[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
asking or seeking, has to arise from a source and centre which cannot belong to this
world.
This novel idea has become the subject of a variety of discussions in philosophical
circles. The consequences following from this idea have managed to elude the grasp of
commonsense. Such an idea as this cannot be an object of sense. It does not arise by the
operations of the senses in respect of the world. We do not see things and then begin to
entertain this idea, because there is nothing in the world which can evoke such an idea
in the mind. Nothing seen can be regarded as a source of this idea. The idea should be a
priori, as they call it; i.e., it must be inherent in man. The things of the world cannot
contribute anything to the generation of this thought in the human mind. As this idea is
associated with All-Being, the Being which comprehends all things, its affirmation
becomes a conscious acceptance of the totality of existence. In scriptures like the Yoga-
Vasishtha, a type of meditation of this kind is called Brahma-Bhavana, which is the
assertion of absoluteness free from all relative associations.
Brahman is the Absolute, and one cannot meditate on Brahman, because it is inclusive
of even the meditator himself. Man cannot meditate on God because God includes the
human location. Thus, to endeavour to meditate on the omnipresence of God would be a
simultaneous attempt to abolish one s own individual existence. When God is, man
ceases to be. This is a subtle result that would insinuate itself into the effort at
meditation on the supremacy of All-Being. God, thus, ceases to be an object of individual
contemplation. God is the Supreme Subject which contemplates Itself as the All. One,
generally, regards oneself as the subject, and what is contemplated upon as the object.
But in the case of God, conceived in the true sense of the term, the meditating
consciousness affiliates itself with the object in such an intimate manner that in this
inward association of the meditator with the object of meditation it would appear that
the object itself is in a state of meditation. In a heightened form of meditation in this
way, the meditating spirit enters into the body of the object with such force that it
dissolves itself in the object, as rivers melt down in the ocean. In a sense, it may be said
that no one is meditating on God, because that someone is a part of God s all-
comprehensive Being. Then, who would do the meditation? When one goes deep into
this investigative spirit, it would be realised that it is a meditation with which God is
bathing Himself. It is God becoming conscious of Himself, or the universe getting
illumined into its own self-conscious attitude. One cannot distinguish between the
universe and God in the ultimate sense. The distinction has arisen on account of our
maintaining an individuality of our own as physical bodies, social units, psychological
egos, etc.
The Yoga-Vasishtha tells us that the highest form of meditation is an inward affirmation
of the cosmic presence of Brahman. This is what is known as Brahma-Abhyasa. The
form which the mind takes in this meditation is known as Brahmakara-Vritti, the
psychosis which assumes the form of the cosmic substance. An ordinary psychological
operation is called Vishayakara-Vritti, or the object-oriented psyche. In Brahmakara-
Vritti the object outside becomes a part of the Cosmic Subject. Here, the mind assumes
the largest possible status of itself. Its dimension reaches the utmost logical limits. The
mind cannot exist without an object before it. The existence of the mind is the existence
The Philosophy of Religion by Swami Krishnananda
The Philosophy of Religion by Swami Krishnananda 88
89
of the object. In fact, the mind is only a name that is given to consciousness
contemplating something outside itself. When consciousness is aware of an object, it is
called mind. The mind cannot be there if the object is not there. What happens to the
mind in meditation? It gets withdrawn into consciousness. The Vishayakara-Vritti, or
the objectified consciousness, becomes universalised consciousness, which is
Brahmakara-Vritti. Then it no more exists as a mental function. There is no operation of
any kind, because all operations are forms of externalised awareness. It is consciousness
assuming a cosmic form and affirming its status as such when Brahman becomes its
content. Since, here, consciousness has no object outside it, there is no perceptional or
epistemological activity. Consciousness is aware of itself, and in being aware of itself, it
is aware of all things; and to be aware of all things is to be aware of itself (Tat-tvam-asi).
In this comprehensive attitude of consciousness, it becomes the very principle of
intelligence pervading the whole universe. This supreme principle operating everywhere
is what is designated as the Virat-Purusha, or the Universal Person. In the
Bhagavadgita, there is a description of the Virat, when it is told that Lord Krishna
assumed the cosmic form. This is the form which consciousness takes when it permeates
and enters into every fibre of creation. The universe does not any more exist as a
conglomeration of particulars or as objects of sense. It stands transfigured as a whole in
the totality of cosmic subjectivity. This Total Subject envisaging the Total Object is
known as Ishvara-consciousness, or God-Awareness, the original creative performance
of the Almighty. One has to humbly try to induce into oneself this awareness in deep
meditation. Meditation is our graduated participation in the consciousness of this
enveloping fullness. It is achieved by degrees. The divine consciousness manifests itself
in stages in the evolutionary processes of the universe. Even the little individual mind
here, as a person, is a degree of that very consciousness. But here, in the case of man, it
has descended to so low a state that it has identified itself with the physical form and is
unable to feel its presence in other forms. The all-pervading consciousness has come
down to the physical forms and has become individual bodies and objects. The lowest
descent has taken such a morbid shape that it cannot recognise its kinship with the rest
of the world. It has got tied up to the four walls of this tiny body and it cannot visualise
itself in other such bodies. But, though it cannot consciously feel its presence in others,
yet, subconsciously, or unconsciously, it is pulled towards other things, for it is, after all,
present there at the invisible depths and centres of things. Consciousness cannot be
destroyed; it is immortal and undividedly present. The unconscious pull exerted by its
own presence in other things is the reason behind attractions, affections, loves and
spirits of organisation in creation, from the lowest forms of the gyration of the atoms to
the galaxies that spin through endless space.
These are some of the ways of philosophical meditation and rational enquiry. There are
other types of meditation still, from which a few have been selected here as specimens of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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asking or seeking, has to arise from a source and centre which cannot belong to this
world.
This novel idea has become the subject of a variety of discussions in philosophical
circles. The consequences following from this idea have managed to elude the grasp of
commonsense. Such an idea as this cannot be an object of sense. It does not arise by the
operations of the senses in respect of the world. We do not see things and then begin to
entertain this idea, because there is nothing in the world which can evoke such an idea
in the mind. Nothing seen can be regarded as a source of this idea. The idea should be a
priori, as they call it; i.e., it must be inherent in man. The things of the world cannot
contribute anything to the generation of this thought in the human mind. As this idea is
associated with All-Being, the Being which comprehends all things, its affirmation
becomes a conscious acceptance of the totality of existence. In scriptures like the Yoga-
Vasishtha, a type of meditation of this kind is called Brahma-Bhavana, which is the
assertion of absoluteness free from all relative associations.
Brahman is the Absolute, and one cannot meditate on Brahman, because it is inclusive
of even the meditator himself. Man cannot meditate on God because God includes the
human location. Thus, to endeavour to meditate on the omnipresence of God would be a
simultaneous attempt to abolish one s own individual existence. When God is, man
ceases to be. This is a subtle result that would insinuate itself into the effort at
meditation on the supremacy of All-Being. God, thus, ceases to be an object of individual
contemplation. God is the Supreme Subject which contemplates Itself as the All. One,
generally, regards oneself as the subject, and what is contemplated upon as the object.
But in the case of God, conceived in the true sense of the term, the meditating
consciousness affiliates itself with the object in such an intimate manner that in this
inward association of the meditator with the object of meditation it would appear that
the object itself is in a state of meditation. In a heightened form of meditation in this
way, the meditating spirit enters into the body of the object with such force that it
dissolves itself in the object, as rivers melt down in the ocean. In a sense, it may be said
that no one is meditating on God, because that someone is a part of God s all-
comprehensive Being. Then, who would do the meditation? When one goes deep into
this investigative spirit, it would be realised that it is a meditation with which God is
bathing Himself. It is God becoming conscious of Himself, or the universe getting
illumined into its own self-conscious attitude. One cannot distinguish between the
universe and God in the ultimate sense. The distinction has arisen on account of our
maintaining an individuality of our own as physical bodies, social units, psychological
egos, etc.
The Yoga-Vasishtha tells us that the highest form of meditation is an inward affirmation
of the cosmic presence of Brahman. This is what is known as Brahma-Abhyasa. The
form which the mind takes in this meditation is known as Brahmakara-Vritti, the
psychosis which assumes the form of the cosmic substance. An ordinary psychological
operation is called Vishayakara-Vritti, or the object-oriented psyche. In Brahmakara-
Vritti the object outside becomes a part of the Cosmic Subject. Here, the mind assumes
the largest possible status of itself. Its dimension reaches the utmost logical limits. The
mind cannot exist without an object before it. The existence of the mind is the existence
The Philosophy of Religion by Swami Krishnananda
The Philosophy of Religion by Swami Krishnananda 88
89
of the object. In fact, the mind is only a name that is given to consciousness
contemplating something outside itself. When consciousness is aware of an object, it is
called mind. The mind cannot be there if the object is not there. What happens to the
mind in meditation? It gets withdrawn into consciousness. The Vishayakara-Vritti, or
the objectified consciousness, becomes universalised consciousness, which is
Brahmakara-Vritti. Then it no more exists as a mental function. There is no operation of
any kind, because all operations are forms of externalised awareness. It is consciousness
assuming a cosmic form and affirming its status as such when Brahman becomes its
content. Since, here, consciousness has no object outside it, there is no perceptional or
epistemological activity. Consciousness is aware of itself, and in being aware of itself, it
is aware of all things; and to be aware of all things is to be aware of itself (Tat-tvam-asi).
In this comprehensive attitude of consciousness, it becomes the very principle of
intelligence pervading the whole universe. This supreme principle operating everywhere
is what is designated as the Virat-Purusha, or the Universal Person. In the
Bhagavadgita, there is a description of the Virat, when it is told that Lord Krishna
assumed the cosmic form. This is the form which consciousness takes when it permeates
and enters into every fibre of creation. The universe does not any more exist as a
conglomeration of particulars or as objects of sense. It stands transfigured as a whole in
the totality of cosmic subjectivity. This Total Subject envisaging the Total Object is
known as Ishvara-consciousness, or God-Awareness, the original creative performance
of the Almighty. One has to humbly try to induce into oneself this awareness in deep
meditation. Meditation is our graduated participation in the consciousness of this
enveloping fullness. It is achieved by degrees. The divine consciousness manifests itself
in stages in the evolutionary processes of the universe. Even the little individual mind
here, as a person, is a degree of that very consciousness. But here, in the case of man, it
has descended to so low a state that it has identified itself with the physical form and is
unable to feel its presence in other forms. The all-pervading consciousness has come
down to the physical forms and has become individual bodies and objects. The lowest
descent has taken such a morbid shape that it cannot recognise its kinship with the rest
of the world. It has got tied up to the four walls of this tiny body and it cannot visualise
itself in other such bodies. But, though it cannot consciously feel its presence in others,
yet, subconsciously, or unconsciously, it is pulled towards other things, for it is, after all,
present there at the invisible depths and centres of things. Consciousness cannot be
destroyed; it is immortal and undividedly present. The unconscious pull exerted by its
own presence in other things is the reason behind attractions, affections, loves and
spirits of organisation in creation, from the lowest forms of the gyration of the atoms to
the galaxies that spin through endless space.
These are some of the ways of philosophical meditation and rational enquiry. There are
other types of meditation still, from which a few have been selected here as specimens of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]