Based on a talk given by Swamiji in the mid-eighties)

Blessed Self in All, Adorations!

Let me begin by reciting a peace chant from the Upanishads:

Om Poornamadah Purnamidam Purnaat Poornamudachyate Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevaavashisyate Om Shantih, Shantih, Shantih

The meaning of this peace chant is: That (the Absolute, Brahman) is full; this (the world or the entire creation, which is a manifestation of the Absolute) is full. When this (the world process) is taken away (by transcending it through Self-realization), what remains is full (the Absolute). May there be peace, peace, peace!

The brief implication of this peace chant is that this entire creation is full; from fullness it has sprung, and into fullness it must return. May there be peace, peace, peace!

To understand this, think of how water vapor rises from the sea to form the drifting clouds, then rain falls to the earth and creates rivers that eventually flow back into the ocean. Similarly, every soul has emanated from the Absolute - God, the Divine Self, Brahman - and like the rivers, each must return to its source. This "return journey," so to speak, to one's essence is what we mean by spiritual evolution.

The Troubles That Afflict Us All 

The peace chant I just recited concludes with a prayer for three-fold peace. This prayer recognizes that everyone is afflicted by three kinds of trouble which seem to hinder one's evolution. The first, which is known as Adhyatmik Tapa in Sanskrit, is the subjective trouble that arises from one's own body and mind; for example, coughs, colds, pneumonia, flu, mental stress, misunder- standings, wrong imagining, jealousy, hate, and greed. These bother everyone at one time or the other.

The next kind of trouble - known as Adhibhautik - has its origin in an external source. These are the troubles that you have little control over because they originate in your dealings with other human beings. You may have designed a firm plan to guarantee happiness in daily life, but you never know how things will turn out when you interact with other people. Because there are so many different kinds of people in the world, anything can happen - positive or negative. For example, somebody could mug you the moment you step outside your house; somebody could vandalize the home that you have spent so much time and energy to secure and take care of; somebody could sue you because you accidentally stepped on his toes. Interactions with people at any level can lead to great, unexpected complications. Even at home troubles arise from your own children and other close relatives. Misunderstandings give rise to tension and often quarrels, and then your sincere plans for happiness are disturbed again and again.

And then there is a third kind of trouble that we call Adhidaivik. These are troubles that come from great natural calamities - forces that human beings are powerless to handle. These "acts of God" include such phenomena as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or accidents of enormous proportions. A jet plane may come hurtling down upon your house as if from nowhere, crushing every - one and there is nothing one can do about it. Everyone is vulnerable to these three kinds of trouble. Therefore we conclude the peace chant by saying, "Let there be peace" three times -"Let all these troubles be taken away!"

In spite of all the limitations of the world, though, the goal before everyone remains the same: realizing God through spiritual evolution, becoming one with the Absolute Self. As you mature in spiritual life you come to understand that despite all its limitations, this world is a Divine plan. You gain strength in understanding that the obstacles thrown before you by the world are aids towards your spiritual advancement.

Spiritual vs. Biological Evolution

Before proceeding further, let us take a closer look at the relationship between spiritual evolution and biological evolution. Usually , when people study evolution in school they find themselves confronted with pictures of animals like dogs, cats, monkeys, and frogs. The theories of evolution they study indicate that human beings, over the course of immense periods of time, have evolved from tiny microscopic cells to highly complex, rational beings with highly efficient hands and feet, and powerful brain capacity - and this process of biological evolution continues at every moment to modify the human form.

But this biological evolution I have been describing is not the "evolution" that Yoga and Vedanta is concerned with. Spiritual evolution implies that no matter what kind of body you possess, you are NOT that body. The body you possess is just a vehicle; your soul is simply using it for its spiritual evolution. It is just a house or a residence. This is a profound point of difference between the biological concept of evolution and the spiritual.

This is not to say that the biological concept of evolution does not have validity in its own right. Your physical body has been created by nature in the course of tremendous experimentation. Countless bodies have been fashioned by nature and thrown away so that souls could occupy them.

The changes that biological evolution produces are similar to the different styles of houses that architects design over the years. If you take a walk through a neighborhood in any big city in the USA you will immediately notice many different kinds of houses. Sometimes you will come upon a mansion that looks very old - perhaps seventy or even a hundred years old - and yet modern and highly sophisticated people live in that house. It just happens to be more convenient for them to live there rather than in some other house. In other words, you do not judge the "evolution" of a person by looking at the house he lives in.

When one studies the changing styles of houses, there is a certain chronological precision that must be kept in mind. Cavemen did not build condominiums. It took a long period of social evolution for the complex architecture of today to come about. Similarly, when you study biological evolution you see the many precise ways in which bodies have changed over thousands of years.

But the soul does not follow this same precision. According to its Karmas, it moves from one embodiment to another. Certain Karmas can place your soul in human embodiment; others in animal embodiment. Just as people may choose different houses, though built at different times, according to their need, so too the soul chooses different embodiments. In its evolution, it may be born as a human being in this birth, and incarnate as a monkey in the next birth. Even in human embodiment, certain Karmas place you in situations that are harmonious and enriching; others in conditions that are apparently negative.

So, if you do not confuse the evolution of the body with that of the soul, you can begin to understand what spiritual evolution means. No matter what type of body you possess, spiritual evolution belongs to the spirit; it is not determined by your body. Only to a certain extent while you are evolving is it important to know that your body and mind are interdependent. When you develop spiritual insights, your mind begins to relax. If your mind relaxes and becomes more positive, you automatically radiate more vitality to your physical body. This is so because the physical body responds to the nature of the spirit within you.

If you are a joyous person, your home is going to radiate joy no matter what it looks like on the outside. Much in the same way, your body expresses the nature of your inner advancement - although not one hundred percent. You may begin to advance rapidly on the spiritual path at age seventy, but externally of course you won't look young. Yet in spite of your advanced age you will be tremendously dynamic because you will possess a high degree of mental stamina. A mystical radiation of peace will accompany you wherever you go.

But the aging process will continue. Spiritual evolution does not mean that your physical body stops aging, that the body becomes immortal. But what it does imply is that a tremendous change often takes place in your physical body as your mind advances and expresses its advancement through physical vitality.

You Are Not the Body

In ancient India there was a famous philosopher-king named Janaka who held spiritual conferences attended by great sages. At one of these conferences, the sages were all seated on elegant cushions in the great hall of the palace, ready to listen to stirring spiritual expositions. Suddenly, a deformed man named Ashthavakra appeared at the entrance. He was quite odd looking owing to a severe birth defect that had bent his body in eight separate places. As he hobbled into that vast conference hall, everyone started laughing. When Ashthavakra got to the throne, he said to King Janaka, "O King, I thought that you had invited philosophers, but to my surprise I see that you have invited cobblers instead." "What do you mean, O sage?" Janaka asked. "They are just looking at my exterior, the outer me. This physical body is just a shoe, so to speak. Your guests are looking only at my shoe and judging me accordingly."

This important point is touched upon by every religion. For example, the custom of removing one's shoes and leaving them outside before entering a temple is widely practised in the Hindu faith. It is an ancient tradition in other faiths as well. When Moses heard God's voice in the burning bush, the first command given him was: "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5) The shoes refer to one's body. Unless you remove the body-idea from your consciousness you cannot walk upon Divine ground, the realm of eternity.

And it is on that hallowed ground that you hear the great utterance that Moses himself heard: "I am that I am." The Upanishads contain practically the same utterance: "Soham hamsah " - "I am that I am." That innermost "I" is the real you. The question "Who am I?" is given a great deal of attention in Vedanta. Yoga is intensely involved in researching this question and guiding the aspirant in discovering the mystery behind his identity. Your real identity is not what you think it is. People who do not understand this are constantly burdened by so many illusions.

Look at the importance that people lend to outward appearance. When you step out into the social world, people immediately notice the way you look, the kind of clothes you wear, your hairstyle; they judge you on the basis of your exterior. As a result, people waste a great deal of time just adjusting their appearance. Yet this beautifying process is fraught with illusion, because even if you could adjust your appearance to the best possible advantage, you would find that internally you were the same person. You have to evolve internally to be happy; external appearances do not last long.

Therefore, it is important for you as a spiritual aspirant to understand that your physical body is not the real you. Just as shoes must be shaken off before treading upon holy ground, so too must this physical body be transcended. Although you cannot cast off the body literally, what you can do is change your point of view by developing the idea that you are spirit, not body. This awareness makes a tremendous change in your outlook, and it becomes the basis for overcoming much of the stress that the present culture generates.

You are the Eternal Self 

You must remind yourself daily that you are not this physical body and that external situations in life cannot cramp you. You are the eternal Self. "I am that I am." The eternal "I am " abides in every heart. Your physical body is only a wave, a mere ripple on the ocean of eternal "I am."

To understand these points more clearly, consider the Divine Self, or God, as the sun. Individual souls are like the reflections of that sun in the countless lakes, rivers, ponds and reservoirs that abound everywhere. Imagine a lake, filled with fish and aquatic plants, reflecting the morning sun. Further, imagine that the reflection in that lake has forgotten its identity with the sun and develops the following train of thought: "Here I am - just a reflection in this lake that is my home. These creatures here are my friends. Sometimes lotuses bloom, and when they do I feel especially wonderful. Life proceeds in perfect harmony and joy. But sometimes ferocious winds blow and conditions are terrible for me and I tremble."

With thoughts such as these, the misguided reflection seems to be enveloped and controlled by a host of changing conditions. Yet the reflection really doesn't have any substantiality at all because the reality behind it is the sun-never identified with any of the contents of the lake or affected by any of the varying conditions around it.

Similarly, an individual's mind is like a lake, and the Divine Self reflects in that mind, giving rise to what we call the soul-the soul that reincarnates, that moves from one embodiment to another led by Karma.

But when you move toward spiritual enlightenment, the soul within you begins to understand that it no longer belongs to this mental environment. "I am the Sun," it proclaims. And then a kind of mystic flight ensues, hurtling you from individuality to universality. As this happens you recognize that, as the sun, you are reflecting in countless lakes; you are not confined to one little lake any more. The experiences of other lakes-their joys and sorrows-are also yours. An overwhelming sense of expansion arises within your heart.

According to Yogic standards, psychology, as it is usually taught and practised today, is quite limited. Most psychologists cannot imagine the possibility of stepping beyond one's own individual boundaries and crossing into someone else's to glimpse his reality. Everyone is viewed as an island, completely separate. But that is not so. You have the potential to step beyond your body and enter into other hearts, other personalities - not literally, but through spiritual expansion.

This explains how sages touch so many hearts. Since they are not confined or cramped in their little lake of the mind, they can touch the hearts of many. They have gone beyond and have attuned themselves to the sun-like Self and, because of this, they have the possibility of communicating profoundly with different persons.

This ability in a sage is instinctive in nature. It is similar to a mother's knowing that she can enter the mind of her child at will and understand him better simply through her intense love. Similarly, if you had a motherly heart towards all human beings you could enter their minds and understand their problems.

It is toward this direction that spiritual evolution should lead you. You are evolving if you can step beyond your limits. This stepping beyond one's limits is the characteristic of spiritual progress. The goal of spiritual evolution is the complete recovery of your essential nature, which is eternal, infinite, immutable, universal, and unchanging. It is only because of ignorance that you believe yourself to be the body and are unable to open the window to eternity within your soul.

Discovering Eternity Within

The purpose of all religions and mystical systems is to help you open that little window within yourself. And that can be done in deep meditation through tranquility of mind. However, this hap- pens in small measure to everyone - even those who are not Yogis. Instinctively, whenever you are deeply relaxed, you begin to develop happiness without anything happening around you. If you were to promote that subtle process by meditation and other yogic techniques, you could have an internal experience of immense joy at all times. You would touch upon the inner core of eternity which is always there in your heart.

Deep within you never imagine yourself to be non-existent. You are ever aware of a deeper aspect of yourself - the eternal you - that remains the same when you were a child, when you were a teenager, now and in the future. And you will remain the same even when this body is no more.

Realizing Eternity within is the purpose of spiritual movement. To the extent you realize it, to that extent the quality of your life changes. The capacity of your mind advances. The brilliance of your intellect increases. Therein lies the greatest secret of living a happy and joyous life and also promoting that type of life for others.

Spiritual evolution is a project that holds the secret for harmony and peace in the world. It is not a selfish project. An aspirant will never succeed if he feels, "Let the world go to hell. I will just attain my evolution." You cannot evolve spiritually unless you radiate peace and harmony and bring positive changes in others. Spiritual evolution is not an egoistic task. It is a project where ego is transcended and all great qualities begin to unfold.

Continued  in the article What is Spiritual Evolution (Part 2)