Written Messages

Los Angeles (USA)

Sept.28, 2012

I - The separative “I” shields its own shortcomings from itself, but is happy to point out such defects in others in the never-ending process of self-glorification and gratification.

Recently, during the programs in the US, a direct relationship between understanding of Kriya teachings and the yamas (regulations) & niyamas (rules) was discovered.  It seems a solid foundation in these first two basic teachings of Kriya Yoga is needed for a Kriyaban body to be in life and not in mind.  This body has encountered this lesson time and time again throughout his lifetime.  When lifestyle was not grounded in the niyamas, and yamas were not observed, havoc ensued, causing strain to the emotional, financial, professional, and interpersonal structures surrounding this body; even to the extent that Kriya tapas practice was not possible!

In the US, we sometimes say, “a clean desk is the sign of a clean mind”.  This body believes this to be absolutely true.  If “my house” (both outside in the physical world and inside the mind) is in order – meaning in a state of cleanliness and contentment (niyamas) and I am behaving (yamas) – life seems to just flow, without effort, and always in the right direction.  Conversely, when I am surrounded by disorganization in the outward world and my inner world (mind) is consumed – even obsessed – with the mess, muck and mire; this causes an extra burden on the mind with its relentless attempts at self-perpetuating pursuits and paradoxes. 

I have learned that the foundation for all Kriya practice is indeed these yamas and niyamas!  Similarly, pranayama is the foundation for continuity in Kriya Tapas. Each stage in the 8-fold path of Kriya lays the groundwork for progress and success in the next stage.  What a profound discovery!  

That body – Shibendu-ji – has given us these teachings that are so deep and insightful; upon further consideration, they outline the core of Kriya teachings that must be integrated into the life of the student to carve the path towards the discipleship process:

5 Yamas (regulations)

            •           No speaking lies.  This is so simple, yet lies are made available by mind at every meeting, at every opportunity – subtle whispering in the “ear” as suggested speech.

            •           No addiction.  One forgets that it is not just alcohol, drugs or tobacco that are addictions.  We also become gluttons of food, clothing, status, power and even health. Some are even addicts of reading books on spirituality!

            •           No stealing.  Although this is a yama “of the hands”, it also pertains to stealing words from others and masquerading them as our own.  Not just words, but ideas, possessions, beliefs, even “borrowing” without notification – the covert mind justifying such actions as acceptable because of “this circumstance” or “that rationalization”.  This also includes stealing of mannerisms, as often borrowed from the perceived personalities (masks) in the cinema.

            •           No violence.  Violence also is not constrained to the hands.  It can also come through communication – written, verbal or non-verbal – even a simple look can be violent!  Even thoughts of hatred or prejudice.

            •           No sexual misconduct.  The householder tradition of the Dynastic Lineage does not say “no sex”, but rather warns against obsession with sensuality, which can come in many forms, leading to perversion of thinking and action.

5 Niyamas (rules)

            •           Cleanliness.  Here again, we say, “a clean desk is the sign of a clean mind”.  But not just a desk.  A home, a car, the body, the work place.  And further: our thinking and our behavior.  Creating a mess perpetuates maladies of the mind, such as stress, anxiety and depression.

            •           Contentment.  In the US, our society is caught in a perpetual cycle of wanting and getting.  Contentment even applies to our Kriya practice.  Perfection is our natural state, when divisive consciousness flowers into non-divisive awareness.  This is choicelessness, with no pressures or paradoxes from the past.  That makes us available to perfection.

            •           Simplicity/Austerity.  Sometimes, the simplest solution is also the best solution.  Over-thinking is yet another affliction of the mind.  This also means life is need based, not greed based. Not just wanting and managing to get, but wisdom of moderation and gratitude to life for what it has already provided.

            •           Charity (doing something for nothing).  If I have to tell someone of my “good” actions, then I have taken those actions for self-gratification, which is not charitable at all.  This includes patting myself on the back!  Renunciation in order to gain is not renunciation.

            •           Compassion.  Actively listening to someone without cultivating a preconceived response or witty rhetoric is truly compassion – I am not dumping the contents of my agitated mind onto their problems and struggles.  Is my unsolicited opinion of such great value to others?

Yet, even this body – as many other fellow Kriyabans – has the tendency to focus primarily on Kriya Tapas practice, while completely forgetting the necessity to always stay grounded in the root practices of yamas and niyamas.  This is the trap of the mind:  always wanting and becoming.  Without that foundation, I am not available to the energy of understanding.  My thoughts are clouded with the hustle and bustle, the hurry and worry of daily life.  This leaves me in a vicious cycle of complexity and confusion.  Life is not complexity and confusion.  It is so simple that it remains inconceivable to the feeble and fragmented mind.

By observing these simple things, I make myself available to the immeasurable energy of understanding in these teachings.  I am then reminded that others are a mirror of “my”-self – they can also be my teachers if I am in the state of “let-go”.  This is to be available to the discipleship process. 

II - Birth-mother is an information, but love is truth. Truth is love. Truth must not be sabotaged and lost in information and thereafter in information-pollutions. Love from adopted parents is Truth which must not be drained out in the gutters of the mind, just because mind gets excited by a subsequent information about a birth-mother who left the child in an orphanage without feeling the love-dimension of life, not even an urge of love from time to time to enquire about the consequences which the child is passing through! And just by chances of a wonderful and mysterious good luck, when the child grows into a successful and worthy human being, because of the utmost care in the upbringing by the adopted parents, then the birth-mother becomes eager to drag the forgotten son in the network of her so-called "love"! Strangely, it is the conscientious  son who took all the initiatives to detect the "birth-mother", after several attempts through many years, by spending huge money and by employing expert detectives to do the job!

III - When a discipleship-process requests his possible future wife to be available to this holy process, and when the response thereto comes in a silly smart manner rejecting the humble suggestion ruthlessly; what can be the action of perception in the body of the disciple?

Let an intense Swadhyay process awake Energy of Intelligence in the body of the disciple to flower into a wise decision in this regard!

Jai Guru. Jai Disciple.