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RAJA YOGA BASIC COURSE -

Lesson 2: SOUL CONSCIOUSNESS

Three Faculties or powers of the SOUL, and their functions :

The human body consists of many organs and limbs to move around and exist in
the physical world. So too, the soul has 3 subtle faculties of thinking power
(mind), reasoning power (intellect) and personality traits - (sanskaars), to
negotiate the inner world of thoughts, feelings, decisions and habits. The
understanding of these subtle abilities or powers and how they work and interact,
helps me immensely in managing my personal world. The soul expresses itself
through the mind, the intellect and the sanskaras. We will use the original Hindi
word "Sanskaar" to mean the subconscious and unconscious impressions, that
form the basis of the souls unique personality. If I want to change my life, I need
to change my actions, for which I have to alter my thinking. To do that I need to
know just how and why thoughts arise.

1] MIND: The faculty of creation, where you create all your thoughts, which then
stimulates certain feelings, desires, emotions. The soul uses the mind as a
screen or field on which it projects thoughts, sensations, images and ideas.
According to the impact that they cause, an experience, a feeling or an emotion is
created. For example, if I think 'banana', immediately the familiar curved and
yellow image of a banana appears on the mental screen together with, perhaps,
the sensation of its taste or texture. If I remember something abstract like my
work colleague's defect of irresponsibility, it brings with it a feeling of negativity,
perhaps related to something I have not quite worked out myself. Basically what
happens is that the mind has the amazing capacity to take on the form of
whatever it is thinking about at any one moment, and extract a feeling of the
quality that comes with that form. Nothing could be a greater incentive towards
positive thinking than this simple fact. If I want to feel good, I have to have the
types of thoughts that bring the quality of goodness. The mind is unfortunately
subject to the whims and inconsistencies of the intellect, just as the force of gravity
pulls the tides to whatever the side of the world the moon happens to be on, the
tides of the mind and its moods is pulled. Wherever the intellect roams, the mind
automatically follows, producing all of its essential functions.

2] INTELLECT: is the faculty of discriminating, judging, decision-
making.which is used to assess right from wrong, good from bad. and then
make a decision. As the ruler of the inner state, the intellect is the principal faculty
of the Soul. While a powerful and benign ruler is of immense benefit to any
country, a weak and confused leader is manipulated and over-ruled by clever
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subjects. The feeble and weak intellect surrenders itself to two worlds: the
external world of the senses and their objects, and the internal world of thoughts,
feelings and personality traits. If I want peace, then I need an intellect that can
create and decide on the types of thought patterns and actions that lead to peace.
In the same way, the peace-provoking sanskaars can be reinforced and brought to
the surface so that they are the ones that come into the mind. Thus the intellect
plays its role of doorkeeper. It allows or refuses entry into the process according
to its own set of rules and perceptions. Through meditation the accuracy of this
role is heightened and can really be strengthened, so that positive qualities are
permitted entry and continuity, while negative ones are weakened and
transformed. I can know, for example, that to become irritated is detrimental to my
life. Even so, when I am faced by the person who has been a traditional trigger for
my irritation, and once again he is doing exactly that action which I find so
annoying, then all theory is of no use. At that moment I need power not to get
irritated. Meditation will give me that power. The strength or weakness of an
individual is connected with the intellect. It is important to note that an individual
can have an intellect that functions perfectly well without necessarily being an
intellectual.

3] SANSKAARS: or Personality Traits, are the impressions or grooves made
on the soul by any action you do (be it thought, word or deed). The soul is the
seed which contains within itself not only the faculties of thinking and deciding,
but also has specific configuration. Just as each chemical element's structure and
reactability is based on its electron / proton arrangement, the soul's configuration
is based on what are known as personality traits- sanskaars. A more accurate
description would be the imprints that are the basis of the personality. It largely
resembles what is called in the West - subconscious mind, though it also includes
the unconscious as well. When I am in bed at night just before going off to sleep,
images of all shapes, forms and color pour onto the screen of the mind one after
the other. Of course, it's not only when I am dreaming that the sanskaars come
into play. The raw materials for all thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions also
arise from the sanskaars. In the analogy of images projected on a screen, the
sanskaars would be the archives of all previously recorded experiences. Every
single action that I perform leaves its mark in the soul itself as a sanskaar. The
tendency of the sanskaars to self-organize means, that they group themselves
according to quality and function.
The above characteristics are the basis of our individual uniqueness. The quality
of a person, described by such adjectives as good, evil, happy-natured, boring,
arrogant, altruistic and so on, is basically related to his or her sanskaars.

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HOW THESE THREE FACULTIES OF THE SOUL WORK TOGETHER

The three aspects of the Self work together in a precise and integrated manner.
Each faculty affects both the others. Functioning jointly, they produce what can be
termed as the state of consciousness. Looking at the flow in a clockwise direction,
we can see how from the Sanskaars a thought arises in the Mind, which is
processed by the Intellect. The intellect decides whether to carry it into action or
not through the body. If the decision is to act, the experience of the action is
recorded in the Soul as a sanskaar. In this way old sanskaars (those that are
already there) are modified, strengthened or weakened according to the actions
performed. In the case in which a thought is not carried out into action, it is simply
tossed back into the pool of sanskaars for future consideration, if necessary.




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CONCLUSION FROM UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF THE SELF

The main points that I can take from this are: The intellect has a crucial role in
guiding and transforming the self. I cannot escape the effects of whatever actions
I perform (be it thought, word or deed). I have within me, both the sources of any
suffering I may go through as well as the solution to it. The positive qualities,
which are in me as sanskaars can only be brought to the surface of the conscious
mind through intervention of the intellect.

RAJA YOGA MEDITATION : Is a process of activating Higher Emotions. Raja
Yoga gives the intellect the power to select those positive sanskaas, which lead to
the higher emotions, calm and clear thoughts, and the pure desire to enjoy life in
such a way that neither is sorrow experienced by the self, nor is sorrow given to
others. In the initial stages of meditation, I call to mind and experience sanskaars,
which in most people surface only occasionally. They are deeper than the
superficial memories of worldly experiences. These are pure and powerful
sankaars related to the eternal nature of the soul. Since the soul is not a material
energy, but is a metaphysical energy separate from the body, the dualities of the
material world do not relate to the deep, original, inner nature of the soul.
Consciousness has the same property as light, the powerful force with distinct
qualities of the soul: peace, purity, power, etc. When these original sanskaars
are experienced, love and happiness are also experienced automatically. After
some practice, I can have the intellectual power to activate these sanskaars
consciously in daily life at any time. In a situation which would lead most people
to experience negative moods or emotions such as fear, depression, sorrow,
anxiety, boredom, fatigue, hatred or aggression, I can become detached and
access my innate qualities.

MEDITATION steps: As a soul, I must be aware of my own capacities to sense,
discriminate and understand in order to attune these powers to the proper degree
of subtlety and precision. With the physical eyes I can see only gross, material
things. It requires a different kind of vision or outlook to see what concern the
Non-material - all those experiences, which transcend this physical level of
existence.
Use of Positive Thoughts: Though emptying the mind may bring temporary relief,
it's not a natural part of living to have no thoughts almost impossible. Instead,
the mind has to be guided and trained to create the types of thoughts that lead to
harmony. Thus, each session of Raja Yoga meditation can be seen as one of
thought-training in a similar way to a tennis player who, seeking proficiency,
practices his serve, back-hand, and volley in order to improve them. Meditation is
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the journey towards soul consciousness and God consciousness, guided by the
use of the thoughts created in the mind, and the deep and inner memory of the
original and innate state of being. I first have to withdraw my attention from all
outer circumstances and direct it within towards inner dialogue. I consider and
experience as intimately as possible, thoughts related to the real nature of the self,
and its role and relationship with the Supreme Being / Source. All such thoughts
carry a distinctly positive vibration and lead me to fulfillment.

SUMMARY : Soul Consciousness: When your identity is based on your true
form - point of eternal, spiritual light a Soul, you feel comfortable no matter what
happens. Your heart is open and loving. You love yourself. Your confidence and
self-respect soars. Your life is meaningful. You understand the scheme of things.
You attract inner beauty. You understand your story. Peace is your religion. You
are motivated by wisdom. You are not afraid of death, or of yesterday. You
respect your body and treat it well. Your inside matches your outside. No human
being is your enemy. Patience and contentment accompany you.

Body Consciousness: When your identity is based on your physical appearance,
possessions, position or people. you feel anxious and up-tight. You are motivated
by short-term desires. You criticize and find fault with everyone. You have a
judgmental attitude. Your happiness does not last. You have low self-esteem and
a lot of ego. You become defensive. You constantly seek approval. You are
dependent on physical support and systems. You are afraid of dying. You have no
control over your sense organs. You are disturbed by feelings of attraction to the
physical beauty of bodies. You see a distorted past and have no clear aim for the
future.

A lack of Soul-awareness puts your well-being at the mercy of your environment -
you become a slave to the influences of the people and situations around you -
feeling happy and good only when outside events warrant it. This kind of
dependency leaves the soul weak and confused.
But Soul-consciousness on the other hand frees you from external influences,
allowing you to create an inner well-being that is totally independent. This can only
be cultivated through deliberate practice. Difficulties will arise along the way to test
your resolve for Self-upliftment, like physical illness, relationships, memories of the
past, etc. Yet with patience and introspection, you will come to see how these very
difficult tests are the means to strengthen your spiritual identity. Wisdom says :
See your life as an Actor does his play - you would see one scene unfolding after
another. Each passing scene having passed, is now over. Letting bygones be
bygones is easier if you remember, that you cannot change the past, but you
definitely can change the future --- the key to accomplish much more through
much less effort. In todays world our ability to cope with frustration, depression,
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stress and tension is hampered by thinking too much about other people, about
the past, and worrying about the future....! This causes problems in the mental
digestive system. The best mental 'antacid' is in-depth spiritual study. Plus a
regular practice of Self-awareness, penetrates the mind very deeply, dislodging
emotional pain at its roots. Only then can emotions be purified, refined, and
ultimately transformed.
om shanti






The charioteer and the chariot

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The charioteer has been shown on the chariot, holding the reins of the 5 horses. The horses
are mischievous and adventurous they will lead the chariot and the charioteer astray if left
to their own devices. They are the greatest companions for the charioteer and allow him
to move forward at great speed. However, if these same companions are distracted and
influenced by enemy tactics, then the charioteer is at risk of also being deluded into
making the wrong move and becoming trapped.

I the soul am the charioteer sitting in this body. The five horses represent the 5 senses: to
hear, to see, to taste, to smell and to touch. These are my great companions. They are a
part of the body, the chariot; they are separate from the charioteer, the soul.
However the senses can be pulled and influenced in all directions. The job of the
charioteer is to direct them and not be influenced himself. To use them but not to become
enslaved to them and the information they supply.

With these under full control the charioteer is able to withstand all challenges that come in
his path and move with great wisdom.

Be a wise charioteer.