实践灵性修炼的提示
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中文
实修灵性的启示
（讲于加利福尼亚州洛杉矶真理之家）
今天早上，我将尝试向你们介绍一些关于呼吸及其他修习方法的观念。我们已经就理论讨论了很久，现在是时候来谈一点实践了。关于这一主题，印度已经写就了大量书籍。就像你们的人民在许多事情上擅长实践一样，我们的人民似乎在这方面擅长实践。这个国家的五个人会凑在一起，说："我们来组建一个股份公司"，五个小时后大事告成；在印度，他们五十年也办不成这件事；他们在这类事务上是如此不切实际。但是，你们要注意，若一个人创立了一套哲学体系，无论其理论多么荒诞，都会有人追随。举例来说，有一个教派教导，若一个人单脚站立十二年，日以继夜，他就能得到解脱——会有数百人准备好单脚站立。所有的苦楚都会被静静忍受。有人将双臂高举多年以积累宗教功德，我见过数百这样的人。要注意，他们并非总是无知的蠢人，而是会以其智识的深度与广度令你叹服的人。所以你们看，"实践"这个词也是相对的。
在评判他人时，我们总是犯这个错误；我们总是倾向于认为我们那小小的心智宇宙便是全部；我们的伦理、我们的道德、我们的职责感、我们的实用感，是唯一值得拥有的东西。那一天，当我路过马赛时，那里正在举行斗牛活动。汽船上所有的英国人都激动得大加辱骂和批评，说这一切是残忍的。当我到达英国，我听说有一批拳击手去了巴黎，被法国人毫不客气地驱逐了出去，法国人认为拳击非常残忍。当我在各国听到这些事情时，我开始领会基督那句话的深义："你们不要评断人，免得你们被评断。"我们学得愈多，便愈发现自己有多无知，人类心智是多么多样、多么多面。当我还是个少年时，我曾批评我同胞们的苦行修习；我们自己土地上伟大的传教士也曾批评过它们；有史以来生于世间最伟大的人，佛陀本人，也批评过它们。然而随着年岁渐长，我越来越觉得我没有权利评判。有时我希望，尽管有那些不一致之处，我还是能拥有他们那种行动与忍耐的力量的一小部分。我常常想，我的评判和批评并不源于对苦行的厌恶，而只是出于纯粹的怯懦——因为我做不到——我不敢去做。
那时你们看到，力量、能力和勇气是非常特殊的东西。我们通常说："一个有勇气的人，一个勇敢的人，一个无畏的人"，但我们必须记住，那种勇气或勇敢或任何其他特质，并不总是充分体现那个人。同一个人，会冲向炮口，却对外科医生的手术刀望而却步；而另一个人，从不敢面对枪口，却能在必要时从容地接受严苛的外科手术。现在，在评判他人时，你必须始终明确你所用的勇气或伟大的标准。我批评为不好的那个人，也许在某些我所欠缺的方面，有着奇妙的品质。
再举一个例子。你们常常注意到，人们在讨论男人和女人各自能做什么时，总是犯同样的错误。他们认为，因为男人能战斗、能承受巨大的体力消耗，便展示了男人的最好状态；并将这与女人的体质软弱和不好战相对比。这是不公正的。女人的勇气并不亚于男人。各自在各自的方式上都同样出色。哪个男人能以女人那样的耐心、坚忍和爱来抚育一个孩子？一方发展了行动的力量，另一方发展了忍受的力量。若女人不能行动，男人同样不能忍受。整个宇宙是完美平衡的。我不知道，但也许有一天我们会醒来，发现那条小小的虫子也有某种与我们的人格相平衡的东西。最邪恶的人也许有某些我完全缺乏的良好品质。这是我每天生活中都能看到的。看看野蛮人吧！我多么希望拥有他那样一副强健的体魄。他随心所欲地吃喝，也许一辈子不知何为疾病，而我每分钟都在受苦。不知有多少次我多么希望能用我的大脑换他的身体！整个宇宙不过是波与谷；没有波就不能有谷。处处都是平衡。你有一样伟大的东西，你的邻居有另一样伟大的东西。当你评判男人和女人时，要按照他们各自的伟大来评判他们。谁都不能站在别人的位置上。谁都没有权利说另一个人是邪恶的。这是同一个古老的迷信，说："若这样做了，世界就会毁灭。"但尽管如此，世界至今还没有毁灭。曾有人在这个国家说，若黑人获得自由，这个国家就会毁灭——但是它毁灭了吗？也有人说，若大众受到教育，世界就会毁灭——但结果只是使世界变得更好。几年前，一本书出版了，描述了可能降临英格兰的最糟糕的事情。作者指出，随着工人工资的上涨，英国的商业正在衰退。有人高呼，英国的工人在要求方面过于苛刻，而德国工人的工资更低。于是一个委员会被派到德国调查，报告称德国工人的工资实际上更高。为什么会这样？因为大众教育的缘故。那么，若大众受到教育，世界又怎会毁灭？在印度，尤其是，我们到处都能遇到守旧的顽固之人。他们想把一切都对大众保密。这些人得出了令自己非常满意的结论——他们是这个宇宙中的精英。他们相信，这些危险的实验无法伤害他们，只有大众才会受伤！
现在，回到实践。心理学实际应用的课题，在印度很早就被提了出来。公元前约一千四百年，印度出现了一位伟大的哲学家，名叫帕颠迦利。他收集了心理学领域所有的事实、证据和研究，并充分利用了过去积累的所有经验。记住，这个世界非常古老；它不是仅仅在两三千年前才被创造出来的。在西方有人教导，社会始于一千八百年前，随新约而起。在此之前，没有社会。就西方而言，这也许是真的，但就整个世界而言，则不然。常常在伦敦讲学时，一位非常有才智、聪慧的朋友会和我辩论，在用尽所有论据对付我之后，他突然叫道："但是为什么你们的先知们不来英格兰教导我们呢？"我回答说："因为那时还没有一个英格兰可以来。难道要对着森林传法吗？"
英格塞尔曾对我说："五十年前，你若来这个国家传法，你就会被绞死。你早就会被活活烧死，或者被石头砸出村庄。"
所以，认为公元前一千四百年文明已然存在，这没有什么不合理的。文明是否始终从低级到高级发展，这还没有定论。那些用来证明这一命题的同样的论据和证据，也可以用来证明野蛮人不过是堕落的文明人。中国人，例如，永远无法相信文明是从野蛮状态萌发的，因为他们的经验与此相反。但当你谈到美洲文明时，你所指的不过是你自己种族的永续与发展。
很容易相信，已经衰退了七百年的印度人，在过去曾是高度文明的。我们无法证明事实并非如此。
历史上没有一个单独的文明是自发产生的实例。世上没有哪个种族，若没有另一个文明种族前来与之融合，便能变得文明。文明的起源可以说属于一个或两个种族，他们走出国门，传播他们的理念，与其他种族融合，文明于是传播开来。
为了实际的目的，让我们用现代科学的语言来说。但我必须请你们记住，正如有宗教上的迷信，在科学方面同样也有迷信。有以宗教工作为专业的祭司；同样，也有物理规律的祭司——科学家。一旦某位伟大科学家的名字被援引，如达尔文或赫胥黎，我们便盲目跟从。这是时代的风气。我们所谓的科学知识中，百分之九十九不过是理论。其中许多并不比古老的多头多手鬼怪迷信好多少，而这些迷信的不同之处仅在于，后者多少还将人与草木石块区别开来。真正的科学要求我们谨慎。就像对待祭司一样，我们对待科学家也应当如此。以怀疑开始。分析、检验、证明一切，然后接受。现代科学中一些最流行的信条从未被证明过。即便在数学这样的科学中，绝大多数的理论也只是工作假设。随着更大知识的到来，它们将被抛弃。
公元前一千四百年，一位伟大的圣哲尝试整理、分析和综合某些心理学事实。他身后有许多人继续跟进，各自深入研究他所发现内容中的某些部分。在所有古老的民族中，只有印度人以认真的态度研究了这一知识分支。我现在正在教导你们关于这方面的知识，但你们中有多少人会去实践呢？多少天、多少个月之后，你们就会放弃？在这一课题上，你们是不切实际的。在印度，他们会坚持数世代、再数世代。你们将会惊讶地听到，他们没有教堂，没有公同祈祷，或任何类似的东西；但他们每天依然修习那些呼吸，并尝试集中心念；这是他们礼拜的主要部分。这些才是关键所在。每一位印度教徒都必须这样做。这是那个国家的宗教。只是每个人都可以有一种特殊的方法——一种特殊的呼吸方式，一种特殊的集中方式；而某人的特殊方法，即便是自己的妻子也不必知道；父亲不必知道儿子的。但他们都必须这样做。而这些事情没有什么神秘的。"神秘"这个词与它们毫无关联。在恒河边，每天可以看到成千上万的人坐在河岸上闭目呼吸、集中心念。有两个理由，可能使某些修习对普通大众来说不切实际。其一，教师们认为普通人还没有准备好接受它们。这也许有些道理，但更多出于骄傲。其二是对迫害的恐惧。比如，一个人不愿意在这个国家公开修习呼吸，因为那样会被认为太奇怪；在这里，这不是时尚。另一方面，在印度，若一个人祷告说："赐给我们今日的日用饮食"，人们会嘲笑他。对印度人心灵来说，没有什么比说"我们在天上的父"更愚蠢的了。印度教徒礼拜时，认为上帝就在他自身内部。
根据瑜伽行者的说法，有三条主要的神经流：一条称为左脉，另一条称为右脉，中间一条称为中脉，这三条都在脊髓之内。左脉和右脉，左右两侧，是神经丛，而中间那条中脉是中空的，不是神经丛。中脉是封闭的，对于普通人来说毫无用处，因为他只通过左脉和右脉运作。气息流不断地通过这些神经上下流动，通过布及身体各器官的其他神经向全身各处传递指令。
调节呼吸、使左脉和右脉趋于和谐，是呼吸练习的主要目标。但那本身算不得什么——它不过是吸入肺中的一些空气而已；除了净化血液之外，别无更多用处。我们随呼吸吸入、并同化以净化血液的那些空气，其中并无任何神秘之物；这种作用不过是一种运动。这种运动可以被化约为我们称之为普拉纳[Prana]的那种单位运动；在各处，一切运动都是这普拉纳的各种表现形式。这普拉纳是电，是磁；它从大脑中以思想的形式被投射出来。一切皆为普拉纳；它推动着太阳、月亮和星辰运行。
我们说，宇宙中存在的一切，都是由普拉纳的振动所投射出来的。振动最高的结果就是思想。若有更高的，我们无法想象。神经——左脉和右脉，通过普拉纳运作。普拉纳在推动身体的每一部分，化为各种各样的力量。放弃那个古老的观念，认为上帝是产生效果、然后端坐在宝座上施行审判的某种东西。我们之所以在工作中精疲力竭，是因为我们消耗了大量的普拉纳。
那些被称为普拉纳呼吸调息法[Pranayama]的呼吸练习，带来呼吸的调节，带来普拉纳的有节律的运作。当普拉纳有节律地运作时，一切正常运转。当瑜伽行者掌控自己的身体时，若身体某部分有疾病，他们知道那里的普拉纳节律被打乱了，他们便引导普拉纳流向受影响的部位，直到节律得以恢复。
正如你能掌控自己身体中的普拉纳，若你足够强大，你也能从这里掌控印度某人身上的普拉纳。一切皆为一。没有断裂；统一是规律。在肉体上、在灵性上、在心念上、在道德上、在形而上学上，一切皆为一。生命不过是一种振动。振动这片以太之洋的那东西，同样在振动着你。正如在湖中形成了各种程度的不同坚硬程度的冰层，或如在蒸汽的海洋中有着各种程度的密度，这个宇宙便是物质的海洋。这是一片以太的海洋，在其中我们发现了太阳、月亮、星辰和我们自身——处于不同的固态程度；但连续性没有被打破；始终是同一的。
现在，当我们研究形而上学时，我们认识到世界是一，而非精神世界、物质世界、心念世界和能量世界各自分立。一切皆为一，只是从不同的视角来观看而已。当你把自己当作一个身体来想时，你忘记了你是心念；而当你把自己当作心念来想时，你便忘记了身体。只有一件东西，那就是你；你可以把它看作物质或身体——或者你可以把它看作心念或精神。生、老、死不过是古老的迷信。从来没有人被生，从来也不会有人死；一个人只是改变自己的位置——仅此而已。我很遗憾看到西方人多么执着于死亡；总是试图抓住一点生命。"死后给我们生命！给我们生命！"若有人告诉他们，他们此后将继续活着，他们就会非常高兴！我怎么能怀疑这样的事！我怎么能想象我已死去！试着把自己想象成死了，你将会发现你在场，看着自己死去的身体。生命是如此奇妙的真实，你一刻也不能忘记它。你同样可以怀疑你是否存在。这是意识的第一个事实——我存在。谁能想象一种从未存在过的状态？这是一切真理中最不言而喻的。因此，不朽的观念是人类与生俱来的。我们如何能够讨论一个无法想象的主题？为何我们要讨论一个不言自明之事的正反两面？
因此，无论从哪个角度看，整个宇宙都是一个整体。就在此刻，对我们而言，这个宇宙是普拉纳与阿卡夏[Akasha]的统一体，是力与物质的统一体。你们要注意，与所有其他基本原理一样，这一原理本身也是自相矛盾的。因为什么是力？——推动物质的东西。什么是物质？——被力推动的东西。这是一场跷跷板！我们推理的某些基础，尽管我们以科学与知识自诩，却是极为奇特的。"这是无头之头痛"，正如梵文谚语所说。这种状态被称为幻象[Maya]。它既不存在，也非不存在。你不能称之为存在，因为只有超越时间和空间之物、能自我存在之物才算存在。然而这个世界在一定程度上满足了我们对存在的观念。因此它具有一种表观的存在。
然而在一切之中，有真实的存在；那真实性，如同被困在时间、空间与因果关系的网罗之中。有真实的人，那无限的、无始的、无终的、永远蒙福的、永远自由的真我[Atman]。他被困在时间、空间与因果关系的网罗之中。这世界中的一切皆然。万物的真实性都是同一个无限。这不是唯心主义；不是说世界不存在。它具有相对的存在，并满足其全部的需求。但它没有独立的存在。它的存在，是因为在时间、空间与因果关系之外，有绝对的真实性存在。
我已经作了许多迂回。现在让我们回到我们的主题。
所有的自动运动和所有的有意运动，都是普拉纳通过神经的运作。现在你们看到，掌控那些无意识的动作将是一件非常好的事情。
另一些场合，我向你们给出了上帝与人的定义。人是一个无限的圆，其圆周无处，而中心位于一处；上帝是一个无限的圆，其圆周无处，而中心无处不在。祂通过所有的双手劳作，通过所有的眼睛观看，用所有的双脚行走，通过所有的身体呼吸，活于所有的生命之中，通过每一张口说话，通过每一个大脑思考。人若能将其自我意识的中心无限地倍增，便能变得如同上帝，获得对整个宇宙的掌控。因此，意识是最需要理解的东西。让我们设想，这里有一条无限的线处于黑暗之中，我们看不见这条线，但其上有一个发光点在移动。当它沿着线移动时，它依次照亮了线的不同部分，而其所经过之处复归黑暗。我们的意识就好比这个发光点。过去的经验已被现在的所取代，或已成为潜意识。我们没有意识到它们在我们内部的存在；然而它们就在那里，无意识地影响着我们的身体和心念。每一个现在无需意识协助便能做出的动作，此前都是有意识的。它已获得了足够的推动力，可以自行运转。
一切伦理体系中毫无例外的巨大错误，在于它们未能教导人们避免作恶的手段。所有的伦理体系都教导："不要偷窃！"这固然很好；然而为何一个人要偷窃呢？因为所有的偷窃、抢劫和其他恶行，作为规律，已经变得自动化了。有系统的强盗、小偷、撒谎者、不公正的男人和女人，所有这些人之所以如此，都是身不由己的！这确实是一个巨大的心理学问题。我们应当以最宽容的眼光来看待人类。行善并不那么容易。你们这些人，在你们自由之前，不过是一些机器而已——这有什么可骄傲的吗？你是好人，当然不能因此骄傲。你之所以好，是因为你不得不好。另一个人之所以坏，是因为他不得不坏。若你处在他的位置，谁知道你会是什么？街上的那个女人，监狱里的那个小偷，正是那个被钉上十字架的基督，为的是使你成为一个好人。这便是平衡的规律。所有的小偷和杀人犯，所有的不公正者、所有最软弱的、最邪恶的、魔鬼般的人，他们都是我的基督！我欠那基督与恶魔般的基督一份礼敬！这是我的教义，我无法改变。我的顶礼奉上善人、圣人的脚下，也奉上邪恶、魔鬼般的人的脚下！他们都是我的老师，都是我的精神之父，都是我的救主。我可能诅咒某人，却从他的过失中得益；我可能祝福另一个人，却从他的善行中得益。这如同我站在这里一样真实。我必须对那走在街上的女人冷嘲热讽，因为社会如此要求！她，我的救主，她，其街头游走是其他女人贞洁的原因！想想这一点。男男女女，在你们心中默想这个问题。这是一个真理——赤裸裸的、大胆的真理！我对世界了解得愈多，见识的男男女女愈多，这个信念便愈加强烈。我该责怪谁？我该称赞谁？盾牌的两面都必须看见。
摆在我们面前的任务是巨大的；首先，我们必须设法控制那大量已在我们身上变得自动化的潜伏念头。恶行，无疑，是在意识层面的；但产生恶行的原因，却远在无意识的领域，在看不见之处，因此更为有力。
实践心理学首先将其能量指向控制无意识，而我们知道我们能做到这一点。为什么？因为我们知道，无意识的因是有意识；那些无意识的念头是我们数百万个旧有的有意识念头潜伏下来所形成的，是已成化石的旧有有意识行动——我们不去看它们，不了解它们，已经忘记了它们。但请注意，若恶的力量在无意识中，善的力量也在其中。我们有许多东西如同放在口袋里。我们已经忘记了它们，甚至不去想它们，其中有许多已经腐烂，正在变成正面危险的东西；它们涌现出来，这些无意识的原因正在摧毁人类。因此，真正的心理学将会尝试将它们带入有意识的掌控之中。最伟大的任务，就是从某种意义上说，恢复整个人，以使他成为自身完全的主人。即便是我们身体内器官（如肝脏等）的那些自动运作，也可以被变得服从我们的指令。
这是研究的第一部分——控制无意识。下一步是超越有意识。正如无意识的工作处于意识之下，也有另一种工作处于意识之上。当这种超意识的状态被达到时，人变得自由和神圣；死亡变成不朽，软弱变成无限的力量，铁一般的束缚变成自由。那是目标，是无限的超意识领域。
因此，我们现在看到，必须有双重的工作。第一，通过左脉和右脉——那两条现有的普通气流——的正确运作，控制潜意识的动作；第二，甚至超越意识本身。
经典说，唯有那位经过长期自我专注的修习、已证入这一真理的人，才是真正的瑜伽行者[Yogi]。中脉现在打开了，一道从未进入这条新通道的气流将找到进入它的途径，并逐渐上升到（以象征性的语言）不同的莲花中心，直至最终到达大脑。此时瑜伽行者意识到他真正是什么——上帝本身。
每一个人，无一例外，我们每一个人，都能达到这瑜伽的顶峰。但这是一项艰巨的任务。若一个人想要证入这一真理，他需要做的，将远远超过听讲座和做几次呼吸练习。一切都在于准备。点燃一盏灯需要多长时间？不过一秒；但制作那根蜡烛需要多长时间！吃一顿饭需要多长时间？或许半小时。但准备食物需要几个小时！我们想在一秒钟内点燃那盏灯，却忘记了制作蜡烛才是主要的事情。
尽管到达目标如此艰难，然而即便是我们最微小的努力也不会徒劳。我们知道，没有任何东西会失去。在博伽梵歌中，阿周那[Arjuna]问奎师那[Krishna]："那些在此生中未能在瑜伽修习上达到完善的人，他们是否像夏天的云朵一样消散？"奎师那回答："我的朋友，在这个世界上没有任何东西会失去。一个人所做的一切，都作为他自己的而留存，若瑜伽的成果在此生中不能到来，就在下一次转世中继续修习。"否则，你如何解释耶稣、佛陀、商羯罗的奇妙童年？
呼吸、姿势等，毫无疑问是瑜伽修习的助缘；但它们仅仅是属于肉体的。伟大的准备是心灵上的。第一件必要的事是安静而平和的生活。
若你想成为一位瑜伽行者，你必须是自由的，并将自己置于你独处而无一切忧虑的情境之中。一个渴望舒适而优裕的生活、同时又想要证悟真我[Atman]的人，如同那个想要过河、却将一条鳄鱼误认为一根木头而抱住的愚人一样（《辨喜冠冕》，84节）。"你们先求他的国和他的义，这些东西都要加给你们了。"这是那一项伟大的义务，这便是舍离。为一个理想而活，心中不为任何其他事物留下余地。让我们竭尽全力去获取那永不失落之物——我们灵性的完善。若我们有真正的证悟的渴望，我们就必须努力，而通过努力，成长将会到来。我们会犯错误，但那些错误也许是意想不到的天使。
精神生活最大的助缘是冥想（静虑）。在冥想中，我们脱去一切物质的条件，感受我们神圣的本性。我们在冥想中不依赖任何外在的帮助。灵魂的触碰能在最阴暗的角落描绘出最明亮的色彩；它能向最卑微的事物投洒芬芳；它能使邪恶者成为神圣——一切的敌意、一切的自私都消融了。身体的念头愈少，愈好。因为正是身体在拖拽我们向下。正是执著、认同，使我们痛苦。这便是秘密：要想着我是精神而非身体，整个宇宙连同其一切关系、一切善与恶，不过是一系列的画作——画布上的场景——而我是那见证者。
English
HINTS ON PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY
( Delivered at the Home of Truth, Los Angeles, California )
This morning I shall try to present to you some ideas about breathing and other exercises. We have been discussing theories so long that now it will be well to have a little of the practical. A great many books have been written in India upon this subject. Just as your people are practical in many things, so it seems our people are practical in this line. Five persons in this country will join their heads together and say, "We will have a joint-stock company", and in five hours it is done; in India they could not do it in fifty years; they are so unpractical in matters like this. But, mark you, if a man starts a system of philosophy, however wild its theory may be, it will have followers. For instance, a sect is started to teach that if a man stands on one leg for twelve years, day and night, he will get salvation — there will be hundreds ready to stand on one leg. All the suffering will be quietly borne. There are people who keep their arms upraised for years to gain religious merit. I have seen hundreds of them. And, mind you, they are not always ignorant fools, but are men who will astonish you with the depth and breadth of their intellect. So, you see, the word practical is also relative.
We are always making this mistake in judging others; we are always inclined to think that our little mental universe is all that is; our ethics, our morality, our sense of duty, our sense of utility, are the only things that are worth having. The other day when I was going to Europe, I was passing through Marseilles, where a bull-fight was being held. All the Englishmen in the steamer were mad with excitement, abusing and criticising the whole thing as cruel. When I reached England, I heard of a party of prize-fighters who had been to Paris, and were kicked out unceremoniously by the French, who thought prize-fighting very brutal. When I hear these things in various countries, I begin to understand the marvellous saying of Christ: "Judge not that ye be not judged." The more we learn, the more he find out how ignorant we are, how multiform and multi-sided is this mind of man. When I was a boy, I used to criticise the ascetic practices of my countrymen; great preachers in our own land have criticised them; the greatest man that was ever born, Buddha himself, criticised them. But all the same, as I am growing older, I feel that I have no right to judge. Sometimes I wish that, in spite of all their incongruities, I had one fragment of their power to do and suffer. Often I think that my judgment and my criticism do not proceed from any dislike of torture, but from sheer cowardice — because I cannot do it — I dare not do it.
Then, you see that strength, power, and courage are things which are very peculiar. We generally say, "A courageous man, a brave man, a daring man", but we must bear in mind that that courage or bravery or any other trait does not always characterise the man. The same man who would rush to the mouth of a cannon shrinks from the knife of the surgeon; and another man who never dares to face a gun will calmly bear a severe surgical operation, if need be. Now, in judging others you must always define your terms of courage or greatness. The man whom I am criticising as not good may be wonderfully so in some points in which I am not.
Take another example. You often note, when people are discussing as to what man and woman can do, always the same mistake is made. They think they show man at his best because he can fight, for instance, and undergo tremendous physical exertion; and this is pitted against the physical weakness and the non-combating quality of woman. This is unjust. Woman is as courageous as man. Each is equally good in his or her way. What man can bring up a child with such patience, endurance, and love as the woman can? The one has developed the power of doing; the other, the power of suffering. If woman cannot act, neither can man suffer. The whole universe is one of perfect balance. I do not know, but some day we may wake up and find that the mere worm has something which balances our manhood. The most wicked person may have some good qualities that I entirely lack. I see that every day of my life. Look at the savage! I wish I had such a splendid physique. He eats, he drinks, to his heart's content, without knowing perhaps what sickness is, while I am suffering every minute. How many times would I have been glad to have changed my brain for his body! The whole universe is only a wave and a hollow; there can be no wave without a hollow. Balance everywhere. You have one thing great, your neighbour has another thing great. When you are judging man and woman, judge them by the standard of their respective greatness. One cannot be in other's shoes. The one has no right to say that the other is wicked. It is the same old superstition that says, "If this is done, the world will go to ruin." But in spite of this the world has not yet come to ruin. It was said in this country that if the Negroes were freed, the country would go to ruin — but did it? It was also said that if the masses were educated, the world would come to ruin — but it was only made better. Several years ago a book came out depicting the worst thing that could happen to England. The writer showed that as workmen's wages were rising, English commerce was declining. A cry was raised that the workmen in England were exorbitant in their demands, and that the Germans worked for less wages. A commission was sent over to Germany to investigate this and it reported that the German labourers received higher wages. Why was it so? Because of the education of the masses. Then how about the world going to ruin if the masses are educated? In India, especially, we meet with old fogies all over the land. They want to keep everything secret from the masses. These people come to the very satisfying conclusion that they are the crême de la crême of this universe. They believed they cannot be hurt by these dangerous experiments. It is only the masses that can be hurt by them!
Now, coming back to the practical. The subject of the practical application of psychology has been taken up in India from very early times. About fourteen hundred years before Christ, there flourished in India a great philosopher, Patanjali by name. He collected all the facts, evidences, and researches in psychology and took advantage of all the experiences accumulated in the past. Remember, this world is very old; it was not created only two or three thousand years ago. It is taught here in the West that society began eighteen hundred years ago, with the New Testament. Before that there was no society. That may be true with regard to the West, but it is not true as regards the whole world. Often, while I was lecturing in London, a very intellectual and intelligent friend of mine would argue with me, and one day after using all his weapons against me, he suddenly exclaimed, "But why did not your Rishis come to England to teach us?" I replied, "Because there was no England to come to. Would they preach to the forests?"
"Fifty years ago," said Ingersoll to me, "you would have been hanged in this country if you had come to preach. You would have been burnt alive or you would have been stoned out of the villages."
So there is nothing unreasonable in the supposition that civilisation existed fourteen hundred years before Christ. It is not yet settled whether civilisation has always come from the lower to the higher. The same arguments and proofs that have been brought forward to prove this proposition can also be used to demonstrate that the savage is only a degraded civilised man. The people of China, for instance, can never believe that civilisation sprang from a savage state, because the contrary is within their experience. But when you talk of the civilisation of America, what you mean is the perpetuity and the growth of your own race.
It is very easy to believe that the Hindus, who have been declining for seven hundred years, were highly civilised in the past. We cannot prove that it is not so.
There is not one single instance of any civilisation being spontaneous. There was not a race in the world which became civilised unless another civilised race came and mingled with that race. The origin of civilisation must have belonged, so to say, to one or two races who went abroad, spread their ideas, and intermingled with other races and thus civilisation spread.
For practical purposes, let us talk in the language of modern science. But I must ask you to bear in mind that, as there is religious superstition, so also there is a superstition in the matter of science. There are priests who take up religious work as their speciality; so also there are priests of physical law, scientists. As soon as a great scientist's name, like Darwin or Huxley, is cited, we follow blindly. It is the fashion of the day. Ninety-nine per cent of what we call scientific knowledge is mere theories. And many of them are no better than the old superstitions of ghosts with many heads and hands, but with this difference that the latter differentiated man a little from stocks and stones. True science asks us to be cautious. Just as we should be careful with the priests, so we should be with the scientists. Begin with disbelief. Analyse, test, prove everything, and then take it. Some of the most current beliefs of modern science have not been proved. Even in such a science as mathematics, the vast majority of its theories are only working hypotheses. With the advent of greater knowledge they will be thrown away.
In 1400 B.C. a great sage made an attempt to arrange, analyse, and generalise upon certain psychological facts. He was followed by many others who took up parts of what he had discovered and made a special study of them. The Hindus alone of all ancient races took up the study of this branch of knowledge in right earnest. I am teaching you now about it, but how many of you will practice it? How many days, how many months will it be before you give it up? You are impractical on this subject. In India, they will persevere for ages and ages. You will be astonished to hear that they have no churches, no Common Prayers, or anything of the kind; but they, every day, still practice the breathings and try to concentrate the mind; and that is the chief part of their devotion. These are the main points. Every Hindu must do these. It is the religion of the country. Only, each one may have a special method — a special form of breathing, a special form of concentration, and what is one's special method, even one's wife need not know; the father need not know the son's. But they all have to do these. And there is nothing occult about these things. The word "occult" has no bearing on them. Near the Gangâ thousands and thousands of people may be seen daily sitting on its banks breathing and concentrating with closed eyes. There may be two reasons that make certain practices impracticable for the generality of mankind. One is, the teachers hold that the ordinary people are not fit for them. There may be some truth in this, but it is due more to pride. The second is the fear of persecution. A man, for instance, would not like to practice breathing publicly in this country, because he would be thought so queer; it is not the fashion here. On the other hand, in India. If a man prayed, "Give us this day our daily bread", people would laugh at him. Nothing could be more foolish to the Hindu mind than to say, "Our Father which art in Heaven." The Hindu, when he worships, thinks that God is within himself.
According to the Yogis, there are three principal nerve currents: one they call the Idâ, the other the Pingalâ, and the middle one the Sushumnâ, and all these are inside the spinal column. The Ida and the Pingala, the left and the right, are clusters of nerves, while the middle one, the Sushumna, is hollow and is not a cluster of nerves. This Sushumna is closed, and for the ordinary man is of no use, for he works through the Ida and the Pingala only. Currents are continually going down and coming up through these nerves, carrying orders all over the body through other nerves running to the different organs of the body.
It is the regulation and the bringing into rhythm of the Ida and Pingala that is the great object of breathing. But that itself is nothing — it is only so much air taken into the lungs; except for purifying the blood, it is of no more use. There is nothing occult in the air that we take in with our breath and assimilate to purify the blood; the action is merely a motion. This motion can be reduced to the unit movement we call Prâna; and everywhere, all movements are the various manifestations of this Prana. This Prana is electricity, it is magnetism; it is thrown out by the brain as thought. Everything is Prana; it is moving the sun, the moon, and the stars.
We say, whatever is in this universe has been projected by the vibration of the Prana. The highest result of vibration is thought. If there be any higher, we cannot conceive of it. The nerves, Ida and Pingala, work through the Prana. It is the Prana that is moving every part of the body, becoming the different forces. Give up that old idea that God is something that produces the effect and sits on a throne dispensing justice. In working we become exhausted because we use up so much Prana.
The breathing exercises, called Prânâyâma, bring about regulation of the breathing, rhythmic action of the Prana. When the Prana is working rhythmically, everything works properly. When the Yogis get control over their own bodies, if there is any disease in any part, they know that the Prana is not rhythmic there and they direct the Prana to the affected part until the rhythm is re-established.
Just as you can control the Prana in your own body, so, if you are powerful enough, you can control, even from here another man's Prana in India. It is all one. There is no break; unity is the law. Physically, psychically, mentally, morally, metaphysically, it is all one. Life is only a vibration. That which vibrates this ocean of ether, vibrates you. Just as in a lake, various strata of ice of various degrees of solidity are formed, or as in an ocean of vapour there are various degrees of density, so is this universe an ocean of matter. This is an ocean of ether in which we find the sun, moon, stars, and ourselves — in different states of solidity; but the continuity is not broken; it is the same throughout.
Now, when we study metaphysics, we come to know the world is one, not that the spiritual, the material, the mental, and the world of energies are separate. It is all one, but seen from different planes of vision. When you think of yourself as a body, you forget that you are a mind, and when you think of yourself as a mind, you will forget the body. There is only one thing, that you are; you can see it either as matter or body — or you can see it as mind or spirit. Birth, life, and death are but old superstitions. None was ever born, none will ever die; one changes one's position — that is all. I am sorry to see in the West how much they make of death; always trying to catch a little life. "Give us life after death! Give us life!" They are so happy if anybody tells them that they are going to live afterwards! How can I ever doubt such a thing! How can I imagine that I am dead! Try to think of yourself as dead, and you will see that you are present to see your own dead body. Life is such a wonderful reality that you cannot for a moment forget it. You may as well doubt that you exist. This is the first fact of consciousness — I am. Who can imagine a state of things which never existed? It is the most self-evident of all truths. So, the idea of immortality is inherent in man. How can one discuss a subject that is unimaginable? Why should we want to discuss the pros and cons of a subject that is self-evident?
The whole universe, therefore, is a unit, from whatever standpoint you view it. Just now, to us, this universe is a unit of Prana and Âkâsha, force and matter. And mind you, like all other basic principles, this is also self-contradictory. For what is force? — that which moves matter. And what is matter? — that which is moved by force. It is a seesaw! Some of the fundamentals of our reasoning are most curious, in spite of our boast of science and knowledge. "It is a headache without a head", as the Sanskrit proverb says. This state of things has been called Maya. It has neither existence nor non-existence. You cannot call it existence, because that only exists which is beyond time and space, which is self-existence. Yet this world satisfies to a certain degree our idea of existence. Therefore it has an apparent existence.
But there is the real existence in and through everything; and that reality, as it were, is caught in the meshes of time, space, and causation. There is the real man, the infinite, the beginningless, the endless, the ever-blessed, the ever-free. He has been caught in the meshes of time, space, and causation. So has everything in this world. The reality of everything is the same infinite. This is not idealism; it is not that the world does not exist. It has a relative existence, and fulfils all its requirements But it has no independent existence. It exists because of the Absolute Reality beyond time, space, and causation.
I have made long digressions. Now, let us return to our main subject.
All the automatic movements and all the conscious movements are the working of Prana through the nerves. Now, you see, it will be a very good thing to have control over the unconscious actions.
On some other occasions, I told you the definition of God and man. Man is an infinite circle whose circumference is nowhere, but the centre is located in one spot; and God is an infinite circle whose circumference is nowhere, but whose centre is everywhere. He works through all hands, sees through all eyes, walks on all feet, breathes through all bodies, lives in all life, speaks through every mouth, and thinks through every brain. Man can become like God and acquire control over the whole universe if he multiplies infinitely his centre of self-consciousness. Consciousness, therefore, is the chief thing to understand. Let us say that here is an infinite line amid darkness. We do not see the line, but on it there is one luminous point which moves on. As it moves along the line, it lights up its different parts in succession, and all that is left behind becomes dark again. Our consciousness; may well be likened to this luminous point. Its past experiences have been replaced by the present, or have become subconscious. We are not aware of their presence in us; but there they are, unconsciously influencing our body and mind. Every movement that is now being made without the help of consciousness was previously conscious. Sufficient impetus has been given to it to work of itself.
The great error in all ethical systems, without exception, has been the failure of teaching the means by which man could refrain from doing evil. All the systems of ethics teach, "Do not steal!" Very good; but why does a man steal? Because all stealing, robbing, and other evil actions, as a rule, have become automatic. The systematic robber, thief, liar, unjust man and woman, are all these in spite of themselves! It is really a tremendous psychological problem. We should look upon man in the most charitable light. It is not so easy to be good. What are you but mere machines until you are free? Should you be proud because you are good? Certainly not. You are good because you cannot help it. Another is bad because he cannot help it. If you were in his position, who knows what you would have been? The woman in the street, or the thief in the jail, is the Christ that is being sacrificed that you may be a good man. Such is the law of balance. All the thieves and the murderers, all the unjust, the weakest, the wickedest, the devils, they all are my Christ! I owe a worship to the God Christ and to the demon Christ! That is my doctrine, I cannot help it. My salutation goes to the feet of the good, the saintly, and to the feet of the wicked and the devilish! They are all my teachers, all are my spiritual fathers, all are my Saviours. I may curse one and yet benefit by his failings; I may bless another and benefit by his good deeds. This is as true as that I stand here. I have to sneer at the woman walking in the street, because society wants it! She, my Saviour, she, whose street-walking is the cause of the chastity of other women! Think of that. Think, men and women, of this question in your mind. It is a truth — a bare, bold truth! As I see more of the world, see more of men and women, this conviction grows stronger. Whom shall I blame? Whom shall I praise? Both sides of the shield must be seen.
The task before us is vast; and first and foremost, we must seek to control the vast mass of sunken thoughts which have become automatic with us. The evil deed is, no doubt, on the conscious plane; but the cause which produced the evil deed was far beyond in the realms of the unconscious, unseen, and therefore more potent.
Practical psychology directs first of all its energies in controlling the unconscious, and we know that we can do it. Why? Because we know the cause of the unconscious is the conscious; the unconscious thoughts are the submerged millions of our old conscious thoughts, old conscious actions become petrified — we do not look at them, do not know them, have forgotten them. But mind you, if the power of evil is in the unconscious, so also is the power of good. We have many things stored in us as in a pocket. We have forgotten them, do not even think of them, and there are many of them, rotting, becoming positively dangerous; they come forth, the unconscious causes which kill humanity. True psychology would, therefore, try to bring them under the control of the conscious. The great task is to revive the whole man, as it were, in order to make him the complete master of himself. Even what we call the automatic action of the organs within our bodies, such as the liver etc., can be made to obey our commands.
This is the first part of the study, the control of the unconscious. The next is to go beyond the conscious. Just as unconscious work is beneath consciousness, so there is another work which is above consciousness. When this superconscious state is reached, man becomes free and divine; death becomes immortality, weakness becomes infinite power, and iron bondage becomes liberty. That is the goal, the infinite realm of the superconscious.
So, therefore, we see now that there must be a twofold work. First, by the proper working of the Ida and the Pingala, which are the two existing ordinary currents, to control the subconscious action; and secondly, to go beyond even consciousness.
The books say that he alone is the Yogi who, after long practice in self-concentration, has attained to this truth. The Sushumna now opens and a current which never before entered into this new passage will find its way into it, and gradually ascend to (what we call in figurative language) the different lotus centres, till at last it reaches the brain. Then the Yogi becomes conscious of what he really is, God Himself.
Everyone without exception, everyone of us, can attain to this culmination of Yoga. But it is a terrible task. If a person wants to attain to this truth, he will have to do something more than to listen to lectures and take a few breathing exercises. Everything lies in the preparation. How long does it take to strike a light? Only a second; but how long it takes to make the candle! How long does it take to eat a dinner? Perhaps half an hour. But hours to prepare the food! We want to strike the light in a second, but we forget that the making of the candle is the chief thing.
But though it is so hard to reach the goal, yet even our smallest attempts are not in vain. We know that nothing is lost. In the Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna, "Those who fail in attaining perfection in Yoga in this life, are they destroyed like the clouds of summer?" Krishna replies, "Nothing, my friend, is lost in this world. Whatever one does, that remains as one's own, and if the fruition of Yoga does not come in this life, one takes it up again in the next birth." Otherwise, how do you explain the marvellous childhood of Jesus, Buddha, Shankara?
Breathing, posturing, etc. are no doubt helps in Yoga; but they are merely physical. The great preparations are mental. The first thing necessary is a quiet and peaceable life.
If you want to be a Yogi, you must be free, and place yourself in circumstances where you are alone and free from all anxiety. He who desires a comfortable and nice life and at the same time wants to realise the Self is like the fool who, wanting to cross the river, caught hold of a crocodile, mistaking it for a log of wood (Vivekachudâmani, 84.). "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and everything shall be added unto you." This is the one great duty, this is renunciation. Live for an ideal, and leave no place in the mind for anything else. Let us put forth all our energies to acquire that, which never fails — our spiritual perfection. If we have true yearning for realisation, we must struggle, and through struggle growth will come. We shall make mistakes, but they may be angels unawares.
The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation (Dhyâna). In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature. We do not depend upon any external help in meditation. The touch of the soul can paint the brightest colour even in the dingiest places; it can cast a fragrance over the vilest thing; it can make the wicked divine — and all enmity, all selfishness is effaced. The less the thought of the body, the better. For it is the body that drags us down. It is attachment, identification, which makes us miserable. That is the secret: To think that I am the spirit and not the body, and that the whole of this universe with all its relations, with all its good and all its evil, is but as a series of paintings — scenes on a canvas — of which I am the witness.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。