Tuesday, June 23, 2015

THE DIVINE SECRET

                         The Divine Secret 
True wisdom is love. The way is only one - love divine - that is all. Love divine is a great power; it is the basis of all religious life. Divine love has no sex. It sees God in all and all in God. Where love is, there God is. From love the world is born, by love it is sustained and into love it enters. He who loves not, knows not God, because God is love.

Open the floodgates of your heart for the inpouring of love divine. The path is through love - every moment of separation is a pang of death to the lovers and the devotees. Day and night the flame of love burns in the hearts of the devotees. Solace comes to the devotee in the flow of tears. The creeper of love is nourished by the eyes.

Love is not a passing sentiment or a feeble emotion - it is strong, deep, enduring. There is real love only when there is true inward identification with the life of another entity. Pure love divine communes with the beloved, with unity, with the one, the all-pervading essence of bliss.

The most important aspect of spiritual life is bhakti (devotion), and the secret of bhakti is love, a love which embraces all. Company of saints, kirtan (chanting) of the Lord's names, study of the Bhagavatam and service of the saints will create love for the Lord.

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Love of the body or skin is passion. Love of God is prema (or devotion). It is pure love, love for love's sake. To love someone for attaining a selfish gain, is selfish love. It binds you to this earth. To love all beings, as manifestations of the Lord himself is pure love and leads to liberation. Pure love redeems and purifies the heart and transmutes you into divinity. God is an embodiment of love - an ocean of love. If you wish to attain God-realization, you must also become an embodiment of love. Love inspires, illumines and leads the way. Love is giving and not taking. Love cements the broken heart. It is the key to open the door to moksha.

Love inspires love. It is divine elixir; it bestows immortality, supreme peace and everlasting joy. Love is the golden link which binds heart to heart, mind to mind and soul to soul. Love never reasons but ever profusely gives. It is not affected by offence or insult. It looks only with the heart.

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UNIVERSAL LOVE

                           Universal Love 


The only sara-vastu (thing of value) in this world is prema (or divine love). It is eternal, infinite and undecaying. Physical love is moha (passion or infatuation). Universal love is divine love. Cosmic love (vishva prema) and universal love are synonymous terms. God is love. Love is God. Selfishness, greed, egoism, vanity, pride and hatred contract the heart and stand in the way of developing universal love.

Develop universal love gradually through selfless service, satsanga (association with holy ones), prayer, recitation of guru mantra (mantra or a holy word given by a guru), etc. Thus all barriers are broken and now the heart will expand infinitely.

It is very easy to talk of universal love. But when you want to put it into actual practice it becomes extremely difficult. Petty mindedness of all sorts comes in the way. Old, wrong samskaras (impressions) which you have created by your wrong mode of life in the past, act as stumbling blocks. Through iron determination, strong will power, patience, perseverance and vicar (right enquiry), you can conquer all obstacles quite easily. The grace of the Lord will descend on you if you are sincere, my dear friends.

Feel that the whole world is your body, your own home. Melt or destroy all barriers that separate man from man. Any idea of superiority is ignorance or delusion. Develop all-embracing love. Unite with all. Separation is death. Unity is eternal life. Feel that the body is a moving temple of God. Wherever you are, whether at home, at the office, the railway station or the market, feel that you are in this temple.

Consecrate every act as an offering unto the Lord. Transmute every work into yoga by offering its fruits to God. Have akarta sakshi bhava (feeling: "I am a non-doer, witness") if you are a student of vedanta. Have nimittabhava (feeling: "I am an instrument") if you are a student of bhakti. Feel that all beings are images of God, that this world is indwelt by the Lord. Feel that one power, or God, works through all hands, sees through all eyes, hears through all ears. You will become a changed being. You will enjoy peace and bliss.

May Lord Hari take you all to His bosom and bathe you with the waters of sweet love. May your heart be filled with cosmic love.

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Sunday, June 21, 2015

RAJA YOGA , MESSAGE 29

                     Raja Yoga, Message 29

The section ‘Lights in Meditation’ now continues.
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Divine light comes not through open doors, but only through narrow slits. The aspirant sees the ray as a sunbeam passing through a chink into a dark room. It is like a flash of lightning. This sudden illumination chokes all sounds of words. The aspirant is spell-bound in ecstasy and awe. He trembles with love and awe, just as Arjuna did when he saw the universal form of Lord Krishna. So bright and glorious is the light environing the Divine, that the initiate is dazzled and bewildered. 
During deep meditation you may behold a huge pillar of light. You will see infinite light and you will merge yourself in it. You will be struck with awe and wonder. 
Various persons get various spiritual experiences. There cannot be a common experience for all. It depends upon the temperament, mode of sadhana, place of concentration and various other factors. Some hear melodious sounds in the ears, some see lights, some get spiritual bliss and some get both lights and bliss. 
To behold various kinds of colours and lights during meditation is not the goal. You will have to merge the mind in That which is the source for all these lights and colours. 
Anahata Sounds 
Anahata sounds or melodies are the mystic sounds heard by the yogi at the beginning of his cycle of meditation. The anahata sound is due to the vibration of prana in the heart. This is a sign of purification of the nadis or astral currents due to pranayama. The sounds can also be heard after the uttering of mantra 'hamsah soham' a hundred thousand times. The sounds are heard through the right ear, with or without closing the ears, but they are more distinct when heard through closed ears. The ears can be closed by introducing the two thumbs into the ears through the process of yoni mudra. Sit on padma or siddhasana, close the ears with the thumbs and hear the sounds very attentively. Occasionally you can hear the sounds through the left ear also. Practise to hear from the right ear only. Why do you hear through the right ear only or hear distinctly through the right ear? Because of the solar nadi, pingala, on the right side of the nose. 
Just as a hunter catches deer by spreading a snare, so also the yoga student catches the mind by the snare of anahata sound heard in his right ear. The sweet melodious sounds that are heard in the ear first attract the mind. Then they bind it and eventually annihilate the mind. The mind is absorbed or dissolved in the nada (sounds). Binding the mind means rendering the mind quite steady. To kill the mind is to make the mind absorbed in the sound. Then it cannot run toward the objects. 
The sound that is heard is of ten kinds. The first is like the sound of the word 'chini'; the second is like 'chini-chini'; the third is the sound of a bell; the fourth is that of a conch; the fifth is that of a lute; the sixth is the sound of cymbals; the seventh is that of the flute; the eighth is that of the drum; the ninth is that of a double drum, and the tenth is like that of thunder. 
The mind can be fixed on any of these sounds. This also will lead to samadhi. Sometimes you will hear the melodious sound of OM during meditation and you will see the form of your guru.
A student in the path of vedanta ignores these sounds and lights. He meditates on the significance of the great declarations of the Upanishads by negating all forms. "The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor shines this lightning and much less this fire. When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His light all these shine.'' He meditates also like this: ''The air does not blow there. The fire does not burn there. There is neither sound nor touch, neither smell nor colour, neither mind norprana in that homogeneous essence. I am the blissful Siva, I am the blissful Siva." 
Experience of Sadhaks 
Here are some actual experiences of sadhaks: 
I had a peculiar sensation near my solar plexus in meditation. I noticed a whirling sensation like a flywheel rotating around. Then I came across some peculiar sights. I saw with the physical eyes a sort of white or blue hue of light all around people's heads and also on the surface of buildings. When I gazed at the open grand expanse of sky in the day time, I noticed a white light moving hither and thither. When I work intently in my office, white shining lights flash across my eyes. Sometimes little sparks of light are noticed on my books. This gives me a peculiar joy and I begin to chant the name of the Lord: 'Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama'. Nowadays when I am cycling to my office I see a round light-like ball which is visible till I reach my destination. The same thing appears at times when I gaze at the beautiful sky......'S.' 
I meditated for five hours daily for a month in Gangotri. One day I had a great deal of dejection for two hours. I could not find any peace. I found it difficult to bear the mood of dejection. I then sat on the bank of the Ganges and began to meditate upon Mahatma Gandhiji. It gave me some solace. After a few days I was meditating on Sri Ramachandra for one and a half hours. This meditation with form automatically turned into a formless type. I felt perfect peace for ten minutes. My mind was fully engrossed in meditation on OM. This continued for half an hour. One day I had a different kind of experience. I opened my eyes after meditation. I found everything as Brahman without the help of reasoning. I had this mood the whole day. A brahmachari spoke to me for one hour on that day. I was hearing but my mind did not attend to his speech. It remained in the same mood. I could not recollect even a word of his speech. 
On another occasion I meditated for half an hour. I had a very ecstatic mood. But owing to some distraction from sounds outside, this ecstatic mood dropped down. Again I began to meditate. I saw a beautiful light at the bottom of my heart. As soon as that light disappeared, I began to weep unconsciously. Somebody came and called me by my name. I stopped weeping a little but looking at his face wept again and again for twenty-five minutes......'V'. 
I did pranayama for a month and then began to hear some sweet melodious sounds of different sorts, viz., flute, violin, bell-sound, double drum, sounds from a cluster of bells, a conch sound, a drum sound, and the sound of thunder; sometimes from right ear only, while at other times from both the ears......'N'. 
During concentration I smell extraordinary sweet fragrances and good smells......'R'. 
I used to see during meditation in the space between the eye-brows a blazing sun, a dazzling light and brilliant stars. The vision was not steady at all......'G'. 
Sometimes I see some sages in the space between the eyebrows during the course of concentration. I used to see Lord Krishna, with the flute in his hands......'S'. 
I used to see, at times, coloured lights, red, green, blue and white in the space between the eye-brows during my meditation. Sometimes I see a blue expansive sky. I, myself, appeared as a dot in that blue sky......'V. 
During meditation I occasionally see several demi-gods and goddesses with lustrous resplendent bodies with beautiful ornaments......'R'. 
Sometimes during meditation I see a big void only......'T'. 
During concentration I see my own face in the centre of a big light. Sometimes, I used to see the faces of my friends. I could clearly recognise them......'R'. 
I feel a current of electricity passing from the muladhara to the back of the neck when I sit for meditation. Even at ordinary times, I feel this......'K'. 
During meditation some astral entities with ghastly hideous faces and long teeth, black in colour, threaten me. But they did not do any harm......'A'. 
When I sit for meditation I often get jerks of the legs and hands. Sometimes, my body jumps from one place to another......'M'. 
I sometimes see palatial buildings, rivers, mountains and gardens during my meditation......'S'. 
I meditate with open eyes. One night I saw in front of me, a brilliant light. In the centre of the light I saw Lord Krishna with flute in hand. My hair stood on end. I became speechless. I was struck with awe and wonder......'S'. 
One day I had deep meditation. I separated myself actually from the physical body. I actually saw it as a slough thrown off. I was floating in the air. I had a peculiar sensation—a mixture of extreme joy and extreme fear. I stayed in the air for a couple of minutes only. Owing to great fear I suddenly entered back, gliding with a peculiar sensation into the physical body. The experience was thrilling......'S'. 
In the Hours of Meditation 
Brahman, Self, Purusha, Chaitanya, Consciousness, God, Atman, Immortality, Freedom, Perfection, Peace, Bliss and Bhuma (or the Unconditioned) are synonymous terms. If you attain Self-realisation you will be freed from the round of births and deaths and its concomitant evils. The goal of life is the attainment of final beatitude or liberation (moksha). Liberation can be attained by constant meditation with a heart that is rendered pure and steady by selfless service, japa, etc. 
Reality or Brahman can be realised by man. Many have attained Self-realisation. Many have enjoyed the state of nirvikalpa samadhi. Sankara, Dattatreya, Mansoor, Shams Tabriez, Jesus and Buddha were all realised souls who had direct perception of the Truth or cosmic vision. One who has known it cannot communicate it to others for want of means. Even the knowledge acquired by the five senses which are common to all, cannot be communicated to others. You cannot tell the taste of sugar candy to a man who has never tasted it; you cannot communicate the idea of colour to one born blind. All that the teacher can do is to tell his disciple the method of knowing the Truth, or the path that leads to the unfoldment of intuitional faculties.
In contemplation you are in spiritual contact with the unchanging light. You are cleansed of all the impurities. This light cleanses the soul which touches it. The light brings enhanced energy and great comfort. The sun-glass is exposed to the light of the sun and the straws underneath catch fire. So also within yourself, if you have an open heart devotedly lifted up to God, the light of His purity and love, illumining this open soul, will consume all your shortcomings in its fire. 
SIDDHIS 
"By samyama on the three modifications of the mind comes the knowledge of the past and future." (III-16) 
"By samyama on the signs (of others) comes the knowledge of their minds." (III-19) 
"By giving up even these (siddhis) comes the destruction of the seed of bondage, which brings kaivalya (or Self-realisation)." (III-51) 
Siddhis are psychic powers. A yogi claims that he can attain these extraordinary powers and knowledge by subduing the passions and appetites and by practising yama, niyama and samyama (the practice of concentration, meditation and samadhi at one time). 
Yogis of olden times — like Sri Jnana Dev, Bhartrihari and Patanjali Maharshi — used to send and receive messages to and from distant persons through mind-telepathy and thought-transference. Telepathy was the first wireless telegraph and telephone service in the world. Even now there are yogis who are versed in telepathy. Thought travels with tremendous velocity through space. Thought is as much solid matter as a piece of stone. It can hit a man against whom it is directed. 
There is no such thing as a miracle. Ordinary man is quite ignorant of higher spiritual things, he is sunk in oblivion and shut up from higher transcendental knowledge, so he calls some extraordinary occurrence or event a miracle. For a yogi who understands things in the light of yoga, a miracle is nothing. Just as a man of a village is astonished when he sees an aeroplane or cinema for the first time, so also a man of the world is stunned when he witnesses an extraordinary spectacle for the first time. 
Yoga aims at controlling the mind. Miraculous siddhis or powers can be attained by the methodical exercise of yoga practice. The science of yoga promises as the fruit of such practice the attainment of the faculty of making oneself invisible, infinitely large or infinitely light, of assuming other bodies, of changing the course of nature and the acquisition of all other miraculous powers. 
A yogi becomes the master of all forces in nature and can utilise them at his will. He has perfect control over the elements. The word 'bhagavan' denotes one who possesses the six superhuman powers or six attributes, viz., who can assume the size of an atom, who is the inexhaustible store-house of righteousness (dharma), glory (yasa), prosperity (sri), dispassion (vairagya) and knowledge (jnana). 
Understand and realise the powers of the mind. Unfold the hidden powers or occult faculties. Close the eyes. Concentrate. Explore the higher regions of the mind. You can see distant objects, hear distant voices, send messages to distant parts, heal persons who are at a distance and move about to a distant place in the twinkling of an eye. Believe in the powers of the mind. If you have interest, attention, will-power and faith you are bound to succeed. 
The source of the mind is the Atman or the highest Self. This mind is born of the Atman through His maya or illusory power. Man's mind is just a fragment of the cosmic or universal mind. A raja yogi becomes one with the cosmic mind and knows the workings of all minds. The yogi gets omniscience through the cosmic mind and experiences cosmic consciousness. 
There are scientific means to tap this universal mind. Purity, concentration, dispassion, right living, right thinking, right conduct, right action, devotion, moderation in eating and sleeping, purity in food, truthfulness, continence, non-injury and austerities have to be regularly practised for a protracted time. When you tap the universal mind you will get higher, super-sensual knowledge. You will experience cosmic consciousness. You will get knowledge of the past, present and future. You will acquire knowledge of the root elements and the mental plane. You can know what is going on in the minds of others. You will get divine powers. 
Through his yoga inner eye the yogi directly beholds the innate tendencies of his disciples; he knows their weaknesses and defects and prescribes the right kind of sadhana for their quick eradication. A jnani can also do this. Whatever a yogi does through simultaneous dharana, dhyana and samadhi, can be done by a jnani through his power of pure will or desire. 
In higher stages of spiritual life speech has very little to do with communication. By mere willing and thinking, telepathic waves can be transmitted to the mind. 
Stories of Siddhas 
A disciple of Samartha Ramdas transmitted his spiritual power to the daughter of a dancing woman who was very passionate towards him. The disciple gazed at her. Her passion vanished, she became pious and religious-minded. Transmission of power can be done by a yogi through gazing, touch and willing. 
A yogi named Chang Dev came riding on a tiger, with a serpent for a whip, to Alandi near Poona where Yogi Jnanesvar was living. He wanted to impress Jnanesvar with his own powers and command over nature. Jnanesvar was ready to receive him. With his brothers and sister he climbed upon the wall which surrounded his house and commanded it to bear him out to meet his visitor, and the wall did as it was bidden. 
Mansoor was a great and famous sufi saint. He lived in Multan (Punjab) some four hundred years ago. He was always repeating "Analhaq". This corresponds to 'Soham' or 'I am He' of the vedantins. People reported to the then emperor that Mansoor was an atheist and that he was always repeating "Analhaq". The emperor was quite enraged. He ordered that Mansoor be cut into pieces. Accordingly, he was cut into pieces. Even then the flesh was uttering "Analhaq, Analhaq". He felt no pain as he was a full-blown jnani and he had full identification with Brahman. He was above body-consciousness. He was bodiless in reality. When they put the pieces of flesh and bones in the fire the ashes uttered "Analhaq". 
Shams Tabriez was another saint of Multan. He also lived some four hundred years ago. He was a Hindu sannyasin with the sannyasi name of Puri. Mohammedans gave him the name Shams Tabriez just to appropriate him to their side. He was also disliked by the then emperor because he was always repeating "Analhaq". One day, when he was very hungry, someone gave him a piece of raw flesh. He asked for some fire from some people to roast it. They all refused, because if they were to help him they would be punished by the emperor. 
Shams Tabriez then kept the piece of flesh in his hand and showed it to the sun and said, "O sun, come down immediately and roast the piece of flesh for me. I am very hungry." At once the sun came down and roasted the piece of flesh. Shams Tabriez ate it with joy. The scorching rays of the sun began to burn the people of Multan and the emperor, trembling with fear, prostrated before Shams Tabriez and said: "Forgive me my Lord. Make the sun go back to its original place." The sun obeyed the orders of the jnani and went back to its original place. A jnani is God Himself. He can do anything through pure will or resolve. He is King of kings, though he has no treasury. What is a petty emperor before a sannyasin, the Emperor of emperors! 
Shams Tabriez was later skinned alive by the order of the emperor, yet he only laughed throughout. Kabir's corpse turned into flowers, half of which were buried by the Hindus at Benares, the other half at Maghar. Sage Tiruvalluvar's body was converted into gold at the time of his death. The bodies of some saints in Southern India were converted into a mass of light at the time of their death. Saints can do anything they like. 
It is true that Buddha died of purging, Sankaracharya died of piles, Ramakrishna died of cancer and Vivekananda died of diabetes. Even if there is a physical ailment the sage is not affected by it as he has no identification with the body. In his vision there is no body for him, so he never cares to attend to it. 
Requirements for Attaining Siddhis 
Many persons take to yoga practices with curiosity and the expectation of acquiring powers and awakening the kundalini. They leave off the practice after three months. This is not good. Application and tenacity, patience and perseverance are necessary for sanguine success and siddhis. Mere emotion will not do. 
The success in yoga is quicker according to the amount of energy put in by the sadhak! You cannot expect to have siddhis by simply shutting and opening the nostrils for three or six months. He who is established in yama and niyama and who has mastery over a posture, can take to pranayama. He will undoubtedly have success. 
Real Nature of Spiritual Experiences 
Higher spiritual experiences have nothing to do with colours or sounds. There should be inner joy, peace and poise. There should be balance of mind in success and failure, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour. The pairs of opposites should be overcome. Likes and dislikes should vanish. There should be Cosmic Love. The whole world should become the manifestation of the supreme Lord. There should be freedom from all kinds of fears and pains. This is the real nature of high spiritual experiences. 
Psychic powers — siddhis and riddhis — have no proper place in spiritual life. You will have to shun them ruthlessly even if they manifest during the course of your spiritual practices. They roll under the feet of that yoga student who has controlled the senses and who practices concentration. They are hindrances to realisation. You will have to spurn them as worthless because your aim is the attainment of liberation (kaivalya moksha). 
Patanjali Maharishi (author of the Yoga Sutras), clearly warns the students that they should not be carried away by temptations of powers. The gods themselves tempt the incautious yogi by offering him a position similar to theirs. 
Uddalaka was tempted by the gods, but he refused their invitations. So remember, don't stop even with these psychic powers. 
Exhibition of psychic powers is no criterion for measuring one's height of spirituality. Sometimes a yogi may exhibit a miracle to his student just to convince him of the existence of super-sensual things and to encourage him in the spiritual path. He who exhibits siddhis for selfish ends is a big worldly man. He will soon have his downfall. A yogi came to Calcutta and exhibited in the University Hall the feats of drinking pure nitric acid, swallowing nails and chewing glass-pieces. People were struck with wonder. He licked the nitric acid like honey. But he was a purely commercial man. He made a demonstration of these acts to anyone who could pay Rs. 30/-. Can there be an iota or grain of spirituality or real yoga where business transactions are made? I leave this for the readers to judge. The poor yogi died in Rangoon on account of some carelessness in his technique. There is nothing really extraordinary in these feats. There are some herbs to destroy the evil effects of acids and glass-pieces. 
It is only the uncultured man who runs after powers. The possession of siddhis never brings one nearer to God. They have no spiritual value. Worldly people are enamoured of persons who exhibit these powers and run after them with curiosity. They are under the wrong impression that those who exhibit powers are real mahatmas or jivanmuktas. This is wrong. Patanjali Maharshi also says: 
"The siddhis are regarded as perfections by the undisciplined mind only, but are serious obstacles to spiritual meditation." (III-38) 
Naturally, various kinds of siddhis are acquired by the yogi who has controlled his senses and his prana and who practises concentration and deep meditation. Emancipation can only be achieved when you shun even omniscience and omnipotence as worthless. They are nothing when compared with the supreme imperishable wealth of liberation (moksha or kaivalya). 
He who runs after siddhis will become the biggest householder and worldly-minded man. Self-realisation only is the goal. 
If you use these powers for base and selfish purposes, for some material gain or other, you will face a downfall and be punished by nature. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. Every wrong action is bound to cause reaction. It will rebound upon you and bring your own destruction. Do not prostitute the psychic powers. I seriously warn you, beware. Power, sex, money and erudition act as powerful intoxicants. The possessor does not know exactly what he is doing. His intellect becomes turbid and his understanding gets clouded. You will not be tempted by these powers if you are established in the practice of yama or self-restraint. Whatever psychic powers you may get, treat them as poison, dung or straw. Don't deviate from your spiritual path and object of meditation. 
Just as you treat a cow, so also demi-gods treat men and aspirants. They put serious obstacles in the path of the aspirants. They tempt them, particularly the advanced students. Respect them, but reject the offered powers or allurements ruthlessly. Then only can you march further on the path. If you yield to their temptations, if you become a slave of siddhis, you will have a hopeless downfall. O aspirants, beware. 
One becomes fit for immortality only when he abandons the pleasures of this world and other worlds, including those of Indra and Brahman. Psychic powers tempt the yogi to run into the sensual grooves. The motives attributed to their achievement may be pure in the beginning, but the suppressed desires will all of a sudden sprout up and delude the aspirant. Incessant prayer and strong belief in God are the remedies for all ills. Gradually you should develop dispassion for worldly objects, including the body. Be cautious at all times.

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SUPREME LOVE OF GOD

                  Supreme Love of God 
Life is complex nowadays. The struggle is very keen.  
Here is an easy way of worshipping the Lord...
Consider your house as the temple of the Lord, 
Your wife and children and others as the holy company of the bhaktas (devotees). 
Consider every word you speak as the japa (repetition) of the Lord's name and as praise of him. 
Consider every action as service of the Lord; 
And your lying in bed as prostrations before the Lord, 
And your daily walk and moving about as perambulations of the Lord. 
Consider the lights you burn in the evening as the waving of lights to the Lord. 
Consider sleep as samadhi (super-conscious state). 
Give food and drink as offering to the Lord, then take it as his prasad (gift). 
This is an easy way to worship the Lord. 
"How shall I wash thy feet with holy water, O Lord, when the very Ganges flows from thy feet?
How shall I give thee a seat, O Lord? 
Thou art all pervading! 
How shall I wave lights for thee, O Lord? 
The sun and the moon are thy eyes: 
Shall I offer flowers to thee? 
Thou art the very essence of the flowers."

This attitude is called para puja (highest worship). 
Feel the presence of the Lord everywhere. 
He dwells in the chambers of your heart too. 
He glitters in your eyes. 
He is the breath in your nostrils. 
He is nearer to you than your jugular vein. 
Behold Him in every face. 
You will attain happiness here and hereafter if you worship God in this way. Life is short and time is fleeting. 
Start doing this right now.
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Why should you roam hither and thither to find God, the Supreme Being? Why should you go in vain to the forests? Why? Even as in the flower, fragrance resides, even as in the fire, heat dwells - even so doth the Lord abide. Seek Him within, my friend. Seek Him earnestly too.

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DEVOTEE's VISION

                           Devotee's Vision 


The bhakta is blissful at all times. His mind cannot think of anything for everything is God. “Yatra yatra mano yati tatra tatra samadhayah - Wherever the mind goes there it experiences samadhi” - for it does not find any object of enjoyment. God fills every speck of space and the whole world is clothed in the glory of God.

The saint and the sinner, the virtuous and the vicious, the good and the bad, the man and the animal - all are forms of God. How can the mind deal with them in any undivine way? There, the mind experiences samadhi - it has consciousness but no object. Samadhi is thoughtless consciousness, objectless consciousness - this is para bhakti.

This is the same as vedantic realisation. The effect is the annihilation of the ego or the destruction of the mind.
God, who is supremely powerful, supremely wise and supremely blissful, pervades the entire atmosphere and the earth. He is the earth and the heaven; He is father, mother, brother, sister; He is the consummation of all love and aspiration, of all desire and ambition; He is the stoppage of all mental vrittis and He is the ideal to be attained.

Control the mind and annihilate the ego - this is the essence of all yogas. It is the ideal of bhakti yoga, which is a very sweet and easy method or procedure. One has not got to curb one's emotions and one has not to run away to the forests. He has to direct his emotions towards God. He has to see God as present in the world. This is the essence of bhakti sadhana (practice).

Bhakti is thus only a reflection of the love for the Self which the Upanishads declare. Only the names are different: one calls it Self and the other calls it God. Names do not matter; it is the feeling that counts, and that is the same in both.

Self-surrender is the highest form of bhakti. It is surrender of the ego or individuality. What remains after that is the 'Absolute' of the vedantins. Bhakti surrenders the ego and a vedantin disintegrates the ego. In both the ego is not there - their ideals are the same. Whether one eats rice or wheat, it is all the same - the purpose of both is to appease the hunger. So whether you follow bhakti or vedanta, the effect is the annihilation of the ego. This is the truth.

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GRACE PURIFIES THE HEART

                    Grace Purifies the Heart 
Behold the Lord's grace in every inch of his creation. On a hot summer day you enjoy the delicious sweet juice of grapes, cucumber, oranges and pomegranates and the cool Ganges water of Rishikesh and Hardwar. This is the Lord's grace. When you suffer from a serious ailment you get immediate relief and cure from herbs - this is the Lord's grace. When you walk in the dark night, the stars twinkle and throw light on your path - this is the Lord's grace.
When you are unable to bear extreme pain you become unconscious - this is the Lord's grace. When the weather is sultry, a gentle breeze springs up and refreshes you - this is the Lord's grace.

The subtle forms of lust, anger, egoism, pride, etc., can only be totally destroyed through the grace of the Lord. However hard you may strive and do sadhana (spiritual practice), these subtle forms cannot be eradicated through your sadhana alone. Only the Lord's grace completely purifies your heart.

It is the Lord's grace only that stirs the aspirants to do right exertion. But do not sit idle and say: "Oh the Lord's grace will do everything for me, why should I do sadhana?" This is wrong philosophy. God helps those who help themselves. God's grace will only descend on those persons who exert themselves. You cannot expect the Lord to do self-surrender for you. Be up and doing. Strive. Plod. Persevere. The Lord will shower his grace upon you.

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It is the grace of the Lord that gives rise to sincere satsankalpa (good and true thoughts and pure resolves). You can be transformed in the twinkling of an eye. One moment you may be groping in the darkness, the next moment you can attain illumination.

There is an ignition point of the soul. When it is connected, man is transformed. His life is turned from its former worldly ways into a new divine life. He is awakened spiritually.

This serenity will deepen into unshakeable peace amidst all the troubles and difficulties of life. Then only insight and intuition will dawn. Then only you will attain wisdom, perfection and freedom.

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SUPREME LOVE IS SELF-KNOWLEDGE

              Supreme Love is Self-Knowledge


A devotee of para bhakti type is all-embracing and all-inclusive. He has cosmic love and the whole world is holy for him. He does not visit temples for worship, seeing the Lord in everything. He feels that the world is a manifestation of the Lord, and that all movements and actions are his sport. He has no dislike for faecal matter or dirt, for the outcaste, the scavenger, the cobbler, the beggar, the prostitute, or the thief. He says: "I see my sweet Lord everywhere. It is Hari who is playing the part of the prostitute, the thief, the dacoit, the scavenger." He has an all embracing, all inclusive, exalted mental state. This cannot be described adequately in words, but must be felt. Mira, Gouranga, Hafiz, Tulsidas, Kabir, Ramdas - all enjoyed this state.

Namdev said to the dog: "O Vittala, my dear, in the form of a dog, do not run away with the dry bread. It will affect your soft throat. Pray let me apply ghee (clarified butter) to the bread." He ran with ghee in a cup to the dog. Sri Ramakrishna prostrated before an outcaste girl: "O Mother Kali, I see thee in this girl." Eknath, a Maharashtrian bhakta, gave his ring voluntarily to the thief when the latter entered the house. "O thief, take this ring also. Your duty is to steal things. Thou art Krishna. Keep up this sport." Have you understood the sublime state of these exalted bhaktas who had a new angle of vision? A day will come to you also. Exert and struggle.

Para bhakti is self-knowledge only. Sri Shankara, who was established in the wisdom of pure non-dualism, was a great bhakta of Lord Hari and Devi. Sri Ramakrishna worshipped Kali and obtained self-knowledge through Swami Totapuri, his guru. Appayya Dikshitar was a devout bhakta of Lord Shiva. Para bhakti and self-knowledge are one.

The only slight difference is that a bhakta uses his emotion, while a sage of wisdom uses his will and intellect. Bhakti begins with love, while jnana or self-knowledge begins with thinking and self-analysis. The end of both is the same, union with the divine.

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GOD-REALISATION

                           God-Realisation 
Divine love overflows to others once it has filled your heart. Love God with all your heart - and your neighbour as yourself - this is the secret of God-realisation. Love breaks down all barriers. Love is an open sesame to an infinite realm of bliss immortal. The learned talk of God but the poor love Him in their hearts.

Beyond logic, beyond intellect, beyond reason is the feeling of love and the embodiment of love - which is God. Argue not. Realise Him. Talk to Him with the language of the heart.

Do not gauge the Lord's love and mercy by the material prosperity He gives you. Infinitely more valuable is the spiritual treasure He bestows upon His true devotee. Love is the dew drop of divine grace.

Cosmic love is the threshold to the limitless domain of Brahmic bliss. Cosmic love is synonymous with supreme self-sacrifice or egolessness. In all beings lives the one God   the Supreme Being, the eternal Lord. Therefore bow to all beings with reverence, faith and devotion.

Feel that another's difficulty is yours and relieve him of his difficulty. Then alone you will grow in cosmic love. Love is an actual substance that you can use with confidence. Love is a positive, concrete thing.

Love vibrates in the form of service, charity, generosity and benevolence. There is unity of life. Love of one's Self is the true love of all life. All patriotism, love of one's own nation, one's own race, one's own religion, are but limited kinds of love. Human love is but the stepping stone to divine or universal love.

Love all. Behold the one common consciousness that indwells all beings, that is immanent in all names and forms. Spread the message of divine love, light and worship wherever you go. Love knows no fear. Love is the greatest power.

Love is the divine force of this universe. The purer you make your heart, the greater will be the power of your love. Be kind, be compassionate, be humble, be tolerant, be good, be just, be natural. Love the eternal in every being. Make no distinctions between one being and another.  

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I AM THINE , O LORD

                        I Am Thine, O Lord 
Do not bother about taking care of your body. God will save it if he needs it for further service. Surrender it at his feet and rest in peace. He will take care of it. A real devotee says, "Let me take millions of births; it does not matter, but let me be attached to the lotus feet of Lord Hari. Let me have spontaneous devotion to the Lord.

Let me be endowed with purity, spiritual strength, the spirit of selfless service and other divine virtues."
If you simply say without real inner feeling, "I am thine, O Lord," this will not constitute real integral self-surrender. This should come right from the core of your heart. You must be prepared for a radical change. You should not stick to your old habits, ways and motives. You should not expect that everything should happen in the way you want. You should live to carry on the divine purpose. You should not think of those ambitions which the mind likes to gratify. You should not think of using divine grace or the divine force for your own purposes - then the irrepressible ego will assert itself in various ways and refuse to give up its old habits.

The ego tries to get everything from the divine but it totally declines to give itself to the divine. That is the reason why aspirants do not make any substantial progress on the spiritual path even after doing sadhana (spiritual practice) for several years.

There is no loss in self-surrender. You get from the Lord everything. You enjoy all the divine aishvarya (wealth of divine attributes) of the Lord. The whole wealth of the Lord belongs to you. Siddhis and riddhis (psychic powers) will roll under your feet. You become one with the Lord. You are freed from all wants and desires and cravings. The spiritually hungry and the really thirsty aspirant who yearns for the vision of the Lord, turns towards the divine and is quite willing, eager and happy to consecrate his body, life and mind and soul at the feet of the Lord.

The first stage of self-surrender is only a firm resolve to surrender oneself to God, or to his preceptor. A sadhaka (seeker) who has dedicated his life for the service of his teacher or the service of humanity or for attaining Self-realisation, is not bound by the actions he performs subsequent to his self-surrender.

Self-surrender becomes perfect only after God-realisation. 

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SURRENDER

                               Surrender 
Surrender is ishvarapranidhana. The devotee consecrates all his works and their fruits to the Lord. He has no will of his own. He says unto the Lord, "I am thine. All is thine. Thy will be done. Thou art just. Thou doest everything for me. I am an instrument in thy hands."

In surrendering one's will to the Lord, his will becomes one with the cosmic will. He becomes one with the Lord. There is no loss in surrendering one's will to the Lord.

Self-surrender is atma nivedana, or prapatti. This is the highest bhakti (devotion). The gopis of Vrindavan, Radha and Mira surrendered everything at the feet of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna was their all. In Kathopanishad it is said, "The Lord chooses that man who has surrendered himself, reveals himself unto him and bestows the highest wisdom on him."

The two obstacles to self-surrender are egoism and desire. Egoism and desire wage guerrilla warfare. They assume various forms and assail the devotee again and again. Be on the alert. Be ever vigilant. Slay the egoism and desires beyond resurrection. Then alone will you be safe.

Your sadhana shakti (ability to practise) is grace of the Lord. Guru is grace of the Lord. Sticking to the spiritual path is grace of the Lord. Progress in sadhana is grace of the Lord. Revelation or intuition is grace of the Lord. Descent of divine light is grace of the Lord. Human birth is Lord's grace. All sorts of aids to sadhana you get such as kutir (cottage), food, clothing, medical aid, good place for meditation, books, satsanga (good company), etc., are his grace only.

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It is difficult to eradicate the self-assertive nature. Every man has built his personality from the beginning of time. He has allowed the rajasic (impure) mind to have its own way. This personality has grown very strong, it is hard to make it pliable and elastic. The self-assertive man wants to dominate over others; he does not want to hear the opinions of others, even though they may be sound, logical and tenable.

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Saturday, June 20, 2015

RAJA YOGA , MESSAGE 28

                     Raja Yoga, Message 28
The section ‘Psychic Obstacles’ now continues...
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Perfected beings, gods and others surrounded Uddalaka. Divine nymphs flocked to him in great numbers. He was offered a heavenly kingdom. Uddalaka totally declined to accept anything. The ladies tried to entice him by their wily charms. They told him: "Please take your seat in the celestial car. It will take you to heaven. Here are the springs that confer immortality. Here are celestial nymphs to serve you. Here is the wish-fulfilling jewel. Your rare austerity has brought all these for thee." Uddalaka, the brave, resisted all temptations and shone in effulgence. (If one gets a glimpse of Brahman for a second even, he will not long for sensual objects.) After six months he awoke from his samadhi. He would spend, at one sitting, days, months and even years in deep samadhi, and then would wake up. 
If you practise regular meditation and concentration you are bound to get some psychic powers. You should not use these powers for base and selfish purposes, for gaining some material end or other. You will then face a downfall. You will be punished by Mother Nature. 
Action and reaction are equal and opposite. Every wrong action is bound to cause a reaction. I again and again seriously warn you. Beware! Power, sex, money and erudition act as powerful intoxicants. The possessor does not know exactly what he is doing. His intellect becomes turbid and his understanding gets clouded. You will not be tempted by these powers if you are established in the practice of yama or self-restraint. 
When you are lying in your bed, sometimes a big light will pass along your forehead. As soon as you try to behold the light by meditating in the sitting posture, it may disappear. You may ask: "How is it that I failed to catch the light by exertion, whereas it comes by itself when I am lying down without any effort?" The reason is that you lose the concentration as soon as you sit for meditation due to the entry of rajas with the idea: 'I am doing'. 
When you experience bliss in meditation some peculiar sensation will disturb you, and with this disturbance the sublime bliss will disappear. During meditation sattva increases, but rajas is ever trying to overcome sattva. You feel the peculiar sensation of a disturbance on account of the entry of rajas. The thought of work that you will have to do may also cause a disturbing sensation. Forget all works and say to the mind: "I have nothing more to do, I have done everything." When sattva increases through enquiry, vigorous sadhana and greater dispassion, this disturbance will vanish and you will experience deep meditation. The bliss also will last for a long time. 
Even though you have conquered sleep and distraction by repeated practice, dispassion and contemplation on God, yet the mind will not enter into a state of perfect balance or serenity. It will be in an intermediate stage. The mind is still not freed from attachment, which is the seed of all its activity in the direction of external objects. There is still lurking passion or hidden desires. You will have to restrain the mind again and again by enquiry, and do rigorous meditation. Finally, you must rest yourself in asamprajnata or seedless samadhi (nirbija samadhi). 
Rasavada is super-sensual bliss that comes from lower savikalpa samadhi. The seeker who has experienced this imagines that he has reached the final destination and gives up his sadhana. Just as man digs the earth very deep to find out the most precious hidden treasure and gems, just as a man is not satisfied with the petty things he has found just beneath the surface of the ground, so also the seeker should continue his sadhana till he gets the unconditioned state, or highest goal of life. He should never be satisfied with lower experiences. He should compare his experiences with the highest experiences of sages that are described in the Upanishads and find out whether they exactly tally with them or not. He should exert till he reaches the seventh jnana stage, till he becomes a full-blown jnani. He should struggle till he gets the inner feeling of 'I have obtained all desires, I have done everything, I know and have attained everything. There is nothing more to be known, nothing more to be obtained.' 
This obstacle prevents the seeker from enjoying the highest nirvikalpa bliss. Right thought, discrimination, prayer, pranayama, further earnestness and struggle in meditation will remove the above obstacle. 
Sometimes the mind remains quiet for a short time. You will find neither attraction (raga) nor repulsion (dvesha) in the mind. It occurs in the waking state. The aspirant mistakes this for samadhi. This is a neutral state of the mind. This is an obstacle in the path of God-realisation. He should overcome this state of mind by careful introspection and vigorous meditation. A seeker through experience and acute acumen can find out exactly the nature of the various states of the mind. He should adopt effective methods to control these states. Mere study of books will not help him very much, but experience and practice will do him much real good. 
There is also a state of stupefaction arising from fear or wonder. It is akin to the previous state. This is also another obstacle on the path. When you experience some wonderful astounding news the mind gets stunned for some time. This is stabdha avastha. There is no perfect awareness. The mind remains like a log of wood in a state of inertia. It becomes unfit for active meditation. When these states prevail there is heaviness of body and lack of cheerfulness. The mind also becomes dull for the time being. The student can find out these states by these symptoms. An intelligent seeker who practises meditation daily can easily find out the different states into which the mind passes. A beginner finds meditation dry in the beginning, but an advanced student who has an intelligent and comprehensive understanding of the nature of the mind and its operations and the laws of the mental plane, will find meditation very interesting. The more he meditates the more he gains control of the mind. He can understand the nature of the thought waves and the different mental states. He can control them. He will actually feel that he is gaining inner spiritual strength and that he cannot be easily swayed by the mind now. 
You must be on the alert. You must be vigilant and circumspect. You will have to get over these impediments step by step. 
You will have to cross the void also. What appears to you as a void when all the vrittis have perished is not really a void. This is the unmanifest, the invisible. Cross this void also. It will try to overpower you. You have nothing to see and nothing to hear. You are left alone now, there is none to cheer you. You will have to depend on yourself. Presence of mind is needed now at this critical juncture. Draw courage and strength from within. 
O my dear aspirants! I send you the thought-currents of peace from the peaceful atmosphere of the sacred Himalayas, the abode of sages. God is the embodiment of peace. Scriptures emphatically declare: ''This Self is peace.'' 
Desire is the greatest enemy of peace. It causes distractions of various sorts. There is no peace for him who has no concentration, and there can be no happiness for the unpeaceful. In the supreme peace all pains, sorrows, miseries and tribulations will vanish for ever. 
Children of Immortality! Plod on. Push on. Do not look backward. Forget the past. Forget the body and world, but forget not the centre, forget not the source. A glorious brilliant future is awaiting you. Purify. Serve. Love. Give. Live in OM. Feel always and everywhere the indwelling, all-pervading Presence. Realise the Self. Rest in the magnanimous ocean of peace, in the stupendous sea of stillness. Drink the nectar of immortality. May the indwelling Presence be your centre, ideal and goal. May joy, bliss, immortality, peace, glory and splendour abide with you for ever! 
I have placed before you in detail all the obstacles that stand in the way of realisation of God and have suggested various effective methods to remove these obstacles. Stand up now like an undaunted spiritual soldier in the spiritual battlefield. Become a spiritual hero of great intrepidity and unique chivalry. Get over the obstacles fearlessly one by one and manifest divine glory, splendour, purity and sanctity. Wait patiently with a calm and serene mind for results. Do not be hasty, rash and impetuous. Allow proper time for regeneration and renovation. Do not despair. Wear the coat-of-arms of dispassion, wield the shield of discrimination and hold the banner of faith. March boldly and cheerfully. Stop not till you drink the elixir of immortality to your heart's content, stop not till you enter the immortal realms of eternal sunshine, undecaying beauty, unfading ecstasy, supreme bliss, infinite joy, unalloyed felicity and unbroken peace. This is your goal, your final destination. You can take eternal rest now. This is your highest aim and purpose of life. Rest now in everlasting peace, friends! Cheer yourselves. Share this rare bliss with your brothers. Elevate them. This noble and stupendous selfless work is awaiting you now in the grand plan. Fulfil the divine Will and become a Buddha of undecaying fame. Salutations unto you all! 
When a bee finds that its feet are stuck in the honey, it slowly licks them several times and then flies away with joy. Even so, extricate yourself from the mind's sticking and clinging to this body owing to attraction and attachment, through dispassion and meditation. Fly away with joy from this cage of flesh and bone to the source, Brahman or the Self. 
No more words. Enough of discussions and heated debates. Retire into a solitary room. Close your eyes. Have deep, silent meditation. Feel His presence. Repeat His name OM with fervour, joy and love. Fill your heart with love. Destroy the ideas, fancies and desires, whims and thoughts when they arise on the surface of the mind. Withdraw the wandering mind and fix it upon the Lord. Now the meditation will become deep and intense. Do not open your eyes. 
Do not stir from your seat. Merge in Him. Dive deep into the innermost recesses of the heart. Plunge into the shining Atman within. Drink the nectar of immortality. Enjoy the silence now. I shall leave you there alone. 
 
EXPERIENCES IN MEDITATION 
During deep meditation you will forget the external world first and then the body. You will enjoy a sort of higher type of indescribable peace, but it will take a long time to get real spiritual experiences, to merge the mind in your chosen object of meditation or to get over body-consciousness completely. Be patient. Persevere. You will succeed. 
During deep meditation you will have no idea of time. You will not hear any sounds. You will have no idea of environment. You will forget your name and all sorts of relationship with others. You will enjoy peace and bliss. 
In the beginning you will remain in the state of bliss for some time. Then you will come down. By constant practice of incessant meditation you can continue to remain in that exalted state for ever. Later on the body idea completely vanishes. You will have no consciousness of your body. You will have equanimity of mind. There will be stoppage of up-going and down-going sensations. The consciousness of egoism will also gradually vanish. You will experience inexplicable joy and indescribable happiness. Gradually, reasoning and reflection also will cease. You will rest in samadhi. 
Physical Sensations 
The feeling of rising up during meditation is a sign that indicates that you are going above body-consciousness. You will feel a peculiar ananda (bliss) also when you experience this feeling. In the beginning this feeling of rising up will last for a minute only. 
After a minute you will feel that you have come back to normal consciousness again. In dream you will feel that you are trying to come out of your body. You will feel great pressure at the end of the spine. 
During meditation you will get into rapture or ecstasy. This is of five kinds — the lesser thrill, momentary rapture, flooding rapture, transporting rapture and all-pervading rapture. The lesser thrill will raise the hairs of the body (like goose-flesh). The momentary rapture is like the production of lightning, moment by moment. Like waves breaking on the sea-shore, the flooding rapture descends rapidly over the body and breaks. Transporting rapture is strong and lifts the body up to the extent of launching it into the air. When the all-pervading rapture arises, the whole body is completely surcharged and blown like a full bladder. 
When you meditate with closed eyes you will see in your body two luminous strings in which are placed luminous lotuses at intervals; and the strings pass through the image of your chosen deity seated in one of these lotuses in the region of the heart. 
Continue your meditation. You will feel that your anus and a spot in the top of the head are connected by these strings. You will experience a great upward pull on the anus and the lower end of the spine. Sometimes you will feel great tingling sensation at the lower end of the spine. You will feel as though some great change in your system will happen soon. You may feel that you will lose your physical consciousness. Be not afraid. Be bold and courageous. You will have rare spiritual experiences, you will have cosmic vision. Do not open your eyes now. You will come back to normal consciousness. Keep steady and wait for further experience. 
It does not matter much whether you return to body consciousness or not. All our attempts are mainly directed towards getting over this body-consciousness and being one with the higher spiritual consciousness. However, we are used to certain limitations. When these limitations suddenly drop away we feel that there is no definite base left to stand upon. That is the reason why we are afraid when we go above body-consciousness. It is a novel experience. Courage is needed. Courage is an indispensable requisite. The scriptures say: ''This Atman can hardly be attained by weak (timid) persons.'' All sorts of forces have to be encountered on the way. A dacoit or an anarchist can easily realise God because he is fearless. Only a push in the right direction is necessary for him. 
Feeling of Separation 
One day, after a course of sadhana for a long time, you will feel that you have separated yourself from the body. You will have immense joy mixed with fear — joy in the possession of a new, light astral body and fear owing to the entry in a foreign, unknown plane. At the very outset the new consciousness is very rudimentary in the new plane, just as in the case of a pup with newly opened eyes on the eighth or tenth day on the physical plane. You will only feel that you have a light airy body and will perceive a rotating, vibratory, limited astral atmosphere with illumination of golden lights, objects, beings, etc. You may feel that you are rotating or floating in the air and consequently there will be the fear of falling. You will never fall; but the new experience of subtlety generates novel feelings and sensations in the beginning. How you leave the body remains unknown at the outset. 
Sometimes you will feel an invisible help (possibly from the ishta devata) when you are actually pushed from the physical body into the new plane. That invisible power assists in your separation from the body and going above body-consciousness. You will have to mark carefully all these operations. You will be suddenly startled when you have completely separated and when you enter into the new plane, sometimes with a blue-coloured sphere all around, sometimes with partial illumination mixed with darkness, while at other times with extremely brilliant golden yellow diffused illumination. The new joy is inexpressible and indescribable. You will have to actually feel and experience it yourself. You will be unaware of how you left the body, but you will be fully conscious of your returning. You will feel as if you gently glide on a very, very smooth surface; as if you enter smoothly and gently through a small hole or fine tube with an airy, light body. You will have an airy, ethereal feeling. Just as air enters through the crevices of a window, you will enter with the new astral body into the physical body. I think I have expressed the idea lucidly. 
When you have returned you can markedly differentiate the life in the gross and subtle planes. There is an intense craving to regain the new consciousness and to remain in that state always. You are not able to stay for a period longer than three, five or ten minutes in the new region. Further, you can hardly leave the body at will through simple willing, in the beginning. By chance, through effort, you may be able to separate from the body once in a month in the course of sadhana. If you plod on with patience, perseverance and firmness, you will be able to leave the body at will and stay for a longer time in the new plane with the new subtle body. You will be quite safe from identification with the body. You have made conquest of the false identification with the body only if you can leave the body at will and only if you are able to stay in the new region for two or three hours. Your position is quite secure then and not otherwise. The vow of silence, solitude and living alone are necessary to achieve this end. 
After continuous hard practice you will be able to separate yourself from the body very frequently. A habit is established. As soon as you silence the thoughts and calm the mind, the mental habit of slipping from the physical body supervenes automatically. There is no difficulty then. The mind enters the new groove and appears on a new stage or platform. 
Astral Journey 
Simply by mere willing you can travel to any place you like with the astral body (astral travel, astral journey) and there materialise by drawing the necessary materials either from the ego or the universal store-house. The process is very simple to occultists and yogis who know the rationale, the detailed technique of the various operations, albeit it seems extraordinary to poor mundane creatures with diverse emotions, passions and attachments. Thought-reading and thought-transference also can be quite easily performed by those who can function with the astral body. Concentrated mental rays can penetrate opaque walls, just as X-rays pass through bones. 
You first separate yourself from the body, then you identify yourself with the mind and then you function on the mental plane with this fine body, just as you do on this earth plane. Through concentration you rise above body-consciousness; through meditation you rise above mind; and finally, through samadhi, you become one with Brahman. These are the three important, internal means in the achievement of final beatitude. 
Visions 
The beings and objects with whom you are in touch during the early period of meditation belong to the astral world. They are similar to human beings minus the physical overcoat. They have desires, cravings, love, hatred, etc., just as human beings have. They have a fine body. They can move about freely. They have powers of materialisation, dematerialisation, multiplying and clairvoyant vision of an inferior order. The lustrous forms are higher devatas of mental or higher planes, who come down to give you darshan and encourage you. Various powers manifest in lustrous forms. Adore them. Worship them. Do mental puja as soon as they give you darshan. Angels are beings of mental or higher planes. They also appear before your mind's eye. 
When you get these experiences, when you behold these visions, you will feel a peculiar, indescribable bliss. Do not get false contentment. Do not stop your sadhana and meditation, thinking that you have attained the highest realisation. Do not attach much importance to these visions. You have attained only the first degree of concentration. The highest goal or realisation is the profound silence or supreme peace wherein all thoughts cease and you become identical with the supreme Self. 
Occasionally during meditation you may behold a dazzling light with abrupt motion. You may behold a head of marvellous form, of the colour of a flame, red as fire, and very awful to look at. It has three wings of marvellous length and breadth, white as a dazzling cloud. At times they beat terribly, and again will be still. The head never utters a word, but remains altogether still. 
Sometimes you will see an infinite blue sky, an ethereal space. You will see yourself in the blue space as a black dot. Your form will appear in the centre of the light sometimes. Sometimes, you will notice highly vibratory, rotating particles in the light. You will see physical forms, children, men and women, sages with beards, perfected souls (siddhas) and lustrous forms also. Perfected souls and sages, etc., appear to encourage you. You will find a huge collection of devatas and celestial ladies with various musical instruments in their hands. You will see beautiful flower gardens, fine palatial buildings, rivers, mountains, golden temples — sceneries so lovely and picturesque as cannot be adequately described. 
Visions are either subjective or objective, your own mental reactions or realities of finer planes of matter. The universe consists of planes of matter of various grades of density. Rhythmical vibrations of subtle elements in various degrees give rise to the formation of various planes. Each plane has its beings and things. Visions may be of these things or beings or they may be purely imaginary. They may be a crystallization of your own intense thinking. You must discriminate in yoga practices. Reason and common-sense must be used throughout. 
Don't waste your time in looking at these visions. This is only a curiosity. These are all encouragements to convince you of the existence of super-physical, metaphysical realities and the solid existence of Brahman. Drive out these pictures. They are all obstacles in the way. Fix yourself on the goal. Advance. Proceed seriously and energetically. If you are timid you cannot march further. Draw power and courage from the Atman within, the inexhaustible source. You will come across very good spirits also. They will help you a lot on your onward march. 
Aspirants are eager to get spiritual experiences soon. When they get a flash of illumination they are afraid. They are awfully alarmed when they go above the body consciousness. They entertain a passing wonder whether they will come back again, or not. Why should they be afraid at all? 
Vision of God 
You will sometimes see a vast golden bright light all around. Within the light you will see your ishta devata (chosen deity — e.g. Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Siva, Jesus, etc.) in front. Sometimes you will see yourself within the light. 
You may see your chosen deity as big as a mountain shining like the sun. You may see the figure while eating, drinking or working. When you enjoy the bliss of this vision you will experience no taste of food while eating. You will hear the continuous ringing of the veena. You will see the blazing light of the sun. 
Sometimes you will feel the presence of your deity near you. The image will begin to appear as living when you practise regular meditation. 
When you advance in meditation you can see your deity in physical form. Lord Vishnu will give you darshan with four hands, Lord Krishna will appear before you with flute in His hands, Rama with bow and arrow and Lord Siva with trident and drum. While meditating with closed eyes on the image placed in your heart you will find that the image is becoming more and more luminous. Even with open eyes you will see a bright sun or moon and lights of different colours.
Sometimes the Lord will come before you in the form of a beggar or a sick man with dirty rags. He may appear before you in the form of a coolie. You must have the keen sense to detect Him. Your hair will stand on end when you meet Him. He appears in your dreams. Lord Ganesha comes in the form of an elephant in dreams. Devi appears in the form of a girl in your dreams. 
Lights in Meditation 
Various kinds of lights manifest during meditation owing to concentration. In the beginning a bright white light the size of a pin's point will appear in the forehead in the space between the two eyebrows, which corresponds approximately to the ajna chakra of the astral body. When the eyes are closed you will notice different coloured lights — white, yellow, red, smokey, blue, green, mixed — flashes like lightning, like fire, burning charcoal, fire-flies, moon, sun and stars. These lights appear in the mental space. These are all subtle elemental lights. Each subtle element has its own specific colour. The subtle element for earth has a yellow-coloured light; water has a white-coloured light; fire has a red-coloured light; wind has a smokey light; space has a blue light. Yellow and white lights are very commonly seen. Red and blue lights are rarely noticeable. Frequently, there is a combination of white and yellow lights. 
In the beginning small balls of white light float about before the mind's eye. When you first observe this, be assured that the mind is becoming more steady and that you are progressing in concentration. After some months the size of the light will increase and you will see a full blaze of white light, bigger than the sun. In the beginning these lights are not steady. They come and disappear immediately. They flash out from above the forehead and from the sides. They cause peculiar sensations of extreme joy and happiness and there is an intense desire for a vision of these lights. When you have a steady and systematic practice of two to three hours in the morning and two to three hours at night these lights will appear more frequently and remain steady for a long time.  
As soon as you retire for sleep, just as you are drowsy and going to transcend the physical consciousness, these lights manifest themselves without any exertion on your part. Also in the morning before you get up in the transitional stage — half sleep, half awake — you will get these lights by themselves, without effort. 
The vision of the lights is a great encouragement in sadhana. It impels you to stick steadily to meditation. It gives you strong faith also in super-physical matters. The appearance of the lights denotes that you are transcending the physical consciousness. You are in a semi-conscious state when the lights appear. You are between two planes. You must not shake the body when these lights manifest. You must be perfectly steady in the posture. You must breathe very very slowly. For those who concentrate on the space between the eyebrows, the light appears there, while for others who concentrate on the top of the head, the sahasrara chakra, the light manifests on the top of the head. The light is so powerful and dazzling sometimes that you have to withdraw yourself from looking at it and break the meditation. Some people become afraid and do not know what to do, how to proceed further. By constant practice the mind engaged in concentration will become used to it and the fear will vanish. Go on with the practice.
Some people concentrate on the heart, some on the space between the eyebrows and some on the top of the head. It is a question of personal taste. It is easy to control the mind by concentrating on the former. If you are used to fixing it there, stick to it always. Don't make frequent changes. Steadiness is very necessary. 
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