Evolution in the Land of Enlightenment: Spiritual Teacher Andrew Cohen in India

[Music] [Applause] As you can see, we're on the banks of the sacred Ganji's River here in the ancient holy city of Rishiesh, known to many as the city of sages. We just spent the past few days here in Rishiesh with Andrew Cohen, who's the editor-in chief of Enlightenext magazine. As you may know, he's also a spiritual teacher. In fact, he began teaching here 24 years ago in Rishiesh. And it's been it's been an incredibly profound trip to come back to the place where so much of the inspiration behind all of Andrew's work including the magazine and the organization Enlighten next was born. The first stop on our trip to Rishiesh was the Shivaandanda Ashram which has been home to some of India's most revered saints of the past century including the late Swami Chidananda and the late Swami Krishna who had a significant influence on Andrew when he was a young seeker. In a rare honor Andrew was invited to give two talks at the ashram about his teachings of evolutionary enlightenment. It's such an honor to be speaking in this satsang hall. I can't express it in words. It's a it was quite a big deal for me to be sitting here. I was sitting here when I sat down remembering uh when I had heard Swami Jeta Nandanda and Swami uh Krishna give satsang here and I don't think I could have imagined that I would ever be speaking here myself. [Music] [Applause] In this first uh talk I heard him give and he was giving a he was giving a uh a lecture at a discourse at this yoga center and he was talking about sadna and he was talking about what it means to be on the path. I never forgot the quote because for he started the quote he said I'm he quoted Tennyson and he said step by step by step some may come and some may go but I'll go on forever step by step by step and then he paused and then he said if someone asks you what you do you say I meditate then he paused he said and I also live [Applause] [Music] Spiritually aware people, spiritually inspired people care about the world, care about life. They care about where we are going. I do. I'm sure most of you do. And so the question here is, and this is what this teaching really helps to answer, is that when you awaken to this evolutionary impulse, when you become aware of it, I call it the authentic self, you discover an energy, an intelligence, the source of which is immortal. You discover an immortal source of inspiration because you realize you are the one who created this whole process. You want to be here. You want to be here. You see that life is good. The creative process is good and it desperately needs [Music] you. The next day we took a journey into India's ancient past. We headed to nearby Harido just down river from Rishiesh to attend the 2010 Kumba Mela spiritual gathering. Every 12 years sages, mystics and babas come down from the mountains and out of the jungles to converge in Haridoir and impart their wisdom to the millions of spiritual pilgrims who attend the gathering. While many of the gurus of the Kumba are contemporary mystics hailing from modern India's booming urban centers, others seem to be suspended in time, embodying a dimension of India's cultural and spiritual heritage that hasn't changed in the last 3,000 years. It was definitely a walk on the wild side. [Music] He's saying he does these things for the sake of the world and for the sake of other people. He said he said that he said that and he also said yes there's joy in it. We just spent the afternoon walking through the Nagaba camp which you can see behind us. These are these are guys who've been living in the mountains practicing extreme tapas or austerities like one guy who holds the his arm above his head for 10 years. Another guy that we met stood in one place without sitting down or moving for for 12 years. People have performed spiritual austerities the likes of which most western spiritual but not religious people can't even imagine. [Music] This sadu took us all by surprise when he proudly demonstrated a rather extreme example of his yogic mastery and liberation from worldly desire saying should he show his sword. Yeah. and hot trick. What is this trick? [Music] It makes the pain in your knee during morning meditation seem like the most stupid silly little nothing you've ever seen in your life. It's humbling for sure. [Music] As you can see, the sun's setting in the background. Um, we're going to go to an RT on the banks of the Ganjis and Hardwire at the famous Gat. [Music] [Applause] It is at Harido's famous Harkip Power Gat where a drop of nectar from the gods is reputed to have fallen, making the sacred spot one of the four locations where the Kumba Mela is held throughout India. Every 12 years, millions of pilgrims visit this site to immerse themselves in the Ganes and to have their sins washed away by its holy waters. And in my own experience, this ancient purifying ritual is powerful indeed. [Music] [Music] Since Enlightenext magazine was founded 18 years ago, one of its dominant themes has been the ongoing engagement between Andrew Cohen and some of the leading spiritual teachers in the planet. Definitely one of the most incredible aspects of this trip has been the opportunity to accompany Andrew into these profound encounters between spiritual teachers. Swami G is the point of enlightenment to trans to transcend the world or to transform the world. It is a transcendent of worlds to transcend the world. Isn't Isn't the world created because God wanted to manifest and form? Yes, God created but he has created to dis make disappear also. Both things happen. But he created cuz he wanted to exist, right? No, he's existing with in everybody. He's not existing himself. Pilot Baba is a former pilot for India's first female prime minister in Dearra Gandhi. At the age of 35, he traded his wings for a sadu robe after being called to the renunciate life by a mysterious yogi who had been guiding and protecting him since childhood. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Shri Shri Ravi Shankar is a former disciple of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. His commitment to humanitarian efforts has made him one of the most popular spiritual figures in the world and he's become the guru of choice for the middle and upper classes of India. You know Sri Sri, one of the things I was thinking about on this trip to India is that the India the Indian culture and Indian spirituality comes from a traditional culture and as India's entered into into into modernity also the in Indian culture many Indians who have entered into this modern world context have gotten lost in in the material orientation and they experiencing enormous stress even though they have enormous material build wealth, huge apartments, flying all over the world, but they've but they've lost touch with their own with the heritage of their own culture. Correct. Huh? Correct. That's happening. And another point I wanted to I was thinking about was that in traditional culture there's an appreciation for spirit for for God for the sacred. And also I noticed that now many people are attracted to spirituality simply because they want to relieve stress not necessarily for God realization. Right? [Music] I I say that we meant the broken hearts come here. So when people are desperate with the relationship and they break up their relationship or and they're hired or fired, they all come rushing to us. Yeah. But then they move on to the higher plane. So immediate comfort, immediate blessings when they get some relief. It's relief. Then they move on the path. Because what's happening now in modern India is that the family just like happened in the west over the last 50 years now in in modern India it's shrinking and so now the modern Indians are experiencing all the same breakdowns of culture that already happened in the west. So the family is getting smaller, the sense of being supported is falling away and people are feeling the s same sense of isolation and frustration. And that's why you said you should come more often to India. Yeah, I intend to. We definitely want to make that happen. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Swami Chidan Saraswati left his home for the Himalayan jungles and forests at the tender age of 8 under the guidance of his spiritual master. Today he is a highly respected voice in Indian spiritual culture. And like the other spiritual masters we met, he expresses an inspiring and absolute surrender to God. liberation or no liberation. Who cares? Whatever is there, let let him plan it. Send me to hell. Okay, we'll plan there also something meditation course, whatever. Who cares? Hell or heaven? No, nothing bothers now. Even liberation not needed. We are happy here. Who knows? Fear of unknown or not known or there are not there. Who cares even? and serving here they say I have heard liberation means oh just you are in ecstasy on your own okay what is the problem here why not be in ecstasy here amongst everything come back again and again and keep serving and whatever he wants you I agree to do it become the tool that's it I agree and it's wonderful Midway through the meeting, a respected elder swami from the ashram joined us and asked Andrew to explain his teachings, a common practice in India among spiritual teachers when they first meet. Now he is asking I said he is very genius and uh he shares wisdom and vision. He said what is that what he shares with others? Um uh you can tell them some try to give people some understanding of who they are, where they come and where they came from and maybe so how we can get some sense of where where we should be going. What is next? What is next? Yeah. Always where we want to always where we want to go in the next moment is is something beyond what has come before. Okay. When you say the beyond. Yeah. How you identify recognize that beyond? What is that beyond? Because because something that has never existed before emerges into the present moment. Uh how to recognize that? Well, we always know when we when we see something that we've never seen because we're always struck with awe, wonder, and amazement. Okay. How to achieve that now? How to reach there? How to achieve it? How to achieve that? Uh we have to to transcend the ego. How to transcend ego? How to transcend ego? Okay. Well, first the aspiration has to be there. The aspir first the aspiration has to be there and then once with the once we the the aspiration comes we have to identify with the aspiration and when we identify with the aspiration we have to act on the aspiration and then once we act on the aspiration the momentum right of the of the spiritual impulse or the evolutionary impulse will take carry us beyond the ego okay you pick [Music] Swami Chidanandanda Saraswati is the head of the Par Nikatan Ashram here in Rishiesh and he invited Andrew Cohen to come and present his teachings of evolutionary enlightenment at the 2010 International Yoga Festival at the ashram. Andrew's teaching of evolutionary enlightenment is deeply rooted in the Hindu mystical school of invite Vidanta. But during his talks at the yoga festival, Andrew challenged many of India's most sacred cows by looking at the ancient traditions through the lens of a new evolutionary spirituality. We're no longer living in a traditional world in a traditional cultural context even here in India, right? So there there is still a large traditional context, but so many millions of Indians are entering into are crossing over from traditional from traditional a world to a modern world. And in the modern world, the tradition has been largely thrown away. I don't believe that the point and purpose and goal of enlighten of enlightenment is to win freedom from incarnation. I think when people be begin to awaken, when they begin to realize who they really are, they discover a desire to exist in the world that is very profound, that is spiritually meaningful and spiritually powerful. Now the individual says, "Oh, I really want to be here. I want to consciously participate in the life process. I really want to be here and I want to come back again and again and again. Where else is there to go?" You remember God created the universe from nothing and God was abiding in that state. of timeless formless being for countless billions of eons of no time for eternity already. We have already been abiding in timeless formless being for eternity. We have already done that forever. You understand? So there's no hurry to get back. What's new is what's happening here and now. This is new. God's never been here before. This is the leading edge of the leading edge of the leading edge of where he or she has ever been. We're right on the crest of the way of where God is. That's very exciting. The next day, Andrew had a chance to meet with some of his Indian students in a warm gathering at the Enlighten Center in the village of Tapaban, just up the river from Rishiesh. Later that night, Swami Chiran Saraswati asked Andrew to share the stage at the festival's special evening forum with his holiness the Shankara Divinan [Applause] Ti. We want to see is that this body and this mind and this personality and even our egos are really vehicles for consciousness. Your body and my body. Your mind and my mind. Your ego and my ego are actually vehicles. This is a vehicle for consciousness. So we want to say who's driving the car? Who's driving the vehicle? Who's driving your vehicle? Who's driving my vehicle? As he was rightly saying, uh, who is driving your car and who's driving my car? Who is listening? Who is seeing? Who is walking? who is doing different activities. Definitely it is not the body. Definitely it is not the body. The body is just a medium. It is just a media. We are using it as a vehicle. But who is driving it? Who is driving it? Definitely ears are not listening because even a dead body has got ears. The dead body has got eyes. The dead body has got feet. Dead body has got hands. But dead body cannot do anything. So definitely it is not the body. It is something else. So what is that something else? It is my own self. The two gurus then took questions from the audience including one from Swami Chidan's close student and personal assistant Sadi Bhagavati. She honed in on the provocative distinction Andrew had made between classical enlightenment teachings and his new teaching of evolutionary enlightenment. It's the first time I've ever heard a reference to the idea of somehow God being anything other than already whole and complete and infinite and somehow relying on us to achieve some kind of goal and actually I would like if you as well as Shankrari and even Fuja Swami G if you feel so inclined to explain this from the different perspectives because it's it feels to me That's such an important concept when we're talking about God. It's my understanding that when God to put it to to put it in a theological context, when God decided or chose to become the material universe, then he chose to enter into a creative process of becoming. He stepped out of his or her inherent perfection, absolute perfection to enter into a creative process where he would be ceaselessly reaching to become a manifestation of the perfection that he already was before he decided to create the universe. The creation itself took place just to manifest the glory of the Lord. If somebody asks why why this creation why God created the universe what was the necess necessity of creating this universe. So the Vedas say that it is just to manifest the glory of the lord. If this universe had not existed, how could we know the glory of the Lord? It's been an incredible trip traveling with Andrew Cohen on his return to sacred India. We've bathed in the Ganes with holy babas. We've sat at the feet of some of India's most revered spiritual masters. And we've experienced enough spiritual adventure in only a week to last us more than one lifetime. From start to finish, it's been a meeting of the old and the new. Through all of his dialogues and teachings, Andrew has honored the spiritual mantle that India has carried on behalf of the world for so many ages while at the same time challenging many traditional beliefs by advocating a new evolutionary understanding of enlightenment. The thing that I personally and I think many of you find so extraordinary about this wonderful country that India is and the reason why so many western people find their way here is because for thousands of years in India there's been a culture that has uh recognized the significance of consciousness and what I feel very passionate about is creating is is is helping Obviously with other people who feel similarly to create a cultural revolution in the west where the significance the absolute significance of consciousness and of the evolution of consciousness is put first and [Music] foremost. [Music] SM. SW [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] Not my