Article Index

by Babaji Bob Kindler

IN CONTINUATION of the study of Maya’s evolutes, eight more can be listed which are generally more subtle. Whereas the first eight evolutes concentrate on basic mental distortions like possessiveness and selfishness, the additional eight focus on tendencies that are more difficult to comprehend and renounce such as the sense of agency and the acquisition of basic knowledge in relation to the intellect and its interaction with the individual ego. The second set of evolutes are: Kartritva-Abhimana, Visamvada-Bhrama, Viparita-Bhavana, Vrittijnana, Doshadristi, Tarkika-Buddhi, Pratiloma and Svarupanyathabhava.

Kartritva-Abhimana is a delusion which supposes that the Self within is the agent of action. This only occurs when, out of ignorance, one identifies with the body which is, as discussed earlier, a case of Deha-Abhyasha. In truth, the real Self is not only free of agency, it is free of all modifications. Sri Krishna proclaims this truth on a cosmic level: “Animating my Prakriti. I send forth again and again all this multitude of beings helpless under the regime of Prakriti. Nor do these acts bind me, for I remain unconcerned and unattached to these acts.” The Atman permeates all things, all beings. By identifying with Spirit instead of with matter, aspiring beings give up the sense of agency and offer all actions to the Lord and Mother of the Universe. Thus they realize a state beyond agency and are at peace. Sri Krishna advises this course directly:

“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you sacrifice and give away, do it as an offering to the Lord. Then you shall be free from the bondage of action and the good and bad results that it yields.”

Lord Buddha’s advice is pertinent to the mode of practice: “Let that one purify the threefold avenues of thought, word and deed and be free from the effects of karma. Then, that one will tread the path made known by the sages.” Adishankaracharya laughs at the attempts of ignorant beings to superimpose modes of activity over the Self: “People in ignorance impute to me these gross and subtle states, in much the same way they impute to Eternity the cycles of years, months, weeks and days. Eternity has no parts and, similarly, the Self has no activity.”

Visamvada-Bhrama casts a cloak of mistaken identity. Here, Maya is up to her old tricks again, causing beings to mistake something that exists for something else, or perhaps to mistake something for another thing which is illusory or vice versa. This quizzical and subtle trick happens many times to people going about their daily lives, but they are unaware of it. This is part of the hypnotism which living beings fall victim to until finally their entire existence is based upon fallacy. Entering into spiritual practice and learning to use the powerful tool of discrimination, an aspirant can dispel what is fallacious from life and mind. Searching for the Atman, the true indivisible Self, the seeker must expose all impostors. As the scriptures state:

“In daylight there is the shadow body, at night there is the dream body. Near a lake, there is the reflection body, and in the mind there is the body of knowledge. There is the body of another, and the five sheaths pose as the real body as well, but the true Self is none of these. Give them all up and uncover your true nature.”

Sri Ramakrishna had a story for this process of uncovering: “Some thieves came to a vegetable field at night to steal the crop. A straw figure resembling a man had been put there to frighten away thieves. The thieves could not persuade themselves to enter the field due to fear. One of them, however, approached and found out that the figure was made of straw. He called his companions but they would not go near out of fear. Then, the daring thief laid the straw figure on the ground and cried out, ‘Come here! It is nothing, it is nothing.’” The illusion of mistaken identity is also nothing. Beings should see through it and dispatch it straight away.


 

Viparita-Bhavana is the cause for much suffering. It is based upon the belief that the world is the only reality. Materialists who cling to nature and what it has to offer, sensualists whose entire existence centers around sensual delights and experiences, hedonists who seek after pleasures without regard to any repercussions for themselves or for others, worldly beings who desire only to pursue mundane existence, like an ostrich with its head in the sand, heedless of pressing and persistent dangers — these believe in the world and have it as their only resort. But whether the world is real or unreal is not the question. The existence of higher worlds and, especially, the state of pure nondual Awareness which conveys a bliss and fulfillment far beyond what the world has to offer, awaits the aspiring seeker of Truth. Sri Ramakrishna told many stories about the discernment that reveals the world of name and form to be without substance. “A magician came to a king to show his magic. When the magician moved away a little, the king saw a rider on horseback, arrayed in robes and armor, approaching him. The king and the audience began to reason out what was real and what was an illusion. Evidently, the horse was not real, nor the robes, nor the armor. At last they found out for certain that the rider alone was real.” The Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna’s wife, stated it plainly as well:

“Everything in the world has but a one or two day’s existence. Yet people are fully preoccupied with it.”

Finally, Lord Buddha states that which puts to rest the subject of attachment to the world: “Not in the sky, not in the middle of an ocean, not even in the cave of a mountain should one seek refuge, for there exists no place in the world where one will not be overpowered by death.”

Vrittijnana equates to knowledge attained by the activity of the mind. This knowledge is empirical, of the earth and limited to the physical universe and so is not beneficial for the realization of Brahman. The mind which is under the belief that its worldly knowledge is somehow absolute is laboring under one of the most subtle of Maya’s illusions. Pundits, scholars, professors — all intellectuals who are devoid of faith in God and lacking the realization of where the source of the mind’s knowledge comes from — are sorely deluded by vrittijnana. Sri Ramakrishna, seeing the learned men of His day, declared: “Vultures soar high in the sky, but their gaze is fixed on the carrion pit below.” This saying relates that though beings may be full of facts gleaned from books, they nevertheless remain attached to the base pursuits of the world via the senses and thus are really ignorant. In order to convince these kinds of beings to give up reliance on limited worldly knowledge and take to the Supreme Knowledge, He stated:

“The lens will not burn paper inside a house. Come out of the house and the lens will catch the power of the sun.”

Shankaracharya puts this matter in a unique way, as usual: “There is a pitcher of water sitting in the sun and there is a reflection of the sun in the water. The fool, seeing the reflection, thinks it to be the real sun. Just so, in mind, intelligence and other sheaths, the reflection of Atman is ignorance and the fool thinks that it is the real Self.” Lord Buddha gives an interesting insight into this problem. “The fool who knows of his ignorance, indeed, through that very consideration, becomes a wise man. But that conceited man who considers himself learned is, in fact, called a fool.”


 

Doshadristi describes the tendency of human beings to find fault with others and to see imperfection everywhere while overlooking all that is inherently perfect. This insidious tendency of the mind proceeds from the unripe ego that is insecure at one moment and puffed up with pride the next. This wavering condition is reflective of spiritual immaturity. The blessed Christ said: “Seek thee first to remove the beam from thine own eye before attempting to remove the mote of dust from another’s.” The Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi, explained it thus: “Do not find fault with others. Learn to see your own faults. The whole world is your own. No one is a stranger.” Lord Buddha also pointed out this tenacious problem:

“The faults of others are easily seen, but one’s own faults are perceived with difficulty. One winnows the faults of others like chaff, but conceals his own faults as a fowler covers his body with leaves and twigs.”

Speaking further on the subject, He said: “Those who imagine error where there is none, and do not see it where it does exist, such beings, embracing false views, enter the woeful path.”

There is another aspect to Doshadristi that must not be overlooked. It is of cosmic design. There are defects inherent in the universal scheme of things and many beings complain about and even obsess with them. They labor under the influence of Doshadristi. One who is free from defective vision will instead go deeper and perceive the underlying perfection and the eternal connectedness of all things. As Lord Buddha acknowledges: “The world is blind. Few see things as they really are. As birds escaped from the net, very few gain right perspective.” The seer of wisdom uses discrimination to uncover the defects in creation and transcend them, but also perceives their unique facility for revealing what is perfect. In other words, darkness only reveals the glory of the light. As Sri Ramakrishna points out: “Once, some ruffians were causing a disturbance on a landlord’s estate. The landlord hired some other ruffians to go and put an end to it.” More to the point, and at a very realized level, the Great Master related: “A monk was once beaten unconscious in the streets by a wicked man. When he regained consciousness at the monastery, one of the monks asked him where he was in order to ascertain his mental competency. He answered, ‘He who was beating me is now inquiring after my well-being.’” The enlightened mind sees perfection everywhere and realizes that all imperfections in the cosmic design are only apparent and there to serve a higher purpose.

Tarkika-Buddhi conveys the problem of an intellect that always argues. This is due in part to the doshadristi aspect in it, but also points very directly to lack of faith, nonacceptance of Truth and basic insecurity. What is more, it reveals the inherent defect of the mind which inadvertently defaults to possessiveness around its small store of personal knowledge, claiming it, holding it up above all else and foisting it upon others as the final decree in all matters. In religion, Sri Ramakrishna indicates this tendency in the mind by observing: “Everyone thinks that their own watch keeps the only correct time.” Here, narrow intelligence proclaims its own way as superior to the way of others and argues incessantly on the matter. In scholastic circles, Tarkika-Buddhi has been made into an artform, turning the pastime of argument and superior debate into a coveted attainment. This is moha, wherein something negative and detrimental is presumed to be positive and beneficial. In philosophy, refutation, text-torturing and inadvisable interpolation go on interminably, often at the cost of perceiving Truth’s basic and natural premises and principles. In everyday life, too, people argue incessantly in matters that are either best kept silent about or merely accepted outright. In this regard, Lord Buddha declared: “One is not a supporter of the law merely because he talks much. But that one who hears only a little of the divine law, yet perceives its essence by diligent exertion, and does not neglect it, is indeed a true supporter of the divine law.” Shankaracharya refutes the tendency of the intellect to argue and advises acceptance of what is natural and obvious:

“Giving up this unreal notion — what you have taken as your own self — take instead that which is real, self-evident, beyond all argumentation. ‘I am Brahman’ — by this pure thought, know thine own Self, which is indivisible Consciousness.”

In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna puts it in simpler terms: “Those who carp and cavil about this, my Supreme Truth, will never be able to comprehend it.” In the words of Sri Ramakrishna, “Only one thing has never been defiled by the tongue of mankind, and that is Brahman Itself. There are defects in every religion, but it is God who maintains them there and it is God who also removes them in time. A man sets out to visit Jagannath but goes north instead of south. Searching for that location, he asks someone where it is and is told to go south. Eventually he reaches Jagannath, attends the temple and communes with the Lord of the Universe.” In the Uddhava Gita, Lord Krishna speaks further on the subject: “‘It is not as you put it, it is as I put it’ — this sort of fighting over the issue is due to Maya’s powers of the gunas which are difficult to get rid of. It is this disturbance that causes the doubt which is the ground of contention among the disputants. This doubt vanishes when one attains calmness of mind and self-control, and after that all dispute is at an end.” The distortion of argumentation is a great obstacle, then, and must be overcome if recognition of Truth and realization of the Atman are to be attained.


 

Pratiloma is inadvertence towards following the way of harmony, unity and natural balance. It is caused by a distortion in the mind which neglects or rejects the light of higher intelligence and accepts the ego’s divisive tendencies instead. It conduces to a sort of twisted thinking which, when getting free reign, grows antagonistic to the presence of the divine in all things and strives to eradicate that, placing creations of its own design in operation. The instigation of concepts and activities from this imperfect orientation soon produce modes and methods of living which are colored with greater distortion, burgeoning into obsessive fixations, warped complexes and mental imbalance. Lord Buddha observes: “Long is the night to a sleepless person; long is the distance of a league to a tired person; long is the circle of rebirths to the fool who does not know the Truth.” Further, He states:

“So long as evil deeds do not mature, the fool thinks his deeds to be sweet as honey. But when the evil deeds mature, they bring untold misery.”

Sri Ramakrishna teaches about the imposition of egotism in this regard: “Wisdom and liberation cannot be had as long as egoism persists. Birth and death also do not come to an end for that one given to egoism.” Speaking of the distorted mind, Sri Krishna states: “That which, enveloped in darkness, regards unrighteousness opposed to the natural way of dharma as a desirable thing and views all things in a perverted way, that intellect is tamasic.” Sri Sarada Devi, speaking on the level of the individual, states: “The intelligence of a human being is very subtle. It is like a screw that, if turned slightly in the wrong direction, misthreads. Such a mind experiences mental imbalance.”

Svarupanyathabhava is the state of being other than one’s true nature. Instead of abiding in one’s essence, called Svarupapratistha, one finds many ways of denying It or hiding from It. This reveals a lack of spiritual responsibility and amounts to inherent weakness. One must be bold and stand up to declare the immortality of the Self and the illusion of death. Instead, beings shirk or even shun their true nature out of fear, doubt or laziness. As Sri Ramakrishna often said: “In front of God’s mansion lies a huge stump called ego. One cannot get into the mansion without jumping over this stump.” Further, and about the individual’s willingness to overlook inherent divinity and fixate on finite considerations, He stated: “According to local legend, the snake has a precious jewel lodged in its head, yet it is content to eat a mere frog.” His great disciple, Swami Vivekananda, directly stated this truth in nondual terms: “The Self is all in all. None else exists. And thou art That.” Again, he said, “The real me is none but He, and never, never matter changing.” In the teachings of Lord Buddha, we find it explained in this way: “Few beings ever cross over to the farther shore. The multitudes who remain futilely run to and fro on this selfsame shore.” As Sri Krishna relates:

“A person who denies the Atman is tormented by attachment to the body and its desires and activities, but the man whose mind rests in the Atman does not even know the body as it stands, sits, walks, lies down, eats food or performs any other natural act.”

Such is the predicament of the condition of svarupanyathabhava. It is resisting one’s true nature and failing to abide as the Self.


 

Summation

To conclude with a summation of what has been presented, Parabrahma and Parashakti (Brahman and Shakti) are Absolute Reality in Its static and dynamic aspects — the transcendent Father and the primordial Mother of all beings. All true knowledge contained therein is called Paravidya which is Supreme Truth, pure and perfect, symbolized by the sacred word, AUM, representing the four quarters of Consciousness. Through Iccha shakti, Jnana shakti, Kriya shakti and Dravya shakti — the Divine Mother's essence as will, wisdom, spontaneity and creative activity — the complex architecture of diverse worlds, subtle and gross, seen and unseen, gets facilitated. This has been called envisionment, expression, divine sport, dream power, manifestation, illusion, etc., and this is where Maya enters. When the Divine Mother’s four shaktis begin to operate, the first material of subtle creation utilized is Her Maya with its attending attribute called mulavidya that immediately though apparently causes a rift in Consciousness. This disturbance provides the means necessary for manifestation, including the appearance of celestial powers (gods and goddesses), the cosmic principles they oversee, the many worlds of becoming, the three modes of nature (gunas), the many pairs of opposites (duality/relativity), the process of evolution and more.

In this complex web, the human being or jiva, embodied consciousness, gets born and becomes subject to two forces: Vidya shakti, that leads inward and away from Maya’s effects and, Avidya shakti, that leads outward and which is fully subject to Maya’s effects. With the categories of aparavidya available (secondary knowledge concerning the external worlds of becoming) living beings embark on the journey of life, making choices that affect their progress in worldly and spiritual matters. Those who are dharmic, seeking higher attainments through right knowledge and right action, ascend inwardly along the path of Vidya shakti and reach consummate wisdom leading to immersion in the Absolute. The rest, taking matter to be Reality, become subject to Maya’s perplexing forces such as the malas and the many evolutes.

The ten characteristics reveal a little of the nature of Maya and describe briefly both the basis for its appearance and its ultimate insubstantiality. The seven malas show the manner in which Maya works within the limits of the body/mind mechanism and act upon the imperfections of human nature. The sixteen evolutes represent the development of Maya’s powers on the individual, collective and cosmic levels of manifestation. They form complexes which cloud proper perception of the design and purpose of the creation, obscure Truth, and cause forgetfulness of Reality.

In all this, the real Self called the Atman, which is the indwelling and all-pervasive Spirit consisting of Consciousness alone and which is identical in nature with Brahman and Shakti, is ever free from Maya and its evolutes and abides eternally in a perpetual state of perfect unity. By identifying with this eternal verity while taking note of and detaching from the various forces of Maya, living beings can escape the suffering associated with relativity and experience the peace and bliss inherent in them as Atman. As Shankaracharya puts it: “The majesty of the ocean of Supreme Brahman, replete with the nectar-like swell of the Self, is verily impossible to express in speech, nor can it be conceived by the mind — in an infinitesimal fraction of which my mind melted like a hailstone getting merged in the ocean, and is now satisfied with that Essence of Bliss.”

Shipping prices U.S. only.
Please contact us for
International orders.
808-990-3354

Facebook Image

SRV EMAIL LIST
Receive news about SRV
Classes, Retreats, New Publications,
Nectar Magazine, and more.

Sign Up Now
Go to top