There are times when we can get upset / angry with the behaviour of someone else. How to respond? Philosophy is easy, but the practical implementation is more difficult. The only certainty is that we will get plenty of opportunities to practise!

There was a recent occasion where I felt annoyed, I didn’t like the feeling of rising anger so sat down and read a book of short poems. Picking a couple at random, the first I came across where.

“From now on please try, all of you, to perfect your own nature instead of looking around to see who is obstructing you or standing in your way.”

– Sri Chinmoy [1]

It was a beautiful irony I picked this one first. Because all my unhappiness was due to feeling obstructed by someone else!

The second was:

“You have had an unpleasant experience, and you will not be happy until you stop thinking about it.”

– Sri Chinmoy [2]

The third was:

“Everything in life is a choice.”

– Sri Chinmoy [3]

Just reading these three poems was an excellent antidote and immediately took away the worst of my negative emotion. In that situation, I couldn’t think of anything better to calm myself down.

It also left a good incentive to try and implement the first aphorism to work on myself and change the way of reacting to certain situations. Read On…

The happiest man in God’s creation.

Make yourself known to humanity:
Its dark jealousy will make you unhappy.
Make yourself known to yourself:
You will unquestionably be
The happiest man in God’s entire creation.

Sri Chinmoy [1]

It might be interesting to have a look at the philosophical development of happiness in a historical context. A good place to begin a search for happiness might not be in Europe during the middle ages where life must have been pretty hard for most people, with seemingly constant wars, the threat of disease, hunger and religious superstitions all rife. Especially it would seem for women. (Please don’t burn that witch, before she cooks me my dinner) For many the idea of dying and going to a beautiful heaven was all that was worth living for! The Renaissance began a new chapter in western history and the development of perhaps a new meaning of happiness.

Take for instance Francis Hutcheson, who was born in 1694 in Ireland, to Scottish parents and later moved back to Glasgow. He is generally regarded as the founding father of the Scottish Enlightenment. He believed that man universally carried within himself the means to learn how to be virtuous and helpful to others. Men served others not because they had no choice in it, if they wanted to get along with others, but because they realized they actually enjoyed doing it. (By the way, women still really had no choice in it!) He believed that helping others suffused us with a sense of well-being and pleasure. Being good meant doing good to others. Virtue (and to some extent the ten commandments!) required it, but our feelings confirmed it.

The link between feelings and happiness was important. Man was born to make other’s lives more pleasant, and to be wicked or vicious was to be miserable and unhappy. A delight in the good of others becomes the basis of our sense of right and wrong. We decided that what helps and pleases a person, is good, because it gives us pleasure. What injures him is bad, because it causes us pain. Men begin to realize that the happiness of others is also their own happiness. Some vulgar people assumed, mistakenly, that happiness meant the gratification of the physical desires: food, drink, and sex. But for Hutcheson the highest form of happiness was making others happy. The desire to be moral and virtuous, to treat others with kindness, and the desire to be free were universal, and human beings wanted them because it made them happy.
Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1776 enshrined these same ideals in writing for the American people. Jefferson believed that happiness was the aim of life, and that virtue was the foundation of happiness. He wrote that, all men are endowed by their creator with inherent and inalienable rights; among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Read On…

This is a guest post by Manatita

In this essay, the writer will first show the essentials of Yama and Niyama and its relation to Yoga, and will conclude with the practical aspect of how these two ?abstinences?, has affected his daily life and Yoga practice.

Yama and Niyama are the first steps in Yoga practice. They are considered the foundations of Yoga. They are the first two limbs of the eight-fold Path of Patanjali – the ancient sage – the rest being:-

• Asana – bodily postures. They combine a series of exhaustive exercises, widely known in the West as Hatha Yoga, for the health and discipline of the physical. They are also useful for the movement of the life-force and the attainment of the Higher Yoga.
• Pranayama – control of the life-force. It involves the inhaling, retention and exhaling of breath.
• Pratyahara – withdrawal of the senses from the external world
• Dharana – concentration – control of or steadying of the mind on a particular object to the exclusion of everything else.
• Dhyana – the gazing or fixing of the mind on a Higher Consciousness. Sri Chinmoy, in his book The Silent teaching, 1985, refers to it as conscious self-expansion?.?silence, energizing and fulfilling?the eloquent expression of the inexpressible?
• Samadhi – profound contemplation or the tuning of the inner self with the Universal Self. This is a profound state and achieved by only a few. (Gibson, WB: The Key to Yoga, 1958)

The Great Pyramids – Egypt

Within man, there are two aspects. There is his real inner, divine self. There is also the body and intellect which, at his present stage of evolution, consider himself to be a separate egoist entity. However, there comes a time when man realises that he is not the body and intellect. His real existence is a state of being; a consciousness at one with the Universal consciousness.

The great pyramids of Egypt hold a real significance in this great spiritual quest.

Firstly, there is great significance in an equilateral triangle. The three sides refer to the tri-natured aspect of God: God the creator, God the preserver and God the transformer. This tri-natured aspect of God, can also be seen in the analogy of a seeker’s journey. There is the starting point, which represents his birth in the matter of creation, there is then the long journey of evolution and inner discovery; finally ending in the seeker’s realisation of his true identity. At this point, the seeker loses his identity and re-submerges in his original divine consciousness. Thus there are 3 aspects to a seeker’s journey. This tri-natured aspect is perfectly reflected in an equilateral triangle, which boasts a perfect symmetry. Within the 3 lines of the triangle, there is the area within. Thus we can say that the one is in the three and the three encompasses the one. This is the nature of God, 3 in 1 and 1 in 3. Thus it is said that God has four faces. Like points on the Compass; the four aspects of God, represent a different aspect of his nature.

The shape of the pyramids is chosen very carefully to reflect these underlying aspects of the divine unity. The pyramid has 4 faces. Three faces to the heavens, and one face to the earth. The pyramid is composed of 4 equilatoral triangles, which all manifest the cosmic nature of God 3 in 1 and 1 in 3. The pyramids were built with the greatest precision. It was not built by slaves, but by adepts who had mastery over nature. They used their understanding of sacred laws to make stones weightless. They could reduce the gravitational pull on huge blocks of stone, thus enabling them to be effortlessly used. The idea of a huge army of slaves building the pyramid, has only been created because many modern egyptologists cannot conceive that the ancient Egyptians may have had technology not available to modern man.

The primary purpose of the great pyramids was a place for spiritual initiation. It was in the sacred confines of the great pyramids that initiates would undergo the process of attaining real illumination. The pyramids were chosen because they are an outer symbolism of man’s inner quest. The spirituality of ancient Egypt was concerned with initiates seeking the Divine within themselves. Unfortunately, over time, the spiritual initiates who guarded the secrets of realisation, lost influence and over time, the pyramids became used for different purposes. This is why it is hard to find evidence of these early spiritual practices.

Two Books which throw much light on the spiritual significance of the great Pyramids include:

• A Search in Secret Egypy by Paul Brunton – who spent a night alone in the Great Pyramid itself.
• Initiation by Elizabeth Haich. In her books she recounts memories of a former incarnation in Ancient Egypt.

Photo by: Unmesh Swanson, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries.

Philosophy and spirituality share some common ideas, but also differ in their approach and practise of the truth. To some people there is a wide divergence between philosophy and spirituality. However, to some extent, they share some similarities and both have their role to play in the discovery of truth.

1. Mind and Heart.

Philosophy deals primarily with the mind. It tries to understand, solve and explain problems through mental clarity and written explanation. Philosophy can seek to prove the existence of God, but this proof is always through the medium of the human intellect. In philosophy, it is the mind that is predominant.

"Philosophy is in the thinking mind. Philosophy is of the searching mind. Philosophy is for the illumining mind."

[1] – Sri Chinmoy

Spirituality accepts the mind can have a role to play; but, at the same time it can never be satisfied solely with the reasoning of the mind. Spirituality wishes to experience the heart of reality, and not just examine life from the fringes. Spirituality is not so much concerned with proving God’s existence; spirituality teaches us to make the God a living presence in our consciousness.

"Spirituality is in the aspiring heart. Spirituality is of the liberating soul. Spirituality is for the fulfilling and immortalising God."

[1] – Sri Chinmoy

2. Proof vs Experience.

Philosophy seeks to prove and convince others. For example, philosophers seek to prove either the existence or non existence of God. A philosopher can enlighten others to a limited extent. But, in practise, few are converted by the philosophy of others. Even the most persuasive and convincing explanations of God’s existence leave us unsatisfied. Spirituality is not concerned with convincing others; spirituality is primarily a matter of personal experience. Spirituality is not something to be talked about, but, lived. It may be impossible to explain our spiritual experiences to others, but this does not matter. The belief or disbelief of other people does not impact on our experience. Practising spirituality can give us a genuine feeling of inner peace and connection with our source. When we develop this connection we have good feeling towards others, but, we do not feel responsible for their beliefs.

3. The Role of Consciousness.

The essence of spirituality is consciousness. A spiritual seeker seeks to bring to the fore his divine qualities of peace and light. These are not mere words, but, become a living presence. Philosophy can talk about these states of consciousness, but on its own it cannot bring them into the consciousness of the reader. The highest philosophy can lead a seeker along the right path; but, ultimately philosophy has limitations in moving the reader from a mental understanding to a direct experience.

4. Complexity and Simplicity

Spirituality loves simplicity. Philosophy loves complexity. Both have their roles to play; but, it is often through simplicity that we can most easily reach the goal. Philosophy takes delight in pursuing multiple lines of inquiry. Hypotheses are tested against the strictures of logic and the most developed reasoning of the mind. Spirituality does not criticize the path of the mind, but, says to the aspiring seeker. "Dive Deep within. All questions can be answered in your silent mind and aspiring heart."

Philosophy takes us along the path to our destination. It can remove the ignorance and prejudices of the mind. By illumining the mind it can aspire us to understand and grow into the truth. Spirituality urges us to make the truth a living reality. Spirituality and philosophy need not be at loggerheads. Spirituality informs philosophy, it gives added meaning to the illumination of the mind.

[1] Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality by Sri Chinmoy