61. Role of External Supports in Spiritual Sadhana

I will pick up the following thread of discursion from the previous post and elaborate on it:

"Should we do things on the outside to crackle our aliveness, or should we do things on the outside because we are crackling with aliveness? Which way should it be? Aliveness first or Action first?"

Here one may ask the question — if it is said that Aliveness is first, then can we not seek the support of the external environment to enhance the state of our consciousness?

There are several things to be addressed here.

Firstly, note that this is a different issue than the one in the original thread. When I say "doing things on the outside to crackle our aliveness" I am referring not to spiritual supports, but to all the things that people pursue to charge themselves with liveliness — relationships, hobbies, pleasures etc. Here, which way should it be? Aliveness first or Action first? We may presently be dependent on the outer actions to keep our spirits up, but there is no question that this should be reversed. Our engagement in the world should be to exude our aliveness, not consume it. As living beings we should be producers of aliveness, not consumers.

How do we put Aliveness first? It was already so in our early childhood, but as we grew up the psychology got conditioned in many ways and the equation reversed. And now we are all the time running around looking for charging points to remain up and alive, very much the same way we look for charging points for our phone. In breaking out of this conditioning Yoga kriyas can help greatly. From my personal experience I am referring here specifically to Shambhavi Mahamudra and Shakti Chalana kriya that I have learnt from Isha and have been regularly practicing. I have come to see how it makes the energies exuberant, and how there is a natural buzz of aliveness in the system. There may be many such Kriyas taught by many other schools. In this regard, one can also use the faculties of intellect and emotion to engage in Self-enquiry and Devotion respectively; but these are greatly dependent on the temperament of the individual whereas Kriyas are well-defined techniques that anyone can make use of. With regular practice they bear fruit, of life.

Coming to the question of external support, there may be two different points that need to be addressed — using external support, and creating external support for our use.

With regard to using external support — apart from practicing specific Yogic techniques, one can certainly take all the external support available to them — conducive places, times, objects, food regulation, company of people etc. But then one should be careful not to go into the whining mode "I am not progressing because this particular support is absent". While the availability of some support is certainly a boost, absence of it should not be painted as a roadblock. Moreover, today in the age of internet we have access to plenty of spiritual content, online sessions etc. at our fingertips which we can use to keep ourselves oriented and focussed. Compare this to the situation a hundred years ago when a seeker had to leave his house to go in search of a teacher. So, what are we complaining about, really? If we go into that mode, where do we draw the line? There can be really no end to it. We can go to the extent of saying that only after there is a great transformation in the society, only when it reverberates with a spiritual ambiance, is it possible for me to transform myself. That would be fool's paradise. Why can't we be the ones who begin that transformation in the society? Or do you want to be the last fool to transform? Therefore even in regard to this aspect of using external support, the first focus should be upon ourselves. We may use all the support available, but it should not become an excuse to whine and wait. We cannot put the onus on others to provide the support and demand it from them. No one is obligated to support us in our journey. It is our own. Whatever support comes from outside is only a bonus, and we should be thankful for it, not cynical complaining about a lack of it. This sense of ungratefulness is by itself very unbecoming for a spiritual seeker.

Also, external supports are eventually meant to be transcended. One should be attentive to make sure that it does not become a dependence of a new kind. For e.g. children use ruled notebooks to practice writing so that they can eventually write without those printed lines. But in the name of practice if they are made to write in moulded grooves of the letters it will just become a new dependency. They will never be able to write with ease without that support.

With regard to creating external support — there is this possibility of creating a simpler external support to hold us up. Swami Vivekananda points out that the Puja Griha in Indian houses is meant to be a place which should be gradually charged with sattvik reverberations. We should use that space/room only for spiritual sadhana, and imbue the space with that quality over time. Just as we build a physical house brick by brick, just as we accrue a bank account rupee by rupee, it is possible to build an energized space bit by bit. We can make a space come alive, and then use it as a support — "...when you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful, or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that room will make you calmer" (Raja Yoga, chapter 2)

There are also some who argue that the external environment at large, because of its highly materialistic nature, is too unfavourable for spiritual sadhana, and that we will have to first work towards bringing about a major change in the society to make it conducive, and then (or parallelly) use that to transform ourselves. But this sounds absurd. How can a man, who is himself unconscious, inspire and change the people and society around him? He may exhibit lot of fire and will, but a man without clarity of perception and inner balance will only add to the problem no matter how much of good intentions he has. We see a whole lot of such enthusiastic individuals having great plans to transform the world. But one can change the outside only to the extent he is stable and aware. Not more. One's impact on the society is equivalent to the amount of his own transformation. You can have great slogans, create web pages, market yourself well, make videos with spiritual messages, become a keyboard warrior preaching spirituality and debating with random people on the internet, or even open a Yoga center — but people will listen to you only to the extent you are fragrant and vibrant. Not more. You may be teaching Bhagavadgita, but people will resonate with it only to the extent Bhagavadgita resonates in you. Therefore with regard to this aspect too, our transformation comes first. Only then we will earn the listenership of others, and can perhaps be of some support to others who need it.

But it is possible for someone to become a tool in someone else's hands, and thereby create a much bigger impact on the society than they can by themselves. For e.g. I have been working at Isha as a fulltime volunteer from a couple of years. I was primarily part of the team that translated and dubbed Sadhguru's English videos to Kannada. The Kannada channel now has over 2.5 lakh subscribers, and many more things have happened in the Karnataka domain. This is much bigger an impact on the society than I can make by myself in my present state of awareness. So as I was working upon myself, parallelly I was also a tool that was enabling some large scale change in the society. This is what all the volunteers at Isha experience. This requires the quality of keeping oneself aside, and simply doing what is asked without preferences, likes and dislikes. Therefore here too our transformation comes first, in that your special individuality is no more a priority in your psyche. The only difference is that here our transformation produces a magnified impact on the society instead of just an equivalent impact. So, if you dream of great changes in the world and you really mean it, then you should keep yourself aside, and join hands with such organizations (to whatever extent you can) — whichever you wish. If you cannot empower yourself quickly, you can at least quickly become an empowered tool.

In summary, no matter which angle you approach the matter from, it comes to the inevitable conclusion that our transformation, our aliveness, is first and primary. The other side may or may not be pertinent. We cannot afford to focus on the other end more than ourselves.

Therefore, this should indeed become our mantra:

Adhyatma - fundamental responsibility rests always on myself.

The moment we begin to point fingers on the other side, we are on a ride down an endless slippery slope.