Essay on The Atman, Chapter 14 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

By Patrick Horn (“Rishi”)
Swami Vivekananda says, “All the schools of Hindu philosophy start from the Vedanta or Upanishads, but the monists took the name to themselves as a speciality, because they wanted to base the whole of their theology and philosophy upon the Vedanta and nothing else. . . . This is the non-dualistic Vedantism. It is too abstruse, too elevated to be the religion of the masses. . . . Yet there are a few brave souls in the world who dare to conceive the truth, who dare to take it up, and who dare to follow it to the end.” The question inevitably arises, “How do we know?” Vedantic epistemology is not mere intellectual cogitation but the means to discern Truth. Vedanta offers three steps to absorption in Brahman: revelation, reasoning, realization. First, it is necessary to hear about it. Then, questioning and testing. Finally, in integrating the insights gained from study, contemplation, and direct experience of the Real, there is nothing further to be known.

Swamiji teaches three divisions of orthodoxy: nyaya-vaisika (rational-atomism), samkyha-yoga (statistical-metaphysics), and mimamsa-vedanta (testimony and scriptural authority). There are six valid methods of knowledge: pratyaksa (sense-perception of the empirical world), anumana (inference divided into reasoning from cause to effect [a priori Platonic deduction – the Way of the Thunderbolt] or from effect to cause [a posteriori Aristotlean induction – the Way of the Serpent]), upamana (comparison — a is to b = c is to x), arthapatti (postulation – if y, then z), anupalabdhi (negation), and sabda (witness to the sensible and suprasensible that does not contradict logic). Oral or written witness from a trustworthy source is the most potent instrument for knowledge transmission. Confidence in the words of an authority need no verification.

 

Swamiji reveals the principles common to the various schools of Vedanta. The first agreement is the existence of God. The second agreement is the possibility of knowledge of God. The third agreement is the cyclical creation and dissolution of the manifested universe. The dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta is associated with the philosopher Madhva (1238-1317) and Chaitanya (1486-1534). It emphasizes devotion to a personal god. Swamiji says, “What are these gods? They mean certain states, certain offices . . . some soul which was very high has gone to fill that post in this cycle . . . and the man who is very good in this cycle will go and fill that post in the next cycle.” The ruler of a cycle is called Kalpa-niyamaka-Isvara.

The vishishtadvaita (qualified monism) school of Vedanta, associated with Ramanuja (1017-1137), proposes that the personal god, the multiplicity of souls, and the apparent universe are all manifestations of Brahman. Unlike the advaita (non-dualism) of Shankara (788-820), which negates the world of appearances as impermanent and therefore unreal, qualified monism accepts the plurality of forms and a diversity of attributes as conditionally real. It is similar to how waves do not exist without the ocean; the ocean is the waves and exists regardless of the tide. Man conquers ignorance through love and altruistic work and thus attains unity with God and freedom.


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Essay on Immortality, Chapter 13 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

By Patrick Horn (“Rishi”) 

Swami Vivekananda says, “The whole of this life which slowly manifests itself evolves itself from the protoplasm to the perfected human being — the Incarnation of God on earth — the whole of this series is but one life, and the whole of this manifestation must have been involved in that very protoplasm. This whole life, this very God on earth, was involved in it and slowly came out, manifesting itself slowly, slowly, slowly.”  A serious seeker doesn’t leave the possibility of realizing latent potential to chance. Initiation with right guidance accelerates the evolutionary process to a definite end.

In the first initiation, the body is disciplined, its impulses transmuted, and conduct reoriented toward wisdom and spiritual principles. The needs of the body for food, drink, sleep, and sex do not dominate. The aspirant moderates desire and espouses vegetarianism. Ideals of duty and mercy become strong. In the second initiation, emotional life is stabilized. The ignorance and confusion of fear and vanity is clarified and overcome through withdrawal from the senses and non-attachment. The soul is no longer stifled by animal instincts, conditioned reactions, and habituated opinions. There is no distress arising from shame, aversion, or the need to control. Sincere devotion and steady effort nurture altruism and free an initiate from burdens of the heart and distortion of thought.

In the third initiation, intellectual life is developed, and character becomes mindful and virtuous. By a logical method of inquiry and investigation, the initiate arranges facts, observes patterns in accord with principles, and applies knowledge in the creative expression of wisdom. There is mastery of numbers, forms, and harmonics. The philosophical apprentice gains abstract and practical knowledge of minerals, plants, animals, and astronomy. Symbolic intuition is acquired in the discovery of relationship between macrocosm and microcosm. The soul discerns the unreal from the Real in the first perceptions of unchanging original Truth.

In the fourth initiation, false identity is retired, as are the masks worn for the common roles of society and economic flattery. The initiate is no longer motivated by money, status, or pleasant sensations. Life is generously dedicated to a noble purpose and given meaning through the study of religion and esoteric knowledge. Meditation and other advanced spiritual practices are integrated into daily routines. The soul is done with suffering in the cycles of phenomenal appearances and seeks freedom in the permanent joy and peace of the numinous eternal. The disciple perceives the unity and order of the cosmos and gains in divine perfection.

In the fifth initiation, the novice becomes the Master of the worlds of sense-desires, pure forms, and formless Truth. The veil of existence is perceived as the timeless play of the immortal Absolute free from causality. The soul is beyond disease and decay with extraordinary knowledge of the past, the future, and the invisible processes of Nature. With skillful means and fully-realized mind-powers, the adept may act as a figure-of-history and person-of-destiny to introduce new values and lifestyles to society. The evolutionary goal is thus achieved.

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Essay on The Cosmos: The Microcosm, Chapter 12 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

By Patrick Horn (“Rishi”) 

Timeless questions puzzle humankind. Swami Vivekananda says, “These questions have been asked again and again, and so long as this creation lasts, so long as there are human brains to think, this question will have to be asked. Yet, it is not that the answer did not come; each time the answer came, and as time rolls on, the answer will gain strength more and more. The question was answered once for all thousands of years ago, and through all subsequent time it is being restated, reillustrated, made clearer to our intellect. What we have to do, therefore, is to make a restatement of the answer.” Surface appearances change, but the Reality remains the same. To know and become absorbed in the Reality is the purpose of Life.

Humanity exhibits great material progress and technical innovation, yet there is an evolution of consciousness that has thus far occurred only among a small number of the species. They stand as rare examples of human potential, and few imagine similar strength and greatness is possible for all willing to make the effort. We imagine countless projects and policies intended to improve the world, and we overlook that the greatest impact and benefit we can give to the world is the transformation of our own character and perspective. In other words, evolving consciousness toward a definite goal.

Human consciousness can be categorized into four states, encoded into the keyword AUM. According to the Mandukya Upanishad, AUM is three blended sounds plus the silence that contains the three sounds as one. “A” represents the physical world and the waking state (the World of Desire and Sensory Pleasures). “U” represents the intellect, psychic phenomena, and the dream state (the World of Pure Forms). “M” represents the formless causal state and dreamless deep sleep (the unchanging Existence).

Ken Wilber translates Vedic cosmology into a model of personality development. Human awareness is founded in the instincts and impulses of the body and a competitive will. This is the first state of consciousness. The second state is rooted in the norms and taboos of the social world; Wilber suggests a horizontal expansion from rule-oriented conformism and judging by stereotypes, clichés, and demographics to maturation as a conscientious achiever with technical competence and introspective critique. Awareness is dominated by concrete analysis (comparing and measuring) and appeals to expert opinion and reason, especially mechanistic empiricism and medical-scientism. This is the state of consciousness that is privileged and dominates in contemporary society. Wilbur describes the third state as vertical visionary logic that is mindful of assumptions and the global hierarchy and cosmic web. The fourth state of transpersonal unity is non-attached Superconsciousness and wisdom.

Thomas Merton, an American Catholic and apophatic theologian known in esoteric circles as “Rabbi Vedanta,” was recently declared by Pope Francis as a model of contemplation. He describes the horizontal movement as a “flight from God” in calculation, will, and solipsistic alienation. The “mystical consciousness” of the vertical axis is best exemplified by St. Teresa de Avila.

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Essay on The Cosmos: The Macrocosm, Chapter 11 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

By Patrick Horn (“Rishi”) 

Swami Vivekananda says, “Do not be frightened by theological terms; if terms frighten you, you are not fit to be philosophers.” The urgent questions of life (who am I? what is this place where I’m born? where is this going? what does this mean?) occurred also to the ancient seers, who did not invent an answer but witnessed a revealed Truth. They recorded their visions in the world’s oldest scriptures, the Vedas, transmitted orally for generations as metrical poetry before the teachings were transferred to writing 6,000-years ago. “Veda” is from the root “vid” meaning “to know.” “Veda” is etymologically related to the Latin word “video” (“I see”) and also the English word “wit” (“intelligence”). It is best translated as “knowledge” or more specifically, “wisdom.”

“Vedanta” means “the end of knowledge” or “the goal of wisdom.” This definition has a literal and figurative meaning, as well as a secondary meaning. First, “Vedanta” is based on the Upanishads, which are literally, “the appendix to the Vedas” and the conclusion of the Vedic hymns, rites, and codes of conduct. Moreover, “Vedanta” is not merely abstract speculation, but “the aim of human life.” Supersensuous realization is beyond intellect and logic and more than an idealistic concept. It is a fact that can be directly experienced under the right conditions and does not contradict reason. Finally, “Vedanta” also refers to a genre of literature that explains, expands, and comments upon this teaching and perception.

Brahman is the material and efficient cause of the physical universe limited by the Law of Cause-and-Effect. It moves from protoplasm to illumined Masters like the Buddha or the Christ. Swamiji says, “Everything in nature begins, as it were, from certain seed, certain rudiments, certain fine forms, and becomes grosser and grosser, and develops, going on that way for a certain time, and then again goes back to that fine form, and subsides… Thus we find that the effect is never different from the cause. It is only that this effect is a reproduction of the cause in a grosser form…. Nothing comes without a cause, and the cause is the effect in another form.” In the cosmic rounds of evolution and involution, mankind is bound by death and rebirth. The apparent body is the manifestation of subtle form and the world of appearance is the image of God. The aim of Vedanta is liberation from the cycles of creation and dissolution. To be absorbed in Absolute Reality is to be perfect. Tat Tvam Asi – Thou Art That!

The map to Delhi is not the same as eating there. A map is necessary, but the map is different than the journey. Similarly, the finger pointing at the moon only shows the way; when you see the moon, you no longer need the finger. Words are fine so far as they notify of a possibility, but the goal is experience. The religious perspective is not mere intellectual assent but the transformation of attitude and a lifestyle in accord with Truth.

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Essay on The Freedom of the Soul, Chapter 10 of Jnana Yoga by Swami Vivekananda

By Patrick Horn (“Rishi”)  

Swami Vivekananda says, “The soul is one with Freedom, and the soul is one with Existence, and the soul is one with Knowledge. The Sat-Chit-Ânanda — Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute — is the nature, the birthright of the Soul, and all the manifestations that we see are Its expressions, dimly or brightly manifesting Itself…. This idea seems to be the most prominent in Vedanta, and, as I have said, it appears to me that every religion holds it. I have yet to know the religion which does not. It is the one universal idea working through all religions…. The monistic Vedanta is the simplest form in which you can put truth.” Truth will make you Free.

Swamiji’s fellow monastic Swami Abhedananda developed the work in New York and traveled in America between 1897 and 1921. He said, “Very few indeed in this world can realize we are living the life of a slave… the majority delude themselves by thinking that they are free, consequently, they like their present condition and do not care for any other.” He outlines initiation as seven steps. First, the awakening of the soul: “We must wake up and see things as they are in reality and not as they appear to be…. When the soul is awakened, it begins to see how far the animal nature leads us and what is the next step, where we are going, what we are doing, what all this means.” Second, purification of the heart by honesty, control of the senses and mind, disinterested love of humanity, and unselfish work. The third step is right discrimination; the fourth step is non-attachment. The fifth step is spiritual enlightenment. “We then understand we are not of this world. This world is not our home.” The sixth step is spiritual illumination. “Thereafter, nothing remains unknown…. Rising above the celestial pleasures then you will become divine…. all the divine qualities will reveal through you.” The seventh step is superconsciousness and the Vision of God.

A similar method of realization is described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (c. 400 CE). First, yama – self-control in five ways: ahimsa – peace in mind, mouth, and hand; satya – sincerity and honesty; asteya – freedom from hoarding and greed; aparigraha – austerity and simple lifestyle; and brahmacharya – association with righteous company and transformation of needs for food and sex. Second, niyama – discipline by five practices: shoaca – clean body and home, correct diet, simplicity in dress; santosha – contentment; tapas – service and generosity; sradhyaya – inquiry and study; ishwarapranidhana – attention to God through devotional practices. Third, asana – body postures as preparation for meditation. Fourth, pranayama – breath control and command of vitality. There is a need for right guidance when attempting these exercises; if done incorrectly or in the wrong context, madness and death are possible. The fifth step is pratyahara – withdrawal to solitude; withdrawal from senses, withdrawal from thought. The sixth step is dharana – concentration. The seventh step is dhyana – contemplation. This leads to samadhi – unitary consciousness, extrasensory perception, intuitive inspiration, and absorption in the timeless Reality.

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