expansion (called vistara in Sanskrit). As you go about your day-to-day activities the mind is absorbed in countless objects and sense impressions. No matter how hard you try, you will find it impossible to stop this natural flow of your mind. It is always jumping from one thing to another, often in such a manner as to work itself into a frenzy, creating both physical and mental stress. The Indian saint Ramakrishna once characterized the mind as “a mad monkey stung by a scorpion.” The mind must always have an object; you can use this natural tendency and give it an “infinite object” on which to focus.
The ego, or the part of the mind that can say, “I exist,” is always focused on the external world. The consciousness — the part of you that can say, “I know I exist”— witnesses the ego’s activity. When you meditate, you reverse the outward-going process, training your mind to focus instead on the infinite, beyond form or thought. The ego makes you feel as if you are a separate individual entity. It must have a finite object or thought with which to be involved in order to maintain its existence. Given infinite consciousness as its object, the individual sense of “I” merges with the infinite “I.” It is unable to contain this feeling of infinite awareness within the limited scope of its existence. What evolves from this practice is a state of absolute peace, which is beyond description because it is beyond the busy workings of the mind.
The outward expression of mental expansion is the realization of the oneness of all creation. This universal outlook prevents you from encouraging any division in humanity. You are inspired from within to work for the unity and elevation of all and to remove the barriers that separate living beings from one another. Expansion of mind lends compassion to your outlook and enables you to accept the problems of the world as your own.
The second aspect of your perfect nature can be called “vibrational flow” (called rasa in Sanskrit). This sounds a little esoteric. What does it mean? We know from physics, as well as from Eastern teachings, that everything in the universe is composed of vibration.
According to Tantra, your mind, as well as the physical universe, is made of the thought waves of infinite consciousness. Nothing is truly external. In each being, the combination of all its wavelengths— physical, mental, emotional— is its individual vibration. Each of us, because of our previous experiences, our environment, our desires, and stage of development, has an entirely different vibrational expression than any other being. But infinite consciousness is beyond all of our individual tendencies. Infinite consciousness is the combination of every vibration in the universe; its vibrational flow is the flow of the entire cosmos.
Another important component of meditation comes into play here: “living meditation,” the practice of merging your individual rhythmic vibration with that of the infinite, while trying to keep your mind immersed in that flow at all times. You come to realize that your individual flow is that of the Supreme, and so all of your actions are in harmony with it.
Happiness, attraction, or congeniality results when the vibrational expression of one being is harmonious with that of another. Conversely, irritation, stress, even hatred results when those same vibrational rhythms oppose or clash with one another. You’ve probably experienced a sense of being “in tune” with someone (“I liked you from the moment I met you”) — or the opposite (“The minute I saw him, I knew we wouldn’t get along”). When you are able to bring your individual vibrational rhythms into harmony with infinite consciousness, an inner calm and happiness ensues that is not affected by the finite world. Your understanding of others increases. You are in harmony with the creator of all vibrational expressions, and you are able to adjust your own expressions accordingly. Thus, you are no longer tossed about by attraction and repulsion, but empathy, understanding, and deep love for all creation gives you a pleasure much finer than you have ever experienced.
The third part of your perfect nature is selfless service (called seva in Sanskrit). Service is giving fully of yourself without expectation of reward. It is the result of mental expansion and vibrational flow. The person who meditates regularly eventually gains the expansion of mind to perceive consciousness in all creation. She also gains the harmonious relationship with the universe that enables her to work selflessly for its evolution and transformation.
Service and meditation are like two lovers who are never happily separated. It is impossible to progress in meditation without developing the impulse to care for others; the universal love that grows as a result of the mind’s expansion compels us to serve. Service is an extension of meditation. The thought, “I am an expression of infinite consciousness, serving the infinite in you” helps to uplift the mind and prepare it for meditation. When you serve, your thought is that “infinite consciousness has manifested before me in this form in order to give me a chance to serve.” In this way the limited ego is kept in perspective, the mind is immersed in the thought of oneness, progress in meditation is assured, and your service ensures the progress of your fellow beings.
The fourth and final aspect of your perfect nature is actually the goal — infinite consciousness (parama purusa). It is your very essence. It is perfection. Although every living being, every atom, cell, and subatomic particle, every rock, every plant, everything in the universe is in essence that consciousness, we humans have the unique capacity to know our divinity, to realize our perfection in the spiritual realm. This faculty also gives us a responsibility to the world in which we live: to develop ourselves to fulfill our great potential.
This sense of oneness with the infinite is more than mood-making. Fritjof Capra writes, in The Tao of Physics, “The basic oneness of the universe is not only the central characteristic of the mystical experience, but is also one of the most important revelations of modern physics.” Many physicists and others who study the origins of the universe are coming to the conclusion that oneness is the natural state from which everything arises.
Meditation is not a magic cure-all that can be taken in doses to work overnight. Your approach is definitely an important factor in your selfrealization. Although there is no failure in meditation, your attitude can make the difference between ease and difficulty. Cultivating the right frame of mind is very helpful if you are serious about continuing your practice, because it supplies the internal inspiration and enthusiasm that will fuel your meditation and color your thoughts and actions throughout each day.
The essence of Tantra Yoga is the joyous affirmation that “there is nothing that is not divine.” Instead of proclaiming, like many traditional philosophies, “God is not this, God is not that,” the Tantric affirms, “All is God; I am God.” By recognizing that all forms in the universe are manifestations of the same consciousness, your attitude becomes positive and dynamic. You see the universe as the arena for spiritual endeavor. Perceived and utilized properly, it reveals, not veils, God. Rather than concentrating on admonitions of “don’t be this way, don’t do that,” you concentrate on the positive, using all your physical, mental, and spiritual potential as part of your path. Meditation is not a process of elimination, but of inclusion, expanding your awareness of that consciousness infinitely.
In the progress toward truth, let us notice that each step is from particles to waves, or from material to mental; the final picture consists wholly of waves, and its ingredients are wholly mental constructs. It seems more and more likely that reality is better described as mental than material.
— Physicist James Jeans
DISCRIMINATION AND NONATTACHMENT
You might think that to such a person, discrimination and nonattachment would be negative concepts. But understood properly these two functions of the higher mind are integral to the positive approach of Tantra Yoga.
Discrimination is knowing what is lasting and what is not, being able to perceive the eternal consciousness within the passing show of the material world, and knowing that attachment to finite objects