The Practice for a nascent yogi
Question
Dear Dhananjay,
My past karma must be very thick indeed. Every day for the past 9 weeks the mind has been oscillated by various forces yet due to the lord's grace my ship continues. Of worry is one nightfall endured, which worries me greatly.
My questions may seem basic. I am a 20 year old brahmachari so kindly have pity on me, I know you often tell people that the path is to do sadhana and stay quiet, which I understand, but please, any detail would give me hope and encouragement to pursue this path rather than the degeneracy of my present generation. Today, with social media and apps like Tinder it is so easy to lose sadhana and society is filled with sexual stimuli. As such, I stay very careful.
1) In previous answers, you mentioned certain worldly desires are legitimate. Please tell me whether this refers to artha, kama, dharma, moksha? In addition, are there limits to each? Kama for instance is to be limited to procreation as you mentioned. What about artha? For one man, 1 crore is more than enough. For another it is paltry. Are there any limits the yogi should observe?
2) I am curious to know why facial hair not only retains ojas but seems to attract the opposite sex. I am not growing it for vanity; I would just like to know the spiritual/biological basis as every time I grow out beard sadhana is better but external world temptations seem to augment proportionally. The lord does not want to make my task any easier! :)
3) Of late, I sometimes feel pity for purely bhakti oriented people. I am behaving very myopically I realize as bhakti yoga is just as legitimate as the jnana yoga and karma yoga I practice. What leads to this feeling of "oh, bhajans and slokas are not sufficient"? I sometimes wish those who engage in sloka or mantra blindly would deeply understand why they did what they did rather than turn to these simply for comfort
4) What is the extent of cognition of a full-blown jnani? If you do not answer anything else please at least answer this. The world, although fake, is run by elites and governments who conduct gruesome rituals worshipping the anti-christ, abusing children, etc. Most people have no clue. Are jnanis like Swami Sivananda, were they aware of the real nature of the disgusting worldly behavior and the "truth" behind major world events? Certainly a yogi of self-realization would view such an event as merely a scene passing on a silver screen but I am curious to know the power of their cognition.
5) The real guru is within as you have said. For sadhana purposes I would like to look up to a former guru in flesh but I don't know whether swami sivanandan, bagawan ramana, or someone else should be trusted. I do not want to fall prey to charlatans who accrued negative karma by cheating masses like Muktananda or Osho. Kindly suggest the right path.
6) I find that the sleep schedule of few hours destroys mental ability and thus resort to 7.5 hours of sleep daily. how does one taper this to 4 hours over time?
7) Is it possible for a jnani to find something, a rock a painting or a woman, attractive without lusting for it? I have always wondered whether the right response to seeing a naked woman, for instance, is to turn eyes away or look at the object plainly, acknowledge the lump of flesh, and turn away with conviction.
Humbly yours,
Dhananjay
Answer
1. The 'Mumukshu' (one who is in the quest of the self) works without desire in the profession shown by destiny and stays content with the resultant lawful earnings (accepting them as the will of the Lord). The magnitude of the earnings do not come into the picture.
2. The energy conserved through hair growth, further to Sadhana is the cause of attraction. It is the law of nature that things move towards regions of higher energy concentration. However, these things do not affect the one who is intent on the goal (realization).
3. There are many paths to the destination. One should focus on his path, period. What others do is not of one's concern.
4. The Atman is a mere witness to the scenes unfolding on the screen of pure consciousness. That unfolding occurs as per HIS will. The screen (pure consciousness) alone is the truth, while the scenes (events) are false. Hence the Gnyani remains a neutral witness, despite full cognition.
5. When the mind is merged into the 'Guru' (Atman) within in meditation, the physical form is eventually revealed. That power of discernment comes to the true Yogi. It is very simple.
6. For now, that is alright. After much advancement, further to years of unbroken transmutation, the 'Ojas shakthi' becomes immense, following which one does not need much sleep. Sadhana is the key.
7. 'Raga' (attraction) or 'Dvesha' (repulsion) do not exist in the realized one. Centered irreversibly in the truth, he remains unaffected by the senses, as the waters of the ocean remain unaffected by the entry of rivers into it.
As in case of the unrealized man, there is cognition of everything (such as the apparent beauty or lack of it in an object) in the realized sage as well, however, while there is an immediate degree of attraction or repulsion in response, with the ignorant one, the sage has no attraction or repulsion, for he has become one with 'Sat' (reality), (while attraction or repulsion concerns the 'Asat [the unreal])
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं
समुद्रमाप: प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् |
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे
स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी || 70||
-- Chapter 2 Verse 70, The Bhagavad Gita
" Just as the mighty ocean remains unaffected & constant, despite water entering it from all sides, he (realized one) remains calm and peaceful, though the senses are exposed and perceive the stimuli; and not the one who craves after the stimuli".
The same however does not apply to the aspirant who has to exercise control and put constant efforts to prevent the senses from being stimulated.
ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)