2006 May

Contents

Editorial + The Absolute Self + Encounter the Enlightened One + Swami Replies + Causes of Pain + Kali Nauka Prana Muladhara Mudra Asana + Eucalyptus Essence + Angel Wing Agate + Maitreya + Rare Powers of Affection + Puja: the science of Hindu Magic + Happiness and the Art of Being + Inspiration + Letters from Heaven + Gitascendence

Selected Articles

Editorial

Namaste all.
Once again, everyone seems to have sunken back into their old habits of non-communication with us at Transcendence with nobody but the usual regular contributors sending in their insights or findings, but we soldier on, nevertheless. The participants in Guru’s workshops are increasing in number and it is certain that in the near future Guru will be spending much more time conducting workshops and giving discourses, attendants of which are only too happy to become involved in the newsletter and in devoting valuable time to Guru. Gladly, Guruji is back from His trip to India and Sri Lanka (see Reportback) with many blessings and gifts from Swami Murugesu Maharishi, including the rare lingam pictured on the cover of this issue.

This month we find out in our feature, who the mysterious Maitreya is. Swami Murugesu discusses the rare power of affection, which we should all cultivate in everyday life. The Hindu Magic and importance of Puja is explained and we continue with part two of Colour Therapy - the characteristics and healing potential of different colours. We find out more about Angel Wing Agate and Suren shares His insight on happiness and the art of being, while Letters from Heaven offers advice on understanding and overcoming our petty human weaknesses.

We have included in this issue, a free mantra card which can be stuck onto your dashboard or fridge. The mantra was given to us by Swami Murugesu for prosperity and it should be repeated twenty-seven times each day. We hope to include a similar mantra card each month.

In Love and Service always,
Editor
jo.petzer@mweb.co.za

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Message from the Master

The Absolute Self;
The perishable me -
Are both perfect complements -
Only contradicting if separated, for
My Love, peace, light, laughter and play
are only signs of the absolute stillness that I Am.
All my songs and smiles only entrap you
In a limitless void.
I am limitless;
You, the void.
OM

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The Guru’s Help
by Paramahansa Yogananda

The Guru will help you. God talks to you and guides you through a guru, one who loves God day and night. His one duty is to plant love for God in your consciousness. He seeks nothing from you but your own spiritual effort. Whether you curse him, or whether you praise him, he is not affected by it. but if you tune in with him, he will be able to help you remove the veil of ignorance from your consciousness.

When you follow the guru’s advice, you will see you are free. Even when master (Swami Sri Yukteswar) told me something that I felt certain could not be so, right away it came to pass. Many times he warned others of the consequences of their intended actions. Those who didn’t listen found their lives shattered by disappointments. A true guru warns you only to help you avoid the pitfalls along your path. Some lesser teachers fly off the handle when their disciples are not obedient. But Master would only say, “Don’t you think this is right?” I repeat a thing twice; Master used to say only once. And those who didn’t take the advice would find out that they should have.

Extract from The Divine Romance

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Encounter the Enlightened One
by Swami Shankarananda

It is always sad to be back, sad that I have left my master’s physical presence behind and have come back to all of you who really don’t care about the Spiritual realms of life. I am physically happy to be back with my materially spiritual family, for they support me all the way.

We, Prathna, Deepak, Mahendra, Jenita, Jothika, Micky and Aline, have encountered the Enlightened One, Sadhguru Swami Murugesu Maharishi. Sadhguru is a gem, rare and special, who really does not follow any of the accepted norms of the majority of people or, so to say, of spiritually enlightened individuals of the past. He obtains His direction from his sathguru, not teaching from any specific scripture but His teachings are an overwhelming outpouring of His inner Self, which has risen from an awakening. Intellectual views are of little importance to Him, but Truth He embraces in all His teachings. Here I am, attempting to sketch for you a single description of my Master, but pen and paper have limitations so I cannot give you an accurate picture of this great Divine Spiritual Being with such simple and pristine teachings. You need to go beyond your sense perceptions to perceive His energy field when in His presence. We have all been spoon-fed by our elders on spirituality, now we will have difficulty understanding my master and have become insensitive to tasting the Master’s teachings first-hand through His disciple.

I know that you fear ostracism by your present elders as you might end up standing alone but this is where the Master plays an important role. His energy protects you.

The most unforgettable time spent with Master was when Master visited South Africa. He would speak to a few of us in the kripa or while walking in the yard. He always looked radiant and energised. Again, no such description could provide a complete picture. Master is one without any ego and he is ever ready to pierce any ego when it arises - before it swells and causes you pain.

We sat on the outside patio, with master in front. The energy of Love just flowed without any restrictions. Two young devotees (from South Africa) sat rubbing His feet and absorbing His radiance. “Shankarananda”, He said, “You know, I need to finalise many things.” This left me cold and disturbed for Master’s message I did get. I have in this life the longing for Truth in a society imprisoned within the confines of materialism and Dogma. I say, thank You Master, you have transformed me.

Endless Blessings and God Bless.

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Causes of Pain
by Paramahansa Yogananda

Pain is the greatest curse of the soul. For those who are suffering, it is dreadful. Even if you are all right now, how do you know that you won’t some day be a victim? So long as there is any possibility of suffering, you must try to remove its causes by the roots.

There are three factors behind man’s sufferings: first comes delusion; second, the effects of man’s own wrong actions; and third, the effects of mass karma, such as the destruction of both good and evil individuals when Hiroshima was bombed.

Delusion causes identification with the flesh. From the beginning of life, the child thinks of his body as himself, that he and the body are one. This is why he cries if you pinch him, and why he likes it when you soothe his hand. The delusion of identification with the body came with the creation of man, and that identification increases by pampering the body.

In India our training is different than here in the West. We are taught to conquer the flesh, to mentally rise above the body consciousness. If you love the body too much, you become unduly sensitive; you suffer whenever the body is uncomfor-table. You have been taught to suffer, because you have been taught to depend too much on physical comfort for happiness. The desire for all sorts of comforts is a major source of pain. This is why the saints say we should not be attached to anything. If plain food is served, don’t miss your favourite savoury dishes. Never be so attached to anything that you become dissatisfied or unhappy or pained over the absence of it.

Human being suffer because they relate to an ego: the consciousness of self as a physical being. Animals suffer much less than man because they are not egoistically identified with the body. They cannot relate to an ego as humans do. We also relate to others according to the degree of our identification with them. Seeing a stranger with a broken leg, you say, “How unfortunate!” You feel sympathy for him, but you are detached from the pain of his injury. If you had broken your own leg, you would be suffering with the pain. In the same way, a mother who sees her neighbour’s child killed, doesn’t feel as sorrowful as she would if it were her own child. In each case, identification is the cause of suffering. You identify yourself more closely with your own body than with someone else’s; and you relate more readily to those persons or things that are nearest and dearest to you than to those that are not personally close to you.

The fact is, if you learn to live in your body without thinking of it as yourself, you won’t suffer so much. The connection between you and bodily pain is only mental. When you are asleep and unconscious of the body, you feel no pain. The mind has been disconnected from the sensation. On the other hand, by strongly picturing in your mind the suffering of another person, you can experience his pain in yourself.

Extract from The Divine Romance

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Feature: Maitreya
He has been expected for generations by all of the major religions. Christians know him as the Christ, and expect his imminent return. Jews await him as the Messiah; Hindus look for the coming of Krishna; Buddhists expect him as Maitreya Buddha; and Muslims anticipate the Imam Mahdi or Messiah. Although the names are different, many believe that they all refer to the same individual: the World Teacher, whose personal name is Maitreya (pronounced my-tray-ah).

The name Maitreya or Metteyya is derived from the word maitri (Sanskrit) or metta (Pali) meaning ‘loving-kindness’, which is in turn derived from the noun mitra in the sense of ‘friend’. In ancient art, Maitreya is sometimes represented seated on a throne Western-style, and is venerated both in Mahayana and non-Mahayana Buddhism. Belief in him is sometimes considered to have been influenced by the Zoroastrian Mithra, a god of contracts, associated with the Sun and it has been claimed that some Zoroastrian ideas have influenced the cult of Maitreya, such as ‘expectations of a heavenly helper, the need to opt for positive righteousness, the future millennium, and universal salvation’, although these characteristics are not unique to Zoroastrianism, nor are they necessarily characteristic of the belief in Maitreya.

Maitreya is depicted as always dressed in the clothes of either a Bhiksu or Indian royalty. In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, in the first centuries AD in northern India, Maitreya is represented as a Central Asian or northern Indian nobleman, holding a water phial in his left hand. He is flanked by his two acolytes, Asanga and his brother, Vasubandhu. During this period Maitreya was the most popular figure to be represented, together with the Buddha Sakyamuni. In China, the cult of Maitreya seems to have developed earlier than that of Amitabha, as early as the 3rd century AD.

Preferring to be known simply as the Teacher, Maitreya has not come as a religious leader, or to found a new religion, but as a teacher and guide for people of every religion and those of no religion. It is said by Benjamin Creme, who channels Maitreya, that at this time of great political, economic and social crisis, Maitreya will inspire humanity to see itself as one family, and create a civilization based on sharing, economic and social justice, and global cooperation. He will launch a call to action to save the millions of people who starve to death every year in a world of plenty. Among Maitreya’s recommendations will be a shift in social priorities so that adequate food, housing, clothing, education, and medical care become universal rights. Under Maitreya’s inspiration, humanity itself will make the required changes and create a saner and more just world for all.

Maitreya’s coming coincides with a new school of teaching to surpass that of the original Gautama Buddha. Maitreya is predicted to attain Bodhi in seven days (which is the minimum period), by virtue of his many lives of preparation for Buddha-hood (similar to those reported in the Jataka stories of Shakyamuni Buddha). Since the growth of the Theosophist movement in the 19th Century, non-Buddhist religious and spiritual movements have adopted the name and selected characteristics of Maitreya for teachers in their traditions. One of the best known of these movements is Share International, founded by Benjamin Creme, which equates Maitreya with the prophesied figures of multiple religious traditions, and claims that he is already present in the world.

Bibliography: http://www.share-international.org/

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Happiness and the Art of Being
by Suren Pillay


The world is what we make of it. Perception ultimately determines our reality and our reality ultimately determines our experience. The question of what perceptions we should have if we want to have happy experiences all the time, is central to our existence. The answer lies in first understanding that the relative world first doesn’t offer us happy experiences all the time so conscious effort on our part is required in order to make happiness and success habitual.

I have yet to meet a man who loves failure and despair yet I find so many in that position. I don’t think they honestly wish to be in that position but, through lack of wisdom and will force, they have brought that position upon themselves. Numerous books on wealth and success philosophies have been published and many people, businesses and governments have different ideas of success and how to attain that success. In the end some get what they want and others don’t. To those who don’t get success, a mix of laziness and fear prevent them from finding their faults and implementing definitive programmes for success.

Innate in every man is the divine power, which he may use for almost any purpose he chooses. The only consideration seems to be that if such power be used for the benefit of himself it should be used in such a way that no harm comes to anyone else. So, coming back to our central question of how to attain happy experiences all the time, the first solution is to introspect deeply. Are your pleasures more physical, mental or spiritual? Remember, you are a three-part being: mind, body and soul.

To deny any aspect of yourself is to live an incomplete life. If your pleasures are more physical in the form of, eating, sleeping, sex and sport, rather than mental and spiritual pleasures, you need to diversify your time allocation away from the physical which cannot be perpetually sustained. The reason for this is that physical pleasures deplete the body of life energy, which may negatively impact your mental states, moving you from away from happiness to indifference and ultimately, sadness.

If your pleasures are both mental and physical, you are now starting to live more completely. If you enjoy reading, writing, creating and innovating you are living more in the wholeness of God. Your happiness will be more sustained as mental happiness has a prolonged effect on the body and mind due to its more subtle nature. Finally if your pleasures lie in mental, physical and spiritual activities such as meditation, prayer, satsang and selfless service, you are now living completely as yourself. Your happiness can be sustained perpetually if you live balanced in the three dimensions or in the spiritual dimension alone. As you balance yourself more and more toward your spiritual aspect, you will find yourself moving away from the pleasures of the physical body and living more happiness for longer periods of time.

The question you must now ask yourself is: am I living as a three-part being, or as a single-part being? The next step is to ask yourself what you can do to live a more complete life. When you start contemplating this question, then you are on the path to a more joyous existence and, when you begin to diversify your activities between mental, physical and spiritual dimensions, you will start to experience a new type of lasting happiness. In business, to put all your eggs in one basket is considered a poor investment decision as one carries the complete risk of losing all one’s eggs. Alternatively, if one has many baskets, even if one basket fell one wouldn’t lose all one’s eggs. So is it also with life. To indulge only in physical pleasures is to run the risk of experiencing pain and fatigue. If you indulge only in physical and mental pleasures you still run the risk of sadness and indifference, therefore the key to happiness is a balanced life, never forgetting that you are a spiritual being with human experiences not a human being with spiritual experiences.

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Message to the Heavenly Father
by Suren
In despair I wept for you, In success I forgot you,
In indifference you existed as the silent witness
May your existence become evermore expressive;
May your sweetness bring solace to my heart
May your voice be heard and spoken in reverence and obedience
till death cometh upon this body.

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