Acharya Girish Jha

6^th neighbor is the world around us

The world around us is constantly changing. The change is eternal. This eternal change is defined in terms of space, time and causation. Time is subjective to self while space is objective to self. Causation is events, relations, conditions, circumstances. Therefore , life is in flux but guided by the Self which is unchanging identity that dwells deep within all of us. This unchanging identity is veiled behind the time, space and causation. This veil creates an illusion that this world around us is real. This is ignorance. Ignorance causes desire to work for permanence. But change can never become unchanging identity. This become the struggle. But struggle also lies within the field of change. Anything that lies within the field of change can never discover what is eternal. Therefore, all spiritual and religious philosophies of the world inspires to transcend the mind . when we transcend the mind, we enter into eternal or higher or spiritual consciousness. The entry is conscious but helps dropping the identification with the world around us. The world is therefore an illusion to the Self. To know , to live and to act in this world of change as if we are the guests allows the mind to withdraw itself and search for eternal identity. This movement of mind is being self oriented. This orientation is not caused due to the mind, intellect or ego but beyond all of them.

We awaken to the reality while being self oriented that world of change neither belongs to us nor we belong to it. This drops the identification, desire and attachment. Now we know and become aware that this world of change is nothing but factor for our conscious evolution and transformation. There is nothing to be attained in the world but we already are what we want to achieve. Our sleep is broken. Our ignorance disappears. Our movement in the world is now full of wisdom. We walk alone still living in the world. My mentor says , “ we neither reject nor accept the world created by the mind but enjoy it as manifestation of the SELF. We now understand that this world is the outermost neighbor and neighbor is always separate, different and away from us even though it is very very near. That it is very very close as it appears but very far from us. Money, wealth, possessions, sex, cravings, positions, attainment, sufferings, problems, afflictions are nothing but belongs to this world and not to us. This is awakening. This is being self oriented. This is perception of truth beyond the facts that mind had been perceiving and forcing us to live, move and act.

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What is being self oriented

A woman came to me and narrated her story, ‘ I am frustrated with my husband as I am always frightened that he is controlling me . I always live in anxiety , stress and fear at all time, specially I am with him. It has become virtually impossible for me to live with him now. But I do not have any other means except to be with him as I do not any means for my living. What should I do? Why don’t you change my husband ? how come my husband is not able to appreciate my state”……………………………….”

This is perfect example of being other oriented in life. The very “other” is all that is other than your Eternal Self that is the center of your existence. This other can be understood as six neighbors that I often talk in the classes, seminars and workshops.

First neighbor – outermost neighbor ———-all that are outside human frame – relations, money, home, profession, articles, gadgets you use in your daily life. This neighbor appears very near but is very far from you. As long as you are making them responsible for your problems and sufferings in life, you will not attain peace in life.

Second neighbor – human frame ………………….the human frame is outermost layer is gross body of which science always talks. Since birth, mind of man considers this gross body is me and mine , creates an illusions of being the self. But this is also the neighbor , second outermost layer , moves its own life and dies its own. What we can do is to maintain and allow expression of higher consciousness.

Third neighbor – Energy Body ………………………………..you can do any work through your gross body only when you have energy. Yoga separates energy consciousness from gross body of anatomy and physiology as understood by modern science. This energy becomes low, dissipated by our anxiety, fear, stress, negative thinking, overwork, over eating and many other works that directs the mind outward.

Fourth neighbor – mental body ————————–This is what is known as mind and mental consciousness. This is evolving either consciously or unconsciously. When evolving unconsciously, brings all grief, afflictions and sufferings in life. When evolving consciously , become yoga , transforms millions of mind stuff that causes sufferings in life. It is this mental consciousness needs to be taught to become Self oriented to begin the path of spiritual awakening of yoga.

Fifth neighbor – intellect and ego …………………..interestingly , fifth neighbor depends on fourth but tries to move independently. Ego is the barrier and helper in spiritual progress. When ripe – means considers all belongs to Self, unripe when considers all belongs to me ( money, problems, health, diseases , house etc). ego becomes a barrier and makes every one Other Oriented. The woman above perceives her life based on her husband and his actions. How she can be happy ?

Sixth neighbor – pleasure principle………………………..we enjoy, our relationships based on all the above five neighbors , creates the deepest attachment, cravings and sufferings in life. The joy lies within you but you consider that it lies in food, home, money and so on is what yoga says is illusion.

Self ————–Here we are …………………beyond all six neighbors , we are infinite, eternal, non changing identity. Yoga is the discovery of that Self which dwells here. But when we live, move and act in the above six neighbors, Self hides which is termed ignorance. To be self oriented simply means to be come aware of this self or move within beyond all the six.

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Yoga and any spiritual tradition demand you to become self oriented not other oriented. The other oriented means when you know, claim that anything and everything outside is responsible for your grief, afflictions and suffering. You become angry- and say that you are responsible for my anger; you go to office and claim that your boss makes you stressed. You are other oriented.

As long as you claim, feel, experience that world outside – people, events, conditions, circumstances are responsible for your peace, harmony or stress, anger and anxiety- you cannot enter into the path of yoga and spirituality.

A text says “swa Samaved Laxnam” meaning “my own self makes me aware” of if I am at peace or at anger and none else.

And to be self oriented means you withdraw your scattered mind inside, you become aware of an existence beyond thinking, you are aware of a center within beyond body, life and mind. This awareness helps one to transcend and know that there is an existence beyond time, space and causation. But we cannot enter into that existence as long as we are other oriented. And as long as we are other oriented, we cannot become self oriented. Secondly, we have not seen, experienced; know the center within, then how we can enter into it.

There are many ways to become self oriented

· You can use your emotions

· You can use your thinking

· You can use your works or action

· You can separate yourself from all works of thought, emotions and body

· You can push your mind to drop time, space and causation to transcend them by mantra, prayer, worship etc

But in all the above, we need to become aware, then self oriented followed by conscious experience of a center within. I call it a center of peace

To be continued ………………………….

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