The Prime Mover of Life - Dr Lane Wager

The Prime Mover of Life Dr. Lane Wager International Director Maharishi Corporate Development Programme

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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's unique and enduring contribution to mankind was his deep understanding of—and mechanics of experiencing—pure consciousness, the vacuum state of consciousness, the most powerful state of the mind.

Physics tells us the ground state or vacuum state, is an inexhaustible field of creativity, energy, orderliness and intelligence: literally a field of all possibilities. Everything in the universe—animate and inanimate—emerges from this quantum mechanical level. Vedic Science refers to it as the total potential of Natural Law. All of the innumerable laws of nature—the impulses of nature's intelligence—responsible for governing all the diverse tendencies in the universe, are found here. This same field of Nature's unlimited potential can be located within each individual at the source of thought, the most settled state of one's awareness. Acting from this level of pure consciousness, one inherits the infinite organising power of Natural Law, making all things easy of attainment.

Imagine a wave on the sea. Even a very big wave has limitations, boundaries; it is only this high and that wide. Now imagine that wave settling down, flattening out, until it merges with the sea. The limited value of the wave then assumes the unlimited, infinitely more powerful status of the sea. The wave, which was bounded before, has gained unboundedness.

Our mind is capable of the same settling down, or transcending process. During Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (TM), the waves of thought 'retire' to the source of thought. The word "transcend" means to go beyond; "meditation" refers to thinking. During TM the mind experiences lesser and lesser excited states of thought until one transcends thought completely, arriving at the source of thought. The agitated, limited value of thought gains the unlimited status of Being, the silent depth of the ocean of consciousness.

Transcending thought is as effortless as thinking. If a man can run, naturally he can walk and stand still. The active mind already contains the ability to be silently alert. No effort is required. It only needs a technique.

The mind is like a pond of water: choppy on the surface, silent and stable at its depth. When we experience only the 'noisy', surface level of thinking, difficulties are abundant. All problems result from, or are magnified by, an agitated state of mind. If we could anchor the surface mind to its vacuum state—if we could enliven the stability inherent at the depth of consciousness—we would be insulated from "the winds of change". 

In Bhagavad Gita (ch. 2, v. 48) Lord Krishna says: 'Yogasthah kuru karmani': Established in Yoga (pure consciousness), perform actions. Here the mind is most powerful, most effective. 'Yogah karmasu kaushalam' (ch. 2, v. 50): Yoga is skill in action. From this level, we "do less and accomplish more". The growth of inner silence is the basis of spiritual unfoldment and material success: 200% of life.

Conclusion: consciousness is the prime mover of life. Everything we do depends on the quality of our consciousness. If your mind is sleepy, agitated, or negative, then everything you perceive/speak/do, reflects that incoherence. But if one's consciousness is orderly, fresh and alert, the world appears much different. Knowledge is different in different states of consciousness. When one wears red glasses, everything appears red. Switch to green glasses and everything appears green. Rig Veda says: "knowledge is structured in consciousness". The world is, as we are. If you are anchored to the silent, blissful state of consciousness, everything you do becomes a wave of joyfulness. Maharishi summarises simply, "Handle that one thing--consciousness--by which everything else is handled."