Prema Jyothi – November 2024
Newsletter of the Sacred Earth Community
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“You cannot know it (Heart) with your mind. (Pointing to the right side of the chest, Maharshi continued.) You cannot realise it by imagination when I tell you – here is the centre. The only direct way to realise it is to cease to fantasise and try to be yourself. When you realise it, you automatically feel that the centre is there. This is the centre, the Heart, spoken of in the scriptures as hrt guha-arul (Grace in the centre of the Heart). “
Ramana Maharshi
In a world that is rapidly disintegrating, unity is becoming a rare concept. There are those who believe in a global family, and who strive with good intentions to create a world where all feel bound and responsible to each other. This unity, whilst commendable and bold, tackles the disunity issue from a direction that will yield only limited outcomes. Why? Without each of us experiencing unity within, we cannot solve the chaos and the disharmony that causes so much pain and sadness in the world
When we look around the world, we see increasing hostility between peoples, as well as a growing call for each of us isolate ourselves. Our towns and cities are planned around the concept of a ‘nuclear family’, one single family living on their own, attempting to solve the manifold challenges of life. From a much more communal society of a few hundred years ago, we have become individualistic, looking out for ourselves and those close to us, forgetting the great power in collective harmony. What this also leads to is the disintegration of our inner life. This is witnessed by rising rates of depression, suicide, anger and violence. The remedies often proposed often miss one important ingredient.
In offering a solution to the world’s problematic situation, Sai gives this simple solution.
If there is righteousness* in the heart,
There will be beauty in the character
If there is beauty in the character
There will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation
There will be peace in the world.
*We can also use the word integrity – we are integral to our true selves
What a wonderfully simple way to describe the solution to our major world problems. Where do we start? We start in the heart.
When I find the mind becoming quiet and the source of myself reveals itself, I feel a psychic and physical sensation in the right side of the chest, opposite the physical heart and just to the right of the anahata (heart chakra). The Hridaya is described in the vedic and yogic texts as the centre of all. The chest is simply where the Heart – the Self, seems to intersect with the body.
The Self is one with pure consciousness – all that is. It makes sense that the Unity of the Self will abide in the heart.
In this issue of Prema Jyothi we will explore the heart’s role in creating peace, not simply externally but, more importantly, internally. - Satyavan
The Role of the Spiritual Heart
The heart centre (hrdaya) is the centre of consciousness within us, and it yearns for us to free ourselves from the bondage of ignorance and realise our true nature, which is Love. As much as we yearn for freedom, so too the Heart yearns for us to be free. Therefore, it calls to us to come into the heart space and truly experience that boundless freedom that arises from the realisation of our own Self – the Self, the only one that really is.
Within the heart we free ourselves from the tendencies (vasanas) and the subtle mental impressions left by all thoughts, intentions and actions that we have ever experienced (samskaras). It is generally thought that this process of freeing is in destroying the vasanas and samkaras. There are many philosophical and spiritual writings that exhort us to do just that. However, if we consider that all creation is an emanation of pure consciousness (Brahman), then the vasanas and samskaras are also part of Brahman. Can they be destroyed when they are part of imperishable whole? Maybe it is better to offer all our vasanas and samskaras to our heart wherein we realise they are simply an aspect of the whole that believe themselves to be the centre of, but not the entirety, of being. It could be said that this process is actually a process of surrender. (See a following article that explores surrender in depth.)
The vasanas and samskaras are forces that seek disintegration and separation. We experience that we are trapped in a cycle of cause and consequence because of these forces. Their role can be considered to be the drivers of the continuation of our separate existence. The ahamkara (ego) could be said to be ‘fed’ by these powerful influences in our lives.
It is useful to understand ahamkara as the part of our being that considers itself both separate and the determinor of our destiny. This is a common premise that has grabbed our population, with countless classes, courses and books propounding that we are the creators of our future. However, without the recognition that the mind (manas) often does not have the wisdom to determine a useful way forward, we can fall into the trap of letting the ahamkara loose in a morass of desires, as well as regrets.
When we realise that we part of, or indeed, are the whole, then ahamkara has to begin to take a back seat. Some advocate the killing of the ego. Some years ago I read a beautiful quote from Sai. (NB. This may have been an inner message given to a devotee, as I cannot determine the source of it.)
The analogy went something like this. The tadpole has a tail when born. As the tadpole grows, the tail will gradually be absorbed until the tadpole becomes a frog. However, if the tadpole’s tail is cut off the tadpole will die. We can think of the tail as analogous to the ego. The ego must gradually be absorbed into the Self (this occurs in the Heart), and all the vasanas and samskaras that maintain the ego will simply disappear. That will mean that the ego has no foundation to rest on, and it too will be absorbed (like the tail of tadpole) into the Bliss of the Self.
It is within the the spiritual heart – the hrdaya that this transformation occurs. The ego is found to be no longer present. It is a part of creation, and all creation is a temporary phenomenon. The outcome is harmony of thought word and action within our lives. This harmony dissolves all our sense of separation, which is the root cause of all the disunity, which is at the root of our problems and issues. - Satyavan
The Blissful Heart
It is bliss that draws us to the Heart. That bliss unfolds in a unique way fro every person. The path to the Heart is also unique, and we cannot prescribe a methodology for attaining the bliss that arises from the Heart..
Each has their own unique journey. Just as our vasanas and parabdha karma (the karma that plays out in this lifetime) are personal to us, so too the steps we take to open to the heart lie beyond the understanding of anyone but ourselves.
For many, the path of meditation is important. Meditation is extremely personal, yet the process allows us to gently let go of our stories, to find the essence of being. Meditation is not so much the closing of the eyes, but the opening of the Heart. Whilst methods can be utilised, in the end the process is so personal that it transcends method and moves into an essential surrendering of all that we assumed ourselve to be. This results in our transformation from ignorance fed by the ego into the radiance of our own nature - the Self that is beyond all words, beyond all experience and beyond time and space.
Anandamayi Ma was a saint that lived in Northern India at a time of great transformation of the sub-continent. She was born blissful and lived Her whole life in a state of bliss. She boldly stated
“Divine happiness, even the tiniest particle of a grain of it, never leaves one again; and when one attains to the essence of things and finds one’s Self – this is supreme happiness.
When it is found, nothing else remains to be found; the sense of want will not awaken anymore, and the heart’s torment will be stilled forever.”
Sri Anandamayi Ma
The bliss that arises within the heart is then seen everywhere, for the Heart is not confined to a location (even though it is experienced on the right of the chest). All is subsumed within the heart, and the Heart’s light shines in all creation, reflecting the bliss, shining in the light of the One.
There comes a point on this amazing journey when what is required for us is a total surrender.
Surrendering the small self to the Infinite Self
On the wall of the western canteen at Prasanthi Nilayam, there is a beautiful statement from Sai. No one knows its source, and I suspect it may have been an inner message that is shared by a devotee. The profundity of the wisdom of this statement is a treasure in itself. It is reproduced in part below.
To surrender means: To turn your thoughts away from troubles, to turn them away from difficulties that you encounter and from all your problems. Leave everything in My hands saying, "Lord, Thy will be done. Thou think of it." That is to say, "Lord, I thank you, for you have taken everything into your hands, and you will resolve this for my highest good."
Remember that thinking of the consequences of a thing is contrary to surrender. That is to say, when you worry that a situation has not had the desired outcome, you demonstrate that you do not believe in My love for you — you prove that you do not consider your life to be under My control and that nothing escapes Me.
Never think: How is this to end?... What is going to happen? If you give into this temptation, you demonstrate that you do not trust Me. Do you want Me to deal with it — yes or no? Then you must stop being anxious about it! I shall guide you only if you completely surrender to Me. And when I must lead you on a different path than the one that you expect, I carry you in My arms.
(NB. When Sai talks of ‘Me’, He is identified totally with the Self that resides in the Heart.)
Without total surrender, we cannot enter the unity of the Heart. If we truly know in our hearts that we are One with the totality of everything, as well as being One with the transcendent reality, then we can let go of the influence of the mind, the influence of desire or repulsion, and let ourselves become the universal heart, the creator and the created. What is to be let go of? The One does not want our riches, or even our prayers. If we can but surrender our tendencies, and ultimately the mind itself, we will find the peace that we have searching to reach for lifetimes. - Satyavan
“Are you ready to let go? Are you ready to surrender all the tendencies, all your long history into this moment? There is nothing to be done. There is nothing to achieve. All the accomplishments that have occurred over lifetimes must be given over to the fire that burns inside the Heart. The jnana agni (fire of wisdom) will accept everything. Nothing will be rejected. All that you see as faults and failings will be taken into the fire and emerge as wisdom. All that you see as achievements and good deeds will be taken along with the faults and emerge as Love The fire is you. You are the flame that ignites the transformation. You are Love.” Sathya Sai – inner message
In the seeming final moments of His life, Christ prayed, “Into Thy hands I commit my spirit. This is one of the highest expressions of surrender to God, the essence and source of our being. It is in such a moment that many let go of all concepts and beliefs in personal identity and the world. They let go into the infinite Love and reality of God, falling upwards into the embrace of the beloved. - - Mooji
The Experience of Unity Radiates from the Heart
Dr. John Hislop once asked Sai how those who have liberated themselves from the shackles of ignorance experience the world. Sai answered that they see the world as luminous, the Self shining in everything. In an even more illuminating statement, Sai responded to the question of Dr Michael Goldstein. He was standing with Sai on a balcony where Swami was blessing the crowd below. Goldstein asked Sai what He saw when He looked out over the people. Sai answered, “Only Love”.
The Heart knows only Love. In the Heart the unity experience is one of Pure Love. That Love, emanating from the Heart is echoed in whatever we see or encounter. It is difficult for us to imagine that Love exists in a war zone. Yet people are often inspired to great deeds in the within the chaos. There are many wartime medics who have risked their lives to save people who may have horrendous injuries, even the people on the other side. Wherefrom rises the urge to perform such deeds?
In those situations, there is a sense of unity and love arising from the Heart that impels the heroic impulse, often without thought, only a sense of what is right. The battlefield is not the only scenario where this phenomenon is observed. Surgical operations, fighting fires, or even responding to situations where there are rampaging egos causing disputes between people. Often there is one or two people who rise above the conflict and, with great wisdom and compassion attempt to resolve the divisive situation. We start by thinking we are separate, but eventually we realise we are not. That realisation arises from the Heart, where unity ever resides.
