The chariot of Will

My late master Karma Tashi Thunrup wrote a book entitled 'Into The Wind.'  This is still awaiting publication.

I thought it would be beneficial however to extract the following pieces from its pages, which give a flavour of the unique and compassionate approach, Tashi always brought to discussing aspects of dharma. 

Here he writes of the enormous benefits that may be obtained for both ones health as well as for reaching out to others who may be need of our help, by anyone who is able to untilise fully, the power of his will. 

 

"The Yogic adept has an advantage over the likes of us in that he has 

penetrated his consciousness down to its very source and he is 

aware not only of the everyday world of sense consciousness but 

also different dimensions of consciousness containing higher 

energy levels of which the layman is ignorant.

It is in order to heal and revitalise our jaded bodies

 

It is impossible for a Master to describe Reality in words, but we can symbolise, in a manner of speaking, the spiritual forces galvanising this physical body through the spinal vortices or chakras where mind reacts with a self-created universe.

The Yogi supplements his compassion with the practice 

of Pranayama. Pran is basic energy, the universal principle of 

movement, which upholds the tangible world. Pranayama is the 

Science of realising the Pran streams in our own bodies through the 

Contemplation and control of breath. Activating the Heart chakra 

through Pranayama, the Yogi learns to direct Pran at will to heal 

and revitalise his tissues.

 

All energies directed consciously from the Heart chakra stem 

from a higher dimension of mind and a higher wave-band than we 

have hitherto been able to utilise. Naturally we shall be making use 

of these in our studies.

The higher chakras are properly the province of the spiritual 

seeker. A most profound explanation of their properties can be 

found in the works of Lama Govinda and Swami Sri Yukteswar to 

name but two.

 

DISEASES

Most of the diseases we encounter on our way are due to imbalances

which are the natural result of the limited individual mind and

consciousness field, which accompanies an "unawakened" perception

of reality.

Most "normal" people are fundamentally out of balance, therefore

these layers of psycho/physical energy are manifested at a much

coarser wave-band than could be the case.

By utilising the energising and rejuvenating principles of Raja Yoga 

we can reverse the breakdown of voluntary and involuntary 

neuro-muscular processes which, with the exception of sexually 

transmitted infections, are the result of degenerate mental and

physical habits and a careless diet.

Raja Yoga is the science of physical and mental awareness pursued by many devotees in their search for Spiritual Enlightenment. The meditative forms of this and allied Tibetan Yoga's are very effective to that end.

"What we think we become".

Thought dominated by desire and aversion is in constant turmoil, and it is not surprising therefore to find this confusion and alienation ultimately presenting itself as physical ailments of various kinds. On the other hand it is possible to train our thoughts to be calm and single pointed.

In that condition they are the chariot of Will and the unconscious

hierarchy of the three bodies can be gradually transformed into a

conscious creative process. Thus Will descends into Energy, finally

to manifest as positive awakened being.

The Yogi sees matter as a vibrating continuum in constant flux.

The different states of matter i.e. solid, liquid and gaseous, he

perceives as wave-bands of energy dancing in counterpoint to the

vibrations of his own spinal centres. His mind is in perfect accord

with the world of matter and for him it is a case of No Mind, No Matter.

Thus the accomplished Yogi applies his mind to matter and moves

in spacious harmony with it.

No doubt due to the way we regard our food, many of us in the

west regard our bodies and the bodies of other sentient beings as

mere meat to which modern physiology has added a grand theatre

of electro/chemical demand and response to our perceptions.

Good health starts in the mind and is maintained primarily by a

healthy will and a plentiful supply of air. We are Psycho/Physical

organisms and Mind, the psyche, has the dominant role to play 

in our everyday health.

The initiated Yogi can perform specific exercises to direct Pran energy to all parts of the body. By the contemplation and control of his breath he is able to bring previously unconscious bodily processes to conscious awareness thereby raising his otherwise vegetable reactions to purposeful healthy function.

Will is what it is all about. Practically speaking, unless we 

consciously inject a good dose of old fashioned will into our bodily

functions, they will inevitably decline. Athough the sympathetic 

and para-sympathentic nervous systems are superb examples 

of biological programming, they will eventually become moribund 

unless constantly reinforced by the use of concentrated attention 

and will.

I can alter my heartbeat at will, without the use of feedback 

machines or the like. If will can overcome the natural reflexes of the ‘Bundle of his’ which

is the heart's neuro/muscular pacemaker then it follows that all the

automatic nervous functions can be brought under some conscious 

control, for that is how they came about in the first place.

Mind

It is generally supposed that the unconscious mind is somewhat 

subordinate and inferior in a primitive bestial way to the stream of 

conscious thought which embroiders our sensual experience of 

the world.

This view is wrong. 

The unconscious is not a mere rubbish tip of repressed desires 

and emotions.

To those skilled in meditative and contemplative practices it reveals 

itself as a cornucopia of inspiration and creative energy. Admittedly,

 it is necessary to penetrate beyond the clutter of pre-conscious 

desire, fear, and guilt which are the conditioned responses of a deluded self, 

but if we had the ability to dive, or to be more accurate, soar 

beyond the mere pre-conscious and dream realms we would discover 

a Superconscious containing the keys to ultimate Self Realisation.

Everything that happens in our bodies unconsciously i.e. through 

the media of sympathetic and para-sympathetic nervous systems 

and associated endocrine glands originally happened some time in 

the past aeons of our evolution as the result of a conscious act of 

will or effort.

These conscious acts repeated time and time again cut a recorded 

groove into the depths of our being, each intelligent response 

becoming memorised and habituated on a deep unconscious level, 

creating in fact the automatic reflexes of the automatic nervous systems and associated glands and adding new unconscious "bits" of information to the DNA codes of each living cell with every adaptive act or thought

We are the manifestations of Mind. All the biological processes 

are the result of mind action at every level, and where mind has 

been, memory remains, unconscious perhaps but memory 

nevertheless going right back to the year dot and earlier.

Everything that happens in the preconscious areas of our mind is 

the result of all past actions, thoughts and emotional responses,

and at a deep level to which the unregenerative individual ego has 

little access, spreads a store consciousness or as Jung put it, a

Universal Unconscious in which all states of being are contained 

and infinitely expanded. On another level, so near and yet so far

from our usual impedimented outlook shines the pure intelligence 

of Enlightenment known to Northern Buddhists as the Dharma Kaya 

or Body of Truth.