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1.1.1 FNS

The topic of tonight is about the relationship between the Infinite Consciousness and the jiiva, or the little person. The great Divinity which is present in each and every living being is also present in you, in the little person who identifies with their individuality.

You think: "I am so and so, I live at such and such address, and I have these good qualities and these failings." And you believe this is who you are. But the Divine Entity is within you, and if you change your understanding of who you are, you will see that you are not this very limited individual. You are not the jiiva, the individual, but you are the great Divinity which lies quiescent throughout this manifest universe, that you are self-resplendent and self-contained. But having forgotten yourself and believe yourself to be the individuality which you experience. This individuality is based upon deception, for it presupposes that there are two, you and other, and between the two there is a gulf. There is "I" who exists as an individual and who will do so many things and have a particular identity, and then there are others who are apart from you. There is a world outside of you. This is the perspective of the individual, and it is based in delusion. It is not real. All that appears to be outside of you is in fact a part and parcel of your own existence, but you are not simply the limited person who you have perceived yourself to be - bound in a body, bound with an ego, confined and restrained, unable to expand into the light of radiant consciousness. You are not this bound entity, alone, separate, isolated, you are not this individuality. This sense of separation, this sense of your aloneness, is complete delusion.

The reality is that you are never alone, nor you are separate. A veil has been put over your eyes, and so you see yourself as an alone and separate entity. But it is illusion. In reality, that divine presence, that Paramatma, the Supreme Self, is your own Self. Your individuality is merely a covering you are wearing. As you wear the clothes upon the body - you wear the clothes today, tomorrow you take them off and you wear different clothes - so the body is like the clothes. Today you wear this body, tomorrow you will wear another. And the "I" feeling is also insubstantial. For today you are so and so, who lives at such and such a place, and tomorrow you will be someone else. But neither of your personalities - the one today, the one tomorrow, or the next day - none of these are the reality of you. For you are far more than the clothes you wear. You are far more than your physical body. You are far more than the identity you have assumed. For within you lies the spark of greatness; within you lies the divinity. And if you would but move your attention away from the identities you have assumed and let it stand independent, self-absorbed, that attention will soon come to discover that it is completely self-sustained and that you are far more than the body you have possessed.

You are eternal, the bearer of a great heritage, the bearer of wealth beyond measure. You are the ever resplendent one without a second. This body, this mind, this little ego, they are all parts of you. But you exist beyond them, for you fly with the ego, you stand silent in the great forest, and you pray with the humble peasant. You are in all of these as well, as in the body you now possess. For the divine Purus'a is in all things and all things are in him. No one and nothing lies outside of his sphere - no one and nothing, including you.

Are there questions?

Q: Could you talk about the technique of meditation. I would like to hear if you have anything to say about different kinds of meditation for different kinds of people.

The process of meditation is the process of ideation upon the Great. In Sanskrit it is called Iishvara Pranidhana - ideation upon Iishvara, the controller of the universe. If one ideates upon the Great, one will bring one's mind in parallel to that upon which one concentrates. This process opens one's awareness to the stream of consciousness so that mind may expand and dissolve into pure awareness.

There are many types of meditation which may be practiced. In yoga, it is most common for meditation to involve direct ideation upon the Great. There are visual meditations, mantra meditations, even walking meditations. There are many types of meditation. But for a meditation practice to be successful it must contain certain elements, the first of which is that there must be a clear and concentrated goal and that goal should be to merge oneself into the Infinite, to know the Divine through direct observation.

That is the goal or objective of a successful meditation practice. But for success, not only must the objective be clear and related to the Divine, but there must also be a clear and straightforward technique for the accomplishment of this task outlined in the objective.

And thirdly, there should be preceptor, or a guide to assist one to properly learn the technique and to move through the various stages of spiritual development with ease and well-being. If you would learn modern physics you may learn it from a book, but you will be well-advised to take a course from a knowledgeable teacher so that your understanding of the topic may be comprehensive. And you would be also well-advised to get instruction and spend time in the laboratory understanding the topic in a practical fashion. So it is also with meditation. A teacher can be very helpful.

Q: Can you tell us something about yama and niyama.

You should refer to the writings on yama and niyama, but I will say a few words in introduction. Yama and niyama are both sciences for the dissolution of delusions within the mind. They are step-by-step practices for daily life which cultivate right thinking and therefore the capacity to comprehend truth. Followed strictly over period of time, these practices are bound to alter the thinking processes of a person and to bring the capacity to hold reality within the mind. This is the purpose for which these practices have been developed. They are dos and don'ts of yoga. But they are not merely moral codes; they are scientifically developed practices for the expansion of mind.