Through the Looking Glass
All eight limbs or spokes lead from the hub to the wheel and through it to enlightenment.
The Sanskrit word Samyama means holding together and integrating. It is the word used to encompass the final three of the eight limbs of yoga addressed in these essays. Achieving Samyama means simultaneously combining Dharana (concentration on a single object), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (bliss, enlightenment). Samyama in conjunction with the other five limbs or spokes of the wheel make it possible for us to realise our higher self and from there, union with the universal consciousness. Wow, how to explain that?!
In the last post to explain Pratyahara (sense withdrawal) a little yogic philosophy was introduced. “Now for something completely different”, as quoted from Monty Python. Some recall Monty Python as merely screwball comedy. My goodness, it was a whole new way of seeing the world! So why not come to Samyama and enlightenment sideways as well? Being a science fiction buff from way back, I’m going to use an essay by Isaac Asimov written in 1969 to open doors to imaginings through which some may not yet have ventured.
Asimov wrote an essay called ‘The Luxon Wall’ found in his book, The Stars in Their Courses. In the book are 17 short essays within the bounds of astronomy, physics, chemistry and sociology. They are all written for the general reader in an entertaining manner. No science or mathematics background is required.
Asimov explains the theory of relativity showing why in our universe it is impossible for a mass greater than zero, no matter how small its resting mass may be, to go faster than the speed of light. The faster the mass goes the more energy goes into the mass, therefore requiring still more energy to accelerate it further. This perpetuates at a greater and greater rate the closer to the speed of light the mass travels. It never gets there.
Then Asimov talks about particles which have a resting mass of zero that CAN go the speed of light like photons, or light particles. Photons, the moment they are formed, move away from their origin at the speed of light. They do not accelerate to the speed of light, they begin there. Then Asimov shows why if either more or less energy acts on a photon its speed remains constant at the speed of light. Increase the energy and the mass increases balancing the velocity to mass ratio so that the speed remains constant at the speed of light. Decreasing the energy means less mass and again the photon remains balanced at the speed of light.
We are now about to travel into unknown possibilities. What if there were particles that COULD travel faster than the speed of light? Following all the same equations proving the above, Asimov ventures into the realms of theory and science fiction. These particles would have ‘imaginary’ mass less than zero. He explains why such particles would be opposite to particles with mass greater than zero. These particles would never be able to de-accelerate to the speed of light, just as particles with greater than zero mass are unable to accelerate to the speed of light.
So here is the imagined picture as Asimov explains it. We have our universe of tardyons, slower than light speed particles, and then there is a universe of tachyons, faster than light speed particles. Between them is the infinitely thin wall of luxons, the Luxon Wall, particles locked into the speed of light. They go neither faster nor slower. Just like Alice Through the Looking Glass, everything is opposite on opposing sides. I like to imagine the Luxon wall as a looking glass. Being familiar with 3-d software, I created the eight spoked wheel at the beginning of this post. I intentionally made the material of the outer wheel reflective to represent a mirror between the reflection of what our senses tell us and the perspective on the other side unclouded by the senses. All eight limbs of yoga, the eight spokes of the wheel, lead to the mirror. Like Alice, all we need do is venture through it.
I like being playful with thoughts and ideas. This post is metaphorical and my way of viewing the divide between Self and Higher Consciousness. Isaac Asimov, also being playful, postulates that if a person could sit on top of the Luxon Wall and view both the tardyon and tachyon universes, opposite twins on either side would be seen, each believing their universe adhered to the rules of physics and the other one was beyond the rules. Of course, this means that bliss and enlightenment is right here right now with no wall blocking the view. We need only open our mind to the possibility. The grass on either side of the looking glass is equally green. Enlightenment is always within reach in the present moment.
As a little aside, for all the sci-fi buffs out there, that’s how the hyperspace jump is done. In sci-fi a way has been found to pass through the Luxon Wall in a spaceship and go from less than light speed to faster than light speed and back. The jump can be measured and solves the problem of travelling light years in no time at all!
Complete List of the Eight Limbs, spokes, of Yoga:
Yamas - ethical restraints
Niyamas - personal observances
Asana - poses
Pranayama - breath control
Pratyahara - sense withdrawal
Dharana - concentration on a single object
Dhyana - meditation
Samadhi - bliss