Om! Desire - the Power of Lust by Atman NItyananda /Aum

Desire - the Power of Lust
by Atman NItyananda /Aum

Desire is the energy that propels us forward, motivates us to pursue the things we want, and gives us a sense of purpose. However, desire has various aspects according the three gunas can be of sattvic, rajasic and tamsic nature. Lust, is mostly of rajasi and rajasotamsic nature and one of the most powerful aspects of desire difficult to manage and get free and it is th one that mostly causes craving, passion, greed, delusion attachment, identification, pain, and suffering.

Lust, especially sex and food-drink lust, is a strong force that overwhelms our senses and clouds mind and intellect ant ht capcity ofrestrain, reason and discenment. It is a passonate longing for immediate gratification that blinds us to the consequences of our actions and makes us lose touch with our essence and our connection to the divine consciousness. We become so consumed by our desires and especially lust that we forget the spiritual values that guide us towards a meaningful life and the true purpose of our existence that is Self-realization and transforming ourselves into beings of peace, love and light.

Lust is also what causes the feelings of dissatisfaction, discomfort, uneasiness and sense of lack that manifest themselves almost constantly in us. We are never satisfied with what we have, always wanting different, more and more intense pleasures and satisfaction of the senses, and craving for that which is created in our imagination bent to the power of lust.
This insatiable desire for external pleasures as well as for money, possessions and fame is what fuels the identification with the body and objects and the cycle of suffering and the illusion of happiness. We think that once we get what we want, we will be happy, but soon realize that the happiness (if any) is fleeting and temporary. We are then left with a feeling of lack and a sense that something is missing, that we want something more to feel okay and aslo boredom and disatisfaction.

Lust foundation is mostly the rajas quality (guna) subcordinated by the tamas guna. Rajas is the quality of passion, craving, and attachment while tamas is the quality of ignorance, lethargy, and delusion.
Tamas makes us identify with lust and passion and become addcitve to them. Tamas is also what makes lust perverted and find pleasure in perverted ways of making sex (porography and majohism among many others) and eating foods and drinks. Tamas causes other perversions too, for example, makes us find satisfantion in creating pain to others.

When rajas and tamas qualities are dominant in a person, desire degradates in the form of lust and other negative emotions such as greed, attachemnt and addiction. The mind becomes restless and agitated, always seeking fulfillment in sense pleasures and sensory experiences.

However, the ancient wisdom of yoga and other spiritual tranditions offer a path for transcendence and freedom of these lower qualities of human nature. By cultivating the sattva quality or the quality of harmony, peace, purity, and clarity, we can rise above our lower nature and connect with our higher self (Atman, Consciousness) and the divine Consicousness.

Spiritual life and daily systematic practice enable us to detach ourselves from lust and other egoic tendencies and conditioning, purify the mind and heart, gradually to diminish them and finally dissolve them completely and attain liberation.

There are many ways and methods of practice, among them living Self-aware and mindfyully moment to moment, medtitation, self-enquiry, mantra repetition, chanting mantras, prayer and devotionare of the most important. In addition to practice, living a sattvic life style is also an essential factor to overcome lust.

By living Self-aware and mindfyully moment to momente, we can observe our thoughts and desires without getting caught up in them. We learn to detach and cease identifying with lust, cravings and impulses for pleasures but also of any other nature, and observe them mindfully make them subside and diminish their energy through prayer and mantra. This way we can gradually deepen in the inner silence and and to find joy and plenitude witin ourselves and the simple things in life.

Through daily practice of meditation and Self-enquiry at home or wherever we are we train our attention and mind to focus on the present moment, develop a deeper and firmer cosncious contact with inner silence and cultivate inner peace and calmness. The more we dettach from the mind (thoughts and emotions) and slowing down the mind and becoming still, the more we can transcend lust, passion and all mental emotional expressionss and connect with the deeper essence of being.
We learn to live from a place of authenticity and wisdom rather than from a place of greed and delusion. We can find joy in the simple pleasures of life, such as spending time with loved ones, enjoying nature, and engaging in creative pursuits, but most of all enjoying just being. Enjoying the peace and bliss of our essence in ourselves regradless of external events and circumsatances.

Spirituality teaches us that the ultimate goal of life is not to fulfill our desires but to realize our true nature and transform ourseves into beings of peace, love and light. It is to awaken to the truth that we are not separate from the divine Consciousness, but merely expressions of it and in essence one with the divine. By realizing that we are infinite eternal Consciousness, we disidentify from the ego and all its expressions and body and connect with the infinite peace, wisdom and love that is within us and pervedaes the whole cosmos.

In conclusion, lust is a powerful force that lead us astray from our true purpose in life and causes greed, delusion, attachment,addiction, pain, and suffering.

However, through sattvic life and systamtic, sincere and diligent practice moment by moment and at home, we can purify our psyche, cultivate the sattva quality and through meditation and Slef-enquiry rise above our lower nature and connect consciouslty with our divine essence. By connecting with our essence and the divine Consciousness, we can transcend and eliminate lust and all other desires and find lasting peace and fulfillment.

The only way to overcome and get free from lust is through spiritual practices, living a sattvic, conscious and mindful life and to cultivate inner peace, contentment, and joy by connecting deeply and firmly with inner silent presence which is our divine nature and one with the divine consciousness.

🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony

Vid: The essence of Non-duality (Advaita Vedanta)

The essence of Non-duality (Advaita Vedanta)
by Atman Nityananda

There is only one absolute non-dual reality (without parts, form, time, space and cause). There nothing else beside That nondual reality. This nondual dual principal it is called Brahman and in relation with the human beings it is called Atman.

This Atman or Brahman is pure Being, pure light of Consciousness and pure Bliss. This nondual reality is what we really Are.

The identity of the apparently individual Consciousness (called Atman) with the absolute or Universal Consciousness (called Brahman) is clearly affirmed by the great sentences -Mahavakyas of Upanishads):‘Aham Brahmasmi’ (‘Brahman I am’), ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ (‘That you Are’), ‘Ayam Atma Brahma’ (‘Atman is Brahman’).

Read all the essay

The essence of Non-duality

Om! How to develop Self-awareness ~ Atman NItyananda

How to develop Self-awareness

There are two definitions of self-awareness.

1. The first is to be aware of our ephemeral self (our body, energy and mind) and
2. the second is to be aware of our true Self, the inner formless silent luminous space which is eternal and is pure existence, pure awareness and pure bliss.

We must develop both kind of awareness, both are necessary, but more important is to develop awareness of our true Self. However the one leads to the other. By trying to be fully aware of our body and mind we become aware of our Self and by becoming aware of our Self we become aware of our body and mind.
Only in deep profound meditation we are only aware of our true Self. In all other cases we are aware of both; we decide where to focus more (to the silent inner space or to the body and mind) according our goal and circumstances. In this text I am referring to the self-awareness about our true Self.

Developing Self-Awareness

The general rule is that we can increase something by doing as much as possible what we want to increase. So, if we want to develop self-awareness we must practice self-awareness. In order to develop Self-awareness it is highly recommended to use some techniques or methods appropriate for this purpose. At the same time we must avoid as much as possible what make us fall in forgetfulness and identification with thoughts, emotions and objects and eliminate one by one the obstacles and the egoic tendencies that impede us remain self-aware.

In order to develop self-awareness, first of all we must investigate what is to be self-aware and what is to be identified. Right knowledge, a focused mind, attention and discernment are the necessary requirements to do this enquiry.

It is a must to acquire a clear perception of what is self-awareness, as well as what is identification with the external objects and situations, the body, sensations, emotions, thoughts and the ego itself.
Moreover we must enquiry and discover how identification happens as well as the strategies by which the egoic mind pulls us to forgetfulness of our true Self and identification with its own context and external objects.

We should be alert and vigilant as long as possible throughout the day, to observe ourselves and to inquire into the nature of identification and Self-awareness and to deepen our awareness and understanding of them more and more.

The practice of Self-awareness and the cesation of identifications is a whole life process; we practice it until to free our subconscious mind from all egoic tendencies, (desires, passions, programming, patterns and habits) which cause all identifications and rest permanently and effortlessly in our true nature (Sahaja state).

To enquire Self-awareness and be aware of the play of egoic mind, it is necessary to dedicate daily some time to do this enquiry in favorable conditions. We must do this enquiry two or three times in isolation (home, nature etc.) in order to investigate carefully the works of the mind regarding the identification as well as deepen in self-awareness without distractions.

After having a clear perception of what Self-Awareness is, then we must practice (practice does not mean struggle or strive hard) moment by moment to remain as much as possible Self-Aware and avoid identification.

Of course, it is not easy to avoid identification and remain constantly present, but this is the challenge of spirituality; our ability to remain self-aware depends on our maturity, motivation, mental and emotional capacities and how strong the ego is.

A fundamental requisite to develop self-awareness is our motivation, how much we want to remain self-aware, and the opposite, how much we don’t want live in identification.

Are we fed up by the mechanical life full of miseries and suffering, or we are still thirsty for sensual pleasurable experiences?
What is, we want more?

Very important are also our determination, patience, perseverance, tenacity and self-confidence to succeed in this endeavor.

Remember that in order to remain and deepen in Self-awareness we must seek and associate with what help us to succeed in this and avoid what impedes us remain in self-awareness and facilitates identification.

A problem regarding identification and Self-awareness is that we don't want to avoid the identification in relation with pleasurable and pleasant experiences. This is the greatest challenge we face in our journey towards liberation. However, our ego can also become attached to pain and resist abandoning it because it finds identity and meaning, albeit in a negative way.

The quantity and the quality both are important factors of development

In order to develop any capacity or quality, the quantity and the quality of practice are both necessary and important. High quantity of practice with low quality gives poor results and vice-versa, high quality (which normally is impossible without a lot of practice) with a little practice gives poor results as well.

High aspiration, devotion, dedication, self-confidence, faith, determination, patience, perseverance, tenacity, are more important than the methods.We and not the practices or the techniques by themselves are the most important factor and everything depends on our faith and determination.

Practical tips to develop self-awareness and self-awareness

• Participating in Satsang (meetings with awakened or Self-realized souls) if possible.
• Walking meditation. Walk from thirty (30’) to sixty (60’)minutes once or twice every day, using some of the main methods for developing Self-awareness. While walking we remain alert and self-aware and notice how sense objects attract our attention and tempt our minds and how the process of identification unfolds. We can also observe the main reactive patterns of the ego towards sense objects and external situations, i.e., attraction and aversion (repulsion),like and dislike and all other emotional and mental reactions.
• Eating our food mindfully[1], being aware of the inner silence. Do some prayer, express gratitude for having food and offer it to God,
  Eating your food mindfully: to turn eating into meditation, we can start with conscious and deep breaths, make a prayer to purify and bless the food (should be mostly sattvic in nature) and offer it to God. All this will change our inner state, i.e., bring the mind into a sattvic state, make us more attentive, aware and serene and enable us to enter into deeper contact with the inner silence of the Self.repeat a mantra or affirmations of your true nature.
• Practicing pranayama (breathing exercises).
• Practicing Hatha Yoga asanas.
• Reading spiritual books for one, two or more hours daily; books about Self-awareness, non-duality and classical books of Advaita Vedanta philosophy like Vivekachudamani by Adisankaracharya, Moksha Gita by Swami Sivananda, Astavakra Gita, Avadhuta Gita, Ribhu Gita.
• Watching videos of spiritual teachers related to Self-awareness.
• Listening to spiritual music or mantras.
• Dancing with spiritual music or mantras.
• Practicing relaxation. You can use any relaxation technique, aiming to become aware of the inner silence and delving deeper into it.
• Sitting in front of a mirror and looking at yourself carefully. Discern sensations and images from the silent space of Consciousness.
• Gazing at the blue sky or the night sky or at any other natural scape (sea, ocean, sky, etc.). Contemplating these landscapes helps us to get in touch with the silent space of Consciousness, because the landscapes are sattvic in nature, so our mind assumes its sattvic mode and there is no form that our mind can attach to, so our mind cannot grasp a form and identify with it.

Find your own ways to develop self-awareness and be established in itFind your own ways to remain and deepen in self-awareness according the conditions of tour life.Finally by continuous steady practice you must achieve remain self-aware in all situations of daily life.

Introspection and dissolution of egoic tendencies

You must also every day (usually every night) to do introspection and work with some egoic tendency, some negative emotion in order to understand it and dissolve it by proper means. By dissolving little by little every day the egoic energy we create more free space in mind that enable us remain more easily present and self-aware.
Everything is in you, everything will be revealed to you in the right time. If you aspire sincerely and practice regularly with faith and steadiness you will succeed. There is no doubt. Obstacles are many but you can overcome everything, no doubt! Everything depends on faith!

NOTE:

• Eradication of vasanas (desires) is the proper remedy, Not Suppression by Swami Sivananda
• Freedom from Samskaras and vasanas leads to liberation / by Atman Nityananda
• Samskaras -impressions by Swami Sivananda
• Death of samskaras (impressions) leads to Liberation (Moksha) / by Swami Sivananda
• Sexual Samskaras and eradication of lust
• Mind is a bundle of Vasanas – Destruction of Vasanas will bring freedom. Swami Krishnananda

 Effectively dealing with mental-emotional reactions and maintaining Self-awareness in every moment is an art and not just a practice. It is the art of inner warfare.

🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony