Photo by Joy Anna Hodges

Everything maps onto everything else.  To look out over the night sky is to look out to the entire universe.  Yet it revolves around a single point—the pole star (north star). Taking a closer look, the handle of the seven-starred big dipper points to the pole star.  As the seasons change, the dipper rotates 360 degrees around the pole starThe dipper’s new position in each of the four seasons creates the swastika shape (and the cross of Christianity) with the center, the pole star, being the heart and soul of the universe.  This maps onto (correlates with) the central core of each and every individual.  

The Rishi value (the central core, the Knower, you) is the finest fabric of the soul, your essence.  The Rishis can be sensed above the head.  However, if the relationship with that is not healthy, it can be a terrible distraction. More importantly the Rishi quality can be experienced deep within your being, the soul, the Jiva. The Rishis then, are the laws of nature (Dharma) that are the most refined quality of nature that comprises the Jiva (individual soul).  So it is through the Rishis within that the depth of the Self–and through that, God–are known.

Our lives revolve around that one point, the essence of our being, the depth of our soul, the Jiva.  Like a two-sided coin, the Jiva is the deepest aspect of our being still in relative existence. The other side of that coin is called the Atman, the (Bindu) point gateway to the Absolute Transcendental Source of all that is, i.e. God.  To access the Divine is to know God through the Jiva. That is the meaning of “the kingdom of heaven dwells within.” The totality of existence dwells within you. As said in the Bhagavad Gita, all the Gods dwell within you.

Yet it is the syndrome of humanity that people look outside of themselves to find God.  The mapping is that God dwells outside of us, over our heads and above. Though that mapping has validity, it leads so many astray. Such echoes of Truth, perceived as Truth, hold Truth at bay. It becomes an enticing astral level of spirituality. Worship of God then, so easily goes out of balance and becomes a life-consuming, intoxicating distraction.  Indeed, the longing for God often reaches outside ourselves. Yet as the Gita and the Bible both say, the kingdom of heaven dwells within.

To find God is to refine and strengthen our experience of the Jiva, the Rishi value, the Self.  It is an inward process, not an outward one. It is, of course, fine and feels nurturing, healing, and fantastic to sing the praise of God as outside and above us, but the evolutionary process is in the opposite direction, namely within.  Over-emphasis of the outward direction then pulls us away from the God we feel we are reaching toward. To outwardly sing the praises of God on a Sunday afternoon in your church or temple is wonderful and is one thing. To turn it into your daily practice is quite another.  God is actually revealed by the Self, to the Self, and through the Self, i.e. the Jiva.    

This is why it is taught that we repeat Mantras silently.  This directs the awareness to and through the Jiva, the Rishi value.  Within the depth of our being, we already are One with God. We already know the Rishis.  We can all sense that to some degree, though may say it in different ways. So when a Mantra is repeated silently, even if the pronunciation, rhythm, etc. are not exact, the deep physiology with the Jiva corrects it.

It is said in the Shastras that ten rules of proper pronunciation must be followed to prevent any distortion to be driven into the physiology.  In fact, the Vedangas are said to be dedicated to that topic. To sing the praises of God on occasion is beautiful and fine but the actual regular daily practice is to be done silently. Also, it is best to leave the outward recitation to trained Pandits and those raised with proper enunciation.  In fact, to hear Westerners try to speak out Sanskrit words can have a coarse feel to it. That is why in the temple, it is best to listen to those whose physiologies and dictions have been cultured from childhood to pronounce Vedic recitations properly.  Yet at the same time, reaching outward for God can fill the heart and feel so nurturing and alluring… echoes of Truth holding Truth at bay. The path to God is indeed elusive and subtle, like traversing the razor’s edge, or passing through the eye of the needle.  

We see in most every religion the reaching outside of ourselves for the Divine.  Some call it being born again. Some call it attaining enlightenment, Bhakti, or Nirvana. Some say through that, God walks with them and talks with them and heals their body, mind, and life.  They say they are saved. Unchecked, it hooks, intoxicates, and becomes the source of fanaticism foundational to so many religious practices.

With meditation and the Advanced Techniques, the experience of the Jiva (the Rishi value) is refined and strengthened.  It does not promise instant enlightenment. Human evolution is a cultivation, not an detonation. Steady hand on the rudder.  Staying on the path with distraction-free rationality is the key. The brain has two aspects… loving heart (Bhakti) and rational mind (Gyana).  As illustrated in the Gita, true Bhakti comes once Gyana is solid. Know your Jiva through the Rishi value. Know God through your Jiva. JivoDevaha means the two sides of the one coin: Jiva (the Self, i.e. the Rishi value) and the Atman (Deva, God).

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.