M
"Make
it real in your life" - is Ramana's urging us to all live
and demonstrate the purity of truth, as we know and realize it to be,
in all areas and/or departments of our lives.
Man
- In his higher nature, Man is much more than he appears to
be in his still somewhat early and undeveloped stage, which humanity
is presently displaying. In Truth, Man is Divine, but sadly he has fully
forgotten this.
In his essential
nature, Man is a mental expression appearing to be encased in a bodily
form and enmeshed in the functions or activities of worldly life. In
this still early "infant" stage of his spiritual development,
he is only capable of functioning as a robotic mental mechanism, displaying
primarily less than human traits or qualities in ordinary daily life,
or in his thinking, feeling, acting or reacting that is obviously compulsively
compelled or motivated by fear, pain, greed, selfishness and the unending
desire for pleasure, in which he uses his mind primarily for bodily
needs and self-interests.
He has not yet
fully discovered his higher nature and potential, or realized that his
mind and its conditioned, recorded or remembered experiences of the
past are in fact not the self he is Identified With
and believes himself to be.
In a manner of
speaking, man is God
hiding Himself from Himself and engaged in the game of "hide and
seek," like children playfully idling away their time on a balmy
afternoon. Man is God caught in the game of life, and just learning
to effectively work himself free from its unconsciousness, limitation,
struggle, violence and pain. God is apparently lost in playing this
role of separated man forgetting his true nature and feeling cut off
from the truth, while frantically endeavoring to free himself from this
pain of seeming individuality or human existence.
Manifestation
- is consciousness appearing in physical form. It is the visible
form in which consciousness (the energy of Thoughts
and Ideas)
is revealed or expressed. Man is the appearance in a visible form of
a spiritual being.
The Universe and
all visible things are a manifestation of Divine Being,
or Spirit,
out of its own Consciousness or Being. It is the self-realizing, self-determining
and self-fulfilling power of Divine Being, or Spirit, demonstrating
itself in matter as visible form.
Mantra
- is a sacred syllable, statement, affirmation, verbal formula
or prayer deliberately repeated as an incantation or form of meditation.
Marriage
– a legally recognized union or relationship,
established by a civil or a religious ceremony, between two people intending
to live together as sexual and domestic partners. It is the said legal
union between two partners and/or each partner's individual relationship
with the other. It is the union or joining together of two people in
wedlock .
AHAM recognizes
marriage as being the socially acceptable and spiritually appropriate
union between two people when choosing to raise a family and/or give
birth to children. The love and protection of both a responsible father
and mother are very beneficial to the psychological well being of healthy,
well-balanced children.
Historically or
traditionally, marriage has of course been considered as being a union
only between two heterosexual partners, both customarily and legally.
Traditionally, homosexual relationships have not been recognized or
accepted by the majority of people in mainstream society. However. this
custom is gradually being challenged, and even in some states legally
changed, as more and more people are “coming out of the closet”
so to speak and disclosing their homosexuality and petitioning both
the courts and legislators to grant them legal marital rights with their
partners.
AHAM leaves this
matter of homosexual marriage to the choice and discretion of those
individuals directly involved and makes no restrictions or takes no
political position either for or against the issue. We accept all people
and their chosen sexual preferences and lifestyles, as long as they
don't openly or unconventionally flaunt or try to impose their preferences
or less conventional social practices or choices on others against their
will. AHAM feels that what occurs in the privacy of people's own homes
or bedrooms is their own business. Our policy in such matters is to
“live and let live.” (See:
Sexual expression, nudity and freedom.)
Material
Consciousness (Materiality) - is the lower nature in consciousness
expressing as, or turned entirely toward, physical things, being full
of desires, selfishness and greed, and strongly seeking after worldly
pleasures.
On the lowest physical
plane, it is the grossest aspect of consciousness, concerned with material
wealth and possessions at the expense of spirituality, or of other higher
values.
Material
Universe (World) - is the descent of Consciousness or pure
Being into Manifestation
or MATTER, it's the visible or observable cosmos, or the perceptible
manifestation of Spirit in and as the world.
The material or
manifested universe exists only when or as soon as we see it in the
waking or dream states. It does not exist in swoon or the state of deep
sleep. Therefore, it does not actually exist in or of itself; it only
appears in the mind or collective consciousness of those identified
with the body-mind as being the self.
Matter
- is the material substance of the universe that has mass,
occupies space, and is convertible into energy.
The energy that
has decelerated, while being fashioned or formed as matter, is subject
to being accelerated or increased in momentum back into pure Consciousness
out of which it previously decelerated and descended into matter. The
original process was a movement of Spirit
from the higher to the lower planes or levels of consciousness in its
own descent, as consciousness changed, or itself descended into a lower
vibration or quality, first as energy, and subsequently decelerated
even more by appearing as a physical materialization of itself in matter.
Maya
- is illusion. It's the power of Brahman,
The Absolute, by which it manifests the world; it is the veiling and
projecting power of Spirit
in the Universe.
It is that mysterious
unknown and unknowable as well as indefinable quality of Being
that causes one to see Reality
as unreal, and unreality as Real.
"Mean
what you say, and say what you mean" - means to always
tell the Truth,
and the whole truth, and the entire story. Don't say one thing, but
really inwardly feel or mean or try to imply something else, which is
in fact dishonesty, and a breach of Integrity.
Mechanical
Mind (Robot) - This reflects the Mind
of man programmed like a robot by one's own mental and emotional conditioning
from the past. Such a mind carries out particular acts or patterns of
behavior, even taking over the function of the body-mind in certain
ways that are automatically related to its conditioning, and thus does
not allow for spontaneous, creative expression in the moment.
Meditation
- in Sanskrit is called Dhyana.
It is the practice of concentrating one's attention (the mind) on a
single thought, idea or object to the exclusion of any and all other
thoughts, ideas or objects. The intended purpose is to make the mind
steady and/or one-pointed. Over time, this practice will strengthen
one's control of the mind, purifying and neutralizing it, freeing it
of its tendencies to stray or wander about onto various other thoughts,
etc.
Mental
Being - That part of Consciousness
or the higher nature of being that gives a mental expression to emotions,
desires, passions, sensations and other movements of the body-mind,
or the believed self, by way of Thought,
speech or Actions,
etc. You might say that conceptually man is a mental being living in
a physical World.
He is like a mind encased in Matter
(his physical body) and conditioned by all his Experiences
of the past while caught in this Unconscious
mode of life. In this regard, he is much like a robot. [See: Mechanical
Mind (Robot)].
Mental
Conditioning - The mind's programmed patterns and tendencies
from the past, i.e., Thoughts,
Ideas,
Beliefs,
notions, Concepts,
Actions,
specific modes of behavior, etc., that usually control and limit the
person.
Mind
- The mind is "A linear arrangement of multi-sensory total
records of successive moments of now." It is what a person usually
considers himself or herself to be. The mind's predominant function
and purpose is survival - its own; or, the survival of the being and
everything with which the being has become identified. [LMT]
The mind is by
nature restless. You might say "It's all over the place."
This is due to its conditioning, its system of programmed tendencies,
beliefs and recorded experiences of the past, all appearing to occur
in time and space. It has identified itself with these tendencies and
thus has apparently (to itself) become them.
In its original,
pristine state, its nature was (is) simply pure Consciousness.
Pure Consciousness became the mind as a result of the movement of the
very first Thought.
This was the "I" or "I-am-the-body" thought, which
it recorded within itself and which gave rise to identification with
form, primarily the form of the physical body itself. From "I,"
then rose "not-I," forming the world as the apparent playing
field and ground of experience, and of relationships with apparent "others"
- all of which came into being as "not self" with the rising
of the mind. All are appearing as apparent objects, including one's
own body as one of the objects of perception that is now felt as one's
"self."
True spiritual
practice is working to liberate the mind from its restlessness, brought
about by this conditioning and identification with the "I-am-the-body"
idea, and being caught up in the externalized flow of objectification.
Modes
of Nature (See: Gunas)
Money
- The standard or accepted medium of exchange officially issued
by a country, and used for the purpose of purchasing goods and services.
Since money is
needed, or is at least certainly beneficial for enjoying an efficient,
effective, harmonious and comfortable life in the world, then understanding
the basic laws or principles and the process for easily acquiring it
in ample amounts, and in increased quantities when the need arises,
is important to one's peace of mind, or worldly well-being. The simple
principles and processes for increasing one's possession and control
of money is a part of what is taught in AHAM's conscious curriculum
of courses for those having this need.
Understand a simple truth: you don't "make" money, you earn
it! Only the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing makes money. (Or
the equivalent bureau of the particular government in which one resides
and/or uses its currency).
There are only
three ways to ethically, morally and legally earn or acquire money.
1. By your own efforts, i.e., by you rendering a mutually-recognized,
beneficial service to your fellowman; 2. By other peoples' efforts,
i.e., by you providing gainful employment to people and you earn money
from their efforts in the services they render for your business to
the public; and 3. By your money's efforts, i.e., by the interest your
lent out or invested money earns for you.
Simply stated,
the amount of money you earn or control is a way of determining your
financial or material worth, meaning the value - i.e., the quality and/or
the quantity - of the service that you render to humanity.
Since money is
measured by an exchange of goods or services, and can only be earned
in making such exchanges, if you want or need more. That is, if you
want to increase your income, there are two basic ways to accomplish
this: One is by increasing the quantity of the service you render; the
other is by increasing the quality of your service. Either way, you
are increasing the value of your service. If you are already allocating
all the time that you can spare in rendering the quantity of service
you provide, then you must develop ways to improve or increase the quality
or value of your service.
There are three
other ways of acquiring money. In the first, which is borrowing, the
money is not actually yours, but is only yours to use temporarily; and
must be returned or paid back, perhaps with interest. This would provide
the lender the third way listed above to legally and ethically earn
money for himself.
The other two ways
of acquiring money are stealing (which is illegal) and begging (considered
unethical or immoral) sometimes informally called, freeloading or sponging
off of others, or perhaps "being kept" by someone.
Obviously,
some services are of much more value than others to humanity, and therefore
they yield an appropriately higher return, or better income to those
who perform them. This is of course a primary reason and the benefit
of acquiring a higher education, or a quality trade, skill or profession
since it increases your personal value to society and therefore your
potential income.
About working for
an employer: If you work for someone else and draw wages in the form
of a salary, it may not be appropriate to ask or expect your employer
to give you a raise, especially if you are getting paid a standard wage,
or about what you are now worth. But there possibly is a way you can
"give yourself a raise." That is, by silently increasing the
quantity of your service, or giving more time and/or increased effort
to the work you presently do. And, when you do this, you unobtrusively,
inconspicuously or very discreetly find a way to make it known, like
having someone else call this to the attention of your employer. It
is best that you that you do not do this yourself, or brag about it,
either. For it might very well backfire on you. Your boss could possibly
have the Attitude
or take the position that you already owe the company this extra effort;
that it is what you were hired to do, and are already being paid to
do, and that "it's about time" that you finally got around
to doing it!
The other side
of this equation, and one that is possibly more certain of positive
results is, find a way to increase the quantity or quality of the service
you render your employer. One thing is probable, this increase of your
service will increase your value to your employer and better safeguard
your job in times of recession or job layoffs, or due to your corporation's
downsizing, etc.
If you work for
an honorable company or employer, one who practices true integrity and
respect towards his employees, there is a good chance your increased
efforts will not go unnoticed. And, if yours is not an employer with
such integrity, you are more likely to be recognized and appreciated
by a company or someone else that is. (Taken from AHAM's "Prosperity
Seminar.")
Movement
(Motion) - Usually, insight into existence as it appears reveals
perpetual motion. It appears as though only two aspects of being exist
- movement in Space and movement in Time; the former being apparently
objective, and the latter being subjective. Now, consider this: Movement
pertains to bodies in space. That is, the idea and/or act of movement
or motion, such as "going" and "coming," or traveling
hither and thither in any or all directions, actually pertains to bodies
or objects appearing in time and space, either as a facts or as a thoughts.
The notion of time and space are necessary in order to have the ability
to move the body or any other object from one location or place to another.
Simply see: for any and all movement, space is required. And, to measure
the rate of speed or velocity of movement in space, time is required.
In spite of this,
the fact of the matter is that time and space are both only concepts!
They are both only ideas held in consciousness! In truth, they are not
real; they do not exist in themselves. So, movement is in fact a concept
in the prior Consciousness of the Self, which Itself is infinite and
eternal, and therefore unmoving and unmovable.
Now, what does
this reveal or say about the body? Since it requires concepts for its
apparent existence (which are in themselves nonexistent), then in truth
it does not itself actually exist, but is also a concept. It too is
not real!
Multiplicity
- There is in Truth only one Being, or One Reality, which in
its infinity appears to contain within itself an infinite plurality,
or multiple expressions of itself. This is the world idea as it appears
in time and space, with its considerable number and variety of apparent
objects - or persons, places and things. We should always try to not
lose sight of or forget the One Essential underlying Existence transcending
all appearances of duality or multiplicity.
The infinite multiplicity
of the One, and the eternal Unity of the many are two apparent aspects
of the One Reality that give rise to the principle and process or action
of creation in manifestation. Identification with duality is itself
suffering.
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