Eternal Now: Light, Kaif
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: Through practice of pranayama and meditation, arrive at the now. Pursue your inner life courageously. Inner results infiltrate worldly undertakings. In Shum 'bisi': "I am aware of the unreality of time and the eternity of the moment." Become perfect in yoga; merge awareness deeper and deeper into superconsciousness. Gurudeva, speaking from the inner sky, imparts in Shum maps of the inner mind: iftye, nimrehnimling, nadanadi, kaif, iikaif, imkaif. Think about your will as being your soul in action. Find yourself free from fear, worry and doubt. Feel the real 'I am'. Become as beautiful as the beauty of your soul. Master Course Trilogy, Merging with Siva, Lesson 119. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, 3.17
Transcription:
Good morning everyone. It's been a while since we've had a talk in the temple.
Continuing our series from "Merging with Siva," going through the lessons in the order in which the talks were given. And we are finishing up Chapter 17, entitled "The Eternal Now" given in 1961at the San Francisco Temple with some material added from the early 70's.
Lesson 119:
"Finding the Eternal Now
"Before beginning a new project, meditate. Collect up the ramified forces flowing through and around your body and bring them all to one point by regulating the energies through the control of breath, pranayama. Thus arriving at the now, if only for an instant, begins the auspiciousness of the moment, after which the project should be begun. By thus meditating and through this practice, inner results infiltrate worldly undertakings, and the opposing forces succumb to the clarity of your perceptions derived through initially being aware in the now, if only for a few seconds."
So my commentary is of course Gurudeva is referring to starting a medium sized or large sized project. Every time we want to sweep the floor or wash the dishes we don't have to do this. In addition to bringing the ramified forces all to a one point through pranayama, if we're starting a medium or a large sized project we can also do a ceremony such as a short puja and choose an auspicious time for the beginning. So those are additional ways we can help make the project successful in addition to experiencing the eternal now, at least for a few seconds.
Back to the text:
"When you are experiencing the totality of the moment, you are not aware of the past, nor are you aware of the future or anything within the externalities of the mind. You are aware of the akasha, the primal substance of the superconsciousness of the mind. You are able to have a continuity of intuitive findings within it and gain much knowledge from within yourself. For the beginner on the path, the concept of the eternity of the moment is refreshing, and he does touch into it occasionally when he tries to meditate. This is encouraging to him, and he gains a new impetus to pursue his inner life more courageously than before."
I like that, courageously.
So commentary:
The Shum word for the eternity of the moment is 'bisi'. It has this definition:
"Eternity of the moment felt in the middle of three days in the past and three in the future. Bisi means 'I am aware of the unreality of time and the eternity of the moment. Have you noticed that any concern you might carry always bears upon the past or the future? To dissolve any concern, therefore, all one has to do is guide awareness to the present. Living in the moment in the center of three days in the past and three days in the future is the spirit of bisi. Used as a greeting meaning: 'We meet in the eternity of the moment.'"
And as has been mentioned in previous lessons, one way to practice that is we don't think outside of this period, here Gurudeva is defining it as three days past, three days future, unless there is a reason to do so. We're going to benefit by thinking more than three day in the past or more than three days in the future. It's going to actually help us accomplish something; it's just not an unproductive trip into past or future.
Back to the text:
"It is impossible to intellectually try to experience the here-and-now state of consciousness, as it is impossible to describe the feeling one would have standing on the top of a tall mountain. Only through experience can these transcendental states be known. Therefore, become perfect in yoga. Your rewards will be great and your future sublime.
"As the first attempt in finding the infinite reality of the eternity of the moment, sit quietly, draw all of your faculties into the center of your head and try to see the glowing white light there. When this light is seen, a high-pitched sound might also be heard, and you are then in the eternity of the moment. Bringing oneself to the repetition of this practice successfully and systematically, day after day, month after month, year after year is the yoga to be practiced to merge awareness deeper and deeper into superconsciousness."
So commentary:
In Shum the light Gurudeva is referring to is called 'iftye'. Has this definition:
"Clear, brilliant, inner light. Iftye is experienced in the fields of the fifth and sixth dimension. In the fifth dimension it is experienced as a brilliant inner light within the head--bright and clear. In the sixth dimension, that light glows in every cell of the body--through the torso, the hands, legs and feet. One can move into iftye through kalibasa once you have located balikana--the slight moon-like glow within the head. It is easy to enter the state of iftye, provided that the area of nimrehnimling has been moved out of entirely. "
So nimrehnimling are the images. We're not seeing images in the light.
And, we have some interesting Shum words here.
Hearing the high "ee" sound in Shum is found in more than one word. We got three words for how the high 'ee' sound can be heard.
"Nadanadi: Listening to the high pitched eee sound of the nadanadi shakti, you are visiting nadanadi; it names the area of the mind awareness is within when listening to the nada, the high pitched eee sound, while also there are other sounds in the room or outside of it. It is unlike iikaif, which names the state of consciousness when only the nada, or eee, is heard and awareness is not conscious of another sound. The sounds heard in the state of nadanadi are those such as birds chirping, the wind or the sea, while at the same time we are hearing the high-pitched eee called nada. To awaken the nada, sit quietly with eyes closed in the state of danadi (which we'll do last) and listen to the sounds in the room and outside of it. Try to distinguish between them and any other kind of sound you might hear inside yourself, such as the breath or heartbeat. Soon the nada or eee will come. When we only hear the nada and we are totally aware of it with no other distractions, this is called iikaif. See iikaif for a full explanation."
So we'll do that: 'iikaif'.
Iikaif: A state between kaif and imkaif. When we only hear the nada, or 'eee' and we are totally aware of it with no distractions, this is called iikaif. The state of consciousness when only the nada is heard, and awareness is not conscious of another sound. A high tone within the head that is often heard which has the sound of eee. This state comes after we experience prolonged periods of kaif.
Then we get the last one: 'danadi':
"Listening to or hearing external sounds while listening to the nada nadi shakti. The art of listening or hearing. This tantra will be imparted at the right time in the karmas. We must always listen to the subtle, talking it within and absorbing then assimilating the words or sounds into knowledge. When danadi becomes an everyday practice, life is enriched and wisdom begins to come, for wisdom is the timely application of knowledge... (That's a phrase Gurudeva likes) ...wisdom is the timely application of knowledge. By carefully listening to the tones of another's voice it is possible to separate meaning from the words themselves. "
In other words, sometimes what someone says and what they mean are quite distinct. Either they can be doing it on purpose or they're not explaining themselves very well. So, in either case, the idea is you can actually know what they're meaning along with what they're saying. And there's a verse in the Yoga Sutras on that, being able to separate meaning from the words themselves. That's one of the siddhis.
The Yoga Sutras reads:
"There is a natural confusion of word, object, and the idea on account of their superimposition on one another. Through meditation on the distinction between them, understanding of the sounds uttered by all creatures is acquired."
So not just human speech but what the cat is talking about, what the cow is talking about. Usually it's, they want food. So let's see.
Back to the text:
"Now, you can think and you can feel, and feeling is more convincing. When your mind is disturbed, your feeling is personality-centered. When your mind is quiet, your subtle feeling is superconscious, spiritually aware. Feel that you are the complete master of your body, of your mind and of your emotions.
"Can you really feel that? Feel the life within you. Feel your will dominating your mind. Your will is your soul in action. You may think about your will as being your soul in action, but you must feel the real you, the real 'I am.' Tell your subconscious mind twenty-four hours a day that this is true: that you are the master of body, mind, and emotions. For in one instant of realizing this, knowing this, feeling this to be true, you will find that you are all right, right now, in this instant, and you will find yourself entirely free from fear, worry and doubt. Live completely, regardless of your circumstances, then the circumstances in which you divide yourself will adjust themselves to become as beautiful as the beauty of your soul."
And the commentary:
Gurudeva stated that "Your will is your soul in action." This is the same idea as his statement : "Thus we can begin to see that our individual awareness, willpower and the primal life force deep within body, emotion and mind are, in fact, one and the same--that willpower, individual awareness and life force, their habits and usages, are but various aspects."
hat is a great meditation, how willpower, awareness and life force are one thing.
Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day.