I am a devout Raja Yogi (think, monk or “open-minded spiritualist”).
A dozen years ago I dis-believed virtually everything; it made me a good auditor but won me few friends.
But after 14 years of studying Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, I favor the Hindu concept that God (by whatever name you personally refer to God) is perfectly capable of walking among us in whatever guise God so chooses because – here’s the crazy part – God can simultaneously be everywhere; God isn’t “of this earth”; God isn’t subject to Karma (time & space); because God is of an ENTIRELY different dimension – as is consciousness!!
Here’s the bottom line: realizing that there’s an aspect of you that never changes – that’s not subject to time and space – THAT awareness will drive you to the nearest place of worship asking about the source of THAT part of you!! Hence, people refer to Raja Yoga as a spiritual practice.
Analogy: Bible & Mind
There’s an analogy to be drawn between the evolution of our awareness of consciousness and the Bible. Just as the Bible has two chronological parts, the Old and New Testaments, our non-physical mind also has two chronologically-developed parts, our sub-conscious and conscious mind.
Sub-conscious mind is the oldest in the sense that it’s the more well-established or developed aspect of our mind. This is our “alligator” mind: essentially, anything an alligator’s mind can do, this part of our mind can do.
For purposes of the Bible/Mind analogy, evolution is assumed to be a “Truth”: that time and space – and everything subject to them – evolve (i.e., that dinosaurs existed, rather than the earth as we know it came to exist in just a few days).
To my knowledge, humans have the most highly developed conscious mind on earth: the greatest ability of any known species to cognate uber-sophisticated concepts in our mind (at least we used to, before becoming reliant on machines).
And what, pray tell, does that mean? We alone on earth have the mental capacity to distinguish between consciousness (the eternal awareness OF our conscious thoughts) and our perpetually-changing thoughts themselves: to literally distinguish between who we are and what we are.
Beyond Mind?
Amma (the hugging nun – check her out!!) says that consciousness “infills everything, pervades everywhere, and impels all.” In other words, consciousness underlies life as we understand it.
If that resonates with you it’s not a long jump to believe, given the nature of evolution and consciousness, that through time and the confluence of an infinite events, humans have become the most evolved expression of consciousness on earth – SO FAR.
Between Mind and Consciousness?
I spoke with a Rabbi the other day, and after politely listening to me for an hour, he told me there’s an entire sect of the Jewish faith devoted to understanding and practicing what he referred to as “mysticism”. Who knew?! Raja Yoga was literally intended for all; specifically, to reduce suffering.
Witness the effects of the deepest, still aspect of yourself that Amma says is “essentially divine” through meditation: the original form of prayer.
