Meditation: The Fundamental Difference Between Progressive Path And Knowledge Path

When it comes to meditation, people get excited crazily since it is the hottest subject for the last three or four decades. The evolution of internet has made it viral, like adding fuel to the fire. Those so-called gurus, who have read some books on meditation or attended some classes, start teaching others for financial purposes rather than providing true teachings. Those fake gurus don’t know even how many kinds of meditation are there fundamentally and which path do they belong to and what is the process of doing meditation on each particular path.

Here are the clear distinctions

The Progressive path is all about yoga (Patanjali) where clear instructions are given on how to say it, what to think, where to pay attention, you know what to do, it is something to be done with your attention. You know what kind of mind you want to attain, you are always aware of where your mind is, whether it is wandering, peaceful, calm and serene or have a well-controlled concentrated mind. You have to bring back your mind on the object of concentration.

You could feel well frustrated if you fail to concentrate but it is quite natural and known attribute of a mind. You have to give clear instructions to your mind, thus you know what to do, where to go and what your position is on the path of progression. Thus whatever is known or understood is called the progressive path.

But there is an inside path which is also called the path of merit, better known as the path of knowledge among the masters or yogis. The path of knowledge is inexplicable, no one can explain it, and no clear instructions could be given. This path could be depicted only by telling stories or giving examples because there is no other way to make it known. Even languages cannot explain or express it. You are left with nothing to recognise it. You can access it or have advancement only in an elliptical way.

This is like an inquiry into our own self or investing inside. It’s a kind of penetration so if you get it, you succeed and it is unmistakable. While in the progressive path there is a certain kind of progress that you observe. Sometimes you reach the advance stage and from there you regress too. Thus it is a huge mental struggle with exasperation. Whereas in the path of knowledge, you are circling round and round in a particular place like merry go round and do not go anywhere. It will definitely take years and after a long time, you will find yourself at the starting point. But that all changes in a moment and you make the breakthrough. And once you reach that peak there is no way back. You will reach the ultimate.

Here are some stories to explain the path of knowledge.

1) Mulla Nasruddin

This is the story of a trader some 500 years ago. His name was Mulla Nasruddin. He was an intelligent trader and was a well-known businessman at that time so was very popular in his own kingdom and surrounding too. He was exchanging goods to and from the neighbouring kingdoms. So it was like an export-import business. In those days’ donkeys and donkey carts, camel and camel carts and bullock carts were the main vehicles and animals for transport used in India. Thus he was using donkeys as the main mean of transport for his trading.

From the day he started until he retired he used to travel to neighbouring kingdoms loading goods on donkeys and in a similar way returning back to his town. He used to travel sometimes once a week or twice, sometimes twice or thrice a fortnight and sometimes four to six times a month. He was using donkeys instead of donkey carts to carry goods. Thus he was conducting his business loading goods on the back of donkeys.

OK, now whenever he reached the border of a kingdom, his goods were checked by the border guards on both sides with his interrogation. This game of cat-and-mouse continued for a few years. He was doing all sorts of trading. His business was growing and hence became a subject of jealousy because all the time he passed the test. The guards did not find anything illegal, illicit or law breaching things. The guards had to let him go without charging and always found them in a helpless condition. They always scratched their heads and whispered that Nasruddin was a smuggler. So they were left frustrated with anger and forced to let him go. The guards thought that Nasruddin was smuggling prohibited and precious goods in the name of trading. Still, they had serious doubts that Mulla did something mysterious that was out of their reach.

After a long time, as the years passed Mulla got old and had to retire from his business, so did the guards. One day a retired guard who was on the duty patrolling the border accidentally met Mulla in his home town. They were in ecstasy after meeting a long time. Both of them were remembering those old days while having a tea together. But the guard was so curious that he ran out of his patience and asked Nasruddin. Mulla, you had a very good business and was famous for your honesty among the people all over the places. But we not only had serious doubts but we confidently knew all the time that you were doing something illegal, smuggling goods loading on your donkeys which we were unable to find out. What was that? Mulla immediately replied without any kind of hesitation, “Donkeys”.

So what lesson should we learn from this story?

Donkey smuggles donkey. It is right under our noses, we don’t notice it. The awareness, the atman, the pure consciousness, Chaitanya, whatever we say is ever-present; it is omnipresent and never goes away. Why we are not aware of it because we are strongly bound by the prevailing powers of Maya. Hence we could not find the truth as it is and eventually our true nature. By default, we are created to see the outside world, so we have to turn our senses inside.

2) The Movie

Some 60 years ago in India, a boy living in a remote village who had seen so many plays in theatres but had never seen a movie. But before taking him to see the movie, his father explained briefly that whatever you see a live performance of a play is taken in camera and the same is shown on a screen in the theatre. Now the boy became very curious since he had never heard about such things and never even seen it. Thus the boy was eager to watch a movie being played on the screen.

So the father one day took the boy to the theatre to see a movie. But the movie had already started before they reach. The boy enjoyed the movie for a few minutes since it was his first experience. But as the movie progressed, the boy grew impatient and slowly started asking some question regarding the screen. The conversation between the father and the son goes like this:

To give a proper example, a story from a battlefield of Ramayana is taken.

Son: Where is the screen daddy?

Father: Do you see this movie? The entire size of the movie is played on the screen.

Son: Yes, but where is the screen?

Father: Do you see Lord Rama standing on the battlefield?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

Father: No, no, do you see Laxman standing beside Lord Rama?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

Father: No, no, do you see Hanuman standing behind Rama?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

Father: No, no, no, do you see battlefield behind them?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

Father: No, no, no, do you see warriors fighting on the battlefield?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

Father: No, no, no, do you see the sun shining on the battlefield above?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

Father: No, no, no, do you see the blue sky above?

Son: Oh! That is the screen?

As the conversation was going on between them, it was the time for an interval. So the movie goes off and the lights get on.

Now the screen was clearly visible. Hence the son asked again. Dad, the movie is off, where is the screen? The father replied, the white coloured object that you see is called a screen on which different kinds of movies are displayed from time to time. The screen remains the same but the movies change with different people and place with multiple colours.

Now the boy came to know what a screen is and what a movie is.

So what lesson should we learn from this story?

Brahman Satyam, Jagat Mithyä means Brahman (GOD) alone is real (True) and this Jagat (The World) is mithyä (an appearance). The movie of the entire universe is played on the screen of pure consciousness. We have a borrowed consciousness.

Moon is the ideal example to understand. Even though the moon shines, it does not have its own light. It is borrowed from The Sun and then is reflected to space and earth. We are able to see the moon from a far distance, why? Not because it reflects the light but it possesses the power to reflect. Thus our own existence is possible only because of consciousness otherwise we no longer exist. As the movie is not possible without a screen so do our existence is not possible without consciousness.

3) Space

Well, this example is a bit different but definitely points toward the same direction. Just suppose that you live in a crowded and dense city like Hong Kong where it is covered by high rise buildings all over the places. You can’t get any chance to view open space throughout the year. But once you leave the city are and go outside, leave all the crowded places behind then you suddenly get the beautiful scenes full of grasslands, lakes, hillocks and mountains with forest and abundance of open space. All of a sudden you will start feeling the vastness of space and fresh air. Thus we are strongly tied by the elusive forces of Maya. So the consciousness is ever-present but in order to get that awareness, we have to make an honest attempt.

In fact, there are three different terms used in Vedanta to explain these conditions. First is Chidākāsha, literally means the sky of consciousness, second is Mahākāsha, means the physical space, the place we live in and the third is Chittākāsha means the space of mind were we always experience thoughts, feelings, perceptions, emotions etc. coming and going endlessly.

Now Mahākāsha, the physical space, the universal space is cognised in Chittākāsha (mental space) and it is ultimately cognised in Chidākāsha (the sky of consciousness). And that is the ultimate thing, the highest or the deepest whatever you say is inexplicable and it is extremely tough to explain (translate) this particular term in English because there is no word or synonym for Chidākāsha in English vocabulary.

So in short, this is the difference between the progressive path and the knowledge path of meditation. You have to follow all the eight limbs (and sometimes fifteen if you follow Shankarāchārya because he has added seven more steps in his commentary on Patanjali Yoga Sutras integrating one another) in progressive path while you just have to identify the consciousness within you in knowledge path. You are the existence, consciousness, bliss.

More will come in my future articles where I will be describing more on meditation with discussions and examples.

Note: This article is ideal for those who know something or more about Advaita Vedanta (Non-Dual Vedanta). This article will be like a hammering on the head for those who know nothing about Non-Dual Vedanta. There are three kinds of Vedanta. 1) Non-Dual Vedanta, 2) Dual Vedanta and 3) Qualified Non-Dual Vedanta.