Akasha (matterenergy in spacetime) and Transcendence

The following is from Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, by Lama Govinda.

According to ancient Indian tradition the universe reveals itself in two fundamental properties: as motion, and as that in which motion takes place, namely space. This space is called âkâsha (Tib.: nam-mkhah) and is that through which things step into visible appearance, i.e., through which they possess extension or corporeality. As that which comprises all things, âkâsha corresponds to the three-dimensional space of our sense-perception, and in this it is called mahâkâsha. The nature of âkâsha, however, does not exhaust itself in this three-dimensionality; it comprises all possibilities of movement, not only the physical, but also the spiritual ones: it comprises infinite dimensions.

Âkâsha is derived from the root kâsh, ‘to radiate, to shine’, and has therefore also the meaning of ‘ether’, which is conceived as the medium of movement. The principle of movement, however, is prâna (Tib.: sugs), the breath of life, the all-powerful, all-pervading rhythm of the universe, in which world-creations and world-destructions follow each other like inhalation and exhalation in the human body, and in which the course of suns and planets plays a similar role as the circulation of the blood and the currents of psychic energy in the human organism. All forces of the universe, like those of the human mind, from the highest consciousness to the depths of the subconscious, are modifications of prâna. The word prâna can therefore not be equated with the physical breath, though breathing (prâna in the narrower sense) is one of the many functions in which this universal and primordial force manifests itself.

Though, in the highest sense, âkâsha and prâna cannot be separated, because they condition each other like ‘above’ and ‘below’, or ‘right’ and ‘left’, it is possible to observe and distinguish the preponderance of the one or other principle in the realm of practical experience.

All that is formed and that has taken spatial appearance by possessing extension, reveals the nature of âkâsha. Therefore the four great elements (mahâbhûta; Tib.: hbyun-ba) or states of aggregation, namely the solid (‘earth’), the liquid (‘water’), the incandescent or heating (‘fire’) and the gaseous (‘air’), are conceived as modifications of âkâsha, the space-ether.

All dynamic qualities, all that causes movement, change or transformation, reveal the nature of prâna. All bodily or psychic processes, all physical or spiritual forces, from the functions of breathing, of the circulation of blood and of the nervous system, to those of consciousness, of mental activities and all higher spiritual functions are modifications of prâna.

In its grossest form âkâsha presents itself as matter; in its subtlest forms it merges imperceptibly into the realm of dynamic forces. The state of aggregation, for instance, which we call ‘fire’ or the state of incandescence, is material as well as energetic. Prâna, on the other hand, appears in such bodily functions as breathing, digestion, etc., and is the cause of physical and psychic heat (Tib.: gtum-mo).

If this were not so, the interaction of body and mind, of spiritual and material forces, of matter and consciousness, sense-organs and sense-objects, etc., would be impossible. It is precisely this interaction of which the yogin (irrespective whether he is Buddhist or Hindu) makes use, and upon which the technique of meditation is built.

Lama Anagarika Govinda
Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism
1974, Samuel Weiser

The Sri Yantra, or Yantra of Creation, originated in our pre-history.  In fact, its origins are in teachings that predate our history by more than most current historians even dare to imagine.  They would not argue, however, that the Sri Yantra has been known in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions and since the Vedic times as the most powerful of all yantras, or power diagrams.  The metaphysical system of teaching that accompanies the tradition is one of the most studied and well preserved on our planet.

It's geometric form represents the timeless creative principle of the universe, the continuous unfoldment of all realms of creation from the central source, and with that mindfulness, it is used as an object of meditation.

The central point, called bindu, represents transcendental unity and the source of creation.  The opposing sets of triangles represent the male and female principles which form creation, themselves being recognized as expressions of the polarity inherent in the creative force of the bindu.  The surrounding geometries represent the realms of creation, entirely supported by the creative process, and which would have no reality whatsoever without the omnipresence of the transcendental source.

Meditated upon in this way, the Sri Yantra is recognized as a geometric expression of Om (the mantric seed-syllable of creation), a Universal Logos, an "ideal object of meditation", insofar as an "object" can be ideal for such.  We must always keep in mind that any Logos represents a state of reality which has no objective form.  Om, the Word, the underlying creative force, is fully transcendental as a Cosmic Center of Life Force, Cosmic Light, the "shining-forth" Vishnu aspect of Brahman, poetically expressed in the language of Sanskrit as Dharmakaya, translated conceptually as "the perfect embodiment of Divine Law (or Divine Will) in its transcendental wholeness".

We meditate upon that Divine Sun,
the true Light of the Shining Ones.
May it illuminate our minds.

The Gayatri Verse of the Vedas

 

The Gayatri (verse) is everything whatsoever here exists.   Gayatri is indeed speech, for speech sings forth (gaya-ti) and protects (traya-te) everything that here exists.

That Gayatri is also the earth, for everything that here exists rests on the earth, and does not go beyond.

That earth again is the body in man, for in it the vital airs (pranas, which are everything) rest, and do not go beyond.

That body again in man is the heart within man, for in it the pranas (which are everything) rest, and do not go beyond.

That Gayatri has four feet and is sixfold.*  And this is also declared in a Rik verse:

(Rig-veda, 90,3)  Such is the greatness of it (of Brahman, under the disguise of Gayatri) [as Prakriti, all the manifest worlds], greater than it is the Person (Purusha) [Brahman as Universal Consciousness, pure Spirit].  His feet are all things.  The immortal with three feet is in heaven (i.e. in himself).

The Brahman which has been thus described is the same as the ether which is around us [akasha, manifest universe];

And the ether which is around us, is the same as the ether which is within us [prana, life-force].  And the ether which is within us,

That is the ether within the heart [Atman, soul, spirit].   That ether in the heart (as Brahman) is omnipresent and unchanging.  He who knows this obtains omnipresent and unchangeable happiness.

Khandogya Upanishad
III Prapathaka, 12 Khanda, 1-9

[*In the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (V,14,1-4), three feet are said to represent the worlds, the Vedas, and the vital airs, and "That Gayatri rests on that fourth foot, the bright one, high above the sky".]

 

 

 

He (the Lord) became like unto every form, and this is meant to reveal the (true) form of him (the Atman).  Indra (the Lord) appears multiform through the Mayas (appearances), for his horses (senses) are yoked, hundreds and ten.   [This Upanishad verse is taken from the much older Rig-Veda, verse VI,47,18.]

This (Atman) is the horses, this (Atman) is the ten, and the thousands, many and endless.  This is the Brahman, omnipresent and omniscient.   This is the teaching (of the Upanishads).

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad
II Adhyaya, 5 Brahmana, 19

 

 

 

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:  so also is Christ.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink of one Spirit.

The Bible
1 Corinthians, 12:12,13

 

 

 

Let a man, when his end approaches, take refuge with this Triad:   "Thou art the imperishable", "Thou art the unchangeable", "Thou art the edge of Prana [life-force, pure consciousness, spirit]."

Khandogya Upanishad
III Prapathaka, 17 Khanda, 6

 

 

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him;
and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

The Bible
John (1:1-4)

 

 

 

Then they see, the ever-present light of the old seed, the highest, which is lighted in the brilliant.

Rig Veda
VIII,6,30