The spiritual eye-- an essential aid to mantra japa

 Hari Aum.

I would like to discuss a topic that the yogis say can be very useful for spiritual progress and increasing the effectiveness of mantra recitation. This topic is the development of the spiritual eye, i.e. learning to 'see God in all'.

The Gita says there are two aspects of the Self, of God, namely Matter and Spirit (in Sanskrit these are respectively referred to as 'Prakriti' and 'Purusha'). Matter and Spirit are intertwined in the world we live in, in our very own existence. We are Spirit encased in matter and all of our being is rooted in, and emanates from God. This is the teaching of the rishis, the sages and the Gurus since time immemorial.

However, the yogis and Gurus lament that we are short-sighted, myopic in our vision. We see only matter, Prakriti, when we look with our physical eyes. We do not easily see the Spirit within. We often do not even see the deeper layers of matter (mind) in ourselves and others; all too often, we only reach the superficial/external and this creates all sorts of misunderstandings, problems and conflict.

Sivananda and other Gurus emphasised again and again the absolutely vital necessity of training the mind to see Spirit everywhere in everything, instead of seeing only matter. They tell us that the practice of mantra japa tremendously helps this process. And conversely, the practice of seeing Spirit, enhances the potency of our japa. These practices complement and enhance each other. They are like the two wings of a bird-- both are needed to enable our spiritual life keep moving onwards and upwards.

Theory is good, but like with all things spiritual, we need to implement this, to actually practice to see real benefits. So, what does 'develop spiritual sight', 'see the Spirit', 'see God in all' actually mean? How are we to practically implement this in our lives, what does it involve doing? 

Let us delve into this subject a little because it is so important. 

I will answer this question by telling you a bit about my own practice and experience related to this subject in case you find this useful. My practice is based upon the teachings of my Guru Swami Sivananda and his disciple, Swami Chidananda.

Ages ago, I read in their writings that one should 'see God in all' (I have mentioned some of these writings in other entries on this blog). Obviously this is not easy. However, as they emphasised that it was absolutely essential, I decided to try it. And, I am still trying to practice this (with a mixture of failure and success) and I will continue to practice this along with japa until I attain the spiritual goal. 

There are two benefits that I feel this practice has given me:

i) I feel my mantra japa itself is more effective because of this practice

ii) I feel this approach helps me to 'practice the presence of God'. This in itself, is regarded by spiritual practitioners of all religions as a vitally important technique for spiritual growth. 

So, how to actually practice 'seeing God in all' (one form of practicing the presence of God)? My Guru says mentally visualise your favourite form of God in the heart space (centre of the chest or anahata chakra) of the person in front of you, or mentally recognise that God exists within the heart of the person in front of you. 

Whether it is a relative, a friend, a stranger, even an unfriendly person, mentally recognise that God is present in them and also in you. Repeat Om or another mantra or name of God that you like as you do this. 

As you speak, keep this thought of God or mantra in the back of your mind, in your consciousness. This thought of the Spirit/God will influence how you approach people whom you encounter in daily life, it will influence how you speak and act. 

It is of course not always easy to have this recognition of God in others, to see Spirit in matter. But like with anything, we can get better with practice.

This practice teaches us to really 'see' people, to look deeper than the surface. It actually teaches us many things. Let me explain what I mean.

When we look around us, what do we see? There are people, things, nature, other living creatures, all sorts of colours, shapes, sizes and things. Some we like, some we don't like, and others we are neutral towards.

When we look at people, we often make assumptions and judgements, most of the time without even realising that we are doing this. This is not entirely our fault, we are affected by our upbringing and social conditioning. But, as spiritual seekers, we need to be aware of this and modify our thinking where required.

We judge people easily (I am also guilty of this, but over the years have at least developed some awareness that this is happening so am slightly better at preventing it; this is still a work in progress). When we look at people, the first thing we note is of course their physical appearance-- things such as height, weight, size, shape, colour, all sorts of things are noted in a fraction of a second without us even realising. Then comes an opinion about it all-- do we like or not like what we see/hear or are we maybe neutral? 

When we interact with people, we hear them speak and observe their behaviour -- this gives us some idea about their minds and personalities. Again, our brains processes this information. We think 'This person is nice, not nice, sensible, not sensible, clever, not clever, proud, not proud, friendly, not friendly, etc etc'. It goes on. Then we consider, do we like the mind/personality of this person, or do we not, or maybe we are neutral?

In essence, during the course of each day, we meet various people, and with our physical eyes we see their external appearances and their behaviour, and with our physical ears, we hear their words that reveal to some extent, their minds and personalities. And our minds also respond to what we see and hear-- we speak kindly or not kindly or behave in a friendly or not friendly manner depending upon how our minds feel and respond to this external information.

If we examine this process a little, we will see that the entire interaction with others here is on the basis of matter. It is all Prakriti. Our minds and bodies, interacting with other people's minds and bodies. 

Where is the Spirit in all of this?

Where is the recognition of Its presence in our lives and that of others? 

The answer, sadly, is mostly nowhere. 

And that is probably why there is so much conflict and trouble upon this planet. Because there is an endless round of minds and bodies interacting without much engagement with or awareness of the Spirit within ourselves and others.

This is what the yogis say, needs to change to have peace within and peace outside in the world. 

When we repeat our mantra mentally as we engage with the world via our minds and bodies, we are bringing the presence of Spirit into our lives. We are engaging with Spirit and this influences our physical/mental being and our interactions with the world.

The engagement with Spirit has a positive effect on the restless mind. It strengthens the higher mind, it helps the lower mind transform for the better.

As a result, when we look outwards at the world, we look a bit deeper than the surface. We become more conscious of the many layers of people's beings, why people are the way they are, we become less judgemental. We also become stronger mentally and more discerning, we become more aware about whom we would like to interact with (about those who have a beneficial and less beneficial effect on our lives).

Speaking of judgements, people often judge others who smoke, drink alcohol excessively and use recreational drugs. There is a view among many in society that such persons are deliberately ruining their own lives and health for no reason, and as a result, many of us are often critical and unsympathetic towards them. 

This view unfortunately can also exist among doctors. We are also a part of society and conditioned by it. However, my own work as a doctor with an interest in mental health has shown me that the majority of people who engage in these habits do so due to mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. 

Many of them have had very difficult life experiences (including often in childhood) where they may have faced neglect or abuse of various forms. It is well-recognised in the world of medicine and psychology, that people turn to substance misuse when they wish to numb the pain of their past experiences. We too may have ended up in the same place had we had some of their experiences. 

Of course each one of us must take personal responsibility for our own lives and actions. There are children of alcoholic parents who avoid alochol because they have seen the damage it can do to one's health, relationships and life as a whole. There are other such children who sadly become alcoholic because of the influence of their parents. 

We do have a choice and are responsible for our choices. But having said that, sometimes people's circumstances can be extremely difficult and it is best not to judge too much as we have no real idea as to what they may have gone through and whether we would have managed to do any better.

The point I am trying to make by mentioning the above is that practicing the presence of God, means being more empathetic towards other people. It means recognising that one Spirit exists in all beings, regardless of whether we like or don't like or are neutral towards them. 

And when we recognise the presence of Spirit in others, that naturally comes with a feeling of respect. We respect others more, regardless of their physical appearance, social status, health, lifestyle or any other material thing. The respect we extend is to the Spirit within them (and this is always worthy of respect regardless of the material aspect) and this influences how we think, how we speak and how we behave with them.

(Note- the yogis say that, although God exists in all, we should be careful about the company we keep. Common sense is needed says Sivananda. If you are a spiritual aspirant, do not mix with people who create a lot of doubt and confusion in your mind regarding your spiritual practice as this is unhelpful-- this is what he and other Gurus say. Respect all, but do not necessarily mix freely with all, that is what the yogis say. In some cases, particularly with regard to toxic/abusive individuals, a healthy, respectful distance may be needed).

Naturally all of this is hard work. It is not easy to practice the presence of Spirit or God in all people all the time. Our own lower mind is the main obstacle. We can sometimes be bored, lazy, greedy, angry, craving, proud, gloomy or whatever. These lower emotions can get in the way. 

But I have learned over the years, that we also need to be less judgemental towards ourselves. We have got Spirit within ourselves too, and therefore also deserve our own respect. That respect means taking care of ourselves, looking after our health and general wellbeing, looking after our spiritual self, a holistic approach. 

We earn our own respect in a way when we act in accordance with the principles of dharma (ahimsa/non-violence, satya/truthfulness and brahmacharya/control of the senses), i.e. when we are true to ourselves, to the Divine element within us.  

If we are unrighteous, false and excessively sensual and materialistic, it becomes very difficult for us to truly respect ourselves (this is because we know, on some level, that we have moved away from our true nature).

The practice of the presence of God or seeing God in others can sometimes produce unexpected results. It can occasionally go suprisingly well (almost 'too well') and then pose a different sort of problem that we need to figure out a way to deal with. I'd like to give you an example to illustrate this point.

In previous posts on this blog over the years, I have made no secret of the fact that I am still very much in the midst of my spiritual journey. In accordance with the advice of my Guru and other Gurus, I am of course trying to develop the higher mind, however the lower mind unfortunately is still very much alive and kicking (and this is normal and natural until one attains Self-realisation; the lower mind can get thinned out but it continues to exist until we reach the spiritual goal). There are plenty of occasions when this lower mind gets in the way of my practice of the presence of God, in my attempts to see Spirit in others instead of only matter. 

However, relatively recently, I have found that the opposite can also happen (the lower mind can briefly vanish if only for a very short period of time which can also be quite alarming in a way because it creates an unfamiliar situation!). The occasion that I have in mind occurred during one of my recent dance classes (this is a one-to-one class not a group one). I was listening to my teacher explain a sequence of dance steps while standing a short distance away from her. She was seated, close to the feet of a large brass statue of Lord Shiva in His Nataraja aspect (Lord of dance). Some incense had been burned on a table behind her and the room therefore generally had a sort of holy atmosphere (somewhat like that of a temple). 

It is my usual practice to mentally bow to God (as the Divine Mother, Father and Guru) at the start of the class and to regard the dancing as a form of worship (I do this before most major activities including my professional work). 

So I had done that and afterwards attempted the familiar practice of trying to 'see God' in the person in front of me, namely my dance teacher in this case (again something I've been doing for years as per the teaching of my Guru; obviously I do this entirely mentally without any external sign). As I've been worshipping the Divine Mother a bit more lately, and as Mother Saraswati is the patron of the arts, it felt natural to try to 'see' God in the form of the Divine Mother within my teacher. 

Anyway, what happened was that, after about twenty or thirty minutes of dancing before the statue of Lord Shiva and trying to cultivate the feeling that He was really present, and feeling the 'presence of the Mother' in the teacher in front of me, a slightly unusual feeling grew in my mind that there was no human teacher at all present. 

It felt like there was only the Divine Mother, specifically Durga (my favourite form of the Mother) and it felt as though it was She alone who was truly teaching me. As a result, I found myself beginning to feel a particular sense of awe, respect, affection and wonder that one might have when thinking of God. Along with the positive feelings, also appeared some anxiety at the strange feeling and some alarm as to how this might impact my class and interactions with the teacher.

It is one thing to see God in an inanimate statue-- one can feel free here. One can adorn it, talk to it, discuss things and it is all perfectly acceptable (at least in spiritual life). When seeing God in people, one has to obey the usual social norms (out of respect for their feelings at least). It would alarm most people if one suddenly started treating them as a manifestation of the Divine (a strange thing as this is our true nature according to the yogis).

I was therefore quite anxious about this development (I wanted to conceal this feeling and continue the class normally). I was also feeling strange about seemingly being in the presence of Mother Durga (it did not feel possible to have a regular conversation with the teacher or dance about casually in this situation).

In order to quickly snap out of this practice of the presence of Mother Durga, I mentally ordered myself to remember that the lady in front of me was a person, a regular human being and not a full manifestation of the Mother. 

However, this technique did not work because I knew deep inside that this was simply not true and in fact, directly contradicted the words of my Guru and other spirtual teachers that I have been studying as theory for so long. They all declare that God alone exists. 

I then found myself praying to God for help-- 'Please make things normal', I said, 'I cannot do the class like this (and I do not want my teacher to notice anything)'. I also told myself, as a sort of compromise, that yes, of course all is God as the yogis say, but we are all in a very material manifestation of that God, not just in the presence of Spirit. 'This is a material world, and that is ok', I told myself, while emphasising the word 'material' repeatedly. 

This combination of prayer and talking to myself mentally about the material aspect of God actually worked. I snapped out of the 'practicing the presence of Durga feeling'. I was relieved to feel that things were relatively familiar and 'material' again, and the class then carried on uneventfully. 

However, this development has left a mark on my mind-- I cannot forget what happened, and since then I have wondered why this occurred and what it means. 'What does She want me to do?', I ask myself (this is the second time I have asked myself this question within six months; the last time was in September last year after a dream of Mother Kali).  

At the very least, I see it as a sign from the Divine Mother that I should continue my daily worship of Her for the duration of the purascharana of the Narayana mantra (that I have just started which will last around three years). Although I have been invoking Her daily before my mantra japa sessions and have worshipped Her periodically over the years, I have never taken up an extended daily practice of any of Her mantras for years as I now plan to do. 

I also see this as a sign that dance is good for me spiritually (in addition to the beneficial effects on body and mind in terms of creating a feeling of general wellbeing; I do need to be a bit careful to avoid injuring my knees though as they can get a bit achy after an extended session of practice-- apparantly this is a common issue for people who dance, and physically, I am not exactly very young, having turned forty a couple of months ago!).

Finally I see this experience as an example of the grace of the Divine Mother. She knows very well that I have plenty of flaws and imperfections, and my spiritual practice is integrated into a very ordinary material life. I do not do anything fancy such as intense fasting for days on end, or several hours of mantra japa or meditation or anything like that. 

I do a very simple practice suitable for a person living a regular householder life. In general, I always start the day with mantra japa, and then like everyone, get immersed in various activities (home and work-related) and then remember God again briefly before going to sleep. 

I do remember God frequently during the day but it is always in the midst of activities (not sitting still for formal meditation). I also have an altar with pictures or statues of God (as Mother, Father and Guru) in almost every room in my house (except the bathroom), and as I enter and leave, I quickly bow my head mentally and (if nobody is looking) also physically and repeat my mantra once. In this way, I try to keep in touch with God during my day and have been doing this for a while.

So my spiritual efforts are up and down and not perfect but I can say that I do try. Given my circumstances, I am broadly doing what I can (though there is always room for improvement no doubt). I therefore feel that any spiritual feelings, practices, dreams and encouragement given by the Divine is a response to a very basic effort from me. However, it does feel like God responds, He/She notices what we do, and responds to even a very simple effort as long as we are doing what we can.

This sort of experience feels like a sort of encouragement from the Divine, a form of confirmation that the words of the yogis are true-- mantra recitation and practicing the presence of God together are a potent spiritual formula to help gradually recognise that we are one with Spirit (not matter).

Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, the great yogi from a century or so ago, once said that everybody on Earth suffers from madness in one form or another. However, he said there are different types of madness. Some are mad for money, others for women/men, some for name and fame, and yet others for something else material. 

A small proportion, he said, manage to develop some level of madness for God. This type of madness, involving a strong desire for God, he said, is the only type of madness worth cultivating. This is because, this madness alone leads one to God. It motivates one to perform spiritual practices every day in all sorts of circumstances until one finally obtains the grace of God. 

And, like my Guru, he too advised mantra recitation and practicing the presence of God as an excellent remedy to cure oneself of the deadly malady of material madness, while simultaneously cultivating the refreshing and delightful experience of spiritual madness for God. 

So, my suggestion, if you are not trying this practice already, is to make a serious attempt to practice the presence of God, specifically by recalling His/Her presence in as many people as possible when you interact with them every single day. Even a little of this practice can produce results over time (as with every other spiritual practice). Also it is good to gradually become more aware of one's reactions to the people one meets, and to attempt to modify these in accordance with the recognition of the presence of Spirit within them (here also, small modifications will produce results over time).

As the yogis say, it is essential to 'see' people and things with the higher mind/the spiritual heart, the eye of the Self within us. This ability to see with the spiritual eye, this spiritual sight, develops via the practice of mantra recitation. And equally, this attempt to spiritually 'see' enhances the practice of mantra recitation. These two practices mutually strengthen each other.

May God bless us all with the ability to truly see from a spiritual perspective.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya.

Om Sri Durgayai Namah.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. I would like to share an extremely inspiring article by Swami Sivananda on this subject. This is called "Easy method of sadhana in a worldly environment". 

Please see below for the link (my spiritual practice of the presence of God in daily life is primarily based upon this article and similar writings by him and his disciples).

I would like to highlight the following paragraphs from this article:

Sivananda says:

"It is not necessary for him to renounce the world and hide himself in the Himalayan caves to regain his lost Divinity. Here I present a very easy method of Sadhana by which, he can attain God-consciousness even while he is living in the world amidst multifarious activities."

"You need not have a separate place or room and time for meditation. Close your eyes for a minute or two once in every two or three hours and think of God and His Divine Qualities such as Mercy, Love, Peace, Joy, Knowledge, Purity, Perfection and so forth during work and repeat mentally Hari Om or Sri Ram, or Rama Rama or Krishna Krishna or any Mantra according to your taste."

"See God in every face and in every object. Have a cool, balanced mind always. If you develop this changed angle of vision and Divine Bhava in daily life by protracted and constant practice all actions will become Yogic activities."

"All actions will become worship of the Lord. This is quite sufficient. You will get God-realisation quickly. This is dynamic Yoga. This is very a powerful Sadhana."

"I have given you a very easy Sadhana. Hereafter you should not bring your lame excuse and say, "Swamiji, I have no time to do spiritual practices." Even if you have a little practice of the above Sadhana for three months you will notice that you are a changed being altogether."

https://www.sivanandaonline.org/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=472

Om Shri Gurave Namah.