EXAMPLES OF COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS, WHO HAVE FOUNDED NEW SYSTEMS OF RELIGION
The early religion of Japan, before the advent of Buddhism, was extremely
simple.
It consists of the postulate that there was but one God, _Kami_, from him
all things came, and to him all things shall return. As has been stated
previously, the chief injunction of Shintoism is: "Keep your body and your
mind clean, and trust _Kami_."
Shintoism literally translated, means "the way to God," and includes the
belief that all persons ultimately reach the place where God dwells, and
become "one with Him."
In present day interpretations and descriptions of Shintoism, we read of
the "heathen" belief that _Kami_ himself dwells in person, in the "inner
temple" or sacred place of Shinto temples.
This idea doubtless exists as a reality among the very ignorant
superstitious devotees, much as among the ignorant Catholics we find the
unquestioned belief that the actual body and blood of Jesus the Christ is
contained in the Eucharist.
The Shinto temple always contains an "inner or sacred shrine," which is
equivalent to the "holy of holies," of the Mystic Brotherhoods, and
typifies the fact that _within_ and not _without_, will be found the God in
man, by finding which, man reaches liberation, or cessation from the cycle
of births and deaths.
A Shinto funeral is an occasion for rejoicing, because the departed one may
be a step farther on the way to God, and since his ancestors were directly
responsible, as a favor, for his occasion to become reborn, thus fulfilling
the law of _karma_, the Shintoist pays much respect to his ancestors.
The advent of Buddhism into Japan was made possible by the simple fact that
the people were becoming somewhat disgruntled with Shintoism, because of
its emphasis upon the never-to-be questioned postulate that the Mikado and
his progeny was the direct gift of _Kami_ to his people, to be obeyed
without demur, and to be adored as divine.
Several generations of Mikados who did not fulfil the ideal of Deity--an
ideal to which even savages attach the qualities of justice and mercy--left
the masses ready and eager to grasp at a religion that gave them some other
personified god, than the Mikado, much as a drowning man clutches at a
straw.
The Lord Buddha was a prince, therefore worship of him would not be an
absolutely impossible step--an unforgivable breach of contract with the
Mikado, and as he exhibited the qualities of humility and mercy and
tolerance, he was welcomed. The religion of Japan is to-day regarded as
Buddhistic, although the Imperial family, and consequently the army and the
navy are to all outward appearance, Shintoists.
Coming, then, to a consideration of the varying sects of Buddhism in Japan,
and the corresponding sects in India, we find that there have been nine
different incarnations of God, and that another, and, it is believed the
final one, is expected.
The intelligent and open minded seeker after truth of whatever race or
color, will find in the instructions given man by each and every great
teacher, whether we believe in them as especially "divine" or as mere
humans who have attained to the realization of their godhood (_avatars,_) a
complete unity of _purpose_, and if these teachers differ in _method of
attainment_, it is only because of the immutable fact that there can be no
_one and only_ way of attainment.
Methods and systems are established consistently with the age and character
of those whom they are designed to assist in finding the way.
And again we must emphasize the fact that by the phrase "the way," we mean
the way to a realization of the godhood within the inner temple of man's
threefold nature.
Thus, the intelligent, unprejudiced student of the religions and
philosophies of all times and all races, will find that, while there are
many and diverse paths to the goal of "salvation," the goal itself means
unity with the Causeless Cause, wherein exists perfection.
Perhaps it has been left for the expected Incarnate God, which Christians
speak of as "the second coming of Christ," to make clear the problem as to
whether this attainment or completement means an absorption of individual
consciousness, or whether it will be an adding to the present incarnation,
of the memory of past lives, in such a manner that no consciousness shall
be lost, but all shall be found.
In considering instances of cosmic consciousness, _mukti_, which have been
recorded as distinctly religious experiences, and the effect of this
attainment, the system best known to the Occident, is contained in the
philosophy of Vedanta, expounded and interpreted to western understanding
by the late Swami Vivekananda.
But it should be understood that the philosophy taught by Vivekananda is
not strictly orthodox Hinduism. It bears the same relation to the old
religious systems of India that Unitarianism bears to orthodox Christianity
such as we find in Catholicism, and its off-shoots.
Vivekananda honored and revered and followed, according to his
interpretation of the message, Sri Ramakrishna, whom an increasing number
of Hindus regard as the latest incarnation of Aum--the Absolute. Not that
the reader is to understand, that Sri Ramakrishna's message contradicted
the essential character of the basic principles of orthodox Hinduism, as
set down in the Vedas and the Upanashads.
The same difference of _emphasis_ upon certain points, or interpretations
of meaning exists in the Orient, as in the western world, in regard to the
possible meaning of the Scriptures.
Sri Ramakrishna, who passed from this earth life at Cossipore, in 1886, was
a disciple of the Vedanta system, as founded by Vyasa, or by Badarayana,
authorities failing to agree as to which of these traditional sages of
India founded the Vedantic system of religion or philosophy.
Vedanta, particularly as interpreted by Sri Ramakrishna and his successors,
offers a wider field of effort, and a more intellectual consideration of
Hindu religion than that of the Yoga system as interpreted from the
original Sankhya system by Patanjali, about 300 B.C.
Patanjali's sutras are considered the most complete system of Yoga
practice, for the purpose of mental control, and psychic development.
Patanjali's sutras are almost identical with those employed in the Zen sect
of Buddhist monasteries, throughout Japan.
These sutras, together with Buddhist mantrams will be considered in a
subsequent chapter, devoted to the development of spiritual consciousness
as taught by the Oriental sages and philosophers.
One other great teacher of modern times who has left a large following, was
Lord Gauranga, who was born in India in the early part of the fifteenth
century. Gauranga was worshipped as the Lord God, whether with his consent,
or without, it is not exactly clear, even though his biographers are united
on the fact of his divine origin.
Those who have espoused the message of Gauranga claim that he brought to
the world "a beautiful religion, such as had never before been known." But,
as this claim is made for all teachers and founders of religions and
philosophies, we suggest that the reader compare the message of Lord
Gauranga with those of other avatars and teachers.
Lord Gauranga's message is known as Vaishnavitism, and we will here
consider only those passages of his doctrine which shed light upon his
attainment of cosmic consciousness. Certainly his breadth of mind, and his
standards of tolerance, justice and consideration for all other systems of
worship, would indicate his claim to cosmic consciousness.
One of the contentions of the Vaishnavas is that they alone of all
religious faiths, admit the divine birth and mission of the founders of all
religions.
Thus the Christians have declared that Jesus was the only Son of God; the
Buddhists have claimed Buddha; the Hebrews have clung tenaciously to their
prophets as the only true messengers from heaven, and the Mohammedans have
refused, until the present century, to even sit at the table with the
"infidels" who would not acknowledge Mohammed as the only true incarnation
of Allah.
It is well to remember that these claims have been made by the blind
followers of these great teachers, and that it is almost certain that not
any one of them made such claim for himself. Certainly he did not, if he
had attained to spiritual consciousness.
One passage from the doctrines of Gauranga is almost identical with many
others who have sought to express the feeling of security, of
_deathlessness_ which comes to the soul which has realized cosmic
consciousness. He says:
"My Beloved, whether you clasp me unto your heart, or you crush me by that
embrace, it is all the same to me. For you are no other than my own, the
sole partner of my soul."
The gospel of Gauranga and his followers is, indeed, much more a gospel of
love, than of methods of worship, or of intellectual research.
The realization of our union with God, in deathless love, is the key-note
of the message, and this great joy or bliss comes to the soul as soon as it
has attained Illumination through love.
God is alluded to in Vaishnavism most frequently as _Anandamaya_--meaning
all joy. Vaishnavism more nearly resembles the gospel of Jesus, as taught
by orthodoxy, than it does the Vedantic systems, since it does, not claim
that God is _within each_ human organism, as the seed is within the fruit,
but that, by love, we may gain heaven or the state or place where God
dwells.
"If you would worship God, as the Giver of Bounties, then shall the prayer
be answered, and further connection cut off, God having answered the
demand. So if you would worship God in simple love, He will send love. The
real devotee seeks to establish a relationship with God which will endure.
He will ask only to worship and love God, and pray that his soul may cling
to God in divine reverence and love." Thus, say the Vaishnavas, "God serves
as he is served, in absolute justice."
Another salient point which the followers of Lord Gauranga emphasize, is
the "All-Sweetness" of God. This idea is impressed, doubtless that the
devotee may not feel an impossible barrier between himself and so great and
all-powerful a being, as God, when His Omnipotence is considered. The idea
is similar to that of the Roman church, which bids its untutored children
to select some patron saint, or to say prayers to the Virgin Mary, because
these characters were once human and seem to be nearer, and more
approachable than the Great God whose Majesty and All-Mightiness have been
exploited.
Be that as it may, the fact remains, that Lord Gauranga is said to have
earned the devotion and love of some of the most learned pundits of India
and, according to a recent biographer, "he had all the frailties of a man;
he ate and slept like a man. In short, he behaved generally like an
ordinary human being, but yet he succeeded in extorting from the foremost
sages of India, the worship and reverence due a God."
The fact that Lord Gauranga "behaved like a man," is comforting, to say the
least, and presages the coming of a day when "behaving like a man" will not
be considered ungodly. When that time shall have arrived, surely there will
be less mysticism of the hysterical variety and probably fewer hypocrites.
Very unlike Lord Gauranga, is the report of a writer of India, who tells of
the effects of cosmic consciousness upon Tukaram, considered to be one of
the greatest saints and poets of Ancient India. Tukaram lived early in the
sixteenth century, some years later than Lord Gauranga.
This Maharashtra saint is chiefly remembered for his beautiful description
of the effects of Illumination, in which he likens the human soul to the
bride, and the bridegroom is God. This poem is called "Love's Lament," and
might have been written by an impassioned lover to his promised bride.
The life of Tukaram, like that of the late Sri Ramakrishna Paramanansa, was
one long agony of yearning and struggle for that peace of soul which he
craved. One of his chroniclers thus describes, in brief, the final struggle
and the subsequent attainment of Illumination of this good man:
"Selfless, he sought to gather no crowds of idle admiring disciples about
him, but followed what his conscience dictated. He listened not to the
counsel of his relatives and friends, who thought he had gone mad; and he
bore in patience the well-meant but harsh rebukes of his second wife. After
a long mental struggle, the agonies of which he has recorded in
heart-rending words, now entreating God in the tenderest of terms, now
resigning himself to despair, now appealing with the petulance of a pet
child for what he deemed his birthright, now apologizing in all humility
for thus taking liberties with his Mother-God, he succeeded at last in
gaining a restful place of beatitude--a state in which he merged his soul
in the universal soul,"--that is, Illumination, or cosmic consciousness.
Sadasiva Brahman, one of the great Siddhas, and a comparatively modern sage
of India, left a Sanskrit poem called _Atmavidyavilasa_, which gives a
comprehensive description of the experience and the effects of
Illumination, as for example:
"The sage whose mind by the grace of his blessed Guru is merged in his own
true nature (Existence, Intelligence, and Bliss Absolute), that great
Illumined one, wise, with all egotism suppressed, and extremely delighted
_within himself_, sports in joy."
"He who is himself alone, who has known the secret of bliss, who has firmly
embraced peace, who is magnanimous and whose feelings other than those of
the _atman_, have been allayed, that person sports on his pleasant couch of
self-bliss."
"The pure moon of the prince of recluses, who is fit to be worshipped by
gods and whose moonlight of intelligence that dispels the darkness of
ignorance causes the lily of the earth to blossom, shines forth in the
abode of the all-pervading Essence of Light."
The above stanzas represent a more impersonal idea of the bliss of
attainment than those of many others who have experienced Illumination, but
they emphasize the same point that we find throughout all writings of the
Illuminati, namely, the realization of the kingdom _within_, rather than
without, and the necessity of selflessness--meaning the subjugation of the
lesser self, the mental, to the soul.
We come now to a consideration of the life and character of the Lord
Buddha, whose influence is still stronger in all parts of the world than
that of any other person who has ever taught the precepts of attainment.
In Japan, for example, Buddhism, in its various branches, or
interpretations, is the religion of the vast majority and even where
Shintoism is the method of worship, the influence of Buddhism may be seen.
So too, we find in Japan, a form of Buddhism, which shows evidences of the
influence of Shintoism, but I think it may be admitted that Japan, above
all other countries, represents to-day, the religion of Buddhism.
Buddhism has been called the "religion of enlightenment," but the term
"illumination" as it is used to describe the attainment of cosmic
consciousness, is what is meant, rather than the purely intellectual
quality which we are accustomed to think of as enlightenment.
Sakyamuni, another name for Buddhism, means also illumination, or
realization of the saving character of the light within.
The lamp is the most important symbol in, Buddhism, as it typifies the
divine flame or illumination (which is cosmic consciousness), as the goal
of the disciple.
Another interpretation of the symbol of the lamp, is that of the power of
the lamp to shed its rays to light the way of those who are traveling "in
the gloom," and by so doing, it lights the flame of illumination in others,
without diminishing its own power. An article of faith reads:
"As one holds out a lamp in the darkness that those who have eyes may see
the objects, even so has the doctrine been made clear by the Lord in
manifold exposition."
Again, in the _Book of the Great Decease_, we learn that Buddha admonished
his disciples to "dwell as lamps unto yourselves." Another symbol used
throughout Japan as a means of teaching the masses the essential doctrines
of "The Compassionate One," has become familiar to occidental people as a
sort of "curio." It is that of the three monkeys carved in wood or ivory.
One monkey is covering his eyes with both paws; another has stopped his
ears; and the third has his paw pressed tightly over his mouth. The lesson
briefly told is to "see no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil," and the
reason that the monkey is employed as the symbol, is because the monkey,
more than any other animal, resembles primitive man. If, then, we would
rise from the monkey, or animal condition (the physical or animal part of
the human organism), we must avoid a karma of consciousness of evil.
Buddhism is full of symbolism, and these symbols must be interpreted
according to the age, or of the individual consciousness of the
interpreter, or the translator. But the fundamental doctrine of Buddha is
essentially one of renunciation as applied to the things of the world.
Nevertheless this quality of renunciation has been greatly exaggerated
during the centuries, because of the fact that the Lord Buddha had so much
to give up, viewed from the standpoint of worldly ethics.
In the following "sayings of Buddha," we find that the quest of the noble
sage was for that supraconsciousness wherein change and decay were _not_,
rather than that he regarded the things of the senses, as sinful. For
example:
"It is not that I am careless about beauty, or am ignorant of human joys;
but only that I see on all the impress of change; therefore, my heart is
sad and heavy." Or this:
"A hollow compliance and a protesting heart, such method is not for me to
follow: I now will seek a noble law, unlike the worldly methods known to
men. I will oppose disease, and change and death, and strive against the
mischief wrought by these, on men."
According to the _Samyutta Nikaya_, the twelve _Nidanas_ (or chain of
consequences) are:
"On ignorance depends karma;
"On karma depends consciousness;
"On consciousness depends name and form;
"On name and form depends the six organs of sense."
"On contact depends sensation;
"On sensation depends desire;
"On desire depends attachment;
"On attachment depends existence;
"On existence depends birth;
"On birth depend old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and
despair.
"Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise."
Having arrived at this conclusion, the problem may be solved by learning
how to avoid existence. But, let us consider what the term "existence"
means. The common acceptance of the word, as used in the English, seems to
include _being_; but if we will consider the word in its literal meaning,
when analyzed, we find that it comes from "est" (to be), and the prefix
"ex," meaning actually "_not-being_."
The word _Being_, is a synonym for eternal life--for Deity. It does not
savor of anything that has been created, or that will terminate. _Being
is_, therefore, to cease to _ex_-ist, is to cease to live under the spell
of the illusory and changing quality of _maya_, or externality.
Far from meaning to be "wiped out," or absorbed into The Absolute, in the
sense of complete loss of consciousness, it means the eternal retention of
consciousness, unhampered by the delusion of sense as a reality.
To escape from this chain of illusory ideas,
and their consequences, the obvious necessity is
to claim the soul's right to _Being_. This is done
by dispelling ignorance (_A-vidya_) by vidya
(knowledge). Thus karma ceases:
"On the cessation of karma ceases consciousness of self;
"On the cessation of this consciousness of self, cease name and form;
"On the cessation of name and form, cease the organs of sense;
"On the cessation of sense, ceases contact;
"On the cessation of contact, ceases sensation;
"On the cessation of sensation, ceases desire;
"On the cessation of desire ceases attachment;
"On the cessation of attachment ceases existence;
"On the cessation of existence, ceases birth.
"On the cessation of birth cease old age, and death; sorrow; lamentation;
misery; grief and despair. Thus does the entire aggregation of misery
cease."
But, as to the exact interpretation of all these, Buddha himself says:
"Ye must rely upon the truth; this is your highest, strongest vantage
ground; the foolish masters practicing superficial wisdom, grasp not the
meaning of the truth; but to receive the law, not skillfully to handle
words and sentences, the meaning then is hard to know, as in the
night-time, if traveling and seeking for a house, if all be dark within,
how difficult to find."
But let it be understood, that Buddhism as now taught and practiced is
necessarily colored by the effect of the centuries which have elapsed since
the Lord Buddha lived and taught the precepts of his Illumination. Modern
Buddhism, as a religious system of worship bears the same relation to
Prince Siddhartha, as does modern Christianity to Jesus of Nazareth.
A short review of the life and character of the personalities around whom
the great religious systems of the world have been formed will aid us in
perceiving the unity of thought and character of the Illumined, and the
similarity of reports as to the effect of this realization of cosmic
consciousness will be apparent.