Awaken to Truth
It is important to recognize the
experience of the process of manifestation in which a thought becomes a physical object.
Recognizing this experience begins to remove all doubt that everything in the
universe is nothing
but the manifestation of consciousness. On the basis of this
experience, we can learn to manage consciousness. If we can learn to manage
consciousness, we can become Masters of Natural Law and live life in Brahman
Consciousness as a peer of the Creator. Eventually we may even have
the opportunity to become Brahma and create our own universe. All this stems
from the recognition of the experience of the process of manifestation, so here
is a roadmap to that recognition.
First, let us establish a
conceptual framework that begins with a description of the full range of
conscious experience that is available to the human nervous system.
Consciousness is the experience of awareness, and a state of consciousness is the degree of awareness. Consciousness is essentially a binary
state that has alternating periods of Null or Void consciousness and various
degrees of Awake consciousness. The frequency of these alternating on/off
states determines the experience or state of consciousness. When the frequency
is infinite, consciousness is pure and unmanifest. Any lesser frequency is a
manifested state of consciousness.
There are seven states of
consciousness that can be experienced by a human being. In the next few pages we
will establish a definition of each of these states of consciousness to form a
basis for our discussion of the process of manifestation.
In this state of consciousness, most people experience that
there is no awareness. Perhaps you have experienced
deep sleep in which you “slept like a log” with absolutely no memory of the
night. It is a state in which we can only remember by the fact that we remember
falling asleep, and then we awoke. During deep sleep the body is in a state of
rest in which all voluntary muscles are completely relaxed. The brain drops
into a state of inactivity as well, as measured by the EEG exhibiting the very low frequency delta waves in the range of less
than 4 cycles per second. EEG, or Electroencephalogram, is a graphic record of the
electric activity of the brain.
Here the awareness is of one's own thoughts in a surrealistic state with distorted,
pseudo-sensory perceptions that resemble waking state awareness, and most people
do not have any actual awareness of the physical surroundings by way of the
four physical senses: sight, taste, smell, and
hearing. In dreaming, one does have awareness through the non-physical sense of
"feeling" which is often mistaken for a non-existent physical sense
called "touch". In dreaming we believe that we experience a virtual
reality that exists only in our mind, however for most people the
experience during the dream is very real and physical-like.
This one experience alone should
convince us that if we can have a dream that is so real, why could it not be possible that what we
appreciate as real when we are awake is not simply just another level of
“dreaming?” We believe that while in dream state, if someone were to observe
our physical body, we would be found to be
moving very little and not in any sense performing the physical acts that seem
so real in our dream.
There is a posture of the body that
is conducive to the experience of dreaming and deep sleep – lying down. If we
lie down and do nothing, we will often fall asleep. There is more on how
posture is associated with states of consciousness in the section on Transcendental Consciousness.
In waking state the awareness is of one's own thoughts as thoughts, and there is awareness of
the physical surroundings by way of the four physical senses and the one non-physical sense of feeling. We typically realize
that we are awake because we find that we can interact with the environment and
it reacts in both expected and unexpected ways. We feel that we are engaged in
activity of the physical body, and that if someone were to
observe our body, it would be found to be moving about and performing physical
acts that almost exactly match our internal perception of what it is doing.
This confirmation from the environment helps us to recognize that we are in
waking state. However, in a dream this sort of environmental confirmation appears to be there as
well. So it is not possible to define waking state simply in terms of perceived
environmental confirmation. For example, at this moment you may believe that
you are in waking state and reading this book. However, you could be simply
dreaming this, and would not know the “reality” until after the dream ends.
This uncertainty leads us to ask, “what if there is another state of
consciousness in which waking state is a dream to it?” Such a state of
consciousness would be transcendental to waking state, just as waking state is transcendental to dream
state.
Transcendental Consciousness is a state of consciousness that is not deep sleep, not dreaming, and not waking.
Transcendental Consciousness is initially described in terms of what it is not, because this is
the experience. It is literally awareness of nothingness or void that is commonly experienced between the
states of waking and deep sleep. It can also be experienced between deep sleep
and dreaming, and dreaming and waking, as illustrated in the drawing below.
Transcendental Consciousness is the gap in consciousness that we experience between waking and deep sleep. We remember that
we did nothing in particular to go to sleep, other than to stop being active.
Sometimes we stopped being active by choice and sometimes, in spite of trying
to remain active, we found it impossible to stay awake and suddenly dropped off
to sleep.
However, Transcendental Consciousness is much more that simply the gap between two states of consciousness. It is the state of
consciousness in which one can be the witness of all other states of consciousness – beyond all common states of
consciousness.
It is difficult to convey the
experience of Transcendental Consciousness in common words and expressions because it is an
experience that is beyond words. Our language, especially the English language,
is a waking state derived structure. Because Transcendental Consciousness is beyond
waking state, the terms and language of waking state cannot effectively be used
to convey an accurate meaning of it.
As mentioned in the section on
dreaming, if we lie down, that posture is conducive to sleep and dreaming
states of consciousness. We all know that sitting up
straight is conducive to wakefulness. There is a specific posture that is
conducive to Transcendental Consciousness known as the padmâsana posture). The padmâsana
(illustrated below) is the classic physical expression of the S’rî Chakra – lotus or padma is an allegorical reference to the S’rî Chakra, which is discussed at length starting with Chapter
Three.
To assume the padmâsana ,
follow these steps:
1.
In a sitting position, stretch your legs straight out before
you.
2.
Bend your right leg at the knee and bring it toward you so
that you can take hold of your right foot with both hands.
3.
Place your right foot on top of your left thigh. The right
foot should be brought toward you as far as is possible so that eventually the
right foot is touching the groin. In order to now complete the posture
successfully, the right knee will have to rest on the floor.
4.
Bend your left leg at the knee and bring it toward you so that
you can take hold of your left foot with both hands.
5.
Place your left foot on top of your right thigh. The left foot
should be brought in as far as possible so that eventually the left heel will
also touch the groin. Both knees should eventually rest on the floor.
6.
The reverse position, in which the left foot is brought up
first, then the right foot is also acceptable.
7.
Rest the hands palm up on the knees and touch the index finger
to the thumb.
Sitting in the padmâsana will quickly give rise to Transcendental Consciousness, if that is your intention and a specific mental technique for that purpose is practiced.
When experienced directly, Transcendental Consciousness can be experienced in two ways, deep inside
the mind or
outside and above the mind, depending on the specific mental technique
employed.
If you can sit in padmâsana and would like to experience Transcendental Consciousness, here is a mental technique that you may practice
which will give rise to the experience:
While seated in padmâsana , close the eyes and look up with closed
eyes to a spot that is above the head approximately six inches.
Within a few seconds you should feel a shift in
consciousness and experience Transcendental Consciousness for a few seconds.
You may find it difficult to
maintain this experience for more that a few seconds before thoughts arise in
your mind. This is normal when the S’rî Chakra is not fully activated. In subsequent
chapters we will go into detail about the activation of the S’rî Chakra . However, the point to
consider now is that Transcendental Consciousness is not confined to just the transition periods
between waking and sleep states of consciousness. In fact, Transcendental
Consciousness is available at any time with the proper application of a physical
posture and mental technique.
However, Transcendental Consciousness is closer to all of us than this – it can be
experienced as the super-conscious state that exists between two thoughts. Even if you have trouble sitting in padmâsana ,
you can still experience Transcendental Consciousness very
easily. Close your eyes and experience thoughts as they arise in your mind. The gap between two thoughts, in which there exists no thought in your
mind, is Transcendental Consciousness. In this gap between thoughts, you are
aware of awareness itself as a witness to the functioning of your own mind.
The witness value of Transcendental Consciousness is very significant because this is the experience
of the rishî aspect of the self-referral knowledge loop of rishî, devatâ ,
and chhandas .
Now the somewhat abstract notion of rishî,
devatâ , and chhandas has gained a more concrete value based on your personal
experience.
A dual state of consciousness that is experienced as constant, 24-hour awareness of Transcendental Consciousness along with the deep sleep, dreaming, and waking
states of consciousness is Cosmic Consciousness. In Cosmic Consciousness
there is never a moment in which the awareness of Transcendental Consciousness is not
found. Cosmic Consciousness is cultivated through dedicated practice of a
mental technique for experiencing Transcendental Consciousness.
Though the constant experience
of Transcendental Consciousness, the awareness de-embeds from the states of waking, sleep and dreaming, and
becomes centered in a super-conscious state that witnesses these three states
of consciousness. When this happens, the
experience during waking, sleep and dreaming states of consciousness will be
experienced in a completely different way – from the perspective of the rishî .
For example, the person in
Cosmic Consciousness during sleep will witness the body sleeping. The experience is like watching someone else
sleep. While witnessing yourself sleep, you will become aware that your mind is totally shut down – no thoughts at all. You will also
experience your body as paralyzed, and you cannot move it without first “waking
up.” You will appreciate yourself as completely different from your body, and
may easily leave your body and view the room from a different viewpoint. You may
hear yourself breathing deeply and hear clocks ticking or other noises in the
room. You may feel the touch of your body against the bed. All senses are awake but the physical sense organs are asleep. The
non-physical sense of touch (feeling) is probably the first sense you will
become aware of, as you perceive your body as a sort of vibrating energy. With
some practice, the physical sense of hearing can be easily invoked without
waking up. The physical sense of sight requires the opening of the eyes, and
that is more difficult to do without waking up.
During sleep, the person in
Cosmic Consciousness may become aware of thoughts forming and
witness the
transition from sleep to dreaming. As the thoughts are witnessed they will take
on some or all the qualities of the senses and become dreams. You will begin to witness a dream and will find that you can consciously interact with the people in
your dream, just as you do now in waking state. These dream people will act in
both expected and unexpected ways, and seemingly validate that your dream is
real to them. This one experience of witnessing a dream will give you the basis
for the realization that consciousness is the reality, and everything we experience is simply some
modification of consciousness.
It is possible to experience
lucid dreams at any time before Cosmic Consciousness. Many people experience
lucid dreams that have never practiced any mental technique for experiencing
Transcendental Consciousness. The distinction between simple lucid dreaming and
Cosmic Consciousness is that Cosmic Consciousness is the 24-hour experience of Transcendental Consciousness. Cosmic Consciousness does not
automatically “dawn” in most individuals – to acquire this state of
consciousness requires the dedicated practice of mental and physical techniques
to experience Transcendental Consciousness 24-hours
a day. These techniques are also required to maintain Cosmic Consciousness
until the seventh state of consciousness - Brahman Consciousness - is gained.
6. God Consciousness: In God Consciousness there is awareness of the celestial (non-physical) realms of the universe. In this awareness, it is
possible to conduct controlled direct two-way communication with individual
members of the vast hosts of non-physical beings that populate our universe.
This privilege of awareness and communication extends from the lowest etheric plane to highest celestial realms of our universe. God
Consciousness should not be confused with psychic abilities that enable a
person to perceive in a small segment of the subtle realms. Psychic ability can
be cultivated by various practices, but the ability is strictly limited to the
lower astral planes. On the other hand, God Consciousness cannot be cultivated
by any practice or technique - it is a gift from the Creator of our Universe, Lord Brahma ,
and freely available to all who ask for it. In Chapter Six of this book is a
detailed procedure that you may follow to ask for God Consciousness and begin
immediately to experience two-way communication with God. The full expression
of God Consciousness is a feature of the seventh and ultimate state of
consciousness - Brahman Consciousness.
This state of consciousness arises out of God Consciousness and appears to be two states of consciousness, but in fact it is a
single state of consciousness that is like the two faces of a coin. On one face, Unity, the
awareness is unity with the supreme level of silent, pure being
consciousness known as S'îva . On the opposite face, Brahman , the awareness is unity with the
Creator of our
Universe, Lord Brahma .
The width of this "coin" is infinitely thin so it is possible to
experience either "face" at any moment. However, it is impossible to
live in the physical world for very long (perhaps not more than a few moments)
while experiencing Unity. Therefore we choose to live in Brahman Consciousness so we can be of service in the physical.
This seventh state of
consciousness is the goal of the individual human life experience and the
ultimate goal of the existence of every jîva .
Both Unity and Brahman Consciousness are open to everyone. For those who do not wish to take on the
responsibility of Brahman
Consciousness, Unity is the choice.
Everyone should request Unity Consciousness, and in Chapter Six a
procedure is provided for you to do this.
Now that we have defined the
seven states of consciousness, let us return to our topic
on the process of manifestation. Recall that chhandas (knowledge of the object of attention) is created spontaneously by the
intention of rishî or knower) being taken into the gap by devatâ (the process of knowing) – this is the self-referral knowledge loop of
consciousness. Also recall that the chhandas
produced by this process is not really a new and separate thing, but rather the
same rishî that is changed
by the process.
Where is the manifestation (chhandas )
in this process? It must be contained within the consciousness of the rishî .
Everything I create is contained within, my own individual bubble, or self -referral loop, of consciousness. Everything you create is
contained within, your own individual bubble, or self-referral loop, of consciousness. The universe that Lord Brahma creates exists solely within the
consciousness of Lord Brahma ,
and I exist as a self-referral knowledge loop within the consciousness of Brahma , and you exist as a self-referral knowledge loop within the
consciousness of Brahma – bubbles of
consciousness within a bubble of consciousness, all within the
super-consciousness of S’îva /Krishna ,
as illustrated by the drawing at the end of Chapter One.
When an individual observes or
otherwise come to know any object, the knowledge that individual has concerning
the object exists within his or her consciousness. This knowledge is static and
independent of the object. When you or I create something physical, like this
book, it is placed in the bubble of consciousness of Brahma for all within that
bubble of consciousness (me, you and everyone else in this universe) to
observe.
This is how consciousness works. I have my own universe within which I have placed knowledge about you and the “things”
that I know. I see you and the other “things” from my own unique perspective
that is colored by all the “things” that I know. You see me from your unique
perspective that is colored by all the “things” that you know. If we know the
same “thing” we think we have communicated because we have some common
knowledge. However, the reality is my
collection of knowledge and my perception of that collection of knowledge is
completely different from yours and can never be the same. Your collection of
knowledge and your viewpoint is uniquely yours and can never be the same as
another’s.
Consciousness is called “self-referral” because within each
individual’s bubble of awareness, each individual ultimately refers
only to their own consciousness in all of their processes of knowing. If a person is established
in Brahman Consciousness, then the self-referral process yields Truth for this universe and everyone in it. If a
person is not established in Brahman
Consciousness, most if not all, of the person’s knowledge is individual and
local. This means that the self-referral process yields truth that may only
apply to that individual.
Now we know where the
object of knowledge exists, the question is how does it arise from the process
of knowing – exactly what is the process of manifestation (knowing)? By the choice of words we have
provided the answer – the manifestation of some “thing” is, simply knowing the “thing.” This is rather
circuitous logic, so let’s be much more specific.
Every “thing” in the universe is made of the eight prâkritîs ,
or fundamental elements, ultimately assembled following archetypes or patterns
that exist in consciousness. These archetypes in
consciousness are called knowledge constructs. Knowledge of these
archetypes in consciousness is our quest. Direct knowledge of the archetypes
that exist in Pure Consciousness is not possible because they are unmanifest. On the scale of the
individual jîva and its individual
bubble of consciousness, the knowledge constructs in its mind are also
unknowable because they are unmanifest to it – held in the sub-conscious mind. However, by knowing the structure of the process that leads
in to the gap, where the unmanifest archetypes exist, and by
knowing the structure of the process that leads out of the gap, we will know
everything that is knowable about the process of manifestation.
There are eight fundamental
elements out of which everything is constructed. Consider a color computer
monitor. It has only three fundamental color elements (red, green, and blue)
yet out of these three elements the monitor is able, through a process of
combinations of these three elements, to produce a nearly infinite array of
unique pictures. The same principle is at work in the creation of objects in the universe out of the eight elements. Since we have eight elements to work
with, instead of only three, we have many, many more possibilities for the
objects we can construct.
The drawing on the next page
illustrates the process of manifestation,
which begins with the intention of the rishî .
As devatâ processes the intention in to the gap, its component elements
become primary and distinct at the most refined level of awareness, and become discernable as
the eight prâkritîs .
At the point when the elements become discernable, the intention has reached
the window in consciousness that opens in to the gap and the next step for devatâ is to pass the intention in to
the gap.
It is very important to mention
at this point that the s’aktî value of devatâ is the power behind the intention. If the intention has
significant power behind it, the manifestation will be proportionately more “real.” For example, an intention of s’aktî value 1 will return a
manifestation of brilliance 1, and an intention of s’aktî value of 1000 will return a manifestation of brilliance
1000. It is a simple equation that determines if the manifestation will be
solid, real, and physical, at one end of the spectrum, or ephemeral, faint, and
perhaps only an image in the mind, at the other end. The power
of s’aktî also determines how quickly
the manifestation will occur – lower s’aktî
results in a longer time before the manifestation will occur and higher s’aktî produces a quicker manifestation.
Also, the object of the
intention must actually exist as an archetype in Pure Consciousness for it to manifest fully and completely as a “live” object. For example, if someone
imagines a beast that is a combination of several animals, man, and perhaps a
few machines, and that becomes his intention, the manifestation will never arise in full form because the archetype simply does
not exist in Pure Consciousness! The best that can be hoped
for is perhaps a movie showing the beast or a plastic model. No doubt, anything
that can be conceived in the mind can be manifested, but not necessarily in a functional form.
At the
heart of the gap at the
level of Pure Consciousness is S’îva ,
serving all beings that can access Pure Consciousness (those in Brahman
Consciousness) with the ability to create
objects based on the universal archetypes. Likewise, at the heart of the gap at
the level of individual consciousness is jîva ,
providing the individual with limited creativity that draws upon the resources
of its individual storehouse of knowledge.
S’îva or jîva return to devatâ the manifest form as initially a knowledge construct composed of the eight prâkritîs .
If awareness is at its most refined level on the threshold of Pure
Consciousness, it is possible to detect
this eight-fold knowledge construct as it arises from the gap. Devatâ continues processing out of the gap utilizing
the s’aktî of the new chhandas value, which it inherited from the original
intention.
We all engage in the process of
manifestation throughout every minute of every day of our lives. The cycle is a
very familiar one that starts with an idea – “I want some apple juice” – and
ends with you drinking apple juice. If your s’aktî has a power of 1000, the apple juice may be
delivered to you within a few seconds of your desire, perhaps by a friend who
suddenly walks up with a cup of fresh apple juice and says “here, you have to
taste this fantastic apple juice!” On the other hand, if your s’aktî has a power of 1, you may not
receive your apple juice for several weeks and probably will have to drive to
the store and pay for it too!
How to increase s’aktî ?
Tapas . When Lord Brahma was given the project to create a new
universe for the jîvas , He asked how to do such a thing
and was told by Narâyâna ,
tapas .
Tapas means, “conserve your s’aktî by curbing your natural tendency
to be constantly creating.” Save your s’aktî so that when you need something
significant, you will have the s’aktî
to pay for it. S’aktî is earned by acting in accord with Natural
Law and wasted by acting against Natural Law – it is almost as simple
as that. If you could act spontaneously and totally in accord with Natural Law
at all times, you could have a s’aktî
bank account in the millions in short order. To act totally in accord with
Natural Law requires that you know intimately the full range of Natural Law –
the Mind of Brahma the Creator - Brahman
Consciousness.
S’aktî is stored in the S’rî Chakra ,
so in order to accumulate significant s’aktî the S’rî
Chakra must be perfect and fully activated, which it is in Brahman Consciousness. S’aktî may be transferred from one being to another by attention
and intention. The s’aktî is given by attention with the intention of the giver
attached to it. For example, you may give to your friend $20 and say “you must
use this $20 to buy yourself a new shirt.” S’aktî
is a form of currency that can be given to another for a specific purpose. We
see this happening all the time in life. The mother kisses the child and says,
“I want you to be very careful today and come home safely!” She has given her
child a s’aktî that will be used to
safeguard her child all day. Another parent says to his child “You are an
idiot, get out of here and don’t come back until you have some sense!” This
parent has given his child a s’aktî
that will cause his child to be less intelligent and provide obstacles for it
to come home again.
S’aktî is obtained by getting the attention of one
who has it. There are specific mental practices that will permit an individual
to get the attention of more powerful subtle beings, and thereby increase the s’aktî of the practitioner. Everyone naturally has
the attention of Krishna ,
so there is a constant inflow of s’aktî
from Him to us. In Chapter Six we offer a procedure for establishing
communication with the Âtman .
This communication will cause an increase in the s’aktî of the individual, which will flow to him or her from the Âtman . Some may even experience this
inflow of s’aktî as a “quickening” in
the heart area.
S’aktî is accumulated by saving it, so for example a
person who lives modestly, spends a large amount of time in meditation and introspection, and does not give in to the fulfillment of
desires for material or spiritual gain, will accumulate s’aktî .
When that person does want something, it will manifest quickly.
S’aktî is like electrical current and the nervous
system is like the wiring. If the s’aktî is too strong it will literally burn and
damage the nervous system. If the s’aktî
is a little bit too strong, its influence will certainly be felt and probably
will be uncomfortable for the body to experience. It is very common for One in Brahman Consciousness to give an individual enough s’aktî
to enable an experience or ability in the person as a means of teaching.
Sometimes a peek into the reality of Brahman
Consciousness will be given to encourage the sincere individual.
In Brahman Consciousness, the individual has very
great s’aktî and the nervous system to handle it. This is
why the path to Brahman Consciousness is a path and not instantaneous “enlightenment.” It simply takes
some years to cultivate the proper S’rî
Chakra structure and physiology to support the s’aktî of Brahman Consciousness.
When Narâyâna appointed the foremost jîva to the post of Brahma ,
this means He selected a jîva that
was in Brahman Consciousness in a previous universe, and therefore had the
perfected S’rî Chakra that could contain nearly infinite s’aktî .
After being appointed, Brahma asked Narâyâna how to create a universe and Narâyâna replied, tapas , which means, Narâyâna gave Brahma a
huge influx of s’aktî sufficient to
create an entire universe.
In the next chapter, we will offer
much more detail about the S’rî Chakra ,
what the perfected structure is, and how it comes into existence to support the activities of the jîva .
