Swamini Supriyananda - Chinmaya Mission
Do you ever stop and think about why you do what you do everyday?
Australian psychologist turned Hindu Monk, Swamini Supriyananda, provides insightful answers to your contemporary questions and challenges. Her captivating anecdotes, infused with the philosophies of the ancient Hindu teachings, are guaranteed to inspire us to think about it!
Oneness is the essence, goal, and truth of spirituality. When we are one integrated whole, we interact with the world and our relationships with beauty of character, joy, and love. Conversely, conflicts within our personality and in the world around us bring confusion and frustrations. We can create a vision of oneness by seeing the connectivity of all creation and focusing on how similar we are to others.
The mind has many aspects. We have the essential functional aspect that is used to interact in the world. There is also the emotional aspect related to our strong desires, likes and dislikes. The mind's effective functional part is often overridden by the emotional layer, which colors our thinking. The solution is not to just give up on emotions altogether, but to rise above the emotional thinking or recognize it for what it is. We should also discontinue the momentum of biased and non-beneficial thoughts.
The breath and the mind are two branches of the same tree. Pull one and the other is pulled with it. Since it is easier to regulate our breath than the mind, controlling it is a great temporary way to still our constantly fluttering mind. Once the controlled breathing stops, the mind resumes thinking different things. Despite being short, this pause is powerful as we regain our balance, objectivity, and clarity. Self-experiment and notice the effects within your own mind.
Yoga, meaning "to unite", is the lesser known path to moksha and comprised of 8 steps. At every purposeful step, noble qualities are cultivated and the mind and personality are purified, aiding the seeker to evolve. But with the levels clearly outlined, it is easy to get attached to the singular joyful experience of progress and of merely moving up a level. So always check in with yourself – are you more concerned with perfecting the outside while neglecting the inside?
While Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga or Gyaana Yoga may seem different, when being sincerely followed, they all require purity of intentions, nobility in our heart and a desire to uplift ourselves. So all paths lead to the ultimate goal of our restless mind becoming silent. In the stillness of that purified mind, all divisions such as likes/dislikes or good/bad dissolve and we see divinity as one undivided Truth. So resolve to be more continuous and dedicated, knowing that the goal can definitely be reached.
In Bhakti, we start by seeing ourselves as devotees who are separate from Paramatma, the Supreme Truth. We feel like small seekers constantly asking our grand creator for strength, knowledge, blessings or protection. But as we grow in spirituality, we see divinity's reflection clearly within our hearts and comprehend that 'i' cannot be. There can ultimately only be one Truth of oneness. Once this is truly understood, our bhakti for the Lord is complete as our love, too, is vast, infinite and free.
The purpose of Japa is to silence the mind so that love and worship flows beautifully and smoothly towards the Lord. Constant and unbroken, all thoughts stay focused on the mantra and committed to the higher as they long to reach divinity. Such effortless and intense thinking is the ideal we want to attain to escape the wandering, scattered and disruptive mind we do have. But in actuality, what are we sincerely dedicated and single-pointed towards? So what is it that we truly want?
Japa is the repetition of a mantra while constantly and continuously thinking of the higher. Various Japa practices exist to help us concentrate as our mind experiences different moods. Although subtler practices are more powerful, the essence of Japa is to offer our minds, hearts, and our whole personality to the Lord. We surrender the momentum of our egoistic thoughts to divinity, never making it about 'me, myself and I'. If you haven't yet, try the best purification method as you dwell in silence.
Though the rituals of puja serve their purpose to stay focused on the higher, the goal is to lift our mind from a particular murti or representation of God's form and worship His manifestation in us and the world around us. It's to recognize the harmony in creation and His form in all people and respect it. But why stop there? Give, serve, alleviate any suffering or need of society and the Earth with reverence, respect and love for the Lord so that your whole life becomes puja and worship.
Level 1 of devotion, Puja, can be long and complex but it rests on a science. The rituals first invite the all-pervading God into a singular form to which we give and surrender. Our minds divert from 'me, myself and I' and are engaged in steps akin to our routine so that in mundane moments too, they turn to the Lord outside and are uplifted. As our minds transform, we recognize the divinity's essence within us. Attempt a puja wholeheartedly to see its beauty and power for yourself.
Love alone enhances love. In the path of bhakti, love is both the means and goal. Alternatively, Bhakti techniques can be categorized into 3 levels, based on the support being employed. Practicing Level 1 means relying on our body, speech and mind. Each personality aspect is then dropped to progress to the most subtle method. But one is not better than the other since at different moods and times, we need to act accordingly. Just pay attention to yourself and evolve in the essence of what needs to be done.
It's not a problem if we have the solution. The solution to the endless ocean of finite actions is to dedicate our actions to the higher. Retain purity of mind when acting and change the intention so that we are not attached to ME, MY desires and MY likes and dislikes. Finite results will still occur but our thoughts behind the intention will also bear results. All that will be left is our best and conscious effort for a higher love or cause. Practice this and be free from attachment to actions and results.
All of us have goals. Our finite bodies and minds have limited capacity and carry out impermanent actions to attain those goals. Consequently, the results are temporary, and a little too soon, the enjoyment is over. We then immediately look for the next result we want to obtain. This is the endless cycle of finite actions producing finite results, leading to a constant need of doing and wanting. But when will it be enough? Isn't there anything more? Be aware of the trap, question and think deeper.
If our actions are not supreme, and their results are ordained by the higher principle governing all Laws of the Universe, then is it all simply destined? Are we all just the puppets to the puppeteer's whims and fancies? No. Because we choose the actions we perform and how we perform them. Destiny then works as the Law of Action. But remember that our little actions are part of a bigger picture. So, keep pride at bay, and feel humility and divinity's grace in the parts we do get to play and accomplish.
The one belief we all can agree on is that action leads to result. But the Law of the Universe is far more intricate than we think. Actions themselves are inert and don't have supreme power. Our effort is required to put into motion the Law of Action but it is one small thing among all that at play, no matter the effectiveness, skill or efficiency of our action. So how much control do we really have? Never over the result, that's for sure! So, detach from the results of your actions and feel the relief.
In the Shiva Purana, there comes a portion in which Lord Shiva had blessed some sincere and proficient, yet, temporarily distracted pandits with higher knowledge. What he taught is known as Upadesa Sara. In this life, because we have so many desires, talents and resources, we can pursue various paths. However, the text is the ultimate gift of guidance as we understand the main thing that we should be focusing our thinking and energy on, and the things distracting us from it.
What philosophy is the Vedas trying to teach? How should Hinduism be practiced? When will we get to hear the call of the Lord? When will our hearts be filled with so much devotion that true silence is experienced? Upadesa Sara, written by Ramana Maharshi, is a perfect and beautiful way to delve into such topics. In this first episode, snippets from Maharishi's life teach us that the Lord is, in actuality, constantly reaching out to each one of us. The only difference is our ability to hear and feel that presence in our lives.
Bhaja Govindam's last verse instructs that if nothing else is possible, hold on to the Guru. The Guru is one who has already journeyed and is beaming with bliss. Despite our essence being truth, we see confusions, limitations and challenges. So when they come into our lives, the light within us is brought out. Also, the spiritual journey is pathless and open land with infinite possibilities. The Guru fulfils our need for inspiration and tailor-made guidance that keeps us going in our mission to reach the higher. But the most beautiful thing about the Guru is that they do all this for us; so that we become masters, like them. For this, we can at least have immense gratitude for our Guru. Be lost in the love we can have for them, or in the love they undeniably have for us.
To be able to distinguish between eternal and ephemeral is what is required in the seat of meditation. Viveka is used to find what's the difference between the changing and unchanging. We need to hold on to what's unchanging through the process of meditation. Another tool of meditation is jappa that helps with the process of thinking about the higher. All the steps in Bhaja Govindam has been training us to have the stamina, purity, and capacity to close our world, withdraw from the world, and think about the higher.
The way we live our life determines what kind of meditation we have, and the meditation we have determines what kind of life we live. There is a very strong link between our breath and state of mind. Lust, fear, excitement all cause us to breathe very fast. Pranayama helps us slow down our breath which immediately silences the mind. It doesn't last, it's just step one. It's the perfect tool to induce knowledge. We can turn the mind inwards immediately.