The Torn Page

Student Question: Earlier you were talking about the individual unconscious, the collective unconscious, and the planetary unconscious, and I was just wondering what role the planetary unconscious plays in this change? Is it even aware of this happening?

“Well of course. This is the consciousness of Nature,” answers Shunyamurti, the spiritual director of the Sat Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. “And so yes, the planetary unconscious is a force that is operating at every moment in very subtle ways, in all of the things that happen to us that affect our karma. . . . But, it’s only when we have surrendered to the Supreme Consciousness that contains the planetary, as well as the cosmic and the trans-cosmic, that then there is an alignment of all of these different levels. But the entire universe is consciousness, and that consciousness operates at every level—just as there is a consciousness of every cell in your body, and it is operating in alignment with all of those different levels also.” But the story of Kali Yuga is the story of separation and multiplicity; the time of individual egos denying their connection to the whole. “And so unless we transcend the ego—and realize our identity never had anything to do with the ego—then we cannot unite with Nature and with the power that is transcendent of Nature. And then we can, once we have done that, we can bring that power of God into the nature of our own bodies, and through us, the nature of the world will be reborn and revived by that recognition of unity and harmony and love that is a palpable energy that will flow through us once we have let go of the resistance of the ego.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 31, 2009.

Student Comment: Most of the time we’ve been dealing with matters of the inner transformation, the imperience, and I fully resonate with that. But today you’ve mostly discussed topics about manifestations of transformation in the external world, and I must admit that something in me reacts to that and goes, “Why now?” or “How can one be so certain of something like this?” I don’t know how to deal with that reaction in me because I relate that to the many instances where such things have been said and have not happened.

“It’s true that this prediction has been made since the beginning of Kali Yuga, and that every religion of Kali Yuga is based on the knowledge that we are heading downward in a path that will lead to the end of this age and the end of this cycle of time,” explains Shunyamurti, the spiritual master of the Sat Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. But, nevertheless, “what we can see is that we have now reached the exhaustion of Kali Yuga—that was talked about two thousand years ago. We can now see that it has reached its point of no return.”

“If you don’t want to look at it, and don’t care to believe in that, you’re free not to. But then you may be taken by surprise and wonder, ‘What’s going on here? All the earthquakes, all the volcanoes, all of the phenomenal climate change activities that are raising the sea level.’ All of the extraordinary phenomenon that are going on, you won’t be able to make sense of unless you see the pattern that is being enacted. . . . And so the purpose of understanding this is to remain in peace as we go through these events.”

And, “by having that understanding, you will know that God is working in very subtle ways to help those who wish to be midwives of the bringing in of the new age [and] that there are ways in which we can help if we choose to be vehicles of that work. . . . So knowing these things ahead of time will enable us to act ahead of time. . . . So it’s important to know in that level what’s going on so that we make correct decisions; otherwise we won’t realize the importance of creating a transformational community before it’s too late.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 31, 2009.

Student Question: You said that we have to stop asking questions that would be impediments to our growth. What kind of questions would be impediments to our growth?

“Well the question of the ego that says, ‘Why is it so hard? How can I do this? I don’t know how.’ All of those questions that create a sense of helplessness and hopelessness that don’t really have answers. But they are not true questions,” elucidates Shunyamurti, the founder of the Sat Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. These are questions are asked by a false self who cannot find answers and cannot find God, “because to the ego, God can only be imagined as another entity that’s in resistance to the world, or wants to dominate the world, or wants to manipulate us in some way. And so everybody hates that God—but that is not the real God. But the ego cannot imagine a God that is neither a dictator, or some negligent clockmaker, or some being who started this whole thing and then abandoned us . . . and doesn’t give a damn. That’s not the reality of God, but the ego cannot imagine that we are all within God that is supporting us; that is the very love that keeps life going, and is the intelligence that directs life at every level.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 31, 2009.

Student Comment: From watching this movie on fractals, the recurring theme that hits me is this idea of self-similarity. It really interests me, and I’d like to know more about it.

“It’s true that in every moment you are similar to the way you were in the last moment. But you are also different. And this is the key point. If you are in fact different from every past moment, and you’re going to be different in the next moment, then you are not who you are now. You are in fact the difference itself. . . . The human essence is not form but the difference between one form and the next. Between one iteration and the next. And because you are difference, difference has no form. And that difference cannot be predicted. It is freedom. . . . And that’s why it’s possible—in any moment—to become enlightened. . . . just by realizing that what you are is difference itself. . . . Therefore you can change your life, utterly, at any moment; you have that freedom. It’s only our fear—of using that freedom—that keeps us stuck. Recorded on the evening of Tuesday, December 22, 2009.

Student Comment: From watching this movie tonight on fractal geometry, I was amazed with the mathematical patterns. But with synchronicities, which are also patterns, I feel a stronger message—a call to action.

“I think it has to be taken as a message at a slightly different level but at the level, let’s say, of DNA within a cell, which is operating at the same principles, that is a call to the actual molecules and organelles within the cells to operate in a certain way. And they follow that message. So on the level of human consciousness, there is a call from the intelligence of the designer of the universe for us to act in a certain way if we would listen to that.” Recorded on the evening of Tuesday, December 22, 2009.

“In these days before Christmas is a time to be incubating the Christ-self within us Who must be born,” explains Shunyamurti, the spiritual master of the Sat Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. “And the ceremony of the birthing of one’s Godself and the death of the ego was always recognized as the most sacred of all days, and the entire year leads up to this moment. . . . But to do that, to give birth to the Christ-self, we must surrender the ego-self. We must empty out the mind of all residue of ego in order to be a pure vehicle for the Supreme Intelligence, the Supreme Love. To fill and to emanate and to be shared. Those are the gifts under the Christmas tree. It is the gift of the divine virtues that we can role model and transmit and appreciate in the other.”

“So I hope you will give yourself the gift of being the gift that brings that empowerment to all of us and as a model to the entire world because this is the moment when the world is in its darkest days; this earth has never seen darker days than the ones we are in now. And these are the days in which we must give birth to the light. And we can’t say somebody else will do it. We have to take responsibility for doing it. You know the Christmas tree is filled with lights. It is a festival of lights; but we must be those lights.”

“And so I wish you all every blessing on achieving that—and doing it now because it takes so much time to purify the soul that if we wait, if we waste even one day and say, ‘I’ll start tomorrow,’ or ‘I’ll start after my vacation,’ or I’ll start whenever, the time won’t be there. There’s no more margin. It has to be done now and ceaselessly; an ongoing purification of the self has to be the regimen that organizes our lives. . . . we pay the price of the ego, and what we gain is the priceless union with the Source of all being.” Recorded on the evening of Tuesday, December 22, 2009.

Student Question: What are the differences among the Pre-modern, Modern, and Postmodern man?

In the Pre-modern man, “we have a consciousness in which there is a true cosmos: God is at the center, it is like a mandala, and then there is an order, there’s a beauty, a pattern, which was referred to in the Middle Ages as the great chain of being. . . . And then in the Modern Era, the center of the mandala drops off, and there is a sense, ‘Well there actually is no God.’ . . . And so the Modern Age is the loss of God and the beginning of humanism. . . . And then in the Postmodern Age—particularly in the 20th century—we have even man dropping out. Nietzsche said ‘God is dead.’ But the Postmodern said that man is also dead. There is no man. Man is a construct. In fact, what men are, are simply fragments.” Recorded on the evening of Monday, December 21, 2009.

Student Question: You talked earlier about the purification of the soul, but I am confused with the term soul because in Buddhism they don’t use soul. So what is being purified?

“It’s the continuity of sanskaras that create the illusion of an entity. So soul does not really exist. It’s part of Maya, but it’s apparent existence can create plenty of trouble for you. And so it must be purified until there is no longer the sense of being an entity, but one is simply identified as the entirety of the whole of the process that this creation is, not as some separate part.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 17, 2009.

Student Question: In one of the books we’re reading, it talks about the devouring of the mother needs to be cut in a way by the Law. And I’m just curious about that devouring. What does that mean, and what does that have to do with desire?

“You don’t want to be devoured. You want the other to desire to devour you, and then you say ‘No thanks.’ And that’s how the ego gains its sense of superiority; it is the rejecting of the other. And that’s why everyone’s heart has a stake in it because everyone has been disappointed in love. The other has lured them and then rejected them. And that’s the most painful situation in the world.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 17, 2009.

Student Question: There was a term you used in the seminar last week that I’m not familiar with. Maybe you could elaborate, the Elohim?

“Elohim is a plural word, and it means the elevated ones, the gods. . . . There are many deep secrets in the understanding of the Elohim because the Jews and Christians tend to overlook the fact that it’s a plural verb, or simply treat it as the multiple sides of the One God, but in fact it means also the fact that the world was filled with gods. . . . And so the Elohim represent the essence of our own selves in unison. So, there is a time, this is that moment in which the Elohim return.” Recorded on the evening of Thursday, December 17, 2009.