Vastu, the study of space, is the study of consciousness.
One side of a coin births the other.
Consciousness births space.
Space births separation.
Separation births duality.
Duality births multiplicity.
And so the universe is born.
Below is a comment from Rayshan on The Structure of the Veda blog and my response:
An amazing class and amazing grace brought forth by an amazing guru!
I saw the framework of my cottage went up today. Suddenly I realized that the structure of the Veda is like the framework of a house. Understanding the framework makes it easier to connect the dots. It’s a very dry and difficult topic to teach. Amazingly Maharshiji came back the 2nd day with easier-to-understand modern language that put me in awe. Thank you so much Guruji. I am so looking forward to the next class!
Yes Rayshan,
There was a lesson within the lesson. Though the feedback was wonderful, personally I was not so delighted with the first day of class. My barometer is the faces and ‘brainwaves’ of the people I speak to. ‘Light bulbs’ were not going off in people’s heads the way I had planned. I could see that most of what I said the first day was not going ‘in’. So that evening I reflected, pondered, spoke with people who were in the class, and adjusted accordingly. The second day was wonderful and I was very pleased.
That is an example of the principle of putting something out, seeing what comes back, and adjusting accordingly… a principle that is valuable at all levels and in all arenas of life. Too often people try to know exactly what is right before they do anything. As a result, they either do nothing or keep pushing down the same nonproductive path.
Now that I found the way ‘in’ to explaining the structure of the Veda, I look forward to taking the next step with a series of lessons on the subject. There is no end to all that unfolds from this knowledge. Understanding, grasping and awakening to the concepts, the parts in terms of the whole, is of more value than the memorization of volumes. To really know it, you must become it. I look forward to revealing the grandeur and full potential of Vedic Knowledge to all of humanity. The potential is without limit… beyond imagination.
Rayshan, your comment about building your cottage is quite right. The structure of the Veda is the structure underlying and permeating all life and existence. The principles involved apply to all fields of life… apply to everything. All too often (like the study of quantum physics!) the study of Veda becomes a dry intellectual endeavor that seems to be disconnected from life. I could see that was where people were going with it the first day, which is why I revamped the teaching on the second day.
Understand the Veda, and you understand everything. A true Vedic Scholar is not merely an intellectual. A true Vedic Scholar is the embodiment of Truth. Memorizing Sanskrit, Vedic chants and mantras is of great value. I am humbled by, and have profound respect and appreciation for, those who have that knowledge. However, though it assists in attaining the ultimate goal, it is not the goal. The ultimate goal is to actually become ‘IT’.
The intent of my teachings, of how and what I teach, is to assist you in actually becoming it.
This past weekend in the Asheville class, we spent two days on the structure of the Veda. It is a topic we have been looking forward to covering for years. It finally felt like the time was right. We have the ashram people and Mount Soma residents to thank for creating that space… in the profound Sthapatya Vedic sense of the word “space”. Of course, there is no end to the topic of the Structure of the Veda and we will do much more with it, but it was an excellent overview (big picture) where we went into how the primary branches fit together and the essence of what they are – explaining the Mantras, Brahmanas, Shruti, Vedangas, Itihasas, etc. It provided a solid foundation of understanding that we will continue to build upon.
I do want to say one more thing about Smritis for those who were in attendance:
The reason there is a gap at all is because one’s perspective (world view colored by your samskaras, distortions, conditioning) is not consistent with the perspective from the Transcendent, your Divine Self.
So, when you first awaken to the Transcendent, those two perspectives don’t line up. There is a gap between them. But then in time, the distortions (samskaras) of your earlier world-view melt away and give way to understanding from the perspective of your True Self, the Transcendent.
As that happens, over time, the gap also melts away. You no longer have some memory of the Divine. Instead you are fully awake to it and live your life in accord with it… Sarvadharma.
As full and rich as the weekend was, there is of course so much more that I want to share on the Structure of the Veda. It will happen in time. The weekend was historic. It is my great joy to bring this Knowledge out in a manner that brings it to life in our time. As I say, the Knowledge is eternal, but the way it is communicated must change eternally to be understood by the people of the times. Otherwise, the Knowledge slips through the fingers of the generations and is, in that way, lost.
Ninety percent of what you hear is not true… and you cannot rely on the other ten percent.
Up is down.
Right is left.
Good is bad.
Happy is sad.
Only He sees, but He says nothing… He has no opinion… He makes no comment.
Only He knows…
Pure Isness… is Infinite wisdom.
Pure Knowingness… knows no thing.
Pure Knowingness has no edge… no handle… no perspective… free… pure infinite emancipation…
All things dissolve into no thing.
He is neither He nor She nor both nor neither.
You find Him within you… as You.
And at that moment, you see that He is far beyond the you that you thought you knew.
He lies beyond all that is, yet He exists within all that is.
He is all that is… the beginning… the end… and the middle.
Yet He is beyond the beginning, the end, and the middle.
Who thinks like a crystal? Essentially, no one. We think in a very limited linear manner: step one leads to step two to step three, etc. Crystals do not think that way. A ‘thought’ within a crystal radiates out in all directions simultaneously and continues to branch out in all directions from every point that the impulse of the thought touches. The linear mind of traditional thought is lost in the dust by such logic. To traditional thinking, the logic in crystals makes no sense.
The logic of the underlying basis of all existence is crystalline in nature. It is no coincidence that the mathematics used to describe the structure of the unified field is the same sort of mathematics (abstract algebra) used to describe the structure of crystals. In fact, the math of the unified field is a very sophisticated form of abstract algebra.
So what does all this matter to YOU? The interconnections that determine the quality of your life are fundamentally dependent upon a logic that the human mind cannot even follow… a logic that you, in fact, have been taught to reject. Vedic Knowledge is structured in a crystalline manner. From the limited perspective of linear thinking, it often makes no sense. The notion of mapping gives us the best feel for it. For example, the medical symbol of snakes around a staff maps on to the energy that moves up the spine (kundalini), maps to Kartikeya, maps to snakes in the forest. The shape of leaves, the shape of the human brain, the shape of Lord Ganesha’s head all map on to one another. To live life in harmony with nature is to live life in harmony with the infinite number of such abstract mappings that permeate your daily life.
The Vedic Shastras offer many principles to assist you in living in harmony with nature. They speak of the different types of human nervous systems (castes). They speak of eclipses, auspicious days, jyotish, kalpa, on and on. Because essentially all of it makes no sense to the limitations of linear thought, it is not understood. Because is it not understood, it is usually rejected. Or even worse, it is twisted into a set of pitiful and sometimes even reprehensible notions or superstitions. For example, the Shiva Puranas call Shiva the greatest God. The Vishnu Puranas attribute that position to Vishnu. The limitation of linear thought, seeing that as an irreconcilable contradiction, compels people to then reject Vedic knowledge as illogical. Or the caste system becomes a means of degrading some people while feeding the ego of others. What a loss!
So what do you do about all of this? How do you proceed with your life? What’s next? Fortunately, there is a very simple solution: proper meditation… and I emphasize PROPER. Proper meditation evolves you. As you evolve, you spontaneously live more and more in harmony with nature… with Mother Nature and with your own TRUE nature. There are many forms of meditation… most gain popularity because they satisfy the limited thinking of linear thought. They are actually unnatural… attempts to control the mind, program the mind, channel the behavior, etc. This is all wrong. In your essence, you are one with the Unified Field, one with God. You are crystalline in your nature. Proper meditation enables you to rest into your true nature. I encourage you to learn and practice the Surya Ram Meditation. Start with the Surya Meditation, which you can learn free on this website.
The next thing to do is cultivate sufficient humility so you can take a step back and learn. Start with the fundamental points I offer. They are given in these blogs and will soon be offered on the home page in a very accessible and concise form.
Finally and MOST importantly, note that I am not asking you to abandon yourself. In fact it is quite the opposite. Stay true to your SELF. Culture yourself. Free yourself from the chains of limited thinking that have indoctrinated you. It is very simple. To thine own self be true.
To live better, you must look deeper.
