Do you believe you have a soul? Wait, before you answer. If you believe that you have a soul, it is like saying that it is something that you own, then who is it that owns this soul? Who is it that says that he or she owns a soul? Is it your body or maybe your mind saying so? Are there two entities, you and a soul? If this is so, that you are not the soul, you only own one. Confusing?

Could it be the other way around, and that you are the soul, who owns or inhabits a body?

There is another option. Consider the option that there is just one entity, spirit, soul, power, God, the terminology is not so important, which fills the whole Universe, and which activates and manifests through different forms that we call trees, planets animals and people.

This power is like electricity that comes from the same powerhouse, and which activates many different electrical instruments.

If you accept this idea, you will have to accept that all differences between people, nations and religions is only apparent. All are part of one indivisible power, which manifests through different vehicles. As the brain and nerve system of each individual is built a bit different from others, the Spirit manifests in the external world differently through each body, which makes the differences between people.

Taking electricity again as an example, it is the same power that makes an oven, a vacuum cleaner or a radio work. Each instrument was built for a different purpose and was constructed differently. It is the same with all living forms. There are differences in the outer form, behavior and ideas of people, but yet, it is the same Spirit – Consciousness making them all active and alive. It is the same consciousness manifesting through different vehicles.

Complicated? Not really, if you think a little about this subject.

Regular practice of meditation can lead to experiencing brief flashes of inner silence, or as some spiritual traditions call it, emptiness. As one progresses with meditation, and meditation gets steadier and deeper, these brief moments, which may last for split seconds in the beginning, get longer and deeper. In time, the inner silence or sense of inner emptiness can be experienced not only while meditating, but also in everyday life too.

The state of inner silence – emptiness requires some clarification. It is not a morbid state of indifference, numbness and lack of energy. It is not a state of lack of life force, zest and confidence and of feeling worthless. It is not the emptiness and silence of nothingness or darkness, but the majestic emptiness and vastness of endless and limitless space, full of life and light.

It is an uplifting and blissful experience, brought about when the mind and the thinking process slow down or stop their restless and erratic activity, without losing consciousness or awareness. In this state you are completely conscious and alive, blissful and peaceful, without thoughts, boundaries or limitations.

At these moments you experience a sense of expanded consciousness-awareness and nonduality. There are no thoughts such as “I am not thinking now”, “My mind is silent” or “I am experiencing emptiness”. You just feel peaceful and blissful, forgetting about your personality-ego and just BE.

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Making progress on the spiritual path does not mean that you have to reject any kind of pleasure and fun and live an austere and harsh life. This idea sometimes holds people from taking the first step toward spiritual growth. Walking on a spiritual path does not require that you avoid everything coming through the five senses, and treating yourself harshly and rigorously.

Pleasure and enjoyment do not hold you from making spiritual progress, but the attachment to them does. It is the attachment that has to go. Attachment is a kind of fear, addiction and lack of freedom. It is the fear of loss.

It might seem to you as a paradox, but you can enjoy life, but at the same time stay unattached anything you experience.

It is the inner attitude that is important. Someone, who has progressed on the inner path, can live and enjoy life, like anyone else, but at the same time not be attached to anything. Such a person may not seek pleasure deliberately, but when there is pleasure, he/she can enjoy it while it lasts, without being attached to it. When the source of pleasure is gone, there is no clinging to it or wishing it stayed, neither there is regret and or a feeling of loss.

Here is what Ramesh Balsekar says on this subject in his book “Who Cares?!”:

“The difference between the sage and the ordinary person, in regard to the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, is that while the ordinary person is continually in search of such pleasures, the sage does not hanker after such pleasures, but enjoys them with zest when they happen in the ordinary course of life. The sage does not seek pleasure, nor does he reject it when it happens.”

Ramesh Balsekar also quotes the words the sage Ashtavakra: “Absence of attachment to sense objects is liberation; passion for sense objects is bondage.”

Overcoming attachment and developing detachment lead to peace of mind and happiness.

There is some misunderstanding about the meaning of detachment. What is detachment? Does it mean being indifferent, lazy or lacking warmth and compassion? No, this is not true detachment!

True detachment is a state of not getting disturbed or agitated by external events and by yours and other people’s emotions and thoughts. It is a state of staying calm and in control of yourself and your moods in every situation, without feeling being harassed or hurried by people or circumstances.

Detachment shows itself in lack of attachment to the results of your actions, and in accepting the consequences of what you do. Instead of getting nervous, angry, agitated or unhappy, if things go wrong, you stay calm and try again. In this sense, detachment shows itself as inner peace, inner strength and courage.

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Written by Mouni Sadhu
Excerpted from www.hinduism.co.za

The great Rishi, Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi – unlike most yogis and many saints of the present day, does not recommend yogic practices as a condition for the highest and perennial spiritual achievement, called by him ‘Self-realisation’. He dismisses from that aim, all the cumbersome postures, breathing exercises, control of the pranic-currents (currents of the Prana in the human body and so of Nature itself), and so on. In fact, he seldom even mentioned them in his talks.

So the Direct Path to spiritual attainment, as shown by the Maharshi, does not require any unnatural body postures, often so difficult to perform for the majority of people; none of the efforts of Hatha Yoga, which can be dangerous unless practised under the direct supervision of a competent teacher, and no artificial mental practices of concentration. All such things lead nowhere unless accompanied by the elements of spiritual enlightenment, a fact which is firmly underlined by Sri Shankaracharya in his ‘Viveka Chudamani’.

Now I see clearly that these things belong to a closed and bewitched circle. For years, I and some of my closest occult friends practised many kinds of ‘outer-yogas’ but without any results worthy of our efforts. Of course, some of these exercises were good for our physical health, especially for stilling the nerves, cultivating a beautiful voice, and so forth. But these advantages only remained with us as long as we continued regularly to perform the exercises. A pause for even a few weeks deprived us of all the hard earned benefits we had gained at the cost of such effort and waste of time. No true and permanent peace of mind could be obtained, although for that purpose I made intense use of Japa (repetition) with the best mantras.

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