The Text "Precious Instructions on the 16 Stages of the Waxing Moon of Inner Awareness"
This text belongs to the category of upadesha, which means oral instructions on contemplative practice passed from teacher to student in the continuous tradition of the natural path of Sahajya. There are some mentions of the sixteen stages of the waxing moon in the texts of Samkhya philosophy, particularly in the "Moksha Dharma," which is part of the epic "Mahabharata," although the "Moksha Dharma" speaks of the sixteen stages in the spirit of Samkhya—that is, in a slightly different aspect.
By the "moon of inner awareness" or the "immortal child" in the context of Laya Yoga teachings is meant the inner "Self" of a person, the nature of Mind, or the fundamental Ground, which, like a child, is conceived, born, nurtured, and grows up to the highest states of the creator god. Such a beginning and development of the ability to remain in contemplative presence is likened to the process of conception, carrying the embryo, birth, upbringing, and tempering. The "inner child" (the "moon"), gaining strength and awareness, eventually merges with the Supreme Source, with the infinite variety of things and energies in the universe, starting from the unawakened state.
The First Stage — Dissatisfaction
This unawakened state is called "dissatisfaction." This is the first stage.
O, soul! Lost in a labyrinth of dreams, forgetting your innate greatness, again and again, failing to recognize yourself, you suffer, wandering in the jungle of illusions, entangled in the net of passions.
The first stage—dissatisfaction—means delusion in the labyrinths of one's own mind. This delusion arises because consciousness has forgotten its innate state, Sahajya, and its innate greatness, Brahma-aham-bhava, its identity with the Absolute. Because of such non-recognition, suffering arises.
Suffering is of three types:
- Adhibhautika — arising from external elements
- Adhyatmika — from one's own mind and body
- Adhidaivika — from powerful external forces and beings controlling this reality, such as deities controlling the law of karma, birth, and death, due to being subject to their energies
Such is the threefold suffering that exists in the state of dreams.
The soul wanders in the jungle of illusions of its mind, and, being unawakened, it is entangled in the net of passions. Erroneously mistaking passions for its happiness, it strives to satisfy them.
When a spiritual practitioner first enters the spiritual path and their impressions of suffering are still fresh, they look at others with great compassion, having their own experience. They see how others suffer, and great compassion arises. They feel very sorry for their relatives and non-practicing friends who do not follow a spiritual practice, who dwell in ignorance and cannot activate the higher circuits of consciousness or simply do not wish to engage in spiritual practice because their fate has not turned out so fortunately.
Dissatisfaction at the first stage means that the yogi gives birth to an understanding of suffering and limitations. And from dissatisfaction, the desire to engage in spiritual practice is born. If there is "satiated complacency," then the person is unfit for spiritual practice. They do not yet understand the importance of spiritual practice.
Sometimes even practitioners lack such sobriety arising from the awareness of their own limitations. They have entered the spiritual path and lead a spiritual practice, but often tend to fall into various illusions due to the lack of such sobriety, underestimating the current situation, overestimating their own achievements, relaxing, and making compromises. This is also because somewhere in the soul the first stage has not yet been fully worked through—that is, there is still a lack of complete, total dissatisfaction with samsara. We are not talking about dissatisfaction with the world in general or with oneself, as that is the karma of hungry ghosts, but dissatisfaction with the samsaric perception, the samsaric type of thinking, the samsaric vision, the samsaric pursuit of pleasures. And as long as a person's dissatisfaction at the first stage is not resolved, even if they jumped to the fifth stage—that is, received transmission, experienced some insights, reached the sixth stage—this "debt" will remain, so sooner or later they will definitely have to face it. You will meet it even at the ninth or tenth stage (nurturing, upbringing), and it will say: "I am still here. You see that you still have a compromise in this matter; you can still be pulled by this."
But one who is completely disillusioned with samsaric perception, who has sincerely and fully passed through this stage, is already an impeccable warrior without fear and without reproach, like Milarepa or the saints of antiquity, who, having experienced strong impressions, became disillusioned with the samsaric way of thinking. Such a person no longer has compromises.
And if there is no compromise, then contemplation moves impeccably. You will not be led by some internal experiences of the mind; nothing can tempt you, seduce you, or knock you off the path. You are unshakable in spiritual life because you are fundamentally disillusioned with the very essence of the dual world and are unequivocally moving toward the world of non-duality. And then your contemplation never meets serious obstacles.
It often happens that a person engages intensely in spiritual practice, and then the higher circuits of the psyche open up, deep layers of the subconscious open—which is a whole abyss—and they begin to lose the vector of their development, the spirit of an impeccable yogi. Or they engage in a large amount of service externally but do not contemplate very well, allowing distractions, so their spirit weakens. Or they practice very diligently and one-pointedly in retreat, but their subconscious kleshas and obscurations open up, and as long as they are not disillusioned with the samsaric style of thinking, they will cling to various subtle experiences.
But dissatisfaction means that you have finished with samsara in your soul, at least at the level of choice. Maybe you haven't finished with it at the level of continuous awareness, but at the value level, this choice is final. And such a practitioner can be placed in a palace full of beauties and gold, given a high position or suffering, but they will never become attached to it; their choice will never even waver; they will perform the practice.
When the mind wants to compromise, it should simply be reminded: "Mind, you are following the path of suffering; you can create future suffering for yourself with such weaknesses, compromises, and attachments. O mind, you think you want to win, but in reality, you can lose seriously and be left a fool if you do this." And if the practitioner constantly reminds themselves in this way, avoiding samsaric vision and samsaric thinking, it means they have already passed this stage and clearly understand that one must be vigilant in spiritual life.
At the stage of dissatisfaction, the yogi becomes solitary, self-sufficient, whole, and autonomous. They are already intuitively ready for contemplative practice, open to transmission, and no longer have those attachments like an ordinary being—the very awareness of this stage radically changes their whole life, which is why many siddhas of antiquity specifically meditated in cemeteries. You think this is a practice for beginners? Not at all. The siddhas of antiquity paid a lot of attention to this practice. And some meditated on impermanence, reflecting on the "four awarenesses," to deeply cut off all these clingings of the mind.
This does not mean that one should abandon external activity or give birth to nihilism and denial of the external world. You cannot escape external activity as long as you have a body. At the very least, you must be adequate in this society and provide yourself with food, clothing, shelter, and maintain minimum social ties so that your sadhana develops favorably. What is meant is that one should develop total non-involvement in all these things and non-attachment to them.
!Yogi in a light watercolor image of non-involvement and inner autonomy
There is a sadhana where one should perform the meditation of the six realms, alternately visualizing one world after another from hell to the gods of the thirty-three, literally visualizing and performing actions. Many perform this sadhana not just once for several hours, but for one to three months, to deeply realize the cause of rebirth in the six realms of samsara, to see their own tendencies of consciousness and cut off these causes of rebirth, to become deeply disillusioned with the world as a manifestation of the six realms of samsara, to seek no refuge anywhere, to cling to nothing, and to seek no dual samsaric pleasures anywhere.
The Second Stage — Awareness of Limitations
The second stage after dissatisfaction is called "awareness of limitations."
Bound by birth, bound by life, bound by death, bound by body, mind, and the laws of higher forces, not recognizing yourself, forgetting your greatness, you are like a bird struggling in a snare, like a fish caught in a net, like a deer caught in a trap.
A human being as such is an extremely limited creature. A person is limited by time, space, their physicality, the laws of nature, physics, mortality, cause-and-effect relationships, and countless other things. But it is necessary to have a broader consciousness in order to understand the essence of this limitation. And if the higher levels of consciousness are not switched on, such limitation is not even realized.
Saints are always acutely aware of their limitations. In antiquity, saints were described who wept from morning till night, staying in prayers, understanding their great limitation. Some of them called themselves sinners, although in reality, they were very elevated in spiritual qualities, and said: "Yes, perhaps even a dog is cleaner than I am." Such acute awareness of limitations is the first sign of spiritual progress. If you do not realize your limitations, there is a great temptation to be lured by the "hook" of higher teachings, your egoism, and your fabrications, imagining that you are already a very liberated person. But many saints of antiquity often called themselves fallen, meaning that their own nature is sublime and pure, but their mind and ego constantly challenge and tempt them because they represent limitations. Awareness of limitations is the mature state of a yogi who has finally understood who they really are and where they are. One who does not realize limitations is like careless boys playing in the yard who do not want to know anything else.
One can realize one's own limitations when reflecting on the qualities of the immortal gods, when understanding how weak the human mind is, which cannot even think in categories larger than some immediate time.
When I was younger and had a more daring mind, in conversations with non-practitioners, I would ask them: "And how do you plan your life?" They would say: "I will do this and that." I would ask: "And in eighty years? And in ninety years?" People, as a rule, avoided such questions; they didn't like them at all. Simply by asking such simple questions, I provoked various conflict situations, and it started to stress them out very much. But then it seemed to me that I was pointing them the way to the truth, saying: "Since you are afraid to ask such questions, it shows that you do not think about them at all—that is, you prefer to be in the dark, in ignorance. You do not think about life, do not think about its meaning; therefore, you are a short-sighted person, immature; you are like light-headed boys kicking a ball in the yard who don't care at all about their own lives." Of course, I don't ask such questions now when I travel on a train; I prefer not to generate such conflicts. This might be justified for a practitioner at twenty, but not at forty.
Nevertheless, awareness of limitations means that you always ask yourself such questions. You don't ask them of others, but you always ask them of yourself. And asking such questions immediately reveals the presence of limitations. Based on these limitations, you are able to develop certain meanings and goals in spiritual practice; you can no longer sleep in your illusions because you know that there is such a powerful force as time, impermanence, and this powerful force works whether you want it or not. Whatever you think of yourself, it works. You can do nothing—it will work; you can practice—it will still work. And the question is that you must develop the correct vector of intention to either overcome this force or somehow transcend it. This is the awareness of limitations.
But, as a rule, when the higher levels of consciousness in a person are not awakened, their soul is still young; they have not yet experienced many sensual pleasures, so the awareness of limitations does not arise in their soul; accordingly, it is not a problem. But it is impossible to engage in spiritual practice in such a state.
The Third Stage — Searching for the Moon
The third stage is called "searching for the moon."
O soul! Reflect immediately, without delay; reflect and begin the investigation of your inner "I am" nature and the essence of this world, to avoid the snares of birth-death and escape the shackles of illusion.
"Searching for the moon" means that we begin self-inquiry. Realizing limitations, we come to the need to continuously engage in self-inquiry. When there are any confusions, sufferings, or difficulties, people usually try to resolve them at the logical, conceptual level, at the everyday or social level. They do not understand that the reason for this lies elsewhere—in the absence of self-inquiry, in the absence of investigation of any problem, and primarily in the investigation of one's own consciousness. But when we want to overcome our own limitation, it inevitably leads to searching and investigation (vichara). Investigation is a conscious choice of the path of awakening.
There are two types of searching. The lower is called bahir-vichara, and the higher is antar-vichara.
Dattatreya in the "Tripura Rahasya" (Chapter 3) says:
Verily, as a result of their ignorance, a person will always rush toward a fall. Their salvation lies in investigation (vichara) alone.
!Searching for the moon as the beginning of self-inquiry in a watercolor spiritual scene
If we do not investigate, we are inclined to go toward a spiritual fall. If the investigative work of consciousness is absent—that is, listening to the primordial awareness—we are always inclined to fall. That is, it's not like we develop by ourselves. One must always fight for investigation, and if it is not there, we always begin to slide down, following the path of a fall.
Investigation (self-inquiry) is the root cause of everything, and it is the first step to the supreme reward in the form of indescribable bliss. How can anyone attain salvation without proper investigation?
> Lack of discernment is certain death, yet many are in its clutches. Success accompanies proper deliberation until, ultimately, the final result, devoid of all doubt, is achieved.
Further, Dattatreya says:
If once vichara takes root, then the highest good in all its aspects will be attained in this life. As long as vichara is absent in a human, in this most desirable form for birth, so long the tree of life is barren and, therefore, useless. The only useful fruit of life is vichara.
The level of a person's life (and humanity as a whole) reflects the level of investigation they apply to the laws of nature and to their own "self."
For example, many say that oil reserves on Earth will soon vanish, so alternative energy sources must be sought urgently. But if people could better engage in the investigation of external mahabhutas (great elements), they would find many much more effective energy sources that do not need any external devices: solar energy, stellar energy, the energy of the space element. But the level of technological development of humanity reflects the level of investigation of external elements (mahabhutas). If we consider social relations, conflicts between various countries, ethnic clashes, conflicts between people, they reflect that insufficient level of understanding and development of one's own psyche, one's own ethics, which does not allow people to dwell in harmony. All these are deficiencies of investigation in various fields. Diseases, death, suffering—this is a lack of investigation in the area of pranas, nadis, cells of the physical body, organs, in the field of medicine.
Investigation provides the opportunity to experience clarity, discriminating wisdom (viveka). Discriminating wisdom allows one to operate with the objects of investigation, but if you do not have it, then naturally, you cannot operate with all this. So, the root of suffering lies in the lack of clarity due to the deficiency of investigation.
Fate seizes and holds only foolish and unintelligent people. Corresponding to nature and following it, fate forms a part of nature. Nature, in turn, is merely a device for implementing the will of God. His goal is always inevitable and cannot be prevented. However, the framing of His goal and progress toward it can be changed by devotion to Him, and if that did not happen, then this predisposed cause must be considered as the most powerful factor in that person's life.
What is called the law of karma or fate is a lack of investigative work of consciousness regarding causes and effects, event sequences, unclearness about the future, regarding the past, a lack of understanding of the multi-variance of the universe or that consciousness can direct events by the force of its intention. When the fundamental manifestation of sankalpa-shakti, the flow of time, and cause-and-effect relationships are absent, fate blindly turns the person. This is also a type of lack of investigation that brings suffering. Conversely, investigations in this area allow one to embody their intention, achieve desired goals, model and direct the future, and even correct the past, choosing different variants of reality. All this is a higher level of investigation called parasattarka-logic, which can operate with time and cause-and-effect sequences.
!Watercolor image of the investigation of causes and effects, karma, and future variants
Therefore, shun arrogant vanity and find refuge in Him. He Himself will spontaneously lead you to the highest state. This is the first step on the ladder to the summit of bliss. Everything else is unworthy and unwise.
These are the instructions Dattatreya gives to Parashurama.
Further, Dattatreya says:
"Investigation is the sun that dispels the dark veil of ignorance and dullness. It is generated by devoted worship of the Supreme. Investigation is the seed capable of sprouting and turning into a giant tree of happiness. Vichara—investigation—is the only way to attain the highest good."
The Nature of Investigative Consciousness
When does vichara arise? When we apply our concentration to any object and deeply investigate its nature. Having applied investigative consciousness, the light of clarity, to the nature of the mind, we discover that the mind has no form, color, or qualities; it is like space, having no boundaries or foundation; it supports itself but does not hold onto anything. We completely clarify our own nature. Having manifested investigative intention regarding thoughts, we understand that thoughts are like waves on the surface of the ocean; they themselves arise from emptiness and need not be followed. In the same way, by investigating negative emotions and plunging deeply into their nature, we can discover that in themselves they are unreal and empty; they can be managed, and one need not identify with them.
It turns out that any investigative activity regarding any aspects of the psyche, consciousness, superconsciousness, or external material elements frees one from dependence. And conversely, if such vichara (investigative activity) is not conducted, dependence always arises. By investigating pranas, chakras, and channels, we can understand the patterns of their work and gradually learn to manage them. Without investigating, we will be subject to our own pranas. By investigating worldly, samsaric values, we can discern what are true values and what are not, which actions in the relative dimension are favorable and which are unfavorable.
For example, if you investigate the structure of various forces in this world, you understand that there are forces of creation, destruction, maintenance, enlightenment, and concealment of the divine. You know that it is favorable to invoke the forces of enlightenment, to open up and serve them, while it is unfavorable to open up to destructive forces of destruction or concealment of the divine. And you can actually apply this in your life. But if a person does not conduct enough investigation, it seems to them that it doesn't matter which forces to serve and open up to. Nevertheless, they themselves form the reality of their future lives.
One can give this example. I often observe ants. And I thought about what we represent to ants at nine o'clock in the evening when we return from the bhajan mandala? The ants go onto the trail as if nothing is happening. For them, time flows differently, and they don't even suspect that some mighty giants are about to pass and could trample everything here. That is, the ants are busy with their business. And when such giants pass along this trail, they certainly trample everything. They don't even think about the ants but just walk the same route every day. And if the ants had a bit more clarity, they would investigate the pattern and scatter at nine in the evening, knowing that at this time such huge beings walk the trail, so it's better for them not to be here. But the lack of investigation brings them great suffering because some insurmountable force for the ants (the feet of the monks) acts, intruding into their lives without asking. And I thought that we also in some sense resemble such ants who lack investigative clarity to understand the inexorable forces of the universe, the patterns of these forces' actions, to put them to our service instead of suffering from them, or at least not to suffer problems or losses from them.
Atma-vichara — The Highest Type of Investigation
Finally, when we talk about the highest type of investigation, the state of Atma-vichara or antar-vichara arrives. This is the highest type of search, when we complete all types of investigation and understand that the highest type of investigation is related to the investigation of the nature of one's consciousness. At the stage of Atma-vichara, everything we do is trying to listen to the inner nature of the "I" and constantly feel out this inner nature. If we do this correctly, we find a certain circuit of consciousness, a layer of awareness that allows us to be continuously in clarity, no longer losing it. In order to continuously engage in such investigation, one should sharply whet their perceiving, discriminating clarity and continuously direct their consciousness to this subtle circuit, regardless of what they are doing. A contemplator is one who is able to isolate this subtle circuit of consciousness, distinguish it, and establish themselves in it. Doubts overcome those who do not investigate enough and are not able to isolate this subtle circuit of consciousness and establish themselves in it.
!Atma-vichara and the inner circuit of clear self-shining consciousness in watercolor style
In the "Tripura Rahasya," it is said:
"What kind of effort can help in revealing the eternally self-shining consciousness? When it is covered with a thick layer of endless vasanas, that is, predispositions, it is not easy to comprehend. The layering must first be softened with a jet of steam of mind control and then thoroughly scraped off with the sharp chisel of investigation."
Also in the "Tripura Rahasya," it is said:
"Investigation is the analysis conducted within oneself; it is the discrimination of the non-essence from the supreme Self, prompted by a persistent, strong, and sincere desire to comprehend and realize the supreme Self."
The "Neti-Neti" Method — The Path of Negation
Not satisfied with external forms of investigation, the yogi proceeds to internal investigation, antar-vichara. Antar-vichara is associated with two classical Vedantic methods of investigation. The first is the method of negation, where we distinguish what is the Atman and what is not—that is, the "neti-neti" method.
The neti-neti method means that we must clearly distinguish the wisdom of primordial awareness from everything material or subtle-material. For example, external elements are not the Atman, the physical body is not the Atman, prana is not the Atman, the astral body is also not the Atman, the mental body with its thinking and concepts is not the Atman, and one can clearly distinguish the play of concepts from the Atman itself. And we say: "No, this is not it, this is not it. Thoughts are not it, emotions are not it, experiences are not it, energy processes are not it." Therefore, we are not interested in the revelations of psychics, as that is not the essence. We are not interested in the visions of sorcerers or astral ghosts. You can look at them, of course, but that is not your goal. That is, we say all the time: "Not this, not this."
Finally, we reach the superconsciousness, karana-sharira, the causal body, and experience an expanded state of consciousness. Here, if you lack discrimination, you might get confused. You might think: "And this, perhaps, is It, since there is no form and consciousness is expanded." But understanding the subtle levels of even superconsciousness, you are able to say: "And this is not It. Infinite space is not It. And even infinite consciousness is not It. This is the ground, but it is not yet It. Even the state of absence of self-existence is not yet It." Until you overcome the four completely empty infinite causal states, you will not reach the Atman. And to reach it, you must reject them just as you previously rejected astral visions and energetic experiences—that is, you must not cling to subtle formless states, as these states and being captured by them are a false path that allows rebirth as a god of the world without forms, but it is not the path of liberation. This is discriminating wisdom according to the "neti-neti" method.
Mahashanti meditation and Atma-vichara are classical Vedantic meditations that make the method of negation their basis. It's not that you reject energy or visions—all of them have their place at their level—but you do not follow them, in order to isolate the highest level of consciousness.
"The 'I' cannot be the body, just as prana, the life force, cannot be the supreme Self; undoubtedly, the mind (manas) and intellect (buddhi) are my instruments, so they cannot be the 'I'. My 'I' is undoubtedly something different from all this, starting from the body and ending with the intellect. I am always conscious, but I do not realize this pure state of consciousness. The cause of this inability is not clear to me. Objects are perceived through the senses, and not vice versa; life is recognized through contact, and the mind through the intellect. And through what does the intellect become obvious? I do not know...
> Now I see that I am always conscious. The realization of that pure consciousness and pure awareness is hindered by other unceremoniously interfering factors related to the non-'I'. Now I will not allow them into my imagination. They cannot appear if I do not mentally represent them, and without their appearances, they cannot overshadow the glory of the supreme Self.
> Having come to such a conclusion as a result of reflection, he forcibly stopped the flow of his thoughts."
This is the description of the process of awakening in the "Tripura Rahasya."
Preliminary Stages Before Direct Introduction
Thus, these are the preliminary stages that precede entry into the natural state.
Often a beginner might ask: "Can I receive direct introduction if Laya Yoga starts with this?" I answer: "Yes, Laya Yoga starts exactly with this; direct introduction is its beginning. But before you proceed to Laya Yoga, you need to pass through these stages as well."
It is only when these preliminary stages are passed and exhausted that transmission and direct introduction truly begin to work.
