When to Practise Self-transcendence
The Commentaries of Sri Vishnudevananda Swami Giri Ji Maharaj on Ramalinga Swamigal’s "The Boundless Benevolent Jothi" (ch. 1, 2)
The Master’s practice requires detailed, subtle clarification of all the nuances. Your practice will be successful only when everything is clear. What is the true watching of space? What is shambhavi mudra? How does the inner integrate with the outer? How to concentrate on chakras? What is it to move the awareness there? What is to let in the impulse of the descending power? What is bliss? How to merge it with emptiness? What is mystical warmth?
Only understanding of these two fundamental parts of the Teaching will bring you closer to Ramalinga’s lines. Because Ramalinga speaks from experience. He speaks as though it is a natural, accomplished fact for him. Since he went through this by force of his highest realization. You will have to do all this. Ramalinga soars and just sings in his immortal body. But there is unsurpassed depth in each his word.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi towering and soaring over the crowns of Agamas and Vedas, transcends them. The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has, by destroying the ego content, abided as the matrix of both this world and the other."
CANTO I, ch. 1
The Boundless Benevolent Jothi towers over the crowns of Agamas and Vedas because any knowledge, even knowledge from sacred texts, is conceptual – written conceptually. Primordial Foundation, Nature of Mind, luminous spatial emptiness transcends any conceptual knowledge. This Light is discovered by a yogin when he starts feeling that the crown of his head opens, as though his crown stretches for two or five metres. Or as though fathomless space opens above his head, and he sees blue pearl, purest blue space with closed eyes. Then suddenly the mystery of samadhi is revealed for a yogin when breathing stops easily, and sensation in his body is lost. Then incomprehensible bhava appears the feeling of Divine Pride. At first it seems external, and it descends on a yogin. Gradually a yogin feels that this bhava is inherent in him. At the same time a yogin sees blinding light, similar to a flash of magnesium, which spreads into all directions. And if he cannot remain in presence, this light will make him shrink back because it is so magnificent.
A saint is the one who always feels purest space above his head. Or when he is in contemplation similar to a flash of light, when he sees luminous descending space. It is not necessarily seeing with eyes.
Ramalinga was always in this Light, he writes that this Light destroyed his ego, changed his ideas. This Light penetrated into him deeply and changed his self-concept of a bounded personality. When the ego is destroyed, reorientation, change of self-sentiment happens, and a yogin understands distinctly that he can stay in the ego concept and have habitual attitudes in terms of "I". But he can see the world through this Light being one with it. Suddenly he understands distinctly that losing this Light is worse for himself, and he should on no account do this.
And then he discovers that this Light is the Matrix of both this world and the others.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi pervades and transcends over both this and the other world without ever diminishing in Its Grace.
The Boundless Benevolent Jothi reigns eminently over the grand void, beyond the domain of speech and mind."
Chapter 1
The Absolute is described as having two main features: prakasha and vimarsha. This means the Light, or effulgence and capacity for awareness. All the outer objects are formed of threads or rays of light, so it is described in tantras. In course of time a yogin begins to understand this himself. This Light is alive, self-conscious, but animate beings whose minds are obscured by strong discriminating activity see things and objects as solid, dense and material. But this is just the thickened Light. When a yogin contemplates in Jothi-Yoga or practises presence well, he sees the threads of this Light piercing everything. That is why there is such an exhortation in tantras: "lock the threads". What does it mean to "lock the threads"? It means to see the Light, contemplate in non-duality. And instead of letting them move out, gradually let them melt in Primordial Awareness.
"THE BESTOWER OF BOONS". Chapter 2.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has bestowed zeal, discernment, body of luminiscence and prosperity (on me)."
When this Light is discovered by a yogin, it descends and transmutes his impure pranas, his impure mind into pure vision.
Well-known Ayurveda practitioner Charaka said: "Some speak of abilities, eloquence, hearing and sight, but sages speak of pranas." When pranas change, all human's abilities change, too. These pranas change thanks to the Light descending on them. When can this Light descend? When a yogin has completely emptied himself, and when thanks to the practice of everyday attentiveness, he acquired a habit of being aware. When he completely left the ways of this world and acquired firm aloofness, steadiness in natural state. When he relaxed, let himself go and accepts all permanently being in non-action. Then this Light starts descending upon him because his Spirit opens to this Light. The Light descends continuously, but why does a disciple fail to notice it at first? Because this Light is very subtle, and it cannot be perceived by a dualistic consciousness. Only when consciousness becomes extremely clear, flexible, and we let go our ego, this Light can be noticed. But even then it still remains external, therefore further practice consists in becoming united with it.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has conducted (me) across the dark ocean of limitless births and alleviated my suffering."
When a yogin's mind and pranas are saturated with the Light, births stop. Aimless wandering in the circle of dreams stops because a yogin cannot be differentiated from the Light and reunites with the Light like a spark reunites with fire.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has escalad(t)ed (me) on an insurmountable position and shown me exclusively the inferior paths (of religions) far down below."
Ramalinga says that when you perceive the Boundless Benevolent Jothi in the state of anupaya - non-action, effortlessness, in the yoga of non-meditation, that is in primordial, natural state, you rise above everything. You become as if the centre of the Universe freely soaring over inferior views. Saying "inferior views", we do not mean slighting attitude towards other Teachings. It means that any Teaching contains higher and lower views. Any profound Teaching is phased. There is a shamanistic, dual part in it; roughly the sutra level connected with negation; tantra level connected with sublimation and transformation; Anuttara-tantra level connected with natural state, and the level of transcendental soaring connected with letting go, relaxing, naturalness. And any teaching contains this. If you analyse the teachings of Sufis, Coptic elders, Taoists, there are always preliminary, basic practices for beginners, and there is aerobatic flight for those who already "walk on the sky".
And when, no matter what way a person follows, he learns this aerobatic flight, he feels that he has risen above all the attitudes, all the religious paths and left inferior kinds of Dharma. He soars freely practising the superior kind of Dharma.
Being in natural effortless contemplation and devotion to the Grace of this descending Light is the highest practice called Anupaya - the yoga of non-meditation when a yogin, being in a state of non-active contemplation, completely opens his mind and surrenders himself to the descending Light. We also call this "letting yourself go and acceptance" of the descending impulse of Anugraha.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has severed doubt and misconceptions; also warded off the phlegm from my body-system."
When we contact with this Light, all our misconceptions disappear. Conceptual activity, dual mind, which accepts and rejects, now do not matter. Memory of the past - chitta, clinging to the ego - ahamkara, being bound by karmas, fears, plans, aims, and hopes - all this passes because before this Boundless Benevolent Jothi nothing can remain the same or not melt. When this Light descends, a yogin notices it, and his qualities change entirely. He sees that before he started to perceive this Boundless Benevolent Jothi, he was as if asleep and dreaming. Now he has found it.
When does perception of such Boundless Benevolent Jothi come? With a view to self-liberation, it is the second stage of self-liberation - prapatti - self-transcendence. At first you practise pratimoksha - naked awareness. You keep being attentive. You are attentive until attentiveness takes root in you: in your bones, your skin, your blood. You keep it intentionally practising naked awareness, practising sankalpahs. At last you see that your attentiveness has developed deeply, and you have changed. A new layer of awareness has appeared in you. But you understand that you are still not a Buddha. That you are excellently aware, and you have profound clarity. And you are, of course, not the same person. But you feel that your personality is left, and you are your own self, but more aware. And you feel that your practice needs something more global. And then you understand that personal practice does not work any longer, then the personality must disappear. Devotion, capitulation of the ego work, effort does not work any longer - effortlessness should take effect. Then you take away both effort and the ego keeping awareness, and you just open your mind, just relax. At this moment contemplation becomes very deep, as if you notice some huge luminous sphere which never leaves you. It is like the sun that you see all the time. And now you always notice this sphere. You know that thanks to your awareness you can see this sphere continuously. And that seeing it is natural, just like seeing the sky above, and the main object is not to miss this sphere, tune in to it.
The sphere is just a metaphor, it is an image, you do not literally see any sphere, but when you grasped this principle of being tuned in, you see that you do not need any effort for being tuned in, you need only sensitivity and watchful awareness. And you understand that this sphere surpasses your personal "I", and personal practice does not work here, only Guru-yoga, devotion, and invocation of this Light work. Then you understand the principle of self-transcendence, prapatti. Self-transcendence is a zero crossing. Self-transcendence is the entrance to another dimension. Until then, the practice has continued in this dimension, self-transcendence is to enter some other space, pass the infinity sign and find oneself on the other side of the ego. It is very different. It is reorientation in your practice when you move from here, from the ego, there, to the Light. And you already try to see the world through this Light. Such is the prapatti stage. Therefore it is very sublime and very incomprehensible to the practitioners who have not reached this stage.
The sphere is just a metaphor, it is an image, you do not literally see any sphere, but when you grasped this principle of being tuned in, you see that you do not need any effort for being tuned in, you need only sensitivity and watchful awareness. And you understand that this sphere surpasses your personal "I", and personal practice does not work here, only Guru-yoga, devotion, and invocation of this Light work. Then you understand the principle of self-transcendence, prapatti. Self-transcendence is a zero crossing. Self-transcendence is the entrance to another dimension. Until then, the practice has continued in this dimension, self-transcendence is to enter some other space, pass the infinity sign and find oneself on the other side of the ego. It is very different. It is reorientation in your practice when you move from here, from the ego, there, to the Light. And you already try to see the world through this Light. Such is the prapatti stage. Therefore it is very sublime and very incomprehensible to the practitioners who have not reached this stage.
We can only admire Ramalinga who speaks of this stage so much, so easily and freely. Even saints get confused here.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has clearly manifested Itself as one, two, one and two and none of these."
This Light can be perceived entirely as non-dual substance piercing everything. At the same time there is differentiation, distinction between various things.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi has become my sustainer by bestowing on me the light that enabled (me) to comprehend (everything) without erudition (on my part)."
Usually at first a yogin is supported by his manas - mind, his intellect, conceptual thinking. Therefore at first you should strengthen your intellect with the knowledge of the texts and exhortations. But then, when contemplation reaches its apogee, something else becomes the support. This Light becomes the support. This is the state of awareness outside the limits of the ego arising at the moment of such self-transcendence. It is not usual support. But only this support is real. Because any material support is unreliable, it will be destroyed some time. Support from the descending Boundless Benevolent Jothi is eternal. There is such a saying in the texts: "There is one mudra - khechari, there is one God - Niralambha." Niralambha means "unsupported" - something you cannot rely on.
Since this Light is not material, it is unsupported. However, it is the only support for an animate being if it wants to free itself from the sufferings of the circle of births and deaths. All other support is illusory or temporary.
How can one find such reliable support? You need an unusually deep Light of clarity, unusually deep awareness together with watchfulness. Such awareness together with watchfulness is called similar to a surgeon's scalpel which penetrates with one fine movement into the pericardium during an operation removing all foreign liquid and saving the patient's life. And such Light of clarity or awareness should be like that scalpel which can penetrate into the highest level of awareness.
"The Boundless Benevolent Jothi is worshipped by those who have eschewed the six fold impurities (that pollute the soul)."
The six fold impurities that pollute the soul are worldly desires arising in sense organs. When do they pollute the soul? When there is clinging, attachment, or the mind is tinged by them. Until we perceive something unconsciously, subtle attachment, subtle clinging, subtle clouding arising as a result of perception accumulate inevitably . Even if we think we are aloof, the mind still works very subtly, and before we have time to think about anything, the mind registers something, and the mind instantly makes a judgement and assessment. There was a vibration, and samskara penetrated the subconsciousness.
This process is so subtle and fast that until we gain the clarity of Light like a surgical scalpel, we cannot get free of the influence of clouding arising as a result of perception. And how can we be freed from such attachment? By constantly unidirectionally contemplating like an arrow flying to the target. Then any attachment is freed at the moment of perception. Perception is freed in the Primordial Space of the empty mind. We have no choice but to gain such freedom from clouding arising as a result of perception.
This process is so subtle and fast that until we gain the clarity of Light like a surgical scalpel, we cannot get free of the influence of clouding arising as a result of perception. And how can we be freed from such attachment? By constantly unidirectionally contemplating like an arrow flying to the target. Then any attachment is freed at the moment of perception. Perception is freed in the Primordial Space of the empty mind. We have no choice but to gain such freedom from clouding arising as a result of perception.
Maybe, I expressed myself in a complicated manner. How can it be said differently? When you see something, do not judge, be aware. And if you need to make an assessment for others, do it in your consciousness being fully free from assessment so that the assessment is not yours but is the game of your clarity and completely under control. Inside you there are no assessments, no judgements, no dual perception. There is naked awareness.
When this Light becomes our support, we can comprehend everything without erudition. Intellectual knowledge is seen as secondary.
The way of contemplative non-action, devotion, contemplating the Light is unusually subtle, unusually deep. We come to understand it completely only after years or decades of spiritual practice. Therefore it is called the Celestial Path.
Why is it the Celestial Path? Because to understand this path is to be freed, to become a celestial yogin, the one who soars boundlessly in the Highest space of Dharma.
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