What is education ?
One Lovely definition
is being able 'to draw out" that which is within us - The English word
"education" derives from the Latin defacer, meaning "to lead,
draw or bring" and e, meaning "out". If we wish to be educated,
then, we must trustingly assume that we have, at our core, both sound qualities
and a bank of well-judged experiences and knowledge. But what gives us the
faith that there is this fund of wisdom within us?
Perhaps we believe because, when we look
within, the fruits of this wisdom are manifest: there we find a recognition and
understanding of beauty and truth together with harmony, hoy, love, peace,
purity and goodness.
We see very little of the fruits of wisdom
when we look outside, however; there, confusion and conflict seem to dominate.
However we do know and sense these various fruits in our inner state of being.
And this gives us hope for the future. That which lies within particularly when
it lies at the very deep level of the unconscious mind - is usually very real.
It is not physical, yet still it has substance. So how do we access that
goodness? How do we bring it to fruition and also bring it out into the open?
The first step is to look at the quality of
the seeds we are planting. Every thought and action is a seed that we plant in
the moment and from each of those seeds a whole tree will grow. Whether that
tree yields sweet fruit or bitter fruit depends on the quality of the seed.
The next step is to find out what these
seeds need in order to flourish within the human soul. What must we learn in
order to produce the well - prepared ground that will allow this little seed to
grow? Such information is, of course, very useful but, like most information,
it is mainly to do with the physical world. How do we delve deeper than this?
How do we find out more about the non-physical aspects of life and wisdom,
such as questions of right and wrong or of the self and consciousness? From
whence does this wisdom come? Can it really be within us?
SOWING
YOUR OWN SEEDS
A huge amount of information or knowledge
is available out there indeed, we have libraries everywhere. That info could
very easily stay in those books without influencing people's lives. The info
is out there, then, but you will only begin to absorb the knowledge contained
within it when you begin to want knowledge. The desire to seek that knowledge has
to come from within.
Generally, we are unaware of the tremendous
energy that we have within our own beings. We allow our mind to be distracted
by all the things that are outside us. We don't
generally acknowledge that the soul itself is the creator of its own
thoughts, its own feelings and even its own personality. Our life is usually based on a series of
reactions to everything that is happening to us from the external world of
stimuli. Raja Yoga meditation teaches you how to become the creator of your own
thoughts and feelings, and even to create the type of personality you would
like to have. Through a very simple practice of turning your mind inward and
being able to direct your thoughts, you become able to become your own creator
and discover the knowledge within you.
Firstly in meditation, you become aware
that your soul is a separate entity from the physical body - you become aware of it as point of light.
This enables you to change the image you have of yourself, and have awareness
of your eternal image. The more you do this, the more you will find that your
whole life is filled with light and peace. These characteristics of the soul
then start to express themselves in your thoughts, words and actions, your behaviour
and your life. This is a very easy transformation; it requires no struggle, no
conflict, no battle, simply a natural, smooth transition.
Let us explore further what this point of
light actually contains within itself. It is clear that the physical visible
body is simply an instrument, but the one who is actually operating the
instrument is invisible; is non-physical, metaphysical or spiritual. In
meditation you become aware that the characteristics of this inner being are
beyond time and space. It is something subtle, beyond physical definitions. By
looking at what is happening within your own mind, you discover that this is an
energy that is timeless, too. Within the space of one second you can have a
thousand different thoughts, or in the space of sixty seconds you can hold one
thought. Time and thoughts are not equivalent to each other. Equally, your
thoughts transcend time in terms of past and future. Within a moment you can
look at yesterday or at your childhood or at what happened five years ago. In
the next moment you can look at tomorrow and make a prediction of what it
holds. Or you can go further, predicting what may be happening next year, or
look beyond all definitions of time and into eternity. You come to appreciate
the mind's enormous capacity to cover
distance and speed. One moment you can be in New York and the next moment in
Delhi. We put a high value on speed. If something is fast it is generally very
expensive, we equate value with time and speed - and in those terms the mind is the most
valuable of all instrument. Its faster than the speed of sound and even faster
than the speed of light. Even before the eyes can make contact and create any
images, the mind can perceive a presence, picking up in a subtle way the
vibrations radiated by another person before they walk through the door.
Your inner being has all these amazing
qualities. So what is it? In itself it is infinite - beyond limit and beyond
measurement. The only form that fits all the different criteria is the form of
a point. It exists, it is eternal, it cannot be subdivided any further. So who
am I and who are you? We are this point of light, and within the point of light
we have this aspect which is described as " the mind". To start
exploring this hidden aspect of your inner wisdom, try the following practical
exercise in meditation. Sit quietly with your eyes open and have someone slowly
read the words to you, or record them and play them back as you sit in silence.
No comments:
Post a Comment