You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2008.
No matter who you are, a king, a billionaire businessman or a beggar, all must die and meet the Creator as a man. The bed of death brings each and every one of us human beings to his pure individuality, to the most intense contemplation of that deepest and most solemn of all relations that between man and his Creator.
Hindus believe that one takes on the body of a human being only after 84 lakh births, there are 30 lakh births in plant life, 27 lakh births in the insect world, 14 lakh in birds, 9 lakh in fish and 4 lakh as other animals. Religious texts confirm how difficult it is to be endowed with human form even by the Gods.
If wealth is lost, it can be recovered. friends who are angry or away can return to you. New friends can be made. If the wife is away or leaves or dies, one can choose to marry again. Land, a home, your homeland, can be regained again and again. But there is no certainty if one can attain the form of a human being gain.
Gandhi “I see the same God in the Bhagavad Gita, Koran and the Bible”, also by the Mahatma, “Every home is a university and the parents are the teachers. There is no school equal to a decent home and no teachers equal to honest parents”.
Like the Hindu religion perhaps there is no founder of the sitar but various people have contributed to its development. Among Indian classical instruments the sitar perhaps is best known. Its exact origins are unknown. The word sitar is of Persian origin. Amir Khusro an iconic figure in the cultural history of India was a Sufi mystic and Persian scholar who was born and brought up in India, popular folklore credit him as the inventor of the sitar in around the 13th century. Today serious historians seem to reject this view of Khusro, with many believing that the sitar was in existence long before Amir Khusro’s time in diverse shapes in different regions of India. Another popular story names another Amir Khusro in the 18th century as the creator of the sitar. To add weight to this theory a noted musician Masit Khan (the second Amir Khusro’s grandson) has even had a musical style named after him- the masit khani gat (this style is slow). Raza Khan another musician is the creator of a faster style – razakhani gat. These terms and styles are still in use today. Perhaps both Amir Khusro’s as well as others modified and improved the existing veena that is said to have existed in the Vedic times. This instrument is mentioned in ancient religious texts as the divine instrument of the Goddess of the Arts and Learning namely Saraswati the one who has given the knowledge of the musical notes. The goddess Saraswati is often symbolically pictured with the Veena emphasising the importance of music in spirituality. In fact she is depicted with four arms, in two she holds the veena, in another hand she hold the lotus as a symbol of modesty and morality and in the other a book inspiring one to learn and to gather knowledge. So she is the personification of knowledge and aesthetics and Hindus venerate her as the “patron and soul of music”. By appeasing her, a devotee hopes to gain spiritual merit through arts music and dance which are seen as powerful and evocative mediums that can arouse devotion and love for God. Since very ancient times Hindus have recognised the expression of spirituality in many diverse fields of human endeavour and this has been encouraged through the teachings of the Vedas. It is a form of spirituality that cannot be confined only to purely religious expressions. From ayurveda which gives a spiritual basis to medical science, to the architecture of temples, the esoteric carving of images, poetic compositions and Indian classical music and dance are all seen as valid expressions of spirituality. In recognition of the role of music in religion, the hymns of one of the Vedas, the Sama Veda are set to music. The word sama itself means a chant or melody, hence these scriptures present vedic knowledge in a musical format. Today the veena is played in the both the north and south of India but has perhaps become more popular with the Southern carnatic musicians. In the North the sitar seems to have largely replaced the veena.
Most people today seem to accept that the Sitar is a descendant of the Veena. The instrument over the years has continued a process of modification. Great modern sitarists like Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan for ex have brought further changes and a new perspective to the sitar. These great musicians are always acknowledged when particular pieces or their influences are studied and performed. Like the Hindu religion the Sitar has continued to have evolved over the centuries. Hinduism is a discovery and not an invention of any individual or group of individuals and the teachings of Hinduism are “not personality based”. Some scholars have misinterpreted this term and translated it to imply that “Hinduism has no founders”. What this term actually means is that the Hindu religion is not based on personalities but on principles. It is a religion that fits nicely with the evolution of the sitar which is ultimately a tool that can be used to bring the timeless spiritual disciplines to life. In the classical musical tradition of India, musical sound and musical experiences are steps to the Realization of the Self. In this tradition music is a spiritual discipline that raises one’s inner being to a state of divine bliss – a way to reach God.
Article written by Ron Ragel
In Genesis it is said “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God”. That word in the Indian spiritual tradition is Om. Among all the mantras, Om is known as the Maha Mantra or the great vibration, the root cause of all vibrations. All the major religious traditions echo this truth that the Universe was created by sound.
The greatest treatise of Om, comes from the Mandukya Upanishad which explores the various dimensions of Om as Absolute reality. The scriptures systematically explains the different levels of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and sleeping. The experiencer realizes subtler and subtler states of consciousness at deeper and deeper levels thus the dreaming reality is subtler than the waking reality and the sleeping reality is deeper than the dreaming reality. The entire panorama is experienced from the state of silence, called the turiya state. The entire panorma is Om. Past, present, future, everything is Om. Whatever transcends the three divisions of time, that too is Om. All manifested objects of the world and all unmanifested states of reality are denoted by the syllable Om. If Om is a word, the whole universe is its explanation. If it is a sound, the whole Universe is its vibration. Om is the syllable and sound that represents all levels of consiousness. All expressions are manifested by and finally return to their original unmanifested source, Om. All other words, all other sounds have been derived from this eternal word, which is the name of the Absolute Reality. Om is the essence of the Vedas. It is the eternal sound that expands the individual consciousness to Universal consciousness.
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper” Albert Einstein
We all want to know the purpose of life, where did we come from, where we are going, is there life after death and so on. Where do we look for the answers?. Ancient scripture is a good place to start. If one looks at the Indian tradition, we find one of the most ancient scriptures in the library of man, namely the Vedas. Since time immemorial, their knowledge has been imparted through the oral tradition. No author has claimed ownership and ever been attributed to these scriptures. In the Vedas alone we can find the answers we are looking for. The eternal laws of life and the workings of the Universe contained in these scriptures were revealed to the rishis of ancient India some 5,000 to 10,000 thousand years ago. These wise men devoted their entire lives to the realization of the Ultimate Truth. There is little in the spiritual wisdom of India that does not have its counterpart or seed in the Vedas and the Upanishads. The questions raised by the Upanishadic sages are as relevant today to all serious seekers of Ultimate Truth.
“Close down thine eyes, ears and mouth, and hear ye the unending melody of the Shabd”, Kabir, 15th century mystic
Direct and Indirect knowledge
The rishis received this knowledge not through the intellect, but through an intuitive capacity during the deepest states of meditation. There are said to be two channels of knowledge; direct and indirect. Indirect knowledge comes via the senses and intellect. This knowledge is limited however intuitive knowledge is self evident and complete and it is the knowledge of Absolute Reality.It means that which is heard by the inner most ear of the rishis and sages when in the deepest states of meditation.
The great yogas have traditionally been the pathways that have been taken to ultimately reach the “turiya” state. This is a state in which the absolute truth is revealed. The interpretation of the nature and definition of truth has been thoroughly investigated by the rishis and the sages. In this sense Vedanta philosophy is unique, for it sets out the prime questions to be investigated and then provides a methodology for finding the Ultimate truth. It is a philosophy that is more experiential than speculative and far more advanced than western scientific, psychological and philosophical thought. It unravels all the mysteries of life and logically answers the prime questions. Vedanta philosophy is such that every effort is a movement towards higher and higher levels of consciousness; all other duties occupy a minor position.
In order to comprehend the meanings of the ancient scriptures, one must train the mind, because only a purified mind is able to comprehend the profound subtle meaning in the scriptures. Here yoga is useful to cleanse the body and mind. The true meaning of the scriptures lies hidden within the varied frequencies of the vibrations of the most subtle sounds that can only be experienced at the deepest levels of consciousness.
The essence
There are four Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Sam and Atharva and each is made up of hymns, rules of conduct, and instructions on the performance of rites and sacraments. The essence of the Vedas is in the Upanishadic literature, which is generally known as Vedanta. The word Vedanta literally means the very end or culmination of vedic knowledge. All the major schools of Indian philosophy and several branches of psychology evolved from this colossal storehouse of knowledge and are the primary source of the spiritual wisdom of India. Whilst the Upanishads are said to number over two hundred, tradition counts one hundred and eight that are available to the common reader. There are many commentaries on the Upanishads, but the finest of them are by the brilliant Vedantic philosopher and the architect of Advaita philosophy namely Sankaracharya, known as the “Voice of Vedanta”. This great tradition, whose genesis lay in the mystical vision of the Upanisahdic seers and sages, was a feeble voice amid the clamour of the myriad religious groups that existed when Shankara was born in the eight century. In a short life believed to be just thirty two years Shankaracharya left an indelible mark on Indian philosophy at a time when Hinduism was on a decline. He placed it once again on firm spiritual foundations.
He chose eleven principal Upanishads for his commentaries and these Upanishads are considered to be the main source of Vedanta philosophy.
According to the Upanishads one in particular, the Mandukyopanishad contains the essence of all the hundred and eight Upanishads. It is declared in the Muktika Upanishad that if one studies and practices the teachings of the Mandukya Upanishad one acquires the knowledge to attain enlightenment. This Upanishad discusses the nature of the material and mental worlds and the nature of consciousness. It accomplishes this by offering an experiential interpretation of the three states of individual self and the state that lies beyond. The world exists as a fact of experience, and this experience flows as streams of consciousness. A higher state exists that transcends this stream of consciousness called (turiya) and is the state of pure consciousness, which is Absolute Reality. The Upanishad teaches that awareness of the grosser states is only partial knowledge and can only yield partial truth. Progressively clearing the grosser states and gaining knowledge of the more subtle states leads to the source where Absolute truth is realized. It describes how the eternal sound Om represents the entire Universe and how Om relates to the states of consciousness. The whole of Vedanta philosophy is encapsulated in the twelve short verses of the Mandukya Upanishad. It belongs to the Atharva-veda group of Upanishads and is a practical philosophy that needs to be applied experientially to be known. However intellectual understanding of the concepts expressed in the twelve short verses can be seen as the steps to realizing Universal Consciousness.
The Upanishads depict the Jiva and Paramatman as two birds, inseparable companions of each other sitting on the same tree, one on the higher and the other on the lower branches. The bird (individual soul) on the lower branch keeps eating the fruits of the tree (results of karma ) some sweet and some bitter and experiences joy and sorrow. As the lower bird grows disgusted of the taste of the bitter fruit of the tree, he looks up to the splendid vision above him of the upper bird and draws himself nearer to him. But he soon forgets the glorious vision in his love for the fruits of the tree and keeps returning to eating the sweet and bitter fruit. The latter just sits majestically ever calm and collected, never touching the sweet and bitter fruits. The lower bird continues to experience disgust again and again but slowly keeps advancing a little more towards the splendid vision before him. So on he advances, till at last, when he reaches the upper bird, the whole vision changes, and he finds himself to be none other than the upper bird (collective soul) who was sitting in all splendour and majesty all the time. (The above story comes from the Mundaka Upanishad).
As the bird in the story sitting on the lower branches, it is a fact of experience that the atman has been encased and bound and has lost much of his freedom. In this state it is called as jivatman or simply jiva. The answer to the question as to why and how he has come to be in such a position is given as karma, the inexorable consequence of his past actions. To the question as to when and how the very first karma started this chain of bondage, there is no answer, since the Upanishads present creation as an eternal process, without beginning or end. When the jivatman finally realises the greatness of the Paramatman, it becomes free from all the sorrow and suffering and experiences the pure consciousness. So the question, how the ever free atman became the jiva, does not appear to have been answered by the Upanishads, they have however given several modes of sadhana or spiritual exercises by which the jiva can recover the original state.
Our involvement in the cycle of birth and death, and consequent suffering, has been called “samsara”. Moksha or liberation from this bondage of samsara has been presented before us by the wisdom teachings as the goal of life. The goal being the same in all religions. As different rivers, having their source in different mountains, roll down straight or crooked pathways and at last come into the ocean, the different religious pathways also start from different standpoints running through straight or crooked courses and at last return to the Source. The philosophy of Vedanta and its application to the life of man teaches sooner or later that every man will discover his real nature and will know himself as the source of all knowledge, power and bliss. Like the bird on the lower branches in the story, life brings us to higher and higher truths and ultimately we attain the highest goal. We shall have our ups and downs, of course we will, our moments of uncertainty but we shall return to the splendid vision before us. No spiritual gain, however small, is ever lost or wasted. Follow your own muse with diligence, but do not try to bring everybody to the same opinion. It can never be, for is not unity in diversity the law of nature. Does it not make for a more interesting world?
Yoga of Sacred Sound is a spiritual practice and one of the many pathways to the Godhead. Practicing compassion, showing loving kindness, forgiveness are all spiritual practices that can take us to God. Our struggles or attempts for moksha have to take place in this world. We can rise in consciousness only in this world. The Buddha has said it is great blessing to be born into this world. Greater still is to have heard the Dharma and even greater and rarer is to be enlightened.
Meaning of the word “Upanishad”
The Upanishads are unique in the sacred literature of the world, showing the heights that man may evolve and how truly God can speak through man. The word Upanishad refers to that divine knowledge or wisdom which loosens the bonds of samsara (tranmigratory existence) of a being, annihilates his ignorance of his real nature and leads him to Brahman or God. The book or the spiritual work that teaches this wisdom is called the “Upanishad”. Swami Vivekananda called them the Bible of India. The orthodox view is that the Upanishads are the Revealed Word by God himself at the commencement of each cycle of creation to the worthy few.
The philosophy of Vedanta
This high system of philosophy was evolved in India thousands of years ago, but no precise date can be determined as to its beginnings. One great peculiarity of this philosophy is that, it is not built around one person or prophet, and we can find its existence long before Christianity, Buddhism and before the age of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata the two great epics of India. We find the principles of Vedanta in all the different religions and philosophies that exist not only in India but the world. One of its many attractions are its nondogmatic, experimental approach to Truth. We are invited to find out for ourselves.
Creation according to Vedanta
According to Vedanta creation is as much eternal as the Creator Himself, only it sometimes remains in a manifested state and sometimes in a unmanifested state. What then is the purpose, the motive of this creation, this eternal flow of evolution and involution? Vedanta says it is a play of the Infinite. You cannot ascribe any motive to the Perfect, the Absolute without making him imperfect. The infinite must have no motive to compel it to create. The Absolute is the only existence. Man therefore according to Vedanta is Divine and everything that is strong and good and powerful in human nature is the expression of the Divinity within him.
Developing your individuality
Vedanta says by developing your individuality, you rise to a point where you become a perfect individual. You change your apparent present individuality for a better and real one. Evolution of consciousness has been described in many religions as seeing and realising and feeling God. “Reason” has proved that all our ideas of God are perfectly anthropomorphic, that we are creating our own God and worshipping and paying reverence to our own mental representation. Vedanta does not deny that all these different ides of God are anthropomorphic, but it asks in turn, are not all our ideas of the external the same. Can we ever know the world but as our mind represents it to us, and has not science proved already that the senses are deceptive and can never know things as they are? Therefore if it is reasonable to reject all our ideas of God because they are anthropomorphic, it is reasonable also to throw away every other idea from the mind, but how many of us are willing to do so, and have what it takes to do so?. Then again, though all that we know of anything are what our minds represent them to be, yet they help us in developing ourselves and bringing us higher and higher. Vedanta concludes on this point that man is not wrong or mistaken in his worshipping all these different ideas of God, only he has been travelling from lower to higher truths. His progress in this world is not from error to truth but from lower and lower truths to higher and higher ones. Socrates said man can only do the good that is known to him at the time, if he knew better he would do better. Christ said “Forgive them for they know not what they do”.
Sacred Sound Yoga is Vedanta philosophy in practice and spiritual exercises that aims to take one to higher and higher states of consciousness. That is its purpose. The knowledge and wisdom is of Indian origin hence the name “India Jiva”.
Consciousness
Wherever there is life in however insignificant a form, there is consciousness. Every living organism is conscious in one degree or another, but in man consciousness rises to levels that other life forms does not. Consciousness can be said to represent an infinite field of power and potential from which the manifest world keeps emerging as creation. It has the capacity to record everything that is put into it, so our every thought, word and deed are recorded forever. So let us carefully exercise what we put into it as the unfolding of consciousness any where is really the unfolding of God- consciousness. All is God – consciousness, for there is none other. And as consciousness unfolds from level to level, it is only God unfolding his powers.
Article written by Ron Ragel, Sacred Sound Yoga educator.
I bet, 2000 years ago, the Romans thought they would put and end to another potential rebellion by crucifying Jesus. They applied a limited ideological, terror approach, to what was essentially a spiritual question.
I think the Chinese government is trying to do the very same thing in Tibet; and ultimately they will lose, because the very tactics they are using, free this spiritual quest from its geographical moorings in Tibet to flow into the wider world community.
Freedom of religion is a spiritual issue. The very act of cracking down on it gives it increased power because its “power is not of this world”. I have been involved with the Tibetan people for well over 30 years and can count the Dalai Lama as a friend. My greatest privilege was to interview him for television last year.
I have written the whole story of my involvement with Tibet and its people and those interested for a copy can email me and I will get it to them as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, long live Tibet. God bless the Dalai Lama. More strength to him and his people. May the Chinese government come to their senses and negotiate directly with the Dalai Lama.
What the Chinese government cannot see, is that the best thing they could do, would be to let Dalai Lama return to Tibet. This would quieten his people and allow real negotiations with China to begin.
I dimly remember, when I was very young, hearing the story of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet. I would have been about five but it caught my interest. I heard news reports about the communist take over in China- the whole event is somehow locked inside me.
It wasn’t until 1962 that I purchased the book ‘My Land and My People.’ It was the story of the Dalai Lama escaping from Tibet. I read every page. I also heard about Tibet and the Buddhism of Tibet through my experiences at the Wayside Chapel. There I ran what was called a spiritual forum where we invited people from all religions to come and talk. However, it wasn’t until I came to Ashfield that my involvement with the Tibetan people developed. Sometime in about 1986 I went to a Tibetan celebration on the North Shore. There, they told the story of the Dalai Lama and his people. During the gathering they mentioned that they needed a site to teach Tibetan dancing and customs to their young people.
I invited them to use our hall at Ashfield. So, on a Saturday afternoon, Tibetan and other young people, dressed in their silken Buddhist finery, would practice and learn Tibetan dancing in our church hall. Ironically, in the church, the Tongan choir was practicing Christian hymns. The Tongans were dressed in their traditional grass skirts.
What I didn’t realize was that both Tibetan and Tongans loved cricket! Being summer, the test match was on between Australia and India. (I later learned that the Tibetans love of cricket came from their time in India.) During the intervals between both of their practices the Tongans and Tibetans would all be squeezed into the Tongans jalopies listening to the cricket. Grass mats and silken finery were woven together in the cars.
Later, I asked if a representative of the Tibetan people could come and talk at one of our services. They nominated Gyalsay Tulku Rinpoche. A Rinpoche is the reincarnation of a Tibetan Lama. Gyalsay and I met and I invited him to speak during a Sunday morning service.
On the appointed morning, Gyalsay turned up dressed in his Tibetan finery. I showed him to his seat and asked him if he had been to a Christian service before. He told me he had been the Dalai Lama’s appointed representative to the Vatican, and he knew all about Christianity because he had “read the book.” Gyalsay was warmly welcomed by the congregation. I decided to run the run the service along the lines of explaining to Gyalsay why we did things as we did during Christian worship. I thought it would be enlightening for the congregation also. During the service I had to baptize a child. So, in the spirit of interfaith worship, I invited Gyalsay forward to participate. I was in my white Christian robes and he wore a purplish/ reddish Tibetan robes. Half way though the Baptism, Gyalsay told me that his people had something that was very similar to this. I told him to tell the congregation about it - but just the facts and not the religion as this was a Christian celebration.
During the service Gyalsay told the congregation about his life. He told them that when the Chinese invaded they captured his brother and slowly killed him. He died by torture. They cut a little bit of his skin off each day until he was dead.
After that, Gyalsay and I became firm friends. We found we had a lot in common. He and I were missioning in a big city and, although the religions might be different, the problems we faced were the same. We began to meet regularly and discus our problems. We meet in a little coffee shop in Balmain and talked over breakfast. We ate bacon and eggs. Gyalsay told me that he could eat meat because in Tibet the high altitude meant not a lot of vegetation grew so people needed to eat meat.
Gyalsay was an Abbot of 32 monasteries in Tibet. As a child he escaped across the mountains to India. He had been the leader of the Sakya linage and had established such a centre in Union Street Balmain. Many middle class Australians had become his followers.
One day he said to me that the Chinese would allow him back into Tibet to re-visit his monasteries. He wanted to see what kind of condition they were in. He asked me to go with him. I told him that I would. He then told me that I would have to learn to ride a horse! From that I knew it would be a big trip. He told me that he would not be going for a good few months because he didn’t want to leave before his Australian citizenship had come through which would mean that he had the protection of the Australian people. I started to think about learning to ride a horse.
A few months later I received a terrible phone call. Gyalsay had died of a massive heart attack while he was in Canberra. His followers were shocked and distraught. I remember going down to his centre in Balmain and finding them all very upset and in tears. Many were confused as to how to behave. They were extremely upset that he had died but were also excited at the thought of his impending re-birth. These two emotions were so contrasting to each other that it put his followers in a bind.
I agreed to support the group while they went through the mourning process until a new leader was found for their centre.
I missed Gyalsay a lot. He was a good friend to me and we often talked about kids in trouble. He used to spend time ‘incognito’ helping kids that need it. He often invited me to special Buddhist events also. From him I leant how to chant and meditate.
Gyalsay also invited me to a special dinner at Parliament House to welcome the Dalai Lama. He even introduced me to him and told him of the work I did.
I am a member of the Tibetan Friendship Association and always receive invitations to many Buddhist functions, particularly the Dalai Lama’s birthday. I feel so proud that on the last two occasions the Dalai Lama has visited Australia, I have been invited to welcome him to Sydney. I consider that to be one of the greatest honours of my life.
On the occasion of the Dalai Lama’s first visit I was the one who welcomed him to give his public lecture which was held at the entertainment centre. I wrote the speech of my life. I had been so nervous. He was moved by what I said and gave me a very long, white, silk scarf before the function ended. At the end he left in a hurry as security was concerned about an assassination attempt.
The centre emptied and I was left wondering around. I was actually in a bit of a daze after all that had happened. The next moment the Dalai Lama was back in the centre looking for me. He came up to me and hugged me and told me what a good job I was doing. I will treasure that moment for the rest of my time.
In the early days of my involvement with the Tibetan Buddhist community I meet Narwung Ketchog. He is now a Tibetan flautist in New York. He left his Australian wife to go there but I married her to her new husband and she seems quite happy now.
Gyalsay, always use to tell me how Western people would like to pick up in a one hour a day lecture, what took him a lifetime of denial, sacrifice and meditation to reach.
The other day the venerable Steve (a Buddhist monk) received a phone call
“I need you to bring me up so speed with meditation” the caller said,
The venerable Steve told him he could come the normal nightly medication.
“Oh, I want private lessons,” the caller said.
“I can come over any time because I live in Balmain, which is near you”.
The venerable Steve then told him that he did not do that, and that the caller would have to attend the traditional meditations like everyone else.
“I have to do it quickly, because I have only got two weeks,” was the reply,
Steve told him that these practices take a long time to develop and simply hung up.
Last Saturday was the Dalai Lama’s birthday. As usual, I went to Petersham Town Hall and made a speech. At Petersham Town Hall the Tibetan community all get together to celebrate. I met the monks, watched the performances and made the speech.
You can imagine my surprise when the young Gyalsay came in. He came right up to me and openly welcomed me. What I particularly noticed was his face. It was really clear and loving. The openness, warmth and acceptance with which he greeted me is something I will remember for a long, long time.
Where ever there is life, in however insignificant a form, there is Consciousness. Every life form is Consciousness in some form or another. In man Consciosuness can potentially rise to levels not capable in other life forms. The buddha has said to be born a human is a raritity, to have heard of the dharma to have heard of God is rarer still and to be Enlightened or to realise God is even rarer still with very few achieving that mark.
The concept of God is only a concept whilst not experienced. So to know God, to know Truth there must be nothing in the mind from which to project. The consciousness has to be cleared of all its inpure contents, as the nature of Consciuousness is to record everything purification is neccesary. So to this end sound and music can be used.
Recent Comments