|
Home
Doors
Essays2007
Essays2008
Essays2009
Essays2010
Wisdom
Gallery
Links
Bios
Contact
|
..:: Peace ::..
By
Alan Schneider
Peace can be defined as an external condition of calm, repose, and
stability that is almost always transitory, affected as it is by the
eternal boiling sea (quoted from The New Testament, Book of
Revelations) of human karma, politics, economics, and biology. Peace can
also be defined as an internal condition that is attainable
within the consciousness of each of us, once again of calm, repose, and
stability. While there is little hope of attaining lasting external
peace, the possibility of attaining a significant degree of lasting
internal peace is more feasible. It is that possibility which is the
subject of this article.
The condition in which we find ourselves is inherently
turbulent never really at rest, and always undergoing agitation of
some kind. This is most certainly the state of things permanently on the
Physical Plane of manifestation, the source of the evolutionary process
that has produced our physical organism, central nervous system, and ego
awareness all of which mirror the essential mechanical turbulence of
the dense condition of original matter acted upon by primal energy. This
is a recipe for chaos, and it is no wonder that chaos is what we
so frequently get in this life! From the perspective of the attainment
of peace, the deck of existence is utterly stacked against us, always
has been, and apparently always will be. Yet, we yearn for the balance
of homeostasis within and without, and dread the suffering that results
from its absence. We must seek peace as the inevitable
consequence of our sentient being.
To begin addressing this matter, we must ponder the inherent
internal states that militate against the attainment of peace,
since the external ones customarily lie beyond our control. What are
these natural conditions of consciousness that doom us to lives of
unrest and instability? Many such manifestations exist within our
Psyche. Let us consider some of them now.
On a neurological level, the central nervous system which
achieves and sustains our awareness has evolved to be permanently
unstable. It is no wonder that we cannot achieve homeostasis for long
nature did not intend us to. Rather, we seem to have been intended to be
continually seeking various types of drive state gratification linked to
the physical body eating, drinking, breathing, copulating, sleeping,
and so forth. The body is the vehicle of Karma it mirrors all that we
still must do and be as the price of spiritual evolution on the
Physical Plane. The body is why we occur on this plane, not
merely how.
For cosmic reasons that remain hidden from most of us, we must pass
through the fleshly perception of sentience to satisfy the need of the
Soul to experience its most dense form of expression nested in the
body and central nervous perception of the ego the me that I seem to
know as the focus of my experience. The inevitable suffering of the
body refines the Soul by stripping away all that is impure and
nonessential from it across time, as we pass repeatedly through the
sensory illusion and confusion of Maya the world we seem
to experience through the physical senses. Most of the time for most
people, this suffering takes place in ignorance of its higher purpose,
but eventually some of us manage to connect the dots of experience and
begin to seek enlightenment the first step along the path of
true, lasting peace. So we must begin by understanding that almost all
that we are is naturally opposed to peace. Evolution is about survival
and procreation, not wisdom and enlightenment!
This is an important first step. If we can perceive the
manner in which our inherent nature prevents the attainment of inner
peace, we are half way there to the goal of restraining the eternal
boiling sea essentially of turbulent human perception previously
referred to in this article. Probably the next step is to also
understand and accept the bitter knowledge that we will be
subject to a more or less constant assault of destabilizing external
influences as long as we are present in the body of flesh. That physical
form the body is the human vehicle of Karma. As long as we have it
(and it has us), Karma remains active and so do suffering,
pain, and mortality. This acceptance is very hard to come by, to be
sure, but the work of enlightenment demands it. The body is the
beginning of what we can do in this life as consciousness, and there is
good reason for this, as outlined in the previous paragraph. One must
know with finality that the only reprieve from the agonies of this life
is death, and be on guard constantly in the mean time to control the
internal and external threats and tribulations of existence. The price
of liberty is eternal vigilance, and nowhere is this more true than in
the pursuit of spiritual freedom and enlightenment.
Certainly external caution is the golden caveat of physical
existence. But what of the internal condition of consciousness? Here we
are confronted with another set of quandaries in the search for peace.
We must not forget that the external mechanism of evolution produced the
physical sheath of the spirit, and has left its mark there in the form
of many obstructive mental processes. Some of these have already been
discussed here, but there is much more that needs to be said.
Since the external state of human existence imposes certain
obstacles to the attainment of peace, and these remain so intractable,
the third step in the quest for peace must be to adjust our behavioral
responses to external reality. This is where the practice of postural
and devotional Yoga is an invaluable aid to enlightenment. Both Hatha
and Kundalini Yoga of will, when practiced from an involved spiritual
perspective, tend to produce a physical vehicle that is particularly
suited to spiritual attainment. The devotional schools of Bhakti and
Raja Yoga complement the spiritual development process by cultivating
the capacity for selfless service and idealized contemplation of the
Divine process. The practice of selfless service to others through
charitable words and deeds is one of the ways that the otherwise
intractable Karma of the Physical Plane can be released through
performance of Dharma holy devotion in service to the Logos.
Particularly in ones youth, the practice of Yoga is
indispensable for the attainment of enlightenment. The impact and
importance of Tantra, the vehicle of all spiritual Ascension
through the action of the Kundalini energy, cannot be understood without
the accompanying practice of Yoga. Yoga not only teaches mental
discipline and focus, but also reduces the effect of the physical fears
of suffering and mortality that plague consciousness through the
machinations of the ego. Yoga places the ego in its correct
perspective in the Psyche that of a physical guidance mechanism that,
however, tends to run rampant in the quest for the control of
awareness, and must be subjected to comprehensive restraint for the good
of the entire organism that it purports to assist and protect. That we
must suffer and die is arguably inevitable that we live in
fear of that suffering and death is not.
The practice of postural Yoga is of great significance
because it deactivates the ego and attendant thought processes. Of all
the approaches to enlightenment, this is the most effective that I have
found, because it works with the root problem of consciousness
illusion where that problem lives in the body of flesh and
physical sensory perception. This is why the practice of Asanas, the
postures used in Yoga, is so important. Each one of the hundreds of
postures in use is designed to produce a specific effect or set of
effects on conscious perception that will offset some aspect of Maya
the fundamentally illusory impression of an external world produced by
the interaction of the ego and the physical senses.
The sincere adoption of Yoga and the Yoga lifestyle is
frequently the work of at least a lifetime, and perhaps several
lifetimes in progression. We must maintain the awareness when we accept
this challenge that it runs directly contrary to physical human nature,
and can expect the long road to follow to be strewn with every
conceivable type of obstacle, hardship, delay, and vexation. Again,
physical evolution is about survival and procreation, not the attainment
of higher consciousness and enlightenment. What this all comes down to
is a choice will we remain enslaved to our basic animal nature, or
will we heed the call to a cleaner, higher, lighter and ultimately
happier state of being and living.
A number of other predominantly
Eastern practices and philosophies complement the Yoga lifestyle, and
this highlights the fourth, and arguably final, step to inner peace
the ongoing pursuit of additional resources. As one particularly
good example here, Sivananda, one of the most profoundly insightful
Indian Gurus, has enumerated a complete and comprehensive set of
practices that support the attainment of higher consciousness and inner
peace. The full series of Sivanandas discourses can be found on his
website, The Divine Life Society, at
www.dlshq.org. And there are many other
legitimate Masters, both living and deceased, who have illuminated the
path to peace. In general, it is both wise and helpful to pursue Darshan
the presence and council of an Ascended Master or Guru and Satsang
the company of other spiritual initiates. These practices customarily
take place in an Ashram a group dwelling specifically dedicated to
spiritual living, seeking, and attunement. Eventually, the determined
individual may choose to forsake the society of others entirely (and
forsake their bothersome social brainwashing, illusions, and deceptions
in the process!) and take up the life of a spiritual hermit. The
traditions of Yoga and most schools of Buddhism make allowance for this
type of admittedly extreme attitude, although one is generally
encouraged to remain in society even after the attainment of full
enlightenment and inner peace a condition referred to as Samadhi in
Yoga practice and Satori in Buddhism to serve as a Bodhisattva
a teacher of spiritual wisdom and truth.
So it can be seen that the path to inner peace is very
challenging, to say the least! One additional word of caution must be
given here regarding the spiritual condition that the South Indian Guru
Aurobindo has referred to as that of the Intermediate Guru. This
is the state of partial enlightenment manifested by individuals who have
achieved a significant level of spiritual attainment, but have not yet
completed the full process, as characterized by humility, selflessness,
and complete dedication of the personal existence to the work of the
Logos. Intermediate Gurus are prone to using their demonstrated
spiritual radiance and personal magnetism for selfish personal ends
monetary, political, and sexual. This does not mean that they have
nothing of valid content to offer in the spiritual arena, it simply
means that what they have to offer is contaminated with the
presence of a personal agenda that requires the initiate to then
filter out that agenda from all of the communications and messages
that the Intermediate Guru offers, something that can become a very
depressing, discouraging activity. The hallmark of this type of
individual is the advocacy of a spiritual philosophy that caters to
egoistic self indulgence, however subtly, on the part of the initiate,
rather than confront the initiate with the truth directly that
personal gratification has little or no place in the seeking and service
of the Divine Light and Truth. In order to succeed, selfless service
must be genuinely selfless. Even the least degree of personal
attachment to the outcome will interfere with the result.
This is the last characteristic of the real Ascended Master
detachment from all worldly motivation through attachment
to a state of Divine Grace. This individual is no longer a slave
to the ego or the physical senses, but has transcended both.
Paradoxically, as opposed to producing a sociopath or catatonic
personality, this condition exhibits a profound state of inner love for
all things on all levels of being, accompanied by the complete and
comprehensive inner peace known in Hinduism as Ananda Divine
Bliss. The genuine Guru radiates this Aurically on the Physical Plane,
and all others, as an unmistakable and clearly recognizable link to the
Logos a permanent bond of Love has been forged at this highest level
that flows out to all the world through every word and deed of the
Master. This is the ultimate expression of peace attainable in life on
the Physical Plane direct personal knowledge of Divine Love and Grace
that is freely and openly offered to all.
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2008, Alan Schneider)
Return to Top
|