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The deeper and more profound the Self-realization of a person, the more strong and subtle their spiritual vibrations become. One may say, “So what,” but this is not a minor point. A single individual can influence whole civilizations, not only politically, but also through spiritual realization and vibration. Sometimes this is done rather intentionally, as in the cases of Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, etc., and sometimes the force of spirit is very strong though perhaps not as morally copacetic—we have our Ceasars and our Napoleons. In any case, self-realization can manifest as energy and spirit in many other individuals, shaping history to unfathomable degrees. One’s subtle spiritual vibration then, is not some trivial or minor accompaniment of meditation, but may, in the right soul, affect nations and, as they say, “move mountains.” So the Self of the human being, though usually in repose, is not some superfluous vehicle, but may be of great consequence, indeed.

So each individual, in his or her own way, may in fact be a necessary and inextricable component of the universal fabric. The universe cannot do without a single atom, nor can it do without a single person, however strange this may seem. God created each soul, each individual, each of whom is necessary to the whole of Nature, which indeed has no extraneous features or parts. It is all essential. The basic freedom, which seems so evanescent, of the individual exists truly and fundamentally, if one is able to find one’s true will—it all depends on inner freedom. Outer freedom is out of our control, and we need not be attached to it. But once inner freedom is achieved, outer freedom, except in very unfortunate circumstances, tends to strengthen as well.

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DividedQuantum said:

Check out my new book! It is now available for pre-order at various places, and currently available from the publisher directly. It is also available as an e-book at most outlets. From the back cover:

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This is a book about mysticism, exploring five different spiritual traditions that exhibit it to a robust degree. We go from the most theistic heights of Hinduism to the stark atheism of Buddhism. From the little structured Native American spirituality to the radical mystical Catholicism of Teilhard de Chardin. We will touch on Taoism as well, as we must ground ourselves in the Way. Each tradition emphasizes union or direct communion with ultimate reality, or with God.

All espouse eternal life, even the atheistic Buddhists. Intuition, insight, radical meditation techniques—subjective experience—can give us direct knowledge of spiritual truth. And this subjective experience can transform into an equally objective one. In the end the yogi, swami, lama, guru—holy person—learns that subjective and objective are in actuality equivalent. He who transcends duality is a strong candidate for Enlightenment. This is the tip of a very big iceberg. Come take a foray into authentic mysticism, and gain a roadmap that can guide you for the rest of your lives.

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immediate availability: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/societies-of-the-spirit

pre-order from amazon: here

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DividedQuantum said:

Check out my new book! It is now available for pre-order at various places, and currently available from the publisher directly. It is also available as an e-book at most outlets. From the back cover:

Quote:

This is a book about mysticism, exploring five different spiritual traditions that exhibit it to a robust degree. We go from the most theistic heights of Hinduism to the stark atheism of Buddhism. From the little structured Native American spirituality to the radical mystical Catholicism of Teilhard de Chardin. We will touch on Taoism as well, as we must ground ourselves in the Way. Each tradition emphasizes union or direct communion with ultimate reality, or with God.

All espouse eternal life, even the atheistic Buddhists. Intuition, insight, radical meditation techniques—subjective experience—can give us direct knowledge of spiritual truth. And this subjective experience can transform into an equally objective one. In the end the yogi, swami, lama, guru—holy person—learns that subjective and objective are in actuality equivalent. He who transcends duality is a strong candidate for Enlightenment. This is the tip of a very big iceberg. Come take a foray into authentic mysticism, and gain a roadmap that can guide you for the rest of your lives.

---

immediate availability: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/societies-of-the-spirit

pre-order from amazon: here

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Looks great, dude! Hoping to publish a book or two similarly myself!

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Father Teilhard, as we know, argued for a common thread of psyche in evolution—the within that is always present at every turn. He points out that in biology, or today, in something like sociobiology, all instinctual behaviors and activities—such as we might find in certain insects, like ants or bees, or beaver colonies—really come down to an essence that is not automatic, or mechanical, or what have you. Humans recapitulate certain animal behaviors, and so in both the human and the animal, what we are seeing is not somehow hereditary machinery, but rather another manifestation of consciousness. Even the bee ‘doing his thing,’ or the beaver constructing a dam for his family, is not relying on exclusively robotic programs to carry out these activities. Some degree, and perhaps a very great degree, of awareness and spontaneity are necessary. As Teilhard points out, “Consciousness in its turn, as we now know, is nothing less than the substance and heart of life in process of evolution.”

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An intriguing commentary on advanced meditation comes from Lama Rinpoche and his master, Jamyang Khyentse. The master was attending a “Lama Dance,” enjoying the festivities. One of his disciples, Apa Pant, kept pestering the Lama, asking him over and over how to properly meditate. Jamyang waved him aside repeatedly, and finally could take no more harassment from this pesky youth. He told Apa, once and for all: “Look, it’s like this: When the past thought has ceased, and the future thought has not yet risen, isn’t there a gap?”
“Yes,” said Apa Pant.
“Well, prolong it: That is meditation.”

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In Buddhism, as in Hinduism and Taoism, we have the famous Eastern principle of unifying opposites. In the West, which is predominantly Aristotelian, one works in a more “either-or” conceptual framework. Something must be either this way, or that way. In the East, and particularly in Buddhism, thinking is more spectral. If we think of a line joining opposites, either and or values would be at the endpoints of the line. Buddhists work in between. They see the whole spectrum, the whole line, as potentially informative and meaningful. Then, taking a step beyond that, they see that, well, opposites are only a conceptual spectrum we use in dealing with certain propositions or theses. What if we transcended this?

Reality is in general beyond human concepts, so can we really hem in reality by applying linear opposite values to aspects of it? Perhaps not! And this is where those paradoxes come in—at least they are paradoxical to Westerners. Good and bad, sacred and profane, material and spiritual, worldly and transcendent, ignorant and Enlightened, samsara and nirvana, etc., are not absolute opposites, but only relative opposites. They do not make up objective categories, but are rather two sides of the very same reality, which is one. So we see that, to say Enlightened beings have unified all opposites, has a very concrete and rather mundane meaning.

Opposites in thought are useful as a convention, but in a more objective sense, they are nothing more than an illusion. Getting beyond this illusion is one of the major stepping-stones to Enlightenment.


link

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So we see that, to say Enlightened beings have unified all opposites, has a very concrete and rather mundane meaning.

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The secret, if it can be said that there is one, of Raja Yoga is concentration. One must learn to concentrate strongly, not only on outer, but on inner states as well. We find eventually that outer and inner blend together and are really one. The contents of the meditator’s mind consist of two things only: the object, variable, and the subject, invariable, or apparently so. Success in Raja Yoga means that the object has been made as invariable as the subject. The result is that the two become one, and we attain bliss. We are thrown into a kind of ecstasy by an event that has completely overthrown the mind, and it makes ordinary life seem almost worthless in comparison. Through the act of concentration, there is no limit to what the human mind can achieve and experience. And intensive meditation is typically the vehicle for this concentration.

The concentrated mind, if used properly, can penetrate to the deepest secrets of the subconscious mind. It can reveal to us the nature of our nervous system, including levels of which we are not normally aware; the activity of DNA; whether or not we have souls; whether it is a lifespan or eternity that constitutes one’s existence; the existence and nature of God, etc. Sustained Raja Yoga reveals all this and more. Whether one is an atheist, deist, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, etc., is of no consequence here. That we are human is sufficient. Seeking religion, or engaging in skepticism, or simply asking why, are well within our rights. We are not told not to do any of these things. One is encouraged to find one’s own answers, to test one’s own hypotheses. Thus, Raja Yoga is truly a science. And the results, if the yoga is pursued energetically and honestly, are typically very positive.

So we see that no faith or belief are necessary to pursue Raja Yoga. One could, as mentioned, even be an atheist. As in Buddhism, one must believe nothing until one finds it out for oneself. This is an explicit prescription of Raja Yoga. No one is worried for the truth; it will win out in the end.

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DividedQuantum said:

Quote:

In Buddhism, as in Hinduism and Taoism, we have the famous Eastern principle of unifying opposites. In the West, which is predominantly Aristotelian, one works in a more “either-or” conceptual framework. Something must be either this way, or that way. In the East, and particularly in Buddhism, thinking is more spectral. If we think of a line joining opposites, either and or values would be at the endpoints of the line. Buddhists work in between. They see the whole spectrum, the whole line, as potentially informative and meaningful. Then, taking a step beyond that, they see that, well, opposites are only a conceptual spectrum we use in dealing with certain propositions or theses. What if we transcended this?

Reality is in general beyond human concepts, so can we really hem in reality by applying linear opposite values to aspects of it? Perhaps not! And this is where those paradoxes come in—at least they are paradoxical to Westerners. Good and bad, sacred and profane, material and spiritual, worldly and transcendent, ignorant and Enlightened, samsara and nirvana, etc., are not absolute opposites, but only relative opposites. They do not make up objective categories, but are rather two sides of the very same reality, which is one. So we see that, to say Enlightened beings have unified all opposites, has a very concrete and rather mundane meaning.

Opposites in thought are useful as a convention, but in a more objective sense, they are nothing more than an illusion. Getting beyond this illusion is one of the major stepping-stones to Enlightenment.


link

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