10 Conditions of the Guru/Shishya Relationship #255
In the great revealed scripture, Yoga Vasishtha, the teaching of the ten conditions that make for the perfectly set up relationship between a sincere spiritual aspirant and an illumined teacher is presented. Such in-depth knowledge around an already esoteric subject is rare indeed, making this chart all the more valuable for all those aspirants who would satisfy the criterion of taking initiation into inner life from an authentic preceptor.
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4 Mighty & Noble Combats #184
One of the revealing statements in spiritual life tells of the eskimo who must watch snow conditions very carefully every day in order that his survival, and that of his family, is assured. The meaning is that a sadhaka, or adept spiritual aspirant, must observe his/her own consciousness daily for signs of both dangers and realizations arising there, for his spiritual progress depends upon it. The wisdom chart concerning the Four Mighty & Noble Combats provides a simple and straightforward explanation for this necessity, like a sentinel on watch day and night for signs of progress or retardation. All is indeed well in the kingdom of the soul when such a watchman is on duty and scrutinizing the scene.
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4 Sensitivities, 4 Attitudes, & 4 Perfections #163
Systems of religion and philosophy that coalesce several smaller systems have always been a particularly effective way of communicating spiritual truth and its wisdom in India. In this dharma art wisdom chart, three such systems have been brought together to lend more depth and intensity to the spiritual path, and to the ongoing sadhana that opens it for daily exploration.
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5 Eternal Questions #233
One of Vedanta’s basic teachings that is easy of access, and which explains the human predicament fittingly enough, is the set of Five Eternal Questions. That is, it could be that whenever people get into the mood to question the nature of life in the world, they ask all the wrong questions — or at least place them in an improper order. Also known as the “Five W’s,” namely “what, where, when, why, and who,” these considerations also called matter, space, time, and causation are most often proposed while leaving the self, “who,” out of the picture. Placing the self first will cure all ills, or at least allow for the proper perspective to come to the mind and its thinking process.
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5 Ways to Perfection #245
A singular and fresh addition to the teachings of Indian dharma, the Five Ways to Perfection can be shocking to the aspirant upon first hearing. Who would have known, first of all, that all worlds lie within oneself, and secondly, that they do so in the four conditions of waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and transcendence. Knowing this first (see companion chart #34, Four States of Consciousness), then this teaching of Sri Ramakrishna on the Five Perfections can be more easily comprehended. The aspiring soul who encounters forms of Reality in dream sleep, in the dream of waking life, in the reception of grace, through the act of disciplining the self, etc., can see and reach perfection inside of one lifetime, if not earlier.
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7 Qualifications & 7 Victories of a Tantric Aspirant #217
In the vast and ancient darshana of Tantra, unsystemizable up to this very day and time, there are, nevertheless, a host of systems, or methods, that stand forth for practitioners who want to qualify themselves along this sweet and broad pathway. To be peaceful and nonviolent, to have the senses under control, to love and seek Brahman first and foremost, and to be a nondualist — these are some of those main requirements. There are also seven victories along the path which affirm that the soul has attained to the highest, and to all stations of awareness along the way. All of this has been placed in this wisdom chart, giving the seeker a road map for the best aspects of the Tantric system.
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Cutting through False Superimposition #124
The Sanskrit word, viveka, is of utmost importance today, at least for the sincere spiritual aspirant who is serious about attaining freedom in this very life. Discernment of the spiritual variety is what turns the ordinary pathway of religious convention into a broad avenue of inner communion. Common devotion to God is transformed into an ecstatic relationship with the Divine if viveka is present in the human mind. And as this dharma chart shows, discrimination of this kind should be applied to all stages and levels of life, like action and inaction. Then only will the obscuring clouds of false superimposition, called vivarta, part and dissolve, leaving the even-minded seeker fully at rest in all modes of existence.
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Fashioning a Pure and Buoyant Mind #85
The familiar term, “fallen from grace,” is really a statement that reflects the fall of a human being’s natural awareness from a mind that has become burdened by the many weights of the world; it has turned “worldly.” As Sri Ramakrishna used to relate, “Worldlines is the chronic disease of this age.” And there are many wise ways with which to bring such a wayward mind back to health and inspiration, all falling under the auspice of individual sadhana, or personal spiritual effort. This regimen of daily striving along a decidedly spiritual vein cuts off the sandbags of worldliness and allows the mind to soar once again in the clear and beautiful skies of higher Awareness.
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Golden Rules for Spiritual Practice #136
In India there are so many well-marked pathways to illumination, as well as multiple spiritual philosophies to consider. This wisdom chart brings together some of the most effective teachings of this host of sacred offerings, giving the sincere aspirant after freedom some directives for attaining substantial inner progress towards the Supreme Goal. Bringing to mind daily even one or two of these tools for Truth would fill out and mature the sadhana of any intrepid seeker, and allow for leaving the problems of root ignorance behind, once and for all.
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Green Coconut Oneness #323
The problem of the over-zealous seeker courting a premature attitude that assumes too much too soon, is taken to task in this dharma art wisdom chart. This false assumption taken on by an ongoing cross-section of callow living beings is lent clarity via the analogy of the green coconut that is one solid mass prior to ripening, eventually breaking into several layers upon maturity. This is likened to the beginning spiritual aspirant who hears the truth of the oneness of all existence, then assumes to know it himself prior to undergoing the disciplinary practices and purification that reveals, then separates out the layers of ignorance that still persist in his mind. Put another way, the seasoned spiritual adept does not mistake the copra-like layers of relativity for the milk-essence of pure, conscious Awareness.
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Janaka’s Song of Victory #201
In all of Mother India’s host of teachings, scriptures, stories, and darshanas, there is hardly a more notable personage appearing among them as King Janaka. This is because, as Sri Ramakrishna has stated, “He drank his milk from a brimming cup.” This means that he had both jnanam and bhakti in his possession, to say the least. This wisdom chart reveals the breadth and depth of character that Janaka evinced, and the way he proceeded to overcome the ignorance that occupies the human mind until the full dawning of nondual Awareness made its appearance within him. His song, stunned at first, melancholy in the middle, and blissful at the end, exemplifies the stages of growth which the truth-seeking soul moves through on its way to Self-realization.
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Knowledge, Knower, & What is to be Known #246
There are many triputis, or triple teachings, in the dharma, which help the practitioner to overcome the deluding pairs of opposites. Few of these are more profound and powerful than Knowledge, The Knower, and What is to be Known. It is a teaching from the Bhagavad Gita by Sri Krishna. As the seeker rolls his or her eyes over the teachings on this wisdom chart, everything is placed into right and proper perspective. The teaching informs and purifies the mind, heals rifts in duality, and reveals the secret of nonduality as well. Looking at this dharma art wisdom chart every day, observing its instructions, and meditating upon the Lord and Mother of the Universe, will take the soul inward and render it undeniably and irretrievably unified with Brahman.
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