BAB 4

THE EASTERN PERSPECTIVE

Western thought has been strongly influenced by the We Greek philosophers, who viewed the
intellect as the means by which to reconcile the conflicting forces at work in man. The great
teachers of the East simply accepted that these forces exist and looked inward for illumination.

The Western wisdom tradition is based on the discussion and interpretation of doc trine, whereas
the faiths and philosophies of the East maintain that wisdom comes through the intuitive
understanding of basic truths culminating in the indescribable experience of Enlightenment.

These Truths have found sublime expression in Taoism, the perennial philosophy of China; in the
koans of Japanese Zen Buddhism, the philosophy of paradox; in the poet ry of the Sufi mystics;
in the teachings of Buddha; in the Hindu Upanishads; and in the practice and philosophy of Yoga.

Although the concepts of karma and reincarnation are now widely accepted in the West, along
with the practice of Yoga and meditation, there is still resistance to the wis dom of the East due
to what might be called the cult of the individual. The Zen master, DT Suzuki, who helped to
introduce Zen to America in the 1960s, acknowledged this distinction when he wrote: "Whenever
I see a crucified figure of Christ, I cannot help thinking of the gap that lies deep between
Christianity and Buddhism. This gap is sym bolic of the psychological division separating the East
from the West.

"The individual ego asserts itself strongly in the West. In the East, there is no ego. The ego is non-
existent and, therefore, there is no ego to crucify."
 32
HOLY SCRIPTURES THE UPANISHADS
"In the whole world, there is no study more profitable and more edifying than that of the
Upanishads. They have been a comfort to me throughout my life, and they will comfort me at
the hour of my death."

The Upanishads are the esoteric The teachings of the Hindus and deal primarily with the nature
of the individ ual soul (atman) and its relationship to the Universal Soul (Brahman). While the
orally transmitted Upanishads date from between 1000-500 BCE, the majority were added in the
3rd and 4th centuries BCE, at the time when Hinduism was undergoing a transition caused by the
advent of Buddhism and Jainism.

Almost all the texts are presented asdialogues between master and pupil (upanishad means "the
lesson") and they are drawn from the teachings of various schools. These are in stark contrast to
the practices of the more populist Vedic reli gion with its emphasis on rituals and the worship of
external gods. For the Hindu mystic, the Upanishads reinforce the belief that wisdom and religion
are incompatible. The ultimate aim of the Hindu is the union of the individual soul with the
universal soul. However, according to the innumerable sages who contributed to the work over
many centuries, man's soul has become fettered to the material world by illusions. To be free,
we have only to discover our true nature. In his commentaries on the Upanishads, the 8th-
century philosopher Sankara noted: "The self must be known here, in this life... if the self is known
here, there is supreme knowledge, and the aim of life will have been reached... if the self is not
known, then life is useless.”

Knowledge of the self can only be attained through contemplation. It is not something that can
be learnt it must be experienced. It is not enough to accept that "all is Brahman"; true wisdom
and freedom from the cycle of rebirth can only be achieved when we have experienced unity
with the Universal Soul.

"Whoever in truth knows the ultimate Brahman, becomes Brahman himself. He surpasses
affliction, frees himself of sin. Liberated of all ties, be becomes immortal."

The Upanishads suggest that, if man knew that his soul was immortal, he would not waste his life
in pursuit of transient things nor mourn the loss of that which cannot die.

"The wise who knows the Self as bodi less within the bodies, as unchanging among changing
things, as great and omnipotent, does never grieve. What grief or attachment can there be for a
realized soul- - a man of wisdom - when all the animate and inanimate objects of the world have
become his self, when he sees oneness everywhere?"

world have become his self, when he sees oneness everywhere?"

For the writers of the Upanishads, wisdom is an intuitive understanding that can only be attained
by surrender to the Universal Soul. Clinging to the perception of ourselves as individ uals,
independent of and imper vious to the feelings of others, will only bring unhappiness. "As a man
when in the embrace of a beloved wife knows nothing within or without, so this person when in
the embrace of the intelligent soul knows nothing within or without. Truly, that is his (true)
form..."

In stating that the individual soul is derived from the divine - that atman is Brahman in essence -
the authors of the Upanishads make one of the earliest recorded references to the concept of
microcosm (man) and macrocosm (the universe). And they do this in imagery which recalls the
kabbalistic image of Adam Kadmon - cosmic man (see page 36). "The universe is like a gigantic
man and we may speak of his eye which is the sun, his breath which is the wind, of his limbs, his
heart, and his thinking. Man is also the universe in miniature and we may speak of the sun which
is his wind which is his breath."

While the Greek and Chinese sages maintained that knowledge gives rise to virtue, the early
Upanishads suggest that an enlightened person rises above right and wrong, which after all, man-
made are, concepts. "Truly, if there were no speech, neither right nor wrong would be known,
neither true nor false, neither good nor bad, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Speech indeed
makes all this known."

YOGA AND THE UPANISHADS

It is in describing the virtues of Yoga that the Upanishads distill the quintessence of Hindu
wisdom.

In the Katha Upanishad, the story is told of a young man's confrontation with Yama, the god of
the Dead. The young man, Naciketas, asks Yama, "Does man continue to live after death?", to
which Yama replies that such secrets are not to be revealed to the "immature man of confused
mind distracted by the folly of riches". But Naciketas persists in his questioning and eventually
convinces Yama that he is sincere. Then the god answers that wisdom comes through Yoga, the
system of subdu ing the senses and stilling the mind.

"When cease the five knowl edges (NB senses), together with the mind, and the intellect stirs not
that, they say, is the highest course. This they consider as Yoga - the firm holding back of the
senses. Then one becomes undis tracted. Yoga, truly, is the origin and the end."
 33
YOGA
"The yoga gives birth to knowledge, knowledge to yoga. One, who has both yoga and
knowledge, has nothing left to obtain."
(THE ISHAVARAGITA)

With people in the West facing greater stress than ever before, increasing numbers have turned
to Yoga as a natural alternative to tranquillizers and sleeping pills. But Yoga is not just a physical
discipline to relax the mind and tone the body. It was developed in the East more than 4,000
years before Christ was born as a means of overcoming pain and transcending death. The
Upanishads Yoga is described as the only means by which the soul can escape being dragged into
oblivion by the passions. In devising the various techniques which slow down the heartbeat and
still the breath, the first yogis succeeded in attaining complete control over the physical body
and, through meditation, realized that their real self was immortal.

The numerous postures (asanas) with which we are familiar today were only taught to initiates
after they had proved themselves worthy through observance of the five restraints (yama) and
the five disciplines (niyama).

"No one must teach this absolutely secret discipline to someone... who is not a disciple, who has
not pacified himself."
(THE MAITRI UPANISHAD)

The yama is a moral code which demands truthfulness, honesty, moderation, non-possessiveness
and non-violence. The five niyamas encourage purity, contentment, study of the sacred texts,
austerity and a constant awareness of the Divine. Together, they form part of the "Eight Limbs of
Yoga" which lead ultimately to union with the Absolute. The other disciplines are asana (posture),
pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration),
dhayana (meditation) and samadhi (super consciousness).

There are over 1,000 asanas. Each one is named after a particular animal, plant or object in the
belief that, in contemplating these, the yogi will assimilate their qualities.

For practitioners of Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga), the postures are a preliminary to years of rigorous
spiritual discipline in which they can expect to attain paranormal powers known as siddhis. These
powers, which are said to include clairvoyance and indifference to pain, are, however, not the
ultimate aim of Yoga, merely the result of having attained a degree of control over mind and
body. They mark the yogi's ascension to a higher state of consciousness indicating that he is on
the right course, but they must be treated as distractions to be noted and then discarded. They
are not supernatural but supernormal. We are all said to have these abilities, but, as long as our
consciousness is grounded in the physical world, they remain dormant.

The higher forms of Yoga were designed to activate the chakras which are the energy centres in
the "etheric" ("astral" or "subtle") body. These send the life force (prana) through a network of
"etheric" energy channels to vitalize the whole being. Prana is present in all living things and also
in air, food, water and sunlight. It is the animating force. Regular practice will unblock the energy
channels in the "etheric" body, which can then absorb more life force for sustained vitality and
health. It is in integrating exercises for both the physical and the "etheric" body that Yoga is such
an effective vehicle for spiritual, mental and physical well-being.

Despite the European reluctance to embrace Yoga's more demanding forms, modern Indian
masters feel it is their spir itual duty to bring this wisdom to the West. In 1957, the venerable
Swami Sivananda sent his pupil Swami Vishnu Devananda to bring the message to America with
the words:
"Many souls from the East are reincar nating now in the West. Go and reawaken the
consciousness hidden in their memo ries and bring them back to the path of Yoga."

THE TEN PATHS OF YOGA

There are 10 paths of Yoga, each leading to the same destination, but varying in how they get
there. Though often taught as the expres sions of different traditions, these paths are
complementary and can be taken together.

1. Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of love, devotion and faith and involves the chanting of praise to
Brahman (God).
2. Dhyana Yoga is the yoga of contemplation and meditation.
3. Hatha Yoga is the form most widely practised in the West. Its original aim was to enable
the practitioner to attain control over the body so that it did not distract from sustained
contemplation.
4. Juana Yoga is the yoga of wisdom in which individuals discover their true nature through
the philosophy of The Vedata (the sacred Vedas of Hinduism).
5. Karma Yoga is the yoga of self less actions, usually expressed in charitable deeds.
6. Kriya Yoga is the yoga of ritual and religious observance.
7. Kundalini Yoga is concerned with awakening the secret power of the "sleeping serpent"
at the base of the spine. This form is extremely dangerous unless prac tised under the
guidance of an experienced teacher.
8. Laya Yoga centres on activation of the chakras, the psychic energy centres, through the
repetition of mantras.
9. Mantra Yoga concentrates on chants and mantras to build a vibration that will harmonize
with those of the "etheric" body.
10. Raja Yoga is the "royal road", which aims to channel mental and physical energy into a
search for the spirit.
 34
THE CHAKRAS
"Discover the serpent of illusion by the help of the serpent of wisdom and then will the sleeping
serpent mount upwards to the place of meeting."

Chakras are the energy centres in the "etheric" ("astral" or "subtle") body which, when activated,
release the dormant life force (prana) ensuring health, vitality and, ultimately, enlightenment.
But they can also store suppressed emotions which are dangerous to unleash without the
guidance of a teacher.

Knowledge of the chakras - and the techniques used to awaken them - was kept secret for
centuries. But now, with increasing interest in Eastern philos ophy and alternative medicine, the
idea that there might be hidden energy forces in the human body is rapidly gathering acceptance
in the West.

There are seven main chakras which influence the physical and "subtle" bodies. Six are located
along the shushumna, the "etheric" energy channel parallel to the spinal chord along which the
life force flows. The seventh, the Crown chakra, is located above the brain. Interestingly, the
shushumna corresponds to the major energy channel in Chinese acupuncture. When this, or any
of the other energy channels, is blocked, ill-health results. But when each chakra is energized, it
spins faster, improving the physical functions with which it is associated. Chakras can be
energized by meditative contemplation, through visualization or by the repetition of a mantra.
This is a sound or phrase which, if intoned repeatedly, sets up a vibration that resonates in sympa
thy with a chakra, causing it to whirl faster, and so release its energy.

Although long thought of as exclusive to the religions of India, the concept of "etheric" energy
centres is not entirely alien to the West. Medieval alchemists described a similar system of energy
centres in the human body, which they believed corresponded to, and could be influenced by,
the properties of specific metals and planets.

The Judaic mystics described a comparable set of energy centres, the sefirot, in terms of
progressively refined spiritual centres on the kabbalistic Tree of Life, which can be matched
against points on the human body. Sufism, Taoist Yoga, Buddhism and the Tantric tradition all
integrate this concept. In practice, these traditions encourage gradual spiritual development in
the belief that the chakras will open as the initiate matures. However, in Yoga and certain esoteric
schools in the West, the energizing of the chakras is central to their disciplines. Although
clairvoyants see the chakras as whirling vortices of energy, for meditative purposes they are
usually visualized as lotus flowers. The Crown chakra is located at the top of the head and is
usually visualized as a 1,000-petalled lotus flower. The number of petals is said to correspond to
the number of "etheric" nerve channels meeting at this point. When fully opened, this chakra
facilitates cosmic consciousness.

The Brow chakra, also known as the Third Eye, is located between the eyebrows where it
influences the action of the pineal and pituitary glands producing increased psychic awareness.
It is usually visualized as a snowwhite lotus flower with two petals. Its mantra is "om", said to be
the sound of creation.

The Throat chakra governs the power of speech. It is usually visualized as a sea-blue lotus flower
with 16 petals. Its mantra is "ham", and its corresponding element is the ether.

The Heart chakra is found in the middle of the chest and this is the centre of spiritual awakening.
The great guru Ramakrishna said of it: "At this stage man has a spiritual vision of the divine light...
His mind no longer runs after worldly pleasure."

Those who have fully awoken the Heart chakra have enjoyed incredible experiences. The writer
Gopi Krishna found himself writing poetry without conscious thought and in languages he had
never studied! This chakra is usually visualized as a smoke-coloured lotus flower of 12 petals. Its
mantra is "yam" and its element is air.

The Solar Plexus chakra is located above the diaphragm and is concerned with the digestion and
the emotions. It is the store house of prana and is usually visualized as a red lotus flower with 10
petals. Its element is fire.

The Sacral chakra is found beneath the navel and governs repro duction. It is usually visualized
as a white lotus flower with six petals. Its mantra is "ram" and its element is water.

The Root chakra is found at the perineum and is the domain of Kundalini. It is visualized as a
yellow lotus with four petals. Its mantra is "lam" and its element is earth.

KUNDALINI THE SLEEPING SERPENT

The serpent power of Kundalini was apparently unknown even to the wisest yogis in India until
1937, when an obscure Kashmir yogi, Gopi Krishna, unwittingly awakened it.

Gopi was meditating in a small room in his house near Jammu, when he experienced an intense,
indefinable sensation at the base of his spine. It crept slowly upwards until "with a roar like that
of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord."

Gopi had aroused the dormant power of Kundalini which, if released gradually, can energize the
chakras, but otherwise can strike at the brain like earthed lightning. He came out of meditation
depressed and unable to concen trate. In an effort to stabilize his emotions, he tried again, but
trig gered a second surge which proved even more traumatic than the first.

After his recovery. Gopi trav elled the length and breadth of India in search of a guru who could
explain his experience, but in vain. After a prolonged period of experimentation and self
discovery, he published his own account of the phenomenon, Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy
In Man, in which he concluded that "the human organ ism is evolving in the direction indicated
by mystics, prophets and men of genius, by the action of this wonderful mechanism located at
the base of the spine."
 35
BUDDHISM
"Of what I know, I have told you only a little... And why have I not told you the rest? Because it
would not help lead you to nirvana.

Buddhism is not so much a religion as a philosophy, which tries to help each individual to realize
his true "Buddha nature", and so break free from the relentless cycle of death and rebirth. The
title of Buddha ("Awakened One") does not refer exclusively to its founder, Siddharta Gautama,
but to all those who have achieved and sustained an enlight ened state of being. Siddharta was
not the first "Buddha", but the first to distill his experience into a practical philosophy.

Born Prince Siddharta Gautama in what is now Southern Nepal, he was expected to enjoy the
opulent lifestyle that was his by birthright. However, by the age of 29 he had become disillusioned
with the futility of his life and sickened by the suffering he witnessed outside his palace walls.

Though happily married and lacking for nothing, Siddharta determined to search for some
meaning in life. And so he forsook his princely gowns for the yellow robe of a pilgrim and set off
on an arduous six-year spiritual quest along the Ganges plain of North East India. Here he sought
out the most revered religious men of his day and entreated them to teach him all they could
about meditation and philosophy.

But neither discussion nor contemplation brought him the answers he sought, and so he
embarked on a life of extreme asceticism. Self-denial, however, served not only to bring him to
the brink of starvation but also to the conclusion that, for him at least, this was not the path to
Truth. Instead, he decided to follow a "middle way" between absti nence and indulgence. Having
bathed, fed and rested, Siddharta then sat down to meditate beneath a fig tree at Bodh Gaya in
the state of Bihar. After many hours of quiet contemplation, it is said that he attained
Enlightenment, becom ing a Buddha, an "Awakened One".

What is Enlightenment? A modern definition might be that it is an intuitive understanding of the

completeness of all things resulting from an expansion of consciousness and detachment from
the ego. Buddhists would say it is a state of Supreme Understanding which cannot be described,
only experienced.

In attempting to communicate his experience to others and to guide them towards this
awakening, Buddha taught what have become known as the "Four Noble Truths". These explain
the cause of man's troubles and the means by which they can be overcome.

The First Noble Truth is that all life is "suffering" (the pain of separation from the source of a life
founded on illusion), Buddha said.

The Second Noble Truth is that suffering is caused by desire, the desire for the ultimately
valueless and transient things of this life and by estrangement from our true, Divine nature.

The Third Noble Truth is that desire can be overcome, and, when it is, suffer ing ceases.

The Fourth Noble Truth is that the path to nirvana (ie, freedom from Karma and the endless cycle
of rebirth) is set out in the practical methods of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Buddhism is concerned with individ ual spiritual development in the belief that, when all are
Enlightened, there will be an end to suffering. While the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions
are based on the worship of an exterior God, Buddhism is based on contemplating the Divine
within.
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our
life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind."

The Eightfold Path was conceived by Buddha to free the individual from desire and suffering.

1. The First Step is described as "Right Understanding", which requires comprehension of

the Dharma (the teaching of the Buddha), because faith itself does not lead to spiritual
growth or insight.
2. The Second Step is "Right Thought", which expresses Buddha's wish that all who follow
the path should do so for the right reasons and not to gain spiritual superiority over
others. These two aspects are considered to be the paths to wisdom.
3. The Third Step is "Right Speech", which requires not only rigid adherence to the truth but
also acknowledgement that harsh or inappropriate words can be as destructive as deeds.
4. The Fourth Step is "Right Action", which can be interpreted as putting right behaviour into
practice. This requires the obser vance of five precepts: Do not kill; Do not steal; Do not
give way to promiscuity; Do not lie; and Do not take any form of intoxicant.
5. The Fifth Step, "Right Livelihood", urges the Buddhist to earn a living doing work which
does not compromise the precepts of right behaviour and which does not enrich him at
the expense of others. These last three steps constitute the morality of Buddhism.
6. The Sixth Step is "Right Effort", which finds expression in the commitment to still the mind
and subdue the passions.
7. The practice and discipline of Meditation are encapsulated in the last two steps, "Right
Mindfulness" and
8. "Right Concentration", which ultimately lead to sublime realization.
 36
BARDO THODOL - THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE
DEAD
"Our son, you are now going to test out three intermediate states, that of the hour of death,
that of the truth within, and that of destiny."

UInlike its Egyptian equivalent, The Tibetan Book Of The Dead considers that the images
perceived by the soul after death are not real but projections of the mind. The text itself takes
the form of read ings to be recited at the time of death and during the next 49 days the time the
soul is believed to hover in the Bardo, the intermediate state between death and rebirth. The
purpose of the book is to allay the anxi eties of the dying and to guide them through the various
stages that determine whether they will attain nirvana or be rein carnated on earth.

Though written approxi mately 1,000 years ago, the accounts of the three stages of death are
eerily reminiscent of recently reported near-death experiences described by innumerable people
of varying faiths, cultures and backgrounds all over the world.

The first stage, which the Tibetans call chikai bardo, is the moment when the body has ceased to
function but the person remains conscious, unaware that he is dead. In what might be described
as his astral (or "etheric") body, the deceased finds himself floating free of his physical body, but
unable or unwilling to leave the physical world behind.

"O nobly-born, at that time, at bridge-heads, in temples, by stupas [monuments containing

ashes]... thou wilt rest a little while, but thou wilt not be able to remain there very long, for thine
intellect hath been separated from thy body. Because of this inability to loiter, thou oft-times wilt
feel perturbed and vexed and panic-stricken Since thou canst not rest in any one place, and feel
impelled to go on, think not of various things, but allow the intellect to abide in its own state."

Even then emotional attachments may cause the soul to linger, especially if it has a strong desire
to communicate with family or friends.

"Even though thou feelest attachment for thy relations and connections, it will do thee no good.
So be not attached, pray to the compassionate Lord; Thou shalt have nought of sorrow, or of
terror, or of awe.”

But eventually the soul must enter and be absorbed by the "clear, primordial light". The
assumption is, that if a person has experienced the Light during life, he will not be afraid when
drawn to it after death.

"Now thou art experiencing the clear light of pure reality. Recognize it Thine own consciousness,
not formed into anything, in reality void, and the intellect, shining and blissful - these two- are
inseparable. Their union is the state of perfect enlightenment."

But for those who are unprepared or still bound by material concerns, this is too terrifying and
the soul retreats through a succession of dream like states of its own making. This contradicts
many recently recorded inci dents of near-death experiences in which the "dying" person
recollects an irre sistible attraction to the light and a reluctance to return to their physical body.

The next stage is the judgement, a common feature of many otherwise differing religions, but
here it is clearly intended to convey the idea that the deceased will be judged by his own
conscience.

...the Good Genius, who was bom simultaneously with thee, will come now and count out thy
good deeds [with] white pebbles, and the Evil Genius, who was born simultaneously with thee,
will come now and count out thy evil deeds [with] black pebbles... Then the Lord of Death will
say, 'I will consult the mirror of Karma'. So saying, he will look in the mirror, wherein every good
and evil act is vividly reflected."

The "Lords of Death" are also seen as fearful imaginings, described in the book "thine own
hallucinations". as

Having faced the consequences of his deeds, the deceased can then appeal to the compassion of
the Buddha and Bodhisattva (a person who has attained Enlightenment, but out of compassion
remains within the cycle of rebirth to liberate others). If he cannot sway them, he must
reincarnate. This is the most arduous stage, for after the ecstasy of liberation from the body, the
soul must now enter a new housing of flesh and blood. For many souls, the fear of remaining in
the limbo of Bardo is greater than that of reincarnating and the danger of making a hasty choice
arises. The concluding prayers in the Bardo Thödol are intended to guide the soul to a favourable
incarnation. For ultimately we are responsible for our own destiny.

REINCARNATION AND KARMA

"Just as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied self casts
off worn-out bodies and enters others which are new." (BHAGAVAD GITA)

The concept of reincarnation is not as alien to Western religion as it might appear. Although it is
not accepted by the orthodox tradition, it has been a central principle of Jewish mysticism. It was
also part of the Christian doctrine until 553 CE, when it was rejected by the church, although it is
implicit in the teachings of Jesus, most notably in the precept, "whatsoever a man soweth, so
also shall be reap".

Karma, however, is unique to the Indian religions. It is the "universal law" which states that past
actions have an effect on the present life of an individual and that each thought and action
creates an effect in the present or a future life. Although the concept of karma as a spiritual law
is charac teristic of the Indian religions, each tradition has interpreted it in its own way.

The Jains adhere to the belief that the soul can change shape and size and that its progress or
regres sion is determined by the deeds it performs while incarnate. On the other hand, the
Brahmin conclude that the soul cannot change and that its progress is ruled by fate. The Brahmin
doctrine asserts that an Indian who has lived a good life will be born to a Brahman woman, while
those who have lived a bad life will be born to a woman of lower caste. This is not a doctrine
universally accepted by Hindus, nor by Buddhists, who believe that each individual generates a
"burden of karma" (both good and bad) carried from one life to the next until Enlightenment
dispels whatever remains.