Fw: repost: Mr Owl “How many licks does it take…? (previous posting was poorly formatted)

[Guest guest]

Mr Owl “How many licks does it take…?

…To get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?â€

 

Mr Owl says: Let’s find out… 1….2…..3…..3!

 

That’s how the advertisement for Tootsie roll tootsie pops goes. This simple

question when applied to the process of yogic dissolution has very deep meaning

and significance. It provides a useful analogy to remember that the three

granthis: Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra, perpetuate the illusion of separateness and

distinction within the individual mind, preventing one from realizing the Truth

that one is in fact, not a separate individual at all. What are these granthis?

They are not physical ‘knots’ but rather are psycho-physiological knots that

impose physical barriers to the flow of energy causing the Kundalini to rise to

the Sahasrara, which is said to reflect a complete ‘awakening’.

 

The Brahma granthi is the coagulated mass of assumptions in 'the mind' that

create the conceptual delusion that " I am the body. " That is to say, one

confounds the concept of the Self with that of the sense of the body (call it

proprioceptive sense). Vishnu granthi is the externalization of the universe

( " vishnu maya " ), from which arises the concept that the body is separate from

the surroundings, creating both limitation (of size, relative scale, and scope)

and the sense of externalized objective experiencing of reality. The Rudra

granthi is the final knot that creates the link between the witness and the

witnessed - the sense of doership that perpetuates the illusion of participating

in the illusory movements of consciousness. If even one of these knots is cut

asunder, then the reality of the other knots comes into question quite readily.

In order to attain that state of consciousness in which one loses the grip-hold

of these knots, one must

develop complete detachment from the " known " ('vairagya') quickly (that is, in

a flash of conceptualization one must reject the entire contents of 'the mind'

as a whole, leaving no trace of any kind of clinging to the notion of " I am

this " in the least... this is readily understood by those who are familiar with

the vedic process of " neti neti " or " not this,... not this... " in understanding

the difference between Self from non-Self). In other words, one must develop

the ability to look within, and instantly recognize the Truth that anything that

is seen, touched, tasted, felt, or otherwise sensed is not the Self - not on an

intellectual level - but on an emotional level - the very heart of one's

awareness must " give up " the identification with the object of identification.

This is what is meant by thyaagam (sacrifice) in the truest sense. It is not a

physical act performed with the body-mind complex, but a complete and total

distancing of both from

the observer/witness - in a single moment of conceptualization - in a 'flash'

as it were. To develop this kind of 'vairagyam' one must accept mentally that

all relationships to the world are in an instant cut asunder in a sort of mental

" death " – the means to understand this comes from practice of the Seva-asana

in which one is literally attempting to understand the state of the corpse by

internal reflection. This process is literally like " cutting " off whatever is

found to be " not self " in the process of self discovery - literally to take a

machete to one's soul and to slice and dice with no remorse that internal sense

of " mine " and " me " that arises at the moment of witnessing anything (i.e., at

the moment when one first becomes " aware " of having " witnessed " a thing, one

must at that very moment, cut the mental ties to the witnessed thing

mercilessly, and thereby proceed to the next level of deeper contemplation,

using the sword of " neti.... " or

" not this... " ). In this manner, one can develop the ability to attain deeper

states of contemplation (dhyana) in which one is able to unravel the mass of

various assumptions that perpetuate the illusion of a separate Self that is

trapped 'within' a body. Once the knots are rent asunder, the entire mass of

consciousness coagulates into the feeling of " I Am All This " which is the true

Siddha asana (Siddha means ‘accomplishment’ and asana is ‘pose’ or

‘posture’ – a mental state of equilibrium and detachment that follows the

weakening of the granthis), this mental attitude allows one to reject

systematically that which is " not Self " but only a projection of Self) - a Yogi

that has attained this conceptualization of the objective universe, has

identified him(her)self with the very substance of the universe, as opposed to a

limited conception of being identified with one of its many finite components.

In this conceptualization there is a loss

of differentiation between " one’s self " and " That " - everything is identified

as one's self only. In this path, one must understand the nature of reality as

being a combination of the 'known' (kshetra) and the 'knower' (kshetrajna) viz.

Kshetra-Kshetrajna vibhaga yoga (the yoga of differentiating the field and the

knower of the field) - and that it is the confusion of these two that leads one

to the false notion that one is 'in bondage' and that one must be 'liberated'

from the bondage. At no time is one truly bound, but by long assumption, the

Brahma-Vishnu-Rudra granthis remain intact. If at the time of death, one does

not cut the bondage of the three granthis, it acts as a seed for further

entanglement into samsara. The idea of ‘bondage’ is analogous to the way in

which animals are trained to respect border fences - as they approach a fence,

they are shocked, repeatedly, so that even when the electric stimulus is

removed, they do not

question their boundaries, and stay within the non-existent ‘border’. In

the same manner, by long repeated assumption, you have accepted the notion that

you are this body. That said, it is not adequate to simply repeat “I am not

this body.†– one must investigate by deep vichara into the very cause of

the body – that conception in which the Yogi sees the body as nothing more

than a projection from the hridya (heart space). In this conception, the body

itself becomes the mantra, viz. the breathing, as denoted by the Hamsa

(Ham-Sa-So-Ham) mantra which directly indicates to the kshetrajna that “I Am

That Am Iâ€. When the Yogi abides in this state (s)he understands the Truth of

the statement Shivoham (Shiva Am I). Sat-Chit-Ananda roopam Shivoham Shivoham

(That Shiva is verily of the form of Sat-Chit-Ananda). The Yogi that abides

within this state of Shivoham – i.e., differentiation between The Real (Sat)

and The Unreal (Asat), is

known as a parama-hamsa: like the mystical swan (of Saraswati) that is able to

separate milk (food substance) from water (unusable garbage) – such a

paramahamsa jnani is able to understand the purport of the Vedas and the

paradoxical and often contradictory statements within them. Such a jnani is

also termed as an Avadhuta for he has literally “thrown off†the body

consciousness and is clothed in space itself. He roams naked ever blissful as

the personification of Sat-Chit-Anandam itself. It is within this conception of

the universe (as Shivoham) that one understands the inner meaning of the

fundamental statement:

 

Guru Madhye Sthitham Vishwam - The Universe is situated in the center* of the

Guru

Vishwa Madhye sthitho Guruhu - The Guru is situated in the center* of the

Universe

 

*here the word “center†implies the hridayam (heart space), and this is

where the so-called hridya granthi (Vishnu granthi) is situated. It is the

severance of the Vishnu granthi that leads to this state of non-dual awareness.

 

From this statement, one begins to fully understand the importance and

significance of Guru in the spiritual path – without Guru, there is no moksham

– Guru is the mechanism, the indication, and the path itself. The Guru

implied here is the SatGuru – as understood by the statement that “Gurave

Buddhi Saakshine†(Guru is the Witness of the Intellect). Such a SatGuru is

said to be Shiva himself.

 

So long as this notion persists that one is the body (i.e., in the very core of

your being, it must be known that one is not, simply repeating that you are not,

is of no use), you are subject to the conditions of birth, death, samsara, and

the sorrow that accompanies such limitations. Once the consciousness has

expanded to assume the form of the entire mass of 'knowledge' within the 'mind',

then it must be held there until the prior assumptions (vasanas) that impose the

conceptual limitations are dissolved in their entirety. If this is not done,

then the old vasanas will once more spread their nets of delusion, and the Yogi

is thrown back into the original sense of body consciousness in which the " I am

the body " concept is revived. Once dissolved, the true state of being One with

the entirety of manifest and unmanifest energy becomes natural; until then, if

the awareness is relaxed even for a little time, the possibility of being

re-entangled into the

triple knots arises, leading one to fall into delusion through incorrect

perception.

 

May He lead us to such a Sat-Chit-Anandam.

 

Aum Purnamadaha. Purnamidham. Purnaat purna mudachayate. Purnasya purnamaadhaya.

Purnayevaat Vasishyathe.

 

Om That is Whole. This is Whole. When this Whole is removed from that Whole, the

Whole remains Whole.

 

Jaya Guru Datta! Jaya Guru Datta! Jaya Guru Datta!

 

 

 

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Gurorangripadme ManaScenna Lagnam tata: kim! tata: kim! tata: kim! tata: kim!?

Sarva Kartha, Sarva Dhartha, Sarva Hartha, Mangalam!

Satchidananda, Satchidananda, Satchidananda Mangalam!