Consciousness-Based Education - The six enemies of man, yoga, life and spiritual realization
Consciousness-Based Education is needed in every generation
MAHARISHI: "What I feel is that almighty God cannot bless mankind more than what He has already blessed. Bliss Consciousness is present everywhere! Omnipresent Being, bliss, eternal life [is] everywhere, and the ability of mind to live it in day-to-day life belongs naturally to every mind. Both things are there!
With such great spread of the Grace of God, we have only to educate our people around us in the art of enjoying that Grace which is already there. We don’t have to seek for Grace, we don’t have to ask for Grace, we don’t have to wait for some angels from Heavens to come down and bring us the light of Grace. Nothing like that!
Only, make use of the natural situation within us – Being, infinite bliss, mind in search of bliss, unity of the two spontaneously brought about... Just this knowledge and the technique of Transcendental Meditation. And the world will be for thousands of years established in the living Grace of God. This is our effort.
We are aware that our speed could be faster… I mean, should be faster and it could be faster! But unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day [laughter], and they don’t seem to be enough for our more speedy progress. But our plan to train more teachers of meditation everywhere is a very great hope. It’s a very very great hope!"
Maharishi, 1969 in Rishikesh
The six enemies of man, yoga, life and spiritual realization
Sanatana Dharma (knowledge of the eternal laws of nature) lists six enemies of the mind, or six enemies of Man and his humanity. They are considered obstacles to both material and spiritual success. Here is the list of six thieves who hinder spiritual and material development. They include lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and envy:
- Lust or desire for sexual and sensual pleasures – काम – Kama
- Anger, hate – क्रोध – Krodha (also fury and rage)
- Greed – लोभ – Lobha (Lobha refers to any form of sensuality, lust, desire or attachment to sensual objects)
- Attachment – मोह – Moha (excessive attachment to material goods or individuals)
- Ego, pride – मद – Mada (manifested in particular by arrogance, excessive pride, obstinacy and stubbornness)
- Envy, jealousy – मत्सर्य – Mātsarya (greed, defined as the inability to enjoy one's own goods and to cling to them without wanting to separate them, let alone share them)
In the Devi Gita, which is part of Devi Bhagavatam, there is a conversation between Himavan (king of the Himalayas) and Devi. Himavan asks Devi about the realization of Yoga (union with the Absolute). Devi replies: “The realization of the identity between the Jivatma and the Paramatma is Yoga."
Devi then goes on to list the obstacles to achieving higher states of consciousness. Devi says:
tatpratyūhāḥ ṣaḍākhyātā yogavighnakarānagha ।
kāmakrodhau lobhamohau madamātsaryasaṃjñakau ॥ 3 ॥
Which means: “The enemies of this Yoga are six in number; and these are lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and jealousy.”
Yogis attain Yoga when they can destroy these six enemies. Similarly, in the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that lust, anger and greed are the most dangerous negative emotions.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 16, verse 21
काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत ् || 21||
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
Translated: “There are three gates leading to hell and the destruction of the soul: lust, anger and greed. We must therefore abandon all three".
Dos and don'ts (Dos and don'ts)
(What should be cultivated to achieve a life of achievement and success as well as the pitfalls of life to avoid which are the causes of impoverishment and misery)
* Be honest (honesty allows you to see yourself, to correct yourself and thus promote your spiritual evolution)
* Error of the intellect, to believe that happiness is found outside
* Avoid a sedentary lifestyle: get your body moving for an hour a day
* Calm your thoughts through TLJ meditation
* Observe your thoughts and choose the best ones
* Understand that anger and jealousy are extremely toxic
* Do not speak ill of others (see their qualities)
* Pay your debts
* Avoid tobacco
* Avoid alcohol
* Avoid games of chance and money which lead to the ruin of the whole family.
* Avoid multiplying your demands and desires
* Believing in money and easy happiness is in itself a trap that leads to greater dangers
And also avoid:
* Excessive video games
* Branded shoes and clothing
* Latest technology
* Forgetting to cancel free trials
* Compulsive purchases
* and knowing that reducing your needs is being like a King happy and satisfied with what you have.
And to develop more happiness:
* Train yourself to see a little beauty wherever you are (beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder)
* Be grateful and full of gratitude for nature, life, and all the good people in society for all the simplest things in life (breathing, moving, looking, eating, drinking...etc)
* develop tolerance and acceptance of everything that happens to us and has happened to us.
The word "Hinduism" is a relatively recent word, invented by the Muslims who entered India (from 711 until the 16th century) and initially designates all the inhabitants of the Indus basin and those located in the East of the river.
Brief reminder: It is a Persian term which entered with the expansion of Islam and designates all the indigenous inhabitants of the East of the Indus. It became common under British colonization to designate a native of the British Raj, all religions combined. Consequently, the term "Hindu" is an exonym, it does not come from the "Hinduist" peoples themselves. [David Lorenzen, Who Invented Hinduism?, New Delhi, 2006, p. 24-33; Rajatarangini of Yonaraja: "Hinduka".]
Since the end of the 18th century, the word has been used as a general term to designate religious traditions of Indian origin and to distinguish them from other religions. [Catherine Clémentin-Ojha, Dictionary of religious facts, p. 490-499]
In 1966, the Supreme Court of India defined the framework of the “Hindu faith”.
The term Sanatana Dharma means “The Eternal Laws of Nature”, this word means the knowledge of these laws of nature.