The Jewel in the Lotus

Wisdom Teachings
The Centres

All creation happens in accordance with the plan of time. In accordance with time, a new creation comes into being, and likewise in accordance with time, the existing creation dissolves again. In creation, time is God. Beyond creation, only time remains. In the dissolution, too, only time remains. The Eastern scriptures describe that the Lord rests on a great serpent, the eternity of time. The serpent is coiled in eternal coils, and the serpent and the Lord float on the ocean of existence. This describes the pre-cosmic existence before the birth of the egg of a creation.

The souls are not created, they exist eternally even if there is no creation. During a pralaya, the period of dissolution, all beings remain in the heart centre of the One like in a cocoon. This centre is described in Vedic literature as the heart-jewel 'Kaustubha'. After an appropriate period of rest, the souls again demand to be sent out into a creation in order to continue their evolution and develop fully. Symbolically, the beings are then released from the heart jewel into creation.

The One now forms itself into a Cosmic Person and allows the Creator to emerge from it. In the symbolic representation, a lotus, the lotus of time, emerges from the navel of the Cosmic Person. The four-headed Creator emerges from the lotus, and through the Creator the Cosmic Person then releases all beings. Wherever the beings were before the pralaya, they return there and continue their evolution.

The whole of creation begins with OM. Vedic wisdom visualises the unfolding of the time cycles of creation as lotus leaves. Buddhist wisdom describes it as the lotus of the most precious stone: mani - precious stone, padma - lotus. The first word of the utterance, OM, emerges as Mani Padma and then ends in the form of HUM. This means that the creative breath ends: OM MANI PADME HUM. This formula contains the fact that the entire creation begins with OM, expands in the form of the jewel and the lotus and ends with the sound power of HUM.

OM MANI PADME HUM was the enlightenment of Buddha, and it is a great Buddhist mantram that contains all the time keys. Time moves cyclically and in the form of a wheel. Kala Chakra is the wheel of time in its circular movements. Kala Chakra Tantra is the process of overcoming the tiring cycles of time and turning life into a ritual through rhythmic work. High initiates therefore meditate on OM MANI PADME HUM as the magical wheel of time and they work rhythmically with the time key to transform themselves and experience the truth.

There are many people who meditate on this mantram without knowing how to use it. By meditating on the mantram, inner energies are strongly stimulated and our body vehicles can be jeopardised. This is why teachers give advice on its use. From a certain point of development, it is recommended to meditate on this mantram. It is not composed of the almost meaningless words: “O the jewel in the lotus” but indicates the indissoluble union between man and the universe, between microcosmic and macrocosmic life. The aim is to experience the highest energy within us and to reach the state of awareness in the highest part of the Sahasrara, the thousand-petalled lotus at the crown of our head. The jewel in the lotus is also called the state of Brahman. THAT I AM is the jewel in the lotus that shines in the highest part of the Sahasrara.

The lotus with the jewel is called the house of Mani Padma or the centre of Chintamani. This hidden jewel of Chintamani exists in every human being, but normally it is in a sleeping state. We need not search for this centre of God; we find it by directing all our energy to the Highest and releasing the light of the self-radiating jewel at the top of the head for the benefit of the whole. Awareness and light radiate from the Sahasrara. By contemplating this daily, we remain in a state of receptivity. Every day we fill our system with the energies of the soul and spread the light into our environment. It is an activity of light and life.

The Masters of Wisdom say: “Invoke the light and serve”. Invoking the light corresponds to our breathing in, serving corresponds to breathing out. We receive from the Most High and serve our surroundings with this power. We should not think rashly of serving humanity if we do not have the appropriate light. This is the reason why even small projects of goodwill suffer in their realisation - because there is not enough connection to the light. Even without being enlightened, we are eager to go out and serve. It takes intense meditation on the light in the head to illuminate large areas. It is not enough if we do our meditation casually and for 15 minutes; this does not give enough light. When a city council wants security in certain central locations, a powerful headlight is placed on a high pole so that large areas are illuminated. The pole is our spine, the headlight is our head. Until the head is illuminated, we should continue to practise with the light.

The thousand-petalled lotus contains a thousand rays of dazzling light. We can contemplate how Light, Love and Will pour down from the crown centre. These are the qualities of the soul; when these qualities overlay the qualities of the body and the dim light of the logic of our mind, then the purpose is fulfilled. We can also contemplate the soul with the Gayatri or with the simple version 'SO HAM', 'THAT I AM', or work with breathing and pulsation. The aim is to experience the highest energy within us, the jewel at the crown of the head, Chintamani. 'Chintamani' means the purpose, the realisation of the goal of life: the bliss of existence, which gives balance and compassion and reveals all branches of wisdom.

On the planet, the centre of Chintamani is located in Shambala, the ashram of the Lord of the World. He is the One Initiator who is called 'The Ancient of Days' in the Bible and Sanat Kumara in the Hindu scriptures. This ashram is hidden in the Gobi desert and cannot be seen with physical eyes but can only be experienced in the second ether. From there, Sanat Kumara watches over the evolution of humans and devas on this earth, and he directs the inner government of the planet. Sanat Kumara is a super-cosmic energy that descended eons ago and took up residence in Shambala to guide, teach and support humanity. He is the patron of Chintamani, the stone of extraterrestrial origin; Lord Maitreya and Gautama, the Buddha, are the guardians of this gem. The jewel of Chintamani is also called the 'Philosopher's Stone', the most sacred stone on the planet.

In general, Chintamani is located in Shambala. From time to time and according to need, the precious jewel of Shambala is brought to Sravasti and given to the Hierarchy. Sravasti is the cave where Lord Maitreya resides. It lies beyond Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. Shambala lies far north of Sravasti.

There are gemstones in sacred places that spread their light to the entire neighbourhood. These stones have a global effect. The best gem is in Shambala. The next best is in Sravasti under the care of Lord Maitreya. Nicholas Roerich was fortunate enough to see the jewel located in Maitreya's cave. On festival days, Maitreya holds the jewel in his two hands in front of his chest with great veneration during the ritual.

When we think of Shambala and Sanat Kumara, we should also think of Chintamani. We can visualise Chintamani in our own being with Shambala in the Ajna centre on the forehead, the Hierarchy in the heart and the Mother of the World in the Sahasrara. These visualisations are called Nyasa Vidya, the science of correspondences between microcosm and macrocosm. If we regularly remember Sanat Kumara and Chintamani, we become connected to them; otherwise we remain in our own imagination. Aligning ourselves with the corresponding energies accelerates our transformation. When a piece of iron is regularly aligned with a magnet, it gradually becomes a magnet.

The light from the jewel descends from the Sahasrara through the Ajna centre and forms the bridge between Ajna and the pituitary gland, which Master CVV calls 'the higher bridge'. The rays of light condense and form the bridge over the abyss through which we can reach the third eye.

The petals of the Sahasrara point downwards in almost all humans. But when we climb upwards, the Sahasrara lotus assumes its correct position and points upwards. Then we sit in it and are like a jewel in the lotus. This is called 'Mani padme hum'. All those who reach this state have attained balance at every level. When balance becomes one's nature, such a person is called a Yogi. No matter where such people are, they are always at the top, in the Sahasrara. They have no other peak above them.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Shasta, Shambala and Sanat Kumara; div. seminar notes. Dhanishta Publications / E. Krishnamacharya: Book of Rituals. Kulapathi Book Trust, Visakhapatnam, India. (www.aquariusbookhouse.com).