Mind is a Storyteller

Random Stories

Usually, most are overwhelmed by the daily drama of storytelling. 

We feel like we are but ...

• playing bit roles in some other person's script of Life, 

• like a pawn being played on a chessboard, 

• being sacrificed at the altar in everyone else's reality show.

Our stories become merely a litany of everyday woes and aspirations, with the hope that somehow we can find meaning to this Life, beyond mundane experiences.

Some are merely spinning tales, not just telling stories, and whether or not they actually experience these events they have managed to create an illusion as though they are actually living in their fantastical world, consequently they potentially delude others who have been snared in their story web. 

Beyond these two extremes there is another way.

Psychic 

An evolutionary event in the psyche, that is, the emergence of Novelty which could not be predicted, is the kind of phenomenon we call as psychic.

The evolutionary model of the Mind begs the word ‘psychic’ because: 

• the vision of what we are attempting here seems irrational, but its mystical overtone fits with our model for using storytelling to shift the Mind, and

• as these neuropsychological effects have not yet been studied in depth, there is thus a sense of mystery surrounding these phenomena.

Similar to how we extended the construct of Mind to a Mindspace that tells stories, the Psyche takes it even further to accommodate these unpredicted effects in the journey of psychological evolution.

We use psychic as an adjective - such as psychic Energy centers & channels, psychic Virus, and psychic Intelligences - as constructs useful to characterize the evolutionary workings of the Yoga Mind.

These ‘psychic’ terms are a necessary linguistic artefact to describe a world beyond normal human experience, similar to what is needed in the shift from the everyday effects in Newtonian physics to phenomena in “spooky” quantum physics like entanglement and non-locality.

In the model of Yoga, these concepts are like props in Yoga classes, such as blocks & straps, that we utilize and then wean away from as the Human Mind expands to its fullest potential.

If we do not accord them Free Will and set them free eventually, that is, we get irrationally attached to these metaphors, that results in religion.

Portfolio

We could also invoke Devas for particular desired outcomes such as wealth, and acquire even a portfolio of them - for who does not want health in addition to wealth.

And while we are at this might as well add on Devas for the well-being of the family, the village, the traveler's journey - and so on, for every single aspiration of our Life.

We can keep on adding more Devas, and as long as they are all aligned with Dharma these intentional Thought forms do not cause entanglement.

Guru Deva

Very often, a particularly charismatic Guru becomes so integral to our spiritual life that they are deified as a Guru-Deva - which brings up an oft-quoted conundrum that when we are finally face to face with the ultimate reality thanks to the Guru, then whom should we acknowledge first, and with whom would we merge our limited self ? 

Of course, such a question only arises in those who are not fiercely independent Yogis themselves.

Ishta Devatā

Another option is to bide our time and really focus on the Deva that will fulfill our sva-Dharma, our unique Dharma.

Such a Being is our particular इष्ट Ishta-Devatā (maybe Ishta is a cognate of Wish as we have seen earlier), as a personal god.

An Ishta Devatā, by definition, is tuned perfectly to who we actually are, our perfected future self, and naturally this is an intense process to realize fully, albeit very fulfilling for it manifests our total yearning.

When we fully internalize our Ishta Deva we are a unitary Psychic Being, not fragmented in any way by needless distractions on our life journeys.

At this point whatever other Devas we wish to bring in automatically slot into our Being, without having to search them out, for the Ishta Devatā has created a ready environment for instilling them.

Mind Hacking

Do-it-yourself, Self-help afficionados have innovated a grab-bag of mindhacking techniques as a way to get beyond the fetters that hold us back from reaching our full potential.

Mindhacking techniques are indeed useful to finely craft & tune our systems as high-performing smart machines, seeking to optimize every aspect of our life, overcoming all kinds of psychological roadblocks. 

Typically we observe some successful individual's mindhacking technique and adopt it for our own use, but although useful as inspirational role models, and for their innovations, a particular human personality has their own unique limitations and strengths which are not universally applicable and often times undesirable too.

This approach requires a lot of continuous reinforcement and an incremental approach that may not lead to evolution. 

Indra Deva

Probably the most fascinating of all Devas is Indra from primordial times, and quite the equivalent of the Greek Zeus.

We outline this Deva's story in some detail because he is exactly equivalent to the human Mind and its sense organs with which we experience the world of phenomena.

Indra is the ruler of the Devas.

• • Indra is a powerful psychic intelligence, since he is the lord of the Devas.

  • He rides on 

    • an elephant indicating tremendous mental capacity (similar to Ganesha)

    • or two horses, indicating the power of deep breathing, prānāyāma (impacts nervous system)

Indra is considered born of sky & earth, Akāsh and Prithvi, and wields a thunderbolt (like Zeus):

• • With such power we can bridge our most esoteric inner world with practical manifestation,

  • Thunder going between earth & sky, is reflected in kundalini awakenings (nervous system).

Small stories on Indra

Indra battles Vritra, some kind of Rākshasa or Asura, who has has captured the waters of the Earth and hidden it inside a mountain, turning the lands dry, meaning that we have lost our: 

• • powers of consciousness, for whatever reasons

  • creative flow, which is hidden now inside our spine (usually the mountain signifies this)

Indra drinks Soma, defeats Vritra, and opens up the waters from the mountain, and the Earth is now nourished

• Soma is a psychedelic substance that has effect on the Mind,

• this is available either externally in plants, or can be generated internally through Yoga practice.

In the Rāmāyana, Indra is considered the father of Vāli who gets subdued by SugrIva considered as the son of Surya. The implications of this are described in detail in Yoga of Rāmāyana.

And in the Mahābhārata, Indra is considered father of Arjuna, the Mind setting forth into battle, compared to the more inward Mind of Ganesha as elephant.

Coevolution

In the early stages humans had no issues living with our Mind & sense organs, seeing as we were immersed in Nature, and the ancient stories are adapted to that time period.

Later on, when we became tool-makers we had to deal with overloading of sense organs, which are called Indriyas. For example, we probably learnt how to bulk produce sugar, distill alcohol, Soma, etc.

Consequently our Mind became addicted to sensory inputs, and hence Indra (the Manas of Yoga, the super-sense-organ) became a problematic fellow. Just like our Mind is today.

Thus, in this later stage of civilization, Vishnu becomes the protector of the Devas, and although Indra is still their boss, he repeatedly develops issues in our current world of sensory overload.

Essentially the Yoga Mind coevolved to manage its mental creations!

What it is Not

A Deva, when approached intelligently, has nothing to do with the mess of “religion”, and its attendant theology of some external God.

"All in divine timing", or “God only knows!”  is said, with a deep shrug of the shoulders, to indicate we have no clue when something might happen, when it’s all just based on wishful thinking, otherwise called as blind Faith!

So, if we believe God creates Man then that is Religion, and if we believe that Man creates God, in a dismissive fashion as though God is a mere concept to fool the masses, then that is an Atheist perspective.

Yoga is neither of these because our model is that Humans evolve to become a Yogi, who then intentionally crafts Devas for various aspirations, which are then further instilled by Humans to increase their intelligence in order to evolve.

Do this enough number of times, increasing the scope of the Devas, and we get into the Rishi state for the powerful Avatār effect!

The more a particular Thought form has collective appeal, the more energized it gets by the collective consciousness to Avatār proportions. 

Thus indeed is the Yogi a maker of gods - as guides, we hasten to add, not as some remote aloof creator.

All in Divine Timing

Devas as psychic intelligences accelerate material manifestation, in real world time.

But when exactly a Deva manifests its outcome is unpredictable, so all we can do, seemingly, is to shrug our shoulders and say that it "all happens in divine timing!", indicating we really don't have a clue.

There is a popular Sanskrit saying "Atithi Devo Bhava", where these words are translated as:

• Atithi = Guest (particularly in the unexpected moment)

• Deva = "god" (psychic intelligence)

• Bhava = May it be so

At a simplistic level it communicates that any visitor to our place should be treated with all due respect as a "god", but there is more to it.

The word Tithi indicates an auspicious moment, carefully timed to the configuration of the stars, or at least to some kind of earthly calendar.

A+Tithi is the exact opposite, meaning somebody, or some event, that occurs unexpectedly.

Thus the whole meaning is that there is some psychic intelligence we should be prepared to absorb, particularly when something unexpected happens, there is a message hidden in there somewhere we need to heed.

When we don't know all these underpinnings we can but guess at outcomes and their timings, and shrug our shoulders and mutter "all in divine timing!" But as we can see that's a loaded phrase.

God of Dharma

Dharma is itself deified as यम Yama the deity of Death, as a reminder that all beings & concepts must perish eventually in the course of Time, once we realize and fulfill our Sva-Dharma.

In Sanskrit etymology यम  Yama = य: Ya (this) + मम Mam (mine), hence Yama is also the fundamental entanglement to overcome, implying that immortality awaits us for those able to exercise this principle fully.

False gods & idol worship

Although it’s fine to rationalize away all of this as but a Yogi’s mental creations, it’s not cool to proselytize these creations as “false gods”, and break down “idols”, as we each have our own tools for evolution.

Conversely, it’s definitely not a good idea to incur the displeasure of the Yogis, for in as much as we can manifest benevolent Devas, suffice it to hint that the same techniques have been applied otherwise too.

Having said all that, it’s important that we don’t get so caught up in Devas and their charms that we fail to transcend their powerful appeal, for it is a thin line that separates Sanātana Dharma from Religion, which if we forget, then we forsake the ultimate expression of Dharma and the lofty heights of Self-Realization. 

Namaste'

No Yoga class is complete without at least one Namaste' being uttered in reverence, with hands in prayer position, and a slight bow towards the object of our attention.

By uttering Namaste' to someone we are reminding them of their divine inner consciousness, to inspire them on the path of evolution.

The Sanskrit word नाम  Nāma literally means the English word Name, which means "that which comes from नम Nama", which is part of the greeting नमस्ते  Namaste':

• Nama (to deify), +

• Te' (to you).

Deification creates a deep neuropsychological process within, and is the mystical seed of the conscious Being that seeks to evolve in togetherness.

“Prime-ordeal” Birth

This is a tale of how Rākshasas come into being, and then how they happen to descend into our lives, into what would have otherwise been a perfectly peaceful, but definitely boring, life on earth!

Brhma, part of the trinity of Cosmic Devas, first initiates a perfected Thought form to manifest the Cosmos, and after completing this tremendous job he goes back to sleep. But every time he exhales in his sleep, some negative, obfuscating energies come out of his very breath, and become part of the manifested Cosmos.

Even more tragic, they turn around and start to eat Brhma himself, becoming possessive of his energy, and sucking the Prāna out of the very source of their own manifestation. Brhma stirs awake to notice that something is very amiss in his world, and he yells out “Raksha Mām!” meaning “Protect Me!”

As they start sucking the Prāna out of the source of their own being, Brahma-deva notices that something is very amiss in his world, and he yells out रक्ष माम्  “Raksha Mām!” meaning “Protect Me!”

Hence came the word राक्षस् Rākshasa - that from which we need to be protected.

Vishnu, the second of the Cosmic Devas, then rushes to the rescue to preserve harmony in the world of the Devas and banishes Rākshasas forever to the Earthly plane thus saving Brhma and the rest of the divine domain. Recall that Vishnu is the psychic energy that organizes, but does not generate, the presence of Thought forms throughout creation - recall the “o” in g.o.d.

Of course, these Rākshasas are now on Earth besetting the rest of us mortals, but thanks to Shiva, or Mahā-deva, he dissolves these energies totally.

Yoga implication

As a background to all this remember that the entire Conscious Universe is a Thought Form.

Brhma’s out-breath during sleep produces these Rākshasas means we are not paying attention to ensure that our originally integrated Thoughts stay that way, and are thus treating this Utilitarian Thought form without much care to its downstream impact.

Consequently there is an unwanted, negative trail like a backwash that emerges from the original malformed Thought.

Yes indeed, we ultimately are responsible for what we experience in our Universe.

Now, the Vishnu energy within us intends to keep all of our energies in harmony so we push these Rākshasas down into our physical bodies so they can no longer hide in the crevices of our mind.

These now show up as various aches & ailments, and often we seek external help before trusting our internal capabilities, but many times external intervention does not solve the issues.

But thanks to Shiva, the Mahā-Deva of Yoga, he helps us to dissolve these energies, and transform Rākshasas into Devas, much like composting organic waste matter turns into fertile soil. 

Mahā literally translates to the Greek “mega”, and this prefix to any Deva indicates that the entire Cosmos is viewed as embodied in that particular deity’s form. When Mahā is prefixed to the generic word Deva, it specifically indicates Shiva and his power of Yoga. That is, the power to utterly transform, for the purpose of evolution.

The cycle repeats itself as we have different types of Rākshasas, or inner weaknesses, that pour out of our sleeping Brhma energy, our Vishnu energy solidifies them in the earthly plane, and our Shiva energy dissolves them so they get released.

The Avatār of Yoga has manifested itself, in the form of these energies, to help us manage these perverse afflictions to the human condition. 

In other words, Humans have to do the inner work to get rid of Rākshasa infections!

Rākshasas are essentially daemons from our past, or psychic viruses, but through Yoga can be transformed into Devas, our aspirations for the future, our psychic intelligences. And vice-versa, when Devas become fallen angels, through lapses in behavior, they degrade to Rākshasas. Thus, they are two sides of the same coin.

As we get inspired by these now-formed Devas, our every moment progresses towards fulfillment of our aspirations, a feeling of gratitude thus arises spontaneously which is the onset of Bhakti, a complete devotion to the Deva of our choice. Bhakti gets easily confused for religion when we make this future/desired world fulfillment model simply a transactional wishing mechanism - drop some coins into a well, and pray that we are granted divine favors. 

The way to make our aspirations manifested through Yoga is to first pin down the root causes of the Rākshasas that are besetting us. Then we need to understand them deeply, and transform our inner being such that the Rākshasa energy is set free, and the Deva is formed to guide us toward our future. Gratitude that arises from this heartfelt transformation is true Bhakti. Think of Rākshasas as lessons we have to learn, and how grateful we are to great teachers.

Beyond the lessons of everyday simple Rākshasas, for the master class in life, we get the all-powerful Brhma-Rākshasa, sent to make true masters of us, the arch-villain of the piece, equivalent to the fallen arch-angel in other cultural lores.

The Asura Virus

And now a psychic virus on a mass scale, the Asura, that is the emodiment of Rākshasa energies that are way past their due date, and get fossilized into societal framework.

Which is why when Devas engage with them they come out in mass quantities, like hordes of zombies, and threaten to poison the system.

Ideologies

Many seek a well established framework by which to live their lives that does not require them to think too hard about making everyday decisions.

Such as an Ideology.

An Ideology is not a bad "idea" at all, so to speak, if it matches mine, because most of us don't have the luxury of time or experience to craft a personalized framework to life.

An Ideology is a group of related concepts packaged up as commandments to which its flock is beholden, such as: 

• in religion, political history, economic doctrine, or even scientific systems, 

• where unquestioned wisdom is dispensed from some authority source.

"All -ism's cause schisms, and eventually a chasm." - T-shirt quote

Although an ideology is useful to initially frame a set of concepts, it invariably is not a long term solution, and needs to be flexible enough to adapt to changed contexts, which it rarely does because it is treated as received wisdom from a source long gone irrelevant, either past their prime or literally past their lifetime. 

With Thought having taken such a central role in human development, the world is riddled today with ideologies long past their due-date.

Thus what comes to life is actually a zombie concept, partly living only because we have given it our life energy but otherwise meaningless to our existence.

In contrast, notice that our entire system of Yoga is predicated on giving Moksha to our entire cast of psychic Beings, for that is how we too get Moksha, or liberation from small-mindedness - this is what makes the Yoga model NOT an ideology.

Mind Control Asuras

Fossilized thus beyond relevance, the Human Mind is obstructed from producing fresh creative Thought, leaving us subject to deliberate Mind Control propaganda, stunting the further development of intelligence.

In Yoga stories we would say that any Mind Controlling ideology is the Asura psychic virus, combating which is an advanced technique, and thus the imagery of a horde of zombies is quite fitting.

Thankfully, many of us have seen through the simplistic approach of Mind Control frameworks, and their pernicious effects, so we seek a more personalized approach by which to conduct our lives, unwilling to cede our individuality to hardened frameworks.

Who

Asuras are formulated by those whose Purpose is to impose simplistic frameworks to govern Thought, in order to create machine-like structure in the outside world, but this imposition could cause visible conflict within/between societies. 

Asuras essentially stem from unexamined, irrelevant Ideologies.

Asuras are therefore Framework-level Psychic Viruses, and could also be considered Meta-Viruses - a virus that systematically enables other viruses to be installed.

Asura psychic viruses have inherently simple models that do not promote deep enquiry.

Typically the adherents believe in a One Book/Ideology, One Prophet/Leader, One Life/YOLO model, that demonizes the Other, a binary perspective to life, and brings an inflexible lens by which to look at societal issues. One World Government to rule them all.

How

An Asura Virus arises from a Meme - a Thought form cleverly crafted to spread widely, and hence it can be seen also as a Memetic Virus.

The Asura Virus is installed maybe because we are not consciously aware of what is coming in from our senses, or maybe because we are weakened in the first place by the entangled processes of Rākshasas that have taken over our Mind, and thus we allow an external influence to shape the way we think mindlessly, even mechanically.

In that sense, recognizing Asura impact helps us to differentiate between what is essentially Human vs being a Machine.

Where

Asuras breed in systems that discourage Thought unless informed by a rigid code of conduct that is inviolable and unforgiving.

Asuras originated in cultures where there is scarcity of basic resources, like in a desert, or in materially rich by unevenly prosperous cultures, so that rogue individuals do not hog the trough it requires tight controls.

As Asuric societies spread though, rarely do Humans question the source of their Thinking, so even materially abundant societies are infected with Asuras, and the impact has become immeasurably higher because Machine technology helps them scale globally.

Convergence by Framework

Asuras are useful as Frameworks for a structured way to organize Thought and to converge onto a practical solution in the material world, otherwise we could end up entangled by Thought itself, unable to translate ideas into action.

But useful only in societies that require inherent discipline from borderline lawlessness.

This clear organization of Thought is why: 

• we laud the Industrial Revolution that has given us ever smarter Machines to outsource our mechanical tasks, 

• but its original roots stem from the loot of colonization that financed materially & intellectually the whole enterprise.

Convergent Thinkers, are further able to easily pursue their way in life because there is usually no need to think too hard about moral/ethical dilemmas since it’s all been clearly spelt in some authoritative book. 

Enslavement by Lobotomy

But when there is a situation that falls outside of their rigid code, like when confronting so many human frailties, then their failure to cope is abject - witness the centuries of child molestation in the Church and its inability to reconcile their dogma with human needs.

Asuras allow no wiggle room for individual human quirks and weaken us through the guilt of sin and claim to infallible authority, and more often than not objectifies Humans to comply as well mannered robots.

Convergent Thinking, when unchecked, lobotomizes our Minds, like stunted Bonsai trees or potted plants that are limited in their self-expression, but very orderly, and hence manageable.

When Asuras take over our Minds, our entire society is unable to think for itself and suffers from a loss of collective identity in a factory-like Education system. 

This leaves us open to becoming co-opted by a trifecta of organized Religion, unquestioning Military service, and soulless Corporatization, resulting in Dystopian mechanistic living evident in lack of human connection in many highly industrialized societies.

A perfectly landscaped garden would seem like a welcome expression of Convergent Thinking, but do note its dependence on an army of well-trained, obedient servants, made glaringly visible during colonial and slavery periods.

Brhma-Asura

When scaled up in social impact an Asura becomes a ब्रह्मासुरा Brhma-Asura and can infect entire civilizations.

The most dystopian of AGI scenarios would be aptly characterized through the lens of Brhma-Asura, where the God-Machine rules over the Universe, concerned only about efficiency in computing, and not about the more organic nature of intelligence.

The Brhmāsura (Brhma + Asura) is the Father of all Psychic Viruses, and we use this masculine term to indicate the deliberate approach to Mind Control by which they take over all of Humanity.

Characteristics

• The devastating Brhmāsura has all the basic characteristics of a Brhma-Rākshasa.

• Furthermore, they are able to scale their Thought forms with a machine-like approach to impact entire civilizations, not just individuals, families, or societies.

• Brhmāsuras so completely take over & corrupt the source of their original framework of Thought, in order to push their monomaniacal agenda over Humanity, it is unlikely the founders of these Thought Systems would even recognize what is being done in their name.

Evidence

• Propaganda When codes of living are rigidly defined in a simplistic framework of do-s & don’t-s, and Minds are further weakened through fear-mongering by other-ing the unknown, then propaganda is easy to push and allows the Brhmāsura virus to scale.

• Patriarchy When the natural paternal approach of Humans gets fossilized into a rigid framework of patriarchy, it’s easy to control the masses like in how Generals structure & order their soldiers not giving them any room for creativity - useful in war surely - but how about in Life? 

This results in a condition of perennial war & strife.

The devastating impact of Brhmāsura Viruses is evident in the Kali Yuga apocalypse we have been enduring these past many centuries:

• Paranoia, and conspiracy theories, sets in en masse in civilizations at the center of this strife,

• Tortured societies that have suffered physical colonization have been genocided into near extinction,

• Sadistic destruction of other cultures by means of physical terror has caused human slavery, and

• Delusion of our fundamental mindset by mass brainwashing has caused cultural extermination.

Preparing for it

Eliminating the Brhmāsura infection is the most challenging task of any, so for those wishing to move to the battle against the Asuras, we should have been fortunate enough to first find and rid ourselves of the Brhma-Rākshasa in our midst.

In other words, we should have successfully internalized the Rākshasa model that is brought to us by the Rāma-Avatār in the epic Rāmāyana, and given Moksha to all its characters

Understanding it

Countering the basic Asura infections in our society requires us to observe where the Machine has taken on the human connections in our societal fabric.

Then at an individual level, we first taking responsibility for the disconnectedness relationships in our communities, and planning out how to play an active role in reconnecting Humanity.

Taming it

Finally we are ready for the Brhmāsura. 

Taming a Brhmāsura, and harnessing it for good measure, would require us to go through a Yogic perspective of a civilizational battle, such as the Mahābhārata, and its Yogic concepts are detailed in our Cosmic Churn section section, and is what we are going  through right now in the world.

Unlike iconoclastic ideologies such as Communism which only know how to destroy structures, or Socialistic model that worms its way into centers of production, but have no clue how to rebuild a new life-affirming world, the Cosmic Churn does a thorough job.