Soul vs Atma

Thanks to @RajivMessage and supporters of the Infinity foundation (like http://beingdifferentforum.blogspot.de/) for doing immense research and coming up with concrete solutions that helps the likes of a Yoga teacher like me. Based on readings and their experiences, some of the framework and references have been significantly altered in my Yoga teachings in western paadigm and world. Following are possibly my own interactions which may or may not be thought by other sources.

Soul vs Atma

Open any yoga website or modern age Gurus English terminology, you will find the following-  Body, Mind and Soul. Any Indian reader would miss its obvious Anglicized twisting and digestion of meanings which have far deeper impact to unassuming yoga teacher and unassuming yoga student.

In Yogic version or Vedic version we have the Gayathri Mantra, Kaya- thiri or 3 bodies and meaning goes like "Let our (not mine) Buddhi be illumined by Self effulgent and may we together meditate upon the Light of the Self , the Atma"

We have a Sthula Sarira , Sukshuma Sarira , Karana Sarira and then the Atma as per the Gayathri mantra.

Try mapping this to Body Mind Soul paradigm and what you get is

Body - Sthula
Mind - Sukshuma
Soul - Karana

(Am NOT delving here into chitta, samskaras, buddhi , ahamkar tattva)

And what does western yoga studios and lot of modern indian yoga ashrams tell you , Go to your soul , Go to our Core.The above mapping is incompatible. The Atmic concept of the western followers is therefore nothing but the Empowerment of Jeeva  with all its defects refusing to submit itself to nameless. Others soul has therefore become the Ego and ones own "Soul".

Bharathiya version is Atma asks for Buddhi to meditate on the Atma which is pure, defectless, already liberated , sanatan etc. Since the Atma is impersonal , there is no your atma and my atma per say but there can your soul and my soul which is going through birth-death phenemenon. In tamil its called uyir (உயிர்)

As a result, a set of Methodology has been created where being the Self degenerated as being the Soul, has actually become being the Ego, a ego with full puff of knowledge. By the power vested thanks to the  mayic understanding of one Self as the Soul , they go to transform the lesser Egos. This is state of the western and confused indian yoga centers today. A classic case of blind leading the blind.

The Bharathiya version handles this problem with the Guru Parampara where Guru is the highest Power center authority who can at the right time remove the Ego of willing seeker. Even Gods can only shower the grace but only Guru can remove the Ego.Therefore a Guru has higher position to the seeker than God. (Check Murugas imparting upadesam to Brahma or Siva or Auvaiyaar). Here Standards for Guru is the highest who has successfully removed Ego himself through his divine and Guru channel who is fit for such a thing and who is not bound by Karma of associating with the disciple (Guru is the Shakthi which made the Guru presenting itself in a human form as per Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu ....)

In the modern system, Wisdom has comes ones own life and from indian hidden sources through a bit of Guru shopping here and there which cant be fully revealed. This includes Indian practioners as well. So the modern systems has sufficiently gone on to create teacher systems which do not trace to any guru parampara and churning out trainers in 2-3 years are bypassing Guru parampara. The danger is they are preaching what they themselves could never fully practise. So you have MindFullness teachers who cant practise mindfullness, Ego removers who themselves are full of egos. But wait , this cant be told even by sincere seekers in public because their livelihood depends on it.

There is a tamil saying "paambin kaal paambariyum" (பாம்பின் கால் பாம்பறியும்)
The criteria for teacher is to experience the problem, solve it atleast partially at a certain level and then share it with the public with truthful admission of the same, given the modern circumstances. This will need tremendous sincerity and Satya in the heart provided livlihood is not on the line.

The solution is therefore to reintegrate the Self - Atma in the place of soul so that unassuming people dont seek their personal soul but the Higher Self. Beyond that the inner Guru somehow has to be made the center of practise. Yoga and Self Enquiry - atma vichara shakes the very foundations of the mind and social paradigms , this for many people has become very very depressive. The indian system complements the practioner with large heart and warm social structure where Satsanga , family and temple infrastructure , astrology supports this unique phase of the seeker. in the western world , this is provided by the commercialised pyscological counselling. Somebody has to counsel the psycologists , otherwise they would go mad in this mad world ......

From now on all my usage in all my yoga sessions would be Vedic and Vedantic terminology , 100% crediting the source of 5000 + year civilisation and my Guru parampara.....No more souls , but Self

Satguruve Saranam !

Blue print to Samadhi

This experience is a living document to keep track of maturity of spiritual experiences.

The missing link to the Self Realisation is realised from Dec 2010.

I was focussing too much on the Ascending current of kundalini that needs to awakened by Tapas.But I always understood that the call to Tapas cannot be there until there is Grace of Kundalini herself.Thats why GuruMahans Velvi induces the upward pull for Soul towards higher centres of consciousness.

Seeing things with the Spiritual Eye

Subject : Taking a priniciple, putting it into Practise and seeing the results. This is the way to realise and live spiritual life. Ultimately this is the best approach.

The Descent and then Ascent

Surrender and Tapas were not fully harmonised in my understanding

- Descending current of Kundalini - Arul or Grace

-  Ascending current of Kundalini  - Yogic Force or Tapas

This puzzle is fixed in complete intuitive understanding and actual action of the Forces for realisation, both ascending and descending current.

Kundalini Creation and Evolution

At the time of creation , the Kundalini (Both Static and Dynamic poles) are one undifferentiated and when the Kundalini descends downwards for creation - the static pole called Brammam (which is dynamic in terms of Universal Self, Self of indivual Self) & The dynamic pole called Kundalini manifests , In normal terms Creation happens. After localisation in the body for purposes of individual life, Kundalini is not fully active and is dormant at the base of the spine. For this to be awakened into a constant current Upwards which is the purpose of life to execute the Karmic impressions , Natures force descends into the being every day during sleep to awaken the portion of Mighty Universal Energy into action (infinitesimally small) over millions of years , this is called Evolution.Sleep is so mysterious precisely for this purpose , for without sleep nature cannot take control of evolution of a Being.Transcending sleep will handled over to individual with more union into Supreme consciousness. (GuruMahan is an adept in this)

Mother Kundalini Above and Kundalini below

This Force from above the head descending downwards is called Grace. This grace cannot be seen or felt because it is beyond the domain of normal waking consciousness (Mind , emotion senses and outer life). But with the Kundalini Initiation and when the being is sufficiently ready by other means for following Natures energy at the Energy level (without other manifestations in a conscious way) we say the Yoga Sadhana has begun.

Nature of Ego in Work

This Individual localisation of energy for fulfilling individual karma is called Jivatma ,part of divine self (Integrated Differential of Higher Self) acting under the identity of compartmentalised consciousness is called ego .This Ego can only surrender to the higher force and the secret of Karma Yoga "No sense of Doership" can physically happen only when the Force executing life is felt in actual experience. This surrender is not in the hands of the Ego for then that is a self contradiction.

The Ego cannot give up individuality because there is a fear of then who will do it ? When the Divine Force or Force of Karma makes the mind consciously work then Ego is honest enough to realise that the Work will be done irrespective of nature of Individual force and need not drain itself. If there is no experience of Higher force there is no Logic of Surrender , since Surrender is possible to Higher force. It is in the hands of the Divine Force to penetrate itself into the Individual to bring about realisation in the Individual consciousness , the individual consciousness can then gradually let itself free of the shackle of responsibility because the work will anyway be done by the Higher force and the individual Ego can position itself as much as a instrument in the hands of higher force

symptoms of Egoless Work/ Dharma

The experience can be felt in terms of "No mental tired ness or draining should happen" when there is surrender because the Ego is at complete rest and uses the higher force for the individual Integrated work for higherplane included to be executed through it.This is called Dharma.(Svadharma- ones own duty) The individual is completely in harmony and can be patient for higher force to work itself out in the physical and other planes of waking conscious life.

Sleep & Divine Force

The sleep is also the most dynamic action of Nature on the human being where the mind descends inside and the energy acts deep inside the individual kundalini to prepare the Individual being for evolution the next day. GuruMahan mentions in Pratyahara speech about this .. " The Shakti (Energy) from the Universe descends into the top of head and flows until the end of Mooladara, it again meets in the Forehead eye"

Thats why sleep is very very important, the state of realisation could be compared to that of the mind being completely at rest and yet completely awake to all forces of nature acting at all Dimensions of existence.

State of Vedic Wisdom

Upanishads Call this experience as "Seeing everything in One and One in Everything". Unity in Diversity. Diverse manifestation of same Unity (Truth) Bharat(India) is soul for this priniciple solely responsible for taking this Universal Harmony. Kashmir is battle for same priniciple of Unity in Diversity and peaceful co-existence. Anything against this is force of ignorance. Seeing Unity as completely different or Not accepting the diverse nature of Single truth is equally errneous and devastating for Human race and evolution in general.

Dedicated to Sri Aurobindo

Bases of Yoga (The real purpose is to surrender to Divine. Forcing the individual desires on the NaturesWill , will make it ,  not natural anymore.

 Neither should one bring down this as the mental compartmentalisation of the higher truth and force it on the nature will which puts more resistance of the actual divine work. Everything should be worked inside out as ordained and wished by the Higher force.

Force of Habit and Force required to change it

The force of habit is very powerful in the machinery of human life. The slower one gets used to things the longer it takes to come out of it. It applies for both positive and negative ways of life. Positive like meditation , negative like Sensual or sensory expression .

How to change ones own ways ? often the addiction to certain habits (as basic as coffee ) are far difficult to get rid off. According to Patanjali one cannot get rid of a force or eliminate it. The ancients (Rishis and Sages) understood this and all they did was to channelise the forces never suppress them. This key point is today forgotten in most of the spiritual schools and spiritual seekers and we try to realise High impractical moral ideas , the very idea in conflict with human life. One has to force oneself to do these things like intense Breathing practises or Mudras.  Force is not natural on its own because one day it will fall away. Whatever is not permanent is not considered worthwhile pursuing in Yoga.

To get rid of coffee , drink tea, trying to get up early, one has to sleep early. To get rid of computers , smartphones have come. To get rid of Orkut, Facebook is now available and so on.

The idea of moral spiritual ideals are experienced to be really impractical.

The Samskaras to be transformed in the Brain and Chitta , one need to have the force of Divine. Nothing else can change it. Divine force might veil itself and give the Ego to the person to do Tapas and thereby get rid of , but the Divine force has to act always irrespective of from behind the veil or in front of Conscious.

Harping on bad habits , only lends strength to them. Rather than thinking I should not do this and do that , it is better to think what I should do and carry on doing it until it fills our conscious entirely so that other impressions are transformed.