Tag Archives: Upanishads

The phenomenon of double consciousness

Posted on August 22, 2010 by

It is a seminal phase in the spiritual path when, after years of arduous practice, the surface personality becomes subdued and the inner being(subtle body) begins to awake. It is then that one has the palpable feeling that there are two different beings within – a stable inner part and an insecure outer part. One begins to live in the vast calm of the sturdy inner being even as one observes the action of the restless outer personality as it reacts to phenomenal events based on pre-conceived constructs. In this condition, we gain living proof of the observation noted in various scriptures that “there are two birds sitting on the tree of life; one eats the fruit while the other eats not.” (Rig Veda 1.164.20, Mundaka Upanishad 3.1, Shwetashwatara Upanishad 4.6). Continue reading →

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Vidyas in the Upanishads – part 2

Posted on March 24, 2010 by

The Upanishads feature koans for contemplation called Vidyas(literally means knowledge). They are meant to trigger the mind into perceiving yet another facet of the Divine Reality thereby guiding the aspirant into deeper grades of meditation. In a previous post Vidyas in the Upanishads, five such Vidyas were covered: Bhuma, Prana, Shandilya, Madhu and Vaishvanara. The book Supreme Knowledge by Swami Brahmananda [3] lists an astounding 101 Vidyas drawn from the Upanishads. This post discusses a few Vidyas drawn from this book. Continue reading →

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PanchaTattva Dharana : contemplation on the five elements

Posted on March 23, 2010 by

This post supplements a previous post Videha Dharana : fixing the mind outside the body, which discussed a method called Videha Dharana as per Sri Anirvan. The method is drawn from the Upanishads and can also be called PanchaTattva Dharana or contemplation on the five (pancha) elements (tattva) – namely earth, water, air, fire, ether. There is a similar technique in the Tantra texts called Bhuta-Shuddhi which is also outlined here. Continue reading →

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The subtle sounds which indicate progress in Yoga

Posted on February 12, 2010 by

When the Yoga enters into deeper states of trance, the heat of the Kundalini begins to course through the body, the subtle body is activated and the brain experiences a reverberating natural silence. The Yogin experiences a sense of purity, rejuvenation and alertness within. At this point, one may hear subtle sounds in the ear, smell burning incense or floral fragrances (which have non-worldly origin) and gain sight into the occult worlds. The sounds which the Yogin hears tend to vary depending on the inner plane of consciousness to which one is currently attuned. This post is a collection of these subtle sounds as noted in various ancient scriptures. As we see, there is lot of similarity in these descriptions. Continue reading →

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Meditation techniques from the Yoga Upanishads

Posted on February 4, 2010 by

Out of the 108 Upanishads, there are 21 which are known as the Yoga Upanishads. These contain various methods of Dharana (i.e. one-pointed concentration). The book Dharana Darshan by Swami Nirajananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga discusses them in detail Continue reading →

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Links between Vedas, Upanishads, Tantra and Puranas

Posted on September 26, 2009 by

Sri Aurobindo and his disciples uncovered connections between the Vedas and the later scriptures such as Upanishads, Puranas and the Tantra by tracing the evolution of concepts, use of common verses and the underlying symbolism between these scriptures. This is a synopsis of their discoveries collated from a variety of sources. Continue reading →

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Vidyas in the Upanishads

Posted on March 24, 2009 by

The Upanishads, besides delineating various spiritual experiences, also give a few hints on sādhana, i.e., paths of spiritual realization. These methods of sādhana are called vidyās. Continue reading →

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The Triple Cord

Posted on February 4, 2009 by

This post describes the three knots/granthis of mental, vital and physical ignorance that tie our consciousness to the physical world and bind our soul to the superficial personality.  When these knots are broken, our consciousness widens and opens to the … Continue reading →

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The Golden Lid or Hiranmaya Patra

Posted on January 28, 2009 by

The Vedas and the Upanishads speak of a golden lid (Hiranmaya Patra in Sanskrit) which divides the lower rational mind from the higher planes of the Mind above us. This post explains the significance of that Golden Lid in the … Continue reading →

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The inverted Banyan tree

Posted on January 23, 2009 by

The ancient Hindu scriptures speak of the Universe as an inverted Banyan/Ashwattha tree with its roots in the Higher Worlds of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) and its branches in the many lower worlds that have been created. This is a comprehensive list of references to this tree in the ancient scriptures and the works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The world tree motif is present in many other religions and mythologies (See World-Tree) Continue reading →

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