Sri Ramakrishna’s Divine Descent, Part 2 #304

There is immense beauty and poetry abiding in the otherwise presumed sterility, or the presupposed emptiness, of that great principle seers and seekers call Nonduality. A step by step figuring of the process of the dissolving of human ignorance under the powerful press of advaitic reasoning is one of those beauties, and it is pure poetry, philosophically speaking. Striving souls seldom see this transformation happening to them. That marvel is reserved for the teachers, gurus, and acharyas of these adamant seekers. A clear explanation of this is to be seen on this dharmic wisdom chart, that outlines fourteen pillars of ultimate progress in the world’s finest living philosophy. To quote Vivekananda, whose image graces this revealing chart, “On planes physical, ethical, and spiritual, an ever-broadening generalization — leading up to a concept of Unity Eternal — is in the air; and this being so, all the movements of the time may be taken to represent, knowingly or unknowingly, the noblest philosophy of the unity of man ever had — the Advaita Vedanta.”

Sadhana, as understood by beginning and intermediate practitioners, is mostly a matter of body, prana, and ritualistic worship. When it becomes obvious after a time that the mind will need its own form of practice, more subtle elements are called into play. The inward journey really begins here, for the “kingdom of Heaven” as it could be called, is most certainly within. The mind, with its thoughts, intellect, and ego constituents, are these inner territories. When they are detected, explored, and refined, all manner of exquisite experiences, like samadhis, come forward. For those whose main path is one of wisdom, this chart lays out the dynamics of a mind that is making itself perfectly qualified for the singular experience of ultimate Samadhi, called Nirvikalpa.