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Affirming Three Aspirations
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Asatoma
Sat Gamaya
Tamasoma Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityorma Anritam Gamaya
Lead
me from the unreal to the Real
Lead me from the darkness to the Light
Lead me from the temporary to the Eternal
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
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Unreal
= untruth; only relatively real; that which is merely manifest out
of something else, such as the pot manifesting out of the clay;
the aspects of ourselves that are really false identities
appearing to be who we are
Real = truth; that unchanging reality, like the clay, out
of which everything else manifests; the true Self, the core of our
being
Darkness
= the darkness of ignorance, of not seeing either the world or
ourselves clearly; stemming from the process of ignoring,
which is inherent in ignorance
Light = the light of knowledge, of seeing clearly the true
spiritual nature of things and ourselves
Temporary
= that which is mortal, subject to death, decay, and
decomposition; our surface identities
Eternal = that which is not subject to death, decay, or
decomposition; the immortal core of our being
Swami Rama: "Prayer is a major
technique used by religionists to seek satisfaction of their
desires and comfort in spite of their frustrations. Many people
who are not acquainted with the basic principles of Vedantic
philosophy think that there are prayers in the Upanishadic
literature. For example: "Lead me from the unreal to the
Real; lead me from darkness to Light; lead me from mortality to
Immortality" may be thought to be a prayer. But it is
actually an expression of the aspirant's spiritual desires that
remind him of his goal of life constantly. It is not a prayer
but a way of maintaining constant awareness of Supreme
Consciousness. It is not asking God or any supernatural being to
help one or to lead one to the higher states. The idea is not to
know God as a different being, but to know one's own real Self
and its essential nature, which is the Self of all. One is not
attaining something that is not already there but is realizing
that which is self-existent. This Upanishadic verse is not a
prayer asking for anything but a way of strengthening constant
awareness of Supreme Consciousness which is the goal of the
Upanishads."
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This site is devoted
to presenting the ancient Self-Realization path of the Tradition of
the Himalayan masters in simple, understandable and beneficial ways,
while not compromising quality or depth. The goal of our sadhana or
practices is the highest Joy that comes from the Realization in
direct experience of the center of consciousness, the Self, the
Atman or Purusha, which is one and the same with the Absolute
Reality. This Self-Realization comes through Yoga meditation of the
Yoga Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the
intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra, the three of which
complement one another like fingers on a hand. We employ the
classical approaches of Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Yoga, as well
as Hatha, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, and Tantra
Yoga. Meditation, contemplation, mantra and prayer finally converge
into a unified force directed towards the final stage, piercing the
pearl of wisdom called bindu, leading to the Absolute.
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