attitudes, especially those which ego prefers to keep in the dark. 79 Alteringbehavior without changing the underlying attitude does not result inpurification and spiritual growth. The action vasanas may be obliterated butnot the attitude vasanas, resulting in an agitated Subtle Body. An alcoholicwho quits drinking but retains the psychology of drunk is a case in point.Attitudes can be binding or non-binding. Binding attitudes 80 produceextroverting vasanas and mitigate against meditation. The followingattitudes enhance agitating samskaras: fear, desire, attachment, pain, guilt,dishonesty, obsession, compulsion, pride, vanity, envy, jealousy, anger,fantasy, delusion, depression, selfishness, concern for results, and others.A non-binding attitude produces a non-binding vasana and/or exhaustsan existing vasana. Non-binding attitudes are: selflessness, compassion(object-motivated love), forgiveness, acceptance, indifference, dispassion,and joy. Non-binding attitudes are called yogas, 81 states of mind thatneutralize likes and dislikes, purify the Causal Body and make the SubtleBody meditation-worthy.Spiritual practice is Subtle Body work, attitude adjustment. The threeyogas purify the three inner centers: action yoga purifies Ego, love yogapurifies Mind, and knowledge yoga purifies Intellect. 82 A purified SubtleBody displays stable geometry, like an isosceles triangle. No longer underintense pressure from unhelpful vasanas, its centers turn inward, fusetogether, and meditate naturally on the Self. When the Causal Body has beenpurified and anxiety for results abandoned, the mind rests comfortably andjoyfully in the present, taking what comes with equanimity. The three centersrespect each other’s turf and cooperate to present a unified front to achanging and uncertain world. In a purified Subtle Body, Intellect, schooledin the science of the Self, cheerfully presents a dispassionate anddiscriminating view to both Ego and Mind whose clarity is regularlycompromised by excessive passion and emotion. Refusing to unduly push apersonal agenda, it counsels a balanced response in all situations and, inhighly-evolved persons, turns its formidable power of observation on itself,79 Unexamined unconsious attitudes keep ego in business. The ego often has a vested interest in maintainingnegative vasanas even though they are the source of suffering. For example, individuals with bad habits, likedrug or alcohol abuse, often cling to the habits long past the time when they produce pleasure because theattitude associated with the habit brings perverse pleasure - like the “poor me” or “victim” mentality -eliciting enough sympathy to partially counteract the suffering caused by the addiction itself.80 Addictions and compulsions are extreme examples.81 In the context of this discussion “yoga” means technique.82 The three “inner centers” are not actually distinct entities but interconnected functions of the Subtle Body.And the three “yogas” are not wholly independent therapies but interconnected attitudes. The “yogas”actually help to break down the artificial barriers between the parts of the inner self, the Subtle Body.58
ferreting out poorly-conceived plans, incorrect analyses, and emotiondominatedconclusions.In the best of all possible inner worlds, Mind, ordinarily handmaiden toa needy and selfish Ego, resists egoic desires, loves purely and faithfully, andrefuses to disturb Subtle Body equilibrium with petty conceits, insecurities,and ill-conceived inflations - all the while offering support to Intellect's wellthought-outsadhanas 83 . A well-balanced, satisfied emotional self is anessential condition of Self realization.The tendency to operate exclusively from the emotional center is notconducive to Subtle Body harmony, and causes much suffering. Becauseunhealthy emotions are the result of incorrect views about oneself and reality,during initial phases of unrestrained ego-motivated devotion, the meditatorshould take extra pains to develop discrimination and dispassion.The third limb of a purified Subtle Body, Ego, often considered thevillain in the piece, should be strong and confident, not necessarily because ithas successfully negotiated life, but because it has the courage to follow itsspiritual inclinations. Ideally Ego strength should come from the realizationthat happiness comes through serving a noble ideal, Self realization, forexample. A mature ego, mindful of its dependence on subjective andobjective factors, will carefully heed Intellect's counsel, respect Mind'sfeelings and intuitions, and refuse to play inner politics, promoting harmonyand inner unity.THE PATH OF ACTIONThe ego is that part in each of us that has split from the Self and set upbusiness on its own. A product of Self ignorance, bedeviled by anunappeasable emptiness, it is a synonym for desire, the fear-driven powerthought to correct the (unconscious) separation from the Self. Desire impliesaction, and the ego is a doer, eager to act on the belief that the joy is in theobject. 84ACTIONS HAVE RESULTSPrudent individuals consider the consequences of their actions becauseevery action or non-action performed in the field of Consciousness produces83 Spiritual practices84 See the heading “Limitation of Object Happiness.” on page three.59
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SELF-KNOWLEDGE"I am composing this
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REMOVING THE WALLIf happiness or un
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