Life presents us with daily choices from which we consciously or unconsciously decide our future. In the early years of my own spiritual awakening, one of those choices presented itself as such — study (experience spirit) in the “outer world” of living my daily active life or study in the “inner world” of a meditative monastic isolation. Without truly understanding either possibility, I chose a modified variation of both. Fortunately, my intuition (Vijnanamaya Kosha/our wisdom sheath) guided me toward integrating my actions with my meditative insights. It just felt right.
Some 20 years passed before I read the passage below from the Isha Upanishad, which is one of yoga’s foremost sacred texts.
In dark night live those for whom
The world without alone is real; in night
Darker still, for whom the world within
Alone is real. The first leads to a life
Of action, the second to a life of meditation.
But those who combine action with meditation
Cross the sea of death through action
And enter into immortality
Through the practice of meditation.
So have we heard from the wise.
The above verses 9-11 describe two paths to spiritual realization:
Path 1: The world without alone
Those who are engrossed only in the external, material world are in a state of “dark night”. This path leads to a life of action but results in spiritual darkness.
Path 2: The world within alone
Those who are solely focused on the internal world of meditation are in an even “darker-still” night. This path leads to a life of meditation but also results in spiritual darkness.
Focusing on the external world of action leads to worldly success but spiritual darkness. However, focusing solely on the internal world of meditation also leads to darkness. If you lack stability and balance within and among your Annamaya Kosha (physical sheath/body), Pranamaya Kosha (energetic sheath), and Manamaya Kosha (mental-emotional sheath), the insights released by your Vijnanamaya Kosha (intuition/wisdom sheath) can be overwhelming. In simpler language, your physical body, your energetic animating essence, and your thoughts and emotions need to be stable enough for you to contemplate and choose a change toward well-being.
According to the text, the true path is to combine both action and meditation, which allows you to transcend the cycle of death (action) and achieve immortality/liberation (meditation).
An Integrated Path: Seamlessly combining action and meditation
Those who combine both action and meditation can “cross the sea of death through action” by acting mindfully in the world and “enter into immortality through the practice of meditation” by finding focus and clarity. Integrating action, focus, and clarity allows one to achieve both worldly success and spiritual liberation.
As an example, by calming the mind through meditation, we can eliminate distractions and cultivate concentration. This mindfulness (present moment awareness) during daily tasks like yoga asana, walking, cooking, etc. brings a meditative awareness to one’s actions.
Action informs meditation: Engaging with the world provides the context and challenges that can be explored during meditation, helping you to understand and release resistance to the natural flow of life. The “action” part of this integrated path allows you to apply your understanding of cause and effect (karma) in daily life thereby acting with greater awareness and less impulse — spiritual liberation.
Meditation informs action: A regular meditation practice helps to translate insight into action (thoughts, words and deeds) by giving you the clarity and presence to make conscious choices from intuition rather than from acting impulsively. Thus, meditation provides the space for inner stillness and clarity to achieve spiritual liberation.
For more yoga actions and teachings, click here. Namaste.
