Pentecost and Samkhya

Happy Pentecost!  Today is the day that the Holy Spirit entered each of Jesus disciples.  As told in the book of Acts All of the disciples were gathered in a room when the Holy Spirit entered the room with a sound like the rush of a violent wind and filled the house. Then the Holy Spirit resting on each of them as tongues of flame or fire and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking different languages.

Pentecost in my opinion should be celebrated with as much proclaim as Easter and even more than Christmas. This is the virtual Birthday of the Christian Church.  It is the day that all the disciples were virtually ordained. It certainly could have been a day they did not understand at the time.  What was this wind, this sound, this fire?

I had an experience with something like this five years ago.  I was walking on a labyrinth just before an exceedingly difficult time in my life and I experienced the Holy Spirit as wind going through my body.  There are more details that are personal here but a few weeks later I experienced an event that has forever changed my life.  Although confused at the time, like the disciples, all eventually became clear, and I was thankful for the loving guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. Whenever I feel wind now, I feel the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life.

How does this relate to Yoga Philosophy? As promised, I completed my reading of the Samkhya Karika this week.  I am still processing. But I will share one part that relates:

This is the top of the chart. As I read I came to find this an imperfect representation of the Trinity.  Spirit/ Purusa the Seer on the left being Holy Spirit, Primal (or Unmanifest) Nature / MulaPrakriti the Seen on the right being Father, and Manifest Nature/ Prakriti on the right being Son.

Father manifests Son as a physical presence on Earth to be Seen. Our physical lives are represented here.  We must work through Kleshas or limitations/ misperceptions of our mind (ignorance, egotism, attachment, aversion, and clinging) to attain liberation and wisdom. This is not unlike the life of Jesus, the Son. Although perfect he often prayed for strength and for the cup to pass away from him. Ultimately, he overcomes the Kanchukas and gives his life for our own limitations and sins.  

Spirit observes or witnesses or is the Seer of all that happened. The Holy Spirit is not visible in the story of Jesus.  But I like to think she is there observing as a witness or seer of all that has happened. To fully understand this form of spirit ask yourself what is it that is aware of your body, breath, feelings, emotions, and beliefs?  Above in red we have Conscious – Intelligent – Subjective.   The observer of our lives is our spirit or consciousness.

We have a Physical Body and a Subtle Body. We live in the Physical Body. The Holy Spirit comes to us in our Subtle Body to be a witness to our physical life. And when the physical life is over perhaps the subtle body lives on.

 

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

104:24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

104:25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.

104:26 There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

104:27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season;

104:28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

104:29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

104:30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

104:31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works--

104:32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

104:33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

104:34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

104:35b Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!

 

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

No one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

 

John 20:19-23

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

 

Top Photo: "Pentecost" by Tiziano Vecelli (Titian) was completed circa 1545

Ascension and the Elements

In church we read about the Ascension of Jesus back to Heaven.  This was described in Acts 1:6-14 and used words such as Earth, Lifted, Cloud, and Heaven.  I was immediately drawn to the ideas of the elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space/Ether. As the reading for this week continued into Psalm 68: 1-10,33-36 there the elements were again in words like Smoke, Wind, Fire, Dry Places, Wilderness, Earth, Skies, Rain, Land, Heavens, and Holy Places. The Epistle from I Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 speaks of Fiery and Spirit. But the Gospel of John 17:1-11 only speaks of Heaven and Earth.  The gospel is mainly Jesus praying over his disciples speaking to them about things to come, things they don’t yet understand.   I decided to just be in the not understanding like the disciples for the time being.  And knowing that next week is Pentecost, I surely will be exploring the elements for another week.

So from a yoga philosophy perspective what do the elements look like?  Over the next week I will be reading an interpretation of the Samkhya Karika written by one of my teachers, Richard Miller. The elements are included in here as Gross Elements.  As a way of introduction, I have included a chart at the bottom. I found it interesting that under the Gross Elements Space (Akasa) emerges from sound (Sabda).  When I think of the ascension I think of Jesus going from Earth to Heaven (or Space or Ether).  I find it interesting that he was talking as this was happening.  Sound present as Jesus enters Heaven. Sound moves through space not just above us but everywhere as vibrations and sound waves.  Sound is Sabda is Mantra is Prayer is Space is Akasa is Ascension. When Jesus prays for the Disciples in the Gospel his prayer is in the same space into which he ascends.  After the ascension the disciples constantly devoted themselves to prayer.  Prayers from Earth through Space to Heaven via Sound. 

I find it interesting that John begins his gospel with “In the beginning was the Word” we could take this “word” to mean Sound and Heaven. And that Genesis begins “1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” There was no light no form Then God “Said” this implies there was sound before light or form. There was Heaven – Space – Akasa – Sound - Sabda before all else. Creation starting in Heaven and Descended Down to Earth at the beginning.  It seems only fitting that Ascension should be the reverse from Earth to Heaven.

More to come, next week the Holy Spirit will enter.  Full report on my reading of the Sankhya Karika next week.

Acts 1:6-14

When the apostles had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restor

the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father

has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their

sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white

robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?

This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw

him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near

Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room

upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,

Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including

Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

 

Psalm 68: 1-10, 33-36

1 Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; *

let those who hate him flee before him.

2 Let them vanish like smoke when the wind drives it away; *

as the wax melts at the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; *

let them also be merry and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his Name; exalt him who rides upon the heavens; *

Yahweh is his Name, rejoice before him!

5 Father of orphans, defender of widows, *

God in his holy habitation!

6 God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom; *

but the rebels shall live in dry places.

7 O God, when you went forth before your people, *

when you marched through the wilderness,

8 The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain,

at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, *

at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; *

you refreshed the land when it was weary.

10 Your people found their home in it; *

in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor.

33 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; *

sing praises to the Lord.

34 He rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; *

he sends forth his voice, his mighty voice.

35 Ascribe power to God; *

his majesty is over Israel; his strength is in the skies.

36 How wonderful is God in his holy places! *

the God of Israel giving strength and power to his people!

Blessed be God!

 

The Epistle: I Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as

though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s

sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are

reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of

God, is resting on you. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he

may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline

yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for

someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters

in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little

while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore,

support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

 

John 17:1-11

Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son

may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom

you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus

Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.

So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before

the world existed. I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.

They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that

everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them,

and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that

you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of

those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I

have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I

am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they

may be one, as we are one.”