Freedom
Victor Kannan
(Heartfulness Trainer)

Sincerity, Humility, Courage, Responsibility, Love and Freedom may be considered as the six core values. They are progressive in nature. Sincerity leads to humility; Courage leads to responsibility, and true love shall lead to freedom. One value leading us to the other, making our life holistic and integrated with attitudes and behaviors taking us through goals, accomplishments, and finally, a state of being.

These three pairs of values are also a transformational set – sincerity leading to humility, courage leading to responsibility, and love leading to freedom. It is a simple formula to cultivate humility, responsibility and freedom – a sort of proxy to Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Gnana Yoga, in that respective order. It feels like a big jump, but careful thinking would make this parallel clear. We have a similar formula introduced by Daaji; for example, through refined and expanded consciousness, existence becomes bliss.

We also identify the evolution of consciousness in the progressive transformation of its four aspects, viz, mind (Manas), deeper consciousness (Chit), cognition (Budhi), and ego (Ahankar), where Manas or the mind, an instrument of thinking, becomes an instrument of feeling; where Chit or deeper consciousness, an instrument of intuition and awareness, becomes an instrument of wisdom and understanding; where Budhi or cognition, an instrument of reason, becomes an instrument of direct perception of the transcendental truth or knowledge; and the Ahankar, or Ego, which gives power to evolve, embraces humility and creates restlessness towards Self-realization or a state of bliss and whatever comes beyond. Thus, through evolution of consciousness existence becomes a state of pure being, free of all possible holds to a lower level of existence.   

Thus, in this progression, the goal or final state of fulfillment is Freedom. So, what is freedom?

Why is it so valuable? And, what is it we are free to do?

Normally when we think of freedom, we think of freedom from wants, freedom from desires and freedom from suffering.

One may wonder if it is all really possible. One may ask “Why not freedom from disease?” Disease of the body is outside of our mental sphere. While a stronger mind can mitigate the suffering of the body, what is inevitable can only be postponed at best. A physical, mechanical thing is subject to strict physical laws. Hence, expecting freedom from the operations of physical laws is futile.

Freedom of the mind is to think and worship as one chooses. This is quite a freedom. Yet, what we choose may not make us evolve towards a happy state of being. So, this freedom is also limited. On the one hand, mind is a habit-forming machine, and it is possible that we become slaves of our negative habits, and suffer. On the other hand, if we are born into a good family or circumstances and, most importantly, acquire the right knowledge or support, we could form good habits, and these then shape our destiny positively.

Freedom of the spirit is the ultimate freedom we should aim to achieve. A person who is able to experience and enjoy this freedom is the person who is truly living. So, the real freedom is the freedom of the spirit. Hence we call people ‘free-spirited.’ There is a sense of innocence, nobility and beauty in free-spirited people. They are positive people, too. They can be called free-spirited saints living on earth. They are real beings of bliss and beyond. As Babuji says, freedom from freedom is real freedom: freedom from the preoccupations of the body and the mind and achieve the freedom the spirit yearns for.

This state of being is achieved after acquisition of an inner wisdom, which we call gnana or real knowledge. In the post “The Choices We Make” I wrote, “Freedom presupposes knowledge.” To be free, one needs to have the right, or real, knowledge. Such a real knowledge leads one to real and lasting freedom of the soul. This knowledge is acquired while pursuing a practice of meditation for achieving such a goal. In the process of achieving such a goal, we experience inner transformation and expansion of consciousness.

So, let us fly away in that freedom! Let us be free at last.

What is beyond Love?

What is beyond Love?

Victor Kannan

(Heartfulness Trainer)

Once Daaji asked this question to a few people. What is beyond love?

I have written on love and care, for love expresses itself in care. Love is what love does.  Love cannot be just empty words or insecure expressions or daily reminders to the family and friends. Love too must evolve.

The answer to this question came as I was looking at Babuji Maharaj in one of the pictures where he seems give everything away happily and attentively.

Love takes different shapes for different situations. For children it is in attention and time spent by the parents. For spouses it is support, partnership and companionship. Over time, ideal spouses grow and progress not only in worldly ways, with possessions and accomplishments, but also intellectually and emotionally.  They complement each other with their strengths, making a bigger whole than what is possible by the sum of two. It should be a synergistic way of living that creates much better future for all in their circle of influence.

For students, it is the love of education that makes them take interest, observe, learn and persevere.  We know that a true teacher produces students who take what they have learnt beyond the teachers grasp. The real teacher is proud of such students. When a teacher makes it possible for a student to an extraordinary accomplishment how do the students relate to their teachers and guides?

I still remember the high school teacher and college professor who made a profound impact on my self confidence when they believed in my ability to perform better than I thought was possible. This has permanently elevated my respect for these two teachers. I respect them in a manner it has the characteristic of adoration and admiration of them as a teacher, in fact more than a teacher to a guide.

This is truer in a spiritual system where the Guru is simple beyond measure, as significant as God Himself, totally unseen and unfathomable, yet whose actions are palpably visible. In such a system the spiritual aspirant begins to benefit and then to appreciate the system. Then they look for who is behind such an effective system, and then develop gratitude to the Guide. When the gratitude overflows, it begets love and devotion.

The proximity and freedom that come with love and devotion must now transform into reverence. An awe inspired connection to the Guide, Guru or the Master is the state of piety, which is filled with adoration, admiration, cooperation and interiorization.

We must give ourselves such an opportunity. Let us ponder over this, as Daaji would say! 

Sahaj Marg question: Not "Who" but "What" is God?

By Victor Kannan - SRCM Preceptor

God is one, but religions are many. Life is a stream, but life forms are many. We need not be concerned with statements such as “religions divide” and the ranking of religion in terms of salvation. One thing is certain: these religious founders themselves did not coin their teaching into terms like Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, etc. They tried to teach how to live and emphasized the purpose of life for the people who were under their “custody and upbringing” – theologically speaking.

Religion as it is practiced today is an expression of the struggle of humanity to keep itself moral, pure and God-fearing. It is more a struggle to instill in the hearts of human beings the love for God. The word “God-fearing” strikes a peculiar tone, as God is love, not fear.

It is quite understandable if we pray to God for basic needs. If you ask a hungry man, “What would you prefer, God or bread?” of course he will choose bread. But we are bogged down so much in solving our material problems that we see God for the purpose of solving them, and blame God if things are adverse.

We even attribute our successes to God’s appreciation of our way of living, and hence they are considered rewards. By the same token, there is punishment.

We also seem to go to the extreme of saying that those who belong to a certain religion will be rewarded and the rest will be condemned. Many religious practitioners of the modern era seem to be fanatical about it.

One wonders who is right and who is wrong.  We seem to seek God’s partnership in business. We seem to be preoccupied in asking God for material things. How many seriously inquire if it is possible to become God-like in terms of our being full of compassion, love, wisdom and purity?

If you are a friend of a benevolent king, would you beg for what he can dole out, or would you just enjoy being in his whole kingdom?

God can’t have a system of punishment and reward. He can’t differentiate between sinners and saints. He is the ultimate cause and we are the intermediate cause.

If he is all merciful, he must make sure that we are prevented from falling and from our own misbehavior. But why is this not so? This has to be understood in the overall context of Nature and its laws.

How can God give humans preferential treatment in evolution while humans also have to abide by the laws of Nature? One of the laws of the Nature is to use the faculties properly. God has bestowed mankind with two important faculties – intelligence and will power.

The improper use of these two faculties is the cause of our suffering. On the other hand, it is only by using these two faculties that we can continue the ascent back to the kingdom of God.

Religions have introduced the concept of God as something superior, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Yes, it is indeed true. It is also something that watches our behavior, and hence we must be pious, loving, kind, etc.

No… Here also, the expectation of something rewarding from the super power predominates our affiliation with that God. And failure of the super power to fulfill that expectation seems to deny the existence of God.

Thus, God seems to be our creation rather than something eternal. If this is what we have made of religions, then these man-made religions have failed in showing us what God really is.

The question is not “Who is God?” but “What is God?” This is an essential difference between religion and spirituality.

While religions, in general, give us a list of Gods, Spirituality says, and also, the Masters of Sahaj Marg (Lalaji Maharaj, Babuji Maharaj, Chariji Maharaj, Shri. Kamlesh D Patel) say, God is within us and has no name and no form; it is a transcended condition, a feeling and an experience that all of us can have.

God is something that we have to become one with forever, eternally. When we ask the question, “What is God?” it brings forth the idea that God is perhaps a Principle. Like any principle, it is mindless. It behooves us to have sufficient wisdom, intelligence and knowledge to harness any principle for one’s ultimate benefit. And it is the domain of spirituality to deal with the subject of how to harness this principle of God in one's life for one's self.

Sahaj Marg can be looked upon as a science, and the individual is the experimenter, we being the laboratory, and the result is in attaining ourselves – a transformed self, a loving self, and a God-like self.

Sankalpa in Sahaj Marg

By Victor Kannan

I believe this idea of sankalpa* is unique in Sahaj Marg. It is not a mere will. It is not just a mere intention. It is also not just a plea, a condition, a loving compulsion or a resigned expectation; perhaps it’s a unique combination of all of the above.

Let us look at the components.

It is an act of will, because it requires a focused action on the part of the individual. But will alone is not going to get the job done, especially in the areas of inner human growth and transformation. At times, one would say intention is important and intention alone creates a field for action. But we all know the saying, “The way to hell is paved with good intentions.” Though cynical it may sound, it seemed to have been born out of human experience. It suggests that intention alone does not get us to the intended place or result.

Sankalpa also has the element of a plea or prayer or submission, because the required change is beyond one’s strength and capability. If a change is well within one’s own capacity, one must exercise one’s full strength and capability to achieve it. But more often than not, one resorts to prayer to a higher power for a desired change that is beyond one’s ability. Accepting the need to change is a very important aspect of this sankalpa, and a prayer to a higher power is needed. Moreover, with the inner condition of humility, admitting one’s powerlessness over the change process, the dependence on a higher power is emphasised.

This aspect of loving compulsion is nothing but the intense desire for transformation and the acute dependence on a higher power to effect the change. And after all this, a resignation to His will! Wow, if we can reach that state, I think all our mundane ills are cured! That is sankalpa to my mind’s understanding.

Kamlesh D Patel says, “When certain conditions have to be created inside us, sankalpa is the best thing. This is the best way to create something inside yourself or remove something from yourself. And it has to be prayerful, that, “My Lord, may this be removed.” It is like a prayer.
– Designing Destiny, p.100

* “Sankalpa means a conception or idea or notion formed in the heart or mind; a solemn vow or determination to perform; a desire, definite intention, volition or will” - Wikipedia