shown that meditation practices dampen activity in our amygdala and increases the connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. These parts of the brain help us to be less reactive to things that cause stress, and help us to recover better from being stressed out in the first place. They have also found that meditation produces the feel-good neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin. One study found a 65 percent increase in dopamine levels in the brains of people who meditated for thirty minutes a day for two weeks, as compared to a control group that didn’t meditate.

Some of the scientific evidence on the effects of meditation is strong and some of it is not absolutely conclusive. In a sense, modern or Western science is catching up to ancient Eastern or Ayurvedic medicine and psychology.  All in all, the hundreds of  studies that have been done by those in the fields of psychology, neuroscience and biology have found that meditation can be effective for reducing stress, promoting relaxation, decreasing symptoms associated with depression and anxiety, reducing symptoms associated with trauma and grief, improving concentration and memory, helping to treat insomnia, increasing IQ, increasing emotional regulation, improving mental clarity, coping with chronic pain and improving attention span. 

Meditation and other yogic techniques and theories have been used in psychology for much longer than we might think. Their application and practice have been more relevant than we might think. After Carl Jung, perhaps the most important figure in Western psychology visited India, he wrote entire books about the psychology of yoga that long ago mapped the anatomy of the mind. He found and expounded upon Vedic concepts of various levels of the mind or various mental states including: the normative mind, intellect, ego, conditioned consciousness and unconditioned consciousness or super-consciousness.

What Meditation Is and What It Is Not

Meditation is not simply “not thinking”, completely emptying the mind or just going blank. It is not like being under anesthesia. It is cultivating awareness and observing the workings of the mind, without attaching judgments to our various thoughts and emotions. It is softening and expanding the mind, so that the person meditating learns how to break the habits of compulsive, negative and self-defeating thought patterns.

Meditation is not just for mystics who wish to attain enlightenment. It is respectfully used for its spiritual applications and in devotional manners by people of various religions. We can also use meditation solely for its therapeutic value to our minds and bodies. In this presentation, we’ll be focusing on the psychological applications of meditation techniques. 

Meditation is not a way of escaping or ignoring our problems. It’s a way to  bring our attention, mind and senses inward. It’s a way to gain perspective and become untangled from the chaos of everyday life, if just for a few minutes at a time. Our minds and bodies are constantly subjected to changes in the outer world. Meditation brings us inward to a place of constant, but temporary stillness. In a way, we are like computers. Sometimes when we seem to malfunction, we just need to unplug for a short time. Our problems will still be there when we plug back in, though we may see them in a new light. 

Meditation can open our minds and allow new insights to arise. We’ve probably all experienced times of aggravation and confusion that were relieved by a good night’s sleep. Regular practice of meditation works in a similar way. This is because meditation produces theta waves in the brain, similar to the theta waves produced in REM sleep. With regular practice, we can reach deeper states of meditation that can produce delta waves in the brain, similar to the delta waves produced in the state of deep sleep. Meditation has also been shown to  relax our sympathetic nervous systems, lessening our ‘fight or flight’ response and allowing us to experience a calm state of mind. 

Lastly, meditation is not magic, mind control, trance or hypnosis. People being hypnotized are put into a completely passive and highly suggestible state. The person meditating is fully lucid and responsible for directing his or her own experience, along with positive intentions. There are some advanced meditation and yogic techniques that can be troubling to the mind if someone is not used to the energies they produce. So it’s recommended to start with basic forms of meditation practices, to take your time with them, to use them in a gentle manner and to not force progress. The restorative properties of meditation should be understood and respected. It is of the utmost importance to learn about meditation and practice it under the direction of an experienced instructor.

Do You Think You Can Meditate? 

I’ve heard many people say that they don’t think they can meditate. This is often due to a person thinking that meditating is going straight from their normal state of mind, directly to a state of pure mental stillness; or going straight from an aggravated state of mind, to a state of bliss. Actually, even very experienced practitioners of meditation cannot do this. Meditation is a practice and a process that can lead one to pure serenity and to ecstatic states, but this can take much practice.

When we see someone sitting in a cross-legged position, with eyes closed, back straight and hands held in a particular gesture, it is not likely they are actually in one of these states. What they are most likely doing is trying to reach such states, using various mental techniques or exercises. Some of these involve relaxation, introspection, self inquiry, visualization, contemplation, concentration and observation. All these have their own therapeutic value but they are considered to be pre-meditation practices, or prerequisites to reaching the actual state of meditation proper. 

Sometimes, the practitioner can get close to that state they seek and the only things keeping them from reaching it are that they’re trying too hard, wanting it too much or making the process more complicated than it has to be. In this presentation and in my classes, we’ll be keeping it simple. I’ll be directing participants through guided meditations, but there is no right or wrong way to proceed with these initial exercises. After students get the gist of how the meditation process works, they can take what I teach home with them. They can adjust it as they  like and make it their own personal and individual therapy.

Meditation and Mental Health

The brain is an instrument of the mind. The mind is an instrument of awareness. In meditative states we start to observe the true or original nature of the mind itself, beyond constant thought patterns, emotions, ego and self talk. With regular practice, we can cultivate awareness, compassion, patience, relief,  mental space or expansion, energy, creativity and a sense of ease. 

Again, meditation for our purposes, is not really about the complete absence of thought. The state of the spotless mind is actually a step up from meditation, and only comes when one gets to the point where he or she can sustain a steady mindful state for an extended period of time. Meditation practice is more about developing the mind as a sort of witness who watches and knows of the thinking, but does not become caught or entangled in the thinking. It is of the mind, but is not affected by the wandering thoughts in the mind.

As people with mental health issues, we can wake up in the morning and before we even remember who we are, something feels wrong. Before we identify with ourselves, we can identify with symptoms of our illnesses and our complicated lives. This doesn’t just happen in the mental sphere. When we are regularly prone to various people, places and things that can trigger stress, our minds become turbulent while at the same time our bodies, including our brains, are flooded with stress hormones. 

So, developing a meditation practice can help us heal,  both mentally and physically. Having such a practice can be a main ingredient in the recipe for a balanced and healthy lifestyle, along with eating nutritious foods, spending time in nature, exercising, practicing sleep hygiene and having a healthy social life.

Atma Vichara (Self Inquiry)

Many are not familiar with the practice of Atma Vichara, the depths of self inquiry, which is a popular South Indian, Hindu practice. Its main form is found in asking one's self, "Who am I?" It works by negation. It poses this constant inquiry to the practitioner…"Who am I” and “Who or what am I not?". Neti neti. Not this, not that.

Its basic philosophy states that the modifications of the mind, which creates ego, is a foreign imposition. It finds its basis in the Upanishads. The Indian Hindu texts composed from the middle of the 5th century through the 2nd century bce.

In a meditative state as well as in the normative waking state, one continuously asks him or herself the herself questionsuestions such as, “Am I the body? Am I a persona? Am I my character? Am I my qualities? Am I my position in time? Am I my diagnosis? Am I my degree? Am I my title?” So on and so on.

Eventually, one comes to the realization that the "I" is a falsity and a pretense, that the world is maya, and that life is quite performative. One comes to recognize one's self as a spirit, soul, consciousness, and atman. The soul of the soul, interconnected to the Universe. We then come to the realization that we are in a sense, trapped being these things, consuming other things. This realization of being trapped is necessary to ever escape.

You are not the body alone. You are not your persona, intellect, degrees, titles or relationships. You are not your style, appearance, reputation or your sexuality. You are not pain nor pleasure. You are not your actions, words, thoughts or memories. You are not your past or your future. You are not what you've done or left undone. You are not your karma. You are not your apathy, concern, or compassion. You are not your race, ethnicity, or your family tree. You are not your chaos or even your peace. You are not your political bent, your religion, or your dreams. You are not your moods, your ease, or disease. You are not your sins, nor are you your good deeds. You are not your potential, your wins, or losses. You are not what your eyes have seen or what they currently see. You are not your mind or senses, nor are you the continuous impressions they bring in. You are beyond being a god, and you certainly are not of the devil. You are not ego. You are not the subconscious. You are not the books you read. You are not what you've learned or forgotten. You are not what you've created. You are not your career, your caste, your kin, or anything conditional. You are not what you've given or taken.

You are Shakti...You are Atman...You are the universal cosmic person…You are Purusha, absolute love, being, consciousness, and bliss.

As body, mind, or soul, you are a dream; You really are Satchidananda. You are the God of this Universe.

~ Swami Vivekananda

‘I am not what you think I am. You are what you think I am.’

~ The Buddha

How and Why to Chant Aum

Actually it isn’t ‘Om’, but ‘aum-.’ We see the appropriation of yoga dharma, bio-cultural appropriation of Ayurveda, misappropriation of Hindu philosophy and metaphysics by new age self-help authors and performative kirtan. Hindu traditions are absorbed into the west, then regurgitated back to the east in a distorted manner. Even the mantra ‘aum-’ has been affected. Om has its own relevance and importance, but the two mantras are not identical and have different uses and effects.

Unfortunately, many Hindus, both white and brown, have learned about Hindu dharma from a western or Abrahamic lens. Many do not know enough about Indic philosophy, nor Sanskrit terminology to fully comprehend even all the great teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Though Hindus in the east who speak Indic languages stemming from Sanskrit, have an advantage of understanding over those of us who can only study shastra in English.

Some have learned to translate words like ‘dharma’ into ‘religion’, ‘upasana’ into ‘worship’, ‘papam’ into ‘sin’, ’lokas’ into ‘heavens & hells’, ‘shraddha’ into ‘faith’, ‘mantra’ into ‘prayer’, ‘Brahman’ into ‘God’, ‘Aum’ into ‘Om’, ‘bhagavan’ into ’lord’, ‘sannyasi’ into ‘saint’, ‘atma’ into ‘soul’, ‘murti’ into ‘idol’, ‘tridev’ into ‘holy trinity’, or even ‘Sanatana Dharma’ into ‘Hinduism.’ Linguistic distortion can cause some confusion. We can’t expect to learn about apples by studying oranges.

Due to misinformation, the 4-syllable ‘aum-’ has become the 1-syllable ‘Om’. The word is contained within the ‘all ‘of the creation. We know from the Rig Veda and Sankhya philosophy that ‘aum-’ is pranava or the initial, primordial sound. It is contained within all of creation. It is the very vibratory fabric of the entire universe. It is the controller of the life force. It is the only utterance we can make without the movement of the tongue. It is therefore the radical of all languages. In Judaism and Christianity, it became ‘Amen’. In Islam, ‘Amin.’

The first 3 syllables of aum are the ‘Aaaa’ which represents the waking state, the ‘Uuuu’ which represents the dream state, and the ‘Mmmm’ which represents the state of deep sleep. The fourth and most most important syllable is a silent one, which represents Turiya, the transcendent state of the absolute, the witness and pure consciousness that pervades the former 3 states of manas (mind). The Vedas recognize these as the 4 qualities of awareness.

Chanting this maha-bija mantra properly, is a primary Vedic practice. As its syllables relate to the four states of perception, recitation of ‘aum-’ can improve the qualities of consciousness within them. The practitioner can place his/her attention on each state as he/she pronounces each of the first 3 syllables. Then he/she can find a glimpse of samadhi, or a great sense of peace and stillness in the final, silent syllable.

Regular practice of ‘aum-’ recitation, which is the very sound of nature and the cosmos, is highly beneficial to the body, mind and spirit. It balances the mind, the senses, the 5 elements, and the psycho-biological doshas. It brings one gyan (spiritual knowledge), buddhi (clear perception), and viveka (discernment).

In chanting ‘aum-’, we can initially just listen to the sound. Then we can simply feel where the mantra vibrates in the body and mouth. The A- sound vibrates in the solar plexus and the middle pit of the tongue. We can feel the U- sound just above the collar bone and in the back of the throat. We can feel the M- sound on the lips and forehead. 

We can also place our focus just below the navel while sounding the initial ‘Aaaa’ syllable. We can feel the vibration of the manta move upwards through the solar plexus to the hollow of the throat, where the ‘Uuuu’ sound can be felt. The ‘Mmmm’ can be experienced or felt from the eyes upward. In Turiya, we can enjoy a bit of ecstasy while the silent syllable of the mantra gently affects the Sahasrara or crown chakra.

In a more devotional manner, we can use this mantra to focus on Tridev. While focusing on the locations of the body associated with the 4 syllables of ‘aum-’, we can at the same time think on Brahma (creator & creation) while sounding ‘Aaaa’, on Vishnu (preserver & preservation) while sounding ‘Uuuu’, on Shiva and transcendence while sounding ‘Mmmm’, and on Brahman (the absolute) while in the serenity of divine silence.

The Vedas also speak much about the 4 substances of the universe: ojas (matter/water), tejas (light/fire), prana (energy/air), and chit (consciousness/space). While vocalizing the ‘Aaaa’ sound, we can focus on the health of our material bodies. While vocalizing the ‘Uuuu’ sound, we can focus on the health of our minds. While vocalizing the ‘Mmm’ sound, we can focus on the health of our spirit or vivacity. This is an Ayurvedic way to chant ‘aum-.’

‘Aum’ is, hence, the most sacred of sound or mantra. It is the shakti of space, wind, fire, water and earth. Its pronunciation is most blissful.

AYURVEDIC PATHOLOGY: WHY WE GET SICK

AYURVEDA RECOGNIZES FIVE ELEMENTS THAT CONSTRUCT THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE.  THIS INCLUDES THE CONSTRUCT OF OUR PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL BODIES.  WE ARE BORN WITH A UNIQUE BALANCE OF THESE VARIOUS ELEMENTS AND THIS IS OUR OWN DOSHA OR CONSTITUTION.  WHEN THIS REMAINS IN ITS HARMONIOUS STATE, WE EXPERIENCE HEALTH.  HOWEVER, THE ATMOSPHERE, SEASONAL CHANGES, DIET, EMOTIONAL UNREST, LIFESTYLE, CAREER, RELATIONSHIPS AND OUR PATTERNS OF EXERCISE & REST;  ARE FACTORS IN OUR LIVES THAT CONSTANTLY EFFECT THIS NATURAL BALANCE.  ONCE ONE BECOMES AWARE OF ONE'S DOSHA ALONG WITH BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF AYURVEDIC PRINCIPLES, ONE CAN MAKE CONSCIOUS DECISIONS WHICH EITHER KEEP ONE IN HARMONY WITH ONE'S OWN NATURAL BALANCE OR EXACERBATES THE CONDITIONS OF DISORDER.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS ARE ETHER, AIR, FIRE,WATER AND EARTH. FOR THE PURPOSE OF SIMPLICITY AND UNDERSTANDING, AYURVEDA RECOGNIZES THREE MAIN CATEGORIES OF CONSTITUTIONS.  VATA IS A PSYCHO-BIOLOGICAL COMBINATION OF ETHER &AIR.  PITTA IS A COMBINATION OF FIRE & WATER.  KAPHA IS A COMBINATION OF WATER & EARTH.  A PERSON OF VATA DOSHA HAS PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL & MENTAL QUALITIES OF ETHER & AIR.  ONE OF PITTA DOSHA HAS QUALITIES OF FIRE.  ONE OF KAPHA DOSHA HAS QUALITIES OF WATER & EARTH.  FOR EXAMPLE, ONE BORN WITH VATA PREDOMINANCE HAS A VARIANT PERSONALITY, HAS MOOD SWINGS, A LOFTY INTELLECT, COOL DRY SKIN, A THIN BODY STRUCTURE AND A VARIANT APPETITE.  ONE BORN WITH PITTA DOSHA HAS WARM ROSY SKIN, BRIGHT PIERCING EYES, A SHARP BRILLIANT INTELLECT, A FIERY TEMPER AND A COMPETITIVE NATURE. ONE BORN WITH KAPHA PREDOMINANCE IS SLUGGISH, HAS A STRONG MEMORY, IS VERY GROUNDED, HAS A LARGE STURDY BODY FRAME AND IS AN EMOTIONALLY SWEET INDIVIDUAL.  WE ARE PRONE TO DISEASES RELATED TO OUR INDIVIDUAL DOSHA.

SO HOW DO WE BECOME ILL?  MANY FACTORS PLAY A ROLE IN THIS.  THESE FACTORS CAN EITHER BRING US INTO OUR BALANCE OR THROW US OFF OF IT.  AYURVEDA RECOGNIZES THAT LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE AND OPPOSITES DETRACT OR ANTIDOTE ONE ANOTHER.  LET'S TAKE A PERSON OF PITTA DOSHA FOR EXAMPLE.  HE/SHE IS BORN WITH THIS FIERY DOSHA.  HE/SHE LIVES IN A HOT & HUMID AREA, HAS A VERY COMPETITIVE JOB, EATS SPICY FOODS, DRINKS ALCOHOL, EXERCISES AT MID-DAY, SUNBATHES AND SOAKS IN A HOT TUB.  THIS PERSON WILL BEGIN TO HAVE SYMPTOMS OF PITTA RELATED DISORDER.

DUE TO THIS PERSON'S LIFESTYLE, PITTA IN THE FORM OF BILE WILL BEGIN TO ACCUMULATE FROM THE LIVER INTO THE SMALL INTESTINE.  IF THE PITTA IS NOT RELIEVED, IT WILL BECOME AGGRAVATED AND START TO MOVE INTO THE STOMACH AND GALLBLADDER.  AGAIN, IF THE PITTA IS NOT RELIEVED AND THE INDIVIDUAL CONTINUES WITH HIS/HER PITTA-PROMOTING LIFESTYLE, THE DOSHA WILL SPREAD FROM THE STOMACH & GALLBLADDER INTO THE GENERAL CIRCULATION.  IN THIS STATE THE DOSHA IS SEARCHING FOR A WEAK SPACE IN THE BODY IN WHICH TO INFILTRATE.  THIS WEAK SPACE CAN BE CAUSED BY BAD HABITS, EMOTIONAL FACTORS, GENETICS, PAST KARMA AND PAST TRAUMAS.  ONCE THE EXCESS PITTA DOSHA HAS DEPOSITED INTO THIS WEAK SPACE IT BEGINS TO MANIFEST AS A NOTICEABLE DISEASE.  IN THIS STAGE THE DOSHA AND THE TISSUE OF THE WEAK SPACE HAVE COMBINED AND CAUSED CELLULAR CONFUSION.  THIS IS THE SOIL WHERE KARMIC SEEDS OF DISEASE, ONCE LATENT IN THE TISSUE, BEGIN TO SPROUT.  BY THIS TIME, PATHOGENESIS IS IN FULL BLOOM.  IF THE PERSON IS NOT TREATED, HE/SHE WILL EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH CELLULAR DEFORMITY AND STRUCTURAL DISTORTION.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, LIKE INCREASES LIKE AND OPPOSITES DETRACT FROM ONE ANOTHER.  SO IF THIS PITTA PERSON CONTINUES WITH A LIFESTYLE, CAREER, DIET, ETC. THAT HAS PITTA EFFECTS, HE/SHE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE A PROVOCATION OF PITTA IN THE BODY-MIND COMPLEX.  AS OPPOSITES DETRACT FROM ONE ANOTHER, THIS PERSON SHOULD NOT EXERCISE AT THE HOTTEST TIME OF DAY, SHOULD EAT COOLING FOODS AND DRINK, SHOULD CONTROL HIS/HER FIERY EMOTIONS LIKE ANGER, SHOULD STOP BEING SO DRIVEN AND COMPETITIVE, SHOULD TAKE COOL SHOWERS INSTEAD OF HOT BATHS, SHOULD TAKE COOLING ANTI-PITTA HERBS AND PERFORM ANTI-PITTA CLEANSING TECHNIQUES.

IN AYURVEDA, THE PATIENT MUST TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN HIS/HER OWN RECOVERY AND TREATMENT.  BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF AYURVEDIC PRINCIPLES CAN MAKE A HUGE AND LASTING DIFFERENCE IN ONE'S LIFE.  THIS IS WHY I PREFER TO TEACH AYURVEDA TO OTHERS INSTEAD OF JUST ACTING AS A SORT OF MIDDLEMAN.  ONE CAN NOT BE TRULY HEALTHY UNLESS ONE BECOMES AWARE OF THEMSELVES ON ALL LEVELS AND DOES SO CONSCIOUSLY.  AYURVEDA HAS BEEN PRACTICED WITH SUCCESS BY MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS.  WITH A FIVE THOUSAND YEAR OLD WRITTEN DATABASE, AYURVEDA IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE NATURAL MEDICAL SYSTEM IN THE WORLD.  AND IT'S REALLY JUST AS SIMPLE AS KNOWING ETHER, AIR, FIRE, WATER, EARTH;  THEIR QUALITIES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE BODY AND MIND.

Ayurvedic Psychology & Elemental Dharma

Hindus have Trimurti as Brahma, Vishnu, & Shiva which were represented initially as Indra, Surya, and Agni and the elements of water, sky, and fire. As we know, Tridev is the deification of the universal principles of creation, preservation, & destruction. It is also about nature. It is also elemental. 

Look at the Vedic fire ceremony, Yagna. There are offerings of the earth & water elements to the fire, resulting in air & space. These elements also reflect the sub, subtle, or psychological doshas and/or principles of Ojas, Tejas, & Prana. Ojas relates to water, Tejas to fire, and Prana to air.

The Hindu dharma has many important ‘threes’. We have Trimurti. Creation, preservation, and destruction. The three syllables of Aum, which represent the three states of consciousness. The waking state, dream state, and the state of deep sleep. 

The syllables of AUM are also related to these metaphysical doshas: Ojas, Tejas, and Prana. The A- sound relates to Ojas, the U- sound to Tejas, and the M-sound to Prana. Conversely, the A- sound relates to water & earth, the U- sound to fire, the M- sound to air, and the fourth silent syllable of AUM, the Turiya, relates to space or ether. 

We have the three main Ayurvedic doshas of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The three main elements of air, fire, and water, and the three Gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. In the Sankhya system we have Purusha or pure unconditional consciousness, Prakruti or primordial nature and Shakti, and the Pranava Aum, which is the underlying vibratory fabric of the entire universe.

Ether or space, the akasha, is the primary or initial element created from Purusha or pure consciousness. Ether in motion becomes wind or air. Air is a principle of movement. Movement creates friction and heat, leading to fire. Fire melds consciousness into water. Water brings molecules together to create the earth element.

The ears experience ether through sound. The skin feels air through the sense of touch. The eyes perceive the light of fire by sight. The mouth experiences the water element with taste, and the nose experiences the earth element by smell. The qualities of what we intake through the senses greatly  affects the quality of the mind. 

The body-mind complex is made up of these five gross elements, and the mind itself consists of subtle forms of these elements. Again, Ojas relates to water and provides mental immunity and resilience. Tejas relates to fire and provides us with intellect and comprehension. Prana relates to air and provides mental vibrancy and the ability to change our minds and transcend harmful or burdensome emotions, thoughts, and memories.  

The mind-body complex can be defined and categorized according to one’s dosha. Vata is a combination of ether and air. Pitta is a combination of fire and water, and Kapha is a combination of water and earth. A Vata-dominant person will share the characteristics of space and air. The Pitta-dominant person will share the characteristics of fire, and the Kapha-dominant person will have the characteristics of water and earth.

One must first ascertain what one’s nature, dosha, or prakruti is. Then one must know if one has a current state of imbalance or Vikruti. When these are known, it is not too complex to ascertain what dietary, herbal, and lifestyle changes to make for the purpose of optimal health. One can also learn about a variety of highly effective and highly therapeutic Yogic and Tantric practices, as well as subtle healing modalities which may be therapeutic, such as aromatherapy and bija mantra therapy. 

The gunas, like the bodily doshas, are all in a constant state of flux or change. The word ‘dosha’ means ‘that which gets affected’ or ‘that which changes.’ The unmodified, normative state of the mind is most chaotic, as it is under the influence of continuous impressions coming in through the senses as well as the foreign imposition and compulsion of conscious and subconscious thought patterns. The mind itself is the sixth sense and is a culmination of all these impressions and untamed thoughts. 

What does not change along with the motions of living in the world of maya, is the Self. Consciousness. The witness or that which only observes change, but does not itself, alter. We can watch a bottle break, but that observation does not shatter pure consciousness, nor the eyes. The eyes are fine, but the mind can break. The Atma is of course, unaffected by the imposition of foreign stimuli, as well as the coercions of thought.

The transcendent one is he/she who neither hates or desires the presence or absence of joyful illumination, material attachment, or delusion. One who remains steady or undisturbed by constant changes and transformations of the gunas, and simply says only the gunas are changing.” ~Bhagavad Gita 4.22-23

Regarding again, the subtle doshas: We must have Ojas for a stable mind and sturdy body. We must have Tejas for proper metabolism, to process knowledge, and to burn away burdensome ideas, beliefs, memories, and emotions. We must have Prana to be flexible, energetic, and we must have Prana for mental mobility and flexibility. We must have Prana for change and transitions. These three subtle doshas must be purified, increased, and balanced; And they can be qualified by the gunas. They relate to the Gunas. Ojas relates to Tamas, Tejas to Rajas, and Prana to Sattva.

Managing our individual dosha along with Ojas, Tejas, and Prana can be done by simply understanding a fundamental rule of Ayurveda. That is that like attracts like, and opposites detract from excess and deficiency. 

If our atmosphere, thoughts, words, and actions are of Sattva guna, then we attract more of that quality into ourselves and our lives. The same can be said if our surroundings, thoughts, words, and actions are of Rajas or Tamas guna. If we are stuck in inertia and depression, we can consciously change what is taken into the senses along with the qualities of our carriers, relationships, thoughts, words, and deeds to Rajas-guna and then perhaps to Sattva-guna. Depression and inertia would be solved by applying Rajas or activity to counter the inertia of Tamas, and then one may proceed to transcend the kinetic energy of Rajas into a more pure and peaceful procession towards qualities and characteristics of Sattva guna. 

All three gunas have their importance. It is not necessarily so, that Sattva is all good, and Tamas is all bad. As with much of Ayurvedic medicine and psychology and as with the Hindu Dharma itself, not all people are the same. Both traditions recognise and encourage individuality and independence or Svadharma first and social Dharma second, because what is the point of having a society made of adharmic atomotons stuck in group-think or hive-mind mentality?

A Sattvtic person will have spiritual and devotional aspirations, along with a desire for higher metaphysical states of consciousness. A Rajasic person will tend towards placing their time and energy into their careers and will desire wealth or possessions. A Tamasic person may tend towards malevolence and lethargy. Of course, we all possess all three of these gunas in some measure or another. All three are necessary for life and have both positive and negative forms and functions. Even a very Sattvic monk who lives on the ideal plane, may need to utilize Tamas guna to keep from becoming too idealistic, overly imaginative, or to keep them down to earth and in what most others would call ‘the real world.’ 

Back to the subtle doshas of Ojas, Tejas, and Prana: To increase Ojas we need rest, stillness, meditation, and a nutritious diet. To increase Tejas we need mental stimulation, study, an inquiring mind, and spiced or flavorful foods. To increase Prana we need only observe a Prana-rich diet and tend to our Yogic breathing or Pranayama practice. 

Note that the qualities, the forms and functions of Ojas pertain to and resemble the qualities of water and earth. Tejas pertains to and resembles the qualities of fire. Prana pertains to and resembles the qualities of air. Notice when we practice just a few minutes of Pranayama, then experience a sense of great stillness and tranquility, which pertains to and resembles the qualities of space. Notice how we feel a sense of strength after a nutritious meal. This is due to fresh Ojas. Notice the sense of illumination after reading Veda or the Gita. This is due to the fire of Tejas. 

Remember, the first Hindu deities were elemental and related specifically to nature. Indra to storms, Surya to the sun, Vayu to wind, Agni to fire, and Varuna to the oceans. Think again of the Homam or Vedic fire ceremony. There is the clay structure around the fire and the offerings of grains, ghee, dahi, incense, fruits, etc. These come from the earth. The fire is considered to be the mouth of god. When the offering of earth and water are placed into the fire they transform into smoke, wind, ether, and prana. Thus purifying the atmosphere. The same sort of ritual is meant for both our physical and mental health. 

In then the Agnihotra, we can see all five elements. We can see the three doshas, the three subtle or mental doshas, and we can see the three gunas. We can even sense all five elements in something as simple as a flower. The taste of the flower is water. The color is fire. The perfume of the flower is earth. The blooming of the flower is space, and the soft touch of the flower is air. 

All these things: Impressions, thoughts, relationships, lifestyle, climate, sensory stimuli, the doshas, the elements, career, our tissues, the nadis and koshas, the motor organs, the sense organs, our moods, actions and reactions, our family life, and all else can be qualified by the gunas of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. 

Sattva is serenity, purity, and peace. It is related to the element of space. Tamas is inertia, stability, resistance, and fortitude. It is related to the earth element. Rajas is kinetic energy and is dual. It drifts into both the Sattva side and the Tamas side. It is related to air. Sattva guna brings peace, bliss, and buddhi. Rajas guna brings brilliance, prosperity, and material pleasures. Tamas guna brings rest and recuperation. There is great value in understanding the forms and functions of the gunas. 

Unlike the individual’s bodily Ayurvedic dosha, where one person’s balanced state is another person's state of derangement, Ojas, Tejas, and Prana are to be kept in a state of balance with one another, and this is the ideal for all people. Increasing one and not the others leads to some detriment. The Sattvic state of mind is ideal. However, in excess, it can lead one to some measure of delusion. The Tamasic state of mind in excess, can lead to melancholy and stagnation. The Rajasic state of mind in excess, can lead to being overly opulent and materialistic. 

Too much Prana can lead to becoming a ‘space cadet.’ Too much Tejas and one can become a ‘hot head.’ Too much Ojas and one can become lethargic and overly sentimental or ‘wishy-washy.’ These psychological doshas also affect the body of course, and the bodily doshas of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha also affect the mind. One must first be concerned with the health of the body. Without which we have no brain, which is an instrument of the mind. The mind is an instrument of awareness, and awareness is an instrument of consciousness. 

Even Bhagavan Krishna tells Arjuna not to so freely share his teachings with those who are unaware of the workings of the gunas.

“Those who are sincere but are unaware of the distorting effects of the gunas continue to act by compulsion. Therefore, those who do understand should be careful in educating those who do not yet understand, so that the necessary actions and responsibilities of their lives are not disrupted.” ~Bhagavad Gita 3.29

Psychological Applications of Meditation

Long ago, the yogis of Vedic times recognised the existence of ‘chitta’ or the subconscious mind.  The Sanskrit word ‘chitta’ means “mind-stuff” or “conditioned consciousness”. They found that during meditation, what seemed to be foreign and forgotten thoughts, memories, emotions, fears, impulses and desires, would bubble up or suddenly start to seep from chitta, the subconscious mind, into ‘manas’ or the normal mind. They found this kept them from reaching higher states of consciousness or ‘chitt’, the super-conscious mind or unconditioned consciousness. 

They called these impressions ‘samskaras’, meaning ‘recollections’ or ‘psychological imprints’. They theorized that thought itself was a form of subtle matter. A quiet mind creates space for matter from the unconscious mind to emerge. In between the waking and meditative state, the yogis recognized what they called ‘vrittis’ or resurfacing thoughts. The Sanskrit word ‘vritti’, literally means ‘whirlpool’. These Vedantins realized that meditation could act as a sort of mental medium that could process hidden or subconscious impressions as they became known in the more perceptive state of mind we use in the normal everyday waking state. 

Of course the pressures of everyday life, along with the pressures from our pasts, can appear at any time. A verse in the Upanshads says “This mind is like a chariot yoked to wild stallions”. These stressors can be more easily dealt with in mindful and meditative states, than in anxious states or in chaotic situations. These pressures can erupt in an emotional meltdown, or they can be released after the mind has had time to calm and quite down. 

Regular practice of meditation can relieve the pressures of life each day, little by little. As such, meditation can take the power out of stressful situations and stress itself, but it isn’t meant to replace addressing underlying causes of our various issues. It can help us cope with certain situations by allowing us to respond to them in a more effective and efficient manner. It can make us less impulsive and less likely to turn to anger, rage, substance abuse, violence or other compulsive behaviors. Meditation is after all, a modality for overall health found within a larger school of practical metaphysics and holistic medicine.  

Meditation is not an escape from our problems and is not to be used to suppress them. To use meditation as a permanent way to avoid life’s larger dilemmas is both unwise and actually, a waste of time. What meditation can do, is give us time to really consider more options and solutions to difficult situations and problematic mental states or crises. It can keep us from making assumptions and from drawing quick conclusions. This occurs naturally when we allow the mind to settle and become more spacious. 

It’s no wonder that the end result of meditation is historically known to be what we call ‘enlightenment’. When we trace the word ‘enlightenment’ back to its Sanskrit origins, we find quite a few etymological terms. One is the word ‘bodhi’. Bodhi means ‘awakened intellect’ or more simply ‘clear perception’. It is where we get  the word ‘buddha’. The renunciate known as Buddha was actually named Siddhartha Gotama. He became known as the great Buddha, only after he had attained  the wisdom that came with having a pure or awakened state of mind. So ‘Buddha’ is not a proper name. It is a sort of title given to enlightened men and women.

By practicing meditation, which leads to this clear perception, we can learn to discern between what is constant, as compared to what is fleeting. This is not about being in a so-called ‘eternal now’ or in the present moment, which does not endure even for an instant. It is about being mindful of presence itself or simply paying attention to what is and as a result, we can see what is not.

Overcoming Fear, Depression, & Anxiety 

Find some stillness. Fear resides in the body-mind complex as air, which is a principle of motion. It is rajas-guna, which is an active dynamism. On the plus side, rajas can bring us from place to place. Hopefully to a better place than we were before. 

Action can lead towards sattva-guna or a place of light and purity, or towards tamas-guna, inertia and darkness. Ideally, we would think we must move towards purity, but moving towards inertia can also be therapeutic. If one dwells in the rajas and is experiencing anxiety, then dulling the mind can help for a time. 

Eventually, one would then have to use the energy of rajas to get to an enlightened state found with sattva. Everything and everyone can be measured or qualified by these three gunas or qualities. If one can come to understand their workings, one can have more control over life, including anxiety and depression. Anxiety being rajas, and depression being tamas. 

People will say only the present exists. Vedanta says otherwise. The present moment is the most fleeting of all things. The Vedanta says we have future karma that has its own existence prior to being experienced. If that is true, then do we fear it? We cannot know the future. So, it is not the future we fear, but a future that we think might include something we do not or will not like. 

We don't even know the past, but our imperfect interpretation, along with burdensome memories that we tend to cling to. I think most everyone hopes for a better past, even though that is not very logical. So, realize we are all in the constant presence of atman/brahman…of 'the most high.' 

We have the potential in the day to rise or fall. Usually, we do a combination of both without awareness. Pay attention and appreciate the presence of chitta or consciousness and simple awareness. 

We are stuck in these bodies which can feel pain or pleasure. In these minds filled with compulsions we call thoughts. In yoga/meditation, we can observe them and then come to realize they are a foreign imposition and unreal. 

With control of the body and mind, what is left but ego or our persona. A sense of individuality. A necessary knot in consciousness. Getting to 'god' or higher states of awareness is simply an exchange of our own egos for the cosmic ahamkara (ego). 

Advaita (non-duality) can lead to even a higher place of oneness, connectivity, and bliss. It is not a state we can will into instant existence. It takes determination and knowledge, and then putting that into play and practice. The Vedas teach something very simple but effective. Like attracts like and opposites are remedial or treat excesses and deficiencies. 

Start there and know that you are not alone. Fear of the future or of whatever is human nature is a product of our anxiety-ridden society. Start to recognize what is therapeutic and detrimental, which can be different for each person. Begin to eliminate the detrimental, and embrace what is therapeutic.

Under Pressure: Ayurveda & Hypertension 

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR HYPERTENSION IS KNOWN AS THE "SILENT KILLER".  IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ARTERIOSCLEROSIS("HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES"), CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, THROMBOTIC & HEMORRHAGIC STROKE, ENLARGED HEART AND KIDNEY DAMAGE/FAILURE.  IT IS ALSO THOUGHT TO BE A RESPONSIBLE FACTOR IN OBESITY, DIABETES, HYPER-THYROIDISM AND ADRENAL TUMORS.  SYMPTOMS ARE VAGUE AND OFTEN GO WITHOUT RECOGNITION.  THE FEW WARNING SIGNS ASSOCIATED WITH ADVANCED HYPERTENSION COULD BE HEADACHES, ABNORMAL SWEATING, RAPID PULSE, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, DIZZINESS AND BLURRED VISION. ONCE THE DISEASE REACHES THE LEVEL WHERE THESE SYMPTOMS CAN BE DETECTED, IT IS TIME TO SEE A DOCTOR.

WHILE GENETIC FACTORS MAY PLAY A ROLE IN HYPERTENSION, LIFESTYLE AND DIET ARE THOUGHT TO BE THE NUMBER ONE CAUSATIVE FACTORS.  AN INDIVIDUAL WHO EATS LITTLE FRUIT & VEGETABLES, HAS A HIGH SALT INTAKE, IS OVERWEIGHT, DRINKS EXCESSIVELY AND RARELY EXERCISES WILL BE AT RISK.  OTHER RISK FACTORS INCLUDE STRESS, TAKING AN MOA INHIBITOR FOR DEPRESSION, TAKING OF SOME CONTRACEPTIVES, INSOMNIA AND APNEA.

HYPERTENSION IS KNOWN AS THE 'SILENT KILLER' BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, FEW IF ANY NOTICEABLE SYMPTOMS.  TAKING THE BLOOD PRESSURE REGULARLY IS THE MAIN DIAGNOSTIC METHOD FOR DETECTING A PROBLEM ALTHOUGH AN EXPERIENCED AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONER CAN TELL THROUGH PULSE DIAGNOSIS.  WHEN TAKING THE BLOOD PRESSURE THERE ARE GIVEN TWO NUMBERS WHICH REFLECT THE SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURES.  SYSTOLIC IS A READING OF THE BLOOD'S PRESSURE WHILE THE HEART IS IN ITS STAGE OF CONTRACTION AND DIASTOLIC IS A READING OF THE BLOOD'S PRESSURE WHILE THE HEART MUSCLE IS RELAXED, IN BETWEEN IT'S CONTRACTIONS.  WHILE MEDICAL SCIENCE HAS WAVERED ON WHAT IS HIGH, NORMAL & LOW PRESSURE, GENERALLY A READING OF 130/85 IS CONSIDERED NORMAL.  IF ONE TAKES THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE REGULARLY AND FINDS IT TO BE HIGHER THAN THE NORMAL READING, ONE SHOULD SEE A PHYSICIAN.  NOTE THAT A SINGLE READING CAN NOT ACCURATELY DETERMINE WHETHER ONE HAS CHRONIC HYPERTENSION.

HERBAL/NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS & DIET FOR HYPERTENSION

NUTRIENTS: CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, L-CARNITINE, L-GLUTAMINE, SELENIUM, CO Q10, VITAMIN C, VITAMIN E, VITAMIN D & ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS(FLAX OIL, PRIMROSE OIL, FISH OIL).

HERBAL(WESTERN): GARLIC, CAYENNE, HAWTHORN, CHAMOMILE, HOPS & VALERIAN.

HERBAL(AYURVEDIC): ARJUNA, BRAHMI, GOTU KOLA, SKULLCAP, ASHWAGANDHA, JATA MANSI, GUGGAL, RUDRAKSHA & SANDALWOOD.  RUDRAKSHA SEEDS AND SANDALWOOD BEADS MAY ALSO BE WORN CLOSE TO THE SKIN AS A NECKLACE OR BRACELET.

DIETARY REGIME: CUT OUT THE SALT!  USE A SODIUM SUBSTITUTE LIKE "MRS DASH", OR ANY NUMBER OF SPICE CHURNAS, LEMON JUICE, (BREWER'S) YEAST FLAKES OR A BIT OF BALSAMIC.  EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES! CUT OUT RED(OR ALL) MEAT.  NO FRIED FOODS. EAT GRAINS LIKE OATS, RICE, QUINOA & BARLEY. 

YOGA THERAPY FOR HYPERTENSION

AROMATHERAPY: LAVENDER, MYRRH, FRANKINCENSE, SAFFRON, ROSE, LOTUS & LILY.

ASANAS (YOGIC POSTURES) FOR LOWERING BLOOD PRESSURE INCLUDE POSES FOR THE HEART AND NERVOUS SYSTEM SUCH AS THE COBRA POSE, TORTOISE POSE, PIGEON POSE, SAVASANA, LOTUS W/ FORWARD BEND & MOON SALUTATIONS.

SOUND THERAPY: THE MANTRA"SHAM" RELAXES THE HEART.  THE MANTRA "RAM" STRENGTHENS IT.  ONE CAN CHANT THESE SANSKRIT SEED SYLLABLES IN SUCCESSION FOR A SHORT OR LONG PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMA.

PRANAYAMA (YOGIC BREATHING) EXERCISES TO LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE INCLUDE "LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING", "SHITALI" & "SO-HUM BREATHING". 

HERE IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE LATER.  SIT QUIETLY AND BEGIN TO WATCH THE INHALE AND EXHALE.  BEGIN TO COUNT TO 4 ON THE INHALE AND TO FOUR ON THE EXHALE.  BEGIN TO LENGTHEN THE EXHALE, COUNTING FOUR ON THE INHALE AND FIVE ON THE EXHALE.  THEN ALLOW THE BREATH TO DEEPEN EVEN MORE, COUNTING FOUR TO SIX ON THE INHALE AND SIX TO EIGHT ON THE EXHALE.  ONCE THIS IS ACHIEVED, ONE MAY BEGIN TO SILENTLY SAY "SO" ON THE IN-BREATH AND "HUM" ON THE OUT-BREATH.  THIS PRACTICE OXYGENATES THE BLOOD AND STRENGTHENS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

MEDITATION TECHNIQUES FOR LOWERING BLOOD PRESSURE 

THESE INCLUDE CONCENTRATION EXERCISES, VISUALIZATION, NAMA JAPA, PURUSHA DHARANA, ATMA VICHARA & PRATYAHARA(INTERNALIZATION OF THE SENSES).  HERE IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE LATER.  LIE DOWN IN SAVASANA POSE.  ALLOW THE BREATH TO COME TO ITS NATURAL RESTING PATTERN.  MENTALLY SCAN THE BODY FOR ANY TENSION OR STRESS.  LET IT GO.  ONCE THOROUGHLY RELAXED, BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO THE TIPS OF YOUR TOES.  SLOWLY GUIDE YOUR ATTENTION UP THROUGH THE LEGS, THE PELVIC REGION, THE ABDOMEN AND TO THE AREA OF THE HEART CHAKRA(JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE HEART ITSELF).  

NOW BRING YOUR AWARENESS TO THE FINGERTIPS.  SLOWLY GUIDE YOUR ATTENTION UP THROUGH THE ARMS & SHOULDERS.  ALLOW THIS ENERGY OF AWARENESS TO COME TO REST IN THE CHEST/HEART CHAKRA.  NOW BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO THE TIP OF THE CROWN OF THE HEAD.  GUIDE IT SLOWLY DOWN THROUGH YOUR FACE AND NECK.  AGAIN, ALLOW THIS ENERGY TO REST AT THE LOCATION OF THE HEART CHAKRA.  ALLOW YOUR AWARENESS TO STAY IN THIS AREA OF THE HEART CHAKRA FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIKE.  YOU HAVE NOW CREATED YOUR OWN LITTLE SENSORY DEPRIVATION TANK OF SORTS.  SO NOW YOU AND YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE SHOULD BE AT EASE.

AYURVEDIC TREATMENT  

THE AFOREMENTIONED ARE AYURVEDIC TREATMENT METHODS THAT A GOOD PRACTITIONER WOULD RECOMMEND.  WHILE THERE ARE EFFECTIVE CHEMICAL MEDICATIONS AVAILABLE, THEY MOST OFTEN HAVE SIDE EFFECTS.  EVEN ALLOPATHIC PHYSICIANS RECOMMEND NATURAL THERAPIES FIRST FOR LOWERING BLOOD PRESSURE.  HOWEVER, FOR THOSE WITH STAGE 2 OR 3 HYPERTENSION, CHEMICAL MEDICATION SHOULD BE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED.  ONE MAY BEGIN TO MAKE APPROPRIATE CHANGES TO THEIR DIET & LIFESTYLE WHILE BEING MEDICATED WITH PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.  IT IS HOWEVER, QUITE POSSIBLE TO EVENTUALLY COME TO AN ALL NATURAL TREATMENT & REMEDY.

AN AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONER WILL TREAT EACH PERSON WITH HYPERTENSION DIFFERENTLY.  THE ALLOPATH TREATS THE DISEASE OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, WHICH HE/SHE SEES AS THE SAME IN EVERY PATIENT.  THE AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONER TREATS NOT THE DISEASE BUT THE INDIVIDUAL AS A WHOLE. HE/SHE RECOGNIZES DIFFERENTIATION OF TREATMENT ACCORDING TO THE PATIENT'S INDIVIDUAL DOSHA OR HUMOR, AS WELL THE DOSHIC IMBALANCE PERTAINING TO THE PATIENT'S DISEASE.  FOR EXAMPLE, A PITTA-PATIENT WITH VATA-HYPERTENSION WILL NOT RECEIVE THE IDENTICAL TREATMENT GIVEN TO A KAPHA-PATIENT WITH PITTA-HYPERTENSION.

BY ANY MEANS, IF ONE HAS HYPERTENSION OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND DOES NOTHING AT ALL FOR IT, ONE MAY NOT BE LONG FOR THIS WORLD.  SO TAKE ACTION AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR HEALTH.

Staying Cool & Treatment for Excess Pitta

Coming from India and its cultural realm where it is hot, Ayurvedic Medicine has developed some simple ways to stay cool. Here are a few: Cooling Asanas, cooling pranayama, cooling herbs for internal and external application, cooling foods, cooling visualization techniques, cooling essential oils for aromatherapy and cooling lifestyle choices.

Foods: cucumber, melon, mung dahl, sprouts, raw salads, summer squash, cooked greens, milk & celery to name a few. Any foods that are sweet, bitter and astringent will cool the body/mind complex. Avoid foods that are pungent(spicy), sour or excessively salty.

Herbs: Coriander, fennel, turmeric, mint, chamomile, dandelion, burdock, brahmi, ajwan, gotu kola, aloe tea, aloe gel, cilantro, shilajit and licorice.

Pranayama: Shitali, exhalation through the mouth & left nostril breathing.

Asanas: Uttana, Paschimottan, Dhanda, Marich, Janu Sira, bodda Kona, Urdhva Dhanura & Siva Asanas.

Visualization techniques: Obviously visualizing a steam hot jungle, standing by a bonfire surrounded by a thousand people dressed in all red would do much to cool you down. So just do the opposite.

Aromatherapy: Sandalwood, lavender, chamomile, mint, vetiver, coriander, neem, juniper & vanilla.

Obviously one should avoid exercising outside and not exercise during the hottest part of the day, even if inside. One should make sure to eat when one is hungry and not skip meals. Especially the mid day meal. One should surround oneself with cooling colors like blue, green and white. One should avoid conflict, aggravation, debate, competition & fiery emotions in general.

If you doubt these things work, I may remind you that Ayurveda has a five thousand year old written database that would disagree with you. At any rate, there's nothing dangerous about these techniques. So give it a try.

Ayurveda and Modern Medicine 

Ayurveda is not a pure science, but neither is allopathic medicine. Ayurveda does utilize the scientific method which is how it came up with many effective treatments and diagnostic methods. Ayurveda's herbal pharmacology alone is immense and medicinally valuable. It's not like the scientific method is a modern creation or some great secret. It's pretty simple actually. It's common sense.

Ayurveda utilizes theory and practicum as does modern medicine. The first surgeries were performed by ayurvedic physicians. It has thousands of records and texts which include treatment for 1700 different diseases and disorders. It has under its belt many generations and thousands of years of trial and error. Its classic branches include internal medicine, pediatrics, ear-nose-throat or diseases of the head, surgery, psychology, geriatrics and toxicology. This should sound familiar, as these are also the main branches of modern allopathic medicine.

The scientific method can be flawed by human interaction and egos. A scientist may postulate a theory and experiment in order to prove the theory right or wrong, but they don't want to be wrong; so instead of accepting that their theory was off, they change the variables until it shows their theory to be right...even if it still isn't. So the scientific method isn't all that scientific at times.

Sankhya in a Nutshell

AUM. There are some who use this Mantra, who don't know its relevance. It's fine to do so. It is a wonderful, dynamic as well as a very soothing sound. It is even beneficial to those who have no clue as to its meaning. That, however, is important.

AUM appears in Hindu Dharma Darshana (Indic philosophy), as the first or primordial sound upon which the universal building blocks are laid. It is called 'Pranava' in Samkhya philosophy. Pranava means 'ever-fresh and ever-renewable, renewing energy'.

According to Samkhya dharshana, everything in the known universe is different forms of consciousness. We can see in Samkhya a relationship with metaphysics, quantum theory, psychology, and biology. Samkhya was originally an atheistic philosophy, but theists have their own adaptation. Its main text, the Samkhya Karika was written by Rishi Kapila in 200 CE. It is seen as a Tantric dharshana (philosophy) and the basis for Ayurveda, and Yoga The word Samkhya or sankhya means empirical or 'to enumerate.’

Pranava or AUM comes about as a result of two uniting realities. These are on one side 'Purusha' and on the other, 'Prakruti'. Purusha is a still or non-dynamic, unclassified, non-qualitative, pure and free consciousness (chit).

Prakruti is the primordial nature or the initial potential-dynamic of matter or the material world. Prakruti is known as the initial principle of the Universe, but is unconscious.

When these two forces merged, the first sound or vibration was created. Coming into existence and propelled into the void. This is the sound of the Mantra, 'AUM'. It is the vibratory fabric of the universe. From this initial cosmic emergence comes conditioned consciousness (chitta), the cosmic mind (manas) and cosmic individuality or ego (ahamkara).

Prakruti has three qualities (gunas): Sattva (illumination), Rajas (dynamism), and Tamas (inertia). From Sattva-guna comes the potential for transcendence, the five senses, the five motor organs, and the sixth sense which is the mind in its states of the mundane (manas) to its states of awakening (buddhi). From Rajas-guna comes the phenomena of movement, change, and adaptability. From Tamas-guna comes the ego (ahamkara) and the five elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth.

Ether or the akasha is static space. When ether moves it ceases to be space and becomes air. Air is a principle of movement. Movement creates friction which creates fire. Fire melds all into liquid or water. Water brings molecules of solids together to form earth.

The gross elements are produced from Tanmatras. These are the preliminary subtle elements. They connect the elements to our senses.The five sense organs and the five elements are related and more or less coincide.

The tanmatra of the akasha (ether) allows us to perceive space through the senses of hearing. The tanmatra of air (vayu) allows us to perceive wind through the sense of touch. The tanmatra of fire (agni) allows us to perceive flame through the sense of sight. The tanmatra of water (apas) is known as rasa or taste, and the tanmatra of earth (prithvi) is the sense of smell.

If we yell out over a wide expanse of space, we hear an echo. We can see the wind blow leaves around, but we sense wind primarily by touch. We can feel the heat of fire, but we can see it from miles away. Water relates to the sense of taste. If you put a pinch of salt or sugar on a dry tongue, there is no flavor. After it rains we can smell the earth element evaporating.

We and everything is made up of the five elements. In one flower there is space in its bloom, air when the plant diffuses oxygen, fire is the bright color of its pedals, water in the plant's sap, and its roots are inter-fused with the earth.

From the five elements come the Ayurvedic classifications of Dosha. Vata Dosha being a psycho-biological combination of ether and air. Pitta Dosha, a combination of fire and water. Kapha Dosha, a combination of water and earth. All of this begins with Purusha or pure consciousness, which is a part of everything and every being.

In Samkhya dharshana chitta is mind stuff or conditional consciousness. It is like a field where buddhi, manas, and ahamkara need to grow. So, it's not which is 'higher' or 'lower.' It's more about that they have different structures and functions, as well as being about which came first. Chit is an unconditional consciousness we can experience in samadhi. So, one could say that it is the highest principle or tattva that connects us with our own atma. Buddhi is considered to be a path to viveka and visa versa. It is considered to be superior to vedanā (feeling) or bhāva (feeling) as well as rāga (love, attraction), dveṣa (hatred, aversion), harṣa (joy), bhaya (fear) and śoka (sorrow). Chit, buddhi, and manas or mahat also intermingle. Buddhi is intellect. When buddhi is increased and purified, it is said that it reflects and awakens chitta. This is known as buddhi chitta. Chitta is conditioned consciousness and chit is unconditional consciousness. Chit is the field of all possibilities. Chit is the ideal awareness and union we can experience in samadhi.

Temple of the Heart: The Power of Kindness

I had a trans-formative experience today. I was driving up to our Hindu temple here in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s an amazingly beautiful and ornate temple inside and out, with traditional architecture and symbology. I saw a young man walking by, checking it out. As I parked, I saw him approaching me. I thought he was certainly going to ask me something about the temple, as it must be quite a curiosity to many non-Hindus. So I got out of my car and walked towards him.

Stranger: “Can you save my life and let me use your phone? I just got out of jail. I’ve been walking around knocking on church doors. I need to call my brother."

My first thought… ‘Just walk away.’ But I couldn’t do that. I was on one side of the temple’s gate and he was on the other. So I went around, and he gave me a phone number. I dialed and gave him the phone.

Stranger: “Timothy? Is this you? I need to see a friendly face. I’ve been in solitary confinement for the last 30 days…just me and a Bible. Do you know what that does to a person? I need a hug from someone who loves me." He was weeping throughout.

I recall wondering what solitary confinement must be like. I thought to myself: ‘The body and much more of the mind are trapped and confined, inducing anxiety, depression and mania. A prison within a prison.’ I recall myself wondering just what solitary confinement must be like.

‘It’s like the mind’ I told myself. ‘A prison within a prison.’ Some otherwise healthy prisoners in solitary have even been known to hallucinate. Like many, I had experienced some forms of mental illness myself, and I had been going through something similar to what he had just scraped through on the ‘outside.’.

As he went on, I gazed downward to give him at least some semblance of privacy. He was in a state of desperation and continued to pour out his heart in front of a stranger. Tears are now coming down my face. It may have been the most genuine display of emotion I’ve ever heard. I felt embarrassed by his honesty.

After he got off the phone with his brother, he asked if he could get a hug from me. If he hadn’t, I was going to extend an offer for one. We embraced and I lost it. I was just bawling, as was he. He saw I was crying and felt bad.

Stranger: “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Thank you for saving my life."

And it hit me. I said, ‘No. You don’t understand. I think you might be the one saving me.’ I regained my composure and told him it would take time, but that he would heal. I told him he was a beautiful person, and we parted ways, leaving me with the gifts of catharsis and perspective. There’s a fine line between the need for help and becoming a helper.

There is nothing so easy, lucky and free than kindness shown to one who hasn’t been treated with much kindness as of late, or a bit of hope given to someone who has lost all hope and is in a state of desperation. Offer love to those who have become lost and lonely without it. I will be contentious in debate. I do not always come close to the person I’d like to be, but it is my intention to be kind, hopeful and loving always and in every situation. I often fail.

All this happened before I entered the temple. Throughout my sadhana, this experience kept coming back into my mind and I had to fight back tears, quite unsuccessfully. After doing my ritual, I just had to sit in the temple for some time to process this and learn what it meant. This has been crossing my mind all day…continuing to move me…to heal me.

There’s nothing like experiencing or taking on the great suffering of another human being, to heal from your own. There’s nothing like compassion in action, to stop the mind from obsessing about your own problems.

I suppose this is karma yoga. Grace and compassion are not the limited property of any one group of people. Nor are goodness or devotion. Nor is suffering. Here we have a Christian in need, who found what his heart required…what he may have been praying to Jesus for, from someone who had left the Christian religion 37 years ago, in front of a Hindu temple.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says, “He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress. Those devotees are very dear to Me who are free from malice toward all living beings, who are friendly, and compassionate. They are free from attachment to possessions and egotism, equipped in happiness and distress, and ever-forgiving."

The Bible says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble."

The Maya of Thought, Time, and Place

Thought can be a tool, but thought is also a compulsion. In a very real sense, thoughts are foreign impositions and burdensome memories.

The observer and the observed are not identical. If I drop a glass and it falls to the floor, breaking into pieces, do my eyes which perceive it breaking break also?

Thought tricks us into perceiving time. In actuality, we are eternal within infinity. Thoughts attach us to all manners of people, places and things.

When we get into the habit of observing our thoughts and seeing them as just an aspect of our own illusions about ourselves and this world of maya, we begin to tap into consciousness, which is the source of thought, ego, intellect...as well as truth, insight, divinity, and enlightenment.

Our thoughts tend to be controlled, consciously or otherwise, by the 5 elements and their tanmatras. These are perceived with our 5 senses. The senses and sense organs are instruments of the brain.

The brain is an instrument of the mind. The mind is an instrument of the ego. The ego is an instrument of buddhi or higher intellect and clarity.

Buddhi is an instrument of chitta or conditional consciousness. Chitta is an instrument of chit or unconditional consciousness. Unconditional consciousness is an instrument of the apex of pure consciousness and pure being we call Purusha.

"The observer is different from the observed.  The subject is not an object.  The characteristics of the seer are different from those of the seen.  The eye is not blemished by the imperfections of the objects it perceives.

The consciousness that observes time is not itself of time.  To perceive the transient, consciousness must be eternal.  We are always eternal.  Thought creates the idea of our being in time, but awareness is beyond all change and fluctuation.  The real present is of the eternal; it is not the constantly changing moments that we experience through the windows of the mind.

It is not difficult to step out of time and find the eternal.  Whenever we cease to identify ourselves with external objects, our awareness naturally returns to its eternal equipoise. We continually experience things as beginning and ending.  This shows that our consciousness itself does not begin or end.

Yet instead of opening up to this wisdom of eternity, we try to find something lasting in external objects, which only breeds sorrow.  To find the eternal we need only give up our seeking in the realm of time." ~ Vamadeva Shatr ji (Dr. David Frawley)

Imagination is More Important than Knowledge

Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. Creativity and the ability to think in abstract terms are underrated. Also, every mental and physical action or function must first be imagined before it manifests into reality. We don't realize this because it happens so fast. But if you want to lift your pinkie finger, if that is your objective, you first must form the subjective idea of moving it within the inner mental field.

Knowledge is good, but it cannot take form in the mind or be applied without imagination. There are also grosser and subtler thought patterns. The five elements and all of nature or matter are formed from vibration. Mental idealizations also evolve from subtle to grosser notions. Thought eventually forms what we believe to be reality.

So, imagination is more important and is the impetus for knowledge. Vedic teachings give harmony to seeming contradictions. One must be willing and able to understand paradox and abstract thought, as well as epistemological and transcendental inquiry and comprehension. Logic and reason of course have their place.

The pure scholar will always condescend to the poet and the artist. Society will always praise those who can memorize and then regurgitate information onto a piece of paper, and mock the spiritually-minded, who actually possess a deeper and a superior form of intelligence we know as buddhi.

This is not so true in the East. Long ago, the Vedas mapped the anatomy of the mind. Vedanta recognized various levels of the mind or various mental states including: the normative mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), ego (ahamkara), conditioned consciousness & the field of all possibilities (chitta) and unconditioned consciousness or super-consciousness (chit).

Imagination isn't fully knowledge, but can be an important ingredient in the recipe for comprehension or viveka. Through study, contemplation, and yogic practices: pranayama, atma vichara, pratyahara, dhyana, etc. the spark of imagination leads to understanding, to experiential as well as intellectual knowledge; as mahat moves from one kosha to the next, from the more subtle koshas (sheaths) to the more gross koshas. Just a thought.

One's svadharma intermingles between the spiritual, mental and material worlds, represented by sattva, rajas and tamas guna. Spirituality is often first, a conceptual, then an experiential understanding that we are not the body-mind complex; but that the body is a vessel and the mind, an instrument. The individual persona or ahamkara is as well. Vedanta speaks often of energy, light and matter, being the basis for all of life, which for humans, is an opportunity to be the Being, Consciousness and Bliss of Atma-Brahman. Our separate and shared dharma can assist if we know and engage in it but can be a detriment to spiritual progress if we don't.

Mantra 101

MANTRA PRIMARILY IS A HINDU FORM OF WORSHIP. IT IS UTILIZED IN TANTRA(RITUALISTIC) AND BHAKTI(DEVOTIONAL) YOGAS. LITERALLY, MANTRA MEANS 'THAT WHICH SAVES/PRESERVES THE MIND'. NOT THE BRAIN BUT THE MIND. AS SUCH, IT IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR RECONDITIONING THE MIND AND IS USED ALONG WITH PRANAYAMA(BREATH CONTROL) IN AYURVEDIC PSYCHOLOGY AND YOGA THERAPY.

MANTRA COMES FROM THE 54 LETTER SANSKRIT ALPHABET. THE ALPHABET CAME FROM HIMALAYAN RISHIS OR VEDIC SEERS. THE RISHIS RECEIVED IT FROM DIVINE SOURCES. SO MANTRA IS NOT A SLOGAN, AFFIRMATION, MOTTO OR SAYING. MANTRA IS TO BE DONE AS A SACRED RITUAL, NOT AS A MERE PAST-TIME OR FOR SUPERFICIAL MOTIVES LIKE ATTRACTING CHICKS OR WINNING THE LOTTERY.

A MANTRA MUST BE PRONOUNCED CORRECTLY TO WORK. ALSO, THERE IS A PARTICULAR RHYTHMIC CADENCE AND PITCH TO ADHERE TO FOR LONGER MANTRAS. ONE WHO PRACTICES MANTRA, MUST HAVE THE PROPER FOCUS AS WELL AS A PROPER INTENTION. A PRACTITIONER OF MANTRA SHOULD HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE MANTRA(S) MEANING THEY RECITE. A MANTRA BECOMES FULLY EMPOWERED ONLY AFTER IT IS REPEATED 100,000 TIMES.

SO YOU SEE, MANTRA IS SPECIFICALLY HINDU AND IS TO BE PRACTICED BY SERIOUS DEVOTIONAL YOGIS, NOT BY SOME GUY WHO WANTS MONEY TO MATERIALIZE OUT OF THIN AIR. IF YOU WANT MONEY THEN WORK FOR IT. OF COURSE, WE WESTERNERS LOVE TO TAKE THINGS FROM OTHERS CULTURES, TRADITIONS AND RELIGIONS. WE LIKE TO TAKE THINGS LIKE MANTRA, REDEFINE THEM OR MAKE THEM MARKETABLE AND CLAIM THEM AS OUR OWN.

THAT SAID, THERE IS NOTHING RADICALLY 'WRONG' WITH NON-HINDUS PRACTICING MANTRA, ESPECIALLY IN THE FORM OF CHANT OR KIRTAN(CALL AND RESPONSE). HOWEVER, THE STUDENT/PRACTITIONER SHOULD REALIZE THAT MANTRA IS DEFINITELY A HINDU PRACTICE. IT'S NO SIN TO UTILIZING MANTRA FOR WHAT SOME MAY CONSIDER, SUPERFICIAL REASONS. EVERYONE SEEKS LOVE & COMPANIONSHIP(KAMA). EVERYONE MUST ACHIEVE SOME DEGREE OF PROSPERITY AND MAKE A PROPER LIVING(ARTHA). HOWEVER, ONE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT PRACTICING MANTRA AT A 'LOWER LEVEL' IS NOT A REPLACEMENT, BUT RATHER A STEPPING-STONE TO A MANTRA'S HIGHER PURPOSE, WHICH IS TO HAVE A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE OR TO ACQUIRE DIVINE INTIMACY VIA THE CURRENT OF SOUND(LAYA). HOW DO YOU THINK CATHOLICS WOULD FEEL IF THE ROSARY AND STATIONS OF THE CROSS WERE BEING TAUGHT BY A NON-CATHOLIC AT YOUR LOCAL BORDERS OR BARNES AND NOBLE; NOT AS A MEANS OF WORSHIP BUT ONLY AS A MEANS OF FINDING PROSPERITY AND ROMANCE? A PRETTY SILLY CONCEPT ISN'T IT?

MAKING MONEY IS A NECESSARY PART OF LIFE FOR MOST OF US. IT IS FINE TO USE THE MANTRA 'SHREEM' TO ATTRACT THE 'ENERGY/PRESENCE' OF LAKSHMI, WHO BRINGS LOVE, SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY AS WELL AS MATERIAL PROSPERITY. HOWEVER, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEVOTED HINDU WHO LOVES LAKSHMI RECITING HER MANTRA AND AN AMERICAN WHO JUST WANTS TO MAKE IT INTO A SORT OF MAGICAL INCANTATION FOR ATTRACTING THE MATERIAL AND NOT THE TRANSCENDENT.

THE MOST IMPORTANT MANTRA IS ALSO THE MOST POPULAR. THAT IS 'AUM'. AUM IS THE UNDERLYING-VIBRATORY FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE. 'AUM' IS THE ORIGIN OF SOUND AND/OR VIBRATORY CREATION. IT PRECEDES EVERY MANTRA AND IS THE FINISH TO EVERY MANTRA. 'AUM' IS THE 'PRANAVA', WHICH MEANS; EVER RENEWING, EVER FRESH SUBTLE SUBSTANCE OF LIFE .

MANY OF US PRAY EVERY DAY. SOME OF US PRAY ALL DAY. TO PRAY IS NOT THE SAME AS TO "PREY". OFTEN OUR PRAYERS ARE IN THE FORM OF A REQUEST. WE ASK GOD FOR THIS AND FOR THAT. FEW REQUEST OF GOD, THE HIGHEST THING SHE HAS TO OFFER. IN HINDU DHARMA, WE WANT UPASANA, THE SANSKRIT WORD FOR ‘WORSHIP.’ MEANING SIMPLY ‘SITTING OR BEING NEAR’ GOD. THE MANTRA IS THE ViBRATIONAL FORM AND INVOCATION OF THE DEVATA. THE DEVATA IS THE PERSONAL AND ANIMATED FORM OF THE MANTRA.

"WHEN WE REPEAT OUR DESIRES FOR SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENT, IT IS A RAJASIC OR DISTURBED MANTRA. SUCH MANTRAS DO NOT HEAL THE MIND BUT PERPETUATE ITS PATTERNS OF IGNORANCE AND AGITATION." DAVID FRAWLEY(VAMADEVA SHASTRI)

"THOUGH IT SEEMS THAT DEITY AND MANTRA ARE TWO DISTINCT PRINCIPLES OPERATING ON TWO DIFFERENT LEVELS, IN REALITY THEY ARE ONE IN THE SAME. A DEITY IS A GROSS PHYSICAL FORM OF A MANTRA, AND A MANTRA IS A SUBTLE FORM OF A DEITY". PANDIT RAJMANI TIGUNAIT

"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD(AUM/PRANAVA), AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD". NEW TESTAMENT

"SILENCE OF THE SEWN-UP LIPS IS NO SILENCE. ONE MAY ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULT BY CHOPPING OFF ONE'S TONGUE, BUT THAT TOO WOULD NOT BE SILENCE. HE IS SILENT WHO, HAVING THE CAPACITY TO SPEAK, UTTERS NO IDLE WORD."-MAHATMA GANDHI

Japa & Bija Mantra Recitation: The Four Seed Syllables of the Goddess

Mantra=Man(mind) & Tra(to protect)...therefore Mantra means ''To protect the mind".

The word ‘japa’ means ‘to murmur.’ So, to begin, one may do japa or a continual barely audible and quick repetition of any bija mantra or name of the divine. Japa is a technique of reciting a Mantra or a name of the divine in succession. It develops and increases one's personal devotion to a chosen deity as well as to the certain qualities of that deity.  It purifies and protects the mind and builds concentration. Meditation itself is little more than a high level of concentration and focus.

Vachika Japa is chanting aloud.

Upanshu Japa is chanting in a whisper.

Manasa Japa is chanting silently or mentally.

Chanting aloud is less effective than chanting in a whisper, and chanting silently is more effective than either.

Likhita Japa is writing a Mantra or name of god down on a piece of paper a number of times.

Akhanda Japa is repeating a Mantra or name of god for a fixed period of time daily.

Nama Sankirtana is to rhythmically sing a Mantra or name of god.

Akhananda Nama Sankirtana is the practice of singing or chanting the Mantra or name of god without interruption for days or weeks.

Ajapa Japa is to silently or mentally repeat the Mantra or name of god with each passing breath.

Manasa Japa is the term for the recitation of a Mantra or name of god by one who has done so for years.  It is also the term for the state of concentration or meditation held by one who has done so.

Siddha-Mantra Japa is the recitation of a Mantra given by the Guru.

Bija or seed Mantras come from the Tantric tradition. Each deity has his/her own seed Mantra.  Tantra says that wherever a Bija Mantra is spoken with devotion, the god or goddess manifests him or herself. The main Bija Mantras of the divine feminine are as follows:

AUM is the Bija Mantra for monks or those who wish to renounce the world and is seen as the most important Mantra.  It can also be recited by anyone at any time for anything; as the Mantra AUM can precipitate and/or follow any other Mantra, and in doing so, give power or strength to that Mantra.

HRIM is the prime Mantra of the divine feminine or goddess and holds all her creative and healing powers.  It brings fortification to the soul and causal body.  It resonates in the heart and therefore brings in the power of love and attraction.  HRIM is the Mantra of divine Maya and thus helps one see through materialistic or worldly Maya.

KRIM is the Bija Mantra of Kali, the goddess of energy(Shakti) and transformation.  This Mantra builds and governs Prana.  KRIM grants all spiritual or energetic powers from the awakening of Kundalini to the opening of the third eye.  Its power or Shakti is especially related to the lower Chakras and assists in their stimulation and transformation.  It is a strong Mantra and should be used with care in a protected environment under the tutelage of a competent teacher.

HUM is the Bija Mantra of Chandi, the fierce form of Kali.  As with KRIM, it should be used with great care.  This Mantra creates passion and vitality while destroying negativity or anything unholy.  It can also be used to invoke protection from the divine mother or goddess.  It is like fire, if you are far away from it you will not feel the warmth, but if you get too close, you'll get burned...find your right distance and never use this Mantra haphazardly.

SRIM  is Lakshmi's Bija Mantra and invokes beauty, devotion, love, affluence, health and divine grace.  It is a gentle Mantra and can be used by most anyone at any time.

To bring about the health of body, mind and spirit, one may recite all these Mantras thusly: AUM - HRIM - HUM - SHRIM - AUM.

Everyday Maya: The Parody of Truth

Simply put, all is one & one is all. Nirguna Brahman is an ideal one-ness w/o qualities including name and form. Saguna Brahman, which has characteristics, is considered by most Advaitins to be a part of maya. It is actually more like, Nirguna Brahman + Maya = Sarguna Brahman.

Some may use the terms Brahman & Purusha interchangeably but they are similar, not conceptually nor linguistically identical. Some will use the term Shakti, rather than Prakruti. Again, similar but not identical.

Prakruti is more like Swarupa Shakti; Conscious, eternal, and immutable. She is not so much a part of maya, but the catalyst of maya yet to come. Maya itself is often seen to have negative value when it is defined simply as `illusion.`  This too is convoluted. Maya and ignorance (advidya) are also non-identical. Maya can be good, bad, or otherwise indifferent. Maya is an amazingly beautiful, although illusory construct. A sort of parody of truth. It is divine, just as any Devatha is a divine part and parcel of Brahman.

Maya is division & the power which causes separateness and/or individuality. Actually, the illusion thereof. It is ultimately an illusion. It is dual. Duality leads one towards non-duality, not visa-versa. Though an Advaitin can have an dvaitin practice or observance. A Dvaitin can also understand the basic concept of advaita, on an intellectual level. He/she can also understand the atma=brahman concept by experience. One does not certainly have to be adhered to one concept or another to chant Aum- for an hour and experience spiritual unity or yoga-proper. One does not even have to be Hindu. Yet if one does adhere to duality, the ego will tend to get in the way of experiencing spirit or oneness (samadhi) with something outside the body-mind complex, because that experience might in itself offend the ego, which is more or less a culmination of very sticky patterns of thought we have accumulated to keep us stuck in the `I am a body` delusion. For the same reason, we are frightened by death.

Maya refers mostly to the illusion of the physical world. That which is perceptible by the senses. The fathomable and that which moves or changes. Say we see a snake moving through tall grass. We can locate the snake as it moves along, but it will feel our presence and stop. Why? Because the snake knows all too well that we cannot harm it if we cannot see it. If we focus our attention on the snake, we can see it or differentiate it from the grass only for a short time before it seems to completely disappear. It is in reality, still right there, but now our sense of sight has found it is limited by the gunas. The tanmatras between the object and the subject`s senses, along with the snake, have stilled. Here, the observer loses some ability to sense division and can quite easily go into a state of dhyana or meditation.

The gunas are the three fundamental forces of nature; rajas (kinetic energy), Tamas (mass-energy), and sattva (nuclear energy). Sattva reflects purity, light, and harmony. Rajas reflect activity and passion. Tamas reflects ignorance and inertia. All things in the phenomenal world can be categorized by various ratios of triguna. According to the Sankhya philosophy, the 5 senses, 5 mortar organs, and the mind stem from Sattva-guna. From Tamas-guna comes the 5 elements and their corresponding 5 tanmatras of sound (ether), touch (air), smell (earth), taste (water), and sight (fire).

Tanmatras are subtle subatomic particles which act as transmitters between an element and the sense organs. If a trumpet is played, it creates a sound. We perceive sound through the sense of hearing and the ear. The tanmatras bring the sound to the ear. They take hold of the vibrations and bounce the sound back and forth between the thing making the sound and the ear. Without the tanmatra of sound, there can be no hearing even though sound and the ear still exist.   

The yogi can also practice trataka using drishti (attention) and dharana (concentration). Put simply as staring at a candle's flame. I use yogic and Sanskrit terms for those who understand their meaning, which can be much more meaningful than their English counterparts. At first, the yogi will see the flame moving along with the direction of wind. Wind moves to the periphery where there is space or ether. Motion creates friction and fire. We can perceive the fire element primarily by the sense and tanmatra of sight. As the yogi continue with this practice, the flame first ceases to flicker. It is in `reality` still moving, but the yogi has slowed his/her mind and senses to the point where true reality can be perceived. Continuing with this practice, the flame and all surroundings seem to disappear. The practice has become a form of pratyahara and all that not long ago appeared in our outer world has now become internalized.  

Linguistically, `ma` means to measure. `Ya`means movement and also division, as that which moves is in one way or another, dividing. `May` means to disappear. `May` also refers to a state of intoxication. `Maya` is also a Sanskrit word for vayu or wind. The wind is a principle of movement. When the wind ceases to move, it is no longer vayu, but akasha. Akasha or the element ether is primarily perceived by the sense and tanmatra of sound or auditory vibration. If the yogi now begins to chant Aum-, he/she will go into a state of being and bliss.  

All matter is an illusion that comes from energy, and is on its way back to energy. All energy is on its way back to consciousness, being, and bliss. We are just easily fooled by our mind and senses, as well as by time and space and therefore cannot perceive the magnificence of  reality. The concept of maya, the creative force of nature, is a lot like 'the matrix'. It's the paradoxical truth of a cosmic tapestry that leads us to believe that counterfeit-reality is the actual. It's not unlike an old movie reel being projected frame by frame onto a screen, portraying the illusion of continuance. If we were to slow down the projector, we would see that in actuality, these are just still photos which every-so-slightly change in appearance, one after the other. When we peek through the veil of maya, we can glimpse truth. This means slowing down time by slowing down the mind.

We can slow down the mind first by bringing the 5 senses inward. Then by focusing all mental energy on a single point, mantra, object or idea. With practice, one comes to see that what we thought to be real, is transient, temporary, and false. If you drop a bowling ball on your foot, you will not believe this. At least not until the pain and the memory of the pain fade away. However, with yoga practice we can know atma or the Self, beyond the gunas and ego. This practice results in the yogi obtaining buddhi, viveka, and ved. Buddhi is a form of clarity beyond what is ordinarily experienced. Viveka is the ability to recognize the eternal. The recognition of the eternal is a step towards the infinite and the experience of oneness with Self and the Absolute. The ved is knowledge of the actual, experienced on the level of manas or mind when that mind is in some union with Mahat or the cosmic mind. This can only occur when the yogi has learned to transcend the senses, mind, and the gunas.

This may have been one reason why Sri Krishna instructs Ajuna not to teach the yoga(s) to those who didn't already understand the forms and functions of the gunas. “Those who are sincere but are unaware of the distorting effects of the gunas continue to act by compulsion. Therefore, those who do understand should be careful in educating those who do not yet understand, so that the necessary actions and responsibilities of their lives are not disrupted.” ~Bhagavad Gita 3.29

Purusha (pure consciousness) becomes matter via Prakruti (pure energy). When these two merge, Pranava manifests. The Pranava Aum- is the initial form and is the catalyst and cause of all other forms within the universe. Being the first or primary form, it is also the first or primary function of unconditional consciousness (Purusha). It is the most subtle vibratory pattern of all that can be known through the 5 senses and the sixth sense of mind.

Maya is not found in Pranava itself, but Pranava is in maya. Maya is not found in Cosmic/Universal ego or Ahamkara, but ahamkara is a part of maya. Ahamkara is the ideal principle of individuality. It is the necessary knot in consciousness which divides all form and function into the plural for the purpose of comprehension. The adherents of Sankhya do not consider any of these higher tattvas to be maya. Maya begins only when the gunas are present. The higher principles above the gunas, are not subject to the gunas and are therefore not subject to maya.

As we are in a temporary state of body-mind awareness, our yoga is to follow matter back to energy. Then, if we can reach that state of tamasic energy, we can move on to the state raja-guna provides. Then on to the state that sattvic energy allows us to experience. We can exponentially become conscious beings and ultimately Being itself. Through the process of negation or neti neti, the yogi can omit what he/she has come to realize is false, until he/she is left with Atma. The intellectual and experiential knowledge of Self.

“Dear people of the world, awaken now and arise from your slumber. Meditate and perceive the Lord sitting within you. Within yourself you will find perfect knowledge, perfect love, perfect inspiration, and perfect poetry. You are a portion of God, and everything is within you. Discover everything there.

Within you there are infinite wonders, infinite secrets, most mysterious knowledge, love as deep as the ocean, and strength as solid as a mountain. My dear ones, attain all these through meditation. Perceive the knowledge which you already possess.

Become pure by seeing your eternal purity. Liberate the love that dwells within you, already perfect, already free. Then you will find your delight in the inner Self. This is true Godhood. By the yoga of meditation you become efficient in daily life, logical, intelligent, poetic, steadfast, courageous, compassionate, and wise.” ~Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa

The Dharma of Quantum Physics

Hinduism is the only spiritual tradition which accurately estimates the age of the universe as per modern science. Sanatana Dharma is also an intellectual and multi-cultural tradition attached to sophisticated schools of philosophy, its own system of medicine and psychology, architecture, astronomy, cosmology, metaphysics, metrology, mathematics, and various art forms. Sacred geometry, trigonometry, calculus, the concept of zero and negative numerals, the decimal system, pi, sine and cosine, the idea of multiple big bangs and an inter-dimensional multiverse, can all be traced back to the great minds of Vedic sages.

The very notion of this relationship was unknown and laughable to many in the scientific communities of the west. It was even unknown and laughable to many Indian scientists during and after colonial rule. It wasn't until 1989 and 1993, when author Deepak Chopra's books, Quantum Healing and Ageless Body, Timeless Mind became popular that the idea that any religion could have much of anything to do with the field of modern science was at all acceptable on any level of academia.

Even karma and reincarnation, the basics of Hinduism, are scientific. As many ways as karma, literally meaning ''action’ can take place, is fundamental physics. Every action has a certain reaction, no matter if we comprehend it or not. No matter our particular belief system, every cause has an effect. This is true with astronomy, physics, biology, psychology, and neuroscience. Reincarnation: All of nature is a part of an observable cycle that returns to itself upon its death where growth begins again, and we are a part of that nature and growth. Part of that cycle.

The ideas we see in quantum physics are not new, however. Some are indeed many thousands of years old, stemming from elemental dharshana (philosophy). The concepts that thought has mass, and that the universe would be static and contain no life without universal intelligence and consciousness, originated in Bharat or ancient India. The idea of time having mass or being made up of what modern physics call chronons, did as well. As did the idea that gravity and time relate.

Modern-day physics has discovered that inert subatomic particles are latent until they are exposed to human thought and intention. These particles come alive or active when awareness is applied. The idea that thought controls matter, and that matter is a crystallization of thought, can be found in the Samkhya Karika and other Hindu Shastra(s) (scriptures).

The very nature of Hindu worship is scientific. Yoga or union between the atma (divine Self) and the Murti or embodiment of the divine, mirrors the idea of connected consciousness. It mirrors the idea of one animate or inanimate thing, being affected by the mere intention of the worshiper. When the worshiper offers a flower to the murti, he/she says ‘swaha’, meaning ‘what is being offered’ and ‘swadha’ which is the intention behind the offering. Even the Sanskrit word for ‘worship’ is ‘upasana', which does not mean to glorify the deity, but to simply sit or be near the deity. As with the quantum principle of one thing being affected by another's thoughts, proximity counts while the vastness of creation is recognized in the quantum idea of a multiverse. This is a reflection of the Vedic idea of fourteen realms of the universe called ‘lokas’.

“When something vibrates, the electrons of the entire universe resonate with it. Everything is connected. The greatest tragedy of human existence is the illusion of separateness.” ~Einstein

The sixties saw the advent of String Theory. This postulates that particles are not singular points but that what we perceive as such, are actually vibrations in loops of strings. Each with its own characteristics or frequencies. In Vedanta, everything in the universe is seen as interconnected, just as our arms and legs are connected to the rest of the body. In Quantum Mechanics, there is no respite or gap between the observer and the observed. Particles are described as existing in a state of entanglement, where the behavior of one particle is dependent on the behavior of another, even if large distances separate them.

“The Brahman forms everything that is living or non-living … the wise man knows that all beings are identical with his self, and his self is the self of all beings.” ~Isha Upanishad

In Vedanta, the space throughout our universe is multidimensional. There are 64 foremost dimensions. Each is divided into multiple sub-dimensions. We on Earth can only experience three dimensions. Our senses simply do not have the means to experience other aspects of universal reality. Within Quantum Mechanics, we can find similar ideas. Physicists speak of reality in terms of particles and waves. What the Vedas call Paramanu, literally meaning 'universal atom’ and ‘vrittis’, literally meaning ‘mind waves.’

Thousands of years ago the Himalayan Rishis recognized that human awareness could only focus on one point of interest at a time, and that what we perceive as reality, was an illusory maya. The myriad-cosmic tapestry. A literal parody of reality and truth. The wheel of film being displayed onto a movie screen, shows one frame at a time. However, those watching the film see a menagerie of frames being projected that seems to be real when shown in sequence, over time and space. Both Vedanta and theoretical physics postulate that we are all matter under mind, or in a sense, dreaming we are awake. Both recognize that what the religious might call ‘God’ and what the physicist might call ‘unified theory’, are nothing but the observer consciousness and/or a conscious observer experiencing itself.

String theory is a framework which brings together gravity and quantum mechanics to build a theory of quantum gravity relating to time and space. The Vedantins recognized a force that keeps objects from floating off the surface of the Earth (gravity), seven thousand years before Isaac Newton was born.

The great thinkers of ancient Bharat spoke of how energy and matter at atomic levels, could influence one another from long distances. This is now called Quantum Entanglement. They also claimed that thought has mass and that thought or intention, can affect subtle matter and energy. They claimed that the observer affects the observed. Thousands of years later, physicists called this the Observer Effect.

Modern physics uses different terms and language than the Rishis did, but they both were drawn to similar theories and conclusions. One explains it with mathematical equations, and the other explains it philosophically. One speaks of reality in an outward and material sense while the other speaks more of inner space and spiritual metaphysics.

The Vedas say that time is eternal and omnipresent. Quantum physics says time is indestructible and controls all motion. The Hindu Dharma recognizes Brahman, not as ‘God’, but as a principle of an Absolute, interconnected reality. The microcosmic and macrocosmic are but reflections of one another. Hindus believe that each individual being is a microcosm or the universal macrocosm. Modern physicists call this ‘superposition’. In Hinduism, this notion can be found in the mantra ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ or even in the greeting, ‘Namaste.’ Both adhere to the idea that we are all models of the universal reality and the reality of the universe; and that on a more spiritual level, the Atma and Brahman are indeed one being in consciousness. So, it is no wonder so many well-known western physicists were and are, highly impressed and influenced by the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita.

“Most of my ideas are heavily influenced by Vedanta. Multiplicity is only apparent. This is the doctrine of the Upanishads. From the early Upanishads, the recognition. ‘Atman=Brahman’ (the self equals the omnipresent) represents the deepest quintessence and insights into the happenings of the world. The total number of minds in the universe is one. In fact, consciousness is a singularity phasing within all beings. There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural. This is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction. The only solution to this conflict lies within the ancient wisdom of the Upanishads.” ~ Erwin Schrodinger, Nobel Prize winning physicist

“After the conversations about Indian philosophy (w/ Rabindranath Tagore), some of the ideas of quantum physics that had seemed so crazy, suddenly made sense. Quantum theory will not look ridiculous to people who have read Vedanta.” ~Werner Heisenberg, German Nobel Prize-winning physicist

“The general notions about human understanding…illustrated by discoveries in atomic physics…are not unheard of or new. They have a history in Hindu thought. What we shall find in modern physics, is a refinement of old wisdom. Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all other centuries.” ~Robert Oppenheimer

“The Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s…dedicated to the idea that the cosmos itself undergoes an immense and innate number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun, and about half the time since the Big Bang. And they have much longer time scales too.” ~Carl Sagan

“All perceptible matter comes from a primary substance…filling all space, the Akasha which is acted upon by the life-giving Prana or creative force, calling into existence in never-ending cycles, all things and phenomena. ” ~Nikola Tesla

Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter. For modern physicists...Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. ~Fritjof Capra, physicist and director of the Center for Ecoliteracy

Welcome to Your Path: Advice for the New & Potential Dharmi

I often see people at Hindu groups and in real life too, who feel drawn to Hindu Dharma for a variety of reasons, and they ask if they can be Hindu if they are this or that. They ask, if they have done this or that, or if they have been a part of an Abrahamic religion, or an atheist, can they still become a Hindu. And they usually want to know how to become Hindu.

A Hindu is as a Hindu does. It is actually what one is and not something one becomes. A Dharmika practices authenticity, not necessarily any sort of actual ism. It is not really a matter of mere belief, doing Hindu rituals, or worshiping Hindu deities, though all that is good if one knows what one is doing and understands the deities to some degree.

Being Hindu means you come to think, speak, and act with nobility and truth. It is Arya and Satya. It is being true to what is rather than to any sort of mental conditioning. Nobility is to be real. There can be no pretension or performance.

However, a sort of humility and a realization that we do not have the whole truth and may even be delusional to some extent, must come along with it. It is not pride as such, but honorable behavior where thoughts, words, and deeds align. It is to act for the sake of the action without ulterior motives or expectations for reward. It is to be genuine and original. Follow your heart and mind. Do not imitate.

Sanatani is what we are by nature and/or what we were prior to being exposed to the world of artifice and indoctrination. It is what we were, prior to being taught to conform to anything. A true Dharmi is one who simply does the next right thing when no one is looking. Please note, I am not saying that I am myself, all these things. I am a work in progress like everyone else.

The newcomer might simply read what he/she feels drawn to read and if they like, offer their devotion to whichever Devata they feel attracted to. Learning how to do puja can be simple. Just sit, relax, breathe, and think on the form and persona of the deity and/or on the divine Self within. Hindu worship is not just about glorification, but upasana, or simply sitting near the beloved divine.

Hindu Dharma is based on knowledge and devotion, or ved and bhakti. If one feels drawn to it, it is likely due to past life experiences and impressions. Whether bhakti or jnana starts the fire of sadhana, matters not. The two support and propel the other. Say one is drawn to Adiyogi Shiva and has a seemingly natural love and affinity for him. That in itself may be enough to support one’s continuous spiritual practice, but naturally, the devotee usually has a desire to learn more about him.

In the beginning, the potential Hindu is trishna, or hungry for knowledge and can fall into the trap of biting off more than one can chew. It might be nice to know everything there is to know about Hinduism all at once. Then again, one’s head might explode. Still, knowing is an essential place to start for many Hindu newcomers.

There must be a desire to know the Veda-dharma, and something from within must  draw one to its nuance. Follow that inner calling. Come to know whatever it is inside. Then learn how to bring it into your life, little by little as the physical and metaphysical blend. Slowness is wholeness and ‘slowliness’ is holiness. Enjoy the nuance.

Knowledge and practice are form and function. It's more or less impossible to know it all. It is pretty much the same with practicing it all. If you could somehow do both all at once, then you'd graduate. Once something is perfected it just is and what brought you to that, is no longer needed. Once the knowledge and practice pays off fully, then there's no need for any ism at all.

This is an important difference between Dharma and dogma. Unlike the Abrahamic religions, the Hindu Dharma is not an end in itself. It is a top rung on a ladder towards epiphanies and a time and place of pure being, where it becomes obsolete.

To those who might think this is all nonsensical and idealistic conjecture; If a Hindu newcomer simply gets a statue from Amazon, then begins to do pujas, that is all well and good if his/her devotion and intentions are genuine. However, if he/she does not really comprehend what it is he/she is doing and does not have at least some understanding of the Devata, then he/she is just being performative and to some degree, just going through the motions.

I think we all have caught ourselves doing so at one time or another, as it is easy to lose focus in this busy world. If that is the case, then his/her sadhana may very well be superficial. If it is, then it is likely he/she will just be a temporary Hindu and he/she will revert back to his/her former religion or atheism.

If you think that a Hindu must do this and not that, you are correct to at least some degree. This is where we would get into discussions regarding the difference between Hindu-ism and Sanatana Dharma, and the difference between Vedika darshana or ancient Hindu Dharma and modern Hindu-ism.

It may be said that Hinduism is the religious aspect of Sanatana Dharma, but the two are not identical in my opinion. Not beyond a cultural basis. Sanatana Dharma is the eternal ideal and not any sort of thing. It is not something one can join or leave. The eternal way cannot get mocked up with any means of religiosity whatsoever.

As vast, plural, philosophical, scientific, and multicultural as Hinduism is, it still has boundaries which Sanatana Dharma does not. Not every Hindu is a Dharmi, and not every Dharmi is a Hindu. This alone indicates that there must be a difference between Sanatana Dharma and Hinduism. Sanatana Dharma is not just in Bharat. It is not just in this world or dimension. In this Kali yuga, Hinduism has indeed become in large part, an ism while Sanatana Dharma is the Dhr (Foundation) of Ma (Creation) that exists (Sat) everywhere all at once (Atana).

In regards to Hindu identity, one may choose to identify simply as Hindu. I, however, think it is important to continually redefine Hinduism as Sanatana Dharma, Vishva Dharma, Adi Dharma, Atma Dharma, Ishvara Dharma, Veda Dharma, Moksha Dharma, Ananda Dharma, Yoga Dharma, etc. Hindu identity, especially for indigenous Hindus, can be of importance for social, cultural, and political reasons. However, the truth of the matter is, you are beyond that. You are in truth, the Atma, the Purusha, and the divine Self.

To note: The word ‘Hindu’ comes from the word ‘Sindhu’, meaning 'river' or people of the rivers Saraswati and Indus. Therefore, the word ‘Hindu’, if we are to be correct, in my opinion, should for the most part refer to the descendants of these ancient Civilizations.

Not everyone agrees and many do not care, but I like words and I think we should come to understand that the word 'Hindu' is about heritage, culture, and geography rather than any sort of free-for-all ism. Different words have different meanings, no matter how slight. This is one reason I no longer tend to refer to myself as a ‘Hindu’, but a Dharmi. I am quite simply an adoptee of the Vedika Dharma.

Transcending Suffering & Understanding Karma

Karma tells us that our lives are not by chance but by choice.  So it is our thoughts, actions and reactions that form not only our personal mental states but all that happens in our lives. 

As many ways as action can take place, is Karma in one form or another. Every action has a certain reaction no matter if we understand it or not. No matter our particular belief system. Every cause has an effect. This is true with astronomy, physics, biology, psychology and neuroscience. Reincarnation? All of nature is a part of an observable cycle that returns to itself upon its death where growth begins again. We are a part of that nature and growth.

This is difficult to understand, and even more difficult to accept at times.  Most of us can not fathom the idea that we have created our own brand of suffering and pain that takes on many different forms, or that there is some sort of reason behind them.

On the flip-side, if we are very keenly honest, we can all see how our past thoughts and actions have produced our results in the present.  We should look upon our difficulties and tribulations, not as punishment or things we deserve...we should look upon them as opportunities to better ourselves and our situations in our own lives. 

Even those of us who've suffered the most...lost children, been victims of violent crime, suffered from physical and mental illnesses, etc. can come closer to ourselves, our loved ones and the divine while coming to terms with such horrible things.

And by gaining understanding through compassion, we become able to offer comfort to others who have experienced similar happenings in their own lives.  One may also find retribution and reparation from those who have hurt us, without guilt or martyrdom, though Karma will take care of this for us if we choose to ignore it.

In order to transcend suffering and change our lives for the better, we require some form of therapy. We need to be kind to ourselves and surround ourselves with those who are also kind.  We need inspiration and empowerment.  There are many things in life that are therapeutic.  Ultimately, therapy is simply a form of continuing education-where we learn more about life than we thought we already knew.

It can be talk therapy with a certified counselor or with a religious or spiritual guide.  It can be taking a Yoga class or learning how to meditate.  Whatever brings us to ourselves, our divine nature and a deeper understanding of ourselves and our minds that is ultimately inspiring, empowering and good or therapeutic.

I will not go into what is therapeutic and what is detrimental, as these things are different for different people.  It is also not too hard for an individual to find what is good and what is not so good for him or her self.  There are multiple healing modalities out there to choose from and while I consider some to be better than others, I will not go into that here. 

I should point out that the reason there are so many therapeutic options available, is simply because there is so much suffering.  Everyone has suffered to some degree.  You are not alone.

What I would like to speak about a bit is simple psychology.  First one must become clear on what is going on in one's life and mind.  One must do some self examination and inventory.  Once one finds in one's life the good, the bad and the "otherwise", one then can proceed to an examination of one's past.

One has to recognize one's "orchard" and then look in one's past, to when the "seeds" to the "orchard" were planted.  This is not to assign blame, but to obtain a clearer understanding of the nature in which one's life works...to find what has worked and repeat it, as well as to find what hasn't worked and to practice NOT repeating it or otherwise change it.

Of perhaps even more importance, one must take a look at one's future.  One must allow yourself to dream.  One does not have to become a world ruler, but one should strive to be the ruler of one's own life.  The "capt. of one's own soul" as it were. 

Goals of the future don't have to be incredibly specific or grandiose.   A few of my goals for example are to be happy and to help alleviate the suffering of others.  These are very vague and simple goals.

The point is, I have a vision for my future.  If I have no goals or no visions for a future I'd like to have some say in, then Karma or my past actions will fill in the blanks for me...and that may or may not be a great thing.  Again, our lives are not by chance but by choice.  As it happens, I am a very happy and content individual, despite some bouts with Bi-polar & plenty of self medication throughout the years.

I also do what I can and take advantage of opportunities to practice compassion and help the broken hearted...which is pretty much everyone.  This is why I wanted to write this little article. The very nature of our world these days leads to some sort of suffering.  Again, you are not alone.  I hope posting this helps someone today....it's been therapeutic for me.

What is a Spiritual Person?

To me, a spiritual person is just like one who feels. Also, one who can think or place his/her attention on what is beyond the temporary. So, that would mean, one who can place his/her attention on awareness itself. An undying awareness.

We know from Vedanta that we all have the power of choice which is chitta or a highly aware place of conditioned contentiousness.

As compared to chit, which is unconditional consciousness. From which, chitta must come. We might also call this the Purusha. Now, before this can happen or come about, one must be a yogi or yogini.

The yogi has preliminary tattvas of buddhi, ved, and viveka. So yeah. These qualities come in a similar succession and all this is a universal experience.

Meaning, one who has practiced authentic yoga 5k years ago and one who does the same in 2024, will have similar experiences, outcomes, and rationalizations.

The way I see things, is that nothing begins evil. We are quite simply true and natural right before we are exposed to the world of artifice, conditioning, and indoctrination. And this is more or less what modern religion says otherwise.

Dharma is not religion. Religion is like a stone that only see's downward. True spirituality is the opposite. It is not like a stone but a ship with sails.

There is an ideal of true religion which is Sanatana Dharma. We do not, however, know true religion in this world. The closest thing is the Hindu dharma.

I will get criticism but Hindu-ism and Sanatana Dharma, while being twins, are not identical. If you can know the difference, you might be a dharmika.

They may be culturally and linguistically the same. The words. If you can know their differences, then you comprehend both. Not just one or the other.

Hari Aum...Tat Sat

Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti

There is one in many and many in one…

My Path to the Hindu Dharma & Vedic Living

My spiritual experiences began early in life. At age four, I saw and communicated with otherworldly beings, events I now see as mystical. Looking back at these contacts later in life, I comprehended their lesson­—that I am not the body. Reality is more than the mental and physical, or the psychological and biological. A spiritual world exists ­beyond life’s formalities.

A bit later I was indoctrinated into Catholicism. I went through sacraments, studied the Bible, prayed and became a devotee of Christ. That’s when I developed devotion that I would later put towards a Hindu sadhana. My time as a Christian was not negative. I was never the type who preached to or wanted to convert others. I never had the thought that Christianity was the only true path to God. Around age 12, I had a brief interest in the occult and European Paganism. I also began yogic and other esoteric studies and practices. 

My father was a psychology professor who also taught meditation. He read the Vedas and was a student of Baba Ram Dass. By age 16 I had read the Rig Veda, Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita and Buddha’s teachings. I also had a full yoga practice. Long before I realized I was Hindu, I was practicing its disciplines.

In my early twenties, I was introduced to Haidakhan Babaji. I found an ashram of his devotees just 35 minutes from my home. There, I could practice karma and bhakti yoga while learning more about Hindu dharma and how to practice puja, homa, japa and arati. Soon I was studying Ayurveda and took courses from the American Institute of Vedic Studies founded by Acharya Vamadeva Shastriji (Dr. David Frawley), whom I regard as a modern-day rishi. Two decades later I got to study and practice with Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Frank Morales), the founder of International Sanatana Dharma Society. Acharyaji is a brilliant man with an immense amount of knowledge.

I initially felt drawn to the Sanatana Dharma by its depth of psychological understanding, along with its various philosophies, its all-inclusive pluralism and multiplicity. I had found none of these things in the monocultural Christian dogma. I became enamored with Vedanta and the idea that there exists a phenomenal universe outside the self, as well as a perceptible universe that could be found within the Self. I loved the idea that God could be found in the here and now through esoteric practices, introspection and austerities.

I became enamored with the idea that you are just a version of who I am, and that what I do to others, I actually do to myself. I admired the concepts of atman (the divine Self), Paramatman (the universal, eternal soul) and Brahman (the spiritual core of the Universe). I liked the idea that these three were considered to be in perpetual union, and I liked how Hinduism focuses on inner knowledge over outer belief.

I prefer to say that I’ve adopted Hinduism rather than converted. I eventually came to realize that Hindu ideology, philosophy and theology was what I had always known to be true. I like to say that I was born Hindu, was raised Christian and remembered later in life that I was actually Hindu. I did not wake up one morning and decide to be Hindu. 

It was a conscious, but a time-consuming process. I tend to introduce myself as an American Hindu because I do think there is a distinction between Hindus from India and Hindus from America, though we are all united under the greatness of Sanatana Dharma. In a world formed by colonialism, war, religious intolerance, imperialism and materialism, we Hindus should be proud to be simple yet astute, and peaceful yet potent practitioners of the dharma.

Can an Atheist Be Hindu? Can a Hindu Be Non-Theistic?

(In this article I examine the philosophical diversity & depth of Hindu Dharma, which includes non-theistic views and practices. Of course many will say it is misguided, and that is alright. It is natural for humans to adhere only to what they have been taught. I am not an atheist, but I wanted to show that Hinduism is not just about what we've come to know as 'religion', which has come to mean a mere sort of master and servant mentality between humans and the supernatural. That is mostly the Abrahamic view. The Dharmic view is much more profound, yet these two paradigms have merged at least to some extent in our mindsets. This age we live in does have its negative effects. Sanatana Dharma itself is whole, unaltered, and unaffected. The various ways we perceive and put it into practice appears as a multitude of paths, and paths within paths, which is the beauty of the Hindu Dharma.)

Atheism gained world popularity by opposing the ‘Guy in the Sky’ deity and Abrahamic monotheism. Hindu deism is much more complex. It cannot be opposed so easily, as, if one claims not to believe in Hindu deities, one must also claim not to believe in nature.

Hindus have the Trimurti, represented by Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who were initially depicted as Indra, Surya, and Agni, corresponding to the elements of water, sky, and fire. The Tridev represents the deification of the universal principles of creation, preservation, and destruction. Yajna fire ceremonies involve offerings of earth and water elements to the fire, resulting in air and space. This reflects the psychological doshas and/or principles of ojas, tejas, and prana.

We are defined by our true nature. A Hindu is as a Hindu does, not necessarily what occurs in his or her mind. Inner knowledge, based on experience, trumps all outer systems of belief. Dogma attracts and supports a hive-mind mentality and fanaticism. They are simpletons who rally behind ineptitude. Hindu dharma is not so mono-cultural. Dharma allows for freedom of individual expression, thought, and experience. It is basically not one religion but a conglomeration of many paths, and then there are paths within those paths.

Dharma is vast, diverse, and plural—encompassing and inclusive. Not every Hindu is a dharmika, and not every dharmika is a Hindu. Sanatana Dharma is far greater than any kind of ‘ism’—infinitely so, in fact.

When the eternal natural way is projected through matter, mind, senses, and identity, it becomes diffused and mistaken for mere religion. Religion, as we have come to know it, has definite boundaries. Sanatana Dharma does not. Hindu Dharma consists of many schools of thought, science, culture, technique, metaphysics, and profound philosophies. Four of the seven (including Buddhism) are indeed non-theistic. So yes, one may be called ‘Hindu’ and be an atheist—just not in the same way an atheist who opposes monotheism does. Many may say otherwise, but they could be under the influence of Abrahamic thinking and have come to know religiosity in its Western sense while they apply such an attitude of dogma to dharma.

Even famous hardcore Western atheists like Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins are much less critical of the Eastern dharmas than the Abrahamic religions. If we say an atheist cannot be Hindu, we then start getting caught in the Abrahamic games of competitive religion. We start believing that our faith is stronger than that of the others.

The highest absolute ‘God’ in Hinduism is Nirguna Brahman. However, Brahman is not a deity or a being in the heavens limited by gender, time, persona, and thought. Brahman is the ultimate principle of unconditioned consciousness.

I assume you believe in consciousness. If so, the question arises: ‘Are you truly an atheist?’ If you can reason that consciousness more vast and pure than your own exists, could you also reason that there may be an intelligence higher than your own? If so, might the existence of beings with such higher intelligence be possible, or even probable?

Again, dharma focuses on inner knowledge over outer belief, and finds its basis in timeless truths and natural law. Dharma is also an intellectual and multi-cultural tradition attached to philosophy, its own system of medicine and psychology, architecture, astronomy, metaphysics, mathematics and various art forms. In dharma, we find an all-inclusive pluralism and multiplicity. In religion, we find exclusivity, supremacists, imperialism, oppression, dualism, superstition, dogma and institutional-ism.

The highest or ultimate goal for a practising Hindu is moksha. Anything less is, in a sense, trading one thing for another. This is neither wrong nor bad. Perhaps one’s goal in this lifetime is to work on that which allows them to dwell in the realms of the devatas, or even to become a deva or devi. There’s nothing wrong with that, but ultimately, we must seek moksha. At that point, all paths become obsolete, and any desire to remain on one’s path becomes a roadblock to moksha. Ask yourself, ‘Do only Hindus attain moksha?’ If we are open-minded and honest, the answer is ‘no.’ Even though, in our worldly realm, only the eastern dharmas speak of moksha, there are non-Hindus and even non-theists who will attain this ultimate goal.

Religion, Dogma, & Spirituality 

Verse 18.66 of the Bhagavad Gita seemingly warns against the limitations of religions, yet is or has been used by some to create and perpetuate one. Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna over and over, act w/o attachment to the effects of actions. He teaches us to take right actions in the world of matter, using our minds and bodies while remaining aware of the fact that we are ultimately atma.

We live in a divisive world of maya and that includes all religions or lower dharmas. Paths to moksha and moksha itself are two different things. Does Bhagavan mean `Me` as the avatar Sri Krishna with form, name, gender, and persona, or as nirguna…the formless Absolute? Bhagavan is both, simultaneously. He is Ishvar and Brahman.

So, some will take this verse and interpret it to support dvaita and bhakti yog. This is wonderful until religion turns to religiosity and the faithful begin insisting all others adhere to their limited POV. Such an Abrahamic-like mindset is what Krishna is warning Arjuna about, Imo.

Now, surrender unto Me.` Does Sri Krishna say worship me? He says Śaraṇam: Seek refuge, not through adulation or worship but Parityajya: The abandonment of all things (all matter) other than the Imperishable Self in all who Sri Krisha says He is.

Regarding being freed of sins; Here we see more Abrahamic influences. Trading worship for reward or belief for some sort of salvation. Bhagavan told Arjuna that if he realized the true Self, then he would no longer be subject to karma or the negative results of his future actions.

In this verse, Bhagavan also says to Arjuna to be fearless and that He will free Arjuna of all forms of bondage or pasa. The Sanskrit word `pasa` also refers to the entirety of all existence. Papa means `sin` or `transgression`; more properly it refers to adharma or anything contrary to natural law…any action which conflicts with truth. Dharma focuses on inner knowledge over outer belief and finds its basis in timeless truths and natural law. Hinduism is not a single religion, but a complex of various Dharmas.

Sanatana Dharma is the eternal and inherent nature of the actual, attached to universal or cosmic principles and laws. Dharma in this sense, refers to the intrinsic nature of reality and universal truth. The word ‘dharma’ does not equate to the word ‘religion’. When I began reading the Shastra(s) it made more sense to me than other religious texts I had read, but I still found myself somewhat confused by what appeared to me at the time to be inconsistencies. After some years of studying various schools of Indic-Hindu thought, everything came into place. Vedic teachings give harmony to such contradictions of sorts, but one must be willing and able to understand paradox and abstract thought, rather than dogmatic, black & white constructs. What do you think?

Is it Necessary to Reconcile Dvaita & Advaita, or Duality & Non-Duality?

Hindu dharma is all about nature. Everyone believes in nature, as the natural world is easy to perceive. Hindus have Trimurti or Brahma, Vishnu, & Shiva, initially represented as Indra, Surya, and Agni and/or the elements of water, sky, and fire. As such, Tridev is the deification of the universal principles of creation, preservation, & destruction.

We can see the same in Yajna fire ceremonies involving offerings of the earth & water elements to the fire, resulting in air & space. This reflects the psychological sub-doshas or principles of ojas, tejas, & prana. Ojas relates to tamas, tejas to rajas, and prana to sattva guna.

The purusha is like Shiva. Prakruti is like Shakti. Purusha being passive awareness and the field of all possibilities. Prakruti being dynamic and willful. Her first desire was “Ekohum Bahusyam” (I am one; let me become many).

There is a magnetism between Purusha (energy) and Prakruti (matter). When they merge, the manifestation of AUM occurs. Aum is like Brahman. It is `pranava` or the ever-renewing vibratory fabric of the universe. Not an individual being, but the principle of cyclic formation. Brahman could also be seen as a separate principle prevailing over both Purusha and Prakruti.

`Brahman is the source of the universe.` ~ Brahma Sutra Shankara Bhashya 1.1.2

Mahat is the cosmic mind. Buddhi is universal intelligence. Akamkara (cosmic ego/individuality) allows for the division of Brahman into various forms of life, including that of the Devathas.

The five tanmatras are constantly being taken in by the senses to the mind and ricochet back out into the world. They splinter off into an endless number of more subtle tanmatras. They are in a constant state of motion, which causes the illusions of time and change. These tanmatras along with the gunas and the five elements, make up maya. A parody of truth. They are the cause and maya is the effect.

"The whole world is an outward projection of your own mind." ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi   

So, this is how the principles or tattvas of Sankhya can be deified and/or personified. No reconciliation necessary. Atheism in Hinduism is not quite the same as it is seen by adherents of Abrahamic religions. The popularity of atheism came about as a rebellion against monotheism or mono-cultural theology.

Hindus believe in enlightenment, which is actually something that can be attained by atheists. We believe the entire universe is ultimately divine, so for an atheist to oppose Hindu deism, he/she would basically have to oppose everything. He/she would have to claim that nothing exists.