ATEM-PAGES OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

It was a beautiful early-Spring sunny-morning in Naples.

 It was Spring ´75,  I went for a walk, my skin was gladly warmed by the early sun-rays and the eyes glad to enjoy the brightness of everything under the sunshine.

 A black spot born in the bowels of time lurked behind the corner of the road: my wife  came to tell me the Carabinieri were searching for me, I quickly took in consideration  all the possibilities, even to run away, but somehow the sunny side of life made me confiant if not in everything else, yes in myself: I decided to face the events and went just to their encounter.

I was in my twenties, was married, two kids, and a dog, I was a rebel, some kind of rare anarchist-spiritualist-revolutionary psychedelic-painter & poet searcher after the Truth.

 I´d read pages of the poem Savitri by Sri Aurobindo and Yogananda's autobiography, weaves of renovation swept the world and that morning I was walking about with my peace pipe and my last poem in my pockets.

The two Carabinieri  stop a passing  car and intimated the driver to take us to the next police station.  I was among them in the rear seat.

Holding me as a criminal they took me inside the police station close to my house, the same police station which saw me every sunday morning in the garden in front of it with my wife, two babies and Luigi, our dog. (If the dog belonged to us or we belonged to him is a theme to develop separately).

They put on me some old fashioned handcuffs with screws and chains around  my wrists and ask me why I refused to serve the Army.

I said I had two childs and no spare time for the Army, and anyway as a pacifist I did not agree with their opinion on several matters.

 (As a matter of fact Luigi has never loved a uniform either and whenever he saw one by the stroller while with the kids he would eloquently growl as against a potential enemy).

We take you to jail because since two years now you never presented yourself to serve in the Army.
Actually I had already thrown twice the military postcard in the toilet and pulled the chain, I couldn't believe it would get so serious.
I had a very large smile in my face, I was in a kind of ecstatic trance for the sudden realization that they could imprison my body but not my spirit,   and one of them said:- You smile, this is a serious matter, nothing to laugh about!
When I answered that they could chain my body but not my ideals, that in my mind  I was forever free they look at me as to an alien and closed the door of the jail.

A few hours later I was escorted to a military prison in an official car.

The formal interrogation started asking me if I was a Jehovah's Witness or a draft dodger.

-I´m sorry but I am neither, I represent myself.

- Nay, nay, you -must- be one of those two, please choose: are you a J.´s W. or a draft dodger?

-Sir again, I do not belong to any of those groups, I just represent myself.

The policemen look at me with impatience eager to validate with a cross one of the two choices, there was not an entrance as "representing himself". 

- Are you a Jehovah's Witness?

- No I'm not.

-Then you are a draft dodger said the official glad to find a solution.

-Why didn't you show up at the Army? We´ve been searching for you two years now.

I was tempted to answer that I was not interested at all in the Army and had better things to do, but I attempted an explication so I said: You see sir, borders between nations are an artificial thing to me, in my vision of things there are no borders and no difference between humans, we all belong to the human species. If you want to serve in the Army you can do it, but as for myself I decline the requirement.

The official had an upset look at me, the interrogatory exceeded his understanding and was interrupted having me back to jail.

Two days later a literate and cult colonel was sent from the Capitol just for me in order to understand who the hell I was and what I was saying.

I answered to the same question with a larger explication seeing that my listener was able to understand my point of view when I talked about the absence of borders.

-Yes, he answered, but what would you do if the enemy would suddenly put at risk your existence and that of your family?

- There would be no enemy if there were no borders to defend. 

The colonel was a bit disappointed by my answer, evidently he had never taken in consideration the absence of borders equal to absence of enemies, he was educated firmly  believing in a motherland, in borders to defend and enemies to defeat, and now he had someone in front of him that questioned his very belief.

He seemed to get interested in my frame of mind and ask for my vision of thing, I answered I was a peaceful person interested in yoga and a spiritual transformation, moreover right in that moment my place was with my family and kids, not in the Army neither in a prison.

There was no space in the interrogation for my kind of answers, it was the first time that  someone questioned their very belief rather than defending a cult or being a fugitive.

A date for the trial was assigned and a duty solicitor came to see me.

He was an aged man, father of family, and as a father he ask me if I wanted to remain in jail till my 47th because that was  the military law in my case. I thought of my wife and childrens, I did not consider that awful perspective. He suggested me to claim my absence due to a very serious illness, in that case they had to send me back to Naples at  the military hospital  for tests, meanwhile I could reunite with my family. 

So I did and the next day I was at the hospital claiming a terrible stomach ache every time they touch my belly. They prognosticate gastritis or ulcer and send me at home for three months to see any betterment.

Next visit I played a superlative role of a person affected by a persistent stomach ache that could hardly stand on his legs and I bent in two for the pain right there and then.

They gave me three more months to enjoy with my family in an enviable health.

Back again three months later the surprised colonel at the hospital in seeing me still around  said: What the fuck, are you still here?

-Mister colonel I'm very sick, I can't eat without throwing up most of the times (that was a last-minute addition to my list of sufferings).

-Now, you get out of my sight he said, right? I don't want to see you here anymore, he stamped his signature on a piece of paper which said I was permanently unable to serve in the Army.

 My health seemed suddenly to improve while taking firmly hold of the sheet of paper and tried not to run out of sight with my health completely restored.  

So I got rid of the Army and when back home we made a small family party celebrating the issue with Luigi happily barking around all of us.

 

    

Pearls of a synthetic truth/Perlas de una verdad sintética

 (english/español)

Followers of one or another Guru very often proof their inability for a synthetic Truth, to them, only their own Guru may talk about the “real” Truth while all the other Gurus lie and if they don´t lie anyway their teaching fall short when compared with that of their own Guru. We see this behaviour in religions too where "my God" is the real God and all the other God are a fake God.

Here I wish to propose some relevant  and incontestable facts, really happened, which demonstrates that among real Gurus there is not such a contradiction and that such things only belongs to the surface mind, and actually a mind unable to assimilate the Synthetic Truth.

While in America and some time before Paramahansa Yogananda left his physical body an American disciple told Him: Master, we all know that you will soon leave your body, pray take me with you, you are my God!

“Nonsense –Replied Yogananda- God is God, I´m just your Guru.  

“But Master! If you don't take me with you I will kill myself! She insisted.

“Oh, please stop with all this nonsense! God Himself is now incarnated in a human body in the South of India, his name is Sai Baba. After my departure you will go and stay with Him.

These prophecy proved to be correct because time later the woman went to live in Sai Baba ashram and never left till her death.

Swami Yogananda, which wisdom we can't doubt, spoke exactly in these terms referring to Sri Satya Sai Baba.

It so happens that Sai Baba (God Himself in Yogananda words) was born the 23^rd of November 1926 and the next day (24rd November) Sri Aurobindo informed his disciples that Sri Krishna had come down into the material (plane).

In a conversation held the 25^th August 1935 a Sri Aurobindo´ disciple asks the Master about the meaning of the 24^th November with the following words: “Which is the meaning of the 24^th November? There is disparity of opinions among your disciples. Some people say that the Avatar of the Supermind descended in you that day.

“Rubbish. Whose imagination is that?

“Well, I myself understood you achieved the Supermind that day.

“What was said was that the Divine, Krishna, had came down into the material (plane), it was proclaimed too that I would retire to work things out, if I had already achieved the Supermind that day why the hell I needed to retire? Sri Krishna had descended into my matter with an inevitable descent into connected general Matter, what is there of unclear about that?

With the affirmation from Yogananda that God Himself was incarnated and that His name was Sai Baba (born the 23^rd November) and Sri Aurobindo affirmation about the Krishna descent on the 24^th  November, we just have to assume they both were talking about one same Krishna, because we can hardly imagine some other Krishna descending into Sri Aurobindo´s and the general Matter.

Even so, disciples, students and Sri Aurobindo´s devotees pretend to ignore this True, while pretending to ignore that God Himself or Krishna had descended into a human form that very day, pretending that Krishna descent was something only concerned with Sri Aurobindo, losing in this way their opportunity to understand a Synthetic Truth affirmed by Yogananda, Sri Aurobindo, and Sai Baba´s existence itself at that moment.

This kind of attitude is not to underestimate insofar as it shows an inability to recognize the truth when we have it in front of our eyes or when we are informed of it through the Guru. It clearly indicates a mediocre level of understanding of the mind and this kind of fundamentalist game whereby only what our guru says is correct, or better yet, only what we think we have understood.

It goes without saying that this attitude is a serious hindrance to yoga in general and to integral yoga in particular, when we are supposed to move towards an integral truth and a synthetic true.

 

Los devotos de uno u otro Guru a menudo demuestran su incapacidad de una visión sintética de la Verdad, para ellos, solo su Guru ha dicho la verdad y los otros mienten, y si no mienten, en todo caso los otros Gurus no están a la altura de "mi" Guru. Podemos ver esta actitud también en las religiones, en donde "mi Dios" es el Dios auténtico y todos los demás Dio son falsos. 

Aquí propongo unos hechos incontestables, realmente acontecidos, que demuestran que entre los auténticos Gurus no existe contradicción, y que tales cosas solo pertenecen a la mente humana de superficie, y por cierto, una mente incapaz de asimilar la Verdad sintética.

Poco tiempo antes que Yogananda Paramahansa dejara su cuerpo se le acercó una discípula americana diciéndole: “Maestro, nosotros sabemos que te preparas para abandonar tu cuerpo físico, por favor llevame contigo, tu eres mi Dios!

“Tonterías – contestó Yogananda- Dios es Dios, yo soy tu Guru.

“Pero Maestro! Si no me llevas contigo cometeré suicidio!

“Está bien de tantas tonterías, el mismo Dios es ahora encarnado en el Sur de la India. Su nombre es Sai Baba. Cuando yo me vaya irás a vivir con Él.

Su profecía probó ser correcta en cuanto, tiempo después de la partida de Yogananda la discípula se fue a vivir al ashram de Sai Baba por el resto de su vida.

Este reputado Guru, habló exactamente con estas palabras con respecto a Sri Satya Sai Baba, y aquí no caben dudas o tergiversaciones ni nada de nada.

Se da la circunstancia que Sai Baba naciera el 23 de Noviembre 1926, y al día siguiente (24 Noviembre)  Sri Aurobindo informó a sus discípulos que Krishna había bajado a la Tierra.

En una conversación del 25 de Agosto 1935 un discípulo de Sri Aurobindo le pregunta sobre el significado del 24 de Noviembre con estas palabras: ¿”Cuál es exactamente el significado del 24 de Noviembre? Hay disparidad de opiniones entre tus discípulos, algunos dicen que el Avatar supermental descendió en ti.

“Tonterías – contestó Sri Aurobindo- ¿Quien dice esto?

“Bueno, yo mismo entendí que aquel día tú conseguiste la Supermente.

“Yo nunca he afirmado esto. Lo que dije fue que aquel día el Señor Krishna había bajado en el plano material. Y también dije que me retiraba a cumplir mi trabajo. Si el 24 de Noviembre hubiese alcanzado la Supermente ¿ por qué demonios habría tenido la necesidad de retirarme? Si Krishna, o la Supermente o su equivalente descendió en mi materia y en el plano material en general, ¿qué es tan poco claro con respecto a Su descenso en el plano material?

Con la afirmación de Yogananda que Dios se había encarnado en la tierra y que su nombre era Sai Baba (nacido el 23 de Noviembre), nos queda por concluir que el 24 de Noviembre el Krishna al que se refiere Sri Aurobindo es Sai Baba mismo y no otro Krishna que bajara –solo- en la materia de Sri Aurobindo.

Así y todo, los discípulos, estudiantes y devotos de Sri Aurobindo pretenden ignorar esta verdad, ignorando el descenso del mismo Dios (según afirmación de Yogananda), pretendiendo que el descenso de Krishna era algo  concerniente exclusivamente a Sri Aurobindo, y de esta manera pierden una visión sintética de la verdad y unos hechos históricos confirmados tanto por Yogananda como por Sri Aurobindo, como por Sai Baba mismo, protagonista de este hecho.

Esta clase de actitud, no es de infravalorar en cuanto demuestra una incapacidad real de absorber la verdad cuando se presenta delante de nuestros ojos, indica claramente un mediocre nivel de entendimiento de la mente y este juego fundamentalista por el cual –solo- la verdad expresada por el propio Guru tiene validez, al mismo tiempo que se demuestran incapaces de ir más allá de su misma comprensión de las palabras dichas por su Guru.

No hace falta decir que esta actitud es un serio obstáculo para el yoga en general y para el yoga integral en particular, cuando se supone que nos movemos hacia una Verdad Integral y una Verdad Sintética.