jnana yoga

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~


namast�

devotee writes,

Indulging in any act for sensual pleasure will lead to misery in the long run as it is taking you away from God.

I am going to ask the reader for their patience and some additional leaway for this next piece of information to develop.
It is a good place to talk of something that is a bit more subtle, a bit more hidden from view of one's daily experience. If this does not resonate with you at this time and place, not to worry. It will at some point in your life.


One must understand , at the end of the day , all interactions of the senses within the world, within the universe, is ~sensual~. It is how the Self (ātman), that which is infinite, experiences the finite.

Within kaśmir śaivism one might call this kāma-kalā - the conjunction of two. This conjunction of two can mean the eyes united with form (seeing an object), the fingers united with an object ( touch), the ear united with a sound ( hearing). Do you see this kāma-kalā - the conjunction of two ? As you see, we walk on this earth and within the human condition, we are in a continual state of sensual interaction. Many within the human condition seem to gravitate to the notion of sexual congress as the 'conjunction of two', yet even if one is on the path of the celibate, this conjunction of two occurs if we are engaged with the senses as the apparatus that is used ( by the Self) to experience the world.


But where is this misery that devotee points to in his post ? It is when there is no distinction between the senses and the ultimate perceiver, the Self (ātman) ; then one is caught up as it were in ignorance�. This one thought has caused many a person to run away to a cave for the desire to rid one's self of all these ~sensual~ things. While a cave may give one the attention and solitude for spiritual practice this kāma-kalā - the conjunction of two , still persists in a cave or in a sub-way or a high-rise building if the Self is not personally experienced and within one's Being. How so ?

Because the senses act , they do as they are designed to do. To bring the world of form (rūpa), taste (rasa), sound (śabda), touch (sparśa) and smell (gandha) to the formless Self (ātman).

Well then , are we doomed to being locked in this world of the senses ? Not at all. In ignorance, they bind us , in freedom and enlightenment they are a joy.

praṇām

1. ignorance (moha) of what ? Not directly knowing one's true Self, one's true Being, that is non-different from the Supreme.