Mauna

Hari Om,

I was reflecting on the importance of proper speech recently. The majority of conflicts and troubles in the world today arise from harmful speech.....words that are spoken carelessly with no regard for their impact on the listener, or to deliberately hurt the listener. This is a form of himsa or violence.

The tongue is a very troublesome organ with two primary functions. To taste food, and to speak. Most people struggle to control both these functions. We often have to struggle to avoid being a slave to the cravings of the tongue- and end up eating anything we like, only to develop numerous health problems later (type two diabetes, heart disease and many other significant diseases are all related to diet).
And we struggle to control our speech....when someone is rude, we feel like being rude back. It is a momentary satisfaction to retort back rudely, but unfortunately we pay a great spiritual price for this. Our character is paramount for success in meditation, and for development of character, we cannot afford to commit violence with speech. Further, getting into heated arguments with people is a great waste of time and energy- time is the one thing than we can never get back once lost. As spiritual aspirants, we must use it well.

There are three important things with regard to speech from the yogic perspective that are crucial for moving closer to God, to have the experience of Truth:
1. Speaking only what is necessary (not too much unneccessary talking). This conserves energy for spiritual practices such as meditation.
2. Speaking the truth. An absolutely indispensable pre-requisite for spiritual progress as per yoga. There is no question of a spiritual progress for a habitual liar who does not try to change. Truth can only be experienced by those who revere it....by those who speak the Truth.
3. Speaking with consideration and kindness...ahimsa paramo dharma....we need to consider the impact of our words on the minds of our listeners. We need to ensure our words have a positive impact, are not agitating. We must think very carefully before speaking an unpleasant truth...it must be spoken as diplomatically and tactfully as possible, only if absolutely necessary for the welfare of the listener (not because we want to vent our frustration on the other), and is as kind a way as possible.

I have been practicing the above three tenets in a casual manner so far. I try my best not to lie, but admit that I sometimes do. I talk too much at times in my opinion- albeit mostly on spiritual matters (mostly to family), but too much talking is not good regardless of the subject. And I don't always practice perfect ahimsa in speech.....I am guilty of sometimes saying unpleasant things to others just to feel better.

I notice these flaws in myself and have decided to take steps to correct this. The first step I intend to take is regular practice of Mauna.
 Mauna or observation of silence helps one to gain control over one's speech as per yoga. I have been observing silence for a half day (6 pm on one day till 12 pm the next day or similar) for the past two weeks and it is surprising how even this little practice helps greatly. I feel better when I keep quiet. It has also reduced the number of arguments with others. I also find that I talk less even after the period of mauna is over. During mauna, I try not to use too many hand gestures to communicate, and only do so if absolutely essential to reply to someone.

I plan to make 2015 a year of speech awareness. To practice the above three principles of good speech. And to continue the practice of mauna/silence for at least half a day, every week for this year. I am hopeful that this practice will help me make some significant progress in mauna of the mind, not just of speech. Gradually this practice is supposed to bring about control of mind, and less restless thoughts. We shall see what takes place.

Hari Om Tat Sat

Siddhis, spiritual progress and the sadhaka

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya

I recently found a book in a library by Swami Ram Tirtha, the great saint of the last century. The book is called "In the Woods of God Realisation" (published in several volumes- I have found the fourth volume). I have only read a little so far, but it is tremendously inspirational (and available free online- I strongly recommend reading even a little of it).

One of the things he discusses in the fourth volume is siddhis. Siddhis are powers of various types- there are eight classical ones mentioned in the yoga texts. These include being able to become very big or very small, or very heavy or very light, getting whatever one wants, being able to control anyone, being able to go anywhere and having power over everything. There are also other powers such as being able to see far away (clairvoyance), being able to hear things happening far away (clairaudience), reading other people's minds, having control over the elements and so on.

All great saints declare that siddhis are poison to the sadhaka on the spiritual path. They are an illusion. They are nothing. Death takes away all siddhis too, just like it takes away all wealth, relatives and worldly property. The man with siddhis is as much a slave to death as anyone else. What therefore is the use of such nonsensical powers? In fact, the yogis say, these siddhis are a great nuisance. The unlucky fool who happily grabs these powers sows the seeds for his own ruin.

Siddhis come to people after some sadhana and a little purity is attained according to Swami Sivananda. If the sadhaka has not fully surrendered his or her ego to the Divine, there is potential for serious misuse of these so-called powers.

The sadhaka with siddhis foolishly thinks- "wow, I am so great, so cool, I can do all these things that others cannot, this is a sign that I am very advanced spiritually, any moment now I will get Realisation."

Unfortunately siddhis are  no guarantee of Realisation, and are, in fact a very great obstacle in attaining Realisation, according to the saints. Because they fatten the foolish sadhaka's ego terribly. Sivananda says they can cause a terrible downfall on the path of yoga, so that the sadhaka ends up in an even more low and ignorant position than when he first started on the spiritual path. A miserable end indeed.

Chidananda, Sivananda's great disciple, goes as far as to say, that these powers should be treated as demonic powers until one is firmly established in God. Once one is established in God, the ego is gone forever and the siddhis can not harm one in any way. In fact, the only people fit to really handle siddhis are the saints established in God. Such people will never misuse siddhis, or reveal or boast about them. They will only use these powers  as per Divine Will, for the welfare of all and never for selfish ends.

All saints have siddhis. But not all those with siddhis are saints (in fact, many are not even truly spiritual). One should beware of people who boast about their siddhis or who desperately want to achieve these as they are likely to be quite egotistical and not particularly spiritual. Siddhis are divine powers in reality- in the hands of Realised souls that is. However they should be treated as demonic powers by the non-realised soul to avoid falling into the trap of being tempted by these and missing the great goal of God Himself.

Suppose one wants to travel from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj on a day trip. However, on the way, if one stops at a wonderful bazaar and spends the whole day checking out glittering replicas of the Taj, then one misses one's goal of seeing the real Taj. That day is over, the time will not come back. The real Taj is God, the fake replicas are the siddhis. That life is over, wasted on the replicas, the time will not come back.

Saints such as Sivananda and Swami Ramdas say that siddhis are chains, more dangerous chains than even worldly chains (such as ordinary wealth, power etc) and should be ignored and never sought after.

Sivananda says, these siddhis are mere useless straw. Part of the Maya of creation. They are nothing compared to the glory of God, of the sublimeness of God experience. They block the experience of ParaBhakti, Supreme Devotion. Therefore they are to be utterly disregarded and avoided. If by any chance, one gets these powers, one ought to pray to God for guidance as to how to handle the situation. One need not be scared of siddhis, but one certainly should not be foolish enough to actively cultivate them.

Subconsciously we all like power and position. There is no knowing what would happen to us if siddhis came to us. Let us therefore pray to God to give us good sense and genuine devotion, so that we easily jump over all obstacles in the spiritual path, include the great obstacle of siddhis.

So to summarise, Sivananda and the saints all say siddhis are not at all a sign of a holy person. They are not at all a sign of real spiritual progress. Many dangeous and unholy people have siddhis (they lose them also after a while after misusing these powers).

If siddhis are not a sign of spiritual progress, the important question arises,  what are the real signs of spiriual progress? Please see the two links below for an excellent summary of Sivananda's views on this important subject. As aspirants it is very important for us to assess our situation regularly and figure out if we are making any progress at all. In a nutshell, the true signs of spiritual progress is becoming a more noble and God-centred person. It involves getting less angry in situations where we got angry before, experiencing fewer episodes and reduced intensity of negative emotions, feeling more positive emotions such as love and kindness towards all (whether friends, enemies or strangers), and feeling the presence of God in oneself and others.

Signs of spiritual progress by Swami Sivananda
http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2009/ajan09/signs.shtml

Spiritual barometer of Swami Sivananda
http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/baro.htm

Hari Om Tat Sat