Taken from Sankhya Philosophy - Nine Steps to the Self by Jim Scarano Published by Bridge to Peace Publications
Street Address: 149 Dartford Rd Thornleigh, NSW AUSTRALIA 2120
THE FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS FROM THROUOUT THE BOOK
LARGE PORTIONS HAVE BEEN TRUNCATED ON OCCOUNT OF SPACE LIMITATIONS.
Background to Sankhya Philosophy
In one of India's most renowned Scriptures - the Shrimad Bhagavatam - in chapter 25, verse 7 of the third canto, a saintly lady is speaking to her son. She addresses her son as "Lord", being fully aware that He is an Avatar - a descended manifestation of God.
She says: NIRVINNA NITARAM BHUMAN ASAT-INDRIYA-TARSHANAT YENA-SAMBHAVYA MANENA PRAPANNA-ANDHAM TAMAH BHAVO
"I am so very much disgusted, oh my Lord, by the agitation of these temporary material senses; and on account of which I have fallen into the abyss of ignorance."
The lady's name was Devahuti, wife of the Yogi Kardama Muni, and her divine son was Lord Kapila.
Lord Kapila's reply to his mother constitutes what came to be known as Sankhya Philosophy. The word sankhya in Sanskrit means measure, counting, enumerating or categorising. Lord Kapila enumerates the ways by which ordinary beings living in the world and bound by family ties, social commitments and economic entanglements can find the way back to their own true nature which is peace, love and unity with the divine.
Lord Kapila says in chapter 26, verse 1:-
"My dear mother, now I shall describe to you the different categories of the Absolute Truth, knowing which any person can be released from the influence of the Gunas."
Devahuti's condition is not unlike ours. It would seem that this condition of perplexity, confusion and frustration, brought about by the association with material elements and sensory objects, is independent of time, place and personality.
Devahuti, the mother of an Avatar, is seeking enlightenment, refuge, release from the clutches of the powerful Gunas, that seem to bind and entangle the being. Many of us feel as if we have fallen into a trap, a rut, an abyss we can't get out of.
".....I am disgusted, agitated, bewildered..." Devahuti says. Later on, in verse 29 she continues:- ".....Please let me know what that system of yoga is and how many ways are there by which one may understand in truth that sublime yoga..."
The Bhagavatam is not the only place where Sankhya is mentioned. Thousands of years after the advent of Lord Kapila, we find Lord Krishna advising His disciple and friend Arjuna about Sankhya. In verse 39, chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna tells Arjuna:-
"I have declared to you the analytical knowledge of Sankhya Philosophy. Now listen to the knowledge of Karma Yoga...."
Much later, in chapter 18 verses 13 and 14 we get another glimpse of the depth of Sankhya Philosophy from Krishna's reference to it. He says:-
"Oh mighty armed Arjuna, learn from me the five factors which bring about the accomplishment of any action, as declared in Sankhya Philosophy....."
In chapter 5 verse 4 Krishna makes another reference to Sankhya Yoga as being equal to Karma and Bhakti Yoga combined.
He says:-
"Only the ignorant speak of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga as being different from Sankhya Yoga...."
The narrator of the story of Devahuti and her divine son Kapila concludes by saying, in chapter 33, verse 1:-
"Thus
Devahuti, the mother of Lord Kapila, and wife of Kardama Muni, became freed
from all ignorance..... She offered her obeisances unto the Lord, the author of
the principles of the Sankhya System of Philosophy, which is the background of
liberation."
Some readers may be familiar with the concept of different "bodies" which are said to comprise the total human person. In terms of the physical, subtle, causal and spiritual bodies the Sankhya system can be seen to agree. If we group the first five elements into one, you have the physical or gross body. The Mind and the Intellect can be seen to comprise the subtle body. Similarly the ego is the causal body being the part that causes you to be and do and want the things you desire. And finally, the Self is your spiritual self, that part which is eternal and beyond the perception of the other three.
Figure 1: Universal Elemental Substances Grouped by Bodies
OVERVIEW
This chapter addresses the scalar nature of the elements.
We will find that, because of the order in which the elements occur, certain functions, qualities or attributes can be predicted in much the same way as we can predict the qualities of the scientific elements because of the tabular and ordered nature which has been established.
Presenting the elements in scalar form will make it possible to discuss various aspects of philosophical theory as well as map out a plan towards Self-knowledge.
The concept of "scale" is most useful in understanding how something works, what is its nature is and what can be predicted from it, its evolution and development. A scale has some sort of predictability. You can extrapolate information that may not be obvious from scattered data. A scale has a beginning and an end. You know where you are going if you follow a scale. And you can look back and see where you have been.
There are various kinds of scales. Some are linear; i.e. the progression from one step to another is constant. Some scales are exponential: the interval from one step to the next increases with each step. Some have a mixture of intervals, such as the musical scale, in which the intervals between steps are not even.
The subject of Sankhya Yoga Philosophy is the study of the scale of elemental substances which make up the human person. Indeed, Sankhya Philosophy in its fullness takes into account the details of the processes which precede the appearance of the human person in creation.
We are going to examine various aspects of the scale of elemental substances as presented by the Vedas and the Philosophy of Sankhya in particular. You will discover that we are dealing with a scale of universal importance. The "steps" of the scale will bring us to "ourselves" in the end. There are nine steps to this scale. The Self is the last stop.
First of all let us just look at the elements themselves in brief in order to get acquainted with the elemental definitions according to the Vedic tradition.
Earth:
All that is solid, has shape, form, solidity and mass. Characterised by the sense of smell. The grossest of human foods. The "body" of all planets and moons. All physical objects such as furniture, clothes, buildings, equipment, etc. Beings whose body is solely earth include rocks, gems, crystals, etc.
Water
Pure water has the quality of taste but no odour. Takes the shape of the container. Can move in and on the element earth. Holds the shape of earth objects. Is the cleanser and purifier. Another human food. Beings whose body is solely of water include rivers, lakes, snowflakes, oceans, etc. Water consumes (dissolves) earth.
Fire
Heat and light. Assists digestion. Gives objects their form and colour. Warms up the earth to assist in the growth of plants and vegetables. Its characteristic is sight. Beings whose body is essentially fire include suns and stars. Fire consumes both water and earth.
Air
Gives objects the quality of lightness. Its characteristic is touch, through which we sense temperature, shape and texture. It is the life-breath of all living things. Air supports fire, and penetrates both water and earth. Some beings whose body is solely air include Winds, Hurricanes, Tornadoes and other entities such as twirlies and twisties.
Ether
Known as the universal transformer. Above it is the subtle world, below it the gross world. Its characteristic is sound. It "contains" all the elements below it. We can appreciate it as "space" for our work. The Sanskrit for Ether is Akasha and is the realm which retains everything which has been spoken. When we have an "insight" we are accessing the ether - and it usually happens when we are very quiet and silent. The sense associated with space is listening. We would be wise to start "listening" to everything spoken as well as all other sounds that are made. Each sound contains valuable information about the situation in front of us. Ether is close to the next element above it (Mind). It is imperative that we "cross it" before we are able to tackle the mind itself. Beings whose body is essentially composed of ether are the so-called fairies, and other so-called "spiritual" essences or "guides".
Mind
The mind is characterised by thinking. Its objects of sense are thought, memories and imagination. The mind only contains mental image pictures of previously perceived sensations. The mind is larger than space in terms of dimension. The mind is usually divided into three areas in order to understand and discuss its function.
The top or "conscious" layer mind is called Buddhi and is that part of mind which can discriminate truth from untruth, it can cognize, constate and differentiate. Its operation is in the now and is the part which connects to the senses. There is cognition rather than re-cognition; seeing things as they are rather than comparing with what is already known, etc.
The middle or "subconscious" layer is called Manas and is responsible for the day-to-day housekeeping of our affairs. It compares, categorises, stores information for future use and can associate and compose new pictures made up of parts of previously perceived sensations.
The inner or "unconscious" layer of mind is called Chitta and is the seat of memory, un-finished business and the sense of purpose. This area of mind is not commonly accessible. It is, nonetheless, the basis for all our actions, decisions and inner so-called urges to do.
The senses associated with the Mind, then, are: Discrimination for the Buddhi; Association for the Manas; and Recall for the Chitta. Beings whose body consists of purely mind are called ghosts. It is quite possible that a mind which has been extremely attached to some physical object or person, lingers on or hovers around and can be "felt" by some people who have developed their subtle senses. The mind penetrates space, and all the other elements below it. It can "contain" all the other elements below it in "mental" form.
Intellect
This element is what has been commonly called intuition. It has nothing to do with so-called being smart or having a high IQ. It does not ordinarily function in the normal course of executing one's affairs because we ordinarily operate in the middle or subconscious layer of mind. To allow the Buddhi to operate, what is required is a connection with the senses and a falling still of the Manas. The intellect cannot be forced to function. It is always ready to function provided the obstructions are removed - i.e. the discursive manas and the agitation in the body. It is not easy to conceive of a being who is pure intelligence from our point of view because we are dealing with a substance which is subtler than thought - i.e. it cannot be thought about. We can only perceive the action of intelligence by what it does in a living organism including plants. Consider, for example how the body repairs itself when wounded or how species reproduce themselves. It might be presumed that if there are angels (such as guardian angels) these "beings" could be made from the substance of pure intelligence (our intuition).
Ego
This is the actual final frontier for us to cross. This is the operation of the Intelligence in response to memories held in the Chitta (memory). The substance of which ego is made is borrowed from the substance of the Self itself. We turn this substance into an image, as it were, and we call ourselves Somebody or Something. Once again, we cannot "see" the ego, because it is subtler than anything we have senses for. The essential substance of the ego is the clinging to an identity which is formed or acquired as a result of desire - the desire to be something or somebody. This substance is held in the sense of being this some one or some thing - it is not "imagined" - that would be a function of the mind. The mind cannot actually see the ego. The only way to "see" the ego is to "be" ourselves.
Self
Just as our body is a piece of the one earth, the one water, the one air, the one fire, the one space; so too our mind is of the one mind and our "self" is of the one Self. The closer we get to this realisation, the less we think of ourselves as separate beings, but part of the one being. WE ARE. Existence is our nature. The essence of our being is consciousness. Just pure consciousness. Fully aware, constant, unchanging, untouched by time and events (mind and world). Just witnessing time and space, and content in our own beingness, being totally happy, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. As soon as we desire to do something or go somewhere, then a vehicle (the ego and the rest) is immediately made available to us by our own will. We are the creators of our own life - if we want one.
What follows is an analysis of each element in association
with a number of characteristics, function, properties, etc. Thirteen scales, labelled A to M have been defined in an attempt to present some of the rudimentary implications of Sankhya philosophy.
I don't think that anyone actually denies the existence of these three latter elements - the Mind, the Intellect and the Ego. Opinions may differ, however, about their nature, constitution and definition. Consider for a moment, for example, the question: "Where is the mind located?" Modern psychologists and philosophers have discussed this question for a long time. Now consider the implication of the term "location". Location implies a position in space. But we see that mind is placed one rank higher than space in these ancient texts. And that implies, according to the hierarchical arrangement of the elements, that mind is finer than space.
In other words it is beyond the dimension of space and is therefore not contained in it or bound by it. And that is why we can't "find" it. Furthermore it is clear from the analysis of the senses we have dealt with so far, that none of the senses discussed could perceive mind since the perceptual density as defined earlier would be zero, which implies that it cannot be smelled, tasted, seen, felt or heard. (See Error! Reference source not found. on page *).
Mind and Intellect differentiated
Also, according to the same analysis, the mind can be perceived by the intellect or at least by the sense organ which corresponds to the intellect. This organ is unknown to western science but it has a name in SANSKRIT called buddhi (Note: Buddha = one who is in constant touch with buddhi or "enlightened").
The working of our mind, our thoughts, ideas, mental speculations etc., can be "observed" by our intellect. In fact sometimes we check ourselves by saying "What I was thinking just a moment ago is wrong - I can see that now". Also when we are in a reverie, dreaming or "thinking", it is the intellect that pulls the mind back under control.
On the other hand we also experience the case of the mind not being able to "see" the intellect as when we are so much stuck in our own thoughts and opinions that we don't allow our intellect to function and hence we don't "see reason".
That the intellect is an element apart from the mind can best be appreciated if we think of the mind as the work-horse or the "computer" and the intellect as the driver or the computer programmer. The mind can't do anything by itself; it has to be directed. When it does apparently work by itself it is usually just engaged in fruitless circling thoughts that lead nowhere and accomplish nothing. But when the intellect controls the mind, that information is handled in a more organised fashion and the appropriate solution reached.
Material and Spiritual Qualities
Our quest is to realise ourselves as we are. What are we? We are constantly changing into something else are we not? Our bodies are changing, our habits are changing, our ideas and beliefs are changing, the way we feel about things and about ourselves is changing, and our roles are changing...
So is there anything about us that is not changing?
Spirit (or Truth) is defined as that which does not change in Time, Space or circumstance. We have come to appreciate this as the sense of being, attributable only to the Self - which is the only thing spiritual.
Let us consider what some of the characteristics of the spiritual realm are as compared to those in the material realm. We will find that we can function in both or in either depending on our consciousness.
The scriptures proclaim that the whole of the eight elements excluding the Self are "material" (See p *).
We might make a distinction, however, between the upper three elements and the lower five and say that mind, intelligence and ego are made up of subtle substance (or matter) and the lower five are made of gross (physical) matter. But notwithstanding the subtlety or density of these "matters" they are all "material", the whole eight of them.
Qualities of the material world:
- Pleasure decreases with repetition of stimulus.
- Energy lost through activity, talking, singing, working, etc.
- Love not possible without attraction, liking, pleasure, etc.
- Sense of lack, incompleteness, separateness, longing for something higher, etc.
- Everything decays and dies.
- There is birth, death, disease, old age and suffering.
- Lust for power, control, independence, knowledge and sensory gratification.
- Take away from full and the remainder is not full.
- Ruled by the Mind and the Ego and subject to Time and death.
Qualities of the Spiritual world:
- Pleasure increases with repetition of stimulus.
- The fabric of consciousness is Love, Unity, One-ness, Knowledge and Bliss.
- Sense of completeness at each level although pleasure increases with each perception.
- Sense of one-ness. Every one is different but the same at the same time.
- No need for Mind - consciousness extends into "past" and "future", there is only "now".
- Nothing dies. Everything is ever-fresh and new.
- No decay, old age or death, nor birth or sickness.
- Feeling independent and yet part of everything - being everything.
- No energy loss through activity, sex, singing, dancing.
- No hate, dislike, aversion, repulsion - these would be Self-contradictory (i.e. you would repel yourself).
- Bliss is ever-increasing - although at any "time" you feel full.
- Take away from full and the remainder is full.
In the material world (and be reminded that the "world" is defined by your own consciousness, not by externals) you look at something or someone beautiful and feel pleasure. The next time you look at the beloved object you feel less pleasure. The pleasure decreases each time and with the passage of time and circumstance. In contrast, in the spiritual world, each time you look at your beloved object you get an increase in pleasure and satisfaction. And each time you think that you could not possibly feel any more pleasure.
In the material world you get exhausted, even from love-making, eating, having a good time, etc. In the spiritual world no energy is lost (there is no friction and no resistance) and you can go on enjoying for ever without limit.
In the material world you have to undergo the process of birth, death, disease and old age, including all the suffering associated with each stage. In the spiritual world there is no birth and no death, no change and no decay. Everything is ever-fresh, new and variegated. You are not limited by time and space. You can be anything or anybody.
The sages have said that if we purify our mind of all desire, ambition, doubt, anxiety, fear, etc., we can perceive the spiritual world here and now. Remember that the higher you go up the scale of elements the greater is the field of operation of the substance comprising the element. So the Essential substance of the Self interpenetrates all the lower spheres. This means that Spirit is here where we are right now. It only takes a certain kind of looking at things. A certain kind of surrender and an acceptance of ourselves and everything that bless this creation with beauty, music, fragrance, etc.
We require to develop spiritual eyes in order to see the spiritual world. When our mind is purified in this way it can then reflect the spiritual world and becomes pure consciousness.
The transition from Spiritual to Material takes place when we claim something for ourselves. For example, you fall in love with someone and everything is wonderful for some time. You are just lovers. Each is trying to please the other. You miss them terribly when they are not there to share with you. You want to share space, time, experiences, etc. Each time you see them the pleasure seems to increase. You are in bliss and ecstasy. Nothing else is quite as important as being with the beloved.
Then you begin to make plans for the future. There's the relations to consider, a house, money, the wedding, the church, the place to live, the school the children will go to, etc. You have now entered the material world where there are differences of opinion, tastes, personal history, personal likes and dislikes, ideas, beliefs, ingrained habitual mannerisms which are often hidden from your conscious awareness, etc. The love has gone. Now you have a struggle to get your way and not appear an idiot in front of your friends and relatives. You have to show something of value in what you are doing. All the considerations about the other person have transferred to considerations about yourself and who you "are". The love you first experienced will never be the same. You have claimed it and have implicitly demanded that it remains yours in your own terms. You have made a claim you have no birthright to. It is a claim made by the acquired ego-identity. It is not Truth any more, but illusion. And there is no future in it.
The same thing happens when we make similar claims for "our" country, our property, our school, our team, our job, etc. The Scriptures say "claim nothing - everything belongs to the Lord". However the Scriptures also go on to say: "enjoy - heaven is spread all over the face of the earth". So the trick is to stay with the feeling of enjoyment and sharing, and not to make any move to claim for oneself that which belongs to the Self - the Self of everyone.
We have spoken about dimensions of experience which are made available through the various senses. We might ask now what are the dimensions of experience for a "Self"-realised person? The Vedas tell us that the nature of Self is "All knowing, all blissful and eternal". Thus the "self" who has "seen" God does not experience ignorance, does not experience death, and does not experience suffering. This has been manifested by many Saints, both in Western and Eastern religious history. When a Saint has achieved love of God (that's what makes him a "Saint") he no longer suffers, even if his body may be afflicted by physical pain or disease or tortured by other living entities. The Saint exhibits knowledge and wisdom which by-passes and surpasses the intellect. (There are many examples of Indian as well as western Sages and Saints who, although quite illiterate and uneducated, spoke very deep philosophical truths found only in the most advanced scriptures).
Many philosophers and teachers have addressed the question of the nature of the "Self". The Sankhya philosophy makes it very clear that the Self may not be "studied" in the same sense that we may study the movements of planets, the process of growth, the chemical constitution of the "scientific" elements, etc.
Inspection of the scale of elements at once shows that the Self, being at the top of the scale, cannot be observed by elements below in the scale. That means that the mind cannot "think" of it; the Intellect cannot "reason" it; the ego cannot "identify" with it, and so on.
According to the Bhagavad Gita ("The Song of God") the Self is a Spiritual element and is eternally separate and different from "material" elements. We should appreciate by now that "element" implies actual substance, form, qualities, attributes, and so on. Just as we appreciate that although we don't "see" air, nonetheless it has its own form, and it just happens that we can "sense" it by feeling etc. So too these other higher and subtler "substances" also have their form and can be "perceived" by the appropriate senses.
It would be naive, to say the least, then, to ask "Can you show me a self?" Even so, we can get a faint understanding of Self if we try to elevate our thinking as far as the element of Ego. At this level, you will recall the "sense" associated with Ego is the sense of being. Now, if we fall very quiet within ourselves and try to contemplate on the sense of being, the question will gradually arise: "What am I, really?" And then we might notice that answers like: "I am an engineer, I am a father, a Christian, an Australian, a man, a woman" etc., etc., are not really what we are.
We should notice that these are simply labels, identifications, or acquired names that we came to adopt in the process of time. We might notice too, that we are, even without any of these designations. In other words being does not depend on the bodily or mental designation. The scriptures refer to these designations as "false ego".
By implication, then, we can see that Self transcends the sense of "I am something". Also, according to the logic we have developed so far, perception of any element takes place from a level higher than that which is perceived. So when a person "sees" that what he has been labelling himself with is false ego, he is said to be self-realised.
Divine Love and Divine Perception
If we pursue the logic we have developed in terms of the scale of perceptivity, we see that we would require another element which can "see" all the so-called "selves". That element has been called by various names in the Scriptures; but whether we say Absolute, or God, or Supreme Being, Paramatma, etc., the essence of the element in question is the same: It is that substance of which all the separated "selves" are its component parts.
Just as we might think of our body and soul as the difference between matter and spirit in us, so too all the souls together are the "body" of the Supreme Soul or Absolute, God, Paramatma, Supreme Being. And as our souls are spirit, so it is that God is only spirit. His entire body is constituted of all the Selves that we are.
The Scriptures say: that "perception" which takes place from the level of the Absolute or God is called Divine Love. So, when God "looks" at us (the "selves"), we experience His love.
The experience of Divine Love is not sensory in the usual sense. Because it is not material. Individuals who experience love of God won't be able to express it in words and often don't try.
Symptomatic of someone who is experiencing love of God is the fact that he feels so completely satisfied that he has no desire for any of the lower, material pleasures. He may still eat, sleep, drink, talk, and live in the world (of sense) but he has no hankering for anything (no Ahankara), he does not lament for the loss of worldly goods and relationships etc. He is what's called "Self-satisfied".
In other words his "self" is satisfied. This shows why an individual who does not have love of God is not completely satisfied. His satisfaction may only pertain to the body, the mind, the intellect and the ego; but unless he is HIMSELF satisfied (unless God perceives him) he will not feel fully satisfied.
Example 10: On the Question of Pollution and Disease
Just a quick look at the scale of elements should show that pollution and disease can occur at any level.
Considering the first five as a group, we may note that a room or a house in disarray, can be explained in terms of the scatter of physical objects (earth) in the wrong places (space). The room or house may not have the necessary amount of light, ventilation, heating, etc. We might find that earth (dust) lies where there should be light (fire). That is to say, the furniture may need a polish and a shine.
What of water and air? If these exceed their proper balance you may end up with dampness or drafts.
Of course we can pollute the outside of buildings with rubbish, sewerage, fumes, smoke, and clutter. Each individual contributes to space and air pollution; and it all has to do with the amount of attention one has when performing an action. Everything we do can and should be done with care for the environment. Because the environment is not ours to clutter and pollute. When we do we poison ourselves and reduce our chances of becoming free and conscious.
We can also pollute the inside of our own body - again, by the inappropriate amounts of each of the elements. Over-eating or drinking are of course the most likely things we do. We often consume too much of the wrong kind of food just for the sake of convenience and time-saving. But are we saving time really? And what do we do with the time saved? We could live a lot longer if we took the time to prepare our meals properly and eat slowly and with thanksgiving in mind, rather than with the thought that we have to get it over with because we have more important things to do.
To be conscious of the appropriate amount of anything we consume, only requires to be in touch with the elements at the time. Our sense of touch gets us in touch with the Air; our sense of smell with the Earth. Our sense of taste with the Water, the sense of sight with Light, and the sense of hearing with Space. It is just a question of being in touch at the time. Our body will tell us immediately if we are about to do something inappropriate.
Using the senses properly will bring about enjoyment, whereas ignorance will bring about pain and suffering - although at the time it may appear to be enjoyment. Ignorance is never bliss.
The diseases resulting from an abuse of the body are well known: lethargy, congestion, indigestion, breathing problems, headaches, tendency to sleep, inability to think, lack of energy, etc.
If we take the level of Mind to assess the kinds of pollution and disease which can occur, we will find that we actually do a lot of damage, even when we do not wish or intend to. Remember that the mind interfaces with the world via the senses. The senses are thus responsible for the contents of the mind. How we use the senses determines whether they are our friends or our enemies. If I look at some object of beauty, I am nourished and feel uplifted inside. The same eyes can look at something unpleasant or even specially designed to arouse my lower nature in a way that may encourage and develop greed, lust and anger.
It is not to say that we must close our eyes to what is happening; that would be ignorance. But we do need to develop the wisdom (the function of Buddhi) to know the process of sensing accompanied by thinking. I should be able to look at the unpleasant object and arrest any thought about it, i.e., I should become immediately aware of the process of thought arising in me and proceed with caution, knowing that the thought may one day give vent to an action which I am sure to regret. Thus I should practice becoming aware of the process of thinking arising from looking.
Similar remarks could be made about the other senses. The sensing is one thing. The thinking which arises out of the sensing is quite another. For example I have just tasted a piece of delicious cake that someone has offered. Now, I have the choice to go with the thought "I think I will have another slice" or "That was delicious thank you", and finish there. How many times do we catch ourselves thinking "I might as well go along with it", just to be socially accepted, or to try and repeat the pleasure!
Example 11: Some Hints on Daily Practices
Be sure to bring the three bodies into alignment before retiring (The Gross body = physical body; The Subtle Body = the mind; The Causal Body = the emotions). The Manas will most likely keep on moving unless subdued by the intellect (Buddhi) to reside with the physical body.
Routine (brief):
Sit or lie down and be sure to actually come in touch with the entire surface of your physical body, through the sense of touch. Follow this with coming in touch with the space immediately surrounding you through hearing. Sustain these two whilst running your attention up and down the spinal column a few times. Finally, maintain the attention on your physical body and lie down to rest.
Routine (Extended)
Be sure to "wind down" on your last activity and properly and completely bring it to a close. Do a few cycles of coming in touch. Go over the main activities of the day and bring them to rest in the mind. Put the whole day behind you and settle down with a passage from Scripture. (Alternately, listen to a short passage of conscious music). Then carry out the brief routine above.
Every day you will be faced with decisions to make. Often these take the form of choosing between two or more possible lines of action. The criterion should be what is needed by the situation at the time (the object of sense of the intellect). Watch for that initial reaction in the mind which enters as a result of habit and do not immediately respond to it. Upon cool examination of the situation it may well be that it fits. If there is any tinge of personal opinion or personal gain in the initial reaction, drop it immediately. Decide for the best for everyone. Be detached but caring; concerned but not overwhelming. Consider the long term outcome as well as the immediate conditions. Aim for a movement upward on the table (the greater good), for everybody concerned, including yourself.
More often than not the choice you will be presented with is likely to be a choice between alternatives. Remember that real choice consists in deliberately and consciously doing or not doing something. Choice is singular, about one thing; not two or more. Choosing between two or more things can be habitual; choosing what is more familiar, more pleasant, and more personally beneficial. This is the work of Manas and habit. It does not necessarily constitute evolution and re-finement. To choose not to do something which habit tells you strongly to do is conscious work on self and results in purification of the Ego.
Similarly, if you choose to do something that you do not particularly like or agree with, will open great areas of cognition and under-standing, and, again, purify the Ego.
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