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Sri K. Parvathi Kumar

The Teachings
of Sanat Kumara

Dhanishta

Editions

Dr. Sri K. Parvathi Kumar

The Teachings of Santat Kumara

1st Edition 2009 · Original Edition

Copyright
© 2009 Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India
© 2009 Dhanishta, Einsiedeln, Switzerland

All rights reserved

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ISBN 978-3-9523338-1-5

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Dhanishta

Dhanishta means Wealthy Wind.

Wealth is not measured in terms of money or business; it is measured in terms of richness of life.

Wisdom is disseminated by the Teachers of all times. Dhanishta works for such fulfilment through its publication of wisdom teachings flowing through the pen and the voice of Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar.

Such teachings are published in English, German, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada.

Dhanishta is a non-profit publishing house.

About the Composer

Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar has been teaching various concepts of wisdom and initiating many groups into the Path of Yoga of Synthesis in India, Europe, Latin America and North America. His teachings are many and varied. They are oriented for practice and are not mere information.

Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar has been honoured by the Andhra University with the title Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, D. Lit. for all his achievements as a teacher around the world. He works actively in the economic, social and cultural fields with spirituality as the basis. He says that the spiritual practices are of value only if such practices contribute to the economic, cultural, and social welfare of humanity.

Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar is a responsible householder, a professional consultant, a teacher of wisdom, healer of a certain order, and is a composer of books. He denies to himself the title of being an author, since according to him –

“Wisdom belongs to none and all belong to Wisdom.”

The Publisher

Introduction

Greetings and good wishes to the brothers and sisters that are gathered here on the occasion of Master December Call. Master CVV was conducting a Call twice in a year so that the Master May Call upon all the disciples who follow the path of Briktha Rahita Taraka Raja Yoga. The Master, whom he refers to, is the Master of the universe. The Master Call should help us to receive from within the Call of the Master.

The Master – Be-ness
The Master always calls us from within our being, because HE is the Be-ness of our being. The very Be-ness of our being is HE and hence we as beings shall have to link up to the Be-ness in us on a daily basis. Feel that link through the process of contemplation, meditation, recollection or whatever is the name that you give. Constantly remember that ‘we the beings belong to the Be-ness’. That Be-ness of the universe is the Master and that Master has no name, no form and is omnipresent, omnipotent and eternal. He visits us through the sound key CVV in Aquarian Age. The key is arranged in the ethers by the Grand Master, Master Jupiter, who came to us in this cycle as Master CVV. Master Jupiter is Sage Agastya in Eastern scriptures.

Invoke and Receive the Master
To receive the ONE MASTER of the universe we need to be receptive. If we don’t see the Master while HE is present we miss the Master. The Master daily visits us, as we invoke HIM. HE visits us through our Sahasrara, reaches up to our Ajna and it is for us to rise up to the brow-centre to receive HIM, to experience HIM and build a bridge between us and HIM, that is between the Ajna and then the brow-centre.

Each time we invoke HIM, HE comes from the cosmic plane within us, which is the Sahasrara and then HE descends into the solar plane, which is our Ajna. From the brow-centre we should be able to link up to HIM and thus feel the Presence of the Master. Each time we invoke the Master, the Master descends. The descent of the Master is called in the Vedic scriptures as Hari, meaning ‘the One that descends’. HE is the Lord that permeates the universe. For that HE is called Vishnu. HE is ready to descend into those who are willing to receive HIM. It is HE, who descended as all this. It is HE, who resides in all of us and by mere recollection we can link up to HIM. Since HE resides in all of us, HE is called Vasudeva. The all permeating Lord, Vishnu, descends as Hari and resides in us as Vasudeva. When invoked, HE gives the Presence. This is the ageold practice, the age-old wisdom. HE is the Master. HE calls on us, as we call HIM with love, devotion and dedication. Such is the Master Call. To us the call is real if we are oriented, and the call is not real if we are not oriented and casual in our invocation.

It is like we invite a very important guest to our house and we are not there when the guest arrives, because we are otherwise busy. The guest comes and sees that there is no one to receive him, though invited. So he returns. That is how most of the times we invoke. We invoke, but we do not receive. This is what happens with us. We should necessarily feel the arrival of the Master the moment we call him, because when the Master gives a word, it is as true as the sunrise, as true as the daily visit of the sun to the planet. So, each time we invoke the Master, feel the Presence. If we do not, why invoke at all? Invoke to receive, to feel the Presence in a better manner. Every teacher arranges at least four meetings a year, to see that those who follow the instructions (the teachings on the path of Yoga given by him) are given an intimate and an effective touch, once in a quarter. That is how Master CVV was arranging solstice meetings, equinox meetings, May Call meetings and December Call meetings.

It is to ensure that we establish a link with HIM and firm up that link within ourselves. HE is more concerned about us. HIS love for us is much more than what we hold for HIM. The love of the Master is not measurable, the love of the disciple is measurable. We are in a measurable situation, if not in a miserable situation! HE is immeasurable, HE is unlimited and HE is unconditional. HE is beyond all borders. So, anything relating to HIM is beyond borders, beyond territories and beyond limits. HE intends that we also get into that kind of unlimited state of Be-ness and experience bliss. Bliss is the right word for the unlimited joy. Bliss is unlimited joy. Joy can be there. It can come and go, and happiness is still inferior. It is said that happiness relates to senses, joy relates to mind and bliss relates to the Being itself. So that bliss, which is unlimited, can be experienced each time when we invoke the Master and step into HIM and step into HIS Presence and then continue to be in that Presence even after the prayer. That is important: to remain in the Presence.

The Presence
It is like that: we dip in and come out, and we carry the fragrance with us, live in that fragrance until we make another dip. And then dip again so that the fragrance in us is a little more established. And then continue to live in that fragrance or the Presence of the Master. And then again make a dip. Every twelve hours we are dipping to firm up the Presence within ourselves. It is always there. Depending on our thought patterns and our emotional patterns we get de-linked from the Presence. It is we, who get de-linked and hence it is we who have to re-link. HE is always ready to link up. They who de-link shall also re-link. They who re-link can continue to be in that link and try to firm up the link. The daily prayer is to firm up and strengthen and eternally establish the link with HIM, in which again the Master starts functioning through us as HIMSELF. That is how continuous recollection transforms a disciple into a Master and the Master functions through him.

The disciple turns out to be the Master and the Master functions through the disciple. This is what every Teacher conducts and Master CVV conceived his own method of establishing the Be-ness with the ONE MASTER. He gave out the plan, which is very easy to practise provided, we are alert enough. That is the reason why we gather often. These gatherings are meant only to ensure that we firm up our link and we continue to recollect the instructions of the great Teachers and then see that we live in that link and function.

Inner Experience
Every true Teacher called Sadguru, has the same program. The program is to inform every human being that he can as much gain the experience of the subtle and inner worlds as he gains the experience of the outer world. We have the necessary equipment to experience the external world, that which is external to us. We also have adequate equipment to experience that which is within us. The worlds within us are far more superior, far more splendorous, far more Divine and immortal compared to the world that we see outside. There is a much more beautiful world inside than that which you find as the visible world. The visible has its basis in the invisible. The invisible exists in six layers and the visible exists in a layer. So in that context, to be able to experience the inner, the Master gives the technique.

Continuity of Consciousness
Then the next step for everyone, is to gain continuity of the consciousness beyond one incarnation and to be able to remember ‘who I am’ beyond one life, to know what I have been in the last life? What I am now? What for have I come? What am I to do? We must remember, what for we have come. We continue the activity through sleep tomorrow, because we remember today’s work tomorrow. Likewise in this life if we remember last life’s work, then we can continue with that work instead of doing something else and then in the late hour recollecting what we had to do.

So, for this reason the first step is gaining subjective familiarity or the familiarity of the internal or the subtle. Gaining the familiarity of the subtle world is what is called gaining the experience of occult wisdom. Occult means ‘to see within and also without’. So we need to get in. If we get in, we move vertically. If we get out, we move horizontally. There is the horizontal movement, which is into the external world, and there is a vertical movement into the internal world. So, from horizontals we have to transform to verticals, and through verticals we have to rise and gain continuity of consciousness. This continuity of consciousness is immortality or Amaratva, and then in the next step we experience ‘WHO AM I?’ This experience leads us to eternity and we remain as an eternal being participating in the Grand Plan, which keeps happening for the benefit of the beings from time to time.

The Divine Plan
The Plan is to evolve the beings. Every time a creation is made, it is an act of compassion of the Lord and there is no equal to that. That is the highest aspect of the compassion. It is an opportunity for the beings to realize themselves. It is like the students and examination. For those who fail, one more examination is offered. If one fails again, one more examination is offered and if he fails again, again there is coaching and an examination. So, likewise there is continuous opportunity that is being given through a series of creations that are conducted, which we call as the Divine Plan.

This is only to ensure that all beings experience this kind of unlimitedness. The great beings such as Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat Kumara, Maitreya and Buddha are the ones who have gained that kind of bliss of Existence. And they feel that they should ensure that their own brethren on the planet should also experience that kind of bliss. That is why they prefer to stay back and help us. It is because of them that we are able to gain the necessary knowledge to walk through and then experience that bliss.

Bodhisatva – The Teacher
You know the concept of Bodhisatva. In the Maitreya Stotra we say “Namaste Bodhisatvaya, Namaste Punya Murthaye”. Bodhisatva is Lord Maitreya who was offered the ultimate bliss and was asked to get in there - into the Absolute - to be in eternal bliss. When the door was opened to him, he just put his foot at the threshold so that the door does not close. Then the Devas asked, “Would you like to get in or would you like to stay out?” He said, “I would neither get in nor stay out. I stay here, so that this door is kept open for the beings of this planet to walk through and experience that bliss. I shall be the last one to get in.”

Similarly we always see someone who ensures that everyone gets into the bus and then he gets into the bus. Mostly he is the organiser. There are anxious people who first get into the bus and try to occupy the front seats. Likewise there are anxious people who take the first bench of seats for food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Usually there is someone who ensures that everyone takes the place and later he takes the place. Why does he do so? He is not worried that he may not get his food. He is not worried that he may not get into the bus.

Likewise, Lord Maitreya for this race of humanity just stood at the threshold and then kept the door open, because once it is closed we have to search again for it. So when the vaults of heaven were opened for him, he just put his foot across and then said, “Let this remain open until I get in.” Before he gets in, he ensures that many get in. He continues to do so. That is why he is being worshipped as Karunaasindho. He is an ocean of compassion, an ocean of Karuna. His band of workers is also like that. They care for others’ welfare, they care for others’ upcoming, they care for others’ upliftment, they care for others’ experience and they care for others’ joy. This is how they continue to work. And it is they, who form the Hierarchy on this planet and the head of such Hierarchy for this planet is the mind-born son of the Creator himself, that is Sanat Kumara.

Lord Sanat Kumara
Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat Kumara and Sanat Sujata are the mind-born sons of the Creator, the Chaturmukha Brahma. These are the grand beings, whom we know as the Kumaras. Through the Hierarchy of Teachers they function on this planet, and impart the Yoga Vidya for the evolution of the beings on this planet.

The Lord of this planet is Sanat Kumara. HE stays in that mystic village, which exists in the etheric plane near Gobi Desert, which is mentioned in the Puranas as Shambala. The Desert Gobi is in Mongolia. The village Shambala is an Ashram, not visible to the mortal eye, it is said to be subterranean. Shambala is visible to those who have gained the vision, the etheric vision. Sanat Kumara exists on the planet as its ruler, as its Lord. Lord Maitreya, the Teacher functions under HIS guidance, and the whole work is to ensure that the beings move forward in evolution.

The planetary Logos of our Earth scheme took incarnation in the form of Sanat Kumara. The Ancient One came down to this planet and remained with us ever since. HE is a direct reflection of that Great Entity who lives and breathes and functions through all the evolutions on this planet, holding all within HIS aura or magnetic sphere of influence. In HIM we live and move and have our being, and none of us can pass beyond the radius of HIS aura.

The Lord of the world is the One Initiator. HE is the hierophant of our rites. HE is called in the Bible ‘The Ancient of Days’ and in the Hindu scriptures as Sanat Kumara. From HIS throne at Shambala in the Gobi desert HE presides over the White Lodge of Masters and holds in HIS hand the reigns of the inner government. HE is chosen to watch over the evolution of men and Devas on this planet. He is the guardian angel of Chintamani, the philosopher’s stone of heavenly origin.

HE is ‘the Great Sacrificer’, who left the glory of the most high place for the sake of the evolving sons of men on the planet. HE took upon HIMSELF a physical form. HE is the archetypal one, an image of the Heavenly Man on Earth. HE is also known as the ‘Silent Watcher’ and the ‘King of the world’.

Lord Sanat Kumara is the One Initiator who presides over all the initiations on this planet. HE gives the annual plan for this planet in relation to its evolution. On the day of Aries full moon, a sound uttered forth from higher circles is received at Shambala by the Lord of the planet, Sanat Kumara. This seed sound is the annual plan for the planet Earth. The Dhyani Buddhas who work with Lord Sanat Kumara contemplate on this seed sound for a period of one month. Then in the month of Taurus, this sound is communicated through Gautama Buddha to the Hierarchy. Hence, the Hierarchy and their disciples join in Vaisakh Valley on the full moon day of Taurus to realize this sound in them. This is known as the Vaisakh Festival. The Hierarchy gives out the plan relating to this planet, to the humanity on the next full moon, i.e., the full moon of Gemini. Gemini therefore is known as the month of initiation for Humanity.

Invoking HIS Presence and the related visualization during the new moon days helps to restructure our desire body. Desire is but a form of Will. Will relates to the soul and desire relates to personality. Lord Sanat Kumara helps transforming personality desire into Divine Will, the Will that directs the purpose of each incarnation. This purpose chiefly brings evolution of the souls from limitation to liberation. Lord Sanat Kumara is thus the presiding angel over the desire nature on the planet. He regulates the desire of the disciples when invoked. Desire need not be (should not be) killed. It needs to be re-oriented. Desire is Divine. Inappropriate application causes fall. Appropriate application causes rise. This is one secret, which is generally not known. The religions speak of killing the desire, which is not desirable.

Sanat Kumara dissolves undesirable desire patterns, when invoked. Visualise that you are entering into Shambala in the northern Himalayan regions and that you are at the portal of the Ashram, waiting for the grace of Sanat Kumara. This would rearrange our desire body to a better state on the path of Yoga.

Sanat Kumara is the Teacher of the Teachers and Ruler of the Rulers on the planet. But HE seldom speaks. HE gives HIS Presence and helps the Hierarchy. HE is the Lord that came to this planet via Venus and HE remains in the second ether of this planet.

HE gave the teachings relating to the path of discipleship in 24 Sutras, aphorisms or commandments. Lord Sanat Kumara gave these commandments to emperor Pruthu. Later Lord Maitreya gave these teachings to Mahachohan who is known as Vidura in Indian scriptures. It is to this Mahachohan, (Vidura, the Grand Master of Civilization), the World Teacher Lord Maitreya re-narrates the doctrine of Yoga as is given by Lord Sanat Kumara himself. They are recorded in Bhagavatam in the 4th canto by Veda Vyasa. These commandments given out by the Lord of the planet constitute the complete path of discipleship.

The 24 commandments are presented here to help us recollect what is already known to us and formulate a better order to continue to improve our thought patterns, our daily routine, our ability to do things, our effectiveness in service etc. So in this context we shall take up this doctrine of Lord Sanat Kumara, which is a complete path of discipleship by itself.

The 24 Commandments

   1. Ask yourself, “Who Am I?”
   2. Sraddha
   3. Life’s purpose
   4. Be inquisitive to know the Lord
   5. Function as a soul, not as a personality
   6. Serve the Yogis
   7. Love for God
   8. Worship the Lord with joy
   9. The Will to be with the Lord
  10. The fire of knowledge purifies
  11. Atman be the presiding angel
  12. Learn to be alone
  13. Practise harmlessness in thought, word and deed
  14. Acceptability of conscience
  15. Do not deviate from self-study
  16. Practice Yoga and manifest goodwill
  17. Adopt to the regulations of Yama and Niyama
  18. Restrain from analysis and criticism of other paths
  19. Release the mind from dualities
  20. Teaching is learning
  21. Be selective in your association
  22. All is Divine
  23. The sole impediment
  24. Leave not the Teacher

1 - Ask yourself, “WHO AM I?”

The first instruction of the Lord is: Ask yourself, “WHO AM I?” Generally you are not what you usually think that you are.

Everyday as you wake up in the morning pose the question, “WHO AM I?”

The Lord gives foremost importance to this, “WHO AM I?” This is a fundamental question by which we lose all our identities with all that which we think we are. We are just not what we think we are.

We are habituated to define ourselves and settle into an identity. Mostly our identity is a worldly identity. We do not remember that we are just a being among the billions and billions of beings - just a being with a given name, with a changing form, and with an activity in this world. I am Kumar is not so true, I am male is not so true, I am teacher is not so true. I AM is not Kumar, before I was named so. I AM is not male till I developed a male form. I AM is not teacher at all times. I AM is I AM, which is the original identity. This I AM has neither name nor form but a pulsating awareness which has no independent existence. It emerges from Existence and merges into Existence and has an identity of itself as a unit of awareness. When it merges into Existence the question “WHO AM I?” ?” also disappears.

From that state of pure Existence there are relative and successive states up to the worldly state.

Our name is not what we are, because it is given after we are born. The form is not what we are, because if we see the photographs right from childhood till now, they kept on changing and they will continue to change. We only settle with those photographs which are very good looking and we do not prefer other photographs being displayed! But we are not this form, because in every life we have a different form. We are not what we think of ourselves as our name, we are not what we think as our form, and we are not what we think as our activity. Activities keep changing. Our forms keep changing not only in terms of small and big, but also in terms of male and female from time to time, to gain varied experiences for fulfilment.

Our activities also keep changing as per the need of the soul to fulfil itself. Activities change from life to life and also from time to time within a life. We cannot identify I AM permanently either with a name or a form or an activity. We are just I AM, a unit of awareness. We are just a concept emerging from Existence. Even I AM is not considered real. The only reality is Existence. I AM is the secondary state to that Existence. I AM is an awareness of Existence. In pure Existence awareness is not. It is merged. Therefore, “WHO AM I?” when ideated, it leads you to the reality of one Existence. The rest that is built on that reality is an edifice. I AM itself is a projection of Existence, a sprout. Existence is even when awareness is not. Therefore the question leads you to one reality and reveals to you the relative illusion of the rest. The seven planes are built with Existence as their basis, though they have a relative reality.

In that context people get stuck with their name, form and activity. They are hopelessly localized that they get stuck in the narrowed down identity. To uproot oneself from such hopeless localization one is recommended to contemplate upon “WHO AM I?” When this contemplation does not happen man gets stuck with definitions, which are but circumscriptions. As many circumscriptions as one builds, so much he suffers.

Balancing of Male-Female Energies
Persons incarnate into male and female bodies according to the need for experience. The scriptures say that the souls alternatingly experience male and female bodies to round up their imbalances in male-female energy. A Yogi or a Master is one in whom the male-female energy is well balanced. Such ones are considered androgynous. Until that state of androgyny, there is experiencing the imbalance of male and female energy in oneself.

Every person is more or less male or female. God is male-female. Therefore all beings are male-female. In every being there is spirit and matter, which is called positive-negative energy, transmitting-receptive energy and expanding-contracting energy. When these energies are balanced in oneself, one gains optimum experience. In truth the being, the soul, is neither male nor female. Is it not therefore ignorance to think “I am male, I am female”? The truth is, I AM is in male form and I AM is in female form. Just like I am in a Benz car, I am in a Rolls Royce car. The vehicles are different but I AM is the same. The male-female bodies are like the residences, they are not the residents. The resident is the one I AM. Forms change, the resident is the same. Therefore one cannot associate oneself excessively with the definition of male-female.

Likewise, the names are but given names. They differ from life to life. The name does not come with you into the next life. The form does not come with you into the next life. Therefore associating oneself excessively with name and form is ignorance. Identifying with name and form is utter ignorance.

I AM is thus male-female and has the centripetal and centrifugal pulsation. Even in that pulsation the expanding pulsation is male and the contracting pulsation is female. I AM can therefore be seen as a pulsating awareness and as a projection of Existence. Defining with names and forms is but an act of ignorance. Identifying with them is illusion. Daily recollection of I AM is therefore helpful for disassociating with the name and form and for recollecting oneself as a projected entity of Existence - a unit of Awareness. This state of awareness is recommended to be gained. Remember, even this state is but a secondary state.

Role Play
As you wake up in the morning ask yourself, “WHO AM I?” Define not yourself as the lady of the house, the man of the house. Define not yourself by your name, by your form or by your position at home. Those are all the roles we play. We play the roles of housewives, breadearners and so on. We are all playing roles throughout the day. We are actors without knowing that we are actors. We are much better actors than the movie stars. The only difference is that a movie star knows that he is acting and we do not know we are acting. We have identified ourselves with our actions and with our roles. That is our problem. That is why there is a strong instruction that people should participate in dramas and play roles. Once we play the role of a hero, another time we play supporting an actor’s role, third time we play a villain’s role, and fourth time we play a joker’s role. Which of these four are we? Every time, if we play the role of Rama, we start believing that we are Rama! Do you know that in my childhood I was playing the role of females in the dramas? I never believed that I was a female, even while playing the role of a female. I remembered I AM and played the role of a female. That was a good eye-opener. It enabled me to play the role of a male, while I remembered THAT I AM and that I am not male. Initiations can happen through such events in life. In fact, initiations happen not through elaborate procedures, where the aspirant is more in expectation than being present. Initiations happen, they cannot be planed.

We play so many roles every day as we wake up till we sleep. A man who is a head of a family plays the role of a head (many times headless, the head could be his wife). As he sees his wife, he plays the role of husband. As he sees his children, he plays the role of father. As he sees his parents, he plays the role of son. As he goes to office, he plays the role of a boss, of a colleague and so on. He becomes a friend, when he sees his friend. All these activities are activities of becoming. Throughout the day the being is in the process of becoming. In the whole game he forgets that he is a being – I AM. Remember, we are beings, we are not becomings. Becoming is temporary, being is permanent. You are not head of the family, husband, father, son, friend etc. They are all roles played according to time, place and persons. When no one is around you, what are you? You are not your name, you are not your form, you are not your gender, you are just I AM and awareness, a unit of awareness. This reality has to be touched upon from time to time during the day. Otherwise you are lost into the world, busily becoming and changing roles like a chameleon. Chameleon changes its colours according the colour of the tree. It doesn’t know its colour until it gets into daylight. Daylight needs to come to us and it happens, when we recollect I AM as regularly as possible and as rhythmically as possible. This I AM has no definition of name, form, etc. This is only a half way point; it shall be pursued further thereafter, until it disappears as THAT. For this reason recollecting I AM is given as the first instruction by Lord Sanat Kumara. Staying in that recollected state at all times enables you to stand in the light of the soul and to function as soul. Enlightened ones function as soul but not as personalities that carry name, form, and all the rest of the luggage of identity. Other identities are only a luggage. I AM is the only traveller. “Less luggage, more comfort”, is an esoteric statement as well. It is not only exoteric.

Dismantle all other identities. You are only entitled to feel I AM.

People foolishly identify themselves with all that they do and sink in it. There are people who believe that they are bankers, businessmen, doctors, professors, teachers, scientists and there yet others who feel that they are Gurus, Masters. All this is ignorance. To oneself, all these are roles played. One is I AM, just I AM. Even this I Am is a concept. It disappears in the advanced states of enlightenment. The teachers of Advaita say that the first illusion is I AM, and all the identities that are built around it are worse illusions.

I AM is but a projection of that One Consciousness, which permeates all. It is the Universal Consciousness that projects as an individual consciousness. Just like the ocean projecting a wave. The wave is but ocean only. The wave has no identity by itself, but for the ocean. The individual awareness is but a periodical emergence, like a wave from the oceanic consciousness. Wave is but a concept of the ocean, a momentary projection of the ocean. It appears and disappears. The wave also builds its foam through its activity. In the foam there is hardly any substance. The substance of the wave is ocean, but the substance of the foam is illusory. Wave is I AM, and other identities one suffers from are like the foam. They have purely momentary value from the standpoint of eternal time.

To feel I AM as one’s identity is somewhat justifiable, but to feel anything other than I AM is ignorance. By living in false identities one is stuck in the world. He becomes worldly. Remember that none of us is of the world. We are with the world. This ideation is helpful. It enables to come out of our false identities. Living in mistaken identities leads us to gradual imprisonment in the world of activities. If we retain the original identity, we would not suffer the impact of the world. On the contrary, we enjoy being in the world.

Each time you enter into the world, it is like entering onto the stage of a theatre. You play a role knowing full well that you are just playing a role. You play and come out of the stage. You will neither overstay, nor speak beyond the script, nor over-act or under-act. On the stage you have to act the ordained act. You need to speak what has to be spoken. We should be timely to enter the stage and exit the stage. Without these regulations we are not seen as a good actor. The same analogy can be extended to the world. The world is the stage that you enter upon and play your role; speak what is required to be spoken, do what has to be done and exit from the stage in time. You cannot hang on after the role is played. You cannot withdraw prematurely. This is possible, if one remembers himself as I AM, a projection of the Universal Consciousness. When this identity is lost, you are stuck in the worldly theatre and receive undesirable experiences from the world audience. I hope it is clear.

Arrival and Departure – Knowing It
Just ask, “WHO AM I?” As we wake ?” up in the morning, we immediately take to an identity. What was I in sleep? What was there in the sleep? Wherefrom have I come and wherefrom do I arrive every day? Forget about wherefrom I arrived in this birth. If we know wherefrom we arrive daily, we would know wherefrom we arrived from our past birth. Likewise, when we get into sleep, try to know where we depart to.

Arrival and departure – there are two gates in every airport. We go to arrival to receive and we go to departure to see off. Likewise, if we know where we are departing to, we know what will happen to us after death. Similarly, we can also know wherefrom we have arrived. This knowledge is important. By this knowledge we break the walls relating to our past and relating to our future. This knowledge gives us continuity of consciousness from past into the present and from present into the future. The continuity of consciousness leads us to Eternal Presence, wherein future and past merge. The future and the past converge into the Presence which is always present. “WHO AM I?” leads us to the Presence.

It happened to the Creator also. As He woke up from the Eternity the question came up to HIM, “WHO AM I? Why am I here? What am I to do? What for have I come? How did I wake up?” All these questions are fundamental questions. We don’t have time to search for answers. This is because we have so many things to do as we wake up. The routine in the morning is so much that we are already in it. We are generally behind the schedule. We do not wake up a bit earlier. Even when we wake up, we don’t get up. The world already demands you. Is it not wiser to get up earlier before the world arrives and knocks at your threshold? All good disciples therefore get up early to ideate, to contemplate a while in the morning before they plunge into the world.

Do not let the thinking machine (the mind) get into the world as you wake up. Orient it to the fundamental questions. Ideate upon the fundamental questions. Contemplate upon them. Likewise, when you retire in the evening relinquish all worldly identities and go into sleep only as I AM. This practice of arrival and departure from the world on a daily basis helps in fact to stay recollected as I AM. It is an invaluable practice that enables us to stay afloat and not to sink while functioning in the world.

Two Steps of Discipleship: Amaratvam and Brahmatvam

Discipleship is in two steps: first to be immortal, and then to realise Brahman. “Amaratvam and Brahmatvam”, that is how Master CVV says. Amaratvam means ‘immortality’. Brahmatvam means ‘realisation of oneself’. Every teacher leads the students to these two steps. This is the way. There is no other way. The one who realises the Truth imparts the Truth in this way. He leads the students firstly to continuity of consciousness, which is beyond the duality of birth and death and secondly to the source of such consciousness, to pure Existence.

Recollection of I AM is the primary step to establish continuity of consciousness. I AM gathers around itself its personality and its body. It develops its own relationship with the world, which is domestic, economic and social. In the process, I AM disappears in the personality and personality sinks into objectivity. Recollection of I AM therefore is gathering oneself from the world of objectivity and from the personality of thoughts, desires, programs, proposals, etc. This re-gathering of oneself is symbolically expressed as gathering butter from the milk, which otherwise stays inextricably integrated in milk. The process of churning the milk brings the butter back.

Discipleship is thus the process of churning one’s personality to re-gather the Self, I AM. Only when one stands as I AM, he stands as a unit of consciousness. Such units of consciousness are called the columns of consciousness. It is only with the columns of consciousness a temple can be built. Meaning, Divine activity can be carried out. In another symbolic expression it is said, “Only when the butter is formed and stored well, Krishna approaches unnoticed to eat for Himself or to distribute to the colleagues.” The former is a Masonic expression; the latter is a poetic, a ‘poeticromantic’ expression. Those humans who would like to work for the Divine Plan need to be in the identity of I AM, but not in other identities. When one lives in other identities of name, form, status, nationality etc., one cannot be of much utility in Divine work.

The modern man is busy. The modern mind is much more busy. It constantly looks for programs and proposals. Mind can be active, but one cannot let it to be overactive. The modern mind is comparable to the modern traffic that you find on the roads. Our roads are full of traffic and they represent the state of our minds. There is ever increasing traffic and the congestion is very high around the cities. Likewise the mind is also in congestion. It is stuffed with many thoughts, more thoughts than it can bear. It is all the more necessary now than before to sit and think for a while “WHO AM I? What am I doing? Am I doing what has to be done or doing anything and everything? What is the purpose of this life?” Sit for a while daily and question yourself. Disintegrate from the world and even from your personality. Stay as I AM and overview your personality, activity, and your worldly involvement. Persons who regularly pray and worship are busy with their own prayers and worship, therefore are not proposing those questions to themselves. One needs to ask oneself these fundamental questions on a daily basis. Sanat Kumara therefore starts His teachings with this fundamental question of “WHO AM I?”

A Story of the Three Sons
A mother with her three sons entered into a metropolitan city. The sons wanted to see the city. The mother said, “Be careful! Whenever you cross the road, look out for the traffic. Come back safe by the evening.” The sons left. They did not come back by the evening. By the evening they landed in the hospital. They were hit by the vehicles when they were crossing the road. The mother told them to look for traffic when they cross the road. They therefore crossed the road only when there was traffic. They looked for traffic and crossed. They did not understand what the mother said. The mother meant that they should move when the road is free and make sure that there is no traffic when they cross.

What is true Meditation?
The students want to meditate. But their meditations end in disaster. What do the students do during meditation? They keep on thinking about a symbol, a colour, a sound, a scenery, a divine form and so on. These are all thoughts. Thoughts are the vehicles of traffic. The students keep hitting the thoughts. They cannot go beyond thought. They cannot cross over. Meditation should enable to pass through the thought plan. Sitting and thinking is not meditation. Thinking of divine things is also not meditation. Meditation is the state, where no thought prevails. Meditation happens when one can pass through the gap between two thoughts. The mother in the story wanted the sons to move inbetween the gaps of traffic. The teacher also moves dexterously through the gaps to the other side. It is the gap between two vehicles, two thoughts that leads you to the One Self. These gaps are called by some Masters as ‘interludes’ or ‘intervals’. Such intervals exist between inhalation and exhalation, between night and day, day and night, between sleep and awakening, wakefulness and sleep. It is symbolically said that one cannot enter the temple unless he passes through the two pillars.

Daily meditation is therefore to observe the thoughts and pass through the gaps between thoughts. Or observe the thoughts until they are all exhausted. If one sits for long duration, all thoughts get exhausted, just like all movement of vehicles ceases at one point of time or the other in a day of 24 hours. Then the road is seen, the gap is seen, the other side is seen. When there is no traffic of thoughts, one can see the way to move to the other side.

Practice and Patience
Every practice needs patience. Without patience one cannot achieve anything here in this world or hereafter in the other world. Patience is the key to success. Impatient ones fail. Tolerance is the first commandment in every theological system. Kshama – thus pronounces ‘Mahabarata’. Tolerance – thus pronounces Moses as the first of the Ten Commandments. Patience, tolerance, forbearance are the qualities that develop depth in one’s personality. Human failure is due to lack of this quality. But this is the quality needed for success in any aspect of life.

Recollection of I AM also needs patience. One should recollect I AM beyond one’s own personality as regularly as possible. These practices of recollection have to happen until one reaches the settled state, I AM. Only then one can be called a Being. Before that he remains a being conditioned by doing and is generally a doer and not a Being.

To be a Being is to be I AM. I AM is a state of Be-ness which is unrelated to the surroundings, unrelated to the one’s own nature, one’s own form and one’s own name. It is Be-ness as a static energy. Through time and place one relates to an act. After the act is done, one restitutes himself to I AM state of consciousness. It is natural for the accomplished one to remain in Be-ness, to relate to the surrounding events and come back to BE once again. When one is advanced in his accomplishment, even while he relates to the surroundings and does acts of the time, he continues to be in Be-ness. Such one is said to be in the natural state of Samadhi. It is called Sahaja Samadhi. Such ones are called Sahaja Yogis. Their natural state is Be-ness.

In meditation one is expected to reach the state of Be-ness. Occultly this state of Be-ness is expressed as ‘the head above the shoulders’. Meaning I AM is the head, personality is the executing body, is the worker. One’s head should always be above one’s shoulders. It cannot be in the upper torso. If it is so, man is just a mediocre thinker. The head cannot be in the lower torso. If it is so, he is just an indulgent one. The three states of man are depicted graphically:

Each one of us needs to see, where we are. Are we just sensuous beings? Are we just mediocre thinkers, thinking and working for self-sustenance? Are we souls that preside over our personality?

Constant recollection of I AM would lead us to be souls that preside over our personality. Sanat Kumara therefore recommends all theistic students to recollect “WHO AM I?”

2 - Sraddha

Sraddha is the faculty that enables you to be here and now. Lord Sanat Kumara gives this as the first step towards self-realisation, I AM. Without Sraddha not much can be accomplished. The mind has the habit of wandering. It is a vagabond, a street dog, a stray dog. It moves hither and thither. It has no directed movement. It takes you on flight without destination. It makes you absentminded. It doesn’t let you to be and to do what has to be done. Mind entrusts work to the body and moves away. Body is a machine, which mechanically does things like a robot. When mind wanders while the body is at work, the work is done in an opposite way. It is not fulfilled. This is because the intent is not focused there. The consciousness is not present. Therefore the related experience is not gained. People choose delicious food, but engage in talking while eating. The attention shifts from the act of eating to the theme that is talked. Eating becomes mechanical. The taste of food is not experienced. Such eating is not conscious eating. When there is no conscious eating, the experience of eating food is missed. When there is no conscious eating, one does not eat as much as is required. One tends to eat more or less, but not as much as it is required. When eating is not conscious, the life force would not effectively function. It assimilates what is eaten. People talk while eating. The consequence is absence of experience of food. Similarly people put on music, but within a couple of minutes they start talking. The music comes to the ear of the listener, but the listener is not there. The listener is otherwise occupied. The result is, the music concludes and one did not muse to experience the music.

Be Conscious at all Times
Like this man sees, but does not see, since the seer is not present totally while seeing. He listens, but does not listen. He eats, but does not eat. He talks, but doesn’t listen to his own talk. If he listens full well what he talks, he would not talk rubbish. Man is a unit of consciousness, but is not consciously present in the talk when he talks. He is not consciously present when he listens. He does not consciously see. He does not consciously eat. Most of the things are done mechanically. The difference between man and machine is that man is conscious, machine is not. Because of the consciousness that he is, he has the facility to experience. When consciousness is not present the related experience is absent.

The mind has to be trained to be here and now. It is a discipline, it is a practice. From the minute acts to big acts one needs to learn to be consciously present. When one is consciously present, there is continuity of experience. It even enables continuity of consciousness to be present through series of different acts done during the day.

Be present in every act that you do. Be full of intent in every action. It is the way to Be. Man’s consciousness is posited in the mind’s layers. When mind is fully present, man is present. If mind is not fully present, man is not present. Work happens mechanically. Work does not give experience. Therefore ensure that presence of mind, which enables you to enjoy the juice of action. Action itself is juicy. Results are not that juicy. Unfortunately man projects into the future results, missing the present action. Result-oriented actions are full of tension. Actions done with intent are full of joy. Action itself is joyful. A Master of Wisdom says, “Joy is in action, rest is in action, recreation is in action, action refreshes.”

Bring Heavenly Happiness to Earth
Be full of intent when you brush your teeth in the morning. Enjoy the fragrance of the paste, look at your beautiful and dutiful teeth. Without them you cannot eat, you cannot heartily smile. By enjoying brushing you can start the day joyfully. Likewise when you bathe, be present with the bath. Feel the life of the waters, feel the beauty of your most choicely soaps and jellies. Don’t be too hasty to finish the bath. You can bring heavenly happiness to earth, if you know how to be with full intent while at action. Likewise be present to enjoy your selection and wearing of cloths when you put them on, likewise the watch, ornaments and the shoes. Look to them, speak to them and smile to them when you put them on. This is how you need to train your mind to be here and now. A mind that learns to be here and now is the mind that has tremendous power to perceive. Your perceptions are sharper, your learning is faster. You are like a sharpened arrow that can pierce through any situation and perceive solutions. It enables intuition to happen, because it is all alert.

Be All Alert
An all alert mind is compared to a highbred dog. Sarama is the most high dog that watches over our solar system with astounding alertness. Sarama is Cerberus. Cerberus is Sirius. Dogs are considered the most alert animals. Highbred dogs are ever alert. They listen farther, they sense faster. A mind that inculcates Sraddha becomes focused, alert, ever ready to perceive. Its antennas protrude in all 360 directions. High souls only have such developed minds. Human minds are unidirectional. Master-minds are multidimensional.

The facilities of mind are at their optimum when one learns Sraddha. Knowledge divine or mundane can be pursued only by such alert minds. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita -

Sraddhavan labhate Jnanam

means, knowledge is gained only by persons with minds of Sraddha – alert minds.

Patanjali speaks of this state as Asana. He defines Asana as a state of mind which is stable and comfortable. A highbred dog stays in a comfortable posture that is very, very, very alert. Only when this is achieved Patanjali gives the fourth step, namely Pranayama. Lord Krishna also speaks of Sraddha as the basic requirement of discipleship. Lord Sanat Kumara instructs that one needs to cultivate Sraddha to progress in the path of discipleship.

Be Meticulous in All
Be meticulous in all that you do. Be not negligent. You cannot be meticulous in some acts and be negligent in some other acts. When you are meticulous in work, the intent is present, the consciousness is present, you are present. When you tend to be negligent in any act, you dislodge yourself from being alert. The energy you build from meticulous acts is neutralised by your negligent actions. Therefore discipleship recommends that – “While you are at action, be meticulous; while you are at rest, be alert; when you are at sleep, just be.”

Likes and Dislikes
It is normal that men like certain things and do not like certain things. They do not tend to be meticulous when they do what they do not like. Here is a loophole, a slippery ground, where students tend to fall and fail. Do not deny the work because of your likes and dislikes. Discriminate the work as dos and don’ts. What you have to do, do it with liking. What you don’t have to do, leave it. With respect to all that you ‘have to do’, restructure that thought as ‘I like to do’. Replace ‘I have to’ to ‘I like to’. By this restructuring of the thought an attitudinal change happens. The lady says, “I have to wash the dishes.” She would do well if she restructures the thought to “I like to wash dishes.” Perhaps she can even structure it better to “I like my husband to wash dishes.”

Getting back to the main stream of teaching from humour: avoid not the work in terms of likes and dislikes. Avoid in terms of dos and don’ts. Whatever is your lot to do, like it to do. Then you can bring in intent, become conscious and thereby stay alert and stay focused. This is the way to be here and now.

The Science of Being Present
The science of Sraddha is called Ashwa Vidya. Ashwa Vidya means ‘horse science’. Horse is called Ashwa in Sanskrit. Ashwa also means ‘not future, not past’. When it is not future and not past, what is it? It is the present. The true meaning of Ashwa Vidya is ‘the science of being present’. Every Master of Wisdom imparts this science initially to the sincerely aspiring students. Unless the students learn to be here and now, knowledge is not passed on. A wandering mind may be enthusiastic, but it does not stick continuously to the present. Rolling stones gather mass and become heavy, but are not useful to themselves or others. People who look for wisdom here and there, wandering from place to place, do not gain the true knowledge until and unless they are willing to train themselves. Students should be open to change, to learn and learn to change.

Patience (Kshama) and conscious action (Sraddha) are the two fundamental practices for discipleship.

The great warrior, the highborn initiate Arjuna was initially taught Aswa Vidya: to be present here and now, to be fully conscious of the presented situation. He was the best archer of his times due to this knowledge of being here and now fully conscious at the very first instance. When he was a child he was asked to pick up a bow and arrow and aim at the eye of an image of a bird, which was set on a distant tree. Arjuna aimed. The teacher asked him, “What do you see?” Arjuna said, “The eye.” The teacher asked, “Don’t you see the bird?” Arjuna answered, “No, I see only the eye, since it is the target.” The teacher asked, “Don’t you see the tree or the branch on which the bird is set?” Arjuna said, “I do not see the tree, I do not see the branch, I do not see the bird. I saw them before I targeted the eye. Now my vision is focussed only on the eye.” The teacher said, “Release the arrow.”

The very first arrow that Arjuna released for the first time of his life in the childhood has directly hit the eye of the bird. That was Arjuna. Such was his focussed attention, such was the state of his Sraddha. It was so with him in every act he did, be it big or small. That attention is demanded, if one intends to accomplish noble acts in life.

Sraddha is therefore of great consequence to the seekers who seek the soul and who seek selftransformation for self-realisation.

See the One Consciousness in All
Sraddha enables one to see the One Consciousness in all. Consciousness exists in all that IS. It exists as salty nature in salt, as sweetish nature in sweet. It is the active intelligence in all things that we see. To be able to contact this in things and beings, one needs Sraddha. If one has Sraddha, he can remember himself as I AM throughout the day. He cannot be engulfed by his personality. He remembers himself as the soul and sees the soul in the other. Soul is the other name for the consciousness in form. Seeing that consciousness, enables you to be in contact with it and to transact with it. This is how you can transact in light. Transacting in light is the fundamental training that a Master intends to impart to his students. The students generally see the formations, the envelopes around that light of consciousness. They see sound, colour, form, name and many other things, but do not see the individual consciousness. To be able to see that, Sraddha is the key: to be, to be here and now. To see the Be-ness in others you need to be fully conscious and that cannot come by wishful thinking. It has to be practised. It has to be practised with much patience. Without patience you cannot pursue.

Every day an effort can be made to see the light of consciousness in the surrounding forms. Verify how much you remember the light of consciousness in the transactions that you carry out during the day. Every day is a page in the book of your life. Each page should be well written, and every year is a chapter. Unless you have patience, you cannot practise Sraddha, and unless you gain Sraddha, you cannot transform as light.

The One Universal Consciousness
As much as you see the consciousness in you and the surroundings, you realise that there is only consciousness and that it is only one consciousness, which emerges from pure Existence, and you would feel that this Consciousness is Universal. This Universal Consciousness is called God by theologies. It exists in all. It exists in man, too.

Man exists in God and God exists in man. The God in man is called Narayana. The man in God is called Nara. The two are linked and this link has to be realised through regular recollection of THAT I AM. The Universal Consciousness Narayana is called THAT. The individual consciousness is called I AM. When the two are linked the result is THAT I AM. Verily, the Universal Consciousness is in an individual as individual consciousness. Therefore the daily recollection is not only I AM, as given in the first chapter. It is recollection of THAT I AM. In Sanskrit THAT I AM is called SOHAM. SAHA and AHAM put together is SOHAM. It literally means THAT I AM. SAHA is THAT. AHAM is I AM.

The heartbeat regularly sings the song of SOHAM. That is called ‘the Music of the Soul’. Since each one is a soul, he would do well to associate with the song of the soul, which links him with the source of the soul - the Universal Soul. Only Sraddha enables this recollection. When there is no Sraddha, even if you know this, it remains only as information, but becomes no realisation. Information is not knowledge. People who inform themselves feel that they are knowledgeable. They are not. They are in illusion. Only those who practice the given information would realise the truth of it thereby settling themselves in knowledge.

As you link up your individual consciousness with the Universal Consciousness and move with the bird, you would only see that consciousness is at work. Consciousness only is at work when the dog wags the tail, when the cow looks at you, when the bull roars, when a man speaks, when a bird chirps and so on. Contact the consciousness first, later you can familiarise with the details. When you see a dog, a cow, a bull, a bird, a man or a woman – first see the consciousness that is fully at work through the forms. Later you can inform yourself further about the dog, the cow etc. The first contact has to be to the consciousness, not to the envelopes that surround the consciousness. The consciousness is enwrapped by sound, colour, form, name, nationality, religion, gender, caste, creed, race etc. When there are so many wrappings around consciousness, it is difficult to see the gift, which is occult. All gifts are given with gift wraps around. So is consciousness, it is made available with its related wrappings. To see the consciousness through the wrappings is the gift that Sraddha gives you.

There is not much meaning when we do worship, ritual or work with sound, colour and symbol, without being in contact with consciousness. Sound is but a presentation of consciousness. Colour is yet another presentation. Symbol is still another presentation of consciousness. The key to the sound, colour and symbol is revealed to the student of Sraddha, since he first contacts the consciousness presented through the sound, colour and symbol. It is through such contact, he gains understanding of the vibration of the sound, the velocity of colour and the geometrical patterns of the symbol. This is the occult approach.

The Universal Brotherhood
As we see the One Consciousness in the surroundings all around, we realise the brotherhood of all beings. Brotherhood is not an achievement, it is but a realisation. When the One Consciousness is the basis for all beings, the various beings that one sees are products of that Consciousness only. All have the same father and mother. The brotherhood is a reality. It need not be specially achieved or accomplished. It happens with you. Once you are in constant contact with the Consciousness, all beings are but one universal group of brothers. That is why it is called ‘Universal Brotherhood’. When one has realised the universality of brotherhood, it is not difficult to realise such brotherhood in smaller groups. There is no need for building circumscriptions around oneself and one’s own group. It is but glamour that people feel about ‘their’ groups. Illusion prevails, consequently people extend their possessiveness from themselves to their groups. It is but expansion of possessiveness, but not of consciousness, when one feels ‘my group, your group, his group’. It is all one group of all beings of the Universe. Enlarge your comprehension. Limit it not to yourself. Sraddha leads you to the state of Universal Awareness.

Don’t Separate – The Content is One
Feel One Universe, One Lord, One Consciousness, One Existence. Join the grand grandeur of Oneness. By habit we build walls around ourselves and then we feel that we are the centre. Each one creates a circumference and remains a centre, not knowing that he himself is the circumference of something else. Building walls around oneself brings in suffocation of limitation. There are so many groups, so many organisations, who feel the glamour of their special identity. While the truth being that there is only one identity, one entity. This one entity is called by many names in many groups. They differentiate to be distinct and wish to disintegrate and separate by their own names and their own forms. Some groups call HIM the Master, some groups call HIM Baba, some groups call HIM Swami, some groups call HIM Christ, or Krishna, or Rama and so on. By holding on to the names, people miss the content. Only names remain and the content is lost. The content is but one. That one content is inside and outside. It is above and below. It is on either side, it is all-round. It is a matter of Sraddha to observe, to know and feel the bliss of it.

At the end of this second instruction of the Lord, I recollect you all the following:
  1. THAT is the Truth.
  2. THAT I AM is the descent of that Truth as I AM.
  3. Recollection of THAT I AM is the fundamental practice.
  4. Sraddha is the key for such practice.
  5. Patience while at practice, long years of patience.
      Impatient ones have no entry into knowledge.

3 - Life’s Purpose

(Attaining the Lord should become the Rhythm of daily life, the Ritual of Life)

The purpose of daily life is to experience the Lord, then the routine of daily life transforms into a ritual. The ritual gives the magnetic impact of rhythm. The purpose of human life is At-one-ment and this is attained through a practice of experiencing the Lord in the daily events of life. This enables experiencing bliss in its optimum level every moment. To be blissful at all times is the goal set. This blissful state is also called the realisation of Truth or God. God realisation means realisation of the Truth of One Existence, realisation of One Existence, One Consciousness and its work in detail. This has to be the attempt of the humans. The human souls search for happiness, and that search ends when one realises that he himself is happiness and that happiness can be found within according to one’s disposition. The inner happiness is called joy. In the inner chambers of joy, there is the bliss. When man dips deep into the source of mind he finds himself in the light of buddhi, which is joyful. Wisdom is the buddhic state, which is joyful. The nature and its intricate work are understood beyond the seeming conflicts. Therefore joy prevails as man further searches into the inner chambers of joy that is, the source of the light of buddhi. He finds himself as a unit of consciousness. Each soul is but a unit of consciousness in whom pure knowledge is imbedded. Every soul is a unit of consciousness that emerges from the pool of consciousness, called Universal Consciousness. When this is realised the joy becomes boundless, because of the realisation that the soul – unit consciousness – emerges from Universal Consciousness which is boundless. This Universal Consciousness emerges from Existence, which too is boundless. Experiencing all these states through a path of discipline is called yoga, discipleship. When the experience of One Consciousness and One Existence is realised, man dwells in the optimum of bliss. Man has this potential.

Realise God
“God made man in his own image and likeness”, says the Bible. “Man is God’s image”, says the Veda. Veda further says that, “Man is the micro-cosmos, while God is macro-cosmos.” Whatever is in God is potentially in man. Man can transform himself into God-man (son of God) by submitting himself to a process. The seers of all times advised, “Man, know thyself.” In the process of knowing himself man knows the micro-cosmos and macro-cosmos. The presence of Lord Sanat Kumara on the planet is to fulfil this purpose of every human, to evolve, to realise God. It is for this reason the third teaching is: “Attaining the Lord should become the rhythm of life, the ritual of life.” The Lord says, “Experience God in every action and interaction. Experience from moment to moment. Miss not even a moment.” The great sages as Narada, Jesus the Christ and the like do so. They do so even now. Discipleship is expressed by a Master of Wisdom as submitting oneself to a training, by which one lives as soul, but not as personality. To function as a soul and experience the One Soul in and around is given as the third teaching. In recent times Sri Aurobindo lived and experienced thus. To him all life is God. All events are Godly. When he was in prison, he did not see the prison. He saw even the prison warden as God. It was astonishingly joyful for him. Every aspirant is strongly recommended to read the Alipore prison experience given by Sri Aurobindo. It is an affirmation for every aspirant that it can happen to every human.

The Veda says, “Man sees God, but sees not. Man listens to God, but listens not.” When one sees the other, there is the contact of the eye. From eye to eye, there is transmission of consciousness. Eye by itself cannot see. The seer sees through the eye. When he sees eye to eye, he is contacting the seer in the other. The seer in the first person and the seer in the other person are but one. It is one individualised consciousness seeing the other individual consciousness. But both are consciousness only. Likewise when there is speaking and listening, it is one sound emerging from one consciousness and received by another unit of consciousness. All actions and all transactions are that of consciousness only. When one holds this awareness, the day is filled with experiencing consciousness, whose other name is God.

The One Consciousness in all Forms
Trying to see the One Consciousness in all forms is the first step. Trying to see the One Consciousness in all varieties of behaviour is the second step. Seeing the Consciousness at work is the third step. This is the order of training suggested by Bhagavata Purana. The form and the behaviour of the animate forms are the two veils to the consciousness. The first step is, understand that all forms are God forms, from universe to the atom. All formations have their basis in One Consciousness. This is better realised today with the help of science, though it was known earlier to the seers. The tremendous activity within the atom is a realised fact today, while it was a realised truth before. The electron, the proton and the neutron are in tremendous activity. When the atom is broken it releases such unimaginable energy, which is but the energy of consciousness. Proton is the positive, electron is the negative and neutron is the neutrality. These three constitute the basic triangle of creation according to the ancients, from out of which all formations happen.

The forms that one sees are but the aggregate of atoms. The formations are based on the electromagnetic patterns. Different patterns bring in different formations. Patterns are invisible. The variance of patterns from one to the other is yet another subject. Nevertheless there are three aspects again: electromagnetic field, electromagnetic patterns and forms. The electromagnetic field is called consciousness in the scriptures. Thus for all forms the basis is consciousness. Every form therefore is to be seen as a form of consciousness. That is the first step.

See Behind the Behaviour in the Animate Forms
The second step is to see the behaviour in the animate forms. This needs much more patience and Sraddha. The behaviour of the animate forms quickly affects us and we miss to see that it is but a pattern of behaviour. Behind the pattern there is the behaving one, the consciousness. This observation is rather difficult. The inanimate forms do not interact with us. It is therefore easier to see the One Consciousness in all inanimate forms, but in the animate forms there is visible behaviour. Certain behaviours are agreeable to us, certain other behaviours are not agreeable. We therefore get affected by the duality. Thereby we miss to continue seeing the One Consciousness. For this reason it takes long years to feel the One Consciousness, which is beyond the variety of behavioural patterns. It is at this juncture one needs a teacher who demonstrates the ability to see the One Consciousness surpassing the dualities of behaviour. He remains in equanimity, in equilibrium. He stays neutral, unaffected by acceptable and unacceptable behaviours.

The Necessity of a Teacher?
Many times people question, “Is there a necessity of a teacher to realise the Truth?” To such ones the answer is ‘No’. Until one gets to the second step of discipleship the need for a teacher does not emerge in oneself. It naturally emerges when one meets stalemate. When there is a situation of pass-not, you need someone to pass you out. Impasse is not acceptable to any being. At that moment help is sought. Teachers are available only for those who helplessly seek to progress. Those who help themselves are let to move on until they become helpless. Only at the points of crises, of helplessness teachers help out. They are not available to help at every centimetre of movement.

A demonstration is always seen as better way of teaching. When someone demonstrates a teaching, it is better understood by the pupil. For this reason the teacher demonstrates during times of crisis. This he does with facility and with much felicity. The pupil wonders, but gets inspired to follow.

Following the teacher is through keen observation of the teacher. Keen observation is possible only if you hold on to patience and Sraddha. The teacher apparently does not display. He is subtle in his display. He is not showy. Only shallow ones display. The deeper one is in knowledge, the more natural he remains, the more normal he remains. A true teacher is natural and normal and does naught to put on airs. In his interactions with others and in his transactions he subtly displays. Virtues are at play when he is in action. Compassion, contentment, understanding, love, knowledge, friendliness and such other virtues are at play in spontaneity. Disciples think of practicing virtues. It is a laborious process. When they engage in observing consciousness, virtues gather. There is a way to ensure that virtues gather around oneself than running after virtues. Similarly, the vices run away as one approaches the consciousness through the process of observation. Ignorant ones think of coming out of anger, irritation, jealousy, hatred, pride and prejudice.

Observation is the Key
For this reason Lord Sanat Kumara says, “Do not get worried and do not strain to gather the virtues. Also do not strain to eliminate the vices. It is a path of difficulties. Instead link-up through observation of the Divine in the animate and inanimate forms.” If this practice is carried out with patience and with Sraddha, one transcends even the duality. This is a key by itself, which is generally overlooked.

Observation is the true key. The other word is witnessing. Be patient and be keen to observe the consciousness. You would slowly find that the behavioural patterns are but the imagery on the silver screen of consciousness. Silver screen is the basis for the imagery. Consciousness is the basis for behaviour. Behaviours are in variety. Imagery is also in variety, but the silver screen is one, consciousness is one. When the silver screen is observed, imagery does not affect us. Similarly when consciousness is observed, behaviours do not affect. But this needs practice for long years. Sometimes the practice may extend to a few lives. Nevertheless this is the only key to be followed. One may fail a thousand times, but still pursuing this practice is progressing on a direct highway. This needs to be remembered.

Smile of the Heart
The best treasure that one can have is a smile on the face. A smiling face is good to look at. But how does it come? To put up a smiling face is tense. It builds tension. But smile is natural to those who observe consciousness in others. A conscious entity carries a natural smile on the face. It is the normal state, while for purposes of work he may put on other expressions. Smile comes when there is joy at heart. Joy is but enfoldment of inner consciousness. For this reason all those who have unfolded as consciousness have a natural smile on their face.

Fulfilment
Similarly, the one in whom consciousness unfolds through the personality remains contented at all times. He is not in wanting of anything. Since he is filled with consciousness, he is naturally fulfilled. A fulfilled one is not in want of something from the world. Indeed many are the gifts that come up to the sincere student who wills to observe consciousness at all cost in all situations. It is futile to attempt to fulfil oneself with money, power and worldly positions. To the man who turns towards the world for fulfilment, it remains a never ending pursuit. It is like running after a mirage. Turn inward, find consciousness - which you are. Turn outward and observe consciousness in all that surrounds you. This is the way to fulfil the purpose of life. This is the ritual. This is the routine of the day.

Witnessing
Know the key of Witnessing. Witnessing enables you to be distant to that which is being witnessed. One cannot witness that which is a part of self. If something is kept too close to your nose you cannot see it well. If it is kept at a distance of 10 to 15 cm from one’s nose one can see better, better than before. Witnessing requires distancing from that which is to be witnessed. Again, one cannot witness if it is too far. In yoga this principle is upheld to accomplish what is to be accomplished through yoga. Remember, the other name for witnessing is observation. “Be an observer, be a witness”, say the saints of yoga.

When you are in a situation learn to be an observer to the situation, more than being a participant. The state of a participant is involvement. The state of an observer is non-involvement. To be a witness or an observer is to be an audience. When the play is on, the audience observes the play. When the movie is on, the audience observes the movie. The play or the movie in this context is one’s own life. To observe one’s own life, to witness one’s own life is a faculty that one has to develop. Each one is no doubt a player of his or her life. But through practice one can develop an observer in oneself. It means a part of oneself remains an observer while the other part is a player. This is a very important step for aspirants who would like to walk the path of discipleship.

Be the Player and the Observer
Observe while you act, observe while you see, while you listen, while you eat, while you talk. This is how the daily life can be experimented to be the player and also to be an observer. This is a great facility in yoga. Lord Krishna speaks of it in the 5th chapter of Bhagavad Gita. Slowly as one learns this faculty he realises that there are two parts in him: one part is the being, the other part is doing. It is the being that is doing. When it is doing, the being is becoming the doer. It is not necessary that he completely becomes a doer. A part of him can be being, a part of him can be doing. Normally persons involve into doing and in that involvement become impassionate, and as a consequence the original state is forgotten. The original state of every person is Be-ness. According to the demands of life the Be-ness gets dynamic and starts acting. Imagine a watch dog. A watch dog is always observing. It is not in action. It rests on its four legs and watches. When there is an event to be responded to, it takes to action and again gets back after the action to be in the same restful posture. The humans do not come back to their restful state of Be-ness, until they are put to sleep by nature. The first step therefore is to watch, to observe, and to witness one’s own actions. If this does not happen, they become their situations. They cease to be masters of the situations and become slaves of it, becoming restless. The humans are therefore compared to a chameleon, which keeps changing its colours according to the colour of the leaf, of the tree and during this process one forgets its original colour. Humans also forget their original state of being when they continuously become identified with their actions. They need to get back to Be-ness, between one action and the other, as the first step. And as a second step, they can be doing and also be simultaneously observing.

Throughout the day if one attempts to practice this, he would be eligible for advanced steps of observation. In the advanced state one is advised to observe one’s thirst when one is thirsty. Observe one’s hunger when one is hungry. When one is thirsty and if one observes one’s thirst as an observer, one would be distant from the thirst. When one is distant from the thirst, the thirst disappears! When one is hungry and if one witnesses one’s hunger, one grows distant from one’s hungriness. Then the hunger disappears. It is by observation, thirst and hunger can be overcome from time to time, until one gets drinking water and eatable food. One does not have to become anxious about the thirst and hunger. It is one’s presence in the body that gives the feeling of hunger and thirst to the body. When one is distant from one’s body through observation, the body feels no hunger and thirst. The chemistry of hunger, thirst, desire happens in one’s body due to one’s presence. When one keeps distance from the body, the body does not demand many things as it normally does.

Diversion versus Witnessing
This observation can be further extended to observing the pain in the body. When one observes dispassionately the pain, one distances from the paining part. Thereby pain does not affect one so much. Normally people are diverted to more attractive things to stay away from pain. A painful person when put to a movie full of humour, his attention is diverted from pain to the movie. During the entire duration of the movie he is not with the pain, he is with the movie. But the pain returns once the movie is over. What is it that has happened to him during his engagement with the movie? His awareness is diverted from the point of pain to the movie. His awareness is thus distanced from the pain.

Diversion is a temporary technique. Witnessing is a technique that is good for all times. Diverting one’s mind to a movie is seeking an external support as a remedy. Witnessing is a self-supporting remedy. When one develops the ability to witness, one can use this facility in many ways. One can withstand from hunger and thirst, one can withstand from pain, one can stand out from the body as well. Through constant observation of one’s own body, which is a contemplation by itself, one can stand out and witness one’s body. People are crazy for initiations to have out-of-bodyexperience. But science of yoga gives this simple and straight forward technique to stand out and observe one’s body. Similarly one can start observing one’s own personality. As one gets more and more dispassionate in one’s observation, one can clearly see one’s personality with its strengths and weaknesses. Personality is also a vehicle for the soul. When the soul through witnessing comes out of the personality, he can experience the blissful state of being the soul without the personality.

Experience Soul/Self (I Am)
Thus one can hang for a while the robe of personality and the robe of body to a coat-hanger and be a soul! It is the simplest way and far better than strenuously trying to repair the body and repair the personality to experience the soul. This path of repairing is a laborious path. Instead stand out from them and experience the soul. Once one realises that one is a soul, one remains intact even while one is in an imperfect personality or imperfect body. As soul one can even repair faster one’s personality and body. As personality one cannot repair one’s own personality. An imperfect personality is like a broken hand. When the hands are broken, what repair can one do to oneself? An imperfect personality when it attempts to perfect itself fails in doing so, because it is imperfect. Therefore the easier way is observation, witnessing, watching oneself.

When one watches within, when one witnesses within one’s body one sees many things. One sees the functioning of awareness flowing from oneself. One can also see life and its flowing through the self. One can see the functioning of the solar system in oneself. One can also see the inner astronomy and astrology. The science of observation or witnessing is a great science by itself, by which many attain to be the soul. To be a soul is to get back to the original state of Beness. Such Be-ness is blissful. The purpose of life is thus accomplished. The rhythm of life and the ritual of life thus get fulfilled.

4 - Be Inquisitive to Know The Lord

The fourth commandment is that one should have special interest to know the Lord.

Sanat Kumara says that one should have spiritual interest to know the Lord. The intense desire to know the Lord is already a blessing. It happens to an individual through the grace showered by the Lord. It is called fiery aspiration, Tapas. When there is such fiery aspiration it means, one is blessed by a cosmic Teacher called Narada. This cosmic Teacher exists in us also, since we are micro-cosmos. When Narada exists in macro-cosmos, he exists in us – the micro-cosmos. The continuous attitude to know is seen to be due to the impulses that he gives from within. Lord Krishna says in the 10th chapter of Bhagavad Gita that Narada is the cosmic principle that initiates the impulse to know, to know the Lord. For this reason the knowers always invoke Narada along with the other Kumaras and the Seven Seers. Narada is a Kumara that helps the aspirant to know. In the scripture Bhagavatam the story of Narada comes in the very beginning. It is purposely instituted there so that the readers would gain the touch of Narada who enables experiencing the Lord. I am reminded of Narada, as Sanat Kumara gives his fourth commandment to know the Lord.

Commencing from Narada, the cosmic Teacher, there is a hierarchy of Teachers up to the World Teacher. They constitute the ladder that helps beings to know the Lord through the regular steps of the ladder. The World Teacher is the Teacher on this planetary plane. He developed through time a team of Teachers who are available on the planet to help sincere seekers. Those who have special interest to know the Lord and those who are in keen inquisitiveness are helped by a Teacher to establish a contact with them.

In the modern days the aspirants try to appoint their Teachers, in the sense they keep saying, “My Teacher is Maitreya, my Teacher is Krishna, my Teacher is Christ, my Teacher is Morya, my Teacher is Sai Baba” and so on. But the truth is otherwise. It is the Teacher who knows the student. The student can never know his Teacher until after certain revelations that happen within. A Teacher guides invisibly a student for twelve lives, before the student knows his or her Teacher. It is therefore childish for the students to say, “My Teacher is CVV or EK or MN or Kut Humi or Djwal Khul.” When you hear such statements from the truth seekers, know that they are still childish.

The Teacher, the Anchor
The world is so engrossing that man tends to be a wanderer, not only in the physical plane but also in the emotional and mental planes. To this non-directional wandering a Teacher provides himself as an anchor. Just like a ship or a boat is not swept away by the current of water when anchored, students who look for the Lord do not get swept away by millions of concepts of wisdom in the presence of a Teacher. Initially students become crazy with too many concepts of wisdom. They get excited and they do not know systematised adaptation to the concepts to enable their progress. They remain non-directional and engaged by wandering in the ocean of wisdom concepts. They move vaguely with no specific direction and feel glamorous of the information they gathered about wisdom concepts. The information they gain about various concepts of wisdom is mistaken by them as their knowledge. The concepts have to be lived through, then the information transforms as realisation. For this a Teacher is needed.

A Teacher of wisdom imparts silence, right speech, right thought and right action. To those who are aligned in their thought, speech and action he gives further implements such as colour, sound and symbol. Initially the Teacher works as Saturn working on the limitations of the student. Later as the student gains the rhythm and conducts life as a ritual he gives the Jupiterian touch for expansion of consciousness through daily practice. Blessed are the students who stand by the Saturnian training and become eligible for the occult tools of training. When such tools are utilized with reverence, the Teacher gives the touch of Jupiter. In the initial stages the student himself would not know consciously the expansions happening in him. He knows it in retrospect. From time to time he would also receive the touch of Venus from the Teacher. Thereby he feels comfortable in consciousness from time to time. The Teacher ensures the student’s settlement in consciousness. When the student thinks of settlement in personality consciousness, he does not let it happen. Settling in soul consciousness is of paramount importance instead of settling in personality consciousness. Personalities are unstable, soul is stable. The Teacher emphasises therefore upon comfort of soul consciousness, but not of personality consciousness.

The Teacher, the Guide
The stories of the scriptures show how sincere souls with grand personalities are frequently destabilised and re-stabilised in the soul consciousness. The story of Yudhisthira is a message in that direction. He was well settled in Indraprastha after Rajasuya, but he settled down in the personality. He was glamoured of the splendorous life and even started being showy. The Teacher Narada had to come to give a turn to the events. The Teacher Narada ensured that Yudhisthira was saved from his own personality. Krishna also contributed to that. Personality comfort is secondary. Soul comfort is primary for a Teacher with respect to his students. True Teachers do not praise the personalities of the students, for it could be counteractive to the progress of the student. The more the student advances, the more he finds frequent encounters with the fire of the Teacher. Teachers supply sweet and bitter pills according to the need. One cannot hope or dream that he can be always in a fantasy world being around the Teacher.

Find the Teacher Within
Working with the Teacher is no doubt magical, but it has its own challenges. He gradually leads the student to transcend the personality into the soul. The related steps could be very trying. The ultimate trial for the student is to face the threshold of death all alone, all by himself with no external support whatever. The nectar of life is offered only to those who meet crises and death with no external support. The Teacher at the times of crisis disappears and stands at a distance to watch how the student performs in crisis. Only the student who finds the Teacher within can stand all by himself in every crisis. The Teacher withdraws the outer support mechanism so that the inner support mechanism is initiated as sheer necessity. “Necessity is the mother of invention”, is a saying in English. “The inner man raises from within, when there is no support around.”

Many students initially think that initiations are like the sweet dreams. They happen in bitter crisis. It was so with Jesus. It was so with Buddha. It was so with Arjuna. Arjuna received his initiation at the threshold of a global war. The scriptural stories mostly give this hint. I inform you of this not to scare you, but to put you in a better state of being pre-informed.

The path to the Lord is pervaded by Masters of Wisdom. Denying their help is unwise. Many imagine that they don’t need a Teacher. But such ones invariably fasten themselves with their own intellect. For such intellects virtues are helpful, more than intelligence.

The Teacher Informs
The way the Teacher trains, the student knows not. Hercules the initiate was originally guided by the Teacher Jupiter. He was put to different labours at different times by the Teacher. The Teacher led Hercules through the path of light, which is the path of sun. Likewise every Teacher has a different mechanism with respect to different students. There is general guidance for all and specific guidance to some according to their state of awareness. He leads the students through the hall of learning, the hall of wisdom, and leads them to the hall of experience. He does so strictly according to the orientation of the students. He guides as much as the student orients. From time to time when the student is disoriented he waits in silence. There are as many regulations to Teachers as there are to the students. People think that the Teachers are above all regulations. The Teachers can be beyond, but while training the students they respect utmost the individual freedom of the students. They do not interfere, they do not intimidate, and they do not impose. He informs the students about the nature and the characteristics of God, of creation, and of the creation of human being. He informs that every being is a soul and also informs, while at action to experience and fulfill oneself.

Teacher – a re-presentation of God
The Teacher is but a re-presentation of that grand energy called God. It is verily God present in a human form who helps the sincere aspirant. His work is to drive the student to find the God within and thereby find the God all-around. He frequently speaks of life and of death. He speaks of the life beyond death. He essentially provides the needed material for a student to rise from where he is seated. A student sits in mind. The Teacher provides tools to the student to rise from mind and find a seat in Buddhi. Thereafter the path to the Lord is visioned by the student to be followed.

One More Aspect of the Teacher
The Teacher is the forerunner. At all times the Teacher is ahead to ensure safety to the student on the path. The Teacher is former and the student is later at all times. The Teacher clears the path and the student follows it with much ease. The student cannot follow the Teacher, if he discontinues the practice of teaching given by the Teacher. The student can stand aligned with the Teacher only when the student follows the teaching in the daily routine. Know that the sole link between the Teacher and the student is the teaching. When the student overlooks the teaching he cannot stay aligned, he cannot follow the path. Such is the significance of the teaching of the Teacher. When we follow the teaching of Lord Sanat Kumara, the Lord gets oriented to us. When we disconnect with the teaching we lose his orientation towards us. Know that the teaching is the cord that keeps you in eternal link with the Teacher. You cannot follow the Teacher without following his teaching, and there is no teaching without the Teacher. The student would do well to serve the Teacher and the teaching. This would enable him to realise the purpose of life without too many hurdles on the way.

5 - Function as a Soul, not as a Personality

This indeed is the best of the practices in daily life. This is a challenging instruction. It is the best of the challenges that one can face – to practise to remain as soul and function through personality. To recollect oneself as soul while one is interacting with the world through the agency of personality. This is the step. Each one of us is a soul. We are not our personalities. We are not our minds. We are not our bodies. The body, mind and personality constitute our vehicle to relate to and function in the world of objectivity. The soul is the master. The personality with its mind and body is the facilitator. Without personality, mind and body, the soul by itself cannot function in the world of objectivity. Personality is man’s equipment, but not man as such. This distinction between oneself and one’s personality has to be firmly established in oneself. If not, the soul immerses in the personality. It is like sinking into the world. A person sinks when he is within the personality. He should remain a person and work through the personality.

Person is called in Sanskrit Purusha. The word Purusha gives a better message. It means ‘the one that entered into the personality’. Soul develops personality and enters into it to conduct the life in objectivity. Just as a person builds a house and enters into it for work. The person is the entering one. The personality is the dwelling place for the person. The person should be able to move in and move out of the personality, just like a man enters into and exits from the house. Unfortunately the person identifies himself with his personality and loses the original identity of being a person. Soul is the person that builds and enters into the personality. Thereafter by identifying with the personality the identity as the soul is forgotten. The original state is forgotten. The transformed state is taken as the original state.

That is how each one of us feels: I am male, I am female, I am Indian, I am Swiss, I am German, I am Spanish and so on. I AM is neither Indian, nor Swiss, nor German, nor Spanish. I AM cannot be American, however great the Americans feel. Americans feel great and use the word great many times. But I AM consciousness is greater than the great.

Then again there are other identities: I am a businessman, I am a teacher, I am a ruler, I am young, I am old and I was an infant and so on. There is another category who feels I am a disciple, I am a Master, I am a Mason. All these identities are incorrect identities. They relate to the personalities, they do not relate to the soul. Soul remains I AM. At best it can be THAT I AM, or I AM THAT I AM. The rest is build-up. One cannot be his build-up. One cannot identify with his build-up. The building needs a builder. The builder is the soul. Recollecting that one is a soul, a person, is much more important than remembering the buildup. Without the soul there cannot be personality, there cannot be mind and body. But without personality, mind and body the soul can be.

Being and Becoming
The soul is the being. It builds the equipment of personality, mind and body for doing. Without the being, there is no doing. Without doing, there can be being. The being is primary, doing is secondary. In times of ignorance secondary things become primary. Primary things are purely forgotten. Today when we speak of soul, the personalities vehemently argue that there is no such thing as soul. Such affirmations are natural when there is strong identity with the personality. A king feels he is the king. He forgets that he was not the king by birth. He became a king. On the way he became a prince before. After some time he becomes the former king, meaning he is replaced by another king, who could be his son. He was infant, he was prince, he is now king, and in due course he will be a former king. All these are becomings, different becomings at different times. When he is dead and gone, who knows what he will be? He will be just a being, until he once again becomes something else.

Being is eternal. Becoming is temporary. Being is the natural state. Becoming is a transformation for a purpose. One cannot be his transformation. He should remain original at all times and handle the transformed state. Being is immutable. Personalities are mutable. The immutability cannot be known when one is sunk in the mutable. During the day, as I said earlier, we play so many roles. For each role we become a different personality; we become a spouse, a parent, a co-born, a friend, a worker, a traveller, a speaker, an eater and so on. But in all these the being is constant. The being is one continuous principle. The becomings commence and conclude. To live in those things that commence and conclude is to live in the cycles of birth and death. Birth is a commencement. Death is the conclusion. But the being is before birth and after death and is during the entire incarnation. The being at all times is. It existed before it incarnated. It exists during incarnation. And it exists after death. It exists at all times, regardless birth and death. But a personality takes birth and dies, with every birth. A soul has different personalities in different incarnations. It may have a male personality or a female personality. It may have an Asian personality or a European, an American, Australian or African personality. These varieties of personalities are varieties of vestures, just like pants, shirts, sarees or panjabies. Identifying oneself with the envelope is ignorance. Identifying with the indweller is knowledge. For this reason Sanat Kumara reminds that each one of us is a soul and we therefore have to function as a soul, a being, a person, a Purusha. It would enable us to realise the brotherhood of souls.

To be a soul is to be a being, a pulsating being, a pulsating being with awareness. Be-ness, awareness and pulsation are the three fundamental characteristics of the soul. Awareness has its effulgence. Pulsating life has its golden aura. Be-ness pervades the effulgent light and the golden aura. Such is the soul which we are. Personality is the envelope that we build. Just like the snail builds its shell or a spider builds its web. You can’t look at the shell and say, that it is a snail. The snail is different from the shell. The snail is with the shell and is not of the shell. The soul too builds its personality. Soul is not personality. Soul is with the personality. Soul is not of the personality. Personality is of the soul, emerges out of the soul. As much as one holds this understanding, so much he stands with his head above the waters, the waters of life. If not, it is like the head sunk into waters. Therefore be a soul. Function through your personality. After the work is done, remain again as soul. Do not remain as personality. Personality is a house. A Master of Wisdom does not lay his head in the personality. He keeps it away from or above the personality. Jesus Christ mystically said this, “The son of man has no house to lay his head”, meaning, a Master does not sink his head into personality and behave as personality. He behaves as a Master, Master of the personality, the soul.

Establish the Soul Consciousness
But where does the soul emerge from? The soul emerges from the three qualities of Nature. Beyond this triple nature is the Universal Soul, which is malefemale, Existence-Awareness. Its nature is to pulsate. Pure Existence is beyond the Awareness and Pulsation. This Existence is called THAT. The soul is called I AM. THAT I AM therefore is the truth. In Sanskrit THAT I AM is called SOHAM. Establish in you through recollection that you are such a soul and not its reflection, its offshoot.

Daily while contemplating upon oneself as I AM, the soul, the student is recommended to enter the daily life with that awareness. When he meets forms during daily life, he is instructed not to lose sight of the soul in the forms. One needs to observe the soul as well, not only the form and the behaviour of that form. Unless one is really interested in occultism, he cannot observe the soul, he cannot develop this insight. Insight is a word that aspirants frequently use. Occultism is also a word, which aspirants generally use. Occultism is the ability to develop insight. Insight is to see the inside of a form, whether animate or inanimate. The aspirants meet the threshold of form in all inanimate forms. They meet a double threshold of form and behaviour in the animate forms. Men of mind see the form and observe the behaviour, and thereby judge the other being. Men of insight see beyond form and behaviour the hidden soul. Seeing the soul in the surrounding forms enables one to function as a soul. The contact for an occultist is soul to soul. He connects with the soul and interacts with the personality. Then it is truly called a transaction of light and of love. Anything less than that suffers from the veil of behaviour and of form and is therefore considered an illusion.

The one who sees, who contemplates upon the soul and, who observes the soul during daily life in all that surrounds him, would gradually see the soul all around and its light. He sees beyond form and beyond behaviour. Such a one enters into the kingdom of light, which is called the kingdom of soul. “Entry into the kingdom of light is not denied by anyone. Each one denies it by himself or herself”, says Sanat Kumara. Humanity is mostly engaged with forms and the behaviour that expresses through the forms. They get busy in judging good and bad and right and wrong. By this division they remain divided. Thus they choose to be in duality. But when one walks further, beyond the veil of behaviour, one would find initiates who judge not. “Judge not”, is an instruction pronounced by every initiate. So did Jesus, who lived and moved as a soul, not as a personality.

Functioning as a Soul
Initiates move as souls, they interact as souls, they give the touch of the soul. They do not dump concepts of wisdom. Only intellects dump concepts of wisdom. Initiates do not. They give the touch of the soul. They use their personality as a vehicle to move and to give the touch. Their personalities are infused by the soul and are therefore resplendent. These resplendent personalities are described in the occult terminology as the ‘white robes’. For a person who functions as a soul, the personality is transparent and resplendent with light, which is called the ‘white robe’. Putting on white robes of cloth is totally different from holding the inner white robe.

Initiates are examples to follow for all occult students. Occultism is developing insight and vision. Occultism is being unmindful of outer cleavages. There is a prayer given which is followed by many groups on the planet:

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail, let all men love.

This prayer comes from Shambala via Hierarchy. Humanity utters forth this prayer through many groups on the planet. It is only expressing a wish. It is realised only when one starts functioning as a soul. To start functioning as a soul, there are two prerequisites. One is to contemplate oneself as I AM, thereby disassociating from personality identity. The second is to see the soul throughout the day in all the forms surrounding oneself. When this practice becomes continuous, the aforesaid prayer becomes a reality. Until then it remains a wish. To fulfil the wish of the prayer, to make it a reality, one has to work with himself. For this purpose another prayer also came to be: “May the light in me be the light before me.”

I am sure, the instruction is clear.

6 - Serve the Yogis

Yogi means ‘the one in whom is at-one-ment’. It means the individual soul that is in eternal union with the Universal Soul. A yogi lives as soul in eternal link with the Universal Soul. He never separates himself. His natural state is THAT I AM. To give it in the terminology of Jesus Christ, “I and my Father are but one.” It is a situation, which can be called ‘one in two’ or ‘two in one’. A yogi does not separate himself from the Universal Soul. He lives in a non-separate state. It is a natural eternal union. Separated state is called viyoga, non-separated state is called yoga. The other terms used for Yogis are Initiates, Masters, Teachers, Saints, Swamis, Babas. These terms indicate the realised state of a being.

Serving such ones would help an occult student to gain the touch of the soul. These Initiates come to serve the world. They seek not service from the beings around. They are examples of givers, but not seekers. Serving such ones who serve others and do not seek service is a joyful experience. It is not easy to serve the Yogis. For the simple reason, their actions many times seem contrary. They are only seemingly so. Men with concretised mind and intellect get perplexed when they serve a Yogi. Many times the servers who gather to serve walk away due to lack of understanding. Many more times, the servers when they serve a Teacher, they become proud and by their own pride they distance themselves. The Masters or the Teachers through their inexplicable behaviour pose challenges to the students of mental and intellectual plane. At the same time the students receive the subtle touch of the soul that transforms them abundantly to gain the touch of the soul. The personality of the serving student would like to get away from the Teacher, but the soul of the serving student would like to stay in association. Thus for long years the student lives in oscillation. He can neither stay, nor can he leave. This is the subtle way by which the Teacher initiates a battlefield in the serving student. The battle is between the soul and its personality. The Teacher waits to witness and to guide, if sought. That is the secret of Krishna being in the chariot of Arjuna making himself available. He advised Arjuna only when sought. He remained silent otherwise.

Arjuna served the Master, Krishna, therefore the Master made himself available to Arjuna. Arjuna is the student. He is our representative, the representative of humanity. Krishna is the Teacher, the representative of the Hierarchy. The former is the personality, the latter is the soul. The presence of the soul enables the personality to orient to the soul, but the effort to orient rests only with the personality. Light is always light. If one orients to light, it is helpful. If one does not, the light does not lose anything. It is for the personality therefore to orient to and to gain the related light.

Pride and Prejudice
When pride prevails one cannot serve the Teacher, the Saint. Pride is the most formidable of the thresholds that man needs to cross. Pride is supported by prejudice. When there is pride, prejudice is active. Prejudice tends to judge. Such judgements are far from justice. They are far from correct perceptions. Perceptions go wrong, when there is pride. With incorrect perceptions when judgement is done, such judgements mislead. Only when soul prevails over personality, right perceptions happen. The soul cannot prevail over personality when personality is filled with pride. It happened to Arjuna. It also happened to Hercules. Many times it happened with many world disciples when they were not oriented to their Teachers.

Serving the Teacher includes all-round doing of service in the physical plane. The Aryan Dharma says, “Physically serve the Teachers and gain the subtle wisdom they teach through their silence, subtle actions and casual utterances.” Profound teaching is expressed through casual utterances. Keys are given to wisdom in casual utterances. Structured teaching is only a general teaching. Casual and cryptic statements unfold volumes of wisdom.

Proximity to the Teacher
To serve a Teacher it becomes necessary to be in proximity to a Teacher. Proximity is a facility and is also an impediment. It is like being proximate to a blazing flame. It is helpful when alert. It is also dangerous, for it can burn. It is the quality of Sraddha which enables the student to gain the proximity of a Teacher. When the student falters at Sraddha there is a drop in the degree of alertness, which amounts to placing fingers in the flame.

That is why working with a Teacher is compared to walking on a razor’s edge. Slight drop in alertness can result in a severe injury. The severity of the injury is primarily because of the tremendous speed. The otherwise slow and gradual transformations which a student would undergo by the method of trial and error over long cycles of time suddenly attain unimaginable speed in the proximity of a Teacher. It is said that the learning and transformations that are even difficult to be attained through strenuous efforts in twelve births can be accomplished within a span of twelve years when in the proximity of a Teacher. It is this speed of events to which the student is subjected to for quicker progress which demands a high degree of alertness for comfortable and safe journey. Thus unless one is exceedingly alert, one cannot function in the proximity of a Teacher for long years.

Light also has shade in its proximity. A lamp transmits much light into the surroundings, but down under the lamp there is the shade. Many times through illusion when the student succumbs to the pride of being proximate to the Teacher one dislodges oneself from the light being transmitted by the Teacher and falls into the shade. This is much more so in Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga itself is defined as ‘searching for light in the shadow of the lamp’. How can anyone help when someone is searching for light in the shadow? That is the only little place, where light is not. This is how students working proximate to the Teacher are susceptible to the fall into the shade of the light due to their pride of proximity which in turn manifests through them by their exhibition of possessiveness over the Teacher, exhibition of control over co-students and incorrect interpretation of Teacher’s teachings. They even fall in to the gossip relating to the Teacher, whom they really know not.

Lucky are those who relentlessly pursue to be in the presence of the Teacher even while in proximity. After all it is the presence that causes silent transformations. To them the touch of the soul happens effectively and the bindings of the personality yield. Unfortunate are those who gain proximity and lose the presence.

Personality is bound, as I said earlier, by pairs of negatives, namely pride and prejudice, ambition and fear, suspicion and possessiveness, comfort and sleep, anger and irritation, ignorance and illusion, desire and aversion. These pairs coil around the personalities and hold them tight. These coils are like the coils of the python that binds a man head and foot. Such a one cannot help himself, since his hands and legs are also bound. He can be helped only from an agency, which is beyond such bindings. A Teacher is unbound. Therefore he can help releasing the bondages. The purpose of Hierarchy is to release the humanity from the bondage of its concretized personality.

One has to be very alert, alert to perceive the subtleties of the Teacher. Special wisdom can be noticed by those who perceive these subtleties. To such ones the path remains joyous. The joy comes not from outer events, but from the inner revelations. The minimum period for serving a Teacher is said to be twelve years, while the maximum is said to be thirty years.

Even among the students who serve the Teacher, the ones that excel in service are taken by the Teacher to a different grade called ‘son-ship’. Those are the ones through whom the Teacher continues to work, while others transform into disciples (accepted aspirants) and carry on the work with his inspiration.

The period during which the student stays in the proximity of a Teacher is called the period of internship. During this period the student is within the aura of the Teacher. In this period of internship the student needs to turn inward, internalise to experience the aura. The aura of the Teacher expresses as the inner light to those who internalise. Thereby the student gains guidance from within. The Teacher outside is apparently in the human form, while his light is generally hidden. The Teacher inside is not of the form of flesh and blood. He is of auric light. The experiencing of the Teacher inside enables the student to make inner contemplations.

Self-realisation is the Goal
The purpose of being with the Teacher commences from this point of internalisation. Self-realisation is its goal. Unless one learns to internalise, one cannot gain much light, one cannot gain this light of the Teacher. The Teacher does not pronounce this. It is for the intelligent students to grasp it and work with it. This process leads to insight and vision. At this stage one would like to internalise much more than moving in the objectivity with the help of the objective mind. The subjective mind becomes active.

Man’s mind can move inside as well. Man learned to move only outside with the help of mind. That is how he trained the mind. Now he turns to another training of the mind: of turning it inward and moving inside. An occult student is one who can move into subjectivity with as much ease as he moves in the objectivity. The mind is subjective and objective. It can turn inward. It can turn outward. Mind is a mirror. It remains a mirror and reflects according to the direction that is given. The mirror can be set to the West (objectivity). The mirror can be set to the East (subjectivity).

Be an Observer
The Teacher does it with facility. The student can follow with ease, since there is a demonstration. Staying inside, turning the mind inside would lead one to observe what thoughts and what patterns of thoughts prevail in oneself. The person is beyond these patterns of thoughts. To be able to stand beyond one’s own patterns of thoughts, the technique is to observe one’s own thoughts. This has to be done over long years of practice. The thoughts do not let the person observe. The thoughts kidnap the person. Each time one is kidnapped by a thought, he needs to make effort to stand once again as an observer.

Thoughts cause movements of energy. When one gains the facility to be an observer of one’s thoughts, he stands out of these movements. Only with his cooperation thoughts move. Only with his cooperation there is the movement of pulsation and respiration. As one tends to observe the thoughts, the rate of production of thoughts gradually reduces. Along with it the speed of respiration also reduces. As the movement reduces the practising student starts experiencing the comfort of being inside. He also starts experiencing that essentially, he is the stable one that enters into the mutability. He recognises that in the inner side of his being he is immutable and in the outer layers he is mutable. From time to time he thus enters into subjectivity and the related stability. In that stable state he would only experience subtle pulsation, which trumpets the truth, THAT I AM.

Thus the student becomes an insider, indweller. Such indwellers receive more attention of the Teacher. They receive greater measure of light as also the magnetic impact, which should enable them to get deeper and deeper into oneself. He gets into experiences, which are hitherto imperceptible and intangible. It slowly leads to an understanding that the indweller has access to the subtle world for experience, whose joy is many times more than that of all experiences of the gross world with the help of the gross body of outer mind, senses and body. The gross body is then seen as a vehicle for the outer work. During times of contemplation and meditation the outer vehicle is parked and the inner vehicle is taken for inner experiences. In the subtle, one experiences with the help of the subtle body. In the gross, one experiences through the gross body. The subtle body is the replica of the gross and vice versa. The presence of the Teacher enables this transformation faster. Likewise the Teacher subtly imparts teaching and training to enable the student even to shed, to park the subtle body and enter into causal body. Thereafter even the causal body is parked to experience just as soul. At that state the experience is only of THAT. THAT I AM is the experience of the soul. For this reason the soul is called the vehicle of the Spirit. The soul in turn can function in the causal plane with the help of the causal body, in the subtle plane with the help of the subtle body, and in the gross plane with the help of the gross body. Such is the facility of the Teacher’s presence through which he would lead the sincere student to go through these transformations.

Thus the soul has three bodies of three different gradations and the related radiance and magnetism. The soul once realised has the facility to enter either of the three bodies and exit the three bodies. Mystically this is stated as, “Man has to die three times before he realises himself.” Understand, death means departure. There is no death as such. Such is the beauty of transformation that happens. Therefore one cannot just limit oneself to the gross form and stick to the gross name of that form. We have different names in different states of Be-ness. Names are but codes to function in different states. Unfortunately in spite of this knowledge being imparted, students still very strongly stick to their names and forms, to their gross names and forms and to all that is related to it. In all such cases the Teacher waits. Serving the Teacher is the sixth commandment. Service to the Teacher has in it the goal of self-realisation. As you realise the goal, you also realise what the Teacher is. The Teacher also reveals as much as the student stands for revelation. There are many more dimensions to this commandment. A dimension is presented here.

The Teacher is a Vehicle of the Divine
Lord Krishna also strongly recommends serving the Teacher who holds the keys to action, to wisdom and to self-realisation. The Teachers are yogis, are representatives of the Divine. Through them the Divine sees. Through them the Divine listens. Through them the Divine talks. Through them the Divine gives touch. Aspirants get abundantly benefited in the presence of a Teacher, just like an iron piece gets magnetised in the presence of a magnet. The Divine presence flows through the Teacher or yogi, and it makes itself available to sincere aspirants. The purpose of Teachers on planet is to be available for the sincere seekers. The Teachers look ordinary, but they are extraordinary. They are the vehicles of the Divine, like Jesus, Pythagoras, Maitreya, CVV, Ramakrishna and a host of others. These Teachers live among the people. They remain common among the commons. But they are the uncommon ones. The Teacher remains neutral and lets the Divine work through in the surroundings. The Teacher has no specific program of his own. The program of the Divine is the only program of the Teacher. He witnesses the play of the Divine into the surroundings through himself. He witnesses that the Divine blesses some. He talks to some others. He touches yet others. He smiles at some. He is serious with some. He is silent towards some and he is talkative to yet others. The Divine does different things with different aspirants that gather around the Teacher. The Teacher remains impersonal. The Teacher knows that the Divine is at work and remains alert to enable the Divine to respond to the aspirants in the surrounding according to their present needs. What the aspirants need is different from what the aspirants desire. They know not to desire what they need. They generally feel their desires as their needs. The Divine fulfils not desires of the aspirants but fulfils the needs, if the aspirants are oriented.

For aspirants to get right orientation, the key is to serve the Teacher at all levels, i.e., to serve him at the physical plane, to cooperate with his work, and to be generally available to the Teacher to any assistance the Teacher may need at his personal level. Serving the visible Teacher pleases the invisible Divine. And the Divine in turn transmits keys. The keys are essentially three. One is the key to action. When the key to action is realised by the aspirant, one will stop acting in a manner that binds oneself for the present or for the future. Action is realised as a joyful function with no strings attached. The key to action liberates the aspirant from karma. Secondly, the key to wisdom is given to enlighten one’s personality and attain soul consciousness. Thereby the aspirant grows into greater measure of light. The third key is the key to self-realisation. This is given as a technique of prayer or worship or meditation. This will enable the aspirant to realise the self. All these keys are transmitted by the Divine through the Teacher to the aspirant. Therefore serving the Teacher is a key by itself which opens doors to all other keys.

Lord Krishna gives this key in the fourth chapter of Bhagavad Gita as the 34th sloka. The sloka says, “Know that through humble, dedicated and devout service to the Teacher one would receive from the Teacher the knowledge, the knowledge of self, of creation, and of all that IS.”

7 - Love of God

Love for God is the true impetus. The intense craving to know God and to love God is the best means to realise the self and God. Love is the magic energy. It enables you to think uninterruptedly of that which you love. It dominates all other thoughts. Nothing else becomes more important than that, when one is in love with anything. Until what is loved is realised, one does not relax. He constantly thinks of the loved object at all times. It becomes part of one’s being and reminds oneself even without self-effort. While eating, walking, working and even while in sleep the thought becomes so continuous. Love is an energy that has no discontinuity in it. Discontinuity is unknown to love.

Even when the mortals are in love with each other, until the emotions are cleared, one is in this ecstatic state. I do not have to narrate the stories of love. There are many in the scriptures and there are many more today in the movies. When one is in love, he cares not for his life. He cares not for his dignity. He cares not for the social rules. He cares little of comments, criticism and calumny. To him what he loves stands paramount. It is the best state of sacrifice, self-sacrifice.

Do we have such love for God? Do we have the intense desire to know HIM? Is it a casual enquiry of God? Is it a part-time occupation? Is it a fashion? Is it for the glamour of it? Is it to brand oneself as an aspirant, a disciple, a master and thereby stand distinguished amidst the social circles? There are many benefits in the world, if you put on saintly robes or saintly attire, long hair, impressive barb, white clothes, symbols on the forehead, rosaries around the neck etc. These are common for the true and untrue ones. The true ones are not on the lookout for worldly comforts and pleasures. The untrue ones put on these insignia to mark, to publish and to benefit from the society. Where are we with respect to our relation with God?

Many people are God fearing. Very few are God-minded. The former fear God due to wrong indoctrination by the religions. They worship God for fear of calamities that may befall. The God-minded ones are intensely curious to know God and realise HIM in themselves. There is a third category, who worship for benefits such as health, wealth, progress, comfortable living etc. These are not seekers of God, they are seekers from God. They want to get either mundane or super mundane benefits from God. In all their efforts they are only seeking for themselves from God. They are in eternal illusion that they are dear to God.

The seekers of God are those who seek for no other object other than God. Their intense seeking results into searching and culminates into seeing God in everything. They start interacting with God through every object and event they encounter and start serving God through them. In this service, they offer everything they have including their own self. Thus true seeking culminates into total offering.

All those who offer themselves to God are like the lotuses who offer themselves early in the morning, fully blossomed to receive the solar God. Such ones fully unfold and offer all that they are to God. It is offering oneself, not seeking for oneself. The former is a process of absorption into God. The later is a process of self propitiation. This distinction is important. Let us not live in the illusion that we are the favoured sons of God. A favoured son is one who offers not only what he has, but also offers what he is. Such offering is possible only through love.

It is for this reason the scriptures pronounce that love of God is the sure means to realise God. A lover is always oriented. He waits. He waits eternally. He has all the patience to wait – wait for the One. Offering oneself to be accepted, to be received, to be embraced, and to be One. Love brings self-forgetfulness. Love turns powerful personalities into soft, malleable personalities, like butter. Love is the antidote to power. Power melts in the presence of love. The invincible personality transforms and becomes like a white dove in the presence of love. There are many stories relating to this.

Blessed is the one who falls in love with God. Meera is one such person. She was a Rajput queen. She could not care for her royal status. She could not care social dignity. She cared not anything in her love of Krishna. Her offering to Krishna was total. Her songs of love towards Krishna remained immortal. Love is the shortest and fastest route to God. Great beings such as Sibi, Bali, Jesus demonstrated such total offering and thereby became one with God.

Sanat Kumara gives the seventh commandment as love of God. The path of love is a path of ecstasy, of intense joy, of self-forgetfulness and is the best of all relations with God. It is romantic for the one who falls into this path. Generally a true feminine energy finds it easier to fall into this path than the masculine. I am not speaking of males and females. I am speaking of the energy system of a person. Feminity has a natural ability to be receptive. To receive God into oneself is the path of love. To receive HIM into one’s heart, to serve God – is an activity of reception. It is the activity of love. Those who have the faculty to wait, to receive, to listen, to absorb are feminine. Those who are proactive, whose energy goes out, who believe more in doing, in power are masculine. A masculine energy says, “I will go and get HIM.” A feminine energy says, “I will wait and receive HIM.” The latter stand a fair chance in the path of love. There is a point beyond which we cannot do, we cannot go in any pursuit. A stage comes where you have to wait. Waiting in love is the path. In the period of waiting there is relating through singing, dancing, recollecting and living life only for God. Lord Sanat Kumara who is the Lord of the planet is in such love of God. He transforms this love into power to rule the earth. It is his sheer love of God and His plan that enables him to stay around the earth and to do what has to be done.

There are many good stories of those who are in eternal relationship with God. The students would do well to unfold this dimension in them.

Love of God enables one to live in the chamber of God, in the heart of God and rejoice. Such ones are the real indwellers. Such ones are the sons. To them the fatherhood of the Lord and the brotherhood of beings is reality.

Love of God can emerge through a form of God. Later the love continues to be, even when the form disappears. This love enables to see the energy of God in other forms also. Love towards a form of God gradually leads to love of God without form and love of God in all forms.

The path of love is no different from the path of devotion. Devotion in its highest state transforms into love. Love and devotion are inseparable. When you love someone, your attention is devoted to the loved one. Your time, money, energy, thought – all is devoted to the loved one. Love generates devotion. Devotion generates love. Lord Sanat Kumara is in such love of God that he became part of HIM. Consequently the Lord functions through. As much as Sanat Kumara is in love of God, so much God is also in love of Sanat Kumara. Sanat Kumara constitutes the buddhic plane of the Lord. When the first impulse for creation emerged, four Kumaras also emerged to constitute the four aspects of the Lord.
The four aspects are:

  1. Pure Existence
  2. Pure Awareness
  3. Buddhi
  4. Mental

Of these four, Sanat Kumara constitutes the buddhic plane. The creation was contemplated by the Lord for fulfilment of the beings, and the Kumaras emerged due to their love of God to cooperate with the purpose of creation.

The sacrifice of Lord Sanat Kumara is considered to be a great sacrifice. He condescended to be on earth and to help the beings. He is with us since Lemurian times. He is with us since the emergence of the third root race on this planet. He has no personal purposes to fulfil. It is only his love of the Lord that nourishes him on the planet. Nothing earthy nourishes him. His being with us is causeless. Since he is causeless, he is eternally blissful. He gives us the seventh teaching “Love God, inculcate Love of God.”

8 - Worship The Lord With Joy

Worshiping is an act of relating oneself with God. All worships in so far as they are ardent, reach the God centre in oneself. Ardent worship is a hearty worship. It is not mechanical. Ardent worship is a worship that reverberates in the heart chamber. Such reverberating worship reaches the Divine and the Divine responds showering his grace. It is downpour of Presence. The Presence comes from God in man to man in God. The God in man is the eighth state of awareness. And man in God is the seventh state of awareness. Man may fall even from the seventh as per the quality of his desires. When man in God prays ardently, the God in man responds. The God in man is called Christ, Krishna, Christ principle and Krishna consciousness. In the Eastern Scriptures that existed even far before Krishna and Christ as persons, this Christ principle, Krishna principle or Krishna consciousness is described as Ishwara. Ishwara is today called in some groups in English as Master. When you think of Master, you are thinking of the Master consciousness in you. You are linking to the Master consciousness in you or Krishna consciousness or Christ consciousness in you. The reference is not to a person. The reference is to the principle, which presents itself in all beings. When we say Master, it is the Master consciousness functioning through Master CVV. When we say Krishna, the reference is not to Krishna the person, but to Krishna the Master principle, Ishwara. When we say Christ, we are again referring to the Christ principle, which is the Master principle or Ishwara principle. When this principle works through a person, that person is also recognised as God on Earth. All Masters, Yogis, Saints are but vehicles of the one Ishwara principle. It exists in the God centre in man. Prayers are addressed to the God in the God centre. When they are ardent and reverberating, the link is established between the God centre and man centre. Meditations are also meant to be relating to the God centre in oneself, in the aspirant. Meditations and prayers cannot be mechanical routine practices. If that be, they don’t build the bridge between God in man and man in God.

Conscious Worship and Utterance
Mechanical worships are monotonous. All monastic worships are reduced to monotony. When the quality of heart is missing the worship loses its cordiality. The thread of cordiality connects the worshiper to the Divine. Therefore worships have to be conscious worships. The worshipers need to listen consciously to all that is being uttered forth through the throat. Conscious worship is conscious utterance. To enable conscious utterance the students are advised to focus the mind upon the pit of the throat, where silence transforms into sound. Association with the rhythm of the sounds is possible only when mind is focussed at the pit of the throat. When rhythmic sounds are uttered forth in worship, man’s awareness which is generally in mind gets focused upon the sound. Sound relates to the fifth ether, Akasha, and the fifth centre, Visuddhi. Continuous association of mind with the rhythmic utterances at the throat enables man’s awareness to be in the fifth ether or Akasha. He thus gets lifted up from being in the solar plexus with mundane thoughts. The mundane awareness is lifted up into the light of the sound. This is the purpose of our worship. The key is: uttering and consciously listening at the pit of the throat. By this the lift-up happens.

In all ancient schools of wisdom, working with sound is given great emphasis. When sounds are uttered forth and listened to, the related light and colours manifest. The utterer gets engaged with the sound and light show within himself. Within a few years of regular and rhythmic utterance and listening one is bound to experience the light of sound, if he follows the key. When the key is lost, worships become monastic and monotonous. A Master of Wisdom mostly says, “Many worshipers are victims of monastic and monotonic worship.” When the key is not applied and worship becomes monotonous, the worshiper loses energies instead of gaining energies.

Therefore he needs to
• utter and consciously listen
• utter rhythmically
• utter in regular periodicities

In the Ashrams of sound utterance is conscious, rhythmic and regular. Uttering and listening of sound is done from 1 ½ to 3 hours during the dawn and dusk hours. After preparing body and mind, the dawn and dusk hours are dedicated for utterance. This would enable effective purification of the student’s personality. Sound cleanses all. The throat centre is called Visuddhi. Suddhi means ‘purity’. Visuddhi means ‘extremely pure’. A throat that utters fourth sounds can be used as a key to purify one’s thoughts, emotions and movements. The sound is the key. Throat is the centre to purify the three aspects of personality. Consequently the students are taken to the portals of initiation. A student would do well to know the value of the throat, the value of the utterances, and the responsibility of uttering forth, not only the worship hymns but also the daily speeches. Throat is the birth place of immortality. Throat is also the place of death. At the time of death it is the mucus in the throat that arrests respiration causing death.

Throat relates to Gemini and Gemini is a mutable sign. It has duality. Speeches can thus be used for goodwill or for evil. They can be used either for elevation or fall.

Speech is a unique faculty bestowed on humanity. Every privilege carries its related responsibility. Misuse affects, proper use elevates.

For more details refer to the author’s books on:
‘Mantrams – Their Significance and Practice’
‘Sound – The Key and its Application’
‘Saraswathi – The Word’.

The Sound Key
In the current age humanity is proposed to be initiated through the throat centre. Initiation of humanity is proposed by the Hierarchy through the means of sound. The ruler of sound is Jupiter. Master Jupiter, whose other name is Master CVV, therefore annually initiates the humanity of the planet in the month of Gemini on 29th May with the sound key CVV. This information has much value in it for those who seek the path of sound, which is the path of the current times. The Easterns mostly work with the sound key, which brings light and enables them to walk into such light. Since sound manifests light, working with sound is considered more effective. OM, Gayatri, Vedic hymns, 1000 names of the Cosmic Person, and the host of other formulae of sound are made use of. These sounds are also linked to the metrical key, which makes it more effective. That apart, there are mantrams and seed sounds for advanced students of sound.

This knowledge of sound disappeared in the West concurrent to the disappearance of Atlantis. The disappearance of Atlantis is attributed to abuse of the sound key. After Atlantis a chosen few constituting the seed of the Aryans started working with sound. The sounds once again are spreading from East to West in the Aryan race. These sounds are neither Eastern nor Western. All used them in the remote past. Aquarian Age is once again transmitting the sounds globally.

Sanat Kumara instructs to work with sound. Sound enables transformation of body tissues. It generates fire that transforms the body cells. The body is like a tree that bears flowers. Through appropriate utterance of sound and through ardent worship the etheric centres of the body can be transformed into etheric lotuses. The etheric centres function like whirlpools of energy. The movement of energy in a whirlpool is circular. The sounds enable a change in the movement of energies from being circular to be unfolding. Unfoldment of energies from within releases man from the conditioning nature of the gross physical body. The unfoldments gradually lead to building the etheric body (golden body) and causal body (diamond body).

Multiple are the benefits of working with sound, and worship is but an ardent way of working with sound. The modern thinker sees not the science behind and feels that it relates to the past and that it is not necessary to work with sound. He attempts to work with light through the means of mind, but sound generates light with much less effort, if appropriately used. The science of sound is the future for the scientist and also for the occult scientist.

9 - The Will to Be With The Lord

Will is the best of the tools to BE, to be with the Lord. Where there is will, there is a way. Men of will achieve. Will is fire. It makes its way, even where there is no way. Will is described in the books as fiery aspiration. The fire should be on at all times. When the fire is on, the transformations are continuous. When the transformations are continuous the gross body yields two finer states of body, such as etheric and causal bodies. Fire sheds the dross and the gross and makes the body finer to be able to receive the energies of light and of love.

How do we make sure that the will is on, that the will is functioning, that the will is not weakening, that the will or fire is put on? The will initially exists in man in the mind, while its original place is in pure consciousness. The will in mind generates thoughts and desires. Mind is ever producing thoughts and desires. Thought is fire and the fire of thought is an aspect of will. When the thought is oriented to the divine, the fire of thought turns to the divine and becomes a flame. Flame moves vertical. The flame gets stable when the thought of the divine is well held.

Lord Sanat Kumara suggests, “Let the thought of the divine be continuous.” Continuous thought of the divine needs to be cultivated. It does not mean that the aspirant should move away from the world. It does not mean that the aspirant does not do his normal duties towards his body, his family and the society. It means, carry the divine thought into every aspect of your life. Hold on to it in every interaction that you have with the surrounding people. Today the Hierarchy expresses it as ‘adding spiritual value to every action that one conducts’. Spiritual value cannot be added to any activity, unless the thought of the spirit also exists amidst that activity. Therefore, to be continuous with the thought of divine one need to see that all life is divine. This is synthesis. In recent years Sri Aurobindo expressed, “All life is yoga. All life is divine.”

All life activity is essentially spiritual, if one can perceive. What is important is perception. People live in outer concepts. They live with borrowed concepts, imposed concepts, traditional concepts. Concepts are concretised forms of that which is conceived. Perception is a deeper functioning than conception. Behind all that one is surrounded with, there is the divine. But the divine is veiled by the concept. One’s concept of a spouse is a veil to the divine behind. One’s concept of a family is a veil to the hidden divinity. Likewise concepts of profession, social activity, service etc. are but veils. The divine is behind. The divine is the background consciousness of all projections of sound, colour, number and symbol.

Continuous thought of the divine is possible when one has inside the perception that all activity is afloat upon the background of the divine. Daily life should be seen as an opportunity to experience the divine in every interaction with a form or with a being. How much one remembers the divine when he sees his or her spouse? How much one remembers the divine when one sees children and grandchildren, friends, relatives, agreeable persons, disagreeable persons, agreeable situations, disagreeable situations and so on? In all that one encounters, there can be concurrent encountering of the divine besides the changing concepts of activity. This is perceivable if one is regular at practice.

When one holds on to the will to be with the divine, he holds on to the thought of the divine while in action. To him another world is opened within the world. The world and the subtle world are concurrently open and the continuous touch of the divine is felt throughout the day. Such ones are said to be in meditation throughout the day. Meditation is but a state of linkup with the divine. The link-up can be even while one is in daily action, when one is in different situations with different people. Thus the advanced students get into meditative state throughout the day and sleep in link-up, wake up in link-up, meditate in link-up and work in the world in link-up.

When the divine thought is held at the back of the mind while at action in the world, slowly the divine energy percolates into the personality. It penetrates into the personality and starts expressing now and then in actions and speeches. This should be understood as the kingdom of God manifesting on earth. The divine is entering from the super mundane to the mundane states. When such percolation and penetration takes place in the activity, slowly the personality is transformed. It is so fully transformed ultimately, that there would be no comparison between the original gross state and the final refined state. Could you ever imagine that a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly? When the caterpillar crawls on your skin or even falls on your skin from a tree, you would have effective pinpricks for a couple of hours. But when a butterfly lands on your skin, your face unfolds like a flower with a smile. It is the same caterpillar that becomes a butterfly. Similarly a caterpillar-like personality transforms to that of a butterfly. Butterfly is beautiful to experience. Even the sight of a butterfly gives you joy. Its colours, its flight – all is joyful. But a caterpillar is abhorred – it crawls, its very sight is a horror to the timid ones, its touch one would like to avoid.

Association
Our personalities before they are infused by divinity have many varieties. We exhibit all varieties of animals through our personality. Some are timid like cats, some bark like dogs, some are clever like rats, some are bulls that are insensitive, some are scorpions who sting from time to time, some are aggressive like tigers, some are vengeful like snakes. What a variety! Very few are like the cows that are soft, like the doves that fly and like the swans that are extremely pure. The personality is the prison of the soul. When the divine thought is persistently held, the prison of personality transforms into a palace. A soul in a palace is like a king. Such transformations are possible when this ninth teaching is upheld by the aspirant. It is a fine process of magnetisation that happens when one holds on to divine thought as continuously as possible during the day’s activity.

To facilitate holding on to the divine thought, one may think of associating with such aspirants who are a bit advanced in its practice. Periodical association with them reinforces the goodwill. Goodwill association means meeting of persons who uphold the divine thought much better. Groupings are done for this purpose. But mostly the groups forget the purpose and gossip. Many groups are gossiping groups. Association with them would result in the aspirant also gaining the habit of gossip.

Satsang is the word. Satsang means a group of persons gathering to reinforce in them the divine. That should be the only purpose of spiritual groups. Satsang is seen as a facility. Satsang enables one to overcome one’s own limitations through reinforcement of the thought of the divine. The best of the Satsangs are the Brindavans of India and the Pythagorean groups of the Greeks. There could be many sublime groups on the planet which are not publicised, but which are on the task of associating with the Truth.

Associating with relinquished ones and saints from time to time is also helpful. Meeting saints, staying in their presence for a while is highly helpful. Aspirants would do better to be silent in the presence of a saint than to be talkative. Talkative aspirants, aspirants with too many questions, doubting aspirants do not receive much in the presence of a saint. The saint communicates in silence. He has a different value for speech. The saint bestows initially much silence and orientation. Later they speak when the student is receptive.

Pilgrimages
Similarly pilgrimage to sacred places is also of great importance. Remember that it is a pilgrimage but not a tour. The difference is in orientation. When the travel is conducted with the longing for the Divine it becomes a pilgrimage. If not, it is just a tour with a look out for comfort of travel, food and bed. Periodical pilgrimages are strongly recommended to aspirants. It can be once in a year or once in six months. It is helpful to fulfil this teaching.

Similarly taking bath in sacred rivers, sacred waterfalls and sacred water springs also reinforces the will to be with the divine. The annual leave can be utilised for visiting sacred places, sacred rivers and sacred falls. Remember that all this effort has to be in the spirit of pilgrimage, but not in the spirit of a tourist. The day has to be organised in such a fashion that the regular prayers and other worship is not missed.

To be alone in nature from time to time is also helpful. Tending to be nearer to nature normalises the energies of the civilised man who is otherwise tense. The blooming season and the spring season are most profitable for these pilgrimages, since during these times neither there is rain, nor there is hot sun, nor there is cold. Moving in nature in rain, in snow, or in hot sun has its own impediments, restrictions and inconveniences. One cannot interact with the nature intimately in these seasons, for these are the seasons where one needs protection from the extremities of nature. When nature is in its extremes like hot summer or freezing cold or heavy rains, one would do well to abstain from travel and conduct the practices in one’s own place. The seasons where the waters flow clean and are inherently warm are considered to be the best seasons.

10 - The Fire of Knowledge Purifies

The tenth teaching is working with knowledge. Knowledge is of two kinds: speculative knowledge and operative knowledge. The two constitute the two wings of knowledge. They supplement each other and enable the student to walk into the realms of light. Knowledge is uplifting. Knowledge shows the desirables and undesirables in oneself. Knowledge helps to know what ignorance is. Knowledge also helps to see the dark areas within one’s personality.

If you know that there is an insect under the bed sheet, you would take care to eliminate it. If you do not know, you would have the sting of the insect when you sleep on the bed. You cannot complain about the sting of the insect. It is its nature to sting. It is for us to notice it and eliminate it. Likewise, every personality with the help of the light of knowledge can find the undesirables. Practices can be picked up to eliminate them. The process of elimination suggested by the teachers is different from the process that a man of the world knows. For example, men of the world want peace and don’t want war. They want to be healthy. They don’t want ill-health to attack them. Not wanting something by itself does not eliminate the undesirable. If you wish to be peaceful, you need to change your inner attitude of covetousness, competition, aggression and will to power. As long as they exist in the human beings, wars keep happening at smaller or larger scales. Likewise, if you wish to have good health and not fall sick, there is a rhythm of life relating to food, work and sleep. There is a rhythm relating to food, there is a rhythm relating to work and a rhythm relating to sleep. This rhythm has to be adapted to.

Peace or health or wealth are desired by all. Desiring by itself would not get what we want. There are techniques that one has to adopt to be fit enough to receive what has to be received. The operative knowledge enables us to establish right relationship with one’s own body and mind. It enables cooperation between the self and the personality. When such cooperation is worked out, one is said to be a yogi. In the sense, he presides over his personality and does what has to be done. Yoga imparts operative knowledge. It enables a friendly cooperation within oneself. Operative knowledge also extends to imparting knowledge of right relation with the five elements of nature and with the three kingdoms inferior to man. It also gives knowledge of cooperation from mineral, plant, animal and the five elements. The operative knowledge further extends to impart the knowledge on how to gain cooperation of the seven planetary principles as well as the twelve sun signs. It would help further to gain cooperation of the ten directional energies, such as East, West, North, South, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, Above and Below. Operative knowledge also helps to gain cooperation of the Super Soul, called the Universal Soul. The field of operative knowledge is vast.

Operative Knowledge
Operative knowledge demands regular practice in the given procedure. The knowledge comes to the student as information, and when it is worked out in oneself it transforms into operable knowledge. It is nothing to speculate about it. It is for practice. Knowing about it by way of information does not make one knowledgeable. For example, if one knows from a writing how mango fruit tastes, that knowledge does not give the taste of mango. When mango fruit is eaten the real knowledge of its taste is known through experience. Today many have much information and they speak out the same without experiencing themselves the information that they have gathered. They are like parrots.

A parrot can be taught a small divine poem. It repeats the poem, but it knows not what it is repeating. Likewise, there are many speakers all over the world speaking loud of the information that they read or that they hear. But they themselves do not know the information by way of personal experience. Information does not materialise as knowledge unless it is practiced and realised.

Another example: If you read the sentence ‘be good to all’, it is information, for in the next moment can one be good to all? Information is not knowledge. It has to be lived through daily operation. One has to submit oneself to the instructional teachings, practice them for long years, meet the challenges relating to it, and come out triumphantly. Then that teaching is realised. Listening and reading information cannot be the basis for teaching. At the best it can be lecturing. Lecturers are different from Teachers.

Teachers are those who go through four steps:
  1. They receive information of operational knowledge.
  2. They submit themselves to the related operation.
  3. They live the related knowledge.
  4. They teach to those who seek such knowledge.

It is experience that speaks through them. They are not reproducing what is already written. They re-present it with the freshness of their experience. Therefore the teaching is magnetic and fulfilling.

Speculative Knowledge
To summarise, the knowledge that gives instructions need to be practiced and realised. Such knowledge is operative knowledge. It helps in daily life. The second category of knowledge is speculative knowledge. Speculative knowledge informs one of cosmogenesis, the cosmic intelligences, the formation of cosmos, the laws of alternation, pulsation, periodicity, the laws of light and darkness, the laws relating to radiation, vibration and materialisation, the laws relating to formation of central sun, clusters of solar systems, formation of planetary bodies, purposes of comets etc., etc. This knowledge by its sheer vastness uproots the student from his localisation.

Every person thinks of himself and his activity, which seem very great to him. However great a person’s activity is, it is insignificant in relation to the activity of the cosmos. When he knows the cosmos and the work that is happening in the cosmos, in the solar plane, in the planetary plane, his work compared with them becomes little, meaning nothing. So, even great works of great emperors and great kingdoms become insignificant in the context of cosmic activity. This would help the student not to blow himself up, not to live in the glamour of his work. It does not constitute even a particle of the whole. The scriptures say that our planet Earth in its size is that of a mustard seed in relation to the whole cosmos. Imagine how significant a person on that mustard seed sized planet is. Speculative knowledge helps every person to get rid of the ego of personality, the pride of personality. In the context of the cosmos he is nobody and his activity is insignificant. When one gets into astronomy, already one feels the futility of one’s own activity. Speculative knowledge prevents one from trumpeting one’s activity, for it is such a micro-activity. How much do we care about the activity of a fly, of a mosquito and such other very small beings? Do we care at all? But to the flies, mosquitoes and other insects their activity is very big to themselves. Speculative knowledge helps to move out of all illusion and be with the Truth. Is this not important to us, the little men of Earth?

The operative knowledge enables one to be a soul. The speculative knowledge enables one to be humble and participating in the grand plan. Therefore the instruction of the Lord.

11 - Atman Be The Presiding Angel

ATMAN means the soul, the self. If ATMAN presides, the life activity is at its optimum. ATMAN is the king. Each one of us is the king, the king of our life activity. When the king sits on the throne, the minister, the general, the cabinet, and the royal staff fall in order and work for the kingdom. If the king is not on his throne, the advice of the minister is not heard by the others. The right place for the king is the throne. It cannot be anything less than that. Each soul is a son of God and is therefore the king. The minister of the soul is buddhi. Buddhi is the advisor. He advises according to the law. He is also the royal priest that guides the king who rules the kingdom. The mind of the soul is the executive of the king who executes the kingdom according to the orders of the king. The king himself receives advices from the royal priest / minister. The soul is the king. Buddhi, the light of the soul, is the adviser, the priest, the minister. Mind is the general, the executive. The senses are the subordinates to the executive. Body represents the workers, the royal staff. Such is the organisation of the king. If the soul resides in the mind, it is like the king degrading himself to the level of the executive. He loses his quality of Be-ness and he only becomes a doer. Soul is a being. It has an organisation that does work according to its will. The soul experiences through such organisation. If the soul resides in the mind, it means the soul stepped down in its awareness below buddhi. Then buddhi is not heard. Mind dominates. The soul remains a desire fulfilling animal. When the soul steps down further, one knows himself to be only his body. The body, the senses, the mind and the buddhi constitute the organisation of the soul. One should remain a soul and enable the activity to function. But if one steps down from his original status, knowledge disappears and ignorance prevails.

Soul – The Head of the Organisation
Soul is the head of the organisation, called man. Soul is the descendent of the Super Soul. It is eternal. Its light is buddhi, which is the un-flickering light. Mind, senses and body are mutable and therefore light flickers there. Staying as soul in an association with buddhi, mind, senses and body should be utilised to fulfil the purposes of the soul.

If the master sits at the workers’ place, if he drinks and dances and engages in gambling, the workers no more see the master as their master. They try to use him for their programs. Instead of soul utilising the body, the body conditions the soul and tries to fulfil its needs, likewise the senses and mind. It is therefore necessary for the soul to preside over its organisation and not to get mixed with it. The soul can be friendly with its organisation. The friendliness cannot be mistaken by the organisation to disobey the soul. If the soul departs the entire organisation collapses. It is also true with organisations, which are held intact by true leaders who carry the quality of the soul. When they disappear the organisation collapses, unless someone in the meanwhile attains the quality of the soul.

The seat of the soul is in the pulsation. When the soul takes the seat of the pulsation the organisation lives. When the soul departs the organisation collapses. The students should therefore learn to sit on the throne of pulsation. As per needs, the soul can function through mind, senses and body. But when the work is done the soul needs to come back and take seat on the throne of pulsation. The king should have the habit of sitting on the throne to conduct the kingdom. If he forgets the throne, someone from the organisation will usurp it. When the throne is usurped the king has no place to sit and to rule. It is therefore necessary that the king always takes to the throne and rules.

The Pulsating Principle
“How to sit on the throne?” is the question. As said earlier, the throne is the pulsating principle. One needs to associate with the pulsating principle. As much as one regularly associates with the pulsating principle in oneself, he would realise that he is essentially a pulsating one and exists as such even in the absence of mind, senses and body. He realises that he need not sit with mind, senses and body. He can sit with the pulsating principle. Mind, senses and body also are at rest when the soul is with the pulsating principle. Within two acts, between two speeches the soul can associate with the pulsating principle. While at rest one would be benefitted by resting in association with the pulsating principle. The pulsating principle is also called the eternal music of the soul. It is also called the song of the soul. More and more associating with it, one can stay withdrawn from mind, senses and body. When the soul is with mind, senses and body, it remains a doer. When the soul is with the pulsation, it attains the state of being. It gets engaged with the song of life. The song is a two-syllable song. It is SOHAM.

The pulsation is a centripetal and centrifugal action. The double action has a double sound and that is SOHAM. When you are in deep association with pulsation you hear the double sound SOHAM. SOHAM is SAHA AHAM, meaning THAT I AM. Thus the pulsating principle recollects to you through the song your original state of being. Be with it. Be with it in your meditation. Be with it in your leisure. Be with it in your travel. Be with it in your moments of rest. Be with it when you propose to sleep. Be with it for a while after you come out of sleep. Try to be with it as frequently as possible and as regularly as possible.

Depending on your association with pulsation through your regularity of practice you would dip deep into the deeper aspect of pulsation, which is called subtle pulsation. When you reach the subtle pulsation you sit upon pulsation. It is already a state of initiation, where you stand disassociated with the body and with objectivity. As you pursue further with the subtle pulsation, which also trumpets the same song, you are led higher in your awareness to be seated in the Ajna centre. Then you know that you are the soul, the son of God, the Master among men. And from there you rule your organisation and rule the fellow men who gather around you, and that rule is a rule in friendliness, a rule with love, which carries the hidden power.

Sanat Kumara likes each one of us to be the soul and to preside over the field of buddhi, mind, senses, body and the surroundings. The related practice is associating with SOHAM. That leads oneself to realise that he is OM. OM is the other name of I AM.

12 - Learn to Be Alone!

Eleventh instruction is: Learn to be alone as far as possible. To be alone is different from being lonely. To be alone is to be ‘all-in-One’. It is the highest state of Be-ness. Only One is in all as many. It is only One Existence as many. It is One Awareness, the universal awareness. It is One Life, the universal life. Within One Existence, One Awareness and One Life, forms emerge due to the formations. One appears as many. For example, we have a huge hall here. We can easily build ten rooms within the hall. Then there are many rooms. But it is one hall only as many rooms. Matter divides and makes one as many. There is space in each room, thus there are ten spaces. But before the rooms are built, it was one space in the hall. There is space in the hall. There is space outside the hall. The space in the hall is but the space outside the hall only. Before we built this hall, it was one space only. After we built the hall, the one space is called inside space and outside space. This demarcation is due to emergence of the hall, emergence of matter. Matter divides. Matter is not only the matter that we see. There is subtle state of matter, subtler state of matter and subtlest state of matter.

Matter exists in seven planes. Beyond the seven planes it is hidden in pure awareness, in pure light, in pure existence. The hidden matter expresses and brings out One as many. We are 300 persons sitting in the seminar. We have our Existence, our awareness, our pulsating life, and our minds, our senses and our bodies. But in truth it is only One existing as 300, one awareness functioning in 300 units, one life functioning in 300 units. It is one mind as many minds. It is all One appearing as many. There is no other. This state is called Ananya, meaning ‘no other’. It is also called Advaita, meaning ‘not two’. It is all One. All that we see is within that. One as many is the real understanding. That is why the whole system is called ‘uni-verse’, meaning ‘One as many’: One as all, all as One. All that we see is in One. All in One is called ‘alone’. This is what Sanat Kumara informs us to learn. When it is explained as above it looks easy, but to hold it in one’s awareness is not so easy. Before we experience the One in all and all in One we need to learn to find the One in the other. Find the self in the other. Then there is no other. The brother is realised. Deeper association with the One in the other gives the understanding as One in two. This is the first step for realising the One in all. Mathematics tells you that 1 + 1 is 2. But spiritual mathematics tells, 1 + 1 is 1, it is only One as many. Learn to be with this thought. Then you are learning to be alone. The instruction is ‘learn to be alone’. This is the way to be alone.

Words can be misunderstood. “Words are whores”, says a Master of Wisdom. Words have limited capacity to express the intent. When the Lord says, “Learn to be alone”, it is mostly misunderstood as learning to be lonely. Then the whole teaching suffers an inversion, total inversion. To be lonely means to get circumscribed strongly, to get separated and to get divided. It is like an island, which disassociates with the mainland. Spirituality is all about union and unity. In the name of spirituality people separate themselves, try to be separative and try to be special. Then they suffer loneliness. They build walls around them in the name of yoga, in the name of discipline. They walk into darkness of ignorance and look for light. That is the trick of Kali Yuga.

That apart, one can be lonely for a while to establish in oneself the afore reached truth and to reinforce that truth in oneself. One can stay apart for a while and then come back with greater affirmation to practice to see the One in all and all in One. Sincere students can arrange time to be lonely once in a week to get into this reaffirmation. For this they are advised not to excessively associate with social activities such as public functions, dinners, gatherings and social entertainment. This looks antisocial, but it is not really so. Decidedly social parties are time killers to disciples. Time is the essence of all. They need to segregate from the worldly activity for a while before they get back effectively into the world. Discipleship is a process of incubation. The incubation is for transformation. The caterpillar gets into incubation before it transforms and comes out as butterfly. The disciples therefore need to incubate, not forever, but until the transformations happen. Transformation leads to transfiguration and transcendence. A transcendent one can work in the world and help the world far better than a worldly one. The former can affect the world. The latter gets affected by the world. Astrologically this process is said that the Leonine man disappears into the depths of Scorpio to be reborn as the heavenly man of Aquarius.

When you are with the world, try to see the One in all. When you are lonely, try to see all in One. If you do so, the practice of learning to be alone gets fulfilled in due course of time. Get composed in your loneliness, and experience the truth while with the world. Alternatingly ‘One in all’ and ‘all in One’ can be practiced when you are alone and when you are with the world. The true teachings of Raja Yoga do not recommend retiring into forests, mountains and valleys. What is sought to be gained in those places can be gained wherever you are. What is needed is attitudinal change but not change of placement. Generally people who go to such places as forests, mountains and valleys, need to make extra efforts for food, for bed and for living. Much time and energy is lost in travel and in arrangements. Instead a changed attitude is many times more helpful. You can see how the modern people utilise their weekends. The weekends are seen as time for relaxation. In the name of relaxation they indulge into extra physical activity going to sea beaches, playing games on the sea and on the beach, cycling, horse riding, sun bathing, eating fast foods etc. When they return home after the weekend we see them really weakened. The very purpose got inversed. Such is the modern mind. They look aged in the office on Mondays. You can clearly see that a person has been on relaxation exercise.

People fear to be lonely. They hold the fear of the unknown. Such ones cannot get into the path of discipleship. Discipleship demands that one should be daring enough. For the fearful ones also the doors of discipleship can be opened through long years of meditation upon the colour orange and the sound RAM.

Learn to be alone as far as possible, increasing this possibility year by year, eliminating the fear year by year.

13 - Practise Harmlessness in Thought, Word and Deed

Harmlessness is an ancient-most instruction. It is known to all, but practised by none. Everyone speaks of it. To some harmlessness means ‘not physically hurting people’, but it is much more and far beyond that. Harmlessness is a practice that is valid in all the three worlds, in the world of thought, in the world of speech and in the gross world of objectivity. It is not only harming humans, it also extends to animals, plants and earth. It further extends to the five elements. Humanity thinks of peace. It longs for peace. Peace can never come to humanity as long as they hurt, as long as they harm all that surrounds them. We pollute earth, we pollute water and we pollute air. We kill animals that move on earth, in waters and even in the sky. We hurt and harm fellow humans regularly. To harm has been the human activity of ignorance on the planet and we want peace!

The first instruction towards peace is harmlessness. It is there in the Veda which says, “There is no virtue higher than harmlessness.” The virtue of harmlessness surpasses all other virtues. Ahimsa paramo dharma. Lord Krishna speaks of it as the first virtue. The eightfold path of yoga gives regulations for yoga of which Ahimsa is the first regulation. Buddha practised it and became a guiding light to humanity. Christ practised it. All men of divinity demonstrated it, but humanity does not learn. Ahimsa is the Sanskrit word for harmlessness. Himsa means to harm, to hurt.

Physically hurting is the crude form of Himsa. Vocal hurting is more painful than physical hurt. If someone is hurt physically the body heals soon. But if he is hurt vocally the hurt continues for longer time. One may forgive, but would not forget. Do not believe in the statement uttered forth by the priests, “Forget and forgive.” The more appropriate statement is, “You may not forget, but you may forgive.” Jesus Christ has forgiven those who crucified him. But he does not forget what was done to him. He has forgiven so much that he serves them again. Forgetting is not helpful. Forgiving is helpful. Forgiving is divine. Forgetting is ignorance. The knowledgeable ones do not forget, but they forgive totally. They forgive so completely that they are ready to serve those who have hurt them!

As said earlier, if one aspires for light he must necessarily set himself on the path of Ahimsa, harmlessness. Harmlessness leads to love. One becomes so loving that he thinks twice before he plucks a flower or a fruit from a tree. When one is harmless in the true sense of the word, the plants, the animals, the humans and even the devas would like to be with him and around him. This is true. This is the secret of the saints, the yogis around whom all like to gather.

Harmlessness enables a person to be magnetic. He is non-manipulative, loving and helping people. People offer themselves to such ones to serve along with them and even to serve them. The civilised man may not be indulging in physical fights but he indulges in fights at the emotional, mental and even at the intellectual planes. That is the reason why man finds emotional disagreements, mental disagreements, and intellectual disagreements leading to a war other than the physical. All wars generate first in the mind and then percolate down to be physical. Today there are wars in politics. The politics are ever at war. Communism, capitalism, socialism all are at war with each other. Likewise, there are wars of religion between Jews, Christians, Muslims and Hindus. After all, the religions are but concepts of God. Where the concept crystallises God disappears from there, and the dead concepts remain warring at each other. Religion is at war, politics is at war and even business is at war. There is heavy competition, covetousness and manipulation in businesses. In every field there is groupism and rivalry in between them. One group does not agree with the other. The background of all this is lack of understanding, lack of love, lack of friendliness. All these emerged from absence of harmlessness. Harmlessness is the way. It leads to peace. It leads to peaceful coexistence. Around a harmless man many gather. You see God-men in India. They are harmless. Therefore many gather around them. Those who gather around a God-man fight inbetween them, but they don’t fight with the God-man because he is their solace. He is their solution. He is their source of life.

If you are harmless in its completeness, then even cobras coexist with you. A Master lived till recently in South India in Nilgiris with whom cobras lived. He is not a tribal. He is a highly civilised Master, one who went all around the world many times. When he went for his evening walk cobras used to join him. When he came back they too used to come back. The secret is harmlessness. He was living in the Blue Mountains whenever he stayed in India. He also stayed long time in Switzerland, the United States and other places. Likewise, my father used to hold a cobra in hand and chant the name of God. The cobra used to be in as much comfort as it is by itself. We don’t have to speak of ancient stories to explain the concept of harmlessness. It is a principle that lives through persons even today. In the presence of a harmless one all persons are at comfort. They find their peace within them.

Persons who hold the contrary energy to harmlessness work like anti-magnets. People run away from them. People disassociate themselves. Even a street dog prefers to be away. Do you observe this? When some persons are at walk on the road side a stray dog, a street dog walks along and accompanies a person that doesn’t know the dog. But the dog walks along. The dog feels friendly with the person and walks along, since it can smell the quality of harmlessness in the person. Even if a stray dog runs away looking at you, imagine what is the quality of energy that you hold. There are some people amidst our society, whom people would like to avoid. Even animals avoid them.

To see how much harmlessness one carries, a Master of wisdom used to play a trick. He gave a rose to the one who came to him and conversed with the person who held the rose in the hand. If the rose crippled with the touch of the person, he did not prefer to give wisdom to such a person. If the rose remained intact for long hours and continued to be fresh, he allowed them to get into the occult training. Observe the plants around you, the animals around you and the humans around you. If they blossom at your side, you are in a good way of harmlessness. If they shrink with your presence, observe that there is a lot to be desired in terms of harmlessness. People who are wanting in harmlessness, the devas cannot approach. The Masters can approach only out of their compassion, for they are compassionate ones. They come to help to enable right practice of harmlessness. We say that a person has a lucky hand. With the touch of that hand everything grows. We also find hands, whose touch will cause deterioration, decay and death. The former carry good energy of healing, the latter may not get into healing work until they practise harmlessness. Harmlessness has the ability to heal, to restore and to restitute. Today all health practices have become so commercial that healing does not happen, and medicines cause as much sickness as health. Try to bring harmlessness into every aspect of your life. It is helpful for your growth and also for the growth of all that surrounds you.

14 - Acceptability of Conscience

Acceptability of conscience is as important as the other teachings of Sanat Kumara. If one does what is not acceptable to conscience, it gives rise to conflict. Discipleship is a process of conscious transformation. Consulting one’s conscience from time to time is a very important step. Therefore Lord Sanat Kumara says, “Do not jump into any practice, which is not acceptable to your conscience.”

Remember that conscience is the soul’s mind, but not the mind of the personality. The soul’s mind is buddhi. The personality mind is the mind that works for fulfilment of personality. It has no program to work for the fulfilment of the soul. The hints thrown by the soul flash through the mind of the soul, buddhi. The hints happen as flashes. The personality mind does not care for such flashes and many times may not get the reason for following a flashy idea. The personality mind has a different program. Therefore it cares not to understand the hints coming from the soul via buddhi. Regularly consulting the conscience is therefore important. Different practices come up to the disciple either from within or from the Teacher or through the suggested book study. Some of these practices directly appeal to the conscience. The appeal of wisdom to the conscience does not have reason to start with. Reasoning is the functioning of the personality mind. The personality mind needs to have answers for everything that it does. It needs a ‘because’ for every ‘why’.

Man does many things without reasoning. He thinks he is highly rationalistic. Truly he is not. Even an intellect likes a place, a person, a flower, a colour, a number. He cannot give a reason for that which he likes immensely. When asked, “Why?” He only answers “Because I like it.” The next question to him is, “But why do you like it?” The answer is, “I just like. It is like that.” The answer for “Why you like it?” is not “I like it.” It cannot be the answer, but even the intellects are helpless to give the logic for their liking. There is no answer for why one likes something. Why one loves someone, has no answer in one’s mind. People who look for ‘why’ are stuck in the causal world. The conscience is beyond.

Sanat Kumara says, “Consult the conscience.” He does not say, “Consult the mind.” Today there are many books which say, “Do not follow what is not acceptable to your reason.” But reason relates to the mind. Mind is the ruler of the personality. It does not let anything that goes beyond personality. Discipleship is an effort to function as soul, not as a grand personality. Reason is not of great importance, conscience is of great importance. When you follow what the conscience says, slowly the reasoning unfolds from it. If not, you would just remain a square of personality with no triangle built on it. Only when the triangle is built over the square, it becomes a temple. Otherwise it is just like a box. Pardon me if I say that it looks like an idiot’s box. Of late even in house building we adopt more to the box types than the temple types. The triangle represents intelligent activity, love-wisdom, divine will. The way to that triangle is one’s conscience, but not one’s mind. Therefore consulting conscience from time to time is suggested as a practice to break through the square of personality and enter into the triangular kingdom of the soul.

When you receive knowledge by way of information, reflect upon it. Ponder upon it. If necessary, ponder again upon it. Review the information again and again. Don’t be in a hurry either to follow or recede. If you jump to follow, many times you dump it later. Don’t be too fast to accept. It is mind’s trick so that it can dump later. Likewise don’t be too fast to recede. Place the whole issue before your conscience. Don’t place it before your mind.

The Master and the Secretary
Mind is the secretary. Many times the secretary tries to answer when asked, even before the issue reaches the master. The secretary has likes and dislikes. The master has no likes and dislikes. The master does what should be done. He does not see what is convenient. In his dictionary ‘likes’ and ‘don’t likes’ do not exist. Comforts and discomforts do not exist. Profits and losses do not exist. In secretary’s mind all these pairs exist. Secretary accepts that which is profit and rejects if there is no profit in it. Remember, your mind is your secretary. Each one of us suffers because our secretary decides our life. It is so with oneself and it is also generally true in all organisations. Exceptions always exist. An exception proves the general rule.

All information is first received by the mind, the secretary. It is supposed to put it up to the master. But it does not. It filters and then puts up what it thinks as important. Such masters are prisoners of their own secretaries. The secretaries build golden prisons and the master walks in. It is happening regularly.

Make your conscience more active than your mind. Set aside your bias and put it to reason. Let the conscience function. Build the conscience and act according to the conscience. Then the mind builds its own reason to follow it.

People frequently say, “Decide for yourself.” Note the statement carefully. Read it carefully. What does it mean? The self has to decide. Don’t mistake yourself as your mind. The whole life is the program of the self. Mind, senses and body constitute the organisation. The organisation has to fulfil the program. Each self has its own program. It therefore builds its organisation. Organisation is needed. Without organisation there can be no implementation of program. Without implementation there is no fulfilment. Even the cosmic person has an organisation. The cosmic, solar and planetary systems constitute his personality, his mind, senses and body. The decision has to come from the self. When it comes from the self, buddhi informs rest of the organisation and they implement it. It is true with the heavenly man. It should be true with the man on earth. Then he becomes a son of God.

Consult the Conscience
When one functions consulting the conscience, two principles emerge: consistency of activity and continuity of consciousness. Remember that conscience activity has its own consistency. Many think that there is no order in the intuitional functioning. They think intuitional flashes are erratic. They are not. There is a higher order in those flashes, which mind does not grasp initially. The consistent conscience activity causes rapid progress, more rapid than the rhythm of the mind. When mind is rhythmic, it can manifest. When conscience functions rhythmically, the manifestation is much more rapid. That is why a person who functions as a soul manifests much more than the others. He manifests so much work, which is not possible even to hundreds of persons put together.

More importantly, when actions of conscience increase, the consciousness is at work leading to continuity of consciousness. Continuity of consciousness is a great facility. It overcomes the limitation of longevity. It leads to overcoming the limitation of death.

Consistency enables healthy growths, continuity enables transcending the limitations of time. See the acts of Initiates. Their teachings continue to be. They continue to inspire those who seek them. Their teachings are as consistent as the changes we find during the growth and unfoldment of a flower. There is such consistency in change, in the growth and unfoldment of a flower that at no time one finds a marked growth. This principle of consistency exists in nature contributing to the growth. Transformation of minerals into plants, plants into animals, animals into human bodies (only human bodies, but not the men who reside in them) happen on the planet so very consistently that they are not noticeable. This quality of consistency in growth in nature is the work of the unfolding consciousness. You cannot see at what point of time an infant became a child, a child became a youth, and at what point of time he became an adult, a man, an old man. The changes cannot be traced to any point in time. Such consistency is needed in our thinking, in our speeches, and in our actions. Only then we can claim to be natural. “Be natural”, is an instruction of the wisdom. We think we are natural. We are natural only when we are consistent in unfoldment of our consciousness into buddhic, mental, emotional and physical planes. For that we need to know that we are units of consciousness. That we are units of consciousness reveals to us only when we regularly consult the conscience. When the Lord says, “Consult the conscience and find out the acceptability of conscience”, we are activating regularly the conscience in us, which prevails over the personality. The students would do well to think of this dimension more and more to progress well on the path.

When an activity is acceptable at the level of conscience, then the related practices would be regular. The interest in the activity would not die down. One would not feel monotony. When the activity is seated on the mental plane, monotony sets in resulting in discontinuity. The secret of consistency is hidden in the conscience. The secret of continuity is also hidden in conscience. Therefore activity emerging from conscience is helpful. It enables Sraddha. It enables even flow of activity. It enables manifestation of the quality of poise, Satva. Prayers, rituals, meditations become more meaningful. The consequence is percolation of consciousness into mental, emotional and physical plane.

Patanjali says, “The practices have to be for long years and without break to enable transformations.” He speaks of Dirghakala, meaning ‘long years’. He also says Nairantarya, meaning ‘without gaps, intervals, breaks’. The demands of Patanjali can be fulfilled only when the disciple chooses consciously the activity. Lord Sanat Kumara warns at it.

15 - Do Not Deviate From Self-study

Self-study means studying the self. Studying the self is in two ways. One is to recollect I AM and see to what extent recollecting I AM is happening in relation to oneself and in relation to the surroundings. This is practical study of the self. The self only is present as the background of oneself and others. The background of all is I AM. The awareness of this background is to be recollected while one is with the events of the day. This is a game of patience that one has to practise. One needs to study how far he is able to visualise the self in the daily events of life.

Even during the hours of contemplation one has to recollect himself as the self distinct from the personality. It is also part of self-study of the first type.

The second type of self-study is to study the teachings of Initiates who also provide thoughts relating to self-study. In the teachings and writings of the Initiates the magnetic touch of the soul exists. This is because they function at all times as soul. It is for this reason their teachings and writings do not die through time. Soul is immortal and the teachings and writings flowing from the soul also remain immortal. One does not do well reading any book and every book. The books on esoteric knowledge coming from Initiates have the status of scriptures. The other books could be bestsellers but suffer mortality. Do not measure by the marketing quality. Go by the soul quality. An insight can be gained to distinguish between the two, if one cares to know the biographies of the writers. What the writers do or did in life would set a parameter to find the quality of the teachings that came through. The lives of Initiates are filled with service to humanity, touching the realms of sacrifice. Such teachings when heard or studied, would awaken the soul. The teachings directly appeal to the soul. The conscience feels directly, what is said is true. Know these before you pick up books to read.

Studying the teachings of Initiates helps activating the soul. The soul feels nourished. The soul feels reinforced. The soul gets inspiration. It gets rid of perspiration. Many are the benefits that the students get through reading the writings of Initiates.

Another dimension to this teaching is, the reader gradually feels the presence of the Initiate whose teachings are being read. The Teacher’s presence is hidden in the teaching. As one reads with intense focus and devotion, one would sometimes even gain the presence of the Teacher. There are many such instances in the past. This is a true phenomenon, which is proved time and again.

It is equally significant to study the biographies of Initiates. This helps building contact with the Initiates. When once the familiarity of presence is experienced the teachings reveal much more than before. Remember that the teachings reveal by layers depending on the state of the consciousness of the reader. But if the presence prevails the revelations happen to the reader not according to reader’s comprehension but according to the teacher’s compassion. This is how good disciples move forward.

Reading the teachings and the biographies of the Initiates is to gain the presence of the soul. More than the information that the teaching contains, presence is of greater importance. Presence is ultimately the one that fulfils, that nourishes and that blooms the souls. Daily if you read a few lines of such teachings either in the fresh hours of the day or in the silent hours of night, the importance of this instruction given by Lord Sanat Kumara would be well understood. Therefore do not deviate from self-study.

16 - Practise Yoga and Manifest Goodwill

This teaching relates to internal work as well as external work relating to life. Yoga practice is the internal work. The internal work is to relate and thereby align with Buddhi and Atma through the means of Antahkarana Sarira. The practice is to withdraw the mind into its source, that is the higher mind or Buddhi and withdraw from Buddhi to experience the self called I AM. This has to be a regular practice. To recollect and to stand as I AM is a state of absorption. I AM also can get merged in THAT. THAT I AM is the state of Yoga which needs to be regularly practised. The bridge between THAT and I AM has to be consciously built. This is called the ‘higher bridge’. Before that a bridge has to be built between I AM and the personality. I am, the personality, expresses into the world with I AM as the basis. I AM as such is based in THAT. The alignment of the three needs to happen. For that the two bridges have to be built. Until the bridges are consolidated the student slips into personality and lives only as personality. The first bridge enables one to live as the soul. The second bridge, the ‘higher bridge’ enables one to function as a representative of the universal soul. When the three are in alignment the will of God manifests on earth. The other name for the will of God is God-will or goodwill.

Goodwill manifests in every way when Yoga practice is fulfilled. In the state of alignment whatever one does would contribute to the welfare of the society. Manifestation of goodwill happens when you teach and heal. It happens through every activity that one does. The nature of activity does not decide the realisation. But the realisation enables manifestation not only through teachers but also from cobblers, tailors, barbers, carpenters, workers, doctors, engineers and so on. It is a mistaken notion that one has that certain professions are divine and certain others are not divine. All activity in creation is divine when it manifests goodwill through yogic alignment. A yogi has not a professed job. He could be in any department of human activity and contribute to social good. His actions manifest harmony dissolving conflict.

This teaching makes clear that one doesn’t have to be choosy with regard to his profession. Whatever profession life offers, one can manifest goodwill, provided one is a yogi. A yogi need not necessarily be a teacher as it is generally supposed. Practice in Yoga daily enables alignment. When alignment is there, the divine energy flows to benefit the surroundings. For this reason the Lord says, “A disciple has only two things to do on a daily basis: practising to align and conducting life to manifest goodwill.” Jesus Christ did not cease to be a carpenter, even while he was teaching and healing. Only jealous followers who do not understand his activity of carpentry try to hide this dimension of Jesus the Christ. The skill of carpentry that was exhibited by him was unique and was remembered for long years. Being a son of carpenter he continued to work as carpenter. The father of Jesus who was as enlightened as Jesus himself was also a carpenter. Likewise many yogis continue to inspire through their field of activity. There are yogis who remained simple housewives. There are also yogis who function as butchers and cobblers. The state of a yogi is beyond personality glamour. He does not display at large. He touches those who come in touch with him. The knowers of truth came not for the worldly honour. They do not adapt to attires that bring them worldly recognition. They also do not choose professions by which they can be better known in the society as yogis. An alchemist from India says, “The true knowers do not put up any show to sell themselves.” The mediocres put up the show of miracles to become popular. The deceptive ones put on religious attire and live on others’ labour. Marketing is needed for artificial things, but not for inherently precious things. Therefore one need not worry if his profession is that of a banker or an engineer or an accountant etc. Stay as a yogi and manifest sheer goodwill into the surrounding society. Your work is rewarded more and more in the inner worlds, though not in the outer.

17 - Adapt to the Regulations of Yama and Niyama

There are five regulations of Yama and five regulations of Niyama given by Patanjali in the eightfold path of Yoga. These form the fundamentals of all occult practice. Yama relates to the regulations while working in the outer world. Niyama relates to the regulations while working with oneself. Let us first consider the regulations of Yama.

They are:
  1. Ahimsa
  2. Satyam
  3. Brahmacharya
  4. Astheya
  5. Aparigraha

Of the above five, Ahimsa was already given as one of the teachings. Ahimsa means harmlessness. It was given as the 12th teaching. The Lord recommends the other teachings of Yama here for practice.

Satyam
Satyam means truth, to speak truth. To be truthful is the instruction. Truthfulness means alignment of thought, speech and action. It enables manifestation of TRUTH. Truthfulness in this context means unity in thought, in speech and in action. In the world men try to be manipulative. What they think, what they speak and what they do is different. When there is variance within thought, speech and action, the three states of objectivity get distorted. Manipulative thought, speech and action gradually bind the person who is indulging in it. When one speaks what he does not mean and when one does what is not in tune with that which is spoken, his energies get deranged. He gets out of track and causes problems to himself. He accumulates more and more that which binds him tight. Non-alignment of thought, speech and action cripples one’s personality. One builds his own prison and gets bound by it. It is therefore desired that a student of Yoga or discipleship shall ensure alignment within thought, speech and action. It prevents accumulation of Karma. It enables unimpeded flow of resources for one’s progress. Wealth that comforts comes up to persons who follow this virtue, just like all beings behave friendly with the ones who follow harmlessness. The world is full of manipulation and the men of world are manipulated by their own manipulation. That is the law. For students of discipleship non-manipulation is the way out from the conditioning of the world. A disciple is expected to stand out of the world and impact the world positively. One cannot do so, when one is part of manipulation. A lot can be said relating to this virtue, but in this context what is said should be sufficient.

Brahmacharya
This word has two meanings. The simple meaning is ‘regulated sex activity’. The deeper meaning is ‘moving in Brahman’. The first leads to the second. The second is the ultimate goal of all discipleship. It is called ‘living, moving and having one’s being in Brahman’. This is the state of THAT I AM. But in the present context it means regulated sex activity. A lot has been written and spoken about sex, its importance and its dangers in many books. Sexual energy is but the energy of the soul, which has a purpose in creation. It cannot be suppressed and it cannot be indulged into. It should be a regulated activity. The nature’s purpose in granting sex instinct to the beings is to procreate. By this the nature is fulfilling a grand activity of proffering bodies to the incarnating souls. Every person is given a body to fulfil the purposes of the soul. It is therefore his bounden duty to help others also by proffering bodies. Everyone of us received a body. We therefore have a duty to offer bodies to incarnating souls. What one receives, one should learn to give also. We receive to give and we give to receive. This is how continuity is ensured in creation. You cannot continue receiving when you do not give. You cannot continue to inhale, unless every inhalation is alternated by an exhalation. You cannot inhale twice without an intermittent exhalation. You cannot go on eating and drinking without defecating and urinating. Similarly you cannot receive well, unless you give away meaningfully. The same law applies in matters of receiving and giving bodies. Sex is thus a natural act. Its purpose is to proffer bodies to incarnating souls and thereby satisfy the biological need as well. When this responsibility is fulfilled, the same energy is recommended to be diverted into the field of Yoga to build buddhic / Antahkarana body. The same energy is useful for building Antahkarana Sarira. It enables rising of Kundalini power. The scriptures neither recommend suppression nor indulgence. They suggest a regulated activity. When sex activity is well regulated, the related energies can be utilised for self-transmutation of body, transformation and transfiguration. Therefore this regulation of Yama is considered important. Follow the golden middle path in matters of sex also.

Astheya
It means ‘absence of thieving instinct’. Thieving brings in heavy binding Karma. Man binds himself hopelessly when he thieves. Thieving is at three levels. Physical thieving is a crude thieving. Emotional thieving is finer thieving. Exploiting others’ emotions for self-profit is worse than the first one. Humanity is emotional at large. Exploiting the emotions of the people for one’s own advantage has much heavier Karma. The leaders of the society mostly suffer this Karma when they manipulate the emotional people to profit themselves. Winning other people through emotional means is also thieving. This kind of thieving exists in all activities of indulgence, such as gambling (emotional weakness for money) or sensuousness (weakness for the other gender). They come under the second category of thieving. The third category of thieving relates to intellectual thieving. This is the worst of the thievings. Intellectual thieving is very rampant in the society. The stronger thieves ideas from the weak and promotes them as his own. Today many patents are being thieved. The less intelligent are exploited by the more intelligent. Mostly intelligence is misused than used. Humanity suffers heavily from this Karma. The one who thieves becomes an eternal prisoner of his own personality. It is the worst of the human qualities, from which one gets eventually suffocated with Karma. Abstaining from mental, emotional and physical thieving is fundamental to any practice of discipleship. The whole human history reveals that the major activity of the human activity on the planet has been thieving others’ property and others’ people. The story of Mahabharata relates to thieving others’ property. The story of Ramayana relates to thieving others’ women. The two epics of India give clear message of the consequences of thieving.

Aparigraha
Aparigraha means ‘not seeking favours’. Parigraha means ‘seeking favours’. If you seek favours from others while doing nothing to them it is contrary to the concept of Yagna. Yagna is the ritual of action. Action in creation is inherently doing for others. Having done good to others one becomes eligible to the fruits of such acts of goodwill. Seeking favours is an attitude to receive without doing any act of good to others. Such seekers are seen as vampires. Therefore seeking favours without doing or contributing anything to the surrounding lives is undesirable, since one gets heavily loaded with Karma. The practice of Yoga or discipleship is to neutralise the past Karma and move forward. For this reason the aspirants are recommended to carry out acts of service and charity, where no return is expected. Doing acts of goodwill without seeking anything for oneself enables release from Karma, contributes to neutralising the past Karma. That is the reason for encouraging service and charity along with practice of Yoga. If one receives more than what he gives he tends to be progressing into material which binds him. If one gives more than what he receives he tends to progress more into spirit. Essentially all aspirants are heavy with their past Karma. Therefore they would do well to give more than what they receive. To clear Karma faster they tend to give substantially and receive little. Giving leads to positive pole. Receiving leads to negative pole. Sahasrara stands for the North Pole or positive pole and Muladhara relates to the negative and receptive pole.

The entire creational activity has been of materialisation progressing from spirit. Likewise, the Yoga practice is to get back to the spiritual status by working the contrary to materialisation. Materialisation reached the grossest level and therefore it needs to return. In the story of the Bible the serpent is said to have descended down the tree of life. Now it needs to ascend. The serpent is no other than the Kundalini energy. If aspirants aspire to become disciples and disciples are aspiring to become Masters, they need to become better and better givers, but not better and better gatherers. The message is: “Offer, do not gather.” Such is the fifth regulation. Givers have moved faster as can be seen from the stories of Initiates. Gatherers perish along with the material. Yogis and Masters receive from higher circles and distribute in the lower circles. They keep their balances neither plus nor minus. By this way they continue eternally to be channels of the Divine upon earth. They do not glamour to move into higher circles of light. Instead they stay where darkness prevails and light is needed. It is a noble act of denial for the sake of the fellow beings. Christ who is known as Maitreya in the east is the first to do so in this cycle of humanity. Buddha also did so. These two are the great Initiates that are serving humanity. Remember that Christ existed even before the advent of Jesus.

With this we conclude the first set of the five regulations of Yama. Then follows the next set of five regulations of Niyama.

They are:
  1. Suchi
  2. Soucha
  3. Santhosha
  4. Swadhyaya
  5. Ishwara Pranidhana

Suchi and Soucha
Suchi and Soucha relate to outer and inner purity. In the second set of regulations it is working with oneself. In the first set of regulations it is working with the surroundings. When the first set of regulations is more or less accomplished, man is no more bound by the objectivity. If the first set is not fulfilled, the objectivity continues to bind the aspirants. If you harm the surrounding life, if you steal others’ wealth, if you seek favours in the objectivity, if you are not regulated in your sex activity, and if you are not aligned in your thought, speech and action, you would be bound by the objectivity. When you are bound by the objectivity you cannot carry the rhythms of discipleship and grow inside. Therefore the first set of regulations is very important before one thinks of the second set. In the second set of regulations external and internal purity are recommended. The purity has to be in all the three levels. As it is in the first set, all regulations are applicable in all the three levels. So is the case with purity. Outer purity demands that you keep your surroundings pure. If the surroundings are not pure they affect your energies. They disturb the equilibrium. The basic harmony does not exist when the surroundings are impure. It is for this reason dwelling in places which are unclean, which emit bad smell or which are by the side of a butchery or in market places or places proximate to gambling houses, night clubs, prostitution, bars and the like are avoidable. A yogi may stay even in such places, for he affects the places positively and is not affected by the place. But the trainees are vulnerable to the strong negative energies. Therefore, they should select their place of dwelling, place of work, nature of activity and places where they move with care.

Outer purity also includes one’s clothing, bathing, eating habits. Yoga demands regular cleaning of the body from head to foot to ensure that no bad odours are emitted by the body. Through physical exercise it is natural that the body sweats and smells. In all such situations we are recommended to take showers. Frequent baths are advised. Frequent washing of hands, face and the feet is also advised. The students must take care that the body is clean. Natural scents and perfumery are allowed, but not chemical and sensuous ones. Similar understanding needs to be gained with respect to soaps and cosmetics.

Ensure that all your personal belongings which you use daily, are clean, neat and shining. Ensure that your worktable, workplace and vehicle are kept clean and orderly. Let not any dust or impurity gather. Eat not strong smelling food. Strong smells contribute to the undesirable odour of the body. These are some of the instructions to ensure external purity.

Internal purity relates to the thoughts and desires that we entertain. This purity is of greater importance. It requires greater effort to ensure clean thoughts and desires. Cleanliness at thought level enables a clean mind, which can reflect clearly the light inside and the light outside. The speeches need to communicate harmonious messages, but not disturbing and conflicting messages. We speak of speech separately in the following chapters. Inner purity is necessary to contact the light within. The obstructions for experiencing the inner light are impure desires, thoughts and speeches.

Santhosha
The third in the second set of regulations is Santhosha. It means cheerfulness. Cheerfulness is with persons who have gained a clean mind, a stable and comfortable mind. Cheerfulness enables reception and transmission of good luck. Cheerfulness enables effective transmission of magnetic currents of love. A cheerful person would make his life and the life surrounding him lighter. The sorrowful, the fearful and the serious ones make their lives heavier. They work as anti-magnets, and no good luck can come to them. If you see the various pictures of angels and Masters in India, they have a cheerful countenance. Meditating upon cheerful faces would also bring some cheer to us. Lives that do not carry cheer are heavy and tiresome.

Please remember, cheer is a pleasant smile on the face and does not extend to loud laughters. Persons who get loud laughter would alternatingly have deep sorrow and deep seriousness. Their energies keep oscillating from one to the other, like a pendulum. Smile is the middle point between sorrow and joy. It is called the state of Ashoka. There is a tree called Ashoka under which aspirants mediate to gain the state of equilibrium between sorrow and happiness, pleasantness and unpleasantness, pains and pleasures, comforts and discomforts, profit and loss. Such ones have equal disposition to heat and cold, dry and wet. They do not suffer the extremities of the duality due to their stable placement in the golden middle point.

Santhosha (cheerfulness) cannot straightaway be practised. One cannot maintain a cheerful face all the time. It creates tension to put up a cheerful face when the inner energies are otherwise. Only clean mind enables a cheerful face. Clean mind becomes possible when there is inner purity. Inner purity is possible when the preceding six regulations are followed. Thus the eighth regulation is the result which follows the preceding regulation.

A clean mind is a cheerful mind. Only such minds can conceive the light in any situation. When such mind turns inward it receives the light by reflection. When it turns outward, it also sees light. Such minds are really eligible for self-study.

Self-study is study of self within and study of scriptures as well. A clean mind appropriately receives wisdom through outer study or through inner study. It is like having clean glasses to read and to see. If the glasses are not clean one does not see what is to be seen. The object of sight is obscured. Such is the fate of persons who jump to read the writings of the Initiates. They make their own understanding, frequently a misunderstanding. But they do not get the right perception. Students who only read books but do not practice the steps of Yama and Niyama gain wrong understanding. They would be like badly cooked food, which cannot be repaired. For this reason the teachers do not recommend reading books. On the contrary, they recommend students to practise harmlessness, alignment of thought and speech, regulation of sex, eliminating the thieving instinct, eliminating the instinct to seek obligations, and purity inner and outer. The teacher’s way of imparting wisdom is totally different from what the students think. The students straightaway wish to get into wisdom. Before a student steps into the hall of wisdom, there is the hall of learning. When the first seven steps of Yama and Niyama are fulfilled, one can walk into wisdom. This is generally not known. People straightaway read Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Tantra and so on. The information they gather is neither useful to them nor to the others.

Swadhyaya
The fourth regulation of Niyama, Swadhyaya was already explained elaborately in the previous teaching titled “Do not deviate from Self-Study.”

Ishwara Pranidhana
The tenth regulation of Yama and Niyama and the fifth of Niyama is Ishwara Pranidhana. It means ‘surrendering to the Master within oneself and within all the surrounding forms, animate or inanimate’. The Master Consciousness prevails as the basis for all forms, whether organic or inorganic. This is what is given in the earlier teachings as observing I AM in and around. This practice continues forever until it is realised.

These are the ten regulations of Yama and Niyama, which the Lord says that we need to pick up and practise. By practising these ten regulations one gradually becomes eligible to be of stable mind, and such a stable mind can be applied upon respiration to find the way into oneself through Pranayama.

18 - Release The Mind From Dualities

Duality is contrary to unity. Yoga is a state of unity. The practice of Yoga is to establish oneself into unity and handle diversity. Consciousness is but one. One cannot let the consciousness suffer bifurcation. All bifurcations are the source of suffering. Separation is generally inseparable from suffering. Existence is one. Awareness or consciousness is one. Life is one. Light is one. Knowledge is one. Activity as a principle is one. The diversity is in activity. Thoughts, speeches and actions together constitute activity. Activity floats upon life, light, knowledge and awareness. All float upon Existence. Only the activity is in diversity, but not the sublime states of Existence, of awareness, of light, of knowledge and of life. Activity is comparable to the tail of the celestial dog. The dog is stable. The tail moves left and right, up and down. The substantial consciousness of the dog is in the dog. Just a little of the dog exists in the tail. Understand that man is essentially like the dog in the example. His activity is like the tail. The tail cannot decide the state of the dog. The activity can not affect man. Man has to affect the activity. For this, what is needed is right placement of man in himself. Should he stay in the tail? Or should he stay in the substantial part of the body? The dog can exist even without the tail. The tail cannot exist without the dog. Man has to see whether he chooses his abode in the tail or in the main part relating to him. People that live in duality are the ones who are living in the tail relating to them.

Yoga teaches that man resides in the Muladhara generally. Muladhara is but the tip of the tail of man who is dwelling in the cerebrospinal system. The inner man is said to be living in the cerebrospinal system with the cerebral part as the head, spinal part as the body and the tip of the spine as the tail. When he is at the tip of the tail, naturally he suffers with the mutable nature. He would suffer ups and downs, lefts and rights, like the dog’s tail. Man needs to know that he need not necessarily stay in the tip of the tail. He can as well move into the substantial part of the body, where there is much stability, comfort, knowledge, love, joy and bliss. He needs to know that if he resides in the higher chambers of the sevenfold body, he would have greater comfort, greater experiencing of bliss. The three lower chambers of mind, emotions and gross physical plane are narrow, constricting and suffocating due to inadequate life and light. The duality causes much suffering when the stay is in the lower chambers of the body. If he learns to stay in the chambers superior to the three lower chambers, there is the experiencing of life beyond mutability. Such stay ensures stability and comfort. If not, the thoughts of happiness, peace, comfort, stability remain a mirage.

The Fourfold Division
This basic knowledge is necessary, not to suffer the divisions of left and right, of above and below. Persons living in the mental and intellectual planes are generally persons that suffer a fourfold division in them. They see the world in a fourfold manner, because they themselves are broken into four pieces. This thought of mundane living is symbolised by crucified Christ. Every man is but a crucified heavenly man. As long as one divides the world into good and evil, into high class and low class, he suffers this crucifixion. That is why intellectuals who suffer this fourfold division are also not the transcendent ones. The need of humanity is to survive this crucifixion with the tools of wisdom.

Stand Beyond the Dualities
When man lives in the mind he is living in the changing world. When man ascends into Buddhi he floats over the changing world. The difference is like the one who is moving in the currents of the river and the one who is floating over it in a boat. The one who is in the river is affected by the currents. The one who is in the boat on the river is not so much affected by the currents of the river. The one who is in a big ship doesn’t feel much the currents of the river. The effect of the currents of the river depends upon one’s placement. If one is in a hovercraft, the impact of the current is almost absent. If he flies over, he is untouched by the currents. Thus when man gets into higher states of awareness in oneself and settles over there, the world impact would not be so much upon him. On the contrary, he can impact the world. “Impact the world, do not get impacted”, is an occult statement. The teachings of Sanat Kumara suggest that the student should learn on a daily basis to stand beyond the duality, beyond the seeming opposite currents of the world. This practice leads one to be in Yoga consciousness.

Be in the Center
When one stands in yogic awareness one sees the terror and the war against terror as two counter-forces of same nature. Similarly one sees the two counterforces working between good and evil. Likewise one sees the force of nature in heat and cold. When it is hot we complain that it is too hot. When it is cold we also complain that it is too cold. Heat and cold regularly approach us. If we stay in the midpoint, neither heat nor cold affects us. If we stay between right and left, we are already in the centre. If we stay between above and below, again we are in the centre. “Stay where the equator and the equinox meet”, is again an occult statement. In that place we are neither above nor below, we are neither to the left nor to the right. North Pole is distributive. South Pole is receptive. Be receptive and distributive to stay stable. Likewise the longest day relates to leaning towards spirit, the longest night relates to leaning towards material. Be at the equinox, where the matter and spirit are in complete harmony. There the yogis stay. Therefore equinox and equator are constituted as the most worshipful energies. They are the fore most important days in the year. They are called the most worshipful Masters that guard the four gates to the temple.

Good and Bad Exist Not
Beauty is the state of yogic consciousness. With the yogi not only the angels agree, but also the diabolic. This is because to a yogic consciousness there is no disagreeability towards any. Since he has no disagreement with any, nothing around him disagrees with him. All find their comfort with him. It is the true state of Maitreya. Maitreya is a state of awareness. When one is friendly towards all and holds no enmity within, all relate in friendliness. This is how the sons of will demonstrated the true yogic consciousness. It emerges from their association with the consciousness in all, but not to the frills.

In the lighter vein let me tell you a few examples of daily life: When it is cold season people talk too much about cold. To a yogi it makes no sense. The season is known as winter and cold prevails. One should be wise enough to protect from the cold. Any length of discussion about cold will not save him from cold. Warm clothing is a good answer. Likewise people speak about the heat of the summer, but it is wisdom to protect one’s body from the heat. Discussions do not help. When thoughts are too much oriented towards cold and heat, they invite cold and heat. Energy follows thought. Thoughts of cold bring cold. Thoughts of heat invite sunstroke. Thoughts of ill-health bring in ill-health. Thoughts of human ignorance draw one nearer to ignorance. This is how people through their own strong ceaseless thinking bring to them what they fear and what they don’t want. Wisdom needs to prevail over all thoughts and activities. People speak of nature’s cruelty. When there are cyclones, tornadoes, tsunamis, heavy rains and floods and the consequent loss of life, humans complain about nature. Wisdom does not complain for the simple reason, from the standpoint of wisdom such events are seen as nature’s adjustments. Nature has its program. Within nature man has his program. Man is but a small fragment compared to nature. He needs to learn to adapt to the changes of nature, but not complain about the changes. The louse in the hair of a man’s head cannot complain about the movement of the head. Can the louse ask the man, “Why do you move your head so many times in the day? It is disturbing me.” Equally funny is man’s complaint against nature. The civilised man says today, “Ah, what a shame. It is raining.” To rain is but natural. It may rain when you have an excellent function at home, especially in the open area. When there is a cricket match, sometimes it rains. The commentators complain about the rain, exhibiting their lack of wisdom. Man does many shameful things. Nature doesn’t make complaints. Rain is natural with nature and the civilised man comments on it. Such is the depth of his ignorance.

Weather changes ever. That is why it is called weather. The world also changes. It is ever changing, whether you notice or not. It is appropriately called in Sanskrit as Jagat. It means ‘ever changing nature’. It also means ‘it moves by change, it changes by movement’. Movement changes it, changes move it. Such is the beauty of the understanding of the word. In an ever mutable world fixations of high and low, good and bad, are like building structures on the surface of flowing waters.

The world changes on the basis of duality. One becomes two and the two travel in two opposite directions to build different planes of existence. The One becomes spirit and matter. Spirit takes to one route, matter takes to another route. Spirit supports matter, matter supports spirit. There is material manifestation through grosser gradations of matter with spirit as basis. And there is the work of descending of spirit through all these gradations. Besides, there is a second descent of man. The primary descent of spirit is cooperating with nature to build eight states of matter. It creates eight states of awareness. Primordial nature which is the basis for the eight states of nature is the ninth one and Spirit is the tenth one. Then the matter evolves with the help of spirit to build plant, animal and human forms. There is a second descent of spirit in three steps to be in man resulting in self-consciousness. When you refer to the spiritual side of man, the right word is ‘mankind’. When you refer to the material consciousness of man, the right word to be used is ‘humanity’. ‘Humus’ means matter or mud in Greek language. ‘Humus man’ means man with mundanity. The two states of body and self-consciousness need to relate and fuse into one. When the two become one, man is called a yogi. In him dualities don’t exist. He is with matter as much as he is with spirit and vice versa. He has no preferences between the two.

Lord Sanat Kumara amply demonstrates it by being on this Earth. He is therefore the most appropriate one to give us the command, “Release the mind from dualities.” Then the mind and Buddhi blend to be the light of the soul.

19 - Restrain from Analysis and Criticism of Other Paths

There are thousand ways to reach the Truth. There is no one exclusive way. The path that you choose is the path of your soul quality. Others may choose other paths according to their soul quality. Some may follow the path of will. Another may follow the path of love and synthesis. Still another may follow the path of service and sacrifice. Yet another may follow the path of devotion. Likewise there are paths of ritualism, of sound, of colour, of penance. There is also a path of negation of that which is not self. The souls are free to follow the path of their choice. They may also choose to shift from one to the other up to a point, until they find what is suitable to each one. When one chooses to be on a path to truth one should stay put. To be more focussed in one’s own chosen path it is better not to indulge into analysis and criticism of other paths. Such an activity is a deviation from one’s own path. Mind your own business. Do not poke your nose into others’.

Judge Not
People live in vain analysing others’ ways and forming opinions. They live in the world of opinions. Consequently they drift from their own path. Partaking in side issues is distraction. Forming opinions through analysis and making judgements is criminal in nature. “Judge not”, is the dictum. It needs to be followed. One would do better to be silent when one differs from the others. One would do better to be silent when others express opinions and analysis.

The human tendency is always to judge good and bad. Persons who do so, unconsciously divide their consciousness into two parts. Division is contrary to Yoga. Yoga is the state of continuous consciousness simultaneously at all planes. Consciousness is one. It does not suffer division. Divisions happen in the ignorant minds. The wise do not divide. The wise do not judge. The wise are inclusive and are not exclusive. The One consciousness that pervades all is as much in an Initiate as it is in an idiot. The difference is, in an Initiate the consciousness is in order and in the idiot it is in disorder. The students of Yoga are required to see the variety in the functioning of consciousness and not to judge. There are persons who have aggressive consciousness. There are persons whose consciousness is lethargic. There are millions and millions of persons in whom consciousness is in disorder. But it is only one consciousness in all. The students who see the play of consciousness do not fall or step down to form opinions and judge. When they see the sunrise they enjoy the consciousness, but do not say, “It is beautiful.” It is already beautiful. By saying so, we do not contribute to its beauty. But the human instinct is used to say something. Somehow we are like that. We have an urge to speak, an urge to opine and an urge to judge. Avoiding these three is desirable.

Remember that in the whole universe only man has the faculty to speak. Speech has been given to man as a great gift of God. Others do not have speeches. In the fourth root race man gained this gift to speak. It is the greatest facility that man has. It has to be appropriately used. It can be used to realise God, the Truth. It can be used to destroy oneself. Between these two extremities, there is a huge range of speaking. “Speak pleasantly and speak truth. Speak not truth unpleasantly, speak not untruth unpleasantly”, says the Veda. Veda also says, “What you know as Truth and what you don’t yet know, put together is Truth.” Therefore forming opinions without knowing the whole truth is dangerous. It can lead to criminal acts. Living in opinions about others is seen as mediocrity. Living in noble thoughts is seen as the platform for growth. If you are full of opinions of good and bad about persons, places and events you are living in an ignoble way.

For the above reason silence is said to be golden. Pythagoras was suggesting three years of silence for the vocal cords. He was also giving practices to silence the speech at mental and emotional levels. He was very insisting on right speech, right thought and right action. Critical speeches, judgmental speeches, opinionated speeches, manipulating speeches, negative speeches go against the progress of a student. Very few know how to speak. To speak the right word, to speak in the right tone, and to spread light through speech – all these constitute a path to Truth.

The modern man also has instinct to discuss. Discussion many times leads to lack of cushion causing discomfort. Too much discussion drifts persons from the issue at hand. They beat around the bush. They do not make the point. Instead of discussions, criticism, analysis, opinions and judgements one would do well to reflect within, to ponder upon, contemplate upon the given information.

Discussion and analysis of the works of Saints, Initiates and Masters is totally avoidable. This is much more dangerous than the normal critical judgemental, analytical speeches about others. It leads to arrogating oneself a position that one does not have. Little is known of others and much less is known of the wise men. Be not in haste to make critical comments on them. It will be totally unacceptable to Nature. Sanat Kumara therefore gives a strong instruction to restrain from analysis and criticism in general and analysis and criticism of others’ practices in particular.

For more details refer to the author’s books on:
‘Saraswathi – The Word’
‘Sound – The Key and its Application’
‘Mantrams – Their Significance and Practice’

20 - Teaching is Learning

The Lord says, “Teach what you have learnt.” Teaching is learning. When you teach, you also learn. When you teach regularly, you learn regularly. Firstly, you learn that you cannot teach well, unless you have practised what is learnt by you and sought to be taught by you. Secondly, you learn how much you have learnt in order to teach and how much you are getting to learn. Thirdly, when you teach you receive fresh impulses of knowledge. Many times teaching helps inner revelations. Teaching is thus a way of learning. Such learning is threefold.

To repeat: when you teach, you learn if you have clarity of what you have learnt. Clarity comes from practice. Therefore teaching gives you the impulse to practise. While you teach the listeners ask you questions. Your ability or inability to answer questions let you know the adequacy of your learning. Sometimes it adds further dimensions to what is learnt. It widens your understanding. This is the second way of learning from teaching. Thirdly, when you teach someone starts teaching you from the depths of your being. Thus while teaching you are taught. It is the most sublime part of teaching. You are teaching to the listeners before you and you yourself become a listener to the inner teacher. Then you get the true import of the saying ‘teaching is learning’.

The Veda says, “SWADHYAYA PRAVACHANA BHYAM NA PRAMADHI TAVYAM” It means, do not deviate from selfstudy and teaching. Whatever you study of yourself, you keep teaching to others. Do not deviate from this habit. By doing so you establish more and more what you have studied by yourself. It remains more with you. It percolates into your personality. It causes impact on your mind. These impacts of wisdom on the mind are very helpful. When you study you are at the higher mental state of awareness. When you ideate, when you contemplate, when you study you are in that state of higher layers of mind, which are proximate to Buddhi. When you teach them out they percolate through all the layers of mind and express through the voice. Thus wisdom percolates even up to the throat and the tongue. Wisdom is magnetic, hence a part of your body receives the magnetic touch of wisdom. In this manner there would be consolidation of wisdom through teaching. It remains with you. It does not evaporate. It reminds you from time to time when it is with you. Such is the benefit of teaching.

Frequently people forget what they have studied. More often whatever they studied would not be available to them when needed in an occasion. What is the purpose of wisdom? If study of wisdom does not help you to act better, to speak better, to organise your life better – of what use is it? Wisdom is the book of life. Wisdom is not just a nice paper book, well bound and well placed in a costly book-rack. Well prepared and well bound books with golden titles occupy costly book-racks in the houses of rich men. Neither the book-rack nor the men who own them have the benefit of the wisdom contained. In due course the bookworms eat them away. What a hard work to feed the bookworms.

Even among men there are bookworms. They eat away book after book in great speed. They read book after book. They form groups to read books, but they don’t practise what is read. They don’t remember that wisdom is for practice. They feel great having read some books. They know nothing, though they claim to have read the books. They speak names from the books and also juggle with the terms given in the books. They beat around and around and around. They are neither with the normal life nor with the divine life. They are with the books. Such bookworms cannot help themselves. They cannot help the society. They land in hopelessness and in despair having spent late nights with the books.

Wisdom is for Practice
Wisdom is for practice. The books give hints and instructions to practise. Practice has to be carried out in life. Then the truth of the wisdom is tested and is known. The experience one has with wisdom when spoken out becomes a live-teaching. It appeals to the souls, to the conscience of the listeners. If not, it does not. Some teachers are very dry in their teaching. People run away for fear of their teaching. Few teachers are magnetic. Their listeners would like to listen again and again and again, even for decades. The difference between the two categories is: the former studied books, but did not carry out the related practices. The latter studied and lived it in every aspect of life. Such ones are the teachers. They learn, they practise, they demonstrate and they teach wisdom. Many times their demonstration is teaching. Through demonstration they teach much better than through vocal teaching. Living with demonstrating teachers shows the way better.

Teach to Those Who Seek from You
To whom do you teach? Teach to those who seek from you. Do not teach without being sought. Do not teach those who do not wish to listen from you. Don’t carry the urge to teach. You should have willingness to speak when someone sincerely seeks from you. Many childishly assume the position of a teacher and start teaching, least realising that the listeners have no inclination to listen from them. Such teachers are imposters. There are many such teachers moving around. To them teaching is a profession, teaching is a means to live. They charge for the teaching. They live by the teaching. They indulge into propaganda. They market their name and their form. Wisdom cannot be sold. It is not a marketing product. It cannot be sold in bazaars. It has to be transmitted with utmost loving care and responsibility. It needs to be shared only with those who ardently seek. The true teachers do not fix themselves to teaching. They live. They demonstrate. They teach those who seek for self-transformation. They are at comfort with or without teaching. They are at comfort with themselves at all times.

The Lord informs the students to teach what is learnt from books and from practice. It can be initially by sharing what is studied and what is practised within a small group consisting of members of the family, friends and relatives who are like-minded. Only the like-minded have to be considered for such sharing of the experience of study and practice. If you don’t have any to listen to, which is a remote chance, speak to the tree, to the mountain and to the river. Just practise to teach. It is helpful, because it percolates through all the layers of mind and subtle layers of the senses and the body. It is helpful. It is helpful to retain what is studied and practiced. It is helpful to consolidate. It prevents evaporation.

Please ensure harmlessness through your teaching!

21 - Be Selective in Your Association

Remember, as student of Yoga you are initiating a process of transformation in you. It is a long journey of transformation. Until you have transformed you have to be selective of your association with persons, places and events. You need to regulate your movements in objectivity until you have transformed. As said earlier, it is a process of incubation where the movements of the caterpillar are restricted until it transforms into a butterfly. Jesus the Christ left the known people, the known place, and the known associations for 18 years. He returned as a transformed person. Pythagoras of Samos also disappeared for a period of 24 years from his native land, persons and associations. Moses came back to Egypt after the exile. All of them returned apparently with the same name and form, but different from the previous state in terms of energy system.

A seed goes through many transformations to become a tree and to yield fruits and flowers. Today in this industrial world there are so many manufacturing formulae to transform the raw material into a fine useful product. Yoga is also a scientific process through which the energy system is transformed. Alchemy, the most alluring science, is also a process of transformation.

The transformations require certain conditions, as you all know. It requires certain heat, certain rhythm, certain organisation, certain period of seclusion and so on.

The student of Yoga firstly needs to observe silence and dwell in a place of silence. He cannot be talkative as before. The rush of thoughts slows down when one practises silence. Secondly, he should be choosy of words when he speaks. Likewise he should be choosy of his movements in the objectivity. Limiting one’s movements in the objectivity only to the extent the duty demands, is an important step. One cannot visit any and every place. If he visits places and persons of Divine Presence, he can associate with activities relating to the Divine without partaking in the side issues. Students tend to forget the purpose of associating with groups of divine activity and indulge in personality issues. One needs to remind oneself that he goes to the group and group activity only for the sole purpose of interacting with the Divine Presence in the group. If the group is a group of charlatans, one would lose what is sought to be gained. Similarly the student needs to be selective of the food that he eats, of the persons and articles that he touches. He is recommended not to eat in congregations, not to participate in social dinners. Likewise in matters of touch: he must ensure that he does not contact any inferior energy with his touch. Domesticating animals is not recommended. The sense of smell also should be selective, in the sense that he maintains a neutral smell of body. He would do better to insulate himself with the vibration of sandal, carrying a piece of sandalwood or applying sandal paste or utilising sandal perfume. Sandal enables unwavering will. The mind’s eye and ear should be open more for the Divine than for other things. He is not prevented from his daily normal routine. The above are a few rules of self-restraint.

Organise the Time
Time has to be well organised and is not allowed to be wasted away. Normal entertainment and relaxation are not prohibited. They are marginally allowed. Much time would be found when one organises himself, which can be utilised to relate to Divinity, either in silence or with uttered prayers or with worships and rituals. Time can also be found to read scriptures or teachings of various teachers, prophets, world disciples, devotees. Unfocussed students generally feel and complain that they have no time to practise. It is not true at all. If they make a critical analysis of their time utilisation and utilise time constructively, they find ample time to do what is to be done in terms of Yoga practice and also to relax and engage in pleasantries, even on a daily basis. It is only Sraddha that is needed to organise oneself and enable time slots for restructuring.

Rely on the Divine
Virtues and abilities grow in the focussed students who regulate and submit themselves to the Yoga process. Their relating to the Divinity brings forth virtues and abilities to act. True students not only carry good virtues with them but also abilities. They tend to be effective. When worship of the Divine is appropriate, the student unfolds the wings of virtue and ability. Remember, a yogi is as able as he is virtuous. The Divine Will, Love-Wisdom and Intelligent Activity – all visit when one prays the Divine. When the Divine moves towards you, He moves with His three Divine qualities. Such is the beauty of a yogi. A yogi is as much a warrior as he is a devotee. Arjuna is such an example. Hercules is another example. Abilities also unfold in Yoga concurrently with virtues. Let not the student rely on virtues and abilities, but rely on the Divine. A disciple’s abilities and virtues are multiplied by the Presence of the Divine. He cannot attribute them to himself, for they belong to the Presence of the Divine. When he is in the Presence, the abilities multiply, the virtues multiply. When he is not in the Presence, the devotee looks ordinary. The strength of a yogi is, he establishes himself in the Divine Presence. He cares to be in it. He does not divert to his strength, to his abilities and virtues. Sanat Kumara says, “Be selective in your association.” The secret is, to seek to be in the Presence. Seek association with the Presence. Seek not abilities, seek not virtues, seek not various occult sciences, seek not the keys to wisdom, seek the Presence. That is the secret of this teaching. When you are on the single-pointed program of seeking Presence the occult sciences visit you, the occult keys visit you. The abilities prefer to stay with you. The virtues hug you. Such is the beauty of seeking the Presence and staying in it. Do not get tricked to get sidelined. Your personality tricks you. It looks more for glamour than for the truth.

In the story of Mahabharata Yudhistira was the true yogi who remained in the Presence all the times. His abilities are far beyond the perception of many. Generally it is thought that among the five sons of light Arjuna is the best and Bhima is equally the best. But the truth is, Yudisthira is the best. He lived in the Presence at all times and the Divine worked out the plan through him. There are times when Arjuna and Bhima failed. In those times of crisis it is Yudhistira who saved all. The encounters with Yaksha and Nahusha reveal this clearly. Similarly when the sons of light departed it was Yudishtira only who could consciously depart. Others did not. Only a true yogi can consciously depart. A true yogi is one who chooses the association with the Divine in all that is, within and without.

Attach to the Divine
Many priests and philosophers speak of detachment. Detachment is a painful process. It is not easy to detach from something to which one is attached. But the scripture Bhagavatam does not at all speak of detachment. It recommends to the devotees or students of Yoga to attach to the Divine in all and feel the Divine in all. See the Divine, feel the Divine, talk to the Divine, touch the Divine, taste the Divine. Let all your interactions with the surroundings be seen as interactions with the Divine. Your deep association with the Divine remains and other worldly concepts fall. See the Divine in your parents, in the co-born, in the friends, the trees, the animals and so on. There is the Divine in all. When you do so, the Divine remains with you and around you, and associating with the Divine becomes a continuous experience. In this process all life becomes Divine. Attaching to the Divine is the positive approach. Detaching from the non-divine is the negative approach. As one sees more and more Divinity within oneself and the surroundings, all ignorance disappears. Conflict disappears, harmony establishes, beauty of nature is better experienced. A tree has many leaves and fruits. As the fruits ripen, they naturally detach from the tree. One need not pluck them. When you pluck a fruit, it causes a little pain to the tree and to the fruit. But when the fruit is ripe and drops by itself, there would be no pain to the tree. In the fall season the leaves fall by themselves. Then the tree does not suffer any pain. But if you pluck the leaves, there is momentary pain to the tree.

When man ripens through the thought of Divinity he departs from the body just as the ripened fruits and leaves detach from the tree. The thought of Divinity enables even transcendence of death. Man can consciously depart from the body and move on. A cobra does so every seven years. Every seven years the cobra leaves the outer sheath and moves in a newly developed sheath, which would be much more shiny. If you peel off the sheath, it is painful. But the sheath falls by itself when the snake ripens. It evolves another sheath within. Most of you may not have seen the leftover sheath of a cobra. You can see similar things in nature. It is easy to peel off the orange peel from the fruit when the fruit is fully ripened. But if it is not ripened, it is not so easy to peel. Likewise, if man the indweller ripens within, he can easily depart from the body. It cannot be so when the inner man is not ripened. Detachment from the body is not so easy when one is not sufficiently evolved. Speak not too much of detachment. Speak of attachment with the Divine. In other words, choose your association with the Divinity in all. It is the most intelligent choice through which detachment is accomplished, through which transcending illusion is possible, and through which a-tone-ment is gained. It is not easy to detach from body, desires and thoughts. Instead see the forms as Divine. Desire the Divine and think of the Divine. That should be the choice.

Bhakti – The Eternal Attachment
The effort to stay in association with Divinity in every activity of life is the true meaning of Bhakti. This word is wrongly translated as emotional devotion. Bhakti is the principle of eternal attachment with the Divine. The path of Bhakti is not different from the path of Yoga. Yoga recommends surrendering to the One Master in all. Bhakti also speaks of the same. The path of Bhakti is enchanting, since the student is at all times in dialogue with the Master or the Divine. To whomsoever he speaks, he speaks to the Master in the other as well. Likewise he listens to the Master as well. In the outer layers of the other being there is the nature of that being and the qualities of nature relating to that being. A Bhakta sees the nature of form, the nature of qualities and the being as well. He firmly links to the being than to the peripheral qualities and form. This is called seeing the Divine in the other. The effort of a Bhakta is always to see the Divine. That is his primary objective. He also sees the peripherals later. When a Bhakta sees another person he sees not the dress, he sees not the jewellery and other ornaments, he sees not the watch, the rings on the fingers, the chain around the neck, the hairstyle, he sees not the gender and not the age… He straightaway sees the Divine wrapped up. A few moments later he sees the peripherals of gender, age, decorations, clothing etc. This is what is meant by the prayer “May the light in me be the light before me. May I learn to see it in all.” Learning to see it in all should be the only effort on a daily basis that leads you to associate with the Divine.

Learning thousands and thousands of concepts of wisdom will not help so much. Learning techniques of breathing and of meditation will not help. Learning Tantra and Mantra will not help. When there is a direct way to see the Divine that presents itself to you in a form, why should you go around beating the bush? It is all the trickery of mind. Do not fall into those tricks.

Bhagavad Gita gives the key in the 15th chapter. The Lord speaks of Asanga. Every non-initiate who writes commentaries on Bhagavad Gita translates Asanga as detachment. Sanga means association A-Sanga means ‘association with A’. A is the letter, the sound, the name of the Lord. This is said in the 10th chapter of Bhagavad Gita. The Lord says, “I am the letter A among the alphabets, therefore A-Sanga means ‘association with the Lord’. That is the key. Sanskrit is a Divine language. It has layers of meaning. Asanga also means detachment. But there is a more appropriate word for detachment in Sanskrit. It is Nissanga. Therefore Asanga should be understood as association with the Divine. It leads to associating with the cosmic person. The 15th chapter holds the most sacred key of association with the cosmic person. Therefore learn to associate with A at all times. That is the best choice to associate.

22 - All is Divine

Nothing happens in creation without purpose. It may not be known to reasoning logical minds. There is a hidden purpose of evolution in all happenings. Wars, calamities, crises, sickness and the related pain – all bring due reward of light and love. Men cannot see this. They are too quick to judge. Every seeming problem brings to light things yet to be learnt, and once the learning process is complete in that respect, the very problem brings out a gift. A thief entering the house, a terrorist entering the country is but a red signal. It alerts to insulate. Opposing views alert us to see the other dimensions, which are otherwise unseen. It is dangerous, if there is no opposition. All opposition is hinting at inner limitations. Sickness hints at some irregular habit. The sickness of the body is nothing compared with the sickness of the mind. The mind of mankind is sick with covetousness, competition, jealousy, hatred, anger. It is even touching the borders of killing each other. Misdoings have become order of the day. The recurring unhappy events only indicate the lack of attitude to learn.

A life of problems is occultly seen as a life of learning. There is a lot to learn. A life which is like a cake-walk is more dangerous, since it does not necessitate learning. Nature knows how to train its progeny. It trains each one according to his needs. Man knows not, except through learning. Therefore Sanat Kumara informs, “All is Divine.” See the message of the Divine in the happenings.

Learn to Accept
Many things happen in nature, which are beyond the logic of human mind. Learn to accept. Learn to investigate the purpose. Learn to block repetition of such events. In the story of Ramayana, Rama was sent on exile. Eventually it turned out to be a great event that restored the law on the planet. The story of Moses’ exile initially looks to be cruel, but it led to liberation of the Jews. It also resulted in bringing down the commandments of God. Had not Moses been expelled from Egypt, he would not have had the opportunity to experience the presence of God on Mount Sinai. Had not Jesus disappeared for 18 years from Israel, the humanity would not have had the benefit of a great son of God. Had he not offered himself to crucifixion the truth of resurrection would not have been established. Jesus demonstrated that departure from the body of flesh and blood is not death of man, which is the initiation that the whole mankind has to gain now. Seeming difficulties, crises and calamities lead to substantial enlightenments in the time to follow. The labour pains of a mother are only to deliver the baby. Pain precedes the related enlightenment and joy. When the lady is under severe labour pains she strongly decides that she would no more have children, come what may. But when the baby is born she forgets all the preceding pain. Seven months after she is once again ready to be with the husband and to conceive yet another baby. Labour pain is natural before every moment of joy and enlightenment. Aspirants also face many personality crises before they are fit to receive initiations to become disciples. Likewise disciples also go through crises before they become masters. Without industry and exertion, excoriating trial, grand things do not happen in life. All those who are great sons of men are those who know suffering.

Only mediocrities try to insulate themselves and walk back into shells when crisis comes. Know that crises, individual or groupal, are opportunities to grow. To the chicken in the egg the eggshell is a hindrance. But as it grows the shell breaks by itself.

See Behind Crisis
See the Divine hand in the seeming crisis. The Divine hides behind the crisis. Meet the crisis recollecting the Divine in you and in the crisis. This way the crisis dissipates and disappears and the gift of God appears for further progress on the way to the Truth. Do not sink with the crisis, do not cry “Foul!” Do not see the cause in others, do not judge. Just meet the crisis with the Divine help. Jesus did so, Moses did so, Socrates and even Buddha did so. Many great Initiates stood and met the crisis with inspiration of the Divine. If you quit, you don’t do well. Quitters are not winners. Winners do not quit. They stay put. They would even sacrifice themselves, but do not look back or turn back. Normally fear holds you back. Fear is the threshold. The light is on the other side of the threshold.

Those who depart from the body enter into light, if they do not fear death. If they fear death, they come back again into the same wheel of life and death. Fear is the threshold of death. Fear of death has been the insurmountable fear of humanity. The very news of death is highly disturbing to the human mind. But in truth there is no death. It is departure from one plane into the other, like from one place to the other place. Occult students need to understand that death is an opportunity to walk into light. When one does not fear when death approaches, he remains conscious. He consciously shifts into the plane of light. Just like we shift consciously from one floor to the other floor, from one place to the other place. Death is a shift from one plane of awareness to another plane of awareness.

Death does not Exist
And what is so big about death? Every day everyone is dying! People don’t know that they die daily when they go to sleep and are born daily when they wake up. Sleep is but death to all that one knows. The bedroom does not exist, the bed does not exist, the spouse on the bedside does not exist, the family, the vocation, the town, the nation….nothing exists. They all die to you and are reborn to you only when you wake up. What were you during your sleep hours? Where were you during your sleep hours? How are you during the sleep hours? Did you ever enquire into this?

A sincere enquiry of sleep is an enquiry into death. You do exist in sleep. Likewise you do exist in death. Death is not to you. You do wake up from sleep in the morning. Likewise you do wake up in light after the so-called event of death. Sleep is a Divine opportunity. Death also is a Divine opportunity. That there is no death can only be known when the event of death approaches you. It is a one-time opportunity. You do not get it again and again. Many times you don’t know when it comes. Therefore avail the opportunity of sleep to know the sleep and thereby know the death. From this understanding don’t you accept that all is Divine? When death is also Divine, what else can be non-divine?

‘All is divine’ is not a fallacy, it is the truth. It may look like a puzzle. A good student should be able to decode the puzzle. The science of Yoga or discipleship is a helpful tune for such decoding. Do not just get affected by the apparent. Get to the real.

Illusion is also Divine
Even if you get into illusion sometimes, it matters not. When all is Divine, illusion is also Divine. The Divine can cast a spell of illusion even upon the best of yogis. It happened in the past to many yogis. It can happen to me. It can happen to you. While in an illusion, you may do some stupid things. You don’t get answers for the stupid things you have done. Though one is knowledgeable, some stupid things can escape through the knowers, the yogis, the Masters. This is the play of the Divine upon the ego. Even Narada the Cosmic Initiator, the grandest of the Teachers, was put to illusion by the Lord. Many Initiates suffer momentary illusions from time to time. Do not brood over mistakes done with knowledge. Brooding over spilt milk has no meaning. Pray repentfully. Pray the Lord that such things do not happen again. Pray for his mercy. But when things happen in spite of you, accept it and pray. Remember, no one can get out of illusion. Only the grace of the Lord can help you out. Arjuna also had times of illusion. That, illusion is Divine seems strange. But it is true. When death is Divine, why not illusion? All is Divine. Learn from mistakes. Learn from illusions. Learn from problems. Learn from crises. Learn from calamities. And learn from death. Learn: All is divine. This teaching is the crown of the teachings of the Lord Sanat Kumara. He too was and is at the mercy and grace of the Lord. He too had his share of illusions. He therefore understands our difficulties and accepted the ordeal of uplifting us. All upliftment is the work of the Lord. He has a team to do that. But if momentarily a member of the team becomes proud, in that very moment the member falls into illusion. Only the will of Lord needs to prevail, not one’s own will, however great one is. That was the last message of Jesus on the cross, “Father, Thy will be done.”

23 - The Sole Impediment

For the truth seeker, for a student of Yoga, for a disciple the only impediment is his own personality. One’s own personality stands between him and the Truth. This is generally not seen. Men try to see the obstacles outside. But the obstacles are inside. Outer obstacles can be conquered. Inner obstacles are difficult to conquer. They are stronger than the seeker. The personality is built over series of incarnations. It becomes strong. With its right angles and wrong angles to meet one’s own personality is the greatest of all challenges. It is a process of conquering oneself to be the Self. Between the seeking self and the soul there is the prison of personality, which distorts the prism of personality. This prism distorts messages coming from higher circles, it misinforms, it misleads. It suggests things, which are contrary to the seeker’s effort to be the soul.

In a man the self is broken into many selves. A part of the self is with the objectivity. A part of the self is with family, a part of the self is with economic activity, a part of the self is with the society, and a part of the self is for self-improvement. Lastly a part of the self remains the self. All these are linked by one thread of consciousness, which is the Self. They are like the beads of a rosary. Except the Self, the other selves dissolve at every death and emerge gradually after every birth. The tendencies continue to be with the Self from life to life. Yoga practice is a brave attempt to bring forth change in these tendencies. The tendencies are built over series of lives, and hence they are stronger than the seeker’s will. The tendencies always try to manipulate the nascent will of the seeker. It is like an ant meeting an elephant, which is not realised by the initial seeker. The will to seek Truth is just born in a seeker and the tendencies already exist in him since countless years. This fact must be recognised. That is the reason why seeking Truth is seen as an uphill task. Nevertheless one can climb up the hill. Man’s ability to mount the Everest is a symbol of it. When Tenzing Norgay climbed over the Mount Everest and posted the flag it was a signal for mankind that time has come to conquer the mountainous personality.

How to get the Cooperation of Personality
No doubt the personality is stronger than the seeker. But the soul is times stronger than the personality. The soul is the ancient most one. The personality is a much later built-up. While the will to seek is nascent, when it connects to the soul through ardent prayers the seeking self gets strength to meet the personality, to talk to it, to negotiate with it, to discuss and arbitrate with it. Initially one can reach a compromise with the personality. Fighting does not help, conquering does not help. Friendly negotiation helps. Friendliness is the way to conquer one’s own personality. Do not condemn it. Do not try to discipline it too much. If you discipline the personality too much, it revolts and abandons all practices. It becomes repulsive to any practice. Keep satisfying the personality from time to time and fulfil the purposes of seeking truth with the help of the personality. The personality’s cooperation is essential.

The personality is like your spouse. It is the inner spouse. If it is the outer spouse we can seek divorce, but we cannot seek divorce from the inner spouse. You cannot get rid of it. It is part of you. You only have one way to repair it. But the reparation is not possible without its cooperation. It is a very engaging game of patience. Sometimes you win. Remember, only sometimes you win. Many times the personality wins over you. Do not lose heart. Keep trying with the spouse of personality until it feels compassionate with you and obliges you. Great men like Socrates had great difficulties with their ladies. They did not divorce. They had learnt to put up and ultimately the ladies started cooperating. This is not only a factual story. It is symbolically true with you, with me, and with all of us.

Be aware of the inner spouse. Be friendly and ensure her cooperation. Without her cooperation nothing can happen. Nearly nothing can happen. You seek a morning cup of hot coffee. If it does not come, you don’t feel like doing your prayer. Do you know who is demanding coffee in you? It is your personality. It says, “Give me my cup of coffee. Only then I will take you to the prayer hall and let you pray. Otherwise I disturb your prayer.” In these small things also the personality plays its role. Therefore build an agreeable base for working with it without succumbing to it. If you succumb, you are a henpecked one. You would be under house arrest.

Personality demands essentially three things: 1. personal comfort, 2. money and reputation, 3. socialisation. The true seeker should be practical enough to grant these three to the personality from time to time, though not totally. One needs to have a minimum program to satisfy the personality. This is called a flexible attitude. At the same time it cannot go beyond desirable proportions. It is like feeding the bull to do your work. If you feed it too much, it doesn’t work for you. It sleeps and gets irritated when asked to work. Neither starve nor excessively feed the bull of personality.

When one sets himself on the path to the truth livelihood does not constitute to be a major program. The one who sets himself on the path to truth is on a noble program. When he progresses with one-pointed will and single-mindedness the requirements of personality are also taken care of by the soul. Mundaka Upanishad says, “Your effort is needed to realise the soul, the Truth. Do not waste away the effort for livelihood. If you set the former as your goal, the latter would happen automatically.” The Upanishad also says, “Do you need effort to grow nails on your fingers and hair on your head? You need effort to grow into Light.” When you are working for Light the personality needs happen just like the growth of nails and hair. It needs no effort.

Will to Seek Truth, is the Magic Wand
If you really follow the path to truth, you do not have to worry so much about your livelihood. Set your priority to know the truth. Things will fall into order gradually. Do not let the will get away. It is the most important tool in your hand. If you let it get away, you are lost. Will is the magic wand in your hand. It makes the impossible possible. It can turn mountains into molehills. It can clear the way through the high seas. It can turn everything into Divine. It can turn your personality also to be a Divine personality at once, but it is not recommended. It will be a too fiery a process. It surely transforms your personality into a Divine personality gradually, if you hold on to the will to seek the Truth. Buddha did it a little faster and realised that it need not have been so fast. One need not hurt himself on the path to Truth. It is not recommended to hurt oneself on the way to Truth. One can gradually introduce the will of fire into one’s personality. Slowly, slowly the personality gets accustomed to absorb the needed fire, to enflame and become a glowing mantle. The process of enflaming is called rousing Kundalini. The lighted mantle is Buddhi, the light of the soul. All this is possible with the will. Will includes in it all other techniques and qualities. Therefore hold on to the will until your personality becomes a Divine personality. It is called in some books as soul-infused personality. It is also called Divine life. Until this happens, do not let away the will to Truth.

Solomon’s Temple
The Divine personality is called the Solomon’s Temple. It was called by Jesus as the Glorious White Robe. It is with the help of a temple-like personality one can manifest the kingdom of God upon Earth. Jesus used the glorious white robe to fulfil the Plan. Every Initiate, Master or Teacher does so. Remember, the personality is the dragon for the mundane human. It is the black dragon that binds him. For the disciples it turns initially into an orange dragon, later into a golden dragon. When one is a Master it turns out to be white dragon or a diamond dragon. One would not do well to kill the dragon. There is no act of killing in the path of Yoga. There is only transformation. The black dragon needs to be transformed into a white dragon so that acts of God can be performed upon Earth.

This transformation of personality is also referred in the scriptures as transformation of a serpent into an eagle or a winged serpent, a Divine serpent. When the Divine personality happens within oneself, man becomes a son of God. God works through him via his personality. It is the state of three in one: the father, the son and the dragon. The word Solomon is understood to be the state of three in one. In Solomon there are three sounds: SOL–OM–ON. OM is the father, SOL is the individual self, ON is the dragon. Such is the understanding of the word Solomon. The three are also seen as the cosmic sun, the central solar sun and the planetary sun. The three are also seen as the trinity in their togetherness.

Once the light of the soul is gained, in that light one can stand detached from all mundanity, just like the butter floats in the milk and mixes not anymore with the milk. This is called the state of immortality. In this state one stands in the body of light, which stands aside from the body of flesh and blood. The body of light does not die, even while the body of flesh and blood decays and dies. Thereafter the journey continues as I AM to associate with THAT to become THAT I AM, and even to become THAT. Those are the higher initiations of which one will know when he is at that station. Later one will start a deep contemplation of I AM upon THAT. I AM gets focussed on THAT, which is universal. In deep contemplation I AM gets absorbed into THAT and ceases to be an individual consciousness. It becomes one with the universal consciousness. This is symbolically called the son joining the Father. Jesus says, “I shall now rise and go to my Father.” But it is not for him to decide, it is for the father to decide. Therefore he says later, “Father, Thy will be done.” The son cannot decide to join the Father. The Father decides when to absorb the son into his bosom. The son has to leave the magic tool of will and take to the tool of waiting. The will doesn’t work to reach the Father. The will of the soul is too little compared with the will of the Father. When the will of the Father prevails, the son joins the Father. Until then the son has to wait. Therefore waiting becomes the last Mantra. Great beings waited thousands of years and even Yugas to get absorbed. They waited praying. Some are absorbed very soon, some are absorbed very late. One cannot ask why. There is no why with the Divine. It is so high that one has to wait to receive. Such is the beauty of self-realisation.

Such is the beauty of the teaching of Lord Sanat Kumara to this humanity on the planet.

24 - Leave not The Teacher

To be born as human is considered to be a luck. Only the human form is a replica of the Divine form. No other form is as complete as the human form. No other form in creation has as much potential as the human form. The Divine can be experienced in its completeness in all its seven planes only in the human form. Even the Devas avail of the opportunity of being born as humans to have tangible physical experience. The Devas are in the subtle planes and therefore miss the physical plane. In human form there is astronomy, astrology, all cosmic, solar and planetary intelligences. In it there are the 4 Kumaras, the 7 Seers, the 14 Manus, the 27 constellations, the 12 sun signs and so on. Human form enables experiencing all the seven planes of awareness. There is no better statement to speak of human form than the biblical statement, “God made man in his own image and likeness.” Incarnating souls take to different forms in each incarnation, and to be born as human is a great opportunity. It gives opportunity to realise God within and all around. This opportunity cannot be thrown away, say the seers. It is a great luck bestowed on the soul when it receives human form in an incarnation.

The Highest Luck is to Find the Teacher
When a human turns to look for truth, the truth of his being, it is considered to be a twice lucky situation. He is not only human, he also decided to know the truth instead of engaging in other activities. To know oneself, to know God is the highest purpose that a human can think of. Other purposes are far inferior to the purpose of knowing the truth. Thus the seeker of truth is considered twice lucky, for he is in search of the universal laws, patterns, forces and forms. He tries to know the sounds, numbers, colours and patterns. He tries to understand the vibration of the sound, the velocity of the colour, the potency of the number and the economy of the matter. A true seeker is the seeker of the unknown. It is the greatest adventure. To be engaged in such an adventure is considered to be the noblest purpose, since it leads to fulfilment. It leads to self-realisation. It leads to realisation of God.

When such a seeker finds a Teacher he is considered thrice lucky. He is human, he is seeking Truth, and he found the Teacher. It is the best that can happen to anyone. Therefore the grand Initiate Sankara says, “That one is thrice lucky.” The Teacher enables the student to navigate towards the Truth. He helps him as a guide. He cushions him in the pitfalls. He encourages when the student is in despair. He accompanies the seeker on the travel to Truth from time to time. He remains a friend whom the seeker can rely upon. But the Teacher does not let the student lean on him heavily. The Teacher enables the student to stand by himself, enables him to progress, holds him when the student falls, restitutes him and encourages him to walk.

The Teacher Guides the Soul
In the East there is a wrong understanding that the student can heavily lean upon the Teacher, shedding all his personal loads on the teacher. The Teacher guides the soul and the student reinforcing his soul energy has to organise his personality problems. The Teacher’s connection to the student is on a soul to soul basis. He does not meddle with the personality of the student. He lets the student handle his personality, but supports the soul. It is a very fine and delicate activity of help that the Teacher does. He does not influence the student. He never controls the student. Teachers who control and influence are not the right teachers. The true Teacher informs and guides. He never interferes with the freedom of the soul. When invoked, the Teacher transmits his strength to the seeking soul so that the soul with the additional strength handles its life, organises the personality and progresses in the soul life with the cooperation of the personality. The most valuable gift of God to a true seeker is the appearance of a Teacher in his life. The student should know how to interact with the Teacher, what to seek from the Teacher, what not to seek, how not to act with him. If not, the Teacher becomes silent or even disappears.

Doubters cannot Travel with the Teacher
In the West there is much feeling that there is no need for a Teacher, that the truth seeker can find the truth with his own will. While this is true, it is difficult and is almost impossible. Hercules, Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras and the like all have their Teachers. Many times the nature also plays the role of a teacher. The Teacher is like a guide in a dark, dangerous jungle who holds the torch and leads the student. To walk in the jungle by oneself is uncertain, for all dangers cannot be foreseen. The East suffers from excessive reliance on the Teacher. The West suffers from the pride of selfpursuit. Pride itself becomes a great impediment to truth. The golden midway is to know the purpose of a Teacher and to know how to interact with him. Such one gets fulfilled. It is to such ones Sanat Kumara is giving the advice, “Leave not the teacher.” TheTeacher is like a wooden piece that keeps you afloat in a journey of river. He is more than a wooden piece. He could be the boat, the ship, the flying machine according to your orientation. Doubters cannot travel with the Teacher. This is because the doubter holds not to the energy of the Teacher. The doubter is like the one who holds on to a wooden piece in a stream of river that has strong currents. If he leaves the wooden piece doubting it, drowning happens for sure. “Doubters perish”, says Lord Krishna. Jesus tells his followers “Doubt me not.”

A student can put the teacher to his own way of examination. If he likes the teacher and decides to follow, he should not look back. Before he makes a decision he has all the freedom to observe the teacher. But once the decision is consciously made to follow, better follow without doubt. Doubt holds the student, if he decides to follow and doubts.

Follow Teacher’s Instructions
Many times the students cannot understand the actions of the Master or the teacher. He can never gage the teacher with his own limited understanding. The student would be doing a great mistake, if he is trying to understand the Master. Instead he can understand what is being taught and follow what is being instructed with a due understanding. He can also seek understanding from the teacher, but never try to understand what the teacher is. Understand his teaching and follow the teacher after due understanding. When once inner understanding takes place the student feels it comfortable to follow the instructions of the teacher, even if he does not understand much. The teacher walked in those areas of life, which the student did not. It is therefore not possible always to understand the teacher. To a student who tries to understand the teacher, the teacher smiles and says, “Understanding leads to misunderstanding. Follow what I say. You will follow me.” Many times the teacher attacks the logic of the student by posing contraries to the understanding of the student. A student is a student. A teacher is a teacher. The teacher has reversed all inversions. The student is still in inversions. The student’s understanding is upside down, which he knows not until the inversions he has, are reversed.

Working with the teacher is in one way playing with fire. At the same time in another way, it is the most joyful functioning. When the student relishes the beauty of the teacher and his way of working, he joyfully follows the teacher even up to and beyond the gates of death and birth.

Remember, a true teacher leads you to the truth, which is beyond all concepts, beyond trinity and even beyond the universal consciousness, to be one with the universal existence called Brahman. The three Logos of the trinity also are not considered as destination, because the Truth is even beyond. Do not leave the teacher until you have found the key to that One Existence and One Awareness, which is universal and is beyond the trinity.

Deepak and his Beloved Teacher
A classical story is narrated regarding the teacherstudent relationship. It is as under: Once upon a time, there lived a teacher in Central India who was known to be a realised one. He had many students that were learning from him. After thirty years of teaching the teacher told his disciples that he can teach no more, for he was sick and the sickness would grow to an extent making him non-functional. He told the students that they may find their way with the knowledge given and follow the path to reach the truth. He also told them that he would continue to bless wherever he is, and as long as they have orientation towards him he would continue to help them. He further informed the students that he was going to reside the rest of his life in Benares (Varanasi) and daily take bath twice in the holy river Ganges in the morning and in the evening. The students enquired what the sickness that he would encounter be and if they could be of any help to him. The teacher said that he would suffer leprosy of very advanced nature, that his body would stink and smell horribly with impure secretions and that he would prefer to live alone. He instructed the students to find their way and blessed them all. Next day morning the teacher was on his journey to Benares and he found one among the students who wanted to follow him. His name was Deepak. The teacher discouraged him saying that he can no more teach and that he can no more help in any way the student. He also made clear that he cannot take good care of the student in matters of food and rest. He was not himself sure of any shelter. He therefore said that he cannot be of any help and insisted that the student should not follow. The student Deepak said, “Master, you gave your life to us, you gave your energy to us, you gave not only much knowledge, but you have given us daily feed besides the feed of wisdom, you took care of us as your own children. When we fell sick you helped us, when we were sick due to ignorance you helped us, you gave us many keys to wisdom. To me you are the Truth. You are the embodiment of Truth. I need to know no other Truth than you. You are my Truth, you are my God. I wish to be with you and serve you and give whatever possible comfort that I can give you. I will look for a place for you. I will daily take you to the Ganges for bath. I will bring you back. I will cloth you and make you comfortable. I will cook and serve you. Please allow me to follow you.”

The Master said, “You are asking for trouble. It is difficult to serve a teacher. It is much more difficult to serve a teacher who is sick. My sickness is, as I know, a horrible one. No one can stand by my side when the sickness totally manifests. The secretions from my body and from the wounds of leprosy would not only be disgusting but would be frightening. You are the most delicate of my students. You are like my youngest son. I can’t accept that you suffer by your service to me. My suffering is my suffering. You cannot co-suffer with me, much less you can really serve me. I do not know how I would behave when I am fully sick.” Deepak conceded, “Master, I cannot dare to say that I can serve you. You are the server, we are the served. But bless me to be of some assistance to you. I know that a pupil cannot assist a mountain, but my heart craves for you. I cannot let you go alone. I cannot leave you to yourself, especially when you say, how deep the sickness and suffering is going to be.”

The Master said, “None of my sons is coming with me. I prevented them to come with me. I prevented my lady to come with me. Why do you want to prevail?” The student said, “Master, it is purely for my sake, not for your sake. It is for my sake and for my comfort I want to be around you, not that I am really capable of assisting you. Master, I pray that you let me.” The teacher nodded the head and the student followed.

The teacher and the student reached Benares. The student found a humble residence on the banks of Ganges and arranged moderate facilities as per the instructions of the teacher. He started serving the Master in every possible way. The sickness gradually grew and reached its heights. The teacher could neither sleep nor seat comfortably and was in great pain during the day and the night. He nevertheless took bath in Ganges twice daily with the help of the student and was mostly restless. The student cooked and served and was doing his best, but the Master was highly irritated, complaining on every act of the student. He was complaining about food. He was complaining about the student’s handling him. With respect to every act the student did, the Master only expressed resentment. But the student was stable, knowing the sickness was expressing, while his teacher is resting in the inner chamber of his being.

One day the teacher suggested to the student to go and visit the temple of Lord Vishveshvara (Lord Shiva), which is the chief temple of Benares. The student refused to go. He said you are my Vishveshvara. I see HIM in you daily. I don’t need to go to the temple. The teacher said, “You are a stupid. I wanted to grant you a great experience of Lord Vishveshvara and you denied it. I don’t need stupids to serve me.” The student remained silent, but remained with the teacher only. During that night when the student was serving the Master, he saw Lord Vishveshvara in the corner of the room who spoke with him as under: “Dear Deepak, I am pleased with your service to the Master. I wish to bless you. I wish to grant you the vision of the truth, if you could kindly come with me for a couple of minutes. Your Master wanted me to do this for you. You did not come to me, so I come to you to bless you.” Deepak said, “Namaskarams to you, O Lord, I cannot come with you. My teacher is my truth. I need no other truth.” Lord Vishveshvara disappeared. Next day morning the teacher got up. He took a stick and has beaten the student saying, “You fool! You denied Lord Vishveshvara! Have you become mad? Why did you do so? If you go away for two minutes, I would not die.” The student said, “Lord Vishveshvara wanted to show me the truth, but I have seen the truth. I am with it and truth is everywhere. I do not have to go to see the truth. Going to see truth is illusion. I know, Master, it is you who is playing the trick on me. I am with the truth, the truth that does not die.” The teacher was silent. The student went on serving the teacher surmounting all the difficulties. He could bear every criticism and insult of the teacher. He understood that it was teacher’s sickness, but not the teacher as such.

The sickness went on for 7½ years and ultimately the sickness receded in another 2½ years. The Master became normal. He smiled at Deepak. Deepak said, “Master, why did you play such a difficult role? Why have you chosen this way to train me?” The Master answered, “It is not like that, Deepak. There was a pending sickness, which I went on postponing over lives and I decided in this life to clear it. I did not pretend the sickness. It was true that I had to take it and complete it one day or the other, which I took upon myself in the past lives through healing the sick. I could postpone it, but it was there always as a waiting dark cloud. I decided to clear it and you stood by me. You are blessed. I depart tonight during the full moon hours, if you permit me to do so.” The student said, “Master, do you need my permission to leave? There is no such thing as leaving. The truth is and is forever. It is omnipresent. I can feel you in me and in the surroundings, even if you disappear from form.” The teacher hugged the student and said, “Yes, it is true. Be blessed to do the acts of Divine as long as you have the form. With or without form, you shall remain with the truth.” That night during full moon hours the Master walked into the river and disappeared. To Deepak the presence of the Master remained within and all-around. He realised the Brahman, the truth and continued the work of teaching and healing as his teacher did.

On that full moon night the teacher appeared along with the trinity in a body of light. The trinity praised Deepak for his unwavering will to be with the truth, with the teacher. Deepak became a great light and served humanity.

Therefore, “Do not leave the Teacher until you have realised the Truth and that you are the Truth; that you and the Teacher are but one and the same.” says Lord Sanat Kumara.

That is how the theme is. There are other philosophies given by the Lord, but for us these constitute the instructional part. Let us try to get inspired to work out these instructions. Let us gain the inspiration and see where we can start. Wherever we are, take to the next step. Don’t look to the top of the mount. Then we start feeling, “Oh! I can’t reach there”. We don’t reach there by just looking to the top! By just looking over there, we only get a reeling sensation. For us, the next step is important. That is how we climb. It is possible if we care for the next step and not look up there.

The syllabus is given. We need to start from the first point and keep moving step by step.

Thank you.

Other Books & Booklets through the Pen of
Dr. Sri K. Parvathi Kumar

The following books are available in: English (E), German (G), Spanish (S), French (F), Hebrew (H), Telugu (T), Hindi (HI), and Kannada (K) languages.

    1. Agni    E/G/S
    2. Amanaskudu    T/K
    3. Antardarsana Dhyanamulu    T
    4. Anveshakudu    T
    5. Asangudu    T
    6. Ashram Leaves    E/G/S
    7. Ayurvedic Principles    E
    8. Bharateeya Sampradayamu    T
    9. Bhriktarahitatarakarajayogamu*    T/K
   10. Cow    E
   11. Dhanakamuni Katha    T
   12. Doctrine of Eternal Presence    E
   13. Gayatri Mantra Avagahana    T
   14. Geetopanishad – Gnana Yogamu    T
   15. Geetopanishad – Karma Yogamu    T
   16. Geetopanishad – Sankhya Yogamu    T
   17. Good Friday*    E/G/S/F/HI
   18. Guru Paduka Stawam    T
   19. Health and Harmony    E/G
   20. Hercules – The Man and the Symbol    E/G/S
   21. Himalaya Guru Parampara (The Hierarchy)*    T/HI
   22. Indian Tradition*    T
   23. Jupiter – The Path of Expansion    E/G/S
   24. Jyotirlinga Yatra    T
   25. Karma Sanviasa Yoga    T
   26. Karma Yoga    T
   27. Katha Deepika    T
   28. Listening to the Invisible Master*    E/G/S/F/H
   29. Lord Maitreya – The World Teacher*    E/G/S/F
   30. Mana Master Garu    T
   31. Mantrams – Their Significance and Practice    E/G/S
   32. Maria Magdalena*    E/S
   33. Marriage – A Sacrament*    E
   34. Master C.V.V. – Yogamu - Karma Rahityamu    T
   35. Master C.V.V. – Yogamu    T
   36. Master C.V.V. –The Initiator, Master E.K.–The Inspiror    T
   37. Master C.V.V. – May Call!    E/G/S
   38. Master C.V.V. – May Call! II    E
   39. Master C.V.V. (Birthday Message)*    T
   40. Master E.K. – The New Age Teacher    E/G/S/T
   41. Meditation and Gayatri    S
   42. Mithila – A New Age Syllabus    E/G/S
   43. Nutana Yoga (New Age Yoga)    T
   44. Occult Meditations    E/G
   45. OM    T
   46. On Change*    E/G/S
   47. On Healing    E/G/S
   48. On Love*    E/G/S
   49. On Service*    E/G/S
   50. On Silence*    E/G/S
   51. Our Teacher and His Works    E/G
   52. Prayers    E/G
   53. Pranayama*    T
   54. Puranapurushuni Pooja Vidhanam    T
   55. Rudra    E/G/S
   56. Sai Suktulu    T
   57. Sankhya – The Sacred Doctrine    E/G/S
   58. Sankya Yoga    T
   59. Sarannavaratra Pooja Vidhanamu    T
   60. Saraswathi – The Word    E/G
   61. Saturn – The Path to Systematised Growth    E/G/S
   62. Saturn Regulations    E
   63. Shodosopachara Pooja - Avagahana    T
   64. Sound – The Key and its Application    E/S
   65. Spiritual Fusion of East and West*    E
   66. Spiritualism, Business and Management*    E/G/S
   67. Spirituality in Daily Life    S
   68. Sri Dattatreya    E/G/S/T/HI
   69. Sri Hanuman Chalisa    T
   70. Sri Krishna Namamrutham    T
   71. Sri Lalitha I    T
   72. Sri Lalitha II    T
   73. Sri Mahalakshmi Pooja Vidhanamu    T
   74. Sri Sastry Garu    E/G/S/F/T
   75. Sri Shirdi Sai Sayings    E/G/S/T/HI
   76. Sri Siva Hridayamu    T
   77. Sri Soukumarya Satakam    T
   78. Sri Surya Pooja Vidhanamu    T
   79. Sri Venkateswara Pooja Vidhanamu    T
   80. Teachings of Lord Maitreya    T
   81. Teachings of Lord Sanat Kumara    E
   82. Teachings of Master Morya    T
   83. Teachings of Master Devapi    T
   84. The Aquarian Cross    E/G/S
   85. The Aquarian Master    E/G/S
   86. The Doctrine of Ethics    E
   87. The Etheric Body*    E/G/S
   88. The Masters of Wisdom    S
   89. The Path of Synthesis*    E
   90. The Splendor of Seven Hills*    E/T/HI
   91. The White Lotus*    E/G/S
   92. Theosophical Movement    E/G/S
   93. Time – The Key*    E/G/S
   94. Uranus - The New Age Energy    E
   95. Venus – The Path to Immortality    E/G/S
   96. Vinayaka Vratakalpamu    T
   97. Violet Flame Invocations    E/G
   98. Vratakalpamu    T
   99. Vishnu Sahasranamam    T
  100. Vrutrasura Rahasyam    T
  101. Wisdom Buds*    E/S
  102. Wisdom Teachings of Vidura    E/G/S
       * Booklets

The books are available in bookstores or directly from the publisher:

The World Teacher Temple / Dhanishta
Radhamadhavam, 14-38-02 · Muppidi Colony
Visakhapatnam-530 002
Andhra Pradesh
India

dhanishta@rediffmail.com
www.worldteachertrust.org

or

The World Teacher Trust - Global
Wasenmattstrasse 1
CH-8840 Einsiedeln
Switzerland

dhanishta@wtt-global.org
www.worldteachertrust.org