SPIRITUALITY 101 - MY TWO CENTS

1.Spiritual progress is actually a process of unlearning, unpinching, undetaching ourselves. Our pain is being caused by our own conscious/subconscious currents of thought which are in some sense deriving energy from us to prolong our misery. All we need to do is to drop it and stop hurting ourselves further. Our ignorance is very stubborn and deep rooted as we have learnt wrongly to assume/identify with externalities from God knows when. There are a mass of assumptions about ourselves which we have never taken the care to examine, nobody really knows how we came on to assume these erroneous notions about ourselves which we constantly entertain and we need to question some of these basic assumptions to start breaking the spell of ignorance and literally waking up from a sleep/slumber like state which is ignorance.

Ultimately we have to recognize that our evolution lies in our own hands and it is not a preprogrammed genetic function but one that involves your will/Action(self/non-self interested Action/Creativity in co-creating the future which is what scientists like Darwin etc failed to recognize. The purpose of life is to make spiritual progress and discover higher degrees and dimensions of happiness that are permament and lasting by destroying self made barriers and illusions we have been harbouring. When some barriers are crossed they don’t return anymore, just as crossing the first few barriers of waves helps one to get into calm lasting seas and there is no return or battling them again.

2.Unless we highlight the permanent basic relationship that we have with the whole/God and depend less on the painful temporary relations we have developed with people and near and dear ones it will be difficult for us to come out of the attachment born of pain and later forced detachment(death). There is one person we call God/Atman who validates and accepts us as we are and understand where our actions born of ignorance stem from including anger, violence and all negativities in life. This relation with a Higher intelligence principle transcends/defies description via verbal processes and is best intuitive like the relationship a Child enjoys with a Mother which is a-priori before knowledge of language and symbols is born.

3.Role of Brain Function Lateralisation : The education given in modern civilization especially in a country like India is too left brained(analytical/technical/reasoning based) in its approach leading to a very lopsided development of an individual. Thought these are very important in developing the positive sciences, an over dependence on this faculty makes the individual miss out on sound emotional and psychological development which needs the right brain activities in great measure. A true appreciation of spirituality can only come from integration and development of both faculties to a high degree with the focus on right brain being more important of the two.

a.Left Brain processes (Logic, Rational, Linear Reasoning, Sequential, Language (Grammar, Vocabularyl), Analysis, Verbal(Grammar, Vocabulary) Thesis-Anti-thesis, Objective, Cold, Dry, Scientific, Micro, Exact/specific, Literal, Deductive)
b.Right Brain Processes (Random, Holistic, Gestalt, Intuitive, Synthesis, , Prosodic function (Intonation, Accentuation), Subjective, Sensitive, Holistic, Gestalt, Lateral, Creative, Spiritual, Artistic abilities, Musical, Poetic, Processing of visual and audiological stimuli, Spatial Manipulation, facial perception, Approximate/General, Contextual, Inductive)

c.Integral Process – Spirituality, Mathametical Progress, Emotions

Yoga Techniques like Pranayama which try and integrate the left nostril breathing(right brain) and Right nostril breathing(left brain) and achieve Integral breathing thereby facilitating a wholistic brain process which is a pre-requisite for Spirituality.

4.Discovering Orders/Harmony – Life is about discovering, fostering an order/good health in the body and mind so as to be able to transcend it naturally/gradually which is what Good health is all about. Yoga for discovering body orders and practicing value of values(Yama, Niyamas, Asthangayogas) for bringing the mind to an order. Once things are in order these cease to disturb you though they continue functioning which is what enlightenment is about, it is NOT about trying to stop your thoughts(might be an after effect) or torturing the body but keeping them in such a good order that they don’t disturb you and allow you to focus and appreciate a beauty and mystery that is very intimate to us.

5.In all this talk of spirituality we must try and always maintain a sense of humour. Spirituality is sometimes outwardly perceived and seen as a serious worrysome business truly speaking thought it brings about a certain fullness which is associated with seriousness in our minds due to our own seriousness in life. In all the ups and especially the downswings of our karmic cycles we should try to have a sense of humour and lightness in our being as it helps us then overcome the same quickly and painlessly without adding to some amount or degree of pain that might be there. Most existentialist angst and outlook born out of the limited nature of the body and mind we possess and this tends to develop a serious outlook filled with a sense of struggle to overcome the space time limitation which is a property of the body and mind but not ourselves. In a sense the existentialists have faced this inner ghost we all possess but which most of us cover up in our daily rush and requires a certain boldness to face. But being a Ghost to the true spiritual aspirant this obstacle can be overcome through deep meditation on some of the truths about onself as mentioned in Vedanta which frees us from all space time limitations. The grace of a teacher adept at unfolding and wielding the Sastras is very essential for Jnana(enlightenment) to occur and for us to grasp these Truths.

6. Role of Pain/Suffering As already explained only some amount of existential angst can bring in us a desire to overcome these limitations which most people either try and cover up or fail to realize in their daily routine of their lives. Great stalwarts like Buddha, Eckhart Tolle underwent a lot of suffering before they completed a full circle in life and came out of the cycles of pain and suffering(rebirth). Only a great desire to become free from the limitations and slavery that we normally fall into and a certain disillusionment can give us the necessary energy to pursue a way out of this matrix. Only By embracing the pain and suffering and conditionings without avoiding them naturally will we be able to create the space and awareness and intelligence to transcend them and stay away from self created misery and suffering. The moment we develop awareness about our conditionings and pain bought out by recursive actions do we realize that we have been causing 90% of the pain by pinching ourselves. The residual 10% pain is more a healing process which can easily be borne and that too soom diminishes out once we have fully healed. In this sense the whole of living is purging out the unconscious into the domain of the Conscious where it gets scorched and consumed leaving you the awareness principle free and shine in all its glory and manifest higher orders of Being.