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Contact 58 The Study Society Newsletter

Peter Fenwick John Martin Sahajananda Rupert Sheldrake Solveig McIntosh Rupert Spira

Summer 2012

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Contact The Study Society Newsletter Dr Francis C Roles

17 November 1901 – 11 June 1982

2012 marks the 30th anniversary of Dr Roles’s passing

The brilliant light of Dr Roles is shining on us here – now – and on the tree he planted. IT WAS IN THE 1930s that Dr Roles met his first teacher, the Russian philosopher, P D Ouspensky. Their close relationship grew from a mutual recognition of that rarest of qualities – that each loved the Truth above all else – and this love directed and upheld a shared and overriding aim: to understand the true nature of Consciousness. Over the years, Mr Ouspensky prepared him for leadership. It was a hard road for Dr Roles, but one he accepted unhesitatingly. For more than ten years he and Mrs Roles lived in one small room at Lyne Place while, as Dr Roles recalled, PDO painstakingly and ruthlessly dismantled his ‘false personality’ to allow the real Self to begin to shine through. During his last months at Lyne, PDO consciously produced a pitch of emotion and understanding in his close followers that resulted in truly magical and lasting transformations. Dr Roles said that PDO ‘did something to him’ so that he would awake at night in a different state in which insights would arise that bore the stamp of Truth. This continued for the remainder of his life. PDO instructed Dr Roles to continue the study of consciousness and to search for the source of the System: ‘You must go and find a method by which you can remember yourself at will. If you find that method, you may find the source.’ Through his understanding of science and love of the arts, Dr Roles brought fresh insights to the System, reformulating and updating it over the years so that it continued as a living tradition. Recognising the need to establish a permanent base, he arranged for the repurchase of Colet House from Madame Ouspensky. Our present Society was established here in 1951 and in 1957 acquired its title, The Society for the Study of Normal Psychology. In 1961, still pursuing the quest PDO had set him on, Dr Roles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and through

HH Shantanand Saraswati

him the method of Meditation became available. That same year, he travelled to India and there met the head of the Northern seat of the Advaita tradition of Adi Shankara, His Holiness, Shantanand Saraswati. In the extraordinary level of being of the Shankaracharya Dr Roles discovered not only the source of the System, but the Teacher that PDO had prophesied he might one day connect with. Immediately accepting with complete faith and dedication the subtle self-discipline that the Shankaracharya demanded, another life-long and transcendent relationship was established. Over the next 20 years of regular visits and correspondence a complete system of Self-realisation according to the Advaita system was learnt and practised so that it could be given in terms that Westerners could understand and follow. In HH’s own words, Dr Roles had ‘guided the destiny of the Society’. Dr Roles was a very liberal and universal man with an open mind. His devotion towards the discipline and meditation was great. He was constantly working towards realisation of the fullness of the Self, always trying to find the way to the ocean of bliss. This same spirit of enquiry and the constant practice of this discipline is needed by every member of the Society. (HH)

Some of the deep sense of gratitude that members of the Study Society feel towards Dr Roles and his teachers, P D Ouspensky and HH Shantanand Saraswati, is expressed through articles in this edition of Contact. Also included are articles by Brother Martin, Rupert Spira and Rupert Sheldrake. Each has spoken at Colet House and contributions like theirs continue to enrich and encourage our own ‘Voyage of Discovery’.

C ONTENTS 3. 5. 7. 12. 13. 18. 20.

Evolving the Study Society Peter Fenwick Returning to the Source Dr F C Roles Hindu-Christian Meeting Point Brother Martin Happiness William Hager The Presence of the Past Rupert Sheldrake Chant Solveig McIntosh The True Nature of Experience Rupert Spira

25. 26. 28. 29. 31. 33. 34.

Poem: Prosody Terence O’Neill Joyce A Joining of Minds Friends around the world Poem: Secrets Colin Lucas A Search for Magic Jenny Beal Working with the Passions Tony Brignull Poem: Dream Anne Godfrey Coming Events

Cover Illustration. Spring Morning, Isle of Harris. © Steve Carter. www.stevecarter.com

Evolving the Study Society Dr Peter Fenwick, Chairman of the Study Society, writes:

MORE THAN 35 YEARS AGO Dr Roles said, ‘Have confidence! This branch of the Work during these sixty years has come through a Revolution, two World Wars, and many other crises; and it is built for continuity.’ Today, in the second decade of the 21st century, we too can manifest that confidence and face new challenges with energy, resourcefulness and open minds, realising that though outward forms must always change, the inner foundation remains secure. As many of you will know, the Society is in the process of applying to become a registered Charity and so change its status from a Friendly Society to that of a limited company. We have been advised that to support this application we should be able to demonstrate that the Society is of benefit, not only to us as members, but to the wider world in general. We have received outstanding tributes from the School of Economic Science and the School of Meditation, demonstrating the invaluable contribution the Society has made to their work over the years. There have been others, too numerous to mention, but all express and manifest the core values of our founders. Members repeatedly tell me that for them Colet House is an oasis in an often barren world. We must make every effort to preserve and develop this great gift. Joining the Society in the 1960s was for me a revelation. Being introduced to Ouspensky’s New Model of the Universe excited me tremendously because at last the focus was on practice rather than theory. Science, I had found, did little to help me understand consciousness. Science deals with the primary qualities of Galileo – the material world – but it excludes the secondary qualities: ‘red’ is only a wavelength, ‘love’ is just the product of hormones, not a feeling. These higher qualities excluded by Galilean science are the ones we are interested in, but they cannot be discussed without understanding consciousness. Despite the brilliant work of Sherrington and Hughlings Jackson on the central nervous system in the 19th century, defining pathways and levels within the brain, and that of Penfield in the 20th century who implanted electrodes in the brains of patients with epilepsy, it became clear to me that science alone could not lead to a full understanding of consciousness. In Ouspensky’s work I found ideas relating to a progression and expansion of consciousness never discussed in medical literature, where at that time even

the word consciousness was banned. (‘Level of alertness’ was the term we used then.) Dr Roles, his passion for science and consciousness and the remarkable warmth and inspiration of his being led to a kindling of my interest in the true nature of human beings that remains with me today. Thirty years after Dr Roles’s death the world is hugely changed. In one way it has been changed by a vast explosion in technology affecting every area of our lives and our thinking. Communications science has developed to allow everyone free and virtually instant world-wide video communication with no special equipment other than a computer. No group needs now be isolated; time and space themselves have changed. For the Society to take advantage of these developments and ensure that its great treasury of knowledge and practical wisdom remains available to the coming generation, it too must learn to maintain a subtle presence in this new electronic dimension. There is no doubt that this will bring new challenges, but with discrimination and careful monitoring the practice of our living tradition can be faithfully upheld and passed on into this extraordinary new world, inspiring others to come and take our place upon the Way that Mr Ouspensky and Dr Roles devoted their lives to making available. Science was one of the cornerstones of Dr Roles’s teaching and since the 1990s discoveries in neuroscience (supported by the advent of widespread neuroimaging) have been very far-reaching so that we now understand to a much greater extent how the brain really works. One of the most recent findings is the plasticity of the brain and its capacity to change and develop, in every one of us. For example, both the long-term and recently blind have been shown to use all the processing power in that area of the brain which in sighted people is devoted to vision, to increase the power of other senses such as feeling and hearing. For example, Braille can be learnt more easily and the sense of hearing is enhanced so that it produces the perception of a three-dimensional world. We’re now also beginning to understand the areas of the brain which are affected by meditation. Even more important than that, there are now many studies showing that meditation can improve one’s health, help relationships by allowing one to be more calm and focused, and lead to experience of a part of one’s nature one never knew existed. Meditators’ brains often enlarge in the frontal region, an area which regulates emotional responsiveness. Hence, meditators tend to be less anxious and cope better with stressful situations than

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non-meditators. Further evidence also suggests that the extent of these changes depends on the number of years of meditation. As long ago as the 1970s, a paper was published in a respected peer-reviewed scientific journal, showing that meditators produced a ‘meditational field’ which could be detected by other meditators over 1500 miles away. There is now growing support for a newly emerging technology of enlightenment, using methods of mindfulness meditation, employing structures in the brain which have been recognised and defined by neuroscience. Mindfulness meditation has now spread widely into medicine and is producing significant results in health care. The new understanding of how the brain works has also given rise to the concept that there may be a technology – i.e. science-based practical techniques – which can lead more directly to altered and permanent states of consciousness. There appear to be two major systems in the brain, one which looks after the ‘I, me, mine’ egoic system of the brain, and one which looks after ‘the other’ – the objects ‘out there’. Mindfulness appears to reduce the functioning of the egoic system until, after a period of practice, these egoic structures may collapse, directly revealing wider and finer states of consciousness. There is little doubt that the training of attention and the refinement of the emotional centres are centrally involved in this process. The techniques practised in the Society, such as the Movements, the Turning and the Meditation, all help lead to this crucial collapse of the ego and the manifestation of higher states of consciousness. Even more exciting, there are arising, at long last, the beginnings of theories suggesting that brain function itself is only a small component of the nature of a human being. These ideas suggest that the concept of the soul, i.e. a vehicle that has direct access to wider states of consciousness and which may survive brain death, is now being seriously considered. It has become entirely clear that the only instrument that can measure consciousness is the human mind itself and that the refinement of the human mind which leads to wider states of consciousness is the way that science must develop. Further, if science is to focus on these new levels of consciousness and come to realise and accept that brain function alone is only a small part of human potential, the scientist of the future (as Dr Roles often recommended) must himself practise consciousness-

expanding techniques so as to experience these different levels of consciousness at first hand. Recently, a survey carried out by a post-graduate student for a doctoral thesis has identified people who have reported a permanent expansion of consciousness. Sometimes this has occurred after a crisis in life or, in others, after a period of seeking. Once again, the common reported factor is the collapse of the egoic function and the shining through of universal consciousness. Rupert Spira, known to many of us at Colet, beautifully demonstrates this possibility. What is the aim of the Study Society today? In a nutshell, to foster the growth and development of consciousness within every individual. Crossing the threshold into Colet House has always been a wonderfully positive experience for me and many others. The tranquillity, lightening of spirit and deep sense of love so constantly provided is enormously significant and I hope it will never be lost. Clearly, the Society has now not only an opportunity but also a pressing need to change and grow in order to meet the understanding and expectations of the present generation. Let me say, categorically, that the traditions, values and knowledge of Mr Ouspensky, Dr Roles and His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati will always remain central as the Society’s guiding light. On this foundation I would like to see built, as is already beginning, a greater interaction and integration between consciousness and science, consciousness and art, consciousness and music and consciousness and loving care for each other. The opportunity for personal choice must be maintained, as it always has been at Colet House, so that people can move freely between the central teachings and other activities which are available. We all need different things at different times in our lives; as HH has said, ‘whatever can be used ... should be happily used so that people can see the variety and take whatever is suitable to them’. Let us, in this 30th anniversary year of Dr Roles’s death, remember his enormous contribution to the Society, his loving presence, and the incalculable debt owed by all of us who have come under his influence for the great stimulation he so tirelessly gave to the development of consciousness and love. This memory, faithfully held, will carry us forward into a new period of enthusiasm, hard work and the expansion of consciousness, always with the guiding principles of love and compassion. Peter Fenwick

Miranda:

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Prospero:

O wonder ! How many goodly creatures are there here ! How beauteous mankind is ! O brave new world That has such people in’ t. ’ Tis new to thee. The Tempest 5:1, 183–184

Returning to the Source Extract from a Monday meeting, 17th December, 1962. To 900 members of the SES at the Friends Meeting House: DR ROLES: Once upon a time there was a System – a big framework of Knowledge about the structure and possibilities of man and his place in the Universe, a System which told us very precisely what man could get, could become, but did not tell us just how to get it. This System reached us in the West when a strange man started a Group in Moscow about 1914. Well, it became apparent that this man had lost his connection with the Inner Circle, and that the System he taught was fragmentary. In particular, it left out any mention of a direct practical method by which the theoretical results described could be obtained. There were only enigmatic remarks about this System belonging to the way of the ‘Sly Man’ who – instead of spending months of hard physical exertion and exercises, or weeks of prayer, or hours of Yogic exercises – knew how to introduce into the organism just that material which was necessary; so he would simply mix a pill and swallow it, and the results would be obtained. That was the nearest we ever got to what was in the pill! When I began having private talks with Mr Ouspensky (through whom I learnt the System about 30 years ago), I gradually understood his view that, if we could discover a man who knew that practical method, we would very likely at the same time find the origin of our System itself, be able to fill in the gaps, and also regain our connection with the Inner Circle and re-enter the stream of esotericism which must have existed away back in the dim stages of pre-history. And so it has happened. We learnt the method of Meditation (which you are all doing) from the Maharishi, and on my first visit to India last year he introduced me to the Head of that Tradition, from whom we have now learnt that our System and theirs are identical in their main features, and all the practical parts are now being filled in. Most important, the discipline is the same – has the same tang – and by coming under this discipline we have now found again a close connection with the Inner Circle. Now, by discipline I don’t mean all the discipline that is connected with the running of a large organisation, the proper placing of individuals in relation to the whole; all that can only be done in one way at a given time, in a given place, and that is the way it is being done. Nobody from outside could alter anything in that, because everything hangs together and must hang together that way. I am talking about another kind of discipline which has to go on at the same time... It is a discipline which is a private matter between an individual and the leader of the Group, or the

Summit of Suilven, Sutherland. © Steve Carter. www.stevecarter.com

Leader of the School and, if this School is properly connected with the Inner Circle, the Leader of the School and those around him with a fully Realised man. ...When I went out to India, in October this year, according to the agreement that I should begin to enjoy the discipline of the Head of the Tradition, the Shankaracharya of the North, I did not know what I was going to be in for! At one conversation he started to speak about the discipline by which people are prepared in his Tradition: ‘When,’ he said, ‘we find that somebody has a sufficiently intense desire, we usually prepare a situation with which they would ordinarily feel in opposition; but we do this intentionally to prove the depth of their faith and the strength of their desire to learn. With these checks we observe that they are improving on the Way; of course, if they pass the tests, then aspirants reach their goal much quicker. If we create only favourable situations they get slower and slower.’

...Now there is ample opportunity in an organisation like this just in the ordinary course of events: whenever anybody seems to feel some distrust it can be used as a test, and they can pass it. They can take it that this is done consciously for a certain purpose – just for that – or they can be hurt and difficulties will arise which will impede their progress.

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What a Blessing Don’t hide, the sight of your face is a blessing. Wherever you place your foot, there rests a blessing. Even your shadow, passing over me like a swift bird, is a blessing. The great spring has come, Your sweet air blowing through the city, the country, the gardens and the desert is a blessing. Yes, come with love to our door. His knock is a blessing. We go from house to house asking of Him – Any answer is a blessing. Caught in this body, we look for a sight of the soul, Remember what the Prophet said: One sight is a blessing. The leaf of every tree brings a message from the unseen world, Look, every falling leaf is a blessing. All of nature swings in unison, singing without tongues, listening without ears. What a blessing. Oh Soul, the four elements are your face – Water, wind, fire and earth – Each one is a blessing. Once the seed of faith takes root, it cannot be blown away, even by the strongest wind. Now that’s a blessing. I bow to you for the dust of your feet is the crown on my head, As I walk towards you, every step I take is a blessing. His form appeared before me just now as I was singing this poem, I swear What a blessing, what a blessing. Every vision born of Earth is fleeting, Every vision born of Heaven is a blessing. For people, the sight of spring warms their hearts. For fish, the rhythm of the ocean is a blessing. The brilliant sun that shines in every heart For the Heavens, Earth and all creatures, what a blessing. The heart can’t wait to speak of this ecstasy, The Soul is singing to the Earth saying Oh God, what a blessing. Fill me with the wine of your silence, Let it soak my every pore For the inner splendour it reveals is a blessing, is a blessing. Jalāl ad-Dīn Rum i

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Brother Martin was a close friend and disciple of Father Bede Griffiths, who in 1968 came to the Saccidananda Ashram at Shantivanam in Tamil Nadu, where the Benedictine rule of life was practised in an ashram setting. Here it was possible to combine unique eastern insights and Christian wisdom. This has generated a spirituality that has a powerful and universal appeal. Father Bede spoke to a packed top studio at Colet House 20 years ago and we have been delighted to welcome Brother Martin several times since then. His accessible teaching enables an understanding of ‘the search for truth at the heart of all religions’ at a time when it has potentially never held so much relevance. He will be returning to Colet House to speak on the Hindu-Christian Meeting Point in Integral Dynamic Monotheism on 11 July at 7 pm.

HINDU-CHRISTIAN MEETING POINT IN INTEGRAL DYNAMIC MONOTHEISM ALL PHILOSOPHIES, ideologies, scriptures, religions and all prophets and sages tell us two important things: who we are and how we ought to live our lives in the world of time and space. The way people live will depend largely, I believe, on their self-identity – on who or what they think they are. In this paper we will limit our search to the religious level. Let us see what religions tell us about who we are and how we should live our lives. The mystery we call ‘God’ undoubtedly has many different aspects for us to discover and experience if we are ready to drop our narrow concepts and go forward with an open heart and mind. These days it’s common for theologians to divide religions into two overall categories (not in an absolute sense): the Wisdom Tradition and the Prophetic Tradition. Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism belong to the Wisdom Tradition and these have some common elements like karma, samsara, reincarnation and spiritual enlightenment. Religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam belong to the Prophetic Tradition. These are also called Monotheistic Religions as they teach belief in one God. We will focus our reflection on Monotheistic Religions1 and Hinduism. PROPHETIC MONOTHEISM According to traditional Judaism, God is the creator and human beings are creatures of God. God creates the cosmos and human beings out of nothing. There’s a gulf between God and his creation – an essential difference between God and all of his creatures, human or otherwise. No one can see God face to face. God is the liberator and saviour. He guides his people through the prophets. He reveals his will through the com1 Sikhism, also a monotheistic religion, is not referred to. 2 The mystical tradition of Christianity is not referred to. 3 Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, is not referred to here.

mandments. The Torah reveals the will of God and people have to follow it. To obey the Torah is to obey God. One has to submit one’s will and intellect to the will of God and one has to be faithful and loyal to God. Jews consider themselves to be specially chosen by him. So according to Judaism, human beings are creatures of God. They’re expected to live a moral life according to God’s will. Traditional Christianity2 also considers God to be the creator and human beings as creatures of God. There’s an essential difference between God and humans. God revealed his will through the prophets in the First Covenant or Old Testament and his final will in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. He is the incarnation of the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the only way, the truth, the life. One has to believe in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God and become a Christian to be saved. Some insist only on believing in Jesus as the saviour for redemption whilst others insist on living a moral life and doing good works as well. If one lives a good life one will go to heaven and if one lives a bad life one will go to hell after death. According to traditional Islam,3 God is the creator and human beings are creatures of God. There is an essential difference between God and creation. God revealed his will through the prophets in the Old Testament and in Jesus Christ, but revealed his final will in the Koran (Qur’an) through the prophet, Muhammad. Hence this book is the final word of God and Muhammad is the last prophet. God did not reveal so much of himself, but rather revealed the Koran in which he tells human beings what they should and should not do. It is considered to be the eternal word of God, dictated to Muhammad. Submission to the will of God, revealed in

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the Koran, is necessary for salvation. To obey it is to obey God. If one lives a moral life according to the Koran one will go to heaven and if one does not live a moral life then one will go to hell after death. According to these three religions, God is the creator and human beings are creatures of God. A significant difference between Judaism, Islam and Christianity lies in their attitude towards Jesus and the Trinity. Jews and Muslims do not believe that God is triune. They think it violates the unity of God. They do not believe that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. They do not believe that he is the only Son of God and that he is the only way, the truth and the life. They believe that he is a human being like any other human. He is a messenger of God or reformer of Judaism. If he called himself the son of God, it is only in a metaphorical sense that everyone is a son or daughter of God. These three religions are called Monotheistic because their adherents believe that there’s only one God and this one God is the creator of the universe. Their general teaching is that God created this universe out of nothing4 and that there is an essential difference between God and his creation . . . which includes us. In Christianity, an exception is made for Jesus who, it is believed, is not a creature of God but an incarnation of him. There is an essential difference between Christ and other human beings. HINDU MONOTHEISM The expression ‘Hindu Monotheism’ may surprise some. In general, Hinduism is described as monism, nondualism, pantheism and polytheism. But one has to be aware that according to Hinduism there is only one God or absolute Reality (Monotheism) – ekam sat vipra bahuthi vadanti – ‘The Self-existent Being is one but sages call it by many names’ (Rig Veda); this God, however, is not the creator but manifests everything that is known. Hinduism does not propose the theory of ‘creation out of nothing’. This is the basic difference between Prophetic Monotheism and Hindu Monotheism. There are three important theological positions in Hinduism.5 These are based on the interpretations given to the teachings of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita and the Brahma Sutras – the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. The Upanishads belong to the 5th century BC and the Bhagavad-Gita belongs around the 1st century BC or AD.6 These scriptures did not propose any theological system – these came later, their fundamental question being the relationship between God and the universe, or God and humankind. In Prophetic Monotheism this question seems to have been resolved with the theory of creation out of nothing. Since Hindu Monotheism does not accept this solution it needs to propose different ones.

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ADVAITA – NON-DUALITY The first philosophical system we shall consider is Advaita, a system of Non-duality proposed by Shankara in the 8th century AD.7 According to him, God (Brahman) alone is eternal (Brahma sathyam). The universe has only the appearance of reality (jagat mithyam). The illusory nature of the manifest world is also known by the often used word, Maya. Ultimately the human soul (jivatman) is identical with God (Brahman). This can be explained with the analogy of water (God) and ice (human beings). Ice, as we know, comes from water and melts back to it. It does not have an independent existence. It has a beginning and an end. The ice is essentially one with the water in which it floats, though functionally different. The ice does not become water. It is water. But it is not aware that it is water. Because it is solid it imagines, let us say, that it is an object like a stone. We could say it is in a state of ignorance. It needs to free itself from ignorance and realise that it is water or God. Growing out of this ignorance is the purpose of life for all human beings. All the negative manifestations or evil that we see in the world come from the ignorance of one’s true nature. Shankara proposed the way of wisdom, jnana marga. The paths of devotion (bhakti) and action (karma) can prepare the way but jnana is the ultimate one in his view. He taught that ignorance can be removed only through wisdom or understanding and not by devotion or action as they are not the opposite of ignorance. For Shankara, God or Brahman is nirguna, without qualities. Brahman is impersonal. Human beings are essentially one with God but they are ignorant of this truth. They need to awaken from ignorance and realise the liberating truth about themselves. According to him, ultimately every one of us can say ‘aham Brahmasmi’, ‘I am Brahman, God and I are one’. A person who realises this truth while alive is called jivan muktha – liberated while alive. Some consider Shankara to be a monist in the sense that the world is an illusion. Others consider him to be a non-dualist in the sense that the world is not an illusion but unreal, finite. According to the second view, God and the universe are not two independent or separate realities. God is ‘sat’, self-existent, and creation is ‘a-sat’, whose existence depends on ‘sat’. I would hold the second view. VISISTAADVAITA – QUALIFIED NON-DUALISM The second system is called Visistaadvaita, a system of Qualified Non-dualism, proposed by Ramanuja in the 11th century AD. He disagreed with Shankara’s position regarding the nature of God, the universe and humankind. For Ramanuja, as with Shankara, God

4Whatever may be the meaning intended by it. 5There are five in total: sudda advaita (pure non-dualism), bedeabeda (God and creation are different and not different), advaita (non-duality), visistaadvaita (qualified non-duality) and dviata (duality). These last three are the important ones. 6This is not an absolute. There may be different views on it. 7There may be different views on it.

The human soul is not identical with God. No one can say, ‘God and I are one’. Jnana (wisdom) and karma (action) can be expressions of bhakti. Personal relationship with God is very important. If the human soul merges with God then no personal relationship is possible. Human beings can have a personal relationship with God in different ways, like father and son, lover and beloved, protector and protected, physician and patient, owner and the owned, sustainer and sustained, supporter and dependent, sun and lotus and many more. Ultimate liberation happens only after the death of the physical body. Some Western theologians suspect Ramanuja of being a pantheist. But this may not be correct as he holds that there is a subtle essential difference between God and the universe in general or humankind in particular. From the Sun come many rays, but one cannot say that every ray is a Sun. There is only one Sun (God) and the universe is its manifestation.

Father Bede Griffiths

(Brahman) alone is eternal (sathyam). But God is not nirguna, without qualities, but saguna, with qualities. God is personal. The universe and our world (jagat) are the manifestation of Brahman, not a mere appearance (mithya) as with Shankara. The universe is not created by God. It emanates from him. God is the material and instrumental cause of creation. We are part of God but not identical with him. There is an essential subtle difference between God and us. Ramanuja saw the universe and humankind as the ‘body’ of God. The relationship between God and the universe is like soul and body, or body and the hair that grows on and from it. God and the universe are inseparable. The material world is not an illusion, mithya or Maya. Maya is the creative power of God through which he manifests the world and everything in it. If we take the analogy of water and ice, Brahman is water; ice is the universe. The universe is not an illusion. It is the manifestation of Brahman. It is the body of Brahman. But there is a subtle difference between God and the universe, which includes humankind – it is not identical with Brahman. Ramanuja proposed the way of devotion (bhakti marga). One has to surrender to God through devotion or faith – to God’s will – and one finds peace and joy in this surrender.

DVAITA – DUALITY The third position is called Dvaita, a system of Duality, proposed by Madhva in the 12th century AD. He disagreed with both Shankara and Ramanuja regarding the nature of God, creation and human souls, and proposed Dualism. Madhva would agree with Shankara and Ramanuja that God alone is eternal (sathyam). According to him, God is Brahman and Brahman is Vishnu. The universe is essentially different from God. The material world is not an illusion (Shankara) or the manifestation of God (Ramanuja). It is not created by him. It was there from the beginning, as if eternal though essentially different from him. Humans are essentially different from God. There is a gulf between God, the world and humankind. The immeasurable power of Lord Vishnu is seen as the efficient cause of the universe and the primordial matter or prakriti is the material cause of the universe. God is personal and has many qualities (saguna). The human soul is essentially different from him. This position keeps humans somewhat distant from God and strengthens the relationship between them. Madhva proposed the path of devotion (bhakti marga) and good works (karma marga). One needs to surrender to God through these two paths. It is the Lord who performs actions, energising the soul from within and awarding the results to it, but he is not touched by it. According to Madhva, we are more or less creatures of God (he may not have liked the word ‘creatures’, in the sense of being created out of nothing). We are essentially different from him and remain so after this life. We are urged to come closer to God through devotion, but can never merge with him. Liberation (bliss) is awarded to us according to our actions at the end of our spiritual path, after death.

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These three systems believe that there is only one God, one eternal Reality. In that sense they are monotheistic religions. But they do not believe that this one Reality is a creator. This is the main difference between Prophetic Monotheism and Hindu Monotheism. Many think that Hinduism is polytheistic. In practice it looks like that but Hinduism believes there is only one God; different gods are either various manifestations of that one God or like angels in Prophetic Monotheism. It is interesting to note how the Vedic tradition reached its climax in the Upanishads in the 5th century BC, when it was realised that human consciousness is identical with the divine, while in the 12th century AD it has come down to the dualistic understanding of Madhva, where an essential difference between God and human souls is affirmed. We can now see that there are three important concepts of a human being: essentially one with God, as per Advaita of Shankara, the manifestation of God as per Visistaadvaita of Ramanuja and essentially different from God, as per Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Dvaita system of Hinduism. What is common to them all is that there is only one God. In that sense they are all monotheists. The difference is the way human beings relate to that one God. The three Hindu Monotheistic systems seem to have something to integrate just as prophetic Monotheistic Religions need to open themselves to the higher divinehuman relationship. There have been many great Hindu mystics, like Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple Swami Vivekananda, who have tried to integrate the three systems. There have also been many mystics in prophetic religions who have opened the human consciousness to the higher level of divine-human relationship, even though they had to face many difficulties. IS JESUS CHRIST A PROPHETIC MONOTHEIST OR A HINDU MONOTHEIST? Jesus Christ made statements which do not fit within Prophetic Monotheism. He called God his Father. He said that he was the Son of God. He was in the Father and the Father was in him. He came from the Father and returned to the Father. He also claimed that the Father (God) and he were one. His experience of God did not fit within the belief system of Prophetic Monotheism. For Jesus, God was not his creator and he was not a creature. His origin is in eternity. Judaism and Islam reject his claims and consider them blasphemous. They think that his statements are metaphorical and not metaphysical. Christianity accepts his claims but limits them to Jesus and not to every human being. The claims of Jesus are very close to the Qualified Nondualistic and Non-dualistic systems of Hinduism. In

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8 Jn.10:29. 9 Jn.14:10. 10Jn.10:30.

this sense, Jesus was more a Hindu Monotheist than a Prophetic Monotheist. In Qualified Non-dualism and Non-dualism these claims are not limited to any one particular individual but are possible for every human being. IS JESUS CHRIST A DUALIST, A QUALIFIED NON-DUALIST NON-DUALIST? We are dealing with this question retrospectively. None of these systems existed during the time of Jesus. But they give us some tools to understand his experience. Jesus made three important statements: ‘My Father is greater than me’,8 ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’9 and ‘The Father and I are one’.10 The first statement is in accordance with the Dualistic system. God is the creator and Jesus is the creature. God is greater than him. The second statement is in accordance with the Qualified Non-dualistic system. Here the relationship is much more intimate. It is not the relationship of creator and creature. It is the relationship of Father and Son. He is in God and God is in him. It is an experience of mutual indwelling. Still there is some distance between him and the Father. He is not the Father. The third statement is in accordance with the Non-dualistic system. The Father and he are one. There is no distance. There is no separation. If we take them all together, then it appears that Jesus is contradicting himself. If God is greater than him then he cannot say, ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’. If there is a distance between God and Jesus then he cannot say that God and he are one. We can say that Jesus began his journey with the experience of being a creature (Dualist) and experienced God as greater than him according to his spiritual tradition. At the moment of his baptismal experience he went beyond that relationship and realised that he was not a creature but the son of God (Qualified Non-dualist), the manifestation of God. Later, he went even beyond that and realised that he was one with the Father, God (Non-dualist). But he did not remain in that Non-dual experience but came down to Qualified Non-dualistic experience and Dualistic experience as long as he lived in his physical body and in the world of time and space. We can say that Jesus was essentially a Non-dualist but functionally a Qualified Non-dualist and a Dualist. We cannot put him into any one of these systems.

OR A

INTEGRAL DYNAMIC MONOTHEISM We have seen different types of monotheism: • the simple Monotheism of the Upanishads, which affirms One Reality (Brahman, Atman) with humans ultimately one with that Reality (tatvamasi)

•

Prophetic Monotheism, which affirms that there is only One God and creation is essentially different • the Non-dualistic Monotheism of Shankara which affirms that there is only One God and creation is an illusion or unreal • the Qualified Non-dualistic Monotheism of Ramanuja, which affirms that there is only One God and creation is his body • the Dualistic Monotheism of Madhva, which affirms that there is only One God and creation is also eternal but essentially different from him. Jesus’s experience does not fit into any of these monotheisms. So I like to describe him, not to define him, as an Integral Dynamic Monotheist. INTEGRAL DYNAMIC MONOTHEISM OF JESUS CHRIST The Integral Dynamic Monotheism of Jesus can be described in this way: God alone is. God alone is eternal (sathyam and mithyam). This God cannot be put into any human category. It is independent, creative, timeless, peace and love. It is personal, impersonal and beyond. It is like an infinite space and our concepts of it are like houses that we build within the space. It allows the building of houses according to the needs and capacities of the human mind but it always transcends them. Our human mind cannot build a house for the infinite space. Creation is the manifestation of God. Creation (names and forms) is not an illusion. It is unreal, finite. It has a beginning and an end. It is essentially one with God but functionally different, like water and ice, energy and matter. Water and ice are essentially one but functionally different, as are energy and matter. Human souls are ultimately one with God but functionally different. Names and forms are like mirrors in which God is reflected. When the reflection identifies with the names and the forms it feels it is finite. When it looks into its source then it realises it is identical with God. Human souls have the possibility to evolve into different levels and experience God according to their level. It is Integral: This Monotheism integrates all the systems mentioned and also other possible systems but always transcends them. God or Truth cannot be put into any system. It is essentially Non-dualistic but functionally Qualified Non-dualistic and Dualistic. It does not exclude any spiritual path but embraces all spiritual paths that help human beings grow in relationship with God and with neighbours. The spiritual paths of wisdom (jnana), devotion (bhakti) and action (karma) are not seen as exclusive but mutually complementing each other. It is Dynamic: The relationship between God and human souls is not static but dynamic. It is a process 11Jn.10:30. 12Mt.25:40.

ascending and descending. Human souls grow in their relationship with God, from Dualistic relationship to Qualified Non-dualistic relationship and from there into Non-dualistic relationship. Then they descend from Nondualistic state to Qualified Non-dualistic state and from there to Dualistic state. When the soul is ascending these levels look like different stages and the human soul feels it is essentially different from God. But when the soul is descending, these stages are transformed into a level of consciousness and there is no essential difference between God and human souls but only functional difference. One can live all the levels at the same time without any contradiction. There is an essential oneness (unity) in Non-duality and functional Duality in our daily human relationships. IT IS GROWING INTO THE LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOUR In this Monotheism the focus is on growing into the radical love of God and the radical love of neighbour. ‘The Father and I are one’11 and ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters that you do unto me’12 are its two pillars. One has to begin with the Dualistic love of God and love of neighbour, and grow into the Qualified Non-dualistic love of God and love of neighbour and finally arrive at the Non-dualistic love of God and love of neighbour. In a Dualistic love of God, a person says, ‘God is my creator, I am a creature and my neighbour is another creature of God’. In a Qualified Non-dual love a person says, ‘God is my Father, I am a manifestation of God and my neighbour is another manifestation of God’. In the Non-dual love of God a person says, ‘Only God is. My Real self is God (aham brahma asmi) and the Real self of my neighbour is also God (tatvamasi)’ – it is God loving God. In the first level, our knowledge (jnana) of God is Dualistic, so too is our relationship (bhakti) with God and neighbour and our actions (karma) towards our neighbours. In the second level, our knowledge of God is of a Qualified Non-dualistic kind, as is our relationship with God and neighbour and our actions towards our neighbours. In the third level, our knowledge of God is Non-dualistic and so too is our relationship with God and our actions towards our neighbours. Here it is God loving God. In the Integral Dynamic Monotheism of Jesus Christ, jnana, bhakti and karma are not isolated but integrated in love. Love is not just devotion but wisdom manifesting in action. The purpose of every spiritual practice is to help us to expand our ego from the individual to the divine. The purpose of our human existence is to awaken our unity with God and manifest that unity in our loving relationships.

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FULLY HUMAN AND FULLY DIVINE Prophetic Monotheism and the Dvaita system of Hinduism emphasise our humanness. Qualified NonDualistic Monotheism emphasises our divine son-ship or daughterhood. Non-Dualistic Monotheism emphasises the divinity of human beings. The first two belong to our humanity and the third belongs to our divinity. Christianity holds that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. Jesus integrated these three experiences within himself. He was human in every sense, a true son of God and one with the Father. It is my opinion that Jesus

Happiness

John Martin Sahajananda

— the Natural Result of putting HH’s Teaching into Practice

WHEN WE STARTED WORK on Voyage of Discovery I was given the task of going through the London papers of Dr Roles from 1981 to June 1982. While reading the material, a statement made by him following the telling of ‘The Elephant and the Mahout’ story came as a shock to me. Dr Roles first heard this story in 1961 and in 1981, twenty years later, he said: The point of this story passed me by until just the other day. It is that the man who came away from this conference with the three words which contain everything – ‘God is everywhere’ – disobeyed the mahout on the elephant’s back who told him to get out of the way, and this is our trouble because we don’t get ourselves, our personal point of view, ‘out of the way’.

This is the cause of so many problems because everything becomes very complicated when people can’t get their personal point of view out of the way. When people don’t understand, and think that this Ahankar alone is themselves – that Ahankar alone is the ‘I’ and there is nothing beyond it – then they start creating boundaries, and these boundaries are made of the limitations of their understanding, knowledge, or the ideas which they have. It is not just the single body which creates the boundary, but everything to which the individual relates himself – the concept of family, etc. (HH) And His Holiness also said:

As the Jiva is a part of the Brahman (the Absolute), it is fundamentally Eternal. It is fundamentally all Knowledge; it is fundamentally all Joy. But look at Eternity fearing death! Look at knowledge missing all Knowledge! Look at joy missing all Joy!

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Christ opened this possibility to every truth-seeker. Integral Dynamic Monotheism holds that every human being is fully human and fully divine. Divinity is the foundation and humanity is its manifestation or its vehicle. The purpose of our human existence is to realise this truth and live accordingly. To realise our oneness with God and live dualistically in the world of time and space, sharing divine attributes in our relationships – perhaps the greatest miracle of life. May all beings in the world be happy!

This is the price we pay for not being able to get our personal self out of the way. We want to put it into practice, but don’t seem to get anywhere. Why? The real cause of failures is not the inadequacy of means but an inadequacy of understanding and of determination. Provided we understand what is required, and provided our determination is strong enough, a very little can achieve great results, because on seeing the invincibility of our determination, the heart of Param-Atman melts and He Himself comes to our help. (HH)

So our problem is inadequacy of understanding and of determination. HH tells us that in order to understand we must first listen with attention and then relate the knowledge to our experience and ask any questions arising from our experience. By putting this process into practice we increase our understanding. But what happens when we make an effort to put the knowledge into practice? It feels awkward and/or unnatural and our ‘personal self’ sets a boundary. ‘This is not me!’ Here we need a strong determination to persist. At the start, when a man in training goes on duty for the first time he finds difficulties, but with further practice he is able to act naturally and appropriately as his experience ripens, ultimately he achieves purity of motive and mastery in his art. (HH)

This leads to a deeper understanding. With increased understanding we then can see the ‘utility’ of the knowledge. . . .and when you know the usefulness of a thing, then your practice will be automatic. You won’t have to seek it, it will come of itself. You will be more attentive to those things which you think

will be useful to you. Unless you have this feeling that this will be more useful towards you, you will not be able to practice attention towards that. The knowledge itself decides the utility. (HH)

Efforts are the third (causal) stage of the ‘ladder’ and with our determined efforts, the ‘mini ladder’ kicks in. These good actions (putting the knowledge into practise) continue through stages to an increase of Sattva which in turn proceeds further until the final stage of freedom from all thoughts about one’s own self. Receiving impressions without the filter of ‘What’s in it for me?’ removes a huge boundary and we are able to receive impressions from a universal point of view. The practical result of this is that our actions are guided more by ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. My experience is that a subtle change of attitude takes place and you begin to realise the meaning of ‘You are not the doer’. For example, instead of thinking ‘I’ve got to write a meeting’, you simply realise that a meeting is needed and the universe provides it either organically from the material of the last meeting or through a

question asked by one of the group. Or sometimes, while you are cleaning up a stack of old papers, the perfect subject presents itself. You also find that you really have very few decisions to make. All we have to do is respond appropriately to whatever the universe presents to us at any moment. We realise we are not doing, but simply receiving from the universe and if we are awake we will respond appropriately and we might even realise that ‘It is only the Absolute which has manifested itself as the creation, which is passing through and being manifested or expressed by himself, which is Atman’. This is how I find that His Holiness’s system can bring happiness into our lives but it is important to remember that meditation is an integral part of the system. Thanks to Dr Roles and his ability to communicate the practicality of His Holiness’s system, we in the New York group have received great benefit from his efforts and from all those who supported him. Though this year will bring a special time of remembrance of Dr Roles, he is always in our hearts. William Hager

THE PRESENCE OF THE PAST

Dr Rupert Sheldrake, a past speaker at Colet House, is one of the world’s most innovative biologists and writers. He is perhaps best known for his theory of morphic fields and morphic resonance, which leads to a vision of a living, developing universe with its own inherent memory. He worked in developmental biology at Cambridge University, where he was a Fellow of Clare College. He was then Principal Plant Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in Hyderabad, India. From 2005 to 2010 he was Director of the Perrott-Warrick project, funded from Trinity College, Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, near San Francisco, and a Visiting Professor and Academic Director of the Holistic Thinking Programme at the Graduate Institute in Connecticut. The following extracts, selected by Contact’s editor and adapted by the author, are taken from his book, The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance and the Habits of Nature. INTRODUCTION THE HABITS OF NATURE They say that habit is second nature. Who knows but nature is only first habit? Pascal, Pensées HABITS MAY BE INHERENT in the nature of all living organisms, in crystals, molecules and atoms, and indeed in the entire cosmos. A beech seedling, for example, as it grows into a tree takes up the characteristic shape, structure and habits of a beech. It is able to do so because

it inherits its nature from previous beeches; but this inheritance is not just a matter of chemical genes. It depends also on the transmission of habits of growth and development from countless beech trees that existed in the past. Likewise, as a swallow grows up it flies, feeds, preens, migrates, mates and nests as swallows habitually do. It inherits the instincts of its species through invisible influences that make the behaviour of past swallows in some sense present within it. It draws on and is shaped by the collective memory of its species.

Rupert Sheldrake is to give an evening talk at Colet House on 27 September. See page 34 for details.

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All humans too draw upon a collective memory, to which all in turn contribute . . . Thus, our own personal habits may depend on cumulative influences from our past behaviour to which we ‘tune in’. If so, there is no need for them to be stored in a material form within our nervous systems. The same applies to our conscious memories – of a song we know, or of something that happened last year. The past may become present to us directly. Our memories may not be stored inside our brains, as we usually assume they are. All these possibilities can be conceived of in the framework of the hypothesis of formative causation. According to this hypothesis, the nature of things depends on fields, called morphic fields. Each kind of natural system has its own kind of field: there is an insulin field, a beech field, a swallow field and so on. Such fields shape all the different kinds of atoms, molecules, crystals, living organisms, societies, customs and habits of mind. Morphic fields, like the known fields of physics, are non-material regions of influence extending in space and continuing in time. They are localised within and around the systems they organise. When any particular organised system ceases to exist – as when an atom splits, a

Many organisms live as free cells, including many yeasts, bacteria and amoebas. Some form complex mineral skeletons, as in diatoms and radiolarians, spectacularly pictured in the nineteenth century by Ernst Haeckel (above). Just making the right proteins at the right times cannot explain the complex skeletons of such structures without many other forces coming into play, including the organising activity of cell membranes and microtubules.

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snowflake melts, an animal dies – its organising field disappears from that place. But in another sense, morphic fields do not disappear: they are potential organising patterns of influence, and can appear again physically in other times and places, wherever and whenever the physical conditions are appropriate. When they do so they contain within themselves a memory of their previous physical existences. The process by which the past becomes present within morphic fields is called morphic resonance. Morphic resonance involves the transmission of formative causal influences through both space and time. The memory within the morphic fields is cumulative, and that is why all sorts of things become increasingly habitual through repetition. When such repetition has occurred on an astronomical scale over billions of years, as it has in the case of many kinds of atoms, molecules and crystals, the nature of these things has become so deeply habitual that it is effectively changeless, or seemingly eternal. FROM CHAPTER 11. REMEMBERING AND FORGETTING In this chapter I explore the possibility that memories are not stored inside the head. What we remember is not inscribed in the brain but depends on morphic resonance. We remember because we resonate with ourselves in the past... MEMORIES AND MORPHIC RESONANCE Our original experiences of events, as well as our recalling of them, are influenced by our interests and motives. We remember what is significant and meaningful more than that which is not. Nothing has significance and meaning by itself; things matter only in relation to their context and the people involved. Frederic Bartlett, one of the pioneers of memory research, called the systems of relationship and interaction through which we construct meaning schemata.6 Arthur Koestler thought of them as perceptual and motor hierarchies.7 The psychologist Gordon Bower thinks of ‘organisational factors in memory’ in terms of grouping together, or classifying, or categorising of psychological elements on the basis of common properties, and then the relating of such classes to one another in multiple ways.8 From the point of view of the hypothesis of formative causation, such schemata, hierarchies, or organisational factors are morphic fields, organised in hierarchies and connected together in multiple ways through higher-level fields. Our ability to identify and categorise things depends on patterns of relationship. For example, we can recognise a word whether it is spoken in a high or low voice, with a regional or foreign accent, by an old person or a child, or handwritten or printed. We recognise it through the pattern of sounds, the way the different elements or phonemes are

related to each other in time, or the pattern of the letters as sequences in space. Likewise we recognise the form of a letter in a wide variety of typefaces and handwritings. We recognise a tune when it is hummed or played on a piano, a violin, or a flute; we also recognise piano, violin, flute and humming sounds by their characteristic qualities irrespective of the tune being played. Likewise we recognise plants, animals, and things – cedars, cats, and chairs – even though individuals differ in detail. On the present hypothesis these classes or categories can be thought of in terms of morphic fields that organise our perceptual experiences, closely associated with language, through which we organise, describe and communicate our experience. These classes or categories of experience are part of our biological and cultural inheritance, and are stabilised by morphic resonance with our own past experience and also with many other people’s. Like all morphic fields, those underlying perceptions, categories, and concepts are not rigidly defined in terms of exact positions and dimensions and frequencies, but are probability structures. This is why categorisation takes place on the basis of similarity, and does not depend on exact identity.9 In short-term memory, elements of recent experience are preserved for a limited time, rather like echoes. This kind of memory may well be associated with reverberating patterns of electrical activity in the nervous system, maintained by self-resonance. But if these elements are not related together by a higher-level resonant field, their temporary coexistence soon fades away, and there is no cohesive pattern to be recalled. Long-term memory is different. It depends on the establishment of higher-level fields that can become present again by morphic resonance. This establishment of new fields depends on awareness. Habituation is the other side of the coin. HABITUATION AND AWARENESS Our conscious memories are of events that took place in particular places at particular times, even if we cannot always ‘place’ the memories geographically or chronologically. It is precisely because of the uniqueness of these past experiences that we can remember them consciously. In academic psychology they are called autobiographical or episodic memories. Another kind of conscious memory concerned with understandings, meanings and knowledge is called semantic memory – for example, remembering that strawberries are red. Episodic and semantic memory are also called declarative or explicit memory, because they can be consciously declared or discussed. By contrast, implicit or procedural memory applies to skills and habits, and works unconsciously. Our conscious experience takes place within a framework of repetitive habits: our own, other people’s,

and the world’s in general. Like all animals, we habituate to patterns that are repetitive or continuous. In our own experience, habituation produces a sense of familiarity that enables us to take for granted most aspects of our environment and ourselves. But habituation is an active kind of unawareness. Through the contrast with the familiar, of which we are unaware, we are aware of what is unfamiliar. The unfamiliar generally attracts our attention. And without attention, we are unable to establish the patterns of connection that allow us to remember. Habituation can be understood in terms of selfresonance: the more similar the present patterns are to those from the past, the more specific the morphic resonance. The less the difference between the present and the past, the less we are aware of any difference and the less we notice about this aspect of our present experience. Habituation is fundamental to the way that our senses and perceptual systems work. If the rhythmic electrical pattern aroused in the sense organs and the nervous system by a particular stimulus continues, this repeated pattern is subject to self-resonance and ceases to be noticed. We notice changes and differences, not what stays the same. For example, we cease to notice continued tactile stimuli, such as the contact of our bottoms with chairs and of our clothes with our skins. What we notice are changes in touch or pressure: if someone touches us unexpectedly we are aware of it at once. We feel differences in surfaces or textures as we move our hands and fingers over them; we sense changes. The same is true of other senses. We soon stop noticing familiar smells, sounds, tastes, and sights. Habituation occurs over a wide range of time scales, from year to year, day to day, minute to minute, and even from second to second. Such short-term habituation in the visual system, for example, gives a sensory awareness of differences as the eyes scan over things; we notice boundaries more than continuous surfaces in between, and we notice things that move more than things that stay put. Habituation over all time scales involves a kind of unconscious memory of the familiar, which is the background against which we can be aware of changes, movements, and differences. FROM CHAPTER 12. MINDS AND BRAINS BODY IMAGES AND PHANTOM LIMBS The conventional theory is that your body image is inside your brain. If you feel the pressure of your bottom on a chair, or a pain in your knee, these sensations are not located where they seem to be, but are inside your head. By contrast, I suggest that these feelings are just where they seem to be. They are not all compressed into the brain. The contrast between the brain theory and the field theory is clearest in the case of phantom limbs. When people lose a limb as a result of an accident or amputation,

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usually the limb feels as if it is still there. It is a phantom, but it feels real. These phantoms persist indefinitely. People who lost limbs in the Second World War told me 50 years later that their phantoms were as vivid as ever. Leo Unger, for example, had both feet badly damaged by a land mine when fighting in Norway in 1944. Both his legs had to be amputated below the knees. ‘From the very first day, I have always had the feeling that my legs and feet were still in place. Early on I had severe phantom pains that felt like balls of fire going down my limbs and off my toes. After twenty years I seldom got that feeling, but I do often feel the bones in my feet were just broken, just as they were when I was wounded.’ Many people with phantoms can move them around, just as if they were real. For example, people who have recently had an arm amputated find themselves trying to pick up the telephone with it, before they remember that their arm is no longer made of flesh and blood. Some phantoms shrink with time. But this does not usually happen when people wear artificial arms or legs. The phantom fills the artificial limb and it ‘usually fits the prosthesis as a hand fits a glove’.39 If someone whose phantom has shrunk starts wearing a prosthesis, the phantom usually grows again to fit it.40 In fact, phantoms play an important part in people’s adaptation to artificial limbs, and make it much easier for them to use them. In the medical literature, it is usually said that the phantom ‘animates’ the prosthesis. As one researcher expressed it, ‘the lifeless appendage is animated by the living phantom’.41 Medical attempts to track down phantoms within the nervous system have shown them to be remarkably elusive. At first, the predominant hypothesis was that phantoms were produced in the brain because of impulses from nerves in the remaining limb-stump, particularly in nerve nodules at the cut ends of the nerves, called neuromas. Impulses from the neuromas were supposed to travel up the spinal cord into the brain, generating sensations in the sensory regions of the cerebral cortex that were then ‘referred’ to the missing limb. This theory was tested repeatedly in surgical attempts to relieve pain in the phantoms, by cutting off neuromas, or severing the nerves from the stump at the roots, next to the spinal cord. Unfortunately for most of these patients, the phantoms persisted, and the pain was not cured.42 The stump hypothesis faced another serious problem. It could not explain how some people born without limbs experience phantoms of their missing limbs when there is no injury to the nerves.43 Another hypothesis was that the phantoms arose from excessive nerve activity within the spinal cord because the

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nerves were missing their normal input from the limb. In accordance with this idea, surgeons cut nerve pathways within the spinal cord to try to relieve phantom pain. But the phantoms and the pain persisted.44 In addition, the experience of paraplegics does not support the theory that phantoms arise from excessive nervous activity in the spinal cord. Paraplegics are partially paralysed because they have a broken spinal cord, with no feeling or control of the body below the break. They often experience phantom legs and even phantom genital organs. They may also experience phantom pain in the legs or groin, even though no nerve impulses from these lower parts of the body can cross the break in their spinal cord.45 The source of phantoms was therefore sought even deeper in the brain. Hopeful surgeons removed areas of the thalamus and sensory cortex that would have received nerve impulses from the missing limb in valiant attempts to relieve phantom pain, but the pain generally persisted, and so did the phantom.46 The quest led yet deeper. One hypothesis proposed that the body image was generated by a complex nerve network within the brain, called a neuromatrix, supposedly ‘hard-wired’ in the nerves. This neuromatrix ‘generates patterns, processes information that flows through it, and ultimately produces the pattern that is felt as the whole body’.47 The trouble with this theory is that it is virtually untestable. To try to remove a phantom by destroying the neuromatrix ‘would mean destruction of almost the whole brain’.48 Another hypothesis located the source of phantoms in the ‘remapping’ process in areas of the brain that previously received nerve impulses from the amputated organs and now no longer do so.49 The sprouting of new nervous connections within the brain may shed light on some aspects of phantoms, but it cannot explain their existence in the first place, because they appear immediately after amputation, long before any remapping has had time to occur. Most of us could potentially experience a phantom arm if we wanted to, without suffering from any amputation or nerve damage at all, and certainly without remapping. Anaesthesia can produce phantoms in less than an hour. This commonly happens in patients who are about to undergo surgery on their arms, for which they are given local anaesthetics in the spinal cord. About 90 per cent of patients experience a phantom arm within 20 to 40 minutes of the injection of the anaesthetic into the brachial plexus, causing anaesthesia of the nerves running to the arm. When they close their eyes, they can move their arm around and lift it up, and also flex their hand and move their fingers. The arm feels completely real. Yet when they open their eyes they are usually amazed to see that their

actual arm is lying immobile on the bed, while the phantom arm they experience is in a different position. Typically, when they realise the discrepancy, the phantom rapidly moves back into the real limb, fusing with it.50 The patient’s perception of the limb adjusts to reflect reality. As the anaesthetic wears off, the phantom disappears. Likewise, many patients whose legs have been anaesthetised experience phantom legs. When a patient is lying on his back, the phantom leg usually rises in the air above the actual leg.51 In trying to account for phantoms, medical researchers have returned again and again to concepts such as the ‘body schema’ or ‘body image’ somewhere inside the brain.52 But the theory that the body image is all in the brain is no more than an assumption. Attempts to find it there have been remarkably unsuccessful. The brain theory also goes against people’s own direct experience. It is far simpler to suppose that the body image and phantom limbs are located exactly where they seem to be.53 The existence of phantom limbs has breathtaking implications for ‘out of the body’ experiences. Several surveys have shown that about one person in five has experienced being out of the body, especially in moments of crisis.54 Typically, people find themselves separated from their physical body, as if they are in another body. For example, a man who had undergone an operation after general anaesthesia said, ‘I myself, freely hovering and looking downward from above, saw my physical body lying on the operating table’.55 Rather than simply having a phantom limb, he had an entire phantom body, detached from his physical body. Such out-of-the-body experiences are common when people nearly die, as part of the ‘neardeath’ experience.56 The neurologist Ronald Melzack concluded, after many years of studying phantoms: ‘It is evident that our experience of a body can occur without a body at all. We don’t need a body to feel a body.’57 I suggest that a phantom limb is the morphic field of the limb experienced from within. A phantom body is the morphic field of the body experienced from within. A really big question is whether the phantom body can survive the death of the physical body. I do not know the answer. EXTENDED MINDS AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE In this chapter I have suggested that our minds extend beyond our brains. They do so even in the simplest act of perception. Images are where they seem to be. Subjects and objects are not radically separated, with subjects inside heads and objects in the external world. They are interlinked. Through vision, the external world is brought into the mind through the eyes, and the subjective world of

experience is projected outwards into the external world through fields of perception and intention. We are linked to our environment and to each other. Likewise, our minds pervade our bodies, and our body images are where we experience them, in our bodies, not just in our heads. At first it may seem shocking to take our most direct and immediate experience seriously. We are used to the theory that all our thoughts, images, and feelings are in the brain, and not where they seem to be. Most of us picked up this idea by the time we were ten or eleven.58 Within institutional science and medicine, it is generally taken for granted, and most educated people accept it as the ‘scientifically correct’ view. Yet the mind-in-the-brain theory turns out to have very little evidence in its favour. It contradicts immediate experience. The recognition that our minds extend beyond our brains liberates us. We are no longer imprisoned within the narrow compass of our skulls. (From The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance and the Habits of Nature, paperback edition, Icon Books Ltd, 2011) Rupert Sheldrake

References: Chapter 11 6. Bartlett (1932) 7. Koestler (1967) 8. Bower (1970) 9.This idea has something in common with the ‘neural Darwinism’ of G M Edelman (conveniently summarised by Rosenfield, 1986.)

Chapter 12 39. Melzack (1992) 40. Mitchell (1872) p.352 41. Feldman (1940) 42.For a more detailed account of medical research on phantoms, see Sheldrake (1994) 43. Weinstein and Sarsen (1961) 44. Melzack (1992) 45. Ibid. 46. Ibid. 47. Melzack (1989) p.9 48. Ibid. 49. Ramachandran and Blakeslee (1998) 50. Melzack and Bromage (1973) 51. Bromage and Melzack (1974) 52.As Poeck and Orgass (1971) have shown, numerous problems arise when researchers try to fit the body schema into the brain, and the concept is usually used in a way that involves circular arguments. 53. Elsewhere, I have described simple experimental tests for the reality of phantom limbs (Sheldrake, 2002) 54. E.g. Palmer (1979) 55. Quote in Blackmore (1983) p.48 56. Moody (1976) For an account of recent research on near death experiences in patients with cardiac arrest, see Parnia (2001) and also www.horizon-research.co.uk. 57. Melzack (1989) p.4. See also Phillips (2000) p.11 58. Piaget (1973)

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Russian Wolf – Howling?

Chant

SOUNDING TOGETHER whether by word, chant or song is one of the oldest activities of mankind. The intentions behind the sound may vary but the activity is universal because experience has shown that reciting together or singing together creates an energy and a sense of unity which can lead to real peace. Music which is for collections of people coming together for spiritual purposes may take a particular form which is not necessarily melodious to the ear. Its significance is what lies behind the sounds heard by the ear. It is the connection which a particular aspect of the mind and heart makes with the sounds which matters and this applies both to Vedic recitation and to kirtana, two ancient forms of chant still practised today. The system of sound organisation for the recitation of the Vedas (knowledge and wisdom) has been handed down through the oral tradition to the present day. There are four traditions of recitation: Rg Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda and Sama Veda. At first the Rg Vedic hymns, it is said, were chanted on one tone. One easily becomes two, Brahma becomes Siva and Shakti and thus one accent or tone came to find its expression as two, referred to as udatta and anudatta. In the course of time a third intermediary tone, known as svarita, was established. Udatta is referred to as the ‘high’ accent, anudatta as the ‘low’ accent and svarita is a combination. It is the way in which these accents are arranged in association with the language of mantra which gives rise

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to a particular energy. These accents of speech have subsequently come to be understood as musical tones but this is not the original concept. Vedic mantras, also referred to as hymns of the Vedas, are not only songs of praise but are also formulae expressing eternal laws of creation. They show how a certain use of tone and rhythm can bring about an energy which not only affects the individual but can also benefit the world. However ancient the system of reciting using three accents or tones, it is an advance on the simplicity of a single tone chant, though this too can have its own inherent beauty as can be heard, for example, in the psalmody of Plain Chant. Among several components of Vedic chant, three aspects are: the accents or tones, the rhythmic component of the language of mantras and specific subtleties of pronunciation. Recitation of the Vedas represents a very particular discipline with a potential for raising the level of energy and consequently the level of consciousness which gives rise to peace. Kirtana (pronounced keertana) from the Sanskrit root ‘kirt’, has come to mean ‘singing the praises of God’. It is a form of chant which may use more than three tones and which had a particular appeal for Dr Roles. There are references to this, starting with the earliest audiences he had with His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati. Historically, it is a devotional music performed in the temples as a component of bhakti (adoration or devotion).

It is said to have its origins in the Vedas as, alongside ‘knowledge’ and ‘action’, the Veda also describes ‘bhakti’. It is also thought that the beginnings of kirtana lie in the early chants of Buddhists. During the last one hundred years or so, the old forms of kirtana accompanied by the vina (a stringed instrument) and the double headed drum have been replaced in many regions by the harmonium and tabla. Kirtana may praise different forms of the Absolute such as Krishna, Shiva or Rama. Whatever the form of the divine being, it should come from the heart and be about love so that, eventually, there is no separation between oneself and the chosen form of the Absolute for all the divine beings are gateways into love. The Doctor recounts the emotional impact of the kirtana that he heard in the ashram at Allahabad: The chant filled me with happiness. There were three chants, each lasting about 10 to 12 minutes, and in each at a particular point one suddenly became aware of something else entering – something pervasive and extremely subtle – and from that point the rhythm began to change and, as it steadily picked up, so the enthusiasm and vigour in the chanting increased so that when suddenly it stopped, the impact of the brief pause following was very powerful indeed. (Record, 1977 p.169)

The chanting was followed on that occasion by a recitation in Sanskrit from the Ramayana and a discourse from the Shankaracharya on the text. On another occasion His Holiness gave a discourse describing the three systems which can lead to Selfrealisation: Devotion, Knowledge and Action. This ‘kirtana’ is a form of devotion. It is also a form of meditation because it is a system of chant related only to spiritual ideas. The sound, the words and the rhythm when repeated again and again create an atmosphere that joins people together, and through the energy which is generated in this way, people can be taken to a state of love and peace. ‘They simply have to chant the words and the rest is done for them.’ (Record, 1962)

Of great interest in connection with the evolution of a musical system has been the relationship between the three tones of recitation and the seven tones of other forms of music. The question asked is: how did Indian classical music evolve originally and how did three tones of Vedic recitation give rise to the seven tones of music? Theories abound in the relevant literature as to how seven can be derived from three, but at the heart of all the

discussion must surely be the relationship between the law of three and the law of seven. It is said that the initial manifestation of the universe or manifest world requires a combination of three forces, often referred to in Sankhya philosophy as the three gunas, but expansion and development of that initial manifestation depends on the law of seven. These two principles, arising directly from an all-pervasive Source, frequently referred to as Om, operate together throughout the universe at every level. Vedic recitation with its system of three accents, even if subsequently becoming conceptualised as three tones, deviates less from the Source, the One, than does the system of seven tones. It therefore represents, in potential, a more direct approach to this ultimate Source. Accordingly, recitation of the Vedic mantras or hymns can be seen as the basis of an important psychology for the initiated, for they not only represent a simple sound system but are a way of stimulating subtle energy and consequently consciousness. The pervasiveness of seven, a number which is very familiar to human psychology can be found, for example, in the form of the seven days of the week or the seven basic tones of the scale. The question is how, in musical terms, release can be obtained from this bondage with time. In the Indian tradition of music, part of the answer lies in what takes place between the steps of the scale of seven tones. There are highly evolved systems within the traditions of music for bringing about this transcendence, but the preoccupation which has taken place at different times in Indian musicological history, with trying to explain how three accents gave rise to a scale of seven tones, can be understood as an expression of a fundamental concept. Solveig McIntosh

Detailed references to Kirtana and Vedic chant can be found in the The Bridge, Nos. 14 and 15 respectively. See also: Hidden Faces of Ancient Indian Song, Solveig McIntosh, Ashgate Publishers, 2005. ISBN 0-7546-5104-5

Enigma of Living It is not true that we live, it is not true that we last on earth. I have to leave the beautiful flowers, I have to go in search of the place of mystery. But for a short, for a brief time let us make of our own the beautiful chants! Anonym ous Nahuatl poem from Chalco, Mexico

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Autum n Lig ht, ne ar To rrid o n, Highland s . © Ste ve Carte r. www.ste ve carte r.com

The True Nature of Experience

From an early age, Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of Reality. For twenty years he studied the teachings of P D Ouspensky, Shankara, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Robert Adams. It was in 1996 that he met his teacher, Francis Lucille. Francis introduced Rupert to the teachings of Jean Klein and Atmananda Krishna Menon and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience. Rupert, a member of the Study Society, has written for Contact previously. In June, 2011 he spoke on ‘Contemplations on the Nature of Experience’ at the Colet House Open Sunday meeting. He is an international speaker and teacher who holds regular meetings in the UK, Europe and the USA. More information on his retreats, meetings and writings can be found on his website www.rupertspira.com

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRESUMPTION OF OUR CULTURE

There is one fundamental presumption upon which our world culture is founded. This basic presumption states that experience is divided into two essential elements – a subject and an object – joined together by an act of knowing, feeling or perceiving. This gives rise to the familiar formulations of experience such as ‘I know such and such’, ‘I feel sad’, ‘I perceive the tree’. In this way experience is believed and

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felt to consist of a knower and a known, a feeler and a felt, a perceiver and a perceived. In each case a subject knows, feels or perceives an object. The subject and object are two inseparable aspects of the same belief – the belief in separation or duality. Mystics tend to explore the subject and scientists and artists tend to explore the object or world. However, being inseparable aspects of the same belief, the investigation of either will suffice for an understanding of the true nature of experience.

OUR ESSENTIAL NATURE OF BEING, KNOWING AND HAPPINESS

Let us start with our self. What can we say for certain about ‘I’, our self, the subject, the one that knows experience? The first thing is that I am obviously present – I am. If I were not present I wouldn’t be aware of these words. And the second self-evident fact about our self is that I am aware or knowing. If this were not true I would not be aware of thoughts, sensations or perceptions. In other words, I am and the ‘I’ that I am, is aware that I am. This knowing of our own being – its knowing of itself – is the most familiar, intimate and obvious fact of experience and is shared by all. This present and aware ‘I’ is sometimes referred to as ‘Awareness’, which means the ‘presence of that which is aware’. It is a word in which the two

fundamental qualities of our self – being and knowing – are recognised as one. What else can we know for certain from experience about our self? ‘I’ am aware of thoughts, sensations and perceptions but am not made out of a thought, sensation or perception. ‘I’ am made out of pure being and knowing. As such ‘I’ could be likened to an open, empty space to which or in which the objects of the mind, body and world (thoughts, sensations and perceptions) appear. And just as empty space, relatively speaking, cannot resist or be agitated by the appearance or activity of any object within it, so the open, empty space of Awareness cannot resist or be disturbed by any appearance of the mind, body or world, irrespective of their particular quality or condition. This inherent absence of resistance is the experience of happiness; this imperturbability is peace. This happiness and peace are not dependent upon the condition of the mind, body or world and are present in and as the essential nature of Awareness under all conditions and in all circumstances. Thus happiness and peace, as well as being and knowing, are essential to our true nature.

THE DISCOVERY OF THE ETERNAL AND INFINITE NATURE OF OUR SELF

The discovery that I am not made out of an object of the mind or body relieves us of the belief that our essential nature shares their limits or destiny. Our only knowledge of a mind or body is thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions. All these are limited and they all appear and disappear. However, I, the one that knows them or is aware of them, do not share their limits nor do I appear and disappear with them. If we stay close to our experience – and in most cases it requires some investigation to discern between what is actually experienced and what is merely believed – we discover that our own being has no knowledge of any limit within itself nor does it have any experience of itself appearing or disappearing. That is, our own being knows itself to be without finite limits (infinite) and ever-present, without birth or death (eternal). The revelation of the infinite and eternal nature of our self is not a new experience or discovery. It is simply the recognition of our ever-present and unlimited being – its recognition of itself – as it truly is. It cannot be found because it has never really been lost. It can only be apparently overlooked or forgotten. Later we will see that the true and only self of Awareness never truly overlooks or forgets itself and therefore never truly finds or remembers itself.

The entire drama of forgetting and remembering, losing and finding, bondage and liberation is for the imaginary separate self and takes place in a bubble of thinking and feeling, whilst all the while Awareness is at rest in itself enjoying the peace, happiness and freedom of its own ever-present and unlimited nature.

THE APPARENT FORGETTING OF OUR TRUE NATURE

How is our essential nature overlooked or forgotten? How do we seem to cease being the ever-present and unlimited presence of Awareness and become instead a separate, limited self? The overlooking or forgetting of our true nature takes place in a similar way that the TV screen is apparently obscured when a film begins. When a film begins objects, people, buildings etc. appear. If we become involved in the film we forget that we are simply seeing a screen. At the moment of this forgetting or overlooking of the screen, objects, people, buildings etc. seem to acquire a reality of their own, independent of the screen. Although the screen is itself ever-present and unlimited (in the context of the metaphor), its essential nature seems to be veiled by the objects, people, buildings etc. that appear on it. The screen, as a result, seems to lose or forgo its essential nature and to take on the limits and the destiny of the objects and characters in the film. Hence what is, in reality, ever-present and unlimited (the screen) seems to become a temporal, finite object (the objects, people and buildings etc. in the film). The forgetting or overlooking of our true nature and the resulting appearance of a separate, limited self happens in a similar way. In the natural state, sensations and perceptions are appearing on the screen of Awareness and are all known and felt to be equally intimate, equally made out of Awareness. (Later we will discover that even this model is not quite right – no models of experience are absolutely true – but it will suffice for the time being). At a certain moment (and that moment is always now) a thought arises which imagines that Awareness is more intimate with some sensations and perceptions than with others. It is akin to imagining that some of the characters or objects in our film are closer to the screen than others. With this belief Awareness seems to shrink or contract from its open, free, ever-present, unlimited nature and become instead the object or person with which thought has identified it. In short, the true and

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only self of ever-present, unlimited Awareness seems to become a separate, limited self. This apparent contraction of the true and only self of Awareness is sometimes called ‘ignorance’ because it is affected by the ‘ignoring’ of our true nature. However, who is it that ignores or forgets our true nature? Certainly not Awareness! Like the screen (if a screen could experience), Awareness only ever experiences or knows itself. And there is no other real self present that could forget its true nature. This contraction or ‘fall’ of our ever-present and unlimited self into a separate, limited self never actually takes place, just as the screen never actually becomes a person, object or building. The separate self is only a separate self from the illusory point of view of a separate self. Ignorance is only ignorance from the point of view of ignorance. From the true and only point of view of Awareness, there is no overlooking, veiling or forgetting of itself. It never ceases to be, know and love itself alone.

THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF THE SEPARATE SELF With this apparent veiling of the true and only self of Awareness, a separate, limited self seems to come into existence, just as a real landscape seems to come into existence when the screen is overlooked. And with the apparent veiling of our true nature, the peace and happiness that are the natural condition of all experience seem also to be veiled. It is for this reason that there is always a deep pain in the heart of the separate self – the pain of separate existence. Most people’s lives are spent trying to ease or numb the pain of this separation through substances, objects, activities and relationships. In short, the imaginary separate self is always seeking peace, happiness and love in an outside object, other or world. However, the separate self cannot find peace, happiness and love because its apparent existence is the veiling of it. At the same time peace, happiness and love are all the separate self seeks. The longing of the separate self is like a moth that seeks a flame. The flame is all that the moth desires and the one thing it cannot have. As the moth touches the flame it dies. That is the moth’s way of experiencing the flame – by dying in it. And that is the separate self’s way of experiencing peace, happiness and love – by dissolving or dying. All separate selves seek only the end of seeking; all separate selves long only for the end of longing; all separate selves desire only to dissolve or die. That death – the death of the separate self – is the experience of

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peace, happiness and love, the unveiling of our essential nature, its ‘remembering’ of itself. However, as we have seen, the separate self is only a real self from its own illusory point of view. How can an illusion die if it is not real to begin with? It cannot! It can only be seen to be utterly non-existent. If the separate self were real it would be impossible to get rid of it because that which is real cannot disappear. And fortunately, that which is unreal, such as a separate self, object, other or world, never truly comes into existence. Therefore, no activity or cessation of the mind’s activity can bring about this understanding. All that is required is to have the courage, honesty and love to look, to see clearly, and to live the implications of what we discover. The true and only self of Awareness has no knowledge of any limit or destiny within itself. It knows that it is infinite and eternal. It is only thoughts and feelings that say otherwise. A deep exploration of these thoughts and feelings will reveal that they do not reflect the true nature of our experience. When our self is relieved of the beliefs and feelings of lack and limitation with which it has been apparently veiled, it stands revealed as the true and only self of ever-present and unlimited Awareness.

THE NATURE OF THE WORLD Let us explore the other side of the fundamental presumption of our culture – the independently existing outside object, other or world. Our only experiential knowledge of the world is perception – sights, sounds, tastes, textures and smells. In fact, nobody has ever found an independently existing object or world; all that is ever found are perceptions. We cannot therefore even say we have perceptions of the world because that world has never been found. We can only say for sure that we know perceptions. And perceptions are never known independently of Awareness. This is the startling but simple fact of experience that our culture has not yet faced: matter, the dead inert stuff out of which the independently existing universe is supposed to be made, has never been found. Matter is a concept, a valuable concept that is useful as a working model in some situations, but nevertheless a concept. It has never been found. Nor will it ever be found for whatever is found is, by definition, never known independently of Awareness. In fact, even the model of thoughts, sensations and perceptions appearing in Awareness does not stand up

to the scrutiny of experience. It is a half way stage that dissolves the belief in the independent reality of matter and mind and establishes the presence and the primacy of Awareness. But once this has been established, not philosophically but in our actual experience, this model too has to be abandoned in favour of one that more accurately reflects the reality of experience. All we know of a thought is the experience of thinking, all we know of a sensation is the experience of sensing, all we know of a sight is the experiencing of seeing, all we know of a sound is the experience of hearing, etc. And all that is known of thinking, sensing, seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling is the knowing of them. And what is it that knows this knowing? Only something that itself has the capacity to know could know anything. So it is knowing that knows knowing. All that is ever known is pure knowing, knowing and being itself. And that knowing is your self. All that is known is Awareness knowing itself, the self knowing the self. There is only your self – not a self that belongs to any object or person because there are no objects or people as such to which it could belong. This knowing belongs to itself alone. It is itself and knows itself alone. There are no others or objects there, no inside self or outside world. And what is the name we commonly give to this absence of otherness, distance, separation and objectness? It is beauty or love. Beauty is the discovery that objects are not objects; love is the discovery that others are not others. The revelation of our true nature as it is puts an end to one chapter of our life, the chapter in which we believe ourselves to be separate selves born into a world, moving, changing, growing old and destined for death. But it is only the beginning of another chapter. The next chapter is the realisation of this understanding in all realms of our life, not just the way we think, but the way we feel, sense, perceive, act and relate. It is a never-ending process in which every aspect of experience is gradually permeated by the peace of our true nature. In ignorance – when the true nature of our experience is ignored – our self, Awareness, seems to take on the intermittent, limited qualities of the mind, body and world. It seems to become something. In understanding our self, Awareness, is realised to be the open, empty field of experience, not made of a thing but knowing all seeming things. As such it is nothing – not a thing. In love, the mind, body and world gradually take on the qualities of Awareness – they become open, empty, transparent, pervaded and saturated by the peace and

De w Drop on Le af.© Ste ve Carte r. www.ste ve carte r.com

happiness that are our true nature. As such our self, the open, empty no-thingness of Awareness is realised in our experience as the reality or substance of everything. The path from ‘I am something’ to ‘I am nothing’ is a path of discrimination or exclusion – I am not this, not this, not this. The path from ‘I am something’ to ‘I am everything’ is a path of inclusion or love – I am this and this and this.

POSTSCRIPT – KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE True knowledge is the experiential understanding that there is only ever-present, unlimited Awareness or Knowing. Nothing other than this is ever known even when it seems that a mind, body and world are known. This ever-present, unlimited Awareness, which is simply the intimacy of our own being, is the fundamental nature of the apparently inside self and its corollary, the apparently outside object, other or world. All religions are founded upon this understanding. In Christianity it is expressed as, ‘I and my Father are one’. That is, I, Awareness, and the ultimate reality of the universe are one and the same reality. In Buddhism, ‘Nirvana and Samsara are identical’. That is, the transparent, open, empty light of Awareness which is not made out of any kind of a thing – nothing – is the substance of all appearances – everything. Nothing taking the shape of everything. In Hinduism, ‘Atman and Param-Atman are one’. That is, the individual self, when divested of superimposed beliefs and feelings of limitation, stands revealed as the true and only self of eternal, infinite Awareness. And in Sufism, ‘Wherever the eye falls, there is the face of God’. All that is seen is God’s face and it is God that sees it.

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Apple cro ss Be ach, H ig hland s . © Ste ve Carte r. www.ste ve carte r.com

All these phrases are conditioned by the culture in which they appeared but they all point towards the same unconditional truth – the reality of all experience. The realisation of this truth dissolves the beliefs in distance, separation and otherness. The common name we give to this absence of distance, separation and otherness is love and beauty. It is that for which everyone longs – not just those of us that are interested in nonduality but all seven billion of us. In this realisation true knowledge and love are revealed to be one and the same – the experiential realisation that the true nature of the apparently inside self and the apparently outside world are one single reality made out of the transparent light of Awareness, that is, made out of the intimacy of our own being. This revelation of understanding and love strikes at the heart of the fundamental presumption upon which our world culture is founded, the presumption of duality – I, the separate inside self, and you or it, the separate outside object, other or world. All conflicts within ourselves and between individuals, communities and nations are based upon this presumption alone and all psychological suffering proceeds from it.

Any approach to these conflicts that does not go to the heart of the matter will postpone but not solve the problem of conflict and suffering. Sooner or later as individuals and as a culture we have to have the courage, the humility, the honesty and the love to face this fact. The highest purpose of all art, philosophy, religion and science is to reveal this truth in an experiential manner although all these disciplines have temporarily forgotten this in our culture. However, it may not be long. As the painter Paul Cezanne said, ‘A time is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will trigger a revolution’. This is the only true revolution, the revolution in which our view of reality is turned upside down. Awareness – pure Knowing – is not just the witness of experience. It is its substance, its very nature. Everything changes when we begin to live from this point of view. We realise that what we have always longed for in life was present all along in the depths of our own being. It is always available, never truly veiled. To begin with it is often felt as peace in the background of experience but it cannot be contained and before long it begins to flow out into the world as joy, freedom, love and creativity. Rupert Spira

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Prosody By the sea’s edge I gave up reading and just listened to the waves felt the harmony of colour in the variable blues of the sea, the waves and the sky, the plants, all shades of green with intermittent splashes of yellow and red. Then I felt myself regressing as the healing sound and rhythm of the waves took me back. Back, I was with my mother inside my mother, just as right now I was inside the earth, I felt myself moving in the amniotic fluid, then the pulsing of a heart beat then the cadence of a walk, a movement as I went from side to side. I felt the pressure of the outside world the alteration in my mother’s mood, there were changes, bitter tastes that I wanted to reject. Then these memories ended and I once more felt the healing music of the waves, the sea, the waves as they rose out of the sea, rested in an amazing stillness before breaking with a gentle slap onto the sand, each wave light in colour a beautiful milky blue and then the dark side that had turned its back to the sun also fell and was merged into one colour. I felt that I had gone merged into one indivisible sea of consciousness. Terence O’Neill Joyce Pearl. Sunday, March 25th 2012

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A Joining of Minds CONTACT INVITED CONTRIBUTIONS from group members around the world. What we have received is a richness of experience and a shared sense of gratitude for the work of the Study Society and its teachers. NEW ZEALAND Terence O’Neill Joyce It is good to realise that we are part of one family... In the spiritual sense it is clear that we are being drawn to a silent and unmoving centre, back to the Self, ever present. The greatest help in this realisation is the system of meditation that we have been given, the company of others on the way, and the knowledge direct from His Holiness Shantanand Saraswati, given in quiet discourse with Dr Roles. We are further encouraged by the contact that we have around the world... and the holding of hands with others, the joining of minds, who also journey toward the Self, not a journey at all but a dropping off of the burden of ‘I do’, the destruction of the falsehood of ‘I am the doer’ – a witness, yes. NEW YORK Betty Franks When I think of meeting Dr Roles, I often recall his challenge to us to think of our journey for liberation as simpler than we usually consider ‘the work’. He was always reminding us how we often complicate our journey by excess baggage. His Travelling Light challenge has been a message that has stuck with me through the years. When travelling by air through physical space, putting a suitcase full of things ‘not wanted on journey’ in the hold of the aircraft, we keep with us only a light travelling bag for our immediate needs. In the same way we can take very little mental luggage with us on our journey into the interior in search of the kingdom of the Self. For we have it on the highest authority that 'it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle' than to take our mental riches with us there. In particular, regret for the past or worry about a future that doesn't yet exist, are burdens which we must learn to discard. Without those, the mind is light, full of energy and perfectly equipped to attend to whatever the present moment will demand of us. (from The Bridge, No. 2)

Dr Roles was not a typical teacher because he was lighthearted and warm-spirited and always behaved as a pilgrim himself... We are very fortunate that he undertook

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the Journey for Liberation and that we were invited to be on the same trip. Liz Marraffino-Rees Back in the 1970s I had the great good fortune to meet Dr Roles during his trips to New York and to be present at his meetings with the main group in our Second Avenue studio, and a couple of years later on Mercer Street here in the Village. It was at the second meeting that I spoke with him privately during a time of great personal upheaval in my life. The advice he gave me was helpful, but more so was his presence, his kindness, his lightness of being, and clear-sighted and witty take on the situation. The effect was instantly to lift me out of the narrow personal psychology I inhabited at the time to make me laugh. His presence as much as his words dispelled my cloud of gloom. That moment embodied for me all I have heard and read since in the Record and in reports of Dr Roles’s meetings at Colet. He surely was a man who not only transmitted His Holiness’s teaching transparently, but lived and practised it wholeheartedly and with enthusiasm. For his great energy was coupled with a humility, compassion and humanity that seemed to be free of judgment. To develop the feeling of Atman is very important for the Society. As the leaders develop they make possible the progress of the members. Atman expresses itself as love, and with love arises the welfare of others. All spiritual organisations are only built upon love. Dr Roles had love in abundance, and organisations flourish when love prevails between and through the leaders to all the members, just as one sees the sap flowing through every part of a plant. (Record)

Richard Rees Though I never met Dr Roles I have always strongly felt his presence and his warmth and wisdom. His words in Voyage of Discovery are a constant source of guidance in helping to illuminate the knowledge we have received from the Shankaracharya. AUSTRALIA Merlyn Swan has written of the ‘deep debt of gratitude’ that we all owe to Dr Roles. She particularly remembers the encouragement and tutoring he gave to her when she established the Sydney branch of the Study Society. ‘These were the most glorious gifts of caring and love one could be given and I feel deeply grateful to Dr Roles... How fortunate can one be?’

TORREON, MEXICO Alberto Chavez I have noticed that the main effect of the sayings is one of serenity at difficult moments in my life. It’s not just me that has noticed it: others have seen this serenity in me, too. The saying that functions best for me is to remember these words, the greatest ones I have ever heard in my life: ‘To begin to be what you are, you must come out of what you are not.’ (Record) Miguel Angel Orsino The knowledge received has helped me to find a simple and secure method for coming closer to the Divine. The concept and practice of the ‘Gaps’ has been extremely useful. Guillermo Calderon I first came into contact with the Study Society in 1971 and along with a group of others, some still attending meetings, was initiated into the practice of meditation the following year. The effect that the teachings of Mr Ouspenky, Dr Roles and HH have had on my life is total. From the first, I have felt privileged to have been given an opportunity for life. I thank all my marvellous colleagues who have been by my side on The Way. For me, the most useful aspects of the teaching are the development of Attention and Selfremembering, but when we make it practical the whole teaching becomes positive. Rafael Osorno In spite of a ‘successful life’ of job, marriage and children there was a feeling of lacking something very important – until I met the Study Society. In the early stage of the teaching, the idea of having no real human Will and thus exhibiting mechanical behaviour was particularly useful. Later, what really helped was HH and the teaching of the most important idea of Unity through intellectual enquiry and regular practice of meditation and self-detachment. MEXICO CITY Ángel Rodríguez I regarded happiness as a passing mood, mainly modified by external situations, for the possession of material goods or emotional aspects associated with family and romantic relationships. Now I understand that happiness is within me all the time, whether I am aware of it or not. However, I was educated by cultural and social patterns which dictate that happiness is obtained by buying material goods and satisfying our desires. It is a fact that happiness is experienced individually and is subjective. Most people have experienced happiness to a greater or lesser degree. We know that this is not a permanent state.

After a while I realised I had to work on many aspects of my person, my way of thinking, which prevented me from achieving emotional stability... Happiness is within me all the time, is an aspect of my inner self, but it is necessary to put aside all psychological and emotional obstacles. I try to understand how my psychology works in order to modify my behaviour. By working daily with the tools that have been provided by HH, Mr Ouspensky and Dr Roles, I always find something useful that helps me. Thelma Lomeli Sánchez Meditation has been essential – and in the most extraordinary moments I have experienced that HH is present: In the Antahkarana (Soul) of each person, there lives the Universal along with the individual Self for the purpose of guidance. Therefore we get a guiding Voice from time to time when we are in difficulties. (Record)

After receiving much support from all sides, I now have a debt. The work is to allow others to receive equal support and this is done by organising weekly meetings and translations, inviting new members to join our group and by generally promoting conditions that will make this possible. Federico Ábrego Pizarro Federico explains how the knowledge has helped him to focus on the purpose of meditation and how HH’s stories, sayings and answers have enriched his practice because they are expressed simply and can be related to human experience. ‘My mind quietens and I am calmer in my reactions. I am more tolerant with myself and with others. The discipline has a positive effect, not only on my daily life, but on my inner self. This is reflected in my thoughts and attitudes towards people and to myself.’ María Atilano: I have been discovering a body of truths . . . to reach the silence where we can meet the Absolute . . . to identify our ignorance and attachments. Nothing is our own! We need to stop thinking that we are the doers. Let us act without expecting results. Be confident that the Absolute is in charge and that what occurs on the path is full of blessings. Things will happen at the right moment . . . to pay attention to everything we do and offer it to Param-Atman for His glory and satisfaction. Be in the present without worrying about the future or turning the pages of the past . . . We are bliss. A marvellous discovery! It comes from our inner self. We do not need external stimuli to be happy. We are Ananda. The path of the Absolute is the path of Unity and Oneness. All beings in life are intimately interrelated and we are all bound in the immensity of the Creation.

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Guadalupe Olivares Larraguibel Guadalupe describes her meeting and friendship with Irene Nicholson, who founded the Mexico City group in 1955. ‘It seemed as if we had known each other all our lives... She showed a wealth in existence that inspired me to change, to modify my way of living and reach spiritual development.’ Later, when she received the meditation, she says, ‘She (Irene) gave us the most valuable tool for our lives’. She continues, ‘An idea that has remained strong and that allows me to have a new and fresh perception of reality has been: If men could see that they have nothing to do, nothing to claim, nothing to reach in this complete, full and happy creation, they will begin to enjoy and also they will reach their purpose. (Record)

Finding many examples of how to implement this idea has brought profound 180° changes... Today I am 71 years old. I am in the last stage of my life, in my Sinhavalokan, thinking about my reason for Being, my purpose, the value of patience while acting, the courage of accepting everything without being stupid.’ Your love is in my heart as the flower is on a peach tree. The tree and I will blossom. (Oscar Zorrilla)

POSTSCRIPT Irene Nicholson, who led the Mexican groups after the death of Rodney Collin-Smith, asked this last question before she died: What is the most important thing to do before death in order to ensure continued connection with His Holiness and our own School, and to be of best use to this Work as a whole?

His Holiness answered (smiling): There was a young disciple with a Realised man. The Realised man was very old and was just about to leave this world. This young disciple was worried and asked his Teacher: ‘Since you are leaving this world for Liberation, what shall I do to be liberated?’ The teacher replied, ‘You don’t have to worry about that. Once a relation has been established between the Teacher and the disciple, both will be liberated together.’ Bodies may seem to leave each other, but in reality the Teacher comes again and again to prepare people; then all are liberated simultaneously.

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Secrets Secrets are like pearls Hidden deep in the pearl within the oyster. Did you ever see oysters Freshly gathered in baskets Hard and crusty like old gentlemen Hundreds of years old, hundreds of years old? Hidden inside is a soft living creature; Inaccessible, tightly guarded. One in ten only; no, one in a hundred, No, one in a thousand has a pearl. Did you remember your secret? From a tiny beginning, a rubbing and a fretting, A quest, a great suffering, The pearl begins to grow, One in ten only; no, one in a hundred, No, one in a thousand grows his secret. Open him up! Open him up! Cast away the hard crusty shell! Death and rebirth for the soft living creature! They seek pearls! They seek pearls! Colin Lucas

Buzzard , We st H ig hland s . © Ste ve Carte r. www.ste ve carte r.com

A Search for Magic Rediscovering a Fourth Way

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. (T S Eliot)

IT BEGAN WITH A SUDDEN SHOCK that took my breath away. Then it was just like when the lights gradually come up in the theatre for the interval, and within a few seconds the whole room seemed to be filled with light. It felt as though a soft but immensely heavy, dark blanket had been gently lifted off my body. It had been there all the time, but I had never noticed it before. The old ‘me’ had disappeared and there was just light and freedom and happiness occupying its space within mind and body. The magic lasted for about three days, but by the fourth day it had begun to disintegrate. I felt I had no right to it. I had previously participated in many discussions about the path to Selfrealisation, but it was mostly talk – I had done very little real work. A fortnight later, just two remnants of the magic remained. The first was an overpowering desire to return to that place and enter legitimately by the front door. The second was a vast amount of energy that could be used in the search. It was clear that I was not going to find my way back there on my own. It was three and half decades since I joined the Study Society, and although help had been available in the early days, very little spiritual progress had

been made. With a mind full of too many fixed ideas it was hardly surprising. But where could I find the systematic help I needed now? My first instinct was to look outside the Study Society at various Advaita study groups and Zen Buddhism. The former didn’t quite feel right: they seemed more focused on knowledge and understanding rather than development of being. I needed both. Zen looked a lot more promising, but the requirement to learn a different system of meditation that involved sitting for long periods in a half-lotus position was somewhat off-putting. Then one day, when searching the Study Society’s website archive for advice on non-attachment, I came across a paper from a Fourth Way group which jolted me awake. I went on to read at least a dozen of these papers and in each case there was a jolt of recognition – an echo of the magic that had started this search. They were quite different from anything I had ever read before, and sparkled with insight into my own inner world. Nearly every paper contained a practical exercise and I built these into a daily programme. I knew that I had found the way back. Reading was not enough; I needed help and advice from others on the same path and this led to my joining a new Fourth Way group. It was explained that in the Fourth Way, teaching does not happen by rote according to a fixed syllabus. The system unfolds in response to questions, and questions arise from practice. My first question led to an explanation of the ‘triad of refinement’ – a triad being the

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three universal forces or gunas acting in a particular order to produce a particular kind of result, in this case Tamas – Rajas – Sattva. Out of several examples of this triad, the one that had the greatest impact related to the way in which the system works: we must listen passively in stillness to the ideas presented, not argue with them before we have even finished listening, and not try to relate them to anything we may have heard before. That way the ideas can become the active force in our lives and work on us to produce the sattvic energy that is needed for transformation to occur. It was critically important because not only had I heard many of the ideas before, I also had a habit of arguing with anything that challenged my existing beliefs. Looking at it afresh, I realised that I had never really understood what I had previously been taught and had remembered it in only a muddled form. The only way was to start again from the beginning. At that point an unbreakable decision was made although I wasn’t aware of actually making it: always to listen to the ideas that were presented in our Group as if hearing them for the first time, and to practise everything that was suggested as professionally and persistently as I could. It was a kind of automatically-generated promise to the Self, and it seemed to carry with it the energy needed for its implementation – a demonstration of the magic of the triad of refinement, perhaps. The large store of energy generated by that initial experience was put to good use in the first exercise which was to try to observe ourselves for as much of the time as possible for three weeks. It was not an entirely enjoyable exercise and was quite exhausting. There was a huge amount of inner conflict demonstrating only too clearly the multiple I’s that Mr Ouspensky spoke about. But knowing it was only for three weeks helped, and at the end of that time the habit of self-observation that is essential for those following the Fourth Way path had been established. Stillness was another core practice – not just during meditation, but returning to stillness between activities throughout the day. Then there were experiments with attention: learning to use the different kinds of attention – one-pointed or egocentric, and passive or allocentric. This led to the discovery of the silent, impartial Observer that arises spontaneously when we are attending properly and is accompanied by a desireless stillness in which actions just happen by themselves without anyone ‘doing’ anything. The Fourth Way involves learning through experiment and discovery rather than requiring faith and belief. For each person in the group it seemed there were certain parts of the Fourth Way system that were of particular importance. For me it was the teaching on energy and the triads – the six activities of man. I could see how energy was being wasted almost all the time in my normal day-to-day activities, and I understood how the basic practices of self-observation, stillness and attention are needed to stem the flow. The six triads describe the different

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ways in which the flow of energy occurs. At first it was just theory and seemed far removed from normal life. But after a while, it became possible to sense which triad is being used based on the feelings in the body and that knowledge is immensely useful as a way of detecting and sometimes avoiding unhelpful habitual behaviour patterns. Like many in the Study Society, I had thought that the Fourth Way groups study only Mr Ouspensky’s teaching. As described in an Open Sunday meeting at Colet House in June 2010, what these groups are actually doing today is to ‘study and develop what Dr Roles made of Mr Ouspensky’s Fourth Way System in the light of the Shankaracharya’s teaching... Dr Roles was advised to take the knowledge of Advaita and to integrate it into our Western tradition, to rejuvenate and to complete the Western System so as to provide a Way of Self-realisation for people in the West.’ This Way constantly evolves and changes its expression by practical application — that is the only way it can remain alive and relevant. Although I had heard many of the ideas from the Shankaracharya and from Dr Roles before, I now understood them quite differently, perhaps because they were in direct answer to the questions I had raised. For example, ‘say what you feel and do what you say’ took on an entirely new meaning. It became clear (as explained in an article in the previous issue of Contact) that ‘saying what you feel’ is much more than simply being honest and direct with people. It involves speaking directly from emotional centre, before the ego’s PR agency has a chance to apply a gloss of acceptability or self-promotion. And ‘doing what you say’ is far more than just keeping promises: how often do I fail to practise the ideas from the teaching that I confidently suggest to other people? It became obvious that, for me, the meditation was not working properly – another instance of ‘using the wrong triad’. This was eventually sorted out once I understood how it is supposed to work and learnt to allow it to go its own way without interference. Meditation is essential in Dr Roles’s system. As well as helping to cleanse our mental apparatus of its unhelpful habits, it provides the supply of the concentrated sattvic energy we need to sustain our practice throughout the day. So helping to make sure we can all find a way to meditate effectively is a fundamental part of every group’s work. For almost a year, practice was a struggle. Sometimes it would get a little easier, and sometimes it was almost impossible, but there was a constant inner pressure to keep practising, however frustrating and difficult. Then a few weeks after a particularly difficult and upsetting time, I woke up one morning to find that everything had changed in a truly magical way. The world was overflowing with happiness, aliveness and love. The feeling of separation had disappeared and it was no longer ‘me’ versus everything and everyone else; there was just an Observer watching this

human animal moving and interacting as part of an intensely beautiful and complex web of life that encompassed everything that the senses can perceive. All the struggle and the need for struggle had disappeared. Dr Roles’s system had produced a permanent change. Difficulties still occur from time to time: the feeling of separation returns, stillness is hard to maintain and the inner light gets temporarily covered over. But whatever arises, that permanent source of joy and love for everything and everyone around me is never far beneath the surface and seldom hard to reach. Of course there is much more work to be done – it is really only the start of the journey. But work now feels natural, enjoyable and almost effortless. At the same Open Sunday meeting in June, 2010, Dr Roles’s system was described as ‘a real-life enactment of a story of deep mystery and high adventure. A search for the secret doorway of the soul, forever shifting and concealing its presence in the eternal dimension of every present

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moment, the enchanted opening to a miraculous world that must every day be rediscovered.’ At the time that seemed somewhat fanciful, but as I have now discovered it is a wonderfully accurate description. Dr Roles’s development of the Fourth Way is one branch of an oral tradition kept alive by those who teach it and those who are learning to apply it in their own lives. In that way it continually changes and adapts itself to the needs of the time – a teaching that is not just for the 21st century but for all centuries. It is not the only path to Selfrealisation, and we are told that it is not for everyone. So who is it for? Perhaps the answer is that it is for those leading ordinary worldly lives yet who are drawn inexorably towards it through some magical, unseen connection with the Self – an appearance of choice, when in reality there is none. After all, only Atman can know Jenny Beal Param-Atman.

Working with the Passions

N MY TIME with Zen Buddhist teachers I heard many things familiar to me from my years at Colet. Mindfulness, for example, is central to Buddhist practice, the Ouspensky system and to Advaita. But there is one aspect of Zen teaching I had not heard before and I found it both shocking and perplexing: The passions are the Buddha nature and the Buddha nature is the passions. The passions are also called ‘the fires’. They are anger (from mild impatience to violent explosion), greed (from I want/don't want to insatiable hunger) and delusion (of a separate self). On the well-known Buddhist icon of the Wheel of Life they are right at the centre represented by a cock, a pig and a snake chasing each other’s tails, illustrating the power which drives the wheel around. How can such negative forces be squared with the Buddha's compassionate nature, I wondered. I was well acquainted with greed, anger and delusion in all their forms but something in me didn't care to admit it. I was ‘on the way’ and ‘in the work’ and meditating on retreats for fifteen hours a day. Glory be. I was surely above these negative emotions. And if I did succumb to them I quickly put them away, tried to forget them and only resumed my practice when I recovered my equilibrium or, as an earlier Zen adept said, ‘Got back on my perch’. I certainly didn’t see things such as road rage or the obsessive desire for a new camera as connected with Buddha nature. When that same teacher described the enlightened man or woman as having ‘anger like a falling axe’ I felt the ground shifting beneath my feet. My sanitised, Anglicanised idea of the realised human being

3. Perceiving the Bull (but only its rear, not its head)

didn’t include such emotions. This is an attitude typical of the Western approach to feelings, I was told by the Austrian born nun, Myokyoni, and brought to the peak of froideur by the stiff upper lip attitude of English men. We are educated to believe it is not manly to show emotions. When my wife, a couple counsellor for Relate, asks men how they feel about the sad situation which has brought them to her, they often reply, ‘I don’t feel anything at all’. And isn’t this the nub of the problem? When powerful emotions are bottled up or shunned, the heart grows cold. A Siberian chill descends. If persisted with, a sense of

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and I are like the front and back of the hand’.) In her book, The Gentling of the Bull, Myokyo-ni (formerly Irmgard Schloegl, 1921–2007) reflects on a series of ten drawings known in the west as ‘OxHerding Pictures’. They were copied by the Japanese Zen monk, Shubun, in the 15th century from originals, now lost, by the Chinese Zen master, Kakuan, three centuries earlier. Together with commentaries and poems by different authors they form a guide to finding enlightenment by working with the passions, here represented as the ox. Except that it is nothing quite so impotent; it is, Myokyo-ni insists, a bull! The original title was, in fact, ‘The Ten Bull Pictures’. She writes:

5. Tam ing the Bull (less straying, less discipline, bull becom es gentle and obedient)

loneliness may grow into one of total isolation. Divorced from one’s feelings, actual divorce (from partner, friends, society) not infrequently follows. The individual feels bereft, though precisely what he or she is ‘reft’ from may remain hidden. So what is to be done with the passions which arise, often when we least expect them? If pretending they do not exist or trying to ban them from our lives is not the answer, and as exploding with anger or moving from one desire to the next is both extravagant and anti-social, how may we use the fires, not only to realise our shared human nature but, quite simply, to be nicer people, more cheerful and of use to society? It is stressed time and again in Buddhist practice that the training is not an academic exercise and anyone trying to think their way around it gets short shrift in formal interviews. We are told it is the job of the body not the head; not, that is, the intellect. The study of Buddhism (or Advaita and the system) is only ten per cent of it, the major part is the daily life practice: ‘just doing it’. As I came to expect, Buddhism has a saying to confirm this: Buddhas do but point the way but walk it you must yourself. There is something in us that shies away from this; it is so much easier to talk about it, to theorise and (if I’m honest) to write pieces for Contact than getting down and doing it. ‘How do you use anger?’ I asked the head monk at a Buddhist temple. He swelled his body up to twice its size as if he had eaten a huge meal. ‘I include it, I do not try to exclude it, I name it, I welcome it, I invite its power to burn away those things which hinder the practice.’ Which are? All the encumbrances, posturing, denials and defences of I. (What at Colet we refer to as duality, a separate self, or ego, in Zen training is simply called I, hence sayings like ‘the deep root of I’ and ‘fear

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‘Bull’ rather than ‘ox’ seems to fit the meaning. An ox is not difficult to tame, or to herd; he is a peaceful and patient beast of burden, docile, hard-working, obedient – but not so a bull. If met alone in a meadow, it is wiser to quickly get over the fence to the other side. True, the bull might take no notice, but one cannot know – he is unpredictable and dangerous, faster and stronger than I! Do we talk of bull-fighting or ox-fighting?

But whether it’s a bull or an ox the question is how to live with this often unruly guest? More specifically, how to transform and make gentle its brute force, for only if we do so, says Myokyo-ni, can we become truly human. It involves forbearance, endurance, patience: qualities which are not fashionable and often mistaken in a fiery world as weaknesses. The bull must not become an enemy, must not be shunned or locked away in a barn, he wants to be companionable, to be our friend. ‘He is,’ writes Myokyo-ni, ‘the other house-mate in the human body... the tremendous life energy... the wild aspect of our heart which is also the human heart, and which we share with all human beings.’ So the next time a shop assistant stops serving you to answer her mobile phone, or a car slips into the parking space you’ve been queuing for, or you arrive in Athens while your baggage travels on to Singapore, or you go to a serve-yourself buffet and your plate is noticeably fuller than anyone else’s, try saying to yourself (and meaning), ‘Come precious energy and burn me away’. Then you will be working with the passions not against them and you may find, I truly hope, how the heart warms to the task. And if you are lucky you may come to see that passion resides inside compassion not outside it, refined by that little word ‘com’ – with. Tony Brignull

Myokyo-ni, Gentling the Bull, The Ten Bull Pictures, A Spiritual Journey, Zen Centre London (1990)

DREAM Of a state more than happiness Lake on the summit of a mountain Steep-sided mountain, plateau-topped. Long lake fills the plateau to the brim, Radiant, like an eye Reflecting heaven. Between the lake and valleys far below, Gossamer threads of silvery streams, Tumble and leap in urgent quest, Their pathways interacting with the yielding of the steeps. Observer standing by the lake Absorbs the meaning of this scene: The burnished lake, mirror of the heavens, calls: Hear this, feel this. The streams have listened: Curling and tumbling back upon themselves Like eddies in a pool, Like salmon going home, back to the source, They work their way from valley to the top To merge into the radiance of the One. Anne Godfrey

7. The Bull Transcended (once hom e, the bull is forgotten, discipline's whip is idle; stillness)

8. Both Bull and Self Transcended (all forgotten and em pty)

9. Reaching the Source (unconcerned with or without; the sound of cicadas)

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THE SCIENCE DELUSION Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry

Dr Rupert Sheldrake Thursday 27 September 2012 7.00pm at Colet House

THE SCIENCE DELUSION is the belief that science already understands everything, in principle. The fundamental questions are answered, leaving only the details to be filled in. The impressive achievements of science seemed to support this confident attitude. But recent research has revealed unexpected problems at the heart of physics, cosmology, biology, medicine and psychology. In his new book, Rupert Sheldrake shows how the sciences are being constricted by assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. Should science be a belief-system, or a realm of enquiry? Sheldrake shows that the ‘scientific worldview’ is moribund. Increasingly expensive research is reaping diminishing returns. In the sceptical spirit of true scientific enquiry, Sheldrake turns the ten fundamental dogmas of science into questions, opening up startling new possibilities. The ‘laws of nature’ may be habits that change and evolve. Minds may extend far beyond brains. The total amount of matter and energy may be increasing. Children may inherit characteristics acquired by their parents. Memories may not be stored as traces in our brains. Mental causation may work from the future towards the past, while energetic causation works from the past towards the future. The Science Delusion will radically change your view of what is possible. RUPERT SHELDRAKE, Ph.D. is a biologist and author of more than 80 scientific papers and 10 books, including The Science Delusion (January 2012). He was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University, a Research Fellow of the Royal Society, and from 2005-2010 the Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project, funded from Trinity College, Cambridge. His website is www.sheldrake.org

THE HINDU-CHRISTIAN MEETING POINT In Integral Dynamic Monotheism

Brother Martin of Shantivanam Wednesday 11 July 2012 7.00pm at Colet House

BROTHER MARTIN WAS A CLOSE FRIEND AND DISCIPLE OF FATHER BEDE GRIFFITHS, who, in 1968, arrived at the Saccidananda Ashram at Shantivanam in Tamil Nadu, where the Benedictine rule of life was practised in an ashram setting. Under his guidance it became a world famous centre, where it was possible to combine unique eastern insights and Christian wisdom. This has generated a spirituality that has a powerful and universal appeal. Bede's books, The Golden String, Return to the Centre and Marriage of East and West have become spiritual classics of our time. 20 years ago Father Bede spoke to a packed top studio at Colet House and we have been delighted to welcome Brother Martin several times since then. His accessible teaching enables an understanding of 'the search for truth at the heart of all religions' at a time when it has potentially never held so much relevance.

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NOWADAYS IT IS COMMON TO DIVIDE SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS INTO TWO CATEGORIES: The Wisdom Tradition and The Prophetic Tradition. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism belong to the Wisdom Tradition. Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahai belong to the Prophetic Tradition. Each Tradition has a unique approach to the divine-human relationship. This talk makes a comparative study of Hindu Monotheism and Prophetic Monotheism and presents a vision of Jesus Christ integrating Hindu Monotheism and Prophetic Monotheism. The name we give to this understanding is Integral Dynamic Monotheism. There is little obvious difference between Hindu Monotheism and the Vision of Jesus. Should these two visions come together, more than three billion people in the world are united. What an exciting thing to look for! Brother Martin demonstrates that the marriage of these two visions is possible.

EXPLORING CONSCIOUSNESS THROUGH THE ARTS

PUJA FESTIVAL at Colet House 14 July 2012 5.00 pm onwards . . . Singing, Dancing, Music, Poetry, Food, Celebration . . . One of the most effective routes for reacknowledging our essential Unity is through the Way of Devotion or Bhakti. Through this Way the devotee devotes him or herself to a particular deity. In this practice it is usual to make offerings of fruit and flowers, music and dance. This is known as Puja. The deity is a personification of the Absolute and as the love for the deity deepens, the separation between devotee and deity disappears and a single Unity is experienced. In the world’s different traditions there are many deities that are a symbol of the Absolute and that act as a focal point for devotion. When we experience love for our fellow creatures and the world around, in reality it is the One Self loving itself. When this is seen and acknowledged, then it is also seen that there are in reality no others. Radha meditates on Krishna, and Krishna meditates on Radha. As the meditation deepens, Radha turns into Krishna and Krishna turns into Radha. These transformations from one to the other take place every instant, until the difference between the two vanishes. . . . Bring a dish to share and celebrate . . . Published by The Study Society, 21 May 2012 151, Talgarth Road, London W14 9DA [email protected] 020 8748 9338 www.studysociety.org

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A journeyof ofself selfdiscovery discovery A journey For anybody truly For anybody truly interested interested in in embarking embarkingon, on,or orfurther furtherdeveloping developinga avoyage of self discovery, we makewe available a range ofapractical voyage of self discovery, make available range ofmethods practicaland methods approaches that can help transform theoretical knowledge into real and approaches that can help transform theoretical knowledge into real experience totoeveryday life. AllAll these activities experience and andbring bringaadeeper deepermeaning meaning everyday life. these activities are based around a unique East/West understanding of the philosophy of of are based around a unique East/West understanding of the philosophy non-dualism with thethe non-dualismwhich whichdeclares declaresthe theessential essentialoneness onenessofofthe theindividual individual with universe. universe.Our OurSociety Society was wasformed formedby byPPD D Ouspensky Ouspensky and and continued continuedby byhis Dr student Francis Roles under the guidance of the Shankaracharya, HH Francis Roles under the guidance of the Shankaracharya, HH Shantanand Shantanand Saraswati, one ofof thethe heads of the AdvaitaVedanta (non-dual) Saraswati, one of the heads Advaita Vedanta (non-dual) tradition. tradition. The Society is currently directed by Dr Peter Fenwick. Meditation Meditation As our central centralpractice practicewe weoffer offermantra mantrameditation meditationfrom fromthe theAdvaita Advaita As our a deep deep inner inner connection tradition.The tradition. Thepractice practice of of meditation meditation leads leads you you to to a connection and puts life into perspective.A record and puts everyday lifeeveryday into perspective. A remarkable remarkable record of questions of questions answers carried on with the Shankaracharya for over 30 and answers and carried on with the Shankaracharya for over 30 years supports years supports our practice and understanding. Contact us for further details. our practice and understanding. Introductory Introductory GGroup roup Informal and friendly are available Informal and friendlyweekly weeklymeetings meetings are to introduce you to theyou philosophy of non-dualism available to introduce to the philosophy of and the Society’s activities. Non-dualism is seen non-dualism and the Society’s activities. Non- as the perennial philosophy at the heart of all the dualism is seen as the perennial philosophy at the world’s and religious traditions. It is very heart ofmystical all the world’s mystical and religious simple, requiring nosimple, adjustment of faith traditions. It is very requiring noor lifestyle and yet can have a profound and positive effect ona adjustment of faith or lifestyle and yet can have how we view worldeffect and ourselves. Contact us profound andthe positive on how we view the world andof ourselves. for details groups in and outside London. Whirling Dervishes Whirling Dervishes ‘Turning’ is a potent method for experiencing inner ‘Turning’ is a potent method for experiencing stillness. Developed by followers of Rumi in the inner stillness. Developed by followers of Rumi 13th it was in a Mevlevi Sheikh in theCentury, 13th century, it 1963 was inthat 1963 that a Mevlevi started a group ahere withhere the with permission of the Sheikh started group the permission head of his Order.Training to be Turner starts in of the head of his Order. Training to be Turner January 2011.each Youyear. can also monthly takes place Youattend can also attendguest ceremonies preceded by a meeting of the monthly guest ceremonies preceded by Rumi a poetry and music group. Contact us for details meeting of the Rumi poetry and music group.of these and other events.

The Fourth Way Journey The Fourth Way At Colet House, P DJourney Ouspensky’s Fourth Way The Fourth Way System at Colet House System has for 60 yearsdeveloped been continuously presents a profoundly practical to psychology andwith reformulated and developed keep pace cosmology—all in accessible current scienceexpressed and culture. It presentsWestern you with a terms and language.Together with its basic training profoundly practical psychology and cosmology— in and this Fourth allattention expressed inself-awareness, accessible Western termsWay and System can Together lead you to a clear understanding language. with its basic training inof non-dualism. Contact us if you are interested in attention, self-awareness and certain physical joining a course. disciplines, this system of knowledge leads towards a clear understanding of non-dualism. The Gurdjieff Movements These Movements are a repertoire of ancient and The Study Society sacred dances and esoteric movements from All our activities are intended for people from all closed communities, temples and monasteries in backgrounds, religions and races. Membership of the the Near and Middle East and Asia.They are a Society, and of the societies related to it abroad, means knowledge and beyond language. covers of allacquiring kinds of professions ages, from those The Movements have been taught at Colet House of student years upwards. The Society hosts regular since the 1930s in an uninterrupted lineartists of and talks and presentations ranging from transmission safeguarding the andthe carrying scientists to philosophers andtradition mystics. In study of itnon-duality, forward. Contact us for details of classes. everything can contribute.

We warmly invite you to contact us for further details. The Study Society, Colet House, 151 Talgarth Road, London W14 9DA The Study Society, Colet House, 151 Talgarth Road, LondonW14 9DA We warmly invite you to contact us for further details.

[email protected]  www.studysociety.org  020 8741 6568 [email protected] • www.studysociety.org • 020 8741 6568