Reference: Comment section of KNOWABLE AND UNKNOWABLE
Remote viewing requires sharpening of the sixth sense. This is basically the mental sense that brings all the physical senses together in a coherent manner. This coherency appears as an abstract pattern underlying the physical senses.
It is thought that the abstract pattern underlying the physical senses can link into a universally coherent grid and thus gain access to remote points on this grid. Remote viewing comes about when patterns at those remote points are accessed and converted back to physical perceptions. In addition, it is thought possible to influence things remotely through such linking.
The article at Core Explanation of Remote Viewing and Remote Influencing is used to prepare the following notes.
Based on human brain wave frequency, the mind has following levels.
Delta – 1 to 4 Hertz
Deep sleep… also surgical unconsciousness, and certain pathological conditions such as epileptic petit mal… no dreaming present… consciousness is lost… the unconscious region of thought activity… but something can be recalled from that state… level of mysterious universal mind… interface with deep Theta…
Theta – 4 to 7 Hertz
Deep relaxation… more internally focused self-reflective state…
Alpha – 8 to 13 Hertz
Deep concentration… a more focused, expanded state of awareness…
Beta – 14 to 30 Hertz
Awake and totally active… the so-called conscious level of mind… a focus of concentration by the mind upon the outside or perceptually separated world… Human adults operate mostly at Beta…
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In Remote Viewing, one must move from awake and totally active Beta to deep sleep of Delta in order to access the universal awareness directly. As one moves from Alpha to Theta to Delta, one bypasses mental filters. These mental filters appear to make up the individual consciousness as well. So, as one moves closer to Delta, the mental filters reduce and so does the individual consciousness.
Per the KHTK model of the mind, moving from Beta to Delta is like climbing out of the whirlpool of self and becoming one with the universal sea of awareness. The individual consciousness seems to be replaced by a universal awareness, which is difficult to describe.
When one comes out of the Delta and moves back to Beta, the mental filters and individual consciousness return. The remote patterns accessed while in Delta are now processed through the filters, and the desired remote views appear in one’s consciousness. However, by interfacing with Delta from the deepest level of Theta it might be possible to view remotely in real time.
But this is all theory, and it has been difficult to achieve remote viewing in practice.
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Per KHTK, it is the gradual resolving of inconsistencies from individual consciousness that may bring one ultimately into a permanent state of being tuned to the universally coherent grid. But in this process all the inconsistencies that lead to conflicts and wars may also have to be resolved.
Remote viewing may simply be like a second nature then.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:01 Now, therefore, complete instructions regarding yoga.
1:02 To block the patterns of consciousness is yoga.
1:03 Then the seer is established (abides) in his own essential nature.
1:04 Or there is identification with the modifications of chitta.
1:05 Modifications of mind are fivefold; they are painful or not painful.
1:06 The fivefold modifications of mind are right knowledge, wrong knowledge, fancy, sleep and memory.
1:07 Direct cognition, inference and testimony are the sources of knowledge.
1:08 Wrong conception is false knowledge which is not based on its own form.
1:09 Following upon knowledge through words but empty of an object is fancy.
1:10 Sleep is the vritti of absence of mental contents for its support.
1:11 Not letting the experienced objects escape from the mind is memory.
1:12 The stopping of that (five vrittis) by repeated practice and vairagya.
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At verse 1:07 we have perceptions.
At verse 1:08 we have misunderstoods.
At verse 1:09 we have assumptions and speculations.
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At verse 1:10, we are probably looking at the Delta level of the mind. This is an interesting area for me.
Looks like there is no individual awareness at this level. In the absence of individual awareness, there seem to be some kind of basic awareness, which is very different in character.
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If we are able to analyze the sleep condition of the mind, we can easily understand the state of Samadhi.
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In sleep there is no object before the mind – it does not see, hear, touch or feel anything. Every form of knowledge, every content of mind has become silent.
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In samadhi, it seems that the seer (observer) and the seen (objects) have merged to become one. It is the reality looking at itself. It is a very active state and not passive at all.
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At Verse 1:11. Memory seems to be stored as patterns in the computer circuits of macromolecules. Actually, the whole “definition-logic” matrix seems to be stored in the macromolecules of the nervous system. Ref: A Model of Self
Whole memories are not stored, Only their elements are stored in form of a compression algorithm. These memories are reconstructed as and when required by the mind in the background. Conscious recall is rarely needed as one is not expected to ransack the stored memories. Ref: A Model of the Mind
The genetic code is probably stored in the electronic patterns of deeper shells of macromolecules, or in macromolecules elsewhere in the body that are connected at a deeper level. Those are pretty permanent patterns that are difficult to dislodge.
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We get a form of reconstructed memory in the form of dreams. Here the mind is trying to unwind itself, and that is happening only at a slow rate. There are just too many inconsistencies obstructing the resolution of where the mind has its attention on.
Here is an idea for Dream Therapy. Note the subject of the dream. Then look at that subject in waking state without thinking. Let the mind freely associate in as broad a context as possible. Let the mind take care of any symbolism and connotations. Do not interfere with mind’s free association.
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One may say that there is conscious memory and also unconscious memory. Unconscious memories are those that are not available. But unconscious memories are simply buried deep under the mental stack of inconsistencies. Mind is trying to resolve the inconsistencies in the top down order in that stack. When the correct order is followed, all memories may be reached.
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From the text:
Thus we can summarize the five vrittis mentioned by Patanjali in the following manner. The first vritti involves right knowledge; the second, wrong knowledge; the third, imaginary knowledge; the fourth, no knowledge; and the last one, past knowledge. This covers the entire field of our consciousness. While defining yoga, Patanjali has already said that the essence of yoga is contained in blocking or stopping all the vrittis. He describes the means which are to be used for this purpose in the next sutra.
1:12 The stopping of that (five vrittis) by repeated practice and vairagya.
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Vairagya – Freedom from raga (attraction), and dwesha (repulsion).
Raga – the attitude of liking for an object of our choice.
Dwesha – an attitude of the mind which involves dislike for an object.
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I believe that as one continually resolves inconsistencies, vairagya is achieved.
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Raga and dwesha are disturbing factors, which make the mind unsteady.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:13 Of the two (mentioned in the previous sutra) ‘to be established in the endeavour’ is abhyasa [practice].
1:14 It becomes firmly grounded by being continued for a long time with reverence, without interruption.
1:15 When an individual becomes free of craving for the sense objects, which he has experienced as well as those of which he has heard, that state of consciousness is vairagya.
1:16 That is the highest [vairagya] in which there is freedom from the desire for gunas on account of the knowledge of purusha.
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Abhayasa – to be perfectly fixed in the spiritual effort (sadhana).
It means dedication to achieving the goal that one has set one’s mind to.
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When abhyasa becomes natural, firly rooted and complete, it leads to samadhi.
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Motivation can continue only when one is tackling whatever is fixing or dispersing one’s attention.
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Vairagya is the final assessment of everything that one has undergone in life.
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From the text:
What is important for meditation is not what one does or does not do in the outer life; it is the inner life, the life of inhibitions, suppressions and complexes, the life of mental and psychic errors, that plays a decisive role in meditation. For this there must be vairagya, so that the proper attitude come into being.
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In meditation, one is dealing with inner inconsistencies, questions, confusions, conflicts among attitudes towards things, etc,
The hardest to address, probably, are the raw impulses built into the body. Suppression of them is not the answer, but a closer looking at them and working through them by diet, and exercises.
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When one is struggling to control the impulses of the body, one is identifying with the body. The solution would be in the direction of enlarging one’s attention beyond the body to all life and the universe.
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The solution to free oneself from any conditioning seems to be viewing things in as broad a context as possible.
This applies to inconsistencies to do with body impulses as well as with personality.
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From the text:
… at the deeper level of consciousness and of the subconscious, everyone of us has certain desires, cravings, ambitions and wishes we want to fulfil. These unfulfilled desires give rise to conflicts and tensions. In our daily life we may not be aware of these conflicts and tensions, but a person who wants to meditate finds it impossible to make his mind steady unless the underlying urges and tensions are resolved.
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So again it boils down to resolving inconsistencies once and for all as they come up.
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Paravairagyainvolves not only giving up the enjoyments, but even the deep-rooted taste for enjoyment… there is no return to the life of cravings and passions.
This seems to be a state of total objectivity and no subjectivity.
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Purusha (nascent awareness) is beyond the Thought, emotion and impulse (the three gunas).
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:17 Samprajanata [Samadhi with intuition] constitutes association respectively with reasoning, reflection, bliss and sense of individuality.
1:18 Other samadhi [Asamprajanata] is preceded by a continued practice of stopping the content of mind. In it the mind remains in the form of traces.
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Stages of contemplation:
(1) Savitarka – Contemplate on external gross elements by questioning them.
(2) Nirvitarka – Contemplate on external gross elements as they are.
(3) Savichara – Contemplate on fine fundamental particles by questioning them.
(4) Nirvichara – Contemplate on fine fundamental particles as they are.
(5) Sananda – Contemplate on internal thinking organ without qualities
(6) Sasmita – Contemplate on internal ego of knowledge (mind) – they merge with nature.
(7) Beyond Sasmita – Attain complete freedom
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(1) Annamaya kosha – Contemplation on the gross body (sense word)
(2) Pranamaya kosha – Contemplation on the finer body (bioplasmic world)
(3) Manomaya kosha – Contemplation on the mental body. Here samadhi begins.
(4) Vijnanamaya kosha – Contemplation on the knowledge
(5) Anandamaya kosha – Contemplation on the blissfulness. This is the finest sphere of consciousness.
Beyond the fifth kosha is the ultimate awareness known as Purusha. It transcends objects, thoughts and instincts.
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In the beginning on focuses one some physical form of the object. There is some mental content. Gradually one goes deeper and deeper into abstraction until finally there is no mental content but pure awareness. This is the state of samadhi.
The objects most likely derive from some inconsistency that needs to be resolved.
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I don’t think that the goal of samadhi should be to become thoughtless. As long as there is dullness or restlessness there is some inconsistency. Any tendency or tension is an inconsistency because it stands out from the background of consistency. Any suppression is an inconsistency. Any desire is an inconsistency. All knowledge is manufactured and, therefore, a relative inconsistency.
The goal of samadhi should be to resolve all inconsistencies. One is somewhere on the path to achieve this goal. One should resolve inconsistencies on a gradient. The removal of inconsistencies may not be absolute, but there would be stages of greater and greater freedoms.
But there are those who may like to live with some inconsistency and not care for the goal of greater freedom.
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The Yoga Sutras look at Samprajanata and Asamprajanata samadhi. The difference is only in terms of the abstraction reached. Absolute abstraction cannot be known.
Therefore, one should not think of Samprajanata and Asamprajanata samadhi in binary terms. There is a whole scale here of infinite gradients, Samprajanata and Asamprajanata simply represent gradients of this scale in relative terms.
The same argument applies to sabeeja (with seed) and nirbeeja (without seed) samadhi.
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From the text:
Our consciousness has something to dwell upon during concentration. That support, which may be a symbol or a particular idea, gross or subtle, is called pratyaya. When you meditate on Aum, the form Aum is the pratyay for the mind; similarly with other symbols.
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From KHTK point of view, one would start from a point of fixation or dispersal where the attention seems to be dwelling. One would focus on the inconsistency at that point. It would be something that is unclear or puzzling. It may then lead to looking closely at objects, ideas, symbols and concepts involved, until the confusion or inconsistency clears up.
Then the attention would automatically go to some other point of fixation and dispersal and the cycle would repeat. Ultimately there would come a time when no points of fixation or dispersal are there.
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During samadhi as above, first gross external elements are addressed, then finer external elements, and then the internal mental objects.
Once all the physical and mental objects are fully exhausted of inconsistencies, there are still samskara there to be exhauted. Samsakara seems to be DNA programming that expresses itself as tendencies. It may not be active bit it can be made active.
In ultimate samadhi, even these tendencies are dissolved.
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From the text:
According to yoga, consciousness or awareness is in the form of motion or vibration, but nirbeeja samadhi is not a state of motion or vibration. It involves stillness. Thus asamprajanata samadhi, according to this sutra [1:18], is there when only samskara [seed of consciousness] remains and awareness of object drops, due to practice.
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This validates KHTK position that awareness and motion are one and the same at the fundamental level. Motion is the form of awareness, and awareness is the property of motion. They go hand in hand, and simply become more and more complex as evolurion occurs.
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KHTK differs from yoga in that it focuses on eliminating inconsistencies instead of focusing on eliminating objects or thoughts per se.
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The explanation of Sutra 1:18 in Four Chapters on Freedom: Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is really good.
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From the text:
In asamprajanata samadhi, the pratyaya of awareness of the symbol drops, but only temporarily. It again revives itself, but not in the same state of awareness. The state of awareness now may be either deeper or grosser. Asamprajanata samadhi is not a permanent state; it is only an intermediate state in which the consciousness is trying to transcend into a different plane…
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:19 Yogis who are disembodied or merged in prakriti have birth as the cause of asamprajanata samadhi.
1:20 Other yogis attain to asamprajanata samadhi through the stages of faith, strong will, memory and intelligence derived from samprajanata samadhi respectively.
1:21 Those who have an intense urge attain asamprajanata samadhi very soon.
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Some people can easily attain samadhi without much practice. Looks like the programming in their DNA macromolecules is much simplified.
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Others have to go through regular practices of different techniques.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:22 With the urge rising through the mild, medium and strong conditions, asamprajanata samadhi can be achieved sooner.
1:23 Or by devotion to Ishwara (asamprajanata samadhi can be attained).
1:24 Ishwara is a special soul untouched by afflictions, acts, their traces and their fruits.
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On the intensity of earnestness and sincerity depends how fast one achieves samadhi.
A good student should not demand a higher sadhana [yogic practice] in the beginning. He should practice with earnestness whatever sadhana he receives from his guru, for, in fact, there is no such differentiation of higher or lower sadhana that should matter in the beginning. It is the earnestness which is more important.
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Usually Ishwara is translated by the word God, but by God we should mean not a person but a superior spiritual consciousness. It is neither physical nor mental, but purely spiritual.
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It seems that “spirituality” is the stage of unconsensed awareness that exists in the beginning. As this awarenss is modified it condenses first into mental objects and then condenses further into physical objects.
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The ideal state would be when spiritual, mental and physical stages are totally harmonious with each other without inconsistencies.
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Disharmony may exist at the genetic level that causes autoimmune diseases. But intense devotion to the ultimate goal of total harmony may overcome even that.
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Patanjali does not believe in a personal God. His idea of God is that of a spiritual consciousness which is so pure that it is completely free of any relation with karma and its effects.
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Such a freedom is achieved by total harmony and complete surrender [lack of resistance].
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An individual can surrender to God only if one is aware of one’s limitations. When one knows one’s limitations, one will not be led astray and can surrender to God completely… Ishwar pranidhana does not only mean going to a temple; it requires complete surrender by a continuous process of self-analysis for quite a long time.
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Complete surrender (lack of resistence) = becoming totally aware of inconsistencies within oneself and leaving them alone to unwind by themselves.
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God is free of the five afflictions of
(1) Ignorance,
(2) “I”-feeling,
(3) Raga (the attitude of liking for an object of our choice),
(4) Dwesha (an attitude of the mind which involves dislike for an object),
(5) Fear of death.
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God is free of the three karmas or actions
(1) Good
(2) Bad
(3) Mixed
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God is free of three kinds of fruits of actions
(1) Span of life
(2) Enjoyment
(3) Kind of birth
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God is even free of the seeds of karmas.
Here “seed of karma” may be compared to the overt-motivator cycle of Scientology.
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It is due to our past karma that we are born in favorable or unfavorable circumstances. Our health, enjoyments, mental development and span of life are the effects of our past deeds. With these we go on accumulating new traces of our deeds…
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In modern terms we may say,
Past karma = Genetic code we are born with
Present karma = modifies this genetic code, which then emerges in future lives
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:25 In Ishwara there is the seed of limitless omniscience.
1:26 Not being limited by time he is the guru of the earliest gurus.
1:27 Aum is the word denoting Ishwara.
1:28 That [the word Aum] should be recited repeatedly while dwelling mentally on its meaning.
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The mind must always travel between two extremes. You can think of limited space, but that very idea gives you also unlimited space. Close your eyes and think of a little space; at the same time that you perceive the little circle, you have a circle round it of unlimited dimensions. It is the same with time. Try to think of a second; you will have, with the same act of perception, to think of time which is unlimited. So with knowledge. Knowledge is only a germ in man, but you will have to think of infinite knowledge around it, so that the very constitution of our mind shows us that there is unlimited knowledge,..
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We have the idea of inconsistency because the concept of harmony and consistency is innate to us. An inconsistency denotes a limit, whereas consistency denotes limitlessness.
The ultimate guru is this innate feeling of harmony and consistency. This is Ishwara. Against Ishwara are highlighted the inconsistencies within us to be resolved.
This understanding of Ishwara is the fastest means of attaining samadhi. We can attain this understanding by putting attention on what is sublime around us.
The whole idea of God is to become aware of inconsistencies and to resolve them one by one. Thus, God may be looked upon as our ultimate teacher.
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God is the innate sense of harmony and consistency, which is not bound by anything.
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There are two peculiar deductions of the Yogis. The first is that in thinking of the limited, the mind must think of the unlimited; and that if one part of that perception is true, so also must the other be, for the reason that their value as perceptions of the mind is equal.
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(1) Awareness and motion go hand in hand.
(2) Similarly, thought and word sound go hand in hand.
(3) Thought is compressed awareness, whereas word sound is compressed motion.
(4) Word sounds are not generated arbitrarily. They come from thoughts.
(5) Basic sounds underlying words are significant in terms of thoughts.
(6) The relation between the sounds and the thoughts is a natural one.
(7) There must be a natural connection between the symbol and the thing signified; then, when that symbol is pronounced, it recalls the thing signified.
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The thought of Ishwara seems to have a natural relation with the word sound of Aum, because Aum seems to represent harmony and consistency from begining to end.
“In making a sound we use the larynx and the palate as a sounding board. Is there any material sound of which all other sounds must be manifestations, one which is the most natural sound? Om (Aum) is such a sound, the basis of all sounds. The first letter, A, is the root sound, the key, pronounced without touching any part of the tongue or palate; M represents the last sound in the series, being produced by the closed lips, and the U rolls from the very root to the end of the sounding board of the mouth. Thus, Aum represents the whole phenomena of sound-producing.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
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Ishwara (God) means “infinite harmony and consistency” to Patanjali. This is achieved in Samadhi.
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When is meditating on AUM (Ishwara) by chanting aum or om, one is really meditating on the harmony and consistency underlying this Universe.
By meditating on fundamental consistency one gradually becomes aware of fundamental inconsistencies and how they spawn the inconsistencies one is struggling with. One may then starts to look more closely, With this concentration the mind starts to resolve inconsistencies in the natural order.by itself. This is the most efficient method to resolve inconsistencies. One is totally non-judgmental and does not interfere with.with the mind. There is no resistance to anything. It is allowing the mind to untwist itself.
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Ishwara is said to be “highest manifested consciousness in man.” This is vague and unclear, and it is also a human-centric view.
Scientifically, or from a reality-centric view. Ishwara would be the most fundamental form of awareness associated with the simple motion of the lowest frequency. It is free of any modification.
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Knowledge rises from modifications made to Ishwara awareness.
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One can know anything by understanding the laws of this modification.
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Space and time characterize a wave form. Therefore, they are integral to these modifications, or knowledge.
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Purusha is the manifestation of consciousness in the course of evolution. There are infinite stages in this process, inasmuch as there are infinite purushas in this universe.
Purusha = a particular manifestation of consciousness = Consciousness manifested as beingness.
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Body is complex motion that represents certain beingness.The modifications that culminate in that beingness represent knowledge.
When body dies, this complex motion disperses and so does the beingness. The knowledge also disperses. That particular configuration of motion, beingness and knowledge goes away.
A new configuration of motion, beingness and knowledge may then come about. Thus, evolution takes place in infinitely small gradients.
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Ishwara (God) should be described as the most basic state of consciousness rather than the “highest” state of consciousness.
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Man is the most complex and evolved state of consciousness.
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All beingnesses are modifications of basic Ishwara (God).
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In Quantum Mechanics, we are looking at the interaction between finer harmonic of motion and grosser harmonic of motion.
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Awareness of awareness is the motion harmonizing itself in some manner. This is a different kind of evolution. This seems to be the story of mankind.
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It seems to be a more complex form of field phenomenon. It is like the earlier solidity of atoms and molecules dissolving into much finer and complex field.
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It is much more dynamic kind of a scenario, where fixed ideas are dissolving into much finer laws and principles.
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Thinking is basically following the association among definitions with logics. This is limited by definitions and logics that are there.
Looking is penetrating into those definitions and logics so that much finer association could be established. This is the region of intuition.
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Higher awareness is establishing finer associations.
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There is contemplation of knowledge. This is Chintana
But there is also penetration beyond knowledge through experiencing. This is Darshan
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Movement from knowledge to experience to finer knowledge occurs through dissolution of inconsistencies.
This is signified by chanting of AUM that establishes the background of ultimate consistency in one’s consciousness. so that inconsistencies could be spotted and dissolved.
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Mantra = Sound (motion) counterpart of certain awareness; used to evoke awareness of spiritual elements.
Yantra = spiritual formula to express certain relationships among spiritual elements.
Tantra = Concrete procedures for employing abstract mantra and yantra.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:29 From that practice the consciousness turns inwards and the obstacles are overcome.
1:30 Disease, dullness, doubt, procrastination, laziness, craving, erroneous perception, inability to achieve finer stages and instability are the obstacles.
1:31 Pain, depression, shaking of the body and unrhythmic breathing are the accompanying symptoms of mental distraction.
1:32 For removal of those (obstacles and accompanying symptoms) the practice of concentration on one principle (is to be done).
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Repeation of AUM is meant to get one started on the path of concentration.
By practicing this, the average person will ultimately obtain higher intelligence and keenness of mind, so that he can follow the higher and deeper courses of sadhana and thereby reach the highest spiritual goal.
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“The first manifestation of the repetition and thinking of Om is that the introspective power will manifest more and more, all the mental and physical obstacles will begin to vanish.”~ Vivekananda
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The obstacles outlined in verse 1:30 are definite points in the framework of consciousness. They appear during the AUM japa.
When cpnsciousness is drawn inwards, the metabolism and other functions of the body are altered and modified.
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“Disease. This body is the boat which will carry us to the other shore of the ocean of life. It must be taken care of. Unhealthy persons cannot be Yogis. Mental laziness makes us lose all lively interest in the subject, without which there will neither be the will nor the energy to practise. Doubts will arise in the mind about the truth of the science, however strong one’s intellectual conviction may be, until certain peculiar psychic experiences come, as hearing or seeing at a distance, etc. These glimpses strengthen the mind and make the student persevere. Falling away from the state when obtained. Some days or weeks when you are practicing, the mind will be calm and easily concentrated, and you will find yourself progressing fast. All of a sudden the progress will stop one day, and you will find yourself, as it were, stranded. Persevere. All progress proceeds by such rise and fall.” ~ Vivekananda
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Those who keep on changing the methods, techniques and symbols in meditation every now and then will suffer from the obstacles… One should not change the symbol of meditation because the process of meditation is only a basis for consciousness to go deeper and deeper. There will be confusion if the basis is changed time and again.
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(Verse 1:31 translation and explanation by Swami Vivekananda)
31. Grief, mental distress, tremor of the body, irregular breathing, accompany non-retention of concentration.
Concentration will bring perfect repose to mind and body every time it is practised. When the practice has been misdirected, or not enough controlled, these disturbances come. Repetition of Om and self-surrender to the Lord will strengthen the mind, and bring fresh energy. The nervous shakings will come to almost everyone. Do not mind them at all, but keep on practising. Practice will cure them and make the seat firm.
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Back in 1964-65 I was in the second year of engineering studies at IIT Kanpur in India. Mahrishi Mahesh Yogi of Transcental Meditation (The Beatle Guru) visited us on the campus. We gathered sround him in an outdoor setting and heard him talk. Later one of his disciples talked to me briefly and gave me a mantra to chant.
Fifty rears later, today, I decided to google “mantra ayinga” and came up with the following It talked about the mantra “ayinga” which was given to me.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=128732011
Since I was interested in finding out about the mechanics of repeating a mantra, I sat down with eyes closed, as recommended, and mentally repeated “ayinga” for an hour. I went through some dream state and came back wide awake. Then I went for a 30 minute walk while repeating this mantra in my head in a natural manner. Here are my observations.
(1) Patanjali sutra recommends the general mantra “Om” (AUM). I have used that also in the past. It seems that the mind starts looking for the significance of the mantra and gets absorbed in it.
(2) This activity replaces all the other thoughts that have been crowding the mind earlier.
(3) Just this factor brings some stability to the mind, because there is mainly one thought dominating the mind, instead of the tussle of many thoughts.
(4) One may go through dreamlike stages to finally arrive at the stage when just this mantra is dominating the mind. Its significance doesn’t seem to matter that much.
(5) When I was quite awake and went for a walk, I found that I was more objective, because the subjectivity of struggling thoughts was not there.
(6) There was subjectivity of this mantra but it was pretty stable. The time during the walk passed swiftly.
(7) It was not that other thoughts were not there when mantra was repeating in my head, but they were more tamed. It allowed new and constructive thoughts to come in. That is when I decided to write this experience.
(8) I always felt resistance to doing this because I didn’t see much of a purpose in doing it.
(9) However, after the experiment above, I have a better understanding of the mechanics going on here.
(10) The Indians will say that I have become westernized, in not implicitly trusting and doing what I am told. But I like the Western Scientific approach.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:33 In relation to happiness, misery, virtue and vice, by cultivating the attitudes of friendliness, compassion, gladness and indifference respectively, the mind becomes purified and peaceful.
1:34 Or by expiration and retention of breath (one can control the mind).
1:35 Or else the mind can be made steady by bringing it into activity of sense experience.
1:36 Or the luminous state which is beyond sorrow (can control the mind).
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(Verse 1:33)
By maintaining this attitude, that is, friendliness to the happy, compassion for the unhappy, gladness about the virtuous, and indifference to those who are full of vice, the mind of the aspirant becomes free from disturbing influences and as a result it becomes peaceful and undisturbed…
…when you are trying to turn the mind inside, the obstacles and impurities must be first removed. Jealousy, hate and the element of competition cause a lot of impurities in the mind…
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(Verse 1:34)
(Vivekananda) “Prana is not exactly breath. It is the name for the energy that is in the universe. Whatever you see in the universe, whatever moves or works, or has life, is a manifestation of this Prana… By the abovementioned process of breathing we can control all the various motions in the body, and the various nerve currents that are running through the body. First we begin to recognise them, and then we slowly get control over them… But whenever a new subject comes, new channels have to be made, so it is not understood readily. And that is why the brain (it is the brain, and not the people themselves) refuses unconsciously to be acted upon by new ideas. It resists. The Prana is trying to make new channels, and the brain will not allow it. This is the secret of conservatism. “
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(Verse 1:35)
This sutra provides a simpler method of bringing the mind undr control through arousing an activity of sense perception… By concentrating the mind on the tip of the nose, a subtle or psychic smell is experienced… all these psychic processes become the basis of self-control…
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It seems that through concentration on sense organs or sense objects, certain sense perceptions may be aroused creating wonderful effects. This sounds like self-hypnotism. Apparently, in due course, the mind transcends them and goes deeper into samadhi.
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(Verse 1:36)
By concentrating on the center of the eyebrows one can experience a serene luminosity, and the mind can be made steady and controlled. There are many other methods through which light can be seen.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:37 Or else the mind can be brought under control by making passionless persons the object for concentrating the mind.
Vivekananda: 37. Or (by meditation on) the heart that has given up all attachment to sense-objects.
1:38 Or else (the mind can be made steady) by giving it the knowledge of dream and sleep for support.
Vivekananda: 38. Or by meditating on the knowledge that comes in sleep.
1:39 Or else by meditation as desired (mind can be steadied).
Vivekananda: 39. Or by the meditation on anything that appeals to one as good.
1:40 So the yogi is given mastery over all objects for meditation ranging from the smallest atom to the infinitely large.
Vivekananda: 40. The Yogi’s mind thus meditating, becomes unobstructed from the atomic to the infinite.
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(1:37) Take some holy person, some great person whom you revere, some saint whom you know to be perfectly non-attached, and think of his heart. That heart has become non-attached, and meditate on that heart; it will calm the mind.
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(1:38) Sometimes a man dreams that he has seen angels coming to him and talking to him, that he is in an ecstatic condition, that he has heard music floating through the air. He is in a blissful condition in that dream, and when he wakes, it makes a deep impression on him. Think of that dream as real, and meditate upon it. If you cannot do that, meditate on any holy thing that pleases you.
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(1:39) This does not mean any wicked subject, but anything good that you like, any place that you like best, any scenery that you like best, any idea that you like best, anything that will concentrate the mind.
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(1:40) The mind, by this practice, easily contemplates the most minute, as well as the biggest thing. Thus the mindwaves become fainter.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:41 Samapatti is a state of complete absorption of the mind which is free from vrittis into (the three types of objects such as) cognizer, cognized and the senses, just as a polished crytal takes the color of that on which it rests.
Vivekananda: 41. The Yogi whose Vrittis have thus become powerless (controlled) obtains in the receiver, (the instrument of) receiving, and the received (the Self, the mind, and external objects), concentratedness arid sameness like the crystal (before different coloured objects).
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As one resolves inconsistencies (vrittis) one by one, the mind becomes increasingly calmer until one realizes that the observer and the observed are part of the same reality. One becomes the reality that is observing itself.
This is the state of mindfulness, which is seeeing things as they are.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:42 In that state (of samadhi) on account of alternating consciousness between word, true knowledge and sense perception, the mixed state of mind is known as savitarka samapatti.
Vivekananda: 42. Sound, meaning, and resulting knowledge, being mixed up, is (called) Samadhi with question.
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Concentration on an object involves focusing on the symbol, its meaning and the knowledge arising from it. There is the form, the properties and then the essence of it all. In the beginning, these three aspects are not quite aligned with each other. But as one meditates on them they gradually fall in place, and there is no more questions. All inconsistencies are resolved.
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Patanjali Yoga Sutra
1:43 After the clarification of memory, when the mind is as if devoid of self-awareness, and the true knowledge of the object is alone shining within, that is nirvitarka.
Vivekananda: 43. The Samadhi called “without question” (comes) when the memory is purified, or devoid of qualities, expressing only the meaning (of the meditated object).
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The commonly experienced “I” is in fact the “center of ego”, similar to the idea in physics of a “center of mass.”
An ego is a pattern created by fixed attention, just like mass seems to come about with the “centeredness” of inertia.
So, a viewpoint is a certain stance taken by the “I”. It is like the “center of mass” having a certain motion.
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Remote viewing in not scientifically repeatable and that puts it in the category of subjectivity and feelings. It is at best a computation that happened to match reality accidently. This in no ways proves the simplistic idea of a thetan that can exist exterior to the body.
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A THETAN is something discrete. THETA is something continuous. The more discrete something is, the less continuous it is. A lot of “discretes” put together can never be the same as “continuous,” because the two are of totally opposite character.
I am currently investigating the mathematics of space and location. A location is something pointedly discrete. It may be visualized as a focused point of light. On the other hand, space may be visualized as an unfocused light that is spread out. Space is opposite of a point. It is continuous instead of discrete. It is spread out instead of being pointed.
Now think of somebody using lots of these focused points of light to approximate totally unfocused spread of light. It can never be equivalent but mathematics uses this trick in Calculus. It makes a point more and more pointed (discrete) as an infinitesimal, and then collects more and more of these points together to create a continuous space. There is a built in contradiction here that generates an appearance of space, which is not space.
This is also the case with the “principle of co-creation,” or creation by agreement. There is an appearance of universe, which is not the universe.
Universe is generated from a single point of awareness by making it less and less fixated, and more and more relaxed.
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The “principle of co-creation” is the same thing as “creation” by agreement. It leads to a hypnotic state.
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