July, 2007
More on everyone's favorite subject: Love and Compassion
Swamiji used to give an example of love and compassion expressed in Nature as a tree and its fruit: the holding of the fruit on the branch is love; fed by the tree, the nurturing of the fruit is compassion.
Perhaps we could even draw a parallel with our solar system: the holding of earth in orbit around the sun is love; the sun sending its rays that feed our earth is compassion.
June, 2007
Meditation and Will
To practice meditation initially calls for withdrawal of the mind from sensory activities (pratyahara) and concentration (dharana) on a phenomenon that is real, perceived and immanent. Some people focus on the ingoing/outgoing breaths; our Vethathiri Meditation first focuses on the personal life-energy felt at a certain point on the body. To actually meditate (dhyan) requires an exertion of will to be rooted and stable for a period in the present, that is, to be centered here and now, unextended into the past or future.
Today, through tests done on the brain functions neuro-science tells us that we don’t so much have ‘free will’ as ‘free won’t’. That means we are mostly constraining ourselves from doing undesirable things, and what we do is simply that which we allow ourselves to do. So, perhaps we can say that the will is rarely used proactively, and is often used as an inhibitor.
Nevertheless, the phenomenon of inner, personal ‘will’ essentially remains a mystery. Where do you keep your will? Is it in your head or your heart? Can you locate it or feel it? At least we can all understand its action if we think of it as an invisible muscle. Just like any of our body muscles, it gets super-strong with heavy exercise (e.g. if you stop smoking!), fairly strong by mild exercise, and can become withered and wasted if not used at all.
It is well-documented by research and personal experience that the practice of meditation results in several kinds of benefits. Now we can identify one more indirect benefit that is usually overlooked: the practice of meditation takes exertion of the will to do regularly. Thus the meditator strengthens will power, the invisible muscle, in two ways: 1. By constraining his attention to remain steadily on one thing in the present moment, and 2. By carrying out the intention to do something in his own higher interest, something good for himself on a regular basis.
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A paper on "Jainism and Vethathirian Concepts" was co-authored by M.G. Selvi, Librarian, Philosophy Dept.,Univ of Madras, and Uma for publication in Indian Philosophical Quarterly. The journal has accepted the paper, but it will come out sometime in the latter part of 2007. Instead of waiting such a long time, if you'd like to read it click on the link below where our papers are on view.
Papers are on view at:
http://www.skymeditation.org/vin_academy.asp
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What's Love Got To Do With It?
Hmmm, turns out that Love has Something to do with Everything! In the Vethathirian view the ultimate reality is of four attributes: Plenum, Time, Energy and Consciousness and has the sole property of self-compressive surrounding pressure. Everything manifest -- gross or subtle -- is emergent from these four attributes and of this property. This basic property of surrounding pressure becomes repulsion in its overflow. Mahrishi's aphorism is: "The whole universe is nothing but repulsive force and its fluctuations" -- meaning that the compressive property is constant, only repulsion is variable and conditions the manifest universe(for more on this see Maharishi's books!). So, compression is the default; repulsion is that which changes.
Apply this to our psyche, our subtlest aspect: It appears that the state of love is nothing but the state of least repulsion: the divine power of compression is allowed, not resisted.
Where does that lead us? Egoically allowing the natural compression to work without exerting repulsion means to be in a state of Love: open, accepting, receptive of oneself, others and the situation. When love is predominant, one is not repelling -- not hating, not grudging, not resisting the situation, not in conflict with others.
Love is the default; we can all relax and allow it to be, and by minimizing our repulsion, our hate, we can live happily with ourselves and in the world. Vazhga valamudan!
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"What is God??"
Vethathiri repeatedly said that Gravity is God -- a very interesting and serious assertion! It should not be taken lightly or as having been made lightly; it was made by one whom we consider to be an enlightened person. Statements about God by such people aren't made
offhand or vaguely.
A mysterious, intriguing statement like this deserves to be studied, analysed with all our power and perspicacity in hopes of fully comprehending and going beyond the words.
According to his description, Gravity is that which is always 'behind the scene' and the entire 'scene' is magnetism; gravity is never assessable; it is only known as it is in counter-relation to more or less repulsion, which IS assessable.
Gravity is impenetrable – literally and intellectually – having no dimension, beginning or end. Only the outcome, the displayed aspect of gravity, magnetism is 'penetrable'; it is the medium and all movement.
Gravity is imperceptible; Swamiji described it for us as self-compressive, surrounding pressure force, but nevertheless imperceptible. Only magnetism is perceptible -- not only it is
perceptible but that is all that is perceptible. Only by the perception of movement, of magnetism, do we know there is something ever-present (the gravity) as its limiting counterpart. The gravity is that which gives friction on magnetism; things run down only by
friction. If there were no friction acting on an energy particle it would never run down; its life would be eternal – what else could hinder or slow it? Friction is the result we can identify -- perceptible as limitation of movement, and hence the creation of space and time --
of God, the gravity.
---------------------------------Vethathiri repeatedly said that Gravity is God -- a very interesting and serious assertion! It should not be taken lightly or as having been made lightly; it was made by one whom we consider to be an enlightened person. Statements about God by such people aren't made
offhand or vaguely.
A mysterious, intriguing statement like this deserves to be studied, analysed with all our power and perspicacity in hopes of fully comprehending and going beyond the words.
According to his description, Gravity is that which is always 'behind the scene' and the entire 'scene' is magnetism; gravity is never assessable; it is only known as it is in counter-relation to more or less repulsion, which IS assessable.
Gravity is impenetrable – literally and intellectually – having no dimension, beginning or end. Only the outcome, the displayed aspect of gravity, magnetism is 'penetrable'; it is the medium and all movement.
Gravity is imperceptible; Swamiji described it for us as self-compressive, surrounding pressure force, but nevertheless imperceptible. Only magnetism is perceptible -- not only it is
perceptible but that is all that is perceptible. Only by the perception of movement, of magnetism, do we know there is something ever-present (the gravity) as its limiting counterpart. The gravity is that which gives friction on magnetism; things run down only by
friction. If there were no friction acting on an energy particle it would never run down; its life would be eternal – what else could hinder or slow it? Friction is the result we can identify -- perceptible as limitation of movement, and hence the creation of space and time --
of God, the gravity.
Endnote: -- A Philosophical look at Time and Space:
As noumena (meaning 'thing-in-itself'), time and space are distinct, but only intuitively, abstractly -- not realistically or perceptually. That is: Space is Plenum, or Being (entity), rather than interval, and Time is unlimited potential rather than a procession of intervals. Time and Space are inseparable aspects of the One source; they are perceived to be separate only by the mind. We are compelled to use them to comprehend and describe our world matrix.
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