The psychology of bliss

The Vedic literatures describe the soul as a pleasure-seeking entity and an entity meant for unlimited pleasure, ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). It is meant for living a life in a blissful consciousness of knowledge and eternity. Such is the constitutional position of the atma or living spiritual soul. However, our experience of this world tells a different story, one of frustration and misery or at best hackneyed happiness in the form of sense pleasure – which has a beginning and an end, the material body itself being temporal and limited.

The yogis of yore

To the contrary, yogis of yore have also pursued pleasure, but they were guided by the Vedic wisdom and hence did not seek it through the senses. Rather, they sought to withdraw their senses (“as a tortoise draws its limbs within the shell” – Bhagavad-Gita 2.58) and focused on the source of pleasure within. In the face of the ever-changing nature of this phenomenal world which is in a permanent state of flux - and hence illusory - the yogis developed a system of practice whereby a state of absolute calmness and equanimity can be created within. From that internal state of calmness and equanimity springs a joy that is not dependent on any external circumstance – a joy that is factual and transcendental. The yogic process as enunciated in the Bhagavad-Gita is particularly famous at helping all seekers from all walks of life achieve this state of joy even in the face of adversarial circumstances.

It would seem to me that this wisdom can prove to be very useful, especially in the context of the times we are living – a time of special disruption. It can seem far-fetched a concept or it can seem superhuman a feat to achieve, being given we are liable to experience varying states of misery and varying states of happiness during our passage on Earth. However, there are times in the history of our lives when all seems bleak and when the human soul can cede in to despair. I find it helpful personally to turn not just to spiritual teachings and practice, but to spiritual sound when faced with negative emotions. Merely listening to spiritual sound or kirtana can filter the subtle layers of negativity in our consciousness and reveal the inner bliss. The current auspicious period of Adhik Maas or Purushottam Maas (the best month of the year according to the Vedic calendar) is particularly congenial for the chanting of the Holy Names of God. Moreover, the incumbent Govinden period whence Lord Govinda (or Krishna) is exclusively worshipped in temples all over the world, with traditional dances and divine illumination, is indeed a beautiful sight to behold!

The Holy Names of God

In all religious literatures, the name of God is revealed as Holy. For instance, in the Bible, it is stipulated: “Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name” (Mathew 6:9). In Vaishnavism, the Holy Names of Lord Krishna are extolled for their abilities to uplift our consciousness from the lower strata into the higher spheres. Vibrating the divine names of God can immediately confer upon us a connection with the spiritual realm which is absolute and which eternally retains its triune qualities of eternality, bliss and divine consciousness. This transformation of our material experience can happen through spiritual sound because the latter is able to modulate through the different dimensions of existence because it is causal and primordial in nature. There are three dimensions to existence – causal (spiritual), astral and physical. If you can create an effect at the causal (or deepest level), it will effect all three levels of existence.

Conversely, effecting the physical level is only rarely able to effect the deeper astral level, and can never reach the causal level, the domain where our soul resides. The reason why modern science is unable to fully understand consciousness is because in order to do so, we need to move from classical science into quantum science. Hence, I would strongly recommend to keep a good repertoire of spiritual sound or videos in your playlist. These days, experimental sound designs are freely available on the internet such as Solfeggio frequencies and Binaural tones which can, at least in principle, effect our chakras since they are created with their base frequencies. There are electromagnetic head bands already available which employ this principle in order to induce meditative states or facilitate deeper states of relaxation. I would further recommend turning to the practice of a spiritual mantra in times of need – if not as a regular practice.

The psychology of bliss

There exists a scientific dimension of psychology as to how we can ‘hack’ our biology in order to precipitate a certain secretion within the human brain, which can enable us to remain steadily in a state of bliss. I call it the psychology of bliss. Ever since the dawn of mankind, humans have had a deep connection with bliss. Perhaps our first connection with altered states of consciousness wherein we obtained heightened states of bliss dated back from those days when mankind were uncivilized cave dwellers. However controversial the idea, it is undeniable that our ancestry can be traced back, at least in some way, to cave dwellers who drew on cave walls depictions of their strongest states of consciousness. One of these drawings (the Bhimbetka paintings) can be found in a famous cave in the region of the Narmada river in India where it is believed that the first meteorites carrying living DNA hit the Earth. Close to those caves were consecrated Shiva lingams - a tribute to the leaps in consciousness achieved by the human race, thanks to the special energy emanating from those meteorite stones. NASA has indeed confirmed that building blocks of DNA can be found in meteorite stones which hit the Earth during meteorite showers.

Figure: Meteorite showers (Credit: Esquire Middle East)

These cave paintings are testimony to the psychedelic states of consciousness reached by man from those early days. It is theorized that the ingestion of magic mushrooms growing close to those caves allowed early humans to experience psychedelic states of bliss. However, little is currently known about the early practices of the cave dwellers. What is worth noting is that at some point in human history, those cave paintings started appearing everywhere around the world, some more intense and graphic than others, yet bearing more or less the same themes, and informing us that, in effect, man did have a quantum leap in consciousness. We were then perhaps bound by a stratum of consciousness which was hampering our evolution to the next stage and hence, a radical change was necessary. It is also worth noting that subsequent to this period in history, man started organizing life around agriculture, which in turn yielded civilization and went on successively in several technological revolutions to give rise to modern life as we know it today. Seeing the current state of mankind today, one might wonder whether all we need is just another quantum leap in consciousness.

The Bhimbetka paintings near Narmada River (Credit: indiaonline.in)

Figure: Psychedelic consciousness (Credit: Pinterest)

For this to happen, mankind needs to be able to override its current destructive patterns of behaviour, which can typically be achieved by altering human biology. What our early ancestors’ experience with blissful states of consciousness can teach us is that our human body possesses the innate mechanism or biology to experience these altered states. Situated in the geometrical centre of the human brain is the pineal gland, which is able to secrete endogenous DMT (Dimethyltriptamine) and hence precipitate blissful awareness. DMT has historically been used as an entheogen in rituals and has also been consumed as a drug.

Molecules of bliss

However, secretion of molecules of bliss - like endogenous DMT and Nitric Oxide, an important biological catalyst - can also be achieved without psychoactive drugs, most notably through continued meditation. Meditation causes continued coherence between the two brain hemispheres and the resulting resonant activity pushes the mammalian brain to activate the pineal gland – known in all secret societies as the gateway to higher consciousness. In our conditioned state, the pineal gland is typically shrivelled to a pea-size gland – the result of exposure to pollution, free radicals and certain halides in our diet. Our ancient Rishis possessed enlarged pineal glands and they held the keys to very elevated dimensions of consciousness. For instance, one of the ways our brain processes information is through linear, two-dimensional or three-dimensional modelling. At best, gifted individuals would be able to function with a 5-D model of a problem (by incorporating time and space as well). However, the ancient Maharishis accessed all 64 dimensions (enabled by their 12 strand DNAs) and their brains would function in a fractal way and in hyperdimensional geometry. Perhaps – and I mean this in a very scientific way – all we need is a consciousness upgrade. For this to happen, we would need to change our relationship with our brains, our pineal glands and we would need to radically improve our diet, lifestyles and limit excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields such as those typically emitted by cell phones. Then our brains would be more liable to function in a way that creates a more fulfilling and constructive consciousness.

That is a science in itself, and it is interesting to note that research is at an advanced stage but this has not yet been ‘democratized’. The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is one example of an advanced research institute conducting research on superconscious states of the human brain. It was founded by Dr Edgar Mitchell - Apollo 14 astronaut and the 6th man to walk on the moon. Such institutions have proliferated around the world and many are using declassified information from the US military. Nowadays, it is not surprising to find instances of such research being carried out. In a landmark study entitled “Single-molecule visualization of DNA G-quadruplex formation in live cells” and published in the scientific journal Nature Chemistry, an individual with four (4) DNA strands was studied.

Thank God for the Internet without which we would not have been even slightly aware of all these advances. We are indeed awakening but our existence is also threatened: perfect recipe for evolutionary leaps!

References: -

https://www.psypost.org/2019/07/study-provides-evidence-that-dmt-is-produced-naturally-from-neurons-in-the-mammalian-brain-54051 (Dolan, 2019)

https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-has-detected-the-building-blocks-of-life-in-two-meteorites (Robitzki, 2019)

http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.com/2010/05/pineal-gland-third-eye-capt-ajit.html (Vadakayil, 2010)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-020-0506-4 (Nature Chemistry, 2020)

https://www.fanaticalfuturist.com/2020/07/quadruple-stranded-dna-seen-in-human-cells-for-the-first-time/ (Griffin, n.d.)

© Nithin Prakash Gukhool - September 19, 2020