MERGING WITH SIVA
Lesson
124 - Proper Foundation For Yoga
Many
Hindu teachers in the West teach
purely
advaitic
meditation, with no theism or religious practice, but most who have
come
to the West from India were raised in Hindu homes. They have within
them
a firm religious, cultural foundation for yoga. Many do not pass the
religious
culture on to their Western devotees, however. In an orthodox Hindu
community
they would most likely teach in a more traditional way.
Advaita philosophy is appealing to the Westerner.
It does not require a change in lifestyle.
The
nondual, advaita-based meditations do
bring
the devotees out of the conscious mind, but more often than not lead
them
into the subconscious.
It is here, within the subconscious, that
unresolved
problems with family and one's own personal ego begin to appear.
Without
a proper religious-cultural background and traditional Hindu belief
system,
these problems are difficult to handle. This turmoil is certainly not
the
purpose of advaitic meditations, but it is a by-product. The wise guru
trains his devotees in traditional Hindu culture and values and teaches
the beginning yogas, as well as temple protocol, music, the arts and
dance.
All these should be mastered to build a proper subconscious foundation
within the mind. Karma yoga and bhakti yoga are the necessary prelude
to
the higher philosophies and practices.
Group
meditation is all right, as the
group
can
really help the
individual, as does the individual help the
group.
Intense meditation awakens the samskaras, the impressions of the past,
and intensifies the prarabdha karmas, bringing them into manifestation
before their time. It has a greenhouse effect.
No
one should perform intensive
meditation
alone
until he or she can serve selflessly and accept praise and blame and
criticism
without complaint or resentment, but with a sweet smile. Only when a
devotee
has reached this stage is he or she firmly on the kriya pada, which
will
lead quite naturally to the yoga pada. Then, finally, raja yoga and
other
kinds of more refined, intensive sadhanas can safely be performed.
These will clean up the karmas of the past
without
mental pain, once the proper foundation has been set within the mind
and
character of the devotee.
The
progressive sadhanas of karma yoga,
bhakti
yoga and then raja yoga are like clearing a path of its stones. First
you
remove the big stones.
Then you walk back along the path. You still
see big stones, but they are half the size as the first ones that were
removed, and you remove these as well. Then you walk back along the
path
and remove more stones that stand out as large, and on and on until the
path is clear. It is a refinement process.
The
person on the path has to be soft,
pliable,
easy to get along with, as well as firm-minded. Therefore, bhakti,
which
is love in action, is a necessary prerequisite to success on the San
Marga,
the straight path to God, toward merger with Siva. All kinds of yogic
techniques
can be practiced, but they hold no fruitful rewards for those who are
not
firm-minded and not strong in the essential virtues. The prideful,
antagonistic
and difficult-to-get-along-with people must soften their hearts. This
is
done through bhakti and karma yoga. These practices alone will free the
devotee from the anava marga--the path of building up and keeping the
personal
ego strong. The anava marga is a difficult path to leave for the san
marga,
but the results on the san marga are so much more rewarding in the long
run.
