The Cave of the Heart - The

Mind in the Eastern Orthodox

tradition of Hesychast
contemplative prayer.
by Mother Mary

For an introduction to Hesychast prayer see Mother Mary's

previous article, 'Prayer of the Heart' in the Newsletter, February
2010.
In many religions the mountain is a powerful spiritual symbol that
reaches upwards to a summit that has been called 'the place of
truth'[1]. The cave, within the centre of the mountain, is hidden and
secret. In Sanskrit, the word guha denotes cave, but it is also
applied to the cavity of the heart and the heart itself.[ 2]

The Word
The Greek word Logos, or Word, was used in pre-Socratic
philosophy to mean the source of the principle governing the
cosmos. In Biblical Judaism it represented the creative power and
medium of God's communication with the human race. There is a
wonderful hesychast symbol in the Biblical story of the Lord
appearing to Elijah at a cave entrance on Mount Horeb. Fleeing
persecution, Elijah escaped to the desert mountain where he spent
the night in a cave. The word of the Lord came and told him to
stand on the mountain because the Lord was about to pass by.
Then a powerful wind 'tore the mountains apart', but the Lord was
not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but the Lord was
not in the earthquake. A fire followed, but the Lord was not in the
fire.
'After the fire came a gentle whisper. W hen Elijah heard it, he
pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth
of the cave.' [3]
Elijah found the Lord not in powerful signs but in the hushed,

gentleness of a whisper (hesychia means silence or stillness). In

the New Testament Gospel of St. John, the Logos, becomes the
creative Word of God (which is God) and incarnate in Jesus.
According to Orthodox tradition, Jesus was born in a cave and it is
the earth that offers up this sacred womb -like birthplace for the
living Word.
'Today the Virgin gives birth to him who is above all being, and the
earth offers a cave to him whom no one can approach. Angels with
shepherds give glory, and magi journey with a star, for to us there
has been born a little Child, God before the ages.' [ 4]

The Mind
Orthodox theology makes a distinction between three activities of
the Mind. The highest is the Intellect ( nous) which understands
divine truth through a personal experience of God in the depths of
the Heart; the Reason ( dianoia) is the logical faculty that uses
words to analyse, reflect and draw conclusions; the Thoughts
( logos mi ) ar e pr ovok ed by t he dem ons an d l ead t o t empt at i on t o
destructive action. St. John of Cronstadt wrote 'the Intellect is the
servant of the heart, which is our life; if it leads the heart to truth,
peace, joy and life, then it fulfils its destination, it is the truth; but
if it leads the heart to doubt, disturbance , torment, despondency,
darkness, then it does not fulfill its destination and is absolutely
false.' 'it is necessary to purify this source of life, to kindle in it
the pure flame of life, so that it shall burn and not be extinguished;
and shall direct all thoughts, desires and tendencies of the man
through all his life.' [5] This is a journey where our Mind descends
to the cave of our Heart, the very centre of our being where our
relationship with God is born.
The story of Elijah shows us important prerequisites for meeting
the Lord. Elijah withdrew alone to a quiet, safe place. He was not
tempted to respond to impressive, powerful signs and but instead
waited until he heard the Lord in the sound of a small whisper. In
obedience to God, he covered his face, 'You cannot see My Face;
for no man can see My face and live' [ 6] In Biblical language, the
face symbolizes the essence, and we are taught that although

God's essence is beyond our comprehension, we can experience

God's energies. These elements of solitary withdrawal and the
practice of obedience and discernment are advised by many
teachers of hesychast prayer. How can we train our minds to
quieten down, be obedediant, and not to respond to temptations
when we live busy, noisy lives with many responsibilities and no
chance, or no inclination, to withdraw to a remote hermitage? The
Fathers have taught that when distracting thoughts arise we should
turn immediately to prayer.
'Prayer is by nature a dialog and a union of man with God. Its
effect is to hold the world together. It achieves a reconciliation
with God.' [7] 'The beginning of prayer is the expulsion of
distractions from the very start by a single thought [ 8]; the middle
stage is the concentration on what is being said or thought; its
conclusion is rapture in the Lord.' 'Make the effort to raise up, or
rather, to enclose your mind within the words of your prayer; and
if, like a child, it gets tired and falters, raise it up again. The mind,
after all, is naturally unstable, but the God who can do everything
can also give it firm endurance.' [ 9]

The Thoughts
Temptation is not a sin until we respond to it with thoughts and
actions that fragment and separate us from God and other human
beings. The Hol y Bible teaches us that sin is when 'your heart is
not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your
wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may
be forgiven you' [10]. In Greek sin ( hamartia) means 'failure to hit
the mark', 'to go astray' or, ultimately, 'failure to achieve the
purpose for which one is created' [ 11]. W hat is necessary to still
our response to temptation is not so much to withdraw to isolation,
but to quieten the passions and heal our soul. There is no short cut
or easy exercise for this; it is a lifetime's work. How do we begin?
As the biblical quotation suggests, we begin with repentance and
loving forgiveness, and we begin again and again. When a Desert
Father was asked what he did all day he answered, "I fall and rise
up, I fall and rise up". In Greek, the word for repentance, or
c hange of h ear t ( met ani oi a ) i s t he s ame as t hat f or pr os tr at i on; t he

prayer that we make by bowing down in body, mind and soul,

touching the earth and rising up afresh. The watchfulness that
enables us to see our errors is similar to Buddhist watchfulness
and meditation on cause and effect. In our healing we are helped
by three Orthodox sacraments (communion, confession and
anointing with oil) and before each sacrament there are prayers for
the healing of body and soul. In a talk[ 12] given in Indianapolis
several years ago, Fr. Meletios [ 13], Abbot of an Orthodox
monastery in California, said,
'The automatic stream of thoughts is necessarily bad because all
those thoughts tend to buzz like a bunch of bees around two
themes, and one is desire, and one is fear.... But there is a
positive aspect of the Mind which I have to stress is God given,
and is beautiful and that is when we use our Minds. So it is one
thing when we use our Minds and another when our Minds use us.
W hen we use our Mind we are actually in the process of
procreating with God. W e are acting in a God like manner.... The
logos mi ar e t he s our c e o f all s in. . . Ever yt hi ng t hat ' s s i nf ul wil l s t ar t
with a little thought - with a tiny, tiny, tiny feeling of discomfort.
That's all it is. That's where it starts...Every sinful action starts a s
a feeling of discomfort as we try to plug the feeling with an
action...Over time, this stream of thoughts builds into a sort of
clump...and gradually the clump gets bigger and bigger, and it
becomes the story of you.... It's a story of you that is the pu ppy
who can't quite get to the food bowl. It's the story of you who never
quite gets the right job, or is never quite dealt well by his
family...and this is what I think in Orthodox terms we can safely
c all ego. The ego is a c lump of logos mi s t uc k t oget her . '
Fr. Meletios then suggested that monastics are given the
opportunity to live without fear, as they do not need their ego
within the safety of the monastery. Outside the monastery and
church we are not free to live ego -less lives because we are
unprotected from others who do not hold the same values. He said
that is why we need monastics, not only because they pray for us
as we do our daily work, but also because they try to realise an
egoles s lif e of love. ' Somet imes you c an go t her e ( a mo nas t er y )
and receive special healing for your special brokenness...they just

heal by love. There's nothing esoteric, nothing weird about their

life. They just love.'

The Cave
Some years ago I was blessed to stay at the Monastery of St.
Catherine, Sinai, Egypt. Two monks invited me to join them on a
pilgrimage to the cave hermitage of St. John Climacus [ 14], five
miles into the desert. When we arrived at the cave, the young
English monk beckoned me to enter alone, and then left to sit on a
large rock in the desert valley. Inside the cave I could see nothing;
it seemed infinitely dark. I turned to look at the entrance, but could
only see a white sheet of brilliant, morning light. Gradual ly my
eyes adjusted and I could see a low stone shelf, rather like a bed,
and I went to sit on it. I had never experienced such silence
before. I could only hear my body breathing and my heart beating.
After an unknown time, a loud, scratching sound burst into the
silence and made my heart jump. It was animal and nearby, but
what was it? A lizard? a snake? I had read that the Desert Fathers
made friends with lions...surely there were no longer lions in
Sinai? Within three rapid thoughts I was deciding I was in danger
and should leave, and I was also angry because the special silence
of this saint's cave had been broken. The logosmi were certainly at
work here! Then a shaft of light revealed the source of the
disturbing and frightening noise. I saw a small an t busily moving a
tiny grain of rock along the stone shelf. I smiled and relaxed, but it
took some time repeating the Jesus Prayer [ 15] before I regained
concentration.
The solitary life is a quiet and simplified life that removes much
temptation and stimulation. As the story of the ant suggests, small
things gain greater significance and bring great joy. However, the
solitary life itself does not dispel temptation and vice. It i s a life
t hat has been c alled t he ' f r ont line of bat t le' wit h t he logos mi
because the social interaction that often masks our ills is removed
and our deeper spiritual conflict is exposed. This confrontation is
why it is so important to have the help of an experienced spiritual
guide and why the solitary life is not recommended for the young

novice. This can also apply to home life.

'W atch yourselves - your passions, especially in your home life,
where they appear freely, like moles in a safe place. Outside our
home, some of our passions are usually screened by other more
decorous passions, whilst at home there is no possibility of driving
away these black moles that undermine the integrity of our soul'
[16]

The Story of Humility

'Love and humility make a holy team. The one exalts. The other
supports those who have been exalted and never falls' [ 17] .
Humility is called the greatest and most difficult virtue to acquire.
It is the last step on the ascetic path that leads us to the entrance
of the cave of the Heart. In the article on hesychasm in the
previous newsletter I recounted two similar Buddhist and Christian
teachings on the Middle W ay. Here I conclude with two very similar
Buddhist and Orthodox stories about humility.

The True Sound of Truth [ 18]

A devoted Buddhist meditator, after years concentrating on a
particular mantra, had attained enough insight to begin teaching. A
few years of successful teaching left the meditator with no
thoughts about learning from anyone; but upon hearing about a
famous hermit living nearby, the opportunity was too exciting to be
passed up. The hermit lived alone on an island at the middle of a
lake, so the meditator hired a man with a boat to row across to the
island. As they shared some tea made with herbs the meditat or
asked him about his spiritual practice. The old man said he had no
spiritual practice, except for a mantra which he repeated all the
time to himself. The meditator was pleased: the hermit was using
the same mantra he used himself -- but when the hermit spoke the
mant r a al oud, t he me di t at or was hor r i f i ed! "W hat' s wr ong?" as k ed
the hermit. "I don't know what to say. I'm afraid you've wasted your
whole life! You are pronouncing the mantra incorrectly! " "Oh, Dear!
That is terrible. How should I say it?" The meditator gave the
correct pronunciation, and the old hermit was very grateful, asking

to be left alone so he could get started right away. On the way

back across the lake the meditator, was pondering the sad fate of
the hermit. "It's so fortunate that I c ame along. At least he will
have a little time to practice correctly before he dies." Just then,
the meditator noticed that the boatman was looking quite shocked,
and turned to see the hermit standing respectfully on the water,
next to the boat. "Excuse me , please. I hate to bother you, but I've
forgotten the correct pronunciation again. W ould you please repeat
it for me?" "You obviously don't need it," stammered the meditator;
but the old man persisted in his polite request until the meditator
relented and told him again the way he thought the mantra should
be pronounced. The old hermit was saying the mantra very
carefully, slowly, over and over, as he walked across the surface of
the water back to the island.

The Three Hermits [19]

An Orthodox bishop was traveling by boat with pilgrims from
Archangel to the Solovetsk monastery. On the way he heard that on
an obscure little island there were three old hermits that had spent
their entire lives trying to save their souls. The bishop became
intrigued and implored the captain to stop the ship so that he could
visit them. The captain reluctantly agreed and dropped anchor near
the island. The bishop was then placed on a boat and with a group
of oarsmen sent ashore. The three hermits were dressed raggedly
with long white beards to their knees. In total humility they
welcomed the bishop, making deep bows. After he blessed them he
asked them what they were doing to save their souls and ser ve
God. They replied that they had no idea how to serve God. They
just served and supported each other. The bishop realized that the
poor hermits didnt even know how to pray, since all they did was
lift their arms up toward heaven and repeat, "Three are Y e, three
are we, have mercy upon us." The bishop thought it his
ecclesiastical duty to teach the illiterate hermits the Lords Prayer.
They, however, were poor learners and required a whole day of
instruction. But lo and behold! During sunset as the boat l eft the
island all the passengers saw a sight in the distance that filled
them with fright. The three hermits were running on water as if it
were dry land. W hen they came by the side of the ship they

implored the bishop to remind them of the Lords Prayer because,

poor fellows, they had already completely forgotten it. The bishop
crossed himself in awe and told the hermits to continue their own
prayers, for they had no need for instruction. Then he bowed
deeply before the old men and asked them to pray for him as they
turned and ran back across the sea to their island. And a light
shone until daybreak on the spot where they were lost to sight.
'The Lord is so holy, so simple in His holiness, that one single evil
or impure thought deprives us of Him. Hence i t follows that the
saints are all light; they are all one fragrance, like the light of the
sun, like the purest air. Lord, grant this simple holiness to me
also! ' [20]

Mother Mary, St. Sunniva Skete, Fetlar, Shetland Isles, ZE2 9DJ,
U.K.
oOo
1. Rne Gunon, The Mountain and the Cave,
www.studiesincomparativereligion.com
2. Ren Gunon, The Heart and the Cave, published on above
website.
3. 1 Kings: 19:9 Holy Bible NIV
4. St. Romanos the Melodist, Nativity Kontakion
5. St John of Cronstadt, The Education of the Mind, A Treasury of
Russian Spirituality
6. Exodus 33:20 Holy Bible NIV
7. St John Climacus, Prayer, The Ladder of Divine Ascent , Paulist
Press, 1982
8. Ibid. W hich might mean the repetition of a single phrased prayer
9. Ibid.

10. Acts 8:21-22 Holy Bible NIV

11. Glossary, Philokalia, Faber & Faber, 1984
12. Life as a Mystery a talk given in 2008 at an Orthodox chur ch in
Indianapolis, USA. This is an edited transcription. The complete
talk can be heard on Ancient Faith Radio website at:
http://ancientfaith.com/specials/archimandrite_meleti os_webber
13. Fr. Meletios also has a podcast 'Jottings from a Holy Mountain'
on Ancient Faith Radio.
He has written two books: 'Steps of Transformation' 2003, 'Bread &
W ater, W ine & Oil' 2007, both published by Conciliar Press
14. St. John Climacus was a ...century hermit and Abbot of St
Catherine's Monastery, Sinai. He wrote The Ladder of Divine
Ascent, a very influential book on hesychast ascetism.
15. The Jesus Prayer in its short form is the repetition of 'Lord
Jesus Christ, have mercy on me'. It is a prayer that can be
practised anywhere, but the classic pose is seated alone on a low
stool, in a quiet place, with a lowered head and no icons or
candles. Sometimes a knotted woollen or wooden beaded prayer
rope is used and traditionally monastics are giv en a rope that the
Abbot or Abbess used the night before their tonsure.
16. St John of Cronstadt
17. St. John Climacus
18. http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-manipadme-hung.htm
19. A story told by Leo Tolstoy and published in The Story and its
Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction , Ann Charters, ed., New
York; St. Martins Press, 1987, also in The Mountain of Silence by
Kyriacos Markides, Doubleday, 2002
20. St. John of Cronstadt

Cave of the Heart

The reference to the 'cave of the Heart' has several interpretations. However, in simple terms, in some
ancient yogic schools the 'cave of the Heart' is called the 'seat of the soul' in the body. This has precedent
in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita. Teacher anadi dissects this cave into several layers: personal,
psychic or energetic, and spiritual, i.e., the soul, and deeper still, the 'beloved' or the 'creator.' [The Hindus
might say Atman and Paramatman]. St. Augustine called it imtima mea, the 'inward dwelling,' a 'shared
bedroom,' a 'closet of intimacy,' an 'abyss,' and asked, "whose heart is seen into?" However, there is also
reference made, in the Vivekachudamani of Sankara, to the 'cave of the intellect, buddhi,' or buddhi
guha, and also guha hitam, or 'the secret abode of the infinite'. There appears to be a close connection
between these two caves. In Kaballah they mention the mothering, discriminative intelligence of the heart
(Binah). Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon said that 'the head and the heart are not water-tight
compartments.' Even modern research suggests that the heart has its own nervous system, is an organ
of perception and memory, and is in close communication with the brain. (1) In ancient Egypt the god
Ptah created the world from the 'imagination of his heart,' [similar to PB's 'presence of the World-Mind in
the heart'] and Islamic philosopher Ibn Arabi also taught that to imagine is an ability of the heart.
So we must then also think somewhat 'imaginatively' when considering this mysterious topic. Buddhi, in
Samkhya terminology, is similar to the yogic vijnanamaya kosha, or the intellectual sheath. Some say that
here in the cave of buddhi is where one finds the Atman, others say that Brahman is found there (
"buddhau guha yam brahmasti"). Advaitists generally consider them both to be pure consciousness, so
when Atman is realised, Brahman is also. The Upanishads say 'knowledge of Brahman is the same as
'becoming Brahman' (brahmavid brahmaive bhavati) whereas Sankara said that 'knowledge of Brahman'
leads to the 'experience of Brahman' (anubhava avasanamn brahma vignanam ). We will not argue yes or
no on these points. Sankara, the great jnani (as well as bhakta and tantrist), in his Vivekachudamani,
wrote:
"In the cave of the intellect is the Brahman, which is neither existent nor non-existent, the transcendental
non-dual Truth. One who dwells in this cave, becoming one with the Truth, for him there is no more entry
into the bodily cave," (2)
The process of finding the Brahman for Sankara and the advaitists is an epistemological one, where the
five sheaths are analyzed to extract the Truth; it is often mistakenly understood to be an ontological
'peeling of the onion' to find the Self essence underlying them. But the non-dual Truth includes the
sheaths and is not an 'essence' underlying or deep within them. Such is more often the yogic
interpretation of the five sheath doctrine. Sankara didn't mean the methodology of 'neti, neti' ('not this, not
this') to be taken ontologically, that is, as negating the not-Self, but only as an epistemological exercise in
order to affirm by investigation what is the Self. This is how it was presented in the Tittireya Upanishad,
one of the sources for Sankara's teaching. Each succeeding level of investigation includes the previous
one, until none are seen as other than the blissful nature of the self. There are no references in this
Upanishad that consider them in any way as not real. The vision is wholistic, not eclusive.
Ramana Maharshi, modern master of the Heart, would frequently quote scripture saying that 'the Self is
always shining in the intellectual sheath.' In Samkhya philosophy, generally adopted by the yoga schools,
buddhi being the closest upadhi, or 'limiting adjunct,' to Atman, is the filter of the light of the Atman to the
mind and senses. Buddhi creates the 'I'-thought or ego, and the 'luminous reason' (susksma buddhi) is
the means to enlightenment, while the undeveloped buddhi is the proximate cause of our ignorance and
identification with the ego-I. When we do not know ourself as Atman, we mistake ourself to be the 'shining
ego in the buddhi.' The shining nature of buddhi, being easily mistaken for the light of the Atman, means
that only discriminating knowledge can get us out of this predicament. This means, strangely enough, that
the buddhi must discriminate itself out of existence, in a manner of speaking, to get out of its own way.
When the 'buddhi gets enlightened, Self-realisation takes place,' according to Swami Ranaganathananda.
anadi calls this the second level of enlightenment: awakening not only to the experience, but to the
understanding of the experience as well. And further, out of the meeting of intelligence and sensitivity,
which produces the understanding, comes the fruit of the understanding, which is the appreciation of the

experience. The heart is involved. This is an added dimension over and above the experience itself.
Now, here's where the Advaitic reasoning gets a little confusing. We won't try to solve the problem of how
the ever-free Self or Atman becomes deluded by its very own adjuncts or bodies (koshas), etc., that is too
great a task at this point.
While the Upanishad considers the Buddhi to be closest to Atman, in between Buddhi and Atman lies
undifferentiated Maya. In yoga they sometimes refer to this - in the microcosm - as the anandamaya
kosha or bliss sheath. This is equated by Swami Ranganathananda with the causal body, also in the
heart, and which is active in deep sleep. During sleep, the vignanamaya kosha, the sheath of knowledge
or intellect, lies dormant in seed-form, and there is thus no knowing possible. The bliss sheath is active,
yet being of the nature of maya, the undifferentiated, is veiled by tamas, and one has no actual direct
experience of bliss while sleeping. One can only infer such a quality upon awakening by saying, 'I slept
soundly,' etc. The Mandukya Upanishad says that Turiya is what recognizes the state of deep sleep, but
only when we are in the waking state. This point is debated: some say there is no awareness during
ordinary deep sleep, while others say that Mind or the Self is always aware; this is similar to the dilemma
faced in the Tibetan tradition with the dawning of the 'emptiness-luminosity' at the point of death,
everyone experiences it, but most pass into unconsciousness almost immediately]. Some contemporary
teachers of 'consciousness' say we are actually aware of the experience or quality of sleep, while we are
sleeping, but is this reasonable? Are we, prior to enlightenment, aware of anything during sleep, or are
we essentially deconstructed in the absolute unconsciousness?
In other yoga schools, they equate the causal body with the 'bliss sheath in the heart.' Swami
Yogeshwaranand Saraswati writes:
"A stream of rays pertaining to the life-force arises from the bliss sheath (the causal body in the heart)
and goes to the astral body (manomaya and vijnanamaya koshas in the brain) and from there to the
physical body." (3)
Ramana said it was the Heart itself whose light went upwards to the head and then into the bodily centers
below. He spoke of the light of the moon (sahasrar) being the borrowed light of the sun (the Heart).
Yet, as mentioned, in the bliss sheath the intellectual sheath lies dormant during sleep. Even though the
bliss sheath is the closest to Atman, it has no way of reflecting the intelligence and inherent self-shining
nature of the Atman . Only the intellectual sheath, the vijnanamaya kosha , or Buddhi, can do so, and it
can do so only in the waking state. The bliss sheath, being the causal body of the soul and of the nature
of the primal Undifferentiated, is characterised, paradoxically, by 'darkness and vacuity,' inasmuch as it is
covered by the veiling power of tamas. The so-called bliss sheath is so fine, like a delicate silken
covering, that it is said to be almost an integral part of the soul.
Since the bliss-sheath is embedded in the other sheaths, in waking life one can have positive experiences
that give one a feeling of bliss. But there is no 'knowing' in the human body without the vijnanamaya
kosha.
The 17th century Hindu saint, Sri Samartha Ramadas, in his treatise on gnana yoga, Atmaram, said, "The
bliss-attainment of a yogi is maya." (quoted in The Notebooks of Paul Brunton) This makes sense
inasmuch as the bliss sheath is an initial product of maya itself. The bliss is really from the Soul, but the
jivatman (vijnana-maya-atman, or the jiva in the intellectual sheath) co-opts it for itself.
Now here I am stepping beyond the limits of my theoretical knowledge, but will try to explain to the best of
my understanding.
In Sant Mat, where they mystically try to peal off these sheaths one by one by merging with the creative
logos in the form of the luminous sound current that permeates all creation, they finally reach a stage
where the Soul has shed the physical, astral, causal (in their school the manomaya kosha or manas) and
the super-causal body (vijnanamaya kosha) and is now only vested with the extremely fine anadamaya

kosha or bliss sheath. However, the soul is now macrocosmically also in a region known as Maha Sunn,
a void which separates the created from the Uncreated worlds, and which is said to be characterized by
dense darkness which the Soul cannot penetrate without the help of the Satguru, whose roots are in Sat,
or the realms of Truth. The soul at this stage has shed mind, ego, and intellect, and can do no more for
herself. This dense darkness of Maha Sunn (which even saint Kabir mentioned) seems to correspond
with the "darkness and vacuity" of the causal body or bliss sheath mentioned by Ranganathananda.
For the saints, the 'heart-lotus' in the body is at 'the seat of the soul' between the two eyebrows, not in the
heart center. [This is also the focus of attention in the waking state; in dreams attention is said to go down
to the throat, and in deep sleep to the navel]. Even so, Sant Kirpal Singh would sometimes point to his
chest and say, "the Master reside here." This same double reference is found in the Gita where Krishna
says "I am the Heart in all Beings," but the yogi is also to meditate "with the mind in the heart, and the lifeforce in the head, established in concentration through yoga." He is encouraged to die that way, too. The
same is held in Tibetan Buddhism where the yogi is exhorted to go out through the crown of the head.
The only way I can reconcile these apparently different positions is by taking a non-spatial, non-bodily
oriented point of view of the highest realisation in these particular paths. Then the awakening at the heart
and the third eye would only indicate separate awakenings within the total I Am. But I'm not sure they
would all agree with this assessment.
All schools, whatever the tradition, are in agreement that the human form in the waking state is the
precious circumstance where enlightenment can occur. As Christ said, "work while it is day, and not at
night, when no man can work." Or one can just assume there is no-doer, and take his chances.
1. Stephen Harrod Bruhner, The Secret Teachings of Plants: The Intelligence of the Heart in the Direct
Perception of Nature (Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Company, 2004), p. 71, 81-87
2. Vivekachudamani, verse 266
3. Yogesh Satyeswaranand Saraswati, Science of Soul (New Delhi, India: Yoga Niketan Trust, 1987), p.
238

Upanishadic Mysticism and Meister Eckhart

Some Parallels
Br. Wayne Teasdale
from Bulletin 54, October 1995

[Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article]

The key to understanding, and indeed to practicing the Upanishadic or Hindu tradition, as well as that of
Christianity, is interiority, inner experience or contemplation. Interiority means dwelling in the depths of
ones being in the mystery of the Divine Presence as the spark that gives us awareness, our consciousness
that we are. India discovered millennia ago the secret of the guha, or the cave of the heart. . Indias great
sages, who were really spiritual pioneers on the frontiers of ultimate awareness, stumbled upon the secret of
the hearts cave, a place of total solitude from the world, the external reality of the marketplace.

Through contemplative forms of meditation these sages culled the depths of the heart, the deep subjectivity
of the inner life, and found the incomparable treasure of spiritual wisdom, the knowing of which
comprehends all things, while the ignorance of which is the worst form of poverty. They gained insight and
experience on how all reality holds together at the center of being in the cave of the heart. They knew that
the reality dwelling in the guha was the same as the reality pervading and sustaining the universe and all
worlds.
The first ultimate mystical discovery they made concerned the reality of the Divine itself. They came to the
awareness that Brahman, the Godhead IS Consciousness. This is a revolutionary insight. Rather than an
anthropomorphic notion or image of God, a god in human form, the Indian sages had deep realization of the
Divine as consciousness. How did they come upon this insight? They certainly didnt just invent it; it was a
gift to their inner world of the heart. This was a very important mystical discovery. It suggests the way the
universe holds together in divine thought, in consciousness itself.
As profound as this inner perception of the Divine was, as ultimate as it was in experience, there was more
to know. The Divine Consciousness external to us was also present within the secret spaces of the heart in
the eternal Atman, the Self. This Self, this Atman was one with Brahman. This Self is Brahman. Thats the
second great discovery the sages made. The transcendent reality out there is the same reality in the very
depths of the heart, in the hiddenness of subjectivity.
Eckhart speaks of these same kind of discoveries and realities. He says, for instance, that the eye by which
I see God is the same eye by which God sees me. How is that possible since God does not have form, and
certainly doesnt have eyes?! Well, obviously the eye is a metaphor for something else. Let us substitute the
personal pronoun I for eye, and see where it leads us. Thus we have: The I by which I see or know God is
the same I by which God sees and knows me. Thats better, or closer to the meaning, but I think we can
do better than that. Lets interpret the personal pronoun I as a metaphor for consciousness, and then read
it again. It would go something like this: The consciousness by which God knows me, and sees me, is the
same consciousness by which I know and see God. I believe thats Eckharts meaning.
Like the sages of India, the rishis of Indias ancient forests, mountains and deserts, Eckhart also knew that
the human self, the spirit in us, participates in the divinity. He knew from his own inner experience that the
inner reality of the soul-spark is one with God. He could then declare: there is something in the soul, or in
us that is essentially uncreated and uncreatable. That presumably is the Atman or the atman that
participates in the larger identity of the Atman, the Self.
Indias incomparable mystic sages then realized that they were It; they were God, or as the Upanishads put
it: That art thou. That which is the very essence or being of all things, it is That which we are. That is like
saying we are God. Indias mystics said that as well: I am Brahman. Eckhart was able to make that
utterance too. As he puts it: I am God. You are God. But God is not me, and God is not you.
What this all means is that we live in a wonderful state of intimacy with the Divine, and that is something of
what St. Paul meant in Acts when he says: In Him we live and move and have our being. We are called to
divine childhood in God, to be a son or daughter of Divine Love Itself. We are made for this Love, for we
come from Love; are sustained in Love, and we will return to Love at the end of our earthly journey when
our earnest hope, our longing will be satisfied in the vision of God and the enjoyment of His great loving
presence in endless intimacy.

The other side of Eckharts statement, however, tells us, paradoxically, that though we subsist in and are
destined for this intimacy with the Source, we do not and cannot possibly exhaust it. The Divine is always
beyond us in its mystery and fullness of being. We cannot but be in the Godhead, for nothing can exist
outside it, but it is definitely greater in its fullness of being than any or all of us. As Acts put it: In Him we
live and move and have our being. There is no other way for us to be. But it does not say: In Him we are
equal to Him and the same as God. That distinction in the end is crucial because some mystics have been
accused of making this sort of identification. To do so is neither true nor wise, but rather the greatest
expression of conceit.
It is easy to imagine how some mystics may fall into this kind of claim of total identity with the Divine
Essence; but it is ultimately an empty declaration because they cannot sustain existentially that statement.
No person has equality with the Divine, though all of us are essentially identified with It. It cannot be
otherwise for us, for the Ultimate grounds us in being and consciousness, and our existence springs forth
into reality and life from the living vitality of the source. Intimacy with God in the mystical life does not give
us the right to make pure identity claims, and if we do, we will come up against the contrary in our inner
experience. Indeed the spirit will teach us humility through a profound humiliation, and to bring us to the
inner realization that God is always beyond. We can have deep intimacy with the Divine, but we cannot
erase the difference. The Divine Mystery always calls us beyond ourselves into Itself, and we are ever on the
journey deeper into this mystery of the One without a second.

There is a little known addendum to the Jewish Torah that describes the Secret
Chamber of the Heart. And then there is that amazing quote from the Upanishads.
If someone should say to you:
"In the fortified City of the Imperishable,
Our body, there is a lotus,
And in this lotus a tiny space:
What does it contain that one
Should desire to know it?"
You must reply:
"As vast as this space without
Is the tiny space within your heart:
Heaven and earth are found in it,
Fire and air, sun and moon,
Lightning and the constellations,
Whatever belongs to you here below
And all that doesn't,
All this is gathered in that tiny space
Within your heart."

My assignment for this article was to research these ancient texts, and try to find
someone who would discuss them with me.
I was diligent in my quest. I talked with rabbis, alchemists, hermeticists, and Hindus
and kept receiving the same answer. They knew about it. They would not talk about it!

They were more than willing to describe the process that takes place in the heart chakra
how we can focus there for profound resolution of the polarities within our being.
But as Drunvalo points out, that's "not it." The Sacred Space in the Heart is not about
the heart chakra.

The Balancing of Polarities

The hermeticists I talked with discussed in detail God's Law of Harmony and what would
occur when the heart-chakra steps were followed as given in the Emerald Tablets
(under the title "Operation of the Sun").
A very nice rabbi explained how the sephira of the Tree of Life are all balanced at the
central heart chakra. But he was forbidden, he said, to discuss the Secret Chamber.
Hindus told me about Anahata again, the fourth chakra, the heart center. It is the
place, they said, in which attachment falls away and compassion begins to arise. It is
symbolized by the six-pointed hexagon and represents the energy of air. The mantra
AUM is associated with this place. The Anahata is the Great Chakra vibrating
simultaneously in the hearts of all beings. It is the seat of the soul.
But, alas, it is not the Secret Chamber that Drunvalo has discovered and that the
studies at HeartMath have affirmed.
Hindus told me that male and female can come into perfect union in the heart chakra.
Kundalini then travels through the spinal column, and its fiery light will illumine the soul.
And this, finally, will awaken the Secret Space in the Heart.
But what is that space? Where is it? They would not say.
One alchemist said to me, "It is a secret that cannot be discussed. It happens only after
bringing together Fire and Light in the heart chakra. Fire represents the impulses of the
ego, and Light, the impulse of the soul; they must be brought together in the heart
chakra in the middle of the Tree of Life, between the right and left column. Only after
that may the secret be found."
All of the explanations and techniques were like that. They involved allegory and
symbolism. They were about the reconciliation of the opposites of human nature within
the chakra or energy centers the bringing together of mind and emotion. This, they all
said (becoming impatient) adequately summarized many volumes of literature on the
subject. I would have to be content.

Describing the Indescribable

Finally, it occurred to me that the people I'd contacted so far could not talk about the
Secret Space simply because they had never found it themselves. Their own intricate

directions and explanations had not led them to it.

The Sacred Space in the Heart is a secret only because it's something that cannot be
described in words. It can only be experienced.
It's like the story in that famous little book called Flatland, where a two-dimensional
creature has a dream of physical, 3D reality and spends the rest of his life trying to
explain to his friends that there is such a thing as "up." But since his reality is like a map
flat, two-dimensional whenever he says "up" his friends hear "north."
"No!," this Flatland creature exclaims, "I mean 'up but not north.'" But they hear, "north
but not north." Of course, they assume he's lost his mind.
The volumes of truth that detail the steps into the Secret Chamber of the Heart can only
hint at what we may find there. The words "love" and "compassion" and "gratitude" all
have opposites. But these words have no meaning in the heart, where duality and
opposites cannot exist. Having visited this Heart Space ourselves, how can we say with
any hope of being understood that there is a Love that is not "love."
What happens to us in the Secret Space of the Heart happens, as Howard Martin of
HeartMath observes, in the fourth dimension outside of duality. You can't "bring it
back."

Sharing the Heart Space

Having realized that I was trying to get people to describe the indescribable, I finally
contacted someone who had words to share with me that may really help you in your
own search for the Secret Space in the Heart.
He was a Yogi at a hermitage, a man with an exclusive telephone number who did not
want his name mentioned.
He agreed with me that the Heart Space was indescribable, that it could only be
experienced. He knew what I now knew: that we could only discuss the heart in terms
that might or might not lead readers themselves to discover the hidden chamber. Our
interview was not going to give anyone more "information" than that.
But at the same time, as we spoke, we could feel that special place in each other's
heart. A harmony flowed between us. He realized he really wanted to talk to me. I
reciprocated this feeling. There was a quiet spaciousness between us.
He asked me how I would describe my own experience of the Heart Space, and I said,
"It is like watching a movie, and my life is on the screen. When I enter the Heart Space,
it becomes just light emitting from the projector with colors and movement that take

place on the screen. I know when I am there that the things I thought were real are not
that I am the Light and not the movie."
He laughed and said, "I like it. What else?"
"It changes everything," I said. "Your entire perspective changes. The disharmony falls
away when you achieve it. A harmony and balance begins in your life that changes all of
your perceptions."
He responded, "That's an important piece of it. When you find it, when you begin to
have a glimpse of it, your whole world will change. But that is just the beginning.
Understand that when you have found that place, you have only just begun to live in a
different way. The change happens little by little. It doesn't happen all at once. Don't
forget to tell your readers that, because it is important."
I laughed and said, "It makes me happy to talk to you about this. It's restful to do so. Is
there more that you would add?"
And he said, "I believe if only more of us could find this place, we would achieve
harmony between ourselves and between countries. The entire planet would be at
peace."
It really was a wonderful experience, talking with this man. There was a feeling between
us that, again, cannot be described. It was as though we were in the Space of the Heart
together.
I asked him what final thoughts he would like to leave with my readers.
He said, "Please tell them about the Great Mystery of it. Don't forget to tell them that it
means searching for a mystery. Part of finding the secret is knowing that it is a mystery.
It should always be treated as a mystery.
"In this time of great spiritual and analytical knowledge, the not-knowing is a part of the
knowledge that will help you travel there. If you meditate on the mystery within, the notknowing, you may find the way.
"Even if it were possible to describe the heart place, it would ruin the mystery. And then
it could never be found."

Katha Upanishad
In the secret cave of the heart,
Two are seated by lifes fountain.
The separate ego drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff,
Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter,
While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter
Neither liking this nor disliking that.
The ego gropes in darkness,
While the Self lives in light.
So declare the illumined sages and the householders
Who worship the sacred fire in the name of the Lord.
May we light the fire of Nachiketas
That burns out the ego, and enables us
To pass from fearful fragmentation
To fearless fullness in the changeless Whole.
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