By Taraka
All philosophies believe in the improvement, enlightenment or liberation of the Human Intellect. Even a materialist philosophy like capitalism believes that people should be taught skills so that they can be used by the capitalists to make money. Even a materialist philosophy like state capitalism (communism) believes that people should realize how they are being exploited so that they can be used by the party elite to capture political power and control the economy. Even dogmatic religions believe that people should be educated to realize the defects of other religions and philosophies so that they can be used by the priests to dominate society and intimidate or capture political power. Even the military dictators believe that people should be educated to realize the incompetence and demerits of other leaders so that they can be used by the army to capture political power. There is a famous anecdote that after Abbe Sieyes created a model for a new comprehensive education system for the entire France and submitted it to Napoleon, Napoleon is said to have remarked that he wanted the people educated but not so comprehensively.
There have been innumerable social, educational, philosophical, cultural and political theories to bring about the welfare of humanity by liberating the intellect of the common people. However, the clear failure of these theories has been due to a lack of power of introspection, self-contemplation and enlightenment. This is seen not just in liberal philosophies based on empiricism and in the Jacobin ideologies (fascism & communism) based on romanticism but also in the works of idealist philosophers.
PROUT is a socio-economic revolutionary paradigm created by Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. However, PROUT recognizes the reality of psychological slavery that has increased to dramatic levels in our times due to the increasing sophistication of mind-control psychological techniques utilized by the capitalist media. Hence Shrii Shrii Anandamurti created the socio-psychic paradigm of NeoHumanism for the liberation of the human intellect from geographical sentiments (nationalism, provincialism, etc.) sentiments of social groups (racial, caste, religious) and species-ism (pseudo-humanism).
This NeoHumanist Liberation of the Intellect based on the internal revolutionary meditation of Tantra Yoga and the resulting revolutionary mystical love (bhakti). Mystical love is found in societies all over the world in varying degrees of expression and intensity. Liberation movements based on this mysticsm has been seen in movements such as the Taoist Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Sikh movement of Guru Gobind Singh, the German Peasants’ War, the Turkish Sufi revolt of Seyh Bedreddin and the Haitian Revolution.
This is why, as the spiritual Preceptor of our time, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has said that this mystical love is the most precious inner asset or resource of humanity. However, in modern times due to the dominance of corporate capitalism, state capitalism and religious capitalism, the mind and in particular the intellect of human beings is being debased and enslaved. Hence, mystical culture is dying.
The sociologist of philosophies, Randall Collins, has noted that mysticism thrives in a decentralized society. We should note that India traditionally has been highly decentralized and hence was the primary place where the Bhakti Revolution in social and cultural life transformed nearly every language/society in South Asia. Rabindranath Tagore warned that modern nationalism in India photocopied from European imperialist nations would lead to the destruction of India’s civilizations. With the rise of authoritarian religious nationalism/capitalism around the world this has become a prophecy about human civilization in general and in India in particular. By contrast, PROUT’s decentralized localization involves absolute regional (samaja) economic and cultural independence and self-reliant, swaraja (self-sovereignty) as much as possible at the intra-district level.
However, Marx is known to have said that he was not a Marxist because of the way his philosophy was regimented and distorted by his followers to become a religion like Church or Confucian dogma. So what is to prevent the same thing happening to PROUT? How will PROUT be saved from such a fate? The answer lies in the fact that Proutists are involved in an inner, spiritual revolution as said earlier but also are involved in a struggle to liberate their intellect from corporate pseudo-culture, from animal instinct, from selfishness and from the sentiments described earlier (geo, socio and pseudo-humanist sentiments)
Understanding PROUT’s Liberation of Intellect
The quote below explains at length regarding what is true freedom (all quotes by PROUT founder Shrii P.R. Sarkar).
“It should be understood that if people want temporary or permanent relief in the socio-economic sphere, and paramártha “permanent relief” in the psycho-economic sphere, they should first liberate the intellect. If one attains socio-economic freedom, one may or may not attain psycho-economic freedom.
-Yatamána – 2
Socio-economic freedom means that all members of the society are equal in the social and economic spheres. It is as if one is providing a cow with a full belly of fodder on the one hand, and on the other hand one is extracting maximum labour from the cow. This analogy illustrates that the cow has been granted socio-economic liberty. Simply guaranteeing freedom in the socio-economic sphere does not necessarily mean that there will be liberty in the psycho-economic sphere. That is, one has not gained full freedom of thought. In a word, one is guaranteed ample supplies of food but denied intellectual liberty.
When psycho-economic freedom is granted, people enjoy material wealth as well as freedom of thought. But in order to attain true freedom in the psycho-economic sphere, one must attain the liberation of intellect, which is subtler than psycho-economic freedom. Without intellectual liberation, yatamána “well-directed effort” will become meaningless in the intellectual sphere, just as it will be ineffective in the physical sphere, and one will be unable to do the noble tasks which are usually performed with the help of intellect. The fundamental necessity of the intellectual world is intellectual freedom, which you are lacking.”
The quote above is indeed an unusual one. In essence, what is being said is that all our work for spiritual development of society, all our work for the intellectual development of society and all our work for the economic development of society will fail unless we first liberate the intellect of the common people in the society. That is the motto and mission of our education system, of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti’s Gurukula – Sá vidyá yá vimuktaye [Education is that which leads to all-round liberation. Hence, the Liberation of the Intellect or Human Enlightenment is the foremost task facing human society today.
Understanding Terminology
Socio-Economic
Firstly we should clearly understand the terms used in this quote. The term “socio-economic” refers firstly to the social realm in which there are different social groups guided by their group sentiments (socio-sentiments). Examples include race, religion and caste sentiments. These sentiments are usually mixed with geo-sentiments such as in the case of racial nationalism as seen in America, Brazil, etc and in the case of religious nationalism as seen in the USA, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Iran, India, Pakistan and so on. When this exploitation of certain social groups (eg lower castes) is not only combined with nationalism but also becomes the foundation of capitalist exploitation in a society then this is called socio-economic exploitation.
Psycho-Economic
The term “psycho-economy” is a unique term invented by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. He explains this in a nutshell saying,
“If you analyse the history of the world, you will find that whenever one group exploited another in the economic sphere, they first created psychic exploitation by infusing inferiority complexes in the minds of the exploited mass. You will find that in each case of economic exploitation, psychic exploitation was the foundation: if you go deep into the background, you will discover a continuous and cunning attempt to create inferiority complexes in the minds of the exploited.”
-Exploitation and Pseudo-Culture
He further explains the techniques of psycho-economic exploitation saying,
“Psycho-economic exploitation is the latest form of dangerous and all-devouring capitalist exploitation. It is a special type of exploitation which first weakens and paralyses people psychologically in various ways, and then exploits them economically. Some of the methods of psycho-economic exploitation include,
-Capitalism in Three Spheres
1) first, the suppression of the indigenous language and culture of the local people;
2) secondly, the extensive propagation of pseudo-culture, exemplified by pornographic literature which debases people’s minds and undermines the vitality of the youth;
3) thirdly, the imposition of numerous restrictions on women, forcing them to be economically dependent on men;
4) fourthly, an unpsychological educational system with frequent political interference by vested interests;
5) fifthly, the negation of Dharma (spiritual righteousness) in the name of secularism;
6) sixthly, the Balkanization of society into numerous castes and groups;
7) seventhly, the damaging of society by the use of unnatural and harmful methods of birth control; and
8) eighthly, placing the control over different mass media such as newspapers, radios and television, in the hands of the capitalists.”
To fully understand psycho-economic exploitation we have to understand psychic exploitation. He explains that this is the realm of dogmas whereby religion is used to infuse fear and hatred in the mind to divide the people and religion is used to justify discrimination and persecution of certain social groups.
Today as we have seen a revival of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism we are also seeing a revival of racism, religious intolerance-violence as well as casteism. Racism is now openly propagated by mainstream politicians in the media in the USA and Brazil. Casteism is openly praised even in the Kerala High Court and elsewhere. And along with this there has been a dramatic increase in violence towards people of colour, minority religions and lower castes. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti also says that linguistic or cultural imperialism is a dimension of psychic exploitation. We see in Turkey and in India that the rise of religious nationalism has led to the revival of imperialism of the Turkish and Hindi languages.
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains our mission in the psycho-economic realm saying,
“Psycho-economy has two branches. The first branch endeavours to eradicate exploitative and unjust economic practices, behaviours and structures. It will counter all economic and psycho-economic exploitation and make people aware of how capitalists, in their singular or collective roles, exploit society and create unhealthy, artificial demands which not only poison the mind but encourage dangerous habits detrimental to psychic sanctity and expansion. The first and foremost duty of psycho-economics is to wage a tireless fight against all degenerating and dehumanizing economic trends in society.
-Quadri-Dimensional Economy
The second branch of psycho-economy develops and enhances the psychic pabula of the individual and collective minds. This branch is virtually unknown today, but it will become an extremely important branch of economics in the future. It will ensure equilibrium and equipoise in all levels of the economy. It will find new and creative solutions to economic problems to nurture the maximum utilization of psychic and spiritual potentialities.”
Regarding the 2nd branch, it has been commented upon in previous postings. Here we can briefly say that this refers to providing economic support for the cultural, intellectual and spiritual development of the community to foster the development of cardinal values in the collective mindset which will increase service spirit and social harmony.
Yatamana
Now Yatamana is a fully spiritual term. In Ashtaunga [8-Fold] Yoga there are 4 phases by which the mind becomes more and more introversive in order to overcome its bondages and limitations. This process of introversion is known as Pratyahara. The 1st Stage of Pratyahara is known as Yatamana. In this stage the mind is directed away from both external objects as well as from the sense organs. The focus of attention is on the mind-stuff or ectoplasm which is the basic substance of the mind comprised of many mind-particles (cittanu) working together just like the cells of our bodies.
This Yatamana involves a constant struggle to introvert the mind and to elevate the mind beyond the material world and material pleasures. This is crucial in developing moral power and in starting to develop different ideals. And of course it is crucial in developing concentration, peace and bliss in sadhana.
However without the liberation of intellect, our practice of the cardinal moral principles of Yama and Niyama will be full of defects and hence our sadhana or spiritual practice will have no power. When we surrender to our Supreme Self within through spiritual meditation we will get His Blessings, but our failure to liberate our intellect from religious and geo-sentiments will prevent us from attaining any permanent spiritual elevation and will render us impotent to change the society.
Buddhi/Maniiśá
Now Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains buddhi or intellect as follows:
“What is intellect? In the process of evolution, when the ahaḿtattva (ego), the subtler form of the citta (elementary mind, fundamental substance of the mind, ectoplasm), has a greater area than that of the citta, then the enlarged area of Ahaḿtattva (Doer-I feeling, ego, endoplasm) is called buddhi [intellect]…
-The Liberation of Intellect
Now a question arises: what is the real nature of intellect? When individual beings develop some kind of “I” feeling after coming in contact with matter, then that initial stage of undeveloped mind is termed the citta. And when there arises a subtler “I” feeling in the citta which does something more than merely establish a link with matter, that is, which acquires the capacity to direct matter according to its own desire, it is termed buddhi [intellect]. So this is the special nature of intellect.”
Now animals also have intellect so what is the difference between them and human beings? He further says,
“The fundamental difference between the mind of a developed organism having citta, ahaḿtattva and Mahattattva (Knower-I, pure existential feeling), and the mind of a human having mahattattva, aham and citta, is that the former is guided by instinct because the scope of the citta is bigger than that of the other two parts, while the latter is guided by intellect and intuition, because in it the scope of the mahat and the aham is bigger than that of the citta.”
The Difference Between Developed and Undeveloped Mind
The difference between people guided by instinct, people guided by intellect and people guided by intuition is explained as follows:
“Intellect is the controller of citta (crude mind) because it is larger and subtler. Undeveloped creatures and animals are guided by the crude mind. Human beings, however, are guided by intellect as in their case ahaḿ is larger in area than citta; and herein lies their greatness.
-The Ascent of the Mind
For undeveloped entities, whose citta is larger than ahaḿ, the enjoyment of crude matter is the goal of life, because their mental power moves within the arena of the crude mind. But in human beings intellect controls the crude mind, checking its unbridled fascination for material enjoyment. As soon as a goat sees a green plant it rushes towards it; but human beings do not run greedily and indiscriminately towards whatever object of enjoyment they see. They procure things either with their hard-earned money, or by applying their intellect.
The development of intuition is possible only in living beings who undergo greater psychic clash. Intuition and the awakened kuńd́alinii (sleeping divinity) are indistinguishable. To arouse the kuńd́alinii through psychic clash and intuitional practice means to develop intuition. A person whose kuńd́alinii has awakened does not belong to the crude world of material enjoyment, but is a true citizen of the world of intuition.”
The question then arises what are the different states or types of intellect in different human beings? Some intellects are more animalistic, some intellects are careful but goaded by materialistic goals.
Buddhi as Viveka
In the discourse “Chariot and Charioteer” (Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 4), explains that Buddhi means “discriminating judgement or conscience”. Now in this discourse it is said that this intellect is the controller of our sense organs. This is a very different understanding of the role of the intellect in human life. Normally we think of our intellect as a part of our mind that investigates, analyzes and collects knowledge.
In the tradition of the Katha Upanishad, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti says that in fact it is our spiritual realization that we attain by our sadhana (intuitional science) that enables our intellect to properly carry out its duty of controlling our sensory and motor organs. He further explains that in order to control these sensory and motor organs, the citta (ectoplasm) of our minds must be tranquil and in a state of expansion.
How do we make our minds tranquil so that our intellect can function properly? Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains that by controlling our vital airs or vayus we can control our minds. When we do this then the higher koshas (layers of our citta) will become expressed more and more as our kámamaya kosha (crude, desiring mental realm) becomes more calm and inactive.
The vital airs of the body are known to shamans around the world and are called qi/chi or vayus/prana. The vayus (vital airs associated with different part of the body) collectively give rise our prana bodha or our basic feelings about people and that the combined effect of all of these vayus is expressed in the centre of our chest. This is why all over the world people talk of their feelings or heart as being in the centre of the chest. Since this centre also involves a kind of perception Shrii Shrii Anandamurti calls it the prana sense organ (pranendriya). And we know the science of controlling the vayus is called pranayama. Hence the 4th Lesson or Pranayama is crucial for liberating our intellect and hence for liberating ourselves spiritually and liberating our society from exploitation and degradation.
When our prana becomes stable and purified then we can perceive and experience more subtle emotions, ideas and intuitions. This will inspire us to develop our intellect more and more. Also it will give our intellect the power to resist crudifying forces coming from 1) samskaras (the effect of our past crude actions) and 2) Vrttis (propensities associated with the glands and cakras). Thus our conscience will awaken and we will move from being self-centred or group-centred (micro-collective self-centredness) to being God-centred. In other words our subtle layers of mind (koshas) and also our mahat tattva (existential feeling) will become purified and more dominant in our psychic life. As a result the Supreme Consciousness, the Supreme Beloved will then shine more beautifully through our Atman (unit Consiousness; soul). This is how one become a mystic or devotee.
Now the question arises, how does this internal development affect the development of our conscience which is also called viveka? Now, in the discourse “The Five Kinds of Conscience (Viveka)” (Subháśita Saḿgraha 6) Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains in detail these types of conscience
1) Nitya-anitya viveka: discrimination between what is permanent in our lives and what is impermanent in the physical and psychic worlds
2) Dvaeta-advaeta viveka: discrimination between the ultimate Absolute wherein there is no duality and our normal state of conscious minds wherein we either experience plurality [many objects] or [if we are sádhakas] pure duality [where only I and the Beloved (Baba) exist]
3) Átmá-anátma viveka: discrimination between what is pure consciousness beyond all duality that is in the core of our “I-feeling” and what are cruder states of Consciousness.
4) Paiṋcakośa viveka: discrimination through sadhana about the different layers of mind – to know when we are bound or involved in one or more of them so that we can attain the state of Atman or Nirvikalpa Samadhi and come close to Taraka Brahma, our Baba.
5) Mahávákya viveka: discrimination to realize that only by meditating and realizing the Mantra-words of Lord Anandamurti and other Mahasambhutis can we attain genuine understanding and develop the true conscience that He has so that we can take upon ourselves His Mission to liberate all beings from suffering by Dharma Yuddha (war against all forms of exploitation, inequality and himsa). Internally this is developed through the 3 principles mentioned by Lord Krsna in the Giita – Pariprashna (devotional pursuit of the Truth through subtle questioning of the Lord), Pranipatena (total surrender) and Seva (service to Him in all beings while feeling merged with Him)
These forms of conscience are developed in the external sphere as part of our NeoHumanism Revolution. the discourse “Awakened Conscience” explains the stages of developing our rationality
1) Study: Study of our society and ecology and of the collective psychology (via sociological study and sadhana)
2) Neohumanistic Analysis: This means to utilize our intellect in a synthetic way that aims to bring harmony and unite all beings (physically, mentally and spiritually). Nothing is without its good sides. Hence a religion or philosophy may be bad, but we should preserve its good sides. Furthermore Shrii Shrii Anandamurti says that any idea can be made universal if the negative mental tendencies and dogmatic ideas are removed. For example geo-sentiment when made universal and devoted to economic and cultural liberation of one’s civilization while acting with solidarity for the anti-exploitation struggles of other civilizations – then this is Samaja Sentiment wherein the endless and vibrant diversity in the material, psychic (mental, emotional, cultural, etc.) and spiritual (eg some cultures emphasize yoga, some kiirtana, some realization of Ideology, etc.) realms.
Finally we then examine different pathways or solutions for unity and all-round development of the people, animals, plants, rivers, mountains and the Earth itself.
3) Bliss Analysis: As Lord Anandamurti says, the goal of this conscience is the attainment of Bliss. This bliss we start to experience when we come in contact with our Atman or unit Consciousness. When we come in contact with the Macrocosmic Nucleus or Supreme Self or Paramatman our bliss increases – filling us to the brim with the state of higher Nirvikalpa Samadhi. And when we come in contact with Taraka Brahma [Consciousness as the Supreme Liberator] then we become lost in bliss. And that Bliss or Ananda is just the Form/Body (Murti) of Taraka Brahma. His inner reality is way beyond this bliss. So the goal of all our NeoHumanistic analysis is so that everyone might be able to attain this Blissful Blessedness under the loving shelter of Taraka Brahma or Baba (Beloved) in the form of Mahasambhuti. So it is with this goal in mind that we examine all solutions, create plans to manifest them and engage in various projects and activities to manifest them – to see if they are an aid, an additional necessary part of this march along the Path of Bliss – Ananda Marga.
4) Awakened Conscience/ Rationalistic Mentality: By pursuing the 5 forms of subtle viveka described earlier and the above 3 forms of conscience we develop true rationality wherein our Intellect is Liberated at Last from all the negative tendencies, vices and criminality of our inner and outer worlds and above from all crude states of Consciousness. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti calls this Liberated Intellect as Pure (Shuddha) Buddhi that is sparkling with knowledge and wisdom (vedojjvala) and is full of divine righteous war (Yuddha) against all forms of injustice (Dharma Buddhi). Then when we are united with the Cosmic Nucleus and feel the blissful touch of the Supreme Beloved and feel united with Him in every blade of grass. Then we are easily able to realize, expose and overcome all the negative sentiments used by the exploiters. Hence then we can become the genuine liberators of suffering souls everywhere – we can become Sadvipras or spiritual revolutionaries.
But how does this awe-inspiring inner bliss become the practical reality of our inner life. We should note that this viveka is a vrtti or mental propensity of the Anahata Cakra (at the centre of the chest). However, since each cakra is significantly influenced by the higher cakras Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains the biopsychology of viveka as follows:
“Conscience – what is conscience? Conscience is the spirit of differentiation between good and bad, merit or demerit. This also depends on the influence of positive microvita on a sub-gland of the sidereal plexus [Vishuddha Cakra; throat region], otherwise this conscience will die a premature death.
-Microvita and Their Influence on Micropsychic and Macropsychic Corporal Structures
Psycho-physical inertia is also created if negative microvita are allowed to function in the sidereal plexus, otherwise the positive microvita will crush the influence of negative microvita in creating psycho-physical inertia.
Greediness is also encouraged if there is want of spiritual practice or spiritual pursuit; that is, in that case negative microvita will increase greediness in human minds.
Hypocrisy in the human mind is also increased as a result of the influence of negative microvita on the sidereal plexus.
The psychology of feeling repentant is also created by positive microvita as a result of its influence on the sidereal plexus.
But as I have already said, above the igneous plexus all plexi are influenced more by positive microvita than by negative microvita; regarding the solar plexus I said that it directly influences vocality, ocular expression and auricular potentialities. These potentialities can do something concrete in uplifting the entire living society of the world; but if negative microvita are allowed to function, if there is no spiritual practice, naturally the reverse will be the case.”
Now here Shrii Shrii Anandamurti says something very important for society. He says that when by our sadhana and surrender to His Grace we attract its positive microvita then our Conscience (viveka) and the positive vrttis (mental propensities associated with our glands) then we can develop our sense organs. That means we can develop all the subtle undeveloped, unamanifested potentialities, talents and arts of our vocal chords, our eyes and our ears. So now we see that Liberation of Intellect not only means liberation of our inner mind but also liberation of our sense organs. Through seeing all with the eyes of the Supreme Progenitor, speaking with all His Bliss and Love and hearing the pains, joys, hopes and dreams of everyone like He does we will be able to truly establish His Mission. Hence the path of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti and PROUT is not the path of intensely repressing the senses or intensely expressing the senses, but of liberating them from crudity and ultimately merging them in that endless Bliss of Pure Consciousness.
Now, how can this happen to ordinary, fickle-minded, procrastinating people like us? In reality it happens only by the descent of His Grace. He explains how this happens as follows:
“Conscience, when it is roused all of a sudden, is called saḿvit. “I should do something, I should do something.” As soon as it comes in contact with saḿvit shakti, in the next moment you feel, “I should do something practical. Theory won’t help me; I should do something concrete, I should do something practical.” And when this desire to do something practical is created in the mind, this created force is called hládinii shakti or Rádhiká shakti. With the help of this Rádhiká shakti one can move towards that Cosmological Nave.
-Rádhiká Shakti
The Cosmological Nave is called Krśńa, because He attracts everything. Krśńa means “the supreme charmer”, “the supreme attracter”, who attracts everybody towards Him with the help of His – what? His supreme flute. That supreme flute is Krśńa. He creates universal acoustic waves, and those waves bring people towards Him; that is why He is called Krśńa. And microcosms come in contact with Krśńa with the help of that particular expression of sentient vidyá shakti which is known as Rádhiká shakti. And when with the help of Rádhiká shakti the microcosm comes in contact with the nave Krśńa Puruśottama, then we say it is the union of Krśńa and Rádhá.”
What kind of intellect exists in this state of divine love? In the discourse “Vraja Krśńa and Párthasárathi Krśńa – 1”, it is said that it means pinnacled intellect.
Agryá Buddhi or Pinnacled/Apexed Intellect
This is the state of not just a liberated intellect but also the state of a Liberating Intellect – a Sadvipra who can liberate the intellect of others by allowing the Supreme Sadvipra [Supreme Being/Liberator= to work through their minds and bodies. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains this Supremely pointed intellect thus:
“So to understand or know Him certainly calls for a very subtle and sagacious intellect, as sharp as the point of a needle. The scripture call it Agryábuddhi or pointed intellect. The Yama (the mythological God of Death; philosophically, the Controller of living beings in the Katha Upanishad) has said that this truth can only be experienced through agryábuddhi. No other bearing can comprehend it. That is why the deeply caverned Supreme Being is not equally reflected on all minds, in spite of the fact that He is present in all entities and is indeed the essence of every entity. It is only when the mental mirror becomes pure with the help of agryábuddhi that the Supreme Entity is properly revealed…
-Matter and Spirit
One cannot attain Brahma through arguments and reasoning, based on the opinions of different authors, or by opening study circles, or through speeches and lectures. For this you will have to develop your agryábuddhi (pointed intellect) with complete devotion and zeal.
It is through this agryábuddhi that you will realize Him with your entire being. In such an event He will no more remain an imaginable object in the imaginary world; He will come down to you as the perceptible, obvious Entity of the earth. The crude intellect is sufficient for the comprehension of crude objects, but not to enter the domain of subtlety; for that it has to be refined into a subtler one. To understand the subtlest Entity it has to be made extremely subtle and sharp like the point of a needle; all desires and propensities have to be centralized on a point – this is what is known as the agryábuddhi.
When the intellect progresses from crudity to subtlety, the mind too becomes subtler and subtler, until finally it attains complete suspension. This very state of suspension is called identity with the characteristic Self. The entity that then remains as the witness of that state of mental suspension, the Átman, is the characteristic Self of the unit. The Witnessing Force behind the state of mental suspension is the Átman.”
There are different stages or levels of this Pinnacled Intellect. One stage is at the level of the Subtle Causal Kosha (Level of citta) – the most subtle, golden realm of the citta – the realm of devotional love and burning heartache arising out of infinite yearning to merge in that Supreme Consciousness. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains this level saying,
“He is beyond the senses, He cannot be seen with your eyes. He is non-material. He has to be understood by the proper application of the fundamental intellect or buddhitattva. When one succeeds in bringing the buddhitattva, which is normally agitated by the waves of the emotions, to a state of serene composure by applying the internal force of the agryábuddhi (pointed intellect), then alone will the radiance of the effulgent Puruśa be reflected on the mind. This intellect is the subtlest part of the mind, a part of the hirańmaya kośa.”
-This World and the Next
The Next Stage or Level of the Pinnacled Intellect is beyond all the layers of the citta, beyond all Ego or Doer-I feeling in the final or most subtle part of mahat. Mahat is our pure existential Feeling with only a small bit of duality. This blissful state is the state of Pure Truth and hence is called Satya Loka (world). Shrii Shrii Anandamurti reveals this saying,
“All the faculties of the ahaḿtattva will reach their last point, and the mahattattva will begin. In the same way the pinnacled mahattattva, or “I” feeling, will reach its last point and merge in the átmá. The last point of the mahattattva is called the agryábuddhi [pointed intellect]. Through this pointed intellect, spiritual aspirants can come in closest proximity to Iishvara [the Supreme Entity as Controller]. That is, human beings attain Iishvara through their pointed intellect. Iishvara means the Dhruvasattá [the Unchangeable Entity].”
-Dhruva and Adhruva
How does yogic science explain this? Pratyahara (introversion and immersion in the inner Blissful Consciousness) is one of the 8 (Ashta) Parts (Anga) of Yoga. It in itself is known for having 4 sub-stages:
Yatamána: a conscious effort to transcend the negative influence of the propensities.
Vyatireka: some propensities may be controlled at one time, but uncontrolled at another time.
Ekendriya: the propensities are brought under control, no doubt, but not permanently. In order to exhaust the [samskaras] the propensities sometimes strongly assert themselves, causing one to repent as a result.
Vashiikára: Only when all the indriyas are fully controlled can it be said that the mind is under the complete control of the átman [unit consciousness]. This is real pratyáhára..siddhi [perfection], for it means Prakrti [Operative/Creative Principle] has merged into the Supreme Cognitive Principle. This is called Krśńa-sharańa [taking the shelter of Krśńa] in devotional psychology.
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti has revealed these 4 stages in such marvellous ways in many discourses. He explains how the 4th Stage is the State of Pinnacled Intellect as follows:
“The fourth stage is the phase of pinnacled intellect, when all aims, all objectivities, all desiderata, all longings coincide in a particular point; that is, the mind gets pointed, apexed and pinnacled in this phase. There is no internal trouble here, but external hindrances may come in the form of so many degenerating forces. But we must remember that those with pointed intellect, those with pointed spirituality can never be defeated. They are sure to be victorious, and Parama Puruśa is sure to help them.”
The Path unto the Abode of Beatitude
Attaining the Pinnacled, Liberated Intellect
This often seems so overwhelmingly impossible for us in all the ups and downs of our social, mental and emotional lives. But Love is the Supreme Liberating Force. As Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains:
“If an ordinary sinner or a confirmed sinner remains absorbed in the thought of Parama Puruśa to the exclusion of all other thoughts, then his or her mind becomes pointed. This is called agryábuddhi [pinnacled intellect] in Sanskrit. In that state of mind the spiritual aspirant gets well established in pinnacled intellect. Unless and until the ordinary human intellect is elevated to the level of pinnacled intellect or apexed intellect, the continuous rise and fall of innumerable vibrations within one’s existence continues. These psychic vibrations are sometimes the vibrations of virtue, sometimes the vibrations of vice, sometimes the vibrations of the reaction of sinful deeds, sometimes of virtuous deeds. Unless the human mind is pointed, this rise and fall of antagonistic psychic vibrations will go on. The moment the mind is centred on Parama Puruśa, then that mind will naturally become pointed. In that state there is no scope for the rise and fall of any wave – neither the wave of virtue nor the wave of vice. Thus it is said that when a spiritual aspirant is established in pinnacled intellect, there cannot be any question of virtue and vice. A person who has taken the Cosmic shelter goes far above the scope of virtue or vice.”
-What Is Dogma?
He explains that the science of Grace is the Science of Microvita. In His Tantric Cosmology, microvita are the smallest particle in the physical (sub-atomic) realm and the smallest particle in the psychic realm. There are varying kinds of microvita of different sizes, qualities and effects on human beings.
“From various planets and distant nebula, varieties of positive microvita bring pious, sentient thoughts and elevating sentiments. Likewise, the pious aspirations and sentiments of a mighty Personality and those of many individuals penetrate into the Cosmic Wave and spread throughout the universe with the help of these positive microvita. Positive microvita convert milk into curd and thereby serve humanity. They also guide human sentiments and ideas along the path of synthesis so that these sentiments and ideas are eventually transmuted into pinnacled intellect. You may say that these positive microvita are the emanations of Parama Puruśa – the effulgence of Parama Puruśa.”
-Disembodied Souls and Microvita
Let us note here that positive microvita guide our thinking and our sentimental life along the path of Harmony, Unity and Union (yoga/milan). Yoga involves the science of bio-psychology or understanding how different vital-psycho-spiritual centres are related to various glands and to various psychological propensities (vrttis). This is explained as follows
“The right wing of the pituitary plexus [Ajina Cakra, between the eyebrows] controls the qualities, attributions and quanta of the leftistic propensities, which are a little more than 400 in number. The left wing of the pituitary plexus controls the qualities, attributions and quanta of the rightistic propensities, which are also a little more than 400 in number. The total is a little less than 850. When both sides of the pituitary plexus are fully developed and fully utilized, one attains apexed intellect. Leftistic propensities are those which have a degenerating and depraving effect, such as shyness, shamefulness, melancholia and fear. Rightistic propensities are those which pave the way to supra-consciousness.”
-Bio-Psychology
The development of our inner being in this way is founded upon our psychic balance as we have seen earlier. This balance is called Pramaa or dynamic equipoise. This is the state of our nuclear awareness at the centre of the triangle of the knower, known and knowledge. The subject or knower is called the pramátr, the objects of ours are called the prameya and the relationships between these Two (subject and object) and the types of knowledge gained are called the pramáńa. Pramá is the witnessing Entity or awareness at the centre of this triangle. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti explains this dynamic, accelerating psychic balance as follows,
“Pramá rddhi occurs when the balanced psychic stratum attains the peak of progress and maintains adjustment with the material and spiritual progress of individuals and the collectivity. In this state of pramá rddhi, the ectoplasmic stuff of the mind gets powdered down. It develops not only in mass and volume, but moves forward towards the pinnacled intellect (agryábuddhi), while maintaining psychic adjustment, in order to attain sharp penetration of the mind.”
-Pramá – 1
But this seems such abstract philosophy. He thus explains how this is related to our sadhana or spiritual practice saying,
“Now, what is the difference between deep thinking and meditation? You already know what deep thinking is. [Deep thinking is thinking deeply about any subject.] Meditation [1st Lesson] is trying to make the “I” feeling coincide with the subjectivated form [i.e. our visualization as per the technique of sadhana]. Because it is a coincidence of “I” feeling, it is concentrated thinking. In other words, the endeavour to make the controlling point of the “I” feeling coincide with some other subjectivated form is called meditation.
-Ideation and Meditation
Mental flow is concerned with both theory and practice. When the unit mind is established in psycho-spiritual parallelism, it is called “idea”, while the psychic conception of psycho-spiritual parallelism is called “ideology”. When idea maintains adjustment with the glands and sub-glands, it is called “ideation” [6th Lesson]. But to effect psycho-spiritual parallelism, knowledge, action and devotion are required. In spiritual parlance, when the mental flow is directed towards the goal, that is, the Supreme Entity, it is called “concentration”, but in metaphysical terms, it is a concept of Dharma. Concentrated thinking leads to the development of positive ideas and occult powers in the process of constant mental flow towards the goal. In the process of meditation the following things are involved –
1) brain cells,
2) apexed or pinnacled psychology,
3) concentrated thinking,
4) Guru Cakra and
5) ultimate devotion.
All these are utilized in dhyána yoga [meditational yoga], which ultimately ensconces the sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] in complete omniscience: Rtambhará tatra prajiṋá [“The intellect at that stage becomes omniscient”].
Some form or other of ideology is to be related to meditation, whereas ideation is connected with the plexi, glands and sub-glands, and with a clear-cut idea. For ideation the base is idea, but for meditation the base is ideology.”
Firstly we should note that in practical life, Idea or bhava is basically the ecstasy we experience when we are blessed with the Darshana of the Supreme Beloved. As several studies have shown most people have had at least 2 mystical experiences of oneness or unity of everything. Mystics like Mirabai and Akka Mahadevi are famous for having described this vision of Dharma Gurus [Preceptors of spiritual righteousness who launch wars against exploitation and injustice] Krishna or Shiva in their mystical poetry. Sadly we so often do not appreciate these blessings and allow them to go to waste in our daily lives. When we bring the bliss, the Love of that Darshana into our thinking, feeling, talking, behaving and when we work and fight to establish that Bliss in our society, in the collective mind, then this is known as Ideology or Adarsha – the Ideal Living. So our 1st lesson is connected with our ideology. Those who have not realized His Ideology in our spiritual life and manifested it in their psychic and social life are Un-Ideological even if they have intellectual understanding of the Ideology. Their Intellects cannot liberate themselves let alone anyone else. Above all their 1st Lesson or Iishvara Pranidhana will be a Failure. Those who are Ideological sádhakas will develop more and more pointed Intellect. Then by Dhyana (loving absorption of the divine radiance and bliss of the Supreme Beloved or Ideational Desideratum) or 6th Lesson they can become established in that Pinnacled Intellect that alone can liberate us all.
So now let us conclude by meditating on this blissful quote that reveals our Darling Supreme Beloved (Baba) while explaining the unfolding of our Agrya Buddhi.
The closer one’s psychic propensities move towards Him during sádhaná, the more one’s intuition increases, and the more one’s apexed intellect (agryabuddhi) unfolds. The person who realizes the greatness of the Macrocosm by virtue of intuitional knowledge says, “My only desire is to merge myself in Him, to attain salvation.” To seek Him is not to seek for any mundane object of pleasure. No petty greed, no enemy [ripu – anger, physical desire, greed, infatuation, vanity or jealousy] exists in Him. To seek salvation means to surrender totally unto Him. The act of seeking Him is free from the least taint of selfishness…
-The Highest Category of Devotion
To attain Brahma the cultivation of knowledge alone will not suffice; one will also have to perform actions. By merely learning the techniques of making sweet from a confectioner one will no get any idea about how the sweets taste. When sádhakas realize that they should seek salvation, then they will have to undertake a special endeavour to attain that cherished goal; they will have to advance towards Him according to the laws of material science and psychology. That is their action (karma sádhańa). The more they proceed towards Brahma through karma sádhańa, the more the divine excellence of Brahma will manifest itself in them in the ever-new ways. That which was not possible through the pursuit of the cultivation of knowledge will be possible through karma sádhańa…
Here proper karma sádhaná means the strict observance of [the moral principles of] Yama and Niyama. The meaning of tapah is to bring comfort to others even by enduring hardship…
The rśi says, “To attain Him, devotion must be complemented by knowledge and action”. You may have made sweets according to the techniques taught to you, but unless you taste them you will never know how good they are. This act of tasting is devotion. Devotion arises from love of the Lord. Sá kasmae parama premarupá [it exists in the form of Supreme Love].
There are two broad categories of love or devotion: prema and parábhakti. Prema (love for the Supreme) occurs when there is a strong attraction for the Supreme Entity. (as opposed to Káma which is love for relative objects). Even though the I-feeling greatly expands as one strives to seek shelter in Parama Puruśa, the existential I-feeling does not altogether disappear. So through prema one can attain liberation (mukti). But to attain salvation (mokśa), Parábhakti, exclusive devotion to Parama Puruśa is required. Parábhakti liberates spiritual aspirants from the bondage of I-feeling permanently. One should bear in mind that Parábhakti is not a state of inaction; rather a tremendous vital faculty lies behind Parábhakti…
Those who possess parábhakti or kevalá bhakti are free from mahimá jiṋána (the notion that God is too perfect to be attained by a mere mortal). Hence, the attainment of emancipation is possible only through parábhakti. Spiritual aspirants with developed parábhakti can proclaim that the universe is all Brahma [Consciousness].
This then is the summit of the history of our intellect. It is this true freedom that alone can save humanity not just from the malevolent himsa of dying capitalism but also from mind-viruses of religious dogmas. The struggle for mental freedom and the struggle for social, economic, political, cultural, intellectual freedom are linked just like the flying of two wings of a swan soaring into the skies. And the heart that heartens that flight into the empyrean is that of mystical love.