Five Concise Books on Essential Indian Philosophy
Cosmic Quintuplications, the final book in Babaji’s series of five short but concentrated books on essential Indian Philosophy, has been released. These books, listed below, present fundamental concepts and perspectives needed to understand and approach Vedanta’s Advaita, Tantra’s culmination in nonduality, Yoga’s lower and higher Samadhis, and Kundalini Yoga’s Shakti. As the West does not have its own nondual philosophy, it is necessary to refer to and consult Mother India, which has developed a host of luminous pathways for various temperaments over some five millennia. If Western practitioners fail to heed this wealth of Eastern experience, and attempt to jump prematurely to the highest Truth of Advaita without understanding any of the systems leading to that consummate realization, they not only court hidden dangers, but also risk missing essential steps that ensure spiritual progress when implemented. During the winter retreat on Kundalini Shakti, Babaji happened to describe his purpose in writing these five concise books. An edited transcript follows:
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Babaji: We must connect the inside to the outside, and the outside to the inside. How does the Peace Chant say this? What is within is infinite, eternal. What is outside, though finite by nature, is also eternal. From the internal the external has come, from the infinite, the finite has come, and being infinite, only infinite remains. So, everything is infinite, even its finite expression. We are missing this view in the West – tanmatras, unmanifested nature, Brahman, etc. – and we need to prove subtle inner existence to ourselves so as to make essential connections for divine life. Then only will hatred, violence, war, and other foolish and harmful things diminish. For instance, we need to take up the pranamayakosha, the realm of prana, make it our own through meditation, and realize that it is the inner kingdom of heaven spoken of by Jesus. Earth, water, fire, air, and ether make up the external world, but they originate from thought; they are made of mental vibrations, not just physical matter. We let go of the physical elements when we enter within the mind.
This is, in part, why I composed these five little books. I put out the Kundalini book first – Reclaiming Kundalini Yoga – thinking that the West needed to learn about inner power, Shakti, in order to start into these paths. Then they could give up their puerile fascination with violent outer explosions and experience internal implosions of higher intelligence. The next book was Dissolving the Mindstream, because once you have a hold of prana and that inner shakti power you can turn your thoughts off and on at will. That will give you the idea that there is a witness of the mind that operates it. Then great sayings such as, manobuddhya’hamkara chittani naham (I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or thoughts) will make sense to you. The third book was Jnana Matra, The Wisdom Particle. This book asks, “Just what is it that is doing the dissolving of the mind, as well as its projecting?” It is these particles of intelligence that flow in streams from The Great Word. In ordinary beings they are scattered, like iron filings, with no magnet to collect around. Science, religion, and politics have lost the magnet of Divine Reality; that is why they are all set on war, destruction, then mere pleasure. The fourth book was Manasana, the art of mental posture. What will myriad physical postures do for you, and for the world? You must have a superior mental posture around all stages of spiritual practice, and use those intelligent particles just referred to in order to assume postures such as “I am nonviolent,” “I am actionless,” and “Ayam Atma Brahma,” this Self is Brahman. And now comes the final book, Cosmic Quintuplications – how everything in existence departs the physical by sets of fives, and how it returns in the same manner and order. This is drawn from basic Sankhya cosmology, so important to all paths.
This series of books disseminating ancient wisdom in a contemporary way are presented in order to bring out hidden and crucial spiritual facets in some sort of concise and comprehensible order. They are all connected, and each one is short, intended for today’s seeker who, unfortunately, has limited time for study. Swami Vivekananda stated that Westerners are mere babies in spiritual life; we know nothing about authentic spirituality. We need to submit to masters in order to be well-schooled. And when we are taught well, then we will get over our problems. Not only physical diseases will go away, but the disease of environmental pollution will also cease. The diseases of poor relations with people, engaging in war, and those kinds of maladies will also get greatly reduced. Then, that better world you are merely longing for, merely hoping for, you will find within yourself, as well as the power to bring out its best and to transcend it entirely as well when it is time. Hope is not a method; it is a last-ditch effort. Rather, we need to be meditating on these teachings, meditating on Kundalini Shakti, reciting with resolve the truth of “I am Brahman,” because, as Sri Ramakrishna has told us, Brahman and Shakti are one, like fire and its heat, snow and its whiteness, water and its wetness. They are one, intrinsically one, or “not two” as our founder, Lex Hixon, used to say.