kriyayogamalaysia

Higher Consciousness for Peace

By Rudra Shivananda

Spiritual seekers have certain definable goals generally in the order of liberation,  freedom from suffering or Self-Realization – all of which would require a dramatic shift into higher strata of super-conscious states. How long the path will take is highly variable
depending on the strength of practice, the power of the path, the karmic obstacles, and grace of the spiritual guide.

It is important to understand that the spiritual path is not one where you either win or lose and that there is a continuum of achievement. In fact I would say that it may be more important for world peace if the general population raised their consciousness by an order of magnitude than if only a few people achieved Self-Realization. Of course,
if a few enlightened people became guides for the others, then the process would be quickened tremendously.

The goal then becomes the uplifting of human consciousness. In the larger sense, this goal is the mission of great beings such as Babaji and his helpers. This may also be part of the drama to be played for many more years to come. From a practical point of view, even a little of the beginner’s practice such as those of popular yoga postures can have a profound effect in the behavior of the practitioners. Awareness of one’s body and mind helps us to understand better our reaction patterns and break-up childhood and cultural
habit patterns – this leads to a greater openness and tolerance for the perspectives of others.

Meditation practice can help to control and overcome many emotional compulsions leading to healthier attitudes. Toxic emotions such as anger, fear and lust can be as easily transmitted as the common cold and lead to much greater damage, unless one is inoculated by mental control. So much of the world’s ills have been due to uncontrolled
emotions – genocides and wars could have been stopped if enough people refused to be caught up in them.

Proper breathing practice and control of life-force brings about better overall health and breaks all types of conditionings. The lack of energy leads to fatigue which in turn predisposes one to accept old thoughts and patterns – an unquestioning and lazy attitude – apathy that allows all types of negativity to continue. An abundance of life-force is
necessary for happiness. Higher consciousness is all about greater awareness of one’s thoughts, words and actions and the willingness to control them according to universal
ethics and values.

If more people gave due consideration to their thoughts, there would be less pollution of the thought waves throughout the world – it is difficult for us to remain calm and positive when we are swimming in an ocean of negative thought waves. If more people
started generating positive thoughts of love and compassion, this will counteract the thoughts of anger and hatred. If we can train more and more people to be calm and happy under adverse conditions – that is raising their consciousness, then there will be less confrontation and more peace – it takes two sides to make a fight.

There are plenty of opportunities for those spiritual seekers on the path who have achieved a measure of self-control and emotional steadiness to help those around them to overcome intolerance, emotional turmoil, and mental laziness. It is not necessary to wait until one is Self-realized before participating in the uplifting of world consciousness. This does not mean that one should pronounce oneself a teacher or even
Master before one’s time but one can certainly put one’s effort to good use without assuming lofty titles. This is the work for higher consciousness that will have a far-reaching effect in future generations.